eBay, the place where you can buy and sell anything short of a human kidney has decided that sellers can no longer leave buyers negative feedback. What this means is that if Joe-loser decides he doesn’t want to pay you, your only recourse is to file a non-payment claim, but cannot leave bad feedback to alert other potential sellers about the deadbeat.

This gives buyers carte-blanche the ability to threaten sellers that they will leave bad feedback if they don’t do certain things. They have you by the balls, my friends. This is pretty sad, in my opinion, and eBay doesn’t care. They feel they are protecting BUYERS from the evil sellers. Wrong.

Next - Yelp users beware - a lawsuit filed by a loser chiropractor in San Francisco against negative feedback he got has sent a ripple through the Yelp-ers of the world. This ambulance chaser is pissed because a guy with a bad back didn’t like his billing procedures. So is he going to sue me because I am calling him a loser? Loser, loser, loser. I have been to 2 chirprators in my life and both were pretty good but they have a reputation that isn’t so hot, and we are all aware of this no matter how untrue it may be.

But then again, how accurate is Yelp? There are people who give glowing reviews of Mickey D’s and Wendy’s…”ooohhh, the best damn Big Mac ever….just the right amount of secret sauce…”

I went to a place in Milpitas, CA last week called e-noodle. It was just plain horrible. A hair in the soup…no apology….nasty pot stickers and bland noodles. My tablemates were all in agreement this was just plain bad. And sure enough, there were Yelpers that said they were the best pot stickers they ever had.

Opinions….that is what I am all about….love me or hate me

I admit it, I was home on the couch on New Year’s Eve with the TV remote in hand flipping channels. And like so many other years, wanted to see Times Square in New York go crazy. One year I will actually make it there so I can freeze my ass off in person, but for now, my climate-controlled condo will have to suffice.

Ryan Seacrest, who looked fat by the way, Kellie Pickler, and Dick Clark handled duties. Ryan, fat Ryan, did his usual solid un-offensive job, and Kellie asked the questions and didn’t have to pronounce salmon. OK, American Idol joke there.

Dick Clark owns the show and he can do what he wants, and apparently he felt as if he had something to add to the broadcast. But for anyone who grew up watching American Bandstand or any of his game shows, let alone the NYE shows, this was sad. Dick looked like a guy who had a stroke. And bless his heart, and more power to him, he is able to communicate and look good for a 79 year-old. But I don’t think there is anyone who watched that KNEW him back in the day that wasn’t a bit uneasy watching him on screen.

That said, I hope you all had a festive holiday and now it’s back to it so we can make ‘09 kick-ass!

It’s about 48 hours away - New Years’ Eve! Many will sit at home and watch the Dick Clark Ryan Seacrest tag-team effort on the plasma. Others will head out and see and be seen at various hotspots, catch an overpriced concert with a yesteryear band, or hit a bar for a coundown to 2009.

If you are planning a party but have not had a chance to “plan” yet and are looking for all the things you might need…you know, a bakery, catering and a stripper - because they do all go together, you might want to visit TheParty.Net which is a DIY search engine for party and event planning that allows you to combine and localize your search. Whether you are in Guam or Newark, you can locate everything in a single click.

However you celebrate, do it safely and if you are drinking anything heavier than a diet Coke, walk, take the bus, flag down a cab or find a friendly bed to spend the night

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannakah, Kwanzaa, or you celebrate all of them or none of them, there is still something about this time of year that makes me wonder why and how people can be angry with another person.

It is the season to be jolly and a time to smile and share. Many places of the USA are chilly this time of year, so donating that extra warm coat taking up space in your closet isn’t that difficult. Giving that guy who was laid off from his job a 5-spot so he can get a bite to eat isn’t that difficult. Smiling isn’t that difficult.

Sometimes life is difficult, we all know that. But Redd Foxx once said that he would rather be in a hospital bed in agony than dead! So if you are happy, sad, feeling pain or walk around with an eternal smile on your face - you are alive and that is something to be happy about.

We are happy that most of our site improvements are completed and 2009 will be a great your for you, your friends, family and that BigJock.com can be a part of your year!

I was recently in Vietnam due to a family emergency. I’ve been there many times before, but here I am at the airport, their newly remodeled and very impressive airport that is now up to international standards - and there it was: Phuc Long Coffee.

Now was this coffee with built-in Viagra? Did it contain some sort of enhancer that allowed one to phuc long?

It was inexpensive - about $2.00 for a bag. So I bring it home for the bigjock.com taste test. And to tell you the truth, it tasted a lot like something I had tasted before. Coffee.

Next time you think to yourself that where we live sucks, or that we may not be totally “free,” just be glad we don’t live in Pakistan, or UAE - and if you do and are reading this, I feel your pain.

Pakistan has decided to block access to YouTube because those pesky Danish cartoons that poked fun at their prophet can be found lurking.

UAE is blocking users’ path to FaceBook and MySpace because apparently they are just too darn fun. These sitesapparently degrade the morals, ethics and values of good Muslim kids. If they only knew how many Muslims from those countries that regularly cruised BigJock.com!

To once again quote that great fence-mender, Rodney King, “Can’t we all just get along?”

Another season of American Idol means new dirt. Each season has been touched by one or more of the wannabe stars having a past life.

Mario Vasquez left 2 seasons back after he allegedly cornered an Idol staffer, and showed him HIS staff. His album bombed, and is found in the Bargain Bin at a CD store near you. There was the stripper, the topless pictures last season, as well as the car-thief twins.

This season we have the gay stripper, David Hernandez, who gave lap dances in Phoenix for a few years. Not illegal by any stretch, but will AI let him continue? Will America vote for him now because of this - or will America vote for him BECAUSE of this!

Now, Tmz.com is also reporting that Danny Noriega, is a disturbed kid. He went off in his MySpace profile about Christmas.

I think it’s pretty clear that both Danny and David are BigJock.com material, if you get my drift - and if either would care to stop on by and sign up - heck even post some streaming video, drop me a line. I am sure once your run is over on the show you may need a place to show your wares.

Hi Everybody - Believe it or not, 2007 is almost over and 2008 is just days away. BigJock.com is now one year old, and thanks to you, we are growing each and every day! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or nothing at all, this time of year is always fun and festive as we bring in the New Year. I would personally like to wish you and your loved ones and families a fantastic holiday season and prosperous and healthy 2008.A quick note about the site - We will be launching Version 2.0 of our JockChat feature that is 1000% better than what we have now! I will drop you a note when the final testing is done.

Once again, here is another Buy One-Get One coupon from Jamba Juice! Please drink responsibly, and remember that BigJock.com is not responsible for over-indulging or any restrictions your neighborhood location may put on your comsumption desires.

http://www.jambafunctionals.com/bogo/coupon.aspx

Once again, it has been a while since I have had the chance to sit down and write my blog even though much has been going on around us. That said, I am making my October 10^th resolution to make a much better effort to contribute to this space on the website.

My purpose today is to express my frustration with the City of
San Francisco, and their lack of competence when it comes to dealing with parking tickets - in particular, reconciliation of fine collections.

So here is the story: I was in San Francisco earlier this year on official BigJock.com business, and my meeting in the lower Hayes
Valley took longer than expected. Naturally, I got a ticket because my 2-hour spot ran 15 minutes over and there was a $40 tag neatly placed on my windshield.

Well, to the delight of The City, I didn’t get around to paying the ticket right away and the fine multiplied, steeling at $100. Instead of paying the ticket, and then having to deal with DMV as well, as my car registration would be due in a short time, the ticket appeared on my DMV registration renewal.

Because ofArnold and his cuts, my registration fee was “only” $278, and the $100 ticket made it an even $378. I paid my penalty and fee and received my 2008 sticker in the mail, along with a note stating they recognized my ticket has been paid.

Of course, the next week I get a letter from City Hall demanding the $100, or else. So, thinking this would be the end of it, I make a photo-copy of the DMV note and drop it in the mail, showing that the ticket had been paid and I am a good citizen.

Well, 2 weeks ago, another letter appears - again asking for the $100. I decide to pick up the phone and call to state my case. Hahaha! Joke is on me, my friends. I challenge you to call any department of City Hall and have something resolved in short order. Fighting my way through the “sorry sir, they are out on break,” and the long wait-times on hold, the end result was a request for me to BRING IN THE LETTER. Right.

I don’t think they can put “The Boot” on my car for one ticket, so all I can say is screw ‘em. I’ve done my part. I’ve paid the ticket and attempted to reconcile it for them by sending a copy of an official State of California document, but apparently the two departments are not in communication.

Anyone else have similar stories? We’d love to read and chuckle/cringe along with you!