My Blog
DVR For Your Life
Saturday, May 26, 2007 at 12:39 pm
As many know, and almost as many are frustrated by, Dish Network charges a $5.99 per month DVR fee to operate your DVR equipment. It doesn't matter if you own or lease the equipment, if it's not a VCR and you got it from them, you pay the fee. I never liked that, so I built my own DVR.
That didn't keep me from getting charged a "DVR fee." No, they aren't going to charge me to record shows. However, they are charging $10 per month to pause my account (they consider it a service, and call it DishPause. That's right, I'll be without an apartment for 3 months, and they'll be getting a $10/mo. DVR fee in order to pause that account. It makes me wonder if I can skip commercials next time I call them, or fast-forward through my hold time (or at least the music).
Huge...Tracts of Evangelism
Monday, May 14, 2007 at 10:55 pm
I went to Value City today to do a little belt shopping. Apparently it's harder than I thought. I turned to leave the men's clothing area, and this nicely dressed guy walks up to me.
Apparently, he sees my T-shirt (wearing LaMoine Christian Camp shirt) and he says something like "I know you may not need this, but give it to someone who does," and holds out a piece of paper on which I see the word Heaven. Oh no, a tract evangelist! I said "no" and started walking away. He said something else, and I turned to him and asked "Are you soliciting in the store?" to which he replied "no." I started walking away really fast now, and went straight to a manager.
Told the manager that there was a guy handing out tracts and harassing people. He asked "where?" and I looked behind me - apparently I was being followed. I said "The guy in the brown shirt," and pointed at the fast-approaching man behind me, and added "I'm out of here."
As I drove off, I see the guy walking out toward his out-of-state vehicle. I made eye contact with him and drove off.
Did I do the right thing? Well, not exactly. I rushed out too quickly and didn't say anything to the person handing out the tracts. He deserved to hear what I had to say.
What he was doing was not evangelism. It was not even Christlike. Can you imagine Jesus as a pushy salesman? We don't hear of even the apostles handing out papyrus tracts. Sure, they drew crowds when they told what they knew. They didn't come from another country, stop in town for a day and abandon them the next day. I made sure he left at least that one store. I hoped at least one less person wouldn't get such a poor picture of God.
Hold On A Minute!
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 at 6:17 pm
I had to make a phone call to Adobe customer service today. I'm selling old software and I needed to transfer the license. I called their 1-800 number. After 25 minutes on hold, I started getting a little worried. Of course, I was working on things, so listening to hold music wasn't terrible. I even made and received a few phone calls while waiting.
1 hour. I still haven't heard from a person yet. I didn't have to go through a complex menu such that I'd be worried my call was lost. I had pressed 1 button at the first menu and waited 1 hour, and 10 minutes now. I didn't want to hang up and lose my place if the line was that long. I got out my cordless phone and dialed the same number, pressed the same 1 button at the phone prompt. Now I had hold music playing through 2 speakers.
Why not make things more interesting? I found the non-toll-free number of Adobe Headquarters and called that on my cell phone. I pressed 1 for an operator and got right through to someone. They were shocked by the time I had to wait. They said they would transfer me to customer support themselves, and that I may or may not hear hold music. I heard nothing but silence, but I stayed on the line.
6 minutes, 34 seconds. The cordless phone comes to life with a human voice. I heard her ask "Is that our hold music in the background?" I told them yes, and that the phone 2 feet away has been on hold for 1 hour, 18 minutes now. She resolved my problem in 2 minutes and was clueless how I had been on hold so long. She'll tell it to her supervisor, which in the customer service biz just doesn't mean anything.
Trapped
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at 5:03 pm
A friend sent me a poem today that apparently I had written. It was written in 2002, and I didn't even have a copy of it. I liked reading it again so much, that I decided to post it here:
Trapped
Trapped.
Easy is on one side,
Life is on the other.
It matters not that the grass is greener over there;
The grass is dead here. I am getting no where.
With apathy as my apothecary,
I try to fix things – giving others my hurt when I deserve it.
As I am feeling no pain,
I feel that life is ok again.
I woke up from an unusual dream;
Instead of the situation changing when I opened my eyes,
I was what changed. I rediscovered Christ.
I’m trying to fix it all. My old life is just down the hall.
I’m running down the corridor but sometimes
I take turns that leave me where I was before.
I need to try, but I need to rest. Surely God can handle it best.
I’m ready to drop everything;
To run, jump, and embrace the life that He has for me.
I have to let go of the old or I’m
Trapped
A Pale Tale
Tuesday, March 06, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I saw a commercial today. It featured several people with severely untanned skin, and recommended a "Bahamavention" (that is, intervene with a trip to the Bahamas). The ad features a half naked man with red hair whose paleness glowed vibrantly. There could be no other explanation, than that this commercial was directly inspired by Conan O'Brien. This is a direct reference to Conan's likeness as presented in the Pale Force cartoon series. Already Conan has had his influence on global politics and now he's moved on to advertising. What will he conquer next?
