Random randomness

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 2:26 pm

I'm not saying who, but one of us really needs to be a lot more productive at work this week. Being lazy right now will only make his life more miserable when the new calendar year starts.

Max Peck · Post by **Max Peck** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 2:30 pm

Dammit, he's on to me...

WarPig · Post by **WarPig** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 2:48 pm

Thank you, guys. Merry Christmas!

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:51 pm

The ginger extremist threat is real.

In his diary, Colborne wrote: “I want my legacy to say that I fought a one-man war against the capitalist regime. I want them to see my transition from poor red-haired victimised minority that is constantly walked over to a fully transformed military terrorist striking at the hearts of the bigoted tyrannical rulers and of course the dark haired dark eyes Caucasian race.”

One note read: “‘Kill Charles and Prince Harry becomes king.”

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Tue Dec 22, 2015 5:50 pm

I'm not sure what I'm more excited about when they finish the construction on my basement. The fact that I'll have a great new playroom and bedrooms for the kids, or that this neverending layer of dust will finally be gone! Blech.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 9:08 am

Amazingly, two people trying to stream Netflix and one person trying to download new STEAM games doesn't work out all that great on a 5 Mbps DSL line.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 11:17 am

Also, I'm totally sure the random Game Center request from a woman with lipstick and high heel emoticons after her user name is totally legit.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 8:54 pm

I ordered this on the 15th to make sure it got here in time to give it as a gift tomorrow night.

Think it will arrive in time?

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 9:26 pm

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 9:30 pm

D)(#%*R)W(N B5r8409=-w8qrejk

I talked with a service rep. They sent me an email afterwards. This is my response:

I ordered an item as a Christmas gift on the 15th with Prime two-day shipping, well in advance. Most of the items in the order arrived on the 16th. Two were scheduled for later. One arrived on time. The other was scheduled to arrive on the 22nd. The 22nd passed and the item did not arrive, and checking it again tonight (the 23rd) shows that it was still due for delivery the day before, but lists it as 'has not shipped.' I needed to have to this for a planned Christmas Eve event tomorrow.

I contacted support. Here is what I was told:

"the item you ordered was sold by Best Costume & Toy Deals, the item got out of stock from that seller and now it's sold by Swift Buy, when this happens we can't send it from another seller, we wait until that seller has it back in stock."

Nobody notified me of this. Nobody notified me of a delay beyond the scheduled delivery on the 22nd.

The customer service rep then proceeded to cancel the order, telling me to re-order it with one day shipping. He did this before checking to see if this was even possible. It is not. The one-day shipping options will deliver the item on the 29th. When I told him this, this was his response:

"Me: Alright.
I am finding a number of them that ship with one-day shipping, but all of them would arrive on the 29th.
Javier: Really? "

Apparently he thought I was making a joke. He then went on to essentially tell me that I was out of luck.

He then sent an email follow-up that contained the following:

"2 day shipping starts applying after we have the items in our fulfillment center and we put them on transit. If an item isn't available, selecting One-Day or Two-Day Shipping will reduce only the transit time to one or two business days after we've shipped your order. It won't impact how long it takes us to prepare it for shipment.

Some items require extra time to prepare them properly to get it to you in the best possible condition. This could be because of the nature of the item or size.

By the way we always send an email confirmation right after you place the order confirming the delivery date. In case you need it faster then we can try to upgrade the shipping or look for it from another seller that may ship it faster.

When you signed for Prime membership the full terms and conditions were given properly specifying this situation."

Your survey asked me if Amazon showed ownership of the issue. This email is telling me that it was my fault - my mistake. That I didn't understand how it worked, and then pointed out my service terms to excuse Amazon from any blame. That is both condescending and insulting. I am well aware of how two-day shipping works. That is why I ordered it ten days in advance. I also understand that sometime supply problems occur. It's business; it is life. Where Amazon made the mistake was in not notifying me that my item would not be arriving in time. I would have had several days to come up with an alternative. As it is, though, I live in a very small town. The only local store is a small grocery store.

Some things are out of your control. Notifying me of a problem is not. That mistake - entirely yours - has prevented me from coming up with an alternative. I am going to have to show up tomorrow at an event with an apology instead of a gift. This will make me look bad and irresponsible, and any attempt to explain it will sound like I am making excuses.

To follow that up with an email telling me it was my own fault is over the line.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Dec 23, 2015 10:08 pm

I had the opposite experience.

I ordered something on 12/12 that needs to be customized. Several online stores advised wait times ranging from 4-8 weeks, but one -- which also had the lowest price -- guaranteed delivery by 12/24. Got the order confirmation email and waited patiently for the promised ship notice. When it didn't come by 12/17 I emailed the contact address provided. They didn't reply. Well, crap, thought I. I wasn't surprised that they couldn't deliver by xmas but at least they could give me the courtesy of an answer. Maybe if I gave them until Monday...then I got busy and forgot about it. Today I left them a voicemail asking for an update by phone or by email so that I could at least tell Wife when her gift might arrive. No reply. I started to consider calling the credit card company and reversing the transaction, as I was beginning to wonder if this company actually exists.

Then, lo and behold, the thing showed up via FedEx this afternoon. So I'm simultaneously impressed that they got it here on time as promised and pissed at their complete lack of communication. If I hadn't gotten the order confirmation I'd suspect an email breakdown -- the initial email did appear in my spam folder -- but I've been watching that folder, so I'm pretty sure they never sent a shipping notice and didn't reply to either contact request. (I always reply to customers within 24 hours, and often in an hour or less.)

I might want to buy similar items in the future, and I'd like to patronize this store again, but I find their lack of communication disturbing.

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 12:35 am

That really sucks, BH.

There really isn't anything that they can do to make that "right". But they better at least try. I've done support for a long time. I would never... NEVER... tell the customer that it's their fault. I might think it, but it simply is not something you say.

And in this case it's bullshit. They had plenty of time to find out it was out of stock. Sounds like they just don't bother holding their partners' feet to the fire.

Default · Post by **Default** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 7:52 am

Ugh, my Cafe Press order spent five days sitting in Fedex hubs. If they had just shipped it USPS all the way, it would have been in my grubby hands a week ago. It's still going to be delivered by my letter carrier, but they didn't drop it off at the station until 1 pm yesterday.

Amazon fubared my son's order too, and it's a friggin' Kindle. Two day delivery? Not in Philly, it isn't.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 1:35 pm

ZWI

Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested a man in his 30s and charged him with impaired driving, resisting arrest and refusing a breathalyzer after he wrecked an ice rink in Manitoba on Saturday, CBC reports.

The incident happened during the second intermission of a game in Ste. Anne.

"On his first lap he struck the gate where the Zamboni drives onto the ice, and broke the boards and also broke pieces off the actual Zamboni," Martin Kintscher, manager of the Seine River Snipers bantam team, told CBC. "One piece got stuck under the Zamboni, which left a ridge on the ice with every lap."

Authorities arrived and arrested the man, who was not identified. But the Zamboni driver insisted that the rink was in great condition.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 2:12 pm

The company that I complained about a few posts ago finally sent me a shipping notice today -- the day after the package arrived.

Pyperkub · Post by **Pyperkub** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 2:54 pm

Kraken wrote:The company that I complained about a few posts ago finally sent me a shipping notice today -- the day after the package arrived.

Kind of like our Christmas cards this year. ..

MonkeyFinger · Post by **MonkeyFinger** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 7:15 pm

I found it ironical that, on a day with hardly any traffic heading into work today, the car I get stuck behind going slower than the posted speed limit was a "Quicksilver Express Courier".

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 9:42 pm

I remember watching the 1982 film Cat People. Was totally aroused and fully grossed out at the same time. Had freaky dreams after that movie.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Dec 24, 2015 11:06 pm

By the way, this is page 500. That's a lot of randomness.

GreenGoo · Post by **GreenGoo** » Fri Dec 25, 2015 1:05 am

Isgrimnur wrote:ZWI

Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested a man in his 30s and charged him with impaired driving, resisting arrest and refusing a breathalyzer after he wrecked an ice rink in Manitoba on Saturday, CBC reports.

The incident happened during the second intermission of a game in Ste. Anne.

"On his first lap he struck the gate where the Zamboni drives onto the ice, and broke the boards and also broke pieces off the actual Zamboni," Martin Kintscher, manager of the Seine River Snipers bantam team, told CBC. "One piece got stuck under the Zamboni, which left a ridge on the ice with every lap."

Authorities arrived and arrested the man, who was not identified. But the Zamboni driver insisted that the rink was in great condition.

Interesting. I didn't know traffic law applied inside privately owned buildings while on vehicles not intended for public roads. Getting a dui while on a zamboni has got to SUCK.

Can you get a DUI while mowing your lawn on a riding mower? That would double suck.

All those kids driving tractors on the farm are just an incident away from losing points on their non-existent driver's licenses I guess.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Dec 25, 2015 1:19 am

Code

Operation while impaired

253. (1) Every one commits an offence who operates a motor vehicle or vessel or operates or assists in the operation of an aircraft or of railway equipment or has the care or control of a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment, whether it is in motion or not,

(a) while the person’s ability to operate the vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment is impaired by alcohol or a drug; or

(b) having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the concentration in the person’s blood exceeds eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of blood.

Marginal note:For greater certainty

(2) For greater certainty, the reference to impairment by alcohol or a drug in paragraph (1)(a) includes impairment by a combination of alcohol and a drug.

GreenGoo wrote:Can you get a DUI while mowing your lawn on a riding mower? That would double suck.

All those kids driving tractors on the farm are just an incident away from losing points on their non-existent driver's licenses I guess.

Based on the above, I would say yes.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Dec 25, 2015 3:01 am

Well, there goes tomorrow's plan for getting drunk and tearing up and down my driveway. Thanks, Obama!

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 6:21 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ

Pieces of history I wish I was around to experience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9bX5mzdihs

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:13 pm

Hot damn, those are excellent.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:48 pm

I just poured myself a fizzy pop soda soft drink. The bubbles were bursting all over the place, sending up tiny splashes of liquid. Luckily, I noticed in time to close my eyes so they wouldn't splash on my glasses.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Jan 01, 2016 10:35 am

So yesterday my wife asks me if the reason I don't sleep at night is because I'm afraid she's going to come in my bedroom at night and kill me.
She says my DIL told her this.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Fri Jan 01, 2016 12:59 pm

^ Do you ever have a boring day dbt?

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Jan 01, 2016 1:03 pm

KKBlue wrote:^ Do you ever have a boring day dbt?

It sounds like the days aren't the problem.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 12:00 am

I know we had a thread where we talked about this but I couldn't find it.

http://www.aol.com/article/2015/12/11/m ... cmp=hplnws

AAA says more than 76 percent of U.S. drivers are parking incorrectly.

"U.S. drivers most frequently park their vehicle by pulling forward into a parking spot ... a riskier practice that driving experts warn leaves pedestrians more vulnerable."

So apparently, we should be backing into parking spots.

Now, all cars manufactured by 2018 will have rearview cameras with enhanced visibility, but they're not 100 percent effective, so don't completely rely on them.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 1:48 am

dbt1949 wrote:So yesterday my wife asks me if the reason I don't sleep at night is because I'm afraid she's going to come in my bedroom at night and kill me.
She says my DIL told her this.

Today she told me she was just kidding. She wasn't, but maybe realized how crazy she sounded and begged me not to tell her son.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 11:21 pm

I now think of my prostate as an evil parasite. It's like a home grown terrorist.
Anytime I have any problems down there I blame IT.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 11:30 pm

I work in IT. It's not our fault.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Jan 03, 2016 11:53 pm

GreenGoo wrote: Interesting. I didn't know traffic law applied inside privately owned buildings while on vehicles not intended for public roads. Getting a dui while on a zamboni has got to SUCK.

Can you get a DUI while mowing your lawn on a riding mower? That would double suck.

All those kids driving tractors on the farm are just an incident away from losing points on their non-existent driver's licenses I guess.

Seems any publicly accessible area is subject to police intervention, esp. parking lots of various venues, bars, stadiums, and such.

In this particular case, there's no doubt the guy was DUI, not to mention trespassing and GTA...

http://dui.drivinglaws.org/is-it-illega ... operty.htm

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 6:31 am

Just binged all 8 episodes of audio theater / podcast "The Message". Pretty good story with a big "twist" at the end, about this alleged ET message... received 70 years ago, and a new attempt at decoding it...

http://themessagepodcast.com/episodes/

Nice, pro-level script, serious scifi. Worth listening to.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Mon Jan 04, 2016 11:01 pm

Ubisoft, I just want to play the god damned game, back the fuck off. Yeeesh!

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 1:34 am

hepcat wrote:I work in IT. It's not our fault.

Yes it is. Not because you work in IT, but because you're still not wearing any pants.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 1:41 am

Zarathud wrote:
hepcat wrote:I work in IT. It's not our fault.
Yes it is. Not because you work in IT, but because you're still not wearing any pants.

The handbook only listed a bunch of kinds of pants we couldn't wear. It didn't explicitly state that we had to wear pants.

Now if you will return my floppy disk we can get back to work.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 5:59 am

Chrome failing a website, that's rare.

Trying to make a monthly payment on Anthem's website. Kept entering something, but the continue button won't work, and there were no errors. Was using latest Chrome, but with a bunch of addons. However, I was sure I had whitelisted and even turned of adblocker so that wasn't the problem.

Then I realized I have Firefox installed, and voila, Firefox was able to make the payment no problem.

Weird.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 9:48 am

Rip wrote:
Zarathud wrote:
hepcat wrote:I work in IT. It's not our fault.
Yes it is. Not because you work in IT, but because you're still not wearing any pants.
The handbook only listed a bunch of kinds of pants we couldn't wear. It didn't explicitly state that we had to wear pants.

Now if you will return my floppy disk we can get back to work.

hehe...floppy

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Tue Jan 05, 2016 11:56 am

OK, health question (I guess): what is this weird metallic taste in my mouth?

I've had this sensation off and on for three days, and its unprecedented for me. Whenever I eat or drink, I get a bitter-metallic taste on my tongue and the roof of my mouth. At first I thought I had a bad batch of coffee beans, but now I notice it when I chew or swallow anything.

I don't seem to be sick (other than perhaps a mild cold), and I'm not taking any meds or vitamins. My dentist recently told me that my oral hygiene is excellent. The water in my house seems fine.

The only unusual factor that occurs to me is that I went through a bag of Parmesan Garlic and Herb pita chip things (so sue me) in the past few days, and the salt did feel like it was too much, leaving me dried out and rough in the mouth. Could this have deadened some taste buds or something?