It will be alright

It's been "one of those weeks" so far. Servers dying, contract negotiations, studying for exams, hectic schedules -- these are things we IT-folk deal with routinely and at times can even become numb to -- yet some days it brings out evil-Photoshoped-Jason. :)
(No Jason's were harmed in the production of this image.)

Is it Friday yet?

Sorry for the "lack of noise" around here, but I was on an attempted vacation last week. I'm sure I'll be fussing about something on here real soon. :)

Yes!

The ultrasound and CT scan results are back and everything is clear! Still pending one bloodwork result that should be back on Wednesday, but everything so far is just peachy!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my dad and all others reading this!

Short post today, but I did want to share a funny video with you..

Dodge Caliber & "Binky"

"Customer Service"

Anyone who knows me knows that my biggest pet peeve is poor (or no) customer service. I do completely understand that some accidents happen and that everyone will "screw up" on occasion. The trick to customer service is [1] mitigating the risk of such an accident or mistake, and [2] how you will "make it up" to your customer.

On the other hand, at least in my eyes, the past two years my eyes have been opened to poor customer service of a seemingly blatant nature. A few examples:

• I went to Mrs. Winners on West End with Chris the other morning. I said to the Fast Food Order Acceptance Engineer, "I'd like two chicken biscuits with cheese and two large sweet teas." The FFOAE responded, "Two chicken & cheese and two large sweet teas. Thank you, drive around." I proceed around to the window where I'm told my total and pay. When the bag of food is put in my hand the bag is open and I see no evidence of yellow through the wrappers (read: no cheese corners). Chris opens one of the wrappers to reveal a chicken biscuit sans cheese. When I inform the FFOAE that there is no cheese she says, "Oh, I forgot to ring that up, that will be eighty-seven cents." So, let me get this right -- I ordered, you confirmed my order, gave me the total, and now you still expect me to pay you to fix your mistake?
• My father recently purchased a new entertainment center from Rooms-to-go which was delivered with cosmetic flaws. When he contacted Rooms-to-go customer service they said a replacement would be sent. When the replacement showed up it also had the exact same problem. He told the delivery driver he had to make a call to RTG before they unloaded it -- instead, they drove off. RTG's offer for all of this trouble? A $30 certificate toward other merchandise.

These examples may seem anal, and perhaps I sometimes am when it comes to customer service -- but these are weekly occurrences. Of course, there are FFOAEs out there that are excellent -- though if the FFOAE at Subway on 21st Avenue asks me one more time if I want my sub "heated or toasted" I don't think I will be able to restrain myself. Toasted, please, hold the heat.

Prayer Request

Tomorrow morning (Friday, June 16th) is my ultrasound and CT scan. Then, on Monday the 19th I will meet with Dr. Shipley to get the results of those and have blood drawn for the bHCG and AFP tests.

I ask for your prayers for great results and a clean bill of health. Thank you all!

Q are the one for me

Today I [finally] got my hands on the Motorola Q from our friendly Verizon rep. Awesome device, especially once Nashville gets EV-DO fully running in late August. The screen is incredibly sharp and bright, buttons are easy to use, and the size is only slightly larger than a RAZR V3. You may drool now...

HOV abusers: Move over

Each weekday my commute is about 70 miles round-trip. During this 70 mile journey I routinely see stupid unskilled drivers. Along I-65, as with most interstates these days, are signs like these:

Of course, on the northbound lanes it reads 4PM-6PM MON-FRI. The text is in plain english (which could be the problem) though every day there are multiple single-occupancy vehicles travelling in this lane around 4:30PM going 10 miles under the speed limit. To top it off, Nashville's finest Metro Nashville PD is busy pulling everybody and their brother over for speeding but seemingly ignore the fact that the HOV is being abused. Oh, the humanity!

The Dyson DC14

Okay, time for some man talk about VACUUMS. When I first moved into my home in 2002 we received, as an early wedding gift, the Hoover Bagless WindTunnel. Initially this machine was quite the cleaner -- until lately, as a matter of fact. The HBWT lost suction quickly when it's HEPA filter became clogged. Sure, you could clean the filter which would get you another run, maybe two before clogging again. Sure, you could buy a new one (for $40 a pop) and get a few months out of it before it really clogged again. Then there was the belt it needed three times in 4 years. Needless to say, it took more time to clean the vacuum in order to use the vacuum for cleaning!

Enter the Dyson DC14:

As James Dyson put it best, "It quite simply doesn't lose suction." Admittedly, when these things first hit the US market I thought "who in their right mind would drop 4 Benjamins on a vacuum!" The answer, as it turned out, is me -- and boy, is it worth it. Guys love numbers (and motors) so let me hit ya' with this -- typical vacuum motors run between 5000-7000 RPMs while the Dyson RootCyclone models churn an F1-like 14,000 RPM. This machine truly loses no noticeable suction. Bradley labs (aka my house) tested the DC14 model on some very dusty crevices and ceiling fans (which had been spinning 24/7 for months). With the waste bin half full the unit just kept on going. If you're in the market and have the means, make the wise investment.

Vrooooooooom...

Just in case you Comcast users out there have been crying that your 6 or 8 Mb connection is too slow, hold on tight. The "cable company" will soon be bringing you all kinds of speed for your gaming enjoyment -- up to twice your current limit at times. That's right, 12 or 16 Mb, baby. Talks with a Comcast friend also yield that the upstream is going from 384Kbps to 1 Mb, which is great news for those of you wanting to get your VoIP and online gaming fix at the same time.

Read the article from Cnet here.

Prayer Requests

Tonight's post is a bit more serious in nature. I'd like to ask for your prayers for:

• My cousin Daryl, who had chest pains today and will be going to Centennial Hospital this evening for 3-5 bypasses in open-heart surgery.
• My uncle Perky, who had chest pain while on the road in South Carolina and has to have a stunt reworked and is unable to return home for several days.
• On June 16th and 19th I will have my six-month CT scan and oncology checkup.

Thank you, friends. -Jason

Johnny 5: "No disassemble!"

Warning: This post contains graphic material not suitable for some viewers. Discretion is advised.

Here we have a photo I thought I lost with Chris proudly displaying his ability to boot a Dell Latitude D600 using only the mobo, RAM, CPU, and a display for proof. The owner, a law student, didn't know what to think seeing her baby's guts strewn about like this. Some people have weak stomachs I guess. :)

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Hang around a lazy man...

The old saying goes, "If you have around a lazy man long enough you will learn his ways." So, being the trend-setter type, I thought I would share my most recent purchase with you -- the Python 1400XP Remote Start System from Directed Electronics. This coolest thing ever add-on will allow you to start your ride from your air-conditioned office in the middle of summer (or warm your stuff in winter). Two taps on the remote and 5 seconds later your cylinders are purring like a kitten. This can be yours for US~$199 installed at most Circuit City stores (add another $60ish for a bypass module if your car has a factory system/alarm). Go on, you know you wanna. Sorry, manual transmissions need not apply. :)

Microsoft Windows Vista and Office 2007 Beta 2

My Dell Latitude X1 is now running Windows Vista Ultimate Beta 2 and Office 2007 Pro. In a word: wow. Bill & Crew have really outdone themselves.

Office (and Vista) bring forward the glass interface with incredible thought into the layout and functionality, particularly with toolbars, by providing you with exactly what you need when you need it.

Vista desktop and Start menu:

Word 2007:

Here I go again

My CT scan is June 16th and the oncology follow-up is June 19th. Your prayers are welcome that the results will be clean. Please also pray for my sanity mental well-being as I await the results.