Dancing With Magazines and Newspapers.

Dancing With Magazines and Newspapers.

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It all started when I was offered a year’s subscription to the Wall Street Journal for one year, an introductory rate.  The cost seemed most reasonable, just over one hundred dollars.  I said yes but after one year the cost more than doubled.   I quickly canceled when the rate went up.  In about three months, I get a call offering me the introductory rate again for one year.  I said yes but had to also say yes to auto renewal.  I was told that I could cancel when the rate went up at the end of the year.  I have a special laptop calendar devoted to yearly events ONLY.  I put birthdays, subscriptions, yearly bill notices, times to fertilize the yard, furnace filter change dates on that calendar.  I put the expected annual renewal date for the Journal on that calendar.  On that exact date I canceled the Wall Street Journal.  The pattern seems to be that I must wait about three months before I can expect a call offering me another introductory subscription rate.  I have just found out that other people I know go through this dance with other subscription publications, such as Time.

I propose that the Wall Street Journal just give up and offer a standard price of $100 per year.  It would save us from having to dance.

Problems with Amazon.com

Problems with Amazon.com

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  1. I purchased a men’s cologn from Amazon.com.  The actual shipper turned out to be some small apartment business run by an alleged student. The item shipped was a less than half size.
  2. I purchased a cell phone application.  I had to remove my cell phone cover to reveal the model number to specify the correct software.   Upon placing the cover back on, I noticed that a second software was selected as as a future purchase.  I tried hit the back key to get out from purchasing the item but late found that I had been charged.  I here by state that I did not say “YES” for that sale.  I went into the Amazon web site and it seems that there is no mechanism for getting you money back.  I do NOT recommend using the Amazon Appstore because it allegedly lacks purchase confirmation.
Getting iPad to Sync With MacBook Pro

Getting iPad to Sync With MacBook Pro

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The secret for me to get my SplashId Desktop version 6.0.1 to synchronize with my iPad was to turn the firewall OFF!

  • Do NOT attempt to syncronize using Bluetooth.  It will NOT work.
  • Plug in the serial cable between the iPad and the laptop USB port.
  • Open SplashID Safe desktop on your computer.
  • Open SplashID on your iPad.
  • Turn off the laptop firewall. (Apple menu>System Preferences>Security>[unlock the padlock with your logon code]>press the Stop button.
  • Confirm that the correct IP Address is written.  I found that 10.0.1.209 worked and 10.0.1.8 (desktop IP Address) also worked.
  • Activate “Sync” button on the iPad screen bottom right.
  • Wait for the synchronization to complete.
  • Remember to turn ON the firewall when finished.
Inline Beauty Hosted By Amazon.com

Inline Beauty Hosted By Amazon.com

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We do NOT recommend anyone doing business with this company until we get clarification as to their actions.

April 15, 2011 a purchase was made of 3.4 OZ of Clairborne Mambo for Men.  The purchase was made through Amazon.com web site.  One would think any vendor that Amazon lists might be able to handle this transaction.

The shipping label shows the following:

Order Summary
Order Placed:    Apr 15, 2011
Order #:    xxxxxxxxx
Shipping and Handling    $2.50
Before Tax Total:    $18.94
Order Total:    $18.94

The actual item received shows the contents to be 1.7 OZ.

A call was placed to the company April 26, 2011 and the most unprofessional response occurred.  The person who answered the phone only said “hello?”  The young lady said to respond by e-mail as to the problem.  Going to the web site, the page that shows contact information shows NOTHING.  A complaint was made through Amazon. com e-mail portal to vendors.  This is the contents of that e-mail:

Here is a copy of the e-mail that you sent to Inline Beauty.

————– Begin message ————–

Order Placed: Apr 15, 2011
Order number: xxxxxx
Customer #: xxxxxxx
Tracking Number:    xxxxxxx
Item(s): 1 of Liz Claiborne Mambo 3.4 oz EDC Spray for Men $16.44
Problem:  The item shows 1.7 FL OZ  and not what I paid for which is 3.4 oz.

————– End message ————–

For Your Information: To help arbitrate disputes and preserve trust and safety, we retain all messages buyers and sellers send through Amazon.com for two years.  This includes your response to the message above.  Amazon.com uses filtering technology to protect buyers and sellers from possible fraud.  Messages that fail this filtering will not be transmitted.

——————————————————-

I then did some Internet investigation and found the following:

Partial review of Inline Beauty on Amazon.com:  “I had to deal directly with the seller, which was a young woman named Tina, who was completely unprofessional. And never got back to me about sending me a replacement product or issuing a refund. If you go to inlinebeauty.com, you’ll notice there is NO contact information: no email, no phone number. I had a phone number in my invoice from them, and it was Tina’s home phone number. Her mother answered at one point, telling me ‘Tina is in school, can you call back after 3?’ HUH??? What kind of business is that? Then, when I got a hold of her, she said ‘I’ll have my boss call you when he gets out of a meeting’ yeah…right. I asked for an email address, and was told ‘Give me your email address, and I’ll email you.’ This was after she told me to ‘Go to the website and our email address is there’.”  http://www.amazon.com/Pureology-Nano-Works-Shine-Luxe/dp/B001AP138W

_____________________

It would appear that this business is run by a very young person.  Amazon needs to call this person up and provide a list of duties and responsibilities, bullet points, that are necessary to continue doing business with Amazon.com and the buying public.

Some Possible Explanations For US Inaction In Libya

Some Possible Explanations For US Inaction In Libya

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One has to wonder the possibilities for the United States not helping the Libyan peoples plea for help in providing a no fly zone over Libya.

List of possible reasons:

  • Kadafi has claimed that the actions against his regime are all a plot by the west to control Libyan oil.  For us to aid the freedom fighters would validate that claim to the world.
  • The United States has dirty hands in the middle east and has to back away from involvement in this conflict.
  • The no fly zone is extremely hard to set up and carry forward.
  • The no fly actions will surely cause death to innocent civilians and thus the United States will be seen as the ugly war machine.
  • The no fly zone pulls military assets from Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, etc.
  • The United States is already fighting two wars and being drawn into another conflict is not wise.
  • The military industrial complex along with the national gas industry is not concerned with the massive dying in Libya, but rather business interests.  They might recommend that the administration wait until the situation gets so dire that American troops be sent to Libya to support the freedom fighters.  In other words, strive toward putting US boots on Libyan soil instead of flying overhead.  In this way, this country can impart deeper control of any future ruling party and thus game the system to make further riches for our business interests.

What is your guess as to the reluctance of the administration?

Post date: 3/9/2011

Dexter – Review of the TV show.

Dexter – Review of the TV show.

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Members of my fitness trekking class, in a conversation about good TV shows to watch and movies to watch, it came up that the TV show Dexter was excellent viewing. I was able to watch the first episode in the first season and found the production values in almost all categories to be excellent except the main character role. My major complaint is that he portrays being a vigilante and evidently this is acceptable because we are being entertained. I draw the parallel of the Romans using the Coliseum for entertainment by providing murder and spectacle to an audience and the entertainment value is the reason it was accepted and continued to endure. The viewer knows the main Dexter character is killing people. Because the protagonist knows his victims to be killers, this seems acceptable because he works for the police and we are seeing the action from his point of view and he is carrying out his selfish justice. The show is so well done that the entertainment factor and darkness draws us in so people continue to watch. I found the show to be a bit sick because it places the audience in a position of accepting his behavior because we are entertained. How perverse it is when entertainment tramples what should be right. What message is being conveyed to the audience? Do we really know why Rome fell?