by srhuston

Dear Verizon, Plz Don’t Suck Too

As I sit here watching my network connection go up and down, like it did a few days ago, I’m reminded of a problem I have with Verizon any time I have problems with my DSL (which I’ll happily admit is very infrequently, so kudos for that).  And that is, there is nowhere.. NOWHERE.. that I can go on their website to file a problem report.  No, call their 888 number, it’s “faster”!  Yeah, except when I don’t have time to call and wait on hold for a half hour for the next available representative.  I know they’ve got a trouble ticketing system in there somewhere, because once you’ve called and reported a problem you can track its status online.  But a company that deals heavily in Internet products having no way on the Internet to report problems?  Don’t suck.

I’ve had this conversation with people there every time I’ve had a problem with their service (since the first time I ever did when I asked, “Where do I go to file a ticket online, I couldn’t find it?”) and every time I’ve been told they’ll forward my request “up the chain” to someone else.  So I can only guess that there’s someone there who thinks end-users are either too stupid or otherwise undeserving of the ability to type in what their problem is and click submit.  At least calling the business DSL office, when you can get in touch with someone, usually doesn’t result in a comment about rebooting Windows…

by srhuston

Let’s Get Analytical

I don’t know what prompted me to check it out, but I had a look at Google Analytics not that long ago and thought it might be neat.  One thing I like to do now and then is browse the stats of my website; see how people got here, what they looked at, where they came from.  Maybe it’s voyeuristic, but it’s kinda nice to know that if you search for “peco sucks” you get an article I wrote some time ago when I was rather incensed at them (hey, I’m even the top search result!) and nicer to know that it’s one of the top search results that get people here.  I setup an account for the radio club too, so I can watch the traffic coming to that site.  But so far I think the most interesting bit I’ve found is that the most popular article I have written (and didn’t write with that in mind, more of a journalling and getting the ideas down so I remembered) is the one on installing Linux on my PS3.  Shame that it might be lost on folks picking up the PS3 slim, since that new model won’t include the ability to install Linux – which I think is completely rediculous to remove such functionality, especially since I don’t know that there’s any hardware change involved that breaks compatibility.  Oh well, Sony’s shot themselves in the foot enough other times too (hello, PS2 compatibility!)

by srhuston

Concerts A-Z

Here’s a neat one. Copy down the letters A through Z, and name all the bands you’ve seen in concert that start with that letter. The garage band down the street doesn’t count, but that concert you hope nobody finds out you went to most certainly does!

Continue reading →

by srhuston

Can You See The Real Me, Doctor?

If you’ve been tagged or you are reading this, you have the honor of copying all these goofy questions, writing your own response, and tagging 25 other victims. You have to tag me so really you just need 24 more people. If I tagged you, it’s because I want to know more about you – but not in a creepy stalker kind of way.  (Since I rarely tag people, I’ll decide as time goes on if I bother with that step or not, and if I tag 25 people or just work this via the honor system)
Continue reading →

by srhuston

Shuffle Along

One of those Facebook-y notes that doesn’t require a lot of thought!

  1. Turn on your MP3 player.
  2. Go to SHUFFLE songs mode.
  3. Write down the first 15 songs that come up–song title and artist–NO editing/cheating, please.
  4. Choose 25 people to be tagged. It is generally considered to be in good taste to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it’s because I’m betting that your musical selection is entertaining, or at least amusing.(To do this, go to “NOTES” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, enter your 15 Shuffle Songs, Click ‘Preview’ below to tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click Publish, the little blue box at the bottom of your screen).

I tend to make the “tag someone” part optional, though that’s usually out of sheer laziness.
Continue reading →

by srhuston

Whadda Day

David and I were wrestling earlier today.. much earlier.  He went down for his nap, and a half hour later wasn’t sleeping yet.  I went up, and he just seemed so out of it and tired; I read him a story and left the room again.  About two and a half hours later when he woke up, he was still lethargic and not moving much, and after a quick bit of poking and prodding we realized his left shoulder hurt to the point he didn’t want to move it.  Call the pediatrician, he said it could be one of a couple things.  Either something called “nursemaid’s elbow” which kids can even do to themselves, and requires a quick re-set of the elbow and he’d be fine.  Or it could be a soft-tissue thing, either a muscle pulled or a tendon stretched.  Or,  a broken clavicle.  Oh great.

Continue reading →

by srhuston

Did You Get The Plate Number Of That Truck That Hit Me?

Yesterday was supposed to be our last doctor’s appointment before the baby is born on the 14th.  We went, heard the heartbeat, confirmed a few things, talked about plans, and we were done – a little earlier than expected even.  David was home with my mom, so we could chat with the midwife about anything that came up and not be trying to wrangle him at the same time.  All finished, we got into my truck and headed to Halo Farms to get milk, and then head home.  We went the way I normally would, coming down Route 1 to the Warren St. exit, then head across the Trenton Makes Bridge (I’ve yet to pay a toll on the Route 1 bridge).  We were first in line at the light at Bridge Street, with someone on my left and a woman on a bike half in the street on my right; I remember this for two reasons, one being that I hoped she wouldn’t ride out in front of me but would get up onto the sidewalk instead, and second because I got to find out just how nice of a woman she is a few minutes later.  Light turned green, I started to move forward.. and the douchebag to my left started trying to race me.  He wanted to cut me off, because he wanted to be in my lane (because he didn’t want to turn left and get on Route 1, he wanted the bridge, and figured if he gunned it fast enough he could cut me off and not have to wait in line like I did.)  Whatever asshole, wait your turn.. that’s what I was thinking, until he started moving into my lane anyway.

Continue reading →

by srhuston

One Week Of iPhoning

Last Friday I got my new iPhone.  I’ve been playing with it quite a bit since then, and learning what it can (and can’t) do, and can honestly say I think I’ll never go back to a “dumb” phone again.  In fact I sometimes wonder how I got along as long as I have with the cobbled together methods I used to use for keeping track of things.

So, the phone is not really new – it’s a refurbished one – but it’s new to me.  AT&T offered a price drop on refurbished units, so with a two year contract they were now $149 for the 16GB model.  Considering I’d figured on a way to pare my library down small enough to fit that and not feel unhappy about it, and the price was now right – combined with my Sony Ericsson w600i being four years old – it was finally time to place an order.  It took me almost no time at all on Friday to get it activated and get all of my contacts and information into the phone to at least be able to use it for the rest of the day until I could spend some time tweaking the settings and getting everything just how I want it.  Using Google Sync to first get all my contacts into Google, and then sync them over the air with push notifications to my phone directly, that’s just beautiful (and much better than having to keep everything nice and neat on the laptop, and using bluetooth to sync with my phone, like I did with my last phone).  Having calendar items get changed in one place and that pushes out to my phone within a few minutes finally makes it worthwhile to use and keep a calendar of my day.  Yes, I’d been using Google Calendar anyway, and even have iCal on the Macs synchronized to those calendars, but I don’t always have my laptop with me so it’s hard to discuss availability with someone (or check my schedule in general) when I’m not in my office or at home.  And the fact that I can share calendars with Stephanie, so she can post events that she’s doing – or we can post family events on a calendar to see when we’re all planning something – means I also don’t have to “check with the wife” for everything if someone asks me what I’m doing next Saturday.

Continue reading →

by srhuston

To My iPhoney Friends: I Need Apps!

With yesterday’s price cut on refurbished iPhones (plus some other recent events and changes) the device is finally at a point where I can justify replacing my 3rd-gen iPod and Sony-Ericcson w600i, both slightly younger than dirt.

Since apps for the iPhone don’t necessarily have free trials, what ones do you use and why?  Which apps can you not live without?  Which ones did you buy and wish you’d spent the cash on a cup of lousy coffee instead?

by srhuston

When Did “Good Woman” Become “Bad Man”?

That’s the punchline to a George Carlin joke.  One particular word, a compound word really, which each part is fine on its own.  Why was I more tempted to put that in the title?  Because that’s what I thought when I found that this, and at least two other sites I run in one way or another, got compromised by a WordPress exploit some time ago.  Of course I didn’t even notice it at first, wasn’t until I wanted to change the theme on one of the sites.  Now I apparently have to change the theme on all of them, because those themes don’t exist anymore anyway.  Lovely.

I think I need a drink 😛