How to Deal with a Telemarketer

Are telemarketers a problem at your home? Despite being listed on the National Do Not Call List, they somehow still bug our house at the worst times. Here's what I would like to do with every one of them. (NOTE: there is some mild profanity - not safe for children if you want to avoid them hearing/using the "ass" word.) I can assure you that you will bust a gut. Here's the link:

http://howtoprankatelemarketer.ytmnd.com/

I hope you enjoy - and share your thought or other good telemarketer jokes/pranks in the comments section!

So Cute

Ava (almost 3 mos.) loves her pacifier. But she just discovered something else that works well too. None of our previous 3 kids really sucked their thumbs, so this is a rare picture indeed.

Snow Fort

This weekend, we received one of the largest snowfalls in the last 7-8 years. We got around 15" or so. With all the snow, we ended up with a big pile from clearing off the front porch. So being the super daddy I am, I decided to make it into a snow fort for the kids.

The inside is almost 5 feet wide and nearly 4 feet tall. The kids seemed to like it, and it was well worth the effort.

Places Work Takes Me: Omaha

There's a lot to like about Omaha. Personally, I find Omaha to be a bit of a hidden gem.

For starters, the airport is easily accessible. This applies on several fronts: the airport (aka Eppley Field) is easy to navigate, and security checkpoint lines are always short. Eppley Field is also VERY close to downtown Omaha, just a straight 2-3 mile jaunt south on Abbott Dr. gets you downtown in minutes. (San Diego also has an airport that is close to downtown - I wish more towns had this). The last thing I notice about the airport is that Eppley is apparently the "nation's cleanest airport." How do I know this, you ask? Well, the urinal cakes in the bathrooms tell me so. How could anyone argue with such an obvious fact while one is taking care of "bizzness" and urinating and the material that is reporting this?

Downtown Omaha is very clean, with a good mix of Old and New. The Historic Old Market has cobblestone streets and upscale restaurants and shops that are well worth the trip alone. Eating outside in the summers is a special treat. The skyline is dotted with old and new skyscapers. My favorite is the Union Pacific Railroad Center. It's only 3-4 years old, but it just gorgeous to drive past. Hopefully I'll get a tour of the place someday.

The greater Omaha area feels new and modern. This is definitely a city that is growing, and fast. Most of the shopping centers and office parks are relatively new and modern.

If you're dining in Omaha - you better get it's world famous steak. I've only had proper steak at one Omaha establishment, but it's a good one. You absolutely cannot go wrong at the Omaha Prime Steakhouse. I'm sure there are other good places, but it's hard to imagine any places having better atmosphere or steak than that. Another favorite stop of mine is a restaurant called Firebirds. It's a chain that currently has 10 restaurants, but they have exceptional BBQ ribs that come highly recommended. Oh, and we mustn't forget Charleston's simply for the reason that it provides the Sanidoor. Their food is exceptional for a chain as well.

We haven't been there, but I hear that Omaha has an exceptional zoo. Hopefully Nikki and the kids can tag along on a trip so we can all find out firsthand.

I apologize I have no snapshots of Omaha. I took the digital camera along so I could take a few pics, but but my perfect wife didn't put the memory card back into the camera. She's still perfect - I'm at fault for not checking to be sure everything was there that I needed.

BEST....GADGET....EVER!!!!

Those of you who know me, know I'm a a pretty good gadget freak. It takes a lot to get me REALLY excited about a new piece of technology, but what I am about to tell you is truly earth shattering.

I don't have any phobias, but the closest thing to a phobia I have is touching the handle on the bathroom door. I mean, have you seen how many guys take care of their "bizzness" and just walk straight out the door??? It's just outright gross.

So how is one to get around this dilemma? After all, I wash my hands, but now my clean hands must touch that nasty door handle to exit. Some of my solutions include grabbing the door with a paper towel in my hand and then tossing the towel as I walk out of the bathroom. However, this doesn't work in bathrooms that only have blow dryers. In those cases, I usually have to use my pinky the grab the handle. Gross to be sure, but at least my pinky doesn't touch my food. Another solution is to frequent restaurants where the bathroom door opens OUT so I can just lean on it with my shoulder or butt and not have to use my hands at all. (Our local TGI Fridays, my favorite national chain, has doors that open this way. TGI has some of the BEST burgers, BTW)

So anyway, I'm having a lunch meeting at Charleston's in Omaha today with a client, and excuse myself to go use the bathroom. I take care of my "bizzness," wash my hands, and notice a little panel on the wall where a light switch would be. It says "Sanidoor" and has instructions to wave your hand to open the door to exit.

This is the BEST solution EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why did it take so long for someone to come up with this idea? If you want to see a demo and some bad pictures, you can go to Sanidoor's website HERE.

Seriously, I would eat exclusively at restaurants who used Sanidoor since I like this product so much. Maybe I will buy stock too. :-)

The ironic thing is - I was so excited about this masterpiece - that I grabbed the door with my pinky out of glee as I left.

Where Work Takes Me: Green Bay

First of all, I must state I'm not a Packers fan. I'm not a Vikings fan, either. Frankly, I'm not of a football fan for that matter. So my opinions come to you totally unbiased. :-)

There's a lot to be said for this city. Admittedly, you have to be a Packer fan to make this a place to take the wife and kids - but even for a non-Packer fan - the mystique of the Packers is so powerful and dominating in this community, that you anyone who comes through here undoubtedly leaves with a sense of respect and appreciation for what it means here.

I've been visiting Green Bay for about 4.5 years now, and have been in the city at least a dozen times. The first thing I notice about Green Bay as I'm driving around, is that there is virtually no skyline. GB is not a big city (pop. ~125,000): the skyline is dotted mostly with smokestacks from all the paper and manufacturing mills. Oh, and the skyline is dotted with the lights that tower over Lambeau Field (perhaps you've heard of the place?) :-) To me, this epitomizes the city quite nicely: the smokestacks symbolize a hard work ethic and the looming lights of Lambeau Field represent what unites this community.

I've been to Lambeau Field 5-6 times now (see basic pic I took above). The Packers are a customer of mine from work, so I've been in the team offices (gorgeous ) and down in the lower levels by the locker rooms in their data center. That's all I'll say for now. Suffice it to say, I've never been to a game there though despite several promises to take me to one. Oh well, I guess a true fan would enjoy it better, and - I'd rather not deal with the cold anyway...

Here are a few other facts and favorites from my times there:
*On my first visit to Green Bay I got pulled over by a motorcyle cop in late October. It was one of those speed traps that drop from 45 mph to 30 mph. He nailed me right away going about 10 mph over. He asked me where I was going, and I mentioned the name of my client I was going to visit (NOT the Packers) - and he let me go. Why he let me go, I didn't ask - but why should I???? Perhaps my client has more clout than I'm aware of.
*Green Bay seems to have more sports bars than any city 10x it's size. Just the Packers-themed bars alone could give most cities a run for their money. The people there are certainly sports crazy, that's for sure.
*Blink, and you'll miss downtown Green Bay. There's not a whole lot to that part of the town.
*I have two favorite restaurants to visit when in the Green Bay area. Pasquale's in De Pere has the best brautwurst and sausages you've ever had, and their ribs and chili are good too. The food is Chicago-style but way better than anything I've had in Chicago.
*My other favorite restaurant in Green Bay is the Hinterland Brewery. This is an upscale restaurant in downtown Green Bay that serves chef-inspired meat and fish at reasonable prices. I took some clients there, and the food and service were some of the best I've ever had anywhere.

Blogs are for More than Venting

I was just reviewing my posts, and realized that most of them are negative in tone/nature. Sorry about that. When all is at peace and I don't have pictures of nasty drain pipes to share - you'll be the first to know. :-)

Until then, I'll keep reporting news of interest - but - will definitely work to ensure I have more positive posts as well.

Just Great: Hassles from another company - Honda (HONDA?????)

One of the blogs I read daily is Engadget.com (see link in column on the right), and they just reported that Honda fudged their odometers so that they showed nearly 4% MORE miles than the vehicle had actually driven.

Great! Of course, we just so happened to lease a 2004 Honda Odyssey from June 2004 to June 2006 and had to pay Honda ~$200 because we went over on our miles allowed on our lease. Here's to hoping we get all that dinero back asap.

Honda Overclocked Odometers

Vote - Who is worse: Sony or Comcast?

The blog Consumerist.com is having a poll today in their competition to see who did worse to their customers in the last year. You can guess who my vote is for... (although I don't care for Sony that much either). Be sure to read the comments at the bottom of the page. This one resonated with me particularly well.

KevinQ says:

I had to go with Comcast. Sony only hurts you if you want something from them. Comcast, however, is the only option in too many areas, and they can hurt you even if you don't want to give them your business.

02/19/07 12:38 PM


VOTE - Who is worse: Sony or Comcast?

One Step Forward in the Basement

Chad came over and we got a couple more walls up. Most of the downstairs bedroom is framed now. We will try to do most/all of the electrical in the next 2 weeks. After that we should be sheet-rocking...and then the end to bedroom and office construction will be in sight!

...and One Step Backword

so we got some more framing done in the basement this weekend, but that's not to say there weren't some (big) surprises along the way. I swear, this house has more crazy turns than any other I've known.

So plumber Jim (a friend we know through church) stopped by again Saturday morning to clean up some of the plumbing so Chad and I can finish framing. We decided it was best to replace the drain pipe coming into the basement from the kitchen upstairs since it was iron and showing signs of wear. That's not the surprise... What surprised us was when he disconnected the plumbing upstairs in the kitchen, and discovered the whole drain pipe was loose despite being set in a concrete slab in the basement.

So Jim thought we could go down a couple inches and fix it - and that's where the surprise came in. The pipe below the concrete was clogged and rotted so bad, that it was coming loose and Jim was pulling it out in small pieces. The pictures above give you an idea. Disgusting stuff.

So anyway, Jim had to spend the whole day at our house to get it fixed, but we're glad it was discovered now rather than after the basement was finished. The choice was painful but easy. Either pay more now, or pay a lot more (in time and money) later.

Here's a brief description of the 4 pics from Top to bottom: approx 6 foot wide holde in the floor (that's the new PVC pipe in it though), picture of nasty pipe fragment (that came out of MY house???), bottom two are of the finished work (that's my first concrete work, thank you very much...)

More anti- Wal-Mart Truths

I just got a tip from cousin (and brother-in-law) Dan about this article that compares Costco (a fave of mine - love their Polishes and Wild Berry Smoothies at their in-store restaurants) to Wal-Mart. You can guess who the winner is. Here is the link: Costco: The Anti Wal-Mart


For more of my thoughts on Wally World, read HERE

Please note: I'm not hostile toward Wal-Mart. I just strongly dislike shopping there and because of their company tactics and policies.

Comcast Rant: update

Picking up where I left off...Comcast had gone 30 hours without fixing my phone when they said it would be finally "fixed" within 24 hours after 5+ weeks of ongoing problems. So due to travel and other commitments, I had it on my "to do" list yesterday to call Qwest and sign up for their DSL service. I would then cancel Comcast services once Qwest was running.

At around 8:13am yesterday, Comcast called to say they had fixed the problem. After a quick test of my own, I discovered he was right. This creates an interesting dilemma.

So...should I stick with my promise of cancelling, or should I stay with Comcast and avoid future hassles? Post your comments to let me know. I'll share my decision later.

More Progress in the Basement

My cousin Chad came over to help on the basement today. I owe him big time. He works at least 10x faster and better than I could (or do). We got a late start, but a lot done in 6 hours. I need to get some electrical and plumbing stuff moved off the ceiling so we can finish framing the bedroom and office, but it's progress and that makes me (and Nikki) happy.

Here are the fruits of (mostly Chad's) labors.

Karsten

Now is as good a time as any to introduce my few (but loyal) readers to my children. I'll spare you all the bragging that is typical for most parents when it comes to talking about their kids. All that I will be sharing are cold, hard FACTS - - no bragging whatsoever.

Here are Karsten's stats:

NAME: Karsten
ALIASES: Karsey, buddy, KG
EDUCATION: Preschool - 3 years(graduated with honors), Kindergarten (present) attends a German Immersion Charter school
SIBLINGS: 3 sisters (really likes being the only boy so he gets lots of daddy time)
PARENTS: are the best (at least they try to be)
HOBBIES: Legos (TM), K'Nex (TM), Racquetball, Uno (TM), Checkers, work on projects with daddy, trucks and farm tractors
FAVORITE SPORTS: Racquetball, Basketball, Soccer, Swimming,
FAVORITE ATHLETE: Kevin Garnett
FAVORITE FOODS: donuts, bread with Nutella (TM) on it
FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR: chocolate
FAVORITE SUBJECT: music
FAVORITE TV SHOWS: Krypto the Superdog (TM), Dirty Jobs (TM)
FAVORITE MOVIES: Cars (TM), Auto B Good series (TM)
FAVORITE BOOKS: any book with trucks and cars, War and Peace by Tolstoy
FAVORITE CHORE: working in the basement with daddy.

What's up with our downstairs

So we're trying to finish our basement. This very well could be the bane of my existence, but I'm hoping it doesn't get the best of me.

We moved into our current home in June 2003. Our reasons for moving were:
a. our old house was too small
b. said house only had 2 bedrooms
c. neither the lot or the neighborhood justified us adding more living space.

So we decided to move and found our current house on the perfect street on a perfect lot for us that was well within our range. The house is about the same square footage as our last house, but has an unfinished basement that allows us to nearly double our living space. Our plan was to finish the basement and then put an addtion on the house at some point in the future. Our present home also has just 2 bedrooms right now.

When we moved into our current house, only having 2 bedrooms wasn't a big deal. Karsten was close to 3 years old, and Kiera was only 9 months. Two bedrooms was very manageable then. Today we have SIX people sleeping in the same 2 bedrooms.

So here's my predicament: I've procrastinated. There, I admit it. Now because of this I have share a bedroom with 3 ladies: my wife, Teagan (sleeps in crib) and Avalyn (wherever is nearby and available and safe for a newborn to sleep). This arrangement cramps my style and doesn't make for ideal arrangements for anybody else at our house either.

Over the last few months progress has been made. Egress windows have been put in, most of the plumbing is done, demo of closets and a few interior walls has been checked off my list.

This weekend we begin framing. My cousin owns a framing company, and he's offered to help out. I bought the materials last night (dang, metal studs are NOT cheap.)

I'm hoping to have everything done by end of March.

Emphasis on hope...

More details, pictures, and updates to follow.

Where are the pictures??

Yes, I'm planning to add pictures to posts and hope to do so in the next few days. I'll be sure to put a few of the kids for you to ogle as well. :-)

Comcast Rant

Normally I'm not the sort of person who likes to stick it to the man (save for my firm dislike for Wal-Mart, but that's another post perhaps), but Comcast is about to be added to my dubious list.

I've been a Comcast high speed internet customer for 5+ years. I've also had their local phone service for about the same amount of time. Overall they are good - when I have service problems or billing questions, I never have to wait long, and the people in the call centers are first rate.

But for the last 2 months, there have been all sorts of issues. They offered me a better rate and easier billing if I upgraded to their VOIP phone service. Only when I changed service did my Comcast problems happen:

There were all kinds of hidden costs and fees I wasn't told about,

the low rate I was quoted wasn't the rate I actually got,

my internet service instantly got slower/locked up both laptops at our house,

call quality was bad - friends said we sounded robotic,

online VOIP features weren't available when the service switched,

when online features finally became available, they were far inferior to AT&T

and the one that they still can't fix: all my incoming calls are still going to my AT&T service, yet all my outbound calls are made on Comcast's service

These service problems have been going on for 5 weeks now. I estimate I have spent over 20 hours of my time trying to get Comcast to resolve these issues. To be sure, they've made progress, but the inbound calls still going to AT&T annoys the crap out of me. It's one of the most basic aspects of phone service, and to think they can't get it right amazes me. I'm surprised these poor people in the call centers don't know me by name. (maybe they do...)

So I called Comcast again today (after being told last night that I had to call during business hours to get the group that could "finally" resolve my problem. The agent said she would create a new trouble ticket. I asked her how many open tickets I already had, and then said that I've been complaining about this problem for weeks, and she need to open ANOTHER one?

Basically, the agent said it "should" be resolved within 24 hours. I told her that if it's not, then Comcast lost another customer. The bad news is that my only other option is Qwest DSL...perhaps more harrowing tales will follow. Check back for updates.

Edit: 30+ hours later...still not fixed. I don't have time to switch to Qwest, but it looks like that's what I will be doing.

Everyone always talks about the weather, but never seems to do anything about it.

First off, that title is a quote from Carl Sandburg. I don't know why I thought of it since I'm not the type to spout out random quotes from literary giants, but it came to mind - so why not let the opportunity go to waste.

This is now uncharted territory. Two posts on a blog - and in one day no less. So I thought I share what's happened regarding the weather here in MN. While most Minnesotans pride ourselves in being hearty and dealing with harsh winters, this past weekend was a doozy. It never got above 0 degrees, and the overnight lows got into the upper negative teens. Add another negative 20 degrees or so for wind chill, and it's pretty darn cold.

Now, normally I wouldn't make these types of posts about the weather (so now you don't have worry about boredom on future posts), but today we learned about a new problem in our house that the winter has caused. It started Saturday morning when we went to empty the dishwasher which we had run overnight. When we opened it up, the bottom was filled with water. I thought the drain might be clogged, so I did some disassembling without finding any culprits. I suspected it might be the pump, but didn't want to tackle that problem. Well, today I was asked to pick up Karsten from Kindergarten and Kiera from pre-school so that Nikki could try to get to work by 4pm. I got home to a crying infant (Avalyn) and an 19-month-old (Teagan) who had just awakened from a nap and had a leaky diaper that went through her whole outfit. Oh, and Nikki was coming upstairs to say there was water on the floor in the laundry room. I didn't even get to kiss Nikki she went out the door so fast.

So I called our plumber (a friend from church, Jim Morrison - give him a call) since it seemed to be a sewer line back-up. They recommended a different friend that did that kind of work, who came over a couple hours later. After an hour of trying to snake the line, he couldn't get it unclogged. The nice technician (Paul Olsen, from a one-guy company named Alpha Plumbing) said he thought the line was frozen or collapsed. We're hoping it's the former.

Paul recommended that we call Viking Sewer and Drain since they had cameras they could run through the line, and also have a steam system to melt any frozen areas. I called them at 9pm and got a busy call center, followed by a return call from a technician within 5 mins. They are coming tomorrow afternoon (since they can't get any more hot water tonight - scary thought) at a fee of at least $350. Crap. I hope our tax refund is bigger than expected. More updates later.

Update: $435 later and 3 companies later, we now have an unclogged sewer line. The guy that got it unblocked said there was 15 feet of frozen "stuff" in there. Maybe that $435 wasn't such a bad deal after all... Now we can start saving to fix the dishwasher (or get a new one if that may be cheaper.)

First post: (again)

I have started several blogs in the past, and don't recall making a second post on any of them. While I consider myself to be fairly competent at following through on my commitments, this blogging thing has escaped my abilities.

Perhaps my chosen name "What Little Free Time I Have" will directly predestine this blog to the afterlife (whether blog heaven or blog hell you can decide).

Time is fleeting, and since I have: 1 amazing wife, 4 beautiful children, a job that requires that I travel extensively throughout the week, and several commitments in our community and church, Time is limited indeed. Case in point, my basement that took 3+ years to begin renovating, and shows only nominal signs of progress.

So I have a few reasons for starting a new blog:

• a way to keep in contact with my wife and children, and them to keep in contact with me while I'm traveling. Since I travel, I figure it would be nice for them to see a lot of what I see throughout the week. While cities like St. Louis, Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines, and Green Bay may not be at the top of most people's "must see" vacation spots, there is a lot to see and do that I've come to appreciate and enjoy throughout my travels.
• a way for me to update my extended family on my goings-on. Ask my parents or brother how good I am at emailing or calling, and they will probably pause a while to think of a kind answer about my communication habits.
• a way to keep in contact with my friends. (hopefully no explanation is necessary.)
• a way to remain in contact with my clients. I'm almost through reading Keith Ferrazzi's Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success One Relationship at a Time. This is a highly recommend book, especially for one who doesn't do a good job of keeping in contact with friends and relatives. One of the things Ferrazzi recommends is opening your personal life up to your existing and prospective clients, so maybe this blog will see some traffic in that regard.
• a way to record what's going on in my life - for myself. Admittedly, my memory is failing as I find myself firmly in my 30's. I used to pride myself on having the hymns in church memorized (even some of the harmonies) as well as most the songs of MTV's video playlist in the late 80's (think Milli Vanilli - which I'm GLAD I can forget). Hopefully this blog will serve as a "this is your life" at some point in the future.

So there you have it. Are these enough reasons to post a second time? My limited time will tell. Leave a comment if you have any thoughts - or to leave me some encouragement to follow up with uncharted territory...the second post.