Random Thoughts That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread Go Here

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I need to go to the dentist. I am super-afraid of the dentist. It's been a very long time since I was at the dentist, so even if I didn't have something I think is wrong, it would suck.

And I'm allergic to Valium. Why oh why can't they just knock me out for this stuff.

/tk

I've never been to a dentist regularly. Growing up we didn't and just never adopted the habit.
I've been a few times, (for a broken tooth and later a root canal) wasn't a huge thing for me, that said I'm not sure how common this is, but there is a place in Charlotte that blows the radio up about "sedation dentistry" (like 50 commercials a day for the past 5 years) they mention and have testimonials for exactly what you describe... Including one where the dentist says "everyone says 'just knock me out' so that's what we do".

Don't know how prevalent the idea is but thought it was worth mentioning.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I need to go to the dentist. I am super-afraid of the dentist. It's been a very long time since I was at the dentist, so even if I didn't have something I think is wrong, it would suck.

And I'm allergic to Valium. Why oh why can't they just knock me out for this stuff.

I googled "gentle dentist" + my hometown and found a place nearby. I used that phrase b/c it seemed the buzzword for that type of place in a couple different radio ads i'd heard. I've needed a number of fillings over the last couple years and hadn't seen a dentist in 7 or 8 years b/c of a crippling fear of them. This has worked out as well as anything possibly could I think.

I get nitrous for everything, though I think my next cleaning I'm going to brave it without it b/c I just feel silly about that at this point. When I first started going it was sadly 100% necessary for me to not have a panic attack even with a normal cleaning. Any fillings or anything else though, I can't do it w/o nitrous. I'm extremely resistant to Novocaine and frequently need 2 or 3 extra shots to not be able to feel it, without the nitrous I'd be an absolute wreck.

They also will offer me lorazepam (ativan) if I want it, but if I take that I have to have someone else drive me home. For the biggest work I had done at the very start I did this but haven't felt the need for it since. Ativan is in the same family as valium though, so I dunno if you would be allergic to it or not.


Anyway, there are dentists out there that will absolutely understand and cater to the fact that you have a crippling fear of dentists, while doing good work at the same time.

[DougW]

Was at McDonalds yesterday, and while I was waiting in line a fella walked up with an order complaint.

He said (and I heard it clear as day, no misunderstandings here) : "I ordered a #7, without bacon and without cheese. This sandwich has both on it."

I was intrigued. I thought : "Hmm, I want a burger with bacon and cheese, let me have a look at this #7".

#7 ... Was called, a Bacon Cheeseburger. What the hell was this guy ordering ?

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by DougW

Was at McDonalds yesterday, and while I was waiting in line a fella walked up with an order complaint.

He said (and I heard it clear as day, no misunderstandings here) : "I ordered a #7, without bacon and without cheese. This sandwich has both on it."

I was intrigued. I thought : "Hmm, I want a burger with bacon and cheese, let me have a look at this #7".

#7 ... Was called, a Bacon Cheeseburger. What the hell was this guy ordering ?

I thought I had clicked on the Obama thread, and when I read this, I was expecting Obama to somehow be blamed for this at the end.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

I thought I had clicked on the Obama thread, and when I read this, I was expecting Obama to somehow be blamed for this at the end.

Oh, my bad, I didn't finish the story.

OK, then the cashier asks the customer if he had his Obama-meal card. Of course .... he didn't. He said he left it at home. The cashier told him, with no Obama-meal card she couldn't fix his order. That everyone had to take what they were given without the card.

Fortunately for the customer, he was well versed in the Obama-meal law. He replied .. "According to rule 3.207axTT, if I perform an Obama-dance or recite the Obama-song I am able to get my order fixed."

This was all some serious bull-shit to me, as now I had to wait super-long in line - while the cashier had to verify all this with the manager. Forty-five minutes later, they came back to tell him he was right (duh-of course .. who DOESN'T know this .. friggin McDonalds employees .. that's who ! .. Which is why they'll NEVER get their wage raised to the $15 they were looking for.)

Anyway, I'm rambling .. eventually, I decided on a Happy Meal .. needless to say though, I wasn't very "happy" with all these new Obama-laws !! Friggin Obama, messing up my Happy Meal ! Ass-hole.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by DougW

Oh, my bad, I didn't finish the story.

OK, then the cashier asks the customer if he had his Obama-meal card. Of course .... he didn't. He said he left it at home. The cashier told him, with no Obama-meal card she couldn't fix his order. That everyone had to take what they were given without the card.

Fortunately for the customer, he was well versed in the Obama-meal law. He replied .. "According to rule 3.207axTT, if I perform an Obama-dance or recite the Obama-song I am able to get my order fixed."

This was all some serious bull-shit to me, as now I had to wait super-long in line - while the cashier had to verify all this with the manager. Forty-five minutes later, they came back to tell him he was right (duh-of course .. who DOESN'T know this .. friggin McDonalds employees .. that's who ! .. Which is why they'll NEVER get their wage raised to the $15 they were looking for.)

Anyway, I'm rambling .. eventually, I decided on a Happy Meal .. needless to say though, I wasn't very "happy" with all these new Obama-laws !! Friggin Obama, messing up my Happy Meal ! Ass-hole.

What was the happy meal toy?

[DougW]

[MacroGuru]

So, surgery on 3/7, not happy, they are cutting me open no scope, why, because they found a second hernia today...I have 2, guess I was really fat and really out of shape.

[Ben E Lou]

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Awesome .. Except .. I always thought it was JD.

edit : (had to check fact. The article is right, it was JB)

[cartman]

I guess they are still awaiting the toxicology report on JB.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by cartman

I guess they are still awaiting the toxicology report on JB.

[Chief Rum]

I think I missed a reference over my head. What is the significance of this?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I think I missed a reference over my head. What is the significance of this?

This is particularly funny since you have "Where Hip Hop Lives" as your location.

It's a reference mainly from the 2nd verse of Eazy-E/NWA's classic "Boyz N Tha Hood"

Eazy-E – Boyz-N-The-Hood (remix) Lyrics | Rap Genius

[Ben E Lou]

(Backstory: I was reading a news article from the LA Times, that song popped into my head, and I was curious if anyone had ever done a fake headline based on it. Couldn't find one via Google, so I created one myself. Random.)

[Suicane75]

I'm re watching the 6th and 7th seasons of The West Wing and despite some silly things, CJ and Donna having jobs way out of their league, for instance, it's still a show that had a lot of legs. Kind of sad it sort just got pushed to the side.

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

I'm re watching the 6th and 7th seasons of The West Wing and despite some silly things, CJ and Donna having jobs way out of their league, for instance, it's still a show that had a lot of legs. Kind of sad it sort just got pushed to the side.

I don't feel like I can talk about that show unless I am in the process of walking somewhere

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

This is particularly funny since you have "Where Hip Hop Lives" as your location.

It's a reference mainly from the 2nd verse of Eazy-E/NWA's classic "Boyz N Tha Hood"

Eazy-E – Boyz-N-The-Hood (remix) Lyrics | Rap Genius

Awesome. Yeah, my location is there for irony.

[JonInMiddleGA]

(yeah, I pasted this from my Facebook status ... but it seems to qualify as a random thought unworthy of its own thread too)

Interesting day, as I've watched a young college student put more effort into some visual design work for a volunteer project than a lot of highly paid professionals put into their job on a regular basis. And despite a lack of any specific training for it, his output was every bit the equal of what they would have done. It was a real reminder just how important simply putting forth effort & caring about the quality of your work can be.

[rowech]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

(yeah, I pasted this from my Facebook status ... but it seems to qualify as a random thought unworthy of its own thread too)

Interesting day, as I've watched a young college student put more effort into some visual design work for a volunteer project than a lot of highly paid professionals put into their job on a regular basis. And despite a lack of any specific training for it, his output was every bit the equal of what they would have done. It was a real reminder just how important simply putting forth effort & caring about the quality of your work can be.

Furthermore, how good somebody's work typically is when you give them very loose guidelines instead of super stringent ones. Every time I assign projects, students want to see past projects, want me to tell them what to do, etc. I give them super loose guidelines and the work is always fantastic.

[cartman]

Sweet Jeebus.

I didn't realize that dishwashers need to be cleaned out. My dishes were sometimes getting this grit on them and I would have to wash them by hand after I got them out of the dishwasher.

So to the Googles I went, and got the instructions for getting things apart. DAMN! You'd think that something that has water and detergents constantly running through it would keep things clean. I can't believe I've been eating off of dishes that came out that thing.

I have all of the parts I removed now soaking in bleach, have soaked the inside of the thing with cleaning solution, and am now running a cycle on extra hot with vinegar and baking soda.

[stevew]

Yeah, it can get disgusting in there.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by rowech

Furthermore, how good somebody's work typically is when you give them very loose guidelines instead of super stringent ones. Every time I assign projects, students want to see past projects, want me to tell them what to do, etc. I give them super loose guidelines and the work is always fantastic.

+1 I made this mistake this year. Last year we did persuasive essays in a new format. I was loose with my instructions and the papers were some of the best I've had in teaching. This year, I used some examples from last year (covering topics not covered this year) to give this class ideas. The papers were disappointing.

[sterlingice]

I find this hard in a working environment, too. It's especially bad where I am at now. Every time a project or initiative needs to get off the ground, it starts with the question "how was the last one of these done" when it's not like there's a track record of great success.

SI

[sterlingice]

So what's the protocol for eBay and bad ratings? I don't want to give a bad rating. But I've got an item that shipper claims was delivered and that's the stance they're sticking with. Frankly, I suspect they're just a wholesaler for the supplier but what do I care: the price was reasonable but I think I paid a price on eBay, they took a $5 cut, and then ordered the item and sent it to me. I only mention this because it means there are more hands where it could have fallen through. I opened an eBay case and the item originally had the wrong tracking number. Then, after asking him what address it was delivered to, it had the wrong street number and city name. Finally, I get a different tracking number for my particular city but, like anything on UPS nowadays, all you can see is "item left at front door" and city name. Now, I doubt they're just pocketing the cash and making up fake tracking numbers (it's an ebay store with like 10k feedback). However, at the same time, the item was not left here and I'm out $60. And I'm not inclined to trust them as they've already botched the information twice.

Also, what the hell is up with UPS and FedEx in the last 5 or so years? They've gone from "gotta get a signature on everything" and "we'll do whatever you need" to randomly chucking packages wherever it's convenient and "hey? our shipping mistake to the wrong spot? well, cough up $12 and we'll redirect it". I swear, I feel safest if my stuff is delivered USPS now.

SI

[Logan]

While watching one of my favorite movies, Teen Wolf, for the 200th time, I realized that the most unrealistic part of it - and this is a movie where a teenage kid turns into a werewolf and becomes a basketball star - is that the opposing team doesn't let the one black guy on the court touch the ball until there's roughly 40 seconds left in the championship game being played between 9 other unathletic Midwestern white kids. I mean, that would just never happen

[Honolulu_Blue]

Of all the things I wish could happen to me in life, one of the top five would have to be a marionette or doll, though preferably a marionette, to come to life and try to murder me. Granted, there's a chance I would die, because those scary-ass things are sneaky and dangerous, but I can't think of many things that would feel better than having something like that trying to kill you and then kicking it across the room and thrashing it about in a blind, panic-induced rage.

Just thinking about it almost moves me to tears .

[stevew]

I'm like chickenshit scared of movies but I finally worked up enough courage to watch Saw and I gotta say it wasn't that bad.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

So what's the protocol for eBay and bad ratings? I don't want to give a bad rating. But I've got an item that shipper claims was delivered and that's the stance they're sticking with. Frankly, I suspect they're just a wholesaler for the supplier but what do I care: the price was reasonable but I think I paid a price on eBay, they took a $5 cut, and then ordered the item and sent it to me. I only mention this because it means there are more hands where it could have fallen through. I opened an eBay case and the item originally had the wrong tracking number. Then, after asking him what address it was delivered to, it had the wrong street number and city name. Finally, I get a different tracking number for my particular city but, like anything on UPS nowadays, all you can see is "item left at front door" and city name. Now, I doubt they're just pocketing the cash and making up fake tracking numbers (it's an ebay store with like 10k feedback). However, at the same time, the item was not left here and I'm out $60. And I'm not inclined to trust them as they've already botched the information twice.

Also, what the hell is up with UPS and FedEx in the last 5 or so years? They've gone from "gotta get a signature on everything" and "we'll do whatever you need" to randomly chucking packages wherever it's convenient and "hey? our shipping mistake to the wrong spot? well, cough up $12 and we'll redirect it". I swear, I feel safest if my stuff is delivered USPS now.

SI

First of all, how did you pay for it? Cash? Charge? PayPal? With the last two, you have some redress. If you paid with cash, then you just paid for a life lesson.

Secondly, you clearly send an email to the seller saying you have not received the product. Give them 24 hours to give you a working tracking number or you'll begin chargeback procedures and file a complaint with Ebay against the seller. You bought the item from them. If you don't have it, it's up to them to get it to you. The fact that they screwed up the tracking numbers works in your favor. It shows that they were at least confused and at worst scammers.

Third, you do it if they don't comply. And you give them a poor rating.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

First of all, how did you pay for it? Cash? Charge? PayPal? With the last two, you have some redress. If you paid with cash, then you just paid for a life lesson.

Secondly, you clearly send an email to the seller saying you have not received the product. Give them 24 hours to give you a working tracking number or you'll begin chargeback procedures and file a complaint with Ebay against the seller. You bought the item from them. If you don't have it, it's up to them to get it to you. The fact that they screwed up the tracking numbers works in your favor. It shows that they were at least confused and at worst scammers.

Third, you do it if they don't comply. And you give them a poor rating.

1) People pay for things on eBay in a manner other than PayPal? I guess it's possible...

2) They did send a second tracking number that showed the city I live in. It says it was supposedly delivered last week. On the other hand, I have no package so it wasn't delivered to me. We moved into this house only a few months ago and I've probably had at least a couple dozen, maybe as many as 50 packages, delivered in that time with no issues so it's probably not the case of a neighbor grabbing it or something.

I just went back and essentially said "look, you're a legit buyer and I'm a legit seller- you can see from our feedback that neither of us are trying to scam the other; but I'm out over $50 and have no item so I'd have to leave negative feedback if nothing is done and I think you'd do the same". We'll see what the response is.

SI

[PilotMan]

Have you considered opening a case with Paypal too? You might be able to get them to help you resolve the issue as well. I know that eBay and Paypal are the same company but I don't know if it covers both in this situation.

[sterlingice]

Ugh. Already got a response and, it's kindof an a-hole response.

It's basically "Have you checked around your house and yard? Have you checked with UPS? Oh, and threatening negative feedback is a violation of ebay policy so it will be removed".

C'mon, man- I didn't open a case with eBay because it's hiding in the bushes. I already did all that. I can call UPS and I'll do it to do my due diligence but I would think that's on the seller.

SI

[molson]

Open a case with the ebay resolution center. Anytime you get two different tracking numbers for a transaction, I'd say you have the inside track at coming out ahead. It is probably first worth seeing if you can get the actual address associated with the second tracking number that says something was delivered. If it's the wrong address, you win. If it's the correct address, then, somebody probably did steal it.

[sterlingice]

I'm not sure how this works. I've never had a "he said"/"she said" type of case like this. Frankly, I've only had a couple of negative eBay experiences and they turned out to be the sort of fly-by-night operations. However, this one, if you look at the order, it has 2 different tracking numbers attached to it and he claimed he was going to send it USPS and sent it UPS. I'd lean towards UPS error or stolen or whatever but this just seems like inattention to detail and I'm thinking they just botched the order.

Meanwhile, I'm out a pair of items I need for a vacation in a couple of weeks and in this limbo where I'm not sure whether to reorder or not (obviously from a different store) with time running out.

On top of that, it's frustrating because they seem like a legit store but I'm getting no customer service from their end and outright hostility instead when I started from a friendly and innocent posture.

SI

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by Logan

While watching one of my favorite movies, Teen Wolf, for the 200th time, I realized that the most unrealistic part of it - and this is a movie where a teenage kid turns into a werewolf and becomes a basketball star - is that the opposing team doesn't let the one black guy on the court touch the ball until there's roughly 40 seconds left in the championship game being played between 9 other unathletic Midwestern white kids. I mean, that would just never happen

Well, Lemonade commits a key turnover late in the game, so maybe it was good they didn't use him more. What I don't get is that Scott was guarding Mick, so the Dragons should've passed it in to Mick on every possession. Instead they kept passing to some shitty player that got blocked like 8 times by Mr. Perm.

[sterlingice]

So, I guess I'll ask the next question: what other actions should I take assuming UPS has nothing additional to add (safe assumption)?

It's already been charged to credit card via PayPal. I guess I could attempt to go the CC route and see if they have some sort of guarantee or payback in the fraud department. But if I'm Chase or Citi, I'm going to probably side with whatever eBay says.

What about PayPal? I assume they're going to be in lock step with eBay: If eBay says it was delivered, they'll claim it is legit.

What level of hassle does it get to? For instance, I like $50: it's a decent little chunk of money. On the other hand, I don't really want to run a significant risk of having my PayPal account or credit card suspended so I guess I value my access to eBay and my good feedback and any of my CCs at more than that.

I guess it's just frustrating in that I'm on the hook for all the time spent troubleshooting the issue while I'm running up against a deadline for needing the items ordered. And then, ultimately, I'll be out a decent chunk of change on top of that and there's pretty much nothing I can do- it's not like I'm going to stop buying things online entirely. Maybe I'll be a little more hesitant in the future but I thought I had insulated myself fairly well: only buy items that it's unlikely someone would try to scam. But, realistically, on my personal ledger, it gets lumped into the cost of doing business online: all those times I saved $10 or $20 from shopping online, here's a $50 loss to offset some of those gains. But, until that number is bigger than the money saved, I'll just keep doing it. It just serves as a reminder that as much as I hate going anywhere near the WalMart a couple of miles away, at least I know I will have the item in hand when I leave the store after exchanging money for it.

I guess now we've just reached the ranting/venting stage but if anyone has some advice on how to get the correct outcome from the system, I'm all ears.

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by molson

Open a case with the ebay resolution center. Anytime you get two different tracking numbers for a transaction, I'd say you have the inside track at coming out ahead. It is probably first worth seeing if you can get the actual address associated with the second tracking number that says something was delivered. If it's the wrong address, you win. If it's the correct address, then, somebody probably did steal it.

This seems like pretty sound advice to me, fwiw.

[JonInMiddleGA]

SI -- my wife,the eBay Queen, says you should dispute the charge with both PayPal AND the credit card company if necessary (start with PayPal).

There is a PayPal process for this sort of thing & you shouldn't be afraid to use it.

[sterlingice]

FTR, I've already opened a dispute in the eBay resolution center. That's where this has gone on back and forth between me and the seller.

SI

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

FTR, I've already opened a dispute in the eBay resolution center. That's where this has gone on back and forth between me and the seller.

If I understood my wife correctly, there is a separate PayPal process as well. Works basically like disputing a c.c. charge.

[sterlingice]

Dola: After checking with UPS this weekend, when I inevitably get no help (this goes back to original rant #2 about how UPS and FedEx have gone to crap since they don't have to really compete any more)- is that the time to close the eBay case, asking for final resolution? And then, if I get no assistance then start doing PayPal and CC cases? Or should I do them all simultaneously?

SI

[stevew]

You might want to go check in the yard one more time just in case. I'm assuming you just overlooked it the first 7 times.

[sterlingice]

Well, you know, we might have missed a box with a pair of items that, even when collapsed, are a good 18"

SI

[stevew]

This would be a much better story if you were fighting them over delivery of some sort of sex apparatus.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by stevew

This would be a much better story if you were fighting them over delivery of some sort of sex apparatus.

What's to say I'm not?

SI

[Lathum]

This sounds like a lot of effort for a $65 item.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by Lathum

This sounds like a lot of effort for a $65 item.

I guess that's kindof my point, tho: I'm having to invest a lot of time and effort and the alternative is to just say "eff it, I'm out $60" and move on.

SI

[Lathum]

Wife and I are going to see a financial advisor next week. Time to grow up I suppose.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Wife and I are going to see a financial advisor next week. Time to grow up I suppose.

HEAVILY research your financial adviser. I will tell you this much, in my past job I saw more financial advisers trying to buy what I was selling with the worst credit on this planet and they were telling others how to live.

On top of that, a ton of them just use the title to shell Life Insurance and other policies instead of truly telling you what you need.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Wife and I are going to see a financial advisor next week. Time to grow up I suppose.

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

HEAVILY research your financial adviser. I will tell you this much, in my past job I saw more financial advisers trying to buy what I was selling with the worst credit on this planet and they were telling others how to live.

On top of that, a ton of them just use the title to shell Life Insurance and other policies instead of truly telling you what you need.

What Macro said.

Keep in mind there's guys here that work in the industry and while I don't think any of us want to give you binding financial advice we can certainly give you general insight and thoughts on red-flags and stuff.