"Kiss The Rain," by Yiruma.  He's Korean.  This is one of the most beautiful melodies I've heard in a long time. 

A friend reminded me about the difference between your average drip coffee and that bold taste of espresso.  You would think that espresso, because of its rich, put-hair-on-your-chest taste, would have more caffeine and give you more of a jolt.  But that's a myth.

Drip coffee has more jump in its juice than Espresso.  And the reason is the filtering process.

Espresso has a "shot thru a cannon" filtering process where hot water is forced through the beans very quickly.

Drip coffee, on the other hand, is brewed slowly and each drop of water passes slowly over the coffee beans, allowing the beans to load up on the caffeine.

The label said two good things: green tea and gogi.  I thought, "Healthy!" 

What I discovered was it tastes more like watery perfume.   Ewww.  Never gonna buy it again!

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it.

If you don't ask, the answer is always no.

If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place."

Discovery Gets Lowdown on ‘Pitchmen’

By Jon Lafayette

March 4, 2009 4:00 AM  from TV Week.com

Discovery Channel thinks we’ve had our fill of shows about the fancy fellows who make commercials at high-powered advertising agencies.

The network is getting ready to launch a series about two infomercial stars who might not even be allowed into the hallways on AMC’s award-winning “Mad Men,” set on Madison Avenue during the 1960s, or TNT’s “Trust Me,” built around a present-day Chicago ad shop.

“Pitchmen,” a 13-part original series premiering April 15 on Discovery, may be about infomercials—a form of advertising much of the media world looks down upon—but at least it has the virtue of being a real story about real people.

The series focuses on Billy Mays and Anthony “Sully” Sullivan, whose names are linked to real products you can’t live without. Or at least products you don’t think you can live without at 3 a.m., when the persuasive infomercials they concoct air.

According to Discovery, Mr. Mays and Mr. Sullivan have sold millions of cleaners, sweepers, kitchen gadgets and other miracle products. “Pitchmen” will look at both the people who invent these clever creations and the guys who pitch them. Episodes follow the process from the boardroom product pitch to on-the-street reaction to filming the infomercial.

The series is produced by Original Productions, with Thom Beers, Philip D. Segal, Billy Mays, Anthony Sullivan and Chris Wilson as executive producers. Chris Rantamaki is executive producer for Discovery.

I'm going in!

More accurately, I'm going up.  I'm done dealing with the tech support people in the trenches at T-Mobile.  Time to take it to the suits at corporate.

Here's the story.  About two months ago, my phone's battery started running out of power faster than normal.  I called T-Mobile to ask them to send me a new battery.  They did.  Charged it up and went along my merry way.  Until the juice started running out of this battery, too.  And I started missing phone calls.  They'd go to voice mail without even registering on my phone. 

That meant another call to T-Mobile.  Ok, I thought it was the battery.  Evidently it was the phone.  They sent a new phone.  When it happened AGAIN, the girl at tech support said, "try changing your SIM card."  I found one laying around from a previous phone and installed that one.  No changes.  Same problems: battery runs out, missed calls, and now, texts don't send out on some of my messages.

This time I go to the T-Mobile store in my neighborhood.  Ah, maybe someone in person can help me.  They get on the phone and make the same call I would have made.  Neighborhood T-Mobile girl helps me change the SIM card to the updated card (evidently I had put in an unused but outdated card).  And she tells T-Mobile tech support all the things I have been telling them.  Oh, and by the way, we can't change the phone until you've gone down this avenue three times.  Ok, I'll play by your rules.  They order me another Samsung T639, and what the heck, throw in a new battery, too.  I guess that's an attempt at good customer service.

By now you're thinking, where does this end?  Let me tell you, I haven't even gotten to the part that has made me so incensed that I had to write about it!  Keep reading.

I get my "like-new" phone (they don't give you new ones) and new battery.  Charge it up, ready to go.  Same problem.  The phone discharges in about 36 hours (supposed to last 200).  And my talk time is only about 30 minutes.  Far, far below normal.  This time, I feel I have to document this ongoing episode in an email.  I do.  About a week later (!) I receive a reply that reads like an 11-year-old Pakistani kid wrote it.  Horrible grammar.  Lousy punctuation.  Three paragraphs of "we understand you're frustrated" and "I can't solve this in email, you'll have to call customer service."

Today (Saturday Feb. 28, 2009) I call customer service.  Tech Supporter #1 answers.  I familiarize her with my problem phone.  She says that I've already spoken to "Tier 2" support, so I'll have to take up my issue with them.

Tier 2 support is Shawn.  Nice guy who's been trained to repeat everything the customer says and empathize like there's no tomorrow.  "I hear where you're coming from" was uttered at least four times.

This is where it gets interesting.

T-Mobile policy says that the customer needs to try to fix the phone 3 times before a new phone is issued.  Ok, fine.  This phone I have now is my 3rd try at a replacement.  So this phone call should be the call that rids me of the Samsung T639 and gets me to a new, working phone.

Shawn says that there are two options.  I can get another Samsung T639.  NO, NO, NO.  I invoke the "insane" definition and thankfully Shawn has heard it.  "Doing something over and over again expecting a different result."  No, Shawn, that won't do. 

Shawn then realizes that T-Mobile is out of the Samsung T639 so he couldn't ship me one even if I did want to exhibit insanity and take a 4th one.

Option #2 is to change phones. Duh.  Shawn says I can get the Nokia 6263 for a heavily discounted price.  <Screeeeeeech>  Wait a minute!!!  I'm trying to replace a broken phone and you're going to charge me for it???  I don't think so.

Shawn continues.  Well it's a $200 phone but it's heavily discounted with instant rebates.  And (listen to this!) you'll have to sign A NEW 2-YEAR AGREEMENT.

WHAT???? 

Shawn, that's just wrong!  I ask to speak to someone higher up and Natalie gets on the phone.

Natalie is reading from the same manual that Shawn was reading from, but I somehow expected something more, some concessions.  No, sir.  You can get the Nokia 6263 but you'll have to sign a new 2-year agreement.

I explain to Natalie that this situation is absolutely wrong.  And I offer her this: Natalie, let's say you bought an apple at the grocery store you've been shopping at for 11 years.  You take a bite into the apple only to realize that it has a worm in it.  You go back and get a new apple.  The store says, "you know that apple is different from the one you bought earlier.  We'll have to charge you another 10 cents.  Oh, and by the way, if you buy this new apple, you'll have to shop at our store for all your apples for the next 2 years."  Natalie, I ask, would you shop there?  Natalie, like a good customer service rep, says that it's a different situation.

Well, that new 2-year agreement is not an alternative as far as I'm concerned.  I've been with T-Mobile for 11+ years.  I have a phone that has not worked properly for the last two months.  Something's broken and as far as I can tell, it's not me.  It's the phone or the network or something.  I just want a phone that works.  I'm not asking for an upgrade to a phone with all the bells and whistles.  I just want a phone that works.  Heck, I'll even downgrade.  Just give me a phone that gets all its calls, lasts the full stand-by time, and is able to text freely.  That's what I paid for, that's what I want.

In my opinion, and I explained this to Natalie, T-Mobile needs to do the right thing and that is to get me a phone that works and not charge me for it.  I shouldn't have to pay a "heavily discounted" anything for a different phone.  And I surely shouldn't be forced into a new 2-year agreement with that phone. 

I ask Natalie, "Who makes up that policy?"  She said it's not just one person, it's a group of people.  Well, I'd like to speak to one of them.  Ms. Natalie says they are not available.  She promised that she'll contact T-Mobile's Executive Customer Relations and will forward my phone number so someone can call me back. 

Here's some irony for you: The people who make up Executive Customer Relations are not available to customers.  I cannot contact them directly.

Good ol' Natalie says that I can expect a phone call by Friday 3/5/09 from the lofty offices of T-Mobile's Executive Customer Relations. 

I wait with baited breath.