I love when people want to have an argument...

... and you end up finding some information online that defeats their side of the conversation. 

Which also may make you in the wrong, but proves what you're saying is a little more correct than what they're sticking behind.

This morning I was in the pool with my mother and one of her friends. As I had joined them late, I walked into the conversation about how our community is wired for Internet and the exact details Hotwire said to us when things got up and running. 

My mother had asked me what the technicians told me when they came and installed the Nokia router, Eero boxes and Fision cable set tops. How exactly are we covered with our Wi-Fi, in regard to fiber optic versus the old Comcast cabling?

I explained how, on the multiple times Hotwire was in our house, they said that they're piggy backing off of the Comcast coaxial cable. Hotwire is using fiber optic both inside and outside the house, but they are also utilizing pre-existing Comcast lines in other ways. Meaning, there are multiple sources coming in multiple directions and although Hotwire owns a good amount of them, not every single connection is solely theirs. Somehow there's a converter in place and I don't know the exact way it's all connected, but there are several things allowing us to be online, as well as how we watch television.

The friend stated that what I'm talking about is 100 per cent not true. That the information I have is jibberish; fake news if you will. She saw Hotwire dig through her yard and plant wires, to then connect one end of it all to the street and the end to her house. They totally disabled and took away Comcast everything; our community no longer has any investment in the previous company. What we have in our units are all Hotwire, all the time.

I said that she's not totally correct; Hotwire may have dug lines in her yard, but that was only to connect their wiring to some of the pre-existing stuff that Comcast was using and would leaving once their contract ended. We were told specifically from Hotwire that they connect their wiring to what was previously installed in the houses. They're not redoing everything as we know it; they're only adding a few things to the community, such as internal dwelling boxes and some new string lines. 

The friend still wanted to argue against this by saying I don't know what I'm talking about. She "saw with [her] own eyes, the digging and hooking up. The connecting of pieces of equipment". I had to explain that's true they dug but they didn't take up the old wiring. They left it because they needed it to add a booster of sorts to their own items.

Side note: I'm not completely technical with this so I don't have all the verbiage to explain what bill of sale Hotwire was showing, versus what Comcast was taking away while not being fully transparent. 

Back to conversation.

The friend really wanted to fight me. I ended up exclaiming "let's just end the conversation then. Agree to disagree because obviously, this is not going anywhere and I don't want to keep talking about it", to which the woman again disagreed, saying how wrong I am and I don't know anything. My mother jumped in to say it's true how they told us things, and the woman refused to concede. She wanted to be right and make sure we felt like fools. 

When my mother and I got home, she said that even another pool friend said there is no Comcast equipment in the community, it's all Hotwire. Which is why the conversation went on longer then it should have. 

It doesn't make sense, only because not every one in our community is using Hotwire; some are still using Comcast. The community got a "deal" on Hotwire when Comcast's contract was ending. A lot of residents wanted to keep Comcast, and they didn't want Hotwire in their house. We all had no choice; we had to have the new company in and do stuff, and those who wanted to keep the old ISP now have competing services in their home. I honestly don't know if Hotwire shut off their side of the communication, but if people are still using Comcast, somehow that's still a viable option. They're paying for both services and only with Hotwire is there a reduced rate due to it being part of our HOA dues.

Again, I am not that technical to understand the "how" to any and all of this. I know people have vocalized they're still using Comcast's equipment, still on their server. Hotwire is somehow shut off in the house. I can't explain it, but it's a small fraction of owners who have it. 

Even more so, when one of the last major storms rolled through (Helene? Milton? I don't remember which), we had power but no Internet. I had been up at the clubhouse after it ended (and was safe to be there) and a Comcast truck was driving the neighborhood. He stopped me and asked if the community was having any problems, and I said that "we have power, but no Internet. We use Hotwire and it's completely down". He said that that the main box wasn't getting power and was I sure the community had power? I said yes, we have electricity, just don't have internet. He had come out to check on a report by a user in the community, and found the power box not working, along with some other FPL boxes. He mentioned some were wet too, but it mainly was just not having juice to the source. Someone needed to contact FPL because it's a power issue, not a Comcast issue. Once power is restored, Comcast can come out and fix the internet. Since Hotwire is connected to the Comcast main hub, we technically still use Comcast as the backbone for getting online, even though we have Hotwire credentials.

I failed to explain that to my mom's friend as I had forgotten about it in the heat of the moment. I remembered it when we got home and by then it was too late; I wasn't about to call the woman and tell her this. 

However, what I did do, was research "does hotwire communications use pre existing cable lines as their wiring" and I not only found an interesting AI overview, I found a "frequently asked questions" sheet from another community. 

The Overview is as follows:

"Hotwire Communications generally installs their own dedicated fiber-optic lines for the main network backbone, but they may reuse pre-existing in-home coaxial cables inside a home or building solely to deliver basic television packages. [1, 2]

Inside the Home and Building Wiring

Television (Coax): Hotwire often utilizes existing in-home coaxial cable lines to distribute basic "Plug 'n Play" cable TV signals to secondary televisions without needing new set-top boxes. They test and optimize these existing lines during setup. [1]
Internet and Routers (Ethernet): For high-speed data, modems, and primary routers, Hotwire typically runs new CAT5E or CAT6 Ethernet cabling to ensure optimal performance rather than relying on old, degraded copper lines. [1, 2]

Outside and Community Infrastructure

Backbone Lines: Hotwire installs their own independent fiber-optic infrastructure underground or along designated utility routes to bring service to a neighborhood or multi-dwelling unit. They do not use another active provider's live external network lines for their primary data transmission"

I know this snipped (with its own citations) contradicts both my point and also any type of explanation, but the beginning states they "may reuse pre-existing in-home coaxial cables". For televisions, yes, but why then did the technicians make a big deal about getting things re-wired and telling us Comcast is still being used? This also doesn't go on to explain how everything Hotwire supplied is either hooked up into the Comcast used Greyfox Systems hub or it has its own line out device. The former is the coax system and the latter is the fiber system.

On another note, not every technician is telling the home owner that the Eero is not what it seems. I know I spoke about this in another post, but just to reiterate (because it's adjacent of a problem to this current one), the Eero is the modem and the Nokia is the router. Without the Eero, we wouldn't have Internet, according to the last technician I spoke with. Every person who has come to my house from Hotwire has said that Eero is a Wi-Fi extender and it acts as a booster. We do not need to install the Eero app on our phone and create an account; Hotwire has all the information they need if we install their own app. When we talked to the last in home person, they fervently needed the Eero verification or they could not set up my uncle's Internet. This person explained the Eero does all the work and if it wasn't for them, there would be no Hotwire to get us online. Which doesn't make sense from when we had how many people in our house from the company, explaining what is going on?? The sales department, community manager, half a dozen installers / technicians... no one made a peep about Eero other than it's a booster. The new guy was as if he went rogue and needed us to give him another key to the place. 

It's such a mud puddle, I can't seem to get out of it. 

What I have been able to do, was able to find a "Frequently Asked Questions" sheet from a community in Estero, about Hotwire and their connecting to other providers. 

Per a PDF from the Shadow Wood Community Association's website (links below for citing purposes):

"This section covers questions related to activities inside the home—your role, when you need to be at home, scheduling in-home appointments, bringing the fiber into a central distribution point within the home, “health check” of existing wiring, running of new wiring and the installation of any devices provided by Hotwire.

The following question was added on 10/19/17: 

1) Q: I would like to install a new cable TV outlet in my dinette for “plug in play” 70 channel service. Will Hotwire install new wiring and a cable TV outlet in difficult to reach area of my home? 

A: Hotwire will rewire (at no charge to the resident at the time of the initial installation) with new CAT5 cabling to any existing outlet location where a new FISION HD Box or modem/router will be located. Wiring to any new locations, or wiring after the initial installation of service will carry a $75 charge per outlet. Hotwire also offers a “wireless” FISION box (at the same cost as a wired box) which also adds flexibility for viewing locations. 

Please keep in mind: Where Comcast uses a small device called a DTA (Digital to Analog) converter, Hotwire’s technology allows them to deliver a similar service at no charge through a normal coax wall outlet without any such devices being required. This is called the “Expanded Basic Programming” and includes over 70 channels."

"4) Q: Will my home’s internal wiring need to be updated? 

A: Not necessarily: There will be a “home health check” where Hotwire (at their expense) will inspect and test the home’s existing wiring and replace and/or remove un-needed or defective splitters, amplifiers and connectors. The home’s inside wiring will be assessed and confirmed to allow residents to realize the quality delivered to the home via the fiber network. This existing wiring will be used to deliver programming to designated TV’s where a Set Top Box (STB) will not be installed (this is a “Expanded Basic” package referred to as “Plug ‘n Play” or “In The Clear”). For locations where your Hotwire supplied modem/router and STB’s will be located, Hotwire will run new CAT5E Ethernet wiring to deliver service to those devices. The technician will not leave the home until the service is working properly and signal levels have all been tested and confirmed to meet specified requirements."

"5) Q: Do I have to be home when they install my fiber and how long does it take? 

A: The installation will be three step process: 

1. Outside installation: The homeowner does not need to be present at this stage as all work is exterior to your home. 

2. Bringing the fiber into the home: Connecting the fiber from outside into the home and terminating at an ONT (Optical Network Terminal) which will usually be placed at the same location where Comcast, or other provider, has positioned the incoming terminal wiring. At this stage the homeowner, or a representative for the homeowner, needs to be present. This effort will normally require less than two hours to complete. 

3. In-unit installation: Connections from the ONT to TV’s, router, etc. again requires that the homeowner be present. This can take approximately 3-4 hours including resident training."

"4) Q: What is an ONT? 

A: An Optical Network Terminal, commonly referred to as an ONT, is a piece of equipment that converts the fiber-optic light signals to copper-based/electrical signals that can be utilized by Internet, video and telephone devices. 

4A) Q: Where will the ONT (Optical Network Terminal) be installed in my home?

A: Typically, the ONT is installed in a utility area (laundry room, garage, etc.) where the already existing communication distribution hardware is located. If a structured wiring (communications distribution) cabinet already exists, the ONT will be located there."

"7) Q: Will the existing coaxial cable network inside my home limit the quality of the TV service? 

A: Hotwire will use the existing coaxial cable solely for the delivery of a “Expanded Basic” package they refer to as “Plug ‘n Play” or “In The Clear” based on the fact that no box of any kind will be required to deliver the programming to most TVs that have been purchased in the last 8 years (traditionally flat screen TV’s). Hotwire will test all coaxial cabling and fittings (splitters, connectors, etc.) during the installation process to insure adequate transmission quality. Defective connectors and splitters will be replaced free of charge. Once all signal levels are optimized, the coaxial cable will not degrade your High Definition television service. 

8) Q: Will I have to rewire my home? 

A: That would be highly unlikely! In the event that a run of coaxial cable within your walls is determined to be inadequate, Hotwire will replace it free of charge. Hotwire will run new CAT5E Ethernet wiring to the locations where they are providing new equipment--i.e. modem/router and Set Top Boxes (STB). This will be done free of charge."

Again, this was culled from a form another community sent to its residents. I've cited the website below, and am using these as examples to show how Hotwire may be using another provider's services and creating a hybrid wiring service of their own. It also points to the central location of the previous provider's boxes and how Hotwire will reconfigure it all for everyone's use. This goes back to the original "things are connected to both the Grey Fox Systems", Comcast fusion and Hotwire planting. A three ring circus of wondering what belongs where.

My mother ended up sending those screen caps to her friend as a text, but the friend hasn't responded yet (as of this writing). I know the friend was going to be doing some stuff through out the day, so she probably hasn't seen the information yet. If she has, it probably set her in a mood because I am sure she doesn't want to be told she may be wrong.

I know the information doesn't prove me in the total right, but it also doesn't show I'm completely wrong either. There is such a mess of information online and in my head (based on what we were told and have been told), it's rough to get it all out and on paper. It also doesn't show the woman is providing a false narrative either. We both seem to be missing pivotal details and due to her not wanting to fact check everything, this is a win for no one. It's an additional piece of conversation to let her know that maybe she shouldn't be so head strong into wanting an argument with someone and have it be one sided, which is her side. A little more research needs to be done and possibly discussed in a civil manner, because frankly, it was getting heated. 

No, it wasn't because the humidity outside was making the water feel like a bath tub at 9 in the morning. It was the debate that went on for way too long. 

Accept the other person's opinion and be done with it. Plain and simple. 

Therefore, I am going to end it here because I'm circling too and making myself look bad. 

Until someone can say "I'm sorry, I would like to know more about what you have to say", take care of yourself, each other and try to play fair.

Cheers;

-- If I'm completely wrong, then somebody somewhere needs to have better training exercises for their employees because nothing is explained properly and everyone listens and processes things completely differently. I know there's a few other social network sites where users are asking similar questions and even then, there is a bit of a controversy over this --

See Also

• Shadow Wood Community Association
• Shadow Wood Community Association PDF download
• Eero; an Amazon product
  

The AI overview citation notes go to

• The link "[1]" to the Shadow Wood PDF as mentioned above
• Wellen Park (in Venice) website explanation "[2]"

July Fourth has come and gone...

... Welcome Halloween and the start of Christmas (kind of... because you'll blink and Santa will be out slaying in his sleigh)!

Out and about this week because it's "that time of year" when back to school shopping equals "tax free items for the whole family" and we want in on it. 

I may have grown out of the need for educational supplies, but we certainly take advantage of the random one offs - clothing (underwear, and socks the other day for example), file folders for recent doctor visits (to keep everything in order and by issue), different small things you don't realize you're dwindling down on. 

While in Home Goods, there were a couple light up spooky benches that greet you at the front door. 

This store, like others, are pushing the scare before August first. 

Although cute, I don't have a yard to put them in, so they were not purchased. Plus, I don't have the scratch to get them (and they probably wouldn't have fit in my car unless I put the seats down). That, and being in a condo, I'm limited as far as what I can do outside. For example, I can't do any of my own planting or gardening (for as much as I want to), I can't have (certain) flags hanging (and it depends on size too), I just can't decorate year round the way my friends and family do back north. The community documents ([by] laws) say otherwise and there are a lot of "hall monitors" (aka people who enjoy griping and tattling on others) around to make life not so fun some days. 

I was amazed though, by these benches. It's too bad they're not more widely available online. I mean, sure, Amazon has random Halloween decorations, but these seats are so hyper specific, they're being sold at certain retail stores (Home Depot has similar ones for instance). 

More surprising, the ghosts are part of the Martha Stewart collection. The skulls, however, are "Magnesia", which seem to be a small enough brand name, it's hard to find them online, as gym equipment keep turning up instead. 

Regarding pricing: I wish I got a picture of the ghosts price tag, but the skulls are listed as $169.99 (if you zoom in). It seems like this is the round about pricing for both, as online researching says the range is $169.99 to over $300 depending on where you're looking to buy them. 

I know Lowe's already has their big blow up yard stuff ready to be sold, because we were there the beginning of the month for some home renovation items. As soon as you walk in, there are a few giant skeletons, pumpkins and other creatures wanting to say hello and point you to the fright fest area. 

I do have to say, my favorite is still last year's DJ Skeleton; the 5 foot 7 inch motion activated Bluetooth animatronic that pumps out the bass and has you disco dancing in a cemetery all night long. 

It's a "Haunted Living" brand, and I think only available at Lowe's, even though a keyword search on Amazon brings up other creepy animatronics. 

Somewhere there's a post on my blog about that music maker, including a video. Just got to search for it and you'll find the reference. 

I can't believe how fast the year is going, that every major holiday popping up these days, reminds us how we're getting closer to December. School starts in Lee County in another 3 weeks (August 11 for those trying to look at their calendars). Traffic will start getting busier due to busses and then snowbirds will be here (coincidentally around Halloween), which means more cars on the road around town. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, counting the moments for snowbirds to leave at Easter... then back to the slow of spring and summer. It's a vicious cycle. 

Until someone breaks it, stay hydrated, stay dry, stay safe. Plenty of rain / flooding and heat all around the world right now, so travelers be mindful of where you're going and don't go into harm's way unless you're a storm chaser. 

Cheers; 

See also (aka keywords on Amazon to find the benches and other items written about above.. certain things don't exist on the A to Z site, but there are similar things to look at)

• halloween bench outside decor
  
• halloween bench
  
• skull bench outside decor
  
• skull bench
  
• ghost bench
  
• ghost bench outside decor
  
• haunted living animatronics
  
• animatronics dj skeleton
  

"It takes too much to touch"

Can't finish the sentence because my what I'm going to refer to, isn't a "her". It's a piece of tech. 

But I can add another song line with an edit:

"It's getting hot out there, so take off all your clothes" or cases, or whatever. 

Okay, I bastardized Kanye West's "Gold Digger" and Nelly's "Hot In Herre" however it's for a point. 

I was at the pool this morning and it hit 103° at 10:30 in the morning.

Which is why my phone got so hot in my bag that my phone overheated itself because the sun was beating down on my bag.

Yes, you can barely see Denis O'Hare in the background. It is one of his characters ("Liz Taylor") from the American Horror Story series (season five, "Hotel"). That's neither here nor there. Just pointing it out in case you were wondering what that ghost image was.

Okay, so in full disclosure, my phone is in an old Vera Bradley zippered neoprene tablet case. A type of carry all that is only available on sites like eBay at the moment. 

I decided to put my phone in this the other day, as we got stuck in a small rain storm while at the pool and the bag I'm using to carry all my stuff (towel, water shoes, sunglasses, mask) doesn't have a zipper on the main compartment and the front pouch is Velcro. Therefore, I don't want to inadvertently end up getting my phone wet if it rains again while we're swimming. 

Which also brings me to why my phone overheated.

I mean, the thing is in a zippered neoprene bag, in another bag, in the harsh (sun)light of day. It's essentially cooking itself to a slow death. This idea that I had to save my phone ended becoming a thermal trap without even thinking about it. 

Sometimes I'm a 20 watt bulb among a box of 100 watts and there's nothing that's going to stop me from dimly shining. 

I've now got to re-adjust what I'm going to do about this because I don't want to create a battery fire at the pool. I don't think the chlorinated water and a Lithium-ION battery mix well. Plus, I can't afford a new phone at the moment, given the fact this phone is new. I upgraded to the 17 in January, so it's only six months old (welp; old enough to upgrade, according to other people!). 

I guess, what I'm saying is.. if you're going to be out at the pool or anywhere in the sun with electronics, don't keep it in a heat conductive unit for long periods of time. My Yeti sleeve has worked amazing because I get to carry my tumbler everywhere and not drop it (and my water stays cold), but for keeping my devices dry in case of rain? No Bueno. 

If I think about it, I could put the phone in a plastic bag, like the ones you get from the grocery store, and make sure the bag is tied. Or, I change the outer bag completely, so I have zippered compartments all around. I know the main bag isn't the best as it is, since it's mainly a type of overnight bag where you are just going to a friend's house or somewhere close (not traveling far since it doesn't zip). I am definitely going to readjust this for sure.

Until I can figure it out, learn from my lesson and don't keep your tech in a hot box. Keep yourselves hydrated as well. 

Stay safe!

Cheers;

See Also (links via Amazon)

• "Hot In Herre" is from Nelly's 2002 album, "Nellyville"
• "Gold Digger" is from Kanye West's 2005 album, "Late Registration"
• "neoprene pouch with zipper" key word search
• "Harsh light of day" redirect is throwback to a "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" episode as well as a Fastball album from 2000, titled "The Harsh Light of Day. #Showusyourageandera!
• Coincidentally, the Fastball album has a song called "Vampires", which could be Buffy connection too... Even though it's not, but you never know; since I tweaked the line anyway. 😁
• "American Horror Story: Hotel" on Amazon Prime
• "neoprene sleeve for Yeti tumbler" on key word search. 
• This is the one I'm actually using (and they've held up since purchasing them in 2022. I am still on 1 of 4. Totally better version than what I was using prior - different model / brand / seller): 4 Pack 30oz Neoprene Carrier (Black,Blue,Pink,Navy)

Happy July 4th | Gotta take off ad blocker to watch music videos?

Quick post in between rain storms to say "Happy 4th of July" to those celebrating "the birth of the USA". I know I have readers around the world, so there should be some clarification (which I know is silly of me). 

As my neighbors have their flags out, I went over to one of them and took a couple pictures with my iPhone 17. Edited for content with Photoshop, and I know I need to practice my color correction more). 

It's starting to get a little windy out, so like I said, we're in between storms at the moment, which is why the flag is moving the way it is.

Locally, there are fireworks scheduled tonight, however, like a lot of places in the United States, we're under a ban burn. Therefore, what's going to pop off later, will be highly watched so no fire is unintentionally started.  

Which is kind of crazy since we've been having sporadic rain bursts the last 72 hours. It hasn't been enough to keep the ground saturated since it's been so hot, but the flooding in some of the streets say otherwise. It's a part of life down here - the random deluge of water and the way it quickly floods certain areas and then stops just as fast as it started. 

Hopefully the pyrotechnics tonight won't be cancelled due to storms, but you never know. It's kind of heavily overcast right now and I know my friends up north are bummed their cities aren't doing anything. 

The news today has been showing all the celebratory stuff across the country as well. From coast to coast, news anchors are interviewing locals and reminding viewers of national monuments and treasures. As this is the 250th birthday of the country, it is a special time in people's lives. It also is coinciding with the World Cup, being played in North America, so all the soccer football fans are getting a special treat. 

There's a moth sitting outside my window that is hanging out on the screen and it's squirreling me. It's been there all day and I don't know what it wants. It can't come in; "there's nothing for you, here!". 

Go. Away. 

Speaking of going away, I had to disable my adblocker on Chrome because YouTube finally caught up with me: I was having ads not play while watching random videos. 

I got a message two days ago, saying "Ad Blocker violates YouTube's Terms of Service". 

Whomp. whomp. 

Message received... I had to turn it off, unless I risk being banned from YouTube and other Google Services. 

I never thought twice about the ads, since I've gotten used to seeing them on other devices (televisions for example). When I got this on my laptop, a quick search said this type of message has been around for a few years already and it's a catch-all for various revenue streams and other incidentals.

I'm not going to get into the politics of it, but now that I read up on it, I'm surprised it took this long to get that message, truth be told. 

I'll have to be fine with it, if I expect to keep my accounts "in good standing". The expectation (in my head) is, if I'm still going to blog here, have a Google email address, utilize Chats and upload occasional videos to share, I need to comply with the ToS thing and turn off the adblocker. I'm sure it's a scare tactic as there are comments floating around the internet pointing in various directions, but I'm not going to take the chance. I also don't want to pay for premium, but if that's your jam, I'm not going to hate you for it. It's not for me; I don't watch YouTube often enough to warrant an extra subscription service. 

So there you have it. Two days of shenanigans wrapped up in a small post. 

Or would be small post if I didn't include photos. 

Whatever the case, if you're celebrating today and tonight, I hope you're safe and stay hydrated. If you're celebrating with the States from another country, woohoo! Party across the continents! If you're staying low and chill, not doing anything, I don't blame you one bit.  I remember a couple years running, Tay and I would have an email going back and forth on this day, and it would be entitled "Are you [expletive] the fourth just like me?". Meaning, it was a regular day and we just chilled; didn't do much, didn't go out. It was business as usual and the usual business was protesting something. somewhere. Even if it was just in our heads. 

Tay, if you're reading this, "Eff the Fourth. Email me; I would like to talk to you since you've taken too long of a powder".

For now, I hope everyone remains calm, cool, hydrated and fantastic. Until something else happens and I post something new. Take care of yourselves and your friends.

Cheers;

See also (links via Amazon):

* iPhone 17

* Photoshop

* "There's nothing for you, here!" comes from Edward Tatsyrup, a character from "The League of Gentlemen", a BBC dark comedy. Watch how you order on Amazon; some are PAL discs while most are coming from third party vendors. 

Just some random clouds...

It's been a week of high humidity here - 100 to 110 degrees and it's been tough to want to do things outside. 

News this morning said there's a massive heat wave going through parts of Europe as well. I've checked in with my friend Rachael, who lives in England, and so far she's okay, because she was recently visiting another part of the country so she didn't feel the effects of the heat in London. I'm sure she will be fine, but I know they're not used to it. I remember when I went to visit her in 2009, it happened to be one of those weeks where they had randomly high heat, but to me, it wasn't that bad. Considering I've since moved to Florida, there's definitely a difference in region and climate. 

It stands true when Rachael said to me today, "[T]he humidity makes it worse due to the 'wet bulb'. In other countries it regularly gets that hot but they are better set up for it". She's right; other areas of the world are used to the heat and humidity, and it all depends on where you are - there are places where it's a dry climate, so 115° isn't as sticky and drippy as it would be in the tropics (for US readers, think of Las Vegas dry versus Louisiana bayous wet). 

Before I started this post, I looked at the Weather Channel App on my phone and it was already 86° and felt like 90. I'm sure by the time I'm done writing, it'll be higher, as this time yesterday, it was already nearing the "feels like 100". 

Last night I had to get something out of my car and the sun setting was giving the clouds such an interesting share of salmon colored pinks and bee colored yellows. I wish my phone picked it all up better, because it was very apocalyptic outside. 

The pictures don't pick up everything, but the cloud coverage was strange in the fact there are some small swoops going on. Like bubbling on the outer edge of the flatter areas. I'm no meteorologist, so I don't have the vernacular to explain everything in detail. I just thought the color of the sky and surroundings, mixed with the way the clouds were forming, it was interesting. 

Maybe it's due to all the warmth we've been getting lately, that the sunsets are so different. Go ahead and call me weird. At least we haven't had a named storm yet, as we're officially 23 days into season. Let's keep it this way, even though some of us are a little hesitant to bring it up, as we don't want to risk a jinx on our heads... 

That's about it for now. I've got to get some stuff done early this morning before it gets hotter out, so I'll check in another time. Hopefully the temperature doesn't go past 105 today.. 

Take care of yourselves and totally get some water in you!

Cheers;

Happy Birthday, "Eddie" if you're still reading these posts...

See Also

* Have you read Rachael's book yet? Sangre De Toro

* The Weather Channel App via Amazon

* It's Prime Day with sales... are you buying?? 

Let's talk this one through...

I was telling a co-worker on Thursday about the Good Omens purchase and how I got a bad cover. 

I had shown him what I received and what Amazon was selling; how people were getting the non Crowley cover even though the character is clearly supposed to be there. 

My co-worker said I need to contact Amazon and see how they can fix this. I ordered the book with a character and I didn't receive what was paid for and advertised. I told him that I'm okay with this, although I'm bummed there isn't a character on it, it makes the novel a little eccentric. He said that that's not the point. It's misleading, especially where Amazon is the one who sold it to me.

I thought about it through out the day and I guess it bothered me enough, that I ended up doing a chat with Customer Service. 

What started out as "I wanted to tell someone how I received a poor quality cover of a book", turned into "We're starting a return for you and you'll get a replacement for it"; all in the span of forty five minutes. My co-worker helping me with things to say, kept saying "I'm getting aggravated for you because of this". 

Let me backtrack a little with the conversation.

I had started off by saying "I am not looking to return the book, but I wanted to make a comment about receiving the Good Omens paperback with white cover. Part of the graphics are missing on it. I know “covers may vary” (you receive either the black cover or white cover. Both have different character) and the white one I received is missing the character. It has only the title, author and a splash of tiny color; the main character is missing from the center of the cover". 

The associate apologized for the issue and they would help me with this. 

At this point in time, I said "it may be a quality control thing as the whole book looks okay. Just the cover is missing information". 

They again apologized for it, and offered me a promo credit. I asked if they could also send a corrected copy (at no charge) but they said that was not possible. 

Considering there are other people who have reviewed this book and stated they received the non Crowley cover, I really wanted to make sure this would no longer be a problem on future orders. 

I didn't make that last comment, but the response I received for asking for a corrected copy was "you can re-order the book". I asked if there was any guarantee that I'd get the cover as advertised and the answer was "I will take this as a feedback and escalate it on high priority to the concerned department and make sure necessary actions are taken on this and you do not face this situation again.

Be assured that this will not repeat again". 

~NOTE the last line: "Be assured that this will not repeat again"~

I asked if there was an expiry date on the promo and they informed me I have one year to use it. 

As I didn't get a full answer about the guarantee over re-ordering the book, they instead handed my concern to a "lead". This would be associate number two of the chat. 

Once I confirmed the purchase with the second agent, I started again with what the problem was - there's a lack of quality control over the printing and I wanted a guarantee that should I re-order the book, it would arrive as promised. 

This triggered a "return" and "damage" on their end, so the next part of the conversation was the agent informing me they want (/need / etc) to start the process of having me return this copy and get a replacement sent out, unless I wanted a refund. But I'd need to return the book. 

I asked again, what the guarantee was of getting the correct version if I'm sending this one back and getting a new one. I wasn't interested in sending it back (to begin with) if only to get the same no character cover. 

This agent couldn't help me further, and switched me to another person. I immediately started the conversation with "I was offered a promo credit and would like to accept that, please".

Unfortunately, the answer I got from that was "I have escalated your feedback and can help you with a return label". No acknowledgement of the credit.

The agent insisted on creating a return label, to which every mention of this, my co-worker was getting angrier because he wanted me to see this through and hoped Amazon would help me. 

Keep in mind, I'm not trying to swindle, screw or bash the company (as much as it may seem like I am, at least in the latter). I am writing this out now, in my blog, to let other readers know that these things can happen. You have to choose how you want to contact the company and decide what your end game is. I wanted them to be aware that they need to have better eyes on what they ship out, if people are getting things that are falsely advertised. 

Back to the conversation with the third agent.

They kept insisting on creating a return label when I asked about that promo credit. I was told that I was "given incorrect information. Unfortunately, we don't have the option or authorize to issue any compensation or promo credits.I hope you understand my limitations". 

Because this was a completely different department I was dealing with, I missed my chance on getting the credit. I had no other choice now but to return the book.

The agent had continued the conversation by starting "While I genuinely wish to help you, I'm unable to make an exception to our return policy. The return of the physical item is a mandatory requirement for processing refunds. This policy protects both our customers and our business.

The seller needs the item back for inspection, repair or resale; without the item, the refund cannot

be processed, as it would result in a direct financial loss for them.

As I'm from the Specialist team , resolutions are restricted"

It boggled my mind because the 'seller' is Amazon, not a third party storefront. I don't know how they will repair the cover, but I'm sure someone will tear out the pages of the book and rebind them with a new back page stating the date of printing (like I received). My co-worker was just as crazed as I was at this point. He was waiting for me to finish this conversation because it was turning into a bad cycle of crazy. 

I asked to be connected to someone who could help me further, so I was transferred to yet another person. 

They immediately stated that the way it's understood, I'm writing about a damaged book. I replied stating it's "not a fully damaged item. It has a cover that is missing graphics on the cover.

It is how the company printed the book and Amazon sold it" and they wanted to go forward and help with a return or replacement.

Can you tell why this took almost an hour and both my co-worker and I were getting upset?

Again, I asked about a replacement and guarantee I'll get the correct cover. I even stated "I do not want a replacement if you can't help me with this and send me the right one". I was assured they will do right by me and I will receive the proper copy. 

I begrudgingly agreed to receive a return label and mail back the copy I received. I was told I'd get the replacement today, Saturday, and all will be good. 

Guess what came in the mail!

Yup, the same cover, missing the same character!

This time, it came in a bubble mailer and the back cover was not only bent and some pages crooked, but the spin also was damaged and part of the top cover too. 

Trust me, I'm not happy about this. 

Luckily, I hadn't shipped the first book back in case I needed to send Amazon images of both books as reference to what I had received. 

I immediately got on the Amazon chat and wanted to make sure they knew about this. 

I had started the conversation with "This is a quality control issue with Amazon sending out the book. Second time I received it, it is missing half the graphics on the cover, and now the book is bent. I have not sent the original order back yet, to see how this would arrive. I am willing to keep that first copy and send back today's copy. In exchange, I would also like the amount paid for the book returned to me via credit to my account for the troubles I have had with this order. Apparently this book isn't in stock like I was led to believe".

Before anyone says I'm doing something bad, again, think back to my original conversation with them: I'm reporting a printing issue but want to keep the book. It snowballed into a return fiasco. 

I had to go through the prompts about a dozen times before I was able to chat with someone in Customer Service. 

The first person who I worked with today, asked me to upload images of the book being wrong and damaged (the bent pages). Which is why I waited on sending the first one back - I figured they'd want to see what I got. I complied and we moved along. 

The associate saw the images and said that I need to return this book back in order to get a replacement or refund, so my query was partially answered. 

I asked them "Does this mean you are not carrying the book at all? It is again, quality control and false

advertising. I really wanted a copy of the book and am willing to keep the first copy, send back the

second, with a refund to my account so I can purchase the more accurate book somewhere else in

my own time" because it wasn't really clear and I did want to originally keep the book. I wasn't trying to be difficult, even though it seems that way. 

The answer this agent gave me was they could offer a promo credit, but then before I could answer, I was passed to another associate. 

The second person for today wanted me to elaborate on what was going on, so I stated everything that has been happening with this and how it's turning into a mess. They apologized for everything and wanted to start the return process on this new book. In order to do anything for me, they need both copies back. I said that doing so doesn't help the original message and what type of hassle this has been, in order to have what was advertised. 

This got me pushed to a third person.

I explained to this associate what's been going on and asked that they refer to both Thursday's chat and today's chat. The associate said they saw all the notes and wanted to confirm how many books I had at the moment. I stated I have the original order, which made the conversation on Thursday, and now I have the replacement, received today, for today's conversation. I reiterated both books are incorrect and as much as I'd be willing to keep one, now we're at the point I'd like some sort of refund because I don't want to keep getting a bad replacement.

I was told that if I expect a refund, I need to return both, so a return has to be submitted for both. I stated I originally wanted to keep one, but was offered a promo credit for the trouble. I'd like that honored if I can't get a full refund. I'm also keeping one of the books because that's originally why I wrote in.

This got me to another agent. 

The final agent in this chaos went over everything that has been going on. They wanted me to confirm what I've got, what I've shipped, what I've done. I explained everything, again, even though it was all in the chat. 

They too, informed me if I expect a full refund, I had to return both books. At this point, I was done going in circles, much like I've been doing here to explain it. 

I stated that I'd like to keep one of the books and that the first agent stated I could do that, if I returned the original one. They would also issue me the promotional credit for all of this inconvenience. I would like that to be honored. 

The agent agreed that they would issue me the credit as long as I return the first book. I told them I didn't need a label because I already had the one they sent me Thursday. The final statement from Customer Support was "Alrighty I'll issue you the Promo Credit. Please make sure you send back the original order". 

I said I would, and I did. I taped everything back up (I had originally put it all in an envelope to be mailed out) and I went to the UPS Store. Yes, I even sent back the better copy of the two, as I said I would. 

It's just maddening because the website states that "covers may vary", but because there's no one watching what is being sent out, there's no eyes on the quality of the item. Amazon is responsible for shipping this, and I wanted them to know about what I received. Especially since a lot of other people are commenting they got the bad cover as well. I don't know the exact number of people making reports for replacements, but there were a few who stated they got a second copy from Amazon with the same issue. You'd think the more people who talk about it, the more the company would do something. 

You'd think. 

I'm so sorry to go on this big tangent and I thank you for sticking with me. I'm also sorry this happened because it shows how this company is making brick and mortar stores lose patrons. Other companies are raising prices because they can't compete with the online retailer and it sucks. I'd love to have gotten the book locally, but if it's 10-20 dollars more in store plus a 30 minute drive to not know if it's in stock, what's the point? 

I have to reiterate, I am not sitting here trying to bash the company and demand stupid things. I've paid my membership dues and I've gotten a lot out of it. This is one of those instances where reviews really count and you have to take the risk of ordering because things vary so much, you really don't know if you'll get the right package. It is unfortunate because this is a big competitor and it's so easy to stay at home and do an order. 

The world is changing rapidly and people want everything "now!!!" and they also get greedy. I'm more upset that this was the first time I received a product where it wasn't accurately described. I could understand if it was a third party selling it and the main company had some sort of promise or guarantee to work with the customer, but here Amazon was the seller and they do have an "A-Z Guarantee" but both times they sent me the product, it was a fail. I want and wanted to read the book. I wanted to tell them what was going on. I had no intention of it spiraling like this. If this place is the only location selling the book, what choice do I have? B&N and BAM both said they didn't have the book in stock in local stores. I could have checked thrift stores, and that's like searching for a needle in a haystack. I could have gone to eBay and what promise do I have for there? Markups and such a plenty, and I haven't used my eBay account in a while. 

I wish it was better and once I know Amazon receives the book, I'm going to rate my experience over there too. Talk about the shipping process and the cover only. Not rate the level of the story. I'm still excited to read it, but I'm not excited over how I got to read it. 

To each their own and let this be a big lesson for everyone: Always do your own research and advocate for your best interest. I totally understand where they were coming from, based on a profit and loss situation, but every opportunity to make good was hit with a brick wall. At what point do you just stop and give up? Don't go through with things? That's your choice. You have to make sure you're doing what you feel is necessary. 

So, if you're reading this, my co-worker, now you know the end of the story if I forget to tell you.

Cheers;

See also:

* Good Omens page on Amazon (scroll to bottom to see reviews)