Mardi Gras and Katrina

According to this BBC report, some rescuers in New Orleans apparently think Mardi Gras isn't quite over yet:

". . . at one point a group of girls was standing on the roof of the hotel lobby and called to passing rescuers for help.

They [the authorities] said to them 'well show us what you've got' - doing signs for them to lift their t-shirts up. The girls said no, and they said 'well fine', and motored off down the road in their motorboat."

What has this world come to? I am disgusted.

Friggin' Fry's Electronics

I always hate shopping in Fry's Electronics. The weird check-out lines (C'mon, what other retailer needs to hire a person just to tell you which check-out line to use?), no easy refunds (be prepared to answer 20 questions on why you want your money back, including insulting ones like: "It didn't work? You sure you know how to work it?"), and they seem to be always re-stocking while I do my shopping.

But I still shop in Fry's. It's the closest big electronic store to my house and it usually beats the price at Best Buy and other chains. So over the years, I learned to put up with Fry's.

But Fry's has stepped to a new low today, even for Fry's.

I needed some new DVD+R discs and noticed TDK's 16x 50 pack was selling for $19.99. "Pretty good," I thought. So I got one. Only to be told at the register that the price is $34.99.

"You have to pay $34.99," said the cashier.
"But the price label says $19.99," I replied. The cashier, without saying anything, started trying to peel off the label for about two minutes.
"I didn't put that label on myself," I was getting angry.
"You meant there were other ones with the same price label?" asked the cashier.
"YES! A whole lot of them!"
"If you want to pay $19.99, you will have to wait while I get someone to check the floor."

What kind of BS was that? First, they insinuated that I cheated the price by putting on the lower-price label myself, then they tried to make me pay the higher price by being intimidating. As I said, it's low even for Fry's

"Fine, I will wait."

Several minutes passed. Nothing happened.

"Can't you just key in $19.99?" I asked impatiently.
"I can't override the computer," replied the cashier.

ARGH!

"You know, many retailers give away the first item free in the event of an overcharge. I am being nice not asking for that."
"Never heard of that," replied the cashier.
"Well, ask a manager about it," I said.
"I will call someone," replied the cashier.

She went on the phone for several minutes then informed me the only way she could sell the merchandise to me at $19.99 is by charging me $34.99 first and then having the return/exchange department credit me the $15 difference. What a huge load of crap.

"But I will get the credit right away?" I asked.
"Yes," she assured me.
"Fine," I really didn't want to spend any more time there.

So she charged me $34.99 and took me to the return counter. The person who worked at the return counter didn't have the authorization to issue the credit. He had to get his supervisor. More waiting time. Great.

The supervisor showed up. I advised her again that many retailers give away the first item free in the event of an overcharge.

"Never heard of that," the supervisor replied.
"Ask your store manager about it," I suggested.

Then she just walked away; without saying anything.

Whatever. So it took Fry's forever to honor their printed price. But that was not the worst part--the worst part was that the cashier actually thought I cheated the price!

Forget Fry's. I think they've done it. I am not going to shop there again.

Bush's Sound Advice

First of all, my sympathy goes to all victims of Katrina.

Having said that, I have to go on with some Bush bashing.

President Bush made a remark on Thursday about conserving gas, "Don't buy gas if you don't need it".

Wait a minute now. Does any of you out there buy gas when you don't need it? What kind of stupid advice is that? This is coming from the President of United States, an Ivy League-educated man.

Does he think people buy gas as a hobby? Just for fun? Perhaps a few ultra rich individuals and families (perhaps his own?) buy petroleum as an investment. But the rest 99.99% of the people? We only buy gas because we need it. Duh. Anyone out there buys gasoline so he can have a strategic reserve? Anyone?

This reminds me of a Chinese emperor, Jing Hui Di (290-306). There was a wide spread famine in China at the time. After learning how dire the situation was, the emperor said, "People have no rice to eat? Why don't they just eat meat?" Duh, if they had meat to eat, there wouldn't be a famine.

And Mr. President, we wouldn't be buying gasoline if we don't need it.

So there you have it. In late second century China, people have Jing Hui Di. Today, we have George W. Bush.

When will people in high positions understand the hardship of the regular people, if ever?

Again, my sympathy goes out to the victims of Katrina.

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.

DMV--Your New Names Dictionary

DMV is probably one of the most hated places on earth. On July 26, I had the privilege to find out why.

I had to get my driver's license renewed. At the Santa Clara DMV, I pointed out that my name on the renewal notice was wrong--it was missing a hyphen.

The lady behind the counter told me the name didn't matter. All DMV cared about was my driver's license number.

I wasn't sure if that addressed my concerns. So I asked her whether she can just add the hyphen. Then an interesting conversation followed:

Clerk: "I can't. When I typed in your driver's license number, that's the name that showed up in our system."
Me: "Uh, I don't understand--my name on the current driver's license has the hyphen. Are you saying my name has changed in your system? How can that happen?"
Clerk, impatiently: "We use a new system now. We now use your name on your passport."
Me: "Uh...but that is not my name on the passport. My name on the passport has a hyphen."
Clerk: "I told you, that's the name our system shows, then that is your name!"

Then the clerk printed a paper with my name and address on it and asked me to verify the information.

Me: "Uh...you asked me to verify this...? But I just told you, the name is wrong..."
Clerk, very impatiently now: "yeah yeah, don't worry about the name. Do you still live in the same address?"
Me: "Yes, but..."
Clerk: "OK then, take this and wait in line to have your picture taken."

Just like that. DMV gave me a new name. Perhaps you should consult with DMV next time you are trying to name your newborns.

What's with this no-hyphen crap? I bet Tiffani-Amber Thiessen wouldn't be happy about this.

I have got to go back and get my name corrected. Damn DMV.

Google Does No Evil?

I have been reading a lot about Google's hiring frenzy these days. Most recently being Google's hire of Kai-Fu Lee away from Microsoft. BusinessWeek also ran an article, Revenge of the Nerds, that talks about the hiring of top-notch talents at companies like Yahoo! and Google. The article, like many other articles that talk about the successful hiring stories, attributes the success to the geek-friendly environment and culture at Google.

I feel compelled to share my own experience with Google.

The time was June, 2004, right before Google's highly anticipated IPO. I never thought about working for Google. I figured it was too big for my taste. But a Google recruiter for their Site Reliability group found my resume and was eager to bring me in for an interview.

I didn't think there was a good fit. The Site Reliability group was more of an IT/Operation type of group. Members of the team were required to be on call 24x7. My background has mostly been in product development using Java. But the recruiter convinced me that Google was second-to-none as the company to work for and I should at least talk to the group before I made any decisions.

I thought to myself, "she is right; it wouldn't hurt just to check it out." It wouldn't hurt? Little did I know...

To make the long story short: I passed the phone interview, went for an on site interview, only to be told that since my experience has mostly been in product development, they didn't see a good fit. Fair enough, since I thought so, too.

Then three months later, I got another cold call from yet another recruiter from Google. Again, she was eager to bring me in for an interview. I indicated this time that I only wanted a development position. Then the recruiter and I played phone tags, exchanged emails over the course of a week and finally right before we agreed on a time for the interview, I got an email from her:

"After searching our database, I see that you have previously interviewed at Google and it was determined that this was not a good match. I appreciate your time and wish you luck on your job search."

That was it. No apologies or anything. Now that was pretty messed up. If Google has a one-strike policy, then I would expect their recruiters to check against this blacklist database they have before contacting me and wasting my time. I would also expect the first recruiter to inform me of such policy. Worse yet, Google didn't seem to care that I was not interviewing for a position that best fitted for my abilities the first time around. One strike and I was out.

I wrote an email back to the recruiter, telling her that I wished she would have done her homework before contacting prospective employees so she wouldn't waste their time. I never got a response or an apology. Go figure. After all, why would the company care about what a blacklisted person think?

According to this CNET article, "[Google] also has made a point of putting ethics before profits in its business operations, suggesting it holds itself to a higher standard of care than the average for customers and employees." Here is an idea, what about putting some common courtesy before profits too?

Google vows to do no evil. But in the eyes of the mother of quadruplets and former employee Mark Jen (rumored to be fired by Google for his open criticism about his former employer), Google does plenty of evil. I understand it is inevitable that as a company gets bigger, it will get some bad publicity. But perhaps if Google pays the same amount attention to common courtesy as they do to the technical brilliance of their people, they would see less bad publicity--there at least wouldn't be this post.