First Impressions: @Amazon @Restaurants

Ok, it is cool that Amazon Restaurants¹ does have the Twitter handle @restaurants. That's pretty slick.

We used the Amazon Restaurant platform tonight for the first time to order from a local restaurant We tried a few weeks ago, but we couldn't get past the part where you pay. No matter what we did, it wouldn't let us use one of the existing credit cards, wouldn't let us enter a new one on my wife's account using Chrome on a PC. The credit cards on the account did not match the payment options I see in normal Amazon.²

Tonight we had the same problem on my Mac using Chrome but I reloaded a few times and it was finally successful. I was about to try Safari, but I think it's a cop-out if I have to use a different browser to get it to work. (Via Twitter, Amazon Help suggested I clear my cache or try a different browser. That's a lazy suggestion.)

Also, the search box at the top has nothing to do with Amazon Restaurants.³

We put the order together and had it ready to go. The confirmation screen showed the approximate delivery time. We noticed that if we let it sit there for 10 minutes and then reloaded, it didn't refresh. We had to leave the cart and re-enter the cart to get updated delivery time.⁴

A $10 coupon was applied, but there was no explanation why. when I attempted to use one of the ones I'd received in email for No Rush Prime, it acted like it was accepted, but did not change the total.

We placed the order, got a text message confirming. Then another text telling us that the order would be delivered incomplete and to look for an email. Turned out they couldn't provide the appetizer and would be providing me a refund. There was no option to cancel the order and there was no option to add to the order.⁵

There was a map that showed the restaurant and our house. In a cool/creepy way, it updated to show the food making its way to our house. Amazing what GPS and cell phones allow.

In the end, we were able to enjoy our New Year's Eve date-at-home but without me needing to pick up food. It's pretty rudimentary at the moment, not quite as polished as you'd expect from an Amazon product, but we'll use it again and looking forward to seeing how the platform improves over time.

Happy New Year!
¹ Affiliate link. If you buy, I get pennies for books.
² Suggestion for future release - Make AR's payment options match Amazon's payment options; make AR more resilient on Chrome
³ Suggestion for future release - make the search look for restaurants or look within a menu
⁴ Suggestion for future release - the ability to select the delivery window; also make the delivery time refresh if you reload the cart
⁵ Suggestion for future release - the ability to cancel the entire order; a window during which you can add to your order

Lie Down, Sheep

Notes captured into Evernote from a sermon, undated

4 reasons sheep struggle to lie down

Grass is greener on the other side

1) fear
* When sheep are tense they cannot rest because they are on alert
* What causes sheep to be less fearful? (The shepherd)

2) Tension
* Contention and jealousy exists between sheep and is detrimental to the flock
* what calms them? (The shepherd)

3) aggravation (flies)
* We are all bound to a life of "being bugged"
* prayer and the Holy Spirit can help
* Practical steps can help too

4) hunger
* Sheep cannot rest if they are hungry
* Bethlehem was a wasteland. Green pastures don't happen by accident.
* God is always at work trying to help his people experience plentiful lives.
* What has the good shepherd done for you?
* Sometimes he had to break rocks, sow seeds, water, till the land

He sees the end from the beginning.

Thirst - caused by a lack of water - can only be quenched by an outside source. (We cannot make ourselves less-thirsty.)