The SoapBoxers

Golf

My favorite golfer, Iowa native and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson, shot a course record 60 in the third round of the Texas Open.  That’s just one shot off the PGA record of 59, which has been accomplished just three times in the history of the PGA.  The dream round vaulted Johnson from a seven shot deficit to a three shot lead.  A long rain delay caused play to be halted before all players had completed the third round.  The third round will be completed and the fourth round will be played today.

NASCAR

This is Tony Stewart’s first year as driver-owner, and he became a co-owner of Stewart-Haas racing during the off-season.  Many experts felt that it would take Stewart and teammate Ryan Newman a bit of time to get comfortable with their new team (similar to the way they felt Stewart would struggle last year with Toyotas).  Stewart has proved them wrong to this point, as he is second in point, just behind Jeff Gordon.  Newman is also having a good year, eight in points.  On Saturday, Stewart picked up his first win of the year in NASCAR’s All-Star race.  It doesn’t count for anything in the standings, of course.  There is a cash prize for the winner, though – a million bucks.  Seriously, you could put Tony in a Yugo and he might win a race for you.  Dude can drive.

Horses

Jockey Calvin Borel shocked many observers (including kosmo) by jumping from Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird onto Kentucky Oaks winner filly Rachel Alexandra.  The move paid off, with Rachel Alexandra holding off Mine The Bird to win the Preakness.  Observers were left to speculate whether Mine That Bird would have been the victor had Borel been aboard.  Borel can’t win the Triple Cown, but he does stand a chance of being abord the winners of all three Triple Crown races this year.

NBA

The two teams that many experts assumed would face off in the NBA finals are instead facing elimination in the conference semi-finals.  The Boston Celtics, playing without Kevin Garnett, are being tested by the Orlando Magic.  On the other side of the country, Kobe Bryant is trying to push his L.A. Lakers past a Houston Rockets team that is playing surprisingly well without All-Star center Yao Ming and fellow big man Dikembe Mutombo, both of who are out for the playoffs with injuries (Mutombo has announced that he will retire.)

Michael Phelps

Michael Phelps jumped back into the pool and promptly lost.  He finished second in a 100 meter backstroke race to Aaron Piersol.  Piersol is no slouch, though – he is the world record holder and two time defending Olympic Champion in the event.  Phelps is making major changes to his program and will be featuring a different array of events in the 2012 Olympics.  After the 2012 Olympics, I expect him spend his retirement years playing golf in Florida with other retirees.  Or maybe not.

Raul Ibanez

36 year old Raul Ibanez of the Phillies is off to a very hot start, hitting .368 with 13 homers and 35 RBI and a sky-high 1.168 OPS.  The raw numbers may be shocking, but the fact that Ibanez has excelled after moving from Seattle to Philadelphia should not be a surprise.  Phildadelphia is a much better hitter’s park, and he has better production in the lineup.  Somewhat akin to Jason Bay’s move from Pittsburgh to Boston, where he also added protection and joined a team with considerably more offensive weapons.

People are often surprised when they find out that I am a roller coaster addict.  The image of an thrill seeking adrenaline junkie seems to be at odds with the mild mannered bookworm they see in front of them.  In fact, I grew up in fear of coasters.  Then, one time I was at an amusement park with my cousin, who is two years younger than me.  He was going to ride a roller coaster.  I didn’t want to show fear, so I mustered up the courage to ride.  The ride up the hill was incredibly harrowing … but a few seconds later I was hooked on coasters.

If you are a roller coaster addict, you must visit Cedar Point.  Cedar Point is located on a peninsula in Lake Erie, in Sandusky, Ohio. The Lake provides an absolutely incredible backdrop for many of the rides. Cedar Point features 17 roller coasters (more than any other park in the world) and a variety of other thrill rides. They have a wide variety of coasters. Whether you like wood, steel, standing, suspended, inverted, or even kiddie coasters, there is something you’ll like. I made my initial pilgrammage to Cedar Point in 2002, and returned there with my wife in 2005. I’m anxiously awaiting the day when my daughter is 48 inches tall. She’s halfway there, so it should just be a couple more years, right? Let’s jump right in and I’ll take you on a tour of some of my favorite rides at Cedar Point.
There are two Cedar Point coasters that I have not yet been able to ride.

• Top Thrill Dragster is tops on my “most wanted” list.  It opened in 2003.  In theory, we should have been able to ride it when we were at Cedar Point in 2005.  Unfortunately, it was closed both days, which really sucked.  The ride launches you 450 feet in the air and you reach a speed of 120 mph.  It looks absolutely awesome.
• Maverick opened in 2007.  It is “only” 105 feet tall, but it does have a 95 degree drop angle, the sharpest drop of any coaster in the park.  I don’t really have a good feel for how Maverick would ride.

Now I’ll take you on a tour of some of my favorite rides at Cedar Point.  These are in order of preference.

• Mean Streak – This is a mile long wooden coaster.  I am personally a big fan of wooden coasters, although my wife is not.  As the wood in the coaster has aged over the years, Mean Streak has gotten even more mean.  It’s definitely a bone jarring ride.  I happen to love a rough ride on the rails, so it’s definitely my cup of tea.  Also, the ride is 3 minutes long, and the lines are often short, because many people fear the Mean Streak!
• Wicked Twister – The best way to describe Wicked Twister is that it is shaped like a U.  You start at the bottom of the U.  You are launched 200 feet in the air – with a couple of nice twists toward the top.  Then you back down and get launched 200 feet up the other side.  Half the time, you’re going to be backward.
• Millenium Force –  The key element is the raw height, as the ride takes you 310 feet in the air and immediately drops you 300 feet.  You are carried up the hill – not launched – so it is a nice slow ride up the hill, and you have a great view from the top.  When you get to the top, you’re a football field (end zone to end zone) from the ground.  Pretty cool.
• Gemini – Gemini is 30 years old, tops out at 60 mph, is only 125 feet tall, has a meek 55% drop angle.  Why is it on my list of favorite, beating out rides such as Mantis and Raptor?  Because you race.  There are two tracks.  One track has the blue train and the other has the red train.  You race side by side, and you can never be sure which train is going to win the race back to the station.

I’ve only scratched the surface.  Check out Cedar Point’s web site for more details.  There’s also a water park (Soak City), but I have never set foot inside Soak City – simply because it would mean taking time away from coasters.

Are you looking for a place to stay while you’re at Cedar Point?  There are some nice on site options, but if you’re looking for a nice, quiet place, I would suggest  McKenna’s Inn, a bed and breakfast on nearby Catawba Island.  It appears that their web site needs a bit of work, but don’t let this fool you – this place is first class.  Not only are the facilities nice, but the location is great.  It is located on a private lane that ends at Lake Erie.  You are with very easy walking distance from the lake.

I wrote this quirky little story in 1999, so if it seems a little rough around the edges, this is why.  In order to maintain the integrity of the original story, I have published it ver batim as it was written a decade ago.

Tina awoke amidst the screaming of her alarm clock.  As she glared at the inert plastic clock, she saw that it read 6:45 AM. She rolled over, slammed her hand onto the snooze button, and tried to savor the final fifteen minutes of sleep.

A quarter hour later, Tina sluggishly pulled herself out of bed and toward the shower. Soon, the water was rushing down and Tina was lathering her long hair with shampoo.  As she shampooed, she inhaled the wonderful strawberry aroma.  With life kicking her in the teeth as it was these days, this was often the highlight of her entire day, and she longed to savor the moment.  But as all good things must come to an end, the shower was soon finished, and Tina hopped out to face the real world.

Tina tapped her foot to the rhythm of “Cheeseburger in Paradise” as she waited for the red light to turn to green.  As Jimmy Buffett gave way to some up-and-comer on the radio, the light finally turned, and she eased the Grand Am into the intersection and headed north.  A few short minutes later, she had pulled into the parking lot, jumped out, and raced to her eight o’clock class.  She eased into her seat a moment before Ms. McAnally entered the room.

As Ms. MacAnally yammered on about how to compose a business plan, Tina’s mind began to drift.  Why on earth would a nurse have to know anything about business writing, anyway?   As long as they could somehow find a way to read doctors’ handwriting, that would be enough.  College was enough of a pain without useless classes. She gently sighed to herself as she forced herself to listen to the instructor.

After what seemed like an eternity, the class was released and Tina quickly raced across campus to her next class.  When she entered the room, there was a note of the board that Mr. Nelson was sick and that class was canceled.  She could barely contain her joy.  She would have some time to do some homework and catch a quick nap before work.

After a quick meal of chicken noodle soup, Tina settled down for a nice midday nap. As the warm sun poured through the window and bathed her body in its beam, she fell into a cozy sleep on her futon.  After what seemed like only minutes (but had actually been nearly 3 hours), she was once again awakened by the alarm.  Once again, she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed to start the second half of her day.

When Tina arrived at the hospital, she was disappointed to find out that she would be stationed in the geriatric ward once again.  Some people found the old people interesting, but she found them very boring and would usually be extremely tired when she got off a shift hanging around them, not because she worked any harder on those nights, but because their lack of energy was contagious.

Her first patient of the night was old Mr. Burns.  The guy was ancient, had an artificial hip, and was ugly as sin, but that didn’t stop him from being the most notorious skirt chaser in the wing.  Luckily, because of the hip, most of the nurses could easily out run him.

At his birthday party last month, someone had the smart idea to actually put ninety two candles on the cake.  A small fire had broken out, and poor Mrs. Frederick’s hair had been burned to a crisp.  And just when it had grown back after her radiation treatments.  It was quite traumatic for the old witch.  So much so that she had stopped attending birthday parties entirely, which was probably a good thing for her, since she carried quite a bit of weight.  Her fondness for angel food cake was the main reason for the considerable weight that she has gained during her stint at the hospital.

Tina was able to quickly check in on Mr. Burns, and since he was asleep, she got out of there in a matter of seconds.  She had avoided the first major obstacle of the night.

She wasn’t quite so lucky at her second room, though.  Mr. Vincent wouldn’t let her escape.  She was forced to listen to several of his tales about how he led the confederate forces in the civil war.  Despite the fact the war ended in the mid 1800s, Mr. Vincent not only claimed to have fought in the war, but actually thought that it was still going on, and that the South would eventually prevail.  What a fruitcake.  Who’d have thought that a little pneumonia could do that to you?

After what seemed like a lifetime, Mr. Vincent got a visitor, and while he was distracted momentarily, Tina bolted out the door.  As she hurried down the hall, she could hear the old man yelling “Missy, missy, don’t you want to hear more about my friend, Mr. Jefferson Davis?”

After a dozen more visits to the old folks, Tina was finally able to escape to the ER.

It was a pretty quiet night for the ER – a couple of broken legs, a kid with his head cracked open, and a self-inflicted gunshot wound.  How someone could do serious damage to themselves with buckshot was beyond her reasoning ability, but some fellow named Billy Bob managed to do some very serious damage to some pretty serious parts of his anatomy.  They really should think about locking up stupid people for their own protection.

Around nine thirty, John Wilson checked in with what seemed like a little case of mono.  When Tina did the blood work on him, she took a little more than was necessary – about a pint more, to be exact.  John was one of those guys who always went around bragging about how far he had gone on his last date (and usually stretching things a bit).  He had dared to pull this stunt on Tina’s friend Jill, so this was her revenge.  The poor bastard would recover just fine, but he’d feel like hell for a couple of days. A fitting punishment.

Dan Brown’s first foray into the world of entertainment was as a singer and songwriter. He released two CDs before turning his attention to writing – a very wise decision. His fourth novel made him a literary rock star. Perhaps you have heard of it – The Da Vinci Code.

There is some great news regarding Brown. His fifth novel, The Lost Symbol (formerly referred to as The Solomon Key) will hit shelves on September 15! Pre-orders are being taken on several sites, and I’ll be pre-ordering my own copy very soon. As is his nature, Brown is being secretive about much of the plot. It will feature cryptologist Robert Langdon and will be set in Washington, D.C. The jacket of The Da Vinci code holds clues to the plot.

Oh, yes. The other news. The movie Angels and Demons, based on the novel of the same name, will be in theaters on Friday. I doubt that it will come close to the success of Da Vinci Code, but spillover popularity should still turn it into a very successful film.

I’m a big fan of Brown’s work. Let’s do a mini-review of his previous novels.

Digital Fortress, 1998. Digital Fortress focuses very heavily on cryptography. A rebellious, genius programmer develops an uncrackable encryption algorithm and offers to auction it off to the highest bidder. This could be a huge problem for the United State government, which has just finished work on TRANSLTR, a computer capable of cracking any encryption algorithm known to man. It is imperative that the code not fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, the programmer dies – bringing into play the threat that his partner would publicly release the code if he should die. He is not the only person to die in a high stakes battle to control the code. Opinion: a reasonable understanding of computers makes the book more enjoyable, but it isn’t mandatory. There is a lot of action in the book that is unrelated to the technical issues.

Angels and Demons, 2000. Angels and Demons introduces us to world renowned cryptologist Robert Langdon. A dangerous weapon – a canister of anti-matter – is stolen from CERN and a scientist is murdered. The symbol of the mysterious Illuminati group – a group though to have died out long ago – is left branded on the chest of the victim. The head of the lab calls in Langdon to try to track down the missing canister. Langdon reaches the conclusion that the missing canister is connected to the election of a new pope. As Langdon races against the clock to find the canister, leading papal candidates begin turning up dead. Opinion: this is the prequel to Da Vinci Code, and is a pretty good book in its own right. It might come up a bit short of Da Vinci Code in some respects, but it does take readers on a nice tour of Rome.

Deception Point , 2001. Deception Point takes place in the arctic, where Rachel Sexton is sent to join a team that will analyze a meteorite. Evidence of life is contained with the meteorite – possible proof of extraterrestrial life. But Rachel soon realizes that things aren’t quite what they seem – and very soon, her life is in danger. Opinion: an interesting story with a good mix of science and politics.

The Da Vinci Code, 2003. Robert Langdon is once again awakened in the middle of the night to be informed of a grisly death, this time at the Louvre. A beautiful police cryptologist (Sophie) secretly informs Langdon that the police are not merely using him as a consultant in the case, but that he is the prime suspect. Langdon and Sophie make a tricky exit from the Louvre and elude the police. They combine forces in an attempt to solve the murder. As they put more pieces together, more complex puzzles appear. They eventually discover a truth that could rock Christianity to its core. Opinion: This is a great book, with clever ciphers and lots of twists and turns. It is, of course, a work of fiction. As a Catholic, I believe that the Catholic Church contributed to the success of the book and movie by attacking the book. Had they simply ignored the book – as they ignore many books that contain content related to the church – much of the furor could have been avoided.

The Lost Symbol	Da Vinci Code	Angels & Demons
Deception Point	Digital Fortress

Alleged Nazi deported

The story:

89 year old Cleveland resident John Demjanjuk, a Ukrainian immigrant and retired auto worker, was deported from the United States to Germany to face charges of accessory to murder for 29,000 deaths at the Sobibor concentration camp in Poland.

Demjanjuk moved to the United States in 1951.  His legal troubles began in 1977, when he was indentified in a photo lineup by holocaust suriviors.

In 1986, he was deported to Israel to face charges that he was the infamous “Ivan The Terrible” of the Treblinka camp.  He was convicted in 1988 and sentenced to death, but his conviction was overturned by an Israeli court in 1993 on the basis of reasonable doubt that he was actually Ivan The Terrible.

The newest charges against Demjanjuk originated in 2003.

Demjanjuk’s attorneys claim that he was a POW at the camp – and essentially a pawn of the Nazis.  They also argued that  his poor health had the impact of making the deportation torture.  Initially, Demjanjuk will be held at a prison hospital.

Kosmo’s opinion:

Truly, it is sad to see an 89 year old man separated from his family.  The charge of accessory to murder carries of penalty of up to 15 years, meaning that a conviction will likely result in him dying in prison.  However, if the charges against him are true, Demjanjuk must pay the penalty for his crimes.  It is refreshing to see that the wheels of justice never stop turning, even 65 years after the crime.

Solider kills others

The story:

Army sergeant  John Russell is a veteran of three tours of duty in Iraq, as well as previous deployments to Bosnia and Kosovo.  Recently, Russell felt that some people were trying to force him out of the military.  His commander had referred him to counseling and ordered that his weapon be taken away.  Russell had an altercation at the stress clinic on Monday.  He later took a weapon from another soldier, returned to the clinic and opened fire, killing five.  Russell has been charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault.

Kosmo’s opinion:

Russell seems to have a solid foundation for a defense related to insanity or stress.  His commander actually clearly indicate that there were some concerns about Russell’s mental and emotional states.  This may make it difficult for the prosecutor to discredit similar claims by the defense team.

Foxy Knoxy

The story:

In Italy, 21 year old Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito are charged with sexual assault and murder in the death of Knox’s roommate, Meredith Kercher.  Prosecutors maintain that Kercher was killed when she refused to participate in sex games.  Knox and Kercher were college students in Italy.  Knox was from Washington state and Kercher from Britain.  Knox’s good looks (and perhaps the incredibly long trial) have made her a tabloid celebrity in Italy (hence the nickname “Foxy Knoxy”), where she has been referred to as the “devil with an angel’s face”.

The case against Knox appears to be strong.  Perhaps most damning so far was the evidence of bloody footprints introduced into evidence last week.  Expert witnesses claim that these prints were left by Knox and Sollecito.  An alleged collaborator was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The prosecutor in the Knox case is facing charges of abuse of power, unrelated to the Knox case.

Kosmo’s opinion:

Yikes – killing the woman because she refused to participate in a sex game?  That’s incredibly twisted.  Throw the book at them.  Kercher probably felt safe with her roommate, who was also a “foreigner” in Italy – only to have that trust betrayed in the worst imaginable way.

Senators Charles Schumer and Mark Warner have announced that the FTC is close to filing a lawsuit against companies that use deceptive telemarketing techniques to sell extended car warranties.  Additionally, these companies are often in violation of the federal Do Not Call list.  I receive at least a few of these every year – interestingly, the representatives can never tell me what type of car I own.

I try not to get overly political in The Soap Boxers, but I ask you to contact your Senators and Representatives not only to voice your support for this lawsuit, but also to urge them to pass more stringent rules regarding telemarketing.  I have a couple of specific recommendations.  Feel free to suggest additional rules in the comments section.

A total ban on robo-calls and auto-dialing.  Many states already have bans on these computer-assisted techniques.  I would broaden this ban to include political calls.  If your message is important, hire a human to tell me about it and add some jobs.  If you can’t afford this, the your message really isn’t that important.

Impose stronger penalties for violations of the Do-Not-Call list.  Send some executives to prison.  Many telemarketers I speak to have no concerns about DNC violations, and a couple have feigned ignorance of it.  This must stop.

Who is more upset right now? The Los Angeles Dodgers ownership, or all of the fantasy baseball nuts who have ManRam on their squads and have to find a 50 game replacement? I thing the Red Sox are pretty happy they have Jason Bay right now with all of the problems of their former left fielder on the West Coast.

Rachel Alexandra, who won the Kentucky Oaks (a race for fillies ran on Friday before the derby), is looking to run in the Preakness Stakes. Sounds like she will get her chance to run against the boys. A number of owners who did not run in the Kentucky Derby had considered entering horses in the race. This would have in effect blocked her ability to run in the race due to a hierarchy system that gives preference to those horses who were pre-nominated to the Derby. I am glad this worked out or we would be screaming Title IX for the horse racing next.

The Kansas City Royals are 18-14 and on top of the American League Central. A new refurbished Kaufman stadium is not the only reason fans are showing up. This small market team once again shows that if you put a good and WINNING product on the field, the fans will come out to the ol ballgame. The Royals have been very good on the mound but losing Joakim Soria on the disabled list will not help their cause. Keep an eye on these guys and see how they respond in the next couple of weeks.

I bet the Lakers are rethinking their inability to sign Ron Artest earlier this past year. There have been so many radio talking heads and fish wrap folks talking about how soft the Lakers are in the playoffs that you would think they were describing the bedding in a new hotel chain.

Speaking of NBA playoffs. Here are some stats on League MVP Lebron James in the postseason. He is averaging 34 points, almost 9 boards and 5 assists per game in the playoffs. Scariest stat of all…his age….just 24.

Being the golf fan that I am, I watched a LOT of the Players Championship this weekend. It amazes me how good the pros can play as they continue to make the course conditions tougher all the time. I look forward to the switch back to the “old style” grooves next year on the PGA tour so we can see all of these guys look more like us and less like a video game when they play.

The U.S. Open is just around the corner. I wonder what Tiger is thinking – right now as he is really fighting his golf swing as well as his putter. I think soon he will put it all together, but in the meantime, some of these other guys better make hay while they can. Until next week, hit em long and straight!

This week, Chrysler announced plans to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  This is not liquidation (chapter 7).  The intent of chapter 11 is to give a company time to restructure its debt.  In the case of Chrysler, it appears that it will emerge from bankruptcy under joint ownership of Fiat, the United Auto Workers union, and the United States Government.  Current majority owner Cerberus Capital Management will cede its share of the company

In another corner of Detroit, General Motors may be preparing for a bankruptcy filing of its own.  While GM’s 1st quarter loss of $6 billion was better than what industry experts had expected, $6 billion is still a huge quarterly loss.  GM’s book value (assets – liabilities) is now about -$90 billion.  Once again, Fiat is being mentioned, this time as a possible buyer for GM’s European subsidiary.

Earlier in the year, I was talking with friends and mentioned that I would not be surprised if a foreign company jumped in and bought GM and Chrysler.  My thought, however, was that it would be a Japanese company.  Mitsubishi – a huge corporation with operations in several industries – was the company that I thought was most likely.  Toyota also seemed like a possibility.  I must admit that Fiat never entered my mind.

What is Fiat, exactly?  Fiat is an Italian company that was founded in 1899.  The most stunning revelation I discovered was that I was that Fiat owns a substantial stake in Ferrari – and has since the 1960s!    Fiat has won the European car of the year award 12 times in the last 40 years, more often than any other manufacturer.  Fiat is also the second largest agricultural equipment manufacturer in the world behind Deere (Fiat owns companies such as Case IH) and third largest construction equipment manufacturer, behind Caterpillar and Komatsu.  Fiat has additional interests in several other industries.  In short, it is a huge multinational corporation that manages operations in many industries and actually turned a profit last year – a net income of 1.7 billion Euros last year on just under 60 billion Euros in revenue.

The deal Fiat made with Chrysler was that Chrysler would give Fiat a 35% stake in exchange for access to some Fiat technologies (in particular, technology related to hybrids).  Certainly Fiat gave up some competitive advantages by allowing Chrysler access to the technologies, but on the flip side, they were able to acquire 35% of Chrysler for no money out of pocket.  Don’t be surprised if they do indeed pick up GM Europe for a song – and don’t be surprised if Fiat turns the GM and Chrysler units into profitable businesses in the course of the next decade.  Interestingly, GM once owned a stake in Fiat.  Fita had a “put” option, meaning that Fiat had the option of selling itself to GM at a particular price (market value, in this case).  GM declined to honor the option and paid $2 billion to Fiat (this was a penalty that was specified in the put option).  In essence, Fiat can use some of GM’s own money to buy GM Europe..

Another company that could come out of this mess as a winner is Ford.  A portion of the country has a strong desire to buy an “American” car.  It is quite possible that there will soon be just one choice – and this could allow Ford to significantly strengthen its market share.  I’m not suggesting that they would immediately pick up the entire market share of GM and Chrysler, just that they could carve out a large chunk of it.

From the perspective of the consumer, the one good bit of news is that the US government is providing a guarantee for the warranties of any US automakers that go bankrupt.  Surely there were some people who were delaying a purchase over fears that the warranty would be worthless if the manufacturer went bankrupt – they can now buy without that fear.

From an entertainment perspective, it will be interesting to see what sort of impact this will have on NASCAR.  The auto manufacturers provide financial support for team that race under their emblem.  Will the Chevys and Dodges continue to race in NASCAR in 2010?

Today is the debut of the weekly entertainment column.  The Soap Boxers welcomes Bob Inferapels to the staff.

Being the entertainment guy, I’ve struggled with what exactly I want to cover each week. Do I want to cover every show I watched over the last week, or do I want to pick which one I liked the best that week? Or, do I want to mix weekly shows with movies and video games?

After much debate with myself (you should’ve been there for that), I’ve decided that I’m going to combine all of the above, to keep all of my favorite readers coming back…..I currently have zero, but I’m sure that number is set to multiply over the next few weeks!

Since the first “episode” in my series, I figure I’ll cover what shows I try to watch regularly and why. So, here goes (in no particular order):

The Big Bang Theory (Monday nights, 7 Central, CBS) – The show is in its 2nd season, and I have to admit I wasn’t sold at first (it was very hit and miss). It’s a quirky/geeky comedy that stars Johnny Galecki (most famous for David on “Roseanne”) as Leonard, Jim Parsons as Sheldon, and Kaley Cuoco (Bridget on “8 Simple Rules” ) as Penny.

Leonard and Sheldon are physicist roommates and live across the hall from Penny, the ditzy blond who is a waitress at The Cheesecake Factory. Episodes revolve around Leonard and Sheldon, along with physicist friends Howard (in his 30’s and still lives with his mother) and Rajesh, trying to overcome their social differences. Like I said, it’s quirky and geeky, but has become increasingly more funny with each episode.

Criminal Minds (Wednesday nights, 8 Central, CBS) – Like the CSI series (you’ll see this next on the list), but different. Rather than investigate crime scenes to find the killer(s), the cast of Criminal Minds works for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and focuses on the criminals’ next move.

The team is led by Hotchner, a no-nonsense kind of guy who seems to be the smooth talker that can most easily gain the trust of anybody. Dr. Reid is the youngest of the group, and is nothing less than a genius. Derek is the tough guy of the team. And I have to mention Penelope, the “behind the scenes” computer guru who can find everything from the last place you used your credit card to when you last went to the bathroom.

CSI – Miami (Wednesday nights, 9 Central, CBS) – The only CSI that I really try to watch anymore (I’ve never really been a fan of CSI: New York and I’ve lost interest in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation / Las Vegas since the addition of Laurence Fishburne).

The star of the show is David Caruso as Horatio Caine, the hardcore boss who has a chip on his shoulder and all but guarantees to catch the bad guy.

Those are the 3 shows that I’m trying to watch on a regular basis. In future weeks, I’ll do my best to critique what I thought of the most recent episode, along with a slew of other entertainment type thoughts…..

In sharp contrast to the negative customer service experiences you often see on The Soap Boxers, today I happily regale you with quite possibly the best customer service experience ever.  I have purchased many items from Buy.com over the years (mostly electronics) and have never had a bad experience.  I have, however, had one great experience.

The story started, as many do, with the birth of our first child.  Soon after, I saw a keychain the held digital photos (produced by Coby).  These have exploded in availablity over the last year, but at the time, it was difficult to find them for a decent price, except online.

My wife and I each wanted one, so I hopped onto Buy.com and ordered two of them at $20 each.  They arrived shortly, and I went about the task of loading them with our favorite photos.  The software (Mac version) was a bit quirky, but nonetheless, I soon loaded the first keychain.  Then I grabbed the second one.  The computer wouldn’t recognize it.  I rebooted the computer.  I tried a different computer.  I unplugged it and plugged it back in.  I cursed.  Nothing seemed to work.  The product was defective.

I went online and very quickly found Buy.com’s information on how to return a defective item.  I printed off an RMA (return of merchandise) form from their website.  This gave me free postage to send it back.  Very cool.  I dropped the box off (I forget which shipping company) and waited for my replacement.

After a week or so, I noticed that there had been absolutely no change to my order status online – not even an indication that the return had been received.  I sent a quick email to Buy.com to ask about this.  I quckly received a reply that explained the various steps in the return process and explained why the item might still be in the return process.  At this point,  I was confident that the box hadn’t fallen off a truck somewhere in Nebraska.  I patiently waited for the replacement.

Before long, I received a perfectly functioning item as a replacement.  I was very happy with it and in fact recommended it to many friends, several of whom went out to Buy.com to buy one.  I was a very satisfied customer.

A couple of months later, I received an email from Buy.com, completely out of the blue.  They were reviewing their files.  Because they were unable to completely satisfy me (their words, not mine), they were refunding my purchase price.  Not just the $20 cost of the defective (and replaced) item, but the entire $40 order.  I must say that I was very surprised at this.  If Buy.com considered me to be an unsatisfied customer, they must set the customer service bar very high.