by Dino Corvino on December 26th, 2007
So, I know what is expected of me is in fact a nice, community, love everyone post about how seeing old friends makes the heart warm, or some such crap, well in all honesty the founders have encouraged this particular post, and I fully intend to let it rip. So, grammar be damned, and spelling can kiss my butt.
I love the holiday. Nothing is more fun for me than to buy my brother, my mom, and his fiance presents. It is the coolest thing to sort of give that little shot of love over hte bow of consumerism. We are a close family, and in all honesty gifts are a lot like shopping together…”Oh you like that?” MENTAL NOTE, DEWALT IS BETTER. Or sometimes we just buy it right in front of the person. So it goes.
But I love buying gifts, I just do. I like to pick them out, hold them in my hand, interact with the staff at a store, and give them my money. It is a wonderful feeling to do something for someone else. It really is.
So what’s the problem, Dino? What’s gotten under your saddle blanket?
The EASTBAY RETAIL STORE has gotten under my saddle blanket.
So, if you work there, or own the joint, or own stock in the company, that’s fine. If you are the actual kid in question, I am sorry in advance, but you totally have this coming. But honestly, JUST CLOSE THE RETAIL STORE.
The fact is, the retail store is ignored by the company, and a result it has turned into a home for wayward former track standouts who now go to UWMC. It is a store that is really a place for employees to pick up their discounted wares, and the rest of us get lulled into thinking it is a real store when in fact it is not.
Here’s what happened. My younger brother wanted new Nike boots for Christmas, and I was happy to buy them for him. Thrilled, actually. So I went online, found boots on the Eastbay website, and called the store. I knew they would not be in the store, but the guy said they had lots in stock and could PICK them. So, I had the assurance that my boots would arrive in time for Christmas, and my brother would be happy. One gift off the list. I can trust Eastbay; they are a hometown shop, right?
WRONG.
I get to the store, and stand there for 2 text messages on my cellphone, while waiting for ANYONE to approach me to see if I might, you know, WANT SOMETHING. I suppose people often just come in from the cold, but, in this case I wanted something. You know, shoes. I guess you could ask, why not just order them online or through the phone bank. Well, shipping is like 12 bucks, and I LIVE HERE! So why not just pop over, and pick them up? It’s a store, right? When they say they will have something for you, they have it.
Well, FINALLY, Little Jimmy of the Plugged Nose Clan approached. Asked if I wanted anything. I stopped with the Crackberry, and said yes, I ordered some shoes, and would you please see if they are here.
Can I get your name?
So I told him my name. I even spelled my last name. It’s an unusual name for Wausau, so I expected some confusion.
Little Jimmy ambles away. Only to return a few moments later wanting to know how to spell my last name.
I spell my name again for Little Jimmy of the Customers are in the Way Clan.
Little Jimmy hobbles back to the secret retail area of magical arrivals.
I stand there for a few moments, and realize that Little Jimmy of the Let’s Kill Time and See if this Guy Will Leave Clan might not be coming back, so I am forced to look at wind breakers and jackets I am not going to buy. A full 4 minutes later (I wear a watch) Little Jimmy of the Oh Crap He is Still Here Clan approaches again and asks…I am sorry, what was the name again?
Now Little Jimmy of the About to Get Yelled At by A Customer Clan has a look of real terror on his plugged face. So I hand him my card, which has my name WRITTEN ON IT IN ENGLISH. Big Block letters. My name. PROPERLY SPELLED and everything.
So off Little Jimmy of the I Can’t Believe This Old Guy’s Balls Clan rumbles.
Within 30 seconds Little Jimmy returns and says, “Sorry we dont have them.”
And then I am off like an old lady to a bingo night and I say, “Can you check the computer for me?”
Little Jimmy of the Eye Rolling as Aggression Clan rolls said eyes and says sure. We approach the counter, a manager of the Eye Rolling Clan stands there and asks, “Can I help you?” to which I respond, “I ordered some shoes to be PICKED a few days ago, and I want to see if they are still in stock.”
To which I get a dual eye rolling. Little Jimmy hops on the old terminal, and tracks down that there are several hundred of this popular item in stock. So, I inquire, just for fun more than anything at this point, “Then why weren’t they picked when I ordered them?”
To which Little Jimmy of the Exacting Use of the English Language Clan responds with a shrug of his clearly overworked shoulders and a “I don’t know.”
I thought, oh so briefly, about asking Little Jimmy of the Missing the Actual Role of Retail Clan to explain to me about what an order is, and what the function of a store is, and the general concept of supply and demand, and purchasing and selling and the like. But instead I thanked Little Jimmy of the Undeserving of My Thanks Clan for his time, and walked out.
So I have to ask, why do we even bother shopping in stores? In general, yeah, Eastbay sucks, but other stores suck as well. Why do we even bother? So few in these stores have any idea what they are talking about, and so few care. It is like a front business for the Russian Mafia or something 8 out of 10 times. I just want to walk into a store, and have someone who knows something about whatever they are selling talk to me about it.
I confess, I worked in retail once, for one day, and I was that guy. So I quit, and ran away. I knew I had nothing to offer anyone that came in that big box store, so I left. The training was terrible, and I had no idea what I was going to sell, and they handed me a shirt, and cut me loose. And it was the day after Thanksgiving. I literally left in the middle of my time there, and never returned. So I do not work retail, and as a result know little about it.
But, we talk about this internet world, and we lament it. We bemoan the Web 2.0 world and the loss of connection. Well, I wonder why I should venture into a store and buy anything ever again? What is the point if we are faced with Little Jimmy of the Killing Time between Bioshock Campaigns Clan? Little Jimmy, who does not know a training shoe from a race day shoe?
I am sorry, but I have really just sort of had it. Have you had the same thing, or maybe a good experience?
by Jim Rosenberg on December 23rd, 2007
So I’ve picked up a competitor in the April Fool’s Day election for the Wausau City Council. It’s no big surprise because this will be my sixth race and in that time, I’ve faced four different competitors. As the longest-serving elected official in the City of Wausau, I’ve made some very good friends and I also have what has thus far been a smaller, but dedicated group of detractors. That’s normal.
I don’t take competition lightly, since I won the seat from a 12-year incumbent myself in 1998. It’s a one-time luxury to run as a challenger, if you happen to end up winning. After that, I think it’s more about what you’ve done than what you say. I don’t make any bones about what I’ve supported over the years, including an aggressive approach to developing tax base and jobs, as well as efforts to make Wausau a more attractive and livable community for people of all ages, from many different aspects. It’s about making a difference — not holding an office.
Someone asked me about what is involved in getting on the ballot and it’s not all that complicated, but people who are interested in the spring election need to get moving quickly.
For Wausau City Council, go to the City Clerk office to pick up a packet. There are several forms to fill out which are not complicated. You can then circulate your nomination papers in your district. You only need 20-40 signatures to qualify; still very doable by the deadline to turn them in (which is the first week of January). If you live in another city, village or township, check with the respective office or you may want to inquire through the County Clerk office, which is responsible for many different local elections. For school district seats, check with the respective school district office for information about what terms may be ending.
For the Marathon County Board of Supervisors, you will need to turn in 50-100 signatures to appear on the spring ballot. Those information packets are available at the County Clerk’s office.
For a look at the forms, go to:
http://elections.state.wi.us/subcategory.asp?linksubcatid=412&locid=47
While it might not seem like a great time of year to be running around knocking on people’s doors to get signatures, you can often catch folks home between the holidays and you might even find that it’s kind of fun.
As for my own race, I don’t know a whole lot about my opponent. He had an oversized sign in his front lawn for my last competitor in 2006 and he railed on me against the re-opening of the Washington and Third Street to traffic areas several years ago. People still thank me for that project on a weekly basis and that’s something I just flat-out think he was wrong about, so the voters won’t be able to say they don’t have a stark choice in my district. They surely will.
by Marcus Nelson on December 18th, 2007
In the spirit of the Season – we are continuing to share our favorite online tools and all around geek-ness. As previously mentioned, yes – we are all fans of the little ol’ fruit company from Cupertino. You don’t need to be a hater about it, just appreciate Apple for its innovations if nothing else. In addition to Dino’s list (exception being the Blackberry mention), here’s my quick list: (more…)
by Tom Neal on December 17th, 2007
(Editors Note: When we started the individual blogs, we mentioned pulling some forward to the front page…at random, or because we really dug them. So we are going to start with this post from Tom Neal about WNRB. I have heard of this WNRB thing, and I bet it is fun.)
Thought I’d take this opportunity to promote something I do and where I do it. On Thursday nights, from 7 to 9, I host a radio show (Roundtrip with Neal at the Wheel) on commercial-free WNRB-LP, 93.3 FM. It’s a kick, groove, self-indulgence that allows me to delve into my preoccupation with music. (more…)
by Dino Corvino on December 16th, 2007
The founders of Citizen Wausau (Marcus, Andy and me) are all what you could safely call “technology guys”. We’re Apple guys, brand evangelists, proud watchers of keynotes, and enthralled with gadgetry in general. And because Citizen Wausau was born partly because of this obsession, we thought the three of us would put together a list of gadgetry that we couldn’t live without. We know that the world is turning to this sort of thing, so off and running we go. We would love to hear from you about the things that you guys use on a daily basis, and what they do for you. I’ll kick this off, and I’m sure the other two are already hard at work on their lists.
Everything for me revolves around the calendar. I have an insane desire to manage my time, and make sure I can get to the things and places I want to get to. I somehow think this control leads to freedom, but I do not honestly know. So lets take a look. (more…)
by Andy Laub on December 14th, 2007
As of this writing CW has been moved to its new server. Unfortunately, there are some bugs to be ironed out, so bear with us. The main issue right now is that uploaded photos and attachments are currently unavailable; this affects the Viewfinder and also the few PDF’s that Dino has posted. We’ll be working to resolve this over the weekend. Update: All should be well. Please post here with any issues.
Additionally, there was some confusion today with the move. If you made a comment or created a site any time today and you don’t see it here, that is a result of the two databases being slightly out of sync. Please, by all means, go ahead and try again; it should work properly this time. (more…)
by Dino Corvino on December 13th, 2007
Budget Amendment
Click on the above amendment to see what was submitted to the City Council of Wausau as a response apparently to the brouhaha about pay raises for senior staff. It was submitted by Rosenberg, who is also a member of the Citizen Wausau community (though we hardly hear from him these days), but it ended up getting tabled by some others on the Council. To be honest, by that point I had lost interest in the whole thing and was beginning to make smart remarks to the people around me, à la Mystery Science Theatre. (more…)
by Dino Corvino on December 9th, 2007
It is clear that this is a hot button issue right now, and as such, we wanted to provide even more material for the discussion. Yesterday I received this press release, and I wanted to pass it along. I find it fascinating that our own Russ Feingold has taken such a leadership position on something like this, and applaud his effort.
They say that we need leaders in this time in America, and maybe Russ is just that guy. At least we know he acts on conscience. He is a home grown boy, who seems to speak his mind. (more…)
by Jim Carlson on December 8th, 2007
(Editors Notes: We received several suggestions that the comment created by Jim Carlson was significant enough in its thought provoking nature, that it should be its own post. So we agreed with the masses, and here it is. A little context that Jim has asked us to provide, this post was in direct response to the one created by Tom Neal. So, you should bear that in mind when reading. We also want to encourage this sort of serious thoughtful discussion. Thank you Jim.)
Debate on the subject of abortion is always interesting. Unless you are a woman dealing with an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy, the debate usually boils down to two camps that will never see eye to eye. We can go back and forth over the morality of abortion, but in general, I take issue with the politicians who fuel public policy on ‘moral issues’.
This is nothing new, in fact, one could argue that this mentality finds roots in the ‘colonial contradiction’: The same people who felt prosecuted for their religious beliefs decided that witch’s should drown. Ironic. Passion on mortality runs deep, and there are those who feel it is the government’s job to protect us from what we can do, see, hear and write.
In New York, Rudy Giuliani and New York’s Catholic hierarchy attempted to shut down an exhibit that they felt was offensive to the Virgin Mary (many would argue the exhibit was in poor taste). That’s right, a mayor and a church worked together. Where is the separation of Church and State? When is it a mayor’s job to censor ‘art’? I sincerely hope he tries to censor my next CD, sales would skyrocket.
We talk about our freedoms, but how free are we? Spend an afternoon in London or Paris:
* The Janet Jackson ‘nipple-gate’ fiasco was laughed at. Nudity, even during prime time is prevalent on European television. Their attitude: If you don’t want to see it, turn the channel. Our mantra: Protect us from nudity on TV. This also pertains to violence. Don’t like it? Turn it off. It is your choice, not the government’s.
* Go to a newspaper stand. You can buy a paper, hard core porn, a health magazine along with a coloring book and crayons for the children. All in one spot. Our policy, keep porn to certain shops in governed areas of the city. Oh and ‘Real Men Don’t Use Porn’ (but it is ok for politicians to solicit prostitutes).
* When Michael Richards uttered the “N” word, the American press reacted with horror. In London, they were asking why Michael was being singled out, after all the black (they don’t say African American or African European over there) audience members called him a ‘honky’ and a ‘cracker’. Isn’t a racial slur a racial slur?
* In Paris, protests are common. And they run over into large thoroughfares. With out a permit. The police interaction is to ‘protect the protesters’. Silly, in America we tear gas the protesters to restore ‘order’.
Where am I going with this? I admit I was off on a rant. My point is that we are a nation of legislation based on personal moral beliefs and protecting people from what one group feels is offensive at the expense of everyone else’s liberty. I can see both sides of the abortion issue. Is it moral, or is it a crime?
As a man, I have no choice. If my partner wants an abortion, I can not stop it. If she would like to have the child, I will legally be responsible for support (whether I wanted the child or not).
Currently it is legal for a female to terminate a pregnancy, yet a man is facing murder charges for giving his partner the abortion pill without her consent. Trust me, I am not in any defending this guy, just presenting facts. Sure, statistically someone will use abortion as birth control, but the average person will not.
The same argument lead to prohibition; to stop abuse, we have to stop consumption. The same argument is applied to marijuana. (Funny how alcohol makes some people violent, but most people on marijuana either build stuff or get the munchies…).
The passion involved with abortion creates great debate. At the end of the day, is it the government’s job to decide, or is it a moral decision of the woman who is dealing with an unplanned/unwanted pregnancy?
It is safe to say, we will never reach consensus.”
