Banter...Not Bantha

Memorial Day

2009-05-25T14:26:41Z

"As a representative of the United States Army, it is my high privilege to present you this flag. Let it be a symbol of the grateful appreciation this nation feels for the distinguished service rendered to our country and our flag by your loved one."

I have heard this more times than I'd like. I've performed military honors when I was active duty for retired or discharged vets. I can't imagine doing it for a fallen, active duty, soldier. Taps alone still kills me.

Twitter over LJ

2009-05-23T15:07:27Z

I rarely post here any more. I do tweet. http://twitter.com/seanpkelley

I'd have something populate my LJ with my tweets, but they seem to be one post with random thoughts. Not my preference. So if you need me, I'll be over on twitter, or facebook. :)

Criminal Masterminds

2009-03-24T04:47:44Z

If you're known as the 'Parka Bandit' because you have worn a parka in multiple robbery attempts, first step to covering your tracks ...wear the parka and walk down the street, with some drugs, and a fake handgun.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/18995649/detail.html

Customer Retention

2009-03-24T02:41:59Z

Big picture, quick version: We had Charter Cable TV and Internet. Monthly bill: $109 a month. I just got ATT Uverse installed yesterday. My calculation...more channels-220 $69 and Internet $35. That's $104, right? Plus I get a DVR, and it's digital with 1 meg faster Internet service.

Ok, so the above scenario is what had me switch.

So I call Charter to cancel. The 1st rep I call asks why I'm canceling. I am up front and tell him. He explains that the package from att sounds similar to a package that they have for $89. I talk to him and get confused. I say 'that's funny I never heard of the package' and he mentions that it's all over the place and actually is surprised that I don't know about it.

Confused by his this package, that package, this price includes this, this includes that, I call back.

2nd Rep, Jennifer, is very nice. the other guy seemed a bit condescending. Jennifer gets all the info down and does mention that they, indeed, have a package that's $89 a month. I said that many promos are targeted to new subscribers. She explains that they break the rules in the cancellation area in order to keep customers. She could easily cancel my disconnection and lock me in. I pass.

Now, I have not had issues with either service. No animosity. Then it sinks in. I may be slow, but I'm not an idiot.

For $109 a month for the last 6+, or longer, months I have been getting less channels and no digital tv and no dvr, but paying more than if I upgraded?! WTF?! Will ATT do this to me? Is this the norm? I think cell phone providers do the same. They just keep you on a plan, don't move you, take what they can get, and then when it comes to canceling service they dangle the carrot in front of you? How about the things that make a good company good? How about passing along info to your client? What if Charter informed me of their deal, actively, or just implementing it, and how I would just see my bill drop because I'm on the basement plan. I could call and say 'hey' and they could just inform me that I have been upgraded. What would my opinion of them be? Probably a lot more positive than now.

I really hope dish and uverse have all kinds of people switch from Charter. I do. I'm not usually this vocal about it, but it's a crappy way to do business. They've filed chapter 11, big surprise. Will they emerge from it without selling it off? heh, it will be interesting, but Paul and his cronies need to get with the program.

Dear WotC

2009-02-28T03:45:12Z

I got enough of the Penny Arcade guys during the Chris Perkins 4th Ed game preview podcast. You can now go back to your regularly scheduled program.

Thanks.

Sony Piece of &%$#

2009-02-13T04:26:56Z

Not suitable for work, but i got a chuckle from it...
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/sony_releases_new_stupid_piece_of

Car Broken Into

2009-01-17T19:18:07Z

Nice. My dad informed me this morning that my car's window was broken. This comes at a time that Wisconsin is getting in the double digits in temperature, which is good. I had a small desk lamp in the back seat, couple pairs of glasses, couple cell phone chargers, set of moon boots, and a pair of heavy winter gloves. Oh, and the, maybe, couple dollars in change. The only thing missing? You guessed it, the change.

Criminals are stupid. They smashed my window when all they had to do was open the door. That's right, I leave my doors unlocked, and I know it. I didn't care about anything in the car. Nothing. Hell, the car has limited time left in this world. But it runs, right now. And I don't think it's even worth fixing the window. But it would have been nice to ditch it in the spring and on my own terms.

Pissed is the mood.

4 other cars were victim of this spree. It really pisses me off. They didn't really get away with squat. For what, to score some dope? Which would leave me to my next post on drugs and crime. Stay tuned.

Civil War, Where Would You Reside...In the end?

2008-12-31T04:47:41Z

An old associate of mine is at it again. He's blasting me emails about things that he just goes nuts on. He lives a life of personal unhappiness. I won't go in to detail, but he's a shell of a man. I think what he determines as his 'awakening' is more of an outlet to escape the things that keep him down. He feels there is bigger things at work that is right in front of us, but we have been trained to think inside the box. I usually delete all of what I now consider spam, but you never know when I just decide to read the email or an article that he forwards to me. I found this mildly interesting, or entertaining to say the least...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123051100709638419.html

Hunt for Gollum

2008-12-26T18:17:20Z

Fan films should take over for hollywood. They know what's best.

Defeated

2008-12-23T19:06:36Z

No, not me, the problem. I spit on you mysql. Booyah with a side of awesome sauce. Restore crap dbase in to test enviro, ie xampp. Success. Export dbase using gzip option. Success. Go to live enviro, dump existing tables, restore gzipped dbase. Success. Run wiki media update via control panel. Bam, boom, smack, done.

Big Dump

2008-12-23T15:31:11Z

Good times. I have a back up of a mysql dbase that I can't restore. I have even used bigdump to no avail. This is not a good sign. *sigh*

Pretty lights...oooo

2008-12-20T16:21:15Z

Every year a gent pays a huge amount of money to have a row of identical pine trees to be done up with lights. I dunno know how long the row is, maybe an eighth of a mile, but my Tam simply loves them. I can't work a camera very well, I had the shutter speed too slow without a tripod so I'll try to get some new ones before they take them down.

Hero.

2008-12-17T01:30:45Z

http://www.newsweek.com/id/174601/output/print

kitty sneezing

2008-12-09T15:51:40Z

My cat has been sneezing a lot lately. I looked up on the web:
http://www.best-cat-art.com/cat-sneezing.html

Awe man. If I know my cat, she'd rather die a miserable death than go to the vet. I think there is one that makes house call. I just hope it's nothing serious. Damn pets.

Gas

2008-11-26T23:06:42Z

Wow, $1.79 a gallon. I thought I'd never see it below 2 bucks again.

spkelley @ 2008-11-21T23:32:00

2008-11-22T05:32:14Z

Good times SNL

2008-11-18T05:08:14Z

Star Trek Trailer

2008-11-16T17:14:07Z

For those that have not seen it...

thanks to wolf_in_exile

Already Scrutinized

2008-11-08T02:02:33Z

spkelley @ 2008-11-04T22:20:00

2008-11-05T04:21:51Z

Yes, I voted. It was not for whom you'd think.

So if Obama wins, which looks like the case, I'll be watching closely. Don't 'F' it up there, junior.

Moving Sites

2008-11-01T17:30:11Z

What a pain in the ass.

Rock On Rock Con

2008-10-25T23:25:23Z

First time to Rock Con, it won't be my last. I think the drive is ok, and it has a good following. I think it needs some more RPG's. I saw 2 run the whole day. The crowd and visitors were friendly, which is something I always enjoyed about cons. The people are just nice. Ran into a couple guys from the Dwarf that I have never met, and also ran into one of the guys in my gaming group. Also got a chance to shake muskrat_john 's hand to offer up a congrats on his new born baby girl.

3.5 Private Sanctuary

2008-10-18T16:57:19Z

Been listening to this podcast, and I like it. Give it a listen when you get a chance.

Interesting Show on PBS

2008-10-18T04:04:56Z

I was channel surfing and something on PBS caught my eye.

P.O.V
"Soldiers of Conscience" explores the moral quandaries soldiers face in wartime through the stories of two conscientious objectors; two men who served in Iraq, then refused to return; and three Iraq War veterans still on active duty.

It was interesting, and I could see my wife, had she not been taking a nap with her head on my lap, ask me what my thoughts were about conscience objectors given my 2 separate enlistments in the Army.

I always tell those I know that the military is not for everyone, and I mean it. You have to know what you're getting into and you shouldn't join willy nilly. It's a job unlike any other. Dirty Jobs and any other crazy stuff out there, whatever, there's nothing that compares to being a soldier. There is also part of me that says there are some people out there that could use the military, but whatever.

I've always been a guy that enjoys a person for who they are. I've seen guys, that find to be good people and would actually appreciate their friendship, be ostracized by members of the military when they can't cut it. Pronouns, when the person can't make it, they get treated differently than the rest of the group. They mention how conscientious objectors got treated differently when they make a stand. I think I actually have more respect for them than those that preach from their perches because these guys realize the horrors of war. They're not making their belief up. Not doubting those that want peace, but I sometimes question some of their coffee-house motives. :-/ You can see part of inner cynic come through.

In the end, I can't imagine what killing a person does to the human psyche. It has got to mess you up. It either makes you numb inside, or there's a denial within allowing your mind to deal with it. I have come close to being in those situations, but was lucky enough to miss combat. I wonder what kind of person I'd be today had it be a different past set of circumstances.

I got a kick out of a Major that mentioned how he found it amusing because it's because of the soldiers that go to war that allow conscientious objectors to make the choice they do. He also mentioned that how could you want peace and freedom if you're not willing to fight for it.

It left me thinking that I would fall in to the middle of both- peaceful, utopia-wanting-freak and war mongering-baby killer. I believe in defending yourself. I believe in defending freedom, life, liberty, etc. I don't agree with doing it for a cause that is outside of those on a personal basis. Clarification: I would defend myself, my house, my family, and possibly my country should it's founding principles be in jeopardy. But I won't go off to another country and kill people that don't want me there, have not threatened my well-being at home, etc. I think you get my point.

New Blog

2008-09-27T21:03:51Z

www.seanpkelley.net will be dedicated to the IT job search. Tune in and check it out.