Spotting the elusive DHL truck

So, I heard a noise outside my window and it sounded like a truck, and sure enough it was the DHL truck and it was JUST LEAVING MY BUILDING! I ran downstairs, and there was no package, no delivery notice, nothing!

I called the local DHL office (believe me, I have that number stored in my contacts list now!) and tried to sound calm as I explained that the driver had been here and *I* had been here and there was no package and no delivery attempt. They said they would message the driver and send him back.

About 20 minutes later, I heard a knock on my door and someone yelling "DHL!" Finally, my computer!!!

The DHL guy at the door says "sorry we missed each other yesterday". (Cha, right...I was here!) and I ask him "and what about Wednesday?" You know what he tells me? He basically admits that he didn't even TRY to deliver the package on Wednesday. I told him I was waiting for him all day and didn't even take a shower so he says I'm making him feel guilty and I'm like "YOU SHOULD!!!" Then he sees my cat Rodney and starts asking me how old he is and giving me advice on having his teeth cleaned. In fact, he went on and on about how important it is, how the vet charges too much and how he used to be a dental hygienist. Okay, like I care. Hello buddy, I don't care if it cost $500 for you to have your 16 yr old cat's teeth cleaned and they wanted to charge you extra for excessive tartar buildup...I've spent over $15,000 on my cat in the last year, so I'm not impressed. I think he just wanted to keep talking until I hopefully forgot that I waited around all day for him on the day he just pretended I wasn't home instead of trying to deliver to me. Sorry buddy, I am NOT going to forget about that!!! It would have been better if he'd just gone away immediately.

(I just had this nightmare flash of him being my dental hygienist and being stuck in a chair for what would feel like an eternity while he scraped plaque off my teeth and yakked on and on about the most inane things. Noooooo!)

Oh...oh...and he asked me what was in the package, too! So unprofessional. I should have told him it was a bunch of pre-owned sex toys or maybe some adult diapers or...or...I dunno, something that would make him think twice about asking such nosy questions in the future.

So, now I have my computer, and with any luck I will find that copy of Windows XP was delivered today as well. It would have been SOOO great to have had it on Wednesday instead, though! I could have been setting it up Wednesday, finished it up Thursday and maybe even started doing some work Thursday. Now I'm way behind and I have plans in a few hours that DON'T include futzing around with a computer and a dual boot system. Gah.

Note: this was not my "regular" DHL guy, whom I actually like although maybe he sucks a little bit for letting someone else work his route most of this week.

Things that suck

Who sucks is obviously tainted by who is most popular. But...it does seem to demonstrate that the more popular and high profile you are, the higher the number of people who will think you suck.

This morning, let me tell you who sucks...

1. PayPal sucks.
When selling ThereBucks, I am rather partial to larger transactions. If someone overseas buys $10 of ThereBucks from me, I end up paying 6.2% in transaction fees to PayPal, which leaves me with almost no profit from buying the ThereBucks from another developer. That's why now that I sell on my own, I don't allow purchases of less than $20. I actually have a lot of customers that will buy $100 or $200 worth of ThereBucks at a time if I have that much in stock, and that's great EXCEPT that sometimes on foreign orders (and I can't really figure out which ones this is) PayPal ends up charging me something that works out to be like, 5% in fees even on a $200 order. That so sucks, especially when you realize that PayPal charges the same whether you are receiving money directly from someone else's PayPal account (which costs PayPal nothing) or from a credit card (in which case PayPal pays a small fee to the credit card company and faces risk of chargebacks and such.) They already make up their own exchange rates when going cross-border, why do they have to stick more outrageous fees in there? They don't really explain the fees, either. I was trying to research this, and it looks like maybe PayPal charges the highest rate when someone is buying from you from another country, paying you in the U.S. and doing it with U.S. funds instead of their local currency. WTF? That doesn't make any sense to me.

2. Some guy in Palo Alto sucks.
When I ordered my new computer, I chose to have them install Windows Vista so I could play with the shiny new interface. While waiting for the computer to arrive I became worried because I've heard of problems getting certain programs to work with Vista. So, I decided I should create a dual boot system and I bought a new copy of Windows XP from some guy on eBay. I chose this guy to buy from partly because he's in Palo Alto so if he ships something out it only has to go about six miles and I should receive it the next day. Well, the dude waited three days to ship it! I might as well have ordered it from someplace on the east coast!
Some guy in Palo Alto vs. Windows Vista

3. DHL sucks.
I have had some problems with DHL in the past, like the time when the delivery driver said my address didn't exist (um, buddy...I think UPS, USPS and FedEx would all disagree with you there...) so I'm always a bit leery when getting a delivery via DHL as opposed to another service, but the regular DHL delivery guy knows me now and I hadn't had any problems for a while. But THIS week...argh! Monday they didn't deliver a package because my address was incomplete (they shouldn't have accepted the package with an address like that, IMO) but at least I got it Tuesday. Then Wednesday my new computer was scheduled to be delivered so I waited ALL DAY for them to deliver without even taking a shower or running any errands because I didn't want to miss them and they ended up not delivering it because they said I wasn't home! So, Thursday the same thing happened again. The thing is, not only have I been sitting around waiting for them ALL DANGED DAY, but the front door buzzer is hooked up to my cell phone, so I could be anywhere I get cell phone service and if they ring my front door I would at least know about it...and they haven't! So why do they keep saying I'm not home?

Wednesday I didn't even get a delivery notice on the door, then Thursday the mail was delivered very late and when I checked my mailbox I found the DHL delivery attempt notice IN MY LOCKED MAILBOX! So my theory is that the postal carrier and the DHL deliver guy decided "screw making deliveries, let's go to the bar and have some brewskies!". Then after tying a few on, the postal carrier remembered his creed:

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds

And the postal carrier, feeling guilty and tipsy, went off to finish delivering his mail, albeit a little late, but the DHL guy, not wanting to drink and drive, asked the postal carrier if he could just distribute some attempted delivery notices for him while he was out there. The DHL guy probably intended that the postal carrier put them on the doors, but being a bit tipsy as well, the mail carrier just put them in the boxes out of habit.

That's how *I* think it went down anyway. Now today I am supposed to get my delivery between 2 and 3 pm, and I'm waiting around before then as well just in case, although my backup plan is that my bf take me to the DHL offices to pick up the package directly (a bit tricky, because there is only a 30 minute window in which to do this). Next time I order something IMPORTANT like this online, I am damn well going to make sure the person I'm ordering from does NOT use DHL!!!!!

Where art thou, DHL?

I'm sitting here waiting for the DHL guy to show up...I don't dare take a shower or run errands or do a load of laundry because any of those activities might mean that I would miss my package delivery.

Last week I ordered a new computer and monitor. My main computer is pretty much useless since it simply turns off it regular intervals. Microsoft alternates between telling me this is a hardware, a software, and a driver problem...I've given up and it's probably about time for a new computer anyway. I've been anxiously awaiting it so I can get some "real" work done for a change.

Monday the new monitor was supposed to arrive, but since my address was incomplete on the shipping label (basically my first name, the name of my street without the street address and my city/state/zip) it wasn't delivered until yesterday. Not much use without the computer. Now today the computer is supposed to arrive - a day earlier than predicted - and I've been waiting ALL DAY for the DHL guy to show up.

I just had to post here and complain about it. The DHL guy goes to my gym and recognizes me if I'm walking down the street - he knows my address/apt # by heart, I'm pretty sure his entire route is in Redwood City, and I'd be willing to bet he's driven within two blocks of my building at least three times today, but for whatever reason he hasn't showed up at my place yet. ARGH! I have to leave at 5:30 and it would have been really nice to do laundry before then and really, not showering before then isn't an option. Tomorrow I'm gone for several hours in the middle of the day for China's chemo appt....I really, really need to get the package today and I know this one is signature required.

Maybe I could go walk up and down the streets of Redwood City and try to flag him down...whatever...at this point I'm not even going to be able to take the thing out of the box today and start setting it up. :(

Google will find you!

So, IMVU does this sort of weird creepy evil thing where you can invite anyone you have an email address for to come chat with you on IMVU. The invitation email says "is this person your friend? Please respond or they may think you said No!" WTF? That's so manipulative.

But anyway, the part I find funny is that when you read that email in Gmail, Google will figure out that it is from IMVU and it just you know, KNOWS where IMVU is (of course, they know where everyone is, they're driving around in vans photographing everything!!!) and so they post IMVU's address right on the side of the page.

I just have this idea that maybe IMVU doesn't want their office address posted right beside every email they send out. I knew where they were located before anyway, since I visit the offices sometimes, but this kind of makes me want to send them a GIANT colorful postcard that says "WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND? Yes ____ No ______ Please respond or I will think you said no!" Ha.

Oh which reminds me...I got an email from Google the other day asking if I would be available to come to Mountain View for some sort of focus group thingy IF I met the demographics or qualifications or whatever. I didn't see the email until 40 minutes after it arrived, but of course I filled it out right away...getting to see the Google offices would be pretty exciting! They were looking for people for the next morning so I imagined it was maybe some last minute desperate scramble to find participants so maybe I had a good shot, but I never heard back. So sad. Or is it? I had a brief flash of that movie "The Island" with Scarlet Johansson where all these characters are desperately waiting to win the lottery so they can go to The Island, and what really happens when they "win the lottery" is that they have their body parts harvested. Maybe "don't be evil" is some kind of euphemism for "take people up to the mothership and replace them with bodysnatchers"?

Isn't Google supposed to be working on their own 3D chat thing? I heard this artist that used to do some contract work at IMVU was working on some project like that for Google a while back. Why don't they just buy IMVU? Wait...hmmm...if I own stock in IMVU and IMVU got sold to Google, would an IMVU share be worth as much as a Goog share? Wooooo....I just did a little calculation and...I'd be rolling in dough! No, I don't think it works that way, they probably decide based on the price the company is sold for somehow divided by the total number of shares??? Still...Google, be nice and buy IMVU. Please????

Oakland A's flipped

Yesterday was my first ever Oakland A's game. It was freezing and I didn't feel like moving around and holding my arm up in the air away from the warmth of my body, but I made myself take some video with my new Flip video camera anyway. I've never uploaded anything to YouTube either, but I thought I'd give that a try this morning. Here is my video of some Oakland A's dude getting a run. Right afterwards there was a homerun and the A's scored a couple MORE points, but of course I didn't get that on film. FYI the final score was 1 - 6.


I also got a nifty zip-up sweatshirt thingy with the A's logo on it. (Thank you Mr Besitos Man!) It's pretty nice even though it isn't very warm. At least now I have something to wear to a Giants game.

The Flip Video Camcorder is a neato device that makes shooting video and uploading it to the web extremely easy at a very reasonable price.

I decided to get a Flip because it got really good reviews, and it is pretty convenient. It runs on two AA batteries, and it's called the Flip because it has a USB connector that flips out from the side to plug into any USB computer port. That's when something cool happens...there is a simple video viewing/editing program built right into the camera that you will be asked if you want to use when you are plugging the device in. There is nothing to install on the computer you are using, and yet you can have something uploaded to YouTube from ANY computer with a USB port (hmmm...maybe the library???) without installing anything.

The Flip is so easy to use that you don't even need the short little instruction pamphlet that comes with it. If I could change a few things about it, I would put a tripod mount on the bottom, add a zoom lens, and take out the proprietary port on the top which allows you to take your camera in to an authorized store and have them burn your video straight to DVD and instead put in space for a memory card. The camera holds 60 minutes of video (there is also a 30 minute version), which is probably more than enough for uploading to the web (esp since YouTube limits videos to ten minutes) but it would be nice to have some extra storage just in case. Still, it's definitely worth the price if you just want to shoot and upload some video to the web quickly. It would be really fun to pass around at family gatherings.

Unrated Blockbuster

I've tried Netflix and I've also tried Blockbuster's movie delivery system, and I ended up with Netflix because they have far more movies including loads of documentaries. My biggest problem with Blockbuster was...they simply don't carry NC-17 movies. Or so I thought.

So I was confused the other day when I walked past my local blockbuster and I saw a big movie poster in their window bragging about the unrated version of some movie they were carrying. What???? Why would they have an unrated movie if they don't carry NC-17? I never noticed that they did that before, but it seems that although they DON'T carry NC-17, they DO carry unrated versions of movies. Walmart, too. WTF???? Such hypocrisy. Are they pretending that they have NO IDEA that these "unrated" versions are probably the same, if not twice as raunchy/sexy/gorey/violent as an NC-17 version?

It's great to see movie studios come out from under the thumb of the Motion Picture Association of America...obviously people want to see the unrated versions since they always sell more than the rated versions. Too bad this is only on DVD and not in the theaters, forcing movie production crews to make two versions of each movie. Haha...that's as bad as the porn industry, where they have to shoot one version of a sceen for softcore and one for XXX.

Still, I can't get over the hypocrisy of Blockbuster and Walmart here. There is a really good movie about how the MPAA works called "This film is not yet rated" that you should check out if you haven't yet.

Meanwhile, my bf is getting his new tv on Friday and it's just about big enough to be used in a movie theater...so maybe I'll just have to watch (unrated) movies at his place from now on. I hope he makes good popcorn. If people say one day in the not-too-distant future that home theater systems and dvds killed movie theaters...they would do well to remember that "real" movie theaters were showing censored versions of movies and maybe it was really the MPAA and the big companies that own those theaters that put them out of business.

Picking China's nose

Yesterday was chemo day for China, once again. I thought her weight was about the same, but they called me while I was at lunch and said she had lost another 1/3 pound and they wanted to run a bunch of tests like abdominal ultrasound, blood tests, xrays and any other really expensive veterinary procedure you can think of. Now, I've spent $15,000 on her so far, so it's not like I'm unwilling to spend money on her because she's "just a cat", but 1.) it would be half the price to have these tests done at my local vet, 2.) when I suggested force-feeding her, they said I have to think about her quality of life if she needs to be force-fed (what about her quality of life if she has to spend all day getting prodded by needles and ultra-sounds and sedated for x-rays?) and 3.) they said I might try microwaving her food to make it "smellier".

I should mention that snot has been coming out of China's nose for months now. They tried to clear it up with several types of antibiotics, but nothing made the snot go away (and she especially loathed taking the liquid antibiotic). She will have these sneezing fits (and I can hear her sneezing right now) where long strands of snot come out of her nose and often go flying all over everything (the wall, windows, my clothes) and sometimes it just gets dried up and crusty. I mostly leave her nose alone, because she doesn't like having it touched.

So I get back to the vet (where she didn't have all the expensive tests, just her chemotherapy) and they tell me I should use saline nose drops on her nose and keep it clean and clear of snot, something they obviously did for her while she was there. Then, when I got her home, she started eating food like crazy! Maybe I don't have to force-feed her again...I just have to pick her nose for her.

You can pick your friends
You can pick your nose
but you can't pick your friend's nose
(but I pick my cat's nose)

I'm selling! http://jinx.tv/tbux

One of the most difficult things about buying ThereBucks is catching a seller that is in stock. Sometimes anyway. I'm sure most people have better things to do with their time than wonder when ThereBucks sellers are in stock. Sooo...I've given a lot of thought to this problem considering different ways to alert people who are most anxious to find out when I'm selling (sorry, I can't help you find out when other sites are selling). If you want to know if I'm selling, subscribe to the comments in this blog post. When I'm selling, I'll post a comment to let you know. Okay...here we go...

Google: driving around a neighborhood near you

Yesterday I was printing out a map from maps.google.com when I noticed a shiny new button: Street View. Erm, isn't that what Google Maps DOES, show you a street view?

Apparently Google has sent out vans or some type of vehicle all over major U.S. cities and taken actual street-level pictures of gazillions of streets. It's kind of freaky. Check out this list of "top 15 google street view sightings". I'm sure some even more entertaining pictures will be found sooner or later. Hopefully not of me.

I checked, and my street is not represented (yet) but pretty much all of Palo Alto is, so check out the IMVU offices street view!!!

I guess this is the technology Google is using to do this. Those who love Google Earth (hi mom and kel) are going to FLIP over this.

Naughty, but good exercise

Rodney is just soooo jealous of China and her rabbit hutch and hungry for all the delicious smells that emanate from behind its bars. Yesterday I caught him hanging off the edge of the table/hutch while trying to snag some food but I wasn't quick enough with the camera. Today...success! And for him, too...in the far right image he has actually snagged a bit of food. I thought of yelling at him or trying to otherwise discourage him, but it's got to be so much work/exercise to try and get an actual morsel that it's not likely to make him gain any more weight and may actually keep him occupied.

Of course, the idea of sitting just inside with a super-soaker and blasting him when he does that is pretty tempting, too....