Sunday, 7. September 2008, 12:58:43
Anger Management, Mobile Phone
Got my new phone August 26th, decided I needed a bigger memory card to replace the tiny one it came with. Found a 2Gb microSD card on Amazon for a fiver – bought it there and then.
Item came. Was wrong item. I'd been sent an 8Gb card which was no use to me, the phone could only take a maximum of 2Gb. So I parcelled it back up and contacted the seller through his website.
No reply.
Contacted seller again using addresses he'd used to confirm original order. Received a reply which wasn't much of a reply – basically a standard response, listing rules and regs for a bunch of circumstances which didn't relate to me. Probably automatic.
I sent another email, again being very clear and concise about what was wrong and what I wanted. Received another stupid, possibly-automated response, this time about his Returns Policy. There was no indication of a human presence in the mail at all. I decided to give it a day or two and try again.
The next day I received an email saying my return parcel had been received and the correct item had been posted to me again. Mollified, I sat back and waited.
Item arrived the following day (yesterday). Another 8Gb card. So this time I got angry then wrote and sent this lovely little piece, of which I am rather proud: Digizo/Peter - Please provide RMA number for return of 2nd item you have posted to me as it is also an 8Gb card which is:
a) NOT WHAT I ORDERED - I ordered a 2Gb card which is clearly stated on the invoice I returned to you. The price I paid should also have given you some indication.
b) USELESS TO ME - As I stated in my email correspondence (which you seem to have ignored) the device I need the card for has a max' capacity of 2Gb. Anything above that will not be recognised. Hence the order for a 2Gb card in the first instance.
I now wish to cancel the order and get for my money back: incompetence like this does not deserve be rewarded with sales, and I do not have further weeks to play postal tennis with you until you learn how to recognise basic numerals.
Your item will be returned as soon as I receive the RMA number. I expect my refund to be with me with similar speed.
Grant.
He paid the refund less than an hour later, even though his stated policy is to wait for the item back first.
Current Mood: Proud of myself
Monday, 1. September 2008, 12:09:17
Anger Management, Stress
Spent a very nice night in a hotel with Debbie last night (free promo thingy she got through her work) but slept badly in an unfamiliar room that was trying to boil us alive so woke up tired and very very cranky: classic 'bear with a sore head'. Didn't feel too well either: stomach is feeling queasy and I have been worrying about another random digestive complaint that could be nothing or could be something more serious...if it persists I'm going to have to see my GP. Mondays, eh? Grrrrrrrrr.
A quick update on The York trip: I received an email this morning saying Sandra and Emma are now going to try arrange the York Reception Bash for the 6th October instead, based upon Sandra's likely treatment schedule.
I completely understand why they've had to change, and this isn't a rant at them in any way, shape or form, but this now forces me to rethink the travel arrangements I was so happy to have arranged back in late July, meaning I'm probably back at square one. And it is not doing anything for my already strained temper that the sodding trainline website is playing up with inexplicably infinite loading times and 'type 500 server error' messages! I *HATE* organising stuff like this - it NEVER seems to go smoothly and stresses me terribly. I do it late: I can't get what I want or have to rape my bank account for it. I try do it early, and the date goes and changes on me.
I can't win.
Current Mood: Grumpy and Stressed. 
[UPDATE] Random digestive complaint isn't getting any better so I've made an appointment with my GP for tomorrow. Sigh.
Thursday, 21. August 2008, 11:41:07
Anger Management
Tuesday, 19. August 2008, 10:43:27
Anger Management, TV
Post is a bit sweary today. Just felt the need to blow off some steam.
Read more...
Friday, 8. August 2008, 10:17:48
Friends, Work, Anger Management
Fed up with today already and its only ten past eleven. Work is being completely annoying, to the point of boiling frustration, but the thing that's really got me down is that I've upset/pissed off a good friend through my thoughtlessness. All I want to do now is go home and bury my head, preferably under my duvet.
Today sucks. 
Tuesday, 5. August 2008, 05:59:25
Carphone Warehouse, Anger Management
Okay, Sony Ericsson w850i - that's it. I've had just about as much as I can stand. It's time...
...to get a new mobile phone! 
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, after nearly two years of faithful service, I cannot continue to ignore the growing list of issues this verdammt hendy has accrued:
- The camera on this phone hasn't worked in about a year. But that was a minor issue considering I have a perfectly good camera (made by Samsung) that goes with me everywhere.
- Inexplicable shutdowns. Would turn itself off for no reason.
- The ability to completely ignore the 1gb memory card. At first I thought the card was broken, but no! The card is fine - it's just the phone hiding it from me!
- Battery life-span of several hours. Almost at the same time as the memory card issues manifested, the phone decided to start chewing battery power like it was going out of fashion. So I bought a new battery...which made only the slightest improvement. Yesterday it got a full charge in the morning and was down to less than half by lunchtime.
Yeah, that's it. As soon as I can find a phone I like (Not easy, I'm very picky) I'm dumping your ass, mobile; goodness knows how I've managed to put up with you as long as I have. Screw you, and screw Sony Ericsson too. This is the second phone of theirs I've had and build quality is generally inferior to that giant watch-tower my brother made out of Lego when we were kids which used to break if you looked at it the wrong way.
But what to get now? I'm thinking Samsung. Or possibly even LG or Motorola (For some reason I'm totally set against Nokia) but by golly the perfect phone doesn't seem to exist yet, and I can't understand why not - haven't the manufacturers had enough time to get it right by now?
My want list:
- Music playback/earphones
- Memory card support (up to around 4gb)
- NOT touchscreen, unless implemented in such a way that you can take calls without hanging up on someone with your ears.
- Not fussed about the camera at all.
- Battery life measured in days.
- Reliable operation.
- Preferably not a slider, but that's not critical. No clam-shells/flip phones/make-up mirrors, though. Bad and wrong.
...is that so much to ask? 
So come on guys, I need you again. What phones do you guys use (with model numbers if you have them)? What can you recommend?
Tuesday, 1. July 2008, 13:58:14
Anger Management, Work, Xmas
Work is being a pain this week. A large, unusually complicated order has landed at my feet - around 180 sites all needing careful Planning and documentation for each one made up MANUALLY. I've had some fun redesigning the old documents to match the new equipment specs; had to teach myself a little Macro VBA scripting in Excel but the new version is vastly improved on the old, not that I'm blowing my own trumpet at all...
Sadly, all that's left is lots and lots of repetitive filling-in of boxes and sending of emails, which is doing a thorough job of putting my head into coma. I even have a helper, Duncan, but it's doing the exact same thing to him too. The bad news: we're only half-way through! 
I wouldn't mind so much but it's bloody typical of [COMPANY NAME DELETED] leaving everything until the last minute and then expecting me to pull miracles out of various bodily orifices. Judging by the due dates on these things (some of which have passed already!) they've had months to sort this all out but noooooo. God forbid common sense ever becomes a valued business practice!
Rant over. Thanks for listening while I take the opportunity to enjoy a wee break from the monotony. 
...no, wait, let me put that cup of coffee down again. I have more ranting to do.
Our office is currently in the throes of choosing which resturant we want to book for our Xmas meal. Yes, you heard that right. For those not used to the ways companies work, bookings for the exceptionally busy month of December are made ridiculously early. The theory is that some companies make provisional bookings in JANUARY, with others catching up as the winter/spring/early summer months go by. We always seem to leave it too late, meaning every JULY we have this nightmarish process of finding a date we can all agree on (Old Marrieds VS the rest of us) and then seeing if there's anyone left in the whole of the city able to take us.
This year, we look like we're going back to the place we had last year, a place called Dizzys. I'm pissed off about this because I seem to be the only one (apart from Suzanne) that thought they did a piss-poor job of hosting us; everyone else seems to have these rose-tinted specs on. "Oh, the food was great!" Well, it was if you could get your elbows away from your sides to manage poking a fork into it. The seating was terribly cramped, but I'm starting to think this is because people at the top end of the table (hint: the management clique) were taking more than the rest of us...!
"And they had that great smoking area outside": I don't smoke, and it was cold. Next? "There was also a wee bar at the back where we all got a seat": Yeah, a better seat than we had at the dinner table!
Oh, and get this: when we arrived at half one they told us they were shutting the kitchen down in half an hour! We all had to hurry our orders through to be sure of getting a meal at all! How is this worthy of a second go??!
I made one suggestion, based upon fond memories I had of a previous year's locale - a place called Howies. I loved my food there, had plenty of room to sit because they'd given us a room to ourselves and not squeezed 14 people into a space designed for 10 MAX, and they supplied free champagne! What could be better? But no, apparently - and you're not going to believe this for a reason - the Xmas pudding fritters "let people down". Okay, xmas pudding covered in batter isn't the most appealing dessert ever. In fact I left that one well alone, but we're seriously discounting a perfectly good choice of venue because of a dessert??? Even if it's on the menu this year - and there's nothing says it will be - ORDER SOMETHING ELSE.
*squeezes smiley foam stress ball harder than ever before*
PS: I vote this as the first xmas rant of 2008! 
Friday, 16. May 2008, 18:23:14
Anger Management
The BBC have unveiled new footage of Rangers Football Club's so-called 'fans' rioting in Manchester on Wednesday night. If, like me, you hadn't paid much attention to this story until now, I urge you to watch the video:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7405259.stm
Terrifying, isn't it?
For that one night Manchester was turned upside down by people too drunk to care about the damage they were causing. There are reports that the police were a little heavy-handed in their approach, but you hear that every time something likes this kicks off: "Oh, it was the police started this - fucking nazis!".
On side note, it burns me that the Govt can re-grade a medicinal, recreational drug like cannabis to Band B, but alcohol, capable of inflicting damage to entire cities like we've seen featured in the video, is still completely unregulated, barring some silly, ineffectual 18+ age restriction that younger people (and older) freely ignore. Oh, but the Govt don't make any money from cannabis, do they?
I've never been a football supporter. I personally find the whole tribal element of it totally barbaric: it encourages the worst parts of people and if you need proof of that just speak to one of my old bosses whose opinions of other cultures skirt very close to being honest-to-gosh racism. It gets even worse when religion enters the mix, as it does with the Protestant Rangers FC vs the Catholic Celtic. Richard Dawkins must rub his hands with glee when watching religiously aligned sports fans tearing the shit out of people other than them. So much for the word of god. Here, feel the boot instead.
Ranger's Fans have performed a very dark service to their mother country. Each and every one of them should be completely disgusted with themselves for their shameful, barbaric behaviour, particularly those most involved with the violence. For all that the supposed majority of fans enjoyed themselves and were no trouble to anyone there are hundreds more who should be brought to account, made to apologise for their dreadful actions and make reparations to those whose lives they disrupted.
Just for tonight I'm puttting my Scottish pride away somewhere I don't have to look at it.
Thursday, 10. April 2008, 15:43:34
Anger Management, Work
Pet Peeves. I have a Pet Peeeve, and I'd like to share it with you today, not that anyone out there will thank for for the effort.
I work in a building of many floors. My particular floor is comprised of two wings, neatly segregated by a trio of lifts and a pair of toilets: one male, one female. Of all the people that work on our floor - and a very nice floor it is too, tastefully decorated and windowed all the way around:
I, at 32 years of age, am one of the younger denizens. Most are 40+, some even older (we hang our coats on them, helping them keep busy in their dotage).
So why is it, right, why is it that SOMEone hereabouts does not seem capable of flushing a toilet after using it?
Time after time I open a cubicle door to be confronted with either a bowl of yellow/orangey fluid (Still 'sparkling') or, even worse, masses of toilet paper covering a reeking mass of something more solid.
*Best Anne Robinson voice*
Who is the two-year-old that has not been potty trained?
Which one of you needs to think seriously about wearing nappies again?
Who the hell uses a toilet these days and doesn't flush!?!?
There's a serious beatdown coming for this person when I find them.
- - - - - - - -
In lighter news, I've been quiet on the blogging front through no obvious design or intent that I can discern: either I've simply been doing other things, or my life really isn't interesting enough to be committing to the web right now, most likely the latter. The Beard is back, if anyone finds that newsworthy. I doubt I've lost any weight this week (but my paranoias are well documented in these pages already so I shan't go into them again). Mandriva Linux has finally been released, I'll be looking into that on Saturday when I get some time free. And, er, I did some training at work yesterday that was as dull and tedious as could reasonably be expected. I've enjoyed some interesting dreams...oh, and I've been playing a fair few games on the PC lately.
I bought Knights of the Old Repulic 2: The Sith Lords (try saying that mouthful three times fast!)(Er, you really don't have to) and the complete Myst collection. KOTOR is a Star Wars RPG - I get to fulfill my fantasies of being a kick-ass female Jedi while being insulted by Sith (evil Jedi), droids, aliens, crew-members and random Non-Player Characters...while Myst, for the uneducated, is a series of interactive slideshows creatively disguised as interactive entertainment, focusing on story-telling and letting you solve fiendishly difficult puzzles. While much derided in the popular gaming press, the first Myst game sold MILLIONS (and was re-made twice) while the rest, including the Uru spin-offs, have enjoyed a strong cult following ever since. I've played 1, 2 and half of 3 (I gave up on it 'cos it wasn't as good as 1 or 2) so am very much looking forward to games 4 and 5, 5 supposedly being the last ever. For anyone that hasn't tried the Myst games and fancies themselves a bit clever - maybe I'm speaking to anyone out there with a Nintendo DS and Brain Age? - you might find yourselves pleasantly occupied by some time spent in the Myst world(s).
Or not, knowing how fickle some of you lot are.
So there we are. My blog post, and week of my life, in two words: Crappy and Geeky
Sunday, 16. March 2008, 11:24:17
Anger Management, Neighbours
What is it really like to kill another human being? Is it terrible? Are there any repercussions apart from those laid down by human authorities? Christians believe their God proscribes the taking of life: Thou Shalt NOT snuff-out other folks, I think he said. But what if you don't believe in religion? If you don't feel there's any threat to your soul, or even if you have such a nebulous object...?
Is there any penalty then apart from guilt? 'Cos you know...I could probably deal with that...
Let me explain what has prompted this happy line of thought. My house resides in a block of four, arranged like the classical four-pane window frame. I'm bottom left, while the two flats on the upper floor are reached via a central stairwell.
The problem is those neighbours in both the flats above.
I've been in my flat for nearly six years now, and there are two problems that JUST. WON'T. GO. AWAY:
- The flat up and across (Top right). The woman in there is, I think, insane, a real life chav-ette with some serious mental problems; she can't have a boyfriend without lots - and I mean LOTS - of screaming matches with that poor unfortunate (although half the time he's just as bad), most often at 3 or 4 in the morning. She's been at it for years, and only recently seems to have managed to ditch the last one, affording us all a sainted measure of blessed peace.
- The flat above (Top Left). In six years there have been several people living in this flat; it has been bought and sold many times, and do you know what happens when a new person moves into a new flat? That's right, they DO IT UP. Redecorate. Rip out the old and put in what they want. There's nothing wrong with that; I completely understand that when you buy a new place, you want to make it yours as quickly as possible.
WHAT REALLY PISSES ME OFF, THOUGH, IS WHY THEY CAN'T SPEND A MONTH OR TWO, MAYBE EVEN THREE, GETTING THE WORK DONE THEN RELAX AND ENJOY THE PROPERTY THEY'VE BOUGHT? WHY DO THEY HAVE TO SPEND THE NEXT TWO YEARS HAMMERING AND BANGING AND SAWING AND DRILLING, THEN SELL THE FUCKING PLACE SO A NEW PERSON CAN START ALL OVER AGAIN? AND WHY DOES IT HAVE TO HAPPEN EVERY GODDAM MOTHER-FUCKING WEEKEND WHEN ALL i'M LOOKING FOR IS A LITTLE PEACE AND RELAXATION AFTER A WEEK AT WORK???
AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHH!
It feels like I've been listening to either the screaming or the constant DIY for nearly the entire time I've been living here, and I'm now sick to the back teeth of both. All I have left is my ability to play my music really REALLY loudly, and fantasies of marching up there and shooting them, all of them, through the head (Relax, I'm not armed)(Well...not with a gun, anyway).
What's that line in Moby Dick about if his chest was a cannon, he'd fire his hate-filled heart at them?
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