Useless Conversation

[Murgos]

We had a two second power blip.

My PC now thinks it has a 3.5 floppy drive and that it's 2004. While fixable, that sounds like a "hey, you know that battery on your motherboard that doesn't seem to have a purpose? Guess what?" sort of thing.

I wonder if new boards come with rechargeable batteries.  It would make a lot more sense and solve this sort of problem.

[Sky]

We had a two second power blip.

My PC now thinks it has a 3.5 floppy drive and that it's 2004. While fixable, that sounds like a "hey, you know that battery on your motherboard that doesn't seem to have a purpose? Guess what?" sort of thing.

We had that blip, too. Always fun to see what electricity does...it killed a power cord. How does that even happen? I can see a lot of things getting burned out by black/browns but a power cord? And the machine it's connected to is fine? Bizarre...but I'll take it.

I have a bad CMOS battery on a computer here, started getting the message and I'm all 'they still make those and they go bad? It's been like ten years since I've even thought about a CMOS battery.

[ghost]

I really love that I'm starting to get random, unsolicited marketing phone calls on my cell phone now.   

[MuffinMan]

I'm getting a lot of the same but texts instead. Google Voice really is wonderful with blocking them.

[Hammond]

Gah the unsolicited recorded marketing calls /texts on my cell are getting old.  I looked up the numbers and apparently they are some solicitor that uses VOIP access to help mask their identity and they also hide behind a few shell companies to boot.   

I have never once bought something from a phone solicitor and I really wonder what their sell through rate is.  I mean someone has to be buying this crap why else would they be doing it?

[Sky]

"Hi, I'm Julie from credit card services. There's no problem with your card..." *click*

I get those at least once a week. I thought they were going to finally give up when they said 'this is your last chance' after leading up with 'this is the second attempt to contact you' (heh). It's pretty annoying, since I do deal with out of town callers enough that I need to pick up and my primary phone is a tracfone so it costs me a minute to hang up on them.

[WayAbvPar]

Let it ring through to the operator agent anal fissure, set the phone down, and walk away.

[Sky]

Sometimes I meow at them.

[Paelos]

Let it ring through to the operator agent anal fissure, set the phone down, and walk away.

I ask them philosophical questions about the true meaning of Christmas.

[ghost]

I just don't answer the phone if it's a number that I don't recognize.  I figure that if it's really important they'll leave a message. 

[Bunk]

Yes, that is truly a joy for people like me that work in a call center.

- Client buys an expensive product.
- we call to help Client setup expensive product, client won't answer because they don't recognize number
- client's voicemail is full, because they never answer the phone
- client calls in three months later and bitches us out for not helping them setup the product

[Viin]

I switched from Qwest/Century Link to a Comcast VOIP phone, and you get 10 numbers you can "blacklist". I plan on taking advantage of that! Now if only AT&T would let me do that too..

[ghost]

Yes, that is truly a joy for people like me that work in a call center.

- Client buys an expensive product.
- we call to help Client setup expensive product, client won't answer because they don't recognize number
- client's voicemail is full, because they never answer the phone
- client calls in three months later and bitches us out for not helping them setup the product

That's why I like the companies that I have to work with who will set up an appointment time with me to call via email prior to just calling.  That way I know they're calling ahead of time.  Not clearing out voicemails is particularly irritating though.

[Draegan]

On netflix this weekend, I stream a Discovery Channel show: Out of the Wild - Venezuela.  It's a show where they take 9 non-expert people and toss them on to the top of a mountain and tell them to go 100+ miles through jungle and grassland and swamp and survive.   

This show was awesome to watch.  Watched all 7 eps this weekend with the wife.  Anyone else catch it?

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/out-of-the-wild/out-of-the-wild.html

I need to find the other seasons.

[Nebu]

How come I never get picked to do stuff like this?  I'd be in heaven!

[ghost]

I'd end up as a hostage or eaten by an alligator. 

[Trippy]

How come I never get picked to do stuff like this?  I'd be in heaven!

Cause you didn't apply?

[Morat20]

I really love that I'm starting to get random, unsolicited marketing phone calls on my cell phone now.   

Someone keeps wanting to poll me. Supposedly. I'm getting annoyed just seeing the number.

[Minvaren]

Is that the one from somewhere in Washington/Oregon?  I think it starts off as a poll, then goes into a free cruise pitch.

[Morat20]

Is that the one from somewhere in Washington/Oregon?  I think it starts off as a poll, then goes into a free cruise pitch.

I think so. I've never listened to much of it, but that's the right geographical location.

The second or third call I got was a clue too. No pollster will keep trying hangups. Not daily.

[Lantyssa]

Annoyingly we have a remote worker from there.  I thought he got a hold of my cell, but didn't leave a message so I was confused.  That explains it.

[Hammond]

Is that the one from somewhere in Washington/Oregon?  I think it starts off as a poll, then goes into a free cruise pitch.

Oh oh I love that one.  They say its free but you have to pay a 60 dollar port fee or some such to get on the cruise.  Apparently they caught a bunch of people on that scam.  Looks like a bunch of attorney generals are looking at it now.

http://www.patriotledger.com/business/x1222855806/Law-firm-political-poll-is-bait-and-switch

[Sky]

When my band was on the left coast, we had jobs working at an accordion school. We sat in the back doing surveys about violence in children's tv programming to harvest names to feed to the call center for free accordion lessons.

[Paelos]

Is that the one from somewhere in Washington/Oregon?  I think it starts off as a poll, then goes into a free cruise pitch.

Oh oh I love that one.  They say its free but you have to pay a 60 dollar port fee or some such to get on the cruise.  Apparently they caught a bunch of people on that scam.  Looks like a bunch of attorney generals are looking at it now.

http://www.patriotledger.com/business/x1222855806/Law-firm-political-poll-is-bait-and-switch

Do you get the cruise though? I mean after you sit through the hours long sales pitch. Or do they just bilk you for the fee?

[Hammond]

Eventually yes you get the cruise but they charge a bunch of fees on top of it from what information I have found.  In other words it is the typical timeshare scam.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1185

[ghost]

Yoko Ono is a complete fruit loop. 

[HaemishM]

This is not news.

[Nebu]

This is not news.

As a wise man once wrote...

[ghost]

It's always good to have a reminder.  Maybe I should get a lawsuit together.  I'm pretty sure I did "piles of dirt" first.  She stole my idea.

[Sjofn]

We're flying to NJ! For a week! No one worry I died don't pretend you wouldn't.

Ingmar will probably still be harrassing you guys, since we as a family like to ignore each other and play with our laptops. Except *I* don't have one. So I pay attention to my mother, which makes her happy, because she can complain to me about how my sisters, my brother, my father, and my husband are so wired in all the time why can't they unplug for ten minutes my WORD. And then she'll pause a moment, mid-sentence, to do her move in Words With Friends.

[ghost]

Way to dive on the sword, Sjofn.   

[Lantyssa]

I'm sure they all thank you for it.

[Draegan]

It's disgustingly hot/humid right now in NJ.  Gonna get worse in the next few days.

Enjoy.   

[Nebu]

It's disgustingly hot/humid right now in NJ.  Gonna get worse in the next few days.

Enjoy.   

I'm guessing you've never lived in the deep south, have you?

[IainC]

It was 22º at midnight last night. That is way too many degrees.