Assignment 3 - Video

Mental Blanks

Mental blanks, the bane of a student’s life. Recently I was taking a maths test which I had spent quite a while studying for so I presumed that I would ace it. This was not the case however. The instant that the paper was placed in front of me my mind became empty. So whats got my goat is why my mind/ body thought it would be a bright idea to forget everything the exact moment when i needed to know it?

I know some of you are probably reading this going, “that’s never happened to me” etc, so I’ll try to illustrate what happens using a simile and some symbolism. Imagine that your mind is a crowd at a comedy festival and that laughter is your brain working, now imagine a bad comedian (the test) steps onto the stage. He proceeds to tell his first joke (the first question) and instantly the crowd goes silent. This silence is representing the mind of someone in a mental blank.

Back to the goat though, at what point does the body think that giving you a mental blank is a good way to combat the stress of a test. However amazing the human body and mind is, it seems to just let you down at the most critical moments. And that is what has my goat.

Acronym use in everyday conversation

The use of acronyms in everyday speech has been a current trend within today’s society, but I would really like to know why, considering that it sounds stupid to everyone around you as well as it being a constant source of misunderstanding.

When did "lol" replace actual laughter during a conversation? I mean what’s the reward for telling an amazing joke and getting a response of "lol" or "rofl".

Seriously what is up with the use of acronyms. This trend even seems to have caught on with a few middle-aged people to whom i heard on a train saying "wtf" on the phone to what I presume would be a work colleague you know that things are becoming really dated and sad when middle age people and popular TV programs use them all the time. The secrecy that acronyms afforded teenagers a few years ago is now redundant with the older generation understanding what they all mean. It has taken the fun out of being lazy and it just appears as though you have a mental condition when said in public.

To direct my hatred of acronyms in real life I decided to make one of my own; PWUAIECDRHSTS (people who use acronyms in everyday conversion don’t realise how stupid they sound).

Do you think it will catch on?

Life insurance Advertisement

What has my goat at the moment are these advertisements about life insurance that revolve around an actor that obviously has never acted before in their life. I mean at what point did the companies think that inept actors would be a good idea when trying to get people to invest in their insurance plans?

The second reason these ads annoy me so much is that they are amazingly frequent on several channels, I don’t understand why you would want to show such a horrible advert so many times. I was watching TV for a few hours the other day and I must have seen the same bad acting at least twenty times.

Not only are they badly acted and appear too frequently but they do not achieve their goal of selling the product as everyone I spoke to cannot even remember which company they were for, all that people remember is that the ads are extremely aggravating.

And that is what has got my goat.

Another Achievement, Mr Rudd

It's not often that this angry goat goes all political (if you look back, not often is actually never) - mostly because this goat doesn't know enough to write anything of substance or credibility. But the announcement by the "Honourable" Kevin Rudd has particularly incensed us.

He has trumpeted his emissions trading scheme (ETS) for years now, and today has canned the whole thing until at least 2013. Now whether or not you agreed with the scheme is a whole other thing, but before today you could at least say that an effort was being made to address climate change issues. All you can do today is wonder about the weak and spineless who are leading this country.

KRudd is just a hypocrite. He based his Kevin 07 election campaign around his willingess to do something about climate change. Many thought that he would be a person of action, finally someone who was serious about the issues. But he's not. The Coalition put forward a policy of 'wait and see' in regards to other countries actions, which KRudd said was "an absolute failure of leadership". But when he chooses the same course of inaction, it is now "a reasonable and responsible course of action". No Mr Rudd, you are the epitome of a failing leader. Instead of being able to lead the world in taking action on climate change, Australia will once again be relegated to the position of playing catch up.

When is someone going to actually do something? Stop talking out of your behind, and deliver something that addresses the issues. It's not good enough to say we'll do something when others do something. It's not good enough to shelve yet another plan just because of political reality. Find a backbone and do something.

I would say that the solution to this is just not to vote for our Labor friends, but our Liberal friends look no better. So I guess all we can do now is enjoy what is left of life, before our inaction on climate change kills us all. Congratulations KRudd.

Got my Goat?


Posted by Todd

Trash talking gamers

I was playing Modern Warfare 2 online the other day, when I came across a guy that decided to insult everyone and talk himself up. Of course I promptly replied with insults of my own.

But back to it, what is it about being online that makes people so aggressive and continually act as if they had a large amount of muscular mass. Considering we all know that a majority of gamers are either extremely cowardly, twig-like and would run to the nearest corner if they were insulted in real life, or overly obese and unable to run the ten metres to the corner. So why do gamers always put up such a tough front even though they are most likely physically lacking? Is it because they desire to be a tough guy or are they just trying to build up their confidence online before they tackle the real world?

Well my guess would be that they have to live their fantasy lives of being macho because in real life their inadequecies are so limitless that they have to invent a persona to make them seem like they have friends in real life.

Just Zip It

Ok, now this has really got my goat today. Everything else has been mildly amusing, and definitely blown out of proportion for the sake of entertainment...

What is up with people feeling the need to conduct a conversation all the way through a lecture. That constant gnattering away, made even more annoying by the fact that it is just general noise. It annoys me to the point where I just want to go up to them and pu.... well let's keep it civilised for now.

So here's some facts:

1. You and your conversation is just not that important. Life does not revolve around you, those around you don't want to hear what you have to say. So zip it.

2. You're sitting in a lecture. By the very definition there is someone up the front, let's just call them the lecturer, who has been granted the privelige of doing the talking. Deal with it.

3. If you feel that you're special enough to talk, why don't you take yourself outside and leave the rest of us in peace. Hey, I know you might find it weird, but some people have actually come to the lecture to listen to the lecturer. Who would have thought?

And another thing... what's with the outbreak of conversation 10 minutes before the lecture is about to end. How is this point special in that you can ignore whatever is being said and start your own chat session. There is still stuff being covered down the front!

So if you are one of these people, you have two options: shut up or disappear.

Got my Goat?

Posted by Todd

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4WDs

My issue today: four wheel drives.

I was walking through the carpark of my local supermarket today and realised just how many people own these things. Now I'm a supporter of being free to choose what you want, but there comes a point when you have to think about whether you really need a vehicle that can take them to places where the idea of having a road is insane. And in you are one of these people, by all means own a 4WD.

However there is another group of people. Those whose 4WD has never actually seen dirt, whose live has been spent on the ease of city roads. If you are never going to go offroad, why do you need a car that can. All they do is make it hard for other people to see past you when driving, and most of all chew through fuel at a rate most other cars can't even dream of matching.

There will be those people saying "Oh but I may go offroad one day". Yeah well, when that day comes go and and get one. What about something that fits my many, many children? Well there are things called people movers for that, and they don't look half bad these days.

And don't be fooled by the car companies and there names like sports utility vehicle or the new one I like, sports activity vehicle. They are all 4WDs. So just get a car you need, and not something that will steamroll small children.

Got my Goat?

Posted by Todd

99% fat-free lies

I admit, I used to think '99% fat free' meant the food will give us free fat - being as a kid, anything I got for free thrilled me. Little did I know, food companies were actually targeting the 'fear of fat' mentality which was completely contrary to my prior interpretation.

But my childhood idiocy cannot possibly live up to the gullible attempts made by grown adult marketers to make their food look slightly healthier. We've all seen them before; we vigorously search the supermarket aisles looking for our favourite candy only to find that your sought-out product was in front of your face the whole time - it just had a big fat star logo slapped onto its label desperately making the claim 'NOW 99% FAT FREE'. I don't know about you, but I am almost certain they didn't pay extra for a cheap liposuction on their fat-filled food and then measure its fat content so they can validate their 99% fat-free claim; and if this was true claim, why stop at 99%? Maybe they wanted to leave a bit of fat for good luck?

Their futile efforts of trying to suck up to the modern social trend towards healthier lifestyles have done nothing but mislead and annoy consumers.

The food producers had the choice of sticking their chests up high, proud of their delicious sugary, carbohydrate-packed unhealthy truth; or underhandedly deceive consumers only to end up at the bottom of the food chain of health fanatics. Low-fat food is a great ideal, food with low fat, sugar and artificial content is something to be sought out for when shopping. But I despise nothing more than to see chocolate producers pathetically try to mesmerise us with a plainly transparent lie about their fat content.

Masterch....MasterProductPlacement

Ok, so I was doing my daily troll of the Sydney Morning Herald and came across this interesting article. Masterchef was definitely the hit show of last year...Channel 10's runaway success. And of course, the return of the second season means only one thing. No, it's not a lot of pretentious and cliched comments about how it's a fight to be crowned Masterchef (though it definitely doesn't disappoint in this regard), but it's a chance for Channel 10 to cash in, and cash in big time.

I accept that advertising is just a way of life. It pays for the show to be made, it pays for the fact that the show is free to watch, and it pretty much makes the earth rotate on its axis. I can put up with ad breaks, because they don't pretend to be something they're not. They are there to advertise to you.

It's what the media types are calling 'integration' that is annoying me. Integration is pretty much just in-show product promotion - product placement. Next time you watch Masterchef, notice how all the appliances they use are Sunbeam. They use ingredients provided by Coles. Paper towels are Handee Ultra. Campbell's is involved. Fonterra, one of the largest dairy companies whose brands include Mainland and TipTop is there too.

An executive at Channel 10 says "the type of integration we're achieving on Masterchef is subtle and clever". Clever maybe, but not subtle. What is subtle about the camera holding on the Sunbeam logo for a few seconds? This type of in-show product placement is supposed to build brand association, so that I'm more likely to go out and shop at Coles. But do you know what? It actually puts me off buying any of these products. It infuriates me that they think we're stupid enough that seeing these brands being used will make us say "oh, they're using it so they must be good". We're not stupid. We can make an intelligent decision ourselves.

And do you know what my intelligent decision is? Not to watch Masterchef.

Got my goat?

Driver Etiquette

I am sure you have heard every rant about speeding before, whether it be from your parents, a police officer or the government. But an issue with someone not-speeding or travelling well below the speed limit, well that's a first.

At some point in time we have all lost our cool behind the wheel of a car, usually its for small and insignificant things. But imagine you are running a few minutes late for work, travelling at the speed limit and the driver in front of you (in the right hand lane I might add) was out on a casual Sunday drive.

IT'S FRUSTRATING!

Dont get me wrong, I realise I should have been ready and left earlier to get to work well before my shift started however the point I am trying to raise is that drivers are becoming more and more self-absorbed human beings not displaying common courtesy or decency to the people around them.

If a sign says 60km/h why do some of us feel compelled to travel at 50km/h or 55km/h? When learning to drive we were always told "keep left unless overtaking" but everywhere you look on the road, etiquette has literally been tossed out the drivers side window resulting in road rage at an all time high of 74% amongst Australian drivers.

So whats the solution?

Maybe I'll catch the bus.

Got my goat?

Biggest Losers

I love the fact that a obesity, as severe as the media puts it to be, has become a nation-wide television show for everyone's entertainment. The Biggest Loser has brilliantly disguised its gross popularity in Channel Ten's prime time as a public service announcement that extends across 13 (more or less) episodes. I love nothing more than to watch a bunch of overweight individuals lose weight under extreme pressure.

It's inspirational - if I were overweight.

Ok it's not the show itself I have a problem with, but it's disturbing time slot in Channel Ten's evening line-up. How can you possibly sustain an appetite while you watch a few bulbous men and women jiggling their body flab around with sweat gushing from their crevices in High-definition? I remember the good ol' days when I sat down at the dinner table in front of the TV and I intently watched satiable shows like The Simpsons and Masterchef (especially MasterChef) without losing my appetite.

Maybe its their purpose to put the us off our hunger during dinner in an effort to improve public health. But I enjoy my food too much! It's MY food and I'm not going to let any pathetic 50 inch, 1000000:1 contrast ratio, 100Hz refresh rate, HD LCD television that's tuned to Channel Ten prevent me from savouring my dinner! Anyway, it's time for my dinner now and it looks like I'll be spending another night watching Channel Seven now while I single-handedly eating my KFC Variety Bucket Meal.

Got my Goat?

Took us long enough

It seems in all the excitement to get our blog up and running, and to start complaining about the little things in life, we completely forgot about a design. So finally, here it is.

None of the basic templates in the Blogger setup process took our fancy, so we delved into the world wide web's collection of free templates. This one we found on btemplates.com. If you're struggling to find a template that suits the look and feel you want to achieve with your blog, we recommend having a look at this site.

Red would have been a much more fitting colour given the angry nature of our posts, but we thought, how much anger and annoyance can one blog have? The blue in the header is to calm our readers, so be calm.

Dark writing on a light background is a no brainer. It's just easier to read. Strains your eyes less. Now you can spend more time at Got My Goat? reading our blogs. See, where care about our readers.

The search box will allow you to find that exact rant you were wanting, from our stockpile of many, many rants.

And of course you'll want to know about the people behind this award winning (awards still pending) blog, so just look to the side under the About Us heading.

Riled up about the latest blog? Well take your anger to the polls and have your voice heard. Yes, we won't actually hear you, but that single mouse click has the power to change the world (such power is highly debatable).

Want to know what like minded people are saying? Simply check out the blogs we're following, and those following us, to read some more intellectual prose.

Got my goat?

Easter Egg-xpensive

What's up with the price of Easter eggs? It seems the days of gorging on an obscene amount of chocolate over the Easter weekend are long gone. No longer can you describe an Easter egg hunt as a race to find as many eggs are possible. It is now just a hunt for a single egg. The Easter bunny simply can't afford it anymore.

To be fair the price of cocoa and sugar, basically the two things that make up chocolate, have skyrocket in recent years. Cocoa is up 150% and sugar 120%, so it makes sense that there is only one way for prices to go. Up.

Soon the tradition of the Easter Egg Hunt will be something only the rich can afford, whilst the rest are stuck reminiscing about an earlier time when Easter eggs didn't require a second mortgage to be taken out. Parents will say to their kids, "in my day, we stuffed ourselves stupid with chocolate', with the children only being able to gaze on in wonder at those golden times.

But there is a simple way to have your chocolate and eat it too, so to say. Just postpone Easter by a few days. When Tuesday comes around, raid your nearest supermarket for those Easter egg specials. Forget paying full price. Try 90 percent off. All the eggy goodness, without the expense. It certainly appears to be what happened at my local supermarket. Where a few days earlier lay a lovely Easter display stacked with eggs, now all that remains is a single lone bunny. It's as if a maurauding crowd stampeded through the store and grabbed everything they could get their hands on, because Easter eggs were never going to be seen again.

So next year, postpone your egg consumption and pounce on those after Easter specials.

Got my goat?

Posted by: Todd

Birthday Gifts

Birthday gifts is what got my goat today. This horrid two-word phrase has bestowed me with nothing but grief, annoyance, guilt and a great abundance of awkward moments. Whether it is for someone close or a distant friend - the price range, creativity, usefulness, size, wrapping and even colour of the present all have to be considered. Too expensive? You'll be trying to hard. Too cheap? Don't be a tight-ass. Too big? You'll be the one carrying it to the party. Too small? Just make sure you don't lose it. What's a good colour? How about Black? or white? or green? or indigo? or terracotta? or atomic Tangerine? or auroMetalSaurous? (it's a real colour, look it up)

It's not only the actual gifts that trouble me. There are times when the whole concept of birthday gifts are just so pointless beyond comprehension. For instance, it's quite hard to imagine a man getting all jittery and excited about what presents he will get when he turns 56 tomorrow.

"Hey I hope you have enjoyed your 56 years worth of living, not long to go! Here's some of Gucci's finest cologne to celebrate...no no I'm not saying you smell bad, and I'm not saying old people smell - not that you're old...never mind, just enjoy your cologne"

How something so joyful as birthday gifts turned out to be such a troubling burden is a mystery.

Got my goat?

Debt Collector

People owing money, that what has got my goat today. It is a very delicate and sensitive topic especially when you have lent money to a friend, but when you lend money to multiple friends its poses a problem. How do you ask for it back? What happens if they continually forget? Who would have thought being a good friend could ultimately turn you into the bad guy.

Got my goat?

Welcome

Contrary to what was said on Twitter, we are not launching a witch hunt to find out who has our goat. He’s safe and well, grazing the virtual paddocks here at Got my goat?

So what are we on about? Well those with a penchant for goat detective work will be sorely disappointed. But for those aficionados of goat based puns, we welcome you.

The origin of who’s got your goat, like the origin of many phrases, is clouded by history and more than a few renditions tainted by the amber liquid. But it goes something like this... goats were said to have a calming effect on race horses when placed in the barn, and they would get upset if someone took away the goat. So when someone is annoyed, their goat is missing– someone has got your goat!

And do you know what has got my goat today? Who would have thought it to be so hard to register a goat based blog name. I mean, how many people out there are actually fighting for a goat domain. Quite a lot it seems. Who’s got your goat, get my goat, why do you have my goat – people have a lot of issues with goats. And now there is one more.

Got my goat?