Archive for February, 2015

Bad Experience at MetroPCS Store (Corporate Store in Duluth, Georgia)

About a week (or two) ago, my wife and I visited a corporate Metro PCS store so that she could purchase a new cell phone.

Her current phone had a bad battery that was having problems holding a charge throughout the day.  Her phone was a couple of years old and was in need of upgrading anyway thanks to MetroPCS switching and using the T-Mobile cell phone towers.  Other than the battery and the fact that her phone was a CDMA phone, the phone itself was still working fine.

We visited the corporate MetroPCS store in Duluth, Georgia.  The store’s address is 3780 Old Norcross Rd, Duluth, Georgia, 30096.  It’s in a shopping center at Old Norcross Rd and Steve Reynolds Blvd.

When we walked into the store, we were immediately greeted by a customer service worker.  The store didn’t look too busy as there were only a couple of customers and about seven or eight MetroPCS workers behind the counter, but we were informed that it was going to be a short wait before a worker could help us.

MetroPCS LG Optimus F6 cell phone — $49.99

No big deal.  We walked around the store and found the LG Optimus F6 on display, the exact phone that my wife wanted.  It was priced at $49.99, just as the MetroPCS website claimed that it would cost if you purchased the phone at a MetroPCS store.  Had we purchased the phone online, we would have had to use a $50 mail-in rebate to bring the total price down to $49.99.  Going into the store eliminated the need for the mail-in rebate, plus we would have the phone that day without waiting for it to be delivered in the mail.

Obviously, going to the store to purchase the phone was the best, and fastest, deal.

A few minutes later, a MetroPCS worker approached us and began asking my wife a few basic questions about her cell phone needs.  I cannot remember this lady’s name, but she looked like she was from southern Asia (India, Pakistan, etc.), and she spoke with an accent from that region.  This lady also had a nose ring and, if I remember correctly, several rings in her right ear.

This worker didn’t believe my wife when she claimed that she barely used her cell phone outside of talking, texting, and sending the occasional photo in a message.  Her phone was mainly used to talk to her family and her co-workers.  No, she didn’t use her phone for streaming music.  No, she really did not use the Internet from her phone.  Believe it or not, but not everybody lives constantly on his or her cell phone.

That’s a big reason why my wife had a basic MetroPCS phone plan.  Her plan cost $30 a month for unlimited talk, text and web, not that she ever used the data.  This was a promotion that was available a couple of years ago.

Right off the bat, this MetroPCS worker told us that we were NOT ELIGIBLE for the $49.99 price of the LG Optimus F6.

Wait.  Huh?

Why aren’t we eligible? Read more…

How To Find Your Nine-Digit Account Number With Virgin Mobile Phones

In the world of phones and keeping your number when you switch carriers, one of the most critical pieces of information is knowing your account number.

You need not just your cell phone number, but the actual number of your account with the phone company.  You cannot switch companies and port (keep your phone number) without it.

Those of you with Virgin Mobile may have noticed that your account number is nowhere to be found.  It’s not on your billing statement (my billing statements only had my ten-digit cell phone number); nor is it listed on the Virgin Mobile website when you log in to your account.

If you’re planning on switching cell phone companies and still want to keep your phone number, then how do you find out the nine-digit account number?

One way is to simply call Virgin Mobile at and to speak with a representative.  Of course, this means speaking over the telephone with somebody in an international call center.  I had to do that when switching *to* Virgin Mobile, and I had a difficult time understanding the person over the phone.

If you choose to call the call center, the person is going to ask you why you need to know your account number.  A simple answer is, “I want to know the account number for my own record.”  They really cannot argue with that response.  Saying anything else (especially if you mention that you’re switching to another company) is likely to cause the call center person to keep talking, asking you follow-up questions, and wasting more of your time.

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering if there’s an alternate way of learning your Virgin Mobile account number, one that does not involve calling the company’s call center.

Fortunately, there’s an alternate way that’s both quick and easy.  All it takes is a computer with Internet access, and Chrome, a free web browser.  (This trick also works with Chromium.)

Using Chrome, go to Virgin Mobile’s website (www.virginmobileusa.com) and log in to your account.  After you’ve logged in to your Virgin Mobile account:

1) Right-click on the page (in the background of the page, and not on any of the links).

2) From the menu by your mouse’s cursor, select “Inspect Element.”  This will create a new box with developer tools on the right side of the page.  Go ahead and expand the box it so you can see things better.

3) On the top of that new section click on the “Resources” tab.

4) Expand the “Cookies” group.

5) Look inside of that group and select “www2.virginmobileusa.com.”

6) Scroll down the listing until you see the name “ban.”  Inside the column immediately to the right of the name “ban” is your nine-digit Virgin Mobile account number.  Hooray!

There you go.  The instructions may sound complicated, but it’s really fast and easy to use this trick to find your Virgin Mobile account number.

Book Review – Stephen King’s “The Shining”

Last week I finished reading Stephen King‘s The Shining, a classic tale of horror involving isolation and madness at a haunted hotel during the winter.

It’s a great story to read on these coldest of winter nights, especially when it’s snowing outside.

First published in 1977, The Shining tells a tale of Jack Torrance and how he and his wife and young son take over the caretaker duties for the Overlook Hotel in the Colorado Rockies.  The catch is that the hotel is isolated, and when the heavy snow arrives, the small family will have to fend for themselves for quite some time.  That wouldn’t be a problem if the hotel wasn’t haunted with evil spirits.

Stephen King — The Shining

The Shining begins with Jack Torrance interviewing and being accepted for the position of winter caretaker for the Overlook Hotel.  The Overlook is a prestigious hotel nestled in the Colorado Rockies.  It’s primarily a summertime destination as winter storms can (and will) block the mountain roads and render them impassible.  The Overlook’s previous winter caretaker succumbed to cabin fever, literally went crazy, and killed his family and himself.

Jack himself is a recovering alcoholic and a person with some problems in his past.  He’s an accomplished author and has been off and on writing a play.  Jack was also fired from his previous position as a college English instructor after he lashed out and attacked one of his students.  Jack’s temper and sometimes uncontrollable violence have caused him to also hit and injure his young son, Danny.  All of those events continually haunt Jack as he tries to get his life back on track. Read more…

2015 Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and Ash Wednesday

Another Mardi Gras has officially ended and now it’s Ash Wednesday and the Lenten season in preparation for Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

While I’m not an official member of the Catholic Church, I’ve been doing independent research into certain holidays and traditions, and I’ve always found Mardi Gras to be particularly interesting.  From the earliest days of Mardi Gras to its dominance in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, to even the French language and culture itself, this is just a really fascinating holiday.

In the spring of 1999, I had the pleasure of joining my college’s Air Force ROTC unit and marching in a daytime parade in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.  I have forgotten which exact day or parade we were part of, but that was an awesome experience.  We got to march in a parade during the day and then party on Bourbon Street that night.

I’d love to return to New Orleans one day and spend more time exploring the city’s rich history.

Mardi Gras officially ends at midnight on Fat Tuesday

Anyway, I’ve always thought of the transition from the stroke of midnight on Mardi Gras and the quick transition to Ash Wednesday to be like the “Night on Bald Mountain” and “Ave Maria” musical segments in Disney’s Fantasia.

Traditionally, Mardi Gras is about the feasting before the self-sacrifice during Lent.  Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) itself is the last day of feasting that a person does before fasting on Ash Wednesday, and then withdrawing one’s self from personal luxuries (from meat and poultry to other cravings) throughout Lent and until Easter Sunday.  Lent is supposed to help Christians replicate the sufferings that Jesus Christ went through when he spent 40 days fasting in the desert and enduring temptations by the Devil.

Today’s version of Mardi Gras seems to be more focused on the debauchery, sex and alcohol, and less on the fasting and preparation for Lent and Holy Week.

Take New Orleans for example as it’s basically the focal point of Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States. Read more…

The Stupidity of Cobb County Schools

Last week the long-range weather forecast began to look favorable for winter weather in northern Georgia, including the metro Atlanta area.

Right now people are a little bit panicky when there’s a possibility of snow or ice in our weather forecast.  It was just over a year ago when we were hit with Snowmageddon, a.k.a. insanity on the roads.  Our city’s major roads and interstates were jammed with traffic as the water on the roads froze and became ice, stranding literally thousands of drivers.

It was chaos.  It’s easy to see people’s fears, especially for those who were caught in the middle of the wreck.

As a direct result of that incident, people here have been a little bit crazier when it comes to winter weather.  Schools are quick to close when there’s snow and ice in the forecast.  The problem is that it’s becoming a knee-jerk reaction to close the school’s too early, even when the threat of winter weather is relatively small.

That brings us to our current discussion about the Cobb County schools in metro Atlanta.

I grew up in Cobb County and spent most of my school days in that county.  After college, I returned there and did occasional odd jobs with one of the high schools.  For the past four years I’ve been doing volunteer work at that same school.  When something happens with that school district, it catches my attention.

For some reason, a bunch of counties and cities in the metro Atlanta area were closed today for Presidents’ Day.  It’s now an official school holiday for many districts.  Why?  Who knows.  It was never a school holiday when I was a student, and it’s not needed as one now.  The students need to be spending more time in the classrooms and not on a break every couple of weeks.  That’s a different subject for another time.

Anyway, Cobb County schools (except for the schools in Marietta) did NOT take the day off for Presidents’ Day.  Today was going to be another day for the students to be sitting in the classrooms and learning their subjects.  But that didn’t happen.

On Friday, northern Georgia (including the metro Atlanta area) was placed in a Winter Storm Watch.  The watch meant that conditions were going to be favorable for the formation of winter weather within the next 48-72 hours.  So what did the Cobb County schools do?  On Saturday night it was announced that Cobb County schools would be CLOSED on Monday because of the threat of winter weather.  The county wasn’t going to take any chances of people being stranded inside of the schools or outside with the risk of ice on the roads.

So what’s the problem? Read more…

Book Review – Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale”

A couple of weeks ago I finished reading Herman Melville‘s classic novel, Moby-Dick; or, The Whale.

This was my first time reading Moby-Dick.  Although this book tends to be a required reading for high school students (or, at least it used to be), I never encountered it as a student.  I had heard of the book and its characters, but that’s about it.

To be honest, I had never really expressed any interest in reading Moby-Dick until recently.  Something changed and all of a sudden I had a desire to read the book.  That’s what bring us here today.

Herman Melville — Moby-Dick; or, The Whale

First published in 1851, Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is considered to be a prime example of Romanticism and the American Renaissance.  I really don’t care about analyzing books to that level, so that’s the last you’ll hear of that terminology.  We’re here to focus on the story and its strengths and weaknesses.

“Call me Ishmael.”

Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an American whaling story narrated by the character Ishmael, a man who has the yearning to go to sea.  Ishmael arrives in New Bedford, Massachusetts where he meets Queequeg, a Polynesian harpooner from the fictional island of Rokovoko.  Despite their clash in backgrounds, Ishmael and Queequeg quickly become friends.  The two of them seek a spot on a whaling ship, and they eventually are hired to work on the Pequod.

The adventure begins when the Pequod sails on Christmas Day and begins its ill-fated journey.  The crew is manned by Starbuck, the first mate, Stubb, the second mate, and Flask, the third mate.  In addition to Queequeg, the other harpooners include Tashtego and Daggoo.

As most people know, the captain of the Pequod is none other than Ahab, a man hell-bent on seeking revenge against Moby Dick, a white sperm whale that removed one of Ahab’s legs from the knee down.  To help him walk, Ahab has an artificial leg that was created from the jawbone of a whale.  Ahab promises a doubloon (a gold coin) to the first man who spots Moby Dick. Read more…

The Last Two Months – Updating Florida-Project.com

It seems like forever since my last posting on this website.

We’re now in the middle of February and my last article here was just after Christmas.

As you can guess by the title of this article, the reason for my absence here is related to one of my other websites, Florida-Project.com.

Back in December, I received a notification from my software that as of December 31, 2014, there would no longer be any more updates for that particular website software.  It was time to update or face the wrath of whatever security problems may occur in the future.  Obviously, the decision was made to update the website.

The previous version of Florida-Project.com was good and full of material, but there were many areas that needed improvement, from the design of the website itself to accessing material and the general flow of information.  The website has been in need of an overhaul.  It was just a matter of finally taking the time to give the website a full update.

Anyway, I proceeded to update the website’s software when, uh oh, there was a problem.  There was a small problem that crashed the website.  I tried to load a backup copy of the website and database, but that wouldn’t work either.  Apparently I didn’t save something correctly when making backup copies a while ago, and now the entire website was broken.

At that point in time the website was broken and completely useless.  It was time to quickly save all of the pages so that I could copy and paste most of the old content when building the new pages.  After that it was time to remove the entire website from my server, upload the latest version of the software, and begin building the new version of the website.

It took a few days to get a basic version of the website operational.  A) I haven’t built a website in a long time, so it took a little bit to get back into that mode again.  B) It also took a little while to create a new logo and some custom artwork.  C) I actually created TWO versions of the website: A fancy version and a simpler version for those people using Internet Explorer as their Internet browser. (The fancier version of the website was later removed.)

My philosophy for creating the newer version of Florida-Project.com was based on a few critical factors: Read more…