Thursday, July 27, 2006

Stickin' it to the state

About a year ago I lost a fight with the state. They started using new registration stickers that made a lot of sense, the car's license plate number and part of the VIN is now on the sticker to help fight theft of the registration stickers. But that is all good stuff. I had no problem with that.

It was the @)#&)@(#&* stickers themselves. I tore up two of the #$)$*)(*#()&@%#%%!@# things trying to get them to seperate from the paper they feed through the computerr printer on. Finally, after I taped the stickers to our car windows with scotch tape, I gave up and went to the county for replacement stickers.

And I sent an email to the state, complaining about the stupid stickers. And it worked.

Just a few hours ago I got an email from a state office:


Dear Texan,

We couldn’t have done it without you.

Thanks to your suggestions and comments we have completely redesigned the vehicle registration sticker. Because you played an important role in our redesign, we want you to be among the first to see it.

The new registration sticker features many of your ideas for improvement, including:

● A clean, uncluttered design
● A colored border to eliminate the “household tape” appearance
● A solid back to eliminate the “paper” appearance

Also, you will be pleased to know the new sticker peels cleanly off from any corner on the back of the registration receipt (no more punch tab)...

It is our goal to always deliver a product that meets the high quality standards Texans expect. I personally apologize to those of you who experienced any problem with the previous sticker.

We heard you, we used your ideas, and we are very excited about the new sticker design. I want to thank you again for your input as we believe it resulted in a design Texans will be proud to display. Take a look at the new sticker and let us know what you think.

We take our commitment to you seriously, and should you ever have any questions or suggestions please contact our customer service help desk...


With a response like that, what do you bet I wasn't the only one who hated those @#$&(@#)($ stickers.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Stickin' it to the Wals

The kids and I ran to Wal-Mart this morning. We only needed three things but we had to go because we had an exchange to make. So we could not pass WM by and go to Target like usual.

No problems finding our items and the exchange was handled quickly and politely. The way I remember it being done when I worked for WMs warehouse little brother. Not wanting to ruin the best WM trip in years, I headed to the self-checkout line. That and the only cashiers were on registers #1 and 2. We were half a mile away, at register #456.

I tried to scan one item and it didn't ring up. Before I could scan it again, a cashier snatched the stuff out of my hand and scanned it over and over without success. Hell, I could have done THAT. Finally she entered the UPC numbers directly then she scanned the rest of my stuff.

All without a single word. It was creepy.

After I got everyone loaded and buckled in, I threw the bag in the car and we were almost done. I looked in the bottom of the cart and there was a pack of batteries that the super-polite cashier had not scanned.

I decided it wasn't worth dealing with her again over a $1.77, so I grabbed my ill-gotten batteries and we hit the road. If the cashier hadn't been so odd, I think I would have hauled the kids back into the store to teach a good life lesson.

But not this time.

A little overkill, don'tcha think?

A few years ago my parents bought a locking mailbox. Not a bad idea to protect your valuable junk mail.

Anyways, while I was on Costco.com this morning I found this beauty. She can be on your curb for $159 delivered. Of course, if you put one up in my neighborhood, I WILL make fun of you and teach my children to point at the crazy people with the goofy mailbox.



Oh yeah, they have it in white, too. But my kids will still laugh at you just as much...

Friday, July 07, 2006

Ever just say screw it?

I need to mow and edge the yard.
I need to clean the garage.
I need to do laundry.
I need to pick up the toys in the front yard but I don't want to do any of that stuff.
I need to find someone to work on my truck but I am not ready to spend the $.
I was going to go to the gym but I am lazy.
I was going to go fishing.

Instead I am sitting here cruising MySpace and watching Sports Center.

What a life.