Every now and then I flip the page on my Life’s Little Instructions calendar and I come across a piece of advice that is worth blogging about. I couldn’t help but mention today’s entry.

I have learned this all too well over the years.

Sometimes in life it takes a while to learn a lesson. It might take a quarter century or so to really understand how the world works. I read today’s Life’s Little Instructions piece of wisdom and a sarcastic smile spread across my face.

Call me gullible but I used to think a free check up, a complimentary inspection, or a courtesy evaluation was a gesture of goodwill from a business or professional. I thought a company would actually be objective during the “free” inspection and let you know honestly whether work/action needed to be done/taken. Even as someone who is in marketing and should see right through something like this, it wasn’t until a couple years ago that I really understood that these types of offers are really gimmicks.

To people who are slow like me, please heed this advice: If you take your car in for a free inspection, if you have your blog evaluated for SEO optimization (I get offers daily), or if you have an appliance looked at in your house, the person doing the “consultation” will find “problems.” It never fails.

For almost ten years I would automatically act on the advice and go along with whatever was recommended. However, after realizing I was getting burned, I learned that the concept of a second opinion wasn’t just reserved for medical professionals.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not bitter toward people in industries who offer free inspections/evaluations. It is a great way to get new customers into the shop. Also, for the most part, it is completely honest. Although most of the time the evaluator will find problems, you never have to authorize the business to act on them. Furthermore, I don’t want to generalize too much. I know there are some professionals out there who won’t find a problem with someone’s car during a free inspection.

But for the most part, I am hesitant about participating in these types of promotions. Although you can reason that there is nothing to lose by going through with the free inspection, the problems presented always weigh on my mind, even if I know they aren’t legitimate. Also, it isn’t always comfortable to decline the services of the business immediately after they gave you the free service (you can distinctly feel the pressure to go through with the recommendations). But, you live and you learn. Don’t Blink.

For the past month or so, a certain consumer trend has found its way in newspapers and on news programs. For the first time ever, bottled water sales will surpass that of soda sales. At the center of this changing drinking behavior is safety. With significant news coverage on problems such as the lead contamination in Flint, people are opting for bottled water over tap water.

You can say that Sidney and I are part of the bottled water trend. We buy our fair share of water from the store (as well as soda), however, our reasoning isn’t because of contamination. To be fair to Myrtle Beach, the water that comes out of our tap tastes just fine. Rather, we consistently purchase bottled water simply for the convenience.

Sidney and I drink a lot of bottled water.

I remember 20 years ago when bottled water was just starting to catch on. There were a few major distributors selling it and for the most part it was not in bulk. You could buy a Dasani from a vending machine or purchase an Arrowhead bottle of water off the supermarket shelf for $1. Since then, in the past couple of decades, the bottled water industry has exploded. Bottled water is now sold in bulk and the the price is dirt cheap.

I can walk inside any store ranging from CVS to Walmart to Target and buy a 24-pack of bottled water for $2.99. For those doing the math, that is less than 13 cents per bottle. The downside of course is carrying the bulky 24-pack to your car and then inside your house but I think the value is worth it.

At $2.99 for a 24-pack, bottled water is cheaper than ever.

But wait one second, Brent. What value are you talking about? Water from the tap is free. Why do you mean when you say “value”? Yes, I understand your point. However, as I said above, it is all about convenience. To me, convenience = value.

When we bring our pack of bottled water home, we rip it open and make neat rows out of the bottles in our refrigerator. From that moment on, we pluck the bottles out of the refrigerator like it is the last water source in the world.

When we go to bed at night, we each take a bottled water to the bedroom. When I get home from work, I grab a bottled water. When I am sitting around watching television, I help myself to a bottled water. By the end of the week, our bathroom trash can is filled to the brim with empty plastic bottles.

There is no guilt drinking the water at this rate simply because it doesn’t hurt us in the checkbook. Likewise, when you don’t have bottled water, you have to grab a cup from the cupboard, fix some ice, and pour water from the faucet. When you have bottled water in the fridge, you don’t have to go through that process. I know I sound like the laziest person in the world but it is true. The abundance and cheapness of bottled water in stores everywhere has caused us to buy more of it and actually drink more of it as well.

One thing we are guilty of in the Reser Household is not paying as much attention to the environment as we should. Yes, I have heard that when it comes to our planet it is not the best practice to consume bottled water. To those who don’t agree with our bottled water habits, I apologize.

However, rest assured that at least today I won’t purchase another pack of bottled water. Why? Well, I bought one on Thursday and we still have a couple more days to go until we need a refill. Whether you consider bottled water a scam, a risk to the environment, or a lifesaver, this much is very true: it is a major industry that is doing very well. Don’t Blink.

Good evening to you all! Who is ready for the latest Thursday Rundown? Here we go…

The Countdown – Did you know there is a Twitter account called Christmas Countdown (@ChristmasCount)? I discovered it yesterday and the account gives you a lot more than you bargained for. Besides the countdown to December 25 you also receive information on how many days remain until other holidays such as Halloween and Thanksgiving. And, as an added bonus, you are also treated to emoticons galore. For those who love the holidays, I wanted to put you in a good mood right from the start of my Thursday Rundown.

This Twitter account and the way this Tweet is formatted just made my day.

Great News for Geofilter Fans – Sorry for the back-to-back social media items but I wanted to alert all the Snapchat users out there about something. When I talked to people about the On-Demand Geofilters that became available for everyone to produce several months ago, I heard one consistent complaint: What about us non-designers? You see, to create a geofilter you needed to design it in Photoshop or other similar program. Not anymore! When you go to the geofilter website, you can now choose an already-made template and just fill in the blanks! I discovered this when I visited the site last week to upload a geofilter I made for our monthly birthday celebration gathering. Although I plan to continue to just make my own, I might use a template in the future if I needed to activate a geofilter at the last minute and didn’t have time to create one.

When I went to upload this geofilter, I saw that Snapchat now offers geofilter templates that anyone can use. By the way, I am with my nephew Harrison in this photo.

The Final Three of “Big Brother” – Here I go again with possibly alienating a lot of my readers but I wanted to drop a quick note on Big Brother 18. Last night the final three was established. For someone like Sidney and I who have watched the entire summer, it is kind of a big deal. With James, Nicole, and Paul the last people standing, I 100% want Paul to win. For most of the season I didn’t even like him but I just think he has played the best game in the house and deserves the prize. Also, to be honest, and don’t tell anyone I told you this, but Paul has also rubbed off on me just a little bit.

Comic Relief – As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I now make it a point to read the comics each day. Despite reading 20 or so on a daily basis, I never really find any worth sharing. However, this one I saw today kind of speaks to my dry sense of humor. Yes, after reading thousands of comic strips over the last several months, this selection from the strip Shoe is the one I decide to share.

My dry sense of humor goes well with this strip.

Seahawks Follow Up – Because I wrote about it this past weekend, I just wanted to quickly congratulate the Seattle Seahawks for standing with unity on Sunday. I thought it was a beautiful and powerful team act. Thank you to all the players and coaches for participating.

This was so cool! Special shout out to Brock Coyle (#52 in the photo), he was a marketing intern for us when I was at Montana. – Photo courtesy of USA Today

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So there you have it, another Thursday Rundown in the books. I wish you the happiest of weekends and I thank you for your readership. Remember, only 101 days until Christmas. Don’t Blink.

Two totally different conditions, one general characterization.

In South Carolina, we get hit with heavy rain storms quite frequently. When I say heavy rain storms, I mean torrential downpours. When the sky opens up and the water starts to fall, locals say one thing: People forget how to drive when it rains.

In Washington and Montana, we had no shortage of snow. The white stuff came frequently. However, whether it was just an October dusting, a few inches, or a whiteout blizzard, people in the area would all say one thing: People forget how to drive when it snows.

Both conditions aren’t particularly fun to drive in. When it comes to some of the summer rain storms here in Myrtle Beach, good luck with your windshield wipers keeping up. This is no joke. The rain falls so quickly and so intensely that it is as if your windshield is obstructed by a permanent screen of giant blinding water spots. You can put your wipers on the highest setting but it won’t matter. The loss of seeing the road is made worse by the unsettling sound of violent rain pounding down on your vehicle.

Driving in the rain isn’t particularly fun. I have had a lot of experience doing it since moving down South.

I had not experienced such intense rain storms on such a frequent basis until I moved down south.

When it comes to the snow, it almost feels like Russian roulette. No matter how cautiously you drive when the roads are covered, you never know when you are going to go over an icy patch and your car is going to spin out of control. Additionally, snow presents other challenges such as your vehicle becoming stuck, visibility dramatically decreasing, and harmful objects on the road getting covered and then ran over.

I would drive in rain over snow any day.

So although we say “people forget to drive” when it rains or snows, it is obviously not true. People still understand that you use the steering wheel to turn, the little pedal to go, and the big pedal to stop. I think we can all admit that driving in heavy rain or a snow storm is more difficult than driving in clear conditions. The fact that some drivers might be more impacted by deteriorating driving conditions than others causes the more skillful drivers to say “people forget to drive.”

I am here to admit two things:
1. I am not a perfect driver in either of the two conditions.
2. However, I would always choose to drive in rain over snow.

Driving in a downpour is tough. No one likes driving blind. However, when it comes to the snow, there is a more terrifying condition in play. What I am talking about is the fear that you can’t stop. Many times when you are driving on a snowy and icy road, you have to keep going. Even lightly tapping the brake could result in a spin out. At least with the rain you always have the opportunity to just pull over. I would rather fight water than an unpredictable sheet of ice.

I don’t miss driving in the snow at all.

Perhaps the phrase should be changed from “people forget how to drive” to “people forget how to drive safe.” Remember to always stay alert on those roads! Don’t Blink.

Our cable contract is ending this week. In order to take advantage of the best promotional deals for new customers, Sidney and I are switching cable companies. Last night, I called our soon-to-be new provider to cash in on a pretty good package.

About five months ago, I wrote about how impressed I am with customer service agents for major companies. Although the process of actually getting to speak to one might be a little frustrating, once the connection is made I have found the dialogue to be very pleasant and helpful. Since five months ago I have had to talk to other customer service agents here and there about various situations. Each time the agent was completely professional.

Soooooo….how did last night’s experience go?

Great! In keeping with the trend, the woman I spoke with last night offered excellent customer service. She answered all of my questions with thoroughness and courtesy. She seemed to talk honestly. She even showed great patience when I put her on speaker phone so my wife and I could interrogate her at the same time (Sidney needs her DVR!). When the phone call ended we were very satisfied.

It appears to me that the trend of putting value on great customer service at company call centers is not going anywhere. Because of this, I am still very intrigued about the professionals wearing the headsets and providing help to people all over the country.

In my post from April, I asked my readers who work as customer service agents to come forward and tell me about their jobs. The response was underwhelming. With my ploy for exclusive information a failure, I now must try a different method.

For any television executive out there, I have an idea: How about you do a casting call for the best call center representatives out there? With an eccentric and diverse group of customer service agents, you could take a prospective television show a couple different ways.

You could do a talent/situational reality show. I am thinking it would be a mix of something like “The Voice” meets the old MTV show “Boiling Points.” Contestants would go up on stage and have to take a call from an over the top angry or incompetent caller. The customer service agent would then do his/her best to walk the caller through his problem. It wouldn’t be easy. The pressure would be on. A live audience would watch the whole thing.

My second idea is much more general. Simply take a bunch of customer service agents and put them on “Big Brother” or a Real World type formatted show. It would be so interesting to see how these people would interact with one another and whether any shouting matches would break out. In my head I have a vision of company CEOs tinkering with the vocal cords of all customer service agents so whenever they have the urge to raise their voice on a call, their throats are engulfed in pain.

As you can tell, I am still very much intrigued by professionals who are able to hold it together all day talking to people who most likely aren’t very happy at that given moment. I want to know more. Who out there has TV connections? Don’t Blink.

Yesterday my heart was warmed and it came courtesy of my native state’s NFL team. After much speculation by the media on what the Seattle Seahawks would do during today’s National Anthem, Doug Baldwin posted a video on social media explaining what would occur.

Later today when my favorite football team hosts the Miami Dolphins, the players will link arms and stand for the Star Spangled Banner. They will line up in a way that athletes of different races will be linking arms. Baldwin says that the powerful display will signify unity for each other and this country.

This is a screenshot of Doug Baldwin’s video he sent out via his social media accounts.

Thank you, Seahawks.

I fully support everyone’s right to protest. I recognize all of the individual actions taken in the last few weeks. For that matter, I recognize all of the acts taken in the history of this great country. Because of the bravery of the men and women who defend our country both at home and abroad, we are given this right. It is a beautiful thing.

If it wasn’t for people much better than me, I would not have the right to write Don’t Blink. Along the same lines, others would not be able to engage in other displays of self expression. Sometimes we are mindful of this and sometimes we are not.

Today is 9/11. On this day 15 years ago, 2,996 people were killed because of hatred. Of that number, 71 New York Police Department officers perished trying to save those impacted by the evil act. Thousands of military personnel would later die because they were overseas making sure something like this would never happen again.

On September 11, 2001, this country was attacked. A large amount of our people died just because they happened to live in America. If not for the NYPD and NYFD, thousands more would have perished. If not for our military, perhaps millions more would have perished in future attacks.

Like I said, I am so grateful we live in a country where we are able to practice self expression. However, like I also said, I think sometimes we need to also take into account the context of how we enjoy these freedoms.

This blog post is not a slam on Mr. Kaepernick. He has stood up for what he has believed in and I respect that. He has started a movement.

However, today is 9/11. I am grateful that the Seattle Seahawks have recognized this and will stand with unity during the National Anthem. Today is not about protest. Rather, today is about remembering the civilians, police officers, fire fighters, and military personnel who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Don’t Blink.

Just imagine, If my blog remained down past Tuesday, I would have missed a Thursday Rundown. Thank goodness that is not the case. Here we go with five topics…

Dinner Mistake – I did the shopping this past weekend and Sidney told me to pick something up for her to cook on Tuesday dinner. For some reason sausages sounded good to me. I figured Sidney would be fine with sausages too. Well, she would have…just not chicken and apple sausages. To me, the combination sounded great! I bought high quality buns and looked forward to eating the unique combination. However, “unique” doesn’t always translate to appetizing. Sidney humored me and let me eat my chicken and apple sausages but my wife and her parents bought regular sausages and ate those instead.

This was my chicken and apple sausage I ate on Tuesday night. It was pretty good!

Nightmare On Laurel Oak Ct. – I usually don’t have nightmares but I did on Tuesday night (I promise it wasn’t because of the chicken and apple sausages). After dinner I sat down for some television. I watched the newly released and well done “9/11 Inside the Pentagon” documentary. I then watched a program on Chris Kyle that contained lots of killing and lots of scenes from Iraq. I then watched another documentary that looked at conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Adolf Hitler. When I went to sleep I didn’t even think I had set myself up for bad dreams…but then I woke up in the middle of the night. Not to get into the details of the nightmare that I had throughout the night but I kept finding myself attacked outside of a shopping center.

9/11 Vigil – Speaking of September 11, I just attended the vigil our university puts on each year to mark the anniversary. Although I work it, I also get a lot out of it. September 11 is a big deal to me and 15 years later I still try to learn all the information I can about the day while also trying my best to think about all those innocent people who lost their lives. This was my third CCU vigil that I have attended and it was terrific as always. The music was superb and the featured speaker delivered the best address I have heard yet. Dr. Michael Roberts is our Dean of Science here at Coastal and it just so happened that in 2001 he was working at Pace University (New York City). He literally saw the Twin Towers fall. The insight he shared from the day was very interesting and his overall message was moving.

Cheesy Lasagna Dip – The latest food item that has caught my eye off of my favorite Twitter account is cheesy lasagna dip. I mean who ever thought you could combine lasagna with chips?! Talk about creativity! I am already working on Sidney to make it for me. Hopefully bringing home the chicken and apple sausages didn’t ruin my chances.

This was the photo of cheesy lasagna dip that was tweeted out. I want! (photo courtesy of @ItsFoodPorn).

From the Archives – I have a few blog posts on September 8 over the years. In 2015 I wrote about the incredible Labor Day weekend I had with my brother in Myrtle Beach. It was his first trip to visit me here and we had so much fun. In 2014 I wrote about how a co-worker kicked a smoking habit via an interesting method. Then, in 2013, I explained a pretty cool Instagram promotion I did with Griz football when I was working at the University of Montana. Any of those of interest to you?

One year ago today I wrote about the great time I had with Glen when he visited me in Myrtle Beach.

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That will wrap it up for tonight’s Thursday Rundown. Welcome back to the NFL! Good luck to the favorite teams of all my readers. Don’t Blink.