I Hate Google

September 5, 2009 at 11:54 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

Working for their competitor for a few years, it was ingrained in me to hate them. However, after having to deal with them for my current job, my hatred has spread even deeper. Dealing with them is an exercise in futility. It’s beyond frustrating, actually. They have no infrastructure for dealing with problems of users. That is not how you run a business. The motto of Google is also absurd – “Don’t Be Evil.” It seems to imply that every corporation in this country is evil, except them.

Let’s focus on their glaring problem – the complete and total lack of customer service. It is reprehensible. A typical e-mail to Google needed help just refers you to the unbelievably generic Google Help section of their Web site. It is already obsolete before it even goes into production because it is impossible to anticipate every problem, ESPECIALLY when dealing with the Internet. The topics are so broad, that without actually talking to someone to find out what the problem is, it is pointless. I’ve never seen a helpful article on Google.

Google is OK when it comes to free products, but heaven help you if you want to give them money for anything (because Google sure won’t). With as difficult as they make their entire process, it would seem that they do not want your money at all, which I find odd because their only source of revenue is Google Adwords. Unfortunately, you need to spend a lot of money with Google for them to even start caring about you. So much for “don’t be evil.” Case in point, I was handling an account, and I needed to change the credit card that the money would be charged to. Seems like it would be easy, but it was no easy task. After 45 minutes of searching, I had to call our account rep to ask him to change it. What if we didn’t have an account rep?

Let me also mention Google Talk. I have been an avid user of IM products since 1993 when Instant Messenger was only available within the America Online Portal. I have used all of them from Yahoo! to MSN to AIM to multiple platform services like Pigin and Trillin (IM platforms that allow you to access all your accounts in one program), and without a doubt, Google is BY FAR the worst. It is much worse than AIM 7.0 that ended a 10 year relationship with AIM and myself. It is a complete disgrace of an IM program. It will be a cold day in hell before I ever get GMail.

Also, I hate Apple.

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Hmmm. What to Write?

August 22, 2009 at 5:20 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

I got nothing.

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Summer is Here. No One Told the Weather Though

June 20, 2009 at 5:17 pm · Filed under Life ·Tagged , ,

Those that no me in DC are probably tired of me constantly complaining about the weather. I can’t help it though. Coming from Southern California I expect certain things from summer. I expect it to be clear skies and sunny. That’s easy right? Well, apparently in DC, it’s next to impossible. Nearly everyday It is raining, or there is the threat of rain overhead. When it gets cloudy, it gets humid. When it rains when it is humid, it because a sauna outside. It is not comfortable at all, especially when you are doing strenuous things like play softball.

I am looknig out my window right now and if I didn’t no any better I would think it was winter outside with the dark clouds covering the entire sky and the wet ground. The illusion of winter quickly vanishes though as soon as you step outside. The hot air is so thick, you could cut it with a knife. It causes your close to stick to you and it stays a nasty temperature 24 hours a day. Nothing about it is enjoyable. how people can like it is completely foreign to me. If you do like it, that means you have never experienced a dry heat. It makes a world of difference.

Sure, it gets over 100 degrees in the summer in CA, but that is only during the day. Around 3 or 4 it starts to cool off, and it gets down to about 80 degrees with a cool breeze. Summer nights in CA are perfect for going out, playing sports, or campfires. Summer nights in DC are atrocious. No relief for the constant heat of the humidity. The AC stays on all night. As soon as the AC gets to the temperature I set it to, it shuts off…for about 30 seconds before it has to start again. In CA, you can turn the AC off at night and open a window and be perfectly comfortable.

Let me also take this opportunity to talk about Searsuckers – I don’t like them.

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Busy Busy Busy

June 6, 2009 at 10:25 pm · Filed under Life ·Tagged , , , ,

Sincere apologies for the complete lack of updates on this site, but I promise, I will try to update it more often. I know, I know, I have said this before, but I really enjoy writing these musings, it is just sometimes I can’t muster up the mental energy to write anything at all and I resign to watch TV all day and all night. Another reason for my lack of updates is because I used to update while listening to my LP Records. Well, I am pleased to announce that I have listened to all the records I own. That is, until last night. I received two albums in the mail yesterday (5 LPs in total) and I am curerntly listening to one of them as I write this.

The main reason for the lack of updates is I have been busy. Summer is here and we have already had a lot of events on the rooftop at work, softball is in full swing with 2 games a week. Coincidentally, YOUR Heritage Capitalist Tools are the team of the week in for Roll Call (a Congressional newspaper) and I got a quote in it. So things have been piling up. Work is also as busy as ever. I have managed, however, to get a few blog posts in. We have a lot of big fights coming up throughout the summer and fall, and we are ready to fight.

I’ve taken in a few baseball games as well. I went up to Baltimore with a friend to catch the Orioles and the Yankees. Not long after that I caught a Nats/Phillies game with another friend and a Nats/Pirates game with other friends. Not to mention the steady stream of happy hours, poker nights, and BBQs that come with summer in DC. Over Memorial Day, I went to visit friends on Long Island, NY and went sailing on Long Island Sound. I’ve been having a great time and I don’t suspect that it will end anytime soon.

Thanks for bearing with the lack of updates and I will try to get them more frequently.

Todd

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Softball

May 13, 2009 at 1:23 am · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

For those of you who can’t live without knowing how I do in my softball leagues, I am putting my stats on this blog on the “Softball Stats” page on the right sidebar. So go ahead, give it a click. See how awful I do.

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Back from Cali

May 3, 2009 at 10:18 pm · Filed under Life, Sports ·Tagged ,

I made it back from a great trip to Los Angeles, and now the jet-lag is finally gone. Getting home on Sunday and starting back to work on Monday did not give me a lot of time to recover form a cross-country flight. I trudged through the week and made it to the weekend. However, I did not get to sleep in until today. Yesterday, I was up at 815 and off to the Virginia Gold Cup Championship.
I was invited by a coworker, and having never seen live horse racing before, I was intrigued, so I accepted the invitation. As an added bonus, accepting the invitation got me out of helping paint an office building. Never being at a horse race, I did not know what to expect. Never being farther south than Alexandria, Virginia, I did no t know what to expect from the people. Well, the horses were fun to watch. In the first race, we saw a horse have a 20 length lead evaporate to a 3rd place finish. The Virginia Gold Cup championship is a Steeplechase race on a grass course. It is a longer race than the Kentucky Derby.

With no betting at the track, it is just an excuse for people to get plastered before noon and to look COMPLETELY ridiculous for an afternoon (at least I only hope they dressed like that for Gold Cup). a fun time was had by all, but by the third race, it was getting a bit chilly, so we decided to beat the traffic and get home. I made it home in time to watch the most exciting two minutes in sports.

Todd Thurman

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Live from 35,861 Feet in the Air

April 22, 2009 at 2:46 pm · Filed under Life ·Tagged , , , ,

I am posting this from an airplane in route to Los Angeles. I am using the WiFi available on certain Virgin America flights (as well as other airlines, but I am flying Virgin America). It is pretty cool. I should also let you know that I am watching TV on the flight as well. What an age we live in. I’ve almost spolied myself though. I have been so accustomed to certain ammenities (TV, snacks, basically everything jetBlue does) that for me to fly any other way is very difficult. It’s amazing how TV helps pass the endless hours on a flight. Luckily, the airlines with most things to offer, are usually the cheapest options. Virgin America and jetBlue don’t fly to every city, but they fly to my cities (and that is all that really matters).

Anyway, apologies for the lack of updates. You may have noticed a severe lack of content. This is because I hosted this blog on a Web site that was free for me for two years. The two years were up, so I got rid of the of the Web site and the blog. I kept the domain and just point this blog at a WordPress blog to let them pay for the hosting. It has been very busy at work. With my boss out celebrating the birth of his son and getting ready for a conference in LA, there has not been a dull moment lately. Things should settle down on Monday with my boss back and the conference over. However, something else starts on Monday that I am really excited about.

Softball.

That’s right! For those of you who know me (and really, who else would read this tripe?) know that I love softball and I cannot get enough of it. YOUR Capitialist Tools have our first practice game against the Supply Sliders. To get in shape I loosly organized a practice session at West Potomac Park last Saturday. It felt really good to get back out on the field. My shoulder had other feelings about it though.

It will be a tougher season because, unlike in years past, only one team from each division makes it to the playoffs. We can seal our own destiny early in the season when we play the Center for American Progress (they are known as the left-fielders). They love to bring ringers when they play us. If we win, it will be up to us. If we lose, we will need to count on other teams to beat them. I don’t know about you, but I like controlling my own fate, so I will do my best to win. That’s it for now. I am flying over Kansas right now.

Todd Thurman

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Same Old Voice, Slightly Different Place

April 7, 2009 at 11:42 pm · Filed under Life

This is the new address. Get used to it. I’ll be back with more later. Now it is question and answer time with Jazz Legend Wynton Marsalis.

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