Rant about Wal-Mart and DVDs

I had to go to Wal-Mart. It’s hard to find things that I want there so I usually try to just avoid it. Also I’m just letting off a little steam with a buyer beware thing that I just realized while piecing this together.

I have to go back for one more thing tomorrow and then I think I can ignore Wal-Mart for a while after that.

I got the movie Speed Racer which I really liked as a gift. They had an offer that consisted of the message “Get a Digital Copy” on the sticker and in the case it had instructions. I thought that would be nice to get before the offer expires since they are taking the work out of making a mobile movie for me, then I found they wanted $1.99 for the digital copy. Not a big price, but I already own the DVD. Why would I pay another $2 for the same movie I already own? The answer is, “I don’t pay another $2″

So while I was at Wal-Mart I noticed another sticker on movies that “include a digital copy” are $5 more.

So what’s going on here? I mean the sticker makes it look like you’re getting an extra thing for free, but it looks like you are really paying extra for the same movie twice.

In case you’re wondering here’s what I think is fair pricing:

old movies 5-10 yrs at $9 or less
movies 2-5 yrs old at $10 or less
current movies $15 or less
$20 is pushing it unless they got good extras
Anything more than $20 better have some cool collectible or be a season of a tv series.
Full Screen Movies should have an automatic $5 deduction in cost unless they were originally made that way. (I don’t really want to spend full price for a movie that has the sides chopped off.)
Anything that includes a copy of the exact same movie in another form should not cost more.

I know I don’t get to pick the prices but I do get to pick what I spend money on. This is just what I think is fair and base my purchases on unless there is a rarity or collectibility thing involved with getting the DVD.

So when they pull this $25 for two copies of the same movie selling for $20 without the digital copy it smells bad.

They are already raising prices on movies and now they are trying to pull this crap on us.

I wonder if I could just buy the $5 digital version.

————

There is a possibility I missed something since I was a bit tired when I discovered this, so let me know. I just wanted to vent and warn of a possibly bum purchase.

*UPDATE*
It appears that the $25 DVD with Digital copy may be the Special Edition with extra content. The odd thing about this is I just did a quick check at WalMart.com and the movies were about $4-5 less on the site. Anyway the special edition contains 3 discs. 1 with extra content disc and the third disc with digital version of the movie and digital versions of some of the extra content.

Then it says the list price is $30, but they’re selling it for $21.86 so you get a deal. I’m guessing some of this is to make up for shipping cost, but I still think something is up with the price on these things.

Published in:  on December 29, 2008 at 11:58 pm Leave a Comment

Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas

It was a week or two ago, I was at the Musco Holiday party and a friend of mine wished me Happy Holidays, but I must’ve sounded a bit grumpy as I wished him Merry Christmas because his eyes lit up a bit and said, “well to each his own … “

Now I was taken aback a bit by his response to me so I smiled as best I could and said, “yeah” He smiled back and was on his way. I think things are good there as we talked last weekend in good spirits.

I didn’t get into too many details that night, because I wasn’t feeling too good. So I probably sounded grumpy due to a sour stomach. But as I thought about it, and the recent stories flaring up about standing up for “Merry Christmas” from one side and the other side calling for the more neutral, all encompassing “Happy Holidays” I wondered how many people simply misunderstand one another such as a sour stomach or truly miss a bigger fight by not being allowed to say Merry Christmas.

I’ll try to explain myself a bit. I have no problems with anyone wishing me a “Merry Christmas”, “Happy Holidays”, “Happy Hanukkah” or anything else because I’ve decided as long as the words Happy or Merry or anything else good in there that I am being wished a “Good tidings” message from my fellow person, and I can always accept or use that.

If I hear “Curse you! I’ll get my revenge!” I’ve either come across a super-villain or we got off on the wrong foot. Either way probably not a good thing.

However if a business or government entity comes in and says that you can’t say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Hanukkah” but must use the ever more generic “Happy Holidays” or else you are fired or charged with not being politically correct or tolerant then this is wrong.

It is wrong even in the sense of political correctness or tolerance, even unto themselves because these two things were originally devised to protect people of different beliefs. But instead of promoting the richness and difference of our culture as they claim to do it ends up flattening us out into a people with no diversity as we all must wish people the same generic thing that gives no offense and which no one celebrates. Therefore we end up losing the very flavor we sought to preserve.

As a Christian I believe that Jesus is the way, truth and life. I believe that we are salt and light placed here by God to give the world flavor. If we stop wishing “Merry Christmas” because someone other than God made us stop, then Have we lost our flavor? If salt loses its taste, then how can its flavor be restored?

Now obviously from what I wrote before I’m not totally against “Happy Holidays” when people say this of their own accord. That’s fine. It’s also fine if you are a business trying to incorporate more than one Holiday, but in this respect I would ask that you let your employees wish people the holiday of their choice if they so choose.

In the end I say phooey to this “making people say one thing or another”. I say let people be who they are. If I say “Merry Christmas” and someone wishes me “Happy Kwanzaa” then so be it. Maybe this will lead us to an interesting conversation. In the very least we have both wished each other good tidings in our own way and we are the better for it.

It’s late. I just got back home and I really wanted to post this and none of it came out the way I thought it would, so if it doesn’t make sense or it looks like I forgot/overlooked something then shoot me a question and I can always reply or add on to this.

Published in:  on December 25, 2008 at 12:03 am Leave a Comment

Standing … you may get mad.

This is primarily for Christians. Read it if you want. Be interested to see what anyone thinks, but if you don’t like being ticked off then don’t read it. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Not to sound too up on myself here, but lately when I watch, read, or listen to the news I feel like I’m in the middle of a gap watching people take up sides.

Maybe its the current presidential race going on, or maybe its looking back thru history at the founder’s faith in God and recognizing our own evil that they wrote our Declaration and Constitution so carefully, up until the point they kick prayer out of school and hearing so many different people’s ideas of right and wrong until it is no longer about certain rights and wrongs but only relative right and wrong depending on the individual.

I stand looking and I wonder how long?

I’m a Christian. Christ rescued me a couple of years ago.

To me there’s Christianity and then there’s everything else. Jesus spoke the truth when he said, He’s the truth, the way and the life. and no one goes to the Father except by him. So according to him its by him or you don’t go. If you don’t believe what he said, then you either think he’s a liar or a lunatic. If you say he never existed, then remember I’m currently directing this to Christians.
If you are a Christian but don’t believe that Jesus existed, then well … that’s just weird.

I stand in the gap and wonder not about the non-Christians. I don’t expect them to behave or act a certain way. I don’t expect them to believe in Jesus, or that he told the truth. Heck I expect them to be mad at me or think I’m crazy for claiming to know “the truth” but yet another topic.

I stand in the gap as I see different Christians line up against each other.

Recently Charles Barkley … (although half the bloggers say its Barclay so I hope I picked the correct spelling) said that conservative Christians are fake Christians. He then gets on them (conservatives) for judging others. About how conservatives say abortion and gay marriage are wrong. He says they ought not to judge others.

I’m not going to rebuttal Sir Charles as that is also not my point.

My point is the different reactions of Christians. Or at least those that claim to be.

It’s at times like this I see myself with an over-sized sword. Swinging it around and ready to cut myself. But here goes:

I think Sir Charles brought up a point inadvertently of course, but a point nonetheless. That the church has actually done a terrible job in judging. Too often I hear people talk about others. How that man loves that man in a special way and how terrible it is and such a sin. Then they go home to live with their boyfriend or girlfriend they haven’t and may not marry.

The Bible doesn’t say that we shouldn’t judge anything. Matthew 7:1-6 says this:

1″Do not judge, or you too will be judged.2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3″Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?4How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6″Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Verses 1 and 2 are great by themselves. People like it because then you can’t tell them anything is wrong about anything, but if you add in verses 3-6 you see this is talking about not judging others on the same sin you yourself are guilty of.

I think when Catholic priests are found hurting children or when Fred Phelps and his cronies start hating gay people and hurting them, then the church needs to turn to its “own” and say, “Stop it”

Kick them out of their positions. Send them to jail and protect our kids and stop hating people from the pulpit without any mercy or compassion.

We spend too much time pointing at the sins that sinners commit and not enough time getting on our own for committing a much worse sin.

I think that we seem to get all caught up in trying to point out everyones dirty laundry and forget to wash our own.

Christians need balance and we need to get our own houses in check. But we seem to be all across the board. We have people who claim to be Christian who don’t read the Bible, don’t know what it says, don’t even believe it is God’s word to us. They believe that there is more than one way to heaven ??? despite what Jesus says ??? They believe good works will get them to heaven, that Jesus committed sins, that he didn’t even rise from the dead ??? despite Paul’s letters saying how important this is to make it worthwhile?? That Satan is not real but merely a symbol for evil. And they don’t believe the Holy Spirit is and living entity… And I’m sure the list goes on beyond this.

Mostly I think this is a lack of discipleship. A lack of understanding in the Word of God. Too many Christians don’t stand for anything because they don’t know what it really is they are trying to stand for.

Then we wonder why an unbelieving world finds us so unbelievable. We acknowledge Christ with our lips and then we deny him by our life-style.

So this is my stand

Jesus is God.
Jesus did not sin. – His sacrifice would’ve been pointless
He did die and then rise again. – without this our belief is pointless.
The Holy Spirit is real and really working in remnant that truly believe and accept Christ.
Good works will not get us into heaven. They are merely evidence of God’s work in our lives.
Satan is real and our real enemy.
Other people who believe differently than us are to be loved. Not hated. Not despised and not merely to be tolerated. Christ is reaching out to them in love, how can we not do the same?
There is sin. We need to judge it correctly and love those who commit it.
Sin inside the Church is bad if not worse than sin outside the church.
I am a sinner saved by grace. Forgiven and Free.
I still battle temptation. I still sin. Not like I used to. But there is grace and love for even me.

Don’t take my word as rock solid here. I’m just a man. If you want to check me out then check out the book you claim to believe. If I’m wrong then point it out. I don’t mind being corrected when it puts me on the right path. I will however judge your correction with my knowledge of the Word to be sure.

Alright I’ve swung my over-sized sword and just poked at a bunch of different points without arguing them in order to focus on my main argument. If you want to message or comment me to explain my position, I’ll do my best to answer. If you are a Christian and disagree with me go ahead.

If I get too many messages regarding similar questions I’ll post another blog to cover it. If I made a mistake above then I’ll correct it later. Its late and I’m tired. Time for bed.

Published in:  on February 29, 2008 at 1:39 am Leave a Comment

News coverage of Celebs

Wow, I know I’m late to the comment board on this, but I don’t always like it when the press goes beyond their call of duty of coverage simply because someone is a celebrity.

Like with Britney why can’t the press leave her alone. I’m not really so much as just simply tired of hearing about her, as I am saddened that her whole life is in shambles and put on display.

My life has been in shambles before, and I didn’t want anyone to know. When people know they want to help.

This in itself isn’t bad, wanting to help, but this is a matter for close friends and family not a bunch of well meaning fans and paparazzi that can only see what is projected on the surface by their cameras.

They totally miss the internal struggle that we all face each day. This lack of privacy and constant barrage of analysis seems to be sending her further down.

This may seem to be similar to what the press is doing by me simply commenting on it, which is why I’m trying to refrain from making comments about Britney herself and trying to focus more on the press and how it would affect any one of us if we were in her shoes.

As far as that goes, I can only really speak if I were put on camera when my dark times came.

I can only be thankful that God found me when he did and that my dirty laundry wasn’t put out there while I was in the middle of it. I don’t mind talking about it now, but I’m thru it now. It would’ve been maddening to have everyone talking about me as if they knew me while I was going thru my pain.

Heath Ledger’s death seems to be taken the same way. Another blog/note I read from Facebook | Bryan Edward Canny’s Notes talked about how all the experts and press discuss the man’s work so passionately as if they knew him. But they are only talking about the man’s work and not who he was.

In this respect if the press covered my death in the same way, they would talk about all the computers I fixed and how I could’ve put together a great data network one day. If they did this we’d think they were weird for not talking about who I am, like what kind of son, brother, uncle, or friend that I was. Whether I walked with Jesus or not. After who I am is discussed then they could say what I did for a living, but after I’m dead does it matter as much what I did for a living or who I was?

After all what do they normally put on Tombstones?

Loving friend, brother, and uncle

or

Computer Tech … yeah, didn’t think so…

In the same sense they should talk to people who really knew the man and only then if they are ready to talk about it.

But then again, it’s all about the entertainment value isn’t it. Ratings and such. Shame. What have we become … Or am I the only one who really feels like this?

Published in:  on January 26, 2008 at 1:17 am Leave a Comment

The Super Heroe movies Hollywood should be making

In my humble opinion, if the fans of these characters can make such good films on a low or no budget then Hollywood ought to be making better films… or at least hire these guys.

Batman – Dead End

World’s Finest

Return of the Ghostbusters

Ghostbuster Generation

Published in:  on October 3, 2007 at 7:18 pm Comments (1)

Ipod ad


I mean seriously, if you are old enough to read, you’re probably sensible enough not to eat an ipod.

Published in:  on May 21, 2007 at 8:35 am Leave a Comment

Netflix has a glitch

Apparently since I like films based on comic books I should like Happy Feet.

The closest this even gets to my interest is that I like Linux and the mascot for Linux is a penguin. But I don’t think Netflix rates OS’s now.

Published in:  on May 8, 2007 at 7:43 pm Leave a Comment

snow is the enemy and it must be stopped.

As I sit here it is snowing still and I was all geared up for spring. I had packed away most of my winter stuff and now it is snowing. This snow annoys me.

I used to write short stories in high school. In one of my stories one of my characters used a flame thrower.

The thought occurs to me that if we all had flame throwers we could attempt melting the snow and thus return to spring.

Of course this would probably make gas prices jump even higher and then there’s the possibility of the yard catching on fire, but hey, What’s more important? Fire in the yard or getting rid of the snow.

Its either flame throwers or use the sewer system to run heating conduits under the streets to warm the ground also melting the snow.

Or remember when Mr. Burns built that giant disc and blocked out the sun, maybe we could build a giant magnifying glass in the same fashion thus increasing the heat from the sun to dissipate the clouds and melt the snow. This would need to be removed before summer else we risk a people sized “ant incident”

Of course if this was a superfriends cartoon, I’m pretty sure Superman would spin and suck up all the snow and send it into space. Yes I know this is a geeky suggestion, but I’m a geek and this should be expected of me.

I know some people will shovel it but I’m really just too lazy for that sort of thing. Plus the flame throwers just sound like more fun.

Anyway that’s all for the night. Have fun and hopefully spring will return soon.

Published in:  on April 11, 2007 at 10:28 pm Leave a Comment

Interesting…

The below Theses are found here http://www.whoradio.com/pages/shows/deace/

Steve Deace – August 1, 2006
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Out of a love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, we ask the question what is worse, the wolf? Or the wolf in sheep’s clothing? Therefore, the following propositions will be discussed today on Deace in the Afternoon on News Radio 1040 and will be posted online at WHOradio.com for further discussion:

1. That the primary role of government from a Judeo-Christian viewpoint is the restraining of evil for the purposes of protecting the citizenry. President George W. Bush has not governed according to this principle.

2. President George W. Bush refuses to enforce immigration laws that are designed to protect our national sovereignty despite the fact we are at a state of war.

3. President George W. Bush refuses to punish American companies that are wantonly violating our immigration laws for the purposes of circumventing the American tax and labor infrastructure, thus shifting the cost burden for these illegal aliens to American taxpayers.

4. Under President George W. Bush’s watch, these illegal aliens are to either be given amnesty as a reward for breaking the law, or allowed to exist as nothing more than glorified indentured servants for the purposes of cheap labor. One option demeans the rule of law; the other demeans them to second-class, or servant-class, status.

5. Despite election campaign promises to the contrary, the size and scope of the federal government and pork barrel spending has increased exponentially under President George W. Bush and the current Republican Congress.

6. President George W. Bush launched the first pre-emptive war in American history on the basis of faulty intelligence. And if the intelligence was not faulty than the current Commander-in-Chief has arguably created a more dangerous environment via Operation Iraqi Freedom by allowing those weapons of mass destruction to fall into the far more notorious hands of enemy nations like Iran and Syria.

7. To this day there has never been a satisfactory explanation for what happened to those weapons of mass destruction that was the original basis for launching Operation Iraqi Freedom, contrary to the current stated goals of the war being about bringing democracy to the Middle East.

8. Likely out of fear of a media backlash, the administration of President George W. Bush did not use the full brutal effectiveness of the United States Military during the prosecution phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This created an unstable environment on the ground in Iraq that still exists three years later, because pockets of resistance derived from the remnant of the enemy as well as an infusion of other Islamic terrorists have established a foot-hold in Iraq. This has led to unnecessary and tragic violence for both our military and the Iraqi people.

9. The administration of President George W. Bush continues to underestimate the level of resistance in Iraq, and throughout the Arab world for that matter, because President George W. Bush doesn’t understand the nature of the enemy in this war. He refuses to recognize Islam as being incompatible with a Judeo-Christian worldview, the same worldview that originally established our form of government. He believes that the establishment of secular democracies will bring about lasting peace in the Middle East. This, in essence, is the reverse domino theory, the same faulty premise that failed during the Cold War.

10. As history has shown time and time again, peace is only ultimately achieved through victory. The Muslim world will not police itself through transparent, secular, and democratically-elected governments because democratically-elected, transparent, and secular governments run contrary to the Koranic worldview. The only form of government allowed under a Koranic worldview is theocracy, which explains why there has never been a transparent, secular, and democratically-elected government in the history of the Muslim world.

11. Therefore, President George W. Bush’s ultimate end-game for victory in the war on Islamic terrorism is an unattainable, unrealistic, and presumptively dangerous.

12. Under pressure from the administration of President George W. Bush, the nation of Israel – our only true ally in the Middle East – has agreed to fork over land for peace. Appeasement of the enemy never works, and the current conflict in Lebanon indicates it hasn’t work for Israel this time around, either.

13. Under the watch of President George W. Bush, the nation of Palestine has been established for the first time. There previously has been no such thing as the Palestinian people. There previously has been no such tangible thing known as a Palestinian state. It had previously existed only in the mind of an anti-Semitic Roman general named Hadrian or in the fertile imaginations of Islamic crusaders down through the ages. That is until now.

14. By encouraging the nation of Israel to agree to a Palestinian state, President George W. Bush has put them in greater harm by allowing the Islamic terrorist organization known as Hamas to become the duly elected government of the people, allowing Hamas a base of operations on Israel’s doorstep.

15. President George W. Bush and his wife have each publicly praised the government of Egypt as being a democratic friend to America, despite the fact the government there is corrupt, not transparent, and its people celebrated in the streets on 9/11.

16. President George W. Bush and his administration repeatedly touts Saudi Arabia as our friend, despite the fact the majority of 9/11 hijackers hailed from that country, which also happens to be the worldwide headquarters of Wahibist Islamic teaching.

17. President George W. Bush considers Russian President Vladmir Putin to be a great friend, despite the fact that Putin’s government violated U.N. restrictions on doing business with Iraq prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom and is currently aiding and abetting Iran’s dangerous nuclear weapons program.

18. The debt load of our government and the current War on Islamic terrorism is partially being underwritten by China, the only nation on Earth with the capacity to challenge American economic and military superiority. And a nation that has openly admitted it plans to do so.

19. That the presidency of George W. Bush had the right response originally to 9/11, and was heroic in those early days, weeks, and months after we were attacked. However, since the lack of certifiable evidence of WMDs in Iraq the administration of President George W. Bush has lost its nerve, has been on the defensive, has lost standing both domestically and globally, and has allowed the world to become a far more dangerous place as a result of its own ineptitude and lack of moral clarity.

20. That President George W. Bush has repeatedly punted when faced with an opportunity to confront what ails us as a nation, and there are several examples of this.

21. He pandered to race-baiters both during Hurricane Katrina and at a recent speech to the NAACP, missing real opportunities to re-define social justice and heal the racial rift in America.

22. His chief advisor, Karl Rove, pandered to race-baiters during a recent speech to a group known as La Raza, as opposed to upholding the rule of law.

23. He has welcomed race-baiters and proven liars and charlatans like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to the White House.

24. Other than good legislation passed early on in his presidency to stop partial-birth or late-term abortions, he has done little or nothing to stop the bloodshed of infanticide in America.

25. Federal government subsidies for Planned Parenthood, the largest baby-killer in the world, have actually increased during the administration of President George W. Bush.

26. He bypassed an opportunity to make a statement in the 2004 Pennsylvania primary and instead supported incumbent Senator Arlen Specter, a poster-child for everything wrong with the modern Republican Party.

27. The administration of President George W. Bush has advocated the protection of marriage as a God-given institution between one man and one woman as the foundation of a civilized culture only for sheer political gain. He has not really done anything to help Americans take this threat to our way of life seriously, nor has he really done anything in deed to back up his words on the subject.

28. The administration of President George W. Bush joined its predecessor in lifting the embargo on HIV-infected people visiting America not for the purposes of getting medical treatment, but so they could attend the Gay Games in Chicago this summer.

29. President George W. Bush gave up his promise of school vouchers to increase education competition being included in his “No Child Left Behind” legislation as a way of appeasing political opposition. There can be no real results or reform in public education without competition, and the administration of President George W. Bush has done little or nothing to encourage it. Thus, the scam of federal and state-funded government education goes on undaunted, and a generation of youngsters is suffering from secular-liberal indoctrination and American taxpayers are being pilfered as a result.

30. For whatever reason – whether it is a lack of fervor, consistency, or effort – President George W. Bush has done little to attempt to inspire a culture that continues to sink into the abyss of materialism, relativism, and paganism.

31. President George W. Bush hasn’t articulated a coherent energy policy, the number one problem facing the American economy in the long-run. This has led to haphazard and unhealthy alliances with so-called “moderate Arab nations” that either fund Islamic terrorism or turn a blind eye to it to provide us oil, a continual sell-out to radical environmentalists, and a lack of vision needed to spark a real attempt for alternative fuel sources from America’s leading industrial and technological sectors.

32. President George W. Bush has done little or nothing to preserve and defend our nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage, neither in word nor deed.

33. In fact, under the watch of President George W. Bush, secular humanism has repeatedly made successful inroads at establishing revisionist history as conventional wisdom or, even worse yet, the law of the land. This has led to a further loss of the American identity and American heritage while President George W. Bush is in the White House.

34. President George W. Bush has failed time and again to vie for the hearts and minds of the American people.

35. The two terms of President George W. Bush will go down as one of the most inconsistent and unaccomplished presidencies in American history.

Published in:  on September 20, 2006 at 10:50 pm Leave a Comment

Transformers

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

What did they do to the robots?  They’re in disguise alright.  You’ll never recognize them.

http://servewithchips.blogspot.com/2006/08/megaupdate-transformers-and-winners.html

Published in:  on August 31, 2006 at 9:53 pm Leave a Comment