Rants

Press 1 For Incompetence, Press 2 For Frustration

We picked up the cable converter box last night, but I didn’t hook it up until just before leaving for work this morning. I didn’t have time to put the batteries into the remote, but when the TV was tuned to channel 3, I did get a cable channel.

Tonight when we got home from work there was a message from the cable company saying they had a man at my house at 3:15 PM to upgrade my service and I should call back and reschedule. Huh? I didn’t need any upgrade, when I asked for the converter box I told them I wanted it so I could have the digital basic line-up. As the woman handed me the box I also asked did she need to program it or anything (the last couple years this was the procedure) and she said no. So I was mystified as to why they needed to send someone out, until I checked the channel line up, I didn’t have any of the upper channels (which is what I wanted.) Guess I better call them.

I dialed the local number and was greeted by a message stating that the number was no longer in service and I should dial the 1-888 toll free number. I did and it was answered after one ring and I was dumped into voice mail hell. Press 1 if you blah, blah, blah, Press 2 for yadda yadda, Press 3 for whatever, etc. I try 1 and get a secondary menu with no options that I need, press 9 to back up one menu. Try 2, but that leads no where as well. Third time is a charm because I just punch in zero for a customer service representative. Wait, wait, wait while listening for advertisements for their internet service, their phone service and a friendly reminder that on February 19th of 2009 I better have all my TVs hooked to their cable or I’ll be out of luck. The office is less than a mile from my house so just about the time I decide to just unhook the box and take it back, I get a human. Dan takes my info and asks some basic questions: Is the box hooked up? Am I home and in front of it? Do I have any picture? Yes, yes and yes. He says, “Let me send a signal to your box.” “Try a channel above 100. Anything?” No I tell him. “Let’s try again,” he says. “still nothing. He suggests “re-booting” the box. I unplug it, wait 10 seconds and plug it back in. A sequence of lights flicker and I’m in business. Dan comments that he didn’t know why they didn’t do that in the office. I tell him I didn’t think that the woman I was dealing with yesterday in the office was the sharpest crayon in the box.

How come I can set a couple different lists of favorites, but I cannot subtract channels I don’t want to see, or hear, in the case of the music channels?

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 219

Disappearing Profiles

Dear Brian,

We wanted to let you know we will be eliminating Profiles, the feature that allowed you to set up separate DVD Queues under one account, effective September 1, 2008.

Each additional Profile Queue will be unavailable after September 1, 2008. Before then, we recommend you consolidate any of your Profile Queues to your main account Queue or print them out.

While it may be disappointing to see Profiles go away, this change will help us continue to improve the Netflix website for all our customers.

If you have any questions, please go to http://www.netflix.com/Help?p_faqid=3962 or call us anytime at 1 (888) 638-3549. We apologize for any inconvenience.

– The Netflix Team

This showed up in my inbox a couple of days ago. Nice. Donna and I love this feature as it allows us to keep movies and TV shows separate. That way when a movie gets returned a movie comes back, when a TV show gets watched a TV show comes back. Without this feature we are going to have to micro-manage our soon to be single rental queue to keep the mix in that order. I’m a little miffed at what they are doing and how they are handling it, I even signed an online petition, but they are still going to be the best game in town. Since joining Netflix back in 2000 we have probably been in a brick & mortar video store a dozen times and every time we do, on the way out the door we say, “Thank God for Netflix.”

For kicks this morning we went for a bike ride and for the first time in about 3 years we rode separate bikes. Very quirky for the first half dozen miles, but seemed normal by the second half of the ride. The choice of riding a tandem or a single bike has both pros and cons that pretty much even out, so we have decided to toss the single bikes back into the mix with a little more regularity than once every three years.

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 212

We’ve Been Stimulated

George Bush’s check came in the mail yesterday and in an effort to help stave off a recession we decided to spend some money today.

Stop #1 – Bank. We needed to deposit the stimulus check and cash a couple medical flex spending reimbursement checks. We had the same male teller we had about a week and a half ago. Our first experience with him led us to believe it was his first day on the job. He kept looking back and forth between the check & the computer, hesitantly hitting keys some and then looking back and forth again. He seemed so shy at it that he stumbled on his words when asking us if we were having a good day. Today was more of the same and by his mannerism there was a couple of times that Donna was worried he was actually debiting our account the total of the two checks along with giving us the cash. After we left we thought that maybe next time we’ll just wait on a different teller.

Stop #2 – Home Depot. I needed a couple of shiny new white light switches and four new white outlets for the bedroom I just finished painting. (Why is it that you get the covers included when you buy the switch, but they have to be purchased separately with the outlets?) At the check out counter our cashier scanned the lights, she scanned the outlets with three coming up as $1.99 and one rang up as $2.30. I wasn’t going to quibble over 31¢, but when she dragged the outlet covers over the scanner it booped instead of beeped, didn’t register. She tried again, and again, and again. She pulled out the hand held scanner and it wouldn’t register a price either. Scan, boop. Scan, boop. Next she attempted to key in the numbers below the barcode and was greeted with the same noise signifying failure. Now what? She tries scanning it again. And again, and again. Donna and I look at each other, nod and tell the cashier goodbye. She can be heard in the background pleading as we exit the door, “You don’t want any of this?”

Stop #3 – Kroger. I needed bananas and Donna wanted some English muffins. When we were shopping on Saturday I managed to get 3 bananas that were ripe enough to eat, the rest were the color of the Master’s Champion’s jacket. Tonight there weren’t any at all that weren’t bright green, estimated time on the counter until ripe enough to eat, 4 days. We turned around and left, not even picking up the English muffins.

Stop #4 – Cable Company. July is coming up and as always we will temporarily upgrade to the digital service so we can get Outdoor Life Network Versus. Even though Lance Armstrong is not riding anymore and most of the American hopefuls aren’t living up to their perceived potential or have been suspended for doping we still like to watch the Tour de France. This year we decided to go ahead and get the converter box a couple weeks early to check out some other bike racing action leading up to the big race. We entered the office and there were 4 women sitting at the counter and all four didn’t look up when we came in. We were the only customers in there yet it took a minute or so for one of them to look up and say, “I can try and help you.” “What can I do for you?” I said I’d like to upgrade to basic digital service. She said, “I can give you the box, but it can’t be programed until the computers come back up.” “I tell you what,” I said, “We’ll come back.” When she tried to apologize I waved her off, “We aren’t taking it personally, it’s just the way our day is going.”

Stop #5 – Olive Oils. Donna had a coupon from the local paper that entitled us to a buy one, get one free entr? (from a list of 4.) After the last few stops Donna questioned the intelligence of trying to go out and eat. I told her don’t worry, after the last few experiences, the law of averages was on our side. Olive Oils opens at five and closes at ten, but the best time to get there is early because the place is small and popular. We got there at around 5:30 and the parking lot was empty. The restaurant looked dark, we began to wonder if they were even open. The door was unlocked and as we opened the screen door the inner door opened and a waitress welcomed us. We told her that we would sit outside on the porch if they turned on the ceiling fans. Although it was wicked hot, we would rather be outside and the shade of the porch with the breeze of the fan would make it bearable. There was a flurry of activity as two waitresses hunted for the switch. It seemed to be taking a while so Donna started counting slowly up to ten. I knew if she made it to the top we were leaving. At about 9 one of the waitresses came back and said that the fans were on a timer that is locked up. After last night’s 2-1/2 hour power failure every clock in the place was 2.5 hours early. We opted for inside. We were their first customers of the evening and as such our meal was served piping hot. By the time we left there were two other couples dinning there. I guess Tuesday is a pretty slow night.

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 196

Say What?

Our plant is No Smoking inside, has been for years, but apparently some people on the off shifts think it is OK to take a few puffs every now and then in the restrooms. First a simple smoldering cigarette with the international red slash through it stickers were placed on all the bathroom doors. Didn’t totally eliminate the problem. Then they placed some official looking signs that had the word NOTICE on top with the phrases No Smoking, No Eating, & No Drinking in every restroom. I guess that wasn’t totally successful either as now we have some 8-1/2 x 11 laminated sheets of paper tacked to all the bathroom doors that say, “Smoking in unauthorized areas of the plant is prohibited and will result in discipline action.”

I’m no English major, but shouldn’t that be disciplinary action?

I have been trying to have a glass of red wine with dinner for a while now, the antioxidants or whatever are good for heart health (I also read Playboy for the articles.) After a bit of experience I have decided that I like Pinot Noir [PEE-noh NWAHR] the best of all the reds. I am working my way through the varieties at my local grocery store in search of my favorite inexpensive (under $15 a bottle) pinot. The latest one I found has three monkeys on the label in the classic see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil pose and it is called Pinot Evil.

Cute, I thought at first, but the more I analyzed it, shouldn’t the label have just one monkey standing upright with his back to us and stream of er, well, you get the picture…

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 194

Official Cheese Doodle of the Boston Red Sox

Wise. They also make the Official Potato Chip of the team too.

“Looks like it is coming down on Landsdowne St, better call 1-800 Fifty-Four GIANT” “Dave how’s your new Azek Deck coming along?” “Now at Papa Gino’s, buy any Rustic Pizza and get a small traditional cheese pizza FREE!”

Not only do I hear all those commercials between innings of the baseball game, but now these guys are squeezing little comments into the middle of their play by play. I’m almost immune to the ads though, but something happened the other day that was very disturbing. When I fired up the media player to listen to the FRS, before the radio broadcast came on there was an actual video commercial. I don’t remember what it was for I was so in shock. Disturbing, I could no longer, turn on the game in progress and get in with the usual 1 minute delay, now I had to wait another minute sitting through yet another plea for my money. At least it doesn’t seem to be an everyday thing, I only saw it once, but my innocence is lost.

Washed the Miata yesterday because it needed it and I figured I was safe because they weren’t calling for rain for about a half dozen days. Today the Weather Channel revised their forecast, it is now going to rain tomorrow or the next day and then there is a small chance of rain for the whole rest of week.

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 192

Lave Sus Manos Por Favor

Nearly every public bathroom I have been in in the last decade has had a sign on the door or stickers on the towel dispensers informing folks that for proper hygiene they should wash their hands after using the restroom and employees must wash them.

More recently, the signs are displayed in two languages; English for the majority and Spanish for the soon to be majority.

Tonight we had dinner in a Mexican restaurant and the signs were there, but only in one language. You would think that with 100% of the employees of the establishment being Latino in descent that that language would have been Spanish, but you would have been wrong. Nothing but English.

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Miata Top Transitions since 01/01/08: 190

That Was Rude

The latest disc from Netflix is House: Season 2 Disc 5. It includes episodes 2-17 “All In“, 2-18 “Sleeping Dogs Lie“, 2-19 “House vs. God” & 2-20 “Euphoria, Part 1“. Part 1? That means there must be a Part 2 and it’s on the next disc. We’re humped. Guess we are going to go to the local video store to see if we can get House: Season 2 Disc 6.

If you are a regular reader here you’ll remember my trials with the lighted keyboard, I guess I need to spend more than $75 to get a quality one. Maybe I just need to spend 25 times that total – Optimus Maximus!. While you are there, poke around the site a bit, some really col stuff there…

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