Brad from PodCulure had a rant about problems with X Box customer service on the last show, and just posted this to the forums:
I was catching up on my reading today (Newsweek with Michelle Obama on the cover 2/25) and there's a story about how to beat call centers that frustrate customers who complain.
They point to a website that has a list of companies, their numbers, and tips to get to a person. X Box's number they give is 800-469-9269, and they say to "Press 0 at each prompt, ignoring messages."
Other tips the Newsweek article had (passed along to anyone else who may have similar but different problems in this area) was to call during regular business hours when the best employees are manning the phones. Also consider pressing the number for Spanish, as you're likely to get a bilingual operator faster than an English-only one.
Another tip from personal experience was to pretend you had a rotary phone and not select any options if you're not sure which one to press.

I went to return 30 Days of Night and got The Darjeeling Limited and had a coupon from My Coke Rewards and got The Martian Child. We watched the latter last night. It was an entertaining film, based on writer David Gerrold's efforts to adopt a difficult child, who thinks he's from Mars. We also saw the featurette about the real life story. The film was approved by a couple of family organizations which is good. Nothing in it about Gerrold being gay in real life (and it isn't an immediate evident fact. It isn't something you find out from reading his website or about him, it was only pointed out in a Roger Ebert Answer Man Q&A about it being left out of the movie) and he doesn't bring it up as a point. His point is many children out there languish and hopefully someone will see the film and consider adoption as an option. This film is very good ammo the next time the religious groups go on about how the gays are gonna get God mad at all of us and he'll strike us down, so you better send us money to help keep the nuclear family safe. It is an election year, so expect the conservatives to distract the ignorant electorate with something shiny to stay in power. Hopefully people have had enough and it won't work this time.
And while we're on the subject, can somebody explain why people thinking gays adopting is such a menace? They think they're recruiting more into their "lifestyle choice" that way. If that's the case, why isn't the armed forces all over the 16 and 17 year old orphans like pedophiles, or even the churches itself? It's more than a knee jerk reaction, something like this would be right up the churches' alley. Kids in foster care get kicked out the moment they turn 18, often with no training on how to deal with life.
This was originally part of my LJ, but moved here when I got on the soapbox. Head on over there if you want to know more about my days.

The Beat has this news story about a new comics site called Indy Comics News. Their plan is to feature independent comics and provide you with information to order them through Previews. Sounds like a good idea. Although it looks like the site just started, I plan to check it out more in the future to see what they have.

Wanna read a scary story? Cartoonist Tavisha Wolfgarth-Simons wrote this story about what happened to her mother who suffers from aphasia. She wandered out of the home she was staying in and ended up as a "Jane Doe" in an LA hospital. And then the fun began.
If it weren't for her daughter's persistence and that of the home administrator... I don't know what's worse, that it wouldn't take that much for us to be in the same situation, or what would happen to us? We have no kids.

Today's Mark Evanier's birthday. Go check out his web site if you haven't already. He has all sorts of interesting stories about the things I and followers of this website are interested in. You might see me link to a post of his from time to time.

Just a quick plug about my LiveJournal thing that I've got going on. It isn't a repeat of postings over here, the approach I'm taking, given the name, is quick "dear diary" like postings over there about what's going on with my day. There's some good stuff going on there (hey, I think so) Worth a click.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
There are many legends out there: Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the lost library of Alexandria. Nothing fascinates people more than the unknown mysteries, trying to figure them out and obtain answers to things that were unanswerable. And the books and videos that come out about that always attract interest. For instance, did you know that according to this website, Atlantis Was America, Tampa Was The Royal City? I know at least one person that's going to be shocked that he lived so close to it, but didn't know it. How can that be? How in the world did they come to that conclusion? You can find out all that, and more, on their site. Press release and video follow:
"Are you living in Atlantis? According to a new video, America was the Lost Continent of Atlantis and Tampa Florida was once the royal city. Now we know! Tampa’s history goes back over 11,000 years. Dennis Brooks has matched the terrain that Plato described to that found in Tampa Florida and the Americas. See the video:

Last night I saw the Joe Loves Crappy Movies strip about the film. Like he says, his strip doesn't spoil the movie. It's one of those movies that you think about. Down at the bottom of the page, he's got a picture of a t-shirt (spoiler about Serenity, just in case) that he's talking about bundling with the 1st Joe Loves Crappy Movies collection, and all I've got to say is "I'm in!"
Moriarty over at Ain't It Cool News has a negative review of that film and Diary of the Dead. Although I haven't seen the latter yet (but plan to when it comes to my neck of the woods) it sounds like a case of expectations not hitting reality. It could be blamed on the trailer that hits on the "remaking videos" portion of the film, but as you've seen from the re-edited videos on YouTube like The Ten Commandments as a teen comedy and Mary Poppins as a horror film, it doesn't take that much to present the film the way you want it. In fact, one of the trailers in front of Be Kind Rewind was a new one for Run Fatboy Run. The first one I saw was the funny "ha ha, let's see out of shape Simon Pegg try to exercise and drink all those raw eggs" version. The new one was to sell to the female audience, the man trying to get back in the lives of his girlfriend and their son he abandoned type deal.
I guess what I'm saying is that it happens, but I hate it when it does.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
Do you drink light beer? To paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction the wife doesn't like beer so I guess that makes me a beer hater, too. But that doesn't mean I've quit the drink altogether. I keep telling her she doesn't have to drink it if she doesn't want to, and if the smell or taste bothers her that much, I don't mind gargling with mouth wash if I drink some before I kiss her. The few times I do partake, it is light beer because if you've ever seen me you know that I need to watch the calories where I can. I usually get the major brands, but sometimes you get in a mood where you want to buy the cheapy brands that come in the 30 pack.
And there's a contest going on where you can participate in a survey. text the word "beer" to 247365. There are 10 quick text-and-reply questions in the mobile survey. The contest rules can be found here. "Everyone who answers all 10 questions will be entered for a chance to win a $300 Amazon gift card. The survey is being presented to a small number of participants, so the odds of winning are about 1500 to 1. Considering the odds of bowling a 300 game is 11,500 to 1 and the odds of getting a hole in one is 5000 to 1, that's pretty good." The contest runs until March 14th, and standard messaging rates will apply from your local carrier.

Hey, gang, today's Joyce Brabner's birthday. Just so you know, there's more to her than being "Harvey Pekar's wife". Here's her Wikipedia page to get you started. Unfortunately, I haven't found any links to send her a birthday greeting, and I doubt she reads this blog, but if I know Harvey and their adopted daughter Danielle, they'll make it a good day for her. And if she Googles her way here, hey, we were thinking of you today.

Note: The following post is sponsored.
Man, you can find anything online. Even if you live in more remote areas than I do, you can find whatever you want and order it online. You can even order cufflinks, and there's so many to choose from. Even if you're not a hermit you can enjoy a wider selection than if you went into a store.

Just had half of my footlong Feast sub from Subway, I'm saving the rest for supper tonight. Got the early edition Sunday paper, found some good coupons, including a couple I can use to get Kathy some more Aunt Jemima breakfasts (they're on sale $1 each at Kroger 'til Wednesday, and the coupon halves that for buying two). I forgot there was a new Freakangels comic out yesterday. This is as good as Transmetropolitan, and it's free to boot. And I've got plenty to read and do. What am I doing online?