Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/13/business-bullies/
We occasionally get intransigent customers who want things fixed but do not want to cooperate with us. I had to politely tell one off last Friday. Today a self-important customer wanted to blame us for the failure of a third-party web server. After explaining what I saw, he responded that I “had no idea” how important he is. No big deal. I wrote back, explained with a little more detail, and closed with:
I would further request that you maintain a professional tone when interacting with our staff. We take pains to ensure consistent support to all of our customers. A condescending tone on your part does nothing to yield results, and only builds animosity in relationships with your business partners. I thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation.
As someone who has played the part of smarmy know-it-all bully, I can tell from experience that when someone calmly confronts you head-on, gives you a competent explanation, and then requests that you behave yourself, well, unless you got some seriously sociopathic issues, that works really damned well.
But, we’ll see. I could have laid it down a bit more politely …
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/09/touchscreen-voting-just-say-no/
California is suing Diebold, the nation’s largest manufacturer of touch-screen voting machines because the company lied about the machines’ security. According to the LA Times:
The system’s key vulnerability is that county election workers or others with access to the machines could type in a two-digit code and create a second set of results that would then be forwarded to the state as the county’s official tally.
I am curious what purpose that feature may have, beyond the obvious application of election fraud. (more…)
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/05/humiliated-angry-ashamed-brown/
http://69.93.170.43/
The tale of Ian Spiers, one brown American, trying to take a few photographs, in a time of fearful paranoia. Very much worth a read.
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/03/dell-microsoft-pawn/
The Register reports on allegations made by Lindows that Dell’s occasional efforts to sell Linux-based desktop systems are squashed because of special business relationships between Dell and Microsoft.
Although the Department of Justice has ruled that Microsoft must supply Windows licenses to top OEMs at the same price, there are other financial incentives that Microsoft can make, including Office licensing and promotions programs, that can add up to as much as $30 per PC, or about 25% of Dell’s profits. Very creepy reading.
A cursory visit to Dell’s web site reveals that Microsoft Windows is the only option to be had on an inexpensive PC. Caveat emptor!
Attempts to contact Dell for comment have not succeeded.
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/03/weird-gop-hatred/
A nice op-ed from Paul Krugman:
Barack Obama, who gave the Democratic keynote address, delivered a message of uplift and hope. Zell Miller, who gave the Republican keynote, declared that political opposition is treason: “Now, at the same time young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrats’ manic obsession to bring down our commander in chief.” And the crowd roared its approval.
Roared Jon Stewart, “how dare they … field a candidate … and in an election year!” (more…)
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/02/john-kerry-throws-down/
“The vice president even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I’ll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.”
Boo-yah! Thanks kos! More stuff at The New York Times, including:
“Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you’re still on their payroll makes you unfit.”
-d
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/09/02/talking-about-work/
I’m on the last of my three days working as a NOC Technician at my employer’s data center. My normal day job is as Manager of Technical Support, which is normally performed at a seperate office. I’m covering a few data center shifts as something of a cultural exchange, and to help cover some transient staffing requirements. The data center is fun because we have security measures all over the place — just to take a poop I have to pass through a biometric security checkpoint.
My employer provides me with a T-mobile Sidekick, which is fun because I can IRC while I poop. There are those who think that this is wildly inappropriate, but they are weenies. Anyway, as I was pooping just now, I checked my e-mail, and was passed a link titled “Shitcanned from Friendster for Blogging.” (more…)
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/31/bush-truth/
Thanks, Ginmar: (Corroborated)
LAUER: Did John Kerry serve heroicly, in Vietnam, in your opinion?
BUSH: I think his service is heroic, yes, and he’s… he should be proud of it. And, uh, and I think that we ought to move beyond, uhm, [pause] the past. I mean, he’s proud of his service, I’m proud of mine. And the real question is who best to lead us forward? (more…)
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/30/bronze-star-blank-stare/
A soundbite for the election:
“Three Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star versus ‘The Pet Goat’ and a Blank Stare”
-d
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/30/air-america/
Dear Air America Radio,
I have only heard that Steve Earl commercial maybe 10,000 times. I don’t think you are playing it enough. Please, please play it more, okay? “The revolution … the revolution …” I just can not get enough of that annoying plug for some lame musician. I makes me tune in to NPR from time to time …
Thanks,
-danny
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/19/iraqi-asshole/
Three marines were driving up the highway between Basra and Baghdad when they came upon an Iraqi insurgent who was badly injured and unconscious. On the opposite side of the road was an injured American who was semiconscious. As the Marines gave both men first aid they asked what happened. The American said, “I was moving north along the highway when I ran into this guy. We pointed our guns at each other and I said ‘Saddam Hussein is an asshole.’ Then he yelled, ‘George Bush is an asshole.’ We were standing there shaking hands when a truck hit us.
Thank you, _Playboy’s Party Jokes_
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/17/two-maps/
So, you may already know about electoral-vote.com, which shows the current state of Bush versus Kerry, based on all the latest polls, and Kerry has a wonderful lead just now. Then you start thinking about 2000 and you might start whining that you want popular elections.
Well, how about a compromise solution? The Fake Is The New Real Electoral Reform Map re-aligns the map of the United States so that we have fifty states that are roughly equal in size. (more…)
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/16/hoohah/
The other tech support guy is out this week, so its all me, all day.
And of course, because its Monday, we have to be slammed by dumb people. (more…)
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/15/dotphoto/
This weekend I was asked for my recommendation for digital prints. I had to scratch my head and cast about my e-mail archives because I had forgotten their name, and they were not in the top results returned by Google. But if you ask me, I am very pleased with dotPhoto. Why? (more…)
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Link:
https://dannyman.toldme.com/2004/08/11/taking-it-well/
So, after two failed attempts to upgrade eSupport, frustrated that a company that sells a support/helpdesk product doesn’t have all of its useful information right there in their own install of their own helpdesk product … I could go for a burrito. I call the girlfriend, do we have any cash? But no, she has a dollar, after I handed her the $25 in my pocket for her trip with the neighbor to Target last night.
“I could make pasta.”
“Dude, I could tell you didn’t want pasta,” my colleague admits. That is okay … we’ll get paid Friday. (more…)
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