Tuesday, September 03, 2002

...and while I'm on the subject, when I returned the skippy Artificial Intelligence to the video store yesterday, a cockroach ran across the counter. I've seen cockroaches before and it ain't no big deal as long as they ain't in my kitchen, so I points at it and say, "Look's like the cast of Joe's Apartment is visiting here today...". Now, no illusions about that approaching great wit, it was simply an attempt to make light of a tacky situation so it could be handled before a serious customer walked in, you know, the kind who calls the Health Department and local paper and starts having chest pains. And, even though it was Labor Day, a shitty day to have to work, this guy was workin' in a video store, like Quentin Tarantino got started in, so the film reference shouldn't be that far outside, maybe not even to a dishwasher repairman. So what's he do? He picks up the Swingline Stapler, with no apparent appreciation of that item's near-mystical status from Office Space and just squashes that sample of potentially post-nuclear DNA into nothing but a grainy puddle of goo resembling the original primordial one. Whack. Says nothing, then just grimaces. Where has our collective sense of humor gone? Has it too been squashed? Like I said, I'll check spelling tomorrow... 8:52:22 PM    comment []

It's my nature to stay positive, but it was more than upsetting tonight when I came home and found that my apartment dishwasher had not been replaced. You see, instead of just repairing it nearly three weeks ago when it began making that high-pitched screeching sound, the rePAIR-doods left a note saying they'd replace it "early next week". Okay, it's their dollar, replace or repair, their call. Every morning I move the cats, their litter box, their food (dry and wet), and their water to the computer room. Empty the dishwasher and remove all the appliances from the counter atop it to another shelf. Then, after a coupla days,  the manager calls me and says it will be "late this week". Okay, cool. This week and the better part of another pass, so I call and tell them that, being rather earthcentric. I had assumed 24-hour days and a basically Stonehenge-style 7-day week based upon visible planets but, hey, I'm open to other experiences, so what does a week mean to you? No apology. no humor response, just a report on how busy the repairmen have been. Okay, cool, but why did you call me and say "later this week" and not call me again and say "busy"? More excuses, then a firm committment for maybe Friday, but for sure Tuesday. I get home tonight and nothing had been touched. No phone messages - nothing. I call to complain. 45 minutes later, Dexter shows up, says "SAY WHAT?" in a voice certain to induce primate envy when I tell him that the problem is that the "tower" that rises during the wash cycle is sticking, then leaves because he has to "go back to the office". Guy #2 arrives 1 hour later, says Dexter's shift had ended, with the breaker to everything in my living room still off - and appears to do a decent job of installation whilst I retire to the bar for my two beers. Bravo. I open the new washer and notice the upper shelf is not deep enough for long-stem cheap wine glasses, and can only accomodate two trays from my American Harvester food dehydrator. Old one did four. Unacceptable. The old one is still outside so I measure and determine that the shelves are just deeper on the old one, that is farther beneath the rails, so I pops off the retainers and switch 'em. It fits! I'll check spelling on this tomorrow.   8:28:18 PM    comment []

George Breese is a hero to anyone who ever had problems with VIA chipsets, but even his first-rate tools could not rescue me last time I had a problem. I ended up getting an Intel board just to eliminate the crackling audio from an ATI AIW card, Soundblaster Audigy, and the VIA chipset. This time I think I'll get another board for the PC133 memory, other than go through all that again. IOW, no K7T Turbo2 if I can help it. Back to work and no new food today. Yesterday, I used the leftover drippings from batch II of the roasted tomatoes to paint the top of the leftover focaccia. Then I reheated it and cut into strips to share at work today. Good leftovers. A co-worker of Italian heritage told me he would recommend me for some honorary additional vowels in my last name. Dawn came by to pick up 6 bacon-wrapped filets, which weighed in at 2 pounds and 5 ounces. There were two per package, frozen, and one package needed resealing on the FoodSaver - and this time it took just fine. I really should have frozen the filets first, then sealed them. They keep their shape better that way.   5:08:18 PM    comment []