On my new iPhone, I noticed that many podcasts episodes were missing the first words. It seems that the phone is trying to intelligently remove words that appear at the beginning of multiple episodes to conserve screen space used. Makes sense on TWiT:
But no so much on Best Week Ever:
Also, I’ve been struggling for a year with AudibleAir (Windows Mobile app for downloading my stuff from audible.com). For some reason, it would fail to download Opie and Anthony episodes. I don’t have any other subscriptions, and the standard audiobooks download fine. Recently I discovered that it would work fine just after a hard reset, and sometimes right after a thorough uninstall of all audible software on the phone.
Well, now for the past week, it’s been working like a charm after I hard reset the phone, installed miminal apps, and installed AA to my storage card. Too bad I’ll likely have an iPhone in a month, plus it’s less of an issue now that I can more easily get the episodes to my iPod (in higher quality anyway).
i was watching a show by streaming it from ABC Family’s web site. There were no commercials except for a promo of a new show coming to the network. What was annoying was that it was the same exact promo for the same show each time.
1) They should have shown another show’s promo. I’m now aware of that show from the first break, no need to show it again.
2) They could have at least shown a different promo than the first. It was the same dialog and scenes that I wasn’t interested in the first time.
3) They could have shown me a real ad and gotten some revenue out of it.
I called PF Changs at about 5:15 to make a reservation for 6pm:
PFC: I’m sorry, but we need 2 hours notice. however, just come in and we’ll try to get you seated as soon as possible.
Wow, I’m so glad that PF Chang’s has stepped up and incorporated this new and novel concept in restaurant management.
For my birfday, i got a HDTV, so I decided to get the HD DVR from Cablevision. I knew it would pale in comparison to my ReplayTV but I wanted to be able to record the HD content in its native format. Also it turns out the DVRs have dual tuners so I can be tuned to two channels while watching a recording.
It’s been a PITA ever since. The box I picked up at a Randolph Cablevision store did not work in Bergen County (well it worked fine for about a minute but then decided I wasn’t authorized). That took until the weekend to get a guy out to bring me a new one which worked, for about a week or so and then said I was unauthorized again and only gave me some basic channels The problem was resolved by a guy coming out to the property but he didn’t need access to my apt.
Throughout all this, interactive channels (on demand, OPtimum Autos/Homes, iMSG, etc), did not work, so I am now trying to get this resolved. Also, now that the season has started, I’m recording a lot and the box is rebooting a lot (probably once a day, maybe slightly less).
I’ve tried some things with Cablevision and have an appt set up to replace the box if necessary. Here’s what’s bugging me. They have two types of DVRs: ones by Sony that have Firewire, and ones that don’t have firewire by Scientific Atlanta. I have the SA box but want Firewire. (Incidentally, it’s an FCC reg that they provide customers who ask with a Firewire-enabled box) These are my options:
1) Have guy visit. get new SA box: Free
2) Have guy visit. get new Sony box:46.95
3) Go to an Optimum Store, get Sony box: free
I dunno, I think it’s reasonable that if:
a) CV offers free swaps to customers,
b) CV carries Sony boxes, and
c) CV is sending a guy over to swap my defective box for free
then I could have a free swap to a Sony. It’s not any more work for them and it’s not an ‘upgrade’ otherwise they’d charge for it.
The whole thing just makes me want to ditch it and get a Tivo HD (fully betraying my ReplayTV and making my journey to the dark site COMPLETE! - sorry for the spit). However I would get the CableCards, which cost $46.95 to install.
Tags: tv, consumerist, entertainment
Went to the gym this morning. I’m steamed and it’s not just from the cardio. In order to lighten my load while walking to and while in the gym, I only carried my keys, my phone/streaming radio and $1.25 to buy a bottle of water. I go through my strength training then go down to the cardio and vending machines (I much prefer the vending machine). I look at the bottom of row where the Poland Spring usually sits. All empty. The entire bottom row is devoted to Poland Spring and it was totally empty.
Alright, no biggie. There’s actually a Poland Spring machine right next to it…fantastic..oh crap…OUT OF ORDER!! (Fuck! Even in the present, nothing works!). So my eyes meander back to the spice-of-life drink machine and see that everything else is $1.75 or more (and the pickins’ were slim there too).
So, I go to the front desk, even though previous attempts at obtaining currency have been fruitless. I ask if anyone’s got any quarters. They don’t, and the cash register is empty. It’s always empty. What good is a cash register with no cash? They should take it to a pawn shop and sell it. Ironically, they would finally have some cash, which could benefit the patrons.
I realize it’s not really their job to provide change and cash like a video arcade attendant, but I do think it’s the club’s job to keep its patrons as comfortable as possible, when possible, since most of the time is spent being uncomfortable. You would think they would also have measures in place to ensure that their source of supplemental income is able to continue generating it.
Michael over at Ineptitude.com posted a story about an airline refusing to stop mailings to his address that were destined for another person, citing that it would be against their privacy policy.
I wrote to my bank with a suggestion:
I would like to request that e-mail notifications of large withdrawals (or whatever it may be) include either the exact balance or the description of the transaction.
Chances are good that the transaction is expected, and doesn’t require a trip to the web site to determine if that’s the case. If I don’t recognize the amount or description from the email, only then would I need to visit the site.
The response I got was instructions for creating an alert. Fantastic. They’ve given me steps for doing something I CLEARLY already know how to do.
UPDATE: I wrote back in an annoyed tone and got a response:
I’m glad you sent us another message and regret any inconvenience this situation may have caused you. Providing excellent service is an important part of our business and I’m sorry that our initial response did not meet your expectations. I hope you find this response reflects that commitment to service.
I appreciate you taking time to share your suggestions with us. We are continuously working to improve your experience on [the site] so I’ve made sure your comments were forwarded appropriately.