Breaking The Dress Code

Annual Pilgramage to Spooktacklar

When I see pictures like this it makes me think of the future and kind of shiver.

Somehow This Joke Never Gets Old..

As heard yesterday on the phone

Me: So Neighbor Lady's Mom got her diagnoses finally. It's [Insert scary health problem]

Dr: Oh that's tough.

Me: Yeah, so I was thinking maybe could print out some stuff at work and bring it home for her to read about it.

Dr: I can't get anything here (fancy university hospital) that she can't get on the internet.

Me: So what you're saying is that $200K later, all you really needed was a $500 laptop and some broadband?

Dr: Shut Up.

All Of You! Right Now!

Step away from the Halloween Candy!

Why you should NEVER BUY A LOGITECH WEBCAM

So I bought this webcam a month or so ago and everything was working fine until the software automatically went out and downloaded an update. Since then none of the "features" work and you can't mute the microphone without getting an error. (error 0x80040606 to specific)

That sucks but in the world of software these things happen. Good companies, who care about customer satisfaction, figure it out quickly, release a patch or an update that fixes the problem.

Not Logitech.

Here's what happens when you're dealing with them. You go to their website, explore the troubleshooting forum, see lots of posts about the problem but few answers. Try the ones that are there, have them not work. Call (long distance) to a customer support line only to have a call center person look up the error code on the same damn forum and act like this is something new. Explain that you've done all that. Have her continue to look at the forum. Ask why Logitech doesn't have actual tech support but rather relies on the people who buy the product to solve their problems and post it online on their forum. Get no answer. Finally get "escalated" to an actual tech support person - who is supposed to call you back TODAY.

Have a week go by with no call and find a email in your junkmail from Logitech saying they thought it was easier to email rather than call - and have them paste THE SAME DAMN INFO FROM THE FORUM INTO THE EMAIL THAT HASN'T WORKED SO FAR.

Email them back - have nothing happen.

Call them back (long distance) and have them keep you on hold for 10-15 mintues and then disconnect the call 6 TIMES IN A ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finding the happiness where you can

The month-o-rain continues but one happy side-effect was that today's field trip to the zoo was canceled! Yeah! I really didn't have time to chaparone, but I had already signed up.

One more reason Target Rocks

FuzzyHead is of course desperate to participate in all things "Big Sister" but trusting the huge muck filled gourd to a 2 year old just didn't seem like a good idea.

Fortunately she was just as happy to use her mad Mr Potato Head skillz to create this lovely lady. Silliness available at Target, they rock.

 

More Than A Princess

One of the many things that we've done this past week is make the annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Sunday, as is their tradition, Pud and her dad prepared the family pumpkin.

For years I lamented the fact that she has no interest in girly things. A fact that is much easier to swallow now that her little sister has shown a love all things girl.  But Pud is coming into her own with her gender as well, as you can see here... she has found her place among the gentler sex, as she says "I'm more than a princess."

Jump Start

Ughh, do you ever get that thing where you are busy and away from your blog for a few days and it seems to get away from you .. and it seems like there is so much to catch up on that you just can't figure out where to start? So you don't start at all. Then it piles up and you just can't seem to get started again. Blahh.

So excuse the next couple of fits and starts and the late stuff and the stuff that no cares about but me, 'cause I've got to get going again.

Boo!

One of the great joys of The Perfect Neighborhood is the annual Halloween party thrown by Geisha Girl and Karate Man. (This works out well because I've been trying to come up with names to use for them on the blog)

What can you say about a party with a bunch of 40 year olds dressed up in costume. The neighborhood babysitting army has figured out it can rake us over the coals on this night. The Dr. won best male costume for the second year running... that's him as Dracula in the back. I'm the Vampire Princess between the Gypsy and the Psycho Killer Clown. It was awesome. Our heads all ache today.

Business Trip or Field Trip

Since I telecommute I regularly have to take little one and two day trips to meet with other people for those times when face-to-face is just necessary to keep the momentum of a project going. These trips are often exhausting because I try and fit in as much as possible so I have to do them less. They involve getting up at 00:00 dark thirty and trudging through the airport with the rest of the road warriors, endless meetings, hotel rooms with weird pillows, and the inevitable dash back to the airport usually to find the flight is delayed and I won't get home in time to tuck the girls in. They are not fun but they are part of the deal.

Much to my dismay The Dr. sees them as "fun." Because from his perspective what he sees is hours of childfree time, nice dinners, cocktails, and blissful hotel slumber. I get that he thinks that but he's wrong. The co-workers and meeting topics are almost always more stressful than children because I can't yell at them and tell them "because I say so" - sure the food is good the cocktails are nice – but I hate hotels unlike him, never sleep well. These trips are exhausting.

However, this week I had a pleasant surprise. This time things got changed up a little. I didn't overbook my time. I left at a comfortable time, I had plenty of time to do the things I needed to do. Instead of dinner with co-workers I went off and did something else on my own (to be blogged about shortly) and then – wait for it – slept so soundly that I overslept the next morning. I OVERSLEPT! I barely sleep in hotels, much less oversleep. I woke up at 8:30 on Thursday morning and felt like a million dollars. I can't think of the last time I slept so well. I forgot sleep could be like that. It rocked.

This one definitely qualified as a field trip.