Keeping A Promise This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

I refer you to a previous post in my blog. In it, I promised I would take my refund and keep half and the other half is going to be donated, in their name, to two of my favourite charities: the Robin Hood Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. BTW, I always encourage everyone to visit and donate to these charitable organizations.

I am a man of my word, and I made out the checks today as I received the WD check. I'll deposit that shortly. I've scanned a copy of the checks, but due to my recent multiple identity thefts, I've removed information from the checks. But you can see I made 'em out and they'll be mailed Monday.

I am bored this weekend. Events include getting a screw removed from my car's tire. That's up first tomorrow morning. Sadly, this is a common occurrence due to where I work.

After that, I'll got to Whole Earth Foods and get more fruit leather. Then, I'll go home. Later I'll go to Publix, and do laundry. Then I'll swing by the Post Office Box for mail.

I think there's no skating this weekend as Adrian appears to be busy. I'll probably see if Erin's free one day so I can entertain her (and me), and maybe see if the Higgi are up for Saturday dinner. WJM is doing better but no more details on that.

And I have scheduled a post-birthday trip to see Rocky Horror Picture Show with some friends (8-23) so if you want to go, let me know and I'll give you details.

Tonight, I shall watch the Olympics opening ceremony. And Happy Birthday to Maury Wilkinson today.

Western Digital Makes Good This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

First I refer you to a previous post about Western Digital. I don't want to go over all that again. I believe I also mentioned in a follow up post that I had sent a missive by certified mail to John Coyne, the CEO of Western Digital. The day I sent that letter, or maybe the next day, I finally got my replacement drive -- it's still not hooked up, though. I am lazy about some things.

This past Thursday, I received an email from Mr. Coyne's office. (I will admit great amusement to the use of the appropriate TM symbol after the drive name.) In said email he said Gary Meister the senior VP would call me and said "I am confident that we will shortly restore your confidence in WD as the premier source for all your storage needs." I will admit great scepticism -- as well as amusement because nobody actually talks like that -- when I read it, but I was optimistic enough to say nothing in my blog. After all, I always feel talking about it in advance jinxes you.

Today, I received a very nice and apologetic phone call from Gary Meister which I will detail. We spoke for about twenty minutes. So now, I can clear up a few things.

1. We all agree that most of the aggravation was caused by the fact that the serial number on the drive was incorrectly keyed to the wrong region. That caused the whole process and my available options to be handled incorrectly. They said they are taking steps to correct this so future customers do not have to go through this sort of thing.
2. We discussed the "mystery files" on my hard drive that did not belong to me. They obviously read my blog as I did not include that in my letter. When I sent the letter to WD, CBL had indicated further investigation had indicated that those files may have been artefacts from either Time Machine's backup process and/or Retrospect's backup process as opposed to someone else's files. Since I wasn't sure what the real answer was, I didn't put it in the letter nor did I post a retraction here. As it turns out, and was confirmed just recently by CBL, they are indeed artefact files of some sort. It was just an unfortunate set of circumstances with the mis-coded serial number that caused a red flag to be raised about this data. Basically the thought was the drive was in the USA, it wasn't supposed to be, it was full of mystery files, and that caused a logical conclusion based on an initial bit of misinformation. So, the phantom files weren't mine -- that is still true. However they weren't someone else's either which makes me feel much better about this whole thing. When backing up, all software leaves little footprints that appear to be directory structures to Data Recovery software (which is fundamentally what backup/restore software is). So in the recovery process, it appeared there were files that weren't mine. And since I gave them the expected directory structure in advance they were looking for, thus it appeared those files were from a previous user installation. When they called me and I had no idea what the files were, that clinched it. This was just a set of a bunch very valid conclusions adding together and getting another valid conclusion: only sometimes 1 and 1 don't always add up to two because sometimes the initial "1" is really not a "1" but some other number.
3. And, for the record, there are other processes for WD drives besides what I went through. The reason I wasn't offered those was, again, because of that miscoded serial number. I explained clearly that I was very happy with the tech's performance -- I really don't have anything against competent outsourced tech support. He did everything he could to help and directed me to resources that were available to my circumstances. It's just that my circumstances were not what his computer thought they were. My initial call was on a Sunday morning and because of that, there was no back-up for that tech ("level two" I think they called it). Had I known that, I'd have called back.
4. I explained all of that in details because I want you to know WD really, really did care. They called. They were concerned, and they told me what they're doing to correct and fix the situation so future people don't suffer. I want to say, a simple e-mail from them would have made me happy and solved this: they didn't have to call and explain everything in detail but I love that they did. They could have blown me off, too. Honestly, WD is a very large company and that's what I was expecting to happen. I didn't think my letter would get past the legendary "CEO's office" (which is where your letters to most companies go to die -- except Dell where your letters are used as toilet paper. I really hate Dell. Still.) WD e-mailed and said they'd contact me, then they called and explained without any BS what happened and why it happened. That alone gives them very, very, very high marks.
5. They have indicated they will refund my money for the drive recovery costs because of the multiple problems I had due to the serial number issues. That thrills me. I'll be honest, I was expecting them to refuse or offer to split it 50/50 when they called. And I was willing to half-heartedly accept that, but they offered a full refund right away. So, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to keep half and the other half is going to be donated, in their name, to two of my favourite charities: the Robin Hood Foundation and Habitat for Humanity. BTW, I always encourage everyone to visit and donate to these charitable organizations.
6. So I will move WD back to my "happy" list again. I do have to get around to actually installing this drive.
7. 7-25-08 They called and let me know it's all in the works and, as always allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery. Your mileage may vary :)

In unrelated news, the BBC has a great video on how to speak like an American. The Dolphins traded Jason Taylor, in a move that surprised nobody. And I have a huge, expensive, house crisis that I won't even begin to discuss in detail now: my simple Hurricane Shutter repair for my Wilma damaged shutters, will now be many thousands of dollars (5 to 7) because the wood framing in the wall is water damaged and the entire rear wall of the house has to be replaced -- that curvey part that juts out from my kitchen to be exact. I want to cry. Scooter ate today (YAY!) but her bathroom habits are now becoming a concern. Tomorrow, I go for my driver's license. Ugh.

Art, Drives, and Stuff you don't care about This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

Platform For Art: it's one of the many things to love about the Tube (or the London Underground, or even subway for you leftpondians.) Every now and again I just have to throw in a plug for my favourite transit system of all time -- BART comes in second for inquiring minds. When I go to London, I often check out Platform For Art. I would encourage those of you who visit London to check the referenced URL and see if there's something that interest you.

I got a form e-mail from the president of Western Digital today. It was clearly a form letter and said he was concerned and was sending it to a vice-President and hopes they will make me a happy customer again. I am not holding my breath, mind you, but it was at least a reply. Hopefully it won't be like Tony Roma's where I got an auto-reply and never heard back again. (For more see Western Digital tags below). Speaking of Western Digital, I got a refurbished replacement drive today. I haven't installed it yet, but I will within the week. I resent getting a refurbished drive to replace something new. Legal but not right.

My shutter company came yesterday to replace the damaged shutters. They had all sorts of problem so now the half-working shutter is removed permanently but no new shutter has taken its place. A real problem. More on this next week.

Next week I'm also going to try to get a real driver's license as opposed to my current one. Nothing wrong with it except it's the old kind (3 iterations ago) and the picture looks like I was still a freshman in college. That's probably because I was still in college when it was taken. One day I'll have a real airport hassle. It's time.

I am concerned about Scooter because she's not eating enough. I'll give it a few more days because maybe she's going through a phase. A shout-out to Adrian who had his wisdom teeth removed, making him less wise I suppose :)

I stopped liking Jimmy Carter after some things he said last year. I won't go into that. I still admire his work as a humanitarian, but I no longer contribute to his foundation. He's free to mouth off and piss me off, and I am free to cut his funds off. It works well -- and after my missive to the Carter foundation, they don't even ASK me for money anymore. I mention him only because I read a good article about his energy policy where tried to wean us off foreign oil. The Reagan administration killed it and every Republican since has done their damnedest to sell our country's soul to offshore interests.

Lastly, some ass stole parts of my blog post about Tom Petty. I know this because they were kind enough to copy the typo I had in the post too. I'd like there so you could bash him, but I won't bother. It's one of those SEO sites that thrives on links so I won't support them.

I fixed the one of my outside lights today which involved turning off the power and sitcking a pair of pliers into the socket to remove a broken bulb.

At work we upgraded FASPAC to version six. I volunteered us to be a Beta site. They probably aren't happy they chose me. I submitted eight bug reports today including one three minutes into my first attempt to use a new feature. They've fixed two of the bugs I've reported and in doing so broke something else. I enjoy this stuff. They took quite a few of my suggestions from the previous versions over the past ten years and finally USED them. Woo-Hoo. FASPAC is awesome, it runs under UNIX and is relatively stable.

I itch. Everywhere. Damn it, man.

I miss some people today and am thinking of them. I hate this part.

A Lazy Sunday This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

First, Robert Lynn Asprin, author of the Myth series of novels as well as the Phule's Company series of novels is dead from natural causes in New Orleans. He died in May in bed whilst reading a Terry Pratchett novel. I just found out when I got my new issue of Locus Magazine.

Second, Adrian is in the doghouse today. After skating it seems his new shoes picked up a large quantity of dog shit. This, alone, is not news. The fact he didn't notice and got in my new car with it, is news. I have used massive amounts of carpet chemicals and, in a few hours, we'll see if you can tell or not, happily you can barely tell there was ever a problem. He's my friend, so murder is probably out of the question. But I figured a little public humiliation will at least make me feel better about cutting the day short to go home and clean up shit stains. However skating and breakfast were fun. And I hope Adrian feels better. I'd hate to kill a sick man.

Third, Erin visited yesterday -- an always fun event. I have given Erin dishes and silverware from my overstock. Yay. If anyone's moving I still have overstock available for a new abode, just ask. I also took her to the office to get hurricane supplies such as lights, batteries, and whatnot. Today she's home awaiting a matters for her new bed which, as of yet, is unused. We also passed a gas station where diesel was $5.39 a gallon -- near the airport of course.

Fourth, I filled out Identity Theft Affidavits for all the credit bureaus today. They'll go out certified return receipt tomorrow.

Fifth, I also have to write I've written my flame of Western Digital and will send that off to them. I am still hating them greatly over my hard drive. Also, I am sending a copy to Apple Computer so they know what kind of shite they sell in their stores. CBL has declined to write a letter indicating what files were on the drive, and I respect their desire. However, a quick perusal of Google has shown me there are massive failures of this drive. They have some sort of QC or design flaw.

Sixth, a special shout-out to Maury who sent me this link about the Room 8 School Cat. I can't tell you why I liked it so much, but I did.

Seventh, I got a copy of my "independent medical evaluation" which is basically accurate but there are some errors. I will be writing have written a correction letter and sending that in as well.

PS: iDrive still sucks ass. I haven't yet written a missive, but I will. Soon. I just have to stop finding new stuff to hate about it. I may never finish. I support the execution of the person who invented it.

Good Service Is Hard To Find. But not at CBL. This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

I am famous (infamous?) for my diatribes against companies that provide lousy service, poor attempts at customer service, as well indifferent, incompetent, and unknowledgeable staff. It is rare that I can write something good about a company. I wish I could, but it is a sadly rare event. People have come to expect the average and I don't feel average is worth commenting on.

In the past I've said nice things about my pharmacist at Walgreens, Pixmonix (if you ever need your old photos and negatives digitized, they are the ones), and even American Express. I am about to add one more to that list. CBL Data Recovery did a fine job. I am furious that my drive broke and furious that Western Digital has screwed me over. WD referred me to CBL and CBL did their part well. CBL has multiple locations and I picked Atlanta because it was the nearest office.

I sent the drive in and in the promised time, my data was returned to me. They kept me informed and did what they could to recover my data. Was it overpriced? Of course, I think so. But they gave me the price going in, I agreed to it, and they did the work. No headaches, no attempt to extort additional funds, and so forth. They kept me informed. I was basically satisfied because the important data (photos and videos) were fully recovered except for one file. The music files (wherein if you recollect I ripped my entire CD library over the course of 65 days) were mostly recovered, or so it appeared. I had to recreate the index files of course which was to be expected because iTunes is funny like that.

So, imagine my surprise when nearly 350 files were missing. Now this wasn't the end of the world because I have most of the CDs here and one or two in my Safe Deposit Box (like the original master pressing of Abbey Road by EMI Japan -- the rarest CD of all). In theory, I could recover all that data by figuring out which songs were on which CDs and trying to figure out which ones were missing. iTunes is stupid that you cannot sort on the "!" icon that lists missing songs. While doing it manually, I noticed an odd quirk. All the missing files were ones that had accent marks, umlauts, characters with set high bits, foreign characters including Japanese. (Only 14 files plus two albums didn't fall into this).

Keep in mind CBL already had my money, had done their job, and was under no obligation to do anything else at this point.

I wrote them a nice letter explaining that I had observed an unusual anomaly with their recovery algorithm. Robert Dwyer answered quickly and said he would consult with his tech Joel Barker who did the original recovery. Robert was the guy who called me during the recovery and asked me what all the files were on my hard drive that weren't mine (which will result in a scathing letter to WD, Apple Store where I bought the drive, and the FTC). Anyway, some 10 days later I received by FedEx two DVDs which had almost all the missing files. Yep. They did the recovery a second time. I got everything except those 14 songs and two album. And I was able to recover most of the 14 songs easily and I re-ripped those two albums.

So, if you ever need data recovery services, I will gladly recommend CBL! Good work guys! I hope all of you loyal readers (187,000 visits and counting) use them when you need their services.

(I'm still hoping CBL will write that letter explaining that the drive I sent them was clearly used because it had data on it from another recovery attempt from a previous owner. That means the drive was USED and sold to me as NEW. That's illegal. It would also explain why WD showed the drive wasn't a valid drive in the USA. It will make my fight to recover my money easier.)

Stupid Ass Companies and Not Stupid Ass Companies This blog has moved to http://quagmire.darsys.net

1. Stupid Ass Company Number One (MacWorld Magazine): I got my current issue of MacWorld (my subscription expires September) informing me I'd been signed up for Automatic Renewal Privileges. They gave me a list of these and it's mostly stuff that benefits them and not me. Neither here nor there. The renewal rate is $34 per year for which they will kindly send me a bill. I called this morning and asked why they signed me up for a service I didn't ask for to which they had no answer. Further, I asked why would anyone in their right mind WANT to when the subscription price advertised on their website is $14.95 a year (or $19.97 at Amazon)? The lady said she'd honour that price if I wanted but it's for new subscribers only (nowhere does it say that if you care to check). I told her to cancel my subscription. I've been subscribing since the damn thing came out. No more. I dislike someone taking advantage of a loyal customer. MacWorld can stuff it.

2. Stupid Ass Company Number Two (Western Digital Part One): I have been hinting on and off that my WD 1TB hard drive was ill. I'll share the story. The drive was born 1-1-07 and is just over a year old. It blew out in spectacular fashion last month. After consultation with their tech support people, we determined the bridge was damaged and not the drive. So I said, that's awesome I'll send it to you and you can put the drive in an new case. They don't do that. They just replace them. [Note that this drive is actually two SATA drives in a RAID configuration which makes a simple case swap very complex. I didn't know this when I got it.] They suggested a number of data recovery services. Because it's a RAID drive they all quoted prices close to $2,000 to $3,000 for a recovery mission. On a drive that's under factory warranty. I found one company for $999 to do it and they have it and have recovered almost all of the data. It should be here tomorrow. The story gets better. The guy at the place called me today and (I'll plug them after I get the drive back) said in the recovery process they found tons of files on the drive I didn't tell them about. We discussed them and they weren't my files! They were recovery files from someone else! Really. WD sold me a drive that was reconditioned previously. I fully intend to file a complaint with Federal Trade Commission. Normally a warranty protects the seller from incidental and consequential damages, but since WD engaged in what I consider to be a deceptive and illegal business practice (selling something as "new" that wasn't), I intend to wage war for recovery of my $999 plus round trip shipping.

3. Stupid Ass Company Number Two (Western Digital Part Two): So I called Western Digital this evening to get an RGA to get the drive replaced. After all it is under warranty whether or not the rest is resolved. They are obligated to replace it. After nearly 20 minutes on hold, I get a call center. A very nice lady in India. She puts me on hold repeatedly because there's "a problem" with the drive even though we all agree it's under warranty until 1-10-10. The new drive I bought at the Apple Store in the Falls (Miami, Florida, USA) does not have a valid warranty because, get this, the drive serial number was assigned to the EU and there's NO WAY I could have bought it here in the USA. Without a receipt they will not help me further. She gives me a case number and apologises repeatedly after checking again with a supervisor.

4. Not Stupid Ass Company Number One (American Express): I call Amex and explain the situation. Because of the age of it, it's not in their system. But the guy wants to help me while muttering how he doesn't understand why WD even cares where the drive is sold. He puts me on hold and gets us on a three way conference call with the corporate assistance department. We locate the exact date of sale -- and it's on a different Amex than the one I thought -- and discover it's "Falls Store" and not "Apple Store" as the name on the bill. I ask for a copy of the actual receipt be faxed to me which they cannot do, but they promised they will send me a letter via mail immediately explaining the receipt is being located, and hopefully WD will take that until they find the receipt which can take 3 to 4 weeks. American Express wants happy customers. WD does not.

5. In the good news department, the company working on my hard drive expects a recovery of close to 100% because the data except for one file seems to have been recovered. The data that is not mine I instructed them to NOT recover as I don't want it.

6. I have hiccups right now and I hate them. It's hot in my house and I wonder why. I must investigate. I had tuna for dinner and Scooter was the beneficiary of same. I will make a car decision shortly.

7. Another airline has added the $15 per bag surcharge. I'm running out of options to fly if I don't want to pay that fee. It's offensive. Raise the price of the damned ticket. I hate being nickled and dimed to death. Airlines wonder why everyone hates them? This is why. Airlines suck.