Prodigy Moving and Storage destroyed everything I own
Still fighting the damages here. Every box is a new adventure of missing, broken, and otherwise damaged stuff.
I filed an incident with the Better Business Bureau. Now I have to file dozens of claim forms. So far, the major items destroyed were:
- my very large computer desk (metal hardware ripped right out of the wood in dozens of places, $2,000.00)
- a floor lamp (sections disassembled, and then cross-threaded and forced tight with tools upon re-assembly, base broken off from bottom section, $100.00)
- my futon (disassembled, hardware removed and then misplaced, $300.00)
- my plastic under-office-chair floor mat (shattered, $52.00)
- computer chair (vinyl shattered. “Shattered” the vinyl? What did they do, run into a liquid nitrogen truck?)
- blender (crushed, $149.00)
- microwave (rotisserie shattered, $75.00)
- two vcr’s (front smashed in, tops crushed in, $800.00)
- printer (top completely shattered, smashed in, $200.00)
- 40gb laptop drive (hit dead-center on top with what appears to be a hammer, dented deep, $699.00, lost data, priceless)
…and many other things. I also have 4 missing boxes, including my Playstation, and some sculptures that are very important to me. This does not make me happy.
pilot-unix and pilot-link Mailing Lists
I finally (publically) set up the four mailing lists I wanted to get going.
- pilot-link-general
For general pilot-link discussion and ideas. - pilot-link-devel
Patches, bugs, other development issues. - pilot-link-announce
pilot-link announcements, releases, conduit notifications. - pilot-unix-ng
This replaces the recently removed pilot-unix list that was on Binghamton.
Cox Cable
I found out that my shiny new “High-speed” cable internet connection is choked at 256/256. I’m already paying $109.00/month for this “Business” account, so I can have one static address, but I get 1/6th the bandwidth of the people paying $29.95/month. Cox’s excuse was that I get a higher “..service and priority” rating and “..no shared bandwidth, you get 256/256, all the time..”.
I don’t need service, Cox doesn’t even support my platform of choice anyway. To get 1.5/256 and remain on one static address, it would cost me $249.00/month. That’s practically a car payment! This is cable access, and this is rape.
Why is broadband in New England so expensive?!
The eBay Scam
The level of intelligence of scam artists these days never ceases to amaze me.
I “ordered” (won) an IBM T23 laptop on eBay on January 18th, 2002. The seller insisted that payment be received within 7 days from the close of the auction. The payment was overnighted to the seller as promised. It has now been over 4 weeks since the close of the auction, and 3 weeks since he received payment.
I received an email a few days ago stating that they “lost” my auction number (which was clearly written on all my emails to him, as well as the payment check), then he responds with an email telling me that my Sony Vaio was discontinued, and I would have to “re-order” a new model. I distinctly selected an IBM T23 laptop, not a Sony Vaio. My eBay auction ID number still brings up the original record on the eBay site for that T23.
I emailed him back, and expressed my anger, since I had already missed out on two important speaking engagements without a computer. He said that they always take payment to full terms, before shipping. I can only assume this means they hoard the payments in their account for a full month, so they can get the maximum amount of interest on my money in their bank account, before shipping the product. This is very sneaky.
Woodworking
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Now that my desk and shelving units were destroyed in the move, I am forced to figure out a new way to build a desk to hold all of my books, computers, and serve as a workbench. I went out and bought a solid-core door (not drilled), and am planning on making that the desktop. I will build some bookshelves to mate to the ends as “feet”, and then add more shelving along the back of it. Cheaper and much harder to destroy than my previous desk.
Anyone know where I can get a set of good (free) woodworking plans for things like this? I’ve build shelving before, rabbet groove, screwed from the outside, fibreboard paneling along the back, etc. I’m wondering if there’s a better way to make them more modular.