How to Get Your Way in Today's World

I am wondering...so let's take a vote: Do you think a customer service rep. is more apt to give you what you're asking for if you a) Are pleasant, explain your side of the story and make a reasonable offer, or b) Throw a fit like a 3-year-old, spew threats and use profanity?

Well folks, I have found in recent situations, B has been winning out. Although I've yet to try it, and Lord knows I can spew and cuss, I can't say personally that it works. Let's just say I have "friends" of mine who are in customer service who give the pissy people their way, and the nice people get screwed. "So sorry." "Oh, that's ok. I thought I'd ask."

I have been in situations on occasion where my two teen/college kids are with me...my voice gets a little heated and I start getting riled up, my kids say, "Mom DO NOT embarrass us." And they pull me away. Oooh, just once let me go off on someone! I want my way, dammit. I deserve to get what other pissys get! OK children, mommy will cool down. (Hey, they're old and they've heard my language just a few times.) And I'm sure it will help me get my way, right?

So I order this backpack/computer case from Dell. It's on sale for $38 bucks. I get an email: confirmed order. I get another email: delayed shipping. I get another email: Ah sorry! Discontinued...but hey, here's a link to a similar product WE ARE SURE YOU WILL LIKE.

Well sure I like it but I don't enjoy the fact that this "similar" item is $58 dollars. No, I do not LIKE it. So I call the number they listed on the email. After being transferred THREE times and being told, "Sorry mam, you have to call the sales department and this is not their number..." ok list the sales number then you ID 10 Ts! Of course, nothing against the out-sourced foreigners, but you know what I'm gonna say...

I go through this whole schpiel with this dude, who says, "I have to talk to my supervisor...oh sorry mam, we cannot sell you this item for the same price. It is a different type of bag." (What happened to similar?) So I found 'similar' which was still $10 higher and he would not sell it to me. Then HE LAUGHED AT ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I politely told him I will not be purchasing anything from Dell again.

Well call me pissy, which I was not, but when I go to Hy-Vee and they are out of something, they substitute the 'similar' product for the same price. I was not trying to screw Dell out of their $10 bucks! The difference in the price? One was red, the one they were offering was green. So that's worth a price increase, eh?

If I know I'm on the losing end, should I lower my standards and go all Jeckyl/Hyde on the rep? I am certain I will feel better. Although, I am sure all I will get out of it will still be a laugh.

OK I've got out all my pissiness now. Thank you for reading. Please come back again! Have a nice day.

Pain and Suffering at the Nacho Ride

Felt great to go out on the "practice" Nacho Ride last night. Officially, the Nacho Ride will start next Tuesday, May 4, 5-6 p.m. at MoPac Trailhead on 84th. Great time, leisurely ride! My son and friend John arrived at the One-Eyed Dog Saloon by two-wheelers and ordered our meals and beverages. Enjoyed visiting with the Nebraska Outdoor Addict, except that he TOOK MY PICTURE! Shriek!

The pain and suffering wasn't from the fact that I taught my spinning class at noon, then Nacho Rode to Eagle and back after work (oh and 2 Coronas :-)...no, it was from the complete and total butt-kicking my son and I received from our friend John as a result of our cribbage game! Talk about a skunk! We'll be back, John, we'll be back.

You don't realize how long of a winter it really was until your tire hits that first bit of crushed rock on MoPac. You smell the spring breeze, then a skunk, then that spring breeze... and realize how much you missed it. I will also say that I'm glad I took a chance last year in checking out this "Nacho Ride" thing I'd heard about... I'm meeting new bikers and enjoying the company of those who also enjoy two-wheeling.

The poll on the Nacho Ride website asks what is your favorite thing about the ride? One of the answers is "Riding back in the dark when you forgot your light." Well, we got to somewhat experience that one first hand. We maneuvered our way back, didn't have too tough of a time as we were saved by my $2 cheapie bike light. Good news is daylight is getting longer, which means I can take more time planning my attack during the cribbage game.

I'll keep the light on the bike for now. Just hope next week we don't actually run over that skunk.

Grandma and the Microwave Popcorn

I remember not too many years ago, standing in my Grandma Eckhardt's kitchen. She was going to make my Grandpa some popcorn. I couldn't understand why anyone would have a popcorn popper, not now when you can throw a bag in the microwave and voila! Easy, fast, no muss, no fuss.

Later I brought a bag of microwave popcorn to her house and said, "Grandma, watch this." Threw the bag in the microwave, pushed "popcorn" and waited for the "voila!" look from my Grandma. She just looked at me and said, "Well, I really like to use the popcorn popper." Really? Really really? Ah but Grandma! But no muss! No fuss...ah never mind. Give it up. [shrug]

My Great Grandma Haun didn't want to have anything to do with the TV. She would much had rather put a jigsaw puzzle together than watch tv, or even fireworks at our family 4th of July get-togethers. She lived to be 100 and was quite fine without the razzle dazzle.

I ask myself, "Am I next? Will I buck technology, refuse to use that which supposedly makes life easier? "Never!" says me, the technology queen.

But hold on a minute, now I have this Droid. My fancy cell phone that in a short four months, went from 'drives me crazy' device to 'can't live without it.' Sure I Tweet, Facebook, and all those things we now accept as everyday. Have all my contacts, sync information from several sources, run my calendar, email, and even count calories on the damned thing. Can you imagine what my grandmothers would have thought if they saw this today?

But in four short months, I have started doing something I thought I'd never do. Shake my head and just be amazed. Here are a few examples:

Let's talk about the counting calories. These fancy phones have applications that do stuff. No longer are they cell phones, but devices. One app I use all the time is called Calorie Counter. Not only can you enter foods you eat, but you can search for them through your device (exact brand name/item), and it pulls the info. from the web into your device and keeps it in a nifty display that shows your calories, fat, sugar, whatever you are into tracking...carbs, even Weight Watcher points...whatever. The much quicker way, however, is if the item you just ate, take Total Cereal... you grab the box, select "bar code scanner" and just scan the bar code. Bleep. In goes all the nutritional information, serving sizes, etc. Voila! It even has Bud Light Golden Wheat beer (which I store under "favorites" :-) All of this links into a website (free, by the way) called MyFatSecret.com. Wonderful journaling site, discussion groups, recipes, and of course, you enter your weight. It then says, "At this pace you will reach your goal in 2.3 months." (Somehow that keeps getting farther away. Might have something to do with the Bud Wheat.)

OK I'll give the device that. Cool, very handy and extremely useful. But here's the head-shaker. I just downloaded Google Sky Map. Why the heck would I need this? Not sure, except for sheer amazement. With the GPS in the device, it finds your location, shows you the horizon, then you can look into the sky and you can choose what you want it to show: location of planets, constellations, stars and other things I had no idea existed in the sky. I did not see a selection for 'UFO' (giggle, please).

It's crap like that that make me scared. Scared to think, "OMG! Will I never use the microwave for popcorn?" I can't imagine ever not wanting to be the first with the new gadget, the thing that gives me that wide-eyed voila! But every now and then, I shake my head and think there's no way to keep up. Someone smack me...I'm talking like an old person!

I guess I can empathize with my grandmothers. Do you reach a point where you just are fine with what you have, and don't need the new gadget, the thing that supposedly makes your life easier, the voila? I know I'm not there yet, but I have a feeling somewhere I may just reach that point where I'm fine with what I have. But maybe not. Will just have to see.

Until then, bring on the gadgets and the apps! Think maybe it can do something with these wrinkles... Voila!?

Droid Does...but Doesn't for Everyone

Warning: I am easily swayed by cool stuff. (That's not the word I wanted to use, but for the kiddies...) Techie stuff, that is. If it's a gadget I think I gotta have it. As my high school classmate/friend Kelly Z. says, it feeds his A.D.D. So I guess I am a little A.D.D. (justa little) I Tweet, Facebook, blog, and am even trying to figure out Google Wave.

Speaking of Google, did you know there is such a thing as Google Goggles? You can take a photo with your phone of, say, the Eiffel Tower. Google it, and guess what? Recognizes the photo and comes up with your search results. It will search such things as landmarks, books, logos, artwork, etc. Pretty soon you can take a picture of a stranger and voila! Hope it doesn't come to that. Freaky weird. But I love it :-)

I digress ... a few weeks ago I was banging my head trying to figure this gadget out. Well I'm about 70% there. Maybe not even that because after I find out how to do something with it, I find out something else that is even cooler! So here are some things that are SUPER COOL.

I have installed an app called Calorie Counter. (Lose It is the iTouch app). Right now I'm only using it to keep a food diary, not necessarily to lose weight. So you add "add breakfast." You can search for the item, find it under quick pick, even has restaurants listed... but the SUPER COOL thing is the "scan barcode." I eat Kelloggs Smart Start for breakfast. You click scan barcode, the Droid goes into camera mode with a little red line across the screen, just like the scanner at the grocery store. You find the bar code on the package and bleep! All information is scanned into the phone. It gives me the calorie count, carbs, fat, even weight watchers points. I know of two people who have lost 15+ pounds using this type of app. SUPER COOL.

Don't run out and buy a GPS for your car! That will all be integrated into your phone...just like it is now on the Droid. Droid is totally integrated with Google anything. Call up the Maps app, it knows your location and gives you voice directions to where you want to go. SUPER COOL. The only thing it needs for me is Snoop Dog voices instead of that monotone computer lady. (Tom-Tom has Snoop voice and others). Ah come on, it's fun. That'll come along before too long.

Oh it has your general stuff: Facebook, Weather Channel, EZ Tip Calculator (since it is a known fact that I can't add), news sites, etc. But back to SUPER COOL. How about the Ringdroid where I can make my own ringtones, or my Green Bay Packers keyboard, an app called Beer Cloud (scan in any beer bar code and it tells you all about the product), Key Ring...those annoying little cards you have to carry around? No more. Scan in the bar code and you have them all on your phone. Sports Tap...gotta have real time scores for every sport I can imagine, lemme see what else do I have on here...Super Yahtzee, Cribbage, Twidroid (Twitter for Droid), oh and the totally SUPER COOL GreenFinder...uses GPS to find out how far you are away from the pin...haven't tested that one out yet but have downloaded all the Lincoln courses into it.

There are so many apps for stuff you would never think of. A flashlight? Really? Uses the screen brightness to help you when you drop your keys. Heck you could grow plants with this thing.

OK so it's SUPER COOL. BUT... here are the drawbacks for the non-A.D.D. world...

First and number one rule: This thing is not a phone. It is a device...and by the way, it makes a phone call and takes a picture. But that is not it's main purpose. You have to be techie clever to figure out you can put shortcuts to all your 'speed dial' buddies on your desktop, otherwise it is an app just like everything else.

Second drawback: As widely stated on Droid forums, the camera flat out sux. I have said that if I'm ever in a hit-and-run where I want to take a quick pic of the fleeing car, forget it. It's not quite an act of congress to take a photo, but once again, that is just another app. It isn't fast enough to access for my A.D.D. when I want to take a picture of Gene Simmons blowing fire at the KISS concert.

Third: It is a brick. This sucker is heavy. You put the heavy-duty case on it, you're logging some serious weight. And it doesn't come with any kind of stylish girly-chick leather carrying pouch. I don't know where to put it! Not attractive in the back pocket, or a smart place to be when you sit down. Thus the heavy-duty case.

Last major issue: I have spent 1/2 my kid's college education money on accessories. Holy rip off, Batman.

Overall: Things that aren't physical you can find an app to solve just about any problem. But physical, you can't change. I would urge anyone who is easily swayed like I am to give this some serious trial period time. It takes quite a bit of geek-ism to get all your stuff set up the way you like it. Kind of like your computer at home, you like it just so, and don't screw up my desktop. The Droid is SUPER COOL but it definitely won't be a fit for just anyone, especially if you just want to make a damned phone call.

The Learning Curve for a Techie: Bang Head Here

Ugh. I got a new toy=the Motorola DROID. Yes, UGH. It's the 'iPhone killer'... 'Most powerful and fastest to date...' 'flashy'... I should be having fun...but no! I HATE the learning curve. Please email, just sync. Calendar...why won't you show up in my gmail calendar? What the heck is the server name? Set up favorites, where is my speed dial? How the hell do I scroll? Oh ya...touch screen. Truly, if you're not a technical person and are over the age of 40, be prepared to ask for assistance. I refuse!

I remember two yrs ago when I got the Blackberry I hated it! But...you figure it out and become used to it. It becomes every day. I suppose this little item will too. But I have learned something with the DROID: It is a DEVICE first, a phone second. It does everything but your laundry. Cool stuff. Cool apps. I just want to make a frikkin phone call. Hated SureType, now miss it. Gotta get used to QWERTY again.

So far I've discovered lots of cool apps. I can play a mean game of cribbage. Have set up all my RSS feeds, integrates with Facebook, even has an app that is a bar code scanner. Yup use the camera to scan a bar code and then do a product search, just to make sure you're not getting took buying that new appliance from Home Depot when it's cheaper at Lowes. I've been told it even has a retinal scanner so that you can custom lock your phone, unlocking with eye recognition. I love technology...WHEN IT IS ALL SET UP!!!!

Well folks, the jury is still out. I'm sure I will report back that this is the neato gadget and I'm completely engulfed. Look me up in December. Beam me up, Scotty...or at least fwd a few weeks past this learning curve! Hopefully in a short time I will have become comfortable and can show off my toy in a knowledgeable manner! Until then, I probably won't be replying with my usual lightening speed. UGH. Bang Head Here.

Giving in? Definitely not giving up!

Oct 23. How long ago was that? 10 days as of this post. That was the day the right hamstring started giving me fits.

Online research..."how to heal hamstring FAST." Well, that Google search doesn't exist, at least with any find that doesn't sell vitamins or Mona Vie.

My then "hamstring injury" search revealed RICE: rest, ice, compression, elevation. So that is what I did. All except the R part. And guess what. A week later, no progress.

Then of course the weekend comes around. Did you know standing around a table for a couple of hours wearing even low-heeled boots watching the Stars hockey game AND drinking beer is NOT good for a hamstring injury? Who woulda thunk it.

So I have have given in to the "R". It is extremely difficult for this 40+'er to NOT DO ANYTHING. Do you know how many times I've not done any exercise for more than 3 days in a row? Barring Jamaican vacations, (which by the way, require a LOT of "R",) it doesn't happen much, due to the guilt factor. I'm not a fanatic, but I like to stay healthy and keep my shape to a decent proportion. Hey I drink beer so there is some give and take there!

Yesterday I taught my spinning class, after the PT said I could but "take it easy." About 7 p.m. last night, what would you think happened? WRONG! I felt great! Leg was loose, pain subsiding... and I'm thinking, "Ya laying around on my arse...phooey." This morning, how do you think things were? WRONG! I felt great! Leg was loose, pain subsiding...I'm thinking, "PHOOEY AGAIN!" Thoughts of canceling Friday's PT appointment going through my mind...

Then I got to work, sat in the chair, started writing web pages... and guess what happened? RIGHT! Sharp, knife stabbing pain in the ham! Ah crap. Guess I'm still on the DL.

OK, OK, Mom, I'll go to the stupid PT appointment. :-(

Butter, white flour and lard: German food! (the western NE type)

Today is German food day! I am taking half a day off work to make cabbage burgers and grebble. Cabbage burgers (kraut berok) are the original Runzas. Grebble are a German doughnut. It's one of those things you grow up with that your Grandma always made, but as an adult yours are never as good as Grandma's. I have no idea why!

You won't find Grebble in eastern Nebraska. Grebble are a specialty of the Germans from Russia that settled in Western Nebraska to work the sugar beet crops. Although the American Heritage Society of Germans from Russia is located right here in Lincoln. Read up on them if you'd like.

Isn't it funny when you were a kid, things tasted so good? Well as a adult I found out why! Butter and lard. I have previously made reference to the German women back home... they have a good excuse.

My whole family will be here for my son's 16th birthday, thus the German food fest. German food, a little hockey, football game, and cheesecake (his favorite birthday cake). It will be great.