$49.27 – Average amount Super Bowl watchers spend on snacks for the game.
$2.4 million – Cost of a 30 second Super Bowl commercial.
25% of young adults (18-24) watch for the commercials. (you mean I’m not a young adult anymore?!)
20% of young adults watch for the game. ( the other 55% watch the Super Bowl to socialize with friends, for the half time show [?!] or don’t watch)
(via adfreak)
Monthly Archives: February 2005
Interview with a Link Spammer
Here’s an interesting insight into the world of comment spam. Apparently I should take solace in the fact that it’s not personal, though the acrobatics to avoid the ethical and legal questions are amazing.
Baby Got Book
This has to be the best Christian parody I’ve seen in a while.
Round 2
Kevin 1, Brownies 0.
Best Radio Station Ever
Today at approximately 3:00 p.m. it became official. The first chords of U2’s “In God’s Country” echoed over my radio and 89.3 FM The Current became the best radio station ever. I’d been listening non-stop for five or six days and though I loved what I was hearing, I’d yet to hear my favorite band ever. With those opening strains I stopped what I was doing and sent The Current an e-mail telling them the news: Best. Radio station. Ever.
They’re a Minnesota Public Radio station playing a vast mix of music–I hesitate to call it rock or indie rock or alternative rock because they’re all over the place. They also play some folk, electronica, country, hip-hop, straight-up pop–even oldies. It’s amazing. In the several days I’ve been listening I’ve liked about everything I’ve heard. Only once or twice have I turned to the radio and frowned. Most of the time I’m shaking my head no: “No, no, no–don’t stop a rockin’!”
And did you hear that first part: public radio. It’s non-commercial. Can you imagine the joy of not ever hearing obnoxious radio commercials? It’s the joy of NPR with hip music! They’re playing all sorts of music I like (Johnny Cash, Radiohead, Polyphonic Spree, Badly Drawn Boy), introducing me to lots of new stuff (Arcade Fire, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Arthur Yoria) and playing tons of local music (Low, Valet, The Olympic Hopefuls).
I never have to listen to another pathetic endorsement from a Cities 97 DJ (“You know, when I want to put my hair in dreads, I call the pros over at…”). I never have to listen to Drive 105 play another single into the ground. I can listen to good music and get the weather and news. Sorry iPod, you’re looking lonely.
The Pulse of the Twin Cities has a lengthy interview with the staff of 89.3 FM and the Star Trib has a factually inaccurate little piece. You can also listen online, supposedly (I’ve yet to get the stream to play).
The Satisfaction of a Job Done Yourself
The other day I took my car to Tires Plus to get an oil change and have the tires rotated. I usually change the oil myself, but the prospect of writhing around on the dirty, wet and cold concrete in sub-zero temperatures wasn’t too appealing (of course this week the temps are in the 30s so it wouldn’t have been so bad). While in the shop I noticed a “rainy day” special they had to change your oil and your wiper blades–which reminded me that I needed to change my wiper blades. Their “rainy day” service cost $50–more than twice the price of an oil change.
I decided to stop at AutoZone on the way home and do it myself. The wipers cost $12 (but only because my wipers come in two different sizes–wha?!–and I had to buy two sets. Though next time I won’t have to buy them, so they really did cost only $6.) and trying to install them in the parking lot took maybe 15 minutes.
But more than the cash saved, I drove home with dirt on my fingers and the satisfaction that comes with a job done yourself. I felt nothing about the oil change and tire rotation. For all I know they just put a sticker in my window and drove the car around the block. Even though I was doing the responsible thing and taking care of my car I gained nothing. Doing it myself, however, had tangible benefits.
Hey Alumni
Monkey Outta Nowhere made an appearance in the January 2005 issue of Focus, the alumni magazine of Bethel University. We were mentioned in an update about Bethel alum and Head Monkey Kevin D. Hendricks on page 44. Check us out.