Frankly, I'm quite amused

It’s funny how I went from one entry a month to my third in under a week. However, I’ve got something else Where’s George-related to put in. I went to Panera Bread today for lunch. (For those that have never been there, they sell mostly bread, sandwiches, and other things like that. You can check out the menu on their web site.)

There was one guy at the register who I’ve seen there before. When I paid with my marked bills, he seemed happy to see them. I have no idea if he knows about the site or if he was just a happy sort of guy. Either way, when I left to wait for my food, I realized two things. First, I was supposed to get a buzzer similar to the ones that many restaurants hand out while you’re waiting for a table. The second was that he hadn’t taken my name, which they put into the register so that the people serving up the food have something to call out if the customer isn’t there.

When I looked down, I noticed that he had put “WHERE GEORGE” as my name. The buzzer thing wasn’t a big deal, since the food was there by the time I got to the other counter. For some reason, though, the guy that handed me my food apologized. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t have a buzzer or because of the name. Personally, I thought the whole name thing was funny.

Panera is a bit unusual. The first few times I went, they spelled my name Bryan instead of Brian. (Brian is how I spell my name.) That, I don’t mind so much since it’s not really appearing on an official document. What I find odd is that they always give me these Krunchers potato chips. I know they have Lays and they never really ask for my preference. I could ask them, but it’s not really worth the effort. It’s not a particularly big deal.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

It’s not easy being a Georger. I know I just posted on this, but something happened to me today that I just had to comment on. I went to the dollar store today and bought several items. The bill came to $5.30, which was paid with six singles. I can’t be sure, but I think the cashier put the bills underneath her cash tray. I may be paranoid here, but this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. (My mother said that she may have wanted to save them to enter when she gets home. Since the store closes at nine, we’ll find out soon enough.)


I’m including a picture of how I stamp in this post, just to show you how I do it. The idea of stamping in the margins is simple. First off, it gets noticed. (Think about how you count bills.) Secondly, it doesn’t interfere with the design of the bill. This is useful not only in a legal sense, but also in terms of putting the bills in machines.


On at least three occasions, I’ve seen cashiers use the counterfeit detection pen to see if my singles were real or fake. I can sort of understand this. It catches people off guard. I’ve even had two people ask me if this was a new feature that the government was introducing. I said that it wasn’t. I have to wonder why someone would set aside the bills like that. As I said, maybe I’m just imagining things.


I think that some of the most frustrating instances are when my bills get set aside for routine things. Yesterday, I went to McDonalds. I paid using eight singles only to have the cash trays switched out before the next customer paid. I’d imagine that the singles eventually ended up in a new tray. It’s rare that a business will deposit a lot of singles since they’re so often needed for change. However, I don’t like the idea of my bills sitting around in a bank.


Anyway, I’m done ranting.

Glow-in-the-dark Jelly Bean

I did something interesting here. I turned my optical mouse upside down and put a jelly bean on it. It started glowing red. I thought it looked interesting, so here it is. I have to wonder what it is that makes it glow like that. I mean, I know there's some sort of red lazer or something coming out of it, but why does the whole thing look red?


Here's a closer look. Look at how red that thing is. Is the optical mouse really that powerful that it can generate something that strong? I'm sure I'll get a comment or two about how the mouse works. (I'm probably more likely to get a post telling me to get a life, though.)





This is what the jelly bean looks like without the mouse's influence. I was considering it for my mutant jelly bean project, considering that it is of below-average size, but I almost threw it out. I've been looking for beans that look interesting on their own, but this doesn't really do much without another jelly bean to compare it to.


I actually got six hits on Where's George today, but they were all local. The best that I got was a direct hit at a McDonald's where I spent the bill. I think I may have even seen the guy checking out the bill. Come to think of it, he may have gotten two or three.

Two people today got the bills, saw the "track this bill" stamp I use, and thought it was a new feature on the bills. I have to wonder if people know that there's a new series coming out or if it's just people asking a random question. The marks are too haphazard to be a feature on the bill.

Oh, well. I'm off to spend more bills and find more jelly beans...