Also, via insty, comes the iPhone v. Droid smackdown.

I’ve never had an iPhone though I have played with a few. So, I can’t really say one is better than the other in terms of the interface. But Droid has a few key tangible things that I like better:

It can run multiple apps.
I can change the battery.
Comes w 16gb SD card.
And Verizon, unlike AT&T, doesn’t suck.

Past Droid posts here.

And, while I have not heard any reports of people not being able to buy Droid phones, I’ve been unable to find any accessories for it that I want. The local Verizon store at the mall in Maryville had none. And the online store at Verizon appears to be out. So, I cannot find a carrying case or the docking station.

It doesn’t sync media players and your media has to be dragged and dropped from your PC via USB connection. Personally, I prefer that. I always hated itunes and windows media player sync applications. They duplicate things, take too long, and suck. So, not a complaint for me. But it may be for you.

At first, I didn’t dig the keyboard. But now that I’m used to it, I find it a bit more user-friendly than my crackberry. Keys are bigger and the shift/alt functions are a bit more intuitive.

Droid’s desktop (for lack of a better term) has three panels that you can scroll through. On the center (or main) panel, you can’t put shortcuts where it looks like the top row is. I can on the other two panels. I’d like to get four more apps on the main screen.

Another complaint I have is that the cable that came with it is too short.

Some folks may not like the fact that you really need a Google account to play with all the pretty things.

It looks like Verizon is about to make a mistake and charge a ridiculous fee for tethering your phone to your PC for internet connectivity.

Also, another review over at Knoxviews. The docking station looks pretty cool.

Update: Since someone asked about call quality, I’ll say it’s good. With the blackberry, my wife and others would complain that they couldn’t hear me when they called me at the office. My wife says she can hear me much better on this phone. Also, phone calls I receive are just fine.

The AK47 app is lots of fun and the kids like the bubble game.

Bar code scanner is nifty. Scan the bar code of anything and it will look up product reviews online.

I said earlier that I thought it had some sort of proprietary cable. I was wrong. It’s apparently the new micro USB and I had the older USB cables.

GMote is cool. Use your Droid to as a remote for your PC. Handy for watching netflix on the TeeVee and for operating media player.

Turn by turn directions are free. That is slick.

A few complaints:

There is a number in contacts that I did not put there. And I cannot delete it. Odd.

Keyboard was a bit difficult to get used to. I’d constantly hit two keys at once. Getting the hang of it.

I cannot uninstall some of the preloaded apps that I’ll likely never use.

The cool feature that it runs multiple apps at once has one drawback. It doesn’t really close a lot of them when you think you’ve exited. But there’s an app to close them called TasKiller.

Quite a few of it’s features rely on having a gmail account. I already had one so not a big deal.

Since I’ve played with it a lot, battery seems to drain pretty quickly.

I never owned an iPhone but I played with them a lot at the store. Always tempted to buy one but, at the end of the day, I just couldn’t switch to the horrible AT&T service. But in a day, I’ve decided I like the Droid better. If I’d owned an iPhone, that might not be the case.

Droid is an awesome gizmo.

Update: The manual leaves a lot to be desired and I haven’t found a help file yet.

True story. I realized that my non-gun nut friends really dig the flashlights I had. So, for birthdays and holidays, I’d get them Surefire G2s. They liked them. A friend I’d gotten one for is a contractor. He was up in an attic looking to do some repair work. He set his G2 down on a crossbeam to look at something. A few minutes later, he smelled something burning. Looked down to see smoke coming out from under the flashlight. The heat of the lamp caused the wood to start smoldering a bit.

Related: Glenn loves his skeletool. I agree.

2- Microsoft is pimping Windows 7 for netbooks. Anyone try this?

Due to a bizarre set of circumstances, we ended the relationship with the guys mowing our lawn and I went out and bought a riding mower and intend to mow myself. After mowing with the riding mower, I had some spots that it couldn’t reach. I went and put the handle back on the old Troy-Bilt. Put some gas in it. I checked the oil and it is about 1/2 full and the oil looked like sludge. I walked the mower outside to set upon the task of starting it, expecting to fail. After all, it had been sitting in storage and no maintenance had been performed on it in three years. It hadn’t been used. I put the gas in. Primed the pump about 5 times. And yanked on the starter. It started right up the first time. Amazing.

I do need to change the oil though.

If you put the screen all the way back (which isn’t far) it feels like it will flip over. It hasn’t flipped over but it feels like it might.

It doesn’t have a CD/DVD player so installing software that you don’t download requires an external drive. Yet it comes with a DVD system restore disc.

You can flip the screen, which can be annoying. For instance, if you hit Alt-Home in a browser to get to your home page, the screen will flip. Odd. I’d like to turn that off.

I’d also like to turn off the Eee utilities that hover at the top of the desktop. I don’t use them. Can’t anticipate using them. Haven’t figured out how to get rid of it yet.

The whole no CD thing got me to thinking about office apps. I was going to put MS Office on it but then thought I might try Open Office. So, if anyone knows, I have questions. Open Office any good? I’m used to MS Office. Will an EeePC run office apps OK? And will the EeePC run Open Office OK?

The FTC can also kiss my ass.

Update: It does occur to me that I pretty much have made all those disclosures anyway because I want readers to know the relationship. Not because I care what the FTC says. So, I guess my civil disobedience isn’t all that hardcore.

That said, I’m looking at TeeVee options. Charter has decent cable and on demand things. We used to have Directv but dumped them once they dumped TiVo. I’ve even been pondering getting one of those Windows Media Center PCs. Anyone have any experience with the Media Center set up? And experience with Charter? And does Directv do TiVo again?

I’d appreciate any input.

update: Looks like TiVo and Directv kissed and made up.

Anyway, she called up Honda and said she needed a new mirror. They were happy to do so for $300. Instead, we ordered one for $30, paid $15 to ship it and I put it on myself in about 30 minutes. You really can Google up directions for almost anything.

My past flashlight blogging is here.

CEI today criticized Consumer Reports for reporting a high-performing shower head to federal authorities—not because it is defective or fraudulently advertised, but because it exceeds government limits on shower head water flow.

Wal-Mart and the bi-partisan coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns have announced that Wal-Mart, the largest seller of firearms in the nation, has adopted the new Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership, a 10-point code that will help ensure that guns do not fall into the wrong hands.

And if you buy a gun, you’re on video. You can contact WalMart at:

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 SW 8th Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611
479-273-4000

Or hit their contact page here.

Apparently, this happened back in 2008. I don’t recall hearing about it.

Bubba Ho-Tep: LOL WUT. Elvis and JFK vs a mummy.

Hellboy: Good guy demon kicks unearthly booty.

Watchmen: MTV is on the air, Nixon is president, 99 Luftballons, a sociopath superhero, Vietnam surrenders, and it’s 1985

Shooter: Sans Funky Bunch, Marky Mark gets his gun porn on.

Also, one of the documents was a computer usage agreement. In this agreement, Junior agrees not to look at porn and bomb making instructions on Al Gore’s Internets. And she has to sign it as though it’s a contract. For a five year old. I guess we gotta introduce them to legal contracts at some point.

Next issue I had was the ridiculousness of paying for stuff. We had to pay a supply fee, buy a tote bag, and get a prepaid meal card. Now, one would think that the school would be set up to handle common transactions in a convenient manner. You’d be wrong. I have to write one check to the school. One check to the cafeteria. And one check to the PTA. I guess they don’t have an accountant or bookkeeper to sort that out. I wrote three checks today, which is more checks than I’ve written in the last five years.

Speaking of the supply fee, that really annoyed me. In addition to paying a $40 supply fee, we also had to go buy supplies like markers, pencils, hand sanitizer, and tissues. So, we buy supplies. Pay a supply fee. And, of course, I’ve paid property taxes in The City (My The City) for a while that I thought were there to partially fund the schools. But then, it gets better. You see, those supplies we bought? Yeah, they’re community supplies. They’re not Junior’s supplies. They’re for everyone. I figure it’s a good way to teach Junior about taxes. Or communism.

The tote bag seems like a scam to me. Sure, it’s only $5 but it looks like it cost $1.25 for Chinese kids to sew it together. All the kids have the same bag. Between that and the community supplies, I’m not getting a big individualist groove from the school. I think that will be a problem for Junior, who tends to take after me. Also, we were sternly warned that the bag is for school supplies only. Sorry, Sparky, I paid for it. It’s mine. I’ll use it for whatever I choose.

It also makes me wonder. I’m guessing that not all parents can readily afford these expenditures. And it might be a particularly undue burden on some of them. I guess that’s why we all pick up the tab on supplies. But what about the fees and such?

Complaints aside, her teacher and assistant seemed to be nice folks. And the school’s renovations were nice. And they have a lot of interesting items and activities in store. This is going to be fun. But I’ll still complain about it.

I have a Ford. Been happy with it. And, in the next year or so, I’ll likely need a new ride. But I’ve decided I’ll quite likely not buy any GM product due to bail out nonsense. And it’s a pity because I kinda had my eye on a Chevy Avalanche.

Since the legislation passed that would allow people with concealed carry permits to bring firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol, Johnny Brusco’s general manager Kyle O’Keefe has given some serious thought to getting his own permit, so he could carry his own gun into work to make himself feel safer at night as he closes down the restaurant.

“I feel that people who are going to be carrying handguns illegally are going to carry them anywhere they want to and they’re not going to have any regard whatsoever for the law. People who carry legally should be able to carry anywhere they want to,” O’Keefe said.

Unlike other restaurants and bars in the city, Johnny Brusco’s plans to allow concealed carry permit holders to bring their firearms into the restaurant.

Sometimes, TSA isn’t the problem. Like that time I left my ammo in Reno.

From Gun Porn

They even sent me a cool hat. I highly recommend Comp-Tac. Their product and customer service are excellent. Other people are digging them too.

Snagged from Yahoo. Links to Snickers’ facebook page.

And Bob has a photo of legendary moonshiner Popcorn Sutton. And discusses Popcorn’s product. I concur. His moonshine was the smoothest I’ve ever tasted. More on Popcorn here.

Disclosure: Obviously, I’ve gotten stuff for free due to this blog (training with Todd Jarrett, some Blackhawk stuff, books, etc.). But not a single company who’s given me stuff has said that it’s free as long as I write nice things about it. It’s always been understood that I would probably write about it but never once demanded. And I’ve always written about the stuff truthfully. It’s not hard to understand that if a gun nut gets gun things he’s probably going to like the gun things.

Holster Beg: I just ordered a CompTac MTAC. The reason is that it seems similar to the Crossbreed but I can order new bodies for different guns.

Blu Ray: Haven’t gotten one yet. Still pondering.

Killing wasps in the attic: I consulted an exterminator. He said use a fogger. Most foggers don’t advertise killing wasps and bees. But he said that any fogger that kills ants or fleas is also good for stinging critters. So, I got up early in the morning when the wasps weren’t active. This does a couple of things. First, they’re unlikely to sting me since they’re sleeping. Next, it ensures that I kill them all and not just the ones that happen to be in the nest while the others are out scouting for food. I put two foggers (Raid Max) in the attic. Then, I waited a couple of days. And I went up and finished the nest off with a whole can of Raid Wasp Spray. Ok, I lied. I hate bugs and paid someone to go spray the nest directly. But I did put the foggers in the attic.

So, there you go.

Also, we went to a local bank to close. The bank had nothing to do with the transaction other than, apparently, the title guy or mortgage lady rented a conference room from them that was convenient for us to get to. Heading into the bank, I was met with this sign that caused me to stop and laugh out loud:

From Misc

Wow. Relying on a sign. Why not put up a Robbing is Prohibited sign? And there’s the fact that their other sign prohibiting weapons does not appear to comply with Tennessee State Law which has requirements for signs prohibiting the otherwise lawful carrying of weapons by permit holders.

Regardless of that, I won’t be doing any business with BankEast.

Update: Heh:

Why didn’t they just staple a sprig of wolfsbane and a few cloves of garlic over the doorway while they were at it?

Anyone have a recommendation?

# Cree MC-E LED with a 50,000 hour lifespan
# 2 Modes, 8 Total Outputs

* Primary Modes (in order)
o Turbo – 630 Lumens, 1 Hour
o Low – 13 Lumens, 130 Hours
o Medium – 93 Lumens, 11 Hours
o High – 277 Lumens, 4.5 Hours
* Strobe Modes (in order)
o Strobe
o Slow Flash
o SOS
o Fast Flash

Wow. Spendy though.

However, I did not know you could repair and inflate a tire with WD-40:

Past flashlight blogging here, here, and here.

My only real requirements:

1) It works well.
2) It’s relatively quiet.
3) It’s energy-efficient.
4) It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Any suggestions?

As Les said: A Maglite is a gateway drug to a serious flashlight addiction.

I have two flashlights. One is for the home and one is for the truck. For home use, I like the Surefire G2 Nitrolon. It’s lightweight and has a conveniently located on button on the rear. Push on and push off. This light is exceptionally bright and is capable of temporarily blinding and disorienting someone. So, don’t point at your face. Should something go bump in the night, however, it’s a good go to flashlight. It also has a very wide coverage area. I’ve used it to light up half my backyard before. The only downside is that the battery life is only about an hour and a half. Not usually a problem but not a light you want if you’re going to need a light for a long time. For that, we have the flashlight I keep in the truck.

For use in the truck, I like the Streamlight Twintask. It’s a good flashlight compromise. It’s small and fits easily in a pocket. And it has two modes. One for a decent, long lasting LED light for when you need a light for a while. Run time is about 40 hours, I hear. And one mode for the brighter non LED light. The brighter light is good enough for lighting up a decent sized area. And the LED light is fine more most uses. And the button location is not the most convenient.

Unlike other fancy flashlights, both of these are reasonably priced.

You got any recommendations?

Update: As noted before, a handy tip for gun nuts: Your non-gun-nut friends will dig your flashlights. I’ve given away each as Christmas presents and both were well received.

Now, there’s a third reason. I used to watch the occasional movie on pay per view. However, Dishnetwork now offers its pay per view movies as limited. Now, I have a DVR. So, I record my pay per views to it. What limited means is that I have 24 hours from the time I start the movie to finish the movie or it disappears. Now, at my house, with kids running amok and other such distractions, I never watch a movie in one sitting. It took me, for example, three days to watch the last pay per view I ordered (300, if you must know; and that works out to 100 per day). We discovered this ordering a pay per view for the kids a bit back. I don’t understand the logic here. I mean, why 24 hours? It makes no sense.

So, no problem, we say. We’ll just record it and put on a DVD thereby outsmarting their plan. But now the movies are also protected against being recorded. Now that protection, I can understand but the 24 hour thing is retarded.

So, Dishnetwork has ensured that I and my family will never, ever pay for their pay per view movies again.

Apparently, Cannon Safes doesn’t grasp what is meant by lifetime warranty.

Meanwhile, here’s a tale of how incompetence saved me an assload of money. My employer uses a processing company to handle all things payroll, to include retirement. These folks are completely incompetent. They will, without fail, screw up anything they are asked to do. They’ll either over do it or not do it at all or form a committee to do it that will then forget why they formed the committee anyway and that will result in them doing something else completely unrelated to the current task. Anyhoo, a bit back I rolled over an account and specified which fund I wanted the roll over to go into. After the market hit the shitter, I was scared to look. One day, I finally manned up and looked at the damage to discover that I had not only not lost any money but had actually received a fairly health rate of return. I checked the particular fund’s webpage and noted that it had lost a ton of money. I was confused as to how that happened. Turns out, they put my rollover in the wrong fund even though I specified. They’d put it in a municipal bond fund. So, I made some modest gains. Their incompetence saved me a chunk of change.

I’ll stick with my Skeletool. It’s a multi-tool I actually carry instead of leaving in the truck.

Our old pal Bob Ricker says we gun bloggers are wackos. And calls it McCarthyism.

Last night when the comments there totaled about 200, I noticed how stupid your average USA Today commenter was. I mean, they were like Bob Ricker stupid with references to McCarthyism and trampling first amendment rights. I guess they don’t realize that we bloggers were advocating using our first amendment rights to voice our concerns to the company. They also don’t seem to realize that McCarthyism does not include refusing to patronize a business for its political views. If Dan Cooper was being investigated by the .gov for his political views, the comparison might be valid. Seems like voicing our concerns to the company and voting with our dollars worked.

Anyway, glad Dan Cooper did the right thing and left the company. I just wish he’d instead have learned of Barack Obama’s record on guns and recanted.

Also, I got a Leatherman Skeletool. I had an old Gerber Multi-Tool that a friend got me. I’ve had that thing for 18 years as of yesterday. I got to the beach and needed pliers only to discover that the Gerber tool would no longer open. Looks like a bolt/rivet in the pliers themselves came loose and, as such, the pliers won’t come out the top. That pretty much renders it useless. Still, it was a good tool and I recommend it.

But the Skeletool is a bit better, I think. First, it is much lighter due to all the holes drilled in it. Second, it’s smaller too. Due to that, I can carry it in my pocket, unlike the Gerber which I kept in my truck console. Also, the Skeletool’s knife blade can be opened with one hand, unlike the Gerber. And there are a variety of bits available for the Skeletool and they are easier to change than trying to change bits on a Gerber, which involves taking it apart.

A couple of cons on the Skeletool though: there is no serrated saw blade, like the Gerber had. There is also no file. I never used the latter but the former came in handy quite a bit.

MADD has gone from a good cause to, basically, being prohibitionists.

I opted for the Crackberry Curve.

Update: Another case against the iPhone.

Lemme ’splain. Got a new treadmill. Due to a failure to plan on my part, it doesn’t fit through the basement door into the den. If it did, then I could watch TeeVee while running. But now that it’s assembled, I’m not taking it back. I’d like to get a small flat screen TeeVee that would receive the signal from my various DVR boxes so I can catch up on my shows while doing some cardio. Also, it would be handy to have for those nights I want to sit on the back porch with an adult beverage while the kids are playing. A quick search reveals mostly spam.

Anyone?

Thanks.

I did find a wireless video send thingy. But not sure about it.

No more Pizza Hut for me.

Update: Tom says don’t eat their pizza because it’s crappy pizza.

“Knoxville has several good salons to pick from, if you’re a woman. We felt that it was time for men to have a place of their own place to be pampered.” states Mike Huff, co-owner. “We’ve created a sexy and unique Vegas-influenced ambiance, hired some of the region’s best talent, and are making haircuts something men can look forward to.”

Aside from quality hair care, Gentlemen’s Top Cuts will provide full spa services. Massages, manicures, pedicures, facials, waxing and paraffin dips await those needing to relax and unwind. During the first few weeks after opening, the salon will offer all services except for massages. A decision has been made to stage the service offerings to guarantee exceptional customer satisfaction.

Here’s my review of my sneak peak of the place.

And here’s a list of past posts with some of the controversy about the place.

Heh.

The owner told me that since they started taking appointments, they’d scheduled about 20 for next Saturday.

Others were in attendance:

Doug was there and posted his one word review. I was there and, one of these days, his video will be famous on the internet.

Frank Murphy was also there and files a report.

CL from Modern Redneck has two reports here and here.

Also, Lissa Kay tells the prudes to calm down.

But we know, we know as feminists, that what makes a “real man” and what makes a “loser” are fucked up expectations of men and the pressures that men feel to be “real men” and to avoid being losers are toxic, not only to them, but to us.

And so, even if we don’t like what a man is doing, we can’t fall back into trying to make them ashamed of being seen as a loser. That’s just not right and only reinforces the notion that being a loser is the worst thing a man can be.

Meanwhile, KAG is discussing it again and, like me, is a bit freaked out over the whole twig and berry wax thing. But, hey, I guess women have their nether regions waxed too.

Meanwhile, KAG says she doesn’t get it. But, it turns out, she does get it she just doesn’t approve:

This sounds incredibly lame to me. What sort of guy is going to actually pay to have his hair cut at this place? I suspect Gentleman’s Top Cuts’ clientele (sic) will end up consisting largely of men who spend much of their time playing video games in the basement apartments they share with their cats, located underneath their moms’ houses – guys whose actual dating/love lives are so sad that it actually gives them a thrill to have their split ends lopped off by a stranger in a bikini.

Wow. Sexist much? I find this quite funny since in the preceding paragraph she chastises Gentlemen’s Top Cuts for being sexist as she thinks, and man it takes a logical leap, the name is a reference to pieces of meat. As opposed to a reference to, say, another prominent chain of salons.

Of course, there could be something to her video game reference. Heh.

Basically, Gentlemen’s Top Cuts is applying the Hooter’s concept to hair cuts. Men don’t go to Hooter’s for the overpriced beer and the crappy wings. They go to check out the women and watch the sports on HD TeeVee. It’s not hard to get, really. I mean, you take a proven concept and apply it to something else. Something KAG is familiar with.

I confronted her on her bout of misandry here.

It amuses me how some folks are a bit too prudish about the whole selling sex thing. It reminds me of the various anti-gay arguments which basically all boil down to Ick!

I guess I’ll just get a trim since I got a haircut last week. A pretty drastic hair cut too.

Why are those vehicles always so ugly?

Good question. They are all atrocious looking. That new Jeep concept is horrid. The Prius looks cheap. A few companies are getting it and just making existing body styles hybrid. I told the Mrs. I thought it was because they wanted them to look futuristic. But, apparently, the future is ugly.

Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp. are refusing to process any credit card transactions between federally licensed firearms retailers, distributors and manufacturers — a move which will severely limit available inventory of firearms and ammunition to military, law enforcement and law-abiding Americans.

The first company to be affected by this decision appears to be firearms distributor CDNN Sports Inc.

“We were contacted recently by First Data/Citi Merchant Services by a June Rivera-Mantilla stating that we were terminated and funds were being seized for selling firearms in a non-face-to-face transaction,” said Charlie Crawford, president of CDNN Sports Inc. “Although perfectly legal, we were also informed that no transactions would be processed in the future, even for non-firearms. I find this very frightening.”

To voice your concern to Citi Merchant Services and First Data Corp., please contact June Rivera-Mantilla at 631-683-7734 or her supervisor Robert Tenenbaum at 631-683-6570.

To change to an NSSF-affiliated credit card processing program, contact Payment Alliance International at 1-866-371-2273 (ext. 1131).

It’s a pity. They’ve always provided good service, to the point where they one day called my cell phone while I was standing in line paying for a laptop to make sure that my card wasn’t stolen. Seems they knew I don’t make many large purchases on my card. They also responded quickly to some fraudulent issues with my card very quickly. It was seamless for me and I didn’t notice anything unusual but they took care of it pretty quickly.

Joe reports having had similar issues in the past.

John Lott: It is difficult for me to understand what the “business” reason would be for this. Indeed.

Sebastian says to call them and tell the politely how much they suck.

Update: It just occurred to me precisely how big a PITA that is going to be. Gotta update Amazon, hostmatters, all manner of bills. But, I’m diligent. It’ll take a bit of time.

You mean we should eat the corn instead of putting it in the gas tank? Who knew?

After reading Joe’s post, it occurs to me that the appropriate response is to walk right back inside and return everything you just bought.

Good idea.

Dustin Chester is job hunting this week, after The Home Depot fired him and the general manager for thwarting a thief from running away with a pocket full of stolen cash.

Last week, the 24-year-old department manager confronted a man who was standing by a soda machine in front of the Murfreesboro store off Old Fort Parkway holding a crowbar and a wad of cash. When the suspect started running, Chester said his instincts took over.

He was fired Monday for violations of company policy in the incident.

“When he ran, I ran after him,” he said. Chester caught the thief and restrained him in the parking lot until police arrived.

Chester was shocked to find out that for managers and most employees, catching and detaining thieves is against company policy.

And:

The Home Depot said its policy, which directs workers to notify loss prevention specialists or police to handle criminal situations, is in place to protect its employees and customers.

“The associates involved were not following company policy, resulting in this disciplinary action,” said Don Harrison, spokesman for the Atlanta-based company. “Safety is a primary focus for our company.”

Doing the right thing should also be a primary focus.

I prefer the wrap around style (you know, kinda look like this).

I don’t really need any sort of tacticool gunny shades but haven’t ruled them out.

They need to be tough. As far as I can tell, the only thing breaking my shades is either 1) rattling around in the truck or 2) the sheer strain of being wrapped around my massive melon.

I don’t dig the big oversized styles.

Suggestions?

There are no good guys in this story. Misguided and incompetent regulation combined with utilities that found ways to game the system resulted in what had been the best communication system in the world becoming just so-so, though very profitable. We as consumers were consistently sold ideas that were impractical only to have those be replaced later by less-ambitious technologies that, in turn, were still under-delivered. Congress set mandates then provided little or no oversight. The FCC was (and probably still is) managed for the benefit of the companies and their lobbyists, not for you and me. And the upshot is that I could move to Japan and pay $14 per month for 100-megabit-per-second Internet service but I can’t do that here and will probably never be able to.

In case you haven’t been reading Crigley’s blog (and you should be), Part 1 and Part 2.

The candidates:

Gerber Legend™ Multi-Plier® 800

Leatherman 830039 New Wave Multitool

Victorinox SwissTool Spirit Multitool

A good review of Multi-tools can be found on Amazon.

In the middle of the night when you’re not quite conscious and attempting to soothe a fussy baby with a bottle, a bottle of Similac looks an awful lot like a bottle of International Delight Chocolate Caramel Coffee Creamer.

Well, the other day the Mrs. noticed a distinct similarity between these two product labels:

Poor Junior. Yuck.

Take some time and check out what Gerber has to offer. Good stuff. Some of these products are available locally at Dick’s Sporting Goods and Walmart.

However, Crest Pro-Health is quite tasty and leaves my mouth minty, kissably fresh.

In a couple of hours, I get a response telling me to send them the front cover and they’ll send me a new book. Excellent customer service!

Stuff that was not cool:

Conversely, hats off to IBM repair service. It went like this:

Monday: I call. They tell me a box is on the way
Tuesday: Get box. Ship it
Wednesday: They get box. Call me with damage assessment
Thursday: I should get my laptop back

Excellent service.

Seriously, two of my non-gun-nut friends are getting them this year. And who doesn’t need a good flashlight?

We just bought a plasma on Sunday. Should be here Wednesday. I was sort of disappointed as the the mantle above the fireplace (which I had a media slot put in) was about 1.5 inches too short for the 50 incher. We got the 42 incher.

Here’s my bizarro psychology: Back in 2000 when me and the Mrs. decided to live in sin, our first major purchase together was a big screen TeeVee. Not just a big screen, the biggest screen. We bought a 60 inch projection set (a month later, the 72 inch came out and I was pissed). This was when HD was not as popular and we saw no point in that kind of bling for 4 HD channels. We still have that TeeVee in our rec room. It’s a great TeeVee, with a good picture. Honestly, me and the Mrs. really like that TeeVee a whole lot. But a part of me kinda wishes Junior would throw a hammer through it or something so I can get a plasma for the rec room.

When you move, you’re suddenly a different person to everyone. They forget that you’re the same person and that all you really want is to continue the same arrangement you had before. That was when everyone was happy. Instead, the opt to piss you off and treat you like you’re just schmuck off the street. Your existing contract with your propane supplier? Done (see, it’s wintertime and rates are up now and you were smart and signed up in summer, and we just can’t have that).

DirecTv decided it didn’t want my money. See, they used to support TiVo but now they pimp their own DVR device. But they no longer support TiVo even if you’re an existing TiVo customer of DirectV. Their device doesn’t have some features we wanted, like the ability to communicate with other DVRs. Also, we’d have to pay them and pay TiVo for the same service. It would cost us another $30 or so a month for DirecTv and TiVo (as a separate service). And, like every other affluent person out there, I pay $30 per month to too many people already. Seriously, have you figured out how many people you pay between $20 – $50 per month? It’s probably a lot. For me, it’s cell phones, landline (we have a fax and burglar alarm or I’d lose the landline too), burglar alarm, Al Gore’s Internets, another cell phone, gas, water, and probably more I can’t think of. I get $30ed a month to the tune of at least $240. Sorry, I got sidetracked. Oh yeah, TiVo.

We now have Dishnetwork. It has it’s own DVR system as well but, unlike DirecTv’s, they can talk to eachother. So, here’s my review of the new DVR:

Pros:

Dish Networks beats DirecTv in terms of picture quality.

Programs automatically start being recording a few minutes early and are recorded a little long. If you ever watch Fox, you know this is a pain in the ass on TiVo which defaults to starting on time. I haven’t seen the intro to The Simpsons in a year because Fox always starts early.

One receiver feeds two TeeVees. The TeeVee in the living room and the master bedroom talk to each other. The TeeVee downstairs talks to Junior’s room.

Each DVR has 100 hours of recording time, compared to TiVos 40 or 80.

No suggestions (it’s a pro and a con): No more deleting assloads of shows I won’t watch.

Better DVR player controls. It’s like a tapedeck or CD player on the remote. There’s play, stop, pause, etc. Pretty neat.

It has what TiVo always needed: A skip forward button (I like TiVo’s skip back but thought it needed a skip forward).

More fast forward options (from 4x to 300x).

I can specify from one TeeVee that I’d like a program recorded on another (hence, I could watch live TeeVee and record on the same TeeVee while the other TeeVee does the work).

You can search for shows based on their info, not just title. That’s pretty cool.

Cons:

Not used to the interface.

Not all of our TeeVees talk. Two talk but the four don’t talk to each other. So, I cannot watch any program on any TeeVee.

No suggestions (it’s a pro and a con): I don’t get the occasional hidden jewel of a program I might like. For example, TiVo is how I discovered Robot Chicken.

When you hit the pause, the little timeline doesn’t show at the bottom to indicate how much longer the show is.

No groups. I liked TiVo because you could group the same TeeVee show together (for example, the screen will show Peep (4), indicating four episodes of Peep – if you don’t know what Peep is, you don’t have small children. So, all my Peeps are all over the place).

Overall, I like the new DVR and think it’s better in terms of features. But I’ll miss the old TiVo and it’s warm sounds.

Why can’t some real estate person get a clue and create one good form with everything on it that everyone signs once?

Thank you for reporting this email to PayPal. You received a fraudulent email that was designed to mislead you into divulging your PayPal account password. Emails initiated by PayPal will always address you by your first and last name or the name of the business associated with your PayPal account.

If you clicked on any link contained in the email and then typed in your PayPal account password, your password may be compromised. Please change your PayPal account password and security questions. Also, please review your most recent transactions for any discrepancies.

Err, no it wasn’t. Stupid people.

Like every other Acceptable Use Policy out there, I hadn’t read it. So, oops. Bad on me. I was going to reply and say oops, sorry and inquire about remedying the situation. Their message stated:

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

It had a link. I clicked the link to reply and it asks me what sort of business I run. Well, I don’t run one but that wasn’t an option. So, I sent an email to their service department that said:

I don’t understand what you’re asking me to do here. I don’t run a business. I use paypal for private purchases/sales only.

Their response:

Your appeal to lift the limitation on your account has been denied.

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

Notice, it’s the same email only it references a non-existent appeal. I reply:

I didn’t appeal any thing. I asked a question:

I don’t understand what you want me to do. I don’t run a business. What do you need from me to rectify this?

Their reply:

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

Err, same thing. A bit frustrating. So, again, I state again:

I don’t understand what you want me to do. I don’t run a business. What do you need from me to rectify this?

Their response (again):

In order to comply with PayPal’s Acceptable Use Policy and bring your account into good standing, you will need to:

1. Provide a detailed explanation about what the payment received on XXXXXXX was for. Please explain the good or service sold, and how you came in contact with the buyer.

Please also provide any documentation or websites to substantiate your claim.

This time, it’s no longer frustrating but amusing. So I reply:

Unbelievable. I’ve asked the same question three times. And got the same non-answer three times. Do
people answer emails or monkeys with typewriters?

Seriously, I’ll ask again:

I don’t run a business. So, what do you need me to do here? Your site asks me about my business, which I
don’t have.

Their response is the same. I try a few more times because it’s funny:

Say Uncle: So, what’s the point of a reply form/email address if no one’s going to read it?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Whatcha wearing, sexy?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Are you retarded?

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: Booga, booga, booga.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

Say Uncle: I like big butts and I cannot lie.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

SayUncle: Yea, and God said to Abraham, “you will kill your son, Issak”, and Abraham said, I can’t hear you, you’ll have to speak into the microphone.” “Oh I’m sorry, Is this better? Check, check, check… Jerry, pull the high end out, I’m still getting some hiss back here

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

SayUncle: Dookie.

PayPal Monkey With Typewriter: Same exact response

I mean, I figure some combination of words (perhaps eventually typed by a monkey with a typewriter) will clue them in that a person needs to review my case? But, I was wrong.

So, I call their 800 number while driving. Their phone system says (paraphrased) Due to unusually high call volume, you’ll have to wait. When a business phone says this, what they really mean is Due to our usual under-staffing of phone lines, you’ll have to wait your turn, bitch. Anyway, the guy answering the phone couldn’t help me but he knew who could. So, transferred again. I reached the nice lady at paypal and she (and I) had a good chuckle about the situation (she thought I was funny). And she, of course, can’t help me either. So, she forwarded my info on to their Acceptable Use Policy people as a work order, which apparently involves a person reviewing my case instead of a monkey with a typewriter.

We’ll see.

Update: I guess in the future, it’s best not to put any details of any transaction in the paypal submit form. They probably have monkeys with typewriters who look for terms like FFL, arms, etc. Corporate big brother is watching.

Ammunition must be packed in its original packaging. Loose ammunition or clips will not be accepted.

Being the gun nut that I am, I buy my ammo in bulk. So, said ammo is in its original packaging but it is also loose. So, I call their customer service number and explain that the ammo is both loose and in its original packaging. They tell me that is OK. Cool. I get to the Knoxville airport. I tell the lady at the counter about the ammo and that I talked to customer service and they said it was OK. The nice lady at the counter said that it would be OK too. Cool, again.

Get to Reno and make the mistake of not shooting all the ammo. At the airport in Reno, I check my bags. Then I get paged over the loudspeaker. The dude at the ticket counter says that my ammo cannot be transported loose because it may rattle around and explode (by magic, I suppose). I explain to him that it, according to both their customer service number and the agent in Knoxville, was OK and that’s how I got it here. He then referred me to TSA. I talked to them and they said the airline wasn’t going to let me on the plane. The TSA folks said it didn’t matter to them but the airline made a stink. I asked the TSA folks why the wanker at American Airlines sent me to them. They said they didn’t know and it was between be and American Airlines.

Back to the ticket counter. I thanked the ticket agent for wasting both my time and that of TSA’s. Then, again, I explained to him that I had talked with American Airlines customer service and the lady in Knoxville and both said my method of transport was OK. He again said (like the non-thinking robot he was) that loose ammo was not allowed. So, I asked him if he had a trash can. He said (and I am not making this up) that the ammo had to be sealed in a bag and sent to the police. Fine. I tossed a few pounds of ammo in the bag. And I told him that, thanks to his asshattery, I would probably never fly American Airlines again, which probably explains why they lost my luggage.

I land in Knoxville and discover my luggage is lost. While they were doing the trace on it, I explained to the ticket agent in Knoxville what happened in Reno. He said (and I quote) No offense, but Reno doesn’t have it’s shit together. He again confirmed (for now the third time) that my method of transport was OK. He gave me the number of another line to lodge a complaint. So, I did. We’ll see how that goes.