Home Surprises

12.12.2003

I had 2 surpirises awaiting me when I got home after work yesterday. The first was my lack of a mailbox at the roadside. When my mailbox usually sits, along with 2 others, were 3 poles, looking like they were pushed down to about a 10° angle. They weren't bent, broken, or mangled, just... resting. As I pulled into the garage, I found the acrual mailbox sitting in front of the door, with the mail in it. No dents. Looking at the bottom, it didn't even seem to have been ripped off thepole. Makes me wonder just what's going on.

Surprise number 2 came as I was tossing clothes into kitchen hamper. I turned on the heel of my shoe and heard a squeak. I took off my shoes, turned on my heel, and heard another squeak. Granted, the back of my jeans were under my heel, but that shouldn't squeak. Then I remembered how cold it had gotten, and that if life was following last years routine, the field mice may have found their secret passage back inside. I still had asticky pad left over from last year in one of the cabinets, and as I opened the cabinet I saw that the sticky pad had fulfilled its usefullness. It had caught a mouse.

For those of you that think of mice as cute cartoony animals, I set it free to where it could frollick with its little mouse family, enjoying life in the wild. For those of you who are more realistic, I plopped mouse and sticky pad in the garbage can in the garage and let the little bastard freeze.

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Semi Random Link Day

12.11.2003

Being that we have a franchise locally, it caught my eye that the restraunt that Saturday Night Live "Cheezburger Cheezburger" skit was based on is suing the Cheeburger Cheeburger chain. I'm just surprised it hasn't already happened.

Ever want to learn how to spin a pen in your hand? I don't know which I like better, the avi files that show you how to do all the spinds, are the flowchart that shows the easiest learning order for the more complicated spins. I'm leaning toward the flowchart, though.

Everybody at work hasme hooked. If you haven't seen the Flash animations for the badgers, badgers, badgers or Kuala Lumpur in disguise, odds are you're not going to get it. It falls in the realm of being so stupid it's funny.

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Smackdown Returns

12.10.2003

Smackdown is coming back to Huntsville on Jan 6. Right now, I'd like to go. My only drawback is that tickets go on sale Saturday. I don't think I'm going to even be in Huntsville Saturday. That morning I should be in Nashville. That night we have our company Christmas Party like halfway to Guntersville or something.

Dammit!

Dammit Dammit Dammit!

Unrelated, but hopefully making me feel better, I may have finally seen a game that would make me cross the barrier to online gaming: The Matrix Online.

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Fun With Phone Solicitors, A New Beginning

12.09.2003

Since the Do Not Call act has gone into effect, I've been enjoying what few solicitor calls I've been getting. So far they've all fallen within the charity or someone I've done business with fields. Last night, I had a good one from a septic tank cleaner company. Way back when (1999, according to what I heard the guy say), I bought some septic tank cleaner. They now have a new and improved version that they want to sale me.

Now, I won't tell just anybody this, but I never really bought the spetic tank cleaner. When they originally called, they were pushy and way to talkative and wouldn't take no for an answer. I tend to put these people into a special category called "If you want to just give your stuff away,then go ahead". I made up some information to give them, and they shipped their box full of septic tank cleaner to me, which promptly found its way to a shelf in the garage because it smelled really bad.

A couple of months later, they called me up wanting their payment. Now, when they first talked to me, they had a money back, satisfaction guaranteed clause to make sure I would try it. I told them that I would return what they had sent, but the person told me that the moneyback guarantee was only good for the first 30 days, which had already gone past, and that I now owed them smoething like $150 for the cleaner, plus $30 in late charges.

At this point, I decided that I would keep their septic tank cleaner on my stinky shelf in the garage, especially if they're going to try and charge my made up information for it! I got many phone calls and letters over the course of the next year or two about their stinky bag f cleaner, but I always dutifully ignored it. And then some guy from the same company calls last night wanting to sell me more of the stuff. Do these people not keep better records? Can they not tell they never got paid the first time?

Not really wanting to go through thewhole thing again, I knew how to cut the guy off. "They finally ran the sewer lines out here about 2 years ago, so we're all switched over now." That worked, except now he wants to sell me their pipe cleaner crap to keep the water lines flowing. I make up a quick one about my Mom selling some all-natural cleaner that I use, and he hops up with "Like Amway or Shacklee?" Mom, god bless her, has been under about every other pyramid program out there, so I pawned it off on Shacklee - makers of some of the most awful diet shake mix known. With this, the guy finally gave up.

The last thing I need are TWO shelves of stinky stuff in the garage.

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New Printer Fun

12.08.2003

Over the weekend, I decided it was finally time to get myself a photo-quality printer. I'm not really sure why I decided this, except that the last couple of pictures I tried to print out didn't look all that good. Being that I'm trying to move to more of a quality instead of how-cheap-can-I-get-it kind of guy, I asked my good close personal friend Jer to suggest a printer. About 15 seconds later he had pointed me to the HPPhotosmart 7960.

After reading the reviews, it looked like it would fill my needs, so I set out Saturday to my local Best Buy, armed with my 10% off coupon, ready to bring home a new toy. But it's Christmas time. That time of year when salespeople think they need to be helpful and friendly, instead of staying out of the damn way like they do the other 11 months of the year.

I made my way to the printer aisle where Helpful Best Buy Printer Guy was helping someone, while 2 pairs of people were browsing the various printers. I go to the HP section, find the model number, then see the display model. My first thing to wonder about is where to the printer cartidges go? About this time, Helpful Best Buy Printer Guy comes up to me.

Helpful Best Buy Printer Guy: So is there anything I can help you with?
Me: No, I've pretty much got my mind made up.
Helpful Best Buy Printer Guy: Are you sure? I've got another model that can save you $100...
Me, cutting him off: No, I've been reading some reviews (well, ok, I only really read one) and am pretty much sold on this one.
Helpful Best Buy Printer Guy: Really. Well, ink for this one is pretty expensive. Are you prepared to pay $100 to replace the ink?
Me: Yep.
Helpful Best Buy Printer Guy: Ok. Well, if there's anything I can help you with, just let me know.

Ok, do I not know anything about printers? Do I look like I can't afford anything more than $100? I'm 200lbs overweight. Glasses. Single. I'm the poster child for people that hang out at Best Buy. I managed to get the printer (carried it up to the checkout without smacking anyone over the head with it), and now have it at home, sitting in the floor, waiting for me to figue out where to put it.

Maybe they should ask that when you're looking at printers. " So you're interested in a printer? Have you got some place to put it?"

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