Big Brother is Watching Me

(Yes, two posts in one day. Shocking)

Take a look at this picture





Yes, it is a bunch of wires that are next to and behind my TV, but do you have any idea what this is?



No? Then take a look at this picture






That's right, I am one of the <50,000 "Nielsen families" that comprise the sample size used to estimate TV watching patterns of US households. I received a notice a couple weeks back that my apartment was randomly selected to be a Nielsen household. With my approval, someone would install equipment in my TV, VCR, and DVD player as well as some other equipment to monitor my viewing habits. I thought this would be pretty neat, so I agreed to let Nielsen come meter all my TV related devices.

Want to know the best part? They pay me for agreeing to let them collect this information! THEY PAY ME TO WATCH TV! I don't even have to change my viewing habits, so long as I "log in" when I turn on the TV, which takes about one second.

Since I am an underrepresented demographic in their sample (male under 35 with no children), they pay me MORE than their contracted rates. Sadly, I can only be in a Nielsen home as long as I live at my current apartment and for no longer than 24 months, so the gravy train won't last forever.

I represent ~35,000 households!!! You know what this means? Hockey ratings in the U.S. are going to double!!!!!

Interviewing Awkwardness

I've been in contact with an experienced actuary (i.e., graduated college over a year ago) that has applied for an actuarial position with our company. I was asked to conduct an initial phone screen to determine whether we should bring this individual in for a home office interview.

After a day of back and forth e-mails, we settled on 9AM Thursday (tomorrow) as a good time for me to call to conduct a phone interview. This morning, I sent an e-mail to confirm our 9AM time slot, mainly because the candidate is located in the Central time zone. Here was the response e-mail I received:

"Hi Mr. _______,

Yes, that number is correct. I'm looking forward to our call. Also, I want to apologize for my presumption in prior emails--I did not intend to be too familiar by using your first name. I would be very disappointed it this small error were to jeopardize my chance for a position with _____, as I believe I could be a real asset to your company. I can assure you that I will be more cognizant of the proper formalities of the interview process going forward."

Definitely the most hilarious recruiting related e-mail I have received. This response was completely unprovoked. I made no reference or comment to her addressing me as "Gary" in her other e-mails. I'm guessing that she was worried because I didn't put my first name at the bottom of the e-mail I sent her this morning.

Since this is a very promising candidate, I e-mailed back to say that when I hear someone say "Mr. _____", I assume they are talking to my father. No need worrying her prior to our discussion in the morning.

I'll wait to make fun of this person for that e-mail until they receive an offer and accept (if that even happens). And no, I did not point out that her sentence about small errors had a small error in it. :)

Oh Captain! My Captain!

Please be good news. PLEASE BE GOOD NEWS!

Talk about bad karma. I buy a TV package to see more Red Wings games, and Lidstrom injures his knee 5 minutes into the game last night. If the news is bad, the Red Wings will be lucky to win four playoff games this year. Lidstrom has been arguably more valuable to the Red Wings than Steve Yzerman since 1995.

Let there be Hockey!

I upgraded my cable plan and added digital cable today. The ~$15 monthly investment was made specifically for two channels that are included in the digital lineup that I don't get today. Both of them are hockey-related. I now have CSTV (College Sports Television) and Versus. That means that I am watching the Red Wings lay a whoopin' on Colorado right now and will get to watch Michigan play Michigan State in hockey on Friday. WOO HOO!

Even better, I'll be able to watch the NHL Playoffs and all of the Red Wings games as they hopefully make another run deep into the playoffs this year. I am so psyched!

:)

To Be Five Minutes Early Is To Be On Time

I am sure this is a surprise to no one, but I am obsessed with punctuality. It's my biggest pet peeve. I don't know where I developed this obsession, but I have to be on time for everything. When I am making the 45-mile drive to New Haven, I'll often give DrT a 5-10 minute window of when I will arrive, and then call if I am going to miss that window, even though being a few minutes late is no big deal.

It also translates to my expectation of others. I have friends who are chronically late to everything. I know they are like that, yet I still cannot adjust. I occasionally carpool with a friend of mine who lives in my apartment complex (and may also read this site...I'm not sure). She is one of those chronically late people, yet I am unable to adjust my ways when we carpool. I know she is always at least ten minutes late in the morning, yet I will tell her when I plan to pick her up, call her when I am leaving my apartment, and always show up when I promise. I should probably just intentionally show up five minutes later than I say I will, but I feel compelled to show up on time and just sit in my car for a while outside her apartment.

The other day, I mooched a ride to work from her since DrT was picking me up after work for our evening plans. The plan was to leave at 7:30. At 7:25, I received a text from my ride informing me that she was running late and picking me up at 7:40. No big deal. I needed the extra time anyway. I went outside to wait for her at 7:40 even though I suspected that the +10 minute rule meant I should be ready at 7:50. I waited outside in the cold until 7:55.

I understand that some people are chronically late. Why does it always frustrate me? Why can't people show up when they say they will? I think there could be worse obsessions in life, but this one still usually annoys me.

Does anyone else have a major pet peeve as silly as this?

UPDATE - Please note that my intent was not to trash a friend of mine. I was pointing out my own obsession with punctuality. I just picked the recent carpool example because it was fresh on my mind. I could have picked another story from another person. I have many friends who are not always punctual, but they are still my friends. It's not a trait that someone must possess to be my friend.

'There will be Boredom'

I made two separate trips to a movie theater this weekend. While I do see the inside of a movie theater slightly more often than RoopDogg, two trips to the movie theater in such a short period of time at any time of the year outside of Christmas is very uncommon.

I saw Michael Clayton on Friday night. Contrary to the title of this post, I enjoyed that movie. While the ending was not what I hoped for, the rest of the film was great.

As of Saturday, I had seen three of the five films nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. That's about two or three more than I normally see in a year. When I was asked about whether I wanted to see There Will be Blood on Sunday evening, I initially balked. I'm not one for bloody movies, so I didn't think this was the movie for me. However, after learning that the picture was nominated for Best Picture, I figured it beat the alternative for my Sunday night (sitting on the couch and watching TV).

Boy was I wrong. The movie had the potential to be great. It was not too gory. The storyline about the raw greed that consumed the oil rush in the US in the early 1900s was fantastic. However, there was not nearly enough character development or drama to drag the movie out for roughly 160 minutes. The movie was way too long. Top it off with a strange and empty ending and I was incredibly disappointed.

At least I can say that I've seen almost every film nominated for Best Picture. My vote goes to Juno. It's really great. If you have not already seen it, go now. Now!

Cheap Flights

So tempting...

I'm going to be swamped at work through May and taking a vacation in mid-March, but I've never seen flights from Hartford to Detroit anywhere close to this cheap. Thank you, FlyingV, for making me think this over tonight.

Super Let Down

Wow. I can only imagine how devastated the New England Patriots feel today. What a horrible way to end such a great season. Unfortunately, New England had to close the game with their mediocre defense, not with the super awesome Tom Brady on the field.

After a lackluster three quarters, the fourth quarter was amazing. I still can't get over that last drive where the Giants took the lead. The Manning-to-Tynes pass on 3rd and 11 might just be the most amazing/clutch offensive play I've ever seen in a big time football game.

That said, I was somewhat disappointed by the commercials. I didn't see all of them, but two standout in my mind:

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

It's about time Charlie Brown had something go his way!

Gonna Fly Now

This commercial definitely made me think of PhillyPhanatic training session on that infamous night at the 'Park Place Crawl' party from the summer of 2003.

Go Brady!

I want to hate the New England Patriots. Seriously, I do. With reports of spying on opponents flaring up again, it really bothers me how a team has no respect for the concept of fair play. If New England actually taped St. Louis's walkthrough/practice before their first Super Bowl title six years ago and knew a lot of the plays that they were going to run, I think their legacy in this decade is forever tarnished. Unfortunately, we'll probably never know. It's entirely possible that the source is simply a disgruntled former employee looking for his fifteen minutes of fame.

What really bothers me is that this is the type of 'team' that I love to see win. The Patriots have been so good because they put their individual agendas behind the agenda of the team, and it's obvious with everything they do. They are the anti-Lions. They play for each others and sacrifice individual riches for team championships. Why does their management need to cheat when they don't really even need to in order to win?

That said, I still am rooting for the Patriots today. In addition to the fact that they are a true 'team', I'm sure you can figure out why I want them to win.

If the Patriots were to lose today, I think it would be as bad as if the 1980 U.S. Men's Hockey team had lost the game for the gold medal against Finland after the 'Miracle on Ice'. It would be a tragic loss that every Patriot would take to their grave.

New England wins today 41-20.