Vikings- Season 1 Episode 1 "Rites of Passage"

WOW. LET ME SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME, WOW. I want to use the word "graphic" to describe what the opening scene were like but i'm afraid i'm going to have to come up with more terms very shortly unless I just want to repeat myself a lot. Im going to say something like part "Saving private Ryan, part "God of War" but with Axes and Spears.

Mixed in between the heartfelt moments between father/son and mother/daughter there is more bloodshed in the blink of an eye. While in such a situation it was more then deserved, it's still a shock to the system if your unaware of the direction the show seems to be heading. Probably best to send the little ones to bed before cracking that beer and lounging on the couch. And on second thought, if you want to keep the Mrs in a "amenable/giving mood maybe it's best if this is one watched on a day off or a weekend alone.

Without giving too much away, the plot has presented a very interesting beginning and I am absolutely going to move on to the next episode.

Ragnar Lothbrok and his small family are the main characters in the opening episode. He has a wife, brother, son and daughter presumably. To the best of my knowledge so far each year the village leader decides which men go sailing in which direction and for what purpose. Let's just say Ragnar and his men, are having other ideas for where the best bounty can be found....

ESPN

The ESPN empire has exponentially grown over the past say 20-25 years that I have been watching it. My first memory of any sports is growing up the first thing my father and I would do after waking up was to grab cereal, bowl, milk and sit at the kitchen table with a small tv and watch highlights from the day/night before games. From what I remember it was a majority of Baseball, Football and Basketball. The big difference I get watching today is firstly they have several networks such as ESPN deportes for the Hispanic audience, and now they cover everything from the X-games to the golf network. Obviously Tiger Woods is a big reason golf grew in popularity and revenue. Although he has basically dropped off a cliff in his play he still draws a crowd, thankfully for golf fans, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIIroy have stepped up and look to continue to develop a rivalry.

Now with publications like ESPN the Magazine and ESPN.com they are looking to continue their growth. I have a problem with this expansion though. Sometimes growth is great and sometimes it spreads you so thin that you don't fully grasp the consequences. For me personally, I can't stand that ESPN.com now has a large number of material and even entire sections in the college category that are only available to view if you are a ESPN The Magazine subscriber. ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.

I happen to be a subscriber because I still enjoy reading a magazine, having the feel of it in my hands. But a large majority of the population, especially in today's seemingly bad economy, shouldn't be forced to shell out another $10 to get the full story on the website. It doesn't matter that it's less the $1 an issue. It's the point of it.

 I try to write factual and interesting pieces based on my opinions of articles. Coming from where i'm sitting I just don't think it's right to make portions of a website and conglomerate that make a huge number of profits, off limits to hard working sports fans, spending time supporting your business by reading articles on pages FILLED WITH ADS YOUR BEING PAID TO SHOW.

what do you guys think? should espn eliminate the "pay to play" per se??????

Comcast/ Infinity customer service technician

With a window of 1pm to 3pm by the time it reaches 2:55 you've gotta be thinking theirs no way this guy is coming....typical. Well I gave it another few minutes and waited upstairs and sure enough comcasts technician knocks on the door at 2:57. Good enough for me. He was polite, did his work quickly and fixed the minor problem and even helped me with an additional problem not exactly related to his work and he helped me out without a second guess.

I really appreciate how he explained what the problem was and how he fixed it, and even gave us instructions for a variety of questions afterwards. I wish he told me his name so I could give him a shout out, but whoever you were, YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL YOUR HELP MR 413 TECHNICIAN WORKING IN WESTERN MASS.

Indeed.com

Ok, let's start out by saying I had never expected to use any "online" job search site/tools when I was looking for work. I live in a small Massachusetts community that on some days seems to have more cows and corn then people. Our local paper has a classifieds at the end of the local section and since I was 16 that's where I went to find a job when I wasn't working for myself... Problem is, over the years the number of jobs has decreased at an incredible rate. While there are always the fast food restaurants, gas stations, and dollar stores in the next town over that pay minimum wage, which sadly is not even close to a living wage. Even if you manage to get full time hours the benefits are poor at best and the pay can't sustain housing and a car...so pick one or the other and try to not get fired the next time a bus is running late. Overall, I just think it's a sad situation but when your faced with a situation like that all you can do is keep going out there and applying. Someone is going to hire you eventually, its just going to take a little more work then before.

I don't know how many jobs i've applied for exactly, but in the last month i'd say its around 12-15. That includes many minimum wage which is $9 an hour, barely living wage and still below the poverty level technically at $12 an hour and one median upper living wage which was $18 an hour. Now these terms are mine and mine only, this is just my opinion of what it takes to survive with limited material possessions on those earning possibilities. 

It's gotten to the point that the majority of jobs don't even bother to let you know they went in another direction and hired someone else let alone take the time to set up an interview. My problem with that is I always make sure to follow up promptly and most time repeatedly just looking to know if the position has been filled but my messages go unanswered and i'm left to realize, ok, well I need to keep looking because obviously they are not interested in what I have to offer. It's not an ego thing or even a really big deal, I just was raised to always be courteous and I don't feel like these local businesses are doing a very good job. I know they may be swamped with applications but if an applicant takes the time to call and check on your hiring situation it doesn't take that long to simply call and let them know you chose someone else for the position. Quick and easy.  

Now, on to indeed.com website. I finally gave in and used the resources indeed provides and decided on my own to do a little extra work on my resume and make sure I was including everything that's expected in a cover letter and within a week I had 2 interviews with businesses that are providing a living wage AND benefits!!! I just wanted to let ppl out there know that, indeed works and at the very least, upload your resume and give it a shot, YOU DESERVE IT!!!

KEEP WORKING HARD, GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE THAT STAY POSITIVE.