Almost Exciting!

I ordered a laptop from TIGER DIRECT (tigerdirect.com) on Dec. 22nd and purchased 2nd Day Air through UPS. This was the biggest mistake of my life. The package did not arrive until Dec. 28th at 1:30pm. That is almost a week. I contacted the CFO of SYSTEMAX (Tiger Direct’s parent company), but he said that he was out of the country and would have to forward me on to someone else. No one from corporate contacted me. I filled out three online forms for help and used their online chat tool, but got no where. Then I sent an email to the SVP/COO at UPS. He was a little bit nicer, because he actually had someone contact me from their corporate office (Maureen). I have been dealing with Maureen for the past four days but have not gotten any closer to solving the issue. Both companies’ continue to point fingers at the other company. Maureen explained that they only pickup at certain times and have an agreement with Tiger Direct to pickup in some sort of locked trailer. Apparently, according to her, Tiger Direct did not have the package in the trailer.  Tiger Direct explained that it’s the shippers fault because they only pickup on Monday-Friday. The problem is that I paid for a service that I did not get, which is a breach of contract. The reason I do not believe all the smoke and mirrors, is that I have the emails to prove that I ordered it on 12/22/07 and that Tiger Direct said that they would be shipping it out on 12/23/07. I am not asking for something that I was not promised. UPS even had it posted for delivery on 12/27/07 at the latest, even though Tiger Direct said 12/26/07. Then UPS rescheduled the package for delivery. Sounds fishy to me. I believe that UPS did pickup the package, it got lost in their system and now they don’t want to pony up a refund. I even used UPS’s own online shipping calculator, and it said that it should arrive on 12/27/07.  In conclusion, I would recommend not ordering anything from Tiger Direct or ordering from any online retailers that use UPS. They have both been very unhelpful and have a terrible customer service department. If you need computer supplies use NEWEGG.com. They are fast and friendly. I have never had any issues with them.

Quite awhile back I was informed that there was a list of songs “purportedly deemed inappropriate by Clear Channel” shortly following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

I wanted to do a whole writeup on this, but I’m tired of this sitting in drafts.

So here’s the link: List of Songs with “questionable lyrics” following the September 11, 2001 attacks.

You read it on the internet, so it must be true.

Our friend Bruce was kind enough to note that we had never linked up any webcomics.

He sent a list of several, all of which I did not take the time to peruse, so I’m sure of the SFW/NSFW status of these links.

Therefore, I will tell you about one I did check out: Dueling Analogs. A pretty funny web comic that deals a lot with video game culture. Some naughty language, including one f-bomb somewhere between today and December 2006, but mostly alright.

I’m going to ask that you post any additions or suggestions to the comments, and I’ll be sure to check them all out, and keep everyone updated.

My personal favorite, that I’ve been reading for quite some time: xkcd. Check it out, now!

Man, there were a lot of great headlines today. Not enough time to talk about the ones I want to, so instead I’ll direct you to my “Shared Items” from Google Reader.

Perhaps that will supplement you for a bit. For a brief explanation of those items, see my author page (click my name above this post) for the last 10 headlines I’ve shared, and why that stuff even exists.

Peaces.

Denis Darzacq’s ‘La Chute’ (’The Fall’) is an awesome collection of photos.

From The Guardian:

“… these pictures - taken with a manual camera and not Photoshopped - in which impassive 20-year-olds seem about to hit the ground at high speed. Why are all the shutters closed behind them? Will anyone care if they splatter on the pavement? Will anyone even notice them tumbling to certain oblivion?”

“In 2006, Darzacq dreamt up The Fall. It was partly the horror-struck idea of people falling from the twin towers on September 11, but it was mostly a depiction of an entire generation in France in free fall, ignored by society, their energy untapped and unused. He felt today’s France was the sort of place where someone could tumble from the sky without a net and no one walking down the street would bat an eyelid.”

The article at the Guardian is worth a read. Very cool stuff.

See Gallery.
Another gallery at The Guardian.

Found this via Photojojo.

Geeks and Nerds rejoice! A new Tolkien book, the first since 1977, is being published. Started by Tolkien himself and finished by his son, this will definitely be a must read.

http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/childrenofhurin.htm

“The Associated Press reports that one of Tolkien’s earliest stories, written in 1917, Narn i Chîn Húrin, Sindarin for “The Lay of the Children of Húrin”, has been edited by his son into a completed work and will be released next spring. The book will include a new map by Christopher Tolkien and a jacket and color paintings by Alan Lee. “It has seemed to me for a long time that there was a good case for presenting my father’s long version of the legend of the Children of Húrin as an independent work, between its own covers,” Christopher Tolkien said in a statement, published in a Harper Collins and Houghton Mifflin press-release, since the new book will be published by them in England and the United States respectively.”

Wikisource, like it’s sister Wikipedia, is a free library of public domain information.

Including, ‘but not limited to’, this 1877 translation of “Journey to the Center of the Earth” by Frederick Amadeus Malleson.

“This 1877 translation by Frederick Amadeus Malleson is considered the most faithful, though it has some slight rewrites.”

Yes, you can read the entire Jules Verne book right there online. Nifty.

I haven’t explored it thoroughly, but I imagine there’s a lot of cool, open information there. Public domain is awesome.

Since I just posted about Shorpy, I couldn’t help but also throw in Ghost Cowboy.

Another amazing site, this one about actual events, news, adventure, and photographs from America’s “old west”. Or, as they put it:

Ghost Cowboy is about real tales from the 19th-century American frontier, when the Old West was young. Most of the posts here are actual news items from the 1800s and early 1900s.

Just saw this over at Hackzine: Hypermiling: Hack Your Mileage.

There are a couple links to places around, including one to:

“…a mileage hacker who’s able to get 59MPG in a stock Honda Accord.”

And, from the article:

“It’s incredible, really, to think that by changing your driving habits, you can get better mileage in a standard car than is typically advertised for a hybrid!”

Definitely worth a look.

So, apparently Keith Urban is suing Keith Urban. Can you imagine why? Yes, Keith, but his name is also Keith Urban. I think the most that should be done in a case like this is that Keith Urban should have to put a link on his site stating that “if you’re looking for the website of the other Keith Urban, it’s at…”

You decide which Keith should have the link.

I thought I was alone in my discomfort during the half-time show - it appears that other’s also noticed. Y’know, that Prince guy just creeps me out some times.

And this post gets categorized under “Recommended Reading” because of this link, even though it’s a YouTube Video that I want you see. If you’ve ever read an article about the history or future of the internet, and were at least somewhat interested… well, forget that - If you use the internet, this 4 minute 30 second video is worth watching.

Is this for real? A “Pimped Out John”? I think I’m signing up!