Category: Opinions

What I think about things

The Christmas Season

John Snider over at “American Freethought“, source of a podcast I very much enjoy, posted a message asking how folks deal with the holidays. i.e. do we avoid all things “Christmas” or go with the flow…

Here is my response:

Hi John,

I enjoy the whole of the winter holiday season. There seems so little left of religiosity by the time both the religions and the merchandisers get through with it that there isn’t very much to take exception to.

The Christmas music is pleasant, I enjoy gift giving (and receiving), I love seeing my family and having an excuse to see my friends even more often than usual under festive circumstances.

My friends know me as an avowed atheist and we are all respectful of each other as there are some quite religious folks numbered among them. We have occasional spirited debates but they aren’t at all stressful for me and, I earnestly believe, they are informative for my sparring partner(s).

It’s hard to get upset over the quaint rituals of outdated 2000 year old bronze-age sky god ramblings or with their reinvention as marketing tools that, as a byproduct, give this time of year it’s uniqueness…

Marc

Quotes – 01

“It is easier to have a strong opinion when you lack information.”

– Michael Crichton

I was listening to a 2003 interview with Mr. Crichton on the “Tech Nation” podcast and he was describing a time shortly after he had written the book “Rising Sun”. There were several members on a board on which he served who were threatening to quit the board if he did not resign since Michael was obviously a racist. On being asked, none of the objecting board members had actually read the book, they had just heard that it was a racist tome.

It’s pretty obvious that, far from making decisions and issues simpler, more knowledge, more information can tease out even more issues that take you from an apparently black and white situation of an idealised fantasy world to the omnipresent gray that represents the real world.

So beware of people who tell you with confidence that their pat, simple answer is the only right way to go. They either do not know what they are talking about, they are ignoring large aspects of the situation or they are lying to you.

It is OK to have an informed opinion, but there is no opinion that is valid out of context. Be sure you understand that context.

Blaupunkt Melbourne SD27 Installed at Fry’s Electronics

I’ve owned my venerable Honda Odyssey for just under 12 years now. It’s exactly what I wanted in a vehicle size-wise and performance-wise. The original stereo that came with it sports a cassette player that’s worked very well all these years.

I’ve been using a headset-jack-to-cassette adapter to listen to my podcasts for the past three or four years. A couple of weeks ago the adapter started acting up, causing the tape player to simply turn off. Also, the lights on the radio had failed and I was growing tired of the half-a$$ed adapter solution anyway since nearly 100% of my listening is of the iPod.

So I did some research looking for a replacement radio that catered to my iPod needs. There are some pretty slick devices out there, even some where the faceplate folds forward and allows you to slide the iPod into it.
But such a design definitely limits you to certain iPod models and I’d hate to have to change out my car stereo every time I update my iPod. Also, I really like the well thought-out menu system on my iPod and take advantage of how it functions to listen to my podcasts in a way that works well for me already. Many of the car stereo systems offered their own menu system and controlled the iPod directly and, according to reviews on Amazon and other places, poorly.

So I settled on the Blaupunkt Melbourne SD27. It’s VERY basic, it has AM/FM (I conceded that I may someday actually need to listen to the radio), no CD player, no tape player. It *does* have an SD/MMC slot that I’ll fill with a chip containing pleasant driving music someday when I can woot a huge capacity SD chip cheaply. I also opted for the optional iPod cable so I could listen to / charge the iPod while still using its menu system. I actually have a holster already mounted on my between-seat console that allows me to safely park the iPod when I’m not handling it.

I headed over to Fry’s Electronics on Highway 9 at Webb Road. I *love* Fry’s, I could wander around inside there all day browsing the cool electronics that they offer. And that’s saying something because I’m not really known as a retail shopper…

The interior staff were very helpful, when they didn’t know something they got someone who did. Shortly I was outfitted with my new radio, mounting bracket, cables and my optional iPod cable. I elected to have them do the installation as well recalling from my youth the joys of hanging out under the dashboard fiddling with wires and connections while maintaining some yogic “Z” pose between the seat, the doorjamb and the fusebox. The radio itself cost only $50. By the time I was finished the tab was $150. $40 of that was for installation.

So I had a guy working on my car, let’s call him “Nick”, I hand him all the pieces and walk away. About 40 minutes later I catch him walking rapidly away from the install bays (he has a lunch date with a comely lass from inside the store) and he lets me know all is ready to go.

I head back to the install bays, stopping at my car before going in and checking out the new stereo. The iPod side works great, but I can’t get any radio stations. So I head inside and meet the other guy who works there, let’s call him “Johnny” and he comes out and pulls out the radio to find that the antenna is not connected. “Problem solved” I think. I check and all the stations that I normally would care about are coming in loud and clear.

So we head inside where he realizes that the post-install checklist hasn’t been done. He asks if I’ve checked the power outlet (old / retarded people will call this the cigarette lighter – what a bizzarre concept..). I’m kind of in a hurry now, but I figure this is a good idea and go back out and… no… it’s not working. Johnny’s not real happy that Nick’s libido has left him with this extra work. So he comes out and dismantles the lower part of my dashboard again and hooks up the power outlet.

We head back in and he say’s, “Oh yeah, is the air conditioner working?”, again I’m tempted to say “I’m sure it is, let’s just call it a day.” but I head back out and the air conditioner is working fine. However, the hot-to-cold lever is stuck. Looks like the cable is binding. So Johnny, looking even less happy now comes back out, dismantles the lower dash again and corrects this little ‘nit.

When he’s done he goes back inside and I decide to check out the radio again. As before, the iPod still works great but my radio stations are gone. I head back in to let Johnny know and he, obviously tired of the whole affair, tells me that the radio reception in this area is really poor. I tell him that it was fine the last time he hooked up the antenna but he is insistent. About this time Nick comes back, looking rather happy so I suppose his lunch went well, and he joins in with Johnny about how terrible radio reception is in Alpharetta generally and that the building is probably blocking the reception. So they move my car in the parking lot to a spot where the reception should be better and play with the radio settings. Sometime during this Johnny has disappeared, apparently it’s his turn to head out to lunch.

So, after further discussion Nick again removes the radio and, sure enough the anenna is no longer attached. Apparently there is a weakness in the adapter between North American antenna connectors and those used by the Germans. So he adjust things and plugs everything back together.

I check ALL my systems and finally everything appears to be working. So, nearly 3 hours later (and being the only install being performed during that time), I finally get to return to work from my “Lunch”.

So far things are working, although in all honesty I haven’t used my radio since then (about a week and a half ago). But, worryingly, I went through Wendy’s drive-thru and when I went to my little coin holder in the dash I found, along with correct change for a hamburger, a lone screw that presumably came from my dashboard. Spare part I suppose?

I also note that the radio doesn’t dim when I turn on my lights even though I know it’s supposed to. Fortunately, since I’m one of those oddballs who actually turn on my lights during the day, this works out for me as I find the lights inside my car too dim during the day anyway and the display is not an issue for me at night so I’m leaving well enough alone. The car is old enough that I want folks monkeying around with it as little as possible.

Overall, I’m very happy to have a direct iPod connection with no more worries about the iPod battery becoming exhausted. The radio looks very attractive, to their credit the Fry’s installers managed to not damage the dash or the radio mounts in any obvious ways so I’m very pleased with that. But I post this as a warning. Make sure you check EVERYTHING you can think of in your dash before you leave…

Odd that nobody pays attention to those that are supposedly losing out

In this article about a mailman in North Carolina who simply stopped delivering junk mail, I find it both amusing and odd that the fact that nobody complained or was even remotely bothered that their junk mail did not make its way to them was noted by either the direct marketing association spokesperson or by the mail service that enables them.

Admittedly, there is money being made and that’s the driver. But any drug pusher or criminal has that motivation too.

We receive *thousands* of pieces of this crap every year. I do what I can to minimize it. I’ve even contacted some of the more egregious catalog senders to have them limit their mailings to a few times per year (Victoria’s Secret graciously responded and now I get something maybe quarterly rather than weekly. Can you imagine how many catalogs I had to receive before even *I* didn’t want to look at them anymore???).

This year again, the AOPA Air Safety foundation sent me a half dozen thick envelopes filled with sample cards in spite of my contacting them to ask them to reduce such. I received no response at all from a recent email to them. I declined to purchase this year as a result.

There are a lot of necessary excesses that we learn to tolerate as a price for our way of life. We see things like driving 1-2 tons of metal a mile to get a $2 quart of milk as reasonable and (somehow) proper. But some things simply have no value-add in my life, and I believe in most other folks’ lives. In my opinion, anything that is unsolicited and provides no benefit, even as a side-effect (TV ads, for instance, at least provide the entertainment value of the accompanying programming), can be stamped out without hesitation.

The world’s ugliest buildings

I checked out this article on the CNN website and have to disagree completely with the premise that the buildings are all “ugly”. The only one that jarred my sensibilities was the Scottish Parliament – it just looks like a tenement with laundry hanging off the balconies.

Admittedly the word “ugly” is a subjective one so it’s all about opinion, but for the most part those buildings seem to me to simply stand out. The term “landmark” could just as easily be used in most cases…

Iron Man – wow!

Just saw “Iron Man“. Now *that’s* the way a super-hero movie is supposed to be done. A little funny, stretch reality a bit and use top-notch actors and special effects.

When I saw the 2003 version of “Hulk” I thought, “Uh oh… I hope this doesn’t mean all sci fi will flush plot and plausibility down down the toilet like this.”. Unfortunately a lot of movies seemed to follow that path and I found much of the comics to movie genre not that palatable. I’ve never been much of a superhero comic kind of guy so often my first exposure to these are through their Hollywood movies. Dismal examples include “The Fantastic 4”, “Hulk”, “Transformers” – all of which, had I been an afficionado from days gone by, I might have been able to overlook the terrible character development and flimsy plots due to nostalgia. But without that background I found the movies terribly lacking in depth and plausibility (and I’m really not that hard to please that way).

Movies that got it right include “X-Men”, “Batman Begins”, maybe “Superman” and now “Iron Man”.

As a side note I have to say Robert Downey Jr. *really* carries this move. His is an understated presence that just fills ths screen.

Gwyneth Paltrow seems under used, but I am imagining that this is to do with how the character she is portraying is represented in the comic books?

Voting – Holy Crap!

I just got back from my sad, sorry attempt to cast my votes for this election. At the advanced voting station, in this frigid weather (showing 34 degrees by my thermometer), there was a line out a couple of hundred yards and 4-5 strong wide outside of the building.

How incompetent a system are we running that it’s going to take me *how* many hours, business hours, to cast my vote?

I’m originally from Canada. A country which, in many ways, is not as sophisticated as the United States. But in some ways – consumer oriented banking and voting. Was VASTLY ahead of us. I cannot recall EVER having to wait more than 20 minutes to get into the polling station and then be on my way again. Maybe I was lucky, but I was then, as I am now, on the outskirts of one of the larger cities in Canada. If anything, I’m now *farther* away from the urban core. And yet we can’t figure out how to do this efficiently?

Come on! It’s not like this is unusual or a surprise. We have a MAJOR election every 4 years! And zillions of minor ones it seems all the time. Who’s the genius who thinks this is acceptable?

*sigh* I’ll try again at 3 pm… and probably again nearer to 6. I’ve invested the time to be aware of the candidates and the issues, I can’t believe I’ll be stymied by bureaucratic incompetence… oh, wait… that’s what bureaucratic incompetence is all about…

** Update 4:00 pm **
Just got back, the line looks a *little* thinner but was longer yet and, at over 2 hundred yards, was still ridiculous.  I guess this means that only the retired, the unemployed and convicts are able to vote these days?  That could go along way toward understanding the caliber of congress we have…

** Update November 4 **
I have to say that I was impressed. The polling station was open and uncrowded, direction was excellent and it only took me about 15-20 minutes to get in, vote and get out.  So I have to take back some of what I said above. I cannot at all understand what the frenzy surrounding advance voting was all about but I’m glad to see the fears were unwarranted.
Kudos. And yes – regardless of who wins the election, this IS THE BEST COUNTRY THIS PLANET HAS EVER SEEN.

Georgia Voter Guide

I just took advantage of the AJC’s “Georgia Voter Guide” to prep myself for the ballot items I’d be facing for this year’s election. It was great to be able to sit back and review each of the 44 (!) items in the comfort of my home with access to Google to help me look up items with which I was unfamiliar.

I urge anybody who matters to be sure that you a) vote and b) vote for things you understand. If you’re just going to pick the prez without any consideration of the zillions of other more local and, honestly more relevant to you, items then why not just save yourself the time and stay home and watch Nascar or WWE reruns instead…

Trust and the customer

I recently had lunch at the Atlanta Bread Company (the one on Old Milton near Northpoint Parkway). The food was good and the experience enjoyable enough. Later in the day, when I was cleaning out my pockets, I happened across my lunch receipt and was about to discard it when I saw that they had overcharged me for both my meal and for my drink. The amount was not great about 40 cents for the meal and 20 for the drink, but it irked me that they should be so cavalier or careless with one of their customers. Admittedly *I* was also careless in not double-checking my receipt but the price was in the right ballpark and I was thinking about other things at the time.

Even though the amount is not great, I do not like dealing with people and businesses on whom I need to keep a watchful eye.

For me, this is not limited to being overcharged. I’m also not at all happy when the error is in my favor. If I look at a price-list and the final receipt is for less than I expect. I am left to wonder if we both are agreeing to what we think we are agreeing to. Certainly if the other person tells me “We’re having a 10% off promotion for these items today.” and then goes on to apply it then I’m satisfied (ok, ok pretty happy that I lucked into their offering) but the mystery is gone and I know with certainty what is going on.

That fast food drive-thrus began using those confirmation screens where you can see your order forming as you place it is great boon. I’d say probably 1 in 4 times using it I end up making corrections since I can see where they have either not heard me correctly or they have made bad assumptions about my order.
Recently, the Wendy’s restaurant that I eat at a couple of times a week for lunch has stopped using their confirmation screen. Now I’m finding that my order is wrong about a third of the time and I need to check it at the window before driving off. Little things like cheese on a hamburger, wrong condiments, etc. But the point is that now it’s something that I need to be alert for.

My expectations have been raised over the years and those expectations are:

  • I’ll get what I paid for
  • I’ll pay what we agreed (based on price tags or posted prices)
  • I’ll get it when we agreed

If I detect a problem, I’ll correct it or have it corrected by speaking up to the person with whom I am dealing.
If I don’t notice the problem until later or if it will be awkward for others with me I’ll often send a message to the business involved to let them know. Where I receive a satisfactory response, and even a “we’re sorry, here’s what happened” can be sufficient, I can be mollified.

But violate my trust or ignore my complaint and I simply vote with my dollars. The Atlanta Bread Company item above is a situation where it’s not worth my time or the hassle of rectification, I simply will not go there again for a long time. Probably 6 months or a year. It’s not a matter of holding a grudge, it’s a matter of not wanting to feel irked and there are plenty of other places with which to do business that there is little loss to me in simply eating somewhere else.

I like to think that others do likewise and that businesses that do not treat their customers respectfully ultimately feel the pinch as other folks likewise elect to patronize places where they do not need to be on their guard and can devote those energies to other, more productive aspects of their lives.

Am I being OCD on this? What do YOU do?

DirecTV or not DirecTV (or Netflix is in the wings)

I received an email today from DirecTV listing the current pay per view offerings for this week and saw a movie that Michelle said she wanted to see. OK, OK it’s Mike Myers’ “The Love Guru”, call me a wuss but I’m gonna enjoy it too.

So I went to my Tivo to set it up to record and I noticed a new flag on the confirmation screen indicating that the PPV movie will expire at Noon tomorrow. Since I seldom watch a movie I’ve recorded in even the same month I recorded it much less the next day, I was somewhat perturbed.
So I went to the DirecTV website and looked this up and can see that my recording will probably last for a long time provided I don’t view it. Once I begin playing the movie, the clock starts ticking and I will have 24 hours within which to finish viewing.
There are plenty of movies that I will start to watch and then decide to finish days or weeks later. I don’t have an issue waiting to see the ending and I can remember the beginning well enough that I don’t lose anything across that gap.
What I have now is my satellite company (or, more probably, the content provider behind them) dictating how I will view my recording.
One of the reasons I use PPV is for exactly this freedom. Renting a movie from a Blockbusteresque source comes with the explicit contract that I need to return this item in a day or a week depending on popularity. But PPV has always been more ephemeral than that and the added flexibility (plus the lower cost and avoided trip to the store) have always been of great value to me.
Continue reading DirecTV or not DirecTV (or Netflix is in the wings)