that’s great…

and we’re back…

OK, so I’m back on the online, and attempting to be productive. I got the new machine with Vista Home Premium, thinking it couldn’t be that bad. Well, it’s not that bad, but it does have its quirks. The UI is cleaner and smoother, but this is expected. Especially with the hardware advancements as they are. The one thing that did strike me as odd was Microsoft’s new ‘take’ on shortcuts.

It’s not the kind of thing you want to figure out by trial and error at 1 AM. Luckily there’s something called the Internets (plural), and there are rumors on it. Anyway, Wesner Moise made things pretty clear. So now, in order to make the desired shortcuts, soft links: I right-click on the item, and ask it to create a shortcut. Then I move that created shortcut where ever I need to. Slight nuisance, but not enough to diminish the joy of having a powerful machine again. Oh, the laptop has a quality widescreen, which makes all my current monitors and the last laptop look like pure rubbish (nothing like a side by side comparison to point out differences).

About 2 weeks behind on both active side projects, and I still need to upgrade my Hibernate-Acegi implementation to Acegi’s new ACL service paradigm. More lessons learned (1 and 2), and we’re back.

worst shipping company ever…

Today was the first day I’ve ever written an angry letter (OK, paragraph) to a company (Dell, about my new laptop). The reason was not the company itself, but the shipping company, DHL. I will keep this short, a simple shipping transaction I’ve done thousands of times via UPS or the United States Postal Service, is not so simple when DHL is involved.

Three day ground shipping of a 13 lb. box, signature required. OK, if one of the other two shippers were doing this, they’d have a neighbor sign, or allow you to sign the post-it they left the first time. This would ensure someone would sign, and everyone could move on with their lives.

Not so with DHL. During call #1, a customer representative tells me that this is not acceptable, and that I have to personally sign for it (she says per Dell’s request). Being that the courier just left the note at 10:13 AM, and I work minutes from home, she agrees to tell the driver to come back, that I will be home to sign. I leave work and wait at home. Two hours pass and I realize that maybe I wont be able to return to work today, but at least something will come out of it.

After my third call to DHL, a representative lets me know that this was never a possibility. The reps have no direct contact with the courier, and that he was already done for the day (this was about 2 PM). I ask if he will attempt the delivery tomorrow? She says yes. Alright, no problem.

Next day, I wait at home, and around noon I begin to wonder, “where is this guy?”. Maybe his routes a bit heavier today. OK, but based on the incompetence and imaginations I witnessed yesterday, I thought I’d better check. So, I make call #4 at about 1 PM, and asked the representative if she knew if the courier was near (I actually planned on going into to work, albeit for only half a day). She did not (no surprise), but she did say that for 2nd attempts, it’s usually done between 2 and 4 PM. Oh, OK. I wont make it into work today, but at least something will come out of it (well, maybe).

Obviously, by this time, DHL has not only lost my trust, but caused me to lose my patience. So, I am checking the status of the package every half hour. Quarter after 4 PM, and I see an update. What’s this? Place of business closed, will try next business day. Ummmm, I’m in a residential area. Wait, wait. Did the courier just go to the wrong address, even though my address is on the box? Nice.

OK, so I call the customer service again (call #5), and wonder if I am reading this right. Did he go to the wrong address? She is sorry, but basically can only direct me to pick up the package myself, or wait. I decide to end the charade. But I’m also compelled to let Dell know that I never want DHL to be the courier ever again.

After I let off that letter (paragraph), I Google "worst shipping company". Surprise, surprise. DHL’s at #1, #2 and #7 on the page one results. Along with companies I had never heard of. DHL’s been around for over 30 years… why are you this bad?

that’s great advise…

No matter how strong you think you are, no man (person) is an island. In your everyday life, you need some form of guidance. This is regardless of whether you are a religious person. From time to time, you need an external verification source — a sounding board. To be specific, an adviser. A person who can take your input, preferably along with some experience, and give you (a) possible solution(s). Some people are great advisers, while others are horrible at it. Here are some of the types I’ve met (rough categorization and not an exhaustive list):

The Trouble Maker

This adviser likes to say things that will most definitely bring about trouble. If smart, they’ll word the advice in a leading fashion. Implying just enough for you to make the real trouble yourself. Hence, free from later incrimination. They like saying things like “I never actually told you the bear cage was empty”.

The Opposer

Also known as the Iconoclast, this adviser simply opposes your core ideas. This adviser is rare, but if you find them, they’re difficult to deal with. Moreover, they’re kind of crazy. They may or may not understand the situation, but based on keywords that trigger certain emotions, they go off.

Me: I got a job offer from the local NAFTA branch.
Opposer: NAFTA? Don’t they touch kids?!

For the record, I don’t believe that any member-nation of the agreement overtly(?) harms children. However, I do believe that members of NAMBLA do. Note: the Oppposer didn’t know the difference between the organizations.

The Agree-er

This adviser will basically agree with any possibility you present. They’re basically useless. Some smart people do this so you’ll never bother them again. While the others are afraid to be perceived as a Trouble Maker or Opposer, they simply go with whatever you say.

The Reasoner

This adviser is the best, and for that reason, the hardest to come by. This adviser usually has a good amount of knowledge, and the ability apply it: wisdom. This adviser calmly takes things as they come, and puts them in perspective. Weighing the possibilities, and usually returning a feasible solution. Although great advise, it can be the hardest to take. The reasoner may find you at fault, or may suggest something crazy like humility.

Someone’s missing

In the end, let’s not forget the most important actor, the advised, you. All the best advise in the world wont necessarily save you. Along with deciphering the good advise, from the bad, there’s proper application. Intuitively, you should have known better than to go into the bear cage (see Trouble Maker). Adapting is key, after that NAFTA and kids line, never approach this person for advise again! Like I said, you need an external verification source. Not someone to make decisions for you, but to reign you in when you’ve gone or are going off track.

burn-out coverage…

OK, it’s been just over 2 years since I’ve started using my current laptop (7/15/2007) - an OK Inspiron 6000 (1.6GHz Centrino, 2GBs RAM, 533FSB). Well, that finally gave out two nights ago. It handled the task of parsing and compiling code (Java, of course!) at a pretty good pace; all while serving up streamed music via my yahoo subscription. It served me well.

I say burned-out because it was about 2AM on a Monday night, it was time to doze off. So I logged on to Netflix, and started streaming a horror film, turned out to be a bad straight to DVD one too. About 30 minutes in, I had fallen asleep. Not a problem, my power management setup would normally have shut everything down. However, it seems the laptop had reached its end.

I was jarred awake by a loud pop. Opened my eyes and for a moment or two saw some odd message on the screen, just before it went dead. Oh well, another lesson learned, and probably not the one you’re thinking. Since this upcoming laptop will be my 3rd since early 2001, I now know that I should always extend my complete care and accidental damage plans when offered to. I’ve always bought the two year plan, and ignored the extension plans offered. I’ve been acting as if it was simply a commodity, when in fact it was more like an extension. It’s been my legal and legitimate performance enhancer.

Anyway, here’s what’s on the docket - a slightly better Inspiron 1721 (Turion 64X2 Dual Core, 1.8GHz, 1MB cache). We’ll see how that goes. Oh, and yes, this time I am getting burn-out coverage.

online democratic debate…

I am not saying I agree with everything that Bill Maher says, I mean he was known for being Politically Incorrect… but it was good to see someone ask some more pressing (and obvious) questions. For example:

“Senator Clinton, all the senators here, except Senator Obama, voted for the Iraq Resolution in 2002,” began Maher, “saying that their decision was based on intelligence that they believed to be accurate at the time. In other words, George Bush fooled you. Why should Americans vote for someone who can be fooled by George Bush?”