the fire project This little viddy is what happens when you mix, a roommate, some ninjas, (no wait that was my imagination going off there) a barking chihuahua, kerosene and a match.6.3 MB
Goo I think Goo and I are going to be really good friends. See the encounter for yourself.2.4 MB
Action figure Jesus Action figure Jesus starring in "jesus…jesus christ." He's so holy.5.7 MB
Hey man (Amen) Action figure Jesus is back in "Hey Man (Amen)". I don't know why he speaks German when he meets the devil.7.2 MB
iSwitched Here's what happens when you mix a new Mac with a former PC user. Rean switched.6.7 MB
RedRocket Crotch This is a typical Friday at school with my students. No seriously.6.9 MB
Outdoors + Gi At the karate bug bash, I gave unsu a go with the cam rolling.5.8 MB
Punchin out candles It's only fun when it works and you don't get burned. Ugh, that was a silly play on words.1.9 MB
stickers and badges
7/21/2010 12:45:00 PM
A popular trend for social networks is to offer badges or stickers for members to collect.
The year was 1980 and I collected stickers just for the sake of collecting stickers. I had a whole album full of puffy ones. Something about the artwork...I dunno, I just liked looking at them, and had a collector's drive to get more.
Maybe there's a parallel here today, foursquare is a game that gives badges to members as they check in to new locations. I've noticed getglue.com does the same thing, following the trend, and exposing popular movies and books with a new medium.
These digital stickers mean nothing to us. They don't make us more famous, or richer. I suppose some fame comes with being the major of a popular venue. Then again my sticker collection was just feeding that drive to collect. It actually made me poorer, as I had to buy the stickers in the 80s.
These new social networking loyalty reward sites are attracting members quickly. I still question the real value to the member. Look at hugely successful loyalty programs like air miles, aeroplan miles, and the like. They offer something for all those points(stickers) = free air travel. Now that's something I gladly do each time I get gas. In a way I'm checking in my purchase for an exchange of points that I can later CASH in.
On a sidenote, I've recently joined foursquare to test our soon to be released ScreenScape foursquare widget. We think ScreenScape complements foursquare inside the venue perfectly. In fact it closes the mobile loop, allowing for visibility into the activity to the general public. Foursquare allows a social network of customers to check in, and ScreenScape broadcasts the activity on a public display, creating even more awareness for foursquare - which in turn should increase participation.
If you are interested in beta testing the foursquare widget in your venue. Friend ScreenScape on foursquare.
Yesterday I talked Rogers out of a $500 cell bill. Well my regular bill is about $100 god I pay too much for my iPhone but they charged me an extra $366 for data used while roaming in Las Vegas last month.
Calling to refuse paying a charge Tip #1: Be kind and play dumb. I explained that I couldn't turn my network off, so the whole time I was on a wifi network, I was actually on AT&Ts network. Lie. I know every freaking setting and what they all actually mean on my phone. I then explained that I needed to talk to someone in billing to further explain how that data charge could be on there. Even when you press 1 for Billing you get level 1 support.
Tip #2: During the hold while waiting for the call to escalate - Don't panic. Keep a clear picture in your mind of the outcome you need. In this case to wipe a bogus $366 roaming data charge.
When the call escalated I explained that I got a text message when I arrived in Vegas telling me about the exorbitant text messaging charges. I called Rogers from Vegas to get a plan added for a month to lower the cost of my texts. Turns out the guy was supposed to ask how I'd be using my phone. If I was going to be using data, he was supposed to offer me a data plan as well.
Guy didn't say jack about data.
I told the lady in billing that buddy didn't offer any plans for data usage. I found my loophole. So now the game begins. She put me on hold again to talk to a supervisor about reducing the amount billable for data.
I wait in silence - no hold music. I think they do that to make you more nervous. I found it peaceful.
She likely filed her nails and then came back on the line. I know the supervisor thing is just a chance for them to work out a deal in the background.
Tip #3: Meanwhile - I did the math. It would cost me $240 ($20 for every month left on my contract) for me to cancel my account today. They would lose over a $1000 in potential revenue from me. I had those figures ready in case I needed them.
Tip #4: (don't settle for the first offer) When she returned, she kindly offered me $185 off the $366 charge. Perfect they are willing to budge. "If you are willing to reduce the price at all, you acknowledge that your employee made a mistake by not offering me a data plan. So if there was an error made, why not wipe the whole charge?" Reasonable counter I thought.
Silence on the line.
Tip #5: (don't start off with "cancel" to escalate a call - they expect that, work them first and get them involved. It's a game to them too.) I had to bring out my smoking gun.The I-just-did-the-math counter. I continued to explain the cost of lost revenue and sprinkled in the magic word that escalates all calls. "CANCEL". That's right I had to put all my cards on the table. "I'm afraid I will need the entire charge wiped or I'll have to cancel today."
Her response...I'll check with my supervisor.
While on hold this time, I realized I had made a pretty good argument, and I bet they are willing to wipe the charge. It then occurred to me that it would be a huge pain in the ass to cancel my number etc, but then I remembered the new iPhone 4G and thought if I must I must.
She returned to the call to tell me that they would wipe the entire charge all but $60 that the data plan the guy should have sold me would have cost.
Tip #6: Know when you've struck a good deal, even if it doesn't exactly match your original expected outcome. Good negotiations are always win win. At this point I invested a good portion of my lunch hour, so I threw in the towel. "OK thank you."
Why did I do all of this? Well not just because I think $6 for a single megabyte of data is highway robbery. (What the US roaming data charges worked out to.) No, because I have a 6G data plan on my phone that I've been paying $30 for for the last 2 years. My lifetime data usage is a whopping 233 MB sent and 3.2G received. That's right I've paid $720 for 144 gigs of data and have used less than 4. I think Rogers owes me 140 gigs of data, so there's no way in hell I'm paying $366 for 60 MB. Ffffff u and the little data plan you rode in on.
I may have allergies. After a week in Vegas with no pollen, grass etc, I returned and within 12 hours had a runny nose for 4 days. If it was a cold it hit me with a wallop all at once. 7 days later, I'm feeling much better. I've been away from karate for weeks, so last night I was eager to sweat out the rest of the toxins.
When I hear the two magic words that kick my body into overdrive I realize no cold or allergies will keep me down. "Full speed and power" is a trigger to exert all the speed and all the power you have within.
It really triggers something within a martial artists mind and tanden. Earlier that day I was still whining on the inside about my nasal drip. This morning I wake feeling refreshed, and remember those muscles I have in my back that I wasn't using for a few weeks. :) Ahh. tiger balm.
I had a great trip to Vegas last week. What a crazy city. It's really non-stop 24-7. Quite beautiful with it's unnatural constructed form next to canyons and mountains in the distance.
Yet, I couldn't help but think how unnatural it was for humans to live in the desert. The power consumed by that city must be enormous. All that constant air conditioning & spraying a fine mist of water into the street around restaurant decks and shops to cool the air.
It was over 40 degrees Celsius when we arrived. The hottest I recall feeling in the past was 35 degrees in Belize City -and I nearly melted...it was a humid 35 degrees. But 40 degrees is equally unnatural even with a dry heat. It makes you stay indoors. The sun beats down on all that rock and concrete heating it up like a bowl in the sun.
The elevators, lights, casinos open 24/7, all those slot machines are such a constant drain of power. I thought it would be interesting to know how much electricity Las Vegas consumes, so I did a little digging...
Another thing that stood out in my mind was the working seniors.
I've never seen so many seniors working. One lady was so old her hands had tremors as she passed me my change. I felt sorry for her, wondering why she hadn't retired. Had she lost her pension in the recession or did she gamble it away? I'll never know but it seemed strange. In PEI, it's rare to see a senior working, in fact, early retirement is what we seem to strive for around here.
All in all, Vegas is a freak show. Likely a city that should never have been built in the first place...too hot and dry of a climate to sustain life, but if you get a chance to go you'll get to see human consumption in high gear, from high rollers to freaks. Vegas has it all.
I didn't gamble. Ah well that $20 is best spent on my early retirement. ;)
This time on Monday I'll be arriving in Las Vegas. I've never been to Vegas before. I suppose I might get a chance to take in a show some evening, but my days will be pretty full representing ScreenScape at Infocomm.
I have no idea what to pack, as I'm sure everything I've been wearing here lately will be too hot there. Time to fast forward to summer and pack what I'd be wearing here then.
I've decided to blow $20 gambling. I don't gamble. I played poker once with my old roommates Ryan and Nick and lost all my money on the second round. ALL IN! I'm more interested in Roulette - maybe $20 on RED. I can't see myself playing those slot machines. Seems like entirely too much effort to lose some and win some.
I have a feeling I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb, with no tan. I usually sport a lovely ghostly pale skin (Casper) look, so my legs in a skirt will likely take planes down. Ah well. Maybe there will be other Canadians there without tans.
I'm a freaking nobody until Boomer asks me to wrap myself in a blanket
5/20/2010 12:56:00 PM
Woop! I made the cover of the local Chamber directory. I guess my 15 minutes have been all used up now. Already had a small segment on Compass about ScreenScape, oh and there's my Downtown Charlottetown commercial that they managed to squeeze 3 seasons out of. It doesn't get much bigger locally that this.
DANG it...I just realized I've never done a segment with BOOMER. Guess I'm still a freaking nobody.
Photos of Belize, Jul. 26th - Aug. 10th, 2003. Vacation, Mayan ruins and snorkling.
Funsies!
For your mathly addictions. My java calculator...(You need the Java Plug-in to view.) Psst...try dividing by zero, I think I handled that quite nicely. ;) Check it...
How do you become a geek you ask? Hmmm. I dunno. All I can tell is how it came about for me... Here's an except: 1981: I use a commodore Vic20 for the first time. 5 kb RAM + 15 kb ROM = 20 kb. I want to learn Basic.. Read More...
Ren has a bad attitude most days, he bites, but he knows tricks too.
