Did you sign the contract?

Well well well.. here we find ourselves in a new year. New prez, shitty economy, friends getting laid off, banks and other companies going out of business, the government choosing who to bail out, wars, wasting time on the internet.. etc.. etc.. Some things change, and some things remain the same.

Today's lesson will be in Abject Stupidity.

I had the unfortunate task this week to be in somewhere in the USA, where it shall not be named, due to the fact in involves my profession, and some people might actually look at this site. So, to protect the innocent, and I use that term loosely, all the exact details will be left out, but the moral is the same.

Now, let's say you have a computer. Let's also say that you think your computer sucks and you need a new one. Mr. 'Hi I Want Your Money At Any Cost' comes up to you and says he has a system that will spit gold at your feet. He gives you the slam dunk sales talk. Yes, it will do whatever you want it to do. You say 'Wow that's just what I need!'. Then you sign a contract. One that puts you in debt. Oh, and did I mention you're still paying for the one you think sucks? No, I didn't mention that? Well, I just did.

So now you're getting this new system that you have been told is the bomb. Some poor schmoe (not me of course) has to come to your place of business and put all the goodies in place. Then, you start using your new computer. You find out that you got a system that doesn't even use a mouse! You have to actually TYPE SHIT IN to make it do stuff. No more double click that icon and it performs the magic for you. No more click on Tools, then Options, then Run Reports. You start to freak. You can't find anything!! Where the fuck do I log on to my calendar! What's that you say? I have to push a series of keystrokes now to make this happen? Who designed this piece of shit!?!?! By day two you're thinking, what the fuck did I do to myself. You start hitting keys like they all do something everywhere, and if you press them enough, it'll work right. The person who set it all up keeps saying, 'There is a help key'. Well I didn't need any fucking help key before asshole!, you say. Day 3 and 4 roll on, and still they keep grabbing the mouse like it's gonna do something other than move that fancy pointer you downloaded off of some crapware site that installed shit you don't even know about. By the end of the week, you're a wreck. You've actually broken down in tears because this system isn't what was promised.

Did I mention you signed a contract?

One that says 'Yea, you're paying whether you like it or not'.

So, today's lesson. Don't buy shit sight unseen. When you buy a 30,000$ car, you at least test drive it. You read reviews about it (hopefully). When you go to a hotel in a place you've never been, hopefully you're checking reviews about it by people who have actually BEEN THERE DONE THAT! You don't travel to Amsterdam and hope you can get by without just a little RESEARCH!

If you decide otherwise, and you're disappointed, don't say I didn't warn you. I don't buy shit on NewEgg without reading the customer reviews, and searching Google for anything about it. I don't purchase a fucking FISHING LURE without knowing SOMETHING about it.

And that my friends, is the end of today's rant.

Now, back to my Guinness and double Jameson.

Thank you