text:
no because whatever your sales tax rate is times zero is zero. 8% X 0 = 0. I remember stores used to do that but I think they must have changed it, because I am not getting taxed on stuff like buy 1 get one free from buying groceries and redbox as well
Never Pay for a RedBox DVD Rental Again
Why go to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video? Why pay $4-$5 for a DVD movie rental? Why pay anything for a DVD rental ever again? For the last month, I haven't paid for one new release movie at RedBox, and sometimes I've rented two or three in one day. It's legit, it's easy, and if you ever pay even one cent for a DVD rental again, well, you're paying too much. (See also: 8 Ways to Save Money on Entertainment)
I have to thank Peter for first bringing my attention to this back in January, when I posted a free coupon for Hollywood Video. What a fool I was, in hindsight. I was looking for these free rental coupons, scouring the web and clipping magazines and newspapers. All I had to do was pop along to the RedBox which is on my way home from work, punch in a code and grab my free rental.
Code Sharing for RedBox
This is not like illegal downloading (which I hate — cheap, not frugal) or borrowing a copy from a friend. RedBox actually distributes these codes weekly if you sign up for SMS or email messaging. You get free rental codes which you can use for one night's free rental.
But this is the social media age, and the Internet creates a vast number of people all getting codes. Enter the code sharing websites. I've listed a few of my favorites below, but what they basically create is a community of people sharing codes for the RedBox rentals.
Each code is good for one use per credit/debit card (you need to swipe it, you will be charged for each additional day you may have the movie out). If you have more than one card, you get more than one free rental off that code. I have swiped three cards, entered that same code each time, and got three brand new releases for a whole day of movie heaven. OK, so I'm a movie addict.
All you need to do is visit these sites and print out the latest list of codes before your trip to the local RedBox. I like Inside Redbox the best, it gives a percentage rating for the codes, much like RetailMeNot. Anyway, choose your movie, punch in a code (hit the Add Promo Code button), swipe your card and take home your free rental. As long as you return it before 9pm the following day, you never pay for that movie. I do believe they put a $1 hold on your card for each rental, but that is of course returned to you very quickly.
So, there you have it. I can't really believe Blockbuster and Hollywood Video can compete with completely free rentals. And to be honest, with the late fees I've paid in the past, I'm no fan of either.
[Update: the Monday email I received from RedBox today with my code was followed with the phrase, Forward To Friends. I think that settles the ongoing debate about whether RedBox approves of code sharing]
Sites to Find Redbox Codes
Here are sites you can try for codes, which are constantly updated. At the time of writing this article (updated on April 23rd, 2010), both DVDONME and BREAKROOM are working codes that will get you a free rental.
- For MAC geeks - the RedBox Widget (I couldn't live without it) WIDGET
- For Vista users, you can get a RedBox desktop gadget.
- Get the RedBox iTunes App.
- And check out RedBox Mobile.
Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.
Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
I rented several times from redbox with no problems. Until i got my credit card statement in! I am being charged $25.00 PLUS TAX for a movie that i did return. I called redbox and complained they basicly said i was a liar and i got no help! So i will not be renting from ripoff box anymore!!!
I rented two movies from REDBOX, returned them both the next day and have been charged a 15.00 fee to my acct???? I won't be using it again, for us single moms on a strict budget it's not right for them to be able to access fees that shouldn't be there.
R.B. customer service is more than helpful! Did you even call them about your bogus charges?? You can buy the movies for $7.00....(which sounds like you may have done).
You need to make sure you go through the "RENTAL" process as opposed to the machines "purchase" option.
I love the fact that one can go to any REDBOX MACHINE and drop off your movies, It makes it soo convenient if you are in a different city to just drop them off. The price for the rentals couldnt be any better. $1 buck
New customers, always use the code REDBOX first, then use one of the other codes.
MCDWIC29 McDonalds
OPNSEASN2 Giant Eagle
MCDWNTR McDonalds
DVDATWAG Walgreens
red box overhead is miminum plus their dvd are cheap copies so if u can get a free movie here and there more power 2 u
Redbox code SHPNSVE2 now working at many places, McD's, Maverick, Winn-Dixie, Giant, Walgreens, Farm Fresh.
I love RedBox, but unfortunately, this past weekend, someone used the device on the Redbox machine to 'steal' my credit card number after I left. They successfully spent $500 @ itunes using my number. The card Company said they have seen this happening more and more and Redbox is just one place they can do it. Gas stations are another way. The device is put into the swipe slot, and the last card number is copied and they have it! I don't want to stop using Redbox, but now I'm nervous a bit.
Have anyone thought of using a virtual credit card? You could have unlimited free rentals on the same code!
Today's code for a free night's rental* is: JBG123 *Good for one free night's rental. Code expires at midnight Central Time.
March Madness Wednesday Code 3/11/09 per http://blog.redbox.com/
I love redbox..Since the rescission hit i have not rented movies but with redbox i do. It's either spend 3 bucks on 1 movie or 3 bucks and 1 movie a night for three nights..or three all at once..just get them back before 9 lol..but even then if you want to keep the movie for another day it's only a dollar more..still cheaper than movie rental stores.
They changed their UI on their machines since last week. It seems deliberate because the second to last step, where you enter your code, was suddenly missing. And once the machine says "your movie is vending" there's not a cancel button or anything you can do about it. Furthermore, the customer service is about what you would expect for a dollar - "sorry sir, the button is there clear as day." Thanks for nothing.
Can someone tell me how the code works? Will I enter the code number in at the rental machine or online? My wife has used redbox several times but she does not remember it giving you and option to enter a code to get a discount or a free movie. I didn
t see the option at checkout at the redbox website either
You can click on add promo code button in the beginning or when you check out during the rental process.
I have been using Redbox for DVD rentals for several months, primairly if there's a DVD I may want to purchase but not sure if I or my wife would like to buy it outright. For those of you complaining about Redbox, there are some things you need to know and understand before renting a DVD. For starters, the $1.00 daily rental fee doesn't include sales tax. If your state has a sales tax, and most do, then you need to know each rental has a sales tax, just like if you went to Blockbuster. Second, if you do not return the DVD to any Redbox kiosk by 9:00 pm the next day, you are charged a second day rental of $1.00 plus sales tax. This $1.00 plus sales tax continues until you return the DVD on time or until you've kept the DVD for 25 days straight, then it's yours to keep. As for customer service concerning defective discs, or outrageous charges, I can't comment on that because I haven't had any issues with what I've rented from Redbox. This is a great way to rent DVD's on the cheap, and with popcorn from the local store, much cheaper than the movies.
I have been using redbox for over a year and yes i have had problems with discs freezing or skipping half way through all i did was call the redbox 800 number and they gave me a rental code and then took that movie out of circulation when i returned it!
I do have one question...i see people have made comments about getting a rental code every monday now im really bad at checking emails but ive just gone back and seen nothing about a free rental code!
everyone is a little greedy, be you American or Martian. greed doesn't have to be purely selfish in motive. how else would we progress as a society if we didn't pursue a "little greed"? come on, that's just silly.
I signed up for redbox online and had the promos sent to my cell phone. i used to manage a movie rental store and since i quit this is a great way to get the same movie for a fraction of the price!
i THOUGHT REDBOX WAS A GOOD DEAL TOO. UNTIL I NOTICED THAT I WAS CHARGED 36.00 FOR A MOVIE I RETURNED. THATS NOT EVEN A DOLLAR A DAY! WHEN YOU CALL ABOUT IT THEY BASICALLY CALL YOU A LIAR. IM RETURNING TO BLOCKBUSTER.
Well I have had a few minor problems with RedBox and they always have credited my account and made it right so mabey someone rented a movie without you knowing it.
when I had a problem with a mov the gave me a fre code and creditd my account so people dont let this one scare, scare you away from RedBox.
I love Red Box and use them on a regular basis.
Just be careful because their is a hidden cost to using these machines. This hidden cost is the increase in supermarket visits where most Redbox machines are located.
When you rent a $1 video out of a Redbox machine you have committed yourself to a return visit to the supermarket where the Redbox machine is located.
In essence, cheap videos act like a loss leader to lure you back to the supermarket, where you're inclined to make impulse purchases.
In fact, 40% to 50% of all our supermarket purchases are impulse buys! The more trips you make to the supermarket the more impulse purchases you make.
Absolutely rip off, misleading! Their customer service is HORRIBLE! They are trained to say nothing but NO! You think it is convenient,a better deal etc. They say first "there is absolutely no late fee" then they add "we will charge you for each night!" They almost have only 10 movies available and you have to wait for a long time if you have someone in front of you! You can watch the available movies in almost every channel on tv. Why would anyone want to rent a movie that may be available? And then hurry up and return it. You can get so many of them from Netflix, Blockbuster in 1-2 days on-line, or just drive to video store! Do they put only one copy of the movie that they are always out off stock, no matter what time you go?
EVERYONE...enjoy these $1 rental kiosks while they last! Redbox offering rentals for $1 p/day is undermining the movie studios, and they aren't having it! Once all the legal stuff fleshes itself out either Redbox will up their prices to that of Blockbuster or they simply will have to take down their machines. MARK MY WORDS!
The codes are getting further and fewer between nowadays. It used to be that they would send out two per week. Now it is one per week... but not every week.
My wife called Redbox today and she got through after 5 minutes. Redbox said that the DVD I returned had jammed. The technician released it on Tuesday and that is when it registered as returned. The $2 will be refunded. Good, that means we'll be renting a movie tonight. However, I never can get the codes to work for me.
Most people are late to return movies so they end up paying $1 per day after the first day. That's how Redbox makes money by offering free codes. They want you to use them. People who remember to return them the day after are the ones who benefit from the codes.
When I tried to log on to ours notebook, a message saying "there are not sufficient resources to load" my account with the default something-or-other came up. The message had a timer that was going to close the box, and then when it closed it would not log me on. I couldn't turn it off normally so I cut the power. When I turned it back on I logged on fine?
I read here [url=http://worcesterpcrepair.eu/?cat=198]PC Repair[/url] but couldnt make sense?
I have been using redbox for ever and some machines have the code for 1 free DVD outside the box on comercial papers with names of new upcomming DVDs and when I used it it work so we got our DVD rental free then keep going for more some times I keep the movie 2. 3 days and I keep cheking for the charge and it always was fine, people all you have to do it's be patient wait to confirm you movie was returned right, and the codes work one time in every card so everybody can used the same code so here is mine "breakroom" as soon as I get more I'll be posting them here so please post yours too healp the people man, help the people is the economy falt haha we don't need excuses we love it and that's it.
Step 1. You need a debid, credit, or prepaid card( that's the safe way for no over chr)
Step 2. Make sure the machine is on home page
Step 3. Push rent DVD
Step 4. Chose if you want to check DVD alpha or by category
Step 5. Chose your movie then at the bottom press add DVD
Step 6. If you have a promotion code like "red box" or "breakroom" press the redeam code at the bottom of the scren
Step 7. If your adding more movies then press add a DVD if you have more than one credit/ debit card don't add another just press check out
Step 8. Pass the card trow slot and will give you a $0 and will proccess just wait
Step 9. Movie will come out trow your right
If you have another credic/debit/prepaid card start over using the same code now remember you can use the same code ones on every single card you have but you can only use 1 promo code at the time so it's still good even if you only have one card keep cheking for codes you'll have to go to return it the next day before 9 so always remember so you won't be late be there before 8 pm remember thinghs happen and if the machine is broken or stops working in the middle of tracsation or it's out of service becouse their working on it, it will give you a chance to call and work it out, they will probably tell you to live it in the emergency box, that's only when you have talk to them first.
Returnig a DVD
Step 1. Always go with enoph time ( incase there is somebody in line and will take extra long so if you go 5 till 9 you will be late some times once late thell over charge you it's just like the phone company if you make a long distance call thell keep charging you eventhow you haven't used the phone
Step 2. Be very patient
Step 3.Make sure the scren it's on top menu
Step 4. Press the return DVD
Step 5. Make sure the dvd inside is facing the right way then put it in facing the machine (facing the inside) the code shoul go in, you should see the silver part of the disc,
Step 6.Put the DVD in your right from where the DVD came out
Step 7. And the most important wait, wait, wait eventhow the DVD may be wrong the machine will adept it but that does not mean at all your done if the DVD is the wrong side in a minut the movie will come out and if you live thinking it adept it you'll be charge for that movie due to not everybody is honest and the next person after you will, will take it home and redbox will say you never return it when you did return it to the location but not to the inside of the box,( get it) so a lot of people had gone trow this with out knowing why the charge then they get mad when they don't wait and put atention on what they are doing, the machine will tell you if it was inserted the wrong way so just put it the right way
Step 8.wait again for the machine to tell you your DVD was successfully return
Step 9. And final put the machine in main scren
Now you can walk away confident there will be no extra charges unless your late but that's why you have been so patient and where there on time to avoid all crazy things may pass your way like some body that thinks he's the only one that can use the machine and has been there for 1 hour in that case if your only returning a DVD don't be afraid ask for a chance they actually always let you well
Welcome to the crew of redbox
Step 3.
I returned a movie to the local redbox, but it never registered and I got a $27 charge for "keeping" the video. I called and emailed customer service and they asked a bunch of questions which I had answered about 3 times at that point, then sent an email saying they'll investigate the physical box and get back in 10-15 days.... that was almost 3 months ago. I frankly forgot, because I don't sit and wait for this stuff, but I just sent another email about this matter. Another time, my wife tried to return a video for me, and the machine was down for 3 days. I got charged $7, and even after calling, they never returned the fee. I thought this was a great alternative to Blockbuster but not if I keep getting ripped off. I've lost more with Redbox than I ever did with Blockbuster's late fees. Poor customer service, bad hardware .... They get an F.
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that I have really liked reading your blog posts. Anyway
I'll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you post again soon!
I rented a movie from Redbox for $1 was charged $1, returned the movie ON TIME, then five days later I was charged $20, then ever 3 days I was charged another $20 to where my account was overdrawn $220, I called them and was on conference with my bank and REDBOX, they told my bank that they did not charge me anything, and my bank told them they did, and faxed proof, so they credited my account back for those charges, then the very next day they did it again, and now i'm having to do this all over again, and may be suing Redbox, for illegally removing funds from my account.
I had never even heard of REDBOX until I found one of the codes online. Our family uses the kiosk regularly with or without the codes....although I am always on the lookout for codes =)
I think they make enough money off of the new customers that this brings because of the ease of use and convenience. Make no mistake...REDBOX publishes these free codes for a reason and they make them avaliable to everyone. They could just give out single use codes but now how profitable would that be. I myself keep the movies for 2 sometimes 3 days so that all 8 of my in house family members can watch them. And everyone's petty accusations about ripping them off.... you must be so set that you couldnt use a freebie now and then but some of us save where we can to make ends meet and their generosity at making that possible once a week is absolutely awesome.
i have a bunch of codes and they all worked 4 me
and i have alot more but 2 many to out on here so
Of the 14 codes you posted, only the top two worked, and that was a while ago. The others seem to be worthless here in Illinois.
Where did you get those codes from?
some prepaid credit cards still work on redbox, and wont charge your card until you return the movie. simply use the prepaid card on gas or whatever you want, and when the 25 days or wahtever is up and redbox goes to charge the movie to your card, oops, too late.
i can account for binder and binders of dvd's. i know for a fact that redbox pays a huge fine in comparison to the cost of the dvd in retail for the right to rent these out, and when they lose them, boy does it hurt. not only that, they dont get the rental fee!
yes we have three redboxes here and more coming and i love them and yes i use the free codes every chance i get one but i also buy alot of movies from it and rent alot,its one of the greatest things ever came out and we all should appreciate redbox and their owners and thanks for free codes a times,sometimes i may have one or tww codes but i rent like four movies so they making money plus at times i forget codes at home and just buy them and sometimes last and they make even more.but no matter what i called and spoke to redbox in details and thnaked them and made suggestions they are very nice and thanked me for suggestions.anyone have any iedals they said email them or call them and they be happy to listen and pass them on,now that is excellent customer service.i have rented over 100 dvds maybe 20 was free and never charged later on for not returning them or for keeping them longer than i did.i feel the site is very honest and if they do make a mistake they will correct it.today i had two movies that froze a little i called and he emailed me three more free movie codes,that was very nice of him and the movies are watched by many people so they cant help it if damaged but they will remove movie once you return it if you call and tell them.i support redbox and their use of their codes by everyone it helps their sales rise alot.im hoping redbox does away with codes and start putting free movies on our accounts if they want us to have them,this will stop some of the ones that never pay a dime.i also suggested a prepaid redbox gift card,that you could apply for and load or load by credit card but not by cash.well hope you all enjoy redbox cause i sure do.
This article is stupid. Who the heck will wind up paying 4-5 dollars at Blockbuster, while there is one better deal at Redbox? I thought we were in a bad economy. And what else? Why would you want a movie for a week??? All you do is watch the movie in a day!!! It's not like you want to watch it all week. And nobody can tell me that there is a movie that lasts all week. The good thing about Redbox is you can rent the movie, watch it, and send it back the next day. AND HEY, if you liked the movie, you can buy it! I think this article is absurd, to me. In My opinion. Redbox is really worth a dollar of a deal. If I had a hundred dollars, I WOULD rent 100 movies, at Redbox. :D
it was even on the news that redbox knows people share the codes and redbox is okay with it. it gets more customers. then if you have no codes left to use you'll rent and pay. its only a dollar a day and a lot of people try to make it to return the movie the next morning before work but dont have time or dont care because its only a dollar, thus redbox makes money right there.
even if you get one free rental you may rent another movie at the same time like i do. it brings them business. they give out free codes like its nothing because its like a crack dealer giving out a free taste of his crack. they hook you. its like samples at the store on saturday mornings. taste the cookies, you like them, you'll buy them or spread the word about their taste.
Both make out. Redbox gets the DVD you pay 24+ to DVDPlay and no DVD for you!...Can you say SCAM!!!!! Come on people use common sense. Do your research.
Actually the codes are paid for by the people that have red box on premises to draw people into their store so one way or another RedBox is getting paid.
It's not stealing to post codes. Redbox used to email me all the time about "free movie days" and two codes that could be used once every month to get free rentals.
I really don't think that Redbox is ignorant of what is going on here. If this was a huge problem for them not making a good profit, then they wouldn't be promoting codes. They have analysts that monitor transactions and promo code uses. Someone typed that the money comes from late fees. Very true. I work at the library and there are tons of people who do not return on time b/c of illness, time constraints or forgetting. say 500,000 people forget their movies for 2 days. it all adds up.
I used the redbox code - ACME25 the other night and even took a pic of the $0 balance with my phone. I have it posted on my blog....
Redbox has stolen money from my bank account without me having rented anything for several months. I really don't care if people rip them off.
Lately, the only issue I have had with Redbox not working is when I rent the DVS's especially this last week, I rented 5 movies and all but 1 didn't work properly, I mean the DVD's were highly scratched and I couldn't view the movies wihtout skipping or the DVD locking up, (I even took my new DVD player back to walmart and returned for another one) and still the movies didn't play right, oh well, a string of bad luck with the last 4 rented, however, I will still rent..... I asked for a credit, lets see what happens.
The free codes will give you one day of free rental not a week or month etc. As far as returning the dvds. Make sure you watch the screen say returned successfully. If you enter you email addy. you should most likely get a confirmation of returning each dvd and what the total charge of that dvd will be. People that are being charged outrageous fees for un returned movies and the likes should check into the people who are operating the machines It sounds like the company who operates the card swipe is the culprit or the people owning the machines. Remember when you call a 800# you are probably talking to an outside service from the company!!! If you want to dispute a charge try your bank and let them know. Instead of criping on blog sites. I have never had the amount rented for the dvd taken out daily. Only once the movie was returned was my account debited. The prices have gone up where I live though to $2 for the 1st night and $1 for each additional night. Also, people do you know you can return the movies to any redbox location? Hell where I live there are prolly 25-30 redbox's in a 5 mile radius. So far the thing is great to use. Hell blockbuster has started putting machines up too in various locations where I live. I guess they are feeling the pinch to since the closed how many stores nationwide?
As far as the free codes- It's marketing. To get people to the kiosks and away from their competitors. Its the same tatics Lowes and Home Depot use in their advertising & Marketing ploys. The codes are either Prepaid by redbox to the machine owners based on an average sales % or the machine owners are reimbursed by redbox for the amounth of promo codes used vs sales.
To those of you who think using the codes provided is stealing, YOU ARE IDIOTS. Ever get a coupon in the mail and use it to get something for free? Well it's not stealing, especially when Red Box says to share the code with your friends.
I knew it was coming but Red Box has changed the Monday codes. They are now only sent out by text once a month, and they can only be used once.
Has anyone been unable to return their DVD because the box is full? I've been using Redbox for over a year now. I got my DVD yesterday with my free code. When I try to return today, it says they are not accepting returns because the machine is full. Then it says to try later or try another machine. I'm not going to drive all over town, wasting gas, looking for another Redbox. I called the Redbox customer service line. The rep said they'd notify a technician, and then said that I would be charged $1 for tomorrow's rental, but that they'd comp me two rentals for the future. NO. Finally they gave in to refund the $1.
Could this be a way to force people to pay--by refusing to accept the return?
The other dvd blue box always offer free movies when u rent 1 movie.this way redbox can elimninate over free movies. They need to stop charging tax on a rentals. After all we don't keep the movie, we return it.
I rented a few times always returning by the first or second day. Then my credit card statement came and I was charged $25. for what I believe is an unreturned rental. I tried calling and never got an answer. Emailed them and they want to know "what DVD I am refering to". I have no idea? What DVD are they refering to? - I returned them all. Looks like they got me for $25. and I won't ever use them again. Since you can't prove you returned a disk I wouldn't use them!!! Terrible Company!!
RED BOX seams to be a grate thing but just wate till you return the movies and the BOX is broke yes you can call it takes for ever to get some one and thay will tell you thay will give you credit. thats a joke charge charge charge. its a load of crapp the people at Wal-Mart were so nice to see that my movies i had would get back to RED BOX because i live so far away. You can see why I dont have an acct any more i can under stand one day the box is broke but a week. good luck RED BOX you are going to need it.
There's never a line and no one's paying for them. Yeah that sounds like a great business idea to me!
Hey! thanks for the sites for codes. I also have a site regarding the redbox codes. Thanks.
Have a great day!
I have seen numerous people have complained on here about their disc being scratched. I have rented over 30+ movies from redbox within the past year and have had problems with a good number of them skipping and not playing. Since having this problem, I have also noticed that two of my dvd players has completely stop playing movies.
I contacted RED Box on yesterday after renting a new release, and having a problem with a fresh disk without one finger print, smudge or scratch on it, skip then eventually stop playing in my last working dvd player.
After removing the disk to check for scratches, then reinserting it into my dvd player, the disk would not play at all!
To make sure it was not my dvd player, I checked several of my personally owned dvd's and did not have a problem with any of them playing back.
I called red box and the rude customer service rep who repeatedly talked over me and tried not let me complete my story informed me that, "Redbox receive their movies from the same manufacture as blockbuster and other places therefore, it cannot be their movies.
I later informed her, I rented "The vampires assistant and The informant" from blockbuster the day before and had no problems with the dvd's.
She then offered me 3 free codes and I told her I didn not want them. I was not trying to get anything from them, I just wanted to make them aware that something is wrong with "THEIR" dvd's.
I also informed her that I believe its that barcode sticker they place in the middle. She assured me that was not the problem.
IDK, because the only difference between their dvd's, blockbusters's or the one's I have purchased is that crazy barcode sticker that's often not correctly centered.
Have anyone had any problems with their dvd players like me since the rep informed me I was "the ONLY" person to ever have this particular problem, yet I see other comments on this page about dvd quality?
-only "$1 a day"
-can reserve a rental online
-no contract/agreement (like Netflix with $9/month)
-$1 for every day the rental is not back at the Kiosk(not a "late" fee but mine as well should be!!)
-long lines at kiosks (waiting for others to sift through the selection is a pain!!)
-online reservations CAN'T be cancelled (if you rented online and didn't pick it up, 2 bad!! You paid for it and you CANT cancel b4 hand, even if you didn't intend on picking it up!! )
-not truly $1/day or 24hr rental (you could rent something at 1am and it's still due by 9PM (only 15 hours) b4 you're charged for "another day")
-somewhat limited selection
-most don't have blu-ray
-risky machines
Wow that was easy. Seems there really is no perfect movie rental process. They all kinda suck, but I think I'll stick with Redbox for the moment.
I live in the fort Mitchell area and the people who live there have to drive about thirty min. to rent a movie in Columbus GA area. is there any way they can put a red box in the fort mitchell are or some time in the furture. it will be a great service and that is a growning need for it. thank
I love Redbox.. my family went for years without renting movies bc I refuse to pay the high price for renting one movie. At A Boy Redbox IMO, the movie companies are making money out the wahoo, and paying ridiculously absurd amounts of money to people who can memorize a line and put on a show...PLEASE!!! They are just greedy, and afraid of possibly losing a dollar! We started renting them through Redbox last year, and it is convenient. Sometimes a headache when the machines mess up, but I have yet to have customer service not give me a free code or several to make it right. They are always very friendly.
How are you getting the free codes every week.. I get those emails sometimes twice a week, and they never contain a free code. Am I just missing something?
I think the marketing is genius, and giving the free codes is great to, generating traffic, people don't always take the movies back on the same day, and McDonald's is ALWAYS giving away free video rentals. Telling us to share with friends? That generates free marketing! What a wonderful way to rent. I am only wishing they had more movies to choose from. Blockbuster and Hollywood Video are threatened now. They need to generate ways to keep their clientele, what with RB, and Netflix pushing their way through to keep customers out of their stores. Great Job Red Box!!
I usually don't post on things like this, but I see a bunch of dumb comments, so I will.
If you're stilling getting charged after you returned the disc, then you did it wrong. A lot of people don't pay attention to that sticker on the machine and they put the disc in the wrong way, then turn around and leave. The machine will spit that disc back out in a minute or so, and unless someone else returns it properly, it will be stolen and you will be charged.Also, many people put the disc in upside down in the case; The machine can't scan the code on it, so the DVD isn't returned.
Simply pay attention.
Also, the $1 a day isn't a late fee--you choose how long you keep it. You knew what you were getting into. Don't rent it if you can't return it.
- You have to stand in a line? And that is Red Box's fault how? Come later/earlier.
Sheesh people. No matter what is done, people just can't be happy....
...except me. The vending machine near me has dozens of DVDs, and I rent from it constantly.
I signed up for the Redbox codes text messages and I only get one a month. Plus there isn't a Redbox convenient to my house. Netflix delivers directly to my door and the cost is not too much if you watch a lot of movies like I do.
tell u the truth the movies i rented would freeze but thats about and a movie can mess up a dvd player i dont care what any one says its true
You know if people wanted to get movies for free they would just go to a families garage sale. Stupid TARD
Im a new customer... the past three movies that i've rented from thy red box..... have had serious heat damage, but if you call them and complain to them about it, they'll give you two free movie promo codes
All the people who say it's "stealing" you're wrong. why would RedBox GIVE the codes to you weekly if they didn't want you to use them? And it is nice to get a FREE movie every now and then, a dollar is a dollar.. who cares if you get it for free? it doesn't matter if you're a millionaire, it's a DOLLAR for God sake.. like i said- redbox wouldnt give you the codes if they weren't trying to get you to use them.
Go to your local library and you can rent DVD's for up to two weeks for FREE.
This even includes many TV shows and even HBO specials (saw full John Adams for $0).
Why ever pay any of these places again or waste time looking up "free" codes when all they are hoping is that you don't return it the next day so they can charge you addtional rental fees?
It's just like people who refuse to join credit unions then complain about bank fees.


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The impending death of community policing
Editor's Note: In our continuing effort to address issues important to officers who must cover many square miles with a scant few agency resources, we're happy to introduce Lance Eldridge as the latest addition to the PoliceOne roster of writers. Eldridge is currently a patrol officer in Craig, Colorado, a town with a population of roughly 11,000 people and a PD with 24 sworn and seven civilian personnel. If this size town or this size department sounds familiar to you, we encourage you to send us an email and let us know what you'd like Lance to cover in a future column.
The law enforcement profession must reevaluate its understanding of community policing if there's any hope of saving the philosophy from becoming a 21st century anachronism. The problem is the gulf between the current strategic needs of local and state law enforcement leaders and the tactical demands of the officers who sit at the tip of the spear, fighting what can only be described (especially in our urban areas) as a war. The violent nature of criminal activity will only make this gap wider in the coming years.
For all the late-20th century efforts to nudge local and state law enforcement beyond the professional policing model, community policing has remained a quixotic and sometimes controversial notion of modern police work. Law enforcement officers — and the techniques they employ — are shaped not by classroom philosophies or community perceptions but by the nature of crime and the criminals they face.
Community policing may be as close as local and state law enforcement comes to having a strategic doctrine (a plan, policy, or principle to achieve an overall aim). The Department of Justice, the nation's wealthiest proponent of the philosophy, defines community policing as a "... philosophy that promotes organizational strategies, which support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques, to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime."
With such a broad — and therefore academically ambiguous — definition, local and state law enforcement leaders, their often politically conscious employers, the uniformed officer or deputy, and the public they all serve may misunderstand or, in a few immoderate cases, misrepresent the concept.
Local and state law enforcement leaders often find themselves using the ready label of community policing to gain public and political support for a variety of policing actions, some of which may be more institutionally acceptable and publicly popular than effective in reducing crime. David L. Carter of Michigan State University's School of Criminal Justice, and a strong proponent of the transformative power of community policing, suggested as much when he wrote that "[p]ublic backing for institutional responses to problems is notoriously fickle and must not be taken for granted because it ultimately governs political action."
The philosophy, of course, demands that law enforcement officers and agencies spend time working on both reducing crime and the fear of crime among the general population. In this model, notions of idealistic, close community relationships flourish. But this begs the question of who constitutes the "community" for which law enforcement "works" and whether that community should impose politically acceptable priorities or influence police methods. Such a scheme runs the risk of politicizing law enforcement.
There is also a more insidious problem. The localities and agencies that have embraced community policing may be unintentionally fostering the very police state the philosophy was meant to discourage. Having armed law enforcement officers encouraged by community Policing, or directed by policy and practice, to mediate civil disputes, family issues, and social contracts may make officers appear more accessible to the public, but it also creates a slippery slope that places officers, and therefore their authority and integrity, in between and among citizens who otherwise may not request or appreciate their presence. Using law enforcement as a consensual tool in civil disputes builds a dependency on the coercive presence of armed officers for problem resolution in areas better suited for social services.
What's even clearer is that acting like a community activist or social worker — which much of the philosophy of community policing appears to encourage — doesn't sit well with the personality types drawn to modern police work. It's probably a safe bet that someone attracted to social activism will not seek a career in law enforcement, where the constituents are sometimes violent and often must be arrested. The market has, in effect, outpaced the philosophy and relegated it to a topic for lively patrol room discussion. Just read any police publication. Few of the popular periodicals extol the virtues of community policing but instead celebrate the "warrior" ethos that finds strong purchase among many of today's officers. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the accompanying contracts for police trainers, have only bolstered this popular paramilitary image.
For law enforcement leaders, community policing will remain an important tool that helps shape the department's public image and strategic direction. For the individual officer, however, community policing consists of nothing more than knowing the community well enough to be at the right place, at the right time, to deter crime and, should that fail, to develop probable cause to make an arrest.
Community Policing and Politics

subset: commoncrawl


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The Poker Face hitmaker is locked in a legal battle with former employee Jennifer O'Neill, who claims she is owed overtime payments from her time on tour with the singer.
O'Neill, who spent 13 months working as Gaga's aide, filed suit against bosses of the singer's Mermaid Touring Company claiming she is owed £237,500 for 7,168 hours of overtime.
Gaga was recently called to give a video-taped deposition in New York as part of the case, and she shocked the legal representatives by raising her voice and cursing profusely throughout the meeting.
During the testimony, obtained by the New York Post, Gaga described O'Neill as a "f**king hood rat who is suing me for money that she didn't earn," adding, "She thinks she's just like the queen of the universe. And, you know what, she didn't want to be a slave to one, because in my work and what I do, I'm the queen of the universe every day."
Gaga went on to admit she doesn't pay any overtime to any of her employees, insisting O'Neill "knew exactly what she was getting into... This whole case is bulls**t."
The pop star claimed O'Neill should have enjoyed her work because she was able to experience Gaga's luxurious lifestyle which included, "(Sleeping) in Egyptian cotton sheets every night, in five star hotels, on private planes, eating caviar, partying with (famed photographer) Terry Richardson all night, wearing my clothes..." adding, "(She was) asking YSL (Yves Saint Laurent) to send her free shoes without my permission, using my YSL discount without my permission."
Gaga also claimed O'Neill was bad at her job because she left the singer to carry her own luggage and unpack her own bags: "She didn't enough lay out all my stuff for me... I can't sift through everything (and unpack my bags). She would only open a couple of bags, and it was very stressful for me... I was very often... moving my own luggage and doing s**t by myself."
Gaga vowed that if she wins the legal battle with O'Neill, she will donate the money her former assistant demanded to her other employees because "I'm not going to give it to her so she can go to Intermix (store) and buy herself a new tube top."


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|The most ridiculously cool first pitch you will ever see.
- The Royals are hit-and-run fools. They executed two perfectly and sent the runner on numerous other occasions. There was a slightly comical sequence in the third inning when Chris Getz got the 'green light' to go on like 15 straight pitches. Both successful hit-and-runs directly led to Kansas City scoring. Maybe it's me and my old eyes but one does not see much hit-and-run anymore.
- Jeff Francis is a ground-ball pitcher (1.47 GB/FB ratio). Ryan Ludwick is a fly-ball hitter. They seemed to be a bad fit, but Ludwick had a HR and double in two at-bats off Francis, staking starter Mat Latos to an early lead.
- Ludwick would have had a third RBI last night on his double if not for a textbook relay play by the Royals. Alex Gordon, who is a converted third baseman, expertly played the carom off the left-field wall and threw a strike to the cutoff man Alcides Escobar. Escobar then threw a 180' pea to Pena, nailing Chase Headley. The collision was merely pro-forma. Headley was out by 6 feet. I said it on Twitter last night and I'll say it again here - that was a great baseball play.
- That relay to end the third inning was the first of three great throws from the outfield grass. Melky Cabrera almost got Chris Denorfia tagging from second to third in the sixth, and Denorfia almost turned the trick on Pena's tag play in the bottom of the same inning.
- Another one of those searches I wish I could do - the last time a Padre pitcher scored on a wild pitch. Baseball-Reference's search fields don't appear set up to support that (If any of you readers knows how to do it, please pass your secret on to me so I can learn how). Latos did it in the bottom of the fourth.
- The winning run in this one scored without benefit of a hit. Escobar air-mailed the ball to first on Jesus Guzman's grounder; it landed about 15 rows back. Guzman took off for third on Hudson's grounder to third, forcing a throw from Royal first basemen Eric Hosmer which was not caught by Escobar. Guzman trotted home.
I love aggressive baserunning like that. Because Moustakas (Royals 3B) had to come in to field O-Dog's ball, there was no one to cover the bag, so it became a footrace between Guzman and Escobar. Escobar correctly anticipated needing to cover the bag, but he, the throw, and Guzman all arrived at about the same time, and Escobar couldn't make the play.
- Guzman started at first last night and did OK. I thought he should have been charged with an error on Gordon's ground ball leading off the sixth - it looked like it went through him from my vantage point waaaaay out in LF - but admittedly I didn't have the best angle to make that determination. Anthony Rizzo came in as a defensive replacement the next inning.
- The other interesting substitution was removing Ludwick in favor of Will Venable for the ninth. Ludwick's defense is not as bad as some would lead you to believe, but he does occasionally look just awful trying to go back and corral balls hit to left. On the substituion Denorfia took over in left and Venable, who had pinch-hit in the eighth, stayed in to play right. FWIW, Ludwick's plus/minus (from Bill James Online) is +5 (LF), Denorfia +6 (RF), Venable +6 (RF). On the defensive spectrum LF is considered a less difficult position than RF, so Denorfia's +6 can be considered more than just 1 point better than Ludwick's +5. Maybin clocks in at +14 in CF.
Podcast tonight at 10pm PDT. It'd be nice to have another victory to crow about.


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RV Forum flags - click HERE
We still had our popup, and camped in a site that was so out of level the rear of the little short pup was almost unreachable....It dawned on my that had we been in long TT with an outdoor kitchen I would have needed a ladder to get to it.
Is that you?
Our motorhome came with a gas grill that attaches to the side of the camper - it went to the dump with the box unopened.
I'll bet most of you who rave about the oudoor kitchen don't full time. We cook in the kitchen and usually eat inside as well. Different strokes. Ernie
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Hello everyone,
recently I had to optimize a wordpress website that was really slow, in the end I achieved this result:
I believe it is an acceptable result, it could be better by using a CDN, but I thought it would be not worth the effort (at least for now).
I'll explain the tools and the procedures I used to speed up the website.
- Google's PageSpeed Insight
- Google's Chrome Developer Tools (especially "Audit" and "Network" tabs)
- WebPagetest
- Show Slow
- REDbot
- CompressJS
- Online JavaScript/CSS Compression Using YUI Compressor
- Compress JPG
- Compress PNG
- Inquisition (a tool I made and released OpenSource to optimize the homepage)
The above-mentioned tools helped me understanding the situation and where to work to fix one by one all the problems along with WordPress's Codex.
WordPress administration interface related operations:
- Checking the installed plugins:The easier step, and one of the most effective, available. Many WordPress users tend to get overexcited by the huge amount of plugins available and might end up install a lot of them.
Usually a plugin interact with the database or simply interact with the WordPress installation by implementing new features, widgets, theme modifications, fancy shortcodes, introducing new JavaScript files and/or CSS files bloating the website with a lot of things to handle, this generate 2 important problems:
- More database queries
- Higher RAM consumption
This 2 things together will slow down by a lot your website so is important to understand what your website need and what you need and can me implemented with few lines of code.
Taking as example Twitter, you can find many plugins that will display your recent tweets or allow others to follow you. There is no need to use plugins for something so simple, Twitter is kind enough to offer the code snippets needed to achieve this, they are available here: https://twitter.com/settings/widgets.
A lot of other situations like this one can be simplified by using snippets offered by the service itself (Facebook, Google+, Linkedin, Instagram and many other offer snippets). Don't use a plugin when you can instead use few lines of code, it is usually a matter of seconds (copy & paste).
- Caching:
Using a valid caching system will enable your WordPress website to go really fast (the access speed to the website I optimized went from 2 seconds to less than 400ms by just adding a wordpress's plugin to handle the cache).There are many WordPress plugins that handle the cache and allow customization of what-to-cache-and-how but unless you really know what you are doing it is better to grab a simple plugin and enable the recommended options (just keep in mind that recommended doesn't mean default).I used WP Super Cache and I'm very happy with it, it works without spending hours to configure it and the gain in performance is huge, keep in mind that it is not bug free so keep an eye about updates.
Few steps are needed to have a basic-intermediate configuration:
- From the "Easy" tab select "Caching on (Recommended)"
- From the "Advanced" tab select:
- Cache hits to this website for quick access.(Recommended)
- Use PHP to serve cache files.
- Compress pages so they're served more quickly to visitors.(Recommended)
- Cache rebuild. Serve a supercache file to anonymous users while a new file is being generated.(Recommended)
- Again in the "Advanced" tab configure the Cache Timeout and the Scheduler so the stale cached files will get properly removed
With this few steps you will get a huge boost in access speed but you will have to manually empty the cache (from the Settings menu in your WordPress administration) if you need to have a page or a post updated instantly or wait for the cache timeout.
You can also use the "Preload" tab to cache every published post and page on your site automatically, be warned that preloading creates lots of files since the caching is done for every post and page (from the newest to the oldest), you will also be able to set the time between each refresh, depending on the amount of visits and other parameters (server resources, frequency of new contents etc…) you may want a short interval (30 minutes) or a larger one (60+).
- Image optimization:
From the tool list I mentioned Compress JPG and Compress PNG, they are awesome tools that can greatly reduce the disk space occupied by the images and therefore speed up the website by reducing the weight of the pages, it is important that you also resize the images to the actual needs, there is no need to have skyscraper-sized images for a homepage slider or a showcase, unless you actually want to share such things and even in this case, linking to the bigger image is preferred.
The situation so far
At this point the other optimizations are on the code, if you are not familiar with coding related knowledge (WordPress structure, PHP, FTP/SSH, CSS, JavaScript, HTML, etc…) you may stop reading here and have a partially optimized website, it will perform better than the initial state but it will not be at its better level.
Code optimization
WordPress's code is not that bad, but some basic changes can be made to optimize it.
- Script to the bottom:
Moving the scripts to the bottom of the HTML document is really the most basic and know technique to speed up the pages since JavaScript files block the downloads of the other assets and prevent parallel downloads from any domain.
To instruct wordpress to move all the scripts to the bottom, you can use this small snippet in the functions.php :
remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_print_scripts'); remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_print_head_scripts', 9); remove_action('wp_head', 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 1); add_action('wp_footer', 'wp_print_scripts', 5); add_action('wp_footer', 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 5); add_action('wp_footer', 'wp_print_head_scripts', 5);
- Remove unnecessary query tags from CSS & JavaScript files:
The query tags serve the purpose to always send the correct version of the file regardless the cached version of it.
This snippet will strip away the query tag, it is also possible to specify a NULL value instead of FALSE or a version when enqueuing the resources, but I haven't tested it.
function _remove_script_version($src) { $parts = explode( '?', $src ); return $parts[0]; } add_filter('script_loader_src','_remove_script_version',15,1); add_filter('style_loader_src','_remove_script_version',15,1);
- Generic theme optimization:
Since (almost) everyone use external resources in a webpage (google fonts, social network widgets, tracking codes, CDNs for JavaScript libraries, etc..) it is important to keep in mind that each request to an external source will incur a DNS lookup.To avoid that, you have to modify your <head> with few lines of code that will prefetch the DNS as soon as possible speeding up the process.Here a snippet that will show the most use of the DNS prefetching technique on the most commonly used domains:
<link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//fonts.googleapis.com"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//platform.twitter.com"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//www.google-analytics.com"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//themes.googleusercontent.com"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//p.twitter.com"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//cdn.api.twitter.com">
More information on the topic is available here: http://calendar.perfplanet.com/2012/speed-up-your-site-using-prefetching/.
- CSS homepage optimization:
Assuming you are still reading, I would like to share the tool I've made while working on the homepage optimization.I believe that the homepage is a critical part of the website, and should then (if/when possible) perform as better as possible (would be better if the performance was great on the whole website of course).Since I'm not (yet) a master in the ways of Shell my script is not the best around, and I'm sure it can be a lot better, but it get the job done.
The idea behind the tool is to take in input the list of the CSS classes thare are not used in the homepage (thanks to the Google Chrome's Audit tab of the developers tools) and the CSS file(s) that are used (after formatting it with this tool with the option "Insert a line breaks after '}' characters.") and it will output a new file that will not have the unneded classes.
- .htaccess caching management:
Assuming you can't modify the virtual host configuration, you can modify (and should) the .htaccess file to define directives that will help speeding up the website.From apache.org:
You should avoid using .htaccess files completely if you have access to httpd main server config file. Using .htaccess files slows down your Apache http server. Any directive that you can include in a .htaccess file is better set in a Directory block, as it will have the same effect with better performance.
There are few modifications possible:
- ETag removal:
More information available here: http://developer.yahoo.com/performance/rules.html#etags.
# 'FileETag None' is not enough for every server. <IfModule mod_headers.c> Header unset ETag </IfModule> FileETag None
- Far future expire header:
With this few lines of code we set the expiry date to 1 year in the future.
<IfModule mod_headers.c> <FilesMatch "\.(ico|pdf|flv|jpg|jpeg|png|gif|js|css|swf)$"> Header set Cache-Control "max-age=31536000, public" </FilesMatch> <FilesMatch "\.(html|htm)$"> Header set Cache-Control "max-age=31536000, must-revalidate" </FilesMatch> </IfModule>
- ETag removal:
- Other .htaccess modifications:
Lastly we can also force Internet Explorer to always show the website at latest version, it may fallback to IE7 and if it is available it will use ChromeFrame if it's installed.
<IfModule mod_headers.c> Header set X-UA-Compatible "IE=edge,chrome=1" <FilesMatch "\.(appcache|crx|css|eot|gif|htc|ico|jpe?g|js|m4a|m4v|manifest|mp4|oex|oga|ogg|ogv|otf|pdf|png|safariextz|svg|svgz|ttf|vcf|webm|webp|woff|xml|xpi)$"> Header unset X-UA-Compatible </FilesMatch> </IfModule>
- Apache configuration:
To maximize the speed of the connection it is also important to correctly configure the Keep-Alive setting to allow a single HTTP session to permit mutliple requests to be sent over the same TCP connection. More information are available at the apache.org website.
And that is all, it took me a lot of time, but I'm more than happy to share my knowledge and discoveries with everyone who care about this stuffs.
The WordPress website I optimized is www.oss4b.it and here is a recent report about the situation on the website.
Unfortunately I didn't had the chance to work on the database optimization, but I'm looking forward to try Percona Server as I was lucky enough to be at the conference and speak with a Percona expert, was very interesting!
I'm open to questions and suggestions as I believe some things could have been done better and that there are a lot of tools that I don't know of!


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Kojima Productions has apparently turned Metal Gear Solid: Rising's Raiden from brown-eyed to blue, one of many little tweaks to the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty co-star since his E3 2009 debut.
The new Raiden is less undead looking, has a little more bounce in his wavy white hair, is slightly less matte and has been given a bit of a simplifying once-over by the developers it seems. Plus there's something in the way, something that looks almost like a sword, but also like a mistake. Go on, click on that image to see the finer details!
The folks at The Snake Soup spotted the updated Raiden render while playing a bit of Metal Gear Solid: Piece Walker, the recently launched multiplayer jigsaw puzzle game from Kojima Productions. Maybe there are more surprises buried within that online game.
And maybe we'll see a bit more of Raiden and Metal Gear Solid: Rising at this year's E3.
Raiden 2.0 [Twitpic via Metal Gear Scholar - thanks, Matthew!]


text: It's always a great time to pay homage to the master of eldritch horror — and The Revelator is here for you, with a fantastic H.P. Lovecraft themed issue. There's a highly entertaining editorial, plus amazing fiction by Meghan McCarron and Laird Barron. McCarron's "Lovecraft in Brooklyn" not only takes its name from a great Mountain Goats song, it also tackles hipsters, racism and gentrification in a truly creepy, Lovecraft-inspired way. And there are essays by Nick Mamatas (author of the Lovecraftian Move Under Ground) and others. Check it out.


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I said it.
Today was an off day.
And while I have a hard time posting this, I feel like mothers need support.
Mothers, espeically mothers of tiny people, need to know we're not the only ones out there that:
Lose their cool.
Feel like bedtime is approaching like molasses. (AKA...reallllllly slow.)
Feel/Do embarrassing things.
So here I am...publishing my "off" day.
It didn't start out too off.
He woke up earlier than usual...so he lost about 45 mins of sleep there.
He was doing pretty good.
Didn't appreciate when the dog knocked him to the ground.
But that's understandable.
Most people wouldn't.
And then Papa punished his dog...so I guess we know the TRUE pecking order.
Kam wins. :)
But then after not being able to climb in the cat box and having the vacuum get put away (because those are really upsetting when you're 11 months)....it was nap time.
We are in transition.
That terrible transition from 2 naps to 1.
Not quite ready for 1.
Doesn't quite need 2.
And since he woke up so dang early, his nap
time was early as well.
I woke him up after 1.5 hrs so hopefully he would go back down for an afternoon nap.
This was him after nap...
All the cool kids read upside down.
A friend of my mother in law came over to see Kam and the new house.
He was a perfect angel for the guest...thank goodness.
Shortly after they went out to lunch he started saying, "ouch."
I stepped on the hot concrete and yelled, "ouch."
So for about an hour he kept saying over and over again: "ach, ach, ach, ach."
It was awesome.
It was right about now that all hell broke loose...slowly and painfully.
I could tell he was getting tired, but not tired enough.
So we went outside to get some stimulation.
As soon as I saw an eye rub and a yawn I raced back inside to get him down in what used to be the golden window for him to go down nicely.
That golden window has gone to trash.
So after being rocked and fed I set him in the crib and prayed he'd go down.
10 mins later...
20 mins later...
30 mins later...
We've gone from whining to crying.
45 mins later...
We've gone to loud/aggressive crying.
55 mins later...
We've gone to screaming.
65 mins later...
75 mins later...
Still screaming.
I am not proud to admit that in this time I:
pinterested a lot.
screamed in to my pillow.
felt my heart break.
stormed up and down the hallway.
and of course...cried.
Angry to sad to ignore to really angry to really sad to really really angry.
I finally hit my breaking point.
I went in.
He, of course, acted all dramatic and fake coughed all over the place.
I picked him up and tried to cuddle him to sleep.
Yeah no...not happening.
Instead I got scratched in the face, head butted in the nose, and got ears full of screaming.
So after 20 mins of that I gave up and just plopped him on the ground.
To which he promptly yawned, rubbed his eyes, and laid his head on the ground.
And then started playing...crankily mind you.
Once I regained my cool, I hopped off the bed to be nearer to my 11 month old.
I was mentally and emotionally exhausted.
This is how we ended up.
Still not asleep, but at least he wasn't moving or throwing a tantrum.
A few more hours of a rough, cranky baby and I was off to dance.
And what a welcome sight that dance studio was!
I felt all the stress leave my body.
(Of course he was fine for my mother in law.
Either that or he threw tantrums and she's just more patient than I am...haha.)
If you've made it this far...congratulations!
Why, you may ask, am I writing this super detailed post about a hard day?
It's necessary.
As I was texting some of my friends during this ordeal, I was so grateful to know they're fighting the same battles.
I was so grateful to know I'm not the only one who lets a little person get the best (errr...worst) of me.
I was so grateful for their support and friendship.
Us mothers...we have to stick together.
Because to those without kids...this seems like not a big deal.
I know how I felt before I had a baby.
"So he didn't take a nap...big whoop!"
"So he's cranky for a few days...he's a kid...who cares?"
But WE know why it's a big whoop and why it cares!
Because it makes us crazy!
Because it pulls out the worst side of us.
Because for some reason this tiny human makes our emotions run wild.
We become mothers we swore we'd never be.
And that's why I wrote this.
So hopefully one of y'all reading this will know you're not alone.
I've been loving this article that's been floating around on Facebook.
So even though I can't personally be there to help you out...hopefully this post does.
Cheers to those who've had a bad day!
Whether you're a mother or not...bad days suck.
So pat yourself on the back.
You made it through this day.
There's always tomorrow.


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Fifty Shades of Grey memes are everywhere you turn, so it's no wonder that the King of Facebook Memes, Star Trek's Sulu, aka George Takei, is now throwing his hat in the ring. His buddy Gilbert Gottfried turned Takei onto E.L. James' erotic novel, and he decided to do his very own YouTube reading of the book's steamier bits. Yes, it's pretty funny. And a bit aaaawkward. But mostly really funny.
The video also features Takei's husband Brad Altman, who, from another room, seems to think his honey keeps saying, "Oh my!" due to gas troubles. Little does he know ...!
Check it out ...
Yeah, outside of our exclusive mom blogger and CafeMom staff roundup, this has to be one of my fave readings of the book by far. If only because Takei clearly has such a fabulous sense of humor about it, and it hilariously mimics how redundant James' language and catchphrases in the book can be. I'm sure I'm not alone in wondering just how many times Ana actually says, "Oh my!" ... or "crap!" or "holy ..." or "jeez," etc.
Let's face it. As awesome as their readings were, stars like Ellen, Gilbert, Morgan Freeman, and even Kristen Stewart have nothin' on George Takei!
Which celeb reading of the book has been your fave so far?
Image via allegiancebway/YouTube


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At SAU, learning happens in our 97+ majors and programs, but it doesn't end there. It also happens in one-on-one meetings between students and faculty. It happens over a cup of coffee at Sacred Grounds, our campus coffee shop. It happens in graduate cohorts across Michigan and Ohio. Our caring faculty and staff are here to form students into critical participants. Whether you're fresh out of high school, looking to finish a degree or want to take your mind and career to the next level in a master's program, SAU will help you discover and embrace your purpose.
Your education is an investment in your future. Our Tuition & Aid section lays out what that investment looks like and how SAU helps make your future more affordable. Here, you'll find information on grants, loans and scholarships as well as other financial aid programs. We also have Net Price Calculators and in depth information for prospective undergraduate students.
…there's plenty more to keep you busy! Between intramurals, concerts and on-campus events, we'll help you fill your schedule. Campus housing options range from traditional dorms to apartments and houses. But it's not so much where you live as how you live, and the spiritual life at SAU pushes students to live admirable lives in community with one another. Chapel is the lynchpin of spiritual life at SAU, bringing together students with dynamic worship and powerful messages.
Whether you're playing rivals across state lines or friends across campus, a whole lot of life is about how you play the game. The Spring Arbor University Cougars are known for their success on the playing field and their commitment to the classroom and community. SAU competes in 17 intercollegiate sports within the Crossroads League, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the National Christian College Athletics Association. Our intramurals program also provides opportunities for students to play sports on campus. Read more about Intramurals at SAU.
Our admissions section gives you all the tools you need to make your education a reality. Whether you are applying for admission or simply want to visit campus to learn more, our admissions staff is here to help. Learn how SAU helps make your education affordable with our generous financial aid packages. Learn more about applying for our adult degree completion programs or becoming a student in one of our master's programs.


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Lenovo unveils new Yoga Tablet
Lenovo's new Yoga tablet can strike a variety of poses for viewing and interacting with the device.
New Android tablet has three modes to hold, stand and tilt the device.
NEW YORK — The Yoga Windows 8 computer Lenovo brought out a year ago was so named because of its flexibility. You could fold or contort the machine into four distinct positions: starting in a standard clam-shell mode as a laptop but then bended into a stand mode for say, watching a movie. You could also prop it up in "tent mode" like a tepee or fold it into a fourth tablet mode.
Now Lenovo is bringing its multi-mode strategy to a new product, the aptly named Yoga Tablet. This time there are three modes: Hold (for, well holding the tablet), Stand (for propping it up, say, for a video) and Tilt, which may be the best way to enter data with your fingers. The tablet is designed with a kickstand on the back and a cylindrical battery that Lenovo claims can last up to 18 hours, at least when you're reading.
Lenovo is selling two models, both that run the Jelly Bean version of Android: a ten-inch model for $299, and and an 8-inch model for $249, weighing in at 1.33 pounds and .88 pounds respectively. The machines come with 16GB or 32GB of memory, which can be expanded via microSD. Each has a 1.6 megapixel front camera along with a 5 megapixel rear camera.
KUTCHER COMES ABOARD: Lenovo signs up Ashton Kutcher as product engineer
They are available beginning Wednesday. Best Buy has an exclusive on the 8-inch version.
Jay Parker, president of Lenovo North America, says "What we've found is that now you have so many devices that do different things; we started thinking why can't we create a device that does multiple things at once."
Analyst Frank Gillett at Forrester Research said the new Lenovo tablets are interesting examples of creative hardware innovation. But to create a "solid" customer experience the company must work to create an integrated Lenovo software experience.
In my original review of the Lenovo Yoga hybrid computer I felt it worked best as a laptop as opposed to a tablet. The Yoga Tablet is a tablet all the way, just one that can be positioned differently depending on the task at hand. With that in mind, I'm curious to see how it holds (or bends) up.
USA TODAY's Ed Baig interviews Lenovo exec Jay Parker about the company's mobile strategy.


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Facebook not mollified by Obama meeting
It doesn't sound like Facebook is satisfied by President Obama's explanation of National Security Agency programs that touch on the Internet.
"While the U.S. government has taken helpful steps to reform its surveillance practices, these are simply not enough," Facebook said in a statement following Friday's meeting between Obama and Internet executives.
"People around the globe deserve to know that their information is secure and Facebook will keep urging the U.S. government to be more transparent about its practices and more protective of civil liberties," the statement said.
In addition to Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, Obama met with Reed Hastings of Netflix, Drew Houston of Dropbox, Alexander Karp of Palantir, Aaron Levie of Box, and Eric Schmidt of Google.
Zuckerberg inspired the meeting with a Facebook post this month saying that NSA programs pose threats to privacy.
A White House statement said Obama told the executives that he is considering counterterrorism, technology and privacy in assessing possible changes to NSA programs.
"The president reiterated his administration's commitment to taking steps that can give people greater confidence that their rights are being protected while preserving important tools that keep us safe," the White House said.
From Bloomberg News:
"The meeting was arranged after Zuckerberg said he called Obama to express his frustration over the government's spying.
"'The U.S. government should be the champion for the Internet, not a threat,' Zuckerberg wrote in a March 13 post on his Facebook page. 'They need to be much more transparent about what they're doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst.'
"Zuckerberg's comments followed reports that the NSA may have infected computers with malware and disguised itself as a Facebook server to gain access to users' data for spying, according to documents leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden to the online news site The Intercept.
"The meeting also preceded a March 28 deadline under which Obama is seeking recommendations to end the NSA's collection of bulk phone records. Internet companies are closely watching what Obama decides to do about the collection of bulk phone records, because the spying is done under a broad authority that could also include the interception of Internet data, said a person familiar with yesterday's gathering who wasn't authorized to speak on the record."


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The mailman brought me the death certificates for two of my husband's great-great grandparents, Benedetto Davi and Maria Terzo. I was surprised at their prompt arrival only a little more than a week after I had mailed off the requests. The difference from the last time I had sent off to New York City Department of Records and Information for death certificates was that this time I had the dates of death and the certificate numbers (thanks to The Italian Genealogical Group website).
Both deaths had occurred in 1934, which meant the death certificates contained a decent amount of information about the deceased; this included the names of the parents of the deceased, except for the name of Benedetto's mother - unfortunately, Maria had provided her own maiden name instead of her mother-in-law's maiden name.
Benedetto's father's name was given as Joseph (= Giuseppe) Davi. I have learned that you should always check to see (1) whether the parents of an immigrant also came over to this country and (2) whether an older relative's name appears in later generations (i.e., among Benedetto's siblings or children). So I started to look for a Giuseppe Davi in census and immigration records.
This yielded an interesting hit: a ship manifest dated 10 September 1902 with a Maria Terzo and four children traveling from Palermo to New York City - and their names were all crossed out. This of course indicates that for some reason they did not make the trip. And I do have a ship manifest for the trip they did eventually make on 24 August 1903. I hadn't found this 1902 manifest from searches for Maria Terzo, because her name had not been indexed correctly, and I stopped looking after I found the 1903 manifest (which corresponded to the year of immigration that appears for her on the census records).
But there was one striking difference between the family information on the two manifests: the 1903 manifest shows only three children. Giuseppe is not there. And a glance back at the 1902 manifest revealed a comment in the "Deformed or Crippled/Nature and Cause" column: "gibbous." Well, I know what a gibbous moon is. According to Webster's II New College Dictionary, gibbous also means "having a hump, humpbacked."
Was Giuseppe too ill to travel? Did he die before the 1903 voyage? His health was reported as "good" in the "Condition of health" column. Or was his deformity a possible bar to getting through the health inspection upon arrival in the United States? Perhaps the trip was cancelled for another reason? Was he left behind with relatives?
Sometimes you search for one thing and find something else. And that something else leads to more questions.


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Weighing weather factors
Game called.
During the days at Connie Mack Stadium, a blue flag would be hung near the main entrance to the ballpark when a game was called because of weather. Today, phone calls and the internet have replaced the old blue flag.
What goes into a decision regarding whether a game is called or played because of weather?
Our ultimate goal, and that of Major League Baseball, is to play the game as scheduled.
However, whenever a weather forecast could impact the playing of a game at Citizens Bank Park, a group of Phillies personnel meets to review the situation. That group includes upper management, baseball administration, head groundskeeper, ticket office, ballpark operations, media relations, broadcasting and events.
The Phillies subscribe to a computerized weather radar program as one resource. In addition, the club consults with several weather bureau services to gather as much information as possible. On occasion, the Phillies will also check with meteorologists at the Philadelphia TV stations.
Weather factors that are monitored include the severity of the forecast, the speed at which the storm/rain is moving and the projection by the hour for that particular day/evening. Forecasts for the next day often enter the picture.
Other factors include the opponent's schedule and potential future dates when a game can be rescheduled. The rescheduling of games is cleared through Major League Baseball's central office in New York.
The impact on the fans is also taken into consideration.
Once a game is called, both teams, umpires, fans, Phillies game day employees, ARAMARK staffers, ticket office personnel, both team's broadcasters, the media and the Philadelphia Police Traffic Department are notified all at the same time by different department heads. An e-mail is also sent to every Phillies employee. Priority in the media goes to this website and key radio stations.
Generally, the state-of-the art playing field at Citizens Bank Park can absorb a good amount of rain which permits the playing of the game. But, Mother Nature sometimes can be overwhelming. Tonight was such a case.


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Hampton Outduels Old Dominion, 84-77
By ODU Athletics
Dec. 18, 2001
Norfolk, VA- Hampton University's Devin Green scored 24 points to lead his team to a 84-77 victory over host Old Dominion this evening. The Pirates improve to 8-1 on the season while ODU falls to 6-3.
The Pirates' speed and athleticism were apparent early on in the contest, as the visitors raced out to an early lead that stretched to as many as seven points. Green and fellow forward Isaac Jefferson were pivotal for the Pirates in the first period, Green finished with 11 and Jefferson had seven points in the first half.
Old Dominion finally pulled even with the Pirates late in the first half, tying the game twice with a Pierre Greene (Chicago, IL) jumper and a pair of Ricardo Marsh (Mebane, NC) free throws. The Monarchs finally went ahead with under two minutes to go in the half, as freshman Kiah Thomas (Norfolk, VA) combined with Marsh for a 6-0 spurt to close the first stanza and send ODU to the locker room up 39-33.
The seesaw play continued in the second half as Old Dominion went ahead by eight. A technical foul was called on the Hampton bench, sending Rasheed Wright (Greensboro, NC) to the line. The junior sank both baskets for a 43-35 ODU lead with 19:02 left.
Five minutes later Hampton took the lead again on Devin Greene three-pointer, and both sides continued swapping baskets. ODU's John Waller (Richmond, VA) hit two crucial three's for the Monarchs, but Pirate guard Barry Hairston put his side up for good at the six-minute mark, converting a lay-up for a 69-68 lead.
Old Dominion went cold in the final minutes, turning the ball over several times near the basket and missing opportunities to convert. Green sealed the win for the Pirates with a trey at 1:27, pushing the Hampton lead to 10.
The Pirates shot .582 for the game and registered 12 steals. The Monarchs shot .448 and outrebounded Hampton 38-28, but turned the ball over six more times as well.
Pirate guards Tommy Adams and Barry Hairston scored 20 and 16, respectively, for Hampton. Isaac Jefferson finished with 11 points, seven assists and six steals.
Old Dominion was paced by Marsh, who tallied 24 points and nine rebounds. Rasheed Wright scored 16 with three boards.
The Monarchs will return to action on Friday, when they host UNC-Wilmington in a pivotal CAA match-up.


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AS-Rack (Analog Studio Rack) brought you a "Modular Rack" that provides hot-swappable 500 series style EQs, Compressors, Gate, Exciter and a Tube Driven Pre-Amp; the perfect all-in-one channel strip!
The rack has now been split into its individual modules for separate and bundle purchase.
AS - Gate Expander, inspired by a classic (three letter acronymed) famous British console brings the control to your tracks! Slice and dice noise and low-end rumble, and expand your sound so it punches through the mix.
The plug-in comes with an array of presets specifically designed for various instruments as your starting point. Utilize them in your mixes, tweak, or create your own.
Disclaimer : Product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within this document are the property of their respective trademark holders. These trademark holders are not affiliated with Plugivery INC, our products, or our website. Similar names only serve as a reference.


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Apply for Admission
Apply Now | Priority Dates | Request Information | Schedule a Visit
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*The University of Houston has some majors that have additional admission criteria. View Freshman, Transfer and International special major requirements.
Why Apply to UH?
Award-winning faculty, 100+ undergraduate degree options and all that a vibrant international city has to offer: these are just a few of the reasons why students choose the University of Houston.
As you explore what UH can do for you, why not schedule a visit to our gorgeous campus? Contact the Visit Coordinator to arrange an individual or a group tour. It's a great way to see our facilities and meet some of the faculty and staff that make things happen at UH.
Applying to the University of Houston is the first step toward your rewarding future. Whether you're applying as a freshman, a transfer or an international student, we're always happy to answer your questions. So why wait? Apply today!
If you've already applied and been accepted to University of Houston, congratulations! Now you probably have a lot of questions about what happens next. For more information, visit the Information for Recently Accepted Students page. There's even a web page of Information for Parents, too. We'll see you soon!


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It's been less than a day since the Chicago teachers' union went on strike, but the move is already turning into a major headached for Barack Obama and his re-election campaign.
On the surface, the strike is obviously problematic for Obama, giving Republicans an opportunity to tie the president to Big Labor overreach, as well as his home town's notoriously dirty politics.
But the strike has also caused a more immediate issue for Obama's re-election effort: It is distracting Rahm Emanuel.
The strike comes just a few days after Emanuel announced that he would step down as honorary chair of the Obama campaign and take over fundraising for the pro-Obama SuperPAC Priorities USA. The Chicago mayor is a prolific fundraiser, and Democrats were giddy at the prospect of putting some real muscle behind the party's relatively lackluster SuperPAC efforts.
But all that is in jeopardy now that Emanuel has to deal with his city's teachers' strike. Politico reported today that Emanuel is suspending his fundraising efforts during the strike, and has cancelled an appearance at a SuperPAC fundraiser in Chicago tonight.


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Rediscovery of the Elements: Paracelsus
Description: Article describing the career and discoveries of Phillippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus Bombastus von Hohenheim. Tourist information regarding locations important to his life are visited and discussed.
Date: Winter 2005
Creator: Marshall, James L., 1940- & Marshall, Virginia R.
Partner: UNT College of Arts and Sciences


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Today's Random Question is looking at your favourite tracking shots, expensive crane shots, impressive shots or just long takes in general. Some of my favourites include the tracking shots in Boogie Nights, I Am Cuba, Goodfellas and Werckmeister Harmonies, but you can probably think of a lot more. Let me know some of your favourites […]
Blog Archives
Ten Memorable Long Takes in Movies
Sep 7
This gallery contains 1 photo.
To contrast with yesterday's post about jump cuts is a larger list about long takes. I was recently reminded by Scott at FRC of something Steven Spielberg once said: "Cuts are for action and long takes are for emotion." This, I think, is very true. Thus I've decided to make a list of ten of […]
Russian Ark (10/10)
Sep 4
This gallery contains 2 photos.
Russian Ark (2002) Director: Aleksandr Sokurov Cast: Sergei Dontsov, Mariya Kuznetsova, Leonid Mozgovoy, Mikhail Piotrovsky, Aleksandr Sokurov My Rating: 10/10 In Short: One-Take Wonder I open my eyes and I see nothing." So begins Aleksandr Sokurov's amazing record-breaking film Russian Ark, which I've just very recently decided will be now among my one hundred favourites […]
Wavelength (1967): A Brilliant Work of Art or a Complete Waste of Time?
Michael Snow's 1967 film Wavelength has been hailed by critics and moviegoers but it has also been heavily criticized by the general public to be 'boring,' 'uneventful,' 'pointless' and a 'complete waste of time.' It is only 43 minutes in length, so one might not consider it a proper, full length movie, but after recently viewing it I watched it carefully and took in all it had to say, mulling it over for a few hours before writing this post. And I have to say, I liked it. A lot. And I think I get it. I wasn't bored. In fact, if I'm actually watching a very good movie it won't matter how long it is. I won't get bored. And there was a lot to look at here and a lot to take in.
The plot is so simple that to actually say the film has a plot is a joke. All it is is one shot (actually quite a few shots edited together to look like one) of a room, the shot visible at the top of this post. Throughout the film's 40 minutes, the camera extremely slowly zooms in, until settling on a postcard photo of the ocean, before fading to white and ending. That's it. During the film's slow, lagging pace, we are also greeted with the sights of a woman having furniture moved into the room, sitting and listening to the radio, and re-entering a long period after to find a dead man on the floor. As these events happen, director Michael Snow could not give a flying f*ck. All he cares about is the slow zoom on the postcard. This makes the film original, clever, and gives it a specific target and a mind of its own. It, in fact, represents the entire process of watching a film. We start out at the beginning, and we're slowly building to a climax (represented by the postcard) that we can barely see if we squint, but as the film progresses, we get closer and closer to that climax, until finally at the end, we see it. The whole of Wavelength is an excercise in what we can sit through. A good film takes its time to reach the climax, and Snow is representing that timeline with a deceptively simple zoom on a picture. A very clever metaphor.
Snow further tests the audience by playing on the soundtrack a, long consecutive beeping noise which begins at the 8-minute mark and lasts until the very end. It slowly becomes more high-pitched, louder, and annoying, representing the intense buildup to a climax we might feel while watching a movie. Snow tests the audience. Many will be bored and frustrated with the film, particularly that distracting beep, but watching Wavelength is not so much as watching a film as it is analysing human endurance in filmmaking and storytelling; what we can sit through, and whether our curiosity to the ending will be enough to make us sit through what might seem otherwise like a piece of time-wasting crap. It's an excercise, to be studied and learned from.
I'd like to make this a longer review, but there's really not much more to say. The film looks simple, and it is. Some people will be able to sit through it, and will walk away having learned something, but others will be bored out of their mind and will likely not finish it or fast forward through it. Don't do this. It's not how you should watch a movie. It's cheating yourself.
Conveniently, Snow also created WVLNT, which is essentially the whole film, edited down to about 15 minutes. I'm sure it has a similar impact and can be learnt from in the same manner as the original, but the whole point of its long, unbearable pace is to force you to think about what on Earth it means and why you're watching it. This is not a waste of time; this a great way to spend time if you're trying to analyse what really goes into making a movie and the stress a director feels about whether the audience will be able to sit through their film. This is Snow's point: sitting through this is just like sitting through a normal movie. It starts out simple enough, and leads expectingly to a gratifying ending that we know we've been slowly approaching the whole time. Fantastic.
My Rating: 8/10.
So, put yourself to the ultimate endurance test. Watch Wavelength right here, right now. Try to do it without skipping parts, fast forwarding or turning it off altogether. It might be a small achievement to make it through, but it's an achievement nonetheless:
Seen Wavelength? What did you think of it? A work of art or a waste of time? Leave a comment below.
Thanks for reading.


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im waiting......
Rapha Softshell Trousers feel like riding in your favourite pyjama bottoms - only more weatherproof and well suited to cycling in the UK weather.
Don't quote me on this but I think softshells were invented by the same people who make spaceships. The material seems to posses mystical powers that manage to moderate what the weather gods hurl at us while we try and enjoy cycling in the bi-polar British climate.
It is pretty weather resistant, but you need to keep active to achieve its warmth benefits. The polyester soft shell isn't totally waterproof but the water resistant coating deflects enough water for light rain showers to bead off. In torrential rain the trousers do become saturated but retain their shape and don't stretch out like some other stretchy fabrics do.
Even in their most soggy state the trousers are comfortable and didn't grate my crotch, a sign of a good cut and fit. More importantly, they dry out really fast which means that if you stand by the radiator after getting soaked riding to the pub you should be dry by the time you finish your first pint. Although your undercrackers will still be damp.
Having a luxurious soft brushed lining gives these a warm comforting feeling like wearing your favourite pyjamas, but probably best that you don't go commando in these. With the high level of insulation they provide, I thought these would be too warm, but the material wicks sweat really well and they are so breathable that I didn't feel uncomfortable. Probably not the choice of legwear for temperatures above 20 degrees - but then those days are what shorts were designed for.
Designed for the worst conditions the city throws at you, the Softshell Trousers are cut from a breathable and water-resistant material and constructed to last. The membrane design of the softshell fabric means it insulates and simultaneously allows the skin to breath. The trousers are proofed with a water-resistant coating and have a soft brushed tricot lining for comfort and warmth.
The seat panel, the bit that covers your bottom, is constructed from a tougher material, an abrasion-resistant nylon for protection and durability plus the added panel gives a better fit around the gusset. You get surprisingly little chafing around the inner thigh. The nylon panel has more water resistance from the spray from your back wheel which can be a bonus - although it does make your bum slip around like someone has greased your saddle.
The stretch waistband has a soft gripper and at the rear is a neoprene panel to protect from road spray and keep your backside warm. This gives the trousers quite a high waist, something Simon Cowell would appreciate. This isn't the sort of trouser that you wear hanging off your arse like you are some kind of fashionable yoof, remember, these are weatherproof trousers and the high waist is essential for not catching a chill. Remember what your mother told you. You soon appreciate what benefit that high waistband and a tucked in under layer can do for you when the temperature drops.
The straight cut and flat fronted nature of these trousers and the high waist band give it a kind of chino look. A waterproof lined zip pocket on the rear keeps your wallet from going limp. Another tiny little zip pocket on the front is handy to stash very small things in, possibly. And my favourite pocket is what I will name the 'Houdini' pocket which is like a hidden compartment within your pocket which does a great job of making things disappear then reappear after you think they are lost. Or, for those who don't believe in magic, a pocket sleeve that stops things from falling out when you are sat down. Genius.
Nice finishes and a nod to cycle safety are the reflective beading found on the seam on the butt and down by the ankle; very subtle but work really well when headlights catch them at night. Rapha's signature one white belt loop complements the other 5 to help you keep these strides up with a belt.
When would you wear these I hear you ask. Well, I found that I would choose them for commutes in foul weather instead of a waterproof over trouser. I am not often seen in Lycra in town, I find it a bit too serious/exposing for my 10 mile hack across the capital. I would wear them a lot more if they were skinnier but without being like tights.
After I got used to wearing what could be mistaken for suit trousers, I have only one main criticism and that is that the bottom of the trouser leg is too wide and has a tendency to flap into the chainset.
At about £3 per inch of these trousers, you don't want them to get churned up in your chainring. With a trouser clip they worked fine. My other concern was what footwear to wear with these. Dainty cycling shoes look odd at the end of straight trousers. Don't they?
Lovely comfortable trousers that take on most weather conditions.
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Rapha Softshell Trousers
Size tested: 32
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
"Designed for the worst conditions the city throws at you, the Softshell Trousers are cut from a breathable and water resistant material and constructed to last" is what Rapha says. It reality they coped well with most of what the British weather has to offer but they are on the warm side.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
The membrane design of the softshell fabric means it insulates and simultaneously allows the skin to breath. The trousers are proofed with a water-resistant coating and have a soft brushed tricot lining for comfort and warmth. They also have a reinforced nylon bum panel.
The general level of construction is adequate, it isn't over-engineered or delicate and intricate. No loose threads or seems coming undone, buttons falling off or zips failing. The material looks like it will keep theses leg covers looking like new for a long long time.
If only the cut of the trousers was a little narrower at the bottom, these would be the best bad weather trousers - instead they are just good.
The reinforced seat panel made from a tougher nylon probably does a better job at resisting water than wear, any pair of trousers I have worn out from cycling is around the inner thigh.
These are super comfy.
In relative Rapha comparison terms, a bargain.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
I really liked these trousers and I much prefer wearing these to a pair of waterproof over trousers - although if the weather is really bad a spare pair of pants and a spare pair of trousers are needed the other end.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
I like the fact that they are both technical and smart looking. It can be horrific weather and you can still look like you are dressed for dinner rather than for dingy sailing.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
I found the trousers were a touch too wide at the bottom and needed a clip to tether them away from the chainset.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes, and I still am. And still will unless I move to the south of France.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Already have.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
Can Rapha make a slim pair please? Then this will be an excellent winter trouser.
About the tester
Age: 39 Height: 179 Weight: 79
I usually ride: Bike that I am testing at the time My best bike is: Giant CFR pro, old school carbon converted to fixed. Kinesis Convert 2 geared work horse, Look KG241 skinny whippet
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed, bare back
8 comments
Wait no longer, I will oblige.
You could buy 47 pairs of trousers from matalan for that and throw them away when wet.
thats actually a good shout. but 47 extra pairs of trousers would surely need an extra wardrobe? at least £100.
if you dont have room for an extra wardrobe you would need to move house.
i think this still makes the trousers good value vs buying a new house.


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French Creme Brulee Recipes
Banana Coconut Creme Brulee
A journalist contacted me this week and asked if she could use my crème brulée photos. Not that I need much prompting, but it got me thinking of crèmes brulées and I thought I could try out some new flavors.
I happened to have baby bananas in the house, along with some leftover shredded coconut from making lima bean curry. The mini bananas come from Guatemala. They are very sweet and flavorful. I caramelized them in sugar and used them as garnish. I flavored the custard with the shredded coconut, rum and banana extract. The result is a very pleasant dessert using ingredients that are available this season. Can't wait for spring to experiment with more flavors!
Full Recipe...
Matcha Green Tea Creme Brulee
This dessert combines two of my favorite things, crème brulée and green tea. I love the natural jade color of matcha green tea powder, along with its distinctive flavor. It's an ingredient I use a lot in desserts. Whether it's in cookies, madeleines, pound cakes, crème pâtissière or chocolate truffles, the result is always a success.
My personal favorite application for green tea powder though is crème brulée. One could probably add spinach to crème brulée and it would still taste great, but there's something special about the flavor of green tea that cuts the decadence of the dessert while enhancing its elegance.
Full Recipe...