@CBS: We're not going to take this anymore!

If you don't recognize the title of this post, shame on you. Go here (Wikipedia) and here (YouTube). [Language warnings on both.]

I love this interaction (image below) on Facebook. Zoom in to read it. Time Warner Cable has dropped CBS and they're trying to get people to call Time Warner and complain. Or switch to a competitor like DirecTV or DISH.  Oops... guess they're fighting with DISH right now, too.

But people are starting to wise up. We are no longer sheep without a voice, at the whim of an elite few who will tell us what to watch and when to watch it. Change or die, right?

Time to tell CBS and Time Warner that we're not their pawns. (Sorry, I realize that's ironic.)

Facebook is lazy.

Greedy Facebook is misguided and greedy.  And possibly lazy.

Hey Mark, you're so rich, you buy her the mug.

Wha.. Why?

Behold!  I give you the "Lowes Hardware Danger Challenge Course Extravaganza" - a three part rather silly and seemingly unnecessary and potentially hazardous bike lane that crosses two car paths and at one point has car traffic on both sides of it.

I think you park in the Lowes parking lot, ride half a block and then walk back to your car having killed and 2 minutes and avoided getting run over by fast moving traffic.

Click to enlarge

Here's the street on Google Maps*.  That whole section to the west was entirely moved south and rebuilt after the Lowes was built and the corner rebuilt, so it's not even like they can claim that they would add more as they rebuilt the streets nearby.

*I would have zoomed in more but it wants to do that stupid 45 degree tilt thing which makes it very difficult to see the street.  (You can turn it off when you're in Google Maps, but there doesn't seem to be any way to create links that have it turned off.  Very stupid.  Boo, Google!)

This is broken.

Ok, the sign reads "DOOR MUST STAY CLOSED. This will allow the A/C to cool properly. DO NOT PROP DOOR OPEN."  And then at the bottom of the door?  A doorstop permanently involved?  How does this happen?  Someone probably wandered over to that aisle, grabbed one, screwed it onto the door.  (Wonder if they even paid for it?)  This was on the door to the staff lounge at our local @HomeDepot.  More Failing, More Doing.

Bad Interface: Microsoft

What a dumb interface. Ok, to unsubscribe from these newsletters, check the "subscribe" checkboxes and then click "unsubscribe." A few small changes would make this incredibly friendly and easy to understand:

1. Words at the top which read "Here are the newsletters you are subscribed to."
2. Either put checkmarks in the "subscribe" checkboxes to indicate that you're subscribed. (Unsubscribe by unchecking.) --or--
3. Change the heading to say "Unsubscribe" above the checkboxes.

I expect more from Microsoft. There will be plenty of Microsoft bashers who will say this is not atypical for Microsoft, but I expect more. They are the 8,000-pound gorilla, so they should have enough money to properly test and think through how a product works, because this is just poor, poor, poor/dumb, dumb, dumb.

Just in case I misunderstood what I was supposed to do, I did go and mark the newsletters as junk/spam.

iDork

MYFOXDW.COM -- Lady with $16k in cash shows up 15 minutes before the 6 pm reopening of an AT&T store in Dallas. Offers the kid at the front of the line $800 if he'll give up his space in line. He says sure and steps out of line and she steps in. Doors open, she walks in, announces that she wants to buy every iPhone in the store. AT&T employee informs her of the rule that it's one-phone-per-person... if you've followed any sort of coverage about the iPhone at all, you would have known this. She apparently didn't. The kid later gets his iPhone and every imaginable accessory for it, all for free. Ha. Watch the video...

What's a Website?

It's a place where you can make fun of people who live in caves. Except it's not really a place. It's a bunch of computers connected by a series of tubes. Your children or grandchildren can show you what interweb superway is all about. Sheesh.

Customer Disservice

I give up. This is an actual e-mail. I've re-ordered the pieces for easier blog readability.

PART 1 - ORIGINAL E-MAIL

> -----Original Message-----
> From: --------
> Sent: Mar 17, 2007 5:20:20 PM
> Subject: Amazon Promo Center Email
>
> First Name:
> Last Name: -------
> Email: -------
> Zip Code: --------
> Phone: ---------
> Rebate For: MOTOROLA RAZR V3I PHONE (CINGULAR)
> Comments: We canceled the order and return the phones to Wirefly. (One
> was defective and they don't do exchanges.) We've repurchased the phones
> through Amazon.com instead and so ------ isn't a valid request
> anymore. Sorry for the hassle.
> Tracking Number: ------

PART 2 - THEIR FIRST RESPONSE

On 3/19/07, Amazon Rebates wrote:
>
> Dear ------------: Tracking number: ------------
>
> Thank you for your rebate inquiry. We are pleased to inform you that your
> submission has been received, and it is in the final stages of validation.
> Once we have verified that you have maintained your service for 90 days, the
> rebate should be mailed within 30 days.
>
> We appreciate your participation in this promotion. If there is anything
> else we can do to assist you, please contact us at
> amazon_consumer@parago.com. We are always happy to help.
>
> You can also track the status of your rebate, using the Tracking number
> above, at www.rebateshq.com/amazon-rebates.
>
> Eddy
> Promotions Customer Services

PART 3 - MY RESPONSE TO THEIR RESPONSE

-----Original Message-----
From: -------------
Sent: Mar 19, 2007 10:30:01 PM
Subject: Re: Amazon Promo Center Email (#----------)

Hi, actually, if you'll re-read my original e-mail, we've canceled the order
and returned the phones to Wirefly. We no longer qualify for the rebate.
Just wanted to let you know so you could cancel the refund request.
Thanks/sorry.

PART 4 - THE POINT AT WHICH I GAVE UP

Dear ----------:

Thank you for your rebate inquiry. Your rebate is in the final stages of validation. Once we have verification of your purchase/service, the rebate should be mailed within 30 days. Generally, verification takes no more than 14 days, but sometime it can take up to 30 days.

We appreciate your participation in this promotion. If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please contact us at amazon_consumer@parago.com. We are always happy to help.

You can also track the status of your rebate, using the Tracking number above, at www.rebateshq.com/amazon-rebates.

Eddy
Promotions Customer Services