I worked a job where I was on call 24/7. The way it worked is that I would be paid $1 a minute and there was a minimum guarantee of 10 minutes. The client was billed out at $2 a minute with a minimum of 10 minutes. Essentially $60 an hour (taxed of course) went to my pocket. The issue was that it would be Sunday, 7am, and I'd get a call that would take 2 minutes. When I handed the slip to my boss he's like "at least you made a few dollars." My response was "I don't give a shit about $10."
After a point you get tired of it and since there was nobody around to relieve me of on-call duty, I was stuck. I remember one time when we had one other "tech" and I was on-call that week. I had a funeral to attend that weekend and I told the guy that I would be unable to be on the phone for a few hours that day, would he mind taking the phone and when I'm done, I'd take it back. He said "I'm going to a concert" and that was it. No backup from the bosses or anything. I was stuck. So my solution? Leave the phone off. Pretty much that's what I ended up doing a lot of the time when I was fed-up with my job and couldn't get relief.
Also, nobody required any of our clients to have high-speed access so we had to do a lot of remote work via dial-up using VNC or some other solution. Painful doesn't even begin to describe it.
My job now I have a blackberry and we rotate who's on-call between 5 of us. It's not usually bad at all and we all help each other out.
the battery life on my blackberry has gone to complete shit. If I exit Google Maps but leave Latitude enabled, my battery barely lasts a day. Understood it's constantly using the GPS to update, but maybe they need to change the frequency of the polling.
55 miles each way, through the worst NYC has to offer. Anyone familiar with Long Island, NYC, and Jersey will appreciate this...
Northern State Parkway -> LIE -> Cross Island Parkway -> Whitestone Expressway -> Grand Central Parkway -> Triboro Bridge -> Harlem River Drive -> GWB -> Route 4 -> local roads -> office.
On the way home, pretty much the same depending on whether or not there was a Yankee game. 110 miles a day, about 1.5 hours (as little as 45 minutes if it was a holiday week or weekend, and as much as 4 hours when there was nasty rains). I left that job and just started a new one in NYC. Now my daily commute by car is 3.5 miles to the trainstation, 3.5 miles home. The rest is by LIRR or on foot from the subway to the office.
I did that long commute for 11 months and around month 8 it finally got to me. I pretty much buckled under the pressure. 3 weeks before I left (I hadn't gotten the offer for this job yet), I was stuck in such unexplainable traffic and the road rage set in that I got physically ill and ended up throwing up all day saturday and having a fever, etc. I was on the brink of an ulcer and if I wasn't in good health, I probably would've given myself a stroke or heart attack.
Thankfully that is all over and done with and now I can sleep on the train or read a book or listen to the radio on my headphones. Nothing beats it. Not to mention the savings on gas and tolls I won't have to spend anymore.
If there's any slashdotters out there that are familiar with Opie and Anthony and are fans, I would hope you agree with me on this. OnA went from WNEW 102.7 in New York to national syndication in 2001, and after almost a year, they were "taken off the air" because of a stunt where a couple had sex in St. Pats Cathedral and got arrested (too many details to write it all but do some googling and you'll find out about it). FCC and a lot of conservative groups had a fit about it so they weren't fired, they were paid to sit out their contract.
Their contract expired this past week and they debuted over on XM.
Now here's the kicker, they are superior to Stern. You might say "But they're just Stern ripoffs!" I will give Stern credit that he really created the shock-jock style but his comedy is stale and I haven't laughed at his show in over 10 years. OnA are hilarious day in and out. Stern was a morning show, OnA were afternoon drive. He felt so threatened by them that he had a gag order put out so they couldn't even say his name. After all the crap he dished out to people over the years and he couldn't take it if someone said his name? Gimme a freakin' break!
Now Stern is moving to Sirius. I look at it in 2 ways. The first is that he's moving to Sirius because OnA are now on XM and he is threatened they are in a market he's not. Secondly, this is the best thing that will ever happen. Why? Because I won't turn on the radio and accidentally hear his show.
I really wish Stern would retire already. Stern's career was hot in 1989, it's no longer hot in 2004. He's hanging on by threads. OnA are on XM because the FCC won't let them on terrestrial radio, Stern is going on because he's trying one last stunt.
Well no that wasn't the reason. They just didn't want me seeing a movie like this. Regardless of whether or not I saw The Wizard, I would be asking for Super Mario Bros. 3 anyway because I knew it was coming out (I read it in Nintendo Power magazine or something). Anyway I was a die hard SMB fan so it didn't matter to me it was in a movie, I wanted the game anyway. Oh, and the Powerglove sucked. My best friend at the time had it and it was worthless, never worked right!
And what's Guyver? Do you mean MacGuyver? I wasn't too into that show back in the day, but if anyone can make a bomb out of a paperclip, twig, and a piece of bubble-gum then they're ok in my book!
And for the record, I'm definitely not that nitpicky about screenwriting at all. Was just trying to add a little levity to the post;)
worst excuse for any movie ever made
on
Remember The Wizard?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
I'm 23 now, so when The Wizard came out I was still under the rules of the parents, and the rule handed down from my mother was, "You are NOT seeing this movie. I will not take you, you will NOT see it with your friends, understood?"
As a child influenced by the pop-culture and of course being a big Nintendo fan, I was devestated, plus I never really understood why I wasn't allowed to see the movie. All I knew is that my parents told me that I'd one day understand why they wouldn't let me see it.
I finally saw it when the movie made it to TV a few years later, but still being a young teenager I just enjoyed those video game references. After seeing it a few more times here and there on cable did I realize why I wasn't allowed to see it. This movie has got to be the single worst movie ever made. Now obviously this is a movie straight out of the mass-marketing, greed, product-placement superextraveganza we call the 1980's, so we can't blame Nintendo for trying with that aspect, but we can blame them for this...
Here's what had to have been going through the minds of the screenwriters:
Screenwriter 1: "Hey, let's create a 100 minute long commercial and here's the kicker, this kid, 'The Wizard', will play a new unreleased videogame."
Screenwriter 2: "Great! But let's make the kid on the brink of mental destruction because he watched his twin sister drown a few years before. Then we'll have his brother kidnap him, take him cross-country to california where they meet up with a girl, and they'll force the kid to play video games for money!"
Screenwriter 1: "Outstanding! While we're at it, let's have the girl, who hasn't even come close to puberty shout 'He touched my breasts!' It'll be great because she has no breasts and she's a little girl! The moviegoers will love it!"
Screenwriter 2: "Aren't we just the worst screenwriters in history?"
Screenwriter 1: "And how!"
I really don't blame my parents at all now. I really can't fathom the minds behind this movie (with the exception of the product placement part). I mean, they made this kid be in a state of mental destruction because he watched his sister die, he's kidnapped and FORCED to play video games, and nobody seems to care that he just wants to go see some dinosaur park in California which has some special meaning because of some past trip there with his now dead sister.
Not to flame anybody here but how can anyone really call this movie good? Walking commercial? Yes it is, but good movie? Hell no.
Let me revise my previous comments.
I think this should be a targeted lawsuit by one person vs BestBuy/MSN, not a class-action.
I never really saw tremeandous pressure to push this on people, and at any bestbuy I've ever been to across the states, the clerks never pushed an MSN disk inside the bag and charged me for it. To me this is an honest business relationship. MSN gives Best Buy a kickback for pushing their service, and there is a same deal with Netflix and Best Buy. Now, this guy was deceived obviously, but it's in the agreement that the customer MUST cancel the account or they will be billed.
I used to work for Best Buy. We were given the whole deal about getting out as many MSN disks as we could. The thing about that is, MSN kicks back a good amount of money for each free account that someone signs up for. Whether or not it's the 30 free days, 2 months, or 9months (or whatever). Heres what happens. Say a customer buys a computer at Best Buy, they automatically get 6 free months (if they pay with a credit card or major debit). If the customer doesn't sign on and activate that account, they never get billed. However, even if they sign on just once, even for just 30 seconds, they have to call and cancel the account.
Now, if a customer signs up for the 30 day free trial, yes they have to give a creditcard number, but they have to call and cancel the account even if they don't sign on. I had that problem but I called MSN and got this resolved and my money refunded immediately.
Now, the problem is that some bestbuy clerks don't bother to tell the customers this. I've had customers outright refuse the msn and i said that's fine and just don't go through with ringing it up. I always mentioned it to all the customers I talked to, and if they just didn't want it, I never scanned it. This class action probably won't work, but I hope this guy gets his money back.
Chances are that there won't be an upgrade path. I honestly don't know why they would reintroduce the PS2 so late in the game. I mean, is anyone gonna really jump the gun and buy one of these just for those features? I'd rather just have a separate dvd player that plays my dvd's and vcds, and use the console gaming system for gaming.
But what do I know? I still play my 8-bit Nintendo:)
Not that I'm complaining but I don't receive email at my primary account anymore. I use it for a lot of things and at one point I was receiving spam constantly. I used to request a removal from the system and then I'd still get spam from certain spammers. What did I do? After some stealthy research and a ton of time spent, I was able to find legitimate emails to people and threatened legal action of harassment or something. I know that's a b.s. thing but the last thing anybody wants to see is the threat of a lawyer regardless of what they would be charged with. I tell ya, I don't know about you but we should all do what the guy in that commercial does; fly over to the company headquarters and smash the phone of the telemarketer.
Just a final thought:
SPAM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!
FREE INTERNET PORN GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
I used to work at Best Buy and we had the PC2PC cable that this article is talking about. It never worked. The cable is definitely a sham and a waste of money. It takes more time to set it up and pray that it works right than it does to just burn a couple of cd's of data. Oh and this cable doesn't copy programs over, just data files. So in my opinion, save yourself the money and buy something else.
I think you're going a little over the edge here. That's not going to happen with id cards and such. I like the idea of a fine if someone has a phone that goes off during a public performance. It's all a matter of manners, and people just don't seem to have them anymore.
When I said that, I should've said that I might make a sarcastic remark by whispering quietly in the ear of the person next to me, so nobody else hears it. And I'll only make those kind of comments during appropriate scenes if any. For example, during Signs, when the family was in the basement and there was silence, I leaned over and said "kill kill kill kill" and made some horror movie/Friday the 13th slasher noises. Many people do this and it's ok, just do it quietly enough as to not disturb anybody else.
Just because a doctor is on call doesn't rape him/her of a social life. Everyone has the right to go out and enjoy a movie. And yes, for some movies there is a need to see on the big screen. I don't know about you, but i'm not satisfied seeing LoTR or Episode 2 on a tv. Being on call is fine, just keep the phone on vibrate. That gives plenty of warning and doesn't distrub anybody else.
I think they have every right to regulate this. We're not stifling anybody's freedoms here. We're simply saying that for the good of the public, take your inconsiderate butt outside and talk there. Now if you're a doctor or emt or whatnot, yes it's important to have a phone, but keep it on vibrate. Know what I do when I go to the movies? I LEAVE MY PHONE IN THE CAR! There is no reason for me to have a phone inside the theater and no reason for anyone else to have one.
I also think that nobody under 18 should have a cell phone. Can anyone explain why a 13 year old kid needs a cell phone? And not because "everybody else has one." When i was a teenager, I used a payphone to call home!
I don't know how much this irritates other people, but cell phones in theaters are the worst. I was out seeing Signs a few weeks ago and during some of the most suspensful scenes someone's cell phone would go off. Damnit I hate that. It just ruins the essence of the film.
Now this doesn't stop people from talking. Sitting behind me were 4 people, 3 girls and 1 guy. They wouldn't shut the hell up! I mean, an insightful or sarcastic comment every now and then is ok, but carrying on a conversation (and one that didn't have anything to do with the movie) is just down-right rude. I sure don't pay $9 to hear someone else talk about the itch that appeared after sleeping with a guy, or the test they cheated on in school. The solution: They should have a duct tape dispenser at the ticket-taker booth and every single person should have their mouths taped shut. There we go, a solution to all the problems.
yes i agree. i have intimate knowledge of the eye field (optometry, opthomology, and optical dispensing). and when i go in to a store, reputation precedes and the sale is usually pretty easy. Sometimes I have to really push the benefits of my software but most of the time, it's a no-brainer and the sales work is minimal. I just happen to be lucky. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't have had any success. So yeah as was posted prior, a good amount of knowledge in the industry and an in defintiely helps.
hehe well more power to you! What's really great about this is that everyone in my area (metro NY) already really knows me, if not by name than personally due to my connections (family in the business helps). Let me tell you though, I spend countless amounts of hours working on this software, but it will pay off. I have a potential 2 more clients I'm meeting with in the next two weeks and then another guy with 3 stores, and maybe another individual doctor. Mucho dinero!
I have a small business I run by myself. I develop patient management/tracking system for Eye Doctors. I've been doign this for a few years and let me tell you the secret. Find a market where there isn't much competition. Eye doctors have some software available but it really is poor and overpriced (and most of the people who've used it complain about user-friendliness and such). I offer a simple alternative at a lower price and my client base has expanded by 4 in the last month (I know that seems like very little, but it's not when they bring in the dollars that I'm charging and the time I have to spend on each client). Having a connection inside the industry also helps, hehe. In regards to another post here, there are so many doctors/lawyers using out-dated DOS based software. Someone who could write an equivalent in windows or *nix (if the doctor is willing to switch systems completely) would probably be set. Also, in the doctor/lawyer industry, word of mouth is HUGE so I'm getting calls on my software from people I haven't contacted yet. Just my two bits.
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I worked a job where I was on call 24/7. The way it worked is that I would be paid $1 a minute and there was a minimum guarantee of 10 minutes. The client was billed out at $2 a minute with a minimum of 10 minutes. Essentially $60 an hour (taxed of course) went to my pocket. The issue was that it would be Sunday, 7am, and I'd get a call that would take 2 minutes. When I handed the slip to my boss he's like "at least you made a few dollars." My response was "I don't give a shit about $10."
After a point you get tired of it and since there was nobody around to relieve me of on-call duty, I was stuck. I remember one time when we had one other "tech" and I was on-call that week. I had a funeral to attend that weekend and I told the guy that I would be unable to be on the phone for a few hours that day, would he mind taking the phone and when I'm done, I'd take it back. He said "I'm going to a concert" and that was it. No backup from the bosses or anything. I was stuck. So my solution? Leave the phone off. Pretty much that's what I ended up doing a lot of the time when I was fed-up with my job and couldn't get relief.
Also, nobody required any of our clients to have high-speed access so we had to do a lot of remote work via dial-up using VNC or some other solution. Painful doesn't even begin to describe it.
My job now I have a blackberry and we rotate who's on-call between 5 of us. It's not usually bad at all and we all help each other out.
the battery life on my blackberry has gone to complete shit. If I exit Google Maps but leave Latitude enabled, my battery barely lasts a day. Understood it's constantly using the GPS to update, but maybe they need to change the frequency of the polling.
parent is a myminicity.com url or whatever that gay game is.
55 miles each way, through the worst NYC has to offer. Anyone familiar with Long Island, NYC, and Jersey will appreciate this...
Northern State Parkway -> LIE -> Cross Island Parkway -> Whitestone Expressway -> Grand Central Parkway -> Triboro Bridge -> Harlem River Drive -> GWB -> Route 4 -> local roads -> office.
On the way home, pretty much the same depending on whether or not there was a Yankee game. 110 miles a day, about 1.5 hours (as little as 45 minutes if it was a holiday week or weekend, and as much as 4 hours when there was nasty rains). I left that job and just started a new one in NYC. Now my daily commute by car is 3.5 miles to the trainstation, 3.5 miles home. The rest is by LIRR or on foot from the subway to the office.
I did that long commute for 11 months and around month 8 it finally got to me. I pretty much buckled under the pressure. 3 weeks before I left (I hadn't gotten the offer for this job yet), I was stuck in such unexplainable traffic and the road rage set in that I got physically ill and ended up throwing up all day saturday and having a fever, etc. I was on the brink of an ulcer and if I wasn't in good health, I probably would've given myself a stroke or heart attack.
Thankfully that is all over and done with and now I can sleep on the train or read a book or listen to the radio on my headphones. Nothing beats it. Not to mention the savings on gas and tolls I won't have to spend anymore.
If there's any slashdotters out there that are familiar with Opie and Anthony and are fans, I would hope you agree with me on this. OnA went from WNEW 102.7 in New York to national syndication in 2001, and after almost a year, they were "taken off the air" because of a stunt where a couple had sex in St. Pats Cathedral and got arrested (too many details to write it all but do some googling and you'll find out about it). FCC and a lot of conservative groups had a fit about it so they weren't fired, they were paid to sit out their contract.
Their contract expired this past week and they debuted over on XM.
Now here's the kicker, they are superior to Stern. You might say "But they're just Stern ripoffs!" I will give Stern credit that he really created the shock-jock style but his comedy is stale and I haven't laughed at his show in over 10 years. OnA are hilarious day in and out. Stern was a morning show, OnA were afternoon drive. He felt so threatened by them that he had a gag order put out so they couldn't even say his name. After all the crap he dished out to people over the years and he couldn't take it if someone said his name? Gimme a freakin' break!
Now Stern is moving to Sirius. I look at it in 2 ways. The first is that he's moving to Sirius because OnA are now on XM and he is threatened they are in a market he's not. Secondly, this is the best thing that will ever happen. Why? Because I won't turn on the radio and accidentally hear his show.
I really wish Stern would retire already. Stern's career was hot in 1989, it's no longer hot in 2004. He's hanging on by threads. OnA are on XM because the FCC won't let them on terrestrial radio, Stern is going on because he's trying one last stunt.
Well no that wasn't the reason. They just didn't want me seeing a movie like this. Regardless of whether or not I saw The Wizard, I would be asking for Super Mario Bros. 3 anyway because I knew it was coming out (I read it in Nintendo Power magazine or something). Anyway I was a die hard SMB fan so it didn't matter to me it was in a movie, I wanted the game anyway. Oh, and the Powerglove sucked. My best friend at the time had it and it was worthless, never worked right!
;)
And what's Guyver? Do you mean MacGuyver? I wasn't too into that show back in the day, but if anyone can make a bomb out of a paperclip, twig, and a piece of bubble-gum then they're ok in my book!
And for the record, I'm definitely not that nitpicky about screenwriting at all. Was just trying to add a little levity to the post
I'm 23 now, so when The Wizard came out I was still under the rules of the parents, and the rule handed down from my mother was, "You are NOT seeing this movie. I will not take you, you will NOT see it with your friends, understood?" As a child influenced by the pop-culture and of course being a big Nintendo fan, I was devestated, plus I never really understood why I wasn't allowed to see the movie. All I knew is that my parents told me that I'd one day understand why they wouldn't let me see it.
I finally saw it when the movie made it to TV a few years later, but still being a young teenager I just enjoyed those video game references. After seeing it a few more times here and there on cable did I realize why I wasn't allowed to see it. This movie has got to be the single worst movie ever made. Now obviously this is a movie straight out of the mass-marketing, greed, product-placement superextraveganza we call the 1980's, so we can't blame Nintendo for trying with that aspect, but we can blame them for this...
Here's what had to have been going through the minds of the screenwriters:
Screenwriter 1: "Hey, let's create a 100 minute long commercial and here's the kicker, this kid, 'The Wizard', will play a new unreleased videogame."
Screenwriter 2: "Great! But let's make the kid on the brink of mental destruction because he watched his twin sister drown a few years before. Then we'll have his brother kidnap him, take him cross-country to california where they meet up with a girl, and they'll force the kid to play video games for money!"
Screenwriter 1: "Outstanding! While we're at it, let's have the girl, who hasn't even come close to puberty shout 'He touched my breasts!' It'll be great because she has no breasts and she's a little girl! The moviegoers will love it!"
Screenwriter 2: "Aren't we just the worst screenwriters in history?"
Screenwriter 1: "And how!"
I really don't blame my parents at all now. I really can't fathom the minds behind this movie (with the exception of the product placement part). I mean, they made this kid be in a state of mental destruction because he watched his sister die, he's kidnapped and FORCED to play video games, and nobody seems to care that he just wants to go see some dinosaur park in California which has some special meaning because of some past trip there with his now dead sister.
Not to flame anybody here but how can anyone really call this movie good? Walking commercial? Yes it is, but good movie? Hell no.
Let me revise my previous comments. I think this should be a targeted lawsuit by one person vs BestBuy/MSN, not a class-action. I never really saw tremeandous pressure to push this on people, and at any bestbuy I've ever been to across the states, the clerks never pushed an MSN disk inside the bag and charged me for it. To me this is an honest business relationship. MSN gives Best Buy a kickback for pushing their service, and there is a same deal with Netflix and Best Buy. Now, this guy was deceived obviously, but it's in the agreement that the customer MUST cancel the account or they will be billed.
I used to work for Best Buy. We were given the whole deal about getting out as many MSN disks as we could. The thing about that is, MSN kicks back a good amount of money for each free account that someone signs up for. Whether or not it's the 30 free days, 2 months, or 9months (or whatever). Heres what happens. Say a customer buys a computer at Best Buy, they automatically get 6 free months (if they pay with a credit card or major debit). If the customer doesn't sign on and activate that account, they never get billed. However, even if they sign on just once, even for just 30 seconds, they have to call and cancel the account.
Now, if a customer signs up for the 30 day free trial, yes they have to give a creditcard number, but they have to call and cancel the account even if they don't sign on. I had that problem but I called MSN and got this resolved and my money refunded immediately.
Now, the problem is that some bestbuy clerks don't bother to tell the customers this. I've had customers outright refuse the msn and i said that's fine and just don't go through with ringing it up. I always mentioned it to all the customers I talked to, and if they just didn't want it, I never scanned it. This class action probably won't work, but I hope this guy gets his money back.
Anyway that's my piece!
Chances are that there won't be an upgrade path. I honestly don't know why they would reintroduce the PS2 so late in the game. I mean, is anyone gonna really jump the gun and buy one of these just for those features? I'd rather just have a separate dvd player that plays my dvd's and vcds, and use the console gaming system for gaming. But what do I know? I still play my 8-bit Nintendo :)
Yes I believe it does. Damn I got moderated as a troll. Ah well, I'll have to be more careful in my posting next time.
Not that I'm complaining but I don't receive email at my primary account anymore. I use it for a lot of things and at one point I was receiving spam constantly. I used to request a removal from the system and then I'd still get spam from certain spammers. What did I do? After some stealthy research and a ton of time spent, I was able to find legitimate emails to people and threatened legal action of harassment or something. I know that's a b.s. thing but the last thing anybody wants to see is the threat of a lawyer regardless of what they would be charged with. I tell ya, I don't know about you but we should all do what the guy in that commercial does; fly over to the company headquarters and smash the phone of the telemarketer. Just a final thought: SPAM BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD! FREE INTERNET PORN GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!
It wouldn't be any good, but I'm talking about the pc2pc cable, not the move 2 mac cable.
I used to work at Best Buy and we had the PC2PC cable that this article is talking about. It never worked. The cable is definitely a sham and a waste of money. It takes more time to set it up and pray that it works right than it does to just burn a couple of cd's of data. Oh and this cable doesn't copy programs over, just data files. So in my opinion, save yourself the money and buy something else.
I think you're going a little over the edge here. That's not going to happen with id cards and such. I like the idea of a fine if someone has a phone that goes off during a public performance. It's all a matter of manners, and people just don't seem to have them anymore.
When I said that, I should've said that I might make a sarcastic remark by whispering quietly in the ear of the person next to me, so nobody else hears it. And I'll only make those kind of comments during appropriate scenes if any. For example, during Signs, when the family was in the basement and there was silence, I leaned over and said "kill kill kill kill" and made some horror movie/Friday the 13th slasher noises. Many people do this and it's ok, just do it quietly enough as to not disturb anybody else.
Just because a doctor is on call doesn't rape him/her of a social life. Everyone has the right to go out and enjoy a movie. And yes, for some movies there is a need to see on the big screen. I don't know about you, but i'm not satisfied seeing LoTR or Episode 2 on a tv. Being on call is fine, just keep the phone on vibrate. That gives plenty of warning and doesn't distrub anybody else.
I think they have every right to regulate this. We're not stifling anybody's freedoms here. We're simply saying that for the good of the public, take your inconsiderate butt outside and talk there. Now if you're a doctor or emt or whatnot, yes it's important to have a phone, but keep it on vibrate. Know what I do when I go to the movies? I LEAVE MY PHONE IN THE CAR! There is no reason for me to have a phone inside the theater and no reason for anyone else to have one.
I also think that nobody under 18 should have a cell phone. Can anyone explain why a 13 year old kid needs a cell phone? And not because "everybody else has one." When i was a teenager, I used a payphone to call home!
I don't know how much this irritates other people, but cell phones in theaters are the worst. I was out seeing Signs a few weeks ago and during some of the most suspensful scenes someone's cell phone would go off. Damnit I hate that. It just ruins the essence of the film.
Now this doesn't stop people from talking. Sitting behind me were 4 people, 3 girls and 1 guy. They wouldn't shut the hell up! I mean, an insightful or sarcastic comment every now and then is ok, but carrying on a conversation (and one that didn't have anything to do with the movie) is just down-right rude. I sure don't pay $9 to hear someone else talk about the itch that appeared after sleeping with a guy, or the test they cheated on in school. The solution: They should have a duct tape dispenser at the ticket-taker booth and every single person should have their mouths taped shut. There we go, a solution to all the problems.
yes i agree. i have intimate knowledge of the eye field (optometry, opthomology, and optical dispensing). and when i go in to a store, reputation precedes and the sale is usually pretty easy. Sometimes I have to really push the benefits of my software but most of the time, it's a no-brainer and the sales work is minimal. I just happen to be lucky. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't have had any success. So yeah as was posted prior, a good amount of knowledge in the industry and an in defintiely helps.
hehe well more power to you! What's really great about this is that everyone in my area (metro NY) already really knows me, if not by name than personally due to my connections (family in the business helps). Let me tell you though, I spend countless amounts of hours working on this software, but it will pay off. I have a potential 2 more clients I'm meeting with in the next two weeks and then another guy with 3 stores, and maybe another individual doctor. Mucho dinero!
I have a small business I run by myself. I develop patient management/tracking system for Eye Doctors. I've been doign this for a few years and let me tell you the secret. Find a market where there isn't much competition. Eye doctors have some software available but it really is poor and overpriced (and most of the people who've used it complain about user-friendliness and such). I offer a simple alternative at a lower price and my client base has expanded by 4 in the last month (I know that seems like very little, but it's not when they bring in the dollars that I'm charging and the time I have to spend on each client). Having a connection inside the industry also helps, hehe. In regards to another post here, there are so many doctors/lawyers using out-dated DOS based software. Someone who could write an equivalent in windows or *nix (if the doctor is willing to switch systems completely) would probably be set. Also, in the doctor/lawyer industry, word of mouth is HUGE so I'm getting calls on my software from people I haven't contacted yet. Just my two bits.