Flippy - I Rant, You Read
Sunday, April 29, 2007
the wee hours
RetroStats - An Apology To Users We Know…and Those We Don’t
We’re so sorry that after we sold the site, the new owners had no idea how to keep the database clean and run it. It appears that after years and years and years of work by Leigh-Ann to keep everything running and to keep all of the users happy, it took the new owners less than 18 months to run it...into the ground. Full of error messages, servers that can’t handle the load because they never deleted spammers or inactive users...and our cute little RetroStats.com site was murdered. I loved that site and I hated selling it, but we thought it would be nice to be able to make a little extra cash *and* have the site live on forever. Boy, we sure were wrong. They killed SpirtualStats along with it, which was another stats site we started with the same software. I used a cute little RetroStats button on my blog for a very long time, hoping that the new owners would get it together eventually, but since the button quit loading 90% of the time, I had to give up hope and go with StatCounter. It’s so sad.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
terribly early in the morning
Tie Domi is Making Me Sad
He acted like a huge bully when he tried to force his wife into accepting a divorce settlement without consulting an attorney. That blew up in his face when she came out swinging with an attorney who is probably tougher than Tie. Every time he tried to pull something, they fired back with more crappy things that he’d done. Then, a few days ago he acted like a huge jerk at his son’s hockey game, cussing out the coach after the game. And now, he’s threatening to sue the coach for damaging his reputation. Holy crap, Tie, just keep your damned mouth shut and get some anger management. You’re damaging your own reputation. In less than six months you’ve gone from being my favorite player and someone whose name I would’ve happily worn on the back of my Leafs jersey (which I luckily never had enough money to buy...although, I do have a Domi Leafs t-shirt) to the schoolyard bully who I’m embarrassed to say that I liked, even before I met your impersonator. You know what, let your impersonator take over. Honestly, even though he was a jerk for impersonating you and Leanne, he presented a MUCH better public face than you do. He wrote a better email, he was more interesting, he was nicer to your (ex)wife, and I’m sure he never would’ve yelled at your kid’s coach. As the child and sister of baseball/softball coaches, I can tell you that in my experience with people who yell at coaches...they’re almost all assholes. They ruin the games for their kid, their spouse, the other kids, the coaches, and all of the other fans in the stands who have to listen to their garbage. I’ve rarely been to a baseball game where there wasn’t at least one of those obnoxious parents in the stands. I’ve often wished a heart attack on one of those red-faced screaming jerky parents. They ruin the whole experience for everyone. So, Tie, sit down and shut up. Maybe go back to spending time with your charities, because if you don’t, your financial future is dim. You’re not a very good commentator, your athletic career is done, so you’d better start behaving like a decent human being, because there’s no life off the ice for an enforcer. No one wants to hire a bully. You got paid very well for being one, but welcome to the real world - you don’t get to be paid millions of dollars for threatening people. Those people, they end up in prison.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
the wee hours
Idiots of the Day - PETA & Burger King
“MIAMI–Animal rights advocates praised Burger King for its new commitment to begin buying eggs and pork from suppliers that do not keep their animals in cages or crates.” Whoo, that sure sounds good, doesn’t it? Better treatment for animals and probably a better product for Burger King. However, I fail to see why anyone is fawning over this announcement. Sure, it’s a positive step, but let’s take a look at the details. “Burger King Corp. has already started purchasing 10 per cent of its pork from suppliers that do not use sow gestation crates, according to a letter sent to PETA. The company said it will double that amount by the end of 2007.” Whoo hoo, a whole 20%. However, that’s a remarkable achievement compared to this - “Burger King also said it will start getting 2 per cent of its eggs from hens that are not confined to small cages. That percentage should more than double by the end of 2007.” Wow, a whole 2%? That’s incredible. But, when they’re going to DOUBLE it to 4% by the end of the year, that’s when they really had me in the palm of their benevolent hand. Who could ask for more than that? Maybe they’ll even TRIPLE it by the end of 2008. Damn, that’s just embarrassing, for both Burger King and PETA. That said, on the way home from a zillion errands yesterday, I had a small bag o’ Burger King fries and they were delicious. It’s been months since I last had any fries. I’m thinking of possibly doubling my intake of fries by the end of 2007. C’mon, who here applauds my efforts?
Friday, March 09, 2007
the wee hours
Idiot of the Day - Oh, Dell…
Why do you do this to us? What has America done to you? You know, except for that making you rich thang. As I wrote here not long ago (last week?), I bought a Dell laptop for work. I like my sports, my being able to see Leigh-Ann occasionally, my ability to sit in different seats (until I can afford my fancy $1000+, don’t ever want to leave it, computer chair), and the possibility of being able to work from Starbucks if necessary. Our cable modem went out last night, and I could actually see myself having to work from Starbucks. We no longer have jobs where we can say, “Oh well, we’ll just take a few days off while the affiliate sales roll in without us checking the stats.” We now work all the time, instead of working hard and then being able to take a bunch of time off while the old work pays off. So yeah, got a laptop. Got a Dell laptop. Got a Dell laptop that would be upgradeable to Vista. Got Vista a week or so ago. And, yesterday, had FOUR charges for the Vista upgrade on my credit card. I wrote to complain. Today, I had FIVE charges from Dell for the Vista upgrade. Three of the five still say “pending”, so there’s a chance they may drop off. Knowing Dell’s eye for customer service detail, it probably won’t happen. I just received a response back from Dell customer service. It was such a great response, I knew that I wanted to share it with you, my friends.
“According to your request, I would like to inform you that that you need to contact Dell fulfillment center for more clarification. You may call 866 634 7426 and 801 431 5000 Monday to Friday 8 Am to 5 Pm. They will be more than to assist you on this issue.” For more “clarification”? You know, if I wanted to spend my whole day on hold with Dell for their error, I would’ve done that already. Now, okay, wait, wait, here comes the very very very best part of the response. “I would like to inform you that if you have avail the upgrade 4 times for different systems than you will be charged 4 times however if you have avail the upgrade once you will not be charged 4 times.” Yes, that’s right, if I have avail the upgrade 4 times, I will be charged 4 times, and if I have avail the upgrade once, I will not be charged 4 times. Ack, I just checked my account again and they’ve now availed my account SIX times. If they’re going to keep charging me for upgrades, I want them to make sure they SEND them six times. Okay, not really. I’d like one for my desktop (a Dell) and one for Leigh-Ann’s desktop (also a Dell). Yeah, you’d think we would learn, wouldn’t you? But, the computers have been mostly okay, it’s just the customer service in INDIA is HORRIBLE. It’s not that there aren’t people in India who speak perfectly good English (I just signed an Indian blogger for work, and I had no idea that he wasn’t American until he gave me his payment address in India), but Dell doesn’t hire them. They hire some of the same idiots (of all nationalities) that I sometimes saw working in reservations at United when I was there. I’m not blaming the idiots, they’re not doing the hiring, they just want a job. But, they shouldn’t be getting jobs where people need them to do more than carry heavy things.
How many times do you think Dell is going to charge me? Should I have a contest?
Monday, March 05, 2007
the wee hours
Idiots of the Day (or maybe not ) - The Coffee Fest Organizers
We’ve been going to Coffee Fest for years (4 or 5) here in Vegas. It’s our favorite time of year, Coffee Fest & Dessert Expo time. Leigh-Ann went to look up what the exact dates would be for Coffee Fest this year in Las Vegas, and she had to break the horrible news to me. There isn’t one scheduled for Las Vegas. There’s Georgia (Helly & Nancy, you should go, even if I HATE David & Marni Heilbrunn, the show organizers), Chicago, Tokyo (JAPAN - but you couldn’t come to VEGAS???), and Seattle. I get their email newsletter and I don’t recall them ever telling us that they wouldn’t be coming to Vegas in 2007. Coffee Fest/Dessert Expo is my favorite convention of all-time and I can’t believe it’s being taken away from me. I ask for so little in life - TiVo, high-speed cable modem, tasty buffets, and COFFEE FEST. How could they do this to me? Don’t they realize that I’m chronically ill. Heh. Can I get a wish from the Make A Wish Foundation for them to hold Coffee Fest in Las Vegas? Geez, and they don’t even mention anything on their website about Las Vegas. It’s like they were never here. It’s like we don’t even exist. It’s so unfair.
Coffee Fest not coming to Las Vegas in 2007? It’s UNPOSSIBLE!
Update - From Henry, my new hero, “My understanding is that because The SCAA (Specialty Coffee Assoc of America) is holding its annual convention in Long Beach two weeks before the summer session of Coffee Fest, the show directors decided to move it this year (this year only) to Atlanta. LV, two weeks after SCAA, would be sparsely attended by the coffee industry. Atlanta is an underserved market and will be psyched.” Still, I want them to come here. :::stomp, stomp, stomp::: Because the Thrashers season will probably be over in June, so that would mean no hockey.
