Category Archives: Nerd Stuff

These posts relate to my nerdery (obviously). Computer stuff, games, movies, miscellaneous hobbies (nerdy, of course). Carr stuff is sort of nerdy, but I have another category for that.

Shoulda Woulda Coulda

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I’ve been in the retail business a long time. I’m certain that our customer service record is excellent (far above average in our retail field). But no matter how good your service is there are just some people you can’t make happy. Consider this customer email:

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We are not very happy campers. It’s Friday, 15 minutes to 5pm and the Post Office still has not delivered this package.

We have been tracking this package and it sat in Coppell Texas for 2 days.

I would think with a blade this expensive, of a limited edition run, your company would provide “free shipping” that was substantially better than the U.S Post Office.

Now we face the weekend wondering where this order is at, did it get stolen in the process, or ruined, and what about the credit put on a card where no delivery has been made to the product ordered.

W. Ferree is an 87 year old veteran who’s been put through the ringer trying to patiently wait for this order to come.

It will be a very long, long time before we ever order again. It’s just not worth being treated this way. 

Ruth/Wayne. F.

Eastern State

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Here are some facts for you to consider:

1. We processed and shipped this customer’s order the same day she placed it.

2. She selected (and got) 100% free 4-5 day shipping.

3. She had the option of purchasing USPS Express mail or FedEx shipping.

4. Every company on earth charges the customer’s credit card once an order ships.

5. Copell Texas is the location of a USPS mail sorting facility.

5. Her order was delivered about 15 mins after she wrote this email (it was signed for by her).

Here are some questions we had:

1. Why did she write us on Friday before her mail came when the tracking showed the package was “out for delivery?”

2. What would “substantially better” free shipping have been? USPS has been extremely reliable for us. She had other options she could have purchased.

3. Why would a customer think their package was “stolen” or “ruined” even though the tracking shows it’s in transit?

4. How does telling us the intended recipient is an 87 year old Veteran make any difference?

5. The recipient has been “put through the ringer?” Have these people never ordered anything online before?

6. “Not worth being treated this way?” Does she mean “great” or “excellent?” We just didn’t get it. Or maybe they didn’t get it…

Here is our email reply: 

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Hi Ruth,

I have reviewed your situation and I think you are absolutely correct! The person responsible for packing and shipping your order has been terminated. They packed it and shipped it the same day we got it, but this is simply unacceptable. And I completely agree with you about shipping- if we are going to provide free same day shipping to our customers then it should at least meet their expectations in terms of reliability and speed. Our decision to ship through USPS has obviously caused you both a great deal of unneeded stress. I have called our postal representative and I gave them a piece of my mind! I let them know that it’s unacceptable to have a package sit in Texas for two days. I asked that the plant supervisor there be dismissed.

I would not be a happy camper either. The tracking shows that it will be delivered soon, but you’re right- it could have been stolen, damaged, or worse. My fear is that the postal employee on your route has the intent to deliver the item to the wrong address. Even though the item is enroute I think the best course of action is to speculate about what might happen. In fact, I will put a trace on the package. No one should be put through an emotional wringer like this- especially not am 87 year old Veteran. It’s only been five days, but you’ve been more than patient and I can respect your position.

In regard to the credit card charge. Though every company in the world charges a card once an item has shipped I am on the same page as you.  We should have invested the time to track your package (as we should for all customers) and charge you only once it has been delivered. I will send a note to our management department to see if we can implement this initiative. I think it could decrease the stress that most of our customers must be feeling (knowing that have been charged, but that their package could be lost somewhere while it travels to them).  

I would not order from us again. The way you have been treated defies description. Free same day shipping that does not meet your expectations is awful and you have my deepest apologies. As I said- the personal responsible has been fired. I showed them your email. They saw how you have suffered all week. They said if they had known the package was going to a Veteran with emotional problems then they would have tried to get it out before you ordered and would have used FedEx or UPS- anything besides our terrible postal system. Hopefully this will never happen to another customer. You should not have been treated this way- you are right. I am very sorry.

 -Cam

PS. I just checked the status and it looks like the item was delivered and that you signed for it. I can only assume that you have not gotten it. Everything else has gone so horribly wrong that I’m sure someone else has it and has forged your name. Please let me know!

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Okay, we didn’t really send that email.  But I sometimes I wish that we could send this stuff. 

Here’s what we really sent:

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Hi Ruth,

I just checked the tracking info. It appears that the item arrived there around 4:50pm.  

The order was shipped the same day it was placed, and arrived in 5 days. I don’t think that’s unreasonable, but I do feel bad that it didn’t meet your expectations. We have found USPS to be reliable and affordable.  

Hopefully Wayne enjoys the knife and finds that it was worth the wait. We are very grateful to our Veterans and the service they have provided to our country.

I regret that you feel that you have been treated badly. We try to provide good service.

-Cam

www.bladehq.com 

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There you have it. Proof that our customer service is superior until the bitter end. Did she reply? Nope. Sometimes people just want to be unahppy. Hopefully she can find something wrong with the knife so she gets a chance to complain again!

The Sound of Music

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I’m sure everyone is sick of hearing about my car projects. So here’s another one! In past posts I have mentioned various stereo upgrade projects (head unit, amps, sub). But the stereo wasn’t complete…until now. I finally replaced my stock speakers (mids & tweeters). Overall, I am extremely happy with the cumulative results.

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I picked JL Audio ZR-series component speakers (ZR-650CSI for the front and ZR-525CSI for the back) based on reviews I’d read and because I have liked my JL Audio sub so much (the ZR series speakers produce very clear and accurate sounds). The original speakers in the C6 are these monstrous 10″ paper things. Nasty. I has to make adapters to fit the JL Audio 6.5″ set. I used 1/4″ oak ply covered with foam. Same thing for the tweeters.

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The speaker install was pretty painless. The hardest thing would have been running new speaker wire but Sound Warehouse had done that last year. Getting body panels off can be tricky, but the C6 Vettes are pretty straight forward.

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I decided to put the front crossovers in the doors. Instructions will tell you never to  put them inside the door, but there’s a right way to do it.  I mounted them in the side impact foam- they are perfectly safe from water and dirt.  I mounted the rear crossovers behind a carpeted body panel in the trunk section- safe and accessible.

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With the panels back on everything looks great. I mounted a component set in the back and my only concern is that I may have mounted the tweeters too high. I might consider moving them down a bit if I can’t get it tuned just right. Speaking of tuning- Jim helped me tweak the setting on the amps and crossovers. We pumped out some Enya and tingled. When your stereo makes you tingle you have a winner.

Below is the total rundown of my project. The labor time listed includes fabricating parts, carpeting, installation & testing/tuning. I’m not going to discuss price, but you’ve got everything you need if you really want to know. The bottom line is that I’m thrilled and I feel like it was worth the time and money I put into it. The stereo is finished. Now it’s time for the engine. Maybe. Probably. Yes, Definitely.

Pioneer Avic Z1 head unit with the Sirus/XM radio, blue tooth and iPod modules (install by Sound Warehouse).

JL Audio ZR component speakers: 650CSI in front and 52sCSI in back  (custom front speaker plates & install by me, 12 hours).

Kenwood XR-4s amp  for the mids & tweeters and Kenwood XR-1S amp for the sub woofer (custom amp rack by Justin & me and install by me, 8 hours).

JL Audio W6 10″ sub (custom sub box by Justin & me and install by me, 7 hours).

PAC Steering wheel control interface (install by Jim & me, 1 hour)

Wiring for head unit (RCA cables from Lightning Audio), subs, and speakers by Sound Warehouse

Love is in the Air

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Each February Lehi City puts together a program called the “Celebration of Marriage: Legacy of Love” It’s held at Thanksgiving Point and we’ve been going for a few years. It’s proven to be a fun date activity and I always leave having learned something important. We try invite a different group of friends each year- people we can see are really struggling with their marriages (I’m kidding! I’m just kidding…).  This year we went with the Browns, Sabins, and Jobes.

The first presenter was Dr. Liz Hale. She discussed “Going the Distance: Happy vs. Unhappy Couples.” Her premise: The answers might surprise you. The next presenter was Ron McMillan. He covered his bestselling book Crucial Conversations. Both were excellent, but truthfully I felt like I got more out of Ron’s presentation. Something about how he describes anger developing from the gaps between our expectations and reality really resonates with me. I also enjoyed his perspective on how we can have crucial conversation (conversations with high stakes & strong emotions) in a safe controlled way.  Ron was also a speaker at last year’s seminar.

If you ever feel inclined, Lehi’s Celebration of Marriage is open to anyone and everyone and I’d recommend it without hesitation. In addition to the speakers you also get dinner & dessert (hold your horses! Tt’s not free…you gotta pay).  I’m sure not everyone walks away with something great, but I know that Fran and I do.

Yet More Car Stuff

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It’s true. You’ve heard right! I have done more stuff to my car. No one cares and I get that. But I care. It’s fun for me to post these little enhancements on my blog. And you never know- they might actually help someone who’s putting in the same stuff. If you decide to read this, fine. But I’ll just be upfront: this will probably be very boring and mildly technical. And naturally I’ll give you the “these pictures don’t do the mods justice” disclaimer. They are puzzle pieces of a much larger picture.  Once the puzzle is done I’ll wow you with some full body shots. Yeah, you can’t wait. I know.

Guess what I have on my steering wheel? Anyone? Stereo controls. It’s been bugging me for a year: steering wheel stereo controls that don’t control my stereo. But it’s okay now. I’ve remedied the situation with the PAC SWI-PS steering wheel control Pioneer stereo interface.

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My Pioneer Avic Z-1 was ecstatic (“For me? Really? Oh wow. I don’t know what to say!”).  All I had to do was wire the PAC unit in and control away! After I got the car’s center console removed I had second thoughts (deja vu, right?).  After attending several years of trade school to become an electrician I began the project. First off,  I just want to say that I found the instructions for the PAC system unnecessarily confusing. They provide three different sheets of instructions (programming info, stereo harness diagrams, and car / PAC interface / version info). If you’re going to install this little guy just use the online instructions.

I got the PAC unit wired into the car’s original stereo harness just fine but I had a heckuva time finding a 12 volt power source that was tied to the ignition system. Jim to the rescue! Jim’s knowledge of electrical systems surprised me (and possibly him too) and he proved an exceptional ally as we waged war against the mess inside my car. We found a suitable 12 volt source and a ground and had the PAC interface working in nearly no time. The Z06 steering wheel has a  larger “1-6” button that the PAC really doesn’t accommodate. I’d recommend mapping the “mute” function to it (a very handy function). 

After all the excitement with my stereo I decided to take a break and tackle an easy problem.  When you work on a car sometimes you need the hood up (to pull a fuse, run a wire, charge the battery, etc). The Z06 hood has a small light that comes on when it’s open. The light never goes off.  I used to pull out the bulb, but then I had to put it back in. Out, in, out, in. What a nightmare.  I decided to put in a switch. Now when the hood is up and I don’t need the light I just switch it off. Best thing ever.

Well, except for black anodized custom painted aluminum engine caps…  I’m trying to get a black/red color scheme going for the engine. I bought these black aluminum caps and then painted the vehicle markings on them myself. They actually turned out really well.  Vanessa loves them. Remember, Vanessa is the car. Who’s crazy?
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Anyway, it was finally time for a wideband. In a nutshell a wideband is a sensor that will tell you the air/fuel (A/F) ratio of the exhaust. With that information you can determine if your car has too much or not enough fuel. I bought HP Tuners awhile back and now I’ll be able to [more] safely use it.

The wideband installation was a job. I purchased an Innovate Motorsports LC-1 kit (which so far I would recommend). It comes with a gauge to display the A/F ratio. Cool! But that meant that I had to switch out my two gauge pillar (which has fuel and boost pressure gauges) with a three gauge pillar. No sweat, right? Advice: When switching out gauge pillars don’t try to make anchor pin holes in the same spot as the old gauge pillar. Just pull out the pillar trim, drill new holes, wire everything up, attach the gauge pillar back to the trim and put it back in.

Getting under my car is tricky so I took my her to Vince (of Lung Automotive). I had him weld in a sensor bung and then run the LC-1 control module. He poked the leads out through the shift boot which seems to work really well. Thanks Vince! And once again Jim came to the rescue and assisted me with the wiring portion of the project. Advice: The instruction manual for the LC-1 notes that there are two wires which have to be soldered together. It’s not kidding. Crimping won’t work. You have to solder them. Jim proved to be an adept soldering iron handler as well. It would have been difficult to achieve such exceptional result without his help. Thanks again Jim!

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The gauge itself is pretty basic (I might upgrade to the XD-16 if the wideband proves to be useful). It’s a bit bright  and the constant flickering as the A/F changes seems like it’s going to get annoying. Maybe the gauge will need a switch like my hood light! I know a guy…

And finally I decided that I’d upgrade my pedals. In retrospect I don’t really know why. The clutch and brake portions of the upgrade are just cosmetic overlays, but the whole accelerator is new. Advice: Don’t try and unhook the wiring harness on the accelerator without being able to see what you’re doing. You should be able to get both of the bolts (13mm btw) out and remove the pedal with the harness still intact. Then you can pull the pedal out and see how to unhook things. It’s a super tricky harness (with good cause).

And finally, it was time to say good by to Mr. AcDelco. That’s my old battery. It served me poorly for the last year before finally giving up the ghost this past winter. It’s actually very difficult to find the correct battery replacement for a 2007 Corvette z06. In fact I couldn’t. I ended up getting a DuraLast with similar specs (same cold crank amps- very important). It fit…sort of. Justin helped me purchase and install the battery. It’s seriously a two man job. The battery is located in a compartment in my trunk and I have my amp rack and every speaker wire sitting on top of it. What a pain! Advice: If you have you battery inside the car like I do and you end up getting a replacement that’s not quite the same as the original remember to make sure the new battery is vented.

Well that blog post was almost as much work as actually doing the car mods. Next up, I’m going to finish my stereo and then start working on my new engine (LSX block). 1000WHP ready or not, here I come.

Retail Resolution

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If anyone wonders where I went… November happened and then December came right after it. One word: Retail. The two months leading up to Christmas get nuts. Planning, preparation, exponentially increasing order volumes, emails, phone calls, product reordering, stocking, shipping, holiday emails, nightmare customers. These are the times that I live for and that I dread.

Next week will be the busiest yet. Right now we do between 150-200 orders a day but that will jump as the desperate turn to us for seasonal salvation. The one thing that ceaselessly irks me is the customers who blame us for ruining Christmas. People need to step up and take some personal responsibility. Last year we had a lady who ordered on Christmas Eve. She sent an email and said in effect “I just placed my order. I paid for Express. It better be here tomorrow! Please don’t ruin my Christmas.” It was about eleven in the evening. “You have got to be kidding.” I replied. I like the last little rush we get, but things would be easier if people would order a few weeks in advance.

This December is going much better for me personally than last December. Last year I had a chest infection that lasted from the end of November 2008 until June of 2009. So far this winter I’ve just had a couple of mild colds. I give a lot of credit to a new allergy medication I’m on. Since my immune system isn’t busy fighting inert allergens now it can fight real stuff. Yeah! I’m also able to get more sleep this year compared to last year. Gotta give credit to my work crew there- they are awesome.  Come to think of it, I’ve only slept one night at work this winter (compared to maybe 10 last year). That is some real progress.

And speaking of progress! I had some work I was supposed to do tonight- image editing for new products. Generally I edit images while I watch something in our theatre. But tonight was different… tonight I couldn’t take my eyes off the movie long enough to work. In fact, I had to put my computer away because I was simply too mesmerized. By what, you ask? By progress. Theatre progress.

Some of you may recall a post I made awhile back about getting a Sanyo Blu-Ray player. That was a big step for me.  But the player had an audio syncing problem (it wasn’t compatible with my Onkyo receiver).  Also, my projector at the time was 720p so I wasn’t getting the full resolution offered by Blu-Ray. Well no more!

For Christmas (pre Christmas) I got a Sony Blu-Ray player. No audio syncing issues! I also picked up an Optoma 1080p Projector (the picture is amazingly bright & clear).  And this time everything is using HDMI. Last night I installed the projector.  Tonight I tweaked the Onkyo to work just right with the new Sony player. Then I popped in Terminator: Salvation. I just sat there, blown away. Wow. The jump from DVD to Blu-Ray took a long time, and there were some bad snags, but ultimately I think it’s been worth it and I’m completely stoked.

Anyway, work beckons. There is much to do. I’ll be back next year. I’m like Frosty. Except that I’m not made of snow. And I wasn’t brought to life by a magical hat. And I hate kids (not mine).  Yes sir, just like Frosty.

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Update: February 22, 2010. Above you’ll find a post documenting some of my projects that I finished up in the past few months. One of them was the theatre- I finally consider it done! The projector is mounted and calibrated correctly. I routed all the HDMI cables and got a power cord that’s not spliced together. And we added a mini fridge! The theatre is officially the coolest room in the house!

Locked Out? But That’s Impossible!

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I got locked out of my car about a month ago. That may not seem like a big deal, but it is. When my key fob  is near the car door it automatically unlocks (and when I walk away it locks- very nice).  The car will only start with the key fob in the cabin and if you forget the fob when you get out and close the door the car reminds you to grab them (serious). So, with the fob in the car, and the door closed it shouldn’t be a big deal. Except that this one time my car decided the fob wasn’t there and locked the doors with the keys inside (the left is a picture of where the keys were). Technology is cool, but it can really hurt a guy.

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I had a hot date (with my wife) and I really needed the car that night. I called Onstar.  “Sir, you could be anyone. I can’t open the car for you.” “I just need you to fax over your registration. It’s in the car? One moment, let me see what I can do.” “Click.” I was frustrated, but in retrospect it’s obvious they couldn’t help me. I did the only think I could think of…

We sell lock pick kits, so I busted one out. One of the coolest gadgets is a device that slides down under the window and pops up in the cabin. Once it’s inside you can hit the lock buttons. The second picture shows what I mean- half outside, half inside, button pressed. I was absolutely shocked at how easy it was to get inside my car. It might have taken five minutes. No alarm, no snags, no damage. Once I learn how to hot wire vehicles I’ll be on my way to grand theft auto academy.

September 2009

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It’s been another busy month. Busy on the home front (seems like there’s something going on every day)  and busy on the work front (I think we’ve finally settled in, but the business never sleeps). Sometimes I wish I didn’t need sleep. And believe me I’ve tried to get by with nothing. For awhile I actually slept every other night (that was a bad idea). Time is just so hard to come by. That’s been on my mind a lot lately- lack of time. Maybe I just manage my time poorly. I could be exercising instead of doing this blog post!

Speaking of exercising… Rachel organized a relay marathon a few weeks ago. Each of the five members on the relay team runs a 5K section.  Fran trained for it blazed through her section in about 47 mins.  That’s basically five ten minute miles. Not bad! Makes me want to train for a race.

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Speaking of races… A couple weeks back Jim, Justin and I hit the Rocky Mountain Raceway for some midnight drags. Anyone who hasn’t gone should check it out- $5 to go watch people dual it out in the quarter mile. And a mighty dual it was. Corvette vs. Corvette vs. Camaro I  ran a 12.1 at 131mph, Jim ran a 12.2 at 121 and Justin ran a 12.3 at 117mph! It was a super close race between Jim and I- he had me until about 90mph. You can check out one of our races and some pictures on Jim & Cindy’s blog. We were all hoping for 11 second runs, but we’ll have to get a little faster.

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Speaking of a little faster… That’s what I plan to be shortly. I recently picked up a copy of HP Tuners. This nifty little software package gives the user control over every aspect of the car’s engine computer (yes, this can be very dangerous) . I need to pick up a few more things before I’m ready to start seriously tweaking, but I predict a predict a lot of fun… or tears.

Speaking of tears… I’m guessing people who shelled out 4K or 5K for a Dell color laptop ten years ago have shed a few. In the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten two laptops and I can’t believe all the computer you get for the money these days. The little guy above to the right was $279. It’s an HP Mini Notebook from Best Buy (I think this model might only be available though them). I got it to use with HP Tuners and it stays in my car- fits perfectly in my glove box. It has a 16 gig solid state drive (important to me since it will get bumped around in the car) a gig of ram, a 9″ 1024 x 600 screen, high speed wireless, USB outs, – everything that would have cost thousands of dollars a few years ago. The other laptop was a Dell Studio XPS. Again- an amazing bang for the buck.

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Speaking of bang and bucks… A couple of nights ago we went to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus!  I haven’t been to a circus in years and I have some really good memories from when I was a kid. Aside from trapeze performers they had all the good stuff I was expecting. We got to see magic acts, a ton of awesome acrobatics, people shooting out of a cannon (bang), clowns, tigers, elephants, tightrope walkers and more. I have admit it wasn’t always easy to follow everything- at  times there was so much going on that the ring seemed chaotic. And it didn’t help that our kids seemed to have an endless queue of needs.

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It may seem terrible to say, but if we were to go to the circus again soon we might leave some (or all) of the kids home. We willingly bought $10 cotton candy and a $9 lemonade (bucks) to appease their ceaseless demands for food, but Mike wanted popcorn as well ($12). We said “no” so he folded his arms, arranged a giant frown on his face and announced that he was wasn’t happy. He managed to sulk all the way home. That kind of put a damper on festivities. Gabriel was also a handful, but he’s 2- we can cut him some slack. Hopefully Mike will remember that we went to the circus and not that we refused to buy him Popcorn. I guess it’s hard to be a kid.

I always get confused when I post- I can’t remember if the pictures go first and then I blab. Or if I blab first and then put a picture. Ah well- I’ll let people figure out which blab goes with which pic. Until next time.

Inc. 500, 1234!

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Each year INC. Magazine creates a list of the fastest growing private companies in the US. In the past they listed the 500 fastest growing, but recently expanded the list to include the fastest growing 5000. The rank is based on the rate of revenue increase for a company over a period of three years (not total revenue, not profit, just growth). Low and behold we’re 1, 234th! By many measures it’s a small accomplishment, but there’s some satisfaction that goes with it too. I don’t think we’ll make the 500 list anytime soon (maybe one day), but we’re not doing too bad!