Friday, April 23, 2004
Struggles
There were just a couple of things worth noting this month. Local video production continues to disappoint me. An old collegue still cannot manage to pay me in a timely fashion. I won't mention any names, this time around. I will simply caution anyone looking for work as a camera operator/videographer in this neck of the woods to secure partial payment in advance of working for some of the local "professional" video production services.
I managed to repair the clothes dryer, after a little confusion and confrontation over the phone with some customer service reps. Being a Do-It-Myselfer, I prefer to work on things around the house on my own. Besides, how much more manly can I look than when I am decked-out in my grundgies, covered with appliance residue, operating tools and grunting? First, I thought that the problem was with the heater element. Wrong. Then, we ordered the $10 repair manual, after being told that a tech rep could "talk me through" a portion of the installation process. Wrong. Repair manual in hand, I then diagnosed the real issue: one (or more) bad fuses/thermal cutoffs. Such things are sold in sets, or maybe not. I ended up with an extra one, since the rep didn't know that one order number included both items, and the second order number represented only one. Confusion, yes, but the fuses worked, and the new heater element on the 13-yr old dryer means that the clothes get dry much faster than before. Total outlay: about $110.00. It might have cost more than $200 to get the repair guy on the scene. For the most part, the Sears people were helpful. No question that they were courteous -- just a little ill-informed on the thousands of components that they have to manage and deliver.
Something is up with my new PowerMac G5 and its DVD burning ability. I've never had more trouble with failed verifications that I have with this monster. My old G4 and external EZQuest DVD-R drive have outperformed the G5 and its internal SuperDrive consistently. I imagine that it has something to do with the software/OS on the G5.
For about a week this month, I was receiving spam text messages on my cell phone. I complained to the wireless service provider a few times, and was quite surprised when they stopped popping up. I am hesitant to credit the service provider, so I won't.
I managed to repair the clothes dryer, after a little confusion and confrontation over the phone with some customer service reps. Being a Do-It-Myselfer, I prefer to work on things around the house on my own. Besides, how much more manly can I look than when I am decked-out in my grundgies, covered with appliance residue, operating tools and grunting? First, I thought that the problem was with the heater element. Wrong. Then, we ordered the $10 repair manual, after being told that a tech rep could "talk me through" a portion of the installation process. Wrong. Repair manual in hand, I then diagnosed the real issue: one (or more) bad fuses/thermal cutoffs. Such things are sold in sets, or maybe not. I ended up with an extra one, since the rep didn't know that one order number included both items, and the second order number represented only one. Confusion, yes, but the fuses worked, and the new heater element on the 13-yr old dryer means that the clothes get dry much faster than before. Total outlay: about $110.00. It might have cost more than $200 to get the repair guy on the scene. For the most part, the Sears people were helpful. No question that they were courteous -- just a little ill-informed on the thousands of components that they have to manage and deliver.
Something is up with my new PowerMac G5 and its DVD burning ability. I've never had more trouble with failed verifications that I have with this monster. My old G4 and external EZQuest DVD-R drive have outperformed the G5 and its internal SuperDrive consistently. I imagine that it has something to do with the software/OS on the G5.
For about a week this month, I was receiving spam text messages on my cell phone. I complained to the wireless service provider a few times, and was quite surprised when they stopped popping up. I am hesitant to credit the service provider, so I won't.
posted by Michelangelo at 18:06
