Don't stop for a moment

Remember a year ago (almost exactly!) when I said I love my Samsung Moment?


The love has died, folks. I'm not sure what has happened, but the piece of crap is basically a brick these days. It's slow as hell, even though I've taken off all but the most essential apps and widgets. It's been this way for a couple months now. I think the problem is that its outdated processor can't handle the updates of even the few widgets and apps I run. It didn't (and will never, thanks Sprint!) get an Android update past v1.6, and Android is up to, what, v2.3 now?

I'll get a phone call, push the answer button, and have to wait 10 or more seconds for the phone to actually stop ringing and answer. Sometimes it won't answer. Sometimes I won't get the call, even though I've got good signal.

Pandora crashes constantly. Weather channel app crashes frequently. Can't even play Angry Birds, the processor is too slow to handle the graphics.

I went through all the wickets with Sprint and they refused to give me an upgrade or replacement even though I've been a customer for a decade. Time to try a new carrier when my contract's up, or cheap enough to break.


Update11/4/11:
I talked to a customer service rep on an unrelated issue and bitched for a little while before she took pity on me and sent me a replacement Moment. It works *so* much better. I'm happy again!

Still upset with Sprint's treatment of us though. We were going to add a line this weekend to have a 'home' phone, but we decided we didn't want a 2 year contract since we were so unhappy with them at the moment (pardon the pun). So today I need to reactivate the ol' tracfone.

Turbotax 2010 install freezes at 27%

Well, actually, it goes up to 28%, then back down to 27%. Running Windows 7, the problem ended up being that I didn't have write access to the start menu... strange since I was running that install as Administrator.

Verify in the system application event logs.

To fix it I used this awesome little app called, rightfully enough, "Take Ownership"...
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/add-take-ownership-to-explorer-right-click-menu-in-vista/

Father's Day Project

Dev and I turned an old monitor into a snazzy cat house.

A political theory advocating an authoritarian hierarchical government (as opposed to democracy or liberalism)

If you've ever been involved with the Greene County, Virginia, Sheriff's Office and/or court system, you quickly realize 3 things:

1. You are considered a nuisance. At best. At worst, you're an ignorant nuisance.
2. You are guilty until proven.. well, you're guilty if they think you are. Proof doesn't count for a whole lot in Greene County, from what I've seen.
3. There's no real concern about upholding the letter of the law. Upholding the generality of the law is OK, because that way they still get paid.

Case in point:
There's a minor I know, we'll call her 'Kate'. Kate's friend's shirt was stolen. Not while she was wearing it of course, but out of her locker or something.
Soon after, another girl (we'll call her 'Emo girl') was spotted with a very, very similar shirt. Well, Kate and her friends spot Emo Girl's bag with the shirt hanging out of it, and they vote Kate to sneak over and grab it. She does, and it is Kate's friend's shirt after all. No problem, right? At worst, Emo Girl and Kate should get a little talking to about the value of other people's property and personal space.

Wrong. Kate's mom get's a phone call from the resource office (Greene County-speak for on-school Greene County Police) informing her he had Mirandized her daughter. Kate's mom misheard the statement, thinking he was asking permission to Mirandize her daughter. Kate's mom says "Hell no, wait til her father or I are there."
The cop (we'll call him Ignorant Fascist) neglected to elaborate to Kate's mom that he had already Mirandized her daughter, in private, with no school authority present, and had her sign some document.

There are other stories.

Another friend of mine got a call because her daughter (we'll call her M) was driving around with M's boyfriend. Turns out a Greene County cop pulled her over. Why? Well, for driving around her boyfriend, of course. Held her for more than an hour, if I remember correctly. What, you thought this was a free count(r)y?

M and I both got speeding tickets for speeding on the same stretch of road. We were speeding, yes, but we didn't know it, because the closest speed limit sign to the point of the infraction was miles away, and we never passed it on the path we took leading to the road. The cop couldn't prove it in court because he lost sight of us several times in the ensuing 'chase' and had no proof that the car he pulled over (me or M's) was the same one he clocked. The judge literally told me 'Well, you say you were there around the time the officer clocked a car that looked like yours, and he thinks it was you driving, so I have to give the judgment to the officer.' In other words, guilty until proven innocent.

I called the police when a neighbor shot her gun at my kindergartner, who was trespassing on her property. He said "Yeah, there's a lot of good old boys and girls back in there that'll shoot at anything." Since I had already gone and 'talked' to this neighbor, that's how they handled my complaint.

No, really.

Stop for a Moment

I freakin' love my Samsung Moment. I think it's highly underrated in the Android phone buzz. It's fast, clear, with an amazing screen and Sprint service is great for me in Central Virginia. Rumor is it's getting the Android 2.1 update on February 22... w00t.

DirecTV saga complete

DirecTV just called me; the new lady in charge of arbitration cheerfully and apologetically refunded the $210 early cancellation fee. See past posts for the drama. Contractually I had to wait 60 days after notification of arbitration before I could file for arbitration; that would've been this past Sunday.. so it took them just over 2 months to respond to my notice.
It was well worth the letters and phone calls I had to make.

Orwell would be proud

Big Brother is watching you.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/no-place-for-crooks-to-hide-20091208-khqk.html

THE retail giant Westfield is considering introducing controversial face recognition technology at its Penrith shopping centre in Sydney's west.

Unlike closed circuit television (CCTV), the identification system matches images captured by surveillance cameras to an existing database of faces.

The Herald understands Westfield is considering upgrading its already advanced CCTV to include the biometric technology in its security measures.

Police said they could not comment on the centre's intentions, but would welcome any move to improve security and technology in the area. They said many businesses already used face recognition systems without public knowledge.

''You'd be surprised at how many have it,'' Detective Inspector Grant Healey of Penrith said. ''Any tool that helps us identify offenders is a great tool for us, too.

''Some [face recognition systems] can go live, so if they walk into the place, it will tell you that they're in there.''

Westfield would not comment on any plans to introduce the technology at its Penrith shopping centre, but a company spokeswoman said it was not used at present. ''I wouldn't comment on what we might be considering,'' she said.

''There are different security needs at different centres.''

The use of face recognition surveillance has alarmed privacy advocates.

''I think it's an extremely dangerous thing,'' the chairman of the Australian Privacy Foundation, Dr Roger Clarke, said. ''There's no control to ensure it will only be used for crooks.''

The technology has already been used at Sydney Airport for passengers to check themselves through passport control and it is used by police and by the Roads and Traffic Authority to combat identity fraud.

Professor Maciej Henneberg, of the University of Adelaide, said the recognition technology would be particularly useful in shopping centres. ''I would advocate this to be used more and more,'' he said.

''It will prevent many individuals who have criminal records of being a danger to normal shoppers in malls.

''Most of the CCTV systems now in shopping malls, service stations and in banks produce images of poor quality,''Professor Henneberg said.