Here's a list of some of the things we thought we would have at Thanksgiving. Beside each item are the initials of the person who is bringing it.

SRB - Turkey SRB - Stuffing SAB - Potato Layer Bake SBB - Mashed Potatoes SBB - Green Beans GAB - Corn Vegetable Tray SRB - Cranberry Sauce GC - Deviled Eggs

Salads - various kinds. DEB - Bread/Rolls SAB - Cheesecake SAB - Black Bottom Pie SRB - Pumpkin Pie KME - Trifle GC - Coconut Cream Pie DEB - Drinks

If you email us with what you are bringing, we'll add it beside it. This is certainly not a conclusive list, so if what you want to bring is not on the list, let us know! Of course, you may bring as many items as you would like.

I love my Logitech MX700 cordless rechargeable mouse, it is honestly the greatest thing since sliced bread. It's cordless, it is an optical mouse, it has back/forward buttons on the mouse, it has a nice scroll wheel, and it is incredibly comfortable to use, but a while back it stopped recharging. Luckily it takes AA NIMH rechargeable batteries, of which I have a rather large supply. I took to recharging it manually until it occurred to me that my mouse has a warranty, and this is where our story begins.

I emailed logitech about the problem back in July. They gave me a few things to try and I was pretty busy with work, so didn't get to it for a while. When I emailed them back, they told me I should RMA it, and gave me a number to call. Like most people, I couldn't stand the thought of being without my beloved mouse for any length of time, so I put it off. 

Come the end of October and I'm again starting to notice that my mouse is also discharging its batteries pretty quickly. About twice a week. So I called up logitech support this time, and wouldn't you know, they wanted to replace my mouse. I am so happy. I went around singing Logitech's praises for at least a week. They were sending me out a new MX1000, they didn't want my old mouse, and they would have me a new mouse in well under a WEEK! Wow. 

A week goes by, and I'm kind of worried. My mouse didn't show up, and I'm thinking maybe it was delivered, and somebody stole it... so I call Logitech. "No sir, that item is back ordered, but we'll have it to you in three weeks.". 

"What!?!".
"We're really sorry, we ran out of stock, but we will have you one from the next shipment in three weeks."
"Well, I don't like it, but I understand, thanks". 

I'm pretty annoyed at not getting what I was promised, but it's an upgrade for me, and three weeks isn't that long really, so I wait. Three weeks goes by, and still no mouse. So I call up Logitech again, very suspicious. 

"I still have not received my mouse."
"We're really sorry, we ran out of stock, but we will have you one from the next shipment in three weeks."
"What!?! That's what you said last time I called, three weeks ago!"
"Sorry, there's nothing we can do."
"Can't you give me a voucher to go buy it myself? BestBuy, CompUSA and Walmart dont seem to have trouble keeping it in stock!!!"
"No sir, we cannot do that." 

Wow. I'm not annoyed any more. Now I'm supremely pissed off. So I ask to speak to a manager regarding the situation. Apparently Logitech dont take calls immediately, they do call backs within 48 hours. So I tell her to have him call me within the hour, that I definitely will not wait 48 hours when I have patiently waited 3 weeks. 

I wait an hour, no dice. I call back, and get the same story from another tech support specialist, and tell them that I will hold for a manager even though it is not the done thing. So they forward me to a managers line and it rings. And rings. And rings. For a half hour. And then hangs up on me. 

#@!$#!!! 

I call in again. Some punk kid answers and wants me to tell the whole story over. Ugh. I ask him to please forward me to a managers extension again and he starts giving me attitude. "The manager cant do anything about that. I dont know what you expect, but you arent getting anything!" ... woah man. Wrong guy, wrong day. 

So I procede to tell him how unempowered he is, how little he can actually do, and how I already *know* that someone in a dead end job like him can not actually accomplish anything to help me, so please forward me to a damn manager. 

I think he got the point. 

He forwarded me to some brut. Wow. This guy is arrogant, pig headed, and unhelpful. He's rather like I would be if I still did tech support. But I graduated into programming, which is a whole world above that. He really doesn't want to help me. He keeps telling me I really should have two mice. I tell him we are talking about a $70 mouse, and that it is unreasonable to expect me to buy two of them "just in case one breaks". 

He tells me how I do not need to buy another expensive $70 mouse, I should just buy a cheap corded mouse to "hold me over" until my new mouse arrives (which will definitely not be before three weeks). I ask him does he buy two cars just in case one breaks? He says we're not talking about cars. I ask him does he have a "cheap" gutless wonder car (GEO Metro) for when his Ferrari breaks down? I ask him does Ferrari keep his car for two months at a time to fix it? He reinforces that we are not talking about cars. So I remind him that no, we are not. We are talking about a seventy dollar mouse! I remind him that at $70, they could have made it out of titanium, made it solar powered, with a back up nuclear fusion generator just in case there is an eclipse and still have turned a profit on this item! I tell him that there is no way that i am going to buy a new mouse at my expense because his inferior product died, no matter if it is cheap, or expensive. I have paid enough to expect quality already. 

LONG story short, he's sending me "the cheapest corded mouse we have" until the new MX1000 gets here. That was last wednesday, and he assured me I would have it monday or tuesday. They didn't ship it until wednesday, and I will not have it until at least monday of next week, maybe as late as wednesday. The new mouse will not get here for another two weeks at best, and I am reluctant to believe that. I *really* want to, but past experience has proven I should not. 

Here's the moral of this story: If you want a mouse, feel free to buy Logitech. They're great mice, and usually reasonably priced. If you're relying on that nice warranty they put on it... don't bother. Buy a Microsoft mouse. Microsoft will ship a replacement mouse the same day the first time you call. And Microsoft mice are usually cheaper for the same product. I guarantee the Microsoft mouse will fail sooner, they are not as solid of a product, but when it does, at least you will get a replacement in under six months. 

Needless to say, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for this warranty replacement mouse, I have a feeling I'm going to be filibustered out of it.

A lot of people thought that the free ipod website was just too good to be true. You have no idea how many people said "That's a scam" and left it at that. I received a 20GB iPod delivered by DHL from eFulfillment today. It shipped on december 8th, so that's not bad turnaround for the actual shipping part. Anyways, I dont want to write another book like last time, but it is legit. I hope to put some photos of it up soon to prove it, but in the mean time, if you would like to see it please give me a call. Thanks to everyone who did sign up... you've helped me get a free iPod.

So today while we were running errands out in Bixby (we went to  Conrad Farms Market) I stopped in at WestLake Ace Hardware to get another key cut for our new (old) '06 Malibu. Turns out that despite the small key size, and the car salesman's protestations to the contrary, the key actually does need to have a transponder key. We'd been thinking lately of trying to pick up another remote anyway, so I did a bit of eBay trawling... a fond pastime. I found a reputable trader that was selling both the blank key, and the remote start keyfob... so I was even able to save a bit on the shipping!

Well, of course it's always hard to just buy the one thing on eBay, it seems that no sooner do you click the buy it now option, and something else grabs your attention. Well, Shannon and I had also been talking about putting in a home security system that would monitor the doors and Adelaide's window. So I found the model I wanted, and we were going to wait a bit to pick it up ... but wouldn't you know it ... eBay had one of those there for $139... normally sells for $250. So who can stand to miss out on that kind of bargain? Shannon also found a couple of puzzles she wanted, and before you know it we've made bids or won at least five auctions. Yikes. [Edit] Well, at least we didn't get the home security kit yet... turns out the kit normally sells for $186, and the eBay item was $140 + $16 shipping... that's not quite enough savings for a "like new in box" item for me. Oh well.[/Edit]

So while I love eBay, it's also a little bit evil. I think I better stay out of there for a bit. Also thought I'd mention that we've decided on Adelaide's room colors... light sage green and light pink. You can see the colors best in the  crib set. It's easier to see in the store at Baby's R Us. Speaking of Baby's R Us, we registered there the other day... that was kind of fun. But only because I got to play with a laser gun, you know? :) Anyways, for those interested, here is  our baby registry.

I'm going to come right out and say it, so brace yourself...  They're giving away free ipods!!! Okay. So it's REALLY simple. You click the link, you sign up. You cash in on a great offer, and then you send the deal on to someone else. Five someone elses, actually. And then three weeks later, there's an ipod in the mail. It's really that simple. So what are you waiting for? Sign up now, and start telling everyone else about it!

Have you heard about the  Mac Mini? It's small, seriously small. And in its smallness, it packs a 1.4Ghz PowerPC processor, a CDRW, a 40GB hard drive and 256mb of ram. 1.4Ghz PowerPC processor, by the way, is about the equivalent of a 2.5Ghz AMD/Intel! All for the low, low price of $499! Unprecedented in the Macintosh world. Turns out, Gratis Networks thought that price was a little too high, and they're giving them away  free. Yep, those are the same folks who sent me that  free iPod that you've all seen me carrying around. So I'm trying to get my mac mini free, and I'd like you to be able too as well. Sign up  here!

By now you've probably noticed that I have subscribed the site to Google Sense. So far the results have been pretty good. I've made a little over five dollars... hopefully the ads are not too intrusive... hopefully they're also relevant. So far they have been, and they've paid pretty well too. About twenty five cents per click, actually. But I hear there are clicks that are worth $1 to $100. That's amazing... not surprising though that they are from ambulence-chasing lawyers looking for high-dollar lawsuits. Apparently they are keyed off of the words asbestosis, asbestos, mesothelioma and pneumoconiosis. Who can even spell those words!?

By now I'm sure everyone has found out first hand, Adam and Sarah have had a beautiful baby girl. Join us in welcoming Maggie into the world; born Thursday March 24th, 2005 at St. Francis hospital here in Tulsa. Much to her credit, she didn't keep her mother in labor too long. Both Maggie and Sarah are doing very well. I uploaded some photos to the gallery [old gallery link expired]. I also have another special treat in the form of two videos that I took with my digital camera while I was there. Although there is no sound on them, this may well be Maggie's first apperance in a film. I have entitled them  "Moms Rock!" and  "Maggie Magpie". Get them while they're hot!

We threw a new video of Maggie online, you can view it from this  direct link. I have one or two new photos of Maggie, I hope to put them up this weekend.

Last night my Averatec 6235-EE laptop decided to give up the ghost. It didn't power on at all. The built-in DVD player feature was still working, but nothing else would. I removed and reseated both the memory, and the hard disk drive... to no avail. I charged it for hours, no dice. I tried powering it up with the cord in, with the cord out, with the battery in, with the battery out ... nothing helped. And I was just a little bit upset about it all. Shannon might recall it a little differently.

I tried it again this morning for no particular reason, and got the same result... oh well. I left it plugged in all day, and went to find out exactly how much it would cost to replace it... knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to anyway. I priced out a Dell Vostro 1700 for about $1150, which was a good price for the config... but it might as well have been a million... you know? Well, this evening before we took Bri out for dinner I decided to push the button one more time. No idea why, but I did it. And what do you know... it powered up.

I don't think there's a moral or a point to the story except ... I'm very happy that my laptop works again!