Actually, I don't like our new trash can. But, after being without one for a week, I'll take it.
The incompetant morons of Waste Management (wait... is that redundant to say Waste Management is stupid and clueless?) Anyhow, so I was saying... The insufferable nazis of Waste Management delivered us a new garbage can today. It's ugly. The body is gray with white speckles. It's like it's gone upscale. But the lid is green. Like when you have to get a new hood for your blue car and the only one you can find is red and you can't afford spray paint.
It all started a few months ago... got a letter in the mail saying our credit card was expired. I called in and they said that the expiration date was 2006. Odd, since they had been taking money from it every three months without fail since early 2006. Then the lady says "Oh. Well, we just upgraded our payment system. Maybe it carried over an old credit card number."
I didn't have the credit card with me, so I asked me wife to call in and give them the number over again. So she did and then confirmed with the woman that we were now all set. "Yes" was the answer.
Well, apparently not. Early August. Another letter. This time, a lot more doom and gloom. We're going to cut off your service. We're going to throw rocks through your windows and drop a garbage truck on your house from a helicopter. And then we're going to light it on fire. You know the type of letter. (Or, actually, you my dear readers, are probably the kind who pay their bills on time and don't have problems like this.)
Lori calls again. Yes, the new credit card is on file. Did we want to use it to pay the outstanding balance? Uh. D-freaking-uh. So now we were good, right? "Yes" was the answer again.
Well, apparently not. Last Tuesday I get home from work. I notice no can out front and make a mental note to thank Lori for bringing the can in. Only it's not in the garage. It's not next to the house on either side. It's not in the backyard. So I ask Lori and she says that it was there when she got home from the grocery store.
Weird. Did someone steal our garbage can? There were plenty of others still on the street, so that didn't seem likely. How do you call up and say "Someone stole my garbage can?" I called in the next morning and a nice woman looks up my account and says that the account was closed at the end of July for non-payment. But, she says that we are current on our payments. And that they called on August 2. (She tells me this just moments after finding out that they had an old number on file.) So, they may have called, but they didn't talk to us. I think there ought to be a distinction there.
So, all week without a trash can. No place to put bags of dirty diapers or cat litter. No place to put smelly kitchen stuff. Except in a big pile on the garage floor.
So, now we have a can and it's brand new. So I'm happy to fill it with all kinds of nasty.
But... this may not even be the end of the story. On the last call, to get the service turned back on, she told me there might be a charge for delivering new cans. (I should also note - they brought us a new greens can. And since the last owners never turned theirs in, we now have three. I'm trying to figure out how to get a few more so I can build a wall or several inground individual soaking tubs or something.) I expected that to be waived. She was happy to put a note on my account and I was free to talk to whoever I wanted. Yes, she said that.
So, thanks for the bumbling idiocy of Waste Management, I've just wasted a few precious moments of you who bothered to read all the way to the end.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Vacation
Had a conversation with someone this morning at the coffee machine and they were moaning about being back at work after a vacation. I'm no expert on vacations, I tend to take vacation days one at a time. (I think I'm only planning to be in the office three Fridays in September and October this year.)
But I think my friend make a fatal flaw in her vacation schedule... you gotta ease out and ease in.
Ease out... many people start their vacations at 5 pm Friday and end it on Monday at 8 am. If, for instance, they're taking a week, they think this gives them a nine-day vacation. That thinking is flawed. Saturday (and possibly Sunday) occur as normal on your way out. Not only that, but all your colleagues are also gunning for 5 pm on Friday, which means they're not stopping to think about the fact that you're going to be gone. So, ease out. Take your leave mid-week. This really puts you in vacation-mode right off the bat -- you're at home while all your co-workers are still at work. Muwahahaha. On top of that, book the last few hours of your last day in the office to make sure no one can get you in a meeting. That allows you to wrap up details and remind your colleages (multiple times) that you're going to be gone. (Also, this allows you to travel on a weekday or very early on a Saturday and get a jump on the other travellers.)
On your way back, you have the usual Sunday afternoon stuff before heading back in.
Ease in... if you're dragging yourself in Monday morning, so is everyone else. And you complain about being back from a vacation, you're going to get no love. But, if you come in mid-week, you're a fresh face helping bolster everyone mid-week. But, if you come in mid-week, come in swinging. The worst thing you can do is come in and then hide in front of your computer with mounds of email. Easy solution - work from home your first day back. Download all your mail, disconnect, and start plowing through. Reconnect when you've done all you can. That prevents you from seeing new mail while you try to catch up, and prevents your mail from getting out there and generating new mail. (Sadly, my email program won't do that - it will stop incoming, but will continue sending out my responses - unless I completely disconnect but then I lose access to some things I need.)
Then wander back into the office around 2 pm. (Maybe bring in doughnuts or coffee. A nice touch I just thought of.)
And if traveling, pad your trip, before and after, in order to to do packing and unpacking. (For our last trip, Corey and Gilda gave us five nights at a World Mark resort. That means we had a kitchen and washer and dryer in our unit - so we actually returned home with all of our clothes already clean. That was nice.)
But I think my friend make a fatal flaw in her vacation schedule... you gotta ease out and ease in.
Ease out... many people start their vacations at 5 pm Friday and end it on Monday at 8 am. If, for instance, they're taking a week, they think this gives them a nine-day vacation. That thinking is flawed. Saturday (and possibly Sunday) occur as normal on your way out. Not only that, but all your colleagues are also gunning for 5 pm on Friday, which means they're not stopping to think about the fact that you're going to be gone. So, ease out. Take your leave mid-week. This really puts you in vacation-mode right off the bat -- you're at home while all your co-workers are still at work. Muwahahaha. On top of that, book the last few hours of your last day in the office to make sure no one can get you in a meeting. That allows you to wrap up details and remind your colleages (multiple times) that you're going to be gone. (Also, this allows you to travel on a weekday or very early on a Saturday and get a jump on the other travellers.)
On your way back, you have the usual Sunday afternoon stuff before heading back in.
Ease in... if you're dragging yourself in Monday morning, so is everyone else. And you complain about being back from a vacation, you're going to get no love. But, if you come in mid-week, you're a fresh face helping bolster everyone mid-week. But, if you come in mid-week, come in swinging. The worst thing you can do is come in and then hide in front of your computer with mounds of email. Easy solution - work from home your first day back. Download all your mail, disconnect, and start plowing through. Reconnect when you've done all you can. That prevents you from seeing new mail while you try to catch up, and prevents your mail from getting out there and generating new mail. (Sadly, my email program won't do that - it will stop incoming, but will continue sending out my responses - unless I completely disconnect but then I lose access to some things I need.)
Then wander back into the office around 2 pm. (Maybe bring in doughnuts or coffee. A nice touch I just thought of.)
And if traveling, pad your trip, before and after, in order to to do packing and unpacking. (For our last trip, Corey and Gilda gave us five nights at a World Mark resort. That means we had a kitchen and washer and dryer in our unit - so we actually returned home with all of our clothes already clean. That was nice.)
Repaving AND recycling... at the same time
This is pretty cool... click the link to see more, including a video.
Repaving AND recycling... at the same time: "
You’ve probably heard of recycled paper, recycled glass or recycled plastic, but we’re wiling to bet that you’ve never heard (or thought) about recycled asphalt.
Repaving AND recycling... at the same time: "
You’ve probably heard of recycled paper, recycled glass or recycled plastic, but we’re wiling to bet that you’ve never heard (or thought) about recycled asphalt.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
My Playlists
Corey had asked me for the criteria of my playlists after I explained them to him the other day. Unfortunately, it looks like iTunes would have trouble exporting and importing them since they are dependent on each other. So, I decided to write them all out. Had thought about doing that for some time, but always wondered if I could screen grab or something. Anyhow, here they are.
Note: All of the smaller playlists are titled with z-James in front of them on my list to keep them out of the way on the iPod which doesn't have folders. My master list as "> " at the front to get it to the top of the list.
Playlist is z-IncludeChristian
Playlist is z-IncludeChristmas
Playlist is z-IncludeHighestRated
Playlist is z-IncludeInChristAloneAndOthers
Playlist is z-IncludeOldest
Playlist is z-IncludeFromJames25
Playlist is z-IncludePurchased
Playlist is z-IncludeTopThisYear
Playlist is z-IncludeLeast
Playlist is z-IncludeLeastNewAdds
Playlist is z-IncludeFromLori'sList
Playlist is z-IncludeMovieTV
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip1
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip2
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip3
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip4
z-Exclude1
Note: First exclusion list. Could probably clean up by tagging the childrens' music with a comment and then matching that comment. (This was a quick fix to make sure I could still hear Jim Brickman who was also included in the kids' list.) Yours will, of course, vary, though I would hope anyone reading this would still have the first one in theirs.
Artist is Hanson
Artist contains Bee Gees
Artist is Bette Midler
Artist contains Laurie Berkner
Artist contains Veggie Tales
Album contains Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert
Album contains Classical Music for Babies
Album contains Disney's Lullaby
Album contains Lullabies for Babies
Album contains Mother Goose Lullabies
Album contains Jack's Big Music Show
Album contains Classic Disney
Comment contains Instrumental-Lullaby
Comment contains Sound Effects
Comment contains SoundEffects
Comment contains Children's Music
Comment contains [xJames] <-- another way to permanently ban. All of my new comment tags are in [] to avoid clashes with other comment tags.
Name contains zzz-delete <-- this is my shorthand for deleting music - just a quick rename. I'll go through later and completely delete.
Playlist is Audiobooks (built-in iTunes smart playlist)
Playlist is z-Exclude2
Playlist is OSBC -- for choir practice, Lori temporarily loads music (this prevents it from appearing in my list since I don't own it)
Rating is * -- allows me to permanently ban something from the iPod by quickly giving it one star
Skip Count greater than 4
Last Skipped in the last 4 months
z-Exclude2
Note: This keeps the top 5 most overplayed songs on our playlist off of my iPod.
Playlist is Only Music
Limit to 5 items by most often played
Live Updating
z-IncludeChristian
Note: Bring in 25 Christian songs that haven't been played recently, provided they've only been skipped once at most.
Playlist is Christian Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 25 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeChristmas
Note: This helps skew Christmas a little higher than normal during the holiday season.
Playlist is z-Christmas
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Last played is not in the last week
Match all
Limited to 30 items least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeFromJames25
Note: Causes items in the James25 list to be added more than they normally would in general selection. Picks least played, meaning they were the most recently added to the z-James25 playlist. (So ones I've recently decided I really like a lot.)
Playlist is z-James25
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Last Played is not in the last 7 days
Skip Count is less than 2
Limit to 25 items least often played
Match all
Match only checked items
Live Updating
Note: Lori has a standard playlist of her favorites. It includes stuff I've just purchased and stuff that are on my z-James25 list. (So that means that some of my favorite stuff I'd never get to listen to under normal circumstances because she would have recently listened to it. )
Playlist is Lori's
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip1
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip2
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip3
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip4
Skip Count is less than 2
Last skipped is not in the last 30 days
Match all
Limit to 25 items by least often played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: This lets more popular music back onto the playlist sooner.
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Last played is not in the last 1 month
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 25 items by highest rating
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: This was originally just to let that one song back onto the list after a few weeks, but I've added a couple of others since then. So now it's just like James25, but a lot more exclusive.
Comment contains [JamesSpecial]
Last played is not in the last 2 weeks
Match all
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: Gives the least played items in iTunes a slightly better chance of being played, provided they've never been skipped. Socialism.
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is 0
Last Played is not in the last 14 days.
Match all
Limit to 25 items least often played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: This gives the most recently added items a better shot of being played again soon. It's a mixture of added/purchased but in general probably helps purchased get played more since there's a second list for purchased also.
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Playlist is not z-IncludePurchased
Skip Count is 0
Last Played is not in the last 14 days
Match all
Limit to 25 items most recently added
Match only checked items
Live Updating
Note: A fun sublist. These are sound clips - random pieces of dialogue, theme songs, etc. from everything from Futurama to Bear in the Big Blue House to Mystery Men to The Angry Beavers. This just provides fun little random interludes.
Genre contains "TV and Movie Themes"
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Match all
Limit to 10 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: This is the big one, the largest piece of the playlist spaghetti. This will contribute about half of the songs to the playlist when all is said and done. This is the music with the least recent "last played" dates. (Also any that are blank because they've never been played.)
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is 0
Match all
Limit to 150 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: Keeps the purchased items in slightly higher rotation.
Playlist is Purchased (built-in iTunes playlist)
Playlist is Only Music
Playist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 25 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: It gets harder to get on the list once you've been skipped. The next few playlists let a few songs on the list, but it gets progressively harder to get played as your skip count increases.
Skip Count is 1
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 5 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Skip Count is 2
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 4 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Skip Count is 3
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 3 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Skip Count is 4
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 1 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: This pulls in the top 15 (it says 20, but remember that the very top 5 will be excluded) most listened to songs. This and a few of the other "popular" lists were needed because before they were added, the list was a little dull at times.
Last Played is in the last 6 months
Last Played is not in the last 3 weeks
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 20 items by most often played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: This pulls all Christian music, unless it's been commented/tagged "[xChristian]" - there's some stuff on WOW and some Veggie Tales stuff I want to exclude because it's too jarring, too inconsistent with the rest of the music. We only pull the top 800 least recently played (just temporarily keeps the most recently played off the list).
Playlist is z-Christian Music
Last skipped is not in the last 12 months
Skip Count is less than 6
Comment does not contain [xChristian]
Match all
Limit to 800 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Genre contains Religious
Genre contains Christian
Genre contains Gospel
Comment contains Christian
Match any
Match only checked items
Live Updating
Playlist is not Audiobooks (built-in iTunes playlist)
Genre is not TV Shows
Podcast is false
Kind is not mov
Genre is not Podcast
Genre is not Spoken Word
Genre is not Audiobooks
Kind is not PDF Document
Playlist is not Movies (built-in iTunes playlist)
Playlist is not TV Shows (built-in iTunes playlist)
Playlist is Music (built-in iTunes playlist)
Match all
Match only checked items
Live Updating
Note: I usually keep all unchecked except "Jingle Bells" by Barenaked Ladies. Starting in October(!), I'll start checking a few boxes a day to ease into the holidays and by Thanksgiving I'll have all of them checked.
Comment contains Christmas
Album contains Christmas
Album contains Holiday
Genre contains Holiday
Match any
Live updating
Note: This was originally supposed to be my list of my 25 favorite songs, but I had a hard time keeping it to that, so there's a lot more in there. I suppose I could have used a standard playlist like Lori does. *shrug*
Match the following rule
Comment contains [James25]
Live updating
----------------------------------------------------------
Also one I like, but not part of the list above (not required by any list up there)
Note: Ok, so this is a complex one. This one mixes Christian music with my general smart playlist at a much more even mixture rate. There are certain songs in my playlist that I like that are really probably ones I wouldn't want my church friends to hear playing. The "[xSunday]" tag makes sure they don't play in this Sunday afternoon list. Also, they can't have been skipped, and they must have already been played. Not something just purchased or something from the iTunes free song of the week that I'm not yet sure about the content of. Goal of this is that we can play it on Sunday afternoon on the home computer with children around.
Playlist is z-Sunday Afternoon
Playlist is not z-Instrumental
Comment does not contain [xJames]Comment does not contain [xChristian]
Comment does not contain [xSunday]
Skip count is less than 1
Play count is greater than 1
Match all
Limit to 300 items selected by least often played
Match only checked items
Live Updating
Playlist is Master List
Playlist is Christian Music
Match any
Limit to 1,000 by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Note: All of the smaller playlists are titled with z-James in front of them on my list to keep them out of the way on the iPod which doesn't have folders. My master list as "> " at the front to get it to the top of the list.
Master List
Playlist is z-IncludeChristian
Playlist is z-IncludeChristmas
Playlist is z-IncludeHighestRated
Playlist is z-IncludeInChristAloneAndOthers
Playlist is z-IncludeOldest
Playlist is z-IncludeFromJames25
Playlist is z-IncludePurchased
Playlist is z-IncludeTopThisYear
Playlist is z-IncludeLeast
Playlist is z-IncludeLeastNewAdds
Playlist is z-IncludeFromLori'sList
Playlist is z-IncludeMovieTV
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip1
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip2
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip3
Playlist is z-IncludeSkip4
Match Any
Match Only Checked Items
Live Updating
z-Exclude1
Note: First exclusion list. Could probably clean up by tagging the childrens' music with a comment and then matching that comment. (This was a quick fix to make sure I could still hear Jim Brickman who was also included in the kids' list.) Yours will, of course, vary, though I would hope anyone reading this would still have the first one in theirs.
Artist is Hanson
Artist contains Bee Gees
Artist is Bette Midler
Artist contains Laurie Berkner
Artist contains Veggie Tales
Album contains Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert
Album contains Classical Music for Babies
Album contains Disney's Lullaby
Album contains Lullabies for Babies
Album contains Mother Goose Lullabies
Album contains Jack's Big Music Show
Album contains Classic Disney
Comment contains Instrumental-Lullaby
Comment contains Sound Effects
Comment contains SoundEffects
Comment contains Children's Music
Comment contains [xJames] <-- another way to permanently ban. All of my new comment tags are in [] to avoid clashes with other comment tags.
Name contains zzz-delete <-- this is my shorthand for deleting music - just a quick rename. I'll go through later and completely delete.
Playlist is Audiobooks (built-in iTunes smart playlist)
Playlist is z-Exclude2
Playlist is OSBC -- for choir practice, Lori temporarily loads music (this prevents it from appearing in my list since I don't own it)
Rating is * -- allows me to permanently ban something from the iPod by quickly giving it one star
Skip Count greater than 4
Last Skipped in the last 4 months
Match Any
Live Updating
z-Exclude2
Note: This keeps the top 5 most overplayed songs on our playlist off of my iPod.
Playlist is Only Music
Limit to 5 items by most often played
Live Updating
z-IncludeChristian
Note: Bring in 25 Christian songs that haven't been played recently, provided they've only been skipped once at most.
Playlist is Christian Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 25 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeChristmas
Note: This helps skew Christmas a little higher than normal during the holiday season.
Playlist is z-Christmas
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Last played is not in the last week
Match all
Limited to 30 items least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeFromJames25
Note: Causes items in the James25 list to be added more than they normally would in general selection. Picks least played, meaning they were the most recently added to the z-James25 playlist. (So ones I've recently decided I really like a lot.)
Playlist is z-James25
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Last Played is not in the last 7 days
Skip Count is less than 2
Limit to 25 items least often played
Match all
Match only checked items
Live Updating
z-IncludeFromLori'sList
Note: Lori has a standard playlist of her favorites. It includes stuff I've just purchased and stuff that are on my z-James25 list. (So that means that some of my favorite stuff I'd never get to listen to under normal circumstances because she would have recently listened to it. )
Playlist is Lori's
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip1
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip2
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip3
Playlist is not z-IncludeSkip4
Skip Count is less than 2
Last skipped is not in the last 30 days
Match all
Limit to 25 items by least often played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeHighestRated
Note: This lets more popular music back onto the playlist sooner.
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Last played is not in the last 1 month
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 25 items by highest rating
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeInChristAloneAndOthers
Note: This was originally just to let that one song back onto the list after a few weeks, but I've added a couple of others since then. So now it's just like James25, but a lot more exclusive.
Comment contains [JamesSpecial]
Last played is not in the last 2 weeks
Match all
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeLeast
Note: Gives the least played items in iTunes a slightly better chance of being played, provided they've never been skipped. Socialism.
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is 0
Last Played is not in the last 14 days.
Match all
Limit to 25 items least often played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeLeastNewAdds
Note: This gives the most recently added items a better shot of being played again soon. It's a mixture of added/purchased but in general probably helps purchased get played more since there's a second list for purchased also.
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Playlist is not z-IncludePurchased
Skip Count is 0
Last Played is not in the last 14 days
Match all
Limit to 25 items most recently added
Match only checked items
Live Updating
z-IncludeMovieTV
Note: A fun sublist. These are sound clips - random pieces of dialogue, theme songs, etc. from everything from Futurama to Bear in the Big Blue House to Mystery Men to The Angry Beavers. This just provides fun little random interludes.
Genre contains "TV and Movie Themes"
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Match all
Limit to 10 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeOldest
Note: This is the big one, the largest piece of the playlist spaghetti. This will contribute about half of the songs to the playlist when all is said and done. This is the music with the least recent "last played" dates. (Also any that are blank because they've never been played.)
Playlist is Only Music
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is 0
Match all
Limit to 150 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludePurchased
Note: Keeps the purchased items in slightly higher rotation.
Playlist is Purchased (built-in iTunes playlist)
Playlist is Only Music
Playist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 25 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeSkip1
Note: It gets harder to get on the list once you've been skipped. The next few playlists let a few songs on the list, but it gets progressively harder to get played as your skip count increases.
Skip Count is 1
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 5 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeSkip2
Skip Count is 2
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 4 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeSkip3
Skip Count is 3
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 3 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeSkip4
Skip Count is 4
Playlist is not z-Exclude
Last Skipped is not in the last 2 months
Last Played is not in the last 6 months
Match all
Limit to 1 items selected by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-IncludeTopThisYear
Note: This pulls in the top 15 (it says 20, but remember that the very top 5 will be excluded) most listened to songs. This and a few of the other "popular" lists were needed because before they were added, the list was a little dull at times.
Last Played is in the last 6 months
Last Played is not in the last 3 weeks
Playlist is not z-Exclude1
Skip Count is less than 2
Match all
Limit to 20 items by most often played
Match only checked items
Live updating
Christian Music
Note: This pulls all Christian music, unless it's been commented/tagged "[xChristian]" - there's some stuff on WOW and some Veggie Tales stuff I want to exclude because it's too jarring, too inconsistent with the rest of the music. We only pull the top 800 least recently played (just temporarily keeps the most recently played off the list).
Playlist is z-Christian Music
Last skipped is not in the last 12 months
Skip Count is less than 6
Comment does not contain [xChristian]
Match all
Limit to 800 items by least recently played
Match only checked items
Live updating
z-Christian Music
Genre contains Religious
Genre contains Christian
Genre contains Gospel
Comment contains Christian
Match any
Match only checked items
Live Updating
Only Music
Playlist is not Audiobooks (built-in iTunes playlist)
Genre is not TV Shows
Podcast is false
Kind is not mov
Genre is not Podcast
Genre is not Spoken Word
Genre is not Audiobooks
Kind is not PDF Document
Playlist is not Movies (built-in iTunes playlist)
Playlist is not TV Shows (built-in iTunes playlist)
Playlist is Music (built-in iTunes playlist)
Match all
Match only checked items
Live Updating
z-Christmas
Note: I usually keep all unchecked except "Jingle Bells" by Barenaked Ladies. Starting in October(!), I'll start checking a few boxes a day to ease into the holidays and by Thanksgiving I'll have all of them checked.
Comment contains Christmas
Album contains Christmas
Album contains Holiday
Genre contains Holiday
Match any
Live updating
z-James25
Note: This was originally supposed to be my list of my 25 favorite songs, but I had a hard time keeping it to that, so there's a lot more in there. I suppose I could have used a standard playlist like Lori does. *shrug*
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Comment contains [James25]
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Also one I like, but not part of the list above (not required by any list up there)
Sunday Afternoon
Note: Ok, so this is a complex one. This one mixes Christian music with my general smart playlist at a much more even mixture rate. There are certain songs in my playlist that I like that are really probably ones I wouldn't want my church friends to hear playing. The "[xSunday]" tag makes sure they don't play in this Sunday afternoon list. Also, they can't have been skipped, and they must have already been played. Not something just purchased or something from the iTunes free song of the week that I'm not yet sure about the content of. Goal of this is that we can play it on Sunday afternoon on the home computer with children around.
Playlist is z-Sunday Afternoon
Playlist is not z-Instrumental
Comment does not contain [xJames]Comment does not contain [xChristian]
Comment does not contain [xSunday]
Skip count is less than 1
Play count is greater than 1
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Limit to 300 items selected by least often played
Match only checked items
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z-Sunday Afternoon
Playlist is Master List
Playlist is Christian Music
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Limit to 1,000 by least recently played
Match only checked items
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Friday, August 14, 2009
You Wanna Have What...???!?!
Typically, this would something I just post to Twitter/Facebook and move on, but I feel like I need a few more characters to avoid some embarassment.
I have a station on Pandora that I call "Just Dance" - I started with Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" as a seed and have given a thumbs up to most high energy dance songs and anything with a slow beat I've given thumbs down. I use that playlist while I'm working on the Nintendo Wii Fit.
I've given thumbs up to "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls. Well, there's a lyric in the song that I had to recently go and look up because it sounds to clearly like they're singing something that when you hear it you go "Really? You're singing that?" So I went and looked it up on KissThisGuy* and was glad to learn I was not alone in my mishearing. Though I still mishear it every time, even though I know what it should be. I was, however, embarassed to see that I was probably at least a decade older than everyone else mishearing this lyric (or at least reporting their mishear. Though I am proud of all the teenagers who have found out about this site. Pretty sure it's been around as long as I've been married meaning most of these teenagers were my daughter's age - if born at all - when it was founded. Yeah, copyright says 2006, but it's been around for a *lot* longer than that.)
On the other hand, maybe that means if I keep listening to this station I'll still be relevant when my daughter starts listening to music. (Will there still be broadcast radio when she's old enough to start getting into music?)
(*As in "Excuse me while I kiss this guy," in case you're not familiar with this fun and very old school internet archive or lyrics that never were.)
I have a station on Pandora that I call "Just Dance" - I started with Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" as a seed and have given a thumbs up to most high energy dance songs and anything with a slow beat I've given thumbs down. I use that playlist while I'm working on the Nintendo Wii Fit.
I've given thumbs up to "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls. Well, there's a lyric in the song that I had to recently go and look up because it sounds to clearly like they're singing something that when you hear it you go "Really? You're singing that?" So I went and looked it up on KissThisGuy* and was glad to learn I was not alone in my mishearing. Though I still mishear it every time, even though I know what it should be. I was, however, embarassed to see that I was probably at least a decade older than everyone else mishearing this lyric (or at least reporting their mishear. Though I am proud of all the teenagers who have found out about this site. Pretty sure it's been around as long as I've been married meaning most of these teenagers were my daughter's age - if born at all - when it was founded. Yeah, copyright says 2006, but it's been around for a *lot* longer than that.)
On the other hand, maybe that means if I keep listening to this station I'll still be relevant when my daughter starts listening to music. (Will there still be broadcast radio when she's old enough to start getting into music?)
(*As in "Excuse me while I kiss this guy," in case you're not familiar with this fun and very old school internet archive or lyrics that never were.)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Vroom!
Those silly Googlers. Apparently they recently took the Google camera car onto the Laguna Seca Raceway. They're in a pack (look in front and behind) of some really nice cars.
View Larger Map
I notice that some of the Lowes logos are blurred and some aren't. Is this the Google software thinking they're license plates and blurring them? (Or is it just that even Google knows that The Home Depot rocks.)
View Larger Map
I notice that some of the Lowes logos are blurred and some aren't. Is this the Google software thinking they're license plates and blurring them? (Or is it just that even Google knows that The Home Depot rocks.)
Monday, August 10, 2009
Get Over It
I'd like to think you, my dear readers, are a more advanced lot. Most of you read my blog (and many others) using Google Reader. Even more of you read it through the Facebook cross-posting. The rest of you are probably advanced enough that it's unlikely that any of my friends will even see this.
But, I'm jumping on the Stop Using Internet Explorer 6 bandwagon. I've added code from IE6NoMore.com which puts a warning banner at the top of my site if you're using IE6 encouraging you to download Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chome or even Microsoft Internet Explorer 8. As long as so many people use IE6, we're stuck in the 2001 web. And in web years, that's like superglacial (heck, even in real life, that's ancient. I didn't have any children then.).
But, I'm jumping on the Stop Using Internet Explorer 6 bandwagon. I've added code from IE6NoMore.com which puts a warning banner at the top of my site if you're using IE6 encouraging you to download Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chome or even Microsoft Internet Explorer 8. As long as so many people use IE6, we're stuck in the 2001 web. And in web years, that's like superglacial (heck, even in real life, that's ancient. I didn't have any children then.).
Sunday, August 09, 2009
120: A coincidence inhibits the process
Random sentence provided by Google: A coincidence inhibits the process.
It was supposed to be a simple process. The math was sound, it had been tested 100 times on inanimate objects of varying sizes. It had even been tested successfully on several small mice. Unwilling subjects, they had still been happy for the cheese they'd received in exchange for participating in the experiment. The risk hadn't been great, but it was still an exciting moment for science. If this worked correctly, time travel would be completely and totally possible.
But now it was hosed. The power surge right at the exact moment of the first human test caused Rupert to not travel through time, but be copied in time. So now there were two of him, 15 seconds apart in age, the younger repeating everything the older said. Quite annoying, really.
It was supposed to be a simple process. The math was sound, it had been tested 100 times on inanimate objects of varying sizes. It had even been tested successfully on several small mice. Unwilling subjects, they had still been happy for the cheese they'd received in exchange for participating in the experiment. The risk hadn't been great, but it was still an exciting moment for science. If this worked correctly, time travel would be completely and totally possible.
But now it was hosed. The power surge right at the exact moment of the first human test caused Rupert to not travel through time, but be copied in time. So now there were two of him, 15 seconds apart in age, the younger repeating everything the older said. Quite annoying, really.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Cold Calls
There's an evil company in Atlanta called The List, Inc. ( http://www.thelistinc.com/ ) For reasons I can't understand, they've added me to their database. They claim that everyone on the list wants to be there and that they regularly verify the accuracy of their information. I can state for a fact that I know this is inaccurate, because I hunted down a phone number for them and called them and asked to be removed from their database, and yet I still get cold calls so completely out of the arena in which I work that it's almost 100% obvious that they have come from this source. So much now that I don't answer the office phone if I don't recognize the number that's calling. So, I'm taking a new tactic. If they're going to cold-call me, this is how I'm going to respond. Maybe someday it will pay off.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi James,
My name is ............, and I am the interactive client strategist with ......, a marketing agency based in Florida. I will be traveling the next 2 weeks, but would like to set up a time to speak, Thursday or Friday of next week.
As you know, everyone is talking about Social Media. Most organizations, though, fall into 2 camps: waiting to see what happens, or attempting to create a presence but not truly approaching Social Media for what it really is: a tactic. A tactic, however, that should be incorporated into your overall marketing strategy. Only then can it be leveraged to truly drive business.
(You can view a social media video case study for one of .....'s clients.)
And that is what I do here at ......: help our clients leverage their brands online by engaging customers, lately with a specific emphasis on Social Media. As you can imagine, as a tactic, it is becoming more and more important in the mix.
I have spoken at a number of conferences recently on this topic: presentation and interview.
Basically, I work with my clients to use social media to engage their customers. In the case of .........., I am sure you have existing agency relationships, but I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and discuss how we can apply .......'s 10 step process to build a social media strategy, and help you leverage the great work you are already doing.
Please let me know whether Wednesday or sometime Thursday morning will work for you, for us to speak.
Thank you for allowing me to interrupt your (I'm sure) busy day.
Best regards,
......
..... .....
Director, Interactive Services Group
..............
............, FL .....
..........-mobile ...........-main ...........-direct ......-fax
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. ..........,
Thanks for your email, I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you how non-profits have been hurt by this economy.
I'm excited to hear that you'd like to volunteer your time and services to ......... and help the [...].
I am afraid I'm not permitted to directly engage outside services, even if they are being offered pro-bono but I'd be happy to put you in touch with someone who can work with you to formalize the relationship. In the meantime, I'd encourage you to look over our site to see how we might better use social media, maybe even make a contribution [...], and by all means, if there are quick wins that you can see right away where we should be doing something we aren't currently, please shoot me an email.
Thanks,
James
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi James,
My name is ............, and I am the interactive client strategist with ......, a marketing agency based in Florida. I will be traveling the next 2 weeks, but would like to set up a time to speak, Thursday or Friday of next week.
As you know, everyone is talking about Social Media. Most organizations, though, fall into 2 camps: waiting to see what happens, or attempting to create a presence but not truly approaching Social Media for what it really is: a tactic. A tactic, however, that should be incorporated into your overall marketing strategy. Only then can it be leveraged to truly drive business.
(You can view a social media video case study for one of .....'s clients.)
And that is what I do here at ......: help our clients leverage their brands online by engaging customers, lately with a specific emphasis on Social Media. As you can imagine, as a tactic, it is becoming more and more important in the mix.
I have spoken at a number of conferences recently on this topic: presentation and interview.
Basically, I work with my clients to use social media to engage their customers. In the case of .........., I am sure you have existing agency relationships, but I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and discuss how we can apply .......'s 10 step process to build a social media strategy, and help you leverage the great work you are already doing.
Please let me know whether Wednesday or sometime Thursday morning will work for you, for us to speak.
Thank you for allowing me to interrupt your (I'm sure) busy day.
Best regards,
......
..... .....
Director, Interactive Services Group
..............
............, FL .....
..........-mobile ...........-main ...........-direct ......-fax
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. ..........,
Thanks for your email, I'm sure I'm not the first to tell you how non-profits have been hurt by this economy.
I'm excited to hear that you'd like to volunteer your time and services to ......... and help the [...].
I am afraid I'm not permitted to directly engage outside services, even if they are being offered pro-bono but I'd be happy to put you in touch with someone who can work with you to formalize the relationship. In the meantime, I'd encourage you to look over our site to see how we might better use social media, maybe even make a contribution [...], and by all means, if there are quick wins that you can see right away where we should be doing something we aren't currently, please shoot me an email.
Thanks,
James
Monday, August 03, 2009
Woo hoo
Not only have the idiots at the Box network been fired and horribly killed and Planet Express is back on the air (errr... in the air), but the new idiots have done something right... thank you to Fox and the stars of Futurama to the compromise that brings back the original voices.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Sorry, couldn't resist
Saturday, August 01, 2009
If I'd Wanted an Oil Change, I Would Have Gone to Jiffy Lube
Stupid Firestone. They're on my list. At least the one in Federal Way is. (Congrats, you're now as evil as United and Sprint.)
I went in at 11:30 am today to have an oil change and have my A/C looked at, because I had a coupon for both ($20/each). Guy says they're really busy, it would be about 4 hours until they could look at it. Could I leave it? IM'd Lori who said that Ben was napping and she had hair appointments for Ben and Rach in the afternoon, so she wouldn't be able to come get me.
The guy helpfully suggests making an appointment for 10 am tomorrow. No thanks, dude, church. So I ask if I can make an appointment for the spot 4 hours from now and he says "Sure" and takes all my info.
I spent the afternoon working in the yard, really hot. Car was also parked outside, also really hot. Drive over there, get there and there's a different guy there now and he only mentions the oil change. I mention the A/C service and he hems and haws and says that there's no way they could get to it today. He asked me if I still wanted to do the oil change.
I just stared at him for a few seconds trying to formulate an answer. I finally just wordlessly turned, walked out the door and drove home.
I went in at 11:30 am today to have an oil change and have my A/C looked at, because I had a coupon for both ($20/each). Guy says they're really busy, it would be about 4 hours until they could look at it. Could I leave it? IM'd Lori who said that Ben was napping and she had hair appointments for Ben and Rach in the afternoon, so she wouldn't be able to come get me.
The guy helpfully suggests making an appointment for 10 am tomorrow. No thanks, dude, church. So I ask if I can make an appointment for the spot 4 hours from now and he says "Sure" and takes all my info.
I spent the afternoon working in the yard, really hot. Car was also parked outside, also really hot. Drive over there, get there and there's a different guy there now and he only mentions the oil change. I mention the A/C service and he hems and haws and says that there's no way they could get to it today. He asked me if I still wanted to do the oil change.
I just stared at him for a few seconds trying to formulate an answer. I finally just wordlessly turned, walked out the door and drove home.
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