Thursday, November 11, 2004
The Spanish Civil War--Book Recommendations?
I would like to locate a book on the Spanish Civil War that takes a balanced approach, condemning fascism where warranted but without acting as an apology for communism, or, worse, romanticizing the Republicans.
Suggestions?
Suggestions?
Monday, November 01, 2004
Is this illegal?
Drudge links to a story from Newsday, which I know is not the most unbiased of sources (though it's written by an AP reporter, so don't the two biases cancel out?), but if this is true, shouldn't someone be taken to task to this?
The Dems are pulling out a boatload of dirty tricks, and the MSM has been campaigning for Kerry all day, from what I've seen on CNN, MSNBC, and CNBC. And God knows they won't report on this, though Schwarzkopf himself is said to be aware of the scam and to have contact the DNC about it.
Who the hell is going to be held responsible for all this? Heads need to roll, and people need to be in jail--some of them for pulling shit on behalf of the Republicans, but most of them for pulling shit on behalf of the Democrats.
Whoever wins, something needs to be done to clean up the electoral process in this country. Tomorrow's going to be an ugly day, and I don't expect it to get any better after that.
The Dems are pulling out a boatload of dirty tricks, and the MSM has been campaigning for Kerry all day, from what I've seen on CNN, MSNBC, and CNBC. And God knows they won't report on this, though Schwarzkopf himself is said to be aware of the scam and to have contact the DNC about it.
Who the hell is going to be held responsible for all this? Heads need to roll, and people need to be in jail--some of them for pulling shit on behalf of the Republicans, but most of them for pulling shit on behalf of the Democrats.
Whoever wins, something needs to be done to clean up the electoral process in this country. Tomorrow's going to be an ugly day, and I don't expect it to get any better after that.
My Dell Horror Story
So, last year I bought a Dell Inspiron 8600, using a special increase in my Stafford Loan money that the government will grant once in your academic career for the purchase of a computer.
The computer cost around $2,000, but it was worth it to me because I needed a laptop, and I had been told such wonderful things about Dell.
The computer shipped to me one year and two weeks ago today. I did not buy the extended warranty, because it cost another couple of hundred dollars and I couldn't afford it. Thus I had a one-year warranty on the computer.
For the last couple of weeks, I have had problems with turning the computer on--it "wouldn't post" is the description the tech guy at Dell gave me. Yesterday, it wouldn't turn on at all, even after going through the whole "remove the battery," "unplug the computer" rigamarole.
After an online chat with Dell, it was determined that the motherboard had gone bad. The cost to me: $700.
I was on the phone this morning with Dell for about three hours, and their final word was to tell me that it was just too bad, and that the warranty was now expired, and that I could either fork over the $700 for the new motherboard or take a hike. I tried reasoning with them, and tried explaining that it was ridiculous that my computer had lasted only a year, and that though my computer had shipped from Dell on the 16th of October, 2003, it hadn't actually arrived until sometime around October 27th, so we were really talking about a matter of four days over the year warranty.
I wound up talking to five different people this morning, and the answer was always the same: your warranty is expired. Not so amusingly, I looked over the prices of the new Dell laptops, and find that they now come standard with 3-4 year warranties.
So, this is my manifesto against Dell, and given what I've been reading in the bulletin board discussions on Dell's own site, I am not alone in being sold a complete piece of shit and then being screwed over by Dell's service department.
I would imagine I'm also not alone in assuming that a computer should last longer than a year, and that this extended warranty crap is something that really needs addressing. A company should be forced to stand behind their product, particularly in instances of complete failure. I mean, really, this is like having the drive train of an automobile go out in the first year.
I would really appreciate it if my readers would pass this along and think twice before going with Dell. If I had known then what I know now--both in terms of my own experience and those I've read online--I would have gone with another manufacturer.
Dell will only stand behind its product if you pay them to stand behind it (unless they have to recall a product that catches fire, like the AC cords for earlier model Inspirons).
Don't buy a Dell.
The computer cost around $2,000, but it was worth it to me because I needed a laptop, and I had been told such wonderful things about Dell.
The computer shipped to me one year and two weeks ago today. I did not buy the extended warranty, because it cost another couple of hundred dollars and I couldn't afford it. Thus I had a one-year warranty on the computer.
For the last couple of weeks, I have had problems with turning the computer on--it "wouldn't post" is the description the tech guy at Dell gave me. Yesterday, it wouldn't turn on at all, even after going through the whole "remove the battery," "unplug the computer" rigamarole.
After an online chat with Dell, it was determined that the motherboard had gone bad. The cost to me: $700.
I was on the phone this morning with Dell for about three hours, and their final word was to tell me that it was just too bad, and that the warranty was now expired, and that I could either fork over the $700 for the new motherboard or take a hike. I tried reasoning with them, and tried explaining that it was ridiculous that my computer had lasted only a year, and that though my computer had shipped from Dell on the 16th of October, 2003, it hadn't actually arrived until sometime around October 27th, so we were really talking about a matter of four days over the year warranty.
I wound up talking to five different people this morning, and the answer was always the same: your warranty is expired. Not so amusingly, I looked over the prices of the new Dell laptops, and find that they now come standard with 3-4 year warranties.
So, this is my manifesto against Dell, and given what I've been reading in the bulletin board discussions on Dell's own site, I am not alone in being sold a complete piece of shit and then being screwed over by Dell's service department.
I would imagine I'm also not alone in assuming that a computer should last longer than a year, and that this extended warranty crap is something that really needs addressing. A company should be forced to stand behind their product, particularly in instances of complete failure. I mean, really, this is like having the drive train of an automobile go out in the first year.
I would really appreciate it if my readers would pass this along and think twice before going with Dell. If I had known then what I know now--both in terms of my own experience and those I've read online--I would have gone with another manufacturer.
Dell will only stand behind its product if you pay them to stand behind it (unless they have to recall a product that catches fire, like the AC cords for earlier model Inspirons).
Don't buy a Dell.
