OMG I can't believe it's been this long since I last posted!
So much has happened since then.
Paco and I got moved into the new place. We are in the Gay Mecca of Michigan and both far too busy to enjoy it. LOL
I'm busting my ass at work, trying to get this partnership thing going. OH RIGHT, now we are working on me taking over the whole thing. This speeds up the time line by about 5 years, but here we are. Should know in a week or two if it can happen this way.
Well, as I sit here and type, SE Michigan is getting hit with the first real snow of the year. It's kind of sad in a way...the end of nice weather. But in all honesty, it's the 1st of December and this is our first real snow...can't complain all that much.
Well, in any case, I'm back. Here's hoping I can keep up a little better.........again.
"Have you ever had anyone sing the National Anthem into your ass before?"
--Iton
P.S. See the movie SHORTBUS!!!
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
We're sorry, your call cannot be completed as dialed...
Ok, here's something I just don't understand. We live in the digital age, right? To me, this means that digital services are very customizable. Seriously, an awful lot of customizations can be done through software. Pretty much anything can be done via a web page these days. So, someone PLEASE tell me why my digital telephone services aren't all that customizable!
Right now, I'm speaking to SPRINT and VONAGE. I have been customers of both for YEARS. Honestly, in general, I really love both services. But there is 1 thing that I just can't seem to get past right now. These are telephone services, and I want to customize them. Specifically, I want to be able to define who can, and who cannot call me.
Anyone who has been reading my blog long enough will probably remember the STALKER BITCH episode. When I tried to get SPRINT to block her telephone numbers from calling me, I was told that this was "IMPOSSIBLE." I won't reiterate the whole story, you can read it here.
I receive a LOT of telemarketing calls. Mostly they are from people with THICK Mexican or Indian accents trying to get me to buy ridiculously overpriced, prescription medications by having an "exam" with their Dr. over the telephone. GOOD GOD are they annoying!!! No joke, I get 5-20 of those calls EACH DAY. Now, I have been on the U.S. Government's DO NOT CALL LIST since it's inception. I ALWAYS tell these creeps to take me off their call lists and to never call me again. Yet, they still do. I use a TeleZapper set on the most aggressive setting to get them to stop calling. Yet, they still do. Sometimes, they have no CallerID information (unavailable). Sometimes they have regular, 10-digit phone numbers. Sometimes I get calls with CallerID info that reads, and this is a REAL CallerID Displayed number, "111-111-1111" or "000-000-0000." Seriously, we all know that if I dialed those numbers, I'd get some rude message about there being no such number. Further, I get calls from numbers that show up on my CallerID as "101" or "43-522" or "77765" for example. Certainly those aren't real telephone numbers. They certainly don't dial back.
Can anyone say that I HAVEN'T done everything possible to prevent telemarketing calls while still having the use of my phone? I really don't think so.
Why I can't block fake numbers, or "Number Unavailable" calls from any of my phone services is astounding to me. Vonage gives me a web page that details ALL of my calls, incoming and outgoing. Why I can't just click a button on a call's number to permanently block it absolutely stumps me.
Sprint is even less help. While Vonage's call logging is basically real time and available anytime, Sprint's only details the numbers of calls that I placed, and even that only shows up on my bill, once it's generated.
I don't think that what I am asking for is unreasonable. I think it is a logical extension of digital phone services in the digital age. I think it should be an included feature on ALL digital phone services and I think that it should be widely advertised as being available. I think that ANY such service provider who DOESN'T provide it (and that's ALL of them as far as I am aware) should be ashamed of themselves, hanging their heads low and busting their butts to get it implemented...yesterday!
Telemarketing calls are a PARIAH in my life. I am a very busy person who doesn't need to be interrupted upwards of dozens of times a day to tell these people to stop calling me over and over and over and over and over again! I know that telemarketing is an industry, and a big one at that. Fine, I accept that you have to make a living. But you know what, so do I! Once I've told you to leave me alone, I expect you to do so! When you refuse to heed this, and continue to violate the peace and privacy of my HOME, I want options to make you stop. If you were acting as private individuals, I'd have you on STALKING charges!
It's time for the telephone service providers to step up and allow consumers to protect themselves from these invasions...RIGHT NOW!
I welcome input from anyone who has a reasonable argument on this issue as well as those who are in my shoes. Even better, if you have a solution, we just might become good friends!
"One ringy-dingy, 2 ringy-dingy"
"We don't have to care, we're the PHONE company!"
--Iton
Right now, I'm speaking to SPRINT and VONAGE. I have been customers of both for YEARS. Honestly, in general, I really love both services. But there is 1 thing that I just can't seem to get past right now. These are telephone services, and I want to customize them. Specifically, I want to be able to define who can, and who cannot call me.
Anyone who has been reading my blog long enough will probably remember the STALKER BITCH episode. When I tried to get SPRINT to block her telephone numbers from calling me, I was told that this was "IMPOSSIBLE." I won't reiterate the whole story, you can read it here.
I receive a LOT of telemarketing calls. Mostly they are from people with THICK Mexican or Indian accents trying to get me to buy ridiculously overpriced, prescription medications by having an "exam" with their Dr. over the telephone. GOOD GOD are they annoying!!! No joke, I get 5-20 of those calls EACH DAY. Now, I have been on the U.S. Government's DO NOT CALL LIST since it's inception. I ALWAYS tell these creeps to take me off their call lists and to never call me again. Yet, they still do. I use a TeleZapper set on the most aggressive setting to get them to stop calling. Yet, they still do. Sometimes, they have no CallerID information (unavailable). Sometimes they have regular, 10-digit phone numbers. Sometimes I get calls with CallerID info that reads, and this is a REAL CallerID Displayed number, "111-111-1111" or "000-000-0000." Seriously, we all know that if I dialed those numbers, I'd get some rude message about there being no such number. Further, I get calls from numbers that show up on my CallerID as "101" or "43-522" or "77765" for example. Certainly those aren't real telephone numbers. They certainly don't dial back.
Can anyone say that I HAVEN'T done everything possible to prevent telemarketing calls while still having the use of my phone? I really don't think so.
Why I can't block fake numbers, or "Number Unavailable" calls from any of my phone services is astounding to me. Vonage gives me a web page that details ALL of my calls, incoming and outgoing. Why I can't just click a button on a call's number to permanently block it absolutely stumps me.
Sprint is even less help. While Vonage's call logging is basically real time and available anytime, Sprint's only details the numbers of calls that I placed, and even that only shows up on my bill, once it's generated.
I don't think that what I am asking for is unreasonable. I think it is a logical extension of digital phone services in the digital age. I think it should be an included feature on ALL digital phone services and I think that it should be widely advertised as being available. I think that ANY such service provider who DOESN'T provide it (and that's ALL of them as far as I am aware) should be ashamed of themselves, hanging their heads low and busting their butts to get it implemented...yesterday!
Telemarketing calls are a PARIAH in my life. I am a very busy person who doesn't need to be interrupted upwards of dozens of times a day to tell these people to stop calling me over and over and over and over and over again! I know that telemarketing is an industry, and a big one at that. Fine, I accept that you have to make a living. But you know what, so do I! Once I've told you to leave me alone, I expect you to do so! When you refuse to heed this, and continue to violate the peace and privacy of my HOME, I want options to make you stop. If you were acting as private individuals, I'd have you on STALKING charges!
It's time for the telephone service providers to step up and allow consumers to protect themselves from these invasions...RIGHT NOW!
I welcome input from anyone who has a reasonable argument on this issue as well as those who are in my shoes. Even better, if you have a solution, we just might become good friends!
"One ringy-dingy, 2 ringy-dingy"
"We don't have to care, we're the PHONE company!"
--Iton
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Time, Time, Time, See what's become of me....
Wow.
You get a little busy and before you know it weeks have passed without having updated your blog! Go Figure!
Well, Paco and I are buying a house. Really. We found a nice one and we are just waiting to close on it.
Our friends had a baby. This, of course, makes me feel old and decrepit. Ok, not really decrepit, but definitely old.
I have a ton to complain about, but I just don't feel like writing it all up. How refreshing eh?
"I was so hard to please..."
--Iton
You get a little busy and before you know it weeks have passed without having updated your blog! Go Figure!
Well, Paco and I are buying a house. Really. We found a nice one and we are just waiting to close on it.
Our friends had a baby. This, of course, makes me feel old and decrepit. Ok, not really decrepit, but definitely old.
I have a ton to complain about, but I just don't feel like writing it all up. How refreshing eh?
"I was so hard to please..."
--Iton
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Not Gone
I'm still here. Life has been hectic lately.
We had a death at the office, which is always difficult.
Paco and I also have been busting our butts to find our new home, and it looks like we finally did it! YAY! We have begun the buying process with an accepted offer. Now we just to get the inspection and stuff. HOORRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"You've killed me!" "Oh my God! What have I done?" "I just told you, you've killed me!"
--Iton
We had a death at the office, which is always difficult.
Paco and I also have been busting our butts to find our new home, and it looks like we finally did it! YAY! We have begun the buying process with an accepted offer. Now we just to get the inspection and stuff. HOORRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"You've killed me!" "Oh my God! What have I done?" "I just told you, you've killed me!"
--Iton
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Back Online!!
Ok, so I'm back. It really sucked, but I was right about the internet problems. After the cable internet went out again, I got on the phone with the cable company. They told me that some of their equipment in my neighborhood was running on a generator. It seems that the good old electric company couldn't keep up and some of THEIR equipment fried. Of course it HAD to be MY neighborhood, didn't it? The curse strikes again.
But here's the thing. Why oh why is it that when I call in to customer service, the automated system asks me to enter my telephone number "for faster service?" I mean really...the 1st thing the rep does when he/she answers the call is ask me my telephone number...again! Isn't this EXACTLY why I punched it in already? OOH! Here's the really fun part. I got transferred to another department, and guess what! The system made me punch it again, on the same call. SHEESH! I mean, I can see this kind of problem at say, a bakery, or a retail store. But COME ON, when you ARE A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, don't you think your technology ought to WORK?
Now, for the most part, WOW (Wide Open West) is a pretty good company. They are competition for Comcast (who can just bite me...bitches!), they are usually very polite, their repair calls are generally very speedy, and they gave me $25 off my next bill for the trouble with the internet. This is good customer service! And I love them for that. But they make themselves look REALLY HOKEY, backwater even when their tech messes up like that phone system issue. I mean, it wasn't a glitch. The woman I spoke with TOLD ME that the number / customer info is not passed to her upon taking the call. This is just the way they run things.
So, for that, WOW! Cable and Internet gets the "Shoot yourself in the foot award" for the week. (won't take much for them to fix I'd imagine)
On a COMPLETELY UNRELATED SUBJECT.......
Don't forget to check out the Perseids Meteor Shower. It is this weekend, but is supposed to peak on Monday the 13th at about 2AM. The timing is perfect with a NEW MOON. And for once, here in Michigan, we should have pretty clear skies on the night of a celestial event. YOU HAVE NO IDEA how rare that is. So hop in the car, get out of the city, lie back on a blanket with your sweetie and LOOK UP! The experts all say that it is supposed to be a really good show this year!!!
"We don't have to care...we're the phone company!"
"PRIVACY? Oh, aren't you cute!"
--Iton
But here's the thing. Why oh why is it that when I call in to customer service, the automated system asks me to enter my telephone number "for faster service?" I mean really...the 1st thing the rep does when he/she answers the call is ask me my telephone number...again! Isn't this EXACTLY why I punched it in already? OOH! Here's the really fun part. I got transferred to another department, and guess what! The system made me punch it again, on the same call. SHEESH! I mean, I can see this kind of problem at say, a bakery, or a retail store. But COME ON, when you ARE A TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, don't you think your technology ought to WORK?
Now, for the most part, WOW (Wide Open West) is a pretty good company. They are competition for Comcast (who can just bite me...bitches!), they are usually very polite, their repair calls are generally very speedy, and they gave me $25 off my next bill for the trouble with the internet. This is good customer service! And I love them for that. But they make themselves look REALLY HOKEY, backwater even when their tech messes up like that phone system issue. I mean, it wasn't a glitch. The woman I spoke with TOLD ME that the number / customer info is not passed to her upon taking the call. This is just the way they run things.
So, for that, WOW! Cable and Internet gets the "Shoot yourself in the foot award" for the week. (won't take much for them to fix I'd imagine)
On a COMPLETELY UNRELATED SUBJECT.......
Don't forget to check out the Perseids Meteor Shower. It is this weekend, but is supposed to peak on Monday the 13th at about 2AM. The timing is perfect with a NEW MOON. And for once, here in Michigan, we should have pretty clear skies on the night of a celestial event. YOU HAVE NO IDEA how rare that is. So hop in the car, get out of the city, lie back on a blanket with your sweetie and LOOK UP! The experts all say that it is supposed to be a really good show this year!!!
"We don't have to care...we're the phone company!"
"PRIVACY? Oh, aren't you cute!"
--Iton
Friday, August 03, 2007
Fickle Internet
Sorry I haven't been around much this week. My cable internet service has been having problems.
I think it is a function of the heat. Really, I think some of the service boxes for the cable internet are frying in this 95+ Degree heat we've been having here in Detroit.
It's funny, I'll have my service for a few minutes in the morning (like right now) and within an hour or so it craps out for the rest of the day. It all makes me think of Rolling Blackouts from California that we heard so much about is recent years. Of course it makes no sense to intentionally have rolling blackouts for internet service... Eh whatever.
The home renovations are coming along. The current project is tearing up all the carpet in the front of the house to expose the hardwood floors. Ugh, PAIN IN THE BUTT! Because, of course, you have to pull up all the tackstrips and staples too. We're also working on a deadline of Aug 16. This is because my friend will be visiting on the 17th and he has offered to help run the big floor sander to finish those floors. RUSH RUSH RUSH! It already looks pretty good though.
"Oh just shut up and hit me already!"
--Iton
I think it is a function of the heat. Really, I think some of the service boxes for the cable internet are frying in this 95+ Degree heat we've been having here in Detroit.
It's funny, I'll have my service for a few minutes in the morning (like right now) and within an hour or so it craps out for the rest of the day. It all makes me think of Rolling Blackouts from California that we heard so much about is recent years. Of course it makes no sense to intentionally have rolling blackouts for internet service... Eh whatever.
The home renovations are coming along. The current project is tearing up all the carpet in the front of the house to expose the hardwood floors. Ugh, PAIN IN THE BUTT! Because, of course, you have to pull up all the tackstrips and staples too. We're also working on a deadline of Aug 16. This is because my friend will be visiting on the 17th and he has offered to help run the big floor sander to finish those floors. RUSH RUSH RUSH! It already looks pretty good though.
"Oh just shut up and hit me already!"
--Iton
Thursday, July 26, 2007
A Basic Thing
Are we really so unique?
Are we really so different?
Perhaps in form, but not in function.
We are all of the same basic thing
As the cells of a person’s body
We are all of the same basic thing
Different kinds of life
That think
We are all of the same basic thing
We are all performing the same basic function
As do the cells of a sentient brain
We all have the same basic purpose
To understand
We are all of the same basic thing
We perform our function in specialized ways, with specializations
Some slightly specialized, some supremely so
We are all of the same basic thing
Our slightly different forms
Our slightly different perspectives
All are only parts of the sum
We are all of the same basic thing
We are the intelligence of the universe, a basic thing
We are all the same basic thing
As it tries to understand itself
a basic thing.
--Iton
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