Final Score Allan 60 - Target 0

Today I was browsing the interweb for some great deals to make some money. I ran into this website hotwallet.com (check it out, it's wonderflicious) I read on one of the forums that Target was having a sale on Pantene pro-v shampoo and conditioner!

WOW!!!! I was so excited! lol....

So normally the shampoo is 3.37, but it was on sale for $3 even. Not too big of a deal right? well, then Target is giving a $5 gift card for every three bottles purchased. Okok...that's a little better....so I paid $9 for three bottles and got $5 back? nonono...that wouldn't be worthy of this post...

Pantene had a separate $2 off of any product on their website. Only one per purchase. So what did I do?

You guessed it!!! I printed off SIXTY coupons and went to Target. I grabbed a cart, threw 60 shampoos in it and went to check out...Here's how the conversation went with the cashier (i was trying to lay low)

Me: Hello!
Cash: Hi!
(we were both having good days)
Cash: wow....you really like shampoo!?
Me: yeah...well it's such a good deal and the sale ends today so I'm stocking up.
Cash: Gotcha...
She then scans all the bottles and sees that every 3 bottles gets a $5 gift card.
Cash: Here's your $100 gift card...
Me: Thanks =) oh....ya know what? I think I brought a few coupons.
I handed her the stack of 60 coupons. She looked at them for a minute before scanning them and I thought I was a gonner... But no! She tried one out and it worked! $2 off a $3 bottle!
Cash: Your total is $61.59....that's a LOT of money for shampoo!
Me: I know! You guys really screwed me on this one!
Yes....that last part actually happened as stated.

I walked out of target with a $100 gift card that we'll use for groceries and I only paid 61.59 =) And ummm....now we have 60 bottles of shampoo and conditioner. haha....

The good news is that some of them actually sell decently on ebay. win/win!

It wasn't the biggest money maker or anything but it certainly was fun getting $200 of free shampoo and making a $40 profit =)

I'm too sexy for my cat......Part 1: Invisible Cats

So woot.com has provided me with not only fantastic deals on electronic goods but also many-o-laugh from all the forum trolls posting funny pictures. I've learned that the most common pictures being posted at this time are pictures of cats.

There are certain categories in these pictures and I found each of them to be spectacular. This time around I bring you invisible cats. I laughed out loud at most of these when I first saw 'em!)





















I hope you enjoyed part one on my special blog on cat pics. Now that I feel like Angela from the office I'll get back to my more manly real life.

Chase This Light real time review

Wow…..I’m quite excited about my first real time music review. My wife surprised me this past weekend by coming home with Jimmy Eat World’s new album “Chase This Light”. I was extremely excited and immediately decided that it would be my first real time music review. Being that I was in Arizona I had to wait 4 whole days to finally sit down and listen to the album….As of this moment I still haven’t heard even one second of the album. I’ll do my best to describe what I’m listening to and how I enjoy it now…..all in real time.

Big Casino

:00 – Upbeat first song like previous albums

:40 – “there’s a lot of smart ideas in books I’ve never read, when the girls come talk to me I wish to hell I had” hehe funny

1:00 – The hook….not too catchy

1:30 – When I was younger I was someone you would’ve liked….lots of people feel this way about J.E.W. now….i’m hoping this album refuels my JEW gas tank.

2:30 – noticed they’re saying “Lord” quite a bit….is this a prayer? Hrmmm I prayer song about a lottery.

Song: 7/10

Let it Happen

:00 – starts with an easily recognizeable JEW riff.

:37 – No clue why but Jim’s voice seems higher.

1:15 – whoa….sounded like Coheed and Cambria with these vocals which isn’t a good thing.

1:34- The hook of this song is much catchier than Big Casino. “Say whatever you want cause I can laugh it off”. That’s one of my life mottos =)

2:40 – repetitive songs are my absolute pet peeve and this song seems to repeat too frequently for my own tastes

Song: 6/10

Always Be

:00 “snappy” beginning

:15 – storyteller song and I’m intrigued.

:40 – “you can’t keep safe what wants to break” amen brother.

:50 – best hook yet on the album….this really is where JEW excels.

2:10 – This feels like the feel good song on the album…Chase This Light’s “The Middle” if you will.

Song – 7.5/10

Carry You

:00 – Acoustic guitar starts up another fast ballad…..give me something HARD Jimmy!

:40 – Ewww….I’m not digging the song, the hook better be good man.

:55 – Dang girl….the hook let me down on this one. Too much time between lines in the hook and it leaves me hanging wanting more yet wanting it to end at the same time.

2:00 – “I could never be the one that you want…Don’t ask” Lots of love songs so far. Looks like they got over their drug trip and now they’re hooked up on chicks.

3:04 – This song is trying way too hard. I’m a sucker and I know it’ll grow on me but the first time through I’m not thrilled about it.

3:45 – They threw the pansy card on this one and it really can be redeemed by something that rocks….come on JEW give it to me!

Song – 5/10

Electable (Give it up)

:00 Could be the rock song I wanted

:10 – anger in his voice….that’s promising

:29 – dang it…the song went in the other direction. The instruments are so close to being the hard song I’m dying for but the lyrics and vocals are falling way short.

1:15 – “Give it up, ohohohohohoh” over and over. This songs killing me.

1:35 – “I want to scream” DUDE!!!! Scream! That’s what I want!

2:15 – seriously JEW….take your own advice. Give it up with this one.

Song – 4/10

Gotta be Somebody’s Blues

:00 – acoustic guitar with some sympathy coming behind it. Nice sound for sure

:20 - lets see what the lyrics and vocals do

:27 – drums come in and I’m really liking this so far

:50 – “let the water come, she’s the only one I love” Another love tune…

1:20 – the lyrics haven’t killed it….but where’d the symphony go?

1:40 – hehe there it is. Light violins helps this songs along and I can feel the breakdown coming.

2:20- “who will sing their blues for them” sympathy song.

2:55 – “When you’re feeling moves you can have your conscious all you want” Chose an odd line to emphasize by dropping the instruments behind the vocals.

4:11 – another instrumental piece which has carried this song all the way through.

Song – 5.5/10

Feeling Lucky

:20 – catchiest song yet

:40 – bordering too poppy

:50 – “suck that lucky feeling out of me” I love the word suck in any song…Mika is my favorite example.

1:35 – vocals remind me of Authority Song. Not as catchy but not bad.

2:10 – wow..short song but that’s all the song had left in it I guess.

Song – 7/10

Here it Goes

:00 whoa…never heard a JEW song start like this. Sounds like John Mayer

:34 – here comes the hook….

:35 – underwhelming hook but followed by fun guitar and snapping. Good save here

1:20 – Hey he said suck again! Good job JEW…way to suck!

1:45 – I’m getting really anxious for “Pain” “Bleed American” or “Your New Aesthetic”.

2:07 – Oh no…”HEY HEY HEY HEY” really puts the Village People in m y head “Macho Man”

2:39 – The one constant is Jim Adkin’s vocals. He sounds as great as always though I could go for some more whining.

Song – 6/10

Chase This Light

:00 – Title Song….this should be good

:28 – drum line “because tonight the world turned to me” Setting me up for a good hook or breakdown.

1:10 – confetti rainfall? Wedding?

1:25 – “because right now I don’t dare to breathe.” These guys are smitten by someone.

2:12 – “I’ve paid for every single word I’ve ever said.” Good lesson to learn.

2:30 – Patented JEW background piano doing well here…note to blog reader…not actually patented.

3:15 – didn’t blow me away but it was enjoyable

Song – 7.5/10

Firefight

:00 – Chase this light melts into this song

1:00 – I really can’t think of much to say about this song…Heard it all before. The drum line is classic JEW. Not a bad thing, it’s nice to listen to. This song doesn’t have a whole lot to offer though.

2:25 – I haven’t seen a central theme with this album besides love. It really just feels like a band sticking to their good pop rock writing skills with little passion behind it. Mind you, I’m a HUGE Jimmy fan.

Song – 5/10

Dizzy

:00 Here’s their last shot at greatness

:06 – I can already tell it’s not the hard song I’ve wanted

:10 – “You close your eyes and kiss her hand and blow it”. Seriously? You’re over 30….I want more drug songs at least!

:50 – “if you always knew the truth the world would spin around you” Wait a minute….That’s rewriting “no sensitivity”. At least I’m thinking about a GOOD song right now.

2:00 – “From a payphone remember those from another life.” Meh.

3:10 – Hey this song took a good turn with the distorted guitar and anxious vocals.

3:35 – went back to mediocrity

4:00 – the final 40 seconds of the album. Oh where oh where is my “sweetness”.

Song – 6/10

Thinking about the whole album is sad. Of course I’ll be listening to it over and over to give each song it’s fair shot of sticking in my head and causing me to sing out loud on campus. But to be honest I don’t see many of the songs sticking. Each of their last three albums (dating back over 10 years) were MUCH better with the first listen. Bleed American slapped me in the face and screamed “Why the freak are you listening to boy bands as a freshman in college?” I microwaved my boyband CD’s and threw them out the 7^th story window of my dorm. Every song on that album had a special meaning to me.

Futures was less dynamic for me but still had a long replay value. The title song was an obvious call to oust GW Bush but sadly for JEW and Iraqis America chose the lesser evil and GW survived the onslaught of emo propaganda.

Chase the light lacked one major thing…a rock anthem. It seems that each album has less and less rock than its predecessor and Chase This Light completely removed rock from JEW music repertoire. That’s an unfortunate thing for me because my favorite JEW songs have been their rock anthems.

Overall Score: 6.5/10 (It saddens me to give them a score that low)

November 5th Halo 3's fight will finish...

All of you FPS lovers are in for a treat come November 5th. The wonderful people at Infinity Ward have finally put together their follow up to Call of Duty 2. The title of such a game? The creatively named "Call of Duty 4". That's right.....After Treyarch nearly ruined the series with COD3, IW brings us COD4:Modern Warfare.

Now for those of you who don't play games too much here's a brief description of the FPS genre. First of all, FPS stands for First Person Shooter. In a game of this type you are in the perspective of the fighter...the only part of yourself you see is the gun you hold. Wolfenstein 3d and Doom were the games to get this genre going....and Call of Duty 4 is taking it to the next level.

I was able to get into the multiplayer demo which ended on September 30th. It was the greatest month of my Xbox live life...better than the peak of COD2 online and Gears of War online (which I was so hooked on I forced myself to sell it). Right out of the gate the game impresses. The first thing I noticed were the visuals. Although just a beta the areas looked fantastic. Great detail in the grass, the vehicles, player models, the sky and surrounding areas. It looked very polished. The controls are simplistic and easy to learn. Similar to COD2, they feel more natural than Ghost Recon or Halo.

Then there's the gameplay. The pace of the game is FAST. Don't be fooled that it's a run and gun title. Strategy needs to be used. It finds the prefect balance between Ghost Recon and Halo. You're doing yourself and your team an injustice if you just run around in the open looking for people to kill (like in halo) but you also will be wasting your time if you spend it waiting around and planning intricate attacks (like in Ghost Recon). So IW has found the perfect balance providing for a fast paced experience that calls out for team strategy and quick moving.

"But Allan....everything you've talked about seems like variations of other games...what does COD4 have to offer as far as NEW gameplay?"
Glad you asked!!!

In game rewards...
During play you are rewarded based on the kill streaks you achieve. Kill 3 people in a row without dying and you are rewarded a 30 second UAV radar, exposing the position of all enemy players on your map to your entire team. 5 kills without dying give you the ability to call in an airstrike....3 fast flying jets zoom over the location of your choice and drop heavy impacting rockets, destroying anyone in the vicinity. 7 kills in a row and you can call in a helicopter that searches the map for enemy players and blasts them to pieces. During matches the prospect of receiving these rewards causes you to hold back on the run and gun technique and be more careful as you run around the map. The 7 kill reward is difficult to get. I probably got a 7 kill streak once every 4 or 5 matches.

Perks...
Perks are a new addition to multiplayer in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which act as special abilities to customize your character to your play style. These perks are broken up into three categories and are limited to only having three active at a time (one per category). There are a vast number of perks available, creating a unique MP experience every match with the large amount of difference combinations available.
Confirmed perks:
* Last Stand: Fall to the ground and pull out your pistol for one last chance to kill the enemy before dying.
* Stopping Power: Increased Bullet Damage.
* Juggernaut: Increased Health.
* Martydom: Drop a grenade when you die. (Anti-Tbag Technology)
* Endurance: Longer Sprint.
* Deep Impact: Increased Bullet Penetration.
* Double Tap: Increased Rate of Fire.

So the above is copied and pasted from charlieoscardelta.com. I cheated but whatev. The perks make your character wonderfully customizable.

I could go on for pages and pages but I won't....the point is that COD4 is the best shooter I've ever played PERIOD!

Jackson's chocolatey close up

www.allanthoughts.gov.www\allanthoughts

Look ma' I gots' a blog! It's time for me to expose the world to my brain....who knows what I'll write. Maybe Christopher Walken knows.....he's just the dude that would. There really won't be anything to gather from this first blog. No opinions shared, no reviews of any media....no useless polls that only one person will ever vote on (myself). I'll get to that excited stuff after my initiation into blogdom. So where's the virtual keg I have to do a keg stand on eh? Figures, my blog is CHEEP....stupid blog can't even spell cheap right. Time for me to check woot.com before bed...

Here's a preview of entries I'll make:

1. Why Call of Duty 4 will topple Halo 3
2. Get outta my head Zac Efron! (Hairspray review)
3. List of every video game I've ever defeated


Can't wait to read it can you?!? Then remind me that I made this blog and you'll be able to!