It is stupid for bank computers to care about what day it is.
I'm watching, right now, to see if a payment went through. Now, it was done by check, so I expect it to take some time (it's been about two weeks, though.) Still, since then (and with my latest paycheck,) I've made other purchases, bill payments and the like.
None of them, save two (grocery shopping and a stop for lunch afterward) show up at all. These, of course, were done friday.
Now, part of the whole "electronic payment" spiel is that it's faster, reliable, etc, etc, etc. Yet, because it's the *weekend,* and in fact Columbus Day tomorrow (well, today, I suppose,) I won't see any of this until Tuesday at the earliest.
Do computers need a day off? No. Do they have religion? No. Do they care about holy days, holidays, time with the family, heading out to have a beer with the mainframe and checking out that cute laptop that just came into the office? No. So why do I have to wait for all this *basic information* to show up? Why, when no human is needed for the process (save me, to make the purchase or payment,) do we have to *wait* and be completely without information?
Maybe it's my bank. There are all of four offices - I wouldn't even call it "regional," since you'd assume you'd be able to find it at least throughout central Florida. Maybe a larger bank - anything from Suntrust to BoA or Chase - actually does this. I'm very tempted to ask. I *live* on information. What would happen if I'd lost my card (and, working at home, I don't actually LOOK for it that often.) Would they have free rein with it until Tuesday - no, probably Wednesday, with the extra day of "processing?"
Hey, bank guys. 21st century. Computers. Instant access to information. I want to make sure I didn't miss a payment somewhere, that what I've verified elsewhere is actually *going through.* Just freaking do it!
/rant off.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Woot!
OK, so it's the little things that cheer me up.
The other day, I got my new work schedule - since I'm in a new group, we re-bid shifts, and I got one I'm not *thrilled* with thanks to my lack of seniority. (But, hey, I work from home - not like (a) I can't talk with friends, and (b) I have a drive, right? So it's not all bad. Besides... rebid eventually.)
Well, on a whim, I went on eBay. There, with a nice big "Buy it now," was a kit I've been looking for for at least a decade - just waiting for me to buy it.
Namely, this:
"Big deal, it's an airplane, why look?" Or, for the slightly more discerning, "Others make better kits." Yeah, yeah - but my search for this has gone on for a while. See, I built (and have in my stash for a post-divorce rebuild once I get my own place, or at least a modeling "workshop,") the early release of this, the "A-18." When I built it, I noticed stuff on the mold - filled in gaps and a note of a "white" release.
The prototype.
I've wanted a prototype Hornet for a *long* time. And this - in the blue and gold - is the prototype edition. (Not the prototype of the kit, obviously, but a released model of the aircraft prototype - just to be specific.)
I'm a very happy camper.
The other day, I got my new work schedule - since I'm in a new group, we re-bid shifts, and I got one I'm not *thrilled* with thanks to my lack of seniority. (But, hey, I work from home - not like (a) I can't talk with friends, and (b) I have a drive, right? So it's not all bad. Besides... rebid eventually.)
Well, on a whim, I went on eBay. There, with a nice big "Buy it now," was a kit I've been looking for for at least a decade - just waiting for me to buy it.
Namely, this:
"Big deal, it's an airplane, why look?" Or, for the slightly more discerning, "Others make better kits." Yeah, yeah - but my search for this has gone on for a while. See, I built (and have in my stash for a post-divorce rebuild once I get my own place, or at least a modeling "workshop,") the early release of this, the "A-18." When I built it, I noticed stuff on the mold - filled in gaps and a note of a "white" release.
The prototype.
I've wanted a prototype Hornet for a *long* time. And this - in the blue and gold - is the prototype edition. (Not the prototype of the kit, obviously, but a released model of the aircraft prototype - just to be specific.)
I'm a very happy camper.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Appreciating cleverness
I appreciate cleverness.
The only reason I mention this is cleaning otu my computer's case, getting some of the dusting out done. Getting into the nooks and crannies of my Antec Sonata II, I pulled off the drive blanks - and remembered one of the nice little bits about it. There, on the back of the blanks... the drive rails are stored.
I made another new system recently for work. Its rails? In a rack taking up a drive bay. Not even particularly securely. Convenient, somewhat, but clumsy...
More places need to take little touches like that into consideration.
The only reason I mention this is cleaning otu my computer's case, getting some of the dusting out done. Getting into the nooks and crannies of my Antec Sonata II, I pulled off the drive blanks - and remembered one of the nice little bits about it. There, on the back of the blanks... the drive rails are stored.
I made another new system recently for work. Its rails? In a rack taking up a drive bay. Not even particularly securely. Convenient, somewhat, but clumsy...
More places need to take little touches like that into consideration.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Books!
I'm a voracious reader. I'm also not rich. :)
That said, I'll tell ya, I've gotten to love Books-a-million and Amazon.com.
Books-a-million is a chain that often has books on *great* sales (and a decent selection of books in any case.) Books I wouldn't normally pick up, I'll grab there in hardback for as much as, if not cheaper than, a softcover.
For instance, I just went over there. Got my mom one of the Bourne novels (in hardback) that she hadn't seen for $8. Picked up Sandworms of Dune (I just haven't been fond of how they've been "closing" the series, and was going to just skip this one)... for $7, hardback. Picked up a book I'd never heard of ("Mistress of Dragons) for $4, hardback, and some good Terry Pratchett (all pratchett is good) in hardback... also for $7.
Individually? Each of those go for around $25. So, $100 worth of books for just under thirty bucks, and it'll keep me reading for at least a week. (No, I'm not kidding, I will go through them that fast.)
In addition, the people there generally love books - so I got turned on to a new series (well, old series, but new to me - 1983 or so it looks like) called the "Uplift saga" by David Brin. Well, they didn't have it in stock, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money... so Amazon to the rescue. A penny a piece for the first three, plus shipping. Twelve bucks, three books (the first three, there are more.) This after getting my copy of "At dawn we slept" replaced for five (waiting for it to show up) and "Midway," by the same author... also for five bucks.
Reading is important. Literacy is vital. Cheap is awesome.
That said, I'll tell ya, I've gotten to love Books-a-million and Amazon.com.
Books-a-million is a chain that often has books on *great* sales (and a decent selection of books in any case.) Books I wouldn't normally pick up, I'll grab there in hardback for as much as, if not cheaper than, a softcover.
For instance, I just went over there. Got my mom one of the Bourne novels (in hardback) that she hadn't seen for $8. Picked up Sandworms of Dune (I just haven't been fond of how they've been "closing" the series, and was going to just skip this one)... for $7, hardback. Picked up a book I'd never heard of ("Mistress of Dragons) for $4, hardback, and some good Terry Pratchett (all pratchett is good) in hardback... also for $7.
Individually? Each of those go for around $25. So, $100 worth of books for just under thirty bucks, and it'll keep me reading for at least a week. (No, I'm not kidding, I will go through them that fast.)
In addition, the people there generally love books - so I got turned on to a new series (well, old series, but new to me - 1983 or so it looks like) called the "Uplift saga" by David Brin. Well, they didn't have it in stock, and I didn't want to spend a lot of money... so Amazon to the rescue. A penny a piece for the first three, plus shipping. Twelve bucks, three books (the first three, there are more.) This after getting my copy of "At dawn we slept" replaced for five (waiting for it to show up) and "Midway," by the same author... also for five bucks.
Reading is important. Literacy is vital. Cheap is awesome.
Friday, July 10, 2009
A tale of two UPSes
So, living in Florida with the utterly crap weather we get (yes, we do - sorry, it's bake or soak, no matter what the brochures say, with a short period of freezing) a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply, or Battery backup) was a must-have for me when building my current system.
(It's my gaming system/main system, since upgraded. Basically, every non-notebook system I make is going to have a UPS to go with it.)
At the time... well, initially I figured "Just something to deal with brownouts and minor power drops" would do the trick, so I got a woefully underpowered ... something... from APC. Bad choice on my part - it didn't have the power to really sustain for more than a few seconds, but it was cheap and at the time all I figured I'd need. But this isn't about that - replace the battery (it's a few years old now) and it'll be great for small electronics, routers, phones, etc. No problem.
No, I went out to Best Buy and bought a Geek Squad 875va UPS. Nice display, decent size, and it does work well - I have (depending on what all I'm doing) 10-15 minutes of power. Plenty to wait out most small strikes, shut down gracefully and the like.
My gripe about it? The horrid software that comes with it (or is available for download.) It doesn't seem to like to start, or stay started, or detect the UPS (connected via USB cable - yes, I've changed the cable, ports, etc.) When it DOES, I frequently get "Cannot detect/Battery detected" back and forth. Not sure why. On top of it, while it does work when the monitoring software RUNS, the software interface wont' CLOSE. How'd they screw that up?
The software is, to me, important - it's what will auto-shut down the system with 5 minutes of battery power left (by how I normally set it.) If it won't run, or can't detect the UPS, well... it's not of much use to me. Uninstall, restart, reinstall every month or every other month just won't cut it.
The software is one of two reasons I didn't go with them for my work system. (The other reason being it's apparently not available now.) I have another, very similar system for working at home. For this, I went with APC - one that's a little lower rated (750va/450volts,) but close enough. (The other system isn't drawing as much anyway.) For that - I get powerchute software. Not only is the interface nicer, but the software behaves very well.
Honestly, if GeekSquad had decent software, I'd have no qualms about buying another UPS from them - but for the next system (whenever it may be,) it's getting another APC UPS. It just feels more reliable, not to mention the information is readily available on them pretty much anywhere. Geeksquad has to get its stuff together.
(It's my gaming system/main system, since upgraded. Basically, every non-notebook system I make is going to have a UPS to go with it.)
At the time... well, initially I figured "Just something to deal with brownouts and minor power drops" would do the trick, so I got a woefully underpowered ... something... from APC. Bad choice on my part - it didn't have the power to really sustain for more than a few seconds, but it was cheap and at the time all I figured I'd need. But this isn't about that - replace the battery (it's a few years old now) and it'll be great for small electronics, routers, phones, etc. No problem.
No, I went out to Best Buy and bought a Geek Squad 875va UPS. Nice display, decent size, and it does work well - I have (depending on what all I'm doing) 10-15 minutes of power. Plenty to wait out most small strikes, shut down gracefully and the like.
My gripe about it? The horrid software that comes with it (or is available for download.) It doesn't seem to like to start, or stay started, or detect the UPS (connected via USB cable - yes, I've changed the cable, ports, etc.) When it DOES, I frequently get "Cannot detect/Battery detected" back and forth. Not sure why. On top of it, while it does work when the monitoring software RUNS, the software interface wont' CLOSE. How'd they screw that up?
The software is, to me, important - it's what will auto-shut down the system with 5 minutes of battery power left (by how I normally set it.) If it won't run, or can't detect the UPS, well... it's not of much use to me. Uninstall, restart, reinstall every month or every other month just won't cut it.
The software is one of two reasons I didn't go with them for my work system. (The other reason being it's apparently not available now.) I have another, very similar system for working at home. For this, I went with APC - one that's a little lower rated (750va/450volts,) but close enough. (The other system isn't drawing as much anyway.) For that - I get powerchute software. Not only is the interface nicer, but the software behaves very well.
Honestly, if GeekSquad had decent software, I'd have no qualms about buying another UPS from them - but for the next system (whenever it may be,) it's getting another APC UPS. It just feels more reliable, not to mention the information is readily available on them pretty much anywhere. Geeksquad has to get its stuff together.
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