I made two trips to Radio Shack during my weekend adventure in home theater wiring.  The first was on Saturday morning to get more speaker wire.  I went to the local, Keller Radio Shack because it’s close and fairly convenient.  The problem was that they try way too hard to push you to buy other stuff.  To the point where I hate going there.  But, once again, the only reason I go there is because it’s close by.  If I’m not in a hurry, I’ll go somewhere else. 

This time, all I wanted was some speaker wire.  I checked the website and it showed it as being in stock.  First, the guy tried to mention that they had Monster wire, but I didn’t care about that.  Audiophiles may notice the difference, but Monster has always seemed overpriced for what you get.  Then, at checkout he tries to sell me batteries.  I’m used to this, because they do it all the time.  The problem was that this guy wouldn’t take “No” for an answer.  As far as I’m concerned, once I say “No” to an offer, that’s the end of it.

For my second trip, I checked the stock on the remote extender at the Watagua store since I was going to be in that area.  They were a lot less of a pain in the ass, so perhaps I’ll start using them more.  Still, I don’t go into a Radio Shack unless I’m in a hurry and don’t want to go all the way over to Fry’s.

If I were to believe in a diety, I think that I might have to pray to it for deliverance from projects where the customer has already tried to engineer a solution and estimate the cost before they bring me in. 

I’ve spent the past several days dealing with fallout over the fact that once I get involved and take a look at things that I tend to find that their proposed “solution” is in fact a big mess.  This leads to me spending lots of time explaining why the original “estimate” was wrong and why it can’t be done the way they thought it could.

I know in some of these cases they did these things because when I was previously in the DO that it was hard to get me assigned to work on these things.  But the other problem is that one of my customers is a frustrated designer/programmer who is now working in the business area.  His requirements specification documents read more like design outlines than requirements.

To give an analogy, imagine that you want to have a new building built and you have some ideas about what you want it to contain.  Now think about how realistic it would be if you (without much knowledge of architecture, construction methods/costs, or building codes) tried to create a blueprint and to estimate the cost.  Do you think your estimate would be very accurate?  Would your blueprints actually be usable for construction?  Would you actually try to use this estimate to obtain financing for construction?  Further, would you then estimate a completion date based on all this?

Most people wouldn’t expect an architect or contractor to accept these as binding, yet somehow when it comes to software they think this is OK.  They will come to me with a pseudo-design which won’t work and with an already established budget based on their finger-in-the-wind guesstimate.  And then they will complain bitterly when the real design and cost estimate are different!

This isn’t to say that I won’t try to accomodate their needs, but it sometimes boggles my mind the unrealistic expectations that people bring to the software development business.  But why should I and my development team be punished for bad assumptions on the part of other people?  I can only hope this gets better now that I’m dedicated to this project and will be involved in these sub-projects earlier.

The new Texas law that forces stores to lock up anything with pseudoephedrine in it goes into effect today.  It requires stores to get ID from purchasers and keep a log of all sales.  It’s supposedly “for the children” and to prevent people from cooking up meth in small labs.

Frankly, I don’t think this is going to put much of a dent in the meth supply.  First, the majority of it is coming over the Mexican border via couriers (who cross with the other illegals).  If I didn’t know better, I’d almost be inclined to believe that this bill was written at the behest of the big illegal drug labs south of the border.  If it has any effect on the small labs, it would likely cut down on their competition with the big ones in Mexico.

Given the law of unintended consequences, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the meth cookers start targeting delivery trucks to get their supplies.  Alternately, they might also start using networks of “buyers” who go around to different stores.  I just don’t see this having much of a dent in the overall availability of meth.

In the end I suspect this will only end up inconveniencing people like me who rely on Claritin-D.  I use it year-round, since I seem to be allergic to a select group of things that always seem to be in the air (although I get it worse when the mold count goes up).

A while back I wrote about spying printers (and copiers), which embed identifying information on each page.  The EFF is now asking for assistance to gather information from as many printers as possible in an effort to identify which models have this technology and to try to break the encryption/encoding scheme they use so that the data that is being encoded can be shown.

Link via Slashdot.

An article in this morning’s Star-Telegram about excuses people give to get out of work caught my attention.  It seems that people give some pretty weird and off-the-wall excuses to get out of work.

• “I was sprayed by a skunk.”
• “I tripped over my dog and was knocked unconscious.”
• “My bus broke down and was held up by robbers.”
• “I was arrested as a result of mistaken identity.”
• “I couldn’t find my shoes.”
• “I totaled my wife’s Jeep in a collision with a cow.”
• “My cat unplugged my alarm clock.”
• “I had to be there for my husband’s grand jury trial.”
• “I had to ship my grandmother’s bones to India.” (Note: She had passed away 20 years earlier.)

I would think that if someone wanted a day off they could just claim to be sick with something that would keep them incapicitated for a day but that wouldn’t likely require a doctor’s visit.  At least that kind of thing is vaguely plausible. 

But this got me to thinking about something that I’ve noticed about some employer policies.  I notice that they treat sick time kind of like vacation in that it accrues over time.  It seems odd to me to do this, since it would also encourage the use of sick time as a form of vacation.  Further, it could end up putting people into a nasty position if something major happened that required more sick time than was accrued.

In my case I don’t get a set amount of sick time.  If something major were to happen, I wouldn’t have to worry about running out.  But I also have plenty of options about when I work.  I have some flexibility so if I need to run an errand or take off on an afternoon for an appointment, then I can just make up the time elsewhere.  All that really matters is that I meet my commitments to the job.  I can see how people would be tempted to take sick time if they didn’t have these options.

I’m not sure why, but I had the impression that Sports Authority had more class than to engage in pre-recorded telephone spam, but the same day I got the phone spam from Dish Network I got one for Sports Authority.  Perhaps that’s what’s bugging me so much.  It’s like someone flipped a switch and my business line is now attracting telemarketers, despite being on both the national and state do-not-call lists.  It’s doubly annoying since I have to answer this damn phone.  It’s there for my work.

I intentionally got this phone without Caller ID because the feature is useless with my company’s telephone forwarding system and the number is unlisted.  I hoped that between being unlisted (and I never give it to anyone) and being on the do-not-call lists that I wouldn’t be bothered.  I guess now I’ll have to see if I can get Caller ID without having to purchase a bundle of crap I don’t need so I can at least tell when it’s a legitimate call for work or if it’s some damn asshole trying to sell me something in a telephonic pre-recorded drive-by.

Just when I thought it was safe to answer the phone, Dish Network assaulted my business line with a pre-recorded autodialer.  Worse, one with a VRU!

This time I attempted to root out the culprit by pressing “1” to speak to an agent.  Someone named “Erin” took the call and tried to sell me a subscription to Dish Network.  Up to this point, I hadn’t been completely sure that it was Dish, but I had strongly suspected it to be the case.  Unfortunately, it was impossible to get her to own up to the name of the company she worked for.  She would only say they were “affiliated” with Dish Network.  At that point I thought I would take a shot at getting removed from their calling list, but she hung up on me. 

So, I got a bit ticked off and filed a complaint with the Texas PUC against Dish Network.  I don’t give a rat’s ass whether Dish was the company that called me or not.  It was done in their name and they have a responsibility to make their affiliates follow the law.

Anyhow, let’s examine the case against this Dish Network affiliate.  While the complaint I filed was for violating the Texas Do Not Call list, I could also (and am considering it) file a complaint at the federal level for violating a number of rules. 

Calls using artificial or prerecorded voice messages – including those that do not use autodialers – may not be made to residential telephone numbers except in the following cases:

• emergency calls needed to ensure the consumer’s health and safety;
  I’m pretty sure selling satellite service doesn’t ensure my health or safety; in fact, the annoyance raises my blood pressure…
• calls for which you have given prior consent;
  I certainly didn’t consent.  In fact, putting my number on the national and state do-not-call lists is a good sign that consent is not expressed or implied…
• non-commercial calls;
  Selling satellite service certainly seems like a commercial enterprise.
• calls which don’t include or introduce any unsolicited advertisements or constitute telephone solicitations;
  It was an unsolicited advertisement to solicit me to sign up for Dish Network service.
• calls by, or on behalf of, tax-exempt non-profit organizations;
  I’m pretty sure Dish Network intends to make a profit off of me.
• or, calls from entities with which you have an established business relationship.
  I most assuredly do not have a prior business relationship with Dish Network, as I loathe them and their sales tactics.

In addition, the FCC’s rules prohibit the use of autodialers in a way that ties up two or more lines of a multi-line business at the same time.  (I only have one line so I guess they get a pass on this one.)

All artificial or prerecorded telephone messages, must state, at the beginning, the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call. Fail!  If a business is responsible for initiating the call, the name under which the entity is registered to conduct business with the State Corp. Commission (or comparable regulatory authority) must be stated.  Wouldn’t even tell me who they were when questioned after the recording! During or after the message, the caller must give the telephone number (other than that of the autodialer or prerecorded message player that placed the call) of the business, other entity, or individual that made the call.  Ha!  Their whole M.O. is to avoid giving out their contact information.  It may not be a 900 number or any other number for which charges exceed local or long distance transmission charges.  Heck, I’d even take that if I could find some way to contact these bastards.

Autodialers that deliver a recorded message must release the called party’s telephone line within 5 seconds of the time that the calling system receives notification that the called party’s line has hung up.  Fail!  I’ve had problems with this consistently with them.  Their system will not release my line, even after 10 seconds or longer.

In certain areas there might be a delay before you can get a dial tone again. Your local telephone company can tell you if there is a delay in your area.  I’d accept the delay if they’d just get the hell off the line when I hang up.  Instead, they’ll still be yakking away when I pick it up again.

Seems like this Dish Network “affiliate” has designed their message to break just about every rule concerning recording messages.  It’s almost as if they planned it this way… 

I wrote about this problem nearly two years ago, and in finding that link I see that once again Target moves me to say pretty much the same thing.

I was in the local Target over the weekend and I happened across an XM Roady on clearance for $45.  While it wasn’t optimal for home installation, it was tempting because it had all the components needed (unlike the other units which require expensive kits for home or auto).  Since I’ve already got XM in the truck, I could add this unit on my existing account pretty easily.

However, my musings on connecting and using the unit were interrupted by a young lady with a clipboard who was wandering the isles attempting to sign people up for a Target Visa card.  This is the one thing that really annoys the daylights out of me about them.  They push and push and push this card to the point I’m really considering staying out of the store.  Heck, I even had one experience where the clerk tried to get me to sign up for the card when I purchased a case of bottled water (like I’m stupid enough to sign up for a 20%-interest credit card to save 45-cents on a purchase).  While Target has a much nicer shopping environment than Wal-Mart, at least Wal-Mart isn’t pushing their damn credit card on you at every opportunity and interrupting your shopping.

Target will never get me to sign up for their Visa card, and they lost a sale (albeit a cheap clearance sale, but a sale nonetheless) over it, because I was so annoyed that I decided to myself to just get the hell out of the store with the couple of items I’d come for. 

Much like The Fat Guy and his dancing pig, the heat had sapped my life force and I was sorely tempted to post my own version of the “Adios, mofos” farewell.

However, I find myself in a state of general annoyance with the world at the moment, so watch this space for some annoyance-driven drivel.  More to come…

It seems that the old water-cooler is now virtual, since companies now have geographically dispersed teams and many work-at-home employees.  I’m sure the company’s purpose in creating an IM system was to improve productivity, and they probably never expected some of the uses it gets put to today.  A prime example of which is the following conversation that I just yanked out of one of my IM windows (and sanitized to remove any identifying information)…

Coworker – what is considered to be impolite to leave stuck in your rice in Japan except at funerals?
Me – Your chopsticks?
Coworker – yep
Me – I had never known that, but the context of the question suggested the answer.
Coworker – the question was on a chocolate wrapper
Coworker – an authoritative source
Me – What kind of chocolate?
Coworker – Reeses
Me – I guess in previous experiences with Reeses that I must have missed these pearls of wisdom on the wrapper in my haste to partake of rich chocolaty-peanutty goodness…
Coworker – well, I am getting around to eating bell shaped Christmas ones <OtherCoworker> gave me
Coworker – sort of cleaning out my office
Me – Uh….
Coworker – they’re still good
Me – You better make sure your insurance is paid up…
Coworker – oh, come on
Me – I guess they could be, based on shelf-life… but still… something about 7-month old chocolate seems… well… offputting to say the least.
Coworker – ha, that’s fresh for me
Me – 
Coworker – I prefer the Nestle’s Treasures
Coworker – but no thought provoking questions on the wrapper
Me – Unfortunate.

Surely, with vital communications such as this coursing through it, our IM system is enhancing productivity and creating synergies throughout the company…