Friday, June 04, 2004
And now I have to decide if I let the stupidity of the new blogger show, or do I delete the extra MILLION POSTS?
So I was checking on my bank accounts online today and noticed a charge on my still active Trustmark account (that's my bank in Mississippi) that I did not recognize. It had an 800 number with the charge so I called it and got an automated phone system. An automated phone system with advanced voice recognition. Man, I hadn't realized that voice recognition had come so far. The computer could respond to yes and no questions, recognize credit card names, recognize strings of numbers and letters said in a normal voice that I would use with any telephone operator, and could convert my "twenty four forty-five" into "Twenty four dollers and forty-five cents" with ease.
The other odd thing about this encounter was that the charge was for a PC World subscription... that I had in 2000. It even told me that was when I had it. I had the option of canceling, paying a $1 fee or some such and recieving the rest of my issues (From 2000?) and a refund, not canceling (and recieving magazines I havn't been getting for the past four years?), canceling and paying $2 to get to magazines I have never heard of, or canceling and getting a refund. I chose the latter. So apparently I'm going to get refunded for a magazine I got four years ago and paid for this past week. Somehow.
Weird stuff.
OK BLOGGER, STOP BEING STUPID AND LET ME FREAKING POST THIS!!!!
So I was checking on my bank accounts online today and noticed a charge on my still active Trustmark account (that's my bank in Mississippi) that I did not recognize. It had an 800 number with the charge so I called it and got an automated phone system. An automated phone system with advanced voice recognition. Man, I hadn't realized that voice recognition had come so far. The computer could respond to yes and no questions, recognize credit card names, recognize strings of numbers and letters said in a normal voice that I would use with any telephone operator, and could convert my "twenty four forty-five" into "Twenty four dollers and forty-five cents" with ease.
The other odd thing about this encounter was that the charge was for a PC World subscription... that I had in 2000. It even told me that was when I had it. I had the option of canceling, paying a $1 fee or some such and recieving the rest of my issues (From 2000?) and a refund, not canceling (and recieving magazines I havn't been getting for the past four years?), canceling and paying $2 to get to magazines I have never heard of, or canceling and getting a refund. I chose the latter. So apparently I'm going to get refunded for a magazine I got four years ago and paid for this past week. Somehow.
Weird stuff.
Thursday, June 03, 2004
The other two, you ask? Chain of Command (Actually, this probably counts as two episodes, as it is two parts) and The Inner Light.
Together those three make up the best episodes of TNG, and in my opinion (as if the first wasn't my opinion) the best three episodes of any Star Trek series (TNG is so obviously the best of them anyway).
A quick review, for those who may know Trek a little but not know the episode names.
In Darmok Picard is transported to the surface of an alien who only speaks in metaphor.
In Chain of Command Picard is abducted by the Cardassians and interogated for quite a long time, tortured. The famous line from this episode is, "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS!"
In Inner Light Picard lives out an entire lifetime in a moment when he is scanned by an alien probe.
"Darmok" is on right now. What is "Darmok" you probably ask, unless you are as much a nerd as I am? Well, I will tell you. It's one of the three best Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes ever.
Ok, as nice as a digital thermostat is on a HVAC system... If it's going to go psycho from time to time and not work, I don't want one thank you very much!
The AC is on. I had to turn off the AC for a while and then turn it back on. I guess it was just tired of coming on and off... or something. It's not so hot in here anymore.
Hmm... the AC won't come on... and I don't know where the circuit breaker is to check that. Grrr... it's hot in here.
Wednesday, June 02, 2004
So the dead roaches are coming out of the woodwork around here! I think that's literally, as my uncle was here Sunday replacing a section of roof over the basement stairs that had rotted away. There's one over there under my bed, one here by my computer, I saw one taking his last, laboured steps accross my carpet, and there are three right now in my tub, one in the throes of death, legs in the air, two of them twitching.
At least the stuff I sprayed around the house seems to be stopping them before they get anywhere.
Well, I discovered today that my headlight bulb was not burned out, rather the wire has a short in it... That's going to be fun to fix. I still havn't put my new headlight in, though, because I am lazy, so I will do it when I take off that stupid bumper... Ech... I should have done this a week ago, but I didn't want to bother with taking the whole stupid bumper off to do it. Now I am working tomorrow (I wasn't scheduled to, and I won't get much of a tip as we're doing a three person shift tomorrow because of a trainee, so the tip will be split three ways and not just two...) and it looks like it's going to rain all next week. Now, that's something I really would love to see happen, we havn't gotten much of late and the plantlife around this town would love it much. My plants need not worry, though, as I will make sure they get the water they need, regardless of what happens with the weather.
Tuesday, June 01, 2004
Today was interesting. I apparently received a call from my sister at 6:30 this morning asking me to please come in to work because the trainee who had been scheduled to work with her hadn't shown up (as he didn't know he was supposed to, no one had told him he'd been scheduled) and she didn't have anyone else there with her (We don't know why only one person had been scheduled to work with a trainee...). Well, the only thing I remember from this morning is her call at 8:30 asking me where I was. So, after that call I got up and showered and got out to the shop by 9, worked until 2pm.
Anyway, now I'm sittin at home doin nothin for now, later tonight I'm going to see a concert with my sister at the library.
In garden news, my tomato plants continue to grow to enormous proportions.
Klasinc&Loncar Duo (Just trying to help it get picked up by Google spiders, I maintain it for them)