I Don't Know How I Feel About This

"Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes will play warring gods in Clash of the Titans, a Greek epic directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk). The “reimagining” of the 1981 classic is scheduled for March 26, 2010."

Clash of the Titans is one of the all-time great cheesy movies of the "if you didn't see it when it came out, you will never get it" variety.

You can find the entire article here. With a goofy Voldemort/Quigon Jin picture.

Product Shout Out - Strawberry Body Butter

This mini body butter came in a free gift from The Body Shop. I don't normally go for strawberry scented things, but it looked good for travel.

I really like it. It actually smells like strawberries. I think my problem with strawberry scents is that they are generally the artificial Strawberry Quik smell that I can't stand. This is the real thing.

Now if they would only come out with a straight up vanilla.

Still Here

I'm still trying to get a decent picture of a container ship. Somehow, in my head, my nephew will get a kick out of seeing one. But I haven't seen one in two days. That's what one gets for sitting in meeting sessions. Although interestingly enough, USA Today said this morning (or maybe it was yesterday) that the numbers in the port of Savannah are down.

Here's something worse. Joy and I walked over to Forsythe Park before dinner. I am not much impressed by fountains, but the sun was just breaking through the clouds as we were walking up the path and it was all framed with the trees and the Spanish moss and I pulled out my camera but there were too many people and I was too far away and by the time we were close enough the sun was gone and the moment had passed and I was all disappointed and didn't bother to take a picture of it.

It seems I went all artiste for five seconds. I am rather disgusted with myself.

Tourist Pictures

Monday night Must See TV has messed me up so that I couldn’t even pretend to do homework. But I managed to talk the Blackberry into coughing up the pictures I took at St Bonaventure yesterday:

I actually like these because they catch the contrast with the foliage. It messes with your head. I don't remember it messing with my head before. Maybe because the other couple of times I visited were in the summer?

Cyberdriveillinois

I received a letter from Ernie Dannenberger, Director, Vehicle Services, Ilinois Secretary of State.

Dear Illinois Motorist:

Your license plates have been identified by the manufacturer as being in a batch that has the potential to wear prematurely. IN order to remain in compliance with Illinois law, it may be necessary to replace your license plates if it develops bubbles or rust around the letters causing it to be difficult to read.

To have your license plates replaced under the manufacturer's warranty and at no cost to you, please call 800-252-8980 or 217-785-3000 or visit www.cyberdriveillinois.com . Failure to do so could result in a citation.

Thank you,


I had noticed such wear on my plates. Don't tell my mother, but I asked my car what fresh hell I drove her through to manage such a thing. She didn't say. But then, she isn't a complainer. Except about the potholes.

Here is what I want to know:

If they know that my plates are going to "wear prematurely", and the swap is going to be at no cost to me, why did they not just send them? It would have saved the postage on the first letter, and avoided the offense I take at being told "Failure to do so could result in a citation".

I went online and entered my information. Apparently, the plates are ordered. It was that easy. And the couldn't have done that in the first place?

Does someone know the story here?

Amazon Feedback Makes Me Insane

A couple of months ago, a lady left negative feedback for the Library Used Book Store on Amazon. If I remember correctly, she said it was a horrible, useless book. Really.

First of all, it is hardly the fault of the seller if you find that a book does not suit your needs. We listed it by the ISBN and described the condition. Accurately.

Second, we never sent the book. We could not find it in stock and promptly refunded the money with an apology. We politely sent a message to the lady regarding the latter and asked for a retraction. Never got one. Finally, it dropped out of our 30-day feedback and life went on.

Today, I saw another negative:

"A rip off. Does not work. Bought the Apple cable with more plugs, and it works perfectly. Don't waste you money or time on this junk. "

What the heck kind of A/V stuff did we sell? I clicked on the link. It was for a cloth-bound book with gilt lettering.

What? Did we actually get negative feedback meant for someone else? A small seller account like ours takes a pretty big hit from that feedback and I am livid. And all I can do is send out this public service announcement:

Please be careful with your feedback. We want it to be honest; we want it to be an accurate reflection of the transaction. And we want it to really be meant for us. Don't just click on your last transaction and start typing. And? You might try contacting the seller about a problem before leaving that feedback.

Thank you for your attention.

In Savannah

I flew in to Charleston, rented a car and drove down to Savannah. It is a lively drive that I have done before. It is too early in the season for roadside farm stands of peaches, but I did stop at the Carolina Cider Company for cherry cider. I swear they have this exact same place in Door County, WI. They just call it something different!

Driving into the city, I nearly missed the fact that our hotel is on the other side of the river. I have felt all turned around all day. This is the view from my dirty hotel room window:

If I angled a bit left, you would see the fabulous parking lot.

We had our meeting today, which went fine. Then I spent almost two hours with my boss in the bar while he helped me with a school assignment involving self assessment. He was unbelievably nice to me. Then we went to dinner with a couple of colleagues. The Olde Pink House is a big deal here, and I had been there before. Unfortunately, it is Saturday and we could only get two tables pushed together in the basement bar area. Food was good, though. I was too lame to remember to take a picture (ok, I was talking), so this is the best I can do:

Now I really have to do some homework.

And the New Doors

The front hall is much darker now that we have the smaller windows way up there. Our compromise was I wanted to keep the double door concept and she wanted something that a burgler couldn't smash to reach an arm in and unlock the door. Everyone is happy.

The doors are fiberglass, rather than metal. I would never know the difference there. But I must say I was surprised by the change in noise level. The echo we started hearing a month or so ago (when we replaced carpet with laminate in one room) is that much more pronounced. And oh, my. When the dog barks.

Frugal Fliers

MSN Travel had a good article, Two Words for a Frugal Flier: Patience. Wednesday. I am not a particularly frugal flier in that I am spoiled by my home town airport and think that a layover is about the worst thing one could endure while travelling. I am also rather loyal to United Airlines. And I don’t like the risk of waiting for fares to drop. So I suck at this particular game. But I found two good tips that will work even for me:

“The best time to shop is late Monday or early Tuesday, some fare experts say. Airlines often start fare sales on Sunday night or Monday morning, said Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com. Those sales alone are fine if they include the flight you want. But other carriers generally match the fare sale by Monday evening or Tuesday morning, giving you more choices.”

OK. I can be flexible about when I shop for a flight!

“Wednesdays are generally the cheapest day to fly. Tuesdays and Saturdays are also good days to fly because demand is low and the airlines are trying to fill seats.”

I think I knew that already, but it is good to keep in mind.

I think the point here is that we as consumers should gauge the value of our own convenience. Ugh. I just realized my mother must be credited with teaching me that.

Before

As we speak, new front doors are being put on my house. Unfortunately, my "Before" shot was an afterthought as I was leaving for work today:




Why, yes. They are very 1977. I could go on a complete rant about the silly looking fancy-schmancy doors going up around my neighborhood these days. And take pictures. And write about how the people who caught me taking pictures probably think that I am taking pictures so that I can find something just like it.

But I am much too lazy.