Bad Robot!

So I saw the pilot finally in the last week. I watched it twice off the DVR. Then we could resist no further.






Apparently, everyone had the same idea when they saw the pilot. They all went out looking for the season 1 discs. Several stores later we had it in our possession. This is one of the most twisted and original shows I have seen in a long time. Its more like a very long movie than just another show. Not much else compares to the depth of the characters and the dozens of twisted winding plots.

Well worth the effort to find it and buy it. Don't hold your breath trying to rent it from NetFlix, there is a waiting list a mile long.

My 2005

2006 so far has been dry and boring. It will ramp up in August but till then it will be all budgeting, working and planning. I figured that now was a good time to reflect on 2005 as my area is getting hit with the coldest temperatures so far this season.


Cuyahoga Valley National Park


















Deer that was in my backyard.







Hocking Hills State Park
















Maine

Netflix Covers Ass

### Please read "I'm Being 'Throttled'" first. ###

This was taken from the Better Business Bureau Complaint Resolution Web Site.

I did accept this offer but I will be on the look-out for a company with different standards. You, the blog reader, please let me know if you find anything good as well.

I must give some credit to Netflix for the speed and accuracy of their response.

CLT.cf.rtf
02/15/2006 Receive Business Response February 15, 2006

To: Cathy Jasper
Complaint Conciliator
Re: [my name]

From: Catherine Jay
Netflix, Inc.

Customer: [Me]

Dear Cathy,

Thank you for the opportunity to address Mr. [my name] concerns. We appreciate the time taken by Mr. [my name] to provide his feedback and comments. Providing the best Unlimited Rental Service possible and addressing customer inquiries are our top priorities. We are continually striving to improve our subscription service and all feedback and suggestions we receive are carefully reviewed.

I am very sorry to hear about misunderstanding regarding the service. As per the Terms of Use, Netflix does not normally issue discounts or credits for the service. However, as a one-time courtesy for the confusion, I have issued a 50% discount towards Mr. [my name] next billing cycle.

To offer a fair and balanced service to all of our members, we do give priority to members who receive fewest DVDs through our service. This can cause customers who receive the most movies to occasionally experience next-day shipping, receive movies from a location other than their local distribution center resulting in longer delivery times or receive movies lower in their Rental Queue more often than our other subscribers. However, this is not to say that all movies will not ship the same day as their DVDs are returned or these customers will never receive new releases. In short, while this process is in place to help us prioritize the processing of our shipments, it does not affect every shipment a heavy user receives.

I do want to explain that Netflix does not guarantee the availability of our inventory. With No Due Dates or Late Fees, our inventory fluctuates constantly. Since our inventory is not guaranteed, Netflix does not usually offer any type of compensation for waits which may occur for certain titles. Instead, we invite customers who are waiting for specific titles to browse our selection of over 55,000 titles for additional films which they may be interested in viewing.

Please be assured it is critical to Netflix that we are able to provide our customers one of their top choices consistently and we are constantly evaluating our movie inventory and buying more movies to match demand as closely as we can. Unfortunately, for those new release titles which we do not carry too many copies of (in comparison to the demand) there can be waits until we are able to replenish our inventory.

As Mr. [my name] is aware, in order to help him manage his rentals, we provide inventory information for each item. Due to the fact inventory status is constantly fluctuating; stock statuses provided on the web site should only be used as approximations of availability. In addition, all expected "wait" designations are simply estimated according to overall demand and are not specific to each individual customer. In other words, a title that is flagged "short wait," may nevertheless ship to Mr. [my name] immediately upon receipt of a DVD rental. There are overall estimated "short wait", "long wait" and "very long wait" status designations, but these do not indicate the exact position for Mr. [my name] in regards to receiving the specific title.

Our system is designed to ship a DVD from customers Queue as quickly as possible. If the first is not available, it will ship the second. If the second is not available, our system will ship the third available choice. However, for multi-disc sets, if a disc of the set in higher priority is not available the rest of the discs in the series will be passed in order to ensure the discs are viewed in the proper order. If a series has multiple seasons, each season is considered a separate set. For example, if both Season 1 and 2 of a set are in a customer's Rental Queue, and Season 1 is unavailable, it is possible for discs from Season 2 to ship prior to Season 1.

Mr. [my name] Rental Queue currently lists 22 titles, 12 of which are not yet released on DVD. 7 of the remaining 10 titles are discs from a multi-disc set of a TV series (''Lost: Season 1''). The other 3 titles are all in the very long wait status. At the very top of Mr. [my name] Queue, he lists all 7 discs of the ''Lost'' TV series. Disc 1 is in the ''short wait'' status while the other 6 are in the ''available now'' status. Since we do not ship multi-disc sets out of order, our automated system will skip the remaining discs in the series, regardless of their ''available now'' status.

At this time, the availability of Mr. [my name] titles leaves us with no titles that we can ship to him. Thus in order to fully enjoy the Netflix service, we recommend he add more available titles to his Rental Queue. This will ensure that DVDs will continue to ship while he is waiting for the other titles at the top of his Rental Queue to become available.

Please note after several days with no shipments due to the availability of the titles in Mr. [my name] Rental Queue, a copy of ''The Constant Gardener'' has become available and we are in processing the shipment at this time. Mr. [my name] will receive an email notification once the order has been fulfilled. Again, we would suggest Mr. [my name] add more titles to his Rental Queue so that we can continue with his shipments.

If there are any further questions regarding how we process shipments, this information has been available in our Terms of Use. Mr. [my name] may reference this information by using the following link:

http://www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse?hnjr=8

In reviewing Mr. [my name] account, I do see he sent an email to Netflix Customer Service on February 15, 2006 regarding this issue. As a Netflix representative has not yet replied to this email, I have removed it from the active email Queue. He will not receive a reply for this email inquiry.

Again, I apologize for any misunderstanding and as a one-time courtesy, have issued a 50% discount towards Mr. [my name] next billing cycle. This discount will affect his monthly fee billing on February 17, 2006. To avoid further delays with his shipments, we would suggest Mr. [my name] add additional titles, which are available for shipment, to his Queue.

I hope that I have been able to satisfactorily address Mr. [my name] concerns. If either Mr. [my name] or you have any further questions or comments regarding this issue, please feel free to contact me directly. I can be reached at (408) 220-3120 and am available Monday through Friday from 6:00am to 2:30pm (Pacific Standard Time).

Sincerely,

Catherine Jay
Netflix, Inc

I'm Being "Throttled".

I am a Netflix customer.

According to Netflix, I am a customer they do not like because I rent too much. They have never said they do not like my business out loud, but you can tell by their actions.

It's because I rent too much. Even though I have a monthly contract to be able to have 3 DVDs at one time and my rental ability is "unlimited". I am guessing that by "unlimited" that would equate to 21 DVDs per month! It's a good deal for the $19.23/month or $0.92 per rental right. Well, this was done by my own calculations, not theirs! I have given them the benefit in my calculations. I gave them weekends off and one holiday on a business day in a 30 day period. If I keep the movie for one evening and it takes 1 day to ship each way (proven fact) and one whole day to "accept return/send next movie", it turns out to about 21 movies in a 30 day period.

According to Netflix, a "heavy renter" consists of someone who rents more than 12 DVDs per billing period. "Good renters" are people (believe this or not) who rent between 2 and 10 DVDs per month. How is this unlimited?

My monthly average for the last 11 months is 12.5 movies/month or $1.53/rental. How is this possible?

They have several different ways of controlling your flow of movies.

1) Availability status. They claim that a high demand for particular movies will result in a "Short Wait", "Long Wait" or "Very Long Wait" depending on how big the demand is for a particular movie.

I have come across information from "Google current_" that if you have had a movie on the top of your list for several months that has a "Wait" availability, the easiest way around that is the following.

a) Print off your movie list.
b) Delete your entire movie list.
c) Based off your printed list, start
adding only "Wait" status discs to your movie list.
d) Eventually you will get the movies you will want to see.

Please note that NEW accounts and "Good Renters" will always get first dibs on new releases.


2) E-mail Timing. If you get an e-mail from Netflix that requests information on when specifically a DVD has arrived. Basically, if you respond and they deem you are getting your discs to quickly, they will stall your next several shipments.

If you are like me, you did respond and you responded truthfully. I answered almost the whole time with the shortest possible shipping option that was in the e-mail.

Solution: Never respond. You are not forced to respond, so just don't give them any information. Your shipping will not decrease.

Solution 2: If you did respond... Lie! Lie! Lie! Wait several days to respond to the e-mail, then click the timing link that reads "I received the movie after... (date)". Then
never respond again. You should notice the amount of time it takes to get a movie to increase in shipping speed.

3) "Throttling". This method is easily based off how many movies you attempt to rent per month. Plus, add in the "Availability scam" and the "E-mail Timing scam". This is a method to make sure no renter gets more that 13 DVDs in a 30 day period. Though, theoretically you should be able to get 21 DVDs/month, they will just not let that happen. Only "heavy renters" (10-13 DVDs) will endure "Throttling". "Throttling" is a term the media has dubbed Netflix's methods based off testimony in several class action lawsuits.


Why do they do this? Easy! It costs money to ship the DVDs both ways and Netflix, Inc. is just watching their bottom line. Say it costs Netflix $0.77 for your DVD to make the round trip (an actual figure I found), that would mean if someone would rent 13 DVDs per month, more than half the $19.23 monthly subscription would go towards just shipping. Kind of makes you wonder why they advertise "unlimited rentals".

I all fairness, Netflix says they ship more than 1 million DVDs daily. Netflix has posted a forth quarter profit for 2005 at only $9 million which is quite pathetic when they deal with rotating over 2 million DVDs daily (ship/receive). But its still a profit based off "bait and hook" advertising.

And now my beef.

I have had "Lost Season 1" on the top of my list ever since it was put to DVD. This season is split between 7 DVDs and shipped as separate movies. I have been patiently waiting to get the first disc which has been on "Short Wait" for months. Up until recently, I have been putting "available" DVDs in its place as they get movies back from me. The whole time I am expecting for the "Short Wait" to go away in a ... short.... time. On Wednesday, February 8, 2006 I stopped playing that game. On that day I should have had at least "Lost Season 1" Disc 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or even 7 shipped to me. Because all of those discs are available and have been available "NOW".

This is my accounts movie list as of Wednesday, February 15, 2006

A closer view of what Netflix is shipping to me today. Nothing.

This is proof of the "Throttling Method".

As you can see, I have several Available titles at the top of my list. Yet Netflix's last shipment to me was on Monday, February 6, 2006 and the day that it was returned and my shipping queue was completely empty was on Friday, February 10, 2006. 5 days later they still cannot figure out how to send those next available discs. This is pure horse-shit. False advertising. A contract breaker.

I have contacted the Better Business Bureau in this matter. Netflix has over 400 complaints resolved according to the Better Business Bureau.


For information about "throttling" read this MSNBC article.

For more information and other online DVD renters try: Hacking Netflix

Netflix Information:

Netflix, Inc.
100 Winchester Circle
Los Gatos, CA 95032

Corporate Phone: (408) 317 - 3700
Fax Line: (408) 220 - 3115

Alternate Line (provided by Better Business Bureau) : (888) 638 - 3549


NEVER LET LARGE CORPORATIONS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU, YOU HAVE OPTIONS:

Better Business Bureau

Contact the business' local Chamber of Commerce.

Contact the business' State Attorney General Office.

Contact the Federal Attorney General Office.

Pay only $35 to call your local Bar Association to see if you have case against the business. Lawyer referrals are always free.


You can save yourself (and others) a lot of pain by using the above contact information. Exercise your rights!

I would like to thank an associate of mine for gathering some vital information concerning what I have posted here. It has been very enlightening.

Recent Aquisitions

A basic micro-brew ale. Good for what it is.





A full flavored pale ale I would suggest for people with fearless tastes in beer.





An extremely smooth and dark tasteful drink. Good to relax with and even make as your meal!





Whoooa! Careful there! Only drink in small portions when ice cold. This ale from Belgium drinks like a port. All that taste must be respected and savored. This is not for Budweiser guzzlers!

Message to ODOT: I'm Not The Only One.

I find it extremely unfortunate that ODOT keeps on missing the point. It's a common problem in most of society. The people that are supposed to be offering the solutions and providing the service ends up doing the exact opposite.

This usually happens when the institution and the people who run it start taking themselves way too seriously. They may hold public hearing but the ears and minds are shut. The needs of the public are shut out by the yammering of "experts" that feel that they can never be wrong. Meanwhile, "The Greater Good" gets stifled. The needs and the reasoning for the project are trashed for the "easy way out".

ODEWO = Ohio Department of Easy Way Out

ODOT plans to spend almost 1 Billion Federal Dollars to incorrectly fix our traffic problems. Their studies are over 6 years old and their plans are uninspiring, unimaginative, outdated and lack the progressive need that our failing state needs.

This article can be read in full at The Dispatch.

Why do I not trust ODOT? Why do I thrash them? Here are some reasons.

1) ODOT has a horrible track record for spending more money and doing projects properly in the more expensive parts of town.

2) The failed Toledo bridge where it fell down half way through the project and killing several workers.

3) A 5 mile stretch of I-71 on the north side of Columbus has been under construction continually for more than 8 years. Not just one project. SEVERAL re-do projects because they just can't seem to get it right the first 5 times.

4) Those decorative bridges along I-70 that pass by the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that happens to be in the middle of nowhere.

5) I-270 in Ohio because they realize after a couple years after completion that they will need to reconstruct the ramps to I-71, US-23 and SR-315 (24 ramps) because... oops, did they fuck up again? The ramps seem to confuse even the best drivers and cause high speed accidents on a weekly basis. Maybe it's that 10 lane interchange? I must admit that when a beer truck flipped and flooded the highway, the area did smell great.

6) SR-315 is a 14 year overbudget project that was kind of completed a couple years ago. Though a fairly impressive project, the floodwall that's supposed to help a really poor section of town ("the bottoms") actually did not work. The first big rain we had it flooded behind the wall as well. I know I should be blaming the Army Corp of Engineers but ODOT was part of the budgeting process and should have crossed their "T"s and dotted their "I"s. They were in charge of the entire project that shut down a main commuter road for over 14 whole years. Now what?

7) ODOT construction practices. In California, when they are repaving a major highway, they just shut it down for a day or two and get out the five-lane wide machine and get the job done. In Ohio, we do one lane at a time and constrict traffic for MONTHS. Its too cold, its too hot, its too wet. Wahh! Then, when they finish, we get a nice smooth road if you drive between the overlapping layered lanes. Pure crap.


I could go on, but the internet only has so much space.

Question Authority.