Squished Frog Blog

Harder

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:36:24 -0500

00:31 Mike's Harder Lemonade is...harder. #
11:56 Word docs take first few words as suggestion for file name, but always cuts off at punctuation-even characters allowed in file names! why? #
16:50 "All in the game, yo." THE WIRE-100 Greatest Quotes bit.ly/2xdoXX #

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An Hour With Microsoft Tech Support

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:31:45 -0500

09:28 Microsoft calls underway to "activate" my Windows 7. First call was voice prompt hell to be told to call a different 866 number #
09:41 A very nice gentleman from India is now telling me I have to call a new number for Win 7 Help Desk... #
09:42 Oh, no, wait... instead, he says, go return my disk and get a new one for full install. Escalating to his boss. #
09:42 His boss understood... and says they're the wrong department. Oy. Now on hold with a robot voice saying "please wait" over and over.... #
09:47 Ryan (the boss) and I just spent 10 minutes saying the 25 digit activation key code back and forth like we're spys. "victor. foxtrot. mike. sixer. three." #
09:48 he's not got me on hold to make sure this is real code. Like I'd 1) make it up and 2) go to the effort of trying to trick him with it. #
09:50 btw, this is all my fault apparently for installing Win7 on a clean hard drive. Which I would HAVE to do if I'd had XP installed... #
09:52 Ryan is "creating a case for me" and then transferring me to 'technical department" (he's just lame ol' customer service. Useless!) #
09:55 ryan: "have a great day" me: "Oh, I'm sure after this, I will. How could it not get better?" #
09:56 Transferred to Microsoft technical support... and the line is completely silent. How long do I wait before I decide they dumped the call? #
09:59 Ziggy picked up! but he can't hear me... why could the guys in India hear me and he can't? WT FLYING F #
10:01 Ziggy said I should call back. I had to scream to ask for a number to call direct. He ended with: "Thank you for choosing Microsoft." #
10:03 luckily, calling back, they seemed to get my case number no problem even via voice prompt... and I'm back with customer support. awesome. #
10:04 "is this your first time calling Microsoft about this issue?" ME: "Unless you count my call from 20 minutes ago." #
10:09 Kac in Tech Support says she'll help me! I may swoon. but first: i have to go to MSDT.ext and enter a passkey. #
10:16 RT @jlendino: @egriffith hey, wrap all this up into @shitmytechsupportsays and you could probably get a book deal. #
10:17 It wasn't Kac, it's Kat. She's in the Philippines. She gave me a code, had me restart, and first thing I did was enter Product Key: FIXED. #
10:19 So, one hour wasted, I talked to 3 countries, the guy in USA was the most useless, and now I'm legal. Not sure it was worth it. #

11:16 Those Moleskin notebooks? Not "mole-skin" -- it's "mol-a-skeen'-a." I know that, yet I've never, ever used one. #

13:22 5-minute call to Audible.com and they fixed what they said they fixed done yesterday. And they were nice. I'll stay with their DRM. For now. #

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tweetily-deetily

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:34:32 -0500

10:56 PR I'm least likely to ever follow up on, ever: "Leading Chinese Automobile Brake System Manuftrer Joint Venture w/ Former WABCO Sales Team" #
10:58 Also just got PR telling me how great a product was because it got a great review... at PCMag.com! Hey! They must be really smart! #
13:57 First fail-whale I've seen in a long time. Is everyone trying to retweet? #
14:51 Helped a neighbor figure out how to use the laundry machines. She said "I got a little Alzheimer's." #BeingOldIsFun #
16:01 RT @pcmagafterhours: Talkin' open source on the fifth anniversary of Firefox with Mozilla's CTO: bit.ly/3zeVgP #
16:05 RT @underpope: Meanwhile, in the Land of the Not Surprising At All: bit.ly/1FGXW1 [Adios, Dollhouse.] #
16:53 Windows 7 thinks my install is not an upgrade since I put a new hard drive in my computer at the same time. Nice one, Microsoft. #
20:48 Audible's DRM won't let me listen to ANY of the audiobooks I've bought the last 7 years, even the one today.... #
20:49 it's great to be treated like a criminal when I've actually PAID for stuff. Bittorrent NEVER gives me these problems. #
20:51 I can't lea ve Win7 behind (for work), but if Audible doesn't fix this, I'm dumping them for good. @doctorow was right. Again. #

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tweetily-deetily

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:35:20 -0500

12:47 In my distant past, I actually thought of myself as an optimist. If I ever travel back in time, I'm kicking that me in the nads. #
12:49 Craig's List post of sheer genius: ithaca.craigslist.org/rnr/1459401682.html #
16:48 Why I give blood: twelve guilt-free Oreo cookies in a row. Washed down with warm OJ. That's why. #

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tweetily-deetily

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:36:26 -0500

14:11 RT @jonrog1: Gah. Rewriting. Tried that trick where I pretended someone else wrote it, and then realized I thought that guy was a hack. #

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tweetily-deetily

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:31:48 -0500

17:39 I'm sick of inserting this damn dog into my book. And it's not even a Labrador! #fb #

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My God, It's Full of TASKS

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:34:32 -0500

12:33 I really like the new Windows 7 task bar. Otherwise, I'm just glad it's not crashing. #

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Twitter? Not in My Browser

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:35:18 -0500

10:29 I'd like to run every app in the world in my browser. But not Twitter. #
10:30 RT @FakeAPStylebook: "Redneck" is considered a derogatory term but you know what? Who cares about those stupid rednecks. #

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FML

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:32:19 -0500

09:59 It's an FML kinda day. Sitting in Best Buy lot waiting to buy a hard drive: bad. Using porta-potty on morning walk, finding no TP: worse. #
18:10 Can't get in the B&N Wi-Fi. This should not make me want to knock over bookshelves...but it does. #
19:56 Borders Cafe wins the night. Haven't yet tried the hot chocolate. Is there a local with free Wi-Fi/good cocoa? (Booze is an option) #

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Tech Hell

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:34:19 -0500

13:56 Entered tech hell. Vista dying. Tried Win7 upgrade. Gateway PC won't read the disk. Internet says buy new DVD drive. Trying ISO to USB. #
13:57 How would I do this if I did not have multiple computers to mess with? Normal people wouldn't. They'd return Win 7 and buy a Mac. #

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Happiness is...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:41:19 -0500

11:44 Charles Schulz got it wrong. Happiness is two, warm, elderly Labradors with bad breath. #
13:39 My PC has been going BSoD a lot lately, but hasn't yet in this session, and the only change: Not using Firefox. #

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Leaving and Arriving

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:35:56 -0500

14:10 Boarding my plane. So long west coast. #
22:14 Only Snake Plisskin escapes from New York. I always return. I'm already looking forward to Florida in a month. #

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Mistaken Identity

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:41:04 -0500

01:14 RT @mswriterkim At the Broad Universe RFR, where I will read shortly. #wfc2009 [I'm spectating.] #
13:34 Standing in line at con post office to mail free/autograhed books home makes me desperately miss my dogs. Incongruity much? #
19:49 Finished first draft: @quixhobbit rejoices! twitpic.com/ny08q #
20:25 Met the lovely @deannahoak today because I thought she was some else. Now I hope to someday be worthy of her CEing my drivel. #

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Whiskey Tastes Like a Burning Log

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 22:34:05 -0500

00:22 Listening to @jeffsoesbe read. His publisher handed out whiskey and truffles to audience. #

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Having Written

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 22:31:47 -0500

02:36 Finished a complete short story today, first one in a couple years. It may not suck. Not sure how to handle that. #
18:32 Drove by San Quentin. Nice real estate. Still wouldn't want to live there. #

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