Severin's comprehensive guide to building a Hamster Launcher

Not a major revelation, but...

Tue, 12 May 2009 17:18:37 GMT

Microsoft can be difficult, when it comes to money.

I acknowledge that my Xbox Live Membership is far more expensive at month-to-month ($7.99) rather than the 1-year cards you can buy at various stores ($50/year). However, until recently I've not had $50 laying around that I could spend on gaming stuff.

Here's the ordeal I went through:

- A week or two ago, I bought and redeemed a 1-year card from Best Buy.

- This morning, I see my account was dinged again for the monthly fee. Google tells me that I can either [through various instructions] login to my Microsoft account at their site and cancel, OR I can call an 800 number.

- Spent 10 minutes bumbling around their site, having only used it once before. Plenty of options were found about how I can add credit cards to my payment plan or change how often I pay. The entire area doesn't mention cancelling at all, trying to remove the 'credit card on file' errors out because it's associated with a month-to-month plan.

- I call their lame-o 800 number. As much as it's annoying to have to call a salesy person to cancel, it's even more aggrivating to know how much money they siphon out of people by making this process tedious.

- The guy on the phone puts me on hold so his "system can update". I wait in silence for 10 minutes, then when he returns I give him my gamertag and various other information.

- The conversation is delayed several more minutes because I can verify all contact information except my phone number. I'm told to start my Xbox and go to the Contact Information so I can read off what I put in there at sign-up. Is this really necessary?

- Refund? I'm afraid not, they "don't have a refund policy for month-to-month memberships".

- At the end of the conversation, the guy asks me if I'm sure I want to cancel or if I'd "like the month-to-month to continue after my 1-year card runs out" which aggrivated me further. The way he asked, it was like the system works that way as normal. You don't keep getting charged month-to-month until your prepay time RUNS OUT. Like I should've considered trusting this to work out the way he says it's supposed to. No way, cancel it.

I wholeheartedly understand when a business needs to cram 'wasted time' into a cancellation or return process. If people know there's a hassle, even a small amount, they'll put it off for a while. But putting me on hold for 10 minutes for a B.S. reason and requiring ALL of my contact information is retained is annoying. All of the above, on top of paying $7.99/mo. Of course, it's partly my fault for not just working some OT or borrowing money to avoid such a steep fee anyways.

ROFLCAR

Wed, 28 May 2008 12:29:23 GMT

http://www.somethingawful.com/d/comedy-goldmine/awful-licence-plates.php?page=1

This really makes me want to come up with more funny license plates. Also, for as much as I'm not interested in bumper stickers, techie stuff like "I read your email" seem right.

Sit on you

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 20:46:22 GMT

This sums up my day.

Bethany, our little retard

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:48:51 GMT

Minutes before her bedtime, she draws my attention with her flipping, bouncing & giggling. She was proud of her clever new invention: The plastic baggy outfit. She engineered it herself.

Sams party - solo departure

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 12:40:57 GMT

It seems that more than a couple people are ticked at me for Sam's party last night and leaving Michele behind. I'm posting this to explain what exactly happened.

Like with every party, Michele and I have general leaving arrangements. The idea is to stay as late as possible but I'd let her know in advance when I'm looking to head out. I am pretty good about leaving at a point where I'd get enough sleep before work but I'm not pulling her away before the party really begins. Back on Third Shift, it was super easy to stay up late and there was never any consequence because I wasn't scheduled to work anytime soon. By the end of any party, the plan is often discarded because Michele is far more resistant to leave after she's been drinking. Usually my stay ends after I've been trying to swindle Michele into leaving and trying to fend off Amelia who's constantly searching for reasoning and offers to get her to stay.

Tonight wasn't any different. Mind you, I gave her far less warning than I should've, but even with her promising to jet with me she was still as resistant as ever. Gave her more time, then tried to wrap things up again. In the midst of failing again, Amelia was making an effort to sway me and my soggy-wet-blanket ways. Michele was passing from room to room with the other Michele (one L, too) making it frustrating to try and talk to. After 20-30 minutes of trying to leave and trying to kindly turn down Amelia, she finally said something to the effect of taking her home tomorrow and she can spend the night tonight and everybody will take care of her. Frustrated, somewhat tired, and NOT looking forward to going to work on 4-5 hours of sleep, I accepted the offer and left.

So, to make it clear, I left with the plan that Michele would stay with Amelia and she'll come home tomorrow. It wasn't a "Michele is on her own for a ride, I'm out" sorta thing. But I didn't bother telling Michele because the last 20-30 minutes of failing to get her to listen to me, much less leave with me, left me not wanting to spend anymore time on the subject.

So, I'm sorry to Michele for embarrassing her and to everybody else for causing a scene. I made the mistake of thinking the plan was to be conveyed immediately (even though it was far more my responsibility). I really am not holding anything against Amelia, I can totally understand her desire to keep Michele around.

In case anybody is curious, parties at Fort Scollins originally left me wanting to leave together to help keep her out of trouble. Nowadays it's more of wanting to spend a little more time together before the day is over.

Team Lead?

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 23:47:58 GMT

So I got an invitation to 'have a chat' with Chris Strandt and Travis regarding my interest in Team Lead. They're interviewing everybody interested (currently pertains to Phil L, Russ, Shawn, and myself). I'm to talk with them in two days.

Sound good? Well, it's to replace Sam who works/worked 2nd shift. On the plus side, I have a shot at addressing my urge to move up in LW. I've never managed people, nor have I been in the position to 'correct' somebody's behavior/performance/attitude. So definitely a big experience for me. On the downside, I won't be much help to n00bs (which was part of the reason I want to 1sts), nor will I get to work with as many of my friends. Not that this is even remotely a contest, but it's still a bigger sacrifice than I originally predicted.

There's been talk of possibly being moved into Training instead. I've been wanting to help with training now for quite a while. Not only do I like helping folks better understand/handle problems, but there's been a burning desire to do this since I've started. As some of you know, my training was horrible. I had zero training (outside of a 1hr session on billing) and my entire learning experience consisted of putting the customer on hold and asking somebody. Scollins can easily vouch for the amount of time this took from others.

Either way, I'd be able to move onto something higher.

Next big purchase

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:41:06 GMT

I sold both our World of Warcraft accounts. I didn't make nearly as much as I wanted to, but since I sold something that's 'junk' to me now, I guess I shouldn't complain.

My Account: $525
Juggs's account: $150
Total l00t: $675

With my half of the l00t, I decided to buy a game console. Why? Because I sold my game account so I should buy a game replacement. Easily my options were limited to 1) Wii, 2) Xbox 360, 3) 3-4 DS games and save the rest. I've really been wanting a Wii, so I read up on it a bit and came to some Pros and Cons about both this system and the 360. I know most of the folks reading this (well, assuming there ARE people reading it) aren't into games, so I'll keep this light:

Wii
-pro: Motion-sensor controller. Interesting idea and countless possibilities with games based around it.
-pro: Creative games. Nintendo tends to make thoughtful games that don't rely on graphics and action to wow folks.
-con: Graphics are on the same level as the old Xbox. This means I'm paying a couple hundred bucks for basically a system (the gamecube) that has been out a while, but has a neato controller.
-con: No shader support. Shaders are what gives a bloom/blur effect to games. Sunlight illuminating a blade of grass will appear much more realistic with a Shader effect. Water "on the eyes" is another example.
-con: No online play for now. Big downer.
-con: No DVD playback. Big downer.

Xbox 360
-pro: Will likely have FAR more games developed for it. Microsoft pays big bucks for exclusive big titles. I'll have a larger variety over the same period of time compared to the Wii.
-pro: Hardware has much more power to 'last longer' as far as graphics demand goes. Games can still appear neato in the next two or three years, whereas on the Wii they're already outdated.
-pro: New games released on the PC can likely be on the Xbox 360. This pair means the PC version requires Vista (just because that's how Microsoft rolls). With a 360, I'll never have to upgrade my computer just to play something new.
-pro: Acts as a nifty DVD player, which we're already in need for.
-pro: Online play. My bro and a couple friends have a 360. I can be even LAZIER by not having to leave the house to interact with them.
-con: Price. The package I want is in the mid 500s before a game or second controller are involved.

That's it.

http://zeitgeistmovie.com/ - Start at 5:10 and watch all of it
This is a long vid about 3 'conspiracy theories' pertaining to Jesus, the Federal Reserve Bank, and the world. Worth the download, but it really gets the gears moving (or grinding, if nothing else). I don't believe it 100%, but I'm sure a good portion of it is true.

My own LOLCAT

Tue, 11 Sep 2007 20:41:37 GMT

Behold, my won rendition of a LOLCAT. Absolutely non of it was Photoshopped.

Sleepy

Sat, 08 Sep 2007 22:14:56 GMT

So today was my last third shift. Because I've been sick, my sleep schedule has been a bit discombobulated. I wasn't feeling these affects until around 5am-ish when I started to fall asleep at my computer. I don't understand how I can do this, but I've become rather seasoned in falling asleep at it, whether I'm home or working. So for over an hour, I'd 'catch myself' hunched over or with my face practically in my monitor, just waking up. I doubt I was out for more than 5-10 seconds each time, but I'd imagine it must've looked pretty funny. Thank goodness I was at my new desk. Oh, I even did it while a customer was on the phone. It was an Indian guy, one of them "..Hello? ..Hello? ..Hello?" guys that don't give you enough time to respond before wondering if you disconnected. At least this time I gave him a good reason to worry.

Now I have three days to switch my biological clock, I don't have permissions to run 'rdate -s', so I have to do it the old fashioned way. I decided not to sleep at all until nighttime. This started off great until around 2pm. Of all the lack-of-sleep oddities, I didn't actually FEEL sleepy. My brain felt like it was submerged in a tar pit, with all thinking slowed much more than normal. I was agitated, despite having Juggs enjoying a book to herself and me free to do whatever. And my random thoughts kept being partially spoken. Meaning I'd be pondering if I want to play a certain game, then I'd say outloud "I guessss.....". Without any reason to say anything out loud.

Man, evidently I get pretty bonkers when I'm sick and running on little sleep.

Link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8660905519873249050&q=linkin+park%2C+live+in+texas&pr=goog-sl
Linkin Park song, most awesome. Works best in the car played very very loud. :D

Selling WoW accounts is tough

Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:16:06 GMT

I've been trying to sell my WoW account lately and I'm having little luck. I found a handy dandy guide to how to avoid Blizzard intervention, but it hasn't been put to much use yet. Ebay was recommended, but most folks are selling "guides" (power levelers?) and gold, I only found one account that was going for a mere $119. MMOtrust.com originally offered almost $200, but Playerauctions.com has had accounts put up for well over $800.

The really uber accounts has been auctioned for $1200-1500, but I'd be happy with $600. But as of late, MMOtrust.com isn't buying accounts and it's super gay trying to register for Playerauctions.com. Every other google-friendly site recommends mmotrust.

Even if I didn't get anything over $600, it'd easily cover a Wii and a vacation to the South to visit Michele's parents.

/sigh

http://ticklefatkid.com
Epic lawls

En route to first shift

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:39:24 GMT

I told Ben H I want to move back to firsts. 7am-3pm Tuesday thru Saturday is available. Yay me!

Losing $100 weekly is lame, but there might be a weekend premium available. He hinted at that being lost altogether because he's making everybody work weekends now, or some such rubbish. It's looking like Sept. 11th is my switch date.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbGkxcY7YFU
Jared was singing this earlier, I swear I saw him dance to it, too.

Wii or Digital Cable?

Sat, 01 Sep 2007 05:53:00 GMT

I'm in quite the pickle over this mental debate, fortunately I don't need to make a conclusion for a while.

Wii
I'm torn between getting Cable for the TV or getting a Wii. I want a Wii because the concept of using motion in gameplay is quite interesting, and games like Paper Mario and the latest Metroid game have gotten great reviews. Not to mention the latest Zelda game (Twilight Princess) is on it. The problem? Each game is $40-50 and Gamefly (a nice alternative) is a monthly fee.

Cable
BUT on the other hand, Michele wants Digital Cable. I admit I want it too, and can technically have more entertainment available from the various channels. I *think* the monthly fee from Cable is more pricey than Gamefly with the Wii, but there's no major install charge that I know of. We both have been wanting one of the DVR recording thingamajigs and I'm fairly sure SBC offers it.

What do the girls think?
Michele is far more interested in Cable of a Wii, but she seems to be interested in it. But if she's ultimately headstrong about cable then I risk losing a huge chunk of Boyfriend points by getting what I want. Given the huge amount of mini games, Bethany would likely have a blast with it.

So yeah, I'm pretty torn. Cable offers marginal to above marginal entertainment, guaranteed. The Wii can still potentially suck, but offers potentially way more fun. We can't afford both and one of these will only be 'easily' possible around tax-return season.

Friend invites

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:32:24 GMT

I just sent out a million billion friend-invites. You all better add me to your stupid accounts or I'll bury each and every one of you under my front steps.... Or maybe just Haus who's body will likely block my front door, then I can use the rest of the bodies to eat and until help arrives.

And for those who don't know me, I'm the guy that's always following around Juggs at Steven's house.

My first post

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:18:42 GMT

I have successfully removed one more item at which Juggs can nag about. Yay me! :)

So yes, I have arrived to LJ. Break out the wine, fire up the economy-sized love machines, and inflate my mistress because it's going to be a major babe fest here. Aw yeah.

Hmm, actually my range of posts won't vary much outside of work and games. I'd like to share at least one leet link for each post, because I love sharing fun as much as I like marking my territory.

http://bash.org
A quote page mainly consisting of IRC conversations. Always humorous and combines well with the workplace as it's appearance is plain and easy to hide.