Fantasia Coffee and Tea

I used to like Fantasia Coffee and Tea a lot. Then they stopped serving the "taro ball" drinks. I didn't like them as much then.

Now I just don't understand them.

Fantasia is celebrating its 8th birthday this August. For the entire month, they are giving out buy one get one free coupons for every drink that you pay for. I have been there several times this month, and I didn't always receive a coupon for the drinks I paid for.

That's OK. Whoever that took my order probably just forgot to hand them out to me. I can understand that.

What ticked me off was when I used one of the coupons on Aug 22--I paid for one drink and got the second one free--I asked the cashier to stamp my frequent buyer's card. She refused, "no stamps when you use the coupon". I understand why they wouldn't stamp the free drink, but shouldn't I get one stamp for the drink that I did pay for?

Whatever. Not like I really care but I just don't think it makes any sense.

Me vs. DMV Part II

On Aug. 23, 2005, I went back to DMV to have my name corrected. For those who don't know, DMV misspelled my name and refused to change it during my visit to renew my license.

As soon as I walked into the DMV, I noticed the lady who refused to correct my name last time was working at the "Start Here" counter. I had a good feeling about it since I knew then someone else would be helping me today.

Sure enough, it was a young lady that helped me this time. She asked for the reason for my visit, so I told her. She wasn't sure why they wouldn't fix the misspelling last time, so she asked me to wait while she checked with her supervisor.

After a brief conversation with her supervisor, she came back and said she would go ahead and correct my name for me. And my new license will be mailed to me. Just like that, it was that easy.

That really makes me wonder why the lady from last time just wouldn't help me no matter what. Maybe she woke up from the wrong side of the bed? Who knows...I guess I will never understand why some people do the things they do.

Google's Revenge

On July 14, CNET published an article containing personal information - obtained from Google searches - about Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

That enraged Google. Google promptly instituted a policy of not talking to CNET reporters for a year. Details can be read here. A recent CNET's article confirms this ban (look at the last paragraph).

Why is CNET to blame? CNET simply did a Google search on Eric Schmidt. If nothing else, CNET's article confirms how powerful Google's search can be. I think Eric Schmidt should write a personal thank you note to CNET for validating their technology and for the free publicity. If he insists on blaming somebody, he should blame it on the sites that expose his personal information. One of them being the Fundrace site that keeps track of people's political donations. What about not putting out any money for political donations for a year as a revenge?

But of course, the innocent CNET got blacklisted. I am not surprised. It merely echoes with my earlier story. I wonder how much of Google's resource is dedicated to maintain all these blacklists? With thousands of servers, I am sure it's a non-issue. Larry would be proud that his database is being put to ingenious use.

Jason Stamper, editor of Computer Business Review, said it well, "Blackballing journalists is not big and is not clever. I hope I don't have to explain why a free technology press is important to such a forward-looking company as Google. But perhaps given the fact that it was Playboy that Google granted its exclusive pre-IPO interview to, they do seem to have a slightly odd view of the people they will, and will not talk to."

Mr. Stamper, I pray for you not to be blacklisted like CNET.

Document Storage Inspired by Enron

Remember Enron? The company with the big accounting scandal that eventually led to the legislation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act?

Well, I have an Enron-inspired shredder. It's my best investment ever. For 20 bucks, it has shredded many things--unsolicited credit card offers, balance transfer checks, old bank statements, old pay stubs, and ex-gfs' angry letters.

OK, I was kidding about the angry letters (c'mon, who writes real letters anymore?). But you DO know you are supposed to shred these credit card offers, balance transfer checks, old bank statements and old pay stubs, right? It reduces the risk of your identity being stolen. No one else is going to protect your identity but you.

Both my sister and brother-in-law have had their identities stolen just recently. My sister's identity was stolen not just once, but twice. So go ahead. Invest the 20 bucks or so in a shredder if you don't have one. And don't ever carry your social security card. Place it in somewhere safe instead.

How Many Ways Can You Say "SBC Sucks"?

SBC sucks. Specifically their DSL service.

They messed up my Yahoo! account and just wouldn't or didn't want to do anything about it. At one point I was asked to call Microsoft for help?! What does Microsoft have to do with my Yahoo! account not working? Numerous customer service people I've spoken to on the phone just asked me to get another Yahoo! account and move on with my life.

"Fine, that's what I will do," I thought.

So I tried to apply for a new Yahoo! account. And I found out none of the followings was available:

sbcsucks
subsucksbad
sbcsucksass
sbcyahoosucks
sbcyahoosucksass
sbcyahoosucksbad
sbc_sucks
sbc_sucks_bad
sbc_sucks_ass
sbc_yahoo_sucks
sbc_yahoo_sucks_ass
sbc_yahoo_sucks_bad

I gave up trying. Just how many ways can you say, "SBC SUCKS"? Apparently all permutations have been taken. Too many people out there share my sentiment about SBC, obviously.

I got a friend who's recently ordered SBC DSL service. But on the day when the service was supposed to be activated, it wasn't. SBC DSL customer service told her that she had canceled her service 6 months ago. But she had never had DSL service before. And they refused to help her any further on the phone because she had placed her order online.

I filed a formal complain against SBC at Central Texas BBB. Central Texas BBB's web site rates SBC an "unsatisfactory".

I say that's well deserved. No, actually, I think the rating is too kind.