A Scattered Brain

Thursday, March 1st, 2007 will go down as one of my all time favorite days.  So many good things happened to come together on one day, it was almost too much to handle.

First the two small things; I got a brand new (FREE) bowling ball.  A friend of mine ordered one online and it came with a free ball that he gave me.  It took a while to come in, but it came and it’s getting drilled up now. Woo Hoo!  The second smaller item is my new computer came arrived.  It’s a new Intel Core Duo (2.4 GHz) with 2GB RAM, 19-inch wide screen monitor, 500 GB hard drive, Windows Vista Home Premium… ugh ugh ugh (think of the Tim Allen “Home Improvement” grunt).  I was only able to unpack it yesterday but tonight should be able to have some fun setting it up and getting it up to be our main computer.

The next great thing was some quality family time with my brother-in-law, my wife’s aunt and grandmom.  We had a terrific steak dinner and then played Yahtzee and a little Wii Bowling.  Tons of fun and I haven’t laughed that much in a long time.

But now for the important information and by far the most exciting part of the day.  We had our ultrasound yesterday.  That was the most amazing thing; to see the head, arms, legs, and spine of our child was breathtaking.  My wife and I listen to the heartbeat regularly, but to see it was a completely wonderful experience.  We also got to find out that we’re having a boy!  Now to start to think about names and how to decorate.  I can’t wait to be a daddy.  We’re also due the exact same day as one of my grandfather’s so if it happens, it’s a nice circle of life completion.

One final cool thing from yesterday is last night I got to feel the baby kick for the first time.  I guess he was fairly active for my wife; but I only felt one or two flutters, it was still cool nonetheless and was a great end to a nearly perfect day!

So, I got a response from Coinstar and it was a quick turnaround. Even though I will get my fee back, I was more pleased with the fact that they are working on software upgrades to prevent this in the future. Here is the response:

Dear Mr. Stanton,
First let me apologize on behalf of our company for your experience with our machine. We are aware of circumstances where this type of error occurs, and have a software release ready for deployment that will result in the desired scenario you stated.

Unfortunately, with equipment on any communication network, these types of network outages do occur, we are also working hard to minimize the occurrence of these events from the network perspective.

With that said, we would be happy to reimburse you for the fee that was deducted from your transaction. We feel it is only fair that since we failed to provide you the product you chose, we should be accountable for the failure.

If you would please send me the address you would like to have a check mailed, I will ensure we get a check produced for the $5.29.

Sincerely,

Dave Cramer

Coinstar Customer Service Manager.

It even got escalated up to the manager quickly. So, maybe Coinstar doesn’t completely suck, but I’ll still think twice before using them again. Especially since Nevada State Bank has free coin counting even for those who aren’t customers of the bank.

Below is a letter I just sent to Coinstar regarding an experience my wife and I had last night. I am so angry that this happened. NEVER USE COINSTAR for any reason is my only advice.

Greetings,

First let me start that I expect some kind of response to this letter… not repayment or any other physical handout, but at least a non-form letter response from your company regarding/explaining your response to the following situation.

My name is Spencer G. Stanton. My wife and I had what turned out to be $59.43 in change and since we had noticed that Coinstar machines allowed for the purchase of gift cards WITHOUT any service fee, we decided to try one out for the first time. We went to the Coinstart located at the Albertson’s on the corner of Eastern and Horizon Ridge in Henderson, NV.

The process seemed very easy and straightforward; we started out by picking an Amazon.com gift card and proceeded to insert our coins. The final total came to the above mentioned $59.43. After all of the coins were processed, we were given the message that it may take a minute or two for our card to be processed and we could hear the modem dial out somewhere.

After about 2 minutes, the machine came back with a error stating that it couldn’t process the request for an Amazon card at that time. However, instead of giving us any other options (a different kind of card, for example) the machine stated that it was printing a cash voucher. This would have been fine, except that in the printing of the cash voucher, your machine proceeded to charge the ENORMOUS 8.9% that you charge for changing cash into cash. That left me with a voucher for $54.14, a loss of $5.29. One of the reasons I had never used a Coinstar machine in the past was the service charge; the idea of transferring to something other than cash for no service charge was the only incentive for using Coinstar at all. As far as I remember, there was no warning of any kind stating that cash would be used in case of the inability to issue the card. I would have seen that as a red flag and probably would not have continued my transaction.

As this was my first use of a Coinstar, you can be assured that I have no plans to ever use one again. I feel that this may not have been some technical error, but rather a thinly-veiled bait and switch. If it was a mechanical error, or in the case that gift cards can’t be given out at a specific time for any reason, the ONLY acceptable option is to give the cash voucher and waive the 8.9% fee. I’m not so upset that the card wasn’t available, but rather that I was given NO OTHER OPTION but to take the cash voucher with the fee attached. This is a completely irresponsible way of handling difficulties at the machines.

I like the idea of converting change into other, more usable options so long as there isn’t a charge involved. If I had been given the option of even taking back my change rather than accepting the finance fee, I would have taken my coins back and transferred them some other way.

Again, I expect a full, personal response to this letter as well as a plan to fix this kind of problem in the future. Thank you in advance for your time.

Sincerely,

Spencer G. Stanton

I will post their response, if any. I still can’t believe we got screwed like that. Have a great weekend and go Purdue!!!

Ok, so I didn’t quite win a new car, but I certainly got one yesterday.  My Saturn was starting to get to that age where things were going to start going downhill quickly.  A 5 year old American car, that’s what you expect.

So, it was either a $700 repair to fix the exhaust system or purchase a new car.  I’ve been wanting a new car since Kylah got hers last year so I finally decided to spring for it.

Spencer, what did you get?  I know all of you are on the edge of your seats so I won’t keep you in suspense any longer.   I bought a 2006 Nissan Altima 2.5SL.

This thing is loaded to the hilt: leather seats, 6 CD in-dash Bose stereo system with 6 speakers, heated seats, trip computer and gas mileage information, storage galore, HomeLink (the ability to open garage doors from the visor instead of the remotes), 175-HP 4 cylinder engine, and massive seating and trunk space.  I had originally wanted to look at the 6 cylinder version but they didn’t have any and once I started driving this one, it had the power I was expecting out of a V6 but only in 4.  Oh, and it’s a gorgeous navy blue with a beige interior; very classy.

I also got a pretty good deal.  I was able to get the interest rate down to a measly 3% as well as getting near blue book on my trade.  They kept coming back with things that were just a bit high and I kept on saying I’d come back a different day because I’d have to discuss it with my wife.  Eventually they finally made the right push to give me all that I wanted (low interest and high trade value).  Of course, once they did, I said that maybe I could call my wife instead of going home to talk to her; I’m so sneaky!  All in all, not a bad deal and boy do I love that new car smell.  I’ll just have to be careful not to get any tickets as this thing has pep to it.

It’s nice to have a new car again, even if it does come with a payment.  Of course, this is the kind of car that should last a very long time (or so I say now; and yes I know the next car is Kylah’s)!  Yippee!

Hey all, just got sent this nice link that shows some interesting facts surrounding your birthday.  I don’t buy into all that life path stuff, but still some cool parts:

Birthday Calculator

Check it out. Here are some of my highlights:

The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2443300.5.
The golden number for 1977 is 2.
The epact number for 1977 is 10.
The year 1977 was not a leap year.

Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 2/18/1977 and ending 2/6/1978.
You were born in the Chinese year of the Snake.

Your Native American Zodiac sign is Elk; your plant is Mullein.

You were born in the Egyptian month of Mesore, the fourth month of the season of Shomu (Harvest).

Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 20 Sivan 5737.

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 10 April 1977.
The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 10 April 1977.
The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 23 February 1977.
The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 29 May 1977.
The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 5 June 1977.
The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Tuesday, 13 September 1977.
The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Sunday, 3 April 1977.
The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 22 February 1977.

As of 8/8/2006 11:32:24 AM EDT
You are 29 years old.
You are 350 months old.
You are 1,522 weeks old.
You are 10,655 days old.
You are 255,731 hours old.
You are 15,343,892 minutes old.
You are 920,633,544 seconds old.

Sweeeeeet.  Almost, 1,000,000,000 seconds old 🙂

Happy Monday!

My wife and I went to Arizona this weekend on a fairly impromptu visit to the Grand Canyon.  We drove out to Flagstaff on Friday and were able to eat at the best restaurant ever created (for those who know me, I don’t even have to tell you where that was; for others, it was Chick-Fil-A).  The drive was actually pretty nice and it appears that we just missed a passing rain storm so that’s good.

On Saturday, we took the Grand Canyon Railway from Williams to the canyon.  The ride is about 2 1/2 hours long and the train doesn’t go too fast, but it was a nice ride.  The canyon itself was magnificent.  If you’ve never seen it, you have to go sometime.

Once we arrived we walked about 2 miles around the south rim and each time we stopped, we continued to be in awe of what we were seeing.  At one point, Kylah and I talked about how we’re glad we waited until we were adults to see this as it may be difficult for children to really respect what they were seeing.  About 15 minutes later, at one of the overlooks, we heard a kid, probably around 12 or 13, say, “This is such a freaking waste of time.”  I feel bad for his parents who undoubtedly were going partly for his benefit, but also understand that when I was that age, probably would have felt some of the same sentiment.

After a few hours, we took the train back to Williams.  The experience was similar to one you find at theme parks like Disney.  On the train to the Grand Canyon, people are talking, restless and excited.  On the way back, nearly silence on the train… until… the train robbers came!  With only about 30 minutes left on th etrain ride, we were boarded by a gang of robbers who took all of our money and valuables.  I’m just glad we made it out alive!  Ok, so the train robbery was staged as part of the train ride, but still was a fun touch to end the day.

Of course, after we got back to Flagstaff, where did we go to eat???  The place doesn’t, need mentioning (Chick-Fil-A) so I’ll move on.

Sunday, we drove back and were able to eat at another favorite of ours that we don’t get here in Vegas; Cracker Barrell… mmmmmm best breakfast ever!

If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend seeing the Grand Canyon for yourself.  Pictures just don’t do it justice.  Have a great week, all!

So, I figured I should write about something other than bowling for once… don’t worry all of my avid fans, that blog entry will be coming on Wednesday or Thursday after league.

But what to talk about?  My life is quite inconsequintial.  I get up at 4:30 AM, come to work at 5:00 AM, eat lunch around 9:00 AM, come back to work, leave around 2:00 PM.  This happens every Monday through Friday, week in and week out, month after month.  And I enjoy what I do most days, but it’s always the same.

If I were less risk adverse or had a really good idea, I’d love to start my own business some day.  Of course, for now, I’m not willing to give up the steady paycheck for an unknown result.  The ideal would be to be able to retire now and enjoy life, but unless I win the Megabucks slot, that isn’t going to happen (I’d have to play Megabucks to even have a chance at it).

I think we are all meant for so much more than this rat race that we are all stuck in.  To paraphrase from Office Space, people aren’t meant to live like that, it’s just not natural

So, until I find that really awesome idea, have the courage to carry it through, or somehow enjoy a windfall of buckets of money, I’ll continue to do my job, try to do it well, and keep going.

Have a great day all and work hard, but not too hard.