Misc: Don Quixote...the super store

Growing up in Hawaii, I was able to watch a very well known store go through three major transitions. This store was a place for everything. You could buy food, pillows, automotive needs, clothes, etc. You name it, they have it. And the best part of all, everything was reasonably priced. For the old timers, this place was called Holiday Mart, and I know a few people who still call it Holiday Mart till this day. Then before I knew it, the place changed its name to Daiei (pronounced die-eh) when it was aquired by the Japanese super company. Then most recently, within the past month or so, the name changed again, this time to Don Quixote...another Japanese super store company. Yes, if you're wondering, the name has to do with the novel of Don Quixote, the man who believes that he is a knight who attacks a windmill. The only difference is that the character is not a man, but a cartoon penguin. Yes, leave it up to the Japanese to come up with the weirdest things. Well, thinking that the transition from Holiday Mart to Daiei was only a name change, I expected Don Quixote to be the same thing. Boy, was I WRONG. The store went through a MAJOR makeover, and looked like a jungle themed Chuck E. Cheese. Look at what I mean.

Vines were clinging from the ceilings, bright colored signs were placed everywhere, all types of music were playing (mostly Japanese pop music) in various locations from the grocery section to the aloha shirts, products were stacked in odd shapes...it was just so much to take in!

The two biggest complaints I've heard, and I tend to agree with, is that the walkway is narrower (to accommodate their endless supply of products) and that everything got rearranged. I read in the newspaper that the endless amount of products in various locations was the "fun" in shopping...almost like a scavanger hunt. Since there are so many products, they want you to browse other things before you get to what you need to buy. This may be fine for people who LIKE to shop, but it is a complete nightmare for those who like to be in and out of the store as soon as possible. Below, I would like to share what I think are the pros and cons about the new store:

Pros

1. A wealth of new products, especially from Japan.

2. A colorful, cartoony, happy environment.

3. For the most part, same reasonable prices (although some products increased in price).

4. Still the place to buy anything you want.

5. Still 24 hours.

Cons

1. Narrow walk ways.

2. A colorful, cartoony, happy environment.

3. Where is everything?

4. Too much random noises (J-pop music at every turn).

I feel that Don Quixote will appeal more to the younger crowd and Japanese people, since most of the stores in Japan are very simliar. Old timers will definitely be turned off by the loud music and the reorganization (perhaps for the worst) of the store. Yes, what you want is there, but let me know where it is...you'd be surprised...some of the workers don't even know.

Misc: Ultimate Fighters and their Salaries...are they getting ripped off?

Who wants to be an ultimate fighter? If you want to be one, you have to endure getting punched and kicked in the face, slammed to the floor, choked, and be exposed to a million types of submissions to the arm, leg, and neck. You would have to pay me some BIG bucks to put my butt on the line. Yes, you could be so skilled that you could walk into that cage and come out unscathed. Just ask Anderson Silva, the current UFC Middleweight Champion. He is a veteran in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), fighting all over the world, predominantly in Japan. In his first UFC debut, he defeated up and coming Chris Leben by KO in the first round...and it only took him 49 seconds. He hit with 100% accuracy...which no one has seen before, landing all his blows. Silva received his shot at the title against the UFC Middleweight Champion against Rich "Ace" Franklin. Another devasting KO ensued, with Silva's hand raised at the end. Franklin suffered knees to the body and a final knee to the face that knocked him out, and in the process, broke his nose. This took Silva only 3 minutes to complete this task. And what did Franklin, the UFC's poster child and 2 time defender of the Middleweight belt get paid for his severe beating and broken nose? A measly $21,000. In an age where boxers get paid $1 million for a fight, and only get punched in the head, these UFC fighters are not getting paid well at all. Below is a breakdown of the salaries in the same UFC event where Silva defeated Rich (salaries courtesy of MMAWeekly.com):

UFC 64 Fighter Salaries
Event took place on October 14, 2006 and aired on pay-per-view

Title Match & Main Event Fighters
-Anderson Silva: $50,000 (defeated Rich Franklin)
-Sean Sherk: $22,000 (defeated Kenny Florian)
-Rich Franklin: $21,000 (lost to Anderson Silva)
-Kenny Florian: $8,000 (lost to Sean Sherk)

Main Card Fighters
-Cheick Kongo: $20,000 (lost to Carmelo Marrero)
-Jon Fitch: $20,000 (defeated Kuniyoshi Hironaka)
-Spencer Fisher: $20,000 (defeated Dan Lauzon)
-Kuniyoshi Hironaka: $6,000 (lost to Jon Fitch)
-Carmelo Marrero: $6,000 (defeated Cheick Kongo)
-Dan Lauzon: $3,000 (lost to Spencer Fisher)

Preliminary Match Fighters
-Yushin Okami: $12,000 (defeated Kalib Starnes)
-Clay Guida: $6,000 (defeated Justin James)
-Kalib Starnes: $5,000 (lost to Yushin Okami)
-Kurt Pellegrino: $4,000 (defeated Junior Assuncao)
-Junior Assuncao: $3,000 (lost to Kurt Pellegrino)
-Justin James: $3,000 (lost to Clay Guida)

Disclosed Fighter Payroll for UFC 64: $209,000

Yup, $21,000 for a successful CHAMPION of the UFC. Champions usually fight around two times a year, maybe 3 at most, to give time for training and healing between events. And with each successful win, the pay goes up...but only around $2-3k on the average. There is a win bonus for champions, usually close to the same amount as their salary, so if Rich won, he would have received $40,000. This year, he only fought twice, one win and one loss. He earned $32,000 for his win, $16,000 for showing and another $16,000 for winning (cited from MMAWeekly.com). So let's add this year's earnings for Rich...that reaches a grand total of...drum roll...$53,000. That barely covers his costs for his constant training, his training camps for fights, his wife and daughter, etc. Training costs enormous amounts of money, especially since he trains with great fighters. Does a CHAMPION deserve to get paid this measly amount? I totally disagree. Luckily, Rich is sponsored by Xyience, an enegry product, which probably pays him $1 million a year. But not all fighters are this lucky.

Most fighters, aren't sponsored at all, and when they are, it usually pays for their training. Just look at the fighters payscale above...many of the fighters only earned $3000-6000. If they lose, they might not come back to the UFC, so they basically made $6000 that one year. Other fighting organizations usually pay a few hundred dollars to their fighters, with the bigger winners taking home maybe $5000. Consider health costs, training, foods and supplements, etc. These fighters are not getting paid enough to fight as a career. Most of them have other jobs to support themselves and their families, hoping that one day, they can be a champion. Unless you are Chuck Liddell, who earns 6 figures per fight, with a million dollar sponsorship by Xyience, you aren't doing well. There aren't many fighters in the UFC who get that type of salary. Just think of how much the UFC gets per event. Usually, an event seats about 10,000 people. Tickets range from $50-500. Let's just say the average ticket price is around $150, since there are less expensive seats and more cheaper seats. The event alone already brings in $1.5 million. And don't forget PPV. With so many viewers, usually around 150,000, and at $39.95 a show, UFC gets about $6 million in PPV sales. So a measly $209,000 goes to ALL the fighters combined?

Bottomline, UFC fighters should get paid more for what they do. They don't work their butt's off to get paid $3000. We can all sit at a desk and get paid $3000 monthly without breaking a sweat. Please, pay these fighters what they deserve.

News: $6000 combo...meal

So it came to me this morning about a story I read sometime last month. You can read it on CNN at this link. Carl's Jr., a popular fast food chain, unveiled their $6000 combo meal . Yes, you read that correctly, $6000 big ones. What does this amazing combo meal include?

Carl's Jr. Six Dollar Burger
French Fries
$6000 bottle of 24 year old French Bordeaux

This combo meal is only served at the Palms Casion Resort in Las Vegas. OK, I know a lot of rich and famous people go to Las Vegas and spend like there's no tomorrow on really outrageous things, but a $6000 combo meal? I think it's a nice way to get Carl's Jr. into the spotlight, but I highly doubt anyone will buy the meal. They even put out a commercial which can be viewed on Carl's Jr's website under "Maloof Brothers".

There was an interview, I think it was MSNBC, and they were interviewing the people responsible for this idea. The interviewer asked if anybody bought the combo meal yet, and the response was no. I think they know there aren't going to be many, if any, buyers of this meal. It's a good way to bring more customers to Carl's Jr. and Hardees, and although the combo is actually offered, I'm sure they weren't expecting to sell it. It's basically a good way to get Carl's Jr. on the news, spark some discussion, maybe a blog post (like this one), and at the very least, get people to think about Carl's Jr. Just think of all the creative Jack in the Box commercials...they target a market who appreciates the humor and draw the crowd in. You want those seasonal Jack antenna balls? Buy a combo from Jack, and they'll give you one. Sadly, the $6000 combo meal only received short attention on the news, and probably didn't give them much of a sales boost. Oh well, next time. Until then, keep coming out with creative commercials. You might draw me in.

Misc: Those darn spinning rims

Yes, you know you've seen them. They were a fad a while back when Latrell Sprewell showed off the first set of spinner rims on MTV. Fine, it was kind of cool to some, since the rims continue to spin even though the car isn't moving anymore. The coolness lasted maybe 10 seconds. You can find a line of his rims at this site. Yes, they are pretty freakin' expensive. So rappers began to install these spinner rims onto their pimp rides, like the Escalade, Mercedes, Bentley's, etc. OK, they have money to burn, and that was the style back then. But as a consequence, look at what the fad has started. SPINNING HUB CAPS. You know you've seen them. They can be bought at your local Wal-mart and even Amazon. You'll be able to see these great spinning hubcaps on Geo Metro's, Caravan's, ALL the Korean cars (Hyundai, Kia, Daewoo), Mitsubishi's, and many other cars...usually inexpensive ones. Just look at this Camry:



It's a CAMRY. It's a FAMILY CAR. What is this world coming to?

It's bad enough that the hubcaps spin, but the worst part is, they don't even work. How many times have you seen those Caravan's with spinning hubcaps, and they don't even spin? They kind of just wobble along like a loose cap fitted onto the hub cap. Sometimes they spin, but they never spin in unison...the front right rim would spin wobbly, and the back right rim would kind of wobble around looking like they are just about to fall off. I understand people want to customize their cars, but that's not the way to go! Please get some regular hubcaps...I don't care what kind...just make sure they don't spin.

Misc: Lamborghini doors

OK, can someone please explain why people need Lamborghini doors on their cars? Fine, some show cars can pull off the look, only if they're legitimate exotic cars. But when you start talking cars like the Dodge Neon...what are you thinking? Case in point:



OK, now REALLY? It's a NEON. The car is like $10k brand new. Why on earth would you put Lambo doors on this car?! It sure doesn't make your car go any faster. It's not like the car is so darn big and wide that you need those doors to open in tight parking spots. And it SURELY isn't making the Neon look like a Lamborghini. The cost for the conversion runs between $800-1800...without installation. You know what you can do with that kind of money? For starters, you could have gotten a better car. Or, even better, use that money to fuel your car for the next 2 years, and maybe throw in a few detailed car washes. Hopefully this trend dies off...soon.