So much for being Mr. Nice Guy

This shows just some of my muscles that are sore this morning.

Sorry for being AWOL yesterday, but I did a good deed and I'm paying the price for it this morning.  My daughter and SIL need some work done at their house, so I arranged for my trim carpenter to help them out.  He's only charging them 1/2 price....very nice of him.  To say thanks I thought I'd jump in and help him on the project he's on now and make his life a bit easier.

I used to do little manual labor things like this regularly to help out if one of my subcontractors was short-handed for a few days.  I used to be younger.  I used to be in better shape.  I think the only part of me still in fighting trim today is my smart-aleck mouth.

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"We just can't have nice thangs!" 

The news reported today that actor/comedian Dick Van Dyke was driving his new Jaguar when he began hearing strange noises under the hood, then it burst into flames.  Passers-by got the 87-year-old Van Dyke out uninjured.

A friend of mine bought one just like this a year ago.  He took it on a cross-country trip and it broke down in Tennessee (?).  They gave him a temporary loaner to finish his trip, then called him a month later and finally admitted they couldn't fix it.  Jaguar gave him another new one, and after just a few months it broke, too.  Last I heard he was negotiating with Jaguar to get his money back.

The old joke was that you'd be lucky to get your new Jag home from the dealer without the aid of a tow truck.  Then things got better.  Now they're apparently back in the toilet.  It seems "quality" is just another obscure word in Jaguar's dictionary.  My one word for you:  DON'T BUY ONE.   (OK then, three words.)

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Oh no!  My regular Friday night hang-out (after a nice evening meal out) is in danger of closing.  The big bookstore chain Barnes and Noble lost $87M yesterday, or maybe it was last quarter.  Whatever.  How am I going to know what books I want to buy from Amazon if I don't have a Barnes and Noble to browse through first?  

Ummm....

S

This is really startin' to chap my hide

My newest technology issue (actually this is a techie issue, not with the technology itself):  I have for years bought Car magazine at the news stand.  This is an expensive magazine ($10.99) published monthly in the UK.  I used Barnes and Noble discount coupons to bring the price down considerably, but they no longer allow coupon discounts on magazines.  Bye-bye B&N.

I went online and bought a DIGITAL subscription to Car for my tablet at less than 1/2 the retail price.  This required that I "create an account" for my new DIGITAL subscription.  Name, email address, password....no problem.  But then they asked for my "customer number".  It says, "The customer number will appear on your PRINTED magazine address label."

Once again, I bought a DIGITAL subscription.  I don't have a PRINTED magazine with an address label to reference.  Without a customer number, no account can be created.  No account, no sign-in, no DIGITAL subscription to read.  *beating head against wall*

I fired off an email to Car magazine customer service. "Oh, we're so sorry for the inconvenience.  This was purchased through iTunes, so go to your settings, then 'iTunes & App Stores', then 'manage subscriptions'.  Enjoy!"

Nope, nothing.  They still require you to create an account in order to read a DIGITAL subscription, and this requires a "customer number", no exceptions.  Another email sent, which they promise will be answered within 3 business days.

All I want is my customer number.  Does this require a meeting of the publisher's Board of Directors?  Am I the first person to ever buy a DIGITAL subscription to Car magazine?  Nobody's ever said anything before now?

This confirms what I've said for a long time:  Nerds can do amazing things with bits and bites, but they don't have the sense to pour pee out of a boot with the instructions on the heel.

This is so ridiculous it's comical.  :)

S