All Good Things

I've known for some time.
Several months in fact.
I've been in denial.
My fate would be tied to the Jolly Porter.
It was the Jolly Porter that introduced me to the Blog.

My blog has served its purpose.
No Facebook.
No My Space.
If you want to know what's going on you're welcome to call, email or heaven forbid, write an actual letter.

Perhaps someday I'll return.
Not in a Micheal Jordon Fashion.
I think I passed my Blog peak long ago.
Not in a Terminator fashion.
I'm not a violent person.
Not in a General MacArthur fashion.
I'm not a General.

I may still sneak peaks at your blogs from time to time.

So thank you Jolly Porter
for the inspiration.
Thank you Jolly Porter
for helping make this easier.
Thank you... those who stopped by
with or without commenting.


and so, Boa Noite.

Reluctant Govenors and my relation to Napoleon Dynomite (...or at least Uncle Rico)

As if very many of my readers care, I was left wondering what's going on inside the head of our good governor of Nebraska... and even my fellow Nebraskans who seem to have taken a left turn in the corn maze. I'm talking about the new license plate that was chosen/voted on for our 2011 design.

This was one of four final contestants [hand picked by the governor], two of which actually portrayed something that relates to Nebraska. So after putting it to a vote, we now get black and white with a subtle reminder to visit your local government online. Are most Nebraskans artfully challenged?



So now I am also finding myself feeling a little uncle Rico-ish.

No, I'm not dying to relive the glory days of high school football [I would actually have to have played high school football to have that happen] but I find myself extremely nostalgic for 80's music. I know life was a lot simpler then and listening to music was such a big part of my teenage years. I no longer have that luxury.

So, what are you nostalgic for?

In the Name of Art

I actually remembered a post that I have wanted to do for a very long time.

There are many pieces of "art" that hang on the walls where I work. I would like to share with you, two "replicas" that I must endure on a regular basis. While indeed, they are not true replicas, they will still serve to make my point.

and now for the second one...

The top one actually consists of a "comical" looking bouquet of flowers that sits centered on a blue, red, and yellow square about 3" in diameter, which sits on a larger white, cotton canvas about 18" x 24", with a 2" mat for the frame.


What can I say about the second? Really, it's made of a bunch of random lines of different colors on a solid background.

Many of us have heard the expression, "My 5 year old could paint that". I believe the statement to be true.

How do you call something art that is so easily replicated, particularly by someone who is not an artist?

Anyone care to jump to the defense of art? Anyone? Can anyone tell me? Buhler?



Of course, after this post, I'll probably find myself back to where I was prior to this post.

Slow

I suffer from two blogging problems:

1. I can't think of anything to write.

or

2. I think of things to write about when I am at work, driving to and fro, or doing anything else, and then I forget what it was I wanted to write about.

So until I find a cure for one or the other, or both, this is all you get for now.

Giving Rhetoric a Bad Name

Recently I've heard a commercial on the radio for Tylenol. They would have you and me believe that [dare I say the word?] acetaminophen might as well be lead based sugar pills from China.

Only Tylenol has gone through the most stringent testing and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Could it be that because Tylenol was the first one forced to go through all the FDA hoops and once their patent expired, anyone and everyone else could make their own pill full of acetaminophen and sell it for a cheaper price [less money to recoup]?

We should all buy Tylenol because more doctors/hospitals give it to their patients than any other generic form?

I'm sure it has nothing to do with the money the doctors/hospitals get in return for giving the name brand. If the doctor were to write you a prescription, would s/he insist that the pharmacist only give you the name brand? I think not.

It reminds me of a certain banker who once preached to me the evils of credit unions.


My philosophy is that if a little competition scares you, then step aside.

More Yes than No

Yes, I'm still alive.

Yes. I'm still employed.

Yes. I'm still married [just celebrated 14 years with the same wonderful woman].

Yes, I still have hair on my head.

Yes, I still go to church.

Yes, I drive a mini-van.

Yes, I read the girly Twilight series and liked them.

Yes, I still blog [when I can].

Yes, this list might grow as the mood hits me.

No. Our issue with Vonage still has not been resolved...

If I wanted to play games I'd ask a friend...

As promised, this is the continuation of the last post. 10 days later and the game Vonage set in motion continues.

I signed up for Vonage January 1, 2009. I was told that it would take 10-14 days to change over our existing phone number. 14 days passed and our old phone number still had not been changed over. I called Vonage. I was told they needed my old phone number account and then they would resubmit the request to have our number changed over. I was told this would take 2-3 days. 3 days later, I called again to ask why our phone number still had not changed over. I was told they didn't know why. They said they would re-resubmit the request [and it should only take 2-3 days]. This pattern continued into the first week of February.

I finally tried calling our old carrier to find out what the problem was. They told me, that according to their records, they had agreed from day 1 with Vonage to release our phone number on February 10th. From day 1!

The day our old phone number finally switched over, I called Vonage and explained that I did not want their service any longer. They explained that they would have to charge me for three things: The equipment, early cancellation fee and the entire month of February. I asked them how they could justify for charging me for anything at all when they did not live up to their end of the bargain and the fact their customer service reps were never upfront with me about when the changeover date would take place. The cancellation folks at Vonage told me it was out of their hands. If I wanted to, I could submit a request in writing, to their billing department and spell out my reasons for requesting a refund.

I wrote my letter.

I received a response saying that they were going to expedite my case.

They informed me that they would refund me the price of the equipment if I sent it back to them.

I said fine. What about the rest of the fees?

They wrote back. They said they would refund the early cancellation fee.

I said fine. What about the charges for February?

They still have not responded.

You can call a skunk by any other name and it will still stink like a skunk.

When Vonage canceled our account, they shut us down right then and there. Somehow a third party ended up with rights to our phone service. We have not been able to receive any calls. We can only make local calls. When we called our old carrier to "re-sign" up they told us that they could not give us our old number yet, because Vonage still had it listed as connected. They informed us that the third party that currently controls our temporary number is charging us 10 cents per minute for local calls...what more would you like me to say?

Hanging in the Balance

Sorry folks [all three of my readers], this new post takes precedence over the last post.
Without saying too much at this point, I will say that a Vonage has the ball in their court and pending their return serve will depend on what gets posted next...



Feel free to continue posting comments on the previous entry and I will continue responding accordingly. If you are dying to know more about this new post, you are welcome to contact me offline.

What a Workout!

Last night I had quite the workout; I helped a new family move into a 3rd floor apartment, in a snow storm. I mastered those stairs! Did I mention the fact that it was three flights of stairs... for nearly 90 minutes?


So tell me, if you lived to tell the tale, what was your hardest move-in/move-out?