Yeah, those of you hating on the pops aren't really getting it, which I will go ahead and attribute to my inaccurate story telling. My dad is easily one of the most likable people you will ever meet. He is a sweet, warm, funny, adventurous dude who truly finds the joy in all things in life.

He is very generous and open to helping people in many ways. Like I'd given as an example before, he will welcome anyone into his house with open arms. His mistake is in making the assumption that the world is as welcoming, so he will assume the same generosity from others, which means that he just does what he does, but it is rare that the negative consequences is someone else getting hurt.

Usually the major downside is those around him (me, my stepmom, etc.) get a bit embarrassed by his shenanigans, or those around him feel a bit uncomfortable by him having assumed their hospitality or a favor. But 90% of the time, it's pretty harmless stuff.

I want Double Down to take over this thread like DMC took over the in-laws thread.

EDIT: This one

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/34...-story-833545/

Thread gets good after post #98. Takes till post #135 to really open the floodgates though.

Your story telling is amazing. It adds a lot to already great stories. The person hating on your dad is Dids. Don't worry about that. He hates everything.

DD should start twitter account and post stingy stories daily, ala shitmydadsays

The buffet story just seems impossibly inconsiderate on a lot of levels. Some people I guess can just write that off as a quirky person being quirky- but I see it as his Dad letting his demented obsession get in the way of spending time with his son. Being weird is one thing, not controlling it to the point where it makes other people's lives worse just isn't something I enjoy in a person, and I don't think I'm that weird on this one.

Most of my anti-social seeming rants are focused on people who through intent or ignorance are being inconsiderate to the other people around them. I just want people to pay attention and not make other people's lives worse because they can't pay attention/control themselves. This is just exactly one of those spots.

I definitely see Dids's point that a lot of people are going to be turned off by DD's fathers actions to the point they won't want to hang out with him. DD obviously has a biased view, and certainly a lot of people may enjoy being around him, but there probably are a huge number of people who get tired of his antics and want nothing to do with him.

Either way, I want more stories!

I'm totally with you, Dids, and like you, one thing that I am very passionately irked by is those who are inconsiderate, and much of that is fueled by how I responded to observing my father growing up. However, as time has gone on and I realized that his level of obliviousness is off the charts, I have begun to wonder if he quite literally might have some autistic tendencies. Like I'd mentioned in a previous post, it really would not surprise me if he were diagnosed with Asperger's were he to get tested.

I also have come around in the past couple of years to realizing that
1. How he acts is not a reflection of me
2. I'm no longer fearful of being like him
3. He's not going to change (took me a long time to accept this one) and therefore:
4. Being the own master of my emotions, it is 100% my choice as to how I let it affect me.

And truthfully, it doesn't bother me a fraction as much as it did during my teen years because of points 1-3. But he hasn't changed at all, so it goes to show that it's really on me if I allow it to ruin my day. Also, out of curiosity, what was inconsiderate about the buffet story specifically? The only way I'd felt marginalized at the time (but only incidentally) was that he wanted to go to a buffet to eat, which I don't see as a good eating experience from a social aspect.

More stories to come, busy day today but perhaps I'll crack one off tonight.

Mostly making you guys wait while he dicked around spending 70 bucks to save 7, and all the issues you listed with the buffet in the first place.

I definitely did feel like this for a long time. Probably starting at 10 or 11, as I became more and more aware of his ways, I really grew to loathe the guy and wanted to be around him less and less. My ability to come around to the point where I can enjoy his company regardless and be accepting of him is a very recent thing, like in the past year or so (and I'm 30).

Most people have parents that drive them crazy, and opt to not spend that much time with them outside of the required situations. There are very few people in my family that I would probably be friends with if we weren't related. They're just not my kind of people. But I've tended to find that with the people that we're "forced" to be with (from a social pressure standpoint) we learn our greatest lessons.

I can understand you not wanting to be like your father in certain respects, but the way you tell it, he is a harmless, quirky guy who sounds like lots of fun.

The chocolate factory story is a good example of how his stinginess can be playful.

and after that, you can post a story!

(sorry, couldn't resist)

DD,
IANAMD, but he 100% has something wrong with him
haters gonna hate though!

Enough bickering about what kind of person DD's dad is or isn't.

Back to the story telling.

once saw a boy eat cat food

Did you miss the part where he said the other two people involved in this buffet meal were laughing their asses off the whole time?

I'm guessing you just skimmed the posts and insta-formed an opinion (standard).

Can you sell these videotapes to us via DVD? I'll pay $10.

If you're related to someone, it's impossible to tell them "no, I'm exhausted"? I don't get it.

of course not. are you insane? if you're giving a kid a ride home, you drop them off at home (or at the corner of their block, at least).

When I first arrived in Costa Rica, I went to the casino with a fellow poker player who at the time was playing $200 s&g's and had played WSOP several times. We played whatever we were playing at the casino, then grabbed a taxi to go home; this was around 1am in downtown San Jose, which isn't the safest area in the world.

Before the taxi could drive one block, fellow player was asking the driver how much it was going to be and why the meter wasn't on. The driver indicated the ride would be the equivalent of about $4 (at the time, about 1600 colones). Friend told the driver it should be 1500 colones and that is what we were willing to pay. After they argued for 20 seconds about the 25cent difference in price, and the driver refused to budge, friend made the taxi stop and made us get out to find a taxi that would charge a fair price. My offers to gladly pay the taxi were met with "no, it's not the right price and it's a matter of principle".

TL;DR but I'm hoping you enjoy

Behold the Consumer Electronics Show. Every year, during the first week of the new year, 100,000+ people representing every facet of the world of technology convene to explore the latest inventions and innovations in all things technological from around the world.

Even with such great attendance numbers, the International CES has a strict policy that it is not open to the general public. One must somehow be involved in the consumer electronics industry in order to register and gain entry. Among the present techy elite are entrepreneurs, distributors, inventors, small business owners, programmers, and one very opportunistic pediatrician.

Yep, my dad goes to the CES every year. Has been going for nearly 20 years now. And here's how he cracked it:

Some time in the early nineties, Pops met some dude who was in town for the show. They hit it off, and the guy, a small business owner, offered to register my dad as an "employee" of his company so that he could register himself for CES and go. The man was as good as his word, and so every year, Dad's name was in the system as a member of this company.

During these first few years of attendance, the old man would sit me down from time to time and spin tales of this wondrous event. He would tell me of Laser Discs, Surround Sound, a new technology where people could communicate via the computer, and a nifty new vehicle called a Segway that's going to revolutionize transportation (lol). But the true greatness of the CES was the incredible amount of the free **** they give away! That's right!!

Keychains, pens, flash drives, candy, you name it. My dad would come home each day with a large tote bag (that had also been given to him at the CES) filled to the brim with free goodies, like a Free **** Santa Claus. Even now and then, they would be giving away some serious swag, like t-shirts, flash lights, clock radios, and Discmans (Discmen?). And legend had it that a company or two every year would go balls out and every hour on the hour hold drawings to give away free DVD players! And of course, enough chicken satay, sushi, and coconut scrimps to choke a rhino.

If the Mayans are right and **** majorly goes down come December next year, I pray that our world bases its new economy solely on promotional mini-frisbees, so that my father can make quick work of establishing himself as the new King of Earth, and I, his heir.

I'm sure that my father's only wish is for them to introduce a cloning machine one year, so that he can insta-hop in there, quadruple himself, and send his new selves around the convention center to grab four times the shtuff.

Ok, so here's where it goes from pretty cool to awesome: Around November of '95, my dad was having lunch with an old pal of his named Mike, who was in Vegas for business. Mike was (brace yourself) my dad's brother's ex-wife's twin sister's ex-husband. Yeah. For what possible reason is my dad still in touch with this dude? Well, it's very much just the kinda guy he is. My dad keeps in touch with everyone he's ever met. Seriously.

So this Mike guy is telling my dad about how he runs his own website called fivestarreview.com or something like that, and it is basically a site that explores and reviews all kinds of new technology and gadgets. And so they get to talking about the CES, since they both go every year. My dad thought he was livin' large until Mike drops a bomb on him that due to the nature of his company, he goes every year as a registered member of the press! And brother, if you ain't going as press, you ain't sheeyit.

Not only do the press receive TONS more free stuff (starting with a super nice suitcase and press gift basket when you first arrive and sign in) but a press pass gets you access into all kinds of areas and events that the lowly groundlings of non-press convention goers do not. Every night, there are huge, fully catered promotional events thrown by various companies specifically and exclusively for the press, to unveil their latest products. And after these events, there are crazy off the ****ing hook parties thrown by the companies at various clubs around town. Oh, and some insane concerts (more on that in a minute).

Poor, down trodden Mike was a bit disappointed because he was not going to be able to make the CES this coming year because he had some trip planned with his new wife! What is poor old Mike to do? Well, Bob smells a win/win like tomorrow's catered coconut scrimps and tells Mike that if he will register him as his employee (and therefore he'll now be a member of the press) that he'll write a few articles for his interwebz magazine. Mike loves the idea. And so every year since 1995, my father has been attending the CES as a registered member of the press.

In '97 and '98, I was in town, so my dad registered me as a member of the press also and we went together. And I swear to God this next part is true, that to make himself and me appear more legit, he made business cards for us. I was concerned about the whole thing since I was still a minor, but no matter. Easy fix. I still have to this day, somewhere, business cards that say: "Double Down, FIVESTARREVIEW.COM: Cub Reporter."

It was some pretty great times, including some fantastic concerts that were for press only. I remember one year seeing Styx, Crosby Stills and Nash, MegaDeth, and the Commodores.

We never had any run-ins at all with anyone questioning our credentials, although I do remember at one press event, we're chowing down on some chicken wings and my dad strikes up a conversation with some tv reporter. This guy was the black guy who sounds white that every station has, and he really knew his ****, and they start getting into a pretty heavy, in-depth conversation about the daily trials and challenges of being a member of the media. Watching my dad try to keep up with him in this conversation and ultimately do a horrific job, fumbling over his words, etc. (surprisingly, my dad is an absolutely terrible liar) was one of the funniest thing I'd ever witnessed, and I had to remove myself from the table, lest my uncontrollable laughter give us away.

Seriously, though, some really really good times. Oh, and my father never ended up writing one article for fivestarreview.com. In fact, the website has been defunct for over a decade.

cliffs: Every year, my dad attends and cashes in on the free stuff and awesomeness of the CES as a registered member of the press for an online magazine that no longer exists.

phenomenal

Your dad is my hero

If this was one night, that was one ballin', eclectic concert.

Two nights, but each one was its own full concert. It was freakin' great.