Netflix: Don't bother

I signed up for a free trial. I've missed a few of Season 2 Lost, and figure this might be an easy way to see it for free. Here's some of the many ways this company has already pissed me off royally:

It posted Lost Season 2 complete with fan reviews, the works. So I clicked on it to add it to my "queue". Only, it didn't go in my "queue". It went into some holding tank of "Movies we make you think that we have available but really don't, and have no idea when we might have it." Strike one.

So I ordered Donnie Darko, and true to their word, it arrived the next day. I didn't have time to watch it til last night (four days later) and about 1/3 the way through, it stops playing. Strike 2. Must happen a lot because on the sleeve, there are instructions for obtaining a replacement DVD.

I went to their web site and requested a free trial extension. They told me how they inspect their dvds but sometimes they get damanged in shipping, blah blah blah blah blah. They didn't even read my email. Nothing about a free trial extension. Strike 3. And obviously they DON'T inspect because the scratch was quite visible. Strike 4. They're already out, and I'm defintely NOT going to continue my subscription past the free trial.

My advice: Don't bother. Go to your local video store instead, or buy it on Ebay.

Croc Clogs

Those ugly shoes.. have started a war. A pic I took in Whistler got linked to dooce.com, and the resulting thread is awesome.

Whistler Weekend

I went snowboarding yesterday. (Click the headline above for images). It was over 90 degrees F at the base, 30 cooler at the glacier. One time the tbar lift broke down, and about 50 of us were stuck, wondering how we'd get out if the lift didn't reopen. Many started hiking, but after about 20 minutes or so, it got going.. but not til after a few snowball fights. Not everyone had a sense of humor about it, see video

I've been waffling over selling my domain to someone who is very eager to use it for their business. I'm not using it for much purpose right now, and it's on a slow server that goes down sometimes (the price for free hosting). She would fix all that but I'd lose my domain name. I've had it nine years. I just can't seem to give it up. Well maybe for $25,000.

It Paid Off (maybe)

Every morning I set my alarm to a Soft Rock station in a mostly unsucessful attempt to awaken my sorry arse from bed by the sheer disgust emanating from my cheap radio alarm speaker. As I was in the final stages of dressing for work, I was actually listening to the djs (they're the tolerable part of the station, I mean, how much Kelly Clarkson can a person take every morning!) and they had a call-in segment. The subject was 'Things that really annoy you, but in the bigger picture, they shouldn't be that big a deal.' An idea popped into my head and I didn't have time to call in, so I wrote in. Here is that email:

>When I'm forced to muddle through a navigation system on a telephone that

> requires me to SPEAK my answers.
>
> I'd rather push the numbers, and if I have to SAY "yes" or "no" or
> whatever their options are I get really really angry and my voice

> escalates and then it says,
>
> "Sorry, I did not understand your response. Let's try again."
>
> And I want to chuck the phone out the window.

For that, I am being sent a coupon for a free massage at the Relaxation Station in Mt. Vernon. 1/2 hour drive away, unfortunately, but how many free massages does one get in one's life? I just hope it will be worth the drive.