So I got a recruitment call from Primerica the last couple of days. They invited me to some seminar type thing which of course sent up immediate red flags with me. So a little reading later and yep, it's a pyramid scheme.

Any fun stories you guys have with that crap? I had a friend lose like $3000 on that Quickstar a few years ago. I still make fun of him for that shit.

I went out to a "recruitment seminar" when I was in college once. I answered an ad in the paper, asking for simply "young people in their 20's" (are there any OLD people in their 20's?).

Went to a rented office front and the guy started drawing on a big whiteboard. I was reminded of a Kids in the Hall sketch where they simply add zeroes to numbers and yell "folks, look at that! I just turned 40 dollars in to 40,000! Now I'm going to eat some money!!"

I remember that they served Subway sandwiches and lemonade. So I got a free lunch out of the deal.

Of course, the biggest horror story of pyramid schemes is that COBRA (of GI Joe fame) started out as one!

Damn, I should've asked if there would be food. I'd actually go for a free meal.

I'm fortunate enough to never get suckered into these things.

One of my dad's friends is big into the Quickstar cult. He did a pitch for us once because my dad wanted to shut him up. It is an interesting experience to go through as long as you know you won't get suckered.

The only "suckers" are those who don't see the Terrific Investment Opportunity ™!!!

Yes, you'd be a fool to not make millions.

:lol: My God, how do people fall for these things.

Greed. You get all kinds that fall for it. I've seen near retards see it for the crap that it is and near genius level people fall for it hook line and sinker.

Mostly sheer pressure. Nobody really wants to do it, but people start basing friendships and stuff on it, and minimize the downside. People don't see these things as a big risk, so they join up just to get the other person off their back.

There are a lot of those people but there are also people that totally buy into it. It's like knowing someone in a cult to be honest with you.

My wife was into Mary-Kay for a while, and now my sister is. The cult thing isn't a bad description. These women use this stuff for acceptance they've never gotten, new cooler friends, and a feeling of self-worth. They have retreats together where they sing Mary-Kay songs and everything. No joke.

I'd make a wise-ass remark, but I can think of far worse music I sing along to.

But do you do stupid hand motions and cry while singing?

OK, I'm not that big of a pussy.

I had a friend in college that paid his way with Quixtar. His in laws were in it big, too. I thought about it, but then realized that the only way I'd make money is if I REALLY put effort into it, and I'm way too lazy

Forgot about his, but when I got bumped to part-time in 2002, I got a few calls for pyramid schemes. I'd get regular calls from recruitment firms with stuff oriented in my career, but one or two pyramiders skipped by my radar. (Yes, recruiters are sometimes just as bad... but Hot Chixx usually work for them).

One guy kept calling me on my (old) cellphone and I thought he was a legitimate recruiter. Finally got ahold of him and he said he got my resume' because I was a "project manager". Listed as a minor skill on my resume, I've never done it full-time and it's not something I consider myself adept at. Then he asked if I had $20,000 to invest. I told him I only had $3,000.. but I was considering investing it in Franklin Mint and Precious Moments collectibles. The call quickly ended.

I've got a Dale Earnhardt autgraph plate.

I've got two Labra-doodle plates that I can trade for it!

Labra-doodle for the Intimidator?!?!

Frankly, I'm insulted.

I'll trade you a Mickey Mantle plate, and throw in a Simpsons plate for free.

Now we're talking business.

I was holding out... but I can offer a Precious Moments figurine that features two monogoloids under an umbrella and reads "It's never raining when you have FRIENDS".

It's also important to note that not all plates go up in value. Some depreciate. But we feel that the Labra-doodle plates offer Tremendous Potential for Appreciation. Even if only in our hearts.

You honestly think I'm parting with this baby:

I'll give you $50 to eat an ice cream cake off of it. :P

Ice cream? "now that's what I call a sticky situation. hahahahaha"

Damn South Park references.

I didn't get it.

Of course, I didn't watch South Park either.

There was an episode from Season 2 called "Flashbacks", where the flashbacks were manipulated to involve endings with ice cream involved, and the character retelling the story would finish "that's what I call a sticky situation", followed by laughter.

At least someone got it. I was a bit hesitant to drop that one out there.

But back to pyramid schemes. Considering that Cobra started out as one, I don't think it worked out well for any of the original investors. All the high-raking Cobra officials were usually outside guys, like Destro, Zartan or Firefly. Baroness probably got by on her looks and Dr. Mindbender started out as a dentist. Cobra didn't have a good record of promoting from within. Maybe somone like Scrap-Iron, though. So if the highest position you can attain with a pyramid scheme is "Anti-Tank Specialist", it's probably best to avoid it altogether.

Who was that really cool Ninja with Cobra?

Ahh..I'm glad you asked! That would be Storm Shadow. He was the young heir apparent to the Arashikage Ninja Clan. He left the clan and infiltrated Cobra to find out who killed the Hard Master.

See, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow were buddies in Vietnam. After the war, Snake-Eyes' family was killed on the way to the airport by a drunk driver and he had nowhere to go. So Storm Shadow invited him to join the Ninja Clan....

But the drunk driver who killed Snake-Eyes' family had an unstable brother. The brother blamed the death on Snake-Eyes, tracked him down and sought vengeance! This led the brother to hire Zartan and Firefly, who stalked the Arashikage compound and attempted to kill Snake-Eyes. While the Hard Master was mimicking Snake-Eyes' fighting style, he was shot by one of Storm Shadow's arrows and killed.

Since it was Stormie's arrow, everyone blamed him and he was kicked out of the clan. But Stormie had actually ran outside the compound after the assasination and had seen a Cobra chopper taking the real assassain away. To reclaim his honor, Stormie vowed to find the real killer. Sorta' like OJ, except he really did. Took him about five years, though.

The killer who fired the arrow eventually turned out to be Zartan. Firefly was flying the chopper and had coordinated the whole hit. Firefly had been undercover in the Ninja clan as the "Faceless One", one of his many aliases. Zartan sorta' repented for his crimes and did a faceturn for a bit. Firefly was still a big heel throughout the whole thing, though.

Just showed one of the recurring themes of the old GI Joe stories-- as the Soft Master had said: "Vengeance is a poor purpose in life". The lust for vengeance destroyed the lives of Cobra Commander and Storm Shadow. Which made Snake-Eyes all the more admirable since he had resisted that path.


..and now ya' know!

and knowing is half the battle!

Snake-Eyes was cool too before I forget it.