Billysticks

As I was trying to remove clutter from my room I couldn’t help but remember a Seinfeld script;

JERRY: So forget about the books. Did you read them?

GEORGE: Well, yeah.

JERRY: What do you need them for?

GEORGE: I don’t know. They’re books.

JERRY: What is this obsession people have with books? They put them in their houses – like they’re trophies. What do you need it for after you read it?

GEORGE: They’re MY books.

JERRY: So you want me to get those books? Is that it?

Perhaps we do keep them as trophies.  I try to give away most of my books.  There are only a select few that when I read them, I can tell that they will be enjoyable to re-read in the future.  But I still would rather pass them along to someone else who could enjoy them, than to keep them on my shelves collecting dust.  Used paperback on Amazon are only a few bucks anyway.

So I am going to keep my “trophies” on my website instead. After I throw a couple more books away there will be a new link at the top called Bookshelf. I’ll post pictures of the books I have read and either put a blurb or two, or simply leave the page open to comments where anyone can ask questions about those stories.

My closest friends who have known me since the Xbox 360 came out can all tell you the same thing- I usually only play Halo games.  This is (or used to be) due to my preference to only play Xbox when I had someone else to play with.  Since 2007 I only had a few friends on Xbox Live and since I dislike losing this meant I only would play when Tom stayed the weekend.  If he didn’t come over for a month, that meant the Xbox didn’t turn on for month.  But starting in 2010 with more Xbox Live friends playing the same games I own and my new work schedule that allows me to play during daylight (I am scared at night if I’m alone) I have been playing more Xbox.  Halo titles were still the main ones, until now.

I am usually that guy, dead on the ground

On Superbowl Sunday eve I took note that my Xbox Live friends list showed 8 people whom I know in real life (not just met through the Xbox Live system) playing Call of Duty: Black Ops.  Now the same people who know I usually only play Halo with my friend Tom, could also tell you that I really dislike the COD franchise.  Because I genuinely stink at it.  Whatever team I am on usually loses.  But with friends and family members all playing this hugely popular game I decided that it would still be fun in this case.  And it was.  I played about 13 games tonight and lost all but the last three.  But I didn’t care at all since I was talking to my friend Josh who I never get to see between different work, school, and transportation schedules.  Oddly enough, I had a personal best the last three matches which is the same time the few beers hit me.  That is the opposite of how a Halo match would go for Tom and I.

Hopefully I can get a little better so I don’t scare my friends and family away.  I am looking forward to playing with my cousin Phil who skipped out on Halo: Reach.  GAINED THE LEAD.

Over the years I have felt like Ebay has transformed from a unique auction site to a mega-store aggregator.  It is very rare that I find a unique item or a “deal” on an auction.  Gone are the days of auction style listings where you could get a good deal on an item.  Instead the site is full to the brim of retail-priced goods plus shipping.  That means there are times it would have been better to just go to the store instead!

There are many “Buy it Now” auctions that are set way above what I would guess is market value for certain items.  Two weeks ago I was taking a look for what the going rate for a few Wii games were selling for.  For every 5-8 auctions that ended at about $20.00 there was the same exact game with a “Buy it Now” price of $40.00.  What?  How could anyone expect to sell the item for double the going rate?  It is possible that once in a while a mistaken soul comes buy and willing buys the item for double because they don’t know any better, but the rest of us are hurt by it.  The retail price listings crowd your search results.  It is no longer fun to look for a deal on a used item because the search results are filled with hundreds of the same item selling for near retail price.

There are many sellers who list items with keywords, pictures, and descriptions meant to trick potential buyers into purchasing an accessory or related produced, instead of the actual item you searched for.  Just two weeks ago I reported an auction that contained an affiliate link in the description.  Had anyone actually bid on the auction they would not have actually won anything, because the only thing the seller had to offer was their own scam affiliate link.  Ebay sent a stock response to me 2 days later and then never followed up.  That is just one of the hundreds of misleading auctions I have found when searching.  I read that someone actually was selling empty “boxes” of items.  All you received was a cardboard box.  The fine print of the listing stated you were only bidding on the empty box and not the actual item.  Fine print or not, these are the types of crap listings that make Ebay stink.

And then you have the sellers who set the “Buy it Now” price for 99 cents but charge $40.00 for shipping.  Even though I wouldn’t fall for such trickery, these crap listings once again make it hard to find the few good auctions that still exist.  To me Ebay has evolved into every Tom, Dick, and Mary all having their own Walmart or Target store.  Just online, and with shipping.

This week I finally got a chance to play through Halo 3: ODST from start to finish. Though my roommate bought it when it came out, at that time we were trying to pickup as many hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as we could. The campaign was pretty good, especially considering how many horrible things I read about it. To me, the game has always been a balance of storyline and game play. Considering I own all but the latest novels (Forerunner Trilogy) I may be a little biased towards storyline. And ODST almost has two going at the same time thanks to Sadie’s Story.

Playing thought the campaign was a blast; I miss some of the few familiar places from Firefight mode. That was so much fun when it first came out for two main reasons. The first was that you fought along side your buddies as a team. The second was because it is designed for you to fail. So you feel the challenge. I remember being in our apartment playing Firefight after work with our co-workers from the studios when our phone rang. It was the pizza delivery person. I yelled “Who ordered pizza before we started a match?!”, because there was no pausing in the game. Whoever had to walk to the front gate to pickup the pizza had to hide their player in a “safe” (yeah right) place while battled on, attempting to defend them at the same time (your lives are in a shared pool). Oh happy times. I wonder if that was before or after DJ and I started to call off work every few days to work on the trilogy?

(Current music: Mombosa Suite.  Nothing quite like working on websites to Halo 2 music!)

We are very close to launching B&S Web Services.  Just a few more things to take care of and it will be ready to go.  Here is the logo:
Cory took care of making the 4 square logo that we will use for branding, in addition to a few other things he has been working on.  The new B&S Web Services will have unmanaged hosting in addition to our existing design and host packages.

After one month with HawkHost Web Hosting (one month for Tom, but I assist and occasionally SSH in to update back-end things, and file tickets on his behalf) I have to say it is two thumbs up so far.  Server has always be responsive and available, support tickets have been answered timely (sometimes 3 minutes) and the price was right.  Actually you wouldn’t expect this from a budget host.   HawkHost knows what they are doing, and are constantly praised on WebHostingTalk.  I gave them a link in my signature, along with name.com, on my WHT account.

Affiliate Link

Protip: Always search for reviews on a host by visiting a site where real people can actually rate/review/comment like webhostingtalk.com.  Avoid those “Top Web Hosting” sites, I did a WHOIS lookup on one and it was owned by the same person who owns iXwebhosting.com.  See the conflict of interest?  And those sites are nothing more than a pay-to-play scheme.

Before I explain let me inform you where I set the bar for customer service;  Go outside and look up into the sky.

After three internships working at the Walt Disney World Resort, I have picked up a thing or two about customer service.  You all know that a vacation there definitely takes a bite out of your wallet.  We were trained to give the most outstanding service to our guests to make sure they keep coming back.  After all, there is plenty of competition in Orlando- Seaworld, Universal, and Wet-n-Wild just to name a few.  But none of them treat guests as well as Disney does.  I will get back to Disney in a few seconds.

In November I went with Tom and Abby to the Broadway Pub in downtown Bangor.  Though I had already found a new favorite spot for wings (I enjoy the texture of the ones at Siamsa better), the Pub is only a mile from my home so it was convenient.   We got to the Pub just after 10 I believe and waited to be seated, as per the sign. I looked around and saw one patron at the bar, and two gentlemen who may have been patrons or off-duty staff at a table by the window.  After 3 minutes we decided to seat ourselves.

The following would get anyone fired from my last two employers:

For the next ten minutes we sat a table.  No less than four individual staff passed within an arms reach of me without acknowledging us.  And each of them traveled that path more than once.

Finally after the ten minutes one server approached us. ” The kitchen is closed but the bar is still open” was all she had to say to us.
In my head: “Excuse me? The kitchen is closed so you do not have to acknowledge any of your guests?”  She politely informed us that we could go up to the bar to order drinks but I told Tom and Abby that we were leaving.

Why this upsets me.
I was paid minimum wage and did a better job at taking care of guests than that.
In Disney when my role was a Showkeeper, we were trained to spot any guests that were lost. (holding a map and pointing to a wall was a dead giveaway).  Our guests were paying good money to visit the parks, we had to make sure they spent more time enjoying it than being lost to make sure it worth coming back year after year for them.
We did the same thing at Subway.  Three seconds after you come in through the door you need to be acknowledged by the staff.  It is a Subway standard.  And you better believe I said it every time I could.  I wanted every guest to know I acknowledged them and was pleased to serve them.  The busier we stayed the better off I was when it came time to write the schedule and place the food order each week.  Not to mention everyones’ paychecks.

And paychecks are exactly what I will not be contributing to at the Broadway Pub anymore.
Even if the four staff that walked beside me were already off duty, your responsibility does not end when you clock out.  You still represent your establishment and your own employment role.  Would I have ignored a guest at Subway or Disney on my way out the door if they needed me? Never.

If they don’t agree with that, the good news for them is they won’t have to acknowledge me ever, both off the clock and on.

At least pretend you want my money to become yours.

Citation needed about Disney?
Video of me directing the Backlot Tour – Harbor Attack Sequence

It was good to be back where I belong.  It was even better to be able to visit some friends.  And make a new one.

The trip was incredibly inexpensive.  The flight was one way because my mother who lives in Daytona Beach was driving to PA for Christmas (thanks again mom!).  She also let us borrow a car for the week  so we didn’t have to rent.  Because part of this inexpensive trip involved eating outside of Disney (read below for exceptions), mainly at Waffle House.  There is a dollar menu for Waffle House in Florida by the way .

We only had to buy a one park ticket on the only day no one was available to use their guest passes.  Thanks to Kentraile for all the other days!  And big special thanks to my Uncle Butch and Aunt Joanne who gave us some Vacation Club Points to stay at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa!!!

Thank you guys!

Vacation Club

I will admit, if there was something I couldn’t be more un-knowledgeable on as a three-time Disney Cast Member, it was the Vacation Club.  I do know a few things now that I will share.

First of all there is a special right now.  For $12,000 you can get 7 nights a year for the next 50 years.  If you have the money, it is definitely something you should look into.  I will be making another post on the Economics of Disney Vacations and reasons you would want to pay extra to stay on Disney property when I get the chance, I don’t want to overload this post.

View from our porch

Nice Touch

Second I learned how Vacation Club members get to attend meetings each year/quarter/(not really sure) and vote on certain changes.  Perhaps this was reflected with our service.  Our room did not receive housekeeping, but only new towels/sheets on the 4th day.  However, we were surprised to find a toaster, microwave, refrigerator/freezer,  Ethernet cord, dvd player, full size ironing board and iron, vacuum cleaner, and an alarm clock with an iPod dock.  Phew.  In addition, vacation club members get free dvd rentals and free internet access just to name a few perks.  So if that is how vacation club membership works then I think it is great.  It means the majority of DVC members said, “We would rather have our money go to these things than having beds made daily”.   I totally agree.  Though it is nice to have that military-tight bedsheets and blanket appearance, anyone who has spent one day in the parks knows that you can fall asleep on just about anything that is horizontal when you get back to your room.  I would much rather go to the clubhouse and rent a DVD for free, and pop it in while eating popcorn on my UNMADE bed, then have a useless room (unless I pay for fridge/etc) on a made bed.  For those who don’t agree, you can still get room service by paying for it or simply not staying in DVC rooms.  But then enjoy paying for all the other amenities.

Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights

Back to the food.  I must mention two places.  First is Tokyo Dining at the Japan Pavilion.  If you choose to eat at the Sushi restaurant, you can enjoy sit-down dining for prices you would pay back home.  This is definitely abnormal for sit-down dinners at Disney, so if you like Sushi (or a few other things on the menu) definitely take advantage of it.  In December 2010 my California roll was $7.99 which is about $1.00 more than Ichban over in East Stroudsburg, PA.  But you get more than just the California Roll.  The servers from Japan first bring you a moist towel (not the ones when you go to wing night but something as thick as your face cloth) on a plate that is heated and has a tiny bit of a lotion on it.  It is supposed to cleanse your hands before you eat and relax you, yadda yadda yadda it is just cool that they do it for $8.00 a head.  They also are very kind and always bow when leaving the table.

And if you are lucky, you will catch a demonstration of making a Sushi roll.  We didn’t catch it in 2009, but this time a bell rang and scenery pictured on the screen the length of the wall was replaced with a video feed of the Sushi bar located next to us.  The chef put on a Mic and she proceeded to narrate the process.  I wonder who got to eat the roll?  (Note: I was already munching on mine).  Very cool.

Even Cinderella couldn't avoid the icicle craze

And the other restaurant, Columbia Harbor House at the Magic Kingdom.  A bowl of New England Clam Chowder is $4.99.  The bowl is just about the same size as a comparably priced soup at Panera Bread.

So I recommend the above to places since they seem to be “Real-World-Prices” as opposed to normal inflated theme park prices.  Also, the beverages were not part of these savings.  Get water anyway.  It is a horrible idea to drink soda in the heat.  Or anytime I suppose.

Photos:
Disney Vacation 2010 (Flickr.com)

If all goes well we might be able to go to Sugarbush this spring.  It is possible Kevin would join us, he is finally getting the ski-blades out after all these years (2003?).  Perhaps he could bring a friend too and we could all split the cost of fuel.

trails as wide as highways

Here is a place we might get a ski and stay package.

http://www.beaverpondfarminn.com/b-and-b-amenities/bed-and-breakfast-amenities.shtml

If it wasn’t for the lodging this trip really wouldn’t be that much more expensive than Camelback.  What is the daily rate there now, $5,000?  Just kidding.  But it sure has gone up by a lot in the last decade.  And it is so crowded and cramped.  We didn’t even see anyone at Sugarbush when we went over to Mount Ellen.

Protip:  If you are at Camelback avoid the high-speed quads on busy days.  The line you wait in will delay you double or triple the time some of the other lifts take.

At Barnes & Noble using the wireless. The music in the cafe is Smells Like Teen Spirit – String Quartet Tribute version. Awesome!

I have been a fan of The Oatmeal for a little while and even purchased the poster of this comic(theoatmeal.com). It is titled “How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell”. Unfortunately with one client I am at the very last step. I made a great site, easy on the eyes, attractive, and most importantly usable. Now we have to break the functionality of the site just for one cosmetic request. Which will also cause horizontal scroll-bars to appear. Ouch.

Title of post is going to become unrelated to the content of the post when I hit submit in 5 seconds.