I have been toying with the notion of putting this up on my blog for a while now and decided that I might as well at this point, since this is dragging out waaaaay too long.
On Jan. 31st, I ordered a refurbished Canon ZR100 camcorder from Woot.com. Admittedly, I was a bit leery of a refurbed camcorder, but I'd purchased refurbished electronics before and have never had a problem. I got the camcorder on Feb. 6th.
When I got home that evening, I plugged it in to charge the battery...nothing. No charging light, no battery indicator, nothing. I went onto the Canon website to see what I could find out. There were a few suggestions that I tried; all of them fruitless.
The troubleshooting guide on Canon's site informed me that if the suggestions didn't pan out, either the battery or the charging cable were faulty and would need to be replaced. Not wanting to spend the $100 it would cost for a new battery and cable (especially since the camera was only $130 to begin with), I decided to return the camera.
I e-mailed Woot to get an RMA number and got a pretty short response...essentially that I should contact Canon to see if they could fix it. Initially I was a bit put off, not thinking that Canon would really do anything since it was a refurb and more likely than not out of warranty.
But, since I seemingly needed to do so, I contacted Canon and spoke to a very friendly woman in Virginia. Much to my surprise, she told me that she would put in an order to send me a new charging cable AND a battery since it was impossible to know which was the problem. I thanked her and told Woot that Canon was going to help.
After waiting the requisite 7-10 business days for the battery and cable to arrive and receiving nothing, I called Canon back. I spoke to another friendly person who said that yes, he did see an order for a charging cable, but unfortunately, the order had never been put in for shipping. This was a bit dismaying. I asked about a battery as well as I was told I would be receiving both and he said, "Yep, I'll get it out to shipping right now."
This time the shipping was expedited (I knew this because I received no less than 8 confirmation/shipping e-mails) and I received a package in two business days. I thought, "Sweet, maybe this'll get it fixed." I opened the package and found, as I had feared, only a charging cable...
Of course, when I plugged the new one in, the same issue persisted.
So, I called up Canon again and spoke to a third friendly representative and explained the story to him...again.
He then asks me, "OK, is the issue with the cable or the battery?"
I replied, "At first, I had no way to tell, but now that you've sent me a new cable and the battery still won't charge, it would seem that the issue is with the battery...or the camera."
"Well, I can help you get it shipped out to a repair center" he answered.
"OK, is there a reason you can't send me the battery I was promised the first time I called in?"
"Um...let me see here. Yeah, OK, I can do that."
"Great, am I going to get a confirmation e-mail?" I asked.
"Yep."
So, now, I am sitting here, awaiting said e-mail. I'm a bit dubious of the whole thing...it seemed a little too easy to change his mind about sending a battery. If I don't get an e-mail today, I'll call them back tomorrow for a status...
...to be continued.
[Edit: 1:30PM - 02.26]
Got a message from my wife that we got another package from Canon in the mail today...the battery. She tried it in the camera, plugged it in and still nothing. So, it looks like the camera is the faulty piece of this puzzle. Guess I'll be contacting Woot for an RMA tonight.
[Edit: 2:55PM - 03.10]
We got a message on Thursday that Woot had received the camera, so now we're just waiting for the refund. That should take 7-10 days. We'll see...
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Bus stops
So, I'm driving to work today, a bit later than usual since I'm in training. Normally, this would be a good thing, but what I've discovered is that that is not the case.
You see, the road on which I work also has an elementary school. This week, I seem to be getting to the road just in time to be behind the bus.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem; however, it's where the bus is stopping that is really getting on my nerves.
There are two houses, the first of the two being 100 yards from the school driveway and the second being maybe 20 yards away. The bus stops at both of these driveways. Let me repeat that...the school bus stops two separate times and picks up children at two separate houses; both of which are less than a football field away from the school itself. Oh and did I mention that the houses are on the same side of the road as the school? Oh yeah, and also, these kids have to cross the street to get on the bus.
People, this is getting out of control. I mean, this makes no sense at all. One of the parents (the one who lives literally next door to the school) actually walks his children across the street to get on the bus. Why doesn't he just walk them to the school???
Or, a better question I think is why isn't there just one spot for the bus to stop? Back in the day, if you lived on a cul-de-sac, the bus stopped at the end of the damn road and every kid that lived in the circle was expected to wait in the same spot. Does the bus really need to be stopping twice within a football field distance from the school itself? Argh!!!
You see, the road on which I work also has an elementary school. This week, I seem to be getting to the road just in time to be behind the bus.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem; however, it's where the bus is stopping that is really getting on my nerves.
There are two houses, the first of the two being 100 yards from the school driveway and the second being maybe 20 yards away. The bus stops at both of these driveways. Let me repeat that...the school bus stops two separate times and picks up children at two separate houses; both of which are less than a football field away from the school itself. Oh and did I mention that the houses are on the same side of the road as the school? Oh yeah, and also, these kids have to cross the street to get on the bus.
People, this is getting out of control. I mean, this makes no sense at all. One of the parents (the one who lives literally next door to the school) actually walks his children across the street to get on the bus. Why doesn't he just walk them to the school???
Or, a better question I think is why isn't there just one spot for the bus to stop? Back in the day, if you lived on a cul-de-sac, the bus stopped at the end of the damn road and every kid that lived in the circle was expected to wait in the same spot. Does the bus really need to be stopping twice within a football field distance from the school itself? Argh!!!
Monday, February 04, 2008
How? Why?!
I sit here...the day after one of the most devastating sports losses witnessed during my lifetime and the only thing I can think is: WHY?!
WHY did the vaunted Patriots offensive line (which is sending three of their five to the Pro Bowl) suddenly morph into a junior varsity version of themselves? Brady spent most of the game on his back...which I hear makes it hard to throw the ball.
WHY did the Patriots decide to play a completely different game than they have all year? The 18-0 Patriots were angry, ruthless, efficient...these Patriots were scared, guarded, conservative. Only at the very end of the game did they "unleash the hounds" and had success because of it. The rest of the game was spent intermittently testing an ineffective running game and throwing short dump passes.
WHY did the defense get no pressure on Eli Manning? It did not seem like many blitzes were called and when they were called, the Patriots rushers either couldn't get to Manning or, when they did, couldn't bring him down.
WHY does Asante Samuel feel like he has to try to intercept every single pass that comes anywhere near him? The Giants first touchdown doesn't happen if Samuel simply tries to bat the ball to the ground rather than holding up two hands to try for a pick. Needless to say, there's a reason he's not a receiver.
WHY is Ellis Hobbs ever single-covering anyone; let alone the other team's star receiver?
WHY did Eli Manning suddenly become Tom Brady and vice-versa?
WHY did Tom Coughlin suddenly become Bill Belichick and vice versa?
There are so many questions from this Super Bowl that will forever go unanswered; those are but a few. I will never understand, as long as I live, why the Patriots played the way they did. This was the single greatest offense that this league has ever seen and they curled up right from the beginning. For whatever reason, this team lost its swagger at the worst possible time and because of that, lost the Super Bowl as well.
Credit the Giants for the win; they were the best team on the field yesterday.
WHY did the vaunted Patriots offensive line (which is sending three of their five to the Pro Bowl) suddenly morph into a junior varsity version of themselves? Brady spent most of the game on his back...which I hear makes it hard to throw the ball.
WHY did the Patriots decide to play a completely different game than they have all year? The 18-0 Patriots were angry, ruthless, efficient...these Patriots were scared, guarded, conservative. Only at the very end of the game did they "unleash the hounds" and had success because of it. The rest of the game was spent intermittently testing an ineffective running game and throwing short dump passes.
WHY did the defense get no pressure on Eli Manning? It did not seem like many blitzes were called and when they were called, the Patriots rushers either couldn't get to Manning or, when they did, couldn't bring him down.
WHY does Asante Samuel feel like he has to try to intercept every single pass that comes anywhere near him? The Giants first touchdown doesn't happen if Samuel simply tries to bat the ball to the ground rather than holding up two hands to try for a pick. Needless to say, there's a reason he's not a receiver.
WHY is Ellis Hobbs ever single-covering anyone; let alone the other team's star receiver?
WHY did Eli Manning suddenly become Tom Brady and vice-versa?
WHY did Tom Coughlin suddenly become Bill Belichick and vice versa?
There are so many questions from this Super Bowl that will forever go unanswered; those are but a few. I will never understand, as long as I live, why the Patriots played the way they did. This was the single greatest offense that this league has ever seen and they curled up right from the beginning. For whatever reason, this team lost its swagger at the worst possible time and because of that, lost the Super Bowl as well.
Credit the Giants for the win; they were the best team on the field yesterday.
Friday, February 01, 2008
Shocking
Last night, I had what, for me, was a shocking conversation. My wife and I went out after bowling with a few friends and the Presidential Election came up. This led us to discuss who and why, etc. This, in hindsight, is something in the future that I should avoid discussing with friends. Why? Because much to my surprise, they all seemed to believe that George Bush has actually been a successful president. George Bush!!! One went so far as to say, "The reason you don't like George Bush is because he did what had to be done." To which I replied, "No, the reason I don't like George Bush is because he is the leader of the free world and the man cannot put together a coherent sentence. Not to mention that 'what had to be done' was apparently and invasion of a country which was completely unrelated to the attacks we were responding to; an invasion which was built upon the back of complete and utter fabrications."
The overwhelming opinion at the table was that the erosion of privacy that is going on right now is completely OK as the Constitution does not specifically grant a right to privacy. The argument being that if you're not doing anything wrong, why should you care? (Which is the standard argument for this and I should have been able to deflect it easily.)
I was flat out shocked that these, some of my closest friends, had such an opinion. This shock basically caused me to get very frustrated and I was unable to adequately articulate things like "The Fifth Amendment is intentionally vague for exactly that reason...it's called due process...innocent until proven guilty" and all that jazz.
My big problem is that I feel like that is such a naive viewpoint. People who don't care that their evey conversation is being listened to truly believe that their government is out for their best interests and will only use the information they gather to "fight evil". Blind faith. I have a far more cynical view of our government and it has done nothing in the past several years to convince me otherwise.
Unfortunately, I ended up snapping at one of my closest friends which I felt very badly about. I've since apologized, but still don't feel good about the way things went.
Lesson learned, though. Don't talk politics with your friends.
The overwhelming opinion at the table was that the erosion of privacy that is going on right now is completely OK as the Constitution does not specifically grant a right to privacy. The argument being that if you're not doing anything wrong, why should you care? (Which is the standard argument for this and I should have been able to deflect it easily.)
I was flat out shocked that these, some of my closest friends, had such an opinion. This shock basically caused me to get very frustrated and I was unable to adequately articulate things like "The Fifth Amendment is intentionally vague for exactly that reason...it's called due process...innocent until proven guilty" and all that jazz.
My big problem is that I feel like that is such a naive viewpoint. People who don't care that their evey conversation is being listened to truly believe that their government is out for their best interests and will only use the information they gather to "fight evil". Blind faith. I have a far more cynical view of our government and it has done nothing in the past several years to convince me otherwise.
Unfortunately, I ended up snapping at one of my closest friends which I felt very badly about. I've since apologized, but still don't feel good about the way things went.
Lesson learned, though. Don't talk politics with your friends.
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