Friday, November 21, 2008

People Fall for This?

Who actually falls for this email and opens the attachments?

Subject of email: Your Tracking # 235478914988
From: United Postal Service

UM ok if you really are going to try to get me to think I shipped something via the USPS perhaps you want to call the postal service by it's real name the *United States* Postal Service. Just Sayin'

Oh and BTW - I buy enough crap online that I know the USPS has never contacted me via email (except to confirm an address change I did online once). But even if I hadn't this email is so fake it's ridiculous!

Body of email:
Sorry, we were not able to deliver postal package you sent on November the 1st in time because the recipient s address is not correct.

Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our office.
If you do not receive package in ten days you will have to pay 36$ per day.

Your UPS

I'm not sure what is worse: the grammar or the content itself. If I don't 'receive' it they will charge $36? UM well since they are the 'postal service' it's kind of their job that I receive it (or rather the person I 'sent' it to does), perhaps if you don't 'pick up your package' or 'put the correct address on it' would have been slightly better. and really who's seen the post office sign anything 'yours UPS' oh and btw that acronym stands for 'united parcel service' and if they are trying to fake UPS, their tracking numbers always have a Z in them. But I'm back to - if you knew I send a package wouldn't you know my phone number or name?

What I don't understand is - who falls for this bullshit? Is there really a person who says oh my - I need to get that package back right away. I don't remember shipping anything, but I must have! and opens the attachments? Really???

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Right Turn Grinches

What do I mean by right turn grinches? I'm sure you've been there before.

Picture this: you are driving along and you are approaching a red light. Well that's ok you think, I can turn right on red and there's no one coming. Ah but wait my friend, the right turn grinch in front of you who is going straight and has their own lane has decided that they are going to block you from taking the right. There's is no way on earth they are going to let you get in front of them, even though you are aren't even going in the same direction.

So now instead of turning right and going on your merry way. you have to sit. and wait. and wait. because some jerk can't stay in their lane and insists on hogging two lanes - the right turn and the straight one. WHY WHY WHY do people do this? This happens to me almost daily.

Now I can see in traffic - the lanes fill up and cars going straight end up blocking the right turn lane. That makes sense, but it's the other time when there are only 1 or 2 cars in front of you and someone insists on doing this.

Perhaps they are clueless and don't realize it? But honestly if you are this out of it and have no idea what lane you are in or if you are turning or not you shouldn't be behind the wheel of a CAR!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Yes We...

Can DID!!!

What an exciting night to be alive to witness history!

I wasn't always an Obama supporter - I voted for Hillary in the primary (I've always liked the Clintons)... but once it was narrowed down to the 2 candidates and the VP picks were made, my choice was clear. I didn't dislike McCain - in fact I liked him more than any other Republican candidate, but he just didn't have that magnetic personality Obama has and I didn't feel he had a real plan for America. I felt like McCain wasn't tuned into Gen X or Gen Y in quite the same way Obama was. And honestly his campaign people ran a shitty smear ridden campaign. Even Bill Kristol of the weekly standard said weeks ago that McCain should fire his strategy people- because of the negative campaign and other tactics they were employing. I did not like the Palin pick. As an independent woman that voted Hillary that wasn't how to get me.

For me, it really felt like finally a candidate who gets where I'm coming from - he's younger, intelligent, passionate, and all around I feel like he gets it. He's in touch with what's going on. Some think Socialist, but I think he's more about doing what it right for the greater good of society. He got the youth excited again! He got them involved - Gen X and Gen Y made the difference in this election. I've been voting for some time now, but I've never been as excited, hopeful, and nervous as I was yesterday casting my vote.

As a person that works in Social Media - I was also amazed at the role it played in this election. Following the coverage on Twitter was awesome. I was getting updates from Twitter often faster than I was on the news (switching back and forth between: CNN, NBC, Fox and Comedy Central). Obama was the first candidate that really reached out and embraced technologies like Twitter, Facebook, SMS etc. To me those things were critical: He got my world, he knew how to reach me. This is what I do every day. My company always talks about the Power of WE and how our product helps businesses harness that to gain insight from their employees, customers, or partners faster. But now we all just witnessed the power of WE nationally. What a shame his grandmother and even mother didn't get to live to see this amazing day.

How awesome was it for America that our young people took to the streets beeping, yelling, screaming, cheering... celebrating the election of a PRESIDENT as if it was a Superbowl or World Series win!!??? I know I haven't witnessed that in my lifetime. Young people as enthusiastic about our electoral process as a sporting event? Americans not looking like the spoiled, apathetic, buffoons the rest of the world has often painted us as (and rightfully so sometimes).

If Obama is as good of a leader as he is a speaker - we just may be looking at one of the greatest presidents of all time, certainly in our lifetime. Wouldn't that be amazing? I'm just so happy I was alive to witness this. He's got a very tough road ahead: 2 wars, a struggling economy, home foreclosures, job loss etc etc... and it remains to be seen how well he will handle those hurdles, but I feel hopeful about it. Now let's all work together as a nation to fix these issues and make this a great country to live in.


* You realize Bostonians will go back to being their miserable selves again in about 2 weeks... ;)

Monday, November 3, 2008

Nov 4th

How long do you think the lines will be to vote tomorrow in Somerville? Why doesn't MA have early voting like so many other states? Not really looking forward to wasting half my morning in line, but there is no way I'm not voting!

I will be so happy (well I hope so) when this election is over. I am sick and tired of hearing the candidates smear each other. And honestly the crap I've heard come out of some of the folks working for McCain is flat out lies. Why lie? Each person's record should speak for itself.

In fact the "attack calls" being made by the McCain camp were so offensive 3 dozen workers in Indiana walked off the job rather than make the calls.

There are reasons to vote for and against both candidates, so why not focus on WHY I should vote for YOU, rather than why I shouldn't vote for someone else? That is far more effective for me. And honestly I was who McCain was trying to reach (an independent woman who voted for Hillary in the primaries) when he picked Palin, but it did the opposite for me - and then his campaign alienated me more with the behavior at the RNC (who makes fun of a community organizer? they got of their ASS and made a difference, doesn't that matter?), attack ads, and rude comments/lies from various people in his campaign.

I found this post that a middle aged white guy wrote about Obama pretty interesting.

Facebook Ads

Facebook finally figured out how to get me to click on an ad! It was finally something I was actually interested in, and not the stupid ones they show most of the time. Sure they show me ads occasionally for random shoes, but I am not interested in random shoes. I have specific taste. So if you want to get me to buy something, you better target it right. Just sayin'

This time they got it right: super cute Diane Von Furstenberg heels on sale.. just in time for holidays parties. Now all I need is a LBD to wear these fabulous shoes with!