Congrats on Win #800, Coach Selvig

Posted on November 18, 2013 by brent

Tonight I feel truly blessed to have worked a game that ended in an amazing accomplishment, by far the greatest basketball feat I have ever witnessed in person. Our women’s basketball coach here at the University of Montana, Robin Selvig, picked up his 800th victory as the Lady Griz defeated a tough Portland team, 68-61.

Just a few statistics for you real fast: There are only seven other Division I active coaches who have 800 wins. Coaches with names such as Krzyzewski, Boeheim, VanDerveer, and Auriemma. Coach Selvig has had 33 winning seasons. He has had 28 seasons where he won 20 games or more. He has won conference coach of the year 20 different times . And my favorite, he has guided the Lady Griz to 25 NCAA tournaments! That is worth repeating, he has taken his team to the Big Dance TWENTY-FIVE times.

Coach Selvig delivers his speech after his 800th win tonight

But the number that really strikes me about Robin is 35. That is the number of seasons he has spent as head coach of the Lady Griz. The intercollegiate athletics coaching business is not about loyalty, well at least not to 99% of the people in the industry not named Robin Selvig. Coach could have packed up and succeeded at other head coaching positions but decided to stay at Montana. He could have traveled off to East Lansing when Jud Heathcote asked him to be an assistant coach at Michigan State. He could have pursued a multitude of other basketball related positions with higher salaries in warmer climates. But he chose to stay where he was happy. He chose to stay where he knew he was making a difference. He chose to stay at a place where a rabid fan base needed him.

Coach Selvig spent a happy minute with his team in the huddle after winning his 800th game.

Just a couple personal things about Robin Selvig that I would like to mention. Besides that he is a star employee just based on the fact that he has produced 800 wins for Grizzly Athletics, he is an invaluable employee because of how he conducts himself in the athletic department and how he treats others. Never too big for anyone, Robin always takes the time to look me in the eye and cheerfully greets me with a “Hi Brent” whenever we cross paths in the hall. He never thought twice about helping us out when we filmed a Monte video where we had him stand in an elevator (he played the part perfectly). Don’t put it past him to dress up in a Santa Claus outfit either because he will do that instantly. During press conferences he takes questions from everyone and always responds with an articulate, and many times hilarious, answer (please let me take this moment to say that very few people on this planet come close to matching the sense of humor that Robin has). His heart is enormous and he has helped countless people by way of his program, and I am not just talking players.

Besides everything I just mentioned, I have personally witnessed Robin Selvig stand up for those around him and those he has worked with in big time, high stakes situations. It was incredible to see and will forever make me recognize Robin as an amazing person before I recognize him as an amazing coach.

Congrats Coach Selvig on your 800th win.

Robin Selvig is a legend. There is no other way to say it. He is a giant in the state of Montana, a highly regarded coach nationally, and a stand up human being. I will take it to my grave that I roamed the same halls as Coach Selvig for no less than four years and that I got to stand two feet away from him as he delivered his 800th victory speech. As you could probably guess, he gave all the credit to his players. Ladies and gentlemen, Robin Selvig. Don’t Blink.

Griz-Cat Week 2013

Posted on November 17, 2013 by brent

Griz-Cat week has arrived and there is no better time to be a Montanan! (even if you are an import like me). This Saturday the Grizzlies and Bobcats will meet in Bozeman for the 113th football meeting between the two schools.

As I said last year, I realize that this game probably doesn’t hold the weight and tradition that some of the other rivalry games across the nation do but to this state and to me, this is where the buck ends. Griz-Cat is so much more than a football game to the people of the Treasure State. For many, it is a measuring stick for each person associated with the rivalry to see where they personally match up compared to their rival.

Although I always keep an eye on what MSU is doing, during this week I especially like to see how the areas that I directly oversee compare to those of our rival. For me that means I look long and hard at our website, social media, mascot, and a few other things in relation to Montana State (I like where we are at). Other people do the same thing with their respective areas. State supremacy is on the line this week and everything must be thrown into the equation.

Of course the most important thing in that equation is the football game on Saturday. A school could hold every single advantage on the other school but if it lost the game on the gridiron, all of those accomplishments mean nothing…at least for that day. As is well documented, the Grizzlies have crushed the Bobcats overall in the Brawl of the Wild. Currently Montana enjoys a 69-37-5 edge in the series. But please go ahead and throw every rivalry cliché in the book at me right now, I realize records mean absolutely nothing for games like these.

Montana will have its work out for them on Saturday. Montana State is playing at home and no doubt they will play with a lot of anger and urgency as they try to end a two game losing streak and make the playoffs. The Bobcats have several marquee players on their team who will undoubtedly bring their “A” game this weekend. The Grizzlies will have redemption on their mind. After dropping a close game last year to the Cats, Montana will go into Bozeman looking to add another “W” to the Griz-tilted overall Brawl of the Wild record while possibly securing a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

For myself I am beyond excited for the game on Saturday. Among working the 2009 Montana-App State game, going to the NCAA Tournament, and working that faithful tournament championship Saturday where we sent both our women’s and men’s basketball teams to the Big Dance, the 2011 Griz-Cat football game is one of my favorite memories during my tenure working for Grizzly Athletics. I hope to have a similar experience when I go to Bozeman this weekend.

To all the Grizzlies and Bobcats out there, have a great Griz-Cat week! This is a wonderful time for the state of Montana to celebrate two great universities. A few reminders: 1. Use the #GrizCat hash tag for all Tweets, Instagram photos, and Facebok posts. 2. Be respectful to the other side at all times. 3. Remember that kick off is at noon in Bobcat Stadium on Saturday. Enjoy the week and Go Griz! Don’t Blink.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Posted on November 14, 2013 by brent

I always enjoy getting comments on my blog posts, both positive and negative. It lets me know that people are reading and that they care enough to go the extra mile and type out a response. Quite often the comments I receive on Don’t Blink come way after the fact. It will be 2:30 a.m. on a Tuesday and I will get an e-mail telling me that someone commented on a post that I published a year and a half ago. Many times people will go on Google searches, find something that I wrote, and sound off. Although this is typical, sometimes comments will come under different circumstances.

Last night I wrote a blog post about the app Bitstrips. It was essentially a review of the service. I did point out a couple things that I didn’t care for but I didn’t go overboard or anything. About five minutes after I published the post I had an e-mail notifying me that I had a new comment on my blog. I opened up the e-mail thinking that the comment would be under a post I did several months ago or maybe from one of my friends who made a facetious comment on the post I had just written but I was wrong on both fronts. Instead I received a reply from a woman named Susan in Toronto regarding my Bitstrips post. In four logical and well-reasoned paragraphs she countered my criticisms by giving me a history on Bitstrips and then using that to illustrate how the service once used to allow for more creativity (one of my main complaints) but was altered when users wanted a more simplified product.

Here is a piece of the comment that Susan left under my Bitstrips blog post.

I was intrigued by her response for a couple reasons. First, how did someone in Canada come across my blog post so quickly? Secondly, what made her so passionate and defensive of Bitstrips? I decided to dig deeper into my second question. I sent an e-mail to the address she left asking if she worked for Bitstrips and if she was not employed by them, what was her stake in the app as obviously from her comment I could glean some type of existing relationship. Within ten minutes I had my answer.

In a lengthy and well-composed e-mail she explained that she is related to one of the founders. She once again reflected on the history of Bitstrips when it used to be just a website. She explained that they used to have some of the features that I desired in my review but that they had to do away with them because of complaints from users. Susan expressed frustration that people seem to want something new/changed and once they have it they inexplicitly want the old version back. She talked about how many of the comments people make are unfair. In a pretty telling line from her e-mail she wrote “The negativity directed their way (to Bitstrips) has made me crazy and defensive.”

This was some of the e-mail I got from Susan explaining that she was related to one of the Bitstrips’ founders.

At that point I knew exactly how I needed to respond. Please read my exact e-mail:

In our daily lives we can’t get “crazy and defensive” when others point out perceived flaws with organizations/initiatives/efforts/causes that we are associated with or directly invested in. While it is definitely important to listen to criticisms, it can be fatal to become so wrapped up in the negativity that you allow yourself to “go crazy”. I work in a position and for an employer where I am/we are judged continuously for every little thing under the sun. There is absolutely no way to please everyone. If I didn’t have this squared away in my head, I couldn’t do the job I do. I tried to pass on this mindset to Susan. The last thing she needs to worry about is the opinion of some guy who lives thousands of miles away from her who had only used Bitstrips for less than 24 hours. Don’t Blink.

My Take on Bitstrips

Posted on November 13, 2013 by brent

The past couple weeks I kept seeing simple cartoons featuring the comic book version of my friends popping up on my Facebook newsfeed. As these cartoons became more and more prevalent I started to get a little annoyed. In my hasty judgment I declared them as stupid. But I was reacting to these cartoons in the exact same way a person reacts to a joke that he does not get but everyone else is in on. My judgment came pretty much out of ignorance, I really had no idea how these cartoons were made and I had no idea why they were so popular. Last night after I saw a whole new slew of these comics I decided to educate myself on the movement instead of hating on it.

As I do many times when I want help, I reached out on Twitter. I asked that someone please fill me in on these comic scenes taking over Facebook. My answer came quickly as a few of my followers quickly informed me of the hottest new app: Bitstrips.

I immediately downloaded the app and started exploring. Still a little jaded at first, my initial thought playing around with Bitstrips was the exact same as what I had when I viewed everyone else’s comics…stupid. I think this was mostly because I hated the way the cartoon version of myself looked. I didn’t think it looked a thing like me. But I felt this way prior to when I discovered that there are several options you can utilize to make your cartoon avatar look a little more like your actual image. So after I messed around with my hair length, hair style, skin tone, and wardrobe I became a little more satisfied with my appearance. I then went ahead and created a “status cartoon” of me in the office. Even though pretty underwhelmed with the rather boring scene of me “seizing the day” I tried to upload it to Facebook. It didn’t work. Bitstrips was not off to a good start in Brent’s World.

This is what I came up with for the Bitstrip version of me.

However, I didn’t want to stick a fork in the app right away. Instead of deciding to produce content immediately I took a step back and decided to just investigate the various features of Bitstrip. My disdain for the service turned to joy when I looked at the avatars of all my friends who were already on the service. I scrolled down with a grin a mile wide as I looked at their depictions of themselves. Many of them were spot on! Some intentionally embellished certain physical traits that they hold and I couldn’t help but laugh. While I disliked what I produced for myself, I loved what others were able to come up with.

Then, instead of creating just a lame cartoon with myself in it I went to the option where I could create one with one of my Facebook friends in it. One thing you have to know: You can’t create your own comic. Bitstrips forces you to choose from one of their premade designs. With that said, they do offer some funny and cute options and you can change the captions. I had probably a too good of time creating some comics featuring my friends and I.

This is a Bitstrip I created of my cousin and I.

After getting a feel for the service and starting to have some fun, I went back to my avatar and continued to fine tune my appearance. Although I still am a little frustrated with how I look, I think I am starting to get to the perfected Bitstrip image of myself.

So while I do like some features of Bitstrips it has by no means won me over. I think it is lame that you can’t have more control over the content you create. Yes, the service does come up with some funny ideas but we all know we could do much better with placement control. We all have our own sense of humor and inside jokes that we could incorporate that would make for very funny comics. Also, you can only include one friend in each comic. Time to expand a little bit, we all know that the more the merrier.

This is a Bitstrip of my friend Amanda and I. This is one where I edited the caption.

The social engagement element of Bitstrips is lacking too. Through the actual application you can’t like or comment on comics. This is where the fun of social media is at! If we can’t make our own jokes within the actual comics, at least let us make them underneath it in a comment section. The potential for interaction with this service is high but right now Bitstrips has all options turned completely off.

Finally, it bugs me that I am having trouble posting to Facebook. Then again, I should maybe retract my words and take it as a blessing because I don’t think Bitstrips is a good thing for Facebook. I think the comics look out of place and tacky on a timeline or on a newsfeed. I think these comics belong housed inside their own application where people who appreciate this type of social expression can go and view several at a time while commenting and liking away. Of course this comes from a guy who believes that for the most part social media content should be as unique as possible and to accomplish this the wholesale sharing of pictures/statuses/video/etc across every single social network should be avoided with the exception for truly outstanding content.

I say go ahead and download Bitstrips. Give it a shot and see if it is something that you like. Even if you still hate it, at the very least it will educate you on one of the newest and hottest apps out there right now. What are you waiting for?! Go make the perfect cartoon version of yourself. Don’t Blink.

Church, Monte, Work, Gangsters, Typhoon

Posted on November 12, 2013 by brent

Good evening, everyone. Usually I end my posts by saying this but let me start one off with it for once: Thanks for reading my blog! I appreciate your loyal dedication to reading what I have to say and I always enjoy the feedback you give me via text messaging and in face-to-face passing. You guys are awesome.

Tonight I want to go through five topics to give you the typical rundown of what is going on in my mind and in my life.

Complete Transparency: I go to church at St. Francis Xavier, an absolutely gorgeous place of worship here in Missoula. Part of the reason why I choose to go here is because of the traditional, pre-Vatican II type feel I get when I walk inside. However, a very small part of what gives this church that feel will disappear this week. During the announcements during this past Sunday evening’s mass, Father notified us that windows would be installed inside the confessionals. Because of some terrible and vicious false allegations against members of the St. Francis clergy in the past year and with just the overall state of abuse allegations worldwide in the church, this move is being made to offer protection to both the parish staff and to parishioners. To me I find this very sad yet I understand why St. Francis is doing it.

Do-or-Die for Monte: The regular season of the 2013 Mascot Challenge is winding down and Monte is going to have to finish strong to make the playoffs. With two weeks left, he most likely will have to win out. Currently he is part of a group of three mascots who hold identical records of 6-4 and occupy the 6th-8th places of the standings. The competition takes eight mascots to the playoffs. However, there are three other mascots right under that 6-4 group who hold 5-5 records. If Monte loses, one of those mascots will surely take the playoff spot he now occupies. This week Monte is up against Wilbur T. Wildcat from Arizona. Next week he tangles with the Hokiebird from Virginia Tech. Monte should win this week. That would set up a battle for his playoff life against the 7-3 bird next week. Please vote for Monte at www.capitalonebowl.com .

Five Events in Five Days: This is the busiest time during the calendar year to work in intercollegiate athletics with the overlapping of fall and winter sports. Case in point this past week. Wednesday through Sunday I worked five straight Griz Athletics events. Our Griz basketball team played Wednesday evening, our women’s basketball team played on Thursday, our volleyball team played Friday and Saturday evenings, and our women’s basketball team concluded the madness with a matinee game on Sunday afternoon. Wednesday through Saturday were 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. days for me. By the time the Lady Griz disposed of MSU Northern at around 4 p.m. on Sunday I was ready for a break. Although fatigued I had a great time watching our teams go 4-1 during that span and I got to enjoy a nice day off on Monday.

Dang It Feels Good to be a Gangsta: I am on a bit of a gangster kick. Last Tuesday I watched “American Gangster” with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe for the first time from start to finish. Great movie! Last night I picked up where I left off on Tuesday and I stayed up until 2 a.m. watching the “Gangsters: America’s Most Evil” series on A&E. Starting at 11 p.m. I watched three of the hour long episodes chronicling some of the baddest and most violent people to ever roam the streets of this country. Learning about how these people rose to the top and then how they came crashing down is fascinating. Even though it is a show on cable TV, you get exposed to some very grisly images and some ear covering descriptions so if you do end up watching based off of my recommendation, please know that you have been warned.

Typhoon Haiyan: Can we all pause for one second and say a prayer that we live in a part of this world where we are free from unfathomable natural disasters? I have a tough time comprehending the damage that these outbursts of rage inflicted by Mother Nature do. Besides the shots of pure destruction we see on television, how can anyone see past that 10,000 number? Yeah, as in 10,000 people wiped out. How does a region deal with that? How can you go about your day after seeing the streets littered with bodies? I complain about the snow we get in Montana but something like what happened in the Philippines always makes me feel like a little baby.
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That’s my rundown for this week. Can you believe it will already be Wednesday tomorrow? Thanks again for reading and love life. Don’t Blink.

Veterans’ Day 2013

Posted on November 11, 2013 by brent

My dad has had a long career working for United States veterans and currently serves in the administration at the Spokane Veterans Affairs Hospital. Because of my dad’s career choice I was raised to always respect and appreciate the people who have put their lives on the line to defend the richest freedoms that any human being on this planet could ask for. Besides my dad’s influence, brave members of my extended family who honorably served our country also resonate within me and remind me of how indebted I am to the men and women who have fought for the founding principles of this country.

I grew up going to Veterans’ Day presentations, I grew up talking to my relatives about military service and the horrors of war. I thought I appreciated all what our past and present service people had done for us. I thought I got it. However, it took a trip to our nation’s capital to really realize the sacrifice and price that had been paid for our freedoms.

During my junior year of high school my dad took me on a very memorable trip to Washington D.C. to really get a grasp of my American roots. We did everything from the monuments to the museums to the cathedrals. We walked past the White House, walked on the steps of the Supreme Court, watched Congress in session, saw the newly constructed 9/11 museum, and walked through the National Mall. For a history buff like me, my eyes were wide open the entire time. It was an awesome experience, one that I will never forget.

However, the part of the trip that will forever be engrained inside my mind and in my heart came when we visited Arlington National Cemetery. We got off the metro and after just taking a few steps you could see it. Rows and rows of white tombstones poking out of the earth and expanding further than the eye could see. As we got onto the cemetery grounds and started looking around a thick aurora of reverence engulfed me. Although other tourists were all around me there was no noise whatsoever. We were on the hallowed grounds of where close to a half million people were buried, people who had the courage and inclination to give up their lives so someone like me could live a comfortable life with invaluable freedoms. It was an absolute overwhelming experience.

Myself at Arlington National Cemetery in 2003.

A blog post will never come close to scraping the surface of how much we owe to our veterans. I could have provided a more fitting offering by serving myself but I never had the guts to do so. That is why it is imperative for people like me to give extra respect to veterans and to this country. Many of us have received so much but have given so little. Happy Veterans Day. Don’t Blink.

Goodbye Jimmy Gibson

Posted on November 5, 2013 by brent

This evening I said goodbye to a co-worker and friend who is moving back to his home state on Thursday. In tribute to him because it was always the way he did things, I performed a “Montana Exit*” at the popular Missoula restaurant where his going away celebration was taking place without really even saying goodbye. I figured I would save that for this blog post.

Tonight I said goodbye to my good friend, Jimmy Gibson.

When I got hired at Grizzly Athletics a little over four years ago, Jimmy Gibson was coming up on his one year anniversary with the athletic department in his position as the Assistant Athletic Director for Business and Finance. He had arrived in Missoula from Texas where he grew up. After some years working in the Texas A&M system he eyed the Montana position, went through the application process, and landed the “money job” as I called it. As I am sure most people would admit, Jimmy wasted no time earning a reputation as someone who liked to have fun and joke around. When you are overseeing million dollar budgets some people might automatically perceive you as someone who is always serious; someone who has no time for small talk and someone who might be a little socially aloof. If you thought Jimmy might be a little like that before meeting him you were in for a surprise.

I got to know Jimmy pretty well over time. Although I don’t really hang out with people from work that much, I would hang with Jimmy from time to time in those first couple years. In 2012 I got to be his assistant on the travel advance team for football and we got to know each other pretty well. Spending long hours on planes, rental cars, and in hotels will do that to two people. We worked well together and a strong bond of trust and friendship developed.

It was during these football trips where he would tell me about the exciting developments of his new business, Dickey’s Barbecue. Jimmy had decided to follow his dream of opening up his own restaurant franchise. I got to stand back and watch the whole process happen from when the restaurant was just a wild idea in Jimmy’s head to the opening of its doors in March of 2013. During the football season of 2012 things really started to move fast for Dickey’s and I got to see firsthand the focus and stress it takes on a person to work two full-time jobs. I gained a lot of respect for Jimmy during those autumn months of last year.

As I mentioned in the above paragraph, in March Jimmy realized his dream and opened a restaurant in Missoula that this town had never seen before. He poured his heart and soul into that business. In life when you put every ounce of your energy into something, you usually have to cut back on something else. This summer, Jimmy left Grizzly Athletics on a full-time basis to focus completely on Dickey’s. Luckily he was still nice enough to coordinate football travel and help Brynn and I tremendously as our on- field point person for football games.

This is Jimmy and I at the soft opening for Dickey’s on March 20, 2013

In the end, Jimmy knew that in order to maximize his personal profitability, a move back to Texas was necessary. In an example of his talents and employability, Jimmy quickly landed a job back in the athletic department at Texas A&M overseeing a hospitality facility. Mr. Gibson will once again be making crucial athletic business decisions, this time in a department much bigger than the one he was previously at. The Aggies are in good hands.

I want to wish Jimmy the best of luck in his move back to College Station. It was great getting to know him, getting to work with him, and getting to go on a few adventures with him. We send Jimmy back to his home state with his accent fully intact and his Texas pride attitude still as strong as ever. Goodbye, friend. Don’t Blink.

* A “Montana Exit” is when you secretly leave a place without telling anyone who you are with that you are leaving.

The Imagined Impact of Daylight Savings

Posted on November 4, 2013 by brent

As with an infinite amount of other things, this is a topic that has become a bigger deal because of the explosion of social media, blogging sites, and 24/7 news channels. If not for the proliferation of these mediums, daylight savings probably would not get the attention it now gets. Rather we would just pull the clocks back in November and push them forward in March. These days though we give this man-appointed, energy saving tactic lots of coverage and in my opinion we do this just to give us yet another excuse.

Personally I am sick of all the people who complain about the negative impact daylight savings has on them. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, daylight savings somehow wreaks havoc on the human body, many people say. I constantly hear the following: It ruins my precious circadian rhythm. It makes me grumpy and sad. It messes with my ability to make important decisions on work. It takes me off my “A” game.

Give me a break.

People use daylight savings as an excuse to be unproductive.

I am not disputing that the fall back part of daylight savings causes crime to spike because of extended night hours. I am not arguing that a few more car accidents occur because people have trouble driving in the dark. You won’t hear an objection from me that chronically depressed people experience a tougher go with a further reduction of natural light. But you won’t get one ounce of sympathy from me about the “hardships” of daylight savings if you are a normal, healthy person.

Even though the beginning of daylight savings is traditionally supposed to disturb the health and productivity of people more than the end of it, I couldn’t believe since Sunday all the whining I heard in person and over social media about how the fall back of the clocks had done a real number on them. People couldn’t sleep, they couldn’t stay awake, they couldn’t rest, they couldn’t focus, they couldn’t function. Pretty much every excuse for just not giving 100% was given. Nonsense.

I don’t know if this is a placebo effect in action or if people really are just looking for a major crutch to slack off. A couple days before daylight savings hits there is always the extensive media coverage detailing how it is normal to feel certain symptoms relating to the gain/loss of an hour. Then 2 a.m. comes around and social media users start posting about how exhausted they are and how much they hate daylight savings. Do people take in this media coverage and see these status updates and then have something go off in their minds and bodies that tell them they aren’t feeling right? Or, like the second suggestion I offered, are people just looking to be downright lazy?

What I do know is that it is ridiculous for any of us to let daylight savings impact our daily lives. We gain or lose one single hour in the middle of the night twice during the year. One hour. That’s it. Most of us wouldn’t even know about this time change if it wasn’t for the media and for clocks that don’t automatically change. I am one of the biggest proponents of the human mind that you will ever find. I believe that we can accomplish and overcome anything we want as long as we have a strong mindset. If at any second we started to feel as if a symptom of daylight savings was starting to set in on our bodies we all have the capability to send waves from our brain through our system saying that the fatigue or irritability that we are feeling is absolutely false and made up. That should take care of any lame excuses.

To add one more point to the invalidity of daylight savings symptoms all one has to do is look at professions where cross country or cross continental travel is common. Professional athletes, entertainers, national politicians/ambassadors, etc. all make a living crossing time zones on a weekly, if not sometimes daily, basis. They lose and gain big chunks of time constantly, much more than a single hour twice a year. Do they complain? Do they stop working? Do they throw their hands in the air? No. They don’t make excuses and they get the job done.

In my opinion, the daylight savings fatigue/productivity factor is a myth. Even if there is some scientific data to back up small disruptions in our biological cycles, it is definitely not enough to make us unproductive zombies. We need to come up with better excuses. Don’t Blink.

A Minor Scam

Posted on November 3, 2013 by brent

On Friday afternoon I finally said enough is enough and I contacted my bank about a monthly charge that kept popping up on my online bank statement. For what had seemed like the past year, each month I had a $16.99 charge on my statement that was preceded by this description: Visa Purchase (Non-pin) Recur Tlg*shopper61256800-5264848 Ct.

For way too many months I brushed it off. I told myself that it probably was from a magazine subscription or rental insurance. Most typical months I rack up numerous different charges and as long as I don’t see anything outlandish on my online statement I don’t think too much about some random $16.99 charge that is smashed right in the middle of a bunch of different charges. Definitely laziness and a lack of attention on my part.

However, as I reviewed my account activity for October the mystery charge stood out much more than usual. You see, I tend to notice things more when instead of having 40 different charges I just have four. Bottom line, I just didn’t spend money in October. It is amazing how much less you fork out when you work every single day of the month. So with the knowledge that I had no magazine subscriptions to pay and already seeing my rental insurance charge on the statement, I decided to get to the bottom of this glaring random charge on my account. I straight up e-mailed my bank about the issue. Within just two hours they responded to me, giving me the phone number of the entity that was associated with the charge on my account. I immediately closed out of my e-mail and dialed the 1-800 number that my bank provided me….

Keep readng to see who it was who scammed me.

“Good Evening, Shopper’s Advantage, how may I help you?” the foreign voice greeted me after the first ring.

At first I was at a loss for words. I guess I didn’t think at all in the couple seconds it took me to exit my e-mail and call the number about who might answer on the other end of the line. After a couple seconds of silence I spit out my story. I told them I had no knowledge on who “Shopper’s Advantage” was, I didn’t have the faintest clue on how I became associated with them, and I had no idea in hell how I consented to letting them take $17 from me each month.

The voice answered back: “Is this Brent Reser of (he correctly identified my address).”

“Yes it is,” I responded, knowing that my phone number was associated with my personal information.

The guy then went on a two minute tangent where he explained how I became signed up for Shopper’s Advantage while trying to get me to upgrade to some other package while sprinkling in “Mr. Reser” no fewer than a dozen different times. By the time his solicitation was over my head was spinning. Wanting to yell at him but knowing that never pays off, I told him to please cancel whatever account I had with them immediately. After that he countered with another pitch and at least six more “Mr. Resers.” Again I told him that I was uninterested and to please end any agreement I had with them. I kid you not, another scheme and additional “Mr. Resers” came my way but I am sure you want to know what Shopper’s Advantage is and how I got suckered in to giving them my money.

Shopper’s Advantage is a company that sells products online at discounted prices. For example, you can purchase items such as apparel and electronics for probably 20% less than the retail price. Of course I had no idea about this until I googled them after canceling my account. Besides learning about what the company sells upon my internet search, I also learned about the thousands of people the company has scammed. My Google search was overwhelmed with angry people describing the frustrating charges from Shopper’s Advantage.

And how I got entered into the scam? My “customer service representative” told me that when I purchased plane tickets off of Allegiant Air’s website a year and a half ago I clicked on an option that asked if I would like a rebate. I faintly remember clicking on it and then exiting after realizing that it was not legitimate. Unfortunately my initial click was enough for the information I fed to Allegiant to be transferred to Shopper’s Advantage.

After I made myself clear to the guy I was speaking to that all the persuasion and “Mr. Resers” in the world would not convince me to continue with the scam I asked him a question:

“Hey sir, could you please tell me how long I have paid this monthly charge for?”

“Sure thing Mr. Reser….you entered into this agreement in April of 2012. After your free trial ran out and charges started to incur, we got you down for 17 completed payments.”

So even though a charge of $16.99 a month is minimal, I have sadly put in a total of $288.83 to this scam over the past year and a half. Never once have I received one benefit, one product, or one mailing from this company. It pays to be attentive to your bank account activity and to take action whenever you notice something that you don’t recognize. Hopefully a $288 lesson right now will save me from an even more expensive one in the future. Don’t Blink.

The Best Houses to Trick-Or-Treat At

Posted on October 30, 2013 by brent

Throughout this week I have seen various news channels, websites, and blogs feature lists on “the top trick-or-treat candy.” Okay, not a bad idea. Well it wasn’t a bad idea until seemingly everyone started doing it. Believe me, I definitely know by now that Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are gold on October 31.

So forgive me if I refrain from using the above topic exactly…instead I want to add a more original twist to it. Growing up as a kid I definitely had my favorite candy that I wanted handed to me but even more so I had the favorite houses that I wanted to make sure I either knew about ahead of time or stumbled upon while going door-to-door. Please take note, my favorite houses did not necessarily give out the best candy, rather they just did something cool that most other homes did not, thus making them stand out even more from the houses that passed out Peanut M&Ms (my favorite candy). Here now is my list of the three best characteristics to look for in houses when trick-or-treating.

#1: Full Sized Candy Bars! – Everyone who has ever trick-or-treated has at one time or the other gone to a house where they were handing out (gasp) full sized candy bars! We look back on it now as adults and laugh because all we have to do is go to the vending machine at work and pay 75 cents to get a Snickers. But back when we were ten it was as if the person at the door was handing out $100 bills. Even if the nice man or woman was giving out Heath Bars (which I despise) it was a big deal to get a full sized candy bar. It definitely put a badge on your Halloween costume, something to tell your friends about at the bus stop the next day. Especially for someone like me who grew up in a household where if my mom ever gave me a candy bar it was cut in half, getting a full sized one thrown in the pillow sack was a major thrill.

#2: Help Yourself, Leave Some For Others – This is another situation that I am sure most of you probably encountered at least once or twice during your trick-or-treating days. You go up to a house and the lights are out and the garage door is shut and it is obvious that the people are not home. You start to walk away before fully reaching the door but then you see something on the door step. Is it what you think it is? Yes! It is a bowl of candy. Upon reaching the top of the steps you eye the candy bowl and the note that is attached to it: “Happy Halloween! We are sad that we can’t be home tonight but we still want to take care of our trick-or-treaters who come by every year. Take a piece or two of candy but please leave some for the next group.”

This is terrible, but I trick-or-treated with friends who once they saw the unguarded bowl made a straight out dash to the candy, knocking over the dish in a hasty attempt to be the first person to the loot. The candy would fly all over the place and my friends would scour like hyenas to pick up every piece they could. It was barbaric and bush league of them but the fact that the homeowners left a big bowl of candy out for the taking always impressed us.

#3: Goodie Bags – For me, the houses that gave out these goodie bags I am about to describe weren’t always as random as the full sized candy bar and help yourself houses. Whereas I never knew which homes would give out the big candy bars or leave a bowl of candy for the taking, I could always count on at least two specific houses in the neighborhood to give out goodie bags.

Again, this is something that was much cooler when I was a kid than looking back on it as an adult right now. The goodie bag consisted of a small Halloween decorated sack. Inside the sack you would find a combination consisting of a piece of salt water taffy, a fun sized Starburst pack, and a fun sized Milky Way. Getting a cool bag with an image on it that probably cost three cents and a few pieces of not very good candy got us very excited. Probably it made us so happy just because it was different. There was more effort thrown into it and it held a very good trade value later that night when bartering with friends.

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There you have it my friends! What were the characteristics of your favorite trick-or-treating houses? Please let me know. Happy Halloween Eve! Have a fun and safe time tomorrow night. Don’t Blink.

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

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