Tretakoff Musings
Friday, November 25, 2005
The history of the greatest sound in film
When I hear that THX sound, I just know that I'm in for something good. Ever wonder where the sound came from? Wonder no more: all you ever wanted to know about the THX sound.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
More about the Ultimate Christmas Light house
Becuase I'm obsessed now, here's the origin of the Ultimate Christmas Light house, featured in the video I posted yesterday. The cache is courtesy of Google, as this phenomenon has overwhelmed any servers associated with it.
BTW, the music from the video is from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Check out the Wizard in Winter track.
BTW, the music from the video is from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Check out the Wizard in Winter track.
Home Despots
Write a note, get banned from stores: it's the law. Just ask this carpenter what happens when an employee is a little TOO "by the book."
Amy's Wish List
Amy’s not quite into the wish list side of things, but she has made it clear that if anyone is considering gifts for her, she’d love gift certificates to Sephora or Ann Taylor.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Thanks for Madden 2006!
I just have to say a heartfelt thanks! To whomever sent me the Madden 2006 game for PS2! Unfortunately, it came without attribution, so I don’t know who it’s from. Was ordered on Amazon, sent from J&R (my new client!). Thanks!!! An early birthday gift…and HOURS of time-wasting fun!
Christmas Lights Gone Wild!
OK, fire up the media player, put on the speakers, and watch this truly devoted holiday light celebration!
When Branding Gets Out of Control
I've got a cell phone. It WAS through AT&T Wireless. Then Cingular bought AT&T. So, about a year ago, my phone stopped saying "AT&T" and started saying "Cingular." Now, word comes today, that Cingular is dropping their name. Guess who they are becoming? You got it.
Stop these branding people before they change their brand again!
Stop these branding people before they change their brand again!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Bill Simmons: sports and culture god
Ok, the man has done it again: If you aren't a sports fan, and are looking for an excuse to understand sports, check out Bill Simmons on ESPN.com's column this week. As a Cowboys and Lost fan, who grew up in New England, The Sports Guy says it the best:
"Remember in 'Lost' this week, when Ana Lucia climbed the mountain with the dude holding the radio, and it seemed like they were having a casual conversation, only she was sizing him up the whole time because she thought he might be one of The Others, and there was that weird intensity in her eyes, like she was trying to remain cool, only deep down, she was waiting for the guy to pounce on her so she could stab him ... and it just went on like that for about two minutes before they finally started fighting? Riveting scene, right?
Well, that's every Cowboys fan dealing with Drew Bledsoe right now. Stick a camera on a Cowboys fan when Bledsoe goes back to pass in a close game, and I guarantee they have the Ana Lucia Face going. Everything seems casual. But it's not."
"Remember in 'Lost' this week, when Ana Lucia climbed the mountain with the dude holding the radio, and it seemed like they were having a casual conversation, only she was sizing him up the whole time because she thought he might be one of The Others, and there was that weird intensity in her eyes, like she was trying to remain cool, only deep down, she was waiting for the guy to pounce on her so she could stab him ... and it just went on like that for about two minutes before they finally started fighting? Riveting scene, right?
Well, that's every Cowboys fan dealing with Drew Bledsoe right now. Stick a camera on a Cowboys fan when Bledsoe goes back to pass in a close game, and I guarantee they have the Ana Lucia Face going. Everything seems casual. But it's not."
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Oh, the Hard Cancel!
I've had an eFax number for years. Great service, if a little pricey. However, I recently have discovered I have no more need for it. So, I tried to cancel.
First: No way to call or email them. They ONLY handle cancellations through chat. Ok, I start the chat in Firefox. It breaks. I move to IE; it requires an ActiveX control. I give permission for the control. Chat starts, tells me 5 minutes to wait. 5 minutes goes by, it breaks. I reload: 7 minute wait. 7 minutes goes by: it breaks. Finally, on the third try, it loads.
Here's the transcript. If you want to see a textbook example of the "hard cancel," here it is: look at what had to happen to cancel, and note the prepackaged explanations:
Welcome to chat.
{Kyle W.} Hello, Joshua. Welcome to j2 Global's online support. I am Kyle, your online Live Support Representative. How are you doing today?
{Joshua Tretakoff} Are you still there?
{Kyle W.} Yes, I am here.
{Joshua Tretakoff} Sorry; your chat thing broke the browser. Hello, I'd like to cancel my eFax account. eFax number XXX-XXX-XXXX.
{Kyle W.} I will take care of that for you. Could you please provide me your PIN for verification purposes?
{Joshua Tretakoff} YYYY
{Kyle W.} Thank you for the information. May I ask you why you are canceling your fax account ?
{Joshua Tretakoff} Yes. I now get the service through a unified communication package through SBC. I am already paying them; faxes are now included.
{Kyle W.} Joshua, I understand that you currently do not use the service very often. You are our valued customer & we really value your association with us and in order to extend our association, we will credit your eFax account with $25.90 so that you may utilize our services without being billed our monthly fee for the next two billing cycles. Hence, you will be able to use our service to its fullest capabilities. During this credit period, you will not be charged any monthly fee.
{Kyle W.} Your eFax account will be credited with $25.90 so that you may utilize our services without being billed our monthly fee for the next two billing cycles.
{Kyle W.} Maybe you may need this number in this period. After completion of two months, if you feel that the fax number does not serve your purpose, you can get back to us.
{Joshua Tretakoff} I appreciate that, but I do not foresee any need for your service in the next 2 months or beyond. With the new SBC services, you are a luxury I do not need.
{Kyle W.} Joshua, I surely understand your concern, but since you will not be charged any monthly fee for the next two months you may keep the account till then. If at all you find that you need our services during this period, then you will still have the account. If however, you still feel that you do not have any use for our services by the end of the two months credit period, then you can always contact us back anytime.
{Kyle W.} As a good will gesture to continue our association we will also offer you an additional gift balance of $10 along with the monthly credit, which will enable to send up to 100 additional, fax pages free of cost within U.S. & Canada.
{Kyle W.} After completion of the 2 months credit period, you can get back to us immediately without any further obligation to stay back. We are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Please feel free to contact us at any time. We will immediately process your request.
{Joshua Tretakoff} Again, my thanks, but I prefer to cancel the service. My time is valuable, and I would prefer not to have to remember: I simply want to cancel.
{Kyle W.} Joshua, in this case, what we can also do is, I will set your account to close automatically at the end of 2 months credit period. If you wish to continue after the credit period, you just need to contact us or email us at help@mail.efax.com so that you can continue with the same account after the credit period. Other wise your account will be automatically closed after your 2 months credit period gets over.
{Kyle W.} You do not have to contact us again for cancellation of your account. Your account will automatically close after this 2 months credit period.
{Joshua Tretakoff} Will there by ANY charges to me between now and the two months? In other words, will I incur any charges, and will the account cancel without penalty or restarting service?
{Kyle W.} Joshua , please be assured that you will not be billed any monthly fee for next 2 months, but you will be charged for sending faxes, if the usage balance drops below $2.00. As I have provided you with $10 gift balance. Thus, if the usage is limited, there will be no charge on your credit card and it will be closed automatically at the end of the credit period.
{Kyle W.} I’m sure that you will have a great experience.
{Joshua Tretakoff} While I thank you for the generous offer, I'd prefer to cancel now. Please refund any outstanding prepaid amoutns to me.
{Kyle W.} All right, as per your wish, I will close your account right now.
{Kyle W.} We are sorry that you have decided to leave us. At eFax, we are continuously improving our products and services. Please do consider us if your faxing needs change in the future.
Man...and I thought magazines were tough!
First: No way to call or email them. They ONLY handle cancellations through chat. Ok, I start the chat in Firefox. It breaks. I move to IE; it requires an ActiveX control. I give permission for the control. Chat starts, tells me 5 minutes to wait. 5 minutes goes by, it breaks. I reload: 7 minute wait. 7 minutes goes by: it breaks. Finally, on the third try, it loads.
Here's the transcript. If you want to see a textbook example of the "hard cancel," here it is: look at what had to happen to cancel, and note the prepackaged explanations:
Welcome to chat.
{Kyle W.} Hello, Joshua. Welcome to j2 Global's online support. I am Kyle, your online Live Support Representative. How are you doing today?
{Joshua Tretakoff} Are you still there?
{Kyle W.} Yes, I am here.
{Joshua Tretakoff} Sorry; your chat thing broke the browser. Hello, I'd like to cancel my eFax account. eFax number XXX-XXX-XXXX.
{Kyle W.} I will take care of that for you. Could you please provide me your PIN for verification purposes?
{Joshua Tretakoff} YYYY
{Kyle W.} Thank you for the information. May I ask you why you are canceling your fax account ?
{Joshua Tretakoff} Yes. I now get the service through a unified communication package through SBC. I am already paying them; faxes are now included.
{Kyle W.} Joshua, I understand that you currently do not use the service very often. You are our valued customer & we really value your association with us and in order to extend our association, we will credit your eFax account with $25.90 so that you may utilize our services without being billed our monthly fee for the next two billing cycles. Hence, you will be able to use our service to its fullest capabilities. During this credit period, you will not be charged any monthly fee.
{Kyle W.} Your eFax account will be credited with $25.90 so that you may utilize our services without being billed our monthly fee for the next two billing cycles.
{Kyle W.} Maybe you may need this number in this period. After completion of two months, if you feel that the fax number does not serve your purpose, you can get back to us.
{Joshua Tretakoff} I appreciate that, but I do not foresee any need for your service in the next 2 months or beyond. With the new SBC services, you are a luxury I do not need.
{Kyle W.} Joshua, I surely understand your concern, but since you will not be charged any monthly fee for the next two months you may keep the account till then. If at all you find that you need our services during this period, then you will still have the account. If however, you still feel that you do not have any use for our services by the end of the two months credit period, then you can always contact us back anytime.
{Kyle W.} As a good will gesture to continue our association we will also offer you an additional gift balance of $10 along with the monthly credit, which will enable to send up to 100 additional, fax pages free of cost within U.S. & Canada.
{Kyle W.} After completion of the 2 months credit period, you can get back to us immediately without any further obligation to stay back. We are available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Please feel free to contact us at any time. We will immediately process your request.
{Joshua Tretakoff} Again, my thanks, but I prefer to cancel the service. My time is valuable, and I would prefer not to have to remember: I simply want to cancel.
{Kyle W.} Joshua, in this case, what we can also do is, I will set your account to close automatically at the end of 2 months credit period. If you wish to continue after the credit period, you just need to contact us or email us at help@mail.efax.com so that you can continue with the same account after the credit period. Other wise your account will be automatically closed after your 2 months credit period gets over.
{Kyle W.} You do not have to contact us again for cancellation of your account. Your account will automatically close after this 2 months credit period.
{Joshua Tretakoff} Will there by ANY charges to me between now and the two months? In other words, will I incur any charges, and will the account cancel without penalty or restarting service?
{Kyle W.} Joshua , please be assured that you will not be billed any monthly fee for next 2 months, but you will be charged for sending faxes, if the usage balance drops below $2.00. As I have provided you with $10 gift balance. Thus, if the usage is limited, there will be no charge on your credit card and it will be closed automatically at the end of the credit period.
{Kyle W.} I’m sure that you will have a great experience.
{Joshua Tretakoff} While I thank you for the generous offer, I'd prefer to cancel now. Please refund any outstanding prepaid amoutns to me.
{Kyle W.} All right, as per your wish, I will close your account right now.
{Kyle W.} We are sorry that you have decided to leave us. At eFax, we are continuously improving our products and services. Please do consider us if your faxing needs change in the future.
Man...and I thought magazines were tough!
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Classic Videogaming Comes Of Age
All these years that I was convinced I was the only crazy bastard that liked old video games over the new ones, and now vindication is in my grasp. First, there’s the Intellivision device that you can plug into any TV, and it plays the old Intellivision games. Then comes GameTap, a great service with a promising future. Now, I find Game-Oldies.com, which lets you play most of the old Sega games, in your browser! FREE!
Man, I’m excited!
Man, I’m excited!
Mobile Life Tips: I need your help!
And now it gets interesting. You all know how happy I am with the new Palm TX, right? Well, Cingular is making me a tough offer: my Sony Ericsson T616 has a cracked screen, so I need a replacement. What do I see, when I check out what Cingular has to offer?
So, I need your help: any opinions? Comments? I can get a used T616 on eBay for about $50. What do you think?
And now it gets interesting. You all know how happy I am with the new Palm TX, right? Well, Cingular is making me a tough offer: my Sony Ericsson T616 has a cracked screen, so I need a replacement. What do I see, when I check out what Cingular has to offer?
So, I need your help: any opinions? Comments? I can get a used T616 on eBay for about $50. What do you think?
Buckwheat's Birthday
Pauline took on a new career and had a birthday this month! To celebrate, we headed out to the Melting Pot to enjoy fonudue and friends. Take a peek!
Visiting The Light Tower
Pete's pictures made me wonder: could I hike up to the mysterious "light tower" he visited. Well, the answer is yes: come have a walk with me on this hike up to see the mysterous installation.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
Avast, Yahoo Maps!
Gotta love the world of open API's.Check out this use of Yahoo Maps API to create a pirate map. Best feature: the Zoom!
Monday, November 07, 2005
Sounds like a porn move's plotline
Ok, this stuff just does not happen in real life. Apparently, the NFL misconduct has spread to the cheerleaders. Yet in a way most fans would porbably pay more to see.
Maybe Vince McMahon just did not go far enough with the XFL?
Maybe Vince McMahon just did not go far enough with the XFL?
Videogames TRULY come to life
Many of the most addictive video games out there are all about finding a person and killing them. Clearly, a culture that celebrates such things needs more and more realistic outputs for the homicidal tendencies. What to do? Wait for a new video game console?
Not so: bring your inner assassin to the streets, with StreetWars: A 3 week long, 24/7, watergun assassination tournament, starting this week in San Francisco. Tired of watchign too much "DOG: The Bouny Hunter," with no outlet? grab your Super Soaker, pony up your $35, and see if you've got what it takes!
Wouldn't it be hilarious if it turned out to be sponsored by the US Army or intelligence services, as an alternative way to recruit? After all, the traditional ways haven't been exactly booming...:-)
Not so: bring your inner assassin to the streets, with StreetWars: A 3 week long, 24/7, watergun assassination tournament, starting this week in San Francisco. Tired of watchign too much "DOG: The Bouny Hunter," with no outlet? grab your Super Soaker, pony up your $35, and see if you've got what it takes!
Wouldn't it be hilarious if it turned out to be sponsored by the US Army or intelligence services, as an alternative way to recruit? After all, the traditional ways haven't been exactly booming...:-)
Sunday, November 06, 2005
When's that flight get in?
You may think you've seen flight trackers: wait until you get a load of this one! more detail than you can imagine! WOW!
With the holidays coming...
I get it all the time: "you're so hard to buy for; what do you want for your birthday/Christmas?" As is my tradition, I've made it easy on you: my Froogle wishlist should help you out.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
A novel use of the Web: Black Friday deal tracking
Black Friday. (n) 1. The day after Thanksgiving. 2. The busiest shopping day of the year, traditionally. 3. The day retailers can offically start getting into the "black," i.e. profitability. 4. Phenomenal deals for early shoppers and risers for Xmas.
And now, there's a website devoted to tracking the best deal on Black Friday. They scan the ads, put it into a database, and you can make your shopping list for the busiest day of the shopping year. Innovative.
And now, there's a website devoted to tracking the best deal on Black Friday. They scan the ads, put it into a database, and you can make your shopping list for the busiest day of the shopping year. Innovative.
