So I am currently writing (actively) three blogs and occasionally update two others.
All five blogs are run through Blogger's interface. I've gotten used to it, and it has some bells and whistles that I really like. For example, the ability to schedule a post for the future and have it (magically) appear when that date arrives.
But apparently there is an issue with the scheduling module, because Eric Shoots Things hasn't actually released its scheduled posts for the last two weeks without my direct (and personal) intervention.
I have a hunch it's something to do with the Google+ integration, because it worked before I set that up. But I'm not a computer programmer or engineer of any sort. I write a lot of words, and the Magic Google Box makes them appear where you can read them.
Or, rather, it's supposed to.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
Being Sold To
I really hate being sold to when I'm not looking to buy anything. If I'm in a store, that's one thing. I totally understand that you suspect I'm there to spend money and want to help me spend that money - to a point.
But there are times and places where I do not want to be sold to. At home, for example. And the worst home salespeople aren't the telemarketers. They aren't the door-knockers. They're the people who tape things to my door. It annoys me so much that I will not give money to anyone who tapes things to my door. Period. I particularly love it when I'm at home and they tape things to my door.
Even setting aside the potential damage the tape can do to the paint job of the door (or doorframe), it gives me a piece of paper that I have to deal with. And, if I'm out of town when they stick it up, it provides a convenient "NOT HOME" flag for the world to see. Seriously: Does this sort of marketing actually work?
Similarly, I hate coming out to the car and finding something stuck under my windshield wipers.
An even more annoying place to be sold to? The bank.
I personally bank with a credit union. They're easy to deal with, and, as a non-profit, they don't have exorbitant fees for everything. If I screw up, yes, there are fees, but there are no automatic fees on my account, the interest rates are good, and the people I deal with are really neat.
But I am responsible for my office's daily deposit. Every morning - without fail - the teller at my office's bank asks me if I have my personal account there.
I explain that I don't. That I'm happy with my credit union. And then - every morning - I get the exact same response. "Well we offer several services which are different from your credit union's." They then proceed to list services which are, indeed, different from those offered by the credit union. Different in that they are inferior. They offer savings at a lower interest rate, loans at higher rates, and higher fees on everything.
It's really annoying.
And that annoyance is made worse by the realization that their corporate office probably requires them to ask us that. Someone in a boardroom somewhere thought it would be a good idea to annoy potential customers who have every day stated that they were happy with their current situation.
It's not that they don't recognize me, either - several of them call me by name when I reach the front of the line. They know I'm not interested. They know I'm going to turn them down. And they still ask, because not asking could theoretically cost them their job.
I'm actually afraid of what sort of questions they'd ask if I actually banked there. Would they try to sell me a different account? Try to push additional credit cards on me?
It all adds up to an unpleasant and awkward experience that I very much dislike.
But there are times and places where I do not want to be sold to. At home, for example. And the worst home salespeople aren't the telemarketers. They aren't the door-knockers. They're the people who tape things to my door. It annoys me so much that I will not give money to anyone who tapes things to my door. Period. I particularly love it when I'm at home and they tape things to my door.
Even setting aside the potential damage the tape can do to the paint job of the door (or doorframe), it gives me a piece of paper that I have to deal with. And, if I'm out of town when they stick it up, it provides a convenient "NOT HOME" flag for the world to see. Seriously: Does this sort of marketing actually work?
Similarly, I hate coming out to the car and finding something stuck under my windshield wipers.
An even more annoying place to be sold to? The bank.
I personally bank with a credit union. They're easy to deal with, and, as a non-profit, they don't have exorbitant fees for everything. If I screw up, yes, there are fees, but there are no automatic fees on my account, the interest rates are good, and the people I deal with are really neat.
But I am responsible for my office's daily deposit. Every morning - without fail - the teller at my office's bank asks me if I have my personal account there.
I explain that I don't. That I'm happy with my credit union. And then - every morning - I get the exact same response. "Well we offer several services which are different from your credit union's." They then proceed to list services which are, indeed, different from those offered by the credit union. Different in that they are inferior. They offer savings at a lower interest rate, loans at higher rates, and higher fees on everything.
It's really annoying.
And that annoyance is made worse by the realization that their corporate office probably requires them to ask us that. Someone in a boardroom somewhere thought it would be a good idea to annoy potential customers who have every day stated that they were happy with their current situation.
It's not that they don't recognize me, either - several of them call me by name when I reach the front of the line. They know I'm not interested. They know I'm going to turn them down. And they still ask, because not asking could theoretically cost them their job.
I'm actually afraid of what sort of questions they'd ask if I actually banked there. Would they try to sell me a different account? Try to push additional credit cards on me?
It all adds up to an unpleasant and awkward experience that I very much dislike.
Friday, April 13, 2012
NPR Pledge Drives
I grew up listening to NPR. One of my earliest clear memories is of the Star Wars Radio Drama booming from Dad's old stereo. Which gives you some idea of my age, too, I guess.
I was five at the time.
When I was thirteen, I received a clock radio as a Christmas gift, and spent my evening looking for the local classical radio station (yes, I was an odd kid). I thought I'd found it - but what I'd actually found was KUOW, one of two local NPR affiliates.
At the time, they played classical music in the evenings (between about 7 and 10 pm).
When it hit 10 pm, I learned that this was NOT the station I'd thought it was. But I liked it, and I stuck with it.
In fact, I've been listening to KUOW for 23 years, now. And I love it. Don't get me wrong - I don't agree 100% with everything I hear on the station. But I think the dissenting opinion is valuable and important. And NPR does better than most news organizations at presenting a truly balanced perspective.
The problem is that NPR is underfunded. Every three months or so, they have to pause and ask for money - because it's our money that keeps them going.
I don't begrudge them the pledge beaks. They need the money. I just wish the breaks weren't necessary. I wish people would pledge without the nagging. I wish the government would give them more money.
But they don't, and so we suffer through the pledge breaks. Until the goal is met and the pledge breaks go away.
For another three months.
At the time, they played classical music in the evenings (between about 7 and 10 pm).
When it hit 10 pm, I learned that this was NOT the station I'd thought it was. But I liked it, and I stuck with it.
In fact, I've been listening to KUOW for 23 years, now. And I love it. Don't get me wrong - I don't agree 100% with everything I hear on the station. But I think the dissenting opinion is valuable and important. And NPR does better than most news organizations at presenting a truly balanced perspective.
The problem is that NPR is underfunded. Every three months or so, they have to pause and ask for money - because it's our money that keeps them going.
I don't begrudge them the pledge beaks. They need the money. I just wish the breaks weren't necessary. I wish people would pledge without the nagging. I wish the government would give them more money.
But they don't, and so we suffer through the pledge breaks. Until the goal is met and the pledge breaks go away.
For another three months.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Mornings
I'm really not good with mornings. Never have been. I've always been more of a night owl. It's just how I'm wired.
I used to work in a laser tag arena. We were open from 10am until midnight most days, and I tended to work the late shift. It meant I got home around 2am.
Before that, I worked at a fast food restaurant that was open ten to ten most days. When I opened, I had to be to work by nine for food prep. After work, I often went to a local restaurant for trivia until roughly 2am. Meaning I was home around 2:30.
It was just my natural routine - one I settled into naturally.
It wasn't long before my boss stopped scheduling me for morning shifts. "You're just so much better with customers in the evenings," she told me.
Because I was almost non-functional in the morning. This was partly due to my sleep disorder and partly because I'm just more alert in the evenings.
I'm normally a bit of a cranky grump. Ask anyone who knows me or has worked with me or has read this blog. But having to be up in the morning pushes my grump levels to new heights (or depths, as the case may be). I'm crabby, incoherent, and less logical than normal (which is really saying something).
It adds up to a bad combination to be around - if I had a choice, I wouldn't be around me in the mornings.
I used to work in a laser tag arena. We were open from 10am until midnight most days, and I tended to work the late shift. It meant I got home around 2am.
Before that, I worked at a fast food restaurant that was open ten to ten most days. When I opened, I had to be to work by nine for food prep. After work, I often went to a local restaurant for trivia until roughly 2am. Meaning I was home around 2:30.
It was just my natural routine - one I settled into naturally.
It wasn't long before my boss stopped scheduling me for morning shifts. "You're just so much better with customers in the evenings," she told me.
Because I was almost non-functional in the morning. This was partly due to my sleep disorder and partly because I'm just more alert in the evenings.
I'm normally a bit of a cranky grump. Ask anyone who knows me or has worked with me or has read this blog. But having to be up in the morning pushes my grump levels to new heights (or depths, as the case may be). I'm crabby, incoherent, and less logical than normal (which is really saying something).
It adds up to a bad combination to be around - if I had a choice, I wouldn't be around me in the mornings.
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