I'm Lost in Twitter Limbo

How many of you use Twitter? Let’s see a show of hands. Now put your hand down if you’ve had problems with Twitter, specifically logging in and your account access? How many hands are still up?

I’ve been a Twitter user since November and started having problems a few months ago. It started where I couldn’t log-in and I had to keep resetting my password. I’d click remember me and it never would. About a month ago I couldn’t log in at all and I contacted Twitter. I was told to log-in using my email address. When I did that I had to again reset my password but I was able to get on. For the past month I could only access my account through my email address.

Today I happened to notice that I only had 4 followers and I was only following 1 person. That shocked me since I had close to 1000 followers and I was following about 600 people. I then happened to notice the photo I’d added was gone and it was the generic icon or avatar that Twitter provides. That’s when I noticed my ID was different.

When I signed up I requested the name DeeLan but it wasn’t available so they set me up with DeeLan03. Today I noticed my ID was DeeLan. I viewed the updates I’ve made and there were only about 6 of them.

Was my account hacked? Is there a virus I don’t know about? How did my ID get changed? Where did they put me? Has someone’s been playing around with my account or is Twitter is playing games with me? I contacted Twitter about this but so far haven’t gotten any reply. I feel so violated.

Why Does Everything Turn Into Political Bashing?

I was surfing the internet today and came across several forums and message boards where the conversation started out very innocent but someone had to come along and inject politics into it. One such thread I’d found after reading a blog post about Natalie Maines shaving her head and giving a link to photographs. On that thread several people commented that she looked like Matt Damon and some commented that she’s brave to try to pull that look off. The comments then took a turn when people started attacking Natalie Maines because of her comments against President Bush. That prompted someone to get on and turn it around and attack previous posters calling them “red neck dumb bigoted homophobic racist chauvinistic idiots.”

Why do some people have to inject hate and into everything and then turn it around into a political debate. After that comment people started bashing our government and George W. Bush while others were expressing their hate over President Obama.

I agree everyone is entitled to their opinions and if they don’t agree with mine that doesn’t mean that person deserves to be called names or ridiculed. I didn’t vote for Obama and I don’t agree with a lot of what he says but he is my President and as long as he’s sitting in the Oval Office he deserves and will get my respect and my prayers. President Obama can’t turn this country around all by himself any more than Bush ruined our economy all alone. Our government was set up with checks and balances and the President doesn’t have that much power but he does get all the blame when something goes wrong.

Everyone’s blaming Bush for the economy. He may have been President when money was given to AIG but he didn’t make that decision alone. It’s easy after the fact to see there should have been more accountability for the use of those funds and this administration is going to try to change that but that’s something Congress has to do. If it fails, Obama will be blamed if it succeeds Obama will get the praise. People talk as if the entire Congress changed when Obama took his oath. No, it didn’t, some representatives and senators are new but not all, some were there when Bush was in office and some were there when Clinton was in office. Heck, some have been there so long they were probably in office with Nixon.

Sorry, I got off on a tangent there, back to my initial rant. Stop all the name calling and generalizations just because someone doesn’t agree with you. We have the freedom to have our own opinions and not have to believe the way we’re told. That’s what makes this a great country and I’m proud to be called an American and even though I didn’t vote for him I’m proud to say President Obama just as I was proud to say President Bush.

My (not so good) Experience with CSN Sheds

I’m so mad I could spit fire right now. We were looking for a storage shed and found one we liked by Suncast. No, Suncast isn’t the problem. We did a search to find where it was sold and found CSN Sheds a part of CSN Stores that had the what we wanted for the price of other places but they had free shipping where other companies charged anywhere from $50-$100+. This site had a good rating so we ordered it. This was on March 5.

Jump ahead 1 day and they deducted the money from our account but no word on the location of the shed. Jump ahead again to March 24 and their website now says our order is in the warehouse. I thought they weren’t allowed to charge us until the item had shipped. I called the company and was told that we must have authorized them to take the money immediately so they did. No, we’re very cautious of our accounts and money and there’s no way we would have authorized someone to take money from us while they still had possession of the item. I was told the shed was scheduled to ship on or before April 2.

Jump ahead 2 days to today. We received an email stating:

Regarding your order at CSN Sheds:

We have just learned that certain items on your order (#*******) have been discontinued by the manufacturer. As a result the following have been cancelled:
• Suncast - Horizontal Utility Shed [Qty - 1]
Your new order total is $0.00.

You will not be charged for the cancelled items. Please note it may take 2-3 weeks for a pending charge to expire on your account. If you paid with a check or money order, you will receive your refund check in 2-4 weeks.

We sincerely apologize for the discontinuation. We do our best to make sure items we offer are always available; however, occasionally a product will be discontinued without our knowledge. We try to offer a wide selection of products and would be happy to try to help you find something similar.

Please feel free to email us or call us at (800) 505-6893 with any questions. We strive to provide you with an easy and pleasant shopping experience and would like to help you out in any way that we can.

Nate B.
Customer Service Team
CSN Sheds

WHAT, first our order is in the warehouse and now it’s not available. They took our money BEFORE they sent our merchandise but it’s going to take 2-3 weeks for them to return it.

I of course call CSN Shed and asked why if our shed was in the warehouse 2 days ago they couldn’t ship that one. Their response was that our order went to the warehouse but they have a 1 ½ week lag time in processing and shipping and today when they went to process the order they found they were out of stock. They called Suncast to check on availability and was told the item had been discontinued and was no longer available. I also told them I was upset about the delay in getting our funds back and since they were a BS company I will not be looking for a replacement shed through them but going elsewhere. They have lost a customer.

I decided I wasn’t satisfied so I called Suncast to check on the shed and if they knew anyplace in my area I could find one. The woman I spoke with handled CSN Shed’s account and said the item has not been discontinued and was still available. She had no idea where they got their information. I was also told that CSN Sheds sends the order to them and they drop ship it directly from the company. No, they don’t sell directly to the customer but she did give me several places I could find the same item.

I think right now I’m upset most about the fact that I was lied to. I do NOT like being lied to and will tell anybody who will listen about my experience with this company.

In checking Reseller Ratings we discovered that 4 out of 6 people were very dissatisfied with this company. I wish we would have investigated this company a little further and went to Reseller Rating before placing our order.


Added 3/27/09....I called CSN Sheds this morning to speak with a supervisor and let him know I don't appreciate being lied to. I relayed to him my conversation with Suncast. His reply....He sent my husband an email earlier apologizing and said the entire matter was handled wrong. They have 2 warehouses they use and the one my order went to was out of stock and weren't getting any more. The email above was a generic email they send. I informed him that the customer service rep I spoke with yesterday verbally said they contacted Suncast and were told the item had been discontinued when in fact it wasn't. The supervisor apologized for the "miscommuication." EXCUSE ME....There was no miscommunication it was NOT THE TRUTH. For my problems he sent us a 20% off coupon good towards a future purchase. I informed him that he wasted that coupon since we WILL NOT be doing business with them again. I'm wondering if his apology and coupon was the result of Suncast notifying them of their blunder.

We found the same item at Amazon, with shipping it is $15 more and will be delivered next week.

Thank You Amazon......

McMoron's

I don’t do fast food too often but when I do I’m reminded of an Andy Andrews routine I heard in the early 80’s. He was going on and on about one of the most famous fast food places and how they all had the same person at the drive thru, McMoron. You know who he’s talking about, they never get your order straight and ask the same questions even after you’ve already given the answer.

I’ve come to the conclusion that ALL fast food places get their employees from the same place, McMoron University. They have to, how else could they all have employees with the same level of or lack of intelligence and common sense.

I went to Sonic twice in the past month just to get a shake and malt. The first time I gave my order as 1 regular peanut butter fudge shake and 1 regular chocolate malt. I had to repeat my order 3 times and she still couldn’t get it straight. OK, I admit, I was partially to blame as I kept asking her to make them thick since I had to drive about 20 minutes to get home with them. I guess the extra instruction confused her because when I she told me the price it was for 1 regular drink. I hit the call button again, explained the problem and gave my order again to someone else.

The second time I stopped at Sonic I was with my husband. I again asked for a regular chocolate malt and he got a regular banana shake. They messed up and made him a chocolate shake instead. They realized their error before bringing it to us and corrected it but now they weren’t sure which of the chocolate drinks was a malt so they brought us all 3.

I’ve had similar problems with BK where I ask for mustard, ketchup and pickle only but when I get it home it’s got everything EXCEPT mustard, ketchup and pickles. Go to McD’s or BK and ask for a plain hamburger and they really have a hard time with that. I have to explain it’s for my dogs and all they’re interested in is the meat.

I have a solution for the fast food places, you already have 2 windows, 1 to pay and the other to pick-up your food. Instead of having the person at window 1 take your order via intercom have her take your order face to face. That way if she can’t understand what you’re saying she may be able to read your lips.

Ghost Whisperer - Heeee's Baaaack

The good news; Jim remembers he’s Jim and everyone’s happy. The bad news; I didn’t like the way they did it. Yeah I agree it’s about time Jim remembered his past but last week he discovers Melinda sees and talks to ghosts and doesn’t believe her and tonight he suddenly remembered everything about their past. Now he doesn’t remember his time as Sam and apparently he doesn’t remember dying either but he seems pretty cool with the news. Melinda showed him his reflection in a mirror and after a short scream he asks if this is his face from now on. No denial, no freaking out, no depression, just OH, OK…At least you still look the same.

They also did an about face with the ghost of Dr. Byrd. He seemed all evil and menacing then at the end he realized the error of his ways and goes into the light.

As you can tell, this wasn’t one of my favorite episodes. In my opinion they wrapped everything up too neatly and they did it too quickly. We had 4 months of Jim/Sam and in 2 episodes everything’s OK. Now it’s time for real confusion to set in. Four months in our time has only been a month in Granview time but now time will speed up because Melinda will find out she’s pregnant and it’s rumored to be Jim’s and by the end of the season she’s going to be VERY noticeably pregnant. So let’s see, 4 months our time is 1 month in Granview but the next 1-2 months Granview time will be like 3-5 months our time.

I’m getting a headache.

The rumor has been confirmed by Jamie Kennedy. He revealed to Ryan Seacrest on his morning radio show that it’s true, he’s dating Jennifer Love Hewitt and says he’s in love.

For updates on Ghost Whisperer visit my new blog TV Chat

Ghost Whisperer - Jim Remembers and Baby Makes Three

This weeks Ghost Whisperer left me on the edge of my seat. Jam just found out Melinda sees and talks to ghosts and tonight she tells him that he's really her dead husband Jim. I want Jim's memories to surface and the previews for next week it looks like they do. I’m not really sure what’s happening but it may involve the ghost of Dr. Bird (Byrd) from this week’s episode. After all, he did threaten Melinda. Anyway, the previews showed Jam who at this point thinks Melinda is a nutcase, jumping into some water, I think to save her. When he wakes up she calls him Sam and he wants to know who Sam is. Is this the reunion of Melinda and Jim?

Another Spoiler I just found, Melinda is pregnant. Now the question, is the baby Jim’s or Sam’s. Since it doesn’t look like Melinda and Sam have done the nasty yet it’s probably Jim’s but wouldn’t she have known before now? I mean, how long has Jim been “dead?” From what I read, close friends and family will know about it and for other’s it may look like Sam is stepping in to care for Jim’s baby. Here are some photos of Melinda’s baby bump.

For updates on Ghost Whisperer visit my new blog TV Chat

So Much To Do; So Little Time

I didn’t realize it had gotten this bad. I mean I knew it could be a problem but I had no idea how huge it had gotten in such a short amount of time. I’m talking about my new addiction to Animal Crossing on Wii.

I never got into video games. I’d play an occasional solitaire or mahjong on the PC and I did play Mario and Tetris on a Gameboy many years ago. I even have poker for my Gameboy Advance but not the big console games. I never understood how people could sit for hours in front of those things until they got glassy eyed and lost most of their brain function. Now, I’m one of them.

I figured out what it is. There’s something hidden inside those games that hypnotize you and brainwash you. But I love the little town I moved to. My neighbors; Pecan, PeeWee and Nibbles. Even Gloria, who can be hard to understand is growing on me. I contribute to the town fund regularly and I’ve paid off my mortgage in about a week and recently got an addition to my house. The other day a cousin visited me from her home town. Now all the people in town are talking about her. All I hear is; “I wish Sharon would come visit again.” “Sharon’s a regular Average Joe.”

Last night when I finally ventured into the real world and got on my computer I had an email from a friend asking if I was OK. She hadn’t heard from me or seen any blog posts in a while and thought something was wrong. That’s when I started thinking I might have a problem. I think I’ll go into town later and ask the residents if there’s a 12 step program for that but I’ll wait until after I sell the 24 fish I have in my living room, the 2 tires I caught my old wallpaper and some other odds and ends. Then I have to get all the apples off the trees, look for more bells, dig for treasure, see if my cherry tree is blooming yet, talk to the townsfolk, get my cup of coffee and shop at Tom Nook’s new store (It was closed yesterday for remodeling). Then I may venture downtown and see a movie and, well, I think that 12 step program can wait a little longer.

Photo Credit: www.Nintendo.com

Cherish Bound Giveaway Winner

The winner of the Cherish Bound Giveaway, chosen by Random.org generator is commenter #11, Christine. Christine is author of a couple of blogs: The Power of Housewife Word of Mouth and Mom Tidings. Christine would like to make a storybook for her daughter Rebecca for her birthday about her cheerleading trip to Disney.

Congratulations Christine. Tara from Cherish Bound will be contacting you about your starter kit and publishing account.