The Children's Place Coupons
15% off SBS15 (valid 1/21/05-2/21/05)*
20% off BCNP15 (valid ?)
*We have a physical, reusable card that works for 15% off in-store. Used it yesterday at the outlet.
« December 2004 | Main | February 2005 »
15% off SBS15 (valid 1/21/05-2/21/05)*
20% off BCNP15 (valid ?)
*We have a physical, reusable card that works for 15% off in-store. Used it yesterday at the outlet.
I added some links to "filler" websites - those that list cheap stuff at various sites (used to pad orders to meet coupon and/or free shipping minimums) - to the "links" section on the left. For your convenience, I've listed them here as well:
Amazon Yellow Pages/A9/eStara is offering free phone calls to any number listed in their business yellow pages. Just find the business you're interested in calling (by entering the appropriate Yellow Pages category and the city), then click the yellow 'Click to Call Business' button. After entering your phone number, you will immediately get a phone call connecting you to the business.
I hate ice. It's a new development. I never had much feeling for ice - positive or negative. But now I hate ice, and here's why:
This morning, when I went to leave, my car wouldn't budge much. It wasn't frozen in place, but the snow/slush mixture of last night had turned to ice, and provided a nearly frictionless environment in which my wheels spun freely. After breaking the ice with my shovel (and breaking my shovel in the process), then breaking the ice with a hammer and increasing traction with towels under the tires, I finally got the car out of the spot after 45 minutes!
Forget rain. "Ice, ice, go away. DON'T come back another day...."
There will be an exemption from sales and use taxes for clothing and footwear, and items used to make or repair exempt clothing, costing less than $110 per item or pair, during a one-week exemption period beginning Monday, January 31, 2005, through Sunday, February 6, 2005. For a detailed explanation of the exemption see TSB-M-04(9)S, Temporary Sales and Use Tax Exemption of Clothing, Footwear, and Items Used to Make or Repair Exempt Clothing (One-week exemption period - January 31, 2005, through February 6, 2005).
The exemption will apply to the State's 4¼ % sales and use taxes. The exemption also applies to the ¼ % sales and use taxes imposed by the State in those portions of the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (MCTD) located in a county or city in the MCTD which elected the exemption from its own local tax. The MCTD consists of New York City and the counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester.
Clothing and footwear remain subject to county, city and MCTD taxes at the rate indicated for those counties and cities.
Well, I finally got around to hooking up the Packet8 VOIP. Once properly configured, the voice quality was pretty much fine, but there was one main problem. Due to the longer than normal route that the data has to travel, there is a lag (similar to that often found during international calls and on some cell phone calls). This caused two negative results:
1) If two people are on the same line in each other's vicinity (e.g. same room), both phones pick up either person's voice, but the pick-up from the second phone is heard as an echo by both parties. This can be solved by being in separate rooms.
2) Normal conversation flow is disrupted. If you try to enter a dialog at a natural point, you end up cutting someone off a moment later instead.
I don't know that we'll ever grow to like this, but if we can become accustomed to it enough, we may embrace. Time will tell.
The copier at work broke down. It was jamming, a lot. Always in the same place. I opened it up, inspected things, and discovered two problems. A horizontal bar was missing a pin the held in place, and probably because of that, another plastic piece, designed to hold a spring, broke. Without the string in place, paper guides were no longer held out of the way of the paper, causing the jams. Using a rubber band, I was able to temporarily replace the need for the spring, and the copier worked well enough until the repair guy came. He didn't have the parts we needed, so he further MacGyuvered it with a soldering iron - creating a temporary notch to which he could attach the spring. It doesn't work any better than my rubber band trick, but it made him feel better.
I'm always interested in how people find their way to my blog. Of late, I noticed some new sources. Somehow my blog has been listed on Syndic8, and someone found me by searching for juggle. MSN's search has discovered my blog, and I've been getting lots of hits from them.
But you really know you've made it when you get linked to by Russian websites. In this case, it was a site dealing with the famed E18 error. It seems they went to the effort of taking apart an A70 to clean it.
MyWebEx PC is offering a free remote access software package. It looks interesting, and I gave it a try. Installation went fine, but when I tried to connect, I was unable to.*
Initially the account is set up as their fancy version, which is only free through April. At that point you'll have a chance to switch to the free version.
UPDATE: Reader Lippy informs me that he recommends VNC and Exceed. Given the opportunity, I'll give them a try.
*UPDATE 2: I tried accessing my computer from home, and it went fine. It ran a little slower than I hoped, but not slower than I expected.
I finally got around to hooking myself up to the broadband connection. Haven't hooked up router #2 yet, so I can't connect the VOIP box yet, but I'll do that soon.
I got an email from Alan Hess, who claims to be the original author of a "joke" I have on my website, If Airlines Sold Paint. He states, "I would only ask that you include proper citation so that I do not further lose control." Sure, Alan, when I get around to it. Of course the version that I have on my website may be far enough removed from the "original" that the point may be moot. His email:
Dear David,
I am the author of a copyrighted article entitled If Airlines Sold Paint, which was first published in Travel Weekly in October of 1998. If you would like a copy of the original article, I would be happy to send it to you; just respond with your mailing address.
Since that time, the article has been widely circulated on the Internet, without any citation of authorship. I am flattered that you like my article well enough to include in your website. When I have been asked for permission to print it in various publications, I have freely given that permission.
I do not object to you publishing it. I would only ask that you include proper citation so that I do not further lose control.
If you wish to continue to use the article, please include the following citation with the article:
Printed with permission. Copyright Alan H. Hess, 1998. All rights reserved.
Thank you,
Alan Hess
The following is the correct text of Paint article:
If airlines sold paint
Buying paint from a hardware store
Customer: Hi, how much is your paint?
Clerk: We have regular quality for $12 a gallon and premium for $18. How many gallons would you like?
Customer: Five gallons of regular quality, please.
Clerk: Great. That will be $60 plus tax.
Buying paint from an airline
Customer: Hi, how much is your paint?
Clerk: Well, sir, that all depends.
Customer Depends on what?
Clerk: Well, actually a lot of things.
Customer: How about just giving me an average price?
Clerk: Wow, that’s just too hard a question. The lowest price is $9 a gallon, and we have 150 prices up to about $200 a gallon.
Customer: What’s the difference in the paint?
Clerk: Oh, there isn't any difference; it’s all the same paint.
Customer: Well then, I’d like some of that $9 paint.
Clerk: Well, first I need to ask you a few questions. When do you intend to use it?
Customer: I want to paint tomorrow on my day off.
Clerk: Sir, the paint for tomorrow is the $200 paint.
Customer: What? When would I have to paint in order to get the $9 version?
Clerk: That would be in three weeks, but you will also have to agree to start painting before Friday of that week and continue painting until at least Sunday.
Customer: You've got to be kidding!
Clerk: Sir, we don’t kid around here. Of course, I’ll have to check to see if we have any of that paint available before I can sell it to you.
Customer: What do you mean check to see if you can sell it to me? You have shelves full of the stuff; I can see it right there.
Clerk: Just because you can see it doesn't mean that we have it. It may be the same paint, but we only sell a certain number of gallons on any given weekend. Oh, and by the way, the price just went to $12.
Customer: What! You mean the price just went up while we were talking!
Clerk: Yes sir. You see, we change prices and rules thousands of times a day, and since you haven’t actually walked out the store with your paint yet, we just decided to change. Unless you want the same thing to happen again, I would suggest that you get on with your purchase. How many gallons do you want?
Customer: I don’t know exactly. Maybe five gallons. Maybe I should buy six gallons just to make sure I have enough.
Clerk: Oh no, sir, you can’t do that. If you buy the paint and then don’t use it, you will be liable for penalties and possible confiscation of the paint you already have.
Customer: What?
Clerk: That’s right. We can sell you enough paint to do your kitchen, bathroom, hall, and north bedroom, but if you stop painting before you do the bedroom, you will be in violation of our tariffs.
Customer: But what does it matter to you whether I use all the paint? I already paid you for it!
Clerk: Sir, there’s no point in getting upset; that’s just the way it is. We make plans based upon the idea that you will use all the paint, and when you don’t, it just causes us all sorts of problems.
Customer: This is crazy! I suppose something terrible will happen if I don’t keep painting until after Saturday night!
Clerk: Yes, sir, it will.
Customer: Well, that does it! I’m going somewhere else to buy my paint.
Clerk: That won’t do you any good, sir. We all have the same rules. Oh, and thanks for flying – I mean painting – with our airline.
Copyright Alan H. Hess, 1998. All rights reserved.
Surging into the modern era, we are in the process of getting broadband and VOIP. For the broadband, we're getting an Earthlink cable modem, and for VOIP we're using Packet8. I did some network wiring for my parents (during the recent trip) and now for home, and found a handy diagram (mirror) to keep track of the pin order. NOTE: While normally you want to wire both ends of a cable the same, to create a crossover cable, terminate one end as T-568B and the other T-568A.
Staples has a whole load of stuff for sale, cheap! (Available by phone/online only, not in-store.)
112284-VA $0.49 Swingline Standard Staples single pack
117762-T9 $0.49 Globe-Weis Tab Inserts, White, 2", 100/Pack
117788-T9 $0.49 Globe-Weis Tab Inserts, White, 3-1/2", 100/Pack
130575-VA $0.49 Staples Handheld 3/4" Tape Dispenser
160788-VA $0.49 Staples Envelope Moistener
327694-VA $0.49 Staples #2 Yellow Pencils, Dozen
458232-VA $0.49 Staples Letter Opener
458240-T9 $0.49 Staples Liquid Sticks, 2/Pack
895096-T9 $0.49 Oxford Clear-Front Report Cover, Green
895104-T9 $0.49 Oxford Clear-Front Report Cover, Burgundy
898348-T9 $0.49 Oxford Clear-Front Report Cover, Light Blue
898355-VA $0.49 Oxford Clear-Front Report Cover, Black
898710-T9 $0.49 Oxford Clear-Front Report Cover, Dark Blue
271031-VA $0.49 Staples Pink Wedge Eraser
603688-VA $0.49 Foam Hot Cups, 8-oz, 25/Pack
516054-VA $0.49 Alliance Big Bands Rubber Bands, 12/Pack
246199-VA $0.49 Staples Small Magnetic-Clip Dispenser with 50 Clips
831602-LE $0.94 Staples Metal Binder Clips, 24-pack
112276-LE $0.94 Standard Staples 5 boxes
419044-LE $0.94 Bic White-Out Correction Fluid, 3-pack
163865-LE $0.94 Staples Perforated Pads, 8.5"x11.75" 12-pack
480112-LE $0.94 Staples Gold Paper Clips 2" Jumbo, 100-pack
130674-LE $0.94 Staples Desktop Tape Dispenser 1" core
449768-LE $0.94 Sharpie Industrial Fine-Point Permanent Markers, 3-pack
363160-LE $0.94 Alliance Rubber Bands, 600 in a bag
650499-LE $0.94 Staples Anchor Pen, on 24" Chain
382241-LE $0.94 Bic Round Stic Ballpoint Pens, 12-pack
412783-LE $0.94 Staples Pen-Style Highlighters, Multi color 6-pack
117796-LE $0.94 Globe-Weis Insertable Tabs 2" Clear Tabs, 25-pack
122051-LE $0.94 Staples Index Card File, holds 250 3"x5" cards
121715-LE $0.94 Staples Plastic Clipboard, 9"x12.5" smoke color
334641-LE $0.94 Staples Washable Glue Sticks, 4-pack
153866-LE $0.94 Avery Big Tab Insertable Dividers with Buff Paper
166322-LE $0.94 Avery Reinforcements for Hole-Punch Pages, 200-pack
831602-LE $0.99 Staples Metal Binder Clips 24/Pack
112276-LE $0.99 Staples Standard Staples 5 boxes
419044-LE $0.99 Bic Whit-Out Correction Fluid 3/Pack
520064-LE $0.99 Avery 1" View binder, White
163865-LE $0.99 Staples Perforated Pads 8.5" x 11.75" 12/Pack
480112-LE $0.99 Staples Gold Paper Clips 2" Jumbo 100/Pack
130674-LE $0.99 Staples Desktop Tape Dispenser 1" core
449768-LE $0.99 Sharpie Industrial Fine-Point Permanent Markers 3/Pack
363160-LE $0.99 Alliance Rubber Bands 600/Bag
650499-LE $0.99 Staples Anchor Pen on 24" Chain
382241-LE $0.99 Bic Round Stic Ballpoint Pens Dozen
412783-LE $0.99 Staples Pen-Style Hignlighters Multi color 6/Pack
117796-LE $0.99 Globe-Weis Insertable Tabs 2" Clear Tabs 25/Pack
122051-LE $0.99 Staples Index Card Files, holds 250, 3"x5" cards
121715-LE $0.99 Staples Plastic Clipboard 9"x12.5" Smoke Color
334641-LE $0.99 Staples Washable Glue Sticks 4/Pack
153866-LE $0.99 Avery Big Tab Insertable Dividers with Buff Paper 8-Tab Set, multicolor
166322-LE $0.99 Avery Reinforcements for Hole-Punch Pages 200/Box
If you've been worried, don't be. I'm alive! Just really busy since getting back from vacation in California. More posts to come!
Often times people think that DVD technology has advanced so far that DVDs don't need to be rewound. However, as a general service to the community, I'd like to remind everyone to rewind. If you have don't want to damage your DVD player, buy a separate rewinder, such as this one.
Too many DVDs, and CDs and not enough time to rewind? Are your DVDs running a bit too slow? The DVD rewinder is the perfect solution! This novelty rewinder comes with the exclusive Centriptal Velocity Spindle providing the world's fastest DVD rewind!
The DVD Rewinder is a great gift for the technical savvy, the couch potato, teens with too much time on their hands, and the gadget buff! Novelty for you or gag gift for a friend.
The DVD Rewinder has a great black and fluorescent green color scheme with high tech styling! The DVD Rewinder will spin discs backwards and plays a 'rewind' sound. You can also record your own 'rewind' sound which provides unending possibilities. For the tech hip, the DVD Rewinder also has an additional MP3 port and plays a separate 'rewind' sound. Rewind all types of disc media DVDs, CDs, and Console Games. But not just novelty, the DVD Rewinder has utility. It has a built in compartment that holds a disc cleaner. This compartment can be used to hold the cleaner, loose couch change, tooth picks, keys or other small items. A truly unique product with a truly unique design!
The DVD Rewinder requires (1) 9V battery.
Reviews:
by David Elswick Date Added: 12/24/2004
Best invention I've seen since solar-powered flashlights
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]
by William Tepley Date Added: 12/12/2004
Man is this thing way cool! It was just the perfect gift for my techno-gadget boss. You should have ..
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]
by Louise Gilpatric Date Added: 12/09/2004
This is nuts! Does this really exist??? I didn't think CD's could be rewinded.......crazy, man...
Rating: [3 of 5 Stars]
by Douglas Wimsatt Date Added: 12/01/2004
Needs a ludicrous sped switch(HA HA HA!).Frighteningly entertaining!
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]
by DvD Rewinder Date Added: 11/21/2004
MAn.. i bought 16 of these for my family and friends, these things work like a charm, when i'm lazy..
Rating: [5 of 5 Stars]
Sometime in the last day or so this blog surpassed 20,000 visits! (My counter only stores info on the latest 100, and as of this post there are 20,132, so I don't know who #20,000 was.)
When you go to the zoo, you expect to see all kinds of wild animals, but you don't expect to have any direct contact or interaction with them, other than in the petting zoo. This was not the case for us.
Alerted by other zoo-goers, we discovered that our diaper bag had been broken into - the zipper ripped off and the bag chewed open. The zip-locked Cheerios were strewn about. We had been attacked by wild animals. As we began to piece the details together, we found that 3 animals had worked together. A complaint with the zoo returned information that this was not the first time these animals had attacked. We're still in negotiations to determine if any reimbursement will be in order. (We hope so.)
What were the animals, you wonder? Squirrels. Pictures to follow.
I've now hit the $5,000 in Rebates mark:
Rebate Meter
Outstanding: $569.92 (21)
Received: $4,570.30 (217)
Total: $5,140.22 (238)
In today's mail:
Notice of Service Termination
Your AOL Account Is About To Be Terminated!
Uh, finally!
I logged into FW tonight to be greeted by the following message:
Congratulations! You are a winner in the following FatWallet.com contest: FatWallet.com Holidy T-Shirt Giveaway. To claim your prize please please enter your shipping address at the following url: http://www.fatwallet.com/redeem.php?contest=1 Thanks for playing! =)
The "Holidy" typo is theirs.
As a kid I was always amazed that if looked at the general population of kids, there were plenty of stupid kids, but that if you looked at adults, they all seemed to have gotten their acts together (with a few random exceptions). However, recent events have led me to realize that I was mistaken.
I got a call from someone encountering a problem downloading a form. On our website we have instructions for resolving the problem. One solution consists of clicking the "Cancel" button on the dialog box that appears, and to clarify this there is a copy of the dialog box on the explanatory webpage. Said caller told me she was clicking "Cancel" but nothing was happening.
I paid her a visit and she showed me her computer. Much to my surprise I discovered that she had found the portion of our website explaining how to fix the problem. (And of course I wondered why she wasn't able to fix the problem.) I asked her to show me the problem, and she proceeded to click on the "Cancel" button ... on the image!
Barely managing to restrain my laughter, I calmly explained that she was clicking on an image, and to solve the problem she had to click on the actual dialog box.
On my way back to my office (10th floor) I waited for the elevator (on the 2nd floor). When it arrived, a gentleman started to walk out, only to realize that it wasn't his floor. Fine, I thought, he must be getting off on the 3rd or 4th floor, easy mistake. But no, he was getting off on the 11th floor. Buddy, in case you hadn't realized, we don't have supersonic elevators here! How fast do you think they go?
Who knew that so many people were so dumb!?
After not hearing back from Frank (who had claimed the check had been sent), I called again and left a strongly worded message. Of course Frank never called back, but I did eventually reach him and he promised I'd have the check, which hadn't been issued yet after all, by Christmas. In case you didn't notice, Christmas came and went, yet the check never arrived. Having zero trust in Frank at this point, I decided that before filing a law suit I would move up the ladder of his company, called the executive offices and asked to speak to his superior. "John" was on vacation (I called Thursday before New Years), so I left him a long message describing the history and threatening a law suit if the matter wasn't resolved ASAP. I didn't have a chance to call back until Tuesday, and though John was in the office, he was in a meeting. However his secretary did a little investigating and found out that Frank had reported to John that the check had been mailed on Monday. I guess John took my law suit threat a little more seriously than did Frank.
As you probably guessed by the title, the check arrived Wednesday!
Ever since they messed with me, I jump at the chance to squeeze OM. Courtesy of FW, the opportunity presented itself today. The basis for the deal was the availability of a $40 off $250 coupon and a "free" OM CD (for which they charge and credit $15).
Adding the following two items to one's cart...
#20807511, Peachtree Accounting 2005 Software $164.98
#20849744, Intuit TurboTax Multi-State for Tax Year 2004 Software $29.95
... causes the Free CD to be added as well:
#20865155, FREE OfficeMax Rubberband Man CD $15.00
At this point you can easily add the $40 of $200 and check out.
$164.98 + $29.95 + $15.00 = $209.93 - $15 (CD Instant Credit) - $40 (coupon) = $154.93 + $13.41 (tax) - $165 MIR (Peachtree) - $30 MIR (TurboTax) = -$26.66. To make things sweeter, 3.3% FatCash (questionable because of coupon use) would provide another $6.93 and there's an "upgrade" rebate for Peachtree that might be feasible, for another $30, or a total of up to $63.59 profit!
As per an FW thread, I discovered that there was a good deal to be had on the Belkin F5D7230-4 Wireless-G Broadband Router (#504004). At the time it was $54.94, with an advertised rebate of $30. However, two other rebates ($20 each) were also existent, and I applied for all 3. Today the $30 rebate arrived and I checked the status of the other two. One was already mailed and the other is approved. That's an extra $10 in my pocket (after tax).
I finally got around to calling MBNA to alert them of their possible error. I decided before I called that I would give them 5 minutes of my time. I called at 10:23 pm, and when the clock hit 10:29 and the line was not picked up, I hung up. I had gotten a "heavy call volume" recording, which I have gotten just about every time I've called in the last several months. I guess MBNA's days of answering the phone quickly are over.
I recently received another AOL cancellation confirmation letter. Funny thing about these letters is they don't reference an account number, so I have no idea if this is a duplicate letter or not. Regardless, they claim that I contacted them on 12/8, and that they honored my 12/8 request to cancel. That's funny, I haven't called them since way back in early November, when I cancelled for the second time.
I changed a neighbor's tire late Monday night.
