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I'm on the phone with MCI again. This is the 48th time I've had to call about my $158.89. The 48th Fucking Time. Why the fuck MCI can't get their act together and just fix this is beyond me. Today alone I've been transferred to four different departments. I spoke with a supervisor who said "I've been here five years and handled stuff bigger than this, and there's nothing we can do." One woman asked me to fax something - a thing I've faxed three times now - because "it was lost or you sent it to the wrong department." This, of course, after being promised a refund check twice (the link above dates the second as August 20).

Part of my jobs (yes, all of them) is to make the customer happy. To do what I can, even if it's not done often - to make them happy. MCI has had 48 opportunities to make me happy by saying "I apologize sincerely, and even though it's not something we can normally do, I think you've presented enough evidence that I'm simply going to issue you a refund." I've given away free copies of my software to customers, issued refunds against our stated "no refunds" policy, and more. Customer "service" is a complete misnomer these days.

I love my TiVo. I love my kayak. I love certain other products (I'm typing on one now). These products are made by companies that mold me into a loyal customer. They'll bend the rules to cut me some slack now and then, because they realize that long-term profitability means making customers happy. I've got a fairly strong loyalty to each of these companies. I dislike MCI more strongly than I am loyal to the makers of the products I've mentioned combined.

MCI simply does not understand the power of word of mouth advertising, or they simply consider themselves too big to care. MCI does not empower its employees - at any level of the command chain - to simply "service" a customer. MCI, in a word, "sucks." This is a company that - as soon as this can be resolved - will never ever see my business again. They're lumped in with Verizon as the only two companies that have compelled me to speak against them whenever I hear their name. As soon as I can cancel my service (and as much as I like the "Neighborhood" package I have now), I will do so.

5 months this has taken. 3 faxes. 48 calls! 2 promised checks. I will never use MCI again.

Question: How fast are your reflexes?

My Answer: 0.218 seconds without randomly clicking to try to "guess" at the time.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week I embarked on a trek. Rising each day at 4:00am, and on the road by 4:30am each day for a 7:00am launch time, I drove 280 and 380 miles (round trip totals) to Flamingo and Daytona, FL. I fished the first day in Everglades National Park with Charlie, and the second with Mike of Paddle and Pole.com. Let's run the numbers:

Miles (Total):    660
Tanks of Gas:       2
Miles per Gallon:  32
Fish Caught:        4
Species Caught:     4
New Friends:        2
Hours of Sleep:     5
Exhaustion Level: 50%
Mosquito Bites:  ~200

So, a success. Charlie had a big fishing "book" of all the knowledge he's gained. I need to start one. I need to start by documenting conditions, and I need to quickly follow that up with directions to get to places. Y'know, so I can go back some day.

I'm not that tired. I slept in (until 8) today. I feel good. Oh, and the species? Trout, catfish, ladyfish, tarpon. There you have it. Mike nailed three nice size redfish. I was hoping to lock into one, but no luck.

Thanks to Judi, I've implemented this method of easily handling comment spam. What I'd really like is a link that does a few things:

• Deletes the comment.
• Rebuilds the entry.
• Adds the IP to the block list.

All in one click.

I don't plan to implement the comment queueing trick because I think that people like to see comments in a timely fashion, and sometimes I'm away (or asleep) for a few hours.

Question: How do you deal with mosquito bites?

My Answer: Toothpaste. Yes, you read correctly. Dab a little toothpaste on, rub it in, and the itchy feeling goes away. It cools and comforts. I think it has to do with the fluoride or something. Anyway, it works. And believe me, I know - I just tested it out again today.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Question: What's your favorite peripheral, excluding keyboards and mice?

My Answer: That'd easily have to be my iPod, though I value and really like everything else: my hard drive, my card readers, my CD-RW, my iSight, my cameras, everything.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Question: Coke or Pepsi?

My Answer: Coke. C'mon, no contest! I haven't had a Pepsi in about six years.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Question: What's the fastest you've ever travelled in a car? Were you at the wheel?

My Answer: 127 and yes. And if I told you in what car you wouldn't believe me.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Tomorrow I'm driving about 2 1/2 hours to Flamingo, FL to get in some tarpon fishing. Wednesday I'm driving about 2 1/2 hours north to Daytona Beach and Mosquito Lagoon to get in some redfish fishing. That's about 600 miles in two days. I'll wake up at 4:30am and get back home around 10pm. And these are my days off!

I'm heading out tomorrow with a guy named Charlie in Everglades National Park. He said that he can't find any snook, but he's catching a lot of tarpon. "Only 15 or 20 lbs" he said. Heh! That's a big steelhead, so hey, I'm ready and rarin'! Wednesday I'm heading out with Mike of Paddle and Pole.com. I hope I can remember to take the camera(s).

The shine is off of Tommy Maddox. Several bad decisions, several bad throws, and a completely absent running game left the Steelers not in Steel Town this evening, but in Shit Town. Everywhere you looked, the Steelers looked pathetic. The offensive line couldn't hold off a four-man rush. Zereoue couldn't hit a hole without trying a spin move to save his life. The secondary couldn't defend, and Maddox couldn't hit open receivers. Heck, the receives could barely get open.

Three touchdowns run back for touchdowns this year from Maddox. 37 points to the Browns of all teams. They're not that good a team. Tim Couch played like Tommy Maddox should be playing, completing pretty much every pass he threw. I can barely remember a pass completed by Maddox.

Pathetic. The season isn't over by a long stretch, but at 2-3 and going downhill, I'm not terribly optimistic.

A week ago I wrote about how Cingular would be GSM in a week where I live. Good thing, too, as I just snapped the antenna off of my reliable, trusty Motorola v60. While the v600 isn't out yet (the phone I really want), I imagine I may be picking up a T616 to tide me over.

I don't know how it broke off. I went to answer it, and it cut out with a "no service" light, and only then did I notice that the antenna (and some of the phone into which it fits) was missing. It didn't just unscrew - it broke off, taking part of its joint mate with it. I doubt the insurance I've got on the phone (through Cingular) covers that stuff, does it?

Fuck. I was going to get rid of it, but not like this, and not this soon. Will Cingulars even have GSM phones? Will I have to get by with some lame-ass TDMA phone until the v600 becomes available? What to do? Ugh. >:-o

Question: How many Firewire devices are hooked up to your computer?

My Answer: Six or seven, depending on where my DV camera is at the moment.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Question: If you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?

My Answer: I haven't got a clue. Part of me wants to say George W. Bush, so that I could "fix" certain things. Part of me wants to say Britney Spears, so that I could sleep with myself (when I got back into my body, I'd sure have some stories to tell!). Hugh Hefner, perhaps. I just don't know. I'm pretty happy as me, most days.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Question: What's been the biggest letdown of your life?

My Answer: Two word: Neil O'Donnell. Need some more words? Super Bowl XXX. I guess it's a good thing if the biggest letdown of my life is a game.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Ahhhh, Britney:

Now she's posing in Esquire, and the cover (above) copies a 1966 pose by actress Angie Dickinson for the November issue of Esquire.

Like I've said before, she may have a dumb stance on politics or only a slightly better than average ability to sing, but she's well above average on the looks scale.