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If you’re anything at all like me, and heaven help anyone who is, but if you are – you get tired of reading BLOGS that are poorly disguised rants.  Heck - I’m not even a big fan of the ones that don’t even bother with the disguise.

Which, of course, is why there will be a cleverly disguised rant in here somewhere.

But first, a word from our sponsor, the Department of Redundancy Department.  “BOO!”

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Tomorrow is Halloween.  In Pittsburgh, and Lansing, MI, the last two places I lived, the powers that be (code for self important township or borough administrators) issue a yearly ruling to determine when children in their communities may legally wear lead laced costumes imported from China and go door to door begging for candy.  This particular holiday is endorsed by the National Association of Orthodontists and Dentists, but I digress.

In Pasco County, Florida, where I now live, there are no such mandates.  Not this year, anyway.  Probably because this is a mid-term election year and most of them are too busy slinging mud at each other trying to get re-elected to bother with such mundane trivialities as hunter-gatherer children,  jack-o-lanterns and  bite sized Snickers bars.  We have decided to take the risk that Trick or Treating will take place on Halloween and let the watch cats keep potential eggers and toilet paperers off the property.

The electrified fence and motion detecting, laser sighted rubber pellet shooting MAC-10’s on the four corners of the house should get the rest.  (just kidding).

[rant ]

Still dukeing it out with T-Mobile and Blackberry.  The latest from T-Mobile is “Since Device OS upgrades are free, we are under no obligation to provide you with any compensation.  After all, it didn’t actually cost you anything.”  That was followed by the very clear understanding that while T-Mobile appreciates my 7 years of customer loyalty, and they don’t want to lose me as a customer, neither are they concerned enough about losing me to actually do anything to keep me.

Blackberry’s position is even though the upgrade was designed by BB engineers to work on a device designed by BB engineers, and in fact DOES work in the devices sold by other retail vendor, since T-Mobile made an arbitrary decision to stop offering and supporting the upgrade, they won’t support it either.  It is still, however, available for download on the BB website.

The manager of the store where I bought the device said the best he could do is sell me the next model of the phone at the lowest sale price ($80) with a two year contract extension.  At my current service plan rate, that would be a little over $3,000 over the course of the contract.  That’s T-Mobile’s idea of rewarding customer loyalty and ensuring customer satisfaction.

Remember when monopolies resulted in no real attention to the customer because the customer  really didn’t have any other choice?  Apparently the fact that you now have so many options ends up with the same result.  “Go ahead.  Take your business elsewhere.  Someone else will step up and take your place.  Have a nice day.”

[/endrant]

Grab your headphones and point your browser to Edin Road Radio where you can head my friend Jesse W. Coffey read Road Trip by Novelist/Artist/Musician Lorrieann Russell, and her own story, Act of Faith.  Well done scary reads just in time for Halloween.  Good Stuff.  Edin Road Publishing will also be publishing my WIP, Legends of Greenbrook Park in e-book format in 2011.

Well, it’s Saturday.

Gonna try out a new recipe idea.  Baked Acorn Squash stuffed with Provolone stuffed Chicken Breast and roasted vegetable medley (broccoli, carrot, onion, mushroom, new red potato, Brussels sprouts) tossed in olive oil, rosemary and garlic, and roasted until tender) served on a bed of rice.

Might watch some football, and definitely going to watch the Britcoms.  Church tomorrow.

This is too long for an actual Tweet, huh? (674 words - 3,994 characters, including spaces)