Rackspace was cool enough to surprise us with our first shared hosting
server when we retired her last month. We went on a tour of Rackspace’s
new offices in Austin and they surprised us with our box, signed by all of
the team members on our support team. They even took out the processor and
had it framed with a little plaque. It was awesome!!
Just another bit of proof that Rackspace stands hands and shoulders above
the rest.
Daniel showed me a neat little trick today that has GREATLY increased
the speed and performance of my Apple Mail program.
cd ~/Library/Mail
sqlite3 Envelope\ Index vacuum
This process optimizes the local database that Mail uses when
displaying folders, etc. EVERYTHING seems SO MUCH FASTER!
It really does boil down to those two words – Sprint Sucks.
Having been a customer of theirs since about 1998, I expect a bit
more than an absolute incapability of taking care of their
customers. Last night, my data service stopped working. I didn’t
think anything of it since I’m somewhat used to random errors. This
morning, I didn’t really notice when the data service still wasn’t
working. Since I was at my desk all day, I didn’t even notice when I
never got a call on my cell phone all day. On the way home, I picked
up my phone to call the wife and tell her I was on my way.
“Your account cannot be validated. If you are a Sprint customer,
please contact Sprint Customer Care by dialing *2 from your Sprint
phone.”
WTF??
I immediately dialed my trusty “Sprint Customer Care” representative
by dialing *2.
“We have detected that a free upgrade to your account is required in
order to complete your request. This will take up to one minute.
Please stand by while we process your request.”
Waiting…..Waiting….Waiting….All Done.
SWEET! Maybe that fixed it! They try to connect me to *2 – DROPPED
CALL.
I call back. Same scenario. Waiting….Waiting….now I’m connected
to *2. DROPPED CALL.
Let’s try it one more time. After waiting 10 minutes, this time I
get through the upgrade and now I’m on hold. I get someone who says
she can fix it. She calls me back at my home phone so we can “do
some diagnostics.” I remove the battery, try it again. No dice.
She puts me on hold while she connects me with Technical Support.
After 18 minutes I get hung up on. Grrrrrreeeeeaaaaat.
Since they have my home phone number, I figure they might actually
call me back. Um. Yeah, right.
So, about 15 minutes later, I call back. I get some genius named
“Lucy” who sounds like she’s in Bangalore or somewhere similar. I
explain the situation and am instructed to wait on hold while she
connects me with technical support. I tell her about getting hung up
on last time and she says it won’t happen again. Sure enough, 5
minutes into waiting on hold, I get dropped again. GEEEEZZZZ!!
Several hours go by and I try calling back again. I get through the
“free upgrade” business and wait on hold for a Sprint Customer Care
rep. Nine minutes and twenty-five seconds later, I get dropped
again. Now I’m starting to take this personally.
I call back again (is anyone keeping count yet!?) and try it yet
another time. This time, after about 8 minutes, I make it through to
Enrique. I explain my plight, frustration, and agitation with their
entire company and he apologize profusely (I’d swear they spend the
entire first week of Sprint training teaching folks how to apologize
for their ineptitude). Enrique does a bit of research and comes back
to tell me that I had requested a replacement phone on my account
yesterday and therefore they disabled my original account. Huh? I
don’t think so. I tell him that I haven’t called Sprint since the
last time they screwed up my account for no reason about 3 months ago
and that I have *not* requested a replacement phone.
Enrique, the most intelligent person I’ve spoken to at Sprint so far,
tries unsuccessfully to tell my phone to regain control of its
number. He has to upgrade me to technical support. I beg Enrique to
please not hang up on my like his colleages have 3 times now. He
assures me he won’t hang up on me. After about 8 minutes on hold,
Enrique comes back with some guy who must be a friend to Lucy. He
says he has researched my account and that the replacement request
that was submitted has caused some problems. He has reset all of the
widgets and gadgets and my account should be 100% correct in the next
4 hours. I’m supposed to leave it on and “just wait it out” and that
it will work as soon as the 4 hours passes. I repeat what he has
just told me to verify that I won’t have to call again and just as he
says “If you have any problems after 4 hours, please give us a
ca……..” Silence. I was hung up on for the fourth time today.
So, my dear friends at Sprint. Will you please reach behind you with
both hands, grab firmly, and pull your head out? I’m getting pretty
sick and tired of your shenanigans, incompetence, and utter disdain
for your customers.
Ok. So the wife and I have been going to these classes at our church
called Financial Peace University. It’s taught by a guy named Dave
Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com). It really has been an inspiring few
weeks. At first, I was incredibly reluctant to go, but about half-
way through the first class, I started getting into it. Now, the
wife is complaining that I’m going a bit too overboard with it all
and that she’s the one having a hard time committing to the plan.
Amazing.
Anyway, tomorrow starts the next step on our journey to financial
freedom. We’re becoming a cash-only family. Now, I’ll admit that
we’re taking baby-steps. We are still leaving some recurring charges
on our credit card, however they are listed as line items in our
budget. Everything else, however, should be paid for with cash. I
fully expect that we’ll fall on our faces sometime around week 3 of
this month, but time will tell. What I do know is that even though
we will indeed fall down a time or three, we’re going to get back up
and try it again.
No matter how much money you have in the bank, how much you take home
each month, or how many investments you have behind you, I highly
recommend the class. There are both audio and video versions, a
book, a workbook, etc. It is something that should be taught in
every high school in America and I wish I’d done it sooner. So many
of the concepts I’ve learned before and have even done before, but
Dave’s way of teaching really brings it all together and helps you
focus on the prize — true financial peace.
Luke came running into my office the other day and said, “Woot has Roomba’s on sale for $150!” We had just been discussing them a few weeks ago talking about the day when Woot might grace us again with a Roomba sale. Sure enough, it happened. Now, let me preface this with two facts.
1. I have never “wooted” before.
2. I have never owned a Roomba before.
So, with all the excitement of the Woot availability-bar dwindling down, creating the ever-increasing drama, anxiety, and impulse-buying-twinge that is most often felt in “the last mile” of the local Fry’s, I quickly picked up the phone and called The Wife.
“Woot-who?” she said. “A Roomba-what?” I quickly explained the opportunity at hand, indicating that we didn’t have a moment to lose. I pinged Luke asking for his buying opinion on a scale of 1-10. He didn’t even bother replying. I could hear his footsteps bounding across the office. Before he arrived at the door he was already in mid-sentence, “It’s a 10! My parents have two. I just bought one and I might buy another one.”
Ok. I’m sold. Using my birthday money, I made an executive decision (after briefly consulting with my wife once more) and placed our order.
Today, Mr. FedEx arrived with 3 Roombas (one for me, Luke, and Phil).
I quickly unpacked it, plugged it in, and let it charge up. I could hardly wait for the inaugural run.
Tonight, after dinner, the family quickly set up a practice area for Mr. Roomba (Daughter #1 gave him the name. I’m not sure where she picked up “Mister” but it seems to have quickly stuck). We set up Mr. Roomba, used the virtual wall to confine him to an area, and then pushed the button to make him go. He leaped out into the open area, did a few quick spins, and then went to work. We watched in 1/2 awe and 1/2 shock as he went about his work. A little here. A little there. Our anxiety built as we watched him miss a few pieces of obvious dirt, but then we’d squeal with delight as he picked it up a few minutes later on another pass. He promptly skirted around the perimeter with his flailing little sweeper arm dusting the floorboards. It was quite exciting. After seeing him in action for about 20 minutes, we figured he was up to a bigger challenge.
We moved Mr. Roomba into the main area of the living room. I hit the button to set him free and then quickly picked up a few little toys that would pose problems later on. He was quiet enough that we not only were able to start getting the girls ready for bed, but we actually put them to bed and got them to sleep before he was finished. Imagine that! We were vacuuming our house while we were putting our two small children to bed. GO FIGURE!!
Mr. Roomba scurried here and moseyed there, picking up bits and pieces along the way. We weren’t sure how great he was doing until much later, but I can tell you that the quantity of dirt, crumbs, dust, etc. that he gathered was AMAZING. It was a chin-dropping experience to watch him meander into the kitchen and scoot his way along the entire edge in that hard-to-reach area under the lip of the cabinet bottoms. You know, the nether-regions where all brooms go, but dirt still manages to hide. As Mr. Roomba scuttled across with that little arm-like broom flicking madly, I saw bits and pieces of goodies that flew in front, only to be scooped up moments later. Absolutely mystifying!! This little robot is one part ingenuity and one part black magic!
We then scooped him up and took him into the bedroom. Without a thought, I hit the “Clean” button on top and let him go about his business. In seconds he was already in areas that I thought he’d ignore — such as that little gap between my cushy chair and the ottoman that sits just far enough away that Mr. Roomba squeezed in, did his thing, turned around, and slid right back out again. FLAWLESS!! Next was another shocker. Mr. Roomba disappeared. I looked around the corner and didn’t see him, but I did hear that faint little whisper that, by this time, and become synonymous with my smile. I got on my hands and knees and looked under the bed. HOLY SMOKES! Mr. Roomba was under my bed — cleaning!! I ran and got the wife. She wouldn’t believe me if I just told her. I drug her into the room and pointed. In seconds, out came Mr. Roomba with, at the very least, a belly full of dusty goodness. Her chin dropped. A minute later, Mr. Roomba went back under again for another helping. My wife laid down on the floor and just watched in amazement. She looked up at me with that smile you’d most likely recognize on a kid’s face on Christmas morning. “I am in love.” she said, with that gleam in her eye that I used to see when we were dating back in high school. “I want another one!”
Now most of you won’t believe what I’ve said so far, but what I’m about to tell you tops it all. When Mr. Roomba finished his chores, he packed his bags and headed for home. That’s right. When he was done, he ambled across the entire house, found his charging station, and slid himself back into position to recharge and do it all over again. This, my friends, is THE HOLY GRAIL of all good robots. When you’re tired, tuck yourself in, get some rest, and get ready to do it all over again. I mean, honestly, who comes up with this stuff!!?? PURE GENIUS!!
So, to my dear friends at iRobot. I thank you. My wife thanks you. And, my kids thank you. I am not only convinced, but I will be a loyal fan for life. Consider me a convert to your wares and a total groupie. I will be spreading the word about your gift to society and how it has already changed my life.
And to Woot, I owe a debt of gratitude for making opportunities like this possible. I’ll be waiting for the next opportunity to pick up Mrs. Roomba for The Wife.
That’s right. You heard me. IT’S DONE!!
Today I’m starting over (again). 1,008 messages (287 unread) are
down to zero. Mark the time. 3:29. I’m going to keep up with it.
I swear I am. No, really! I’m gonna do it this time!
Well, it was off to a good start – until I woke up. I checked my phone to
see if I had any messages. Surprise! I had 4. Looks like our old spam
filter was on the fritz. I used the wife’s iBook to log in and check it
out. (not cheating, right?) I had to spend about 3 hours on her iBook to
get things working smoothly and then had to use my phone to monitor things
the rest of the day. About 2:00 I had a page from the callcenter with a
customer issue. After talking to the customer twice on the phone and
walking through her Outlook settings, resetting passwords, etc., that was
another hour. BUT, after that, I was off the computer until Monday
morning. I don’t think my MacBook Pro has had that much of a rest since I
turned it on the first time.
We’ll see how it goes next year.
I’ll write more later, but shutdown day was a disaster. Work strikes again.
