Tracfone is fine, as long as you don't expect any help, and make sure not to let your phone go inactive. If you try to reactivate a phone that's been sitting in the cabinet for a few months, though, may the gods have mercy on you.
The Boy has an overnight field trip this week, and was desperate for a cell phone to keep in touch. So, we went to reactivate the phone we got him for last year's field trip. Easy peasy, right?
NOT
At 2:00 on Sunday, I tried to add the airtime to the phone. Yes, I should have started a few days earlier. Anyway. Error message - invalid SIM card. Called the number in the error message. After going in a few circles because the phone number wasn't in their system (more on that later), I was routed to an actual person (who I will bet is not actually named Francis, but whatever). All I have to do is go to a retailer (Walmart, Walgreens, etc) and get a Bring Your Own Phone SIM kit, for a mere 99 cents.
Off I go at 3:30 to Walgreens. Find one BYOP kit, with a $1 sticker on it. Which rings up at $9.99. Um, excuse me, the price sticker says $1. Manager is not inclined to sell it for the sticker price, so off I go to Walmart #1. Kits there are $9.88, but sold out. %^&$%^& !!! Off across town to Walmart #2. Kits are $9.99, in stock, but locked on the peg. And no one around to unlock it. Husband texts me and finds 99 cent kits on Walmart.com, but store pickup isn't an option, and we don't have time for shipping. I check Target.com (using Walmart's wi-fi) and they have 99 cent kits with in-store pickup. Order one, go home to wait for confirmation.
Oops. Target email says they're out of stock. *&^(*&^*&% Find the SIM card from the LAST time we went through this, but it's a full-size SIM, not a micro SIM. Ugh. Stop at Walmart on the way to the in-law's, and buy the stupid $10 kit. Come home, go through the online process, and again no luck. Back to phone support. FINALLY get things possibly lined out, but the phone still isn't showing the airtime. Phone support says AT&T is having delays, should be okay by morning. Call back if not.
LUCKILY, by midnight the phone time showed up, and The Boy went off on his field trip with 120 minutes of air time (120 talk or 60 texts).
So Tracfone shenanigans ate up a full 3 hours of my day. I had other stuff I wanted to do, but NOPE.
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rants. Show all posts
Monday, October 21, 2019
Monday, April 2, 2018
Asparagus
I am tired of asparagus. Unfortunately, it seems to be the one vegetable my mother-in-law will cook without either smothering it with cheese, or serving it swimming in butter. I will rant now about how she will always have something gluten-free for one grandkid, the tea is always decaf because of one person, but even though I'm lactose-intolerant and on the low-fat gallbladder-hates-me diet, my veg choices are asparagus or sometimes strawberries. Or cold salad. Warm veg is for everyone else - either mac n cheese, broccolli-cheese-rice casserole, or scalloped/cheesey potatoes. Peas, swimming in butter. Green beans, ditto, plus added ham stock for super-saltiness. Mashed potatos, de-freaking-licious. Because of butter, and milk.
Even if she asks what I want, there's nothing I can come up with that anyone else will eat (roast parsnips!) or that she will cook without butter (peas!).
End rant.
Even if she asks what I want, there's nothing I can come up with that anyone else will eat (roast parsnips!) or that she will cook without butter (peas!).
End rant.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
For Posterity - The Seeker
For the sake of posterity, I'm saving this here. Just found it again, and I'm tired of looking for it.
It's an interview about The Seeker, the movie adaptation of The Dark is Rising that sucked unbelievably.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070519081544/http://www.movieweb.com/news/48/19848.php
(Found the link from http://chocolateandvodka.com/2007/07/31/the-dark-is-rising-innocent-childrens-book-brutally-slaughtered-by-film-makers/
Note the following bits:
Thank you for talking with us.
Ian McShane: Okay.
For people not familiar with the book, can you talk a little bit about your character? He plays a pretty pivotal role. Can you explain that role?
Ian McShane: I don't think they've been very faithful to the book. I don't know how many of you've read the book. I know they sold a few copies, but I couldn't read it very well. It's really dense. It's from the 70s, you know? This guy is a shooter. He's the mentor to the boy, Will Stanton.
How did you make him different from Dumbledore? Is he less like a wizard?
Ian McShane: Hodge has made him a butler. He's sort of this strange, old guy that lives in the house on the hill. I have never done a science fiction movie, or anything of this ilk before. I've never worked with kids. Or special effects. The whole process is incredibly laborious. It's like doing a musical on the stage. There's less concentration on the acting, and more on the special effects. There's more emphasis on the "in and out." It's a little distracting, but that's how it goes. The kid is great. Alex (Ludwig) has really worked his ass off. It's very rare that you get the kids in nearly every shot of the movie. It really is. In real life and in acting, we're backing it up. He's the one that's got the message, he just doesn't know it. We have to guide him through the various processes. He's the last of the Old Ones to be born. There's me, and there's Frances Conroy, and there's James Cosmo, and Jim Piddock. And they survive through the ages. And the kid comes in, and he is the last one to be born. He doesn't even know it. Of course he's got the twin who has been imprisoned by the Dark for all these years.
Where you familiar with the books before signing on to this?
Ian McShane: No, I never heard of them. I did try to read the book, but they were a little...I think...I don't know how...There's four of them apparently. Or five. Oh, god. That means I might have to do a sequel.
When you found out about this project, what was it about the character that made you want to do it?
Ian McShane: Well, in the book he's about seven foot three, if I remember correctly. I just decided to play it. Alex and I have a great relationship. I told him, when we go on the set, whatever is happening we'll get on with it. It's true. You just have to get on with it. You play it where you don't talk down to him, and he doesn't talk up to me. We play it like two people who just met, and that's really what we do in the movie.
What was it about this project that specifically interested you, though?
Ian McShane: The check. As it always is. Basically. It certainly wasn't Romania. No, it's been an interesting experience. Maybe a little too long. Twelve weeks is a little long to shoot. But you need all that time.
What is your personal opinion about fantasy? Is it something you don't like to watch?
Ian McShane: No. It's not that I don't want to watch it. I'm just more of a detective guy. I like the thriller. You know, reality. But I understand science fiction. I want to do this because it's about time I did something my kids, or rather my grandkids, could watch. You know? They can't watch Deadwood, or something like that. This will be good.
What are you trying to bring to this role?
Ian McShane: You bring reality to it, I suppose. The special effects take care of themselves. You do it and play it for real, then you let the other stuff take care of itself. I think the sets are enough. The sets are great.
Can you tell us about the scene you shot with the snakes?
Ian McShane: Oh, yeah, there were about twelve hundred of them.
How did they prepare you for that?
Ian McShane: They didn't. I told them, "Put three thousand of them on me and get me out of here a week early." So I was happy when they said they would. But they lied to me. I grew fond of the snakes. I've never worked with them before. They were nice, you know?
Were they crawling all over you?
Ian McShane: Yeah. Yeah. I was especially fond of this big python. He was this thirty footer, you know? But they are very heavy. I had these two that just kept looking at me...But he's very good, the snake handler. You just have to sit and relax. As it were, you know?
Was it difficult working with snakes all over you?
Ian McShane: No, I was supposed to be tied down anyway. It was very easy. None of them were poisonous. They only bite if they get in a highly nervous situation. They didn't bite. We were okay.
How long did that take?
Ian McShane: I laid down for about twenty minutes. It's a long time, twenty minutes, if you think about it. But, no, they were cool. My handlers were great. Then James did it, then Frances did it...Jim Piddock was a little more nervous than anybody. But again, he was fine.
When you look at a script like this, do you sit down with the director and say, "There are a few things I would like to bring to this myself"?
Ian McShane: No, I think the one thing I wanted to bring to this was reality. It was written in Old English. I wanted to make it as natural as we could, without altering it. They weren't characters out of some restoration comic book. They weren't shouting Shakespearean dialogue. I just wanted to make it a little more real. They sound more natural, even though they look wacko. People in England do tend to look a little like this.
How much action is involved with your character?
Ian McShane: Well, in the script you have the sequences...We're helping the kid. That's the main thing. The battle between light and dark, which they've been fighting for years before this kid showed up. I just like that with the kid, they get a little exasperated with him. I have to say to him, "Deal with it. This is what you are." So, it's kind of playing around with the kid thing. I really tried to inject a little humor into it. That wasn't always there in the script. The humor thing always helps. I think the family, which they shot first, was very good. With John (Hickey) and Wendy (Crewson). They were great. I must say; this has been a great cast of people. That's what's been really nice.
Have you really been out here for twelve weeks?
Ian McShane: No, I've gone back every weekend. And if I want two days off, I can get it.
Where do they put you up?
Ian McShane: While I'm here? Here in Romania? Well, they got me in the Hilton. But its like being in a Hilton anywhere in the world. The sad thing is, its not the most inspiring place to walk around. The people are very nice here, and you can walk around, but its not exactly got...You know, whatever...
There are a lot of feral dogs.
Ian McShane: Actually, they're not feral. They're very sweet. They turned a lot of the property into apartment houses, and you can't keep a dog in an apartment, so people just left them on the street. Frances will tell you about that, because I think she is taking most of them home with her. She never stops feeding them.
In the scene we saw being shot, you were wielding a mace?
Ian McShane: That's my weapon. That's Merriman's special weapon.
Did you do any training with it?
Ian McShane: No, that just comes naturally. Absolutely. There have been no accidents with it so far. But there are still a couple of days to go.
The writer says that your character is the exposition machine.
Ian McShane: Oh, God, yeah...Thank God he's done that very well. It's not every time. A little bit, he does have to give the information away. Doing the film, you find a lot of ways to explore that. With a subtle line, or whatever.
You're not doing any of those big, cumbersome dialogue scenes where you tell everything that is going on in the movie?
Ian McShane: No, no, no...I think he catches the audience up with where the story is going next, but there hasn't been any long dialogue passages. No, there hasn't been any of that.
Did you ever get to be social with the rest of the cast on your off time, or did you just go about doing your own thing?
Ian McShane: No, I go to my room and cry. Or I go on the Internet a lot. (Looks directly at me) Why are you giving me such a heavy look? You look bored with me and the conversation.
I'm just sitting here. This is just my face.
Ian McShane: I thought maybe you were mad at me and I didn't know.
Did they come to you for this part? Ian McShane isn't something we thing of in terms of a kid's film.
Ian McShane: Why not?
Because of Deadwood, mostly.
Ian McShane: I don't know. Maybe they wanted something different. I've just done a big movie with Andy Samberg. A crazy comedy that will be out in the summer. This is just something different to do again. You should ask the director why he wanted me. He probably hates me now. I haven't stopped moaning about being in Romania. As long as you go on the set and do your thing. Thank God I was professional on the set.
It seems like you could bring the edge that is sorely missing from this type of genre.
Ian McShane: I think it is a bit of that, yeah. As I said, the reaction with the kid...He's a good kid, but its tough. He's in nearly every scene. He has an allergy today. Thank God he's all right. His eyes are a little blurry. But we just get in there and have a good time.
Can you describe what kind of director David Cunningham is?
Ian McShane: You know, I think he has the toughest job. On this, he's always thinking about something else. So he tends to gloss over the acting. He has to trust the acting. To do what they do with that dialogue stuff? He's constantly walking around with, at the very least, three cameras at all times. Which can get very annoying. It sometimes gets in the way, I think. These are very big sets. It's very rare that we are in an intimate situation. It's hard when you find yourself in a one-on-one, and you don't know where he has the camera. I think he knew that the more natural it was, the better it was. Easier. More fluid.
And that was our last question.
Ian thanked us for coming. He got back up and ran for the giant, sliding stage door. A few minutes later, we could again see him on the monitor. They were continuing with the battle sequence.
That's when someone wheeled a rack of clothing up next to us. They then set down two fully dressed costumed mannequin stands. One piece belonged to the character of The Rider. The other belonged to Miss Greythorne. We were told that Vin Burnham would soon be greeting us, and explaining the work she had done on the film as its Costume Designer. Stay tuned for a detailed report on that, as well as interviews with writer John Hodge and director David L. Cunningham when I return in a little while with part two of my The Dark is Rising set visit in Romania.
The Dark is Rising opens October 5th, 2007.
It's an interview about The Seeker, the movie adaptation of The Dark is Rising that sucked unbelievably.
https://web.archive.org/web/20070519081544/http://www.movieweb.com/news/48/19848.php
(Found the link from http://chocolateandvodka.com/2007/07/31/the-dark-is-rising-innocent-childrens-book-brutally-slaughtered-by-film-makers/
Note the following bits:
Ian McShane as Merriman Lyon
Thank you for talking with us.
Ian McShane: Okay.
For people not familiar with the book, can you talk a little bit about your character? He plays a pretty pivotal role. Can you explain that role?
Ian McShane: I don't think they've been very faithful to the book. I don't know how many of you've read the book. I know they sold a few copies, but I couldn't read it very well. It's really dense. It's from the 70s, you know? This guy is a shooter. He's the mentor to the boy, Will Stanton.
How did you make him different from Dumbledore? Is he less like a wizard?
Ian McShane: Hodge has made him a butler. He's sort of this strange, old guy that lives in the house on the hill. I have never done a science fiction movie, or anything of this ilk before. I've never worked with kids. Or special effects. The whole process is incredibly laborious. It's like doing a musical on the stage. There's less concentration on the acting, and more on the special effects. There's more emphasis on the "in and out." It's a little distracting, but that's how it goes. The kid is great. Alex (Ludwig) has really worked his ass off. It's very rare that you get the kids in nearly every shot of the movie. It really is. In real life and in acting, we're backing it up. He's the one that's got the message, he just doesn't know it. We have to guide him through the various processes. He's the last of the Old Ones to be born. There's me, and there's Frances Conroy, and there's James Cosmo, and Jim Piddock. And they survive through the ages. And the kid comes in, and he is the last one to be born. He doesn't even know it. Of course he's got the twin who has been imprisoned by the Dark for all these years.
Where you familiar with the books before signing on to this?
Ian McShane: No, I never heard of them. I did try to read the book, but they were a little...I think...I don't know how...There's four of them apparently. Or five. Oh, god. That means I might have to do a sequel.
When you found out about this project, what was it about the character that made you want to do it?
Ian McShane: Well, in the book he's about seven foot three, if I remember correctly. I just decided to play it. Alex and I have a great relationship. I told him, when we go on the set, whatever is happening we'll get on with it. It's true. You just have to get on with it. You play it where you don't talk down to him, and he doesn't talk up to me. We play it like two people who just met, and that's really what we do in the movie.
What was it about this project that specifically interested you, though?
Ian McShane: The check. As it always is. Basically. It certainly wasn't Romania. No, it's been an interesting experience. Maybe a little too long. Twelve weeks is a little long to shoot. But you need all that time.
What is your personal opinion about fantasy? Is it something you don't like to watch?
Ian McShane: No. It's not that I don't want to watch it. I'm just more of a detective guy. I like the thriller. You know, reality. But I understand science fiction. I want to do this because it's about time I did something my kids, or rather my grandkids, could watch. You know? They can't watch Deadwood, or something like that. This will be good.
What are you trying to bring to this role?
Ian McShane: You bring reality to it, I suppose. The special effects take care of themselves. You do it and play it for real, then you let the other stuff take care of itself. I think the sets are enough. The sets are great.
Can you tell us about the scene you shot with the snakes?
Ian McShane: Oh, yeah, there were about twelve hundred of them.
How did they prepare you for that?
Ian McShane: They didn't. I told them, "Put three thousand of them on me and get me out of here a week early." So I was happy when they said they would. But they lied to me. I grew fond of the snakes. I've never worked with them before. They were nice, you know?
Were they crawling all over you?
Ian McShane: Yeah. Yeah. I was especially fond of this big python. He was this thirty footer, you know? But they are very heavy. I had these two that just kept looking at me...But he's very good, the snake handler. You just have to sit and relax. As it were, you know?
Was it difficult working with snakes all over you?
Ian McShane: No, I was supposed to be tied down anyway. It was very easy. None of them were poisonous. They only bite if they get in a highly nervous situation. They didn't bite. We were okay.
How long did that take?
Ian McShane: I laid down for about twenty minutes. It's a long time, twenty minutes, if you think about it. But, no, they were cool. My handlers were great. Then James did it, then Frances did it...Jim Piddock was a little more nervous than anybody. But again, he was fine.
When you look at a script like this, do you sit down with the director and say, "There are a few things I would like to bring to this myself"?
Ian McShane: No, I think the one thing I wanted to bring to this was reality. It was written in Old English. I wanted to make it as natural as we could, without altering it. They weren't characters out of some restoration comic book. They weren't shouting Shakespearean dialogue. I just wanted to make it a little more real. They sound more natural, even though they look wacko. People in England do tend to look a little like this.
How much action is involved with your character?
Ian McShane: Well, in the script you have the sequences...We're helping the kid. That's the main thing. The battle between light and dark, which they've been fighting for years before this kid showed up. I just like that with the kid, they get a little exasperated with him. I have to say to him, "Deal with it. This is what you are." So, it's kind of playing around with the kid thing. I really tried to inject a little humor into it. That wasn't always there in the script. The humor thing always helps. I think the family, which they shot first, was very good. With John (Hickey) and Wendy (Crewson). They were great. I must say; this has been a great cast of people. That's what's been really nice.
Have you really been out here for twelve weeks?
Ian McShane: No, I've gone back every weekend. And if I want two days off, I can get it.
Where do they put you up?
Ian McShane: While I'm here? Here in Romania? Well, they got me in the Hilton. But its like being in a Hilton anywhere in the world. The sad thing is, its not the most inspiring place to walk around. The people are very nice here, and you can walk around, but its not exactly got...You know, whatever...
There are a lot of feral dogs.
Ian McShane: Actually, they're not feral. They're very sweet. They turned a lot of the property into apartment houses, and you can't keep a dog in an apartment, so people just left them on the street. Frances will tell you about that, because I think she is taking most of them home with her. She never stops feeding them.
In the scene we saw being shot, you were wielding a mace?
Ian McShane: That's my weapon. That's Merriman's special weapon.
Did you do any training with it?
Ian McShane: No, that just comes naturally. Absolutely. There have been no accidents with it so far. But there are still a couple of days to go.
The writer says that your character is the exposition machine.
Ian McShane: Oh, God, yeah...Thank God he's done that very well. It's not every time. A little bit, he does have to give the information away. Doing the film, you find a lot of ways to explore that. With a subtle line, or whatever.
You're not doing any of those big, cumbersome dialogue scenes where you tell everything that is going on in the movie?
Ian McShane: No, no, no...I think he catches the audience up with where the story is going next, but there hasn't been any long dialogue passages. No, there hasn't been any of that.
Did you ever get to be social with the rest of the cast on your off time, or did you just go about doing your own thing?
Ian McShane: No, I go to my room and cry. Or I go on the Internet a lot. (Looks directly at me) Why are you giving me such a heavy look? You look bored with me and the conversation.
I'm just sitting here. This is just my face.
Ian McShane: I thought maybe you were mad at me and I didn't know.
Did they come to you for this part? Ian McShane isn't something we thing of in terms of a kid's film.
Ian McShane: Why not?
Because of Deadwood, mostly.
Ian McShane: I don't know. Maybe they wanted something different. I've just done a big movie with Andy Samberg. A crazy comedy that will be out in the summer. This is just something different to do again. You should ask the director why he wanted me. He probably hates me now. I haven't stopped moaning about being in Romania. As long as you go on the set and do your thing. Thank God I was professional on the set.
It seems like you could bring the edge that is sorely missing from this type of genre.
Ian McShane: I think it is a bit of that, yeah. As I said, the reaction with the kid...He's a good kid, but its tough. He's in nearly every scene. He has an allergy today. Thank God he's all right. His eyes are a little blurry. But we just get in there and have a good time.
Can you describe what kind of director David Cunningham is?
Ian McShane: You know, I think he has the toughest job. On this, he's always thinking about something else. So he tends to gloss over the acting. He has to trust the acting. To do what they do with that dialogue stuff? He's constantly walking around with, at the very least, three cameras at all times. Which can get very annoying. It sometimes gets in the way, I think. These are very big sets. It's very rare that we are in an intimate situation. It's hard when you find yourself in a one-on-one, and you don't know where he has the camera. I think he knew that the more natural it was, the better it was. Easier. More fluid.
And that was our last question.
Ian thanked us for coming. He got back up and ran for the giant, sliding stage door. A few minutes later, we could again see him on the monitor. They were continuing with the battle sequence.
That's when someone wheeled a rack of clothing up next to us. They then set down two fully dressed costumed mannequin stands. One piece belonged to the character of The Rider. The other belonged to Miss Greythorne. We were told that Vin Burnham would soon be greeting us, and explaining the work she had done on the film as its Costume Designer. Stay tuned for a detailed report on that, as well as interviews with writer John Hodge and director David L. Cunningham when I return in a little while with part two of my The Dark is Rising set visit in Romania.
The Dark is Rising opens October 5th, 2007.
Friday, May 7, 2010
More annoying fluff
Related to yesterday's post - today I read a local women's (woman's?) magazine, a freebie that you can pick up around town. The first page was an ad for a local place that does HCG weight loss, written to look like an editor's page or article, claiming weight losses of 8-13 pounds per week. It was marked "advertisement" at the bottom, but at first glance, you'd get the impression that it was an article.
I can't explain exactly why, but it offended me. Maybe because I'd like to lose weight, but hormone injections probably aren't the way to go, even if it doesn't scream "scam" to me. Because you know, the 500-calories-per-day diet is probably behind most of the weight loss, and that's just not healthy. Plus the recommended exercise, and - at least for some people - other meds like Phentermine (anyone remember the Fen-Phen mess?). Not to mention that I'd be starving and cranky on that kind of diet.
Or maybe all the defenders are right, and I'm an idiot for not signing up myself.
I can't explain exactly why, but it offended me. Maybe because I'd like to lose weight, but hormone injections probably aren't the way to go, even if it doesn't scream "scam" to me. Because you know, the 500-calories-per-day diet is probably behind most of the weight loss, and that's just not healthy. Plus the recommended exercise, and - at least for some people - other meds like Phentermine (anyone remember the Fen-Phen mess?). Not to mention that I'd be starving and cranky on that kind of diet.
Or maybe all the defenders are right, and I'm an idiot for not signing up myself.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Fluff
For the record, OK magazine seems to be the fluffiest thing I've ever read. I finished the first issue (free subscription - SO glad I'm not paying for this stuff) in 20 minutes or so. And the hypocrisy, sheesh. Jennifer Aniston "lost 7 pounds in 7 days" but "her body is her temple" and she takes "her physical health seriously." Yeah, which totally contradicts every study that says losing weight that fast is generally not a good idea. (Okay, people with massive amounts to lose may be able to average 7 pounds/week at some points, but a person as already-thin as J Aniston doesn't have that much to lose in the first place.
Also (from the Gifts Mom will Love! article) - if anyone in my family blew $98 plus shipping for 9 bars of soap, I'd pass out from shock. And on awakening, would have to ask them what the everloving crumbs they were thinking?? Ditto for the $48 candles and $285 diary (probably 1-year, non-refillable). Oy. Seriously, $10 a bar for soap?!?!
Also (from the Gifts Mom will Love! article) - if anyone in my family blew $98 plus shipping for 9 bars of soap, I'd pass out from shock. And on awakening, would have to ask them what the everloving crumbs they were thinking?? Ditto for the $48 candles and $285 diary (probably 1-year, non-refillable). Oy. Seriously, $10 a bar for soap?!?!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Allergies
Allergies suck. 'Nuf said.
I'm taking generic Zyrtec, plus Target's form of Nephcon-A or some such, just to keep from scratching my eyes out. We turned the AC on tonight - 80 degrees inside, lovely temps outside but I can't bring myself to open the doors and let some more pollen or whatever it is come in the house.
I really hope this blows over (literally) in another week or so. Everything's blooming outside, and I can't go out to enjoy it.
I'm taking generic Zyrtec, plus Target's form of Nephcon-A or some such, just to keep from scratching my eyes out. We turned the AC on tonight - 80 degrees inside, lovely temps outside but I can't bring myself to open the doors and let some more pollen or whatever it is come in the house.
I really hope this blows over (literally) in another week or so. Everything's blooming outside, and I can't go out to enjoy it.
Friday, November 20, 2009
A rant
We went out for dinner tonight, and did some grocery shopping. At least one grocery and one hardware already have cut Christmas trees for sale. So here goes:
Attention Stores!
Thanksgiving is still a week away, which means that Christmas is at least 5 weeks out. It's too freaking early to be selling "fresh-cut" trees. Would you sell Valentine bouquets on New Years Day? Just because a tree quietly sheds needles instead of blatantly wilting doesn't mean it's okay. In four weeks, any tree sold now is more than likely going to be a dried out, brittle fire hazard, no matter how much you water it or how much fire-retardant spray it was treated with.* You were jumping the gun with the Christmas candy sitting in the aisles on Halloween night, and you're doing it again. Stop it!
Anyone who buys a cut tree before Turkey Day had better not complain about needles in the carpet, in my opinion. They were asking for it.
* I worked on a Christmas tree farm for a few years. Most trees are sprayed with a fire retardant mist. It also happens to be tinted green. Either way, if you leave the tree sitting around for 5+ weeks, all the spray in the world won't keep it from drying out.
Attention Stores!
Thanksgiving is still a week away, which means that Christmas is at least 5 weeks out. It's too freaking early to be selling "fresh-cut" trees. Would you sell Valentine bouquets on New Years Day? Just because a tree quietly sheds needles instead of blatantly wilting doesn't mean it's okay. In four weeks, any tree sold now is more than likely going to be a dried out, brittle fire hazard, no matter how much you water it or how much fire-retardant spray it was treated with.* You were jumping the gun with the Christmas candy sitting in the aisles on Halloween night, and you're doing it again. Stop it!
Anyone who buys a cut tree before Turkey Day had better not complain about needles in the carpet, in my opinion. They were asking for it.
* I worked on a Christmas tree farm for a few years. Most trees are sprayed with a fire retardant mist. It also happens to be tinted green. Either way, if you leave the tree sitting around for 5+ weeks, all the spray in the world won't keep it from drying out.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Lousy planning
I took El Burrito to the county health department for his H1N1 vax today. They were offering them to anyone under 4, no appointment needed, and his ped's office doesn't have any yet. He got his vax, but we'll count the ways I screwed up.
The vaccination clinic was from 1:00-5:00. We usually eat lunch around 1:30 or 2, but we had a late breakfast, and I honestly didn't think we'd be there a long time, so we didn't have lunch before we went. We got there at 12:45, the parking lot was packed, and we were #202 in line. Got home at 3:00. Yeah.
Didn't take any snacks or water. We did take a couple of toys. And El Burrito was very well behaved, even without snacks, a drink, or a stroller to sit in while we stood in line.
The biggie: I believed the news release and told El Burrito that he'd be getting the "flu juice" - aka the nasal FluMist. Turns out I was wrong; he was old enough for the mist, but since his seasonal-flu vax was the FluMist version and was only 2 weeks ago, he had to get the injection. He was NOT happy, and I apologized all the way home. The nurse was impressed by how well he took the news, and the shot, but he didn't get really crying until we hit the parking lot.
I was a little distracted while the nurse explained things, so I'm not sure if his second dose of H1N1 (also not mentioned in the Health Dept information) has to be an injection because dose #1 was, or if it can be the Mist. I'm hoping for the Mist. I'll have to call the pediatrician's office and see w hat the deal is, and if they will be getting any of the stuff, because I'd rather not deal with the lines at the Health department again.
Also, I really wish the Health Dept had lined up more than a measly four nurses to do the injections. Seriously. They had 200 people in line before the doors opened, and only 4 people giving the vax? It's a wonder we were only there for 2 hours.
The vaccination clinic was from 1:00-5:00. We usually eat lunch around 1:30 or 2, but we had a late breakfast, and I honestly didn't think we'd be there a long time, so we didn't have lunch before we went. We got there at 12:45, the parking lot was packed, and we were #202 in line. Got home at 3:00. Yeah.
Didn't take any snacks or water. We did take a couple of toys. And El Burrito was very well behaved, even without snacks, a drink, or a stroller to sit in while we stood in line.
The biggie: I believed the news release and told El Burrito that he'd be getting the "flu juice" - aka the nasal FluMist. Turns out I was wrong; he was old enough for the mist, but since his seasonal-flu vax was the FluMist version and was only 2 weeks ago, he had to get the injection. He was NOT happy, and I apologized all the way home. The nurse was impressed by how well he took the news, and the shot, but he didn't get really crying until we hit the parking lot.
I was a little distracted while the nurse explained things, so I'm not sure if his second dose of H1N1 (also not mentioned in the Health Dept information) has to be an injection because dose #1 was, or if it can be the Mist. I'm hoping for the Mist. I'll have to call the pediatrician's office and see w hat the deal is, and if they will be getting any of the stuff, because I'd rather not deal with the lines at the Health department again.
Also, I really wish the Health Dept had lined up more than a measly four nurses to do the injections. Seriously. They had 200 people in line before the doors opened, and only 4 people giving the vax? It's a wonder we were only there for 2 hours.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Misquoting Scarlett
To mis-quote Scarlett O'Hara, as Cow (watch the Big Bang Theory!) is my witness, I'm never buying a First Alert talking carbon monoxide detector again. Ever.
First, the rotten thing can only use a certain brand of battery. Any "inferior" battery leads to monthly replacements, after being scared out of your wits at 3 freaking a.m. when it decides the battery's dead.
Occasionally, it talks in the middle of the night for no good reason. This leads to the whole family levitating in bed, then taking a while to get back to sleep.
One of the "features" is that you can use the infrared beam from a TV remote to do the weekly test and make sure it's working. Thanks to a lousy floor plan, the only place in our hallway for the detector to be mounted, is also more or less in the line-of-sight of our usual TV-watching spots. We'd learned to be careful where we aimed the DVD remote, but the TV remote didn't seem to be as bad. That changed last week when I put a new battery in that one. I've set the damn thing off half a dozen times this week alone. We put masking tape over the "test" button, theorizing that the pinhole in the button was the IR receiver. Not so much, as it turns out - I set it off this morning and woke El Burrito up early. He hates the test script, so of course, he didn't go back to sleep.
And just now, from the bathroom counter (where it's been exiled to), the detector's started talking again. I was too busy jumping out of my skin to notice, but I think it's wanting a fresh battery. So now it's face-down on the counter and wrapped in a towel. I may shut the bathroom door before I go to bed, too. That damn voice freaks me out every time it starts talking out of nowhere.
First, the rotten thing can only use a certain brand of battery. Any "inferior" battery leads to monthly replacements, after being scared out of your wits at 3 freaking a.m. when it decides the battery's dead.
Occasionally, it talks in the middle of the night for no good reason. This leads to the whole family levitating in bed, then taking a while to get back to sleep.
One of the "features" is that you can use the infrared beam from a TV remote to do the weekly test and make sure it's working. Thanks to a lousy floor plan, the only place in our hallway for the detector to be mounted, is also more or less in the line-of-sight of our usual TV-watching spots. We'd learned to be careful where we aimed the DVD remote, but the TV remote didn't seem to be as bad. That changed last week when I put a new battery in that one. I've set the damn thing off half a dozen times this week alone. We put masking tape over the "test" button, theorizing that the pinhole in the button was the IR receiver. Not so much, as it turns out - I set it off this morning and woke El Burrito up early. He hates the test script, so of course, he didn't go back to sleep.
And just now, from the bathroom counter (where it's been exiled to), the detector's started talking again. I was too busy jumping out of my skin to notice, but I think it's wanting a fresh battery. So now it's face-down on the counter and wrapped in a towel. I may shut the bathroom door before I go to bed, too. That damn voice freaks me out every time it starts talking out of nowhere.
Monday, October 5, 2009
I'm drowning
. . . in email, that is. My Yahoo account is a losing battle at the moment. They changed something a month or so ago, and ever since then, it's been an exercise in frustration. Deleting a message means clicking the little "delete" button at least twice, usually four times, and waiting for 15 seconds or so. Right now, I've got 3,000 unread messages, and wwwaaaayyy more than that in the "need to take care of" category.
And this isn't even my primary account.
Which, actually, is easier to deal with. Thunderbird downloads it all and files it, and I can delete multiple emails at one shot. I can sort by date, sender, etc. without having to wait for the whole freaking page to reload. I love Thunderbird.
Yahoo, on the other hand, not so much. I've been unsubbing from newsletters and such that I don't want anymore, but even that takes a while. I'm not sure I'll ever catch up. DH suggests a mass-delete and starting over, but I don't know that that would work either.
Sigh.
Back to bailing out the boat with a teaspoon.
And this isn't even my primary account.
Which, actually, is easier to deal with. Thunderbird downloads it all and files it, and I can delete multiple emails at one shot. I can sort by date, sender, etc. without having to wait for the whole freaking page to reload. I love Thunderbird.
Yahoo, on the other hand, not so much. I've been unsubbing from newsletters and such that I don't want anymore, but even that takes a while. I'm not sure I'll ever catch up. DH suggests a mass-delete and starting over, but I don't know that that would work either.
Sigh.
Back to bailing out the boat with a teaspoon.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The suckage that is my mood
I'm in a shit mood right now. I'm home alone-with-a-preschooler all day, practically every day. Today's "alone time" was an hour that I spent at Target and the grocery store. I don't get to have a decent adult conversation, since DH and El Burrito go to bed at the same time. I have no friends, online, offline, or otherwise. There's no one for me to talk to, except for DH, and as I pointed out tonight, that doesn't really help when I need to bitch about him and let off a little steam. I think he finally admitted that other than him, I don't really have anyone to talk to. My mom isn't an option, ditto mom-in-law and my one decent sis-in-law. My sister might be in a pinch, but she's got grad school and her own issues. Plus, some things I'd rather not have making the rounds at family dinner when we're not there.
I've read the "how to get some you time" articles in the mommy mags, but they're not really useful sometimes. The big one seems to be to let dad take care of the kid after he gets home, while you have a girls night out. I have no "girls" and DH gets home around 7:00 or 7:30. Even if I skip dinner at home, there's not much for me to do in this town after 7:30. I'm not a bar person. The mall closes at 9, library closes at 5 0r 9, depending on the day. The public garden closes at dusk, so do the local parks. That leaves the 24-hour stores - Walgreens, Walmart, and the grocery stores.
Yeah. I think I'd rather stay home and hide in the closet.
And apparently the reason why we haven't done the wills or called a realtor or I haven't lost any weight is because I/we haven't "put any effort" into it. I'll admit it. I bitch about being overweight, then we go to Schnucks and buy five pounds of cookies. Lack of motivation. How to fix it? Who the hell knows. I don't, obviously.
I've read the "how to get some you time" articles in the mommy mags, but they're not really useful sometimes. The big one seems to be to let dad take care of the kid after he gets home, while you have a girls night out. I have no "girls" and DH gets home around 7:00 or 7:30. Even if I skip dinner at home, there's not much for me to do in this town after 7:30. I'm not a bar person. The mall closes at 9, library closes at 5 0r 9, depending on the day. The public garden closes at dusk, so do the local parks. That leaves the 24-hour stores - Walgreens, Walmart, and the grocery stores.
Yeah. I think I'd rather stay home and hide in the closet.
And apparently the reason why we haven't done the wills or called a realtor or I haven't lost any weight is because I/we haven't "put any effort" into it. I'll admit it. I bitch about being overweight, then we go to Schnucks and buy five pounds of cookies. Lack of motivation. How to fix it? Who the hell knows. I don't, obviously.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Potty training and PC upgrades
Two things are frustrating me so badly right now that I could spit nails.
A. Potty training. As in, my mother thinks I'm not working on it enough with El Burrito or something, because the fact that he's 3 and wears a diaper is somehow all my fault. Sorry, Mom, if you think you can do a better job, have at it. I'm ready to drop him off at your house for a &%*$*#( month and turn the damn phone off. He's got a potty. He's got underwear. What we don't have is motivation on his part. Yeah, he was dying for a trike or a bike, which I could have used to encourage the potty thing. Until Mom went and got him one of each. Stickers and cookies don't do much.
Situation right now: We have a potty. We have underwear. El B was using the potty for peeing pretty easily, if we asked. He didn't ask on his own too much. He's got the bladder control, and he's usually dry in the morning. But for the past month or so, it's been no go. We ask and he says no. We push the issue, and there's a nice argument and fussing. He'll pee two drops and say he's done. Pooping isn't even on the radar. It's a control issue, I guess. Whatever. I'm ready to drop the whole stinking thing.
Mom says just put his unders on and he'll decide he doesn't like a wet butt. Yeah, and I don't care for having big puddles of pee on the carpet, especially since we're (supposedly) going to be house hunting soon. I don't think old-pee smell will be a selling point. So, she says, take him on the deck. Where, I point out, the pee will drain down onto our downstairs neighbor's deck. Not a good thing.
Then there's the PC upgrade. DH got me a 1 TB hard drive and some more RAM for an anniversary present. The hard drive is going to be a media drive, for music and photos. So we shift all the MP3s and music over. Which is when I realize that the ratings from Windows Media Player won't transfer over, unless I upgrade to WMP 10. Which wouldn't install on this PC, because it's supposedly not compatible with the version of Windows I've got. (BS. I've got XP, Service Pack 3, and WMP 10 requires XP, SP2. I'm not seeing the issue here.) So, after 6 hours of downloading, I end up with WMP 11. And a buttload of duplicate entries in the WMP library. Which should be solved by Microsoft's handy dandy instructions on cleaning up the library. EXCEPT that their info on the library database file's name and location are both not quite right. The only file I can find was last modified in 2006. Pretty sure that's not the one I need.
So I've got my music in three locations, eating up massive amounts of hard drive space. I've got WMP 11 giving me fits because I can't force it to a) rebuild the library or b) IGNORE the music on C:. And I've got about 20 tabs open in Firefox trying to figure out this crap. Because once, just once, I'd like to figure out something on my own, without needing DH to fix it for me. I've got a master's degree. I've been online for 10+ years. I'm not computer illiterate, or I didn't think so until lately.
Is that too much to ask????? Apparently so.
And that, folks, is why I am having a very very very VERY crappy day. And week - the WMP situation is on Day 4. Joy. I hate Microsoft sometimes.
A. Potty training. As in, my mother thinks I'm not working on it enough with El Burrito or something, because the fact that he's 3 and wears a diaper is somehow all my fault. Sorry, Mom, if you think you can do a better job, have at it. I'm ready to drop him off at your house for a &%*$*#( month and turn the damn phone off. He's got a potty. He's got underwear. What we don't have is motivation on his part. Yeah, he was dying for a trike or a bike, which I could have used to encourage the potty thing. Until Mom went and got him one of each. Stickers and cookies don't do much.
Situation right now: We have a potty. We have underwear. El B was using the potty for peeing pretty easily, if we asked. He didn't ask on his own too much. He's got the bladder control, and he's usually dry in the morning. But for the past month or so, it's been no go. We ask and he says no. We push the issue, and there's a nice argument and fussing. He'll pee two drops and say he's done. Pooping isn't even on the radar. It's a control issue, I guess. Whatever. I'm ready to drop the whole stinking thing.
Mom says just put his unders on and he'll decide he doesn't like a wet butt. Yeah, and I don't care for having big puddles of pee on the carpet, especially since we're (supposedly) going to be house hunting soon. I don't think old-pee smell will be a selling point. So, she says, take him on the deck. Where, I point out, the pee will drain down onto our downstairs neighbor's deck. Not a good thing.
Then there's the PC upgrade. DH got me a 1 TB hard drive and some more RAM for an anniversary present. The hard drive is going to be a media drive, for music and photos. So we shift all the MP3s and music over. Which is when I realize that the ratings from Windows Media Player won't transfer over, unless I upgrade to WMP 10. Which wouldn't install on this PC, because it's supposedly not compatible with the version of Windows I've got. (BS. I've got XP, Service Pack 3, and WMP 10 requires XP, SP2. I'm not seeing the issue here.) So, after 6 hours of downloading, I end up with WMP 11. And a buttload of duplicate entries in the WMP library. Which should be solved by Microsoft's handy dandy instructions on cleaning up the library. EXCEPT that their info on the library database file's name and location are both not quite right. The only file I can find was last modified in 2006. Pretty sure that's not the one I need.
So I've got my music in three locations, eating up massive amounts of hard drive space. I've got WMP 11 giving me fits because I can't force it to a) rebuild the library or b) IGNORE the music on C:. And I've got about 20 tabs open in Firefox trying to figure out this crap. Because once, just once, I'd like to figure out something on my own, without needing DH to fix it for me. I've got a master's degree. I've been online for 10+ years. I'm not computer illiterate, or I didn't think so until lately.
Is that too much to ask????? Apparently so.
And that, folks, is why I am having a very very very VERY crappy day. And week - the WMP situation is on Day 4. Joy. I hate Microsoft sometimes.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Library day
Today was a long library day - storytime, then some playtime before the book-cart sale. We also turned in El Burrito's Summer Reading program sheet, and he got a free book. He picked Harry the Dirty Dog, a classic that I remember reading as a kid.
And, unfortunately, I just managed to put a pair of nasty, really visible creases in the covers. For some reason, that really makes me feel rotten, like this little sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. (Which is weird, considering the number of really-well-loved (i.e. tattered, torn, and missing covers) books that I keep around.) I mean, I'm not a "gotta keep everything pristine" person (trust me!) but in the hour or so since it happened, I've wondered how much it would cost to replace it with a "new" one. Must be guilt for messing up the kid's new book.
Storytime was fun, but crowded, so someone sat on my lap quite a bit. He had a good time, though, and has been singing one of the songs this afternoon.
I returned 5 books, and El Burrito found 2 books to check out, plus my DVD. So the numbers right now are 42 books out (16 of those are El Burrito's), 3 on hold.
And, unfortunately, I just managed to put a pair of nasty, really visible creases in the covers. For some reason, that really makes me feel rotten, like this little sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. (Which is weird, considering the number of really-well-loved (i.e. tattered, torn, and missing covers) books that I keep around.) I mean, I'm not a "gotta keep everything pristine" person (trust me!) but in the hour or so since it happened, I've wondered how much it would cost to replace it with a "new" one. Must be guilt for messing up the kid's new book.
Storytime was fun, but crowded, so someone sat on my lap quite a bit. He had a good time, though, and has been singing one of the songs this afternoon.
I returned 5 books, and El Burrito found 2 books to check out, plus my DVD. So the numbers right now are 42 books out (16 of those are El Burrito's), 3 on hold.
Monday, June 22, 2009
My lousy timing
So, back in the spring, I got the info for Summer Riding this year. I missed the first session, thanks to DH's business trip and our 3-year inability to look for a babysitter. Instead, I signed up for the second session, which starts next Monday (assuming I didn't wait so long that the classes are all full).
There's a reason I prefer the first session; namely, Missouri summer heat. We just watched the forecast for this week, and it's uuuugly. Highs in the upper 90s every freaking day, with triple-digit heat index predictions. The coolest day predicted? 96 degrees. And with my luck, next week won't be any better. Sure, classes are in the evenings, but if today's any indication, that won't help much. It's still probably in the 80s outside (at midnight!) right now and sticky-humid.
There's a reason I prefer the first session; namely, Missouri summer heat. We just watched the forecast for this week, and it's uuuugly. Highs in the upper 90s every freaking day, with triple-digit heat index predictions. The coolest day predicted? 96 degrees. And with my luck, next week won't be any better. Sure, classes are in the evenings, but if today's any indication, that won't help much. It's still probably in the 80s outside (at midnight!) right now and sticky-humid.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Sci Fi -> SyFy
Tell me, what does "SyFy" look like to you, and how would you pronounce it?
Apparently this is the new name for the Sci Fi Channel, with the lame reason that "Sci Fi" isn't trademark-able. Their new tag line is "Imagine greater" or some such dreck. SyFy to me just looks like someone forgot to spell-check. It'll also mean the end of their "iF" commercials, which stinks, because I like some of those (although not the one with the balloon dog).
Off to put "Complain to Sci Fi" on my To Do list. Not that it will help, after they've spent truckloads of money buying the SyFyPortal domain name. Besides, it's not like they've got anything left worth watching, other than Eureka.
Apparently this is the new name for the Sci Fi Channel, with the lame reason that "Sci Fi" isn't trademark-able. Their new tag line is "Imagine greater" or some such dreck. SyFy to me just looks like someone forgot to spell-check. It'll also mean the end of their "iF" commercials, which stinks, because I like some of those (although not the one with the balloon dog).
Off to put "Complain to Sci Fi" on my To Do list. Not that it will help, after they've spent truckloads of money buying the SyFyPortal domain name. Besides, it's not like they've got anything left worth watching, other than Eureka.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Daylight "saving" time
A quote from Yahoo Buzz:
Thus endeth my rant for the day.
Why do we have daylight-saving time?Notice the part I put in italics? It's not true, and it bugs me. We don't get more hours of daylight with DST. There isn't an extra hour of sunlight that we magically get starting tomorrow (except for Arizona, Hawaii, and assorted other non-continental U.S. areas). The amount of daytime we get is getting longer now, but it's nothing to do with DST. We will have practically the same number of minutes of sunlight tomorrow as we do today. It's just that we're all changing our clocks, so there are more daylight minutes in the afternoon, and we think that the day is longer. It's lousy science and fuzzy math. It's a trick, people.
Some folks believe it helps us save energy. With longer daylight hours, there's less of a need for folks to turn on the lights.
Thus endeth my rant for the day.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Computer issues
All right, I'm ready to bash my Internet connection flat, with something large. Asteroid, perhaps.
It's been like this for a week or so. Constant time-outs, repeated use of the Reload button, scores of Page Load Errors, Address not Found, random disconnects by the modem. It's made my online time about half as productive as a bad day, which is why I've got 900+ unread emails in my Yahoo inbox. I'm expecting that I'll have to try to post this at least three times, given the "Could not contact Blogger.com" that I see on the screen already.
I thought I had it fixed. I deleted a Firefox toolbar that I installed a week or so ago. I deleted the 12MB photo that someone emailed to a list I'm on, which was clogging up my email download. I also found out that my local dial-up modem number had changed (WHY don't they tell people when they change the dial-in number???????). Seemed to be fixed last night, but right now it's back to abnormal. Sigh.
Other theories - AT&T/Prodigy is having issues that they won't fess up to. Or they've oversold the capacity of the local modem pool. Possible spyware on the PC, in spite of an expensive subscription to McAfee, which I'd check if I could get to a website to check with. Issues with the modem itself, which is fairly new.
Either way, I'm ready to smack something. I don't get a lot of focused internet time (thanks to El Burrito and "real life"), and spending what time I do get hitting Reload endless times is trying the little patience I have left.
Gah.
It's been like this for a week or so. Constant time-outs, repeated use of the Reload button, scores of Page Load Errors, Address not Found, random disconnects by the modem. It's made my online time about half as productive as a bad day, which is why I've got 900+ unread emails in my Yahoo inbox. I'm expecting that I'll have to try to post this at least three times, given the "Could not contact Blogger.com" that I see on the screen already.
I thought I had it fixed. I deleted a Firefox toolbar that I installed a week or so ago. I deleted the 12MB photo that someone emailed to a list I'm on, which was clogging up my email download. I also found out that my local dial-up modem number had changed (WHY don't they tell people when they change the dial-in number???????). Seemed to be fixed last night, but right now it's back to abnormal. Sigh.
Other theories - AT&T/Prodigy is having issues that they won't fess up to. Or they've oversold the capacity of the local modem pool. Possible spyware on the PC, in spite of an expensive subscription to McAfee, which I'd check if I could get to a website to check with. Issues with the modem itself, which is fairly new.
Either way, I'm ready to smack something. I don't get a lot of focused internet time (thanks to El Burrito and "real life"), and spending what time I do get hitting Reload endless times is trying the little patience I have left.
Gah.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Worst Instruction Manual Ever
I've found my nomination for the worst instruction-manual writing in the world. Seriously, this thing should win a medal. (Or a good thwap to the head, because there's no reason to encourage this crap.)
It's the instruction "manual" - actually just a 4-sheet fold-out thing that desperately needed to be sliced and stapled - for our new programmable thermostat. It's amazingly, irritatingly bad, especially since it seems to be well-written at first glance. No clues that it was translated from English to French to Swahili to Klingon and back to English before it was printed. But it took two adults, both with Master's degrees and good reading comprehension, over an hour to figure out how to program the bloody thermostat last night. And I'm still not certain that we got it right.
Here's the first and most frustrating example. I got the manual last night and found the sheet with the "Programming the Thermostat" section. Start with setting the time, which is less than 1/8 of a page. Easy peasy, I thought. Yeah, right. Step 1: Press "Menu" then "Time" button once. Hmmm. Menu, check. Time. Time, time, where's the time button? There is no time button. Six buttons, none marked "Time" anywhere. (Actually, the buttons aren't marked at all on the thermostat, just on the LCD screen and on the diagram in the manual.)
After some muttering, half an hour, and DH's involvement, we figured out the problem. To get to the point where one of the buttons functions as a "Time" button, you have to go through the insane mess on page 4, where you use the Menu button to choose one of 14 (yes, Fourteen) Menu Configurations. All with cryptic descriptions, and I still can't read the list and tell you which one to use when you need to set the time. So that Step 1 is more like Step 5 (or 6, if you add "Threaten to yank the thing off the wall and hook the old programmable thermostat up again" in there).
Then there's the whole craziness of the "hold" option that you can use to override the program. The screen has "Hold" in two places, both of which seem to indicate that the program is, indeed, on hold, if you read what passes for a manual. But, in practice, one "Hold" means it's on hold. The other "Hold" just means that the button kinda-sorta next to the "Hold" icon is the button you push to put it on hold.
I think, anyway. I was fighting with that part at 1:30 a.m., when I accidentally hit the Hold button and couldn't figure out how to un-Hold the stupid thermostat. We didn't freeze or roast in the night, though, so I think DH's interpretation is right.
Anyway, the results are:
It's the instruction "manual" - actually just a 4-sheet fold-out thing that desperately needed to be sliced and stapled - for our new programmable thermostat. It's amazingly, irritatingly bad, especially since it seems to be well-written at first glance. No clues that it was translated from English to French to Swahili to Klingon and back to English before it was printed. But it took two adults, both with Master's degrees and good reading comprehension, over an hour to figure out how to program the bloody thermostat last night. And I'm still not certain that we got it right.
Here's the first and most frustrating example. I got the manual last night and found the sheet with the "Programming the Thermostat" section. Start with setting the time, which is less than 1/8 of a page. Easy peasy, I thought. Yeah, right. Step 1: Press "Menu" then "Time" button once. Hmmm. Menu, check. Time. Time, time, where's the time button? There is no time button. Six buttons, none marked "Time" anywhere. (Actually, the buttons aren't marked at all on the thermostat, just on the LCD screen and on the diagram in the manual.)
After some muttering, half an hour, and DH's involvement, we figured out the problem. To get to the point where one of the buttons functions as a "Time" button, you have to go through the insane mess on page 4, where you use the Menu button to choose one of 14 (yes, Fourteen) Menu Configurations. All with cryptic descriptions, and I still can't read the list and tell you which one to use when you need to set the time. So that Step 1 is more like Step 5 (or 6, if you add "Threaten to yank the thing off the wall and hook the old programmable thermostat up again" in there).
Then there's the whole craziness of the "hold" option that you can use to override the program. The screen has "Hold" in two places, both of which seem to indicate that the program is, indeed, on hold, if you read what passes for a manual. But, in practice, one "Hold" means it's on hold. The other "Hold" just means that the button kinda-sorta next to the "Hold" icon is the button you push to put it on hold.
I think, anyway. I was fighting with that part at 1:30 a.m., when I accidentally hit the Hold button and couldn't figure out how to un-Hold the stupid thermostat. We didn't freeze or roast in the night, though, so I think DH's interpretation is right.
Anyway, the results are:
- I'm very glad we kept the old thermostat
- I won't go out of my way to take the new one with us when we leave.
- I know what company to never buy a thermostat from.
- I may write a short note to our HVAC company and tell them to consider using a different company's product.
- I'd better write a few notes on the "manual" because we'll forget half of this by the time the batteries run down and the settings get wiped.
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