Archive for September, 2016

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Ship to Home Depot

Sep

29

2016

Home Depot sells a variety of things online that they don’t stock in their stores. Usually I get them shipped to my house because shipping is free as long as one spends over $45.

There was a time a while back that one particular item was not eligible for free shipping to my home. But it could be shipped to a nearby store for free. So I elected that option.

When purchasing online and shipping to the store, their website asks you which desk at the store you want to pickup your item. I selected the Customer Service Desk because it’s right at the entrance.

A few days passed and I got an email telling me to go to the Customer Service Desk to collect my item.

So I did.

The person there took my paperwork, had me sign something, then told me that my stuff was down at the Pro Desk because it was too big. But since I was all checked out, all I had to do was walk down there and get it.

A few months go by…

I ordered something else to be shipped to the store. This time, I planned ahead. It was an item that was larger than usual, so I knowingly selected Pro Desk when the website asked where in the store I want to get the thing.

A few days went by and I received an email stating my item was at the store and I am to go to the Pro Desk to get it. I went to the Pro Desk. I saw my item behind the desk, so I asked for it and showed the clerk my confirmation sheet.

She said I had to go to the Customer Service Desk for them to check it out, and after I paid I could come back and get it.

“But I’ve already paid online. Here’s my receipt.”
“They still need to do the checkout up there.”
Showed her the email, pointed to the item (which was a few feet behind her), etc. to no avail.

I walked across the store to the Customer Service Desk. They quickly rang me up, I signed something, then they sent me back to the Pro Desk.

In conclusion: If you order something from homedepot.com and have it shipped to the store, always select Customer Service Desk. Because it doesn’t matter what you do, you’ll have to go there first anyway.

P.S. If you’re concerned that Home Depot won’t get this message because they don’t read this blog, do not worry. I detailed my experience in the survey they requested of me later that day. I kept it helpful – something to the effect of “your email should tell people to go to the customer service desk to check in before they collect their items.”

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.

1 John 2:26

Posted in Mishaps | 2 Comments »

A Plague on our House

Sep

27

2016

At night, there are usually a number of moths and other bugs fluttering against the screens. And one of the windows might have a frog too.

photo of a frog climbing a window screen

For some reason, the frogs like climbing our windows. That photo was taken from the kitchen, which is on the ground level. But I have also seen them on the windows upstairs, which is fascinating.

photo of a frog climbing a window screen

I don’t know why they like to climb our house. I should look at the outside of our house at night to see if the frogs concentrate on the windows or if the windows are but a subset of the frogs climbing all over our house.

The Nile will swarm with frogs, which will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls.

Exodus 8:3

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Walk, Don’t Walk

Sep

22

2016

As a driver, I appreciate the crosswalk signs that count down instead of just flashing the red hand sign. That gives me a good indication of when the light is going to turn yellow.

I know, I know, the yellow light is there to warn me that the red light is coming soon. I shouldn’t need something else to warn me that the yellow light is coming soon. But, with yellow lights not always being timed correctly (i.e. cut a little short in order to write more running-a-red-light tickets), it’s good to know when the yellow will appear.

In case you’re still trying to get up to speed here, I’m writing about he crosswalk signals that used to say Walk or Don’t Walk but now have a picture of a red hand or a picture of a white person walking.

In the old days, the Don’t Walk / red hand would start blinking to indicate you needed either to stay where you were on the curb or start hustling to make it to the other side of the road, because the traffic light was going to change soon.

Where I am, it seems about half of the signals now have countdown timers next to the red hand. Instead of the hand simply blinking at you, there are numbers that count down to 0, and when it gets to 0 then your crossing time is done and the light changes.

Except some times it doesn’t.

I haven’t logged any numbers to see the proportions, but some of the crosswalks time it so 0 means the yellow light starts and some of the crosswalks time it so 0 means the end of the yellow light.

As a driver, I would like 0 to mean the start of the yellow light. Other people may disagree. I don’t really care which it is, I would just like a standard. Kind of how the colors and placement (green at the bottom) of the lights in the traffic signal are universal.

But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.

Romans 7:16

Posted in Driving | 1 Comment »

Botanical Gardens

Sep

20

2016

My wife took the kids to a nearby botanical gardens. Nothing remarkable about the outing itself – this post is about the title “botanical gardens”.

It got me wondering what gardens people have that aren’t botanical?

  • mechanical gardens
  • entomological gardens
  • mineral gardens
  • chemical gardens

I left “vegetable gardens” and “zoological gardens” off the list because those are actual terms that I assume caused the differentiator term “botanical” to be added to the phrase. Oh, and “flower gardens”, which should just be a subset of “botanical gardens”.

Yes today’s post is slightly related to last week’s post about mechanical kids.

What other kind of gardens would you most like to see? Other than botanical or zoological.

I made gardens and parks for myself and I planted in them all kinds of fruit trees;

Ecclesiastes 2:5

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Bad Elevator

Sep

15

2016

Probably many people do not pay as much attention to user interfaces as I do. I wouldn’t consider myself an expert, but if I have questions when trying to use something, it makes me wonder how much thought went into the design.

Take, for instance, these elevator buttons.

confusing elevator buttons

If you are in a hurry and want the doors to close, you glance down and push the button next to the Close Doors symbol (AKA >|<).

But wait! There are two buttons next to the Close Doors symbol. Which one is the correct one?

In my case, I started at the end and noted that the button is placed to the right of the symbol, then I went over to the symbol I wanted and pushed the button to the right of it.

Not a big deal if someone pushed the wrong button for Close Doors, but what if someone pushed the wrong button for the Open Doors button? That would summon the fire department.

The button layout and/or background design should make it obvious which buttons go with which symbols.

Like this (please excuse the poor editing):

better design for elevator buttons

Or this (likewise):

better design for elevator buttons

Or a different color or border or something to separate close buttons.

If they will not believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe the witness of the last sign.

Exodus 4:8

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Mechanical Kids

Sep

13

2016

I overheard someone telling about his family. He said something along the lines of “I have 5 kids – 2 biological and 3 adopted.”

There must be a better way of phrasing that. For when he said “2 biological and”, my mind filled in “3 mechanical” before he could finish. Because if the adopted children are not biological, what else could they be? Maybe “spiritual” if they don’t have bodies?

I didn’t say anything to the guy, of course. If he has gone to the trouble of adopting multiple children, he needs to be encouraged.

What would be a way of saying what he wanted to convey?

  • “I have 5 kids, 3 of which are adopted.”
  • “We had 2 kids and then we adopted 3 more.”
  • “I have 5 kids, 2 _________ and 3 adopted.”

Any suggestions to fill in the blank?

“Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”

Deuteronomy 27:19

Posted in Ponder | 2 Comments »

Please Pay Before Paying

Sep

8

2016

During some recent travels, I came across this sign, posted on a gas pump:

pre pay before

Here’s a close-up of the section of interest:

pre pay before

Isn’t that the point of pre-paying – that it’s beforehand?

Recommended signage: “Please pay before pumping” or “Pre-pay only”

This post was brought to you by the Department of Redundancy Department

Before he had finished speaking, behold, Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder.

Genesis 24:15

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