God Bless everyone as we bring in 2008.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
Monday, December 31, 2007
Last post of 2007
I'm standing here in old town Winchester waiting for the apple to drop and to see some fireworks. I wish that I was here with someone but at least I'm not stuck at home alone like I was last year. December 31st is always a tough night for me but I make it like the many many other singles out there.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Shopping for Wii games
Since the N.E.S. passed on, I really have not been interested in console games. When the Super N.E.S. came out, I tried it for a while but adding buttons to the controller was really a turn off for me. This is actually the biggest reason why I've never really been into playing games on a PC. This changed a few months ago when I visited my sister and played her Wii. I was instantly addicted. Not only is the button problem solved but Nintendo has created an entirely new was to interact with your games and it's easy enough that my parents and even grandparent's have been in on the action. For Christmas, this was all I wanted and, by some miracle, it's actually what my parent's got me (and my dad didn't even run people over in the store to get it -- dont ask, long story).
I've been doing some shopping for Wii games and accessories, of course. Most of it is just window shopping because I really can not afford much and most stores are sold out anyway but I realized something when it came to shopping for games: retail stores have to be losing purchases from windows shoppers. If you go into a retail store to purchase a specific game, it's great but if your going in without knowing exactly what you want, you're probably not going to buy a game from them. The reason for this is the glass cases that they are all locked in. I found myself at Target and at Wal-Mart just browsing for games and when something sparked my interest, I wasn't able to read the description of the game because its on the back of the box. If your window shopping for games you basically need to consume an employees time for the duration and you dont want to do that, nor does the employee. I found myself heading home and looking online for games where I not only can read the descriptions but I can also find reviews on how other people liked the games. Maybe it's not instant gratification but at least you know you'll be getting a decent game.
While I can't really complain about this because it does end up saving me money, I am baffeled at how these stores haven't realized this. Retail stores are starting to face lots of pressure from online retailers because of the large price differences and you would think they would want to encourage the "browse around and buy what looks good" method of shopping but they fall short of that with those glass cases. I can certainly understand the shrinkage concerns but all of the games are already electronically tagged and they are certainly a lot cheaper than many other items in the store that would fit in your pocket much more easily than a DVD-size case.
For me, I think I'll be doing almost all of my Wii shopping online and possibly even subscribing to GameFly. Heck, used games isn't such a bad idea either and GameFly can offer me that too.
I've been doing some shopping for Wii games and accessories, of course. Most of it is just window shopping because I really can not afford much and most stores are sold out anyway but I realized something when it came to shopping for games: retail stores have to be losing purchases from windows shoppers. If you go into a retail store to purchase a specific game, it's great but if your going in without knowing exactly what you want, you're probably not going to buy a game from them. The reason for this is the glass cases that they are all locked in. I found myself at Target and at Wal-Mart just browsing for games and when something sparked my interest, I wasn't able to read the description of the game because its on the back of the box. If your window shopping for games you basically need to consume an employees time for the duration and you dont want to do that, nor does the employee. I found myself heading home and looking online for games where I not only can read the descriptions but I can also find reviews on how other people liked the games. Maybe it's not instant gratification but at least you know you'll be getting a decent game.
While I can't really complain about this because it does end up saving me money, I am baffeled at how these stores haven't realized this. Retail stores are starting to face lots of pressure from online retailers because of the large price differences and you would think they would want to encourage the "browse around and buy what looks good" method of shopping but they fall short of that with those glass cases. I can certainly understand the shrinkage concerns but all of the games are already electronically tagged and they are certainly a lot cheaper than many other items in the store that would fit in your pocket much more easily than a DVD-size case.
For me, I think I'll be doing almost all of my Wii shopping online and possibly even subscribing to GameFly. Heck, used games isn't such a bad idea either and GameFly can offer me that too.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Living in the wrong era
As a kid we could walk to my grandmother's house and just walk right in even if she wasn't home. We didn't have a key - she just never locked her door. There wasn't a need and this was especially true to the people that grew up in their generation.
I keep feeling like God created me many years before I was born and just forgot to actually send me to earth. He finally remembered in 1980 but I was already at least 2 generations too late.
My life is just the same thing over and over again. It happens where I work, where I go to church, who I'm friends with, and even who I date. When someone needs help I put my all in to it. I always have the impression that whoever I'm helping will, in turn, appreciate what I am doing and will do the same if needed. While this was the way life was (and still should be) years ago, it isn't the case now. The result is I'm continually punished because I focus on caring about people but when I'm hurting not only is there no one there to help me, the people that I have been helping expect me to just keep going because they've grown accustom to whatever it is I'm doing.
So at a job, ill get the "this is business and that is personal" comment. The problem is that in order to be so passionate at work, I rely on all the good in my life but when there is a time of trial I end up going back down to average; average in the same standards that an employer will look for in a replacement. But because I put my all into something for a average pay doesn't mean I get a raise but it just means that the standards I get headed on go up. And these standards won't carry over to the next person they hire. No, they just apply to me without me getting any additional benefits. Naturally things go sour in the eyes of the employer and they generally end up disapointed in me. I end up back at square one. With people in my personal life, they just tag me as a horrible person and ignore anything that I did that was good for them. These are the things that turn me into a failure in everyone else's lives and, eventually, my own.
This is my life but its also an example of how society is in a downward spiral. The problem is that no one wants to stand against it because, well, you end up here writing this blog. For me, I don't know how else to live but I don't know if I'd want to anyway. Its just going to continue to be my life and all I can do is pray that I will someday find a girl who has this same problem. Of course I'm not holding my breath because they've all been with numerous guys in the past and have no desire to take a chance on me. Their solution to the problem is to change nothing but if they happen to find a guy that cares they just take what they can until it requires something of them. Once that time comes then the relationship with that vendor.... Oh, I mean person.... is over. We all hate corporate America but we live our lives with the thriving corporation as our bible. So what with that ancient book that was named "Bible" - we have new and greater things in our lives now.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Whack a Murdoch
It's a fun game but also a VERY serious issue. Play and have fun but please go sign the petition as well....
Thank You, T-Mobile
I just received this email which does make me feel a lot better about the situation.
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Subject: RE: T-Mobile/Twitter contradiction
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:47:25 -0800
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In-Reply-To: <9E24A493-03F0-4117-9B99-950D8D6B4E0C@bibleboy.org>
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From: "Media Relations"
To: "Bob K Mertz" <@bibleboy.org>
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 18 Dec 2007 18:47:26.0413 (UTC) FILETIME=[6F15B7D0:01C841A6]
Bob,
Apologies for the confusion. The initial information provided was simply
misinformed. The information provided by T-Mobile yesterday is correct -
The Twiiter issue over this past weekend was due to technical service
issues between Twitter and T-Mobile that have since been resolved.=20
Regards,
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Public Relations
---- Update ----
I later received this email which definately was a lot warmer than what I had been receiving from the president's office.
From: MediaRelations@T-Mobile.com
Subject: RE: T-Mobile/Twitter contradiction
Date: December 18, 2007 4:37:43 PM EST
To: bob@bibleboy.org
Thanks, Bob.
We certainly aren't trying to hide anything - we absolutely value our
customers and do our best to do right by them. As is today's tech age,
the misinformation spread like wildfire which contributed to the
widespread rumors. We took proactive measures to follow up on all
customer inquiries and media inquiries to ensure our customers had the
appropriate information.
Appreciate your note and happy holidays.
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Public Relations
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Subject: RE: T-Mobile/Twitter contradiction
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 10:47:25 -0800
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In-Reply-To: <9E24A493-03F0-4117-9B99-950D8D6B4E0C@bibleboy.org>
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To: "Bob K Mertz" <@bibleboy.org>
X-OriginalArrivalTime: 18 Dec 2007 18:47:26.0413 (UTC) FILETIME=[6F15B7D0:01C841A6]
Bob,
Apologies for the confusion. The initial information provided was simply
misinformed. The information provided by T-Mobile yesterday is correct -
The Twiiter issue over this past weekend was due to technical service
issues between Twitter and T-Mobile that have since been resolved.=20
Regards,
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Public Relations
---- Update ----
I later received this email which definately was a lot warmer than what I had been receiving from the president's office.
From: MediaRelations@T-Mobile.com
Subject: RE: T-Mobile/Twitter contradiction
Date: December 18, 2007 4:37:43 PM EST
To: bob@bibleboy.org
Thanks, Bob.
We certainly aren't trying to hide anything - we absolutely value our
customers and do our best to do right by them. As is today's tech age,
the misinformation spread like wildfire which contributed to the
widespread rumors. We took proactive measures to follow up on all
customer inquiries and media inquiries to ensure our customers had the
appropriate information.
Appreciate your note and happy holidays.
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Public Relations
Can T-Mobile Apologize?
I received another email from T-Mobile. This time I'm not even entitled to have the name of the person it came from.
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Subject: RE: ***Ban No. 498717587- Assigned to Marianne - Twitterr***Confirmation Request
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 06:07:40 -0800
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We have since verified that this was a rumor. Please see the second
email that was sent to you yesterday. Thank you,=20
________________________________
From: Bob K Mertz [mailto:@bibleboy.org]=20
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 3:26 PM
To: Executive Response (ECR)
Subject: Re: ***Ban No. 498717587- Assigned to Marianne -
Twitterr***Confirmation Request
Marianne,=20
Could you please explain to me why you previously emailed me that
T-Mobile was blocking the Twitter service? The following email is
signed with your very name. I can not understand this.
To me this is an annoying example of a company that was once highly focused on their customers and good business practices losing touch with what matters. Minus the possibility that T-Mobile gave kick backs to many, including Twitter (which I highly doubt because Twitter has shown lots of responsibility and, therefore, have my trust), the "rumors" that T-Mobile was blocking Twitter were actually started inside of T-Mobile and were spread not only via Customer Service but also via the Office of the President.
Up until now, everytime I contacted T-Mobile with an issue, they went out of their way to apologize for any inconveince that I at experienced. Now that we come to this issue of a huge failure of communication on T-Mobile's part that affected hundreds (maybe thousands) of customers and their response is to cleverly word emails to conceal the truth. While some emails infer that they made a mistake, they show absolutely no remorse for giving such blatantly incorrect information.
The majority of T-Mobile's customers are not with T-Mobile because they have the best coverage but because they have the best customer service and could always trust what they were told by the company. Going forward I have to now question the reliability of the information that T-Mobile provides to me because if, in a matter as trival as this, you can't get their honest response and apology then when the matter becomes an issue much larger you certainly will not be able to rely on the answer they give you.
Another huge issue in this is a display of capability. While this issue is not "Net Neutrality" per se, there was a blatant display of "we can keep you from doing what you want because it's our network" attitude which is, in fact, a violation of the spirit of neutrality. Coming from a company that has signed on with Google's Android to provide "Open Platforms", the attitude is very conflicting. While it may be true that T-Mobile did not filter SMS messages to Twitter, the executive office displayed their lack of concern of preserving customers' ability to access the information they want.
I have personally loved T-Mobile up until now and I have stood up for them many times because I beleived in them as a company. I've requested information from T-Mobile multiple times to give them an opportunity to apologize because I want to continue to believe in the company but T-Mobile is unwilling to give me, or any other customer, that sense of security and that hurts. This is the type of attitude that I would expect from AT&T or Verizon but not the #4 carrier that is trying their best to gain their customers' support.
I, for one, and very dissapointed in T-Mobile and, while this may not make me cancel my contract, it certainly will make me consider what I do when my contract is up.
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We have since verified that this was a rumor. Please see the second
email that was sent to you yesterday. Thank you,=20
________________________________
From: Bob K Mertz [mailto:@bibleboy.org]=20
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2007 3:26 PM
To: Executive Response (ECR)
Subject: Re: ***Ban No. 498717587- Assigned to Marianne -
Twitterr***Confirmation Request
Marianne,=20
Could you please explain to me why you previously emailed me that
T-Mobile was blocking the Twitter service? The following email is
signed with your very name. I can not understand this.
To me this is an annoying example of a company that was once highly focused on their customers and good business practices losing touch with what matters. Minus the possibility that T-Mobile gave kick backs to many, including Twitter (which I highly doubt because Twitter has shown lots of responsibility and, therefore, have my trust), the "rumors" that T-Mobile was blocking Twitter were actually started inside of T-Mobile and were spread not only via Customer Service but also via the Office of the President.
Up until now, everytime I contacted T-Mobile with an issue, they went out of their way to apologize for any inconveince that I at experienced. Now that we come to this issue of a huge failure of communication on T-Mobile's part that affected hundreds (maybe thousands) of customers and their response is to cleverly word emails to conceal the truth. While some emails infer that they made a mistake, they show absolutely no remorse for giving such blatantly incorrect information.
The majority of T-Mobile's customers are not with T-Mobile because they have the best coverage but because they have the best customer service and could always trust what they were told by the company. Going forward I have to now question the reliability of the information that T-Mobile provides to me because if, in a matter as trival as this, you can't get their honest response and apology then when the matter becomes an issue much larger you certainly will not be able to rely on the answer they give you.
Another huge issue in this is a display of capability. While this issue is not "Net Neutrality" per se, there was a blatant display of "we can keep you from doing what you want because it's our network" attitude which is, in fact, a violation of the spirit of neutrality. Coming from a company that has signed on with Google's Android to provide "Open Platforms", the attitude is very conflicting. While it may be true that T-Mobile did not filter SMS messages to Twitter, the executive office displayed their lack of concern of preserving customers' ability to access the information they want.
I have personally loved T-Mobile up until now and I have stood up for them many times because I beleived in them as a company. I've requested information from T-Mobile multiple times to give them an opportunity to apologize because I want to continue to believe in the company but T-Mobile is unwilling to give me, or any other customer, that sense of security and that hurts. This is the type of attitude that I would expect from AT&T or Verizon but not the #4 carrier that is trying their best to gain their customers' support.
I, for one, and very dissapointed in T-Mobile and, while this may not make me cancel my contract, it certainly will make me consider what I do when my contract is up.
Monday, December 17, 2007
OMG, come on T-Mobile
Ok, so I wanted to turn this back into a personal blog but I just can not pass up posting this. I have received an email from the same persona at T-Mobile that told me Twitter was being blocked. In her email.... well, I'll just let you read:
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Mr. Mertz:
Twitter users are welcome to stay connected through T-Mobile service. Rumors that T-Mobile blocks the service are false. T-Mobile confirmed with Twitter that there was a technical issue between the two companies’ systems that temporarily prevented some customers from utilizing the service this past weekend. That issue has since been resolved and the companies are working to prevent such incidents from re-occurring.
Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Customer Care at 800-937-8997. Thank you.
Marianne Maestas,
Executive Customer Relations Specialist,
Office of the President,
! T! ! ! Mobile!
stick together
My God.... it was one thing to hear two different departments contradicting themselves but now THE SAME PERSON?. I really don't think I need to comment anymore
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Mr. Mertz:
Twitter users are welcome to stay connected through T-Mobile service. Rumors that T-Mobile blocks the service are false. T-Mobile confirmed with Twitter that there was a technical issue between the two companies’ systems that temporarily prevented some customers from utilizing the service this past weekend. That issue has since been resolved and the companies are working to prevent such incidents from re-occurring.
Should you have any further questions regarding this matter, please feel free to contact Customer Care at 800-937-8997. Thank you.
Marianne Maestas,
Executive Customer Relations Specialist,
Office of the President,
! T! ! ! Mobile!
stick together
My God.... it was one thing to hear two different departments contradicting themselves but now THE SAME PERSON?. I really don't think I need to comment anymore
Final Thoughts on T-Mobile
With light of the posts that have been coming out today, I have to agree with most of them in the stressing that this is not a Net Neutrality issue. As a fellow blogger, I am asking that everyone take into consideration that this is my personal blog. Understand that I post things here for my friends to know whats up with me and this included the issues that I was having with T-Mobile. I did not post any of the initial posts with the intent that it would go as far as it has and, as such, I posted without serious investigation to the laws that govern SMS. I will admit that I incorrectly placed SMS into a "network" category rather than a "phone" category that it should have been in. While I agree that if T-Mobile was filtering Twitter SMS (which they were not) it would be in violation of the spirit of net neutrality, it is not an official or legal part of the debate.
This entire situation has shown many good things and many bad things. One thing that is a concern of mine was that many blogs and news site posted links to my blog and ran with it without even contacting me to confirm any information. It's actually just fine that the blogs didn't do that but the news sites, well, it's a little more of a concern. In fact, in this situation I think it went completely in the opposite direction. Almost all of the personal blogs that reported what I had posted actually confirmed the issue themselves. Even over at the Buzz Out Loud forum there was confirmation from another reader that he had received the same message.
The issue, going forward, is not about net neutrality but about customer service and executive offices quoting things that were blatantly incorrect.
It is now a very well known fact that the issue between T-Mobile and Twitter were, in fact, of a technical nature but this does not relieve T-Mobile of responsibility of the press that they are receiving and, in my opinion, the longer they go without making a statement, the more bad press they deserve. The fact remains that I sent an email to the executive office expressing my concern that T-Mobile was filtering Twitter, which I was told by a CSR at T-Mobile. The response to that email in a very harsh tone and, as we know now, full of incorrect information. I reported what had happened to me and, as fellow bloggers, it is your responsibility to fact check and confirm whether this is true or false. There are numerous people that did just that and there were many people that didn't.
Before I turn this personal blog back into just that, I want to give my final thoughts. First of all, mistakes are common in the blogosphere but facts are something that can be confirmed. The issue of filtering twitter may not be a part of net neutrality but the fact is the content of the email that I received. Secondly, it's be confirmed that the issue was of a technical nature and that has been resolved. The thing that has not been resolved is why T-Mobile responded in the way that they did. While I sit here asking bloggers to check their facts, I am reporting on a company that didn't do that and, for this reason, I feel that T-Mobile owes their customers an explanation of the situation.
T-Mobile has always been an incredible company in my eyes. Their concern for customer service has always been one of the greatest assets to the company and, as AlternaGeek reported, an amazing company for embracing new technologies. They continue to be my favorite mobile carrier. Some might say that can't be true because of the things I posted but the fact is the opposite is true. I want T-Mobile to address this issue because I don't want them to fall into the same category as the larger mobile providers that don't care about their customers. I believe that if a company is truly concerned about their customers they will investigate the things their own employees relayed and they will offer an explanation to their customers. If they stay silent then, to me, it would appear they really don't care what their customers think.
Just remember that if someone is wrong about one thing it does not mean they are automatically wrong about everything and this also means that if a company makes a mistake it doesnt make them the worst company in the world.
Happy Twittering! :)
This will be the last post that I make to my blog related to this issue unless I would hear additional communication from T-Mobile. Everyone is still more than welcome to contact me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org or to leave comments on this blog. I am a personal blogger and it's been a fun few days but I need to go back to my roots which are real life and not the New York Times
This entire situation has shown many good things and many bad things. One thing that is a concern of mine was that many blogs and news site posted links to my blog and ran with it without even contacting me to confirm any information. It's actually just fine that the blogs didn't do that but the news sites, well, it's a little more of a concern. In fact, in this situation I think it went completely in the opposite direction. Almost all of the personal blogs that reported what I had posted actually confirmed the issue themselves. Even over at the Buzz Out Loud forum there was confirmation from another reader that he had received the same message.
The issue, going forward, is not about net neutrality but about customer service and executive offices quoting things that were blatantly incorrect.
It is now a very well known fact that the issue between T-Mobile and Twitter were, in fact, of a technical nature but this does not relieve T-Mobile of responsibility of the press that they are receiving and, in my opinion, the longer they go without making a statement, the more bad press they deserve. The fact remains that I sent an email to the executive office expressing my concern that T-Mobile was filtering Twitter, which I was told by a CSR at T-Mobile. The response to that email in a very harsh tone and, as we know now, full of incorrect information. I reported what had happened to me and, as fellow bloggers, it is your responsibility to fact check and confirm whether this is true or false. There are numerous people that did just that and there were many people that didn't.
Before I turn this personal blog back into just that, I want to give my final thoughts. First of all, mistakes are common in the blogosphere but facts are something that can be confirmed. The issue of filtering twitter may not be a part of net neutrality but the fact is the content of the email that I received. Secondly, it's be confirmed that the issue was of a technical nature and that has been resolved. The thing that has not been resolved is why T-Mobile responded in the way that they did. While I sit here asking bloggers to check their facts, I am reporting on a company that didn't do that and, for this reason, I feel that T-Mobile owes their customers an explanation of the situation.
T-Mobile has always been an incredible company in my eyes. Their concern for customer service has always been one of the greatest assets to the company and, as AlternaGeek reported, an amazing company for embracing new technologies. They continue to be my favorite mobile carrier. Some might say that can't be true because of the things I posted but the fact is the opposite is true. I want T-Mobile to address this issue because I don't want them to fall into the same category as the larger mobile providers that don't care about their customers. I believe that if a company is truly concerned about their customers they will investigate the things their own employees relayed and they will offer an explanation to their customers. If they stay silent then, to me, it would appear they really don't care what their customers think.
Just remember that if someone is wrong about one thing it does not mean they are automatically wrong about everything and this also means that if a company makes a mistake it doesnt make them the worst company in the world.
Happy Twittering! :)
This will be the last post that I make to my blog related to this issue unless I would hear additional communication from T-Mobile. Everyone is still more than welcome to contact me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org or to leave comments on this blog. I am a personal blogger and it's been a fun few days but I need to go back to my roots which are real life and not the New York Times
A blogger attacks the blogosphere?
This really isn't totally related to the T-Mobile/Twitter issues but it appeared on the Twitter Blog related to my post(s) about T-Mobile. This really isn't an attack at anyone specifically but I'm just curious what people think about the situation and how people feel the Blogosphere works. There certainly is always the possibility of a blogger knowing what they are talking about and not knowing what they are talking about but, in my opinion, the blogosphere is the collective group of bloggers that back up and confirm each other. If every story on the internet right now about T-Mobile/Twitter was just a 100% copy of my blog, then this would be a completely different story. What happened is I seemingly posted to my blog first and people refered to it as the first story but numerous posts about this situation were related to people receiving the same email I received or, at the very least, the same response from customer service. There was even a post of someone claiming that a T-Mobile rep actually google'd my site and gave that email as their official response. Some confirmations occured on the Buzz Out Loud Forums while a good central point of confirmation after confirmation occured over at Satisfaction where Biz Stone himself said T-Mobile was blocking Twitter.
What does everyone think? I'm really curious to hear what the overall thoughts of this entire incident is. Please leave your comments below or email me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org
What does everyone think? I'm really curious to hear what the overall thoughts of this entire incident is. Please leave your comments below or email me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Ice Storm
We had an incredible ice storm that started last night at about 1am and got really bad really quick. I was actually more scared last night than I was when I was in the hurricane that I experienced when I lived in Florida. This is something that I have never experienced before. This really didn't affect a large number of people near as badly as it did for us that leave on the mountain tops, but it sure brought disaster for enough people. I was without power for almost 20 hours and Allegheny Engergy is expecting that some may not have power again until tomorrow evening.
When I woke up in the morning everything was literally coated in ice. Large branches and entire trees fell and collapsed because of the extreme pressure of the weight of the ice and the trees that didn't break were bent (some in a complete rainbow shape). Long after the rain/ice stopped falling it still appeared like a hail storm because of the chunks of ice falling off of the trees. When I went to my car I literally had to hold a plastic lid from a large rubbermaid container to keep the ice from striking my head - and even in that short walk, enough ice hit that lid that I probably could have been knocked silly if I didnt have it. Even during this time there were still entire branches cracking and falling off of trees.
I took a lot of pictures of this entire ordeal and I posted the best ones in two seperate photo albums. All of you are welcome to take a look:
Ice Storm (12/16/07)
Ice Storm (12/16/07) #2
When I woke up in the morning everything was literally coated in ice. Large branches and entire trees fell and collapsed because of the extreme pressure of the weight of the ice and the trees that didn't break were bent (some in a complete rainbow shape). Long after the rain/ice stopped falling it still appeared like a hail storm because of the chunks of ice falling off of the trees. When I went to my car I literally had to hold a plastic lid from a large rubbermaid container to keep the ice from striking my head - and even in that short walk, enough ice hit that lid that I probably could have been knocked silly if I didnt have it. Even during this time there were still entire branches cracking and falling off of trees.
I took a lot of pictures of this entire ordeal and I posted the best ones in two seperate photo albums. All of you are welcome to take a look:
Ice Storm (12/16/07)
Ice Storm (12/16/07) #2
T-Mobile and Twitter - Not quite there, but trying
Its been a long 48 hours or so and it looks like we are on our way to a resolution but we're not there yet.
For the past 30-45 mins, I have been having issues with not only sending tweets but with receiving them as well. It appears that I'm not the only one that is still having issues. I think that there is enough information coming from Twitter's official channels to not worry about policy at T-Mobile for blocking Twitter but there definately are still some kinks that are being worked out.
It also appears that I am not alone in thinking that T-Mobile needs to make a statement regarding the events of the last few days. If there was policy made to block Twitter and then it was retracted, they need to own up to it and if there wasn't then they need to answer for their executive offices telling many subscribers incorrect information (this is quite different than a CSR giving false information). In either case, they really need to explain why people in the executive offices were responding to customer in very harsh emails and almost in a threatening nature. If you havent read the response I received from T-Mobile, please click the tmo-vs-twit tag below and find that email.
In any case, it is really awesome to see people pull together and stand up for something that is right and I am honored to have been able to bring this information to you and be part of this community. No matter what part T-Mobile was wrong in, it is important that consumers stop rolling over and playing dead... when that happens, we'll start gaining ground in technology advancements.
Again, you are welcome to contact me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org with any information that you have or anything that you would like to share. Please also feel free to follow me on Twitter.
For now, I'm going to watch the ice fall around me and pray I dont lose power :)
For the past 30-45 mins, I have been having issues with not only sending tweets but with receiving them as well. It appears that I'm not the only one that is still having issues. I think that there is enough information coming from Twitter's official channels to not worry about policy at T-Mobile for blocking Twitter but there definately are still some kinks that are being worked out.
It also appears that I am not alone in thinking that T-Mobile needs to make a statement regarding the events of the last few days. If there was policy made to block Twitter and then it was retracted, they need to own up to it and if there wasn't then they need to answer for their executive offices telling many subscribers incorrect information (this is quite different than a CSR giving false information). In either case, they really need to explain why people in the executive offices were responding to customer in very harsh emails and almost in a threatening nature. If you havent read the response I received from T-Mobile, please click the tmo-vs-twit tag below and find that email.
In any case, it is really awesome to see people pull together and stand up for something that is right and I am honored to have been able to bring this information to you and be part of this community. No matter what part T-Mobile was wrong in, it is important that consumers stop rolling over and playing dead... when that happens, we'll start gaining ground in technology advancements.
Again, you are welcome to contact me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org with any information that you have or anything that you would like to share. Please also feel free to follow me on Twitter.
For now, I'm going to watch the ice fall around me and pray I dont lose power :)
Saturday, December 15, 2007
T-Mobile and Twitter, Friends Again?
Update 07:41pm EST: I can confirm that I can now send some SMS messages to Twitter. Whether political or technical, the issue is going in the right direction. I still really am hoping for a statement from T-Mobile regarding what happened and, if the issue wasn't political, why the president's office was indicating (in harsh emails) that it was blocking Twitter.
Update: AlternaGeek reports "All is Well"
Update 12/17/07 08:15am EST: It certainly seems that everything is now ok. With Monday morning arriving there are no more (visible) complaints of anyone still having issues. It will be interesting to see how T-Mobile handles the PR nightmare they created for themselves. Here a few links of sites reporting the incident after resolution:
WAP Review
Mashable
Well folks, it looks like Twitter and T-Mobile may be friends again. A statement from a Twitter rep indicates the issue is technical and not political.
Personally, I am not sure that I totally believe that this was never a political issue. While I understand that it's a common occurence for CSRs to give incorrect information to customers, this is of a different magnitude. Many people have e-mails from T-Mobile's President's office that not only state they are intentionally blocking Twitter but followed up with threats of the $200 early termination fee. These emails are on top of many people who were specifically told this by numerous different T-Mobile CSRs.
The important thing that matters is that the situation be rectified but the issue that will still remain is why T-Mobile responded in the ways that they did to their customers. It has a funny taste in my mouth -- the taste that someone felt the pressure and reversed a previous decission but didn't want to admit that they made a mistake.
The problem isn't solved at this time so it does remain to be seen but solved or not, T-Mobile certainly needs to send an apology to their customers for the ill-worded E-Mails that were sent out from the president's office.
Update: AlternaGeek reports "All is Well"
Update 12/17/07 08:15am EST: It certainly seems that everything is now ok. With Monday morning arriving there are no more (visible) complaints of anyone still having issues. It will be interesting to see how T-Mobile handles the PR nightmare they created for themselves. Here a few links of sites reporting the incident after resolution:
WAP Review
Mashable
Well folks, it looks like Twitter and T-Mobile may be friends again. A statement from a Twitter rep indicates the issue is technical and not political.
Personally, I am not sure that I totally believe that this was never a political issue. While I understand that it's a common occurence for CSRs to give incorrect information to customers, this is of a different magnitude. Many people have e-mails from T-Mobile's President's office that not only state they are intentionally blocking Twitter but followed up with threats of the $200 early termination fee. These emails are on top of many people who were specifically told this by numerous different T-Mobile CSRs.
The important thing that matters is that the situation be rectified but the issue that will still remain is why T-Mobile responded in the ways that they did to their customers. It has a funny taste in my mouth -- the taste that someone felt the pressure and reversed a previous decission but didn't want to admit that they made a mistake.
The problem isn't solved at this time so it does remain to be seen but solved or not, T-Mobile certainly needs to send an apology to their customers for the ill-worded E-Mails that were sent out from the president's office.
Friday, December 14, 2007
T-Mobile vs. Twitter (Links and ongoing updates) 12/15@2038
Last Update: 12/15/07 @ 8:38PM Eastern
Biz Stone has now officially announced that T-Mobile has shut Twitter off for good.
First, the important information. We need everyone to contact T-Mobile and explain to them the negative impact they have made in these last few days. Their customer service number is 800-937-8997 and you can email the President's office at rdotson@t-mobile.com. It is very important that we voice our opinion in this matter.
Please let me know if you have any other links or any additional information and I will be happy to update this information. For a complete list of my posts related to this issue, please go to http://blog.bibleboy.org/labels/tmo-vs-twit.html. You can email me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org
Hope to see you on Twitter from T-Mobile sometime soon! :)
Biz Stone has now officially announced that T-Mobile has shut Twitter off for good.
First, the important information. We need everyone to contact T-Mobile and explain to them the negative impact they have made in these last few days. Their customer service number is 800-937-8997 and you can email the President's office at rdotson@t-mobile.com. It is very important that we voice our opinion in this matter.
Now some links for your reference:
Personal Blogs: Posts at Satisfaction: People to Follow: Twitter apps to help you cope:
Send TXT via phone:
Stuff to think about: |
Please let me know if you have any other links or any additional information and I will be happy to update this information. For a complete list of my posts related to this issue, please go to http://blog.bibleboy.org/labels/tmo-vs-twit.html. You can email me at tmo-vs-twit@blog.bibleboy.org
Hope to see you on Twitter from T-Mobile sometime soon! :)
Response From T-Mobile
Update: To follow all of my posts related to the T-Mobile/Twitter issues, please click here.
From: ExecutiveResponse@T-Mobile.com
Subject: T-Mobile and Twitter
Date: December 14, 2007 4:49:07 PM EST
To: -----@bibleboy.org
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Dear Mr. Mertz:
My name is Marianne Maestas and I am with the Executive Customer Relations department of T-Mobile. I am contacting you on behalf of Mr. Robert Dotson in regards to the email that you sent him yesterday evening.
In your email, you express concerns, as you are not able to use your service for Twitter. As you have been advised, Twitter is not an authorized third-party service provider, and therefore you are not able to utilize service from this provide any longer. You indicate your feeling that this is a violation of the Net Neutrality.
T-Mobile would like to bring to your attention that the Terms and Conditions of service, to which you agreed at activation, indicate "... some Services are not available on third-party networks or while roaming. We may impose credit, usage, or other limits to Service, cancel or suspend Service, or block certain types of calls, messages, or sessions (such as international, 900, or 976 calls) at our discretion." Therefore, T-Mobile is not in violation of any agreement by not providing service to Twitter. T-Mobile regrets any inconvenience, however please note that if you remain under contract and choose to cancel service, you will be responsible for the $200 early termination fee that would be assessed to the account at cancellation.
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Customer Care at 800-937-8997. Thank you,
Marianne Maestas,
Executive Customer Relations Specialist,
Office of the President,
From: ExecutiveResponse@T-Mobile.com
Subject: T-Mobile and Twitter
Date: December 14, 2007 4:49:07 PM EST
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Dear Mr. Mertz:
My name is Marianne Maestas and I am with the Executive Customer Relations department of T-Mobile. I am contacting you on behalf of Mr. Robert Dotson in regards to the email that you sent him yesterday evening.
In your email, you express concerns, as you are not able to use your service for Twitter. As you have been advised, Twitter is not an authorized third-party service provider, and therefore you are not able to utilize service from this provide any longer. You indicate your feeling that this is a violation of the Net Neutrality.
T-Mobile would like to bring to your attention that the Terms and Conditions of service, to which you agreed at activation, indicate "... some Services are not available on third-party networks or while roaming. We may impose credit, usage, or other limits to Service, cancel or suspend Service, or block certain types of calls, messages, or sessions (such as international, 900, or 976 calls) at our discretion." Therefore, T-Mobile is not in violation of any agreement by not providing service to Twitter. T-Mobile regrets any inconvenience, however please note that if you remain under contract and choose to cancel service, you will be responsible for the $200 early termination fee that would be assessed to the account at cancellation.
Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Customer Care at 800-937-8997. Thank you,
Marianne Maestas,
Executive Customer Relations Specialist,
Office of the President,
Thursday, December 13, 2007
T-Mobile violates Net Neutrality? (Blocks Twitter)
Update: Apparently the email address for the customer service executive is rdotson@t-mobile.com and not rbotson like I first posted.
Update 12/14 @ 3:34pm: Twitter has confirmed that there is an issue on the satisfaction page (link below) but they don't indicate what the problem is. No one that I have been in contact with has heard anything from T-Mobile other than what we were told by customer service (that they are blocking twitter and/or they don't support short code)
Update 12/14 @ 4:58pm: I have received this response from T-Mobile. Very Upsetting
Update: To follow all of my posts related to the T-Mobile/Twitter issues, please click here
For the last few days I have been unable to send SMS messages to the Twitter service from my T-Mobile cell phone. This evening I decided that enough was enough and I called T-Mobile. I spoke with 3 different reps and would not let up until I got an answer for why this was no longer working. Finally I spoke with someone in Customer Relations and she felt strongly enough about this that she got a tech on the phone. After waiting for the tech to research the issue they came back with a response (and the rep I was spoeaking with was as outraged as I was). Their official response was that T-Mobile does not support third party messaging services and the reason why I am all of a sudden unable to send messages to the Twitter service is because their system "caught up to the bug." I specifically asked if this meant I should expect to never be able to send to Twitter again and the answer was yes.
I explained to the rep about Net Neutrality and, to be honest, she had been outraged from the start. She completely agreed with me that this was an example of T-Mobile picking and choosing who you can and can't use with your T-Mobile SMS. I also explained that I paid for unlimited SMS messaging and not selective unlimited SMS messaging. She, again, agreed.
The rep and I collectively agreed that this matter needed to be heard and she opened a "Voice Forum" request with the ID of 0623630. For reference to the people reading this, the rep that I talked to had the ID of 3828493.
One thing that I do want to request is that if anyone calls in to speak with someone or emails customer service, please do not speak negatively towards the rep that I spoke with. She was extremely helpful and very instrumental in getting the ball rolling.
Also, if you want somewhere to send an email, please use rdotson@t-mobile.com. It would be really great if we get a lot of people to write in or call in and explain the issues with their decission and how we object to any move that a company makes towards chosing what we can and can't do with a service we pay for.
Hope to see you on Twitter from T-Mobile soon! :)
Update 12/14 @ 3:34pm: Twitter has confirmed that there is an issue on the satisfaction page (link below) but they don't indicate what the problem is. No one that I have been in contact with has heard anything from T-Mobile other than what we were told by customer service (that they are blocking twitter and/or they don't support short code)
Update 12/14 @ 4:58pm: I have received this response from T-Mobile. Very Upsetting
Update: To follow all of my posts related to the T-Mobile/Twitter issues, please click here
For the last few days I have been unable to send SMS messages to the Twitter service from my T-Mobile cell phone. This evening I decided that enough was enough and I called T-Mobile. I spoke with 3 different reps and would not let up until I got an answer for why this was no longer working. Finally I spoke with someone in Customer Relations and she felt strongly enough about this that she got a tech on the phone. After waiting for the tech to research the issue they came back with a response (and the rep I was spoeaking with was as outraged as I was). Their official response was that T-Mobile does not support third party messaging services and the reason why I am all of a sudden unable to send messages to the Twitter service is because their system "caught up to the bug." I specifically asked if this meant I should expect to never be able to send to Twitter again and the answer was yes.
I explained to the rep about Net Neutrality and, to be honest, she had been outraged from the start. She completely agreed with me that this was an example of T-Mobile picking and choosing who you can and can't use with your T-Mobile SMS. I also explained that I paid for unlimited SMS messaging and not selective unlimited SMS messaging. She, again, agreed.
The rep and I collectively agreed that this matter needed to be heard and she opened a "Voice Forum" request with the ID of 0623630. For reference to the people reading this, the rep that I talked to had the ID of 3828493.
One thing that I do want to request is that if anyone calls in to speak with someone or emails customer service, please do not speak negatively towards the rep that I spoke with. She was extremely helpful and very instrumental in getting the ball rolling.
Also, if you want somewhere to send an email, please use rdotson@t-mobile.com. It would be really great if we get a lot of people to write in or call in and explain the issues with their decission and how we object to any move that a company makes towards chosing what we can and can't do with a service we pay for.
Hope to see you on Twitter from T-Mobile soon! :)
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
December Woes
I'm still alive. December really hasn't been that great of a month for me. It also seems that the tradition of my life totally changing every couple of years is about to hold true again.
Issue 1:
This county's health system sucks. The commercialization of health care is pathetic. Corporate America is about stepping on others to make money. When you apply this mentality to an industry about taking care of sick and dying people you can't expect it to work.
Issue 2:
I am outraged about the developement going on around my house. The building of stuff in Front Royal is sickening but they've gone a step further: they've already cleared 2 lots on each side of my house and today the building began in the lot closest to me. I haven't even lived in Linden for half a year and the place has changed so drastically already. This whole situation infuriates me beyond belief. I moved away from NoVA because I couldn't deal with this type of stuff and now they are invading me. The worst part about this is the fact that there are already a lot of houses on the market but of course the NoVA mentality makes you pathetic if you wear used clothes, buy a used car, or even live in a new house.
Issue 3:
What is the deal with this mentality from girls that no guy is capable of love. I am reading email after email, Blog after Blog, and having conversation after conversation that collectively puts guys down as a whole. I know many guys are assholes but if you believe that you can never trust a guy then you destroy the guys left that do actually care and rather than make the world a better place, you make it a hell of a lot worse - including your own world. There still are some guys that care who's hearts are continually broken because they are stereotyped as being "just another guy" and girls lose those guys because they can't trust and they can't make sacrifices for them. Even worse, those girls end up ultimately destroying those guys so that no one else can have him. This game between genders needs to stop or our world of hurt us going to start hurting more and more!
Monday, December 03, 2007
"This Christmas" / TobyMac
Joy to the world
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Now Jonnie never got his wish on
December 25th
That's what he said when he left
the orphanage 9 years old,
but Jonnie was an old soul
Gonna spend his first Christmas in a real home (In a real home)
Showed me a picture that he drew the night before
Was a picture of a man standin' outside a door
I asked him who it was and he said
someone I only see in dreams
Comforts me when I cry myself to sleep
Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters
this Christmas This Christmas
Believe in angels' Jonnie asked me starin' at the sky
I said I do and saw a sparkle in his eye
Big brother for the weekend respondin' to the season
Took the chance that givin's better than recievin'
Two nights, a new family, some holiday cheer (holiday cheer)
We laughed and sang Came on a midnight clear
We gave, recieved, and as we headed to close
We looked to the heavens and it started to snow down blessings
Father of the fatherless
Be with yous sons and daughters
this Christmas
(You ain't livin' til you choose to give love
and joy and peace to one of His)
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas
(You ain't livin' til you choose to give,
you ain't livin' til You choose to give)
(James 1:27) Religion that God our Father
Accepts as pure and faultless is this
To look after orphans and widows in their distress
Merry Christmas everyone
Joy to the world The Lord is come
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Believe in angels Jonnie asked me starin' at the sky
I said I do and saw a sparkle in his eye
9 years old, but Jonnie was an old soul
Gonna spend is next Christmas in a real home
"This Christmas" by TobyMac
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Now Jonnie never got his wish on
December 25th
That's what he said when he left
the orphanage 9 years old,
but Jonnie was an old soul
Gonna spend his first Christmas in a real home (In a real home)
Showed me a picture that he drew the night before
Was a picture of a man standin' outside a door
I asked him who it was and he said
someone I only see in dreams
Comforts me when I cry myself to sleep
Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters
this Christmas This Christmas
Believe in angels' Jonnie asked me starin' at the sky
I said I do and saw a sparkle in his eye
Big brother for the weekend respondin' to the season
Took the chance that givin's better than recievin'
Two nights, a new family, some holiday cheer (holiday cheer)
We laughed and sang Came on a midnight clear
We gave, recieved, and as we headed to close
We looked to the heavens and it started to snow down blessings
Father of the fatherless
Be with yous sons and daughters
this Christmas
(You ain't livin' til you choose to give love
and joy and peace to one of His)
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas
(You ain't livin' til you choose to give,
you ain't livin' til You choose to give)
(James 1:27) Religion that God our Father
Accepts as pure and faultless is this
To look after orphans and widows in their distress
Merry Christmas everyone
Joy to the world The Lord is come
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Let heaven and nature sing
Believe in angels Jonnie asked me starin' at the sky
I said I do and saw a sparkle in his eye
9 years old, but Jonnie was an old soul
Gonna spend is next Christmas in a real home
"This Christmas" by TobyMac
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