Delusional Ramblings

First, can we finally now admit that the FCC has no idea what they are doing? I hope the fact that most of these articles point out that this is the "outgoing" FCC chairman indicates that someone with more intelligence will be coming in. We can't just print money, and I'm really tired of the federal government thinking it (it being the taxpayers of this country) needs to finance everything for everyone. Free Wi-Fi has failed in metropolitan cities - this would just fail in a more spectacular fashion, and that's not even considering their ridiculous "porn-free" clause. *Sigh*.

That plan segways nicely into the next delusional rambling though. How do we find a way to eliminate all credit cards? Now. Seriously, if you don't have the money, you can't spend it. It's as simple as that. You can't have a horribly failing economy and then have the best Black Friday ever - not possible. I know more people who bought flatscreen TV's, Wiis, and computers this year than any year in the past. When did it become a guarantee that every family in America was entitled to a flatscreen TV? When did people start spending thousands of dollars at Christmastime? There is one way to fix the giant blob of crap that the country is languishing in right now. Get some self-control and willpower back in our lives. Stop buying crap that isn't a necessity. Don't buy anything that you can't cover with cash in the bank (yes - I know there can be exceptions like housing - quit nitpicking). Let's want better for ourselves, and put in a little bit of hard work and restraint to make it happen.

Goodbye Smoky Air - You Won't Be Missed

Today is the last day of dirty, stinky public air. No, sorry, I can't promise that actually. I can say though that tomorrow is the first day where the fantastic new Iowa smoking ban will be in effect.

I'm freaking thrilled about this. Any public place is basically now a safe haven from something I despise. Despised isn't actually strong enough - pure hatred is better. In fact, after my introductory post, the very first post on this blog was against smoking.

Some will say this goes too far and infringes on personal liberties. They'll say that it is a slippery slope of government control. I don't give a rats ass. I'm normally very careful about allowing government to get into our affairs too. The difference here is that this is something that effects others, not just the brain dead who is puffing away. I'm still not legally allowed to beat the hell out of them or defecate on them, so I think it fair that they can't smoke around me.

The only disappointing thing to me in this is the very few loopholes that still made it in. Casinos and hotels still have exemptions. F the casinos, I'll stay away from your smoky, old folk piss establishments. Now I just need to find a hotel chain that positions themselves as non-smoking.

Who's Fault?

Sometimes, even the best stores can be a pain.

Amazon is far and away my favorite online retailer. That means I can pretty safely say they are my favorite retailer period too. However, I was a bit annoyed when I had to return something.

I recently ordered something, and inadvertantly ended up with 2 in my cart. Because I was using a gift certificate it didn't dawn on me as quickly that I was paying too much either. All mostly my fault.

When I received the package I immediately realized the error. My handy included packing slip indicated that for a full refund I could simply visit their returns site. After clicking on recent orders, and choosing exactly which item I wanted to return, I had to choose a reason. "No problem", I thought, "I'll just choose the 'Accidentally Ordered Duplicates' option, or something similar." No, that was not even close to one of the options:

So, at first I selected the first option. I didn't really order the wrong item, just too many, but I figured this was the closest. However, while I would receive a refund in that case, they stated that I would have to pay shipping costs (prepaid USPS, but they would deduct the shipping from my refund amount).

This probably should have been acceptable to me, but since I didn't pay for shipping in the first place, I was annoyed. So, I began choosing other options to find out the varied outcomes. It turns out that if I simply claim I didn't like the item (as displayed in the image above), they'll cover the shipping costs. Hmm.

So, if you end up needing to return something to Amazon, this is apparently the route to go.

Go Away!!

Before falling off the deep end and admitting he liked the blue light, Thaddeus had reminded me of a post that I had been meaning to write.

He talked a bit about the "Do Not Call" list, and wondered if it worked. While I obviously don't have hard and fast evidence, I would have to say that it has worked very well for us. I signed up on the first day that you could do so online, and within about 2 months our unsolicited calls had dropped off almost entirely. Anymore, other than the stupid political, highway patrol (usually fake), and alumni calls, we don't get any crap calls. If I could find a way to stop those entirely, I would be extremely happy.

The real point of my post though is that the list expires every 5 years. If you registered early like me, that means you are nearing the time where your number will fall off the list. You can renew your spot early, so I strongly recommend you go update your number. Actually, make sure to update ALL of your numbers.