Turkey day questions and answers

Thusly I posed the question to some of my friends:

did you already kill a turkey for the fam? bow and arrow, or just chase the fucker down and club it?

And thusly some answered:

My friend Dave said, " i stealthly crept up while being careful not to make any eccess noise or movement reached out and grabbed it out of the grocers freezer"

another friend replied, "i let the mother in law do the chasing" but I have to wonder about that one.

what sayeth you, did you already kill a turkey for the fam? bow and arrow, or just chase the fucker down and club it?

Blah blah blah linux blah blah blah open source.

There I said it.

Now I'll extrapolate for those that want to read more.

I've been living in the past. I've been using "Dapper" which is a linux distribution released *gasp* several months ago. Recently I upgraded to the newest release. These are my notes.

Dear Firefox:
Please put the "close tab" button back where it was in 1.5, over on the right for all tabs, not on the tab itself. Practically speaking this helps me close the porn windows much faster when the "close tab" button is in the same spot each time.

:Edit:
About:config -- > browser.tabs.closeButtons set value to 3
All fixed now!

Dear Novell:
When did you get back in the game with "evolution"? I promptly uninstalled evolution in dapper with much trouble, as I am much more adept with thunderbird. I gave it a go this time but damn. novell? didn't that go out with win 3.1?

Dear Open Office:
I love you. I will have your children.

Dear KStars:
Please make a release that doesn't rely on KDE's dependencies and I'll have your children too. I'm a slut that way.


Dear Gimp:
I see you are still the posterchild for "Interface Hell." Someone has to carry the cross. I just wish it wasn't you.

I guess that's all the open letters I have for now. I do notice my system runs more slowly with "Gutsy" than it did with "Dapper" but I can live with that. It isn't the fastest processor on the market and yet it still works well. All in all I have nothing but good things to say about the Ubuntu version of the linux kernel.

How to break Windows for fun and profit

So I learned something very valuable today and thought I'd share

How to break windows:

create a file named simply "Program"
it does not have to have any content
place it in the root (c) of a windows drive
restart
system hosed (services located in C:\Program Files\etc will fail)

tested on 2kserver, xp pro, and vista business

VerizonWireless.com also hates baby linux (updated)

I'm not going to live my life trying to persuade website owners to let me in. This will be my last I expect. Still I don't understand how they can get away with this. They can't keep me out of a night club if I'm black. They can't fire me if I work at Ford and drive a Chevy. In addition, the people at ford can't make me drive a ford if I don't want to. I might not get a cherry parking spot but I'm still allowed to park my chevy there, right?

So I asked:

Question about the verizonwireless.com website. Why am I no longer able to log into my account since I switched from windows to linux? I'm using the exact same browser. I'm able to log in and use all features if I spoof my user agent so your program thinks I'm using ie7 on windows vista. This tells me you are specifically blocking non-ms operating systems. Can you provide rationale?

==Update==
And they replied...

On Mon Oct 15 9:52 , Verizon Wireless My Account Online sent:

Dear John,

Thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless through our website. I apologize for the delay in responding to your inquiry.

When using Internet Explorer 7.0, we suggest making the following adjustments to your browser for optimal website functionality.

You can access the tool bar for Internet Explorer 7.0 by hitting the Alt key on your keyboard.

. From the tool bar, select Tools from either the top or right menu bar. From the drop down menu select Internet Options.

. You will see in the middle of the box that displays, under Browsing History, a button labeled Delete. Select the delete button.

. You may select the Delete All button; however, if you wish to keep your stored passwords or form data, you would click on Delete Files, Delete Cookies, and Delete History, separately. Click "Yes" when asked if you are sure you want to delete all Internet Explorer browsing history.

. You will then select the Privacy tab, and from this page click on the Advanced button.

. On the next page, you will need to place a check mark in the "Override automatic cookie handling" box. Select Accept for first and third party cookies, and place a check mark in the box for "Always allow session cookies". Please click OK.

. You will now need to click on the Advanced tab in the upper right hand corner. On this page, scroll down to "Show friendly http error messages" and put a check in that box. Now please click on Apply, and OK.

By overriding automatic cookie handling, you should have full use of your online account.

If you require additional information regarding My Account, you may contact E-Services and Support by replying directly to this email. You may also contact us by dialing 1-800-350-2830 and selecting option 1 when prompted. Representatives will be available to assist you Monday through Friday, 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday, 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Pacific Time.

John, we appreciate your business and thank you for using Verizon Wireless products and services.

Sincerely,

Christopher
Verizon Wireless
E-Services and Support

To which I replied:

It seems I wasn't clear with my problem.

My problem is not internet explorer and has nothing to do with internet explorer.

Here is the problem, restated:

I have been a customer for several years and up until recently I have used a windows based computer to access my information online. I have had no trouble with this and I use Mozilla Firefox exclusively.

Recently I switched my home computer to linux. I still use firefox, the same program I use to access the web on windows.

I am unable to log in to verizonwireless.com on the linux platform but am able to access it on a windows machine using the same browser.

My current workaround is to do something called "user agent spoofing" which is where I tell my browser to tell your web server that I'm using a different browser and or operating system. While this does work it is inconvenient and I feel, unnecessary. When I tell your webserver I am using Windows/ie7 it works fine for me. Therefore it isn't a problem on my end, I have all plugins and abilities to use the website.

I was hoping, with my original question, to find out if there is some rationale to this. I would still like to know if I could be privvy to that information.

Blue cross blue shield of tn and baby linux (updated)

(updates are always at the bottom)

As you know, if you've been following along, I switched to linux at home. It's gone swimmingly. Really enjoying it. I decided to start looking at what I need to do to do the same at work.

One issue I have is in my current position, as well as in my last several jobs, I am the insurance administrator. So I'm the guy that you tell when you add a dependant, change coverage, whatever. Then I go online, fill out the appropriate form, and boom, you're covered or not covered. Currently we are using Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee ( http://www.bcbst.com )

Below is what you see if you access the employer's site (the part I use almost exclusively ) using firefox 2.0.0.7 using windows xp:

page ( https://ehealthservices.bcbst.com/common/brownotcompat.asp )

Incompatible Browser Type or Version

Your browser type or version is not currently supported by this application.

If you wish to gain access, please download a free supported browser from the following link.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

While that link up there is javascript and I'm not ganking their broken code, trust me when I tell you it goes to the wrong place. You might as well go to http://www.microsoft.com/givemeanerror to get the same page.

I started this fight a while ago. I asked them why I had to use ie only to access their pages. The tech support guy knew nothing of the details of it. I dropped it and used ie when I had to access the site.

Today I had an insurance related question (how do I terminate coverage and start elective state continuation coverage --which turned out to not be a seamless thing -- I have to terminate the employee's coverage and then completely reenroll them...) so I called them. After I got my most bizarre response I asked again about the ie issue. I told them I am going to switch to linux and he said I wouldn't be able to access the site at all.

Sorry, no dice.

We discussed this for quite some time, even with me bringing up the fact that we have the ability to look elsewhere for coverage. It's a corporation, he didn't care. He said almost as much. All he could tell me was his name was Chris. I'm sure he's the only Chris there. Good thing too because accountability in such a position is pretty important.

I finally asked to speak with his supervisor. I was put on hold.

I did not get to speak with his supervisor, she told him what to say. It didn't please me. It was the same thing he said.

I asked him who I need to talk to for resolution of this issue or at the very least a technical answer. He knew of two people. One was the head of web development is I believe what he said. He rang him. voicemail. He rang the other. Voicemail. He offered to take my information and have one of them call me back. I gave him the info and thanked him for his time. On a side note I did not and do not hope to give him a hard time. I just wanted to find out the answer.

Later, that same day...

I received a call from someone. He didn't properly identify himself when I answered the phone and he never took me off speakerphone. Have I ever mentioned how rude that is?

I answered the phone, "This is John"
He said something like, "This is [beats me, couldn't hear him]."
I knew who it was but I said, "How can I help you?"
He mumbled and finally said "Blue Cross Blue Shield"
I said, "Oh, the IE only people, right." then I explained that I was wanting to switch over to linux and wondered how I'd get my job done.

I'm just going to give the high points.

nope, there were none. Better start with the low points.

According to him they farm all their programming out and it costs them less (and yes, he even said "To keep our heath insurance costs down" I shit you not. ) and he mentioned that if they supported all the browsers it would cost more. he said that if supporting one browser cost X then two would be 2X and three would be 3X.

Now in addition to my duties as insurance administrator I'm a programmer. And I mostly program web pages. And I know that the only way that logic works is if you start with fucked up design.

He wasn't even aware that the web site didn't work with firefox. He thought Safari (mac) was the only major browser not supported (and he stated that it would never ever be supported), but he said that most of his users used ie on windows so they support that one mainly but they do also support netscape. I asked why on the error page it only pointed to Microsoft's ie. He didn't know of the error page in question so I brought it up and read it to him. Clicked the link and lauged. "Your link to ie is broken as well. You might want to look into that."

I think he was aggravated at this point and wanted to end the call and call me back after he "gathered more information." I said that would be fine.

So the problem is I won't be able to access the web page using IE if I switch my work machine to linux.

The solution is I try netscape and if that works, cool.
The problem is I can't get netscape to run on linux at home. To further complicate this subproblem is while trying to figure out how to get it to run it seems (only by heresay) netscape tells web servers it is firefox, not netscape.

So what to do what to do? Well I installed a user-agent spoofer in firefox and as long as I tell it I'm running netscape 4 the site works. This fixes _my_ problem but not _the_ problem.

See, there's more to it.

We also do medical billing. And sometimes that is through blue cross blue shield of tennessee. And guess what? IE only. So what do we do there, just not bill bcbs of tn when they owe us money? Well, no, that's not a workable option. Do I teach everyone how to spoof their user agent? Isn't that a bit rediculous to have to do?

No, just code the site properly and quit with the "pay to play" game of forcing Microsoft down everyone's throats. People think linux users are overzealous. Where do linux programmers force anyone to use anything? I've yet to see it.

In other news, I have cancelled all of my own personal insurance through BCBS of TN and will never go back until they get their heads out of their asses.

---

==Update==
Trevor called me today and informed me that they are working on Firefox compatibility and should be done by the end of the month. He noted they would call me back and let me know about the progress.

So I take it back, Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN isn't the devil. They are working to correct the issue but the first lines of support indicated otherwise.

So I say hats off to BCBS of TN, and a great big thanks for going the extra mile to support open source software and its users!

Ebay suggestion

Ebay should incorporate some sort of discussion forum for each item listed. I get tired of keeping gem-like comments to myself.

You know, things like:

• If, by "rare", you mean NOT rare, then yes: You are correct.
• Hello, 1998 called. They want their page layout back.
• Check your photo, nice reflection. Wear pants next time.
• Yes, sex sells, but get your nasty assed hobag wife out of the shot. What's her wide load ass covering, a rust patch the size of a barn?
• How come you call yourself "ebooks on cd" when it's a download only purchase? Where's my cd?
• You realize those are cheaper brand new at wal~mart, right? Well now everyone else does too.
• Your item is only worth your starting price to someone willing to pay that much and guess what? Nobody is. Quit relisting it or lower the asking price.
• "Collectible?" It's avon. And it's old. Good luck with that.
• Yeah, there's a market for "Goth" items. It's called people with no money.
• Boner bobs? To roast your hot dogs on? Well, yeah, that would sell. But I'm glad you're dealing with that type of customer and not me.
• It seems as though your "Win the lottery system" is not working. Otherwise, why would you be selling it instead of winning the lottery and leaving work behind?
• "LQQK" isn't a word. I promise.
• "BECOME INVISIBLE & walk unseen among people or CROWDS" ... uhhh, people that stupid usually don't have money. I can see you don't have any either. Perhaps there's a correlation?
• It turns out your font is unacceptably large. It will be revoked by the manufacturer. Please advise.
• Are you able to guarantee that your case of extra large adult sized diapers with faux-fur lining are in fact unused?
• Would you be able to plausibly explain that stain in the sex seat? It says it is new but certainly that can't be....
• No, her ass is STILL not helping you sell anything. NEXT!
• I only understand you in so much as you want to sell somthing. Would it be possible for you to narrow it down and tell us what that is?
• You state that the Jeep Wrangler, '05, LIKE NEW ALL ORIGINAL has a factory v-6. uhhh, you know they didn't have a V6 so I'm wondering what part of the prototype department you were in.
• Hi, I was just thinking that maybe you should recategorize this item. While it might be "Slightly Unusual" and does in fact fit in that category, I was thinking a better primary category would be "SHIT NOBODY BUT DUMBASSES BUY"

This post has no title

I think I neglected to mention that I have switched to a linux operating system at home. Well I have. And since you asked nicely and you raised your eyebrows when you did it I'll tell you why. I used Microsoft Vista. I think there might have been one or two details I've left out in the past few posts so let's play catch up one line at a time. I am no longer in the construction industry. I took a position as a computer programmer which I have done off and on for many years now. It's kind of my fall back career. If the money was as good in programming as it is in construction then it would be my primary career. I enjoy it and for the most part I'm pretty decent at it. But calls were coming in about this or that application that we partially support not working with Vista. I finally bought a computer to set on my desk and have the ability to actually see and use this problem child first hand. It has been a nightmare. Every day I use it I encounter a problem without an error message. I'm not trying to be witty, I really get many errors that have no error messages. Things just fail to work. I spent more than two weeks with one company, we'll call them Steam/Valve (you may have heard me touch on this topic but fret not, I'm not going to bring them up any more than that,) trying to diagnose why I was unable to install their product which clearly worked on other installations of Microsoft Vista. I have created directories to have Vista completely lock up on me. It would seem that Vista hates me. And I'm ok with that. Because the feeling is mutual.

I absolutely LOATHE microsoft vista.

I decided I didn't like the way things in the windows world were going so I was getting out of the game. I was going to make the break and switch over to linux. I'm not the best with linux but I have been using it (well, actually not linux, but other unix-based systems that are very similar) for servers for several years. I made the switch. Goodbye moneysuck microsoft. No more $250 operating systems every 3 years or so for me. I was going with one that's free like beer and free like thought. On a sidenote I did not receive any free beer when I installed. I'm hoping I at least get a coupon.

So that's why I made the switch. I recommend you, yes you, the one reading this, at least consider it. You know they let you download it, burn it to a cd, and run it without even changing your windows hard drive. It's something of a test drive and I'm really shocked Microsoft hasn't done this yet. HA! Perhaps in a later post I'll give directions on how to do this. I think everyone should at least put their eyes on it and see if it would suit their needs. You'll say, "Oh, I can't switch to linux because I have to have Powerpoint. Guess what? They have a free replacement. You'll say, I can't switch to linux because I need all of my files in My Documents. I'll say I didn't lose a single file. You'll say you don't have the time to learn it. I'll tell you there isn't much to learn unless you want to customize it in some nonstandard way. Add / Remove programs is there and guess what? It reads the files from the internet and you can install more stuff than Bonzai Buddy used to install. The difference is the stuff in there is free. No strings attached. Use it if you like it. But I'm not going to try to convert you. I'm no salesman.

It isn't a bed of roses though. I do find deficiencies that sometimes make me wish I had the functionality I had with windows. I enjoy, among other things, games. Linux has lots of games and some of them are downright addictive. Some are fresh ideas and others are remakes of other, well known games. But all the games in the world won't make you not want to play games you love. My favorite game of the past decade has been a capture the flag type of game. Only you're armed to the hilt and ready to blow the other guys away. It's a lot more fun than my description might let on. I've read that it will work in linux but I have reservations about running it on linux. See, it's a game where if you are caught cheating you lose your account. Losing your account basically means you lose your game. The linux users that do play this game do so through a program called a Windows emulator. They trick the game itself into thinking that it is running on a windows computer. The thing about this game is that they update not only the game regularly to combat the cheaters but also to introduce new bugs bugfixes. As a general rule their program has the ability to scan your computer while you play to ensure you aren't cheating. I'm ok with that. I think the benefit of knowing you can play without cheaters is worth the potential security risks involved. But I also understand how complex programs can be. While the Windows Emulator might be able to fool the game to run it might not be able to tell the anti-hacking engine that some process that is currently running is not a hack, it's simply this or that. There are no users that I know of that are having problems with this but I'm unable to say it couldn't become a problem in the future. And I'm not willing to risk losing my account for that.

So what to do what to do?

On the occasion when I can't stand the desire to play even a moment longer I plug in my old windows hard drive and play until I get my fill directly from windows. Alas that hard drive is failing and I don't currently have one to fill its place. So I start looking for similar games that will run natively in linux. I found one that is a capture the flag with guns and I gave it a stab. It is enjoyable but just not the same so I started looking for others. It is shocking to find how few commercial games are available for linux.

Hi, my name is John and I use linux. This does not mean I stopped being a consumer. Yes, many of the programs for linux are open source and free.

But I'm not against paying for software. It seems to me that developers either forget this or overlook it. Just because changed operating systems does not mean I do not wish to use supported, commercial applications. I like to take home videos and then compile them into dvd's to give to family and friends. Thus far I've yet to figure this out with linux. I found a guide on how it can be done but there is no easy, ready made off the shelf version that I can find. When I log into web sites where I have purchased content, such as my audio books at audible.com, I am unable to even access the data I have rights to.

So yes, it's a hard row to hoe for the moment, but its getting better every day. Even a day when I don't touch a computer it gets better. You might wonder how it gets better. Well it was one more day without the conglomerate that owns the near monopoly on operating systems. Perhaps some of these vendors will come to realize that we are out here. Maybe they won't. It seems people are still ignoring the Mac platform.

Time will tell, time will tell.

Would I change my decision if I had it to do over again? No.

OMG PUPPIES!?!! ZOMG!!!!

To all you people who consider your dogs your kids I have a message. Dogs do not equal kids. Seriously. Your dogs, while you may love them greatly, are not kids. Can I tie my kids up outside and leave them there all night? Nope. I'd go to jail for that. Can I leave them alone while I run to the store? Nope. I'd go to jail for that. Can I set up an automatic feeding dish and let them graze as they see fit? Nope. Not an option. Do dogs require rides to school, rides to day care, lunch money, pta dues, cub scout memberships, or fund raising every week of the school year? Not in my experience. If you run your dog over you will cry. But you'll get over it and maybe even get another dog. If I run my kid over? Jail.

So if you ask about my life and I happen to tell you... don't compare your situation to mine because your precious little puppies run your life.

Let's see how long it takes them to lock the forum

It would seem that either my support ticket has stalled or the tf2 beta has consumed the support resources. I've not heard back on my support request since this past Friday, which was itself a week since I had submitted it.

I'm not going to follow through on this nonsense. I'm going to try to restore the windows vista machine to a mostly usable state. As it is there isn't even an iota of software on there that isn't vista, steam, or drivers.

So they win this slow-speed battle of stare down and wait. But my business they haven't won: There will be no Orange box or for that matter any further purchases through steam or for any valve games in the future. Yeah, it won't hurt them, I know the logic. You know, that logic that dictates that we can't do anything about the system... Well I tend to disagree with that logic.

So....

Much like the "How many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie roll pop" owl I have come up short in my quest to find out how long a support ticket takes. Maybe the answer is, "Until you get fed up with waiting."

...At least that's how long it was for me.

the gimp

I had some time on my hands and thought I'd give the gimp a stab. Made it as a desktop wallpaper for my wife, it's my 2 kids. Noah on the left, Thor on the right. When they are both asleep at the same time, life is heaven. :P

STOP THE PRESSES! This just in from the "I shit you not" department

I swear I'm not making this up. I opened another support request with steam asking if they would change their support infrastructure for when their new product which includes several highly anticipated games. Transcript follows.

Customer

09/09/2007 03:47 PM

Since you're experiencing a high volume of calls now, what will the support system be like when the orange box comes out? I plan on buying 2 copies if I buy it, one for me, one for my son. But if I have to wait 2 weeks to get a support question answered if I have a problem I'll go mental. quite honestly the current support lag time is quite nearly a deal breaker. I've been waiting 8 years for tf2. But if there isn't some announcement of some sort of reasonable support I'll not be plopping down my money for it. You are a service industry. You chose that when you went to a content delivery system. It's a service. and you aren't servicing the people that have problems in a timely manner. check your own forums, you'll see the disgruntled members. What is the solution? You're the ones providing the product, I'm the one paying the money. So you tell me.

---

Response (Ricky)

09/14/2007 11:07 AM

Hello, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. We answer tickets in the order that they are received. We have been experiencing higher ticket volumes recently, but we are doing our best to work through it so that we can answer tickets faster when the Orange Box is released. Ideally we would like to answer tickets within a couple of days, but recently some users have had to wait close to a week for a response. For non account related issues, the FAQs that we have setup can resolve the majority of errors that users encounter with Steam.

---

Customer	09/14/2007 11:23 AM
So that is to say that there is no change in the support infrastructure planned for the Orange Box release, is that correct? As my purchase of your upcoming product depends on this I feel I have a right to know.

---

Response (Ricky)

09/14/2007 04:11 PM

Thor, Changing the infrastructure of the support system during a time that we are anticipating higher ticket volume could lead to increased response times instead of lower ones. Our goal is to be able to answer tickets within a couple of days by the time the Orange Box is released. This is about the same response time that we have had in the past. Only recently has the response time jumped. Currently, the majority of tickets that we have been working on are 3-5 days old.

---

---

Yes folks, the good people in the "I shit you not department" brought you this story and they want you to know that it does not make more sense to add more support personnel in a time when they expect more support calls.

To quote myself from their forums:

Here's an example:
Let's say you open your own isp. You get customers signing up and the money is rolling in. As it turns out you have, we'll say, 100 gigabits per second available as an aggregate. But you've signed up so many people that nobody can get over 1kb / second. People are complaining. What do you do? Tell them tough luck, maybe they'll get better speed at night? no, you get a bigger pipe. Or people look for another isp.

and yet another example of my ability to make corollaries:

The county fairground might only have one groundskeeper for most of the year. Along comes the week of the fair and guess what? They hire more groundskeepers or sub the work out to the company that is coming in with the attractions.


I know, I know, this isn't a "planned event" as a county fair would be but that's the business they are in. There are going to be unexpected spikes in activity and it's their business to plan for such things.

Sigh. I mentioned idiocracy, right?

When you beat a dead horse it rarely kicks you

I'm not usually one to beat a dead horse but I thought I'd give it a stab. Here's the current progression of my support experience with steam. If nothing else it has been a slow going process. I submitted my ticket on the 7th and received my first non-automated reply on the 13th. Their first idea was to have me prove that my cd key was real. Baffled, I asked them why they wanted me to do that when it wasn't a key issue. They didn't offer any apology or reasoning but continued on with lines of questioning that had been previously addressed. Incidentally, anytime they respond they mark the support issue "resolved" even when they ask you a question. I'm stymied. They go beyond all reasoning that has no reason. At one point they tell me to run a command that uses the steam:// protocol and yet... I cannot install steam. THAT is the issue.

Have you seen the movie idiocracy? I feel a lot like that guy. I'm not the smartest guy on earth but common sense and reading comprehension are some of my skills. I have literally gutted the machine at this point. There is nothing installed but the operating system, cd burner software, dvd reading software, and drivers. That's it. I even uninstalled my text editor. Windows firewall is off. The hardware firewall is allowing any connection to or from the machine in question. Their latest response says I have network connectivity issues. I _did_ download their software, right? So mostly in the paranoid fear they'll delete my support ticket completely below is a transcript with only my account name removed. Do read and wonder at the idiocracy.

Customer

09/07/2007 08:53 AM

I recently downloaded steam on this computer (windows vista business edition) and installed. Now when I run it just sits on 0% steam updating and I left it on for over an hour with the same results. I don't have antivirus, windows firewall, or any other such thing on this computer but it still will not update so I can download my games or for that matter even log into my account. I tried running steam.exe as administrator by right clicking and selecting run as admin but still no love. any ideas?

---

Auto-Response

09/07/2007 08:53 AM

Title: Windows Vista Issues Link: http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=460&p_created=1148343819 Title: Optimizing Multi-player Voice Quality Link: http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=179&p_created=1093557339 Title: Game Error: Invalid Steam UserID Ticket Link: http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/popup_adp.php?p_faqid=29&p_created=1092274907

---

Customer	09/07/2007 01:50 PM
So is the "solution" to my question because I already read those handy links before I submitted this ticket. This email isn't clear as to whether this is your final response or if I should be waiting for further developments.

---

Response (Zachery)

09/13/2007 11:47 AM

Hello, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. We apologize for the inconvenience. In order to investigate this issue, we will need to verify your ownership of the CD Key. Please write your Support Incident Number or your Steam account username on the quick reference card or sticker above the CD Key and reply with a digital photo or scan of the CD Key. If you have any difficulty locating the CD Key on the packaging, please see the following link: http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=68 Example scans: http://support.steampowered.com/downloads/faq/294/ea_cd_key_scan.jpg http://support.steampowered.com/downloads/faq/294/sierra_cd_key_scan.jpg After verifying your proof of ownership we will gladly assist you with this issue.

---

Customer

09/13/2007 11:59 AM

This has absolutely nothing to do with a cd key issue. I haven't even been able to log into my account on this vista machine, as it hasn't completed the update/installation. I _can_ verify my cd key but since this isn't an account related question I don't see the need. The issue, again, is this: I downloaded steaminstaller. I installed steaminstaller. It goes to the initial update client process. It goes nowhere. At no point in this process am I asked for my login credentials. I don't see how a cd key would be an issue if I'm unable to install the client. I have as of yet to log in or install any of my steam games on this computer.

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Response (Zachery)

09/13/2007 12:27 PM

Hello, This issue appears to be related to how Vista deals with user file permissions. Please review the following instructions to ensure Vista allows you proper access to your Steam files. 1. If you are logged in, please exit Steam 2. Navigate to the Steam installation folder (C:\Program Files\Steam\ by default) and right-click on the Steam.exe file 3. Select Run as administrator... In some situations, User Account Control can cause issues with Steam. To disable UAC: 1. Launch MSCONFIG by from the Run menu. 2. Go to Tools. 3. Scroll down to Disable UAC. 4. Press the Launch button. 5. Restart the computer. If your issues, persist, please try changing the security settings for your Steam files: 1. Right-click on your Steam folder. 2. Go to "Sharing and Security..." 3. Go to the "Security" Tab. 4. Allow all users Full Control of your Steam folder, subfolders, and files. 5. Apply your changes.

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Customer

09/13/2007 01:58 PM

I have previously disabled uac completely, ran as administrator, and now I have allowed all users full control with inheritence. After allowing full control I ran steam.exe as administrator with no change in effect. The installer simply sits at "Steam - Updating - 0% complete" I have run the steam installer again where it seems to delete the clientregistry.blob and then recreates it when it launches again. After it launches I see that clientregistry.blob gets recreated but it maintains the 0% status and there seems to be no network or disk status. At this point I have literally removed all programs from the computer. The only things left are windows, my cd burning program (nti), the dvd playing software (Power DVD), realtek audio drivers, sis vga utilities, steam, and windows driver package. The firewall is opened both ways with all ports open to that machine, as it is to my other computer which is xp pro and works fine with steam. I'd be happy to let one of your people remote desktop it if you would like. I am available from 8am to 3 pm central time if this is an option. Otherwise I'm just lost. I can't imagine why the installer won't work.

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Response (Zachery)	09/13/2007 02:12 PM
Hello, Could you provide me with a msinfo32 report? Title: MSINFO32 Reports URL: http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=248&p_created=1095979362 If you have any further questions, please let us know.

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Customer	09/13/2007 03:41 PM
attached is my msinfo32 report

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Response (Zachery)	09/13/2007 03:50 PM
Hello, Please follow the link below for more information: Title: Troubleshooting Network Connectivity URL: http://support.steampowered.com/cgi-bin/steampowered.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=11&p_created=1092152203 If you have any further questions, please let us know.

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Customer

09/13/2007 04:20 PM

Since I am unable to install steam I am unable to take advantage of the steam:// protocol to test it. However, attached are screen shots of my network configuration from the vista machine all the way to the router, both incoming and outgoing. There is no network trouble with this machine that I am aware of. As I mentioned previously, windows firewall is completely shut off. I don't know if it matters or not but this is windows Vista BUSINESS edition. I doubt you get a lot of gamers with that particular flavor and I certainly don't know enough about the internal workings of either windows or steam to know if it makes a difference. I did think I'd bring it up in case that could be the possible culprit.

Carrot dangling

So I like to play this game called Team Fortress. It's an online (and offline) first person shooter type thing created by a company called Valve. Some years ago they incorporated a thing called "Steam" into the game. Steam is sort of a wrapper application that updates your game automatically and includes all of the games you've bought so you can launch all of them from there. It is not optional. If you want to play a steam game you have to run steam.

I've been waiting for oh, about 8 years for the follow up game to Team Fortress. They said it was coming out 8 years ago. They showed us screenshots, told us what it was going to be like, even had interviews. Vaporware. (That's where an application or game is supposed to come out during a specific time frame and doesn't get released). It's been on the vaporware top 10 for 8 years now. But it's coming out. This I am certain of. A month from now. YAY, right? Well, no.

See, I have a lot of money invested in this little thing called steam. I have personally purchased 3 copies of half life 1, 1 Half life 2 collector's edition, 2 half life 2 standard edition, and possibly even more that I have forgotten about. One might wonder why a person would need so many copies of one game. The reason is I have a kid that loves the game and a brother who also love the game. To say I have "a couple hundred bucks" into it would be an understatement. I don't mind that though, I do love the games and we all enjoy playing the games. They are well worth the money.

But.

I recently had an issue with steam. See, the neat thing about steam is if you know your username and password you can log into some random computer, download the installer, put in your username and password and after a bit of a download you're up and running the game that is rightfully yours. Pretty cool indeed. No need to bring the cd's or anything, they take care of the software for you. My problem was that steam would not install on the computer I was at. My son came to work with me on Friday since he had the day off and I did not. I plopped him down in front of my secondary computer and he decided he wanted to play a steam game. No problem, we have a T1 and a backup dsl line so it wouldn't take long to get the data and have him occupied for several hours. Alas steam wouldn't install. I did everything I could think to do and then as a last resort I went to their website and submitted a support ticket. 2 hours later I received an automated reply saying I was in queue and would be helped in order of arrival.

Your question has been received. We answer incidents in the order received. Please be patient and we will provide you with a solution as soon as possible.

Well here it is, Sunday, and I've yet to hear from them again. Saturday morning, after not hearing from them, I started checking their forums and asking questions of the other users of steam. One would think the answer would be straightforward. Here is a direct quote of my question:

How long does it take for steam support to start?

---

I'm curious to find out from other steam users how long it takes, on average, for a user to get a non-automated response from steam after submitting a support request.

I received answers from two users that directly quoted company employees even though I continued to stress I wasn't looking for what the company was telling users, I wanted to know, in reality, how long should I expect to wait. The install issue was by this point moot, but since I started the support process I was wondering how long the support process actually took. I never did get an answer from a regular user but did find at least one report per page of their forum where it had been more than two weeks and a support request had yet to have a response. There is a sticky post on the forums (good god, could forums have more sticky posts?) regarding an unusually high call volume... oh wait, no, that's the typical dsl company's response...

Please read if you have an open support request

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Currently we are experiencing a very high volume of support requests.

If you have opened multiple support requests for a single issue, please close all but one of your support requests.

If you have updated your requests, please leave the request open that contains the most pertinent information.

I don't know what you all are accustomed to as far as support goes but this is most certainly NOT what I'm accustomed to. Here I am, figuring out how I'm going to afford two copies of their upcoming release at likely $60 - $100 each when I find out that two weeks is quite likely the minimum amount of time I can expect to wait if the product doesn't work for whatever reason. I'm a pretty technical person. I'm a programmer/sytem adminstrator in real life. This is the first issue I've had in the 10-ish years I've had the game(s). I really want Team Fortress 2. But is it worth it? Is that carrot really that sweet? Aren't there other carrots out there? Well this is something I will stew on (pun intended, sorry) for the next month while I await the release of Team Fortress 2 (which is packaged with some other pretty cool looking games.)

I suspect I will cave this time. I will likely chalk it up to experience and know what I'm getting into. But I'm open to suggestions.

In related but unrelated news I have switched to a linux setup for my home pc. I'll get windows working for the game mentioned above but if I decide not to go with TF2, which is still a very real possibility, then I'll not be going back for similar reasons. Windows is moving in a direction that I no longer like. I've always hated change in the windows world, but vista... have you seen this monster? I have. And it is the death of windows for me.

Reading frenzy

For whatever reason (I never can exactly pinpoint my own actions' underlying causes) I've been reading like a fiend. I finished Bryson's newest book as well as J.K.'s. Both left me feeling rather meh.

Bryson has a way of smithing words that I honestly believe could keep me interested in nearly every subject. He is the converse (and not in the shoe or speaking senses) of that popular what's-his-name, something King. I can't read Stephen King stories at all. I don't like the way he puts his sentences together. His stories are not the issue, it is the way he forms them. It isn't semantics, it's syntax. If both Bill Bryson and Stephen King were to form a sentence to describe the exact same thing Stephen's would be long and drawn out, describing the nature of the ball and the ability it possessed while Bill's would be concise, yet it would elicit a smile somehow. I can't describe how he does it even though I've read almost all of his books and some of them multiple times.

I've recently reread several of my books including Framed and the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I also restarted the Golden Compass in anticipation of the movie that is coming out in December.

In as much as a blog posting can have a point, my point is people should take time to read more. Don't know what to read? Leave me a comment about what you like and I'll offer a suggestion. Don't have money for a new book? Leave a comment and I'll point you to some resources where you can books for free (like libraries, remember them?) as well as a very good online (free, legal) way to read books. Oh, and that's not free and legal like a free ipod, it's free like beer and free like thought.

In the meantime, I'm on part two of A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson and even though it's my upteenth time I've read it I simply can't get enough.

Kind words of discouragement are always appreciated

I know, I know, I'm not one to post lyrics like a 13 year old girl.

I guess I need to put in some sort of explanation so the many many readers (ha!) I have can rest easy tonight. To quote a Staind song, "I'm ok. I'm not ok." and that's the way life is.

I guess I've always been a fan of the mind fuck. It began early. I remember listening to Simon and Garfunkel at age 9. I had a 45 (that's a record kids, it rotates at 45 revolutions per minute, and contains 2 songs) of the Sound of Silence. I didn't like it on 45 though, I liked it much better at 33. If you don't know what any of that means, well, you're too young. In my teen years I happened upon a cassette of the smiths. In case you aren't familiar with them let's just describe them as the "Woe is me" band. I'm not much of a woeful person to be quite honest, but I am one that gets caught up in the story, especially if it makes one reflect.

What's going on with me is a real mind fuck, although it's nothing that I can't handle. I think it will end up being a positive experience because I feel a song welling up in me. Now I just have to find some way of getting it out. I'm out of practice and don't have anyone to really help me out with it. That should give me some time to work on the lyrics anyway. :P

To summarize, dear readers, I'm ok, I'm not ok. But I'll be ok in the future. Kind words of discouragement are always appreciated though.

Which reminds me of a song I wrote quite some time ago. If you know me in real life you've likely heard me play and sing it while mostly drunk. :P

//==========================================\\
||             Souvenirs                    ||
||          Written by JohnCub              ||
\\==========================================//



You knew that you could do it and now that you're done
Will you stop to think about the price of your fun
I love you like no other cause you make me feel pain
And I'll be here forever just to do it again


Most people think I'm insane
I prefer to believe Mildly deranged
I can't help it I like pain
And that's why   I    love you.


You held my hand we walked in sand
we both fell in love
we both knew in the morning there'd be nothing of us
Loving you like this can only make me deranged
Scratch me with it bite me now again and again


Most people think I'm insane
I prefer to believe Mildly deranged
I can't help it I like pain
And that's why   I    love you.


One day will forever be and I cannot wait
I'm hoping that forever's you but that's up to fate
Every time that you come near I lose all my fears
All I want from you this time is one souvenir.


Most people think I'm insane
I prefer to believe Mildly deranged
I can't help it I like pain
And that's why   I    love you.


And that's why   I    love you.

S&G sums it up for me tonight

A winters day
In a deep and dark December;
I am alone,
Gazing from my window to the streets below
On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.
I am a rock,
I am an island.


I've built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.
Its laughter and its loving I disdain.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

Don't talk of love,
But I've heard the words before;
It's sleeping in my memory.
I wont disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.
If I never loved I never would have cried.

I am a rock,
I am an island.


I have my books
And my poetry to protect me;
I am shielded in my armor,
Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock,
I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;
And an island never cries.

Even the cows stopped eating to watch me pass

To say I moved to rural America would be an understatement. I am considered a "county resident" due to the fact that I live in this thing called "Out in the country." We do, however, have many neighbors. Mostly bovine. I'm not much of an expert on them so I'll just say some are brown, some are black, some are white, and some are mixed. I'm sure they are all quite tasty.

Have you lived around cows? They are about as docile and lackadaisical as an animal can be. Complacence is king in the world of the herd. It takes more than a car crash to get the attention of more than one or two stragglers. Calves are, of course, a different story. They are full of life, vim, vigor, and all the stuff little boys are made of. They hit a magic age and it's like they started hitting the magic hookah. They no longer want to play reindeer games. such is the life of a cow.

This evening I had the full attention of hundreds of cows for quite some time. Not all at once mind you, I wasn't going that fast. I took a ride on my bike. It's nice to be able to enjoy a bike ride. Bike riding was my childhood love. I still love it. I'm not fast or good but I enjoy it as much as anyone can. I wonder if the cows will continue to stare.

An open letter to Fiona Apple

Dear Ms. Apple:

I am writing to you today to convey my gratitude for your many recordings. The range of your voice and diversity of the instruments make every song a unique pleasure. Your risqué topics and oft-sultry voice offer a glimpse into your mind like no other performer shares. In closing I look forward to many more songs from you.

A fan:

The guy from Three Word Slogan

P.S.

Renaming a vehicle

I've never renamed a vehicle. I think most of my vehicles have had names or at least nouns associated with them. I had a '76 or '77 Monte Carlo that was "The Floater" due to its odd suspension that made you feel like you were kind of floating. Could have been bad shocks and tires that show metal threads, but all the same that is what I and collectively, we, called the car.


My first car didn't have a name so much as a phrase. "Have gas; Will Travel" was what it was fairly widely known as. That came from a keg party we were at in BFE (actually near Kushequa, Pennsylvania) but I digress. This story isn't about the names of cars, this story is about renaming a car.


When I started looking at Jeeps on the internet I decided if I wanted one it had to be white, green, or yellow. When building my vehicles online I like to choose the white ones because I think it gives a better picture of the car. Digressing. When the dealership called me (wtf was I thinking putting my real info on that form?) and said he had a used one that fit my profile, I told him I wasn't interested in used, I'd wait for a new one. Sorry, I'm in a tangentianal mood this evening. Getting to the point, I bought a new white jeep wrangler unlimited. I decided to call it Daisy because I have a little bit of redneck in me.

Daisy never seemed to fit, since I never referred to the vehicle in conversation in that manner. I didn't have any other names picked out so it just stuck.

Tonight the wife was having a hard day and just needed some quiet time so I asked the kids if they wanted to go outside and play before it got dark. The oldest took me up on it but the youngest was busy with some cartoon or other. The oldest, we'll call him Thor, came out and went straight to the jeep. I've never had any problem with the kids playing in there and they know this. Thor climbs in the driver's side and the youngest, we'll call him Noah, comes to the door wanting to come out and play.

Once Noah figured out where Thor was he wanted in too. I took the keys out and put it on accessory mode so they could listen to some radio. I showed Thor how the scan button works and he let it run its course through the dial several times before they opted for the CD that was in the player. Coincidentally the cd is Kiss - Destroyer (1976). This is the year their mother was born and it contains the song God of Thunder (and rock and roll). This was originally slated to be Thor's middle name (God of Thunder and rock and roll) but the wife said she'd give me Thor if she could pick the middle name (well it was a group effort) BUT I DIGRESS!

After about an hour or a little more of silence in the house, just having to look out every now and then and listen for any car doors (we're rural enough that if there's a car door in earshot, people are looking out to see who it is... or to see what the bull is doing to the telephone pole.) Much loving silence, kids content as well... kids in a jeep, and a wife that got some peace. Well, it led to a new name for the jeep. I've even designed a logo.





I dub thee: PlayPen.

Framed, a bit off the mark

As you might have guessed by my little sidebar over there I like to read books. Actually I listen to most of them but you know, 6 of one, half dozen of the other. Tonight I finished listening to Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce. Here's the publisher's blurb about the book.

A few things to know about Dylan: He is the only boy in his entire Welsh town, so forget about playing soccer. His best friends are two pet chickens. His family owns the town's only gas station/coffee house: their pies are to die for, but profits are in the hole. Criminal instincts run in his family: his sister is a mastermind-in-training, and the tax men are after his father for questioning. And one more small thing about nine-year-old Dylan: the crime of the century has just fallen into his lap. With the same easy mix of wit, warmth, and wonder that made his debut novel, Millions, an award-winning international best seller, Frank Cottrell Boyce tells the story of a boy who reminds an entire town of the power of art.

Before I start picking it apart I will say that I enjoyed the book and may listen to it again someday. It is a nice tale about a boy who tries to help where and when he can but doesn't always think things through. Sometimes he thinks things through just fine but is persuaded to go against his wishes.

My first problem is the book is considered a children's book. It didn't read like anything of the sort. My version of a kid's book is The Mouse and the Motorcycle. This wasn't that. I suppose a kid could read it but I'm not sure what they'd take away from it.

Next up is the publisher's blurb. It is on the other side of the pond so not one time in the entire book is the word soccer used. It is football over there and that's what they call it. In addition the tax men were not after Dylan's father. The insurance men were. They thought he set up an insurance scam to claim on his Mini Cooper S like was in the Italian Job but it turns out they were wrong. They go on to say the family has the only gas station/cafe in town which is technically true but it leads one to believe it is the only gas station in town and this is not true. To top it off, Dylan has two pet chickens but it isn't like he sits around and gabs with them. They aren't friends, they are chickens and Dylan is a 9 year old boy. The chickens are mentioned several times in the book but not because they were out playing a bit of footie together or anything like that. Their names are the important part and that's about it. I think whoever wrote the publisher's blurb should put down the gin and read the book this time around.

The book did leave quite a few unanswered questions, and some that became questions early on in the book. I found myself wondering why the characters weren't wondering the answers to the questions themselves which brought me to the conclusion that the character development wasn't as strong as it could have been. Yes, Dylan is only 9 years old but when one's father disappears for weeks on end even a 9 year old would question where he is a bit more than these characters did.

In the author's defense it was a well thought out story. It was a tale I hadn't heard previously and it's getting to be difficult to come up with such things with everyone writing all the time. It had some colorful characters that took one's mind off the underdeveloped characters and kept the story moving along. A main theme of the book was change and the characters did do that well. It was very entertaining to see how each of them were changed.

All in all it was a good book, but there are a few things off the mark.

(Re)Learning the rules

In my effort to move more than Shakira in her "My hips don't Lie" video I have uprooted the family yet again. I don't think there's any surpise in this so I won't try to beat around the bush. I hated my job so I found another and moved. Incidentally, I have worked for the new employer before. It was during the dot com (dot bomb) days. It was a good job and I was a database administrator. I enjoyd the work but I saw the end of the dot com before it actually ended. There were some poor decisions made and I tried to get them to change their ways to no avail. I've had about 5 years to ponder it and at this point I pretty much just see it as a stock pump and dump routine. I know a lot of people made a lot of money but I just made my pacheck. My options never matured before the crash so I was left without the Mercedes, the houseboat, the house on the golf course. I learned a lesson though and that's what counts. This time around we're not dealing with publicly traded companies so I at least don't have to worry about that. I just have to worry about the rules.

I moved to a very rural part of America. They have their own customs and ways, and I'm ok with that. I think during the time I was away I sort of romanticized the area. I forgot the odd or bad things and exaggerated the good things. I'm like that most of the time, I prefer to accentuate the positive. Sometimes maybe too much. I know, you wouldn't think that would be the case from reading my rantings on here but hey, I promise its true. One rule that I remember clearly is when there is a funeral procession you don't only give them the right of way... you pull over. And remove your hat. And wait until it is fully passed before continuing on your merry way. I feel like I've already told you that. I feel like I know you so well. Perhaps we should skip the formalities and get down to what we came here for... Oh wait, my mind was wandering. Another rule is that seatbelts, and children riding in carseats, while still the law, are both optional. Just yesterday I saw a minivan with captain's chairs in the front. In the driver seat was ...well... the driver. In the passenger seat was a woman and a toddler. Not the first time I've seen that around here. I'm old enough to remember riding in the front seat as a youngin', riding all over without seat belts, and all that. I've decided my children will remain buckled into their 5 point harnesses in the back seat where they're out of my hair. ...and, well, safer. Another generally accepted rule dealing with driving is the optionalization of turn signals. Typically around here if a turn signal is used it gets the opportunity to blink but one time. There doesn't seem to be any sense in turning it on too soon because they might wear out or something.

So how am I doing? Well I'm getting noticed. People are starting to be able to recognize me.
them: "Who are you again?"
me: "I'm the guy who wears the seatbelt.
them: "I kindly know a few people like that."
me: "I'm the guy that uses his turn signal."
them: "OHHHHH, yeah, I've seen you."

Cobra Commander: What would you have me do with Washington, Destro? Pepper it with spitballs? "G.I. Joe" (1985)

As near as I can figure, the terrarists have won. It seems as though something in Washington DC is down. A major part of the internet, not some flunky intern on the president. I can understand an intern going down all day long but a router, what's the deal with that. The router isn't gaining any prestige or brownie points for that.

Rather bad timing for the ol' JohnCub family. We're on the verge of a major move and I need access to sites like ebaymotors.com and the like. Gotta buy the 1970 Ford Torino GT at a time like this. You know how it is. On a more serious note there are websites I need to access at this time. Moving company websites, utility company websites, my own email server, wikipedia, last minute porn, things like that.

The problem is that since something in dc is down (at&t to be more precise) any server on the east coast is out of it for me. I've spent most of the day on www.InternetTrafficReport.com but that doesn't tell you who the moron is that cut the line, it just tells you what is going on or what isn't. For me, right now, the internet isn't.

Just for the heck of it, a gratuitous link for the guys at InternetTrafficReport.com


The thing about life is that its always a bit of a challenge. This little hump in the road is nothing more than ground swell. We'll get a "funny tummy" from it but the road and the vehicle shall continue on down the road.


Next up: Wait, what's this, the family is moving from the paradise that is upstate South Carolina? (not really, if you haven't put 2 and 5 together by now... well, you're just here searching for slogans for companies ... which this blog has absolutely nothing to do with)

The charter bundle - just say no!

We lived sans cable service for several months. When we moved here we looked into getting cable hooked up and they quoted us a price of about $60 for a basic package. This did not bode well with me and my tight ways so I respectfully declined and opted to rent movies for our television based entertainment needs. It worked well for a while but then Charter, the conglomerate cable company, sent us a flyer advertising "The Charter Bundle." In case you have been away from your consumerism for a while, this is a package of cable internet service, cable television service, and a cable phone line. The price is $99 per month. We did the math and we'd basically be getting free cable if we switched our land line phone and dsl internet over. Seemed like a no brainer.

We're in our 2nd month of service with this nefarious package and I've nothing good to report. In this month alone we have had no phone for part or all day 5 times. This also includes our internet service. You see the phone you get from Charter is this magical voice over ip (VoIP) which works on your internet connection. I am able to tell you I don't notice any difference in the phone line when it does work. It sounds very much like a phone should sound. Unfortunately this isn't the Ma-Bell phone we are all used to. For example we all know that if you don't have a corded phone and the power goes out you can't talk on the phone. Well with Charter's phone service if the power goes out you aren't talking on the phone anyway because there's nothing to keep the phone modem alive. Sure, you could put it on a uninterruptable power supply but I don't know how long you would have power in that case.

I have spent about 3 hours this month on the cell phone with charter tech support. We have had a tech come out to investigate the problem. The tech told us there was a problem with the node which is apparently the main box that serves everyone in our area. He said that it works fine when the door is open but when the door was shut everyone's internet and phone went out. Their remedy was to replace the node. We found this out after having no phone or internet for 2 continuous days, me putting in 2 service calls that were mysteriously "canceled" according to the customer support people.

At one point one of the customer support people wanted to transfer me to billing so I could get a credit. After he took all my information and got me set up for a service call he transferred me over to billing. I spoke with the person in billing who had no idea what the problem was or how to deal with it so she transferred me over to another department in service. I had called for my internet being down and she wanted to know if I had reported my phone being out. I told her I had not but if they'd fix the internet the phone would work too. She thought it was 100% necessary that I speak with the good people in telephone support as well and before I could get a word in I was in the process of being transferred.

Now the logistics of this situation as a whole need to be considered. Say you're ... well, you. And you decide to get the charter bundle. And you find that for about a week out of a month you don't have internet service or telephone. If you wish to report the outage you either drive up to the local office if you have one or you call them on your cellphone. If you've ever spent any time on the phone with tech support you know the drill -- unplug the modem, plug in the modem. Now which lights are on? Ok, unplug the modem again. Restart your computer. Plug in the modem. What lights are on now?

If my electricity service worked this well I'd have built a windmill.

And you can quote me on that, because I just did.

I make it a point to tell all my friends now and I thought I'd let you all know. Avoid charter at all costs if you can help it. The charter bundle may work fine for you -- if you aren't really concerned about availability of your phone and or internet service.

Movies of mine

These are not in any particular order at this time. Maybe someday I'll organize them.


Groundhog Day
Office Space
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Castaway
Forrest Gump
Amazon Women On the Moon
Toy Story
Toy Story 2
Alone in the Wilderness (TV only)
Wild Wild West

My current "reference" movie: Shrek
-- As in : "Well, it's good but it's no Shrek"

Previous reference movie: Uncle Buck
Future reference movie: Uncle Buck and Shrek on the Moon.

It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life

Me: They get paid more than I do and I have too much to do as it is. I can't be their scheduler too.
Her: Well your and my jobs are kind of gray.
Me: They are what?
Her: They are gray, not black or white.

Phil: You want a prediction about the weather, you're asking the wrong Phil. I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life.

I shit you not.

I like to start my day out with a cigarette. When I get to work I get the immediate issues out of the way and then I typically go out on the back porch and have a cigarette to unwind a bit. The road beside where I work is a 55 mph state highway so we'll sometimes find odd things that blew off the back of trucks or whatever. A couple weeks ago I found an empty bag that once contiained Purina Horse Chow. I shit you not. I wasn't even aware there was such a thing. But there was and on my morning constitutional I put the bag in our trash can no big deal.

Today was no exception to my desire to get out of doors and I ended up on the back porch about 8:30 this morning. In the yard I noticed something black that, through the fog, appeared to be some sort of lava rock or maybe black garbage bags. Having nothing better to do I cautiously approached to investigate. I'm a curious boy. Lo and behold it was a big bird. I'm not very good with bird taxonomy so I walked back to the office and recruited a few coworkers to help me identify the nature of the beast. They all agreed it was a buzzard and it was likely hit on the road while eating a rabbit. I didn't realize there was a rabbit on the road but hey, who am I to question.

I asked what we should do with it and among the things I heard was:
You can't take it to the landfill.
You'll get arrested if you are caught killing one.
Throw it over the bank.
Whether or not the 1st two were true, the 3rd one was a workable plan.

As it turns out it was an American Black Vulture and I find that they are covered under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. I didn't realize we were sitting down with birds and drawing up treaties in 1918. Wasn't that the year we all got the flu and died? And they recently linked that flu to the bird flu? I'm starting to get a bad feeling about these birds and all they entail. I shit you not.

Rocky 34

I think I gave up just a little bit.

I'm back now, the fighter, the one that gets what he wants by working for it. I guess I was in kind of a funk from the whole change in location, pay, and availability of friends. I guess I could attribute it to a million things but the short and long is that I'm back on top. Just call me bootstrap JohnCub.

Pintel: [angry] I'm telling the story. So, what Barbossa did is, he tied a cannon to Bootstrap's bootstraps.

It feels good. Welcome back, me.

Good god I'm sorry this sounds so bloggy. Feel free to mod me down.

Michael, I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be.

The thing about work is that I just don't like it anymore. I guess we all go through times when we don't really like our jobs. If you're a zig ziglar fanboi then you'll respond with something like "Then you aren't being challenged" or "Your motivation needs to shift" or some other such crap. I'm obviously not a fanboi. I've studied up on how to manage my micromanager and I now know how to avoid the confrontations that I dislike so much. But I'm weary of it. This is my first job I have ever had that I honestly had a micromanager. It has taught me that I am definitely not a micromanager. Honestly I'm likely the absolute converse of one. When I have to I tell someone what to do and I expect they will get it done. If they don't I do it myself and I try not to say anything about it. But to have someone tell me what color marker to use on my dry erase board?

Samir: Mother... shitter... Son of an... ass. I just...

I've given this a whole lot of thought lately. What would I like to do? Well I enjoyed my previous job, or at least I enjoyed it more than I do this one. My boss was a good guy. He knew I knew how and when to do my job and there was some mutual respect. The hours sucked and I felt like I was owned by the client but that was as much my fault as anyone's. I was hourly. I knew overtime was the time to make the money and I capitalized on that as much as I could.

Peter Gibbons: The thing is, Bob, it's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.

I guess there are things I wouldn't mind doing. I'd kind of like to be a hot dog vendor. I could even go for having a hot dog shop. I'd model it after my favorite restaurant in the whole wide world. It's a Greek family's restaurant from my home town. They made hot dogs, burgers, served draft and bottled beers, and just had a nice little restaurant. I'm not much on food service either. My only experience in food service... Hmm, there was the pre-teen dishwashing gig at my grandmother's restaurant for quarters for the jukebox and pinball machine, there was the dishwashing in college for way not enough money and then I did work at Subway for one day. I respectfully quit. I told them, "I really like to eat your food but I sure don't like making it." I figure the hot dog gig would be good because people don't eat hot dogs for breakfast and very few have them for supper so I'd be looking at sleeping in every day, big lunch time rush, and then some people in for burgers and beers in the afternoons.

Peter Gibbons: So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life.
Dr. Swanson: What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Dr. Swanson: Wow, that's messed up.

So I've been playing the lottery. I've never been much of a gambler myself. I understand odds and statistics. But as far as I can tell it's my only way out. Yeah, I could go find another job but considering I haven't decided what it is I want to do for the rest of my life, I'm just as well off winning the lottery and saying goodbye to the whole racket. I'm not going to tell you my life won't change. But I wouldn't quit my job. I'd hire someone to do it for me.

Not right now, Lumbergh, I'm kinda busy. In fact, look, I'm gonna have to ask you to just go ahead and come back another time. I got a meeting with the Bobs in a couple of minutes.

Location Location Location

Realtors will tell you the three most important factors in real estate are:

1. Location
2. Location
3. Location

I'd say everyone in the free world has heard this. And yet... Pick up one of those realty magazines that are at the grocery store, gas station, pretty much anywhere you'd stop your car. They're everywhere. They're free. They're online. They'll mail them to your address if you ask them. They'll send you one from some other state or city (or market as they call it) but they are all the same. They show houses that most people can't afford. Sometimes they tell you how many acres, and often tell you how many bedrooms and bathrooms the property has. The one single thing they almost never tell you? The location. Most times they don't even tell you what town the property is in, let alone where the property is at in that town. Location Location Location. BS. BS. BS.

Why does this matter to little ol' me? Well I have a little rule. I won't live west of work. I do not wish to spend the rest of my natural life driving into the sun. Maybe for others it has something to do with not living in a crack house neighborhood. My needs are easy. Home must be east of work. And yet, finding that information without having to engage in a conversation with a realtor is typically not available.

I get the feeling that the realty market is only steps above the new car market... which is of course only one step above the used car market.