Rants and Raves

Lucille, Queen of Olympus

Lance managed to save my computer in June (again, kudos to tci-tech.com) but I was left with the daunting task of reloading everything from Adobe to  Windows Media Player,  in addition to all the drivers for all the hardware. 

I am very capable of downloading anything (if CenturyTel has their tin cans and strings tied together that day) , but I don’t have a clue what to do with it once the little icon is on my desktop.  LexMark has been one of the most difficult tasks until I tackled Olympus again this week.

But this morning Lucille answered when I called ‘tech support’ and after almost 2 hours, I think we have saved my summer photos. Lance had backed up everything from the past, but the photos from June  ’till today were lost somewhere far from the Information Highway, I have no idea where they went when I tried to download my beloved Olympus camera, they appeared in an album but could not be retrieved, ack! 

We were on the phone for almost 2 hours and she finally deduced we had a missing link (no, not the Leakey’s beloved Lucy, but that would be poetic) and I will probably have to manually ‘transfer’ all 380 photos. BUT they are not lost, and Lucille at Olympus had the patience to help me work through the issue.

Raves to Lucille at Olympus!

Pet Friendly?

        Ft.  Morgan is one of the few places on the Gulf to still allow dogs on the beach.  We enjoying seeing your Labrador romp in the surf and your Yorkie play in the sand with your kids. But that doesn’t mean the peninsula is an open dog park…. we have have sensible ordinances that must be followed or we will rescind our invitation to your pet.

      There were comments in the most recent issue of the Fort Morgan Civic Association newsletter echoing the discussions heard on the beach about limiting the fireworks,  so it is probably only a matter of time until we follow the examples of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach and institute a ban.  It is sad that the actions of only a few people can impact all of us.

      And the same is true of your pets. The Baldwin Co. ordinance clearly states that pets must be ‘under control’ if they are on public property or ‘confined’ to your property. No exceptions.

       It is illegal for your Golden Retriever to run up the beach and playfully jump on a small child, for your Dalmatian to leave a stinking pile in the surf, for your Poodles to chase a bicycle, for your German Shepherd to snap at a stroller, or for your Akita stalk leashed dogs.  Several of my friends have stopped walking their small dogs on leashes because it is too dangerous, and one now carries a golf club when she walks.

        As much as I love walking Sophie on the beach in the morning before work, I may be the first in line to vote for a ban on dogs on the beach.

         And this is not about ‘bad dogs’, it’s about their ‘irresponsible owners”. 

Death and Taxes

       If you live in Alabama you will be taxed to death.  The appraisers in the Baldwin County Revenue Commissioner’s office have been called “capricious and arbitrary” and they are obviously terribly confused. I don’t think they have windows in their offices or read the newspapers. We have more foreclosure signs than Christmas trees in our neighborhood, but my assessment increased, again.

      Last year 22,000 people appealed their property tax bills and, after talking to my neighbors and comparing their appraisals, I’ll be appealing mine again this year.

CenturyTel     

   CenturyTel is, without question, the worst internet provider in this country. My problems with them began the first minute I landed in Alabama when nothing worked as promised. The Customer Service Rep finally told me only a few people at their headquarters were qualified to talk to the ‘former’ GulfTel customers and the nice lady who answered the phone first the day I called wasn’t one of them.

      While I appreciated the explanation and apology, that didn’t change the fact that I had signed up for their service based on false information and empty promises.

        My expensive modem/router didn’t work with their system and, in the end, I had to drive from Fort Morgan to Orange Beach to get a modem from their nearest office. I’ll need to buy ANOTHER router if I want to be wireless again (I really, really miss BellSouth in Kentucky)

        The software that came with their modem conflicted with something on my computer and sent it into a confused loop I couldn’t fix. (It turns out you don’t need to load that stupid disk on your computer to use the modem, but if you follow their directions like I did I can highly recommend Lance Thompson at Thompson Computers Inc., or TCI. He is fast, efficient, and reasonable).

        And when I was finally hooked up properly I found the service is unreliable, the speed fluctuates, and the random error messages make internet banking or shopping an absolutely terrifying experience.

        The last time I actually stayed on ‘hold’ long enough to report a problem the nice tech told me it was widespread. When I asked if I would be charged for the past two days with problems he said I had to call Customer Service. I tried…. I went through the stupid automated system, but was finally disconnected after waiting almost 15 minutes. I see on my current bill there is no adjustment, of course.

      Last night I couldn’t check my email without having to sign on between almost every message, my post to this WebLog was scrambled and I kept getting the message, ‘you must enable cookies’ when I tried to check the status of my Christmas orders.

       It seems to be working this morning, but I’m sure there won’t be any adjustment for the lack of service. It isn’t fair to have to pay premium prices for a lousy product, especially for a utility with a monopoly.

      When will MediaCom get to my subdivision?

Rodney Crowell

     I love his music and his genius.  His 2005 release, “The Outsider” is one of my all-time favorites and, yes, I was listening to it when I was trying to think of an appropriate title for this WebLog. 

Mongol

      This startlingly beautiful epic is one of the best films I have seen in a long time. Thanks for the early Christmas present guys!