Review - Priceline

I have used Priceline for travel for years now--every since I first heard of it. It has it's quirks but I understand that for the most part you get what you pay for. The biggest issue I saw was not knowing where you were staying until the bidding process was over & you were committed--with no refunds allowed. So I have always been ultra-careful about the bidding process, & have often used the "best price posted" feature to bypass the uncertainty completely. Nevertheless, there have been a couple of times through the years when I ended up paying for something I didn't use, but I know the rules & am willing to abide by them.

A couple of years ago I made a reservation online & used the bid process. I was surprised to find that my reservation got accepted for a city that I wasn't bidding on but had checked into earlier that day for another trip (yeah, I like to travel). I called customer service & they elevated the request to tech support who evidently analyzed my keystrokes & issued me a full refund. They told me it was a caching issue between the Firefox browser I was using & their website. No problem-if there's anything I understand it's tech support issues. I kept on using them.

Yesterday however, all that changed. Here's how it went down:

• I looked in Greensboro, NC for hotel rooms & eventually bid & won a reservation.
• A couple of hours later I looked in AVL (Asheville airport) for rental cars & found one.
• I bid & as I hit the submit button I literally watched with my own eyes the airport code change to GSO (Greensboro airport).
  
  This was exactly what had happened before & I knew it was the caching issue I spoke of earlier. So I got on the phone to call tech support. That was when the problems began. The customer service person could barely speak English & I could barely understand her. She said she would "make an exception for my mistake" & only charge me a $16 fee. My accepted bid was $17. I explained to her again that it wasn't my mistake, but rather a known tech issue between the website & the browser I was using, explained to her that she could go into my customer history & read the results from the previous time it had happened. It was like talking to myself. She repeated by rote what she had told me before. We went back and forth that way a few times & finally I asked if there was someone else I could speak to (I wasn't entirely sure she understood English well enough to understand what I was trying to explain). After a 5 minute wait, (I checked) another person came on the line. I was still pleasant at this point because I know that unpleasant not only doesn't usually work, but I knew she was only doing what she had been trained to do.
  
  I explained the whole thing again, this time to a fellow who barely spoke English & who evidently didn't care whether I could understand him or not. He reeked of bad attitude from the minute I got on the line with him, speaking polite words with an incredibly sarcastic tone. He basically implied that I was telling lies just to get out of paying for my own mistake. That burned me up but I still didn't lose my cool, I was just trying to get the problem fixed. He kept interrupting me & finally just said that he was through with the conversation & if I wanted the $16 refund I could take it now or leave it. Grrr.
  
  I asked him if there was anybody else he could elevate the issue to & he told me no. I asked him if he was the highest level of management that could make a decision & he said no. Ok, can I speak to someone else? He said no. He said I could write to someone in management but that they didn't speak to customers by phone, & he would not do anything else to help me.
  
  I asked for his name & he would not tell me. I asked again & he said "Ivan" (yeah, right). I asked for his employee number & he told me it was 526008. He didn't give me the addy to write to--wonder why?
  
  After I get through disputing the entire charge with my credit card company (& winning) I'm going to write a nice long letter to Priceline to let them know that they will never have my business again. And since I make the travel arrangements for most of my family too, they just lost that as well.
  
  All because "Ivan" can't make a $16 decision. Sorry Shatner, I love you, but it's the principle of it now.
  
  What a difference between my 15 minute conversation on Wednesday & my 2hr 47 minute tech support nightmare with Verizon Tuesday. The people at Verizon went above & beyond it to help me out with some advanced user issues & even though I didn't want to be on the phone that long, I very much appreciated their professionalism.
  
  Maybe Priceline could send their employees for training at Verizon? Nah, it would probably cost more than the 2 or 3 dollars they are obviously already spending on customer service training...
  

Tech Support Purgatory

Have you ever been on a 2 hr 47 min. tech support call? I was yesteday. I promise to tell you all about it as soon as I recover (& the problem gets fixed).

Whew, I'm tired!

Win Win

How's this for saving $$ ?

Randy & I have lived in the same place since 1995 & have had our electric bill averaged since 1997. Since that time we have been able to monitor our consumption pretty closely.

Last fall I decided to put out a small clothesline--the kind that is shaped like an umbrella. I did it for environmental reasons. What I didn't anticipate was how it would transform laundry from a ho hum kind of thing into a fairly enjoyable experience. Funny how little I actually used to go into my own backyard. It's kind of nice out there : ) So I consider it a lucky side effect to doing laundry now. I watch the birds & squirrels (of which there are many), I check out the backyard plant life--doing pretty well this year, & I get a bit of fresh air at the same time. Not to mention that our clothes smell great too.

Here's another benefit--we got our new electric bill average & we're actually going in to the year with a $500 credit! That's pretty good don't you think?

I love a win-win situation!

Good Deal For You

JCPenney coupon: $10 off $10 or more
Use Coupon Code momsgr8
Shipping is $5.95 or free if yo ship to the store.
http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/default.aspx

Happy Sunday

Hope your day is peaceful & good.

Nice Weekend

It made it up to 83degrees in Hendersonville today. Very nice!

Today Is The Day For Morris Communications

Morris Publishing Group, LLC announced earlier this month that they had obtained an extension on their 9.7 million dollar interest payment on its Senior Subordinated Notes. The original payment was due Feb. 1st. The payment is due today.

For those of you unfamiliar with them, Morris Communications bought Mediacom's WNC holdings last February.

So, what does this mean to us here in Hendersonville? Who knows?

Vitamix Recipe`

This was one of the better vitamix recipes we've created lately. We wanted to make a healthier taco salad & I think it worked : ) We used baby spinach instead of lettuce & a fresh-vegetarian version of the taco meat. The only things in it that were a bit questionable in terms of health were the sour cream & the cheddar cheese but we did go light on them. The whole meal took about 20 minutes to make, about 5 to clean up. It didn't cost that much either, as the ingredients are common. The salsa was especially good--light & tasty.

Raw Salsa:
2 or 3 ripe tomatos
1 small onion
1 small can jalepenos or 1/2 raw jalapeno (for the brave)
1/4 bunch cilantro

Throw it in the vitamix & blend till it's the consistency you want.

Non-meat taco stuff:
2 cans black beans
1 chopped onion
3 tbs cumin
1 package fresh mushrooms
1 tomato - chopped
Mix everything together & mash it with a wooden spoon until it's the consistency you want. Throw it in a skillet & heat.

1st layer - spinach
2nd layer - cheese (use sparingly if you are watching cholesterol or weight or whatever)
3rd layer - taco filling
4th layer - salsa
5th layer - sour cream

This was really good! I didn't regret eating it like I usually do after leaving a Mexican restaurant.

Enjoy : )

Free Shipping on VitaMix

Tom & I decided that we like our Vitamix so much that we might as well start selling them, so we applied & were accepted as vendors. That means we'll probably start a website somewhere with recipes, etc., but I'll always keep posting here too.

As always, I hate a sales pitch, so don't expect one from me. If you are interested in buying one that's fine, feel free to ask questions or whatever, but don't worry about sales pressure as it's not happening here. I just really like the product & don't see any reason not to be a vendor since I talk about it all the time & enjoy sharing the recipes & stories.

An unexpected nice thing they do is give free shipping to folks who use vendor's codes when they buy.

Here's ours: 06-004048
Here's the number: 800-848-2649 ext. 2316 (Janet).

If you buy directly from the site (like I did) there is a place to put in the promo code for the free shipping. It says "enter savings or coupon code". Then hit "apply"

I rarely pay for shipping when I buy on the internet anymore. I hope people like me can continue to find that in the future.

Ok, enough. If you live in Western North Carolina, go out & enjoy this beautiful weather!

Another Raw Food Vitamix Recipe

This is a good one for an afternoon snack or breakfast:

2 apples
1/2 bananna (not too ripe)
2 tbs agave nector or raw honey
1/4 stick cinnamon
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup almonds (soaked overnight)

Take cinnamon, sunflower seeds, & almonds, along with 1/4 cup water & add to vitamix. Set to variable/medium. Blend till soft. Add rest of water & other ingredients. Blend.

Enjoy!

More Free Stuff Coming Your Way Later Today

I'll get the list posted as soon as I can.

Stuff We're Giving Away

Here is a listing of some of the stuff we're getting rid of at the office. We've got lots of books & computer training stuff. Where I could, I included a link to the Amazon.com description of the item, so you could figure out if you actually want any of it. Alot of them come with training CD's included.

If you're interested in any of these items shoot me an email & we'll make arrangements for you to pick them up. We don't have time to package & ship, & I can't really cart this stuff around either which is why I'm giving it away here rather than freecycle. I'll call Goodwill to pick them up on May 1st if they're still here.

Books:

• B2B How to Build a Profitable E-commerce Strategy
• XAML in a Nutshell
• Under Pressure and On Time (Pro-Best Practices)
• SQL Server 2000: The Complete Reference
• Programming Windows Presentation Foundation
• New Perspectives on Microsoft Office XP, Brief
• Microsoft Office XP: Essential Concepts and Techniques
• PHP: Your Visual Blueprint for Creating Open Source, Server-Side Content
• PHP 4: A Beginner's Guide
• Adobe Flex 2: Training from the Source
• Sams Teach Yourself Red Hat Linux 9 in 24 Hours

Dunkin Donuts Deal on Tuesday

Tomorrow is "Iced Coffee Day" at Dunkin Donuts. Get a 50cent iced coffee & they also donate a portion to the "Homes for Our Troops" foundation--a very good cause.

Homes for Our Troops was founded in 2004 & is dedicated to building new homes or adapting existing homes for severely injured servicemen & women.

So here is a truly win-win for all of us. Now, go get some iced coffee!

Happy Sunday

Hope your day is peaceful & good.

Alotta Crocs

Seems like most people either love Crocs or hate them with a passion. I am with the first group. I have had a pair of Crocs Hydros for 4 years now, have literally walked all over the country, gone to convention, etc., & they still basically look & feel like they did when I first purchased them.

Lately I've been trying to find a replacement for them & getting a bit anxious about it since Crocs has now discontinued the Hydros--the style I prefer. Hydros look more like a shoe--they cover the ankle & are really light, so light they float in water. I found a couple of pairs (not in my size) & one pair on eBay listed for $70. Since I only paid $49 for them brand new, I passed on that offer.

Now, I often say that I'm the luckiest person I know. Here's another example:

Randy & I were at Myrtle Beach a couple of weeks ago. I shopped all day & looked everywhere I could think of trying to find a pair of Hydros, to no avail. At the end of the day Randy decided to wash his truck. I told him to drop me off across the street at the Tanger Outlet mall & I would meet him back out front in half an hour.

About 4 or 5 stores in I spotted a Crocs store. What? I didn't even know there was such a thing! I went in & found out that I was there on their opening day & everything was 70c- 90% off. Yep, it was Crocs nirvana for me.

I walked out of the store with (gulp) 8 pairs for me & 1 for my aunt. What did it cost you ask?

$63.42
In case you're wondering, that's an average of $7.05 per pair! Pretty good huh? Randy was mortified--he is in the latter group of course.

And yes, I did find a pair of Hydros.

Check it out:

Good Deal on Acer Aspire Netbook

Newegg.com has the Acer Aspier One Netbook for $345 (shipped). It comes with 1 gig ram, a 160 gig hard drive, built-in wireless, a webcam, card reader, bluetooth, & 3 USB ports. The user reviews gave the battery really good reviews as well. It weighs 2.9 lbs--perfect for traveling with.

Hendersonville Restaurant Review Binion's Steakhouse

Well, Ol Bob is right, it really is the best steak in town. It's also one of the best salads as well. I decided to review my last meal there, even though I've been going there since it opened several years ago.

One thing I like about Binions is that it is very consistent. I always know what to expect. The staff is cheery, if you come between 12noon & 1:30 pm or between 5:30 & 7pm, it will be crowded--count on a wait in the evening. There are barrels of roasted peanuts sitting around to get you through the wait.

Binions has a gambling/old west motif. Kind of what you expect at a steakhouse--rough floors, red-checkered tablecloths. The staff is uniformly cheery.

I ordered a sirloin, house salad, steamed veggies, & unsweetened tea. All came out quickly & they got the order right. Come to think of it, I can't remember them ever making a mistake on my order. Nice.

The Binions house salad is so good. It's not made with that "bag o salad" stuff that I can't stand. You know--stale lettuce, purple cabbage, & little carrot sticks. Yuck. The salad had fresh lettuce, shredded cheese, tomatoes, onions, & the best blue cheese dressing in town. It's probably PYA or Sisco but I don't care--it's good!

The steak was tender & cooked exactly as requested. The vegetables were...well they were vegetables. Nothing especially good or bad there.

The tea didn't taste like it had been made yesterday. I really don't like skanky tea & have been known to send it back.

It's nice to have a good mid-priced restaurant that is consistent. I know what to expect from Mr. Quattlebaum's restaurants & that is important to me.

Now if we could just get him to take that damn music off of his website! It messed up my mp3's when I was trying to get the link for you : )

Freebies

We have a few things at the office to give away--some lamps, old computer books, etc. If you know someone with a yard sale coming up or a fundraiser let us know. We don't have time to deliver or package & mail, so keep that in mind. I'll get a list up here in the next few days.

Another Raw Food Vitamix Recipe

Sunflower seeds are often overlooked by those looking for healthy alternatives to today's foods, but they shouldn't be. Sunflower seeds are high in protein, low in carbs, & may be the best source of vitamin E. (think heart-healthy).

They have a mild flavor that works well when mixing with fruits. Another great thing about them is that they are cheap--about 1/7th of the price of raw cashews.

Here's a great drink to mix before you do strenuous work.

1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup blueberries
1 cup pure water
2 cups ice
2 tbs raw agave nector
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 bananna (not too ripe)

Set Vitamix to variable/low. Put water & vanilla in Vitamix. Slowly add sunflower seeds, blueberries, & agave nector. Mix till smooth. Add ice & increase vitamix speed till mixture is the consistancy of a milkshake.

Enjoy!

Add sunflower seeds

Alien Encounters on April 12

As a reprieve from the usual "this day in history", I thought I would share this link with you. It's a site that has been lovingly created by somebody with access to the UFOCAT computer database.

Enjoy!

Happy Easter

A Great Deal on Verizon Blackberry Phones

Verizon is offering a BOGO on Blackberry phones till 4-24. It will automatically enroll you in the "new every two" plan, which is basically what usually happens when you buy any of their phones at a discounted price.

I've been a Verizon customer for a long time now, since they were Bell South Mobility DCS (about 10 or 11 years ago). I don't think they are perfect, but I am happy with their customer service & their coverage. My "re-up" date is 4-23 but the guy at the store (in Skyland) allowed me to re-up today. Those folks at that store have got it together. They are so laid back & have always treated me well. Just a plug for them, in case they're working on comission.

I ended up with two Blackberry Storm 9530's for $99. I used my $99 re-up credit to buy the $199 phone (which is selling on bestbuy.com for $599), then got another one just like it for free. I ended up paying $99 for both phones.

I love saving money!

I'll review it as soon as I have time to take a good look at it. Right now all I know is that I can send & receive calls & that the touch screen is going to take a bit of getting used to.

Restaurant Review - Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Tom & I love good french fries. Through the years we have tried many restaurants, just on a friend's recommendation about their fries. So naturally we were pretty stoked to hear that Five Guys had opened near our office & that they had hand-cut french fries.

You can't help but notice all the glowing reviews & news articles about the restaurant when you walk in. As a matter of fact, it was their main decor. There were probably 50 reviews, pics of other Five Guys restaurants, & testimonials on the walls. The main colors were red & white, & it basically looked like a burger joint--exactly as expected.

The sound system (Bose) was kicking out some excellent classic rock-not too loud, not too quiet either. Just the way I like it.

I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, & a soda. Tom ordered the exact same thing. They assigned us a number & we sat down to wait...and wait...and wait some more. It was 2:30pm when we got there & it wasn't crowded at all so we were a little surprised at how long it took to get our order ready but it wasn't an inordinate amount of time so we were ok about it.

When our food came out they set down a brown paper bag on the counter & called our number. That was a little surprising since we were eating in & most places give out trays but again, no big deal, probably some kind of burger joint theme or something. There were bulk boxes of roasted peanuts being sitting out & we noticed a couple of people chowing down. Interesting. This is certainly not something I've ever seen anywhere but at a steakhouse. Kind of nice I guess, if you're into roasted peanuts.

When we opened the bag we literally could not see the burgers in the bag at all--there were so many fries spilled out. So we split the bag open & laid it on the table & proceeded to eat one of our favorite meals--burgers & fries. The burgers were alot smaller than expected. Also, for some reason I was surprised that they were obviously fried. As a matter of fact they reminded me of the burgers my Mom used to make (probably the point). The lettuce & tomatoes were fresh, the bun was fine, the condiments were as ordered, but there was just nothing spectacular about the burger at all. Seriously, nothing at all except that it cost $4.99 just for the burger. The fries were definitely hand-cut, but they were so greasy that they literally soaked through the bag & on to the table before we were through eating. Yuck! The fries were $2.59 each (regular size).

Within 30 minutes of finishing the meal we were both feeling a little queasy. Don't get me wrong, I love love love a good meal of burger & fries & had high hopes for this place--especially after reading all the rave reviews posted on their walls. But considering the fact that our bill was $19.32 for only a so-so meal that left us a bit queasy afterwards, I won't go back. Not even if I'm really hungry.

The same meal at the diner down the road from my parents house would have cost about $11 & we would have had someone bring it to our table on a plate & probably make conversation & smile a little too.

Call me picky, whatever, just don't invite me to meet you there...

Here is their website.

Mediacom is now Morris Communications

Well, Mediacom is out of here. Morris Communications bought mediacom's WNC holdings last February & are promising better service, more local hires, better customer relations, you name it & they're going to do a better job of it.

Of course as far as I can tell they've never actually owned a cable service before but hey, why should that stop them? Well, the whole bankruptcy thing with the Morris Publishing division is a bit of a bummer but why worry about a little $9.7 million payment till it's due again? (April 24th). After all, they got one extension, getting another one should be no big deal. By the way, the $9.7 mil is just the interest payment. The total debt is reported to be $278 million. But why worry?

Truth is, I really do hope they do well here, because what's the alternative? I have too many trees in my yard to use satellite...

Here's the local number: 828 697-1371

Another Raw Chocolate Vitamix Recipe

This drink is so simple but it's my all-time favorite. It never fails to be the perfect answer to a sweet craving.

Strawberry/Chocolate shake

1 cup raw cashews
1 cup pure water
2 cups ice
1 cup ripe strawberrys
1/2 cup raw chocolate powder
3tbs raw agave nectar

Combine cashews & water. Blend till smooth. Add in the rest of the ingredients, saving the ice for last. Ease the Vitamix up to variable/high & blend till smooth.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Lady Day

Today would have been Billie Holiday's 94th birthday. She was one of the greatest jazz singers of all time, & anyone lucky enough to see her perform never forgot it.

She worked with several of the greats--Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, etc.

Like so many of the jazz greats, she eventually sucumbed to addiction & died of liver & heart disease in NYC at age 44.

Here is a link to a few tracks that are public domain.

Seneca Guns

Last Thursday afternoon Randy & I heard a very long, very loud boom/rumble. It actually shook the building we were in. The sound lasted at least 15 seconds, probably longer. It got steadily louder till the building started to shake--that lasted at least 2 or 3 seconds, then gradually quieted down.

The island we were on was practically deserted at the time & there were no thunderstorms or rain happening either.

Later that day I was talking with my Mom & happened to mention it & she immediately said "oh, you've heard the Seneca guns!" She said that she & my Dad had both heard them a couple of times on that island (on th NC coast) & a local had told them that the term for them was Seneca guns. So I did a little research & found out that nobody really knows what they are or what causes them. These sounds have been documented as early as 1824 & have been heard around the world, primarily near water. There's some speculation that they are seizmic in nhature. Here are some possible explanations for them (from Wikipedia):

• Meteorite impacts
• Gas escaping from vents in the earth's surface.
• With lakes, natural gas from decaying vegetation trapped beneath the lake bottoms suddenly bursting forth. This is plausible, since Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake are two large and deep lakes.
• Explosive release of less volatile gases generated as limestone decays in underwater caves.
  Military aircraft (though it cannot explain occurrences of the phenomenon which predate supersonic flight).
• In some cases, they have been associated with earthquakes.
• In North Carolina, that they are the sound of pieces of the continental shelf falling off into the Atlantic abyss (but there is no geological evidence to support this)
• A recent explanation is that the noise is very distant thunder which has been focussed anomalously as it travelled through the upper atmosphere

Here is another pretty good attempt to explain the noise.

I'm happy to report that the mysterious noise was the most exciting thing that happened while we were out of town.

A Good Deal

If you've ever been to Broadway at the Beach (in Myrtle Beach) to shop then you've probably been to the Beyond the Wall store. It's filled with unusual posters, wall hangings, etc.

There have been several times that I've been there but didn't buy anything because I didn't want to have to carry it around with me.

Friday the gal at the counter told me that if you go to their website they have a bunch of stuff on sale & if you call them (instead of ordering from the website) they ship it out to you with no shipping charge. That's pretty cool : )

Here's the link to their site.
Here is the phone number: 843 443-9001

Happy shopping!

Basia Is Back

"It's That Girl Again" was released on March 24th, feeding the hordes of Basia-crazy fans left over from the 80's.

Basia puts on one of the best live shows I've ever seen, nothing short of perfection. She has a three octave voice & has been performing with musical partner Danny White for years now.

If you get a chance to check out her new release, do so

Here's a link to the Amazon site, complete with customer reviews, track samples, etc.

Enjoy!

Another Raw Food Vitamix Recipe

I love garlic & I love my Vitamix, so this just worked out.

Garlic Bread Spread

One medium avacado
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend together till smooth. Refrigerate. Spread on heated bread.

The avacado is a healthy replacement for butter/margarine. It still has the creamy texture, but without all the unhealthy fats. The sea salt does not have it's natural minerals leached out by processing.

Now if I could just figure out how to make really good italian bread that was not so bad for me...

We Fought The Stump And The Stump Won

Our beloved pink dogwood died after it split in half from a pretty bad ice storm 3 years ago. We tried to save it, to no avail. Poor little thing, it's time had come. Fast forward to this past weekend. My husband BamBam couldn't pull it out, nor could he dig it out, but he had another trick up his sleeve. The giant engine on the giant truck that is used to pull the giant boat could surely take care of it in a flash. That tiny little stump was no match for sheer horsepower.



Wrong.



Here's a picture of the unyeilding stump:

Now what do we do?

April Fool's Day

I like April Fool's day but don't participate. I do like reading about some of the pranks pulled by companies, people, etc.

Wickipedia has a great article that lists some well-known pranks. Click here to read up.