Sephy’s Platzish

Well, we had more snow today, and for the first time all winter there were actually snowmobiles. I guess it was either a lack of snow on the ground, or maybe it was too cold to go out and ride. However, today was the perfect day (I mean, who wanted to watch the Bears beat up on the Saints anyway?) for some folks to head out on the trails.

First off, I did manage to find the power cord for the scanner; it was in a box that I had overlooked despite it being in plain sight.

Secondly, a reminder for all of y’all who live in the colder climes - make sure any outside discharge pipes you may have (if you have them) are thawed out before using them. Otherwise you might find a wet mess in your laundry room, then having to stand outside and pour hot water into a pipe to try to clear the blockage. Luckily, that did wind up working and the clothes got washed without any further hitches.

One thing that you learn as a scambaiter is that scanners are very low-tech items that *nobody* uses, what with digital cameras and all. However sometimes real life interferes and you do need to use a scanner to scan things - like a document that needs to be faxed to someone, or some photos that are lying around.

First off, I do have a scanner; it was picked up from a rummage sale for about $10 a couple of years ago. It works fine with the older computer that we have, except for the minor problem that just cropped up.

I can’t find the power cord!

So, I thought - I’ll dig around and see if I can find it; well that has proven futile to this point, but it is an avenue that will be looked at once more, after the latest experience.

I thought, well, ok, maybe a different power cord will be ok - so I tried one that had fewer volts than were necessary (9 instead of the 15 the scanner asks for). It powered up fine, but the reduction in voltage caused the scan speed to slow down making a pure white scan.

Then, I thought, well, the local megastore will have one of those universal adapters. Well, they had them, but only up to 12 volts. The next thought was that the big-box electronics store will have them. Same story. Thus the return to digging around for it.

Oh, interestingly, there is a store that does have the item I’m looking for. They charge $25.99 (plus tax) for it. At that price, I’d probably be better off just buying a new scanner (and one that isn’t a parallel-port scanner)

I had mentioned this on New Year’s Day that Skype were planning on introducing a “disruptive” pricing scheme. Well, they’ve introduced it, and I have to say that it is a step backwards.

One of the key pieces of the new scheme is the introduction of a connection fee, charged per call. While it may not seem like a lot on paper, 3.9 eurocents is the same as about two minutes of calling at their standard rate to a lot of the world. One thing that is not specified is if you have to pay the connection fee on toll-free calls.

Another item of this new scheme is called “Skype Pro” - a monthly subscription service (priced apparently at €2/month) where you have unlimited minutes to landline phones in your country; the only catch is that you have to pay the connection charge on each call.

If anything about this plan is disruptive, it is the fact that they’re going to disrupt the experience of each user when they find out that the one minute call they just completed cost them the equivalent of a three minute call.

The plus side is that if you did subscribe to the unlimited calling to US and Canadian phones, the connection fee doesn’t apply to your usage.

One would think that a common error (and one that irks me particularly - but then again I’m a stickler when it comes to these types of things) such as accidentially putting an extra “o” into the word lose might be noticed, right?

Well, apparently the people from G4 (or the production company who did the subtitling) missed this one, as seen on the program “Ninja Warrior” on Sunday -

Actually, the champion of not proofreading would have to be my local grocery store, who have had signs for items such as “waffels”, “parchmennt paper”, “cookies dough”, “egg nogg”, “lemon merigue rolls”, “fabric softner”, “peacans”, and the latest one “clemetines”. At one point, you could even have a “sampel” of Stollen, but don’t forget to buy your “Italian Pepp” (it’s a pizza) while “supoplies” last. Of course, I can’t forget the other retailer who sells a “wides screen TV”. Ah well, if I want to know what it really is, the packaging is right there…

Oh, and the guy ultimately didn’t lose his grip, but he did loosen it to get leap off the bar when he got to the other end of the track.