A true Southern cake...

I found this hilarious little gem of a photo on some southern conservative blog (linked through another blog I read) So I figured I'd link directly to it, instead leading you through a long trail of clicking blog links.

I was baffled and giggled for an hour. My wife laughed until her eyes watered.
There's funny, then there's dumbfoundingly funny. This one literally takes the cake;

Conservative Belle: Southern Rednecks - Bless Their Hearts

Seriously, I know that cake makers have probably seen - and get requests for - some truely strange stuff. Well, this isn't weird in any kooky, crazy, sick, perverted, or creepy way. But really, did they not question this? Now, I'll say that I assume this was a phone in order. If not, there are more questions to be asked. All I can think is; First, there was probably some sort of language gap, mostly due to varying accents. Second, perhaps they just didn't care enough to correct it (as long as they get it done and get payed. The customer IS always right, after all.). Lastly, they really weren't all that bright. Although, it was likely some mixture of all these to some degree or other. Though, perhaps they DID question it and were assured, verbatim, that it was the correct spelling.
I was going to say something along the lines of, "some minimum wage person..." here but then I decided against that. I have had my share of minimum wage jobs, and that has nothing to do with intelligence. Though, it might certainly mean that they don't care enough because they don't get payed well enough to care. I, for one, would still do my job and make certain that things were done properly. Although, nothing against you southern folk, but I was raised in the 'NAWTH'.

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Amazon.com Rebate - Too Good To Be True?

Is it me, or does the series of rebates listed on this item seem wrong?
It's simply not likely that there are $150 worth of rebates attached to
this item; especially top quality system memory, worth at least $167.
------------------------------

2GB Ddr PC-3200 Kit
Other products by OCZ

List Price: $265.35
Price: $167.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
You Save: $97.36 (37%)
Rebates: $150.00
Price After Rebates: $17.99
# ASIN: B000F7T9KK
# Item model number: OCZP4002GK
Rebates
Rebates will either need to be mailed in, or completed online.


* Mail-in rebate forms will be found on the website (see link below),
or included in the box with the product you ordered. Fill out the
rebate form, and mail the rebates to the specified address. More about
mail-in rebates.
* For online rebates, simply follow the instructions on the PDF file (click the link below). More about online rebates.

NOTE:
For rebates available on the website, you will need to view and print
the rebate form (a PDF file) using Adobe's free Acrobat Reader(TM). If
you do not already have it, you can Download Acrobat Reader for free.
Current Rebates

Redeem the following rebates for a total savings of $150.00:
Purchase by: Postmarked by: Rebate amount:
OCZ Technology Rebate
Rebate Offer: Receive $20 from OCZ Technology with this mail-in rebate. Offer valid through October 01.

10/1/07 14 days after purchase $20.00
OCZ Technology Rebate
Rebate Offer: Receive $35 from OCZ Technology with this mail-in rebate. Offer valid through October 01.

10/1/07 14 days after purchase $35.00
OCZ Technology Rebate
Rebate Offer: Receive $25 from OCZ Technology with this mail-in rebate. Offer valid through October 01.

10/1/07 14 days after purchase $25.00
OCZ Technology Rebate
Rebate Offer: Receive $20 from OCZ Technology with this mail-in rebate. Offer valid through October 01.

10/1/07 14 days after purchase $20.00
OCZ Technology Rebate
Rebate Offer: Receive $30 from OCZ Technology with this mail-in rebate. Offer valid through October 01.

10/1/07 14 days after purchase $30.00
OCZ Technology Rebate
Rebate Offer: Receive $20 from OCZ Technology with this mail-in rebate. Offer valid through October 01.

10/1/07 14 days after purchase $20.00
Total Rebates Savings: $150.00
----------------------------------
I
called Customer support and had them look into it. All the forms - all
for various rebate amounts - are all exactly identical and state that
multiple rebates on one item are "not eligible" or "not legal". And, on
each form, there are a variety of part numbers all eligible for
different rebate amounts - one of them being this item with a rebate
value of just $20. Oddly, after waiting for about 15 min for them to
check into it, they simply assured me that it was "in fact" valid - and
if it was a mistake on their behalf and the rebates were not valid,
they would either 1) honor the rebates personally, or 2) refund my
money upon return of the item. I suppose my next step is to call the
manufacturer.
----------------------------------
I feel very regretful that I went through with the order, although I still have time to cancel. I posted the order at about 6PM (CST) today, and didn't verify it until almost 8PM - so, the order will not likely process until morning. I am worried about it and have done a massive amount of searching. It appears that this is not unusual for a super-special rebate promotion, however, it is highly unlikely. I should have known better (but I DID call Customer Support!) And, not only that, but Amazon.com and many of it's 'third-party' retailers do have a multitude of complaints against their rebate practices. It seems this has happened before.

So will I get - by default - a rebate because Amazon screwed up, or will I have to cancel my order or simply get a refund? I guess time will tell.

I've posted this all over the internet, as well as sending an inquiry to both Amazon.com and OCZ, and hope to hear something once the doors open in the morning.

Any ideas or feedback?

EDIT: I canceled my order. I just felt too nervous about falling victim and getting screwed out of money. And, apparently, this was the right move. I received a notice from Amazon.com customer support very soon after to tell me that the rebates were checked and - not surprisingly - not valid. Also, I a quick check on the website again found that the listing had been changed; there were now NO rebates available for this item. Bummer. I really want some new RAM and the type I need are pricey. Oh well, the serach goes on.

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Tweaks R Us - Custom Drivers

Recently I built my first computer. Yay!

It was fun, scary, harrowing, and a great learning experience. I had some issues, that I got worked out. Things are still not 100% but it's running and I can play games and browse the web, so that's something!

So I went onto update all the drivers and BIOS that was available and compatible. Not the least bit painless, but I fuddled my way through most of it.

Unfortunately, right before I was able to download and install a modified driver for my EVGA e-Geforce 7600 GS 512MB GPU (Video/Graphics Card), the site it
was located on got hacked! Oi! Figures.

You see, typically one would install the driver provided by the device manufacturer. However, the EVGA site doesn't yet have the latest driver posted. Hmm? So I checked the video card's chipset manufacturer - nVidia - whom released a supposed compatible one in July. However, that one didn't seem compatible with my EVGA card at all - even though the GeForce 7600 GS was listed in the release notes. I don't know if this is a known issue, or if EVGA is apparently too lazy to modify it themselves {or perhaps it's a legality thing}. Anyway. So, being disheartened and frustrated, I searched for anything I could find. I searched high and low. Near and far. Until my eyes were tired, blood shot and squinty (can I sue for eye damage from my computer??) and my fingers [nearly] bled. Miraculously - and maticulously - my efforts proved true. Thus I was thrust into the world of mod-drivers. Oooh, fun. Scary fun.

All was well and good. I took my time assessing and analyzing to make certain that the driver was the best, most recent and compatible one for my system. Bingo, I found one. I bookmarked it to download once I had time.

Of course, things didn't work out that way. *sigh*

Only that night I went to download it and found that the page was not found. The forum was still up, but the download was unavailable. I searched but could not locate it. Some people were speculating that the site was closing down, or offline for updates, or fearful that it was hacked. Unfortunately, it was the latter; "Due to a nice hacker TweaksRus has been completely lost! But I think NvRev might still have a backup of all its original drivers, so we might be able to bring back the current drivers for everyone to use. Stay posted as we are adding updates daily." Apparently some miffed user got upset and hacked their site on a personal grudge. Seriously, not the way to make your point. Doesn't matter whom was right or wrong... valuable files are gone. Hacking just ain't cool when it's destructive.

So, to finish my point... I again searched high and low to locate the most recent file. I found many of the older versions and am ready to quit and use those. The latest of which, as far as I can tell is; XTreme-G 163.14 XP 32bit.exe

Does anyone know what the most recent version is and where to find it?


Peace.

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8 unknown things

Doh. I've been tagged (challenged)! My friend Nutt recently posted a blog (on MySpace.com) that tagged me to come up with 8 things that most people are unaware of about me. I hate to repeat things, but he and I have some similarities, so lets just get to it...

1. Nutt said he's been secretly desiring to live a hippy/surfer life. Well, I'm not that far gone yet. And, although it's probably not a secret to those closest to me, I've been desiring to be more involved with conservation. I just want to find a way to live with technology AND nature, and harmonize the two.

2. On that note, I've also been having desires to live a more simpler life. I ask myself, often, "What if we just sold almost everything we owned, bought an old car (1967 Chevy Impala to be precise) and just hit the road. Just my wife and me, a car and the open road. No sure how we'd make a living, but we're creative people, we'd come up with something.

3. Interestingly I share a similar dream with Nutt - as does my wife. We really just want to be involved, in some manner, in the film/tv entertainment industry - not specifically famous, but to be known and recognized for our work. I'm sure nobody would be very surprised, but we don't really go around ranting about it. I'm more interested in the 'behind the scenes' stuff, or doing voice-over work. That'd be swell. But I've always wondered (crippling nerves aside) if I'd be a good actor. Unlike Nutt, I probably wouldn't put up my soul for negotiation, however I'd take some real serious offers. I think the thing holding us back - other than the obvious - is that we don't want to give up our security. We're both (my wife and I) real comfort people.

4. I, too, apologize quietly everytime I have to kill a bug. Though, most of the time I try to be humane and capture them and put them outside. I even have a bug jar. Often in our house you can hear, "Shawn, there's a spider, get your bug jar!". Oh, and I can catch flies with my bare hands. I just snatch them right out of the air. True story.

5. I don't have any religious preference. I'm not opposed to religion or hold anything against religion, I just haven't found that it is for me. I just don't have any desire to be involved in one. I do think that for many people religion is a wonderful and positive instrument in their lives. Although I will occasionally quietly pray, I'm not sure to whom/what I'm talking too - just to the general universal consciousness I guess. Though in my youth I had been a little greedy in my requests, it's slowly evolved into something more. If I pray, I am usually saying "thank you" or appolgizing, or wish well for others, or asking for the opportunity, strength or guidance to do what I need to. It's really, to me, more of an inner realization thing than praying to 'something' else. I feel that whatever force is there has it's own path and will, so what could I ask for that's more important?

6. I fear that I might be prevented from achieving things I want to do. It increases my anxiety and insecurity. I want to be free from conflict and just seek some stability in an environment where I can relax and do what I want to. I don't want to have unreasonable or unnecessary demands put upon me. I love to tinker and play with creative things like art and electronics. I want my own studio and workshop.

7. I sometimes secretly desire to own my own business; a bar, a restaurant, or a retail shop. But I haven't the business mind, nor the urgently passionate ambition needed to pursue it. Perhaps someday.

8. I feel like I struggle with trying to be understood, or I haven't expressed my self or what-ever in an understandable way. I think it comes from having been so shy and withdrawn my whole life to this point. I just hadn't developed the communication skills needed, and have trouble putting things into context.
8a. It's not a secret, but I don't know if people realize just how bad it was. I had crippling shyness throughout my youth. I'm not sure when it happened, though I've always been a bit timid. But at one point it's like I lost my smile and just didn't speak to many people. I would stay inside or away from other kids or people, and just go about doing what I wanted and avoiding them. I did a lot of inner thinking and pondered many things and situations. I got lost in my own fantasy world to escape from interacting in real life. I would stare into nothingness and drift away mentally, though I was aware of everything, usually when I was angry, frustrated or just didn't want to deal. People - even my school teachers and relatives - use to ask my mom if I was mute, or doing drugs or ill. Yeah, it was that bad. I still regress sometimes, but not that bad. I have anxieties about confrontations and performing/speaking in public. Even if I want to do it, my body becomes a shaky-sweaty mess, then I stumble, mumble and can't think straight. Not sure why. I have mostly overcome it.


Ok, is that enough? I could go on I think, but that's good enough. Wow, that's a lot of text. lol. I'm not sure whom to tag... because all my friends on here have already been tagged. I don't use MySpace much at all.

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Living with Nature

Now I'm not usually one for the modern architecture movement. You know, the buildings that are constructed to, "stimulate the eye, accentuate the edges, allow one to feel the space, and blah blah blah...". It's all just a bit to plain, bland and minimalist for me. I like character, style and the merging of old and new. If you can make something, oh say a Victorian style house, and merge it near seamlessly with modern technology, environmentalism, efficiency and space utilization (both inside and out), that is a movement I can get behind. But I'm not one for buildings built just on an artistic expression of form. I understand the ideas and theories behind them, I just don't support the actual full throttle movement of trying to force progressivism with ideas that will eventually (about 30 years) look just tacky. Remember the "Everything is New" movement of the 1960's here in the good ol' US of A? Yeah, they knocked down a lot of great structures that had style, class and history, just to build big, ugly pastel-gray boxes. Yuck. I just don't care to repeat that past mistake. Miving forward means learning how to look back, and bring it all together.

However, this specific idea from the people of China is one I think works well. It brings together a harmony of nature and human living. It would be quite a marvel to see. Although, I'd still like to see some more character brought into the structure. Perhaps some Chinese symbols or statues or something? Hrm.

Anyhow, check it out; WATERWORLD

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Global Warning

An interesting video on a controversial topic.



http://break.com/index/tough-to-argue.html



What's your opinion?



I think it's better to take action, than do nothing. Because, in the end, it will only help establish a better world. Will there be struggle? Certainly. But what outweighs the alternative? At least we can recover from a depression, and even that might be an avoidable outcome of taking action against global warming. As long as we can anticipate it, we can act.



Good luck.



Pass it on...



-S

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Is There a Gas War Brewing? Facts, Ideas and Speculation.

The following is a response to an email from a friend, regarding this chain mail letter on the subject of boycotting Gas Prices!

----------------- see below for the original email -----------------------

You got it right, Bro.

Though I still believe there is a little inflation due to corporate greed, I won't expand on it here. Basically it is a 'buffering' of thier profit margin to assure they make a gain instead of a loss. It's like betting on the sure thing as well as the risk, and keeping a chip in your pocket for later. But, again, i won't go into it. I don't want to taint the good word that is the message of this letter. Though, I bet 10-1 that I'll ramble off at some point...

First off, I agree that these type of chain letters are just useless garbage. If you ask me, this is pure hearsay. The source is questionable at best, and cannot be taken to be a gospel of truth. It could be drummed up by competing companies to leverage sales in their favor. If this is the truth, it's an example of the corporations once again playing games with consumers. Or it could merely be generated by a really naive individual who doesn't concern themselves with factual studies or rational perspective. Also, as you stated, too much of what we know - and pass on unwittingly - is what we heard from someone else, without questioning or checking the source. So take it with a grain of salt, and do your own thorough research. It's a tough debate. I won't tell you what to believe or how to think, but I will share my opinions, and the facts I've found through research.

Gas prices are high due to WORLD demand, not just the demands of the local populace. For example, look at the price of milk. Though not a great example, it's one we can relate to and has similarities in our rate of consumption. As the consumption and demand for it increases, the supply decreases (though it is the same, there is less shares per person) and therefore the production must increase to match or outweigh the demand. This increased production is also going to raise the price to help pay for the increase in the efforts required to create the product (components, wages, storage, shipping, etc.), as well as to pay the taxes and levies involved. However, what then happens? If the demand is met, something interesting and frightening occurs. We [the consumer] realize - though the price is higher and we're already consuming more - that there is still (seemingly) enough available. To us that looks like there is a plentiful supply. We think to ourselves, "there must be more than enough to go around.". So, despite the price, we 'bite the bullet' and concede to the price. For some strange notion we simply give in (despite our groaning and complaining) and continue to purchase the produce. Soon, having become 'use to' the elevated cost, we continue to consume at a heightened rate, or even begin to consume yet more. The government's efforts to control this sort of growth is archaic and outdated; They increase taxes. Which this course of action, in turn, causes the price to increase to compensate. This is called inflation. This all creates a serious juxtaposition. Are you beginning to see the vicious cycle?

I am not a huge activist, and sometimes feel silly doing or saying things that would seem that way. I feel ashamed and hate to admit it, really. However, as often as I fault myself for not being more responsible, I find I am still not doing much to change my ways. Do I recycle? Sort of. Do I watch my consumption? Not really. But I should. Alternatively, and contradictorily, I actually do believe we all need to change the way we think about and do everything. We're just very stuck in our ways. We like what is familiar, easy and comfortable. I will try to do better.

We can't totally blame the government or the corporations, because in all seriousness WE ARE them. They're not run and regulated by robots or aliens (as far as we know), but by people.

It'll take a lot of effort and sacrifice by everyone on Earth, but all for the better good. It's time for another maturity growth-spurt of ourselves and our species. Time to begin figuring out how to merge and balance nature and technology. Are we not civilized? Honestly though, our efforts have been weak and misguided. We are a lazy, silly and confusing bunch, us humans.

Use Google Search and take a look at the global usage and pollution statistics. It truly is staggering!

Some other interesting sites;

http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php

http://www.worldometers.info/

http://www.geohive.com/default1.aspx

And again, to be honest, not only being less wasteful will help. A solution will come from everyone putting forth an effort, no matter how little (though preferably more), and sticking to it. Also, we need to begin utilizing a combination of new fuel and energy technologies with conservation. There is no one solution. It will be utilizing ALL of our knowledge and technology together that will overcome this problem. The effect of global organization and cooperation for a continued improvement could be profound and tremendously beneficial. Remember, it is OUR FAULT, and our problem to solve.

Ok, I could go on and on about this. I took the subject and ran off with it. I like sharing ideas and trying to figure things out. Told you I would ramble. So sue me. Better yet, post your opinion and we'll talk like civilized beings should; with civility and respect.

My final thought is to ask you to think about this; How much total energy did it require for you to read this email or for me to type it? The answer: More than we possibly realize.

Shawn

----Original Message Follows----

From: "Nathan Smith"

Subject: My opinion on the Gas war idea

Here's why I don't think this is a good idea for a few reasons; 1) It'll just shift power to the other companies, 2) Gas prices aren't controlled by supply, they're controlled by demand, and that's our fault, not the gas companies, 3) Gas prices rise due to shortages, which comes from us over-using gas.

Gas prices would probably decrease if the government could/would do something about Gas taxes AND if everyone started driving Hybrid cars. I just wish they weren't so damned expensive. BUT, we could REALLY use the lack of pollution. The amount America uses is staggering... and that's just our country, imagine the world. Read this article for some perspective: http://www.howstuffworks.com/question417.htm

Below is another article of what controls gas prices. Pass this on as well, so people are truly educated on the matter. The original chain letter was probably started by one of the smaller companies in hopes that the power would shift to them... just my opinion. There is a ton of more information that needs to be researched on the matter... too much of what we know is just our friends telling us something they "heard".

http://www.hoover.org/pubaffairs/dailyreport/archive/2827286.html

The proceeding letter that he is referring to has been deleted. It was a message called 'NEW GAS WAR' and is a chain form letter. It is SPAM. It is unfounded and full of factual errors. It's all subjective and only pushes an agenda of the writer. So, since it was long-winded and generally a rant, I deleted it from this post. You might be getting one, or one similar, in your email soon. It starts with something like this;

Subject: NEW GAS WAR
a new idea that WILL work

This was originally sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. It's worth your consideration...

It's basically this loverly gem of a letter that's been passed around since at least 1999. Ah, you gotta love propaganda spam nostalgia.

Form your own opinions. Discuss.

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Online Surveys - Scam or Legit?

I have yet to do much of my own research on this subject, but I have read some interesting things concerning them.

It appears that there is some truth to the "getting paid for opinions" story, as there are many legitimate organizations out there doing just that. However, there also many non-reputable organizations, run by nefarious and unscrupulous people, out to get your money. So it's no surprise that there are more scams than not.

My advice to you on this subject: Be extremely wary and cautious, never pay to take surveys, do your own research, check your sources, use reputable sites, and always read the terms & conditions carefully.

Also, it's not a bad idea to call or write to fraud and scam monitors, like Consumer Reports or the BBB.

Here are a few articles and blogs that I recently found, that discuss this issue;

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=19494

http://www.helium.com/tm/25954/short-answer-arent-tried

http://www.articlegeek.com/business/advertising/paid-survey-scam.htm

Be safe out there!

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