Wired Pig's World

Can You Imagine??

For those of us removed by distance from the effects of Hurricane Katrina its hard to imagine what the devastation really is. Okay, New Orleans is flooding and twenty-five thousand people are being relocated from the Super Dome to the Astro Dome 300 miles away. That we keep seeing... ad-nausium.

What about the damage and total destruction in Mississippi? Not much from outside Biloxi on the news that I've seen. So, to bring it into perspective I point you to WLBT NBC affiliate channel 3. Once your at the site, Follow the links SkyCopter Gulf Coast Damage: 3rd Trip and Skycopter on the Gulf Coast--Second Tour on the main page.

I am not downplaying the damage and suffering in NO, only that there is MORE to the story.

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Gas Prices

With the loss of the use of the New Orleans oil port, gas prices are rising... Just look at the prices around the country (look right and you can see the current gas prices...)

Why am I commenting on this? Easy.. I started a job this last week that has a 40 mile commute one way... if the prices go up, I'll have to quit the job because I cant afford to pour my checks into my gas tank.

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Disaster

Why is it when disaster strikes people seem to be caught off guard? Is it the, "It cant happen here" attitude? When you roll the dice, you don't get lucky that often people.

At least one American Ally has offered help to the US in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. That country is Germany.

Kudos!! The US Navy and Marines from the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group was preparing to sail from Norfolk, Va., loaded with disaster response equipment and was expected to reach the Louisiana coast in five days, officials said. The group consists of USS Iwo Jima, USS Shreveport, USS Tortuga and USNS Arctic.
They will join members of the Army, Coast Guard, Airforce and National Guard who are already en route or on scene to assist. The USS Bataan is already enroute from its Texas port. Additionally the hospital ship USNS Comfort was preparing to leave Baltimore to bring medical assistance to the Gulf region and was expected to reach the area in seven days, officials said.

With all that is happening, please pray for the people of New Orleans. I dont care if you belive in the power of prayer or not.

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'Tis a Wonderful World...

This makes me personally and professionally sick.

Even a Cop joins the Looting

Law enforcement efforts to contain the emergency left by Katrina slipped into chaos in parts of New Orleans Tuesday with some police officers and firefighters joining looters in picking stores clean.
...
Some officers joined in taking whatever they could, including one New Orleans cop who loaded a shopping cart with a compact computer and a 27-inch flat screen television.
...
At least one officer tried futilely to control a looter through shame.“When they say take what you need, that doesn’t mean an f-ing TV,” the officer shouted to a looter. “This is a hurricane, not a free-for-all.”
...
Inside the store, one woman was stocking up on make-up. She said she took comfort in watching police load up their own carts. “It must be legal,” she said. “The police are here taking stuff, too.”

[Click the link above for the full story.]

At least a few of the coppers did the right thing. When all is said and dane, I say hang the bastard cops. WE SET THE EXAMPLE... nothing in my oath or commission made me believe I was better than anyone else or above the law.

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Shipping..

Yeah!! Whoo hoo!!!! My daughters desktop is finally shipping today!! Which means I need to be home tomorrow to get it... hmm...

Have a good weekend!

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Dells Reprieve

As you will recall, Dell cancelled my order on the 12th and reordered everything.

On 8/12 the GPS shipped and arrived on 8/15. The Axim shipped on 8/15 and arrived today. I would have had it on 8/16 if I was home when FedEx came by.

I am pleased with the resolution. After my 1st email to Dell I was given an upgrade to next day delivery. After my last email I was given a $50.00 concession.

Dell's CSR's are good. Dell's ordering process still sucks.

My Dimension 2400 is in the 'Boxing' stage... where its been since 8/15...

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Ultimate Frustration

First I need to state that I am 'Pro Dell'. I love the company's products.

Now, for my frustration...

Before getting the 'Order Delayed' email from Dell, I emailed and asked WHY it was taking 2 weeks to build and ship a PC, printer and Pocket PC. That topic is here.

Today I sent dell the following -

Can you tell me EXACTLY what "promotional item included in your recent order" is delaying the shipment? Its in either order 49501XXX, 49501XXX, or 49501XXX.
Is it the Axim X50v 2200mah battery, the Dell Printer or something else??

To which I was sent -

You are receiving a new order confirmation because it was necessary to cancel and re-enter your order to prevent further delay. If you have any questions or want to cancel the order, please contact us at 800.915.3355 ext 7243784 option 2.

This got me upset.. now the order is even FURTHER OUT!!! So I fired off the following. (I need to say that the rep who emailed me was spot on, I"m not pissed that he did what he did, just that I keep getting my order pushed back and back. KUDOS to Jose... Dell can bite me.)

Jose,

First, I would like to thank you for your proactive response to my email.
Assisting me in avoiding further delay is greatly appreciated.

Second, I wish to state that I am disappointed in Dell's processing of my order. My disappointment isn't directed at you. Please feel free to pass on my comments below to whomever at Dell would be the most appropriate.

Having ship dates slip from 8/9/2005 to 8/16/2005 to (hopefully) 8/22/2005 and 8/29/2005 with a wait time of 34 days from order to arrival at my house (should it ship on its tentative ship date) isn't what I deem good by any stretch of the word.

I can relate to stock on hand and ordering more product for inventory, however; these are things that should be done when running a promotion as demand anticipation. Keeping customers waiting for products isn't good for business. Dell should provide the option, when sending out 'Order Delayed'
emails, to have the item shipped minus the NON-CRITICAL item(s) to avoid delays like this.

Having read others comments on the July promotion at Aximsite's forums
(http://www.aximsite.com/boards/showthread.php?t=94173) I can see that I'm not alone. In reading this thread I have seen users who placed orders a week after mine who have received theirs. While I can understand that my order was 'unique', it is no less disheartening.

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Linksys Routers...

Aparently the LinkSys WRT55AG - Version 2 - (about $130.00) has an 'issue' with it. That issue is, it will reboot itself. I was over on LinkSys Info in the forums and asked if anyone else had the same problem. Looks like I wasnt the only one. Though I got ony one reply, it was over the same subject and a purported fix from LinkSys... we'll see.

I had bought the router to go with the Media Center Extender... so much for connecting it wirelessly, now there is yet another cable running to the Tv.

From reading the forums at LinkSys Info, there is a definite problem with the WRT routers. Hopefully this can be resolved.

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Isn't it funny

When we're young we want to grow up and get older... when we get there we wish we had gone slowly.

Lately (within the last three years) I've been reconnecting with my high school friends. Its out of a need to get back what I'm missing. All of us have moved a lot and there is tonnes to catch up on.

There is nothing like good friends.

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Pocket PC Blogging

I just installed 'Diarist' on my X5 and am testing it.

Diarist is a neat tool for 'mobile' blogging on yoru PocketPC device. You can read about it at AximSite and GeekZone.

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Dell Delays

About 5 days ago i sent Dell an email asking why it was taking two weeks to ship my Axim and daughters Dimension 2400...

What I asked was, "Is there a reasonable explanation as to why it would take the 2400 TWO (2) weeks to build and ship? "

I was told -
"Please allow me a moment to explain that an estimated shipping date (I asked about MY order, not someone else's order. They have the information, they can look it up and tell ME, not give some BS generic answer) provided to customer is based on conditions of availability of components at the time the order is placed. Therefore, the estimated shipping date of your order has also been provided considering the timeframe required for the completion of your order. However, I would like to assure you that most of our orders are completed and shipped well before the mentioned timeframe. " <-- Just not yours


Amazingly today, the ship date, I was sent the following -
"This message is being sent to advise you of a delay with respect to a promotional item included in your recent order. Although we had anticipated being able to ship this item sooner, we are experiencing an unexpected delay, and will not be able to ship this order until on or before 08-16-2005."

Isnt it amazing that when I pointedly asked WHY it was taking so long I was given a BS answer, yet when it misses the ship date I get the real reason.

I now have a love/hate relationship with Dell... Love their stuff, hate their damn customer service.

Anyone out there have Michael Dell's email address so I can get some human answer not a customer service scripted response?

What have I learned?

• Never Buy Anything on Promotion... in this case it was the Dell GPS system that was bundled with the Axim at sale.
• Dell will keep you waiting if they can... maybe another email to Dell CS is in order.

What isnt answered - why hold up the ENTIRE order over the GPS unit? Send me what you DO HAVE damn it... the GPS isnt an integral part of the Dim 2400 or the Axim...

Dell CS did tell me in response to my original email "In order to expedite your orders, I have changed the shipping method of your orders to the Next Day delivery method absolutely free of cost." Gee, wasnt that swell of them... I dont give a damn about the shipping.. .I WANT IT SHIPPED!

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Axim Pocket PC's

Dell is the top here. I bough their first Pocket PC as soon as it came out (Axim X5 Advanced) and I just ordered the Axim X50v. Okay, I didnt just buy it... I ordered it on July 25th with a ship date of August 9th.
After reading all the reviews for it, I was hooked. Its a sweet machine plus I got the Dell GPS bundled with it and payed less than the cost of an X50v by itself. I love those Dell Coupons.
After I get it and play with it, I'll add a review of the GPS here.

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Life at the top...

isnt it great? This is the month of my 20th High School Reunion. 20 years ago last may I graduated and lost track of my good friends. After all that time I'm reconnecting with them. These are the people I would do ANYTHING for.

After time you relize what is and isnt important to you. Friends are, money isnt. Love is, things arent.

I may not have a lot, but I at the top. Love and friends are it. Give me enough to live on and I'm happy. I'd rather be poor and happy than have it 'all' and be miserable.

Happy 20 years to all the graduates of Ellison High School, class of 1985!!!

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