"Fire Me, Please!"
It's obvious that this offering from CBS, first aired on Tuesday 6/7/05, is a take-off on NBC's vaunted "The Apprentice". Which NBC show has the winner "hired" whereas the CBS knockoff is a contest to get "fired".
Okay.
There are some rules. The businesses that originally "hire" the contestants are in on the scam. The contestants' immediate supervisors and co-workers are unaware, however.
Also, the contestant cannot break any laws, precluding any obvious theft which would, of course, likely get an immediate termination of employment.
The contestant who gets fired closest to 3 pm on their first day of work, without going beyond that time, wins $25,000.
The "skill" required for this show is for the contestant to do something irritating starting the minute they are "employed" with an end to getting fired that same day. The irritating factor should be something that is noticed by those in the surround but not enough to cause immediate termination. The idea being that at the end of the day the irritation will build up enough to cause termination as close to 3 pm as possible but not after.
One contestant, for example, constantly walked around the store in which she was employed. Walking and walking, the clip clop of her shoes on the linoleum very loud. At times this contestant would do a mindless whistle.
This contestant was admonished, after many minutes of whistling, to stop that behavior. As for her endless walking, well it's not a crime to walk about one's place of employment. At least initially this behavior could be overlooked for a few hours. Which is the idea.
This contestant did win $25,000 as her opponent also managed to get fired but not until after the 3 pm deadline.
It's not clear if this is going to be an ongoing CBS series or it was just a one time hoot for Apprentice fans.
Was it interesting? Was it funny? Does the premise have the strength to become a series?
I thought it was interesting and far more challenging than one may think. That's the surprise of it. For without the ability to do something illegal such as stealing merchandise, persons on their first day of employment are generally given much leeway because of their unfamiliarity with the work environment and rules.
It's much harder to get fired under this scenario than one may think is what I'm saying here.
Although my own patience would not last as long as those supervisors and yes, the show is as much about them as it is about the contestants. Some of those folk put up with way more than I ever would.
One contestant worked at a coffee shop. His shtick was to be a smart alec, making insulting comments to customers and yukking it up on the telephone with calls for co-workers. While his supervisor rolled her eyes at this fellow, she stuck with him far longer than I would have.
The show had its funny moments. In a "candid camera" sort of way. For it was the viewers' knowledge that the supervisors were being fooled that was humorous. There is something refreshing about honest, unrehearsed comments at the antics of those playing a joke.
As for this show becoming a weekly series with enough strength to garner a devoted audience, well I'm not sure.
Beginning with the factoid that should the show get recognition on the national radar then supervisors in the future would become immediately suspicious at weird behavior by new employees. Which might cause them to think they are on "Fire Me Please" hence would not act with the spontaneity from which the humor springs. Come to think of it, should the show catch on across the fruited plains, a whole bunch of genuinely weird folks might get a pass far longer than they deserve for the suspicion.
The show as presented this past week was an hour long. By me this was a half an hour too long. Although I did find myself chuckling at some of the reactions and the contestants were far more original that one might think. But after a half an hour the humor becomes old. To keep this premise going CBS will have to add a newer dimension to the show. I don't know what but the show is but "Candid Camera" redux.
A Candid Camera with the same joke used over and over.
With that scenario "Fire Me, Please!" won't get anywhere near Candid Camera's television longevity.
I’m Going to Hold Him To It
Came across this tidbit from the great environmentalist, Al Gore.
So ole Al says there will be no more glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro in 15 years? Well we’re so noting his predictions here and in fifteen years Kaitlyn Mae and myself are going to check back.
As for the Rhone Glacier, I did some googling on this glacier. There’s lots of info on it but most important, no proof that it “is almost completely gone”. I did come across a picture taken in the 1850’s. That picture, when compared to a modern day picture of the glacier, might give an environmentalist wacko a chance to stretch it.
The camera was invented in 1841. So we’ll assume the grainy black and white picture of the Rhone Glacier taken in 1850 or so is real. The problem is that we don’t know the season the mid-nineteenth century was taken. Also my ageing eyes could not discern any great difference between that pic and a modern one.
Beyond that I don’t know on what Gore is basing his information that the Rhone Glacier is almost gone. There are no modern day comparison pics, ie one from say the 1970’s and one in 2000. Even a pic from the 1950’s would be a far better comparison than the one I’ve seen around the Internet.
But okay, we’ll wait fifteen years and see if Gore got it right about Mount Kilimanjaro.
From SFGATE.com
In 15 years, Gore said, there will be no more glaciers on Mount Kilimanjaro. As for Glacier National Park in Montana, he said, "Within 20 years, this is the park that will be formerly known as Glacier." And the Rhone Glacier in Switzerland "is almost completely gone," he said.
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Some Idle Thoughts
time to think, so here are a few thoughts of a retired man.
I had amnesia once -- or twice.
I went to San Francisco. I found someone's heart. Now what?
Protons have mass? I didn't even know they were Catholic.
All I ask is a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
If the world were a logical place, men would be the ones to ride horses
side-saddle. (Think about it!)
What is a "free" gift? Aren't all gifts free?
They told me I was gullible ... and I believed them.
Teach a child to be polite and courteous in the home and, when he grows
up, he'll never be able to merge his car onto a freeway.
Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.
Experience is the thing you have left when everything else is gone.
What if there were no hypothetical questions?
One nice thing about egotists: They don't talk about other people.
When the only tool you own is a hammer, every problem begins to look
like a nail.
A flashlight is a case for holding dead batteries.
Why do people say "close proximity"? Is there a "far proximity?"
My weight is perfect for my height -- which varies.
I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.
The cost of living hasn't affected its popularity.
What was the greatest thing before sliced bread?
How can there be self-help "groups"?
Is there another word for synonym?
What's another word for thesaurus?
What rhymes with orange?
Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?
The speed of time is one-second per second.
Is it possible to be totally partial?
Is Marx's tomb a communist plot?
If swimming is so good for your figure, how do you explain whales?
Show me a man with both feet firmly on the ground, and I'll show you a
man who can't get his pants off.
It's not an optical illusion. It just looks like one.
Is it my imagination, or do buffalo wings taste like chicken?
They asked me if I had a problem being ignorant and apathetic. I told
them, "I don't know and I don't care!"
Life is like a roll of toilet paper... the closer you get to the end,
the faster it goes.
There are two signs of senility: First is forgetfulness... and...
ummm... I can't remember the other one...
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Another Computer Hint Stumbled Upon
Recently we’ve acquired some computers with later versions of Windows than we’d had. So perhaps my newly discovered computer hint is part of the later Windows’ version or perhaps it’d been possible all along and myself didn’t know it.
Whatever the case, it’s a function that I’ve desperately needed and only through luck did I discover the possibilities.
In order to switch back and forth between open programs in Windows it’s always been possible to use the “Alt-Tab” combination key. EXCEPT, so far as I knew, the alt-tab combination key only allowed alternation between TWO open programs, the last two used.
I’ve discovered that by holding the Alt-Tab key combination down, a window will pop up on the screen with icons representing all open programs. By keeping one’s finger on the “Alt” key than hitting the “tab” repeatedly one is able to cycle through the icons in the popup window until the highlight box surrounds the open program desired. When the desired program is highlighted then one simply releases all keyboard keys being held and the program previously highlighted comes up as the active program.
At any one given time I might have five, six or seven programs open on the desktop. Yeah. It’s called multi-tasking and God Bless America.
But with what I thought was a limitation on cycling between open programs (the last two programs accessed) it was a pain to have to get the mouse and go down to the Windows bar and manually click on the program I desired if it was other than the last two accessed.
This discovery that a press of two keyboard keys will allow access to all open programs without bother of the mouse was completely accidental but it’s made my life all the better.
Sometimes we are hesitant to admit not knowing such small things but this Grandmother Blogger will be the first to step up to the podium and admit what she didn’t know.
For the benefit of all of America you understand. ;)
We Love Lucy
Because every home should have at least one calico cat.
We lost our cherished calico, Josephine Memorium to Josephine HERE. She’d lived a long life; we hope a happy one. And while we are already owned by five cats, we missed the calico.
Calico cats are almost always female. And there’s something in their multi-colored coats that causes them to be bossy, always in charge, unafraid.
Our newest calico, named Lucille by husband of the silly names. We call her Lucy and even though small and new to a home with two dogs and five co-cats, she knows her name and tells us all about.
For I suspect that half of the cat team that gave Lucy life was a Siamese. We have another cat that is Siamese and he “talks” quite a bit. This cat has met his match with Lucy.
Weighing less than a pound, her voice reverberates throughout the house.
Indulge me with this picture of our newest feline edition and wish Lucy well in her new home.
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