Security is one thing, stupidity and stubbornness are totally different

So, I had a check electronically issued from my bank to pay mother for watching the dogs a few weeks ago. She took it into her bank in Kenosha to cash it and the teller said she could not cash it because "it didn't have a signature".  Mother* claims she even spoke to the manager.  So I get "on the horn", so to speak, and have an online chat with my ez-pay teller to find out what the problem is (that tellers in Kenosha are stupid, apparently).  Shouldn't be a problem she tells me. Give your mother our phone number and have her bank call us to verify that it isn't a problem.

The text I sent Mother: ###-###-#### have your bank call my bank and they will hold their hand and walk them through the deposit process.

Mother's reply: Dont worry my bank still questions my payee* check afer a year*.

* Granted, she is not the brightest crayon in the box, is a few fries short of a happy meal, etc, etc and could possibly have done something moronic to deserve the check cashing ban. I mean, come on, the federal government doesn't trust her with her social security checks and requires her to have a * payee...

* I tell you what, if my bank were so stupid and difficult to work with, I'd have found another bank a year ago! Or I'd be the crazy who gets so frustrated and furious that I'd end up screaming at them in the middle of their lobby! IDIOTS!

Shake...shake...shake...shake...shake... ... ...

We've been tring to teach Chewie to shake for almost 2 years (he is 2 and a half). He has stubbornly refused to lift his paw off the floor even just to humor us. He will sit and plant both front legs firmly on the floor. When we lift one and demonstrate shake it is actually a challenge to get it up because he is resisting.


We try to use Booker as an example of what we expect from Mr. Chew. When you say shake to Booker he jets out his right paw with delight. If you have something really good (a piece of hot dog or a bully stick) he will do the "double shake" and give you both paws.


Chewie has stubbornly refused to shake - and I mean refused. We're sure he's refusing just to spite us. He's an exceptionally smart dog, he's used the "potty paw" (an electronic "I need to go out" device that is essentially a wireless doorbell that he stomps on when he wants out) since he was a few months old. [Then he abused the potty paw and we took it away - stomping on it every few minutes whenever he didn't get his way got to be very irritating.]


Well, yesterday we tried again with some new treats. First he tried his default response, the scoot. He sits on his butt and sort of scoots so his back legs stick out. Quite cute, but certainly not a shake. THEN...to our shock, after a few more requests (and us stubbornly refusing to release the treat), his paw gently, limply lifted from the floor. Not quite a shake, but his paw left the floor! A fluke?


We got another treat and tried again. Again after about 15 requests he bored of us and limply lifted his paw.


Hope lives on.

NOW begins the boycott of all things Dell.

I haven't mentioned the demise of my laptop (again) because we have the old one and we also have desktop systems which I can use. HOWEVER, I have had it with Dell and I want to spread the fact that they sell inferior products and have inferior customer service. I am sick of paying for a product and not receiving what we pay for.

Several years ago we bought our first laptop from Dell. Within the 2 years of owning it, it needed to have the motherboard replaced - twice - for a known issue which they were being sued for. This was a nightmare which I won't go into (you can read about it here.) When the warrenty was up we decided to order a new one since the old was limping along.

The new system arrived and was wonderful for 6 months. In March it became virtually non-usable due to a faulty video card that Dell apparetly retrofitted (and destroyed in the process) so it would fit in a smaller case. Long story short, we have had to re-install Windows a minimum of 12 times in order to keep it functioning. I have sent it to Microsoft (via my brother-in-law who works for Microsoft Technology Center in Chicago) for a rollback to Windows XP in hopes that XP would be compatable with the video card (initially it was thought to be a Windows Vista problem). I have dealt with Dell Tech "service" for months via email. Craig just spent 5 hours via Dell chat tech service.

Tech service has had us jump through hoops (all of which we had already jumped through on our own). After 5 hours today Craig was informed that the problem was "being elevated" and he would receive a call from someone withing an hour.

Craig received the call. He was informed that they "are working on a patch"! When Craig told them that this answer was unaceptable and would affect our choice to purchase a Dell in the future the tech asked if Craig would like the service call to be "elevated" again. UMMM, YEAH!

So, as it stands, Dell has done nothing to solve the ongoing problem. They have offered no refund, no replacement, no fix after a minimum of 10 hours of communication with tech service. Our warrenty expires in 3 months, which I suspect is what they are waiting for. I am currently searching online to see if there is another class-action lawsuit for this known and ignored problem. I will never purchase a Dell again and would suggest others (especially others with limited computer knowledge who cannot argue with them in their tech speak) also avoid Dell.

That is all.

I got a few shots while mom and dad were out finding worms after the rain today. There are a total of 4. It looks like they may start flight school this weekend while we are out of town unfortunately.

The Old Lady

I LOVE my Dyson vacuum. The one regret I have is the color. I always feel like I am pushing a Red Hat Society lady around my living room.

Alright, two regrets, I wish we would have spent the extra $100 at the time and gotten the Dyson Animal. The dog hair in my house is OUT OF CONTROL! I could really use the attachment to vacuum the furniture. I just vacuumed on Sunday and it's only been two days. I had to empty the canister two times going around the living room.