Ya never know
Mood:  happy
Now Playing: Sebadoh - Not a Friend
Topic: Strange

You never know what you'll see, even in a small town. This Russian MI-17 HIP landed at the local airport. When I got there to snap this photo, one of the crew members was out giving a patch to a kid that was watching. The crew woman was wearing a US Army flight suit though. I was puzzled, so I asked to see the patch. They were with the US Army Threat Systems Management Office - cool!

E-mail / Spam Blocking
Mood:  sharp
Now Playing: Sarah McLachlan - Train Wreck
Topic: Jobs, Work, Careers
OK folks, a little word about e-mail and spam blockers, especially services like AOL and Yahoo. TAKE SOME TIME TO CONFIGURE YOUR SPAM BLOCKER! Don't chew out customer service before you check your spam blocker settings. This customer got a little snippy because I hadn't replied to his e-mails. I had, but my replies were blocked or trashed. the customer didn't enter their phone number until I had received the 3rd e-mail, so that was the only way to contact them. Spam is bad. Spam Blockers are good if properly configured and used.

Lazy Day
Mood:  a-ok
Now Playing: The Replacements - I'll Be You
Topic: Friends
Today was pretty good. I worked on my fireplace - patching mortar. Then one of my buddies came by and invited me to the house for supper. I had a ball playing with her kids, and we watched a Star Wars - Attack of the Clones too. I really had a good time, and it meant a lot to me to be invited.

As I was leaving, I saw a meteor, and made a wish. Yes, I am still enough of a sap to wish on falling stars.

Customer service
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes First
Topic: Jobs, Work, Careers
Do you ever wonder why the customer service rep on the other end of the phone is such a jerk? Sometimes they're just a jerk, but sometimes they are like me. They've seen too much of this kind of crap in the last 15 years.

Now even if you're not too technical, I think you can see the problem. The picture is a little fuzzy, but I think you get the idea. This is exactly the way I received this in the mail. My conversation with the customer is as follows.

Customer: "My caller quit working after I changed the soundchips."

Me: "Did you make sure all of the chips are facing the same way, and lined up?"

Customer: "Yes, they are lined up."

Me: "Are the chips inserted completely in the sockets?"

Customer: "Yes, they are in all the way."

Me: "Are any of the pins bent?"

Customer: " Nope"

Me: "OK, I guess send it back to me, just make sure all of the chips are lined up and fully depressed in the sockets, because it won't work if one of the chips is not inserted fully, or the pins are bent."

This is the way it was when I opened it, and this is what I expected. I will have to bend back the pins, or replace the chips, and send it back to the customer free of charge. Why you ask? Didn't the customer void the warranty, you ask? Yes, they voided the warranty, but I wouldn't want to listen to all of the crap if I charged the customer for the repair. The customer is always right? Bullshit!

Complain, I don't Care
Mood:  irritated
Now Playing: Pantera - Cowboys From Hell
Topic: Jobs, Work, Careers

This guy (adult male, center) wants to complain to my boss about the customer service he received from me. He couldn't figure out how to use our online ordering system, so he sent an e-mail with a jpeg scan of his hand written order blank attached, only it wasn't attached. So I couldn't process an order without an order, right? He e-mailed back 9 days later to check the status of his order, and I told him we didn't have an order from him. He re-sent his e-mail with the order attached, and a snippy note about wanting to complain to my boss for receiving "poor customer service". I replied by saying I'm sorry, but your order wasn't attached to the first e-mail, and that he can contact my boss by calling #, and contact the co-owner by calling #. I went to process his order and guess what? His credit card was declined, so I got to call him and tell him. I shipped his order later that day, but I really don't give a crap if he ever got it. Don't you hate it when you ruin someone's day? Me neither.