Hopeless Geek

Stream Energy’s automated billing system is a pain in the ass. For various reasons, including price, I switched away from Stream when my contract was up. I scheduled the move for the exact day the contract was finished. So, of course, their automated system fines me $250 because someone used a <= rather than a < somewhere.

I tried calling them when I discovered it, but the hold time was 45 minutes. I tried another day and it was 25. Now I’m trying again and it’s been 33 minutes out of a guestimated “38 minute” wait from the start of the call.

The hold music is Sting’s “Brand New Day” on repeat. Not the album, the song. Just the one song. It’s a shame, I used to like this song.

The fun part is that the hold message keeps saying that there’s an option to have the system call me back when my place in the queue is ready, but it never actually offers this service. The one time it did, the very first time I called, it called me back on time and then dropped the call on me. I suppose it’s for the best that it didn’t offer it.

Well, 40 minutes in I get to talk to someone and try to explain the situation and she’s a little flummoxed and puts me on hold to review everything. She came back and verified that it was a mistake and put in to have the fee removed. I still have to follow up to make sure that it happens, though. Bleck.

Seriously, why have systems that automatically charge you like this and not audit them in some fashion to avoid mistakes like this? This is a pretty simple one.

Though, Direct Energy isn’t much better. They told me the first bill was going to be two months’ worth of charges and that I could pre-pay a standard month on the website to prepare for the first bill, so I logged in and put some money towards it. Now I have a $100 credit on the account … and the actual bill has posted.

Now THAT is a peanut butter cup, originally uploaded by ahknight.

The best part? The peanut butter inside was more like a real peanut puree rather than that gritty stuff in the tiny ones.

It took four hours to get it down. Brings a new meaning to “afternoon snack” this one.

Check out the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for more crazyness (like the chocolate-covered gummy bears or chocolate-covered marshmallows, neither of which I was not brave enough for).

Fucking hell.

I turned on the radio today when I got in the car to listen to one of the two good stations in Austin, Channel 102.3, only to discover that my freaking awesome classic rock station got itself turned into a "positive music" station: "The River":http://channel1023.com.

River, my ass. They can drown themselves in it.

And you'll take my KLBJ from my cold, dead hands you fuckers.

Fuckers.

bq.. Sec. 32. (a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman. (b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.

"79(R) HJR6 Enrolled - Bill Text":http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/tlo/textframe.cmd?LEG=79&SESS=R&CHAMBER=H&BILLTYPE=JR&BILLSUFFIX=00006&VERSION=5&TYPE=B

p. Heterosexual marriage is now illegal in Texas. Previous marriages are not recognized. Gays may marry at-will.

Texas politicians are fucking idiots.

I keep forgetting how much I hate people. I know that I hate people, but for some reason things kind of, I don't know, slow down now and again and people stop being flesh fodder and become human for a while. Then I manage to find myself in a large group of people again and realize how shitty the human race is, in general.

I went to see Serenity today, which was a damn good movie and I'll write more on it later. I decided to go a little early so the wife and I could get good seats. It kind of worked. Sadly, the best seats were in a row where there sat a gaggle of geeks to my left. No matter, I'll get three seats away, my right is clear, and we're all good.

So the score now is Wife 4, Husband 0. That is, in terms of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting a car banged up good. If you’re going for “major” accidents that’s just two, but I feel taking the mirror off a rental car and then rear-ending a dweeb in a super-fancy low-riding prissy-ass pickup (it’s not even a pickup after all he did to it; it’s like it wanted to be a Supra in this life) count towards the total even if they aren’t the current car. A running score, basically.

Anyhow, so this moran in the Java Java/Kinko’s parking lot down near campus peels out of his parking space on a cell phone without a glance behind him and whammo into the side of our car he goes. Then he comes out (this is all second-hand, of course) and tries to make it her fault. That didn’t work for long. So numbers were exchanged and the wife smartly makes all the calls with him standing there … keeping him locked in his spot.

So they depart and go their ways. She follows up with the insurance companies only to find neither can get a hold of the other guy. When his insurance company finally gets a hold of him several days later they discover he traded the car in for a new one two days after. When our insurance company tried to get a hold of the car for photos, etc. it was already gone to somewhere else. Other guy is still not reachable. By default, we win and his insurance will pay. Huzzah.