It just keeps getting better: More about the "Lunk Alarm" gym

So, in this detailed review of Planet Fitness, the reviewer goes through all of the amenities, including— get this— Free Pizza and bagels:

Perks: Free Pizza, Bagels and Candy?

In addition to the free tanning and Shiatsu massage chairs that come with a the Black Card upgrade, Planet Fitness offers three other perks to all of their members: free pizza once a month, free bagels once a month and the ever-present jar of purple Tootsie Rolls at the front desk.
Yes. I’m not joking.
When you join Planet Fitness to get in shape, once a month they reward you for those 300 calories you just burned on the treadmill with a nice 500 calorie slice of greasy, cheap pizza from a local pizzeria.  Or how about a giant, high-glycemic carb bagel to set you on your way to great summer abs? And when you’re done working out each day, grab a couple of purple Toostie Rolls loaded with high fructose corn syrup.
This whole thing would be laughable if it wasn’t so absurd.  I can understand providing some kind of “treat” to your customers every once in a while, but outside of serving fried chicken or corn dogs, I can’t think of two more unhealthy foods to offer.  A better approach would be to provide some type of healthy snack for their members, that helped them get an idea that eating better can taste good as well. Why not wraps, high-fiber protein bars, or even a healthy version of pizza?

Come to think of it, what a great business plan, keep 'em fat so they keep coming back. Augh, I think I'm gonna be sick.

"Judgement Free" Zone

 C'mon! get real... A Lunk Alarm?

Ok, Given I'm not in the greatest shape, and I just recently joined a gym (which does not have such an alarm, btw) I've never felt intimidated by the heavy lifters at my gym, but to actually call out and humiliate people with a big blue flashing light and an alarm because they grunt or drop a weight. Give me a break!

Tainted Candy

Halloween has come and gone. I'm sure many parents out there have closely inspected their kids' loot and given their seal of approval. So how did it happen that we became so careful about our kids' candy? This article gives the incident that set up x-rayed candies, and carefully checking packages for any sign of tampering. Not that you shouldn't be careful about your kids' treats-- you should, but it was someone's own avarice-driven poisoning of their own child that started the whole panic about tainted treats.

Now, that just begs the question: What kind of sick freak poisons their own child to satisfy their own greed!!?

H is for Hypocrite

If you're going to pass judgment on somebody, first make sure you're not being a hypocrite. 

Buyer Beware

This falls under the subject of predatory advertising.

I follow Mouse Print pretty closely, reading their weekly articles. They've covered such things as airline's hidden fees and ways food manufacturers disguise their downsizing. The article linked above is, in my opinion, the worst that it gets. A web page that purports to be an actual news article from a real news organization touting the benefits of some dietary supplement.

Many people could be fooled into thinking it's real, but the entire thing is a work of fiction created by a bottom-feeding supplement manufacturer. I have seen similar websites for similar products. All seem to espouse the benefits of the product and appear on the surface to be legitimate. That is, of course, until you look at the fine print buried at the bottom of the page.

Shame on them.

Oh, and by the way: There is no magic berry that can make you lose weight. Losing weight is simple math, You have to take in less calories than you use.

Half-baked

So, imagine this:

A happy couple sits down with a cake decorator, and describes what they want. A wedding cake with a traditional lace pattern, but with a twist, hidden in the lace would be a subtle ninja star. Oh, by the way, it would be fun to hide small ninja figures in the fondant apricots. Sure! No problem! replies the baker. Imagine the shock and dismay when presented with the final result on your wedding day.

Are people really this dumb?

I mean ... how on earth do you mistake a skunk for a cat? Kind of reminds me of that found cat poster.

Seriously Gross

Eeewww.

Most Controversial Magazine Covers

Controversial Covers

I actually remember the picture of the dog with the gun to its head being used in an advertisement in a computer magazine, with similar wording "Buy this game or the dog gets it"

Interesting set of covers, though.

Especially telling of people's attitudes, especially the one of the baby breastfeeding:

One mother actually shredded the magazine so that her 13-year old son couldn’t see it.

 What? There is nothing wrong with that photo, and anybody that thinks anything different has serious issues.  

Bury me with the hamster

I'll just tell the kids to bury me next to the hamster.

Seriously neglectful parenting

Seriously ...

British Automotive Show Hosts Chased by Angry Rednecks

Only in the American south could something like this happen...

Seems Ralph Lauren does not like criticism of the artwork in its ads

This story says it all. I originally spotted this ad on Photoshop Disasters a blog chronicling some of the more absurd Photoshop edits in advertisements, which has also been chilled by the fashion designer.

Hey, a novel idea: If your ad is flawed, then why not go back and try to improve it rather than trying to silence your critics?

That's right, We need to fix the "liberal bias" in the Bible

Conservatives are getting progressively weirder. Here's a link to a website touting itself as "The Trustowrthy Encyclopedia."

They've fallen far, far off the deep end. I can't even begin to think about how the Bible could even possibly have any sort of political bias (at least, in the context of the modern American political system) But, hey, there you go!

This has me scratching my head

This radio in a Mercedes? Really?

Either the radio was stolen, and they can't afford to replace it (you know, because of the car payments) or ... well .... hmmm.

Name the non-metals in 5 minutes

The quiz is on Mental Floss's website.

I managed to name all but 3 of them.

Have a nice night!

This sort of insane behavior really makes me wonder, sometimes. It's not at all like the hostess did something wrong. Far from it, actually-- She was being courteous, and what thanks does she get? Someone complaining about how out of line she was.

This cracked me up

Ok, if you know HP calculators, then you know what RPN is ... ;)

Fat skunk

Apparently this skunk was addicted to bacon sandwiches ...

Bad cars ...

Bad things can happen to good cars. Here's a whole bunch. I particularly like the LOLCat-like captions on the older ones.

Though, I feel a bit remiss about laughing at some of these tragic accidents.

Perfect decorating ideas for Halloweeen?

Bloody home decor.

Well, whuddya know ... Texting doesn't make you a poor speller after all.

Apparently, those that spell poorly in text messages, are just-- quite simply-- bad spellers.

Go Figure. And I'll bet they have lousy grammar, too.

Mean Doctor Day

Is it really mean, or is he just being reasonable?

Good god people can be sick.

The worrying thing here is, there's likely a child involved in this...

And now, to kick things off: Lyrics I've misheard

Midnight Star, Weird Al

What I heard: Tell me, tell me, tell me how to make my frostbite grow.

What it really is: Tell me, tell me, tell me how to make my bustline grow.

In a song lampooning tabloid weirdness, either line could fit. Making one's frostbite grow would definitely be the stranger of the two, and definitely shows my twisted way of thinking.

Like a Phoenix, blah blah ...

So, after a long hiatus, I'm back to posting to the blog.

How things have changed: The economy is in the toilet, gas prices, although still somewhat high are reasonable, and a new president in office. And I now follow more blogs than ever


I'm going to make an effort to post stuff I find here, or stuff I think of. Whatever. Some posts will be short and twitter-like (but I refuse to twit), some will be lengthy diatribes, and mostly lots of links to different things found out there on the internet that I find strange or interesting.