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My Archives: December 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

It was a weird day at work today. Trying to get out paperwork. Trying to get materials. Trying to get to jobs. It seemed that an effort to go forward was meet with an opposing force. However the item that takes the cake was what happened to me at Home Depot in Miami today. This is the Home Depot on SW 8th ST just outside of Little Havana in Miami. Now I went in to get a pipe cut and threaded. We went to where the pipe threader is and meet an employee there. It wasn't his department. However he called up another employee who belonged in this department and knew how to operate the threader. A few moments go by and the same employee returns. He sees that no one has shown up and he calls a different employee. The different employee responds he will be over in a few moments. After a five minutes no one shows up. We ask a different employee to get someone. They contact someone who says they will be right over. We wait another ten minutes. Now I have a person working with me. I ask my cohort to go to the service desk and ask for help. He goes and calls me from the service desk. I am still standing in front of the threader. He says they are contacting someone. I tell him to come back and wait with me. Now we wait. It has been almost thirty minutes and no one has shown up. Time to take matters into my own hands.

Now the threader is a device I have used before on job sites. So I quite familiar with it's function. The only issue is of course there is a keypad on the device to prevent non employees from using the device. The keypad has a number that must be entered to make it function. The number is usually a four digit number and the # symbol. The four digit number is usually the store number. In this case it was store 277. So the number code is 0277#. Also the number code was written on the side of the box.

So using the number code I get the device to function. I set up my pipe. I cut it. I ream it. And I start threading it. When an employee finally comes over and says can I help you. I look at him and say no. I am doing just fine. I don't need your help. He walks away. Another employee walks over and says you can't do that. I look up and say "Get a manager." He walks off to get a manager. No I am running the threader back to clean the threads and I am just about finished when another employee comes up and says you can't do that and need to stop. Now I have finished threading the pipe and cleaning it but I just let it run a little longer to annoy the employee who feels it is his imperative duty to stop me from performing my course of action. He rushes over and unplugs the device. Since I have already finished. I am not worried and I contain my laughter because it looks like it is going to get funnier.

The employee who went to get the manager has shown up with the manager. Now I am the first person to say if you are forty and still wear a name tag for your job. You vocation has a few shortcomings. And I also tend to look like a scruff muffin when I have worked on my job. I crawl through ceiling drill concrete. I can get messy. However the Home Depot manager. This guy makes a Denny's manager look suave.He has on black pants and a yellow polo shirt that isn't even tucked in. From his hair and expression it looks like someone woke him up from a nap. I have to admit I didn't believe he was the manager He was so unkempt I thought the employee just grabbed some random person and asked them to pretend to be the manager. I ask him Are you the manager? Because you sure don't look like a manager. You don't even come close to resembling a Home Depot employee.
He assured me he was the manager. He asked me what was going on. I explain I had been waiting for thirty plus minutes for someone to show up and cut and thread the pipe for me. Now the employees who originally called for the other employees to show up and help me are also in attendance. I said these employees all tried to get someone to come over and do this. And we assured someone was on their way. They all nodded in agreement. I said then after a while my coworker went to the service desk to get someone who also assured him someone was on their way. I said after thirty minutes no one showed. My coworker piped in that we need to get to a job and time was money and they were costing us money. I said now that I am operating the thing everyone shows up. I said I am already done cutting and threading the pipe.

The manger looks more disheveled than before. The three employees who tried to get people to help have backed me up the employees who were suppose to show didn't and those that tried to stop me failed. He looks at me and says I am sorry you had a bad experience. I hope the next time you show up it is a better experience. Those that tried to stop me look like they had just been crushed like insects. I took my pipe and left to go to my job.

Posted by understudy @ 06:59 PM EST [Link] [No Comments]

Monday, December 29, 2008

After my late night tirade against the shortcomings of the scientific community. I figured I would show where the real danger is. When the stupid have power. Instead of trying to foster learning and intelligence, we repress those who show any modicum of a thirst for knowledge and label them as subversive. This wonderful blog shows that dangerous levels of stupidity and it's desire to repress anyone slightly different can exist even outside of the US.

Quick synopsis for those to lazy to click and read the story. A kid in Canada plays with a chemistry set. Cops raid his home because they suspect he is making Meth. He isn't but instead of releasing him they label him as a terrorist because he might be using the kit to make bombs. He has a trial next year and cannot do any chemistry experiments without except under school supervision and he has to inform the lab of the charges against him.

This is crap, plain and simple. This is what you get when you give the stupid and paranoid any sort of power.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.
A quote attributed to Albert Einstein.

Posted by understudy @ 07:40 PM EST [Link] [No Comments]

I spent today out at Corbett Wildlife Area. . I had an amazing time. I spent the day with some friends who are very dedicated to trying to preserve the environment and the few remaining natural areas left to Florida. So what does this have to do with my love/hate relationship with the scientific community? I depend on the intellect and direct honesty that exists in the scientific community to keep me informed. One of the members on our trip is a scientist. So good that this person testifies in court as to the validity of certain topics regarding the water within the wetlands. And there are more brains in this persons hang nail than my entire body. So long as it is in reference to the field of research that this person is studied in.

I was in awe of the materials used. The data brought in and the information shared with us. I certainly gained a great deal of knowledge on items I had not been familiar with before. So why would I have anything to scoff at when dealing with the scientific community? For the same reason when I did the Southeast Organic Beekeepers Conference why I gave it the motto "No Scientist, Just Really Good Beekeepers." Because once you go outside of the field of expertise you enter the vast land of misinformation. The topic of childhood vaccines was brought up. The scientist piped up on how they were causing Autism and the issue of the mercury in the vaccines. My heart sank. Here is a person with a doctorate and they are spouting off some of the greatest misinformation out there. I might as well have been stuck having to listen to a lecture by creationist Dr.Michael Behe.

To top it all off the scientist claims to have gotten the information from a medical doctor at a lecture who has an Autistic child. But that wasn't convincing enough for the scientist. What gave the argument strength was the scientist told me that the information was confirmed by a vet. I felt like I had stepped into the twilight zone.

I can't say I am overly surprised just disappointed. Here is a person with more intellect than most people could hope to have and they are preaching pablum. In my years of dealing with people I should know better by now. I have met people who are extraordinary in their fields and outside of it, well they are morons. People who are very successful but probably couldn't change their own tire.

This is typical of most people. I am very good at what I do, but don't ask me to be your neurosurgeon. I can read a lot of information on neurosurgeons and the procedures they perform. I may even grasp the concept, but don't put a scalpel in my hand. I wouldn't even want to attempt Trepanation. So even with this understanding why would I suffer such disappointment?

The same reason we all do in similar circumstances. Our expectations are to high. We want the specific scientific discipline to be able to answer questions with authority outside of their bailiwick. We want plumbers to be electricians. Electricians to be structural engineers and exterminators to be paleontologists. And we are disappointed when they fall short. However my issue goes even further. It is when they speak outside of their field and convince others that they are in the know. Then misinformation continues it's spread with a modicum of force behind it. Someone will say I heard it from Dr. So and So. Those two letters grant a lot of authority to those who earn them. However the responsibility sometimes gets left behind. And just because Dr So and So said it doesn't make it true. Dr. Behe got his butt handed to him in a Dover courtroom because of that.

So let me chew on the scientific community a little harder because responsibility it what is lacking but also information. The scientific community needs to be more skeptical. Not because skepticism is bad but because it can help eliminate bovine fecal matter from coming up where it doesn't belong. Also to learn to say I don't know. It may not be the answer we want to hear but it can be the correct answer. I am not here to say ignorance is strength. I am asking that you be honest. I don't know how to perform a lobotomy. But I would prefer if we stopped getting figurative ones from the scientific community. Also talk laymen like they are laymen. That is not speaking down to us. That is using terms that we understand to educate us and intrigue us. If you can do that then we want to learn more. The scientific community needs a few more Carl Sagan's and Mr. Wizards and don't look down on those who do that. The scientific community can be real uppity when it comes to talking outside of cliques. Also while I understand the need to be able to continue funding and maintain research and faculties. Your research needs to be more accessible to the public. Making research papers difficult for the general public to get at is not acceptable. If you want scientific papers with all of the jargon to be restricted to the scientific community that is fine. However release a plain English version for the rest of us. We don't need all the crap you put into research papers just the crux of what you did and why and the results.

Now just to make myself clear. I don't believe in creationism nor do I believe that mercury in vaccines is causing Autism. I accept in the peer reviewed research that has been done regarding these topics.

Let me just give you one example that exists out there.
http://www.healing-arts.org/children/vaccines/vaccines-mercury.htm
This is the number three site on Google if you put in Mercury Vaccines into the search engine. It is a nice looking site. It has a well written document covering a lot of information on it. it has some doctors involved in it's writings and it is also completely wrong. But if you are looking for the equal in truthful information you will have a tough time finding it. The number 1 & 2 links go right to CDC. The page is clutter with more links that a subway car attacked by taggers with fresh spray paint. There is a ton of information there but the CDC position on mercury and vaccines is the third one down in the middle. When you actually get to the page on vaccines and Autism instead of coming right out and saying scientific studies show no link between Mercury and Autism you play politics. You let crap pour out of the page that talks about Autism and all that you are doing about that before you get to the research that shows that there is no link between the two. Listen Autism sucks but pandering may be worse. You do a disservice by pandering. Come out in paragraph one sentence one in bold and say "There is no link between Autism and Childhood Vaccines. Instead you have in the second sentence this diatribe "There is no convincing scientific evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site." People don't know what thimerosal is. While it is nice that you attempt to educate them on it. The first sentence says "Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative used in some vaccines and other products since the 1930s. " So in the first sentence you say there is mercury in vaccines and has been for a long time. You basically shot yourself in the foot. With that kind of presentation no will is going to be willing to listen any further.

So present the truth and the facts in a nice easy to understand manner. I understand that as laymen we don't always ask the right questions to get a concise answer but maybe if you help us to ask better questions you won't end up with movements headed by people like Jenny McCarthy and Kent Hovind. Say I don't know when it isn't your field of study and I won't end up so disappointed.

PS. I still had a great time exploring Corbett.

Posted by understudy @ 01:27 AM EST [Link] [No Comments]

Friday, December 26, 2008

So I have been working my arse off on putting this together. Here it is.

The 1st Southeast Organic Beekeepers Conference
Sponsored by the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Association.

When:
February 7th and 8th 2009 (Saturday and Sunday)

Where:
Mounts Botanical Garden
531 North Military Trail
West Palm Beach, FL
33415

Events:
Lectures and education for advanced beekeepers.
A 2 day Introduction to beekeeping course for beginners.

Lectures:
Natural cell size
Organic commercial beekeeping
Microbial culture in a hive
Africanized bees and much more.

Speakers include:
Michael Bush
Dee Lusby
Dean Stigitz
Ramona Herboldsheimer

No scientist giving lectures,just really good beekeepers.

How much?
The 2 day Introduction to beekeeping is $75.00 (cheap)
The 2 day lecture course is $65.00 (real cheap)
Make checks payable to the Palm Beach County Beekeepers Assoc.
Send to:
PBC Beekeepers Assoc.
531 N. Military Trl.
West Palm Beach, FL
33415

Payments should be received by February 1st.If not able you must contact
the P.B.C. Beekeepers Association listed below.

You can see more at:
http://seobc.beekeeperspbc.com
or you can call Brendhan @ 786 256 9622
or email at beekeepers@beekeeperspbc.com

Posted by understudy @ 11:39 PM EST [Link] [No Comments]

Monday, December 22, 2008

I had a great time at Cara's Winter Solstice.
You can see pictures here
I also have some videos from the event of the poi dancers.

It is so nice in to live in Florida and not be freezing you ass off.

Posted by understudy @ 11:25 PM EST [Link] [No Comments]

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Well with all the issues I went through with Sprint I am now on T Mobile. The company has a enterprise T Mobile account and added a huge block of minutes to it since I was switching over to that. I purchased a G1 Android phone. I wanted to be able to configure company emails to it. So I have the data plan that goes with it. I have had the phone now for 24 hours. I am going to give my personal take on it.

I like the phone over all. It's redeemable points outweigh it's flaws. But let's go with the flaws first. The calls sound better through a headset than talking directly into a phone. The default screen time out is 1 minute I changed it to 2. Because if you don't you will find yourself hitting the menu button to bring the display back up. The camera function is a bit shaky. It suffers to much glare and takes to long to settle on an image before you can capture it.
I use the company email not the default gmail I have set it up to give me a special ring when a new email arrives. I have yet to see this feature work properly. It would have made a difference on my schedule had it worked properly.
It does not capture images from the browser. this is disappointing in that in order to change my wallpaper I had to send the image to myself. Also it did not add my image I chose to the list in the wallpaper or picture section. The scroll function is a little rough. The voicemail icon appears in the top bar.It is a little hard to get that bar to roll down. The GPS always seems to be just a little bit off from my actual location. I woulod like to be able to change the main clock on the display but alas that cannot be done. The battery life seems a bit short. I got abut 9 hours from a full charge on it. I can see this being an issue in the future. I have yet to connect to a 3G network in my area. The lack of a headset jack is a bummer. I would like to be able to bring my address book into my email(not gmail) that does not seem to be possible.

Despite my laundry list I still like the phone. The keyboard is a plus. The email was easy to set up. I install to apps from the marketplace on my phone both of which get used now. The apps were easy to download and install. The browser works nicely. I was able to set it up on my home wifi network pretty easily. The service is pretty good in SoFla. I will be interested to see it on my trips. I like the mouseball it seems to function pretty well even if it isn't true mouse like you are use to using on your computer but this one does the job. The tab for the apps is nice. The volume can actually be loud enough to let you hear things clearly. For me this is important. Voicemail setup was quick and painless.

I wish the screen would flip up at an angle but I realize that is pushing it.

On the short term this phone is very good for me. Maybe it will be for you.

In a few months when my wife's Sprint phone is out of contract. I may look at one of these for her.

Posted by understudy @ 12:47 AM EST [Link] [No Comments]

Monday, December 8, 2008

I know I am not 16 anymore. And I have always liked sleep even when I was 16. The difference is that I now notice that at 10 pm I am thinking of going to bed instead of staying up for another hour. Yet somehow I still stay up that extra hour.

Posted by understudy @ 11:04 PM EST [Link] [No Comments]

Friday, December 5, 2008

Well the adventures with Sprint/Nextel have basically come to a halt. I can't say it wasn't for lack of trying. My complaints about Sprint on Twitter caught the attention of JGoldsborough. Who escalated up my issue. I want to thank him for his efforts.

So what happened?

Well everyone behaved like the automaton they are. Basically everyone had a very clear set of rules. The rules are if there is liquid damage on the phone even if it is not effecting the phone the phone is damaged beyond repair. Now I have a sticky button on my phone. The liquid damage on my phone isn't impairing my phone and it is not the source of my sticky button. But Sprint rules prevent them from fixing it. And everyone followed the rules. They will all receive excellent employee reviews I am sure. I hope they all get raises. But they will not get my money to contribute to their raises. I will be canceling my services with Sprint.

I learned some things. Sprint corporate barely exists. What do I mean by that? Everyone and almost everything you will deal with is done through either vendors or third party companies. When I was going through my email exchange with Sprint. I received an offer that basically they would cover the first $50 of the repair I would have to cover the balance. It wasn't exactly what I wanted but I figure I will make the good faith effort. Now I am dealing with their ecare group. This is basically a vendor group and is not actually Sprint. So when I brought copies of the email with me to the repair store the manager after make me wait for almost 20 minutes. Said he will not and does not have to honor the deal made with ecare. Well that was another nail in the customer relation aspect of this deal. When I mentioned this to ecare they basically were powerless. So the repair center may be Sprint but the ecare group is not. The insurance group is also a separate group I understand this. You have a car and you carry insurance on it. The insurance is generally not the manufacture of the car. However if you need parts for the car you can usually get them without involving your insurance company.

Now Sprint was more than willing to offer me a phone with a 2 year contract. Which was going to cost me quite a bit even if I went with the same model phone I currently had. More than I originally paid for the ic502 when I got it the first time. Then a Sprint rep called me this morning and was able to get the phone a bit cheaper because of a mail in rebate in addition to the $150 credit but I would have to sign the 2 year contract. I wasn't big on going for another contract. Not when all I wanted was a repaired phone.

I learned I can buy the same phone on ebay unlocked and than use their website and transfer the service for to that phone. I gave this serious consideration. Partly because I thought I was still under contract with Sprint. I called and then found out I was no longer under contract. I talked to the office and we agreed to start shopping around. Basically it means Sprint is going to be dropped. The office will call me and let me know what we find from other carriers. Everyone in Sprint (and their third party vendors)played by the rules. They got stuck within the box and I needed free thinkers not robots. That failure may work well for the lawyers it doesn't work well for me.

Several other Sprint phones that I have influence over will also end up going elsewhere which includes my personal phone that my wife uses and all of my families phones who bought Sprint based on my recommendation and have been following this very closely. Disappointment in Sprint is the current sentiment.

So why should Sprint do anything outside the rules? Why for me I not a client who has 300 phones with them. Because the rules have gotten in their way of doing good customer service. Their business model in this case has no concern for the customer in this regard. My phone works fine except for a sticky key. It is mildly inconvenient but not worth labeling my phone damaged beyond repair. Not having anyway to replace the parts in the phone.

So why does APC win? What the hell do they have to do with this? Well recently I had a 2200 UPS take a dive. The warranty is two years. I spoke with APC based on the records of when the UPS was made I am passed warranty. However when I told them I believe I was still on warranty based on when I purchased it. They asked for a proof of purchase. I did not have one. Now they have every right to decline me and tell me there is nothing they can do. Instead they said look the date is very close and you may have purchased it within the window. So despite not having the proof we will do the RMA. So I will get a new UPS. Now my day job involves lots of UPS devices. For the office I am doing in Atlanta. I just purchased $4,000 worth of UPS equipment based on how I was treated by APC. Since i can't by directly from APC I bought it through ProVantage. But I am letting APC know. APC bent the rules they didn't have to but they did. They won. Sprint played by the rules and they lost. I realize that the Sprint model is probably better for the shareholders but it will be tough to appease the shareholders if your customer base is shrinking.

What usually happens then is some type of review or reorganization where they review their policies and then implement changes. Maybe when they make those changes I will look at returning to Sprint but not at this current time.

Posted by understudy @ 12:30 AM EST [Link] [No Comments]

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