Royce Eddington

I love comments! Comments that criticize, comments that discuss what was posted, comments that are insulting, and comments on comments’ comments are always welcome. Comments with links to related topics and links to personal websites are awesome, too!

However, comments that are nothing but advertisements unrelated to the original post are not welcome here. Posting any advertisement for any product unrelated to the original post will not go through. Posting about an item for sale that has nothing to do with the present discussion will not go through.

Seriously, I’ll approve everything… as long as it is somehow related to the original post.

But if you have something to advertise or sell, take it to Google Ads.

Every so often, the Wall Street Journal makes me do a double take.

Today, September 1st, 2010, the Wall Street Journal mentioned on page A7 that Hurricane Earl “could easily veer west in the coming days, becoming the first hurricane to hit the U.S. this season”.

Hoookay then. Sooooo…

WTF was hurricane Alex?

I do remember hurricane Alex coming by to say “howdy” back around July 1st, and it was definitely more “hurricane” than “hurricane-ish”. Does the eye have to pass directly over the continental U.S.’ line of scrimmage to be considered “official”? Did the mega-sized hurricane bands from Alex that were handing out free tornadoes and monsoon-flavored water not count?

Recount!

According to the New York Times, yesterday “President Obama declared an end… to the seven-year American combat mission in Iraq, saying that the United States has met its responsibility to that country and that it is now time to turn to pressing problems at home. ”

Did every major media outlet completely miss that itty bitty part that “the United States would continue to play a key role in nurturing a stable democracy” in Iraq, and that “some 50,000 US troops will remain until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests”, and that “the Obama administration is planning a remarkable civilian effort, buttressed by a small army of contractors, to fill the void.”

We’re not out of Iraq. Not by a long shot. And now with the buildup in Afghanistan looking like the unwelcome sequel to the “lookin’ for tarr’ists” wars, I just don’t see US troop deployment truly “drawing down” anytime soon.

This is nothing more than another “Mission Accomplished” PR stunt, but this time, by the Democrats.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This is not what I voted for. This is a shell game with human lives at stake.

Chris Matthews of Hardball on MSNBC summarizes my thoughts on this ongoing lunacy far better than I can. (I wonder if his slip-up at 1:25 was intentional?)

Oh, and please forgive the hack Photoshop job, but it is what I thought of when I watched President Obama’s speech last night.

Everybody and their Aunt Petunia seems to be going bonkers on the news that the “Last US combat brigade exits Iraq.”

My first reaction? I noticed they are all saying combat troops are being pulled out. Not all troops. Not a full withdrawal.

If you look at the details on either the BBC or COUNTDOWN sites, both have the fact that “some 50,000 US troops will remain until the end of 2011 to advise Iraqi forces and protect US interests.”

“Some” 50,000 troops would be the population of North Richland Hills, Texas. Temple, Texas. McKinney, Texas. Or Flower Mound, Texas.

“Some” 50,000 troops would be the population of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Or Danville, Virginia. Or Ames, Iowa. Or Lady Lake, Florida. Or Sandusky, Ohio. Or Hinesville, Georgia. Or Columbus, Indiana. Or Middletown, New York. Or Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

And, as an extra bonus, it looks like “the Obama administration is planning a remarkable civilian effort, buttressed by a small army of contractors, to fill the void.”

Why are all these media outlets getting so excited? Over nothing?

This is not a withdrawal. This is a shell game with human lives.

Preface : There’s a TL;DR for this tome.

Right then. First off, let me tell you about an interesting little thing I noticed when applying for a “Sears Rewards” card online this last weekend. (More on my Sears online experience in a bit).

Midway down the rewards application, after the information about me and my basic stats, I saw this…

Wow. Welcome to the new “targeted social advertising” era.

It really was only a matter of time before large companies realized the Twitter and Facebook demographics were ripe for harvesting. So why not give a special offer to those who have a built-in listener base? It makes sense, really.

If I wanted to reach 301 people in one shot, what better way than to send a “freebie” or “exclusive message” to someone with a built-in following? Bloggers are always looking for content, and a “hey check out what I got from Sears” post or “hey look at what Sears just told me is coming up” post is pretty good material to build on. Sears wins for getting their message out directly to more people than old fashioned print media does anymore, and the bloggers win by getting access to new and unreleased material before it goes mainstream. Tying it into their in-house rewards questionnaire is just icing on the cake.

I replied honestly to the questionnaire, but I wonder how many more offers the “over 300″ followers will get? And, just as important, I wonder if Sears is actually going to parse the “over 300″ crowd for their “ideal” demographic and not just “carpet bomb” everyone who has a large following in the hopes they suddenly become converts?

Sending a new Black and Decker toolkit or a Sears-exclusive appliance to Click and Clack on NPR’s Car Talk or to any of the Auto or Car blog specific sites out there would be genius.

Best of luck, Sears. Congratulations on being the first site I’ve come across to go fishing in the big new ocean of fully connected customers!

I do expect other “top 100″ companies to follow suit, though. Expect more “who do you know” kinds of questions for rewards sites, and look for more “now hiring : social media integration specialists” in the future.

So, having said all that, let me tell you about my experience shopping online with Sears this last weekend.

This Sunday I wanted to purchase a Kenmore Elite Stainless Steel 16.7 cu. ft. Freezerless Refrigerator (4472) Sears Item# 04644723000 | Model# 44723, a  Kenmore Elite Stainless Steel 16.7 cu. ft. Upright Freezer (4473) Sears Item# 04644733000 | Model# 44733, and the Kenmore Stainless Steel Stainless Steel Trim Kit Sears Item# 04604470000 | Model# DUOTRIMKIT online. The total for everything was around $2.5k after delivery and taxes.

At the checkout, I was keying in my AmX card when I noticed there was a small icon next to payment type that said “Don’t Have A Sears Card? APPLY NOW.”

I thought, hey, if I apply for a Sears card I can get in on their 12 months interest free plan! Awesome! Instead of one payment next month, I can break it down into two or three payments interest free!

So I clicked on the APPLY NOW icon, and after putting in the usual credit application sorts of info, I was approved for the Sears card. I went ahead and signed up for online management of the card through Citibank and was referred back to Sears checkout. The whole application and management process was ridiculously easy.

Back at the Sears online checkout window I selected under “payment type” the “Sears Card” option. That immediately prompted me for the Sears credit card number and security code on the back of the Sears card.

Uh, guys? I don’t have the card security code or the full Sears card number because I applied for the Sears card online.

I logged into the online management of the Sears card through Citibank and looked for the full card number and security code, only to find out that the card was going to be mailed to me and I would have to wait two to three weeks to get the Sears card in the mail and activate it.

I went back to the Sears site, and clicked on the top icon for a Sears rep to “Call Me”.

In less than a minute, my home phone rang and I was connected to a very professional and courteous Sears representative who confirmed, in just seconds, what I suspected. The “APPLY NOW” icon? The customer service rep was careful not to agree with my statement that it was “misleading”, but did say it was indeed “somewhat confusing”. When you APPLY NOW for a Sears card, you can’t use the credit card until you actually receive it in the mail. Only then, after you activate it, will it function online.

Nice.

I said “thank you” and decided I can wait two weeks to break up the payments for now. But Sears missed out on a $2.5k weekend purchase by not fully integrating their commerce division with their sales department, and that really is just bad design.

And now it’s time for the “insult to injury” round!

While I was at the Sears site, I saw there was a “Sears Rewards” section, where you can sign up and get a “rewards” card that applies money you spend to points you can earn to get more stuff. It sounded like a good deal, so I signed up for it.

The moment I pressed ENTER on the “Sears Rewards” site, I was given a temporary rewards number that I could print out and use immediately.

Hey Sears? Put whoever designed the Rewards section in charge of the Credit/Finance department. I would have loved to have bought those appliances this last Sunday so I could have had them in my home by Wednesday. Why not issue a “temporary” credit card number that people can immediately online when they are approved for a Sears card? You could make the temporary credit card a “disposable” number like Citibank and AmX give out to their customers, and the number would expire upon receipt of the “real” card. You can even make it so that it is only for a fraction of the total available amount on the “real” card for extra security. I bet you would get many more online purchases if you guys just slightly updated your systems integration.

The rest of the Sears site was top notch. Immediate callback from customer service. Good “flow” for the website. Great “related items” queries. Outstanding “rewards” setup/turnaround.

Oh, and Sears? One more thing. You might want to get on the list of who is buying new homes and send them a “welcome” packet in the mail with a $10 or $20 off a “home appliance” coupon and some other “welcome to your new home” material. Best Buy sent me a similar packet and I purchased a brand new Samsung HE washer and dryer from them late last year because of it! Don’t forget the old school methods!

TL;DR : Sears is ahead of the curve in their social marketing reach, but they need to integrate their credit approval department with their online sales site. Everything else was great.

EDIT 10:56 CST: Spelling & Formatting.

Anderson Cooper, one of CNN’s best reporters, has a great video on how the first amendment has been suspended in the gulf.

A user called Sharky734 posted Anderson’s recent CNN editorial on YouTube…

No reporters or photography allowed within 65 feet of any “response vessel or boom” in the gulf? That’s a very broad restriction. Since the booms surround the shoreline, 65 feet away in both directions means there is actually a 130 foot “dark zone” on the area most affected by the spill.

This is completely unacceptable.

This isn’t a warzone. This isn’t a foreign country. Nobody’s life is in imminent danger. Why the hell can’t the press take photos of what is going on in the gulf whenever they want to? Why the hell can’t the press take photos of the shorelines? Who, exactly, is going to get hurt if they do so?

And since when does the coast guard bend over and say thank you to BP?

Most important of all, why the hell has the “new and improved” Obama administration condoned this egregious restriction on the press?

Of all the things for the Democrats to copy from the Republicans, restricting the press under the pretense of “safety” and then creating laws out of thin air to help cover a corporation’s error are the most despicable.

The first amendment applies on American waters as well as is does on American land. There is no compromise on this. With modern technology and “live” streaming capabilities available to virtually everyone, there is no reason to let corporations, and especially our own government, restrict the truth in any way, shape or form to further their own agenda.

I just got the Dell laptop today.

This is the laptop I originally ordered back on the 8th of June.

At least it arrived faster than the initially scheduled July 8th. But still, 24 days is a very long time to wait for any laptop nowadays. Especially since Apple managed to get theirs delivered in 6 days.

I just got an update from Dell.

The Dell laptop I ordered back on the 8th of June with priority shipping has been delayed yet again. The new and improved delivery date will be around July 6th.

Almost a month for a damn laptop? When a Mac that was ordered on the 10th arrived on the 16th direct from China?

From now on I’ll be sure to tell anyone that asks my professional opinion about Dell to expect about a 30 day delay in their order and to plan accordingly.

About to get hit by a hurricane? NOAA has some great hurricane preparedness tips, but I think they’re missing just a few things…

Get a generator! I highly recommend getting one if you have an enclosed patio space or backyard. Having power for a two hour downtime is convenient, but having power for a 24 hour downtime is a lifesaver. You do need to keep the generator completely outside for ventilation, though. I got a basic Champion generator from Sam’s for around $300 that does most everything I need for temporary power outages.

Calculate the gasoline requirements for the generator. If your generator will run for 10 hours on 3 gallons of gasoline, then a 5 gallon gas container won’t get you past 24 hours of continuous runtime. Invest in a 10 or 20 gallon gasoline container if your area is prone to long delays in power restoration. When the crisis is over, just pour the extra gasoline into your vehicle’s gas tank.

Get 10 or 12 gauge extension cord for your generator. Use these to run from your generator into your home. You can get them from Sam’s or Lowes. Anything less (like a plain household extension cord) and you run the risk of melting the extension cords if you put too much load on them.

Pre-layout your generator extension cords. This is a real timesaver so you don’t have to do everything in the dark. I usually open the sliding glass door from the patio and run the extension cord from the generator through the crevice. Then I put some wide masking tape from the top of the crevice down to the extension cord on the floor to keep the bugs out. Then all I have to do is go out the side garage door and start the generator if the power goes out.

Have a “core” area for all the power. Have a centralized area in your home where the main extension cord from the generator will run and have the essentials are ready to go. A fan and a lamp are good starters, but a small TV and maybe a DVD player and small microwave are great additions if your generator can handle it.

Check your generator load level. Every generator has a load indicator that says how it is doing. Make sure you don’t overload your generator with too many things plugged in at once.

Refrigerator planning. Before the hurricane hits, take out anything that doesn’t have to be in the refrigerator and put it aside. (Sodas, alcohol and condiments come to mind.) The less that’s in the refrigerator, the easier it is to cool what remains. If the power goes out, the items in the refrigerator will usually stay for a long time if you just keep the doors closed. If the power is out for a prolonged period, you may want to occasionally plug in the refrigerator into the generator to let it cool back down a little.

Keep some water in an ice chest. Keeping an ice chest full of ice and bottled water on the side of the refrigerator will let the refrigerator stay cool by not having to open the doors all the time to get a drink.

Gorilla Tape > Duck/Duct Tape. Seriously. Keep a roll handy for quick fixes. Plan on a little paint coming off of whatever you put the Gorilla tape on though!

Gorilla Tape your trash bin and recycling lids down. There’s nothing worse than finding out your trash and aluminum cans are all over the neighborhood after a hurricane passes.

Gorilla Tape the base of doors you’re going to sandbag. Sandbags are good to barricade the bottom of doors to keep water from coming in, but the gorilla tape will add an extra layer of flood protection.

Get a tarp. A tarp and some Gorilla Tape can quick-patch a hole in your home before it gets any worse. Tarps are about $10 at Sam’s and they’re remarkably useful.

Camping stove + propane = hot food. You don’t have to go to a speciality store like Academy or Cabela’s to find a good propane camping stove. WalMart, Sams and Target carry a good variety, ranging from a simple single-burner setup to a oven-style-four-burner family cookout model. Grab one of those camping stoves, some matches and a few cans of propane to power them, and you can have hot food in the middle of the outage! Cans of Sterno work well too.

Charcoal + outdoor grill = hot food. A lot of times, people forget to buy a bag of charcoal before a hurricane. Depending on how long the power is out, you can make a cookout to take care of any leftover food in the refrigerator.

Gather the emergency service numbers now. Looking for the gas company’s emergency number when the area reeks of natural gas/mercaptan is too dangerous. Get all the utility company numbers ready to go before the storm arrives.

Get training pads for any pets that will be indoors. Pets that are indoors during a big storm will probably have to “go” at some point. Putting training pads on the floor will help them keep their business in one area.

UPDATE 06/30 : If it’s expensive, completely unplug it. Yes, surge suppressors will stop a moderate power surge. But a hurricane dishes out lightning on a very large scale. If you paid a lot of money for it, unplug it completely from the wall to keep it safe.

Hopefully Alex will only get to a Category 1 hurricane and this will just be a lot of water and not much of anything else.

Alex storm status as of 062910

Alex storm status as of 062910 B

In an earlier post, I mentioned that back on the 8th of June I ordered a laptop from Dell and that I also ordered a Mac laptop on the 10th of June. Both had similar configs and identical shipping preferences, but the Mac got to me first on June 16th.

It’s been one week with the new Mac, and I’ve been happily running Windows 7 and Vista under Parallels and running the latest Ubuntu and assorted miscellaneous server images under VMware Fusion. All this in addition to the usual Mac software I’ve had installed on my previous laptop.

The Dell was supposed to ship on June 24th. Today the status changed to say the new and improved estimated shipping date is June 30th.

Over three weeks to get a laptop? Dude! Not funny!