outnumbered

My boys will love these. :) Thanks!

I see...so since me telling people to **** off is a relatively new phenomenon, I'm only now seeing it. Gotcha.

My profanity-laden PMs are getting bleeped...

It's an April Fool's joke by our Hasselhoff-loving mod Ross.

It happens automatically when you reach 500 posts, I think. It means you have seniority over the newer members...not that you're old. And the seniority is only in the form of postcount, I don't think there are really any perks.

Uh...I hope you don't mean you think I'm going to whine and yell. That's not my style and I don't do that here. I'd hate to think a suggestion of mine is coming off as whining. I wasn't singling you out, though. The Sasha Cohen thread bothered me more than the AI thread, but I figured since it was happening multiple places it'd be nice to just know what protocol was supposed to be. Then I could either have things my way, and shut up...or know things were not going to be my way, and shut up...but either way, I'd be shutting up.

I didn't find out results I didn't want to know. I am in central time right now and watch tv as it airs on the east coast. So when people are discussing American Idol or Survivor as it airs, it doesn't tell me anything I'm not already watching. But it's rude to the people on the west coast/in other time zones. It's just common internet etiquette in general to not give things away the night they're airing. Also, it annoyed me to see that in the Sasha Cohen thread, after Brad specifically said not to post any spoilers, people were making comments about Sasha getting a silver medal. Even comments like "I know who won, but I want to see why," followed by "I take it Sasha didn't win, then" etc. implied something about the results, BEFORE the skating had even aired on the east coast/central time zones. The comments about her winning the silver were on there before it'd aired in other time zones. I lived my whole life in CA before moving out here 4 yrs ago and it would infuriate me when people did things like that. So my posting that wasn't because I myself had been horribly inconvenienced, I was just annoyed that people seem to have less and less consideration for people on the other side of the country. I doubt these same posters would be thrilled if we had a bunch of British posters spoiling shows for us (assuming we all watched the same tv shows, etc)... Anyway...yeah, I tend to avoid American Idol threads before I've watched the show. But the Sasha Cohen thread was just general discussion about her. There were pages of posts debating her skating ability and talking about how figure skating is judged. It wasn't obvious from all the previous posting that it would turn into a results spoiler. It would have been totally possible for someone to have wanted to read people's opinion of her in general, and clicked on the thread, before seeing the Olympics...since that is what the conversation had been. But again, overall, it's just commonplace to say "[show name]: Spoilers inside" or whatever if you're discussing show results. If that isn't what people want to do here--fine, discuss results inside threads that are just general discussions about the show...but let it be known that's the policy here at GD so people who frequent other messageboards where the term "spoiler" is always posted can at least be warned that policy isn't in effect here. And this was just a suggestion, anyway...not me laying down the law or anything.

I don't care whether or not they wind up allowed, I just want to know before opening a thread if I'm going to read something in it that I don't want to. Even in a thread specifically stating "no spoilers" I'm still reading comments implying something about results...in the AI thread the conversation wanders between discussing the show in general to discussing minute-by-minute happenings of the show as it airs on the east coast (which obviously isn't an issue for me personally, I would just think it might be for those not in eastern/central time zones)...you just never seem to know anymore whether you're going to read a comment that gives something away anymore. It'd be a lot easier if people either simply didn't post spoilers, or if they only did so in a thread called "SPOILER: [insert tv show here]" or whatever. Just my rant of the day...

They'd better keep the CA ones open. I have a LOT of shopping to do there when we move back home.

If you click on "shout archive" you can see all of the comments. :)

I was amazed there was anything left. I went to my closest Walmart a few days ago hoping for some 50% off deals and there was NOTHING. Happened to stop in at Target today and they still had a ton of Christmas stuff there, so I got my stuff after all, and at 75% instead of half off.

Yeah...I'd probably do the same, minus the tech forum.

Arrrrgghhhh there you go again with the caps!

I think that would give me a headache when people tried to go all fancy and type in 24-point Vivaldi or something. Or the resident freak who'd post all in wingdings. Actually I can think of a few people who might do that LOL.

See my vent about Amazon and UPS. My "instant" refund STILL is not in my bank account and I have small bill payments bouncing left and right.

I got a jacket from my family (well, I bought it a month or so ago; they sent a check to cover it), and they also sent me a small desk calendar so I'd have something under the tree--which was very nice as I really did have nothing at all under the tree other than that calendar. I bought myself a KitchenAid mixer and blender last month thinking that I could use Christmas money for it (and pay myself back for buying it, basically) so I did--my share of the Christmas money gotten from in-laws has gone to that. Brian got me a little bracelet and a Christmas-themed cup from the "Santa shops" at school and at a Christmas party we went to.

Well my bank account is now overdrawn because the stupid "instant" rebate still hasn't posted to my account. I knew it wasn't going to hit instantly, but I was hoping that the credit would post before my purchases did. (Used my debit card as a credit card to delay posting to my account.) So here is what I just sent off to Amazon: ------------- I am writing to express my immense dissatisfaction with my Amazon.com order that did not arrive in time for Christmas, and the poor way that my earlier complaint about this matter was handled. On December 15, I placed an order for various Christmas toys for my children. Your site said an order placed by Dec. 16 would arrive in time for Christmas, so I felt confident ordering these stocking stuffers and gifts. Delivery estimate was Dec. 20-21. My order had still not arrived by December 23--in fact, UPS was showing delivery scheduled for December 27--and so I called both UPS and Amazon to ask what had happened to my order. I was told by UPS that Amazon did not get my order to them in time for them to have it delivered to me by the 23rd. I was told by Amazon that UPS had plenty of time so the fault was theirs. The customer service representative at Amazon.com that I spoke to on the phone gave me an "instant" refund for my order to my credit card, and offered a $5 promotional credit for a future order. As a result of Amazon.com's failure to get my order to me by the date promised, I spent three hours on Christmas Eve on the phone with UPS, on the phone with Amazon, and running out to stores to find replacement toys for my children. I wound up not having enough time to bake Christmas cookies to leave for Santa, as is our tradition. I also had to buy stocking stuffers with my children along! I can assure you that is not an easy feat to accomplish. I can also assure you that my time is worth FAR more to me than $1.67 per hour, which is what your $5 promotional credit breaks down to. I wasted three hours of my time that I could have been spending enjoying holiday traditions with my children. My husband is deployed this year so there was nobody else around to do the last-minute shopping. My bank account is now overdrawn because the "instant" credit still has not posted to my bank account, so my Christmas Eve purchases have bounced. This whole experience has left a terrible taste in my mouth and I am certainly in no hurry to shop again at Amazon, or ship with UPS. Hearing the two involved companies simply blame each other did nothing to reassure me that my business is important, and a $5 credit on a future purchase does not compare to the great inconvenience this experience has caused me. I am quite disappointed in Amazon.com this holiday season. -------------- So we'll see what they do, if anything. I'm pretty irritated though. I'm going to have to raid my neighbor's place for dishwashing detergent and cat food to get me through till their "instant" credit posts as I am $6 in the hole at the moment.

Birthday cake. Brian is turning 6!

OK, good info. I did call the local distribution center or wherever it was that my package was said to be--I did not know to ask for the feeder manager though, I only talked to the person who answered the phone. I'm honestly not convinced my package is even there as the online tracking is showing it as being in Louisville. The person at the 800 number for UPS said that HER screen was showing it as being in Hopkinsville, which was strange because she was listing the same date and time as I was looking at, but saying a different city. So I'm wondering if maybe it really was not in Hopkinsville and that is why the employee at that hub could not locate any record of the package being there. But thanks--if this sort of thing ever happens again I will ask for the feeder manager.

I agree, it's very rare that a package arrives later than Amazon's estimate, in my experience. It really sucks that the one time it happened was at Christmas though. Normally they are very good but I don't remember in previous years how close to Christmas I placed orders. I'm sure I will shop at Amazon again, but I doubt I will ever order from them 2 weeks before a holiday again. I'll impose my own more conservative cutoffs.

I think what annoys me most is that they kept blaming each other. Neither one of them would take any responsibility--even when amazon offered me the refund/piddly little credit, they said it was because of UPS's screwup. Honestly I think the fault is with both of them. If Amazon said that their holiday deadline was the 16th and they knew UPS ground takes 5 days, they should have gotten the package to UPS sooner than they normally do. Most businesses step things up around the holidays--they hire more workers, give overtime, do whatever they need to do to handle the extra work. It wouldn't be unreasonable for Amazon to get their orders out faster than normal to ensure Christmas delivery. At the same time, UPS received billing info on the 17th early in the morning and I guess got the package late afternoon on the 18th, a Sunday. Then it didn't actually leave until 11:59 pm on Monday. I think that right there is what delayed my package. If it had gone out first thing in the morning on Monday it ought to have been delivered Friday, but it was held back an entire day. Although at the same time, if Amazon had gotten that package to them on the 16th or even 17th, that probably would have saved the delivery too. So I really think they both screwed up and I just hate that neither one of them will admit it. But it's over and done with and the kids are still going to have a wonderful Christmas. I will just have a lingering resentment to both Amazon and UPS...probably more so UPS.

Okay, honestly, I don't know what everyone else's budget for gifts is, but in my family, I would have to pool all the Christmas money for all 3 kids to get a computer and it would be the one and only gift under the tree for them. We make like $25K/year. We cannot afford to just up and buy a computer. My kids will simply have to deal with sharing mine for a few more years minimum.

I was wrapping Christmas gifts late last night when I realized that a few things I'd ordered hadn't come. I checked my Amazon account and it said my Dec 15 order should arrive between Dec 20-21, so I checked UPS's site and it said that my order was scheduled for delivery on Dec 27! I was LIVID and called UPS but it was too late, their customer service line was closed till morning. So I called back this morning and was told that it wasn't their fault; Amazon didn't get them the package till the 18th (Sunday) so they couldn't ship it till the 19th (Monday) and so there was no way to get it here in time. Supposedly it's just half an hour away waiting for the next business day to be delivered. I called the local distribution center in a panic and was told they had no record of it in their system as being there. (On my computer it says the last scan was an arrival scan in Louisville...the 800 number for UPS people said that it was actually in Hopkinsville, but the Hopkinsville people said if it's there, it hasn't been scanned in yet and is still waiting to be unloaded) so there was just no way to find it and let me pick it up or anything. So I called up Amazon to complain to them, and they basically said it was UPS's fault...that even if they got the package on the 18th, that still gave them 5 days (the 19th to 23rd) to get it delivered, and it should have been delivered on the 23rd at the VERY latest no matter the cost to UPS. So because it wasn't, and it was Christmas gifts that won't do me any good to arrive on Tuesday (stocking stuffers and everything)...he would issue me a refund right then on the spot and then when the stuff comes I can just refuse delivery. Ok, but my bank doesn't process stuff on Saturdays so the refund won't really hit my account till Monday or Tuesday. Thankfully a few bill payments I made didn't post either so my account said I had more $$ available than I actually do, so I went and spent that today and hopefully by the time the bills clear, the refund will as well and I will be in the clear. I also got a $5 promotional credit towards a future purchase, which I find rather piddly as compensation for having to rush out and buy Santa presents with all 3 kids along on Christmas Eve. Yeah, that was fun. I pulled it off by doing it at Walmart and getting a giant foil turkey pan to hide smaller gifts under, and letting the kids look at toys in one aisle while I snuck toys into the cart in the next aisle over, etc...but still--not fun! I had a lot of work to do today and shopping wasn't part of it! I'm pissed because Amazon's site said order by Dec 16 to use their free shipping and so I ordered on Dec 15 thinking it'd be here. Their delivery estimate was Dec 20-21 and you know how usually things arrive before their estimates. I really thought I'd be fine since I adhered to their deadlines. So honestly I don't know who screwed up--amazon or UPS--but honestly I'm not going to be giving my money to either of them within a month of a holiday again. I will do all toy shopping in person even if it's a PITA to shop for the kids' stuff with them along. And I will be using FedEx for shipping next year even though I will have to drive a half hour out of my way to do it. Things have worked out now as far as the kids' gifts, but man, it was sure a PITA to spend 3 hours of my day on the phone and out shopping when I could have been home baking cookies or something. We still have made no Christmas cookies and I honestly don't think we'll have time. I still have a lot to do. It's hard doing it all myself.

LOL. I can't NOT let them. Even Erin (just barely 2) loves the computer. She types and she also randomly clicks on things and mutes my sound, opens various programs, and copies shortcuts so I have five billion shortcuts to Word on the desktop, LOL.

I never said he was too young to use one. He is too young for me to spend hundreds of dollars on one just for him. He has computer games on my computer; that's why he wants one of his own--so he can play his computer games whenever he wants to, instead of waiting till I am done online. He doesn't want a "fake" one, as he calls those toy ones...he wants a real computer so he can play the computer games already installed on my computer.