I'm right there with you on that one, Chuck.

Some folks will do anything for their brief moment in the spotlight. Take for example Detroit area counterfeiter Kenny “Boom” Smith who is a big fan of the reality show Hardcore Pawn which is filmed in Detroit at American Jewelry and Loan. He wanted to be on the . . . → Read More: Dumbass counterfeiter wants to be on “Hardcore Pawn” so badly he gets himself busted.]]>

I'm right there with you on that one, Chuck.

Some folks will do anything for their brief moment in the spotlight. Take for example Detroit area counterfeiter Kenny “Boom” Smith who is a big fan of the reality show Hardcore Pawn which is filmed in Detroit at American Jewelry and Loan. He wanted to be on the show soooo badly that he offered to sell Les Gold, the owner and star, his counterfeit making machine and a bunch of counterfeit money:

So Gold didn’t bat an eyelash when Smith showed up and wanted to sell him his counterfeit money and machine. He wanted to be on the show. Smith told Gold he would bring his counterfeiting equipment to the store. A short time later the Secret Service showed up at American Jewelry and Loan. They had been tracing Smith’s activities since he had been passing his fake bills.

Gold filled them in on what Smith had told him and the agents found out Smith’s counterfeiting claims had been captured on camera for the show.

So now, Smith has been busted by the Secret Service and charged in federal court. This isn’t his first counterfeiting case either. He has done a stint in prison for the same thing and if convicted he is going back again.

As Gold says, “All because he wanted his five minutes of fame on TV.”

via Counterfeiter caught selling to famous Detroit pawn shop of ‘Hardcore Pawn’ | News – Home.

Obviously Mr. Smith isn’t the brightest bulb, but his quest for TV infamy still prompts a couple of questions. What, exactly, did he expect the pawn shop to do with the phony money? Sell it as a novelty? REAL FAKE MONEY! FOOL YOUR FRIENDS! GET YOUR ENEMIES ARRESTED!  Did he not understand that he was being filmed admitting to a crime? He signed the waiver allowing them to use the footage on the show and it’s not like they use hidden cameras. Did he just think it wouldn’t be admissible in court?

If nothing else I suppose he deserves credit for putting his own stupid add back into a jail cell. That’s one less source of fake money doing business in Detroit.

Holy crap that’s some Grade-A stupid right there. It’s also inexcusable in . . . → Read More: Here’s a perfect example…]]> … of the problem with stupid people being too stupid to realize how stupid they are that I talked about in my previous entry. Meet the girl who doesn’t understand why we have Leap Years: H0tAndDanger0us (that’s about half right).

Holy crap that’s some Grade-A stupid right there. It’s also inexcusable in this day and age when she obviously has the tools of her salvation from ignorance sitting right in front of her. A simple Google search would turn up all manner of explanations to enlighten her with and if reading comprehension is a hurdle she finds insurmountable then there are several YouTube videos which will make it all clear.

Here’s one that I watched myself just yesterday:

And, in case she’s too stupid to know what a year is, here’s a video that explains that (with bonus black hole goodness!):

Seriously, there’s no good excuse for the ignorance — not to mention the sense of self-entitlement — of H0tAndDanger0us. For a moment I considered the possibility that she could be a particularly effective Poe, but then I took a look at her Tumblr page and the possibility that it could just be a clever act evaporated.

I'm right there with you on that one, Chuck.

Or, in other words, ignorance is truly bliss when it comes to evaluating your own abilities. It explains so many things. Things such as the apparent surprise contestants on American Idle seem to express when they’re told they suck harder than a Hoover when it . . . → Read More: The problem with stupid people is that they’re too stupid to realize how stupid they are.]]>

I'm right there with you on that one, Chuck.

Or, in other words, ignorance is truly bliss when it comes to evaluating your own abilities. It explains so many things. Things such as the apparent surprise contestants on American Idle seem to express when they’re told they suck harder than a Hoover when it comes to singing. Or the fact that so many people find it so easy to deny the evidence of global climate change.

This is something many of us have long ago picked up on just by paying attention to the clueless people around us, but now it’s being backed up with science:

Why you’re not as great as you think you are | MNN – Mother Nature Network.

With more than a decade’s worth of research, David Dunning, a psychologist at Cornell University, has demonstrated that humans find it “intrinsically difficult to get a sense of what we don’t know.” Whether an individual lacks competence in logical reasoning, emotional intelligence, humor or even chess abilities, the person still tends to rate his or her skills in that area as being above average.

Dunning and his colleague, Justin Kruger, formerly of Cornell and now at New York University, “have done a number of studies where we will give people a test of some area of knowledge like logical reasoning, knowledge about STDs and how to avoid them, emotional intelligence, etcetera. Then we determine their scores, and basically just ask them how well they think they’ve done,” Dunning said. “We ask, ‘what percentile will your performance fall in?’”

The results are uniform across all the knowledge domains: People who actually did well on the test tend to feel more confident about their performance than people who didn’t do well, but only slightly. Almost everyone thinks they did better than average. “For people at the bottom who are really doing badly — those in the bottom 10th or 15th percentile — they think their work falls in the 60th or 55th percentile, so, above average,” Dunning told Life’s Little Mysteries. The same pattern emerges in tests of people’s ability to rate the funniness of jokes, the correctness of grammar, or even their own performance in a game of chess. “People at the bottom still think they’re outperforming other people.”

I’d hazard a guess that part of this stems from the brain’s natural tendency to lie to itself to protect its ego, but apparently that’s not the only thing at work here:

It’s not merely optimism, but rather that their total lack of expertise renders them unable to recognize their deficiency. Even when Dunning and his colleagues offer study participants a $100 reward if they can rate themselves accurately, they cannot. “They’re really trying to be honest and impartial,” he said.

If only we knew ourselves better. Dunning believes people’s inability to assess their own knowledge is the cause of many of society’s ills, including climate change denialism. “Many people don’t have training in science, and so they may very well misunderstand the science. But because they don’t have the knowledge to evaluate it, they don’t realize how off their evaluations might be,” he said.

I try very hard to remind myself of just how much I don’t know about most things even though I know a little bit about a lot of things and a whole lot about a select few things. I also try very hard to study up on issues I don’t know too much about before forming solid opinions about them. Most folks don’t seem to do that and that’s where they, and by extension the rest of us, start getting into trouble:

Along the same lines, people who aren’t talented in a given area tend not to be able to recognize the talents or good ideas of others, from co-workers to politicians. This may impede the democratic process, which relies on citizens having the capacity to identify and support the best candidate or policy.

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but really it’s the lack of knowledge that’s truly imperiling.

I used to be a pretty big fan of Lowe’s despite not being the sort of person who spends a lot of time in hardware stores. A good percentage of my Christmas lights and decorations have been purchased from Lowe’s over the years and on those rare occasions when I did need something hardware . . . → Read More: Lowe’s can kiss my big fat ass.]]>

I used to be a pretty big fan of Lowe’s despite not being the sort of person who spends a lot of time in hardware stores. A good percentage of my Christmas lights and decorations have been purchased from Lowe’s over the years and on those rare occasions when I did need something hardware related they were often the first thought that popped into my head.

Then they started doing stupid shit that simply pisses me off. It started with their decision to cave into Right Wing Nutcase pressure to pull their ads from the reality TV show All-American Muslim back in December. Not that I don’t think companies have a right to advertise on whatever shows they want, but the reasoning behind the decision. That annoyed the shit out of me and gave me pause to consider whether I wanted to support such a cowardly company.

Then I read over at ArsTechnica.com about how they have a Linking Policy with forms you’re supposed to fill out, sign and send to them prior to linking to their website or using their logos. Apparently because they think they have any control over such things:

• If you’re linking to Lowes.com and using our mark(s)/logo(s) on your site, download the general link agreement (in PDF Format).
• If you’re linking to Lowes.com, but not using our mark(s)/logo(s) on your site, download the Version A link agreement (in PDF Format).
• If you’re linking to Lowes.com and we’re using each other’s mark(s)/logo(s) on our separate sites, download the Version B link agreement (in PDF Format).

Please fax completed link agreement applications to:
(302) 995-6906

You see that Lowe’s logo over there to the right? I haven’t asked permission to use it in this post. Same goes for the link I put in that very first paragraph. That’s OK, though, because both fall under the Fair Use clause in part because I am engaging in criticism of the company in question. Specifically the criticism that the company can go fuck itself.

The folks at Ars were equally confused by this policy and contacted the company in regards to it:

It all seemed so odd that I contacted Lowe’s public relations department and asked if it was the company’s position that people need to obtain such a license in order to link to Lowes.com. And if so, what legal basis stood behind this position?

“Managing link agreements is part of protecting our brand,” is the polite reply I received. “The process we have in place to handle links to lowes.com is a business decision.”

Obviously they have no legal leg to stand on and are just hoping people are stupid enough to think they have to have permission before linking to their site. While technically harmless, this sort of bullshit just gets my dander up in a major way. You can take brand protection to ridiculous extremes and in the process end up alienating otherwise loyal customers. Customers like me that will avoid Lowe’s from now on. Not because either thing they did is wrong per se, just stupid and cowardly. Sometimes that’s enough.

Imagine the outcry if Hollywood tried this sort of thing with used DVDs. Key scenes from the movie are missing on used copies unless you pay ten or fifteen bucks extra to see them. Or perhaps none of the extras are available . . . → Read More: EA expands "Online Pass" punishing used game buyers from multiplayer to…]]> EA expands “Online Pass” punishing used game buyers from multiplayer to single player.

Imagine the outcry if Hollywood tried this sort of thing with used DVDs. Key scenes from the movie are missing on used copies unless you pay ten or fifteen bucks extra to see them. Or perhaps none of the extras are available on used discs unless you’re willing to pony up the cash. Yet the games industry seems hell bent to lock more and more content away if you bought the game used.

Again, this doesn’t affect me as much as I don’t tend to buy used games, but I sometimes receive them as gifts and not everyone can afford to shell out the $60 most new games cost these days. #seb #videogames #EA #Stupidity

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Kingdoms of Amalur’s “Online Pass” continues a slippery slope for used games
Review copies of Electronic Arts’s Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning are starting to reach critics, who have made a surprising collective discovery: an insert containing a code to download a “House of Valor” content pack featuring “seven additional single player quests.”

EA has confirmed to Ars Technica that this downloadable content will be included free with all new copies of the game, including digital copies purchased on the PC through Origin, Steam, or other services. Players who would rath…

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Don't question the decision making process, citizen! This is for your own protection! If we decide something is bad . . . → Read More: This whole story shows that the TSA is at least partially run by idiots]]> But then we've known all along that the TSA reserves the right for its agents to make arbitrary decisions on a whim when they feel like it so I suppose it shouldn't be a big surprise.

Don't question the decision making process, citizen! This is for your own protection! If we decide something is bad you should just accept that we know what we're doing and hand it over! You do want to fly today, don't you?? What is it you're trying to hide in those nail clippers anyway?? #seb #security #TSA #stupidity

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The TSA Cupcake Lady Speaks: I'm Truly Sick Of Talking About Cupcakes
While the "TSA Cupcake Lady" is sick of talking about cupcakes, she's also determined that the dessert in question not be woefully misrepresented by descriptions of it being "packed in icing." To that end, she was kind of enough to write in and explain her side of the story, in response to the TSA's recent blog reaction to the cake kerfuffle.

For those unfamiliar with the bakery brouhaha, here's a quick recap: Rebecca carried two cupcakes on jars with her on her way to Las Vegas, she tried b…

PayPal: if you don’t like the violin you bought, smash it and we’ll give you your money back

Just when you thought PayPal couldn’t get any stupider, well, . . . → Read More: What the fuck, PayPal?]]> Does this make any sense to anyone who isn’t A) a PayPal employee or B) brain damaged? I think the seller has decent grounds for a lawsuit.

PayPal: if you don’t like the violin you bought, smash it and we’ll give you your money back

Just when you thought PayPal couldn’t get any stupider, well, they get stupider. Erica sold an antique violin to someone who paid $2500 for it over PayPal. The buyer disputed the authenticity of the violin — which had been authenticated by a top luthier — and PayPal instructed him that he could have his money back if he destroyed the violin. He did, and sent the photo of the destroyed, one-of-a-kind, precious instrument to the seller and PayPal. PayPal took the $2500 back from Erica, gave i…

In case the first half of the list wasn’t soul crushing enough.

Top Ten Facebook Reactions to the Onion of 2011, Part II

5. “Would the Queen of Paris act like this??”

4. Gained a sun, lost a mind

3. “Of . . . → Read More: Part 2 of Literally Unbelievable’s Top Ten Facebook Reactions to The Onion in 2011.]]> Part 2 of Literally Unbelievable’s Top Ten Facebook Reactions to The Onion in 2011.

In case the first half of the list wasn’t soul crushing enough.

Top Ten Facebook Reactions to the Onion of 2011, Part II

5. “Would the Queen of Paris act like this??”

4. Gained a sun, lost a mind

3. “Of course it’s real, there’s a number!”

2. Paid for by the Commitee to Re-Elect Stupied Obama and his Dump Ideas

1.

This year’s honorable mentions go to the United States Capitol Police and Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern for protecting the American people from The Onion.
Thanks for reading everyone, and if you like Literally Unbelievable, be sure to take a look at the new sister site, leasthelpful…