If you were/are a die hard c-band fan like I am, don't say I never gave you anything:

http://www.rewindmuseum.com/vintagesatellite.htm

That's right, many popular receivers of yesteryear! I remember most of these models. The reason why is, our satellite system was 100% home-brewed, minus wiring and the descrambler. Being in the furniture business, my Dad dealt with A LOT of TVs, home theater systems, and our beloved satellite systems. Many customers (like doctors and lawyers) wanted to upgrade to the latest receiver and donated their left over junk to my Dad. We had an entire shed full of receivers. I kid you not. I wish I had pictures.

It was always cool to test out the latest receiver if my Dad were "testing" it for a customer before delivery or we were testing it because a customer complained that it started to act up.

* * *

The weirdest problem I ever saw was: a customer complained that their descrambler had dead pixels and a large black dot was stationary on the screen. My Dad thought, this I have to see to belive. We hauled the descrambler home and plugged it in... and sure enough, could you imagine a black dot following you through a whole basketball game?! Very annoying.

* * *

And yes, I am SO STUCK in the 80s. But I like it there.
:)

EDIT: I have the TV bug today. Bear with me.




When I was a kid, Satellite TV Week was my crack. (I remember many trips with my Dad to the Smith's on St. George Boulevard to get a copy before I finally sent away for our own subscription.) The satellite sky was so vast and enormous, I would be totally lost without the guide. By the end of the week, I had the whole guide memorized expect for the the actual listings. :) Yes, I read it THAT much. I would usually give my Dad an executive summary of what I had learned in the world of satellite when he got home from work. He had a few proud moments where he was impressed with my deep understanding of satellite. I couldn't help it, TV was in my veins. I like to call it "analog Internet." If it was happening in satellite, I was ALL OVER IT!

Good times indeed.

When I was featured on BitsduJour last August, I sold six copies of Knowledge Base for $39.00.

Gross: $234.00
Net: $140.22 (after BitsduJour and credit card processor commissions)

Yesterday:

I sold seven copies for $19.95.

Gross: $139.65
Net: $72.22 (after BitsduJour and credit card processor commissions)

Lesson learned:

Offering a deeper discount and hoping to make it up on volume doesn't always pan out. If I ever offer Knowledge Base or another product at a discount again, it won't be less than 50%.

* * *

However, I would recommend a one day deal to ANY developer who has a product with a broad enough appeal. If I could figure out a way to do one day deals and freelance writing every day, I would be set for sure!

Thanks for reading.
More soon.
- Brandon

Colleague: "I don't want you to take this the wrong way, but you need to be a little more selective about who is allowed to touch this machine."

There is no way I could ever get through a comment like that and keep a straight face.

Mark your calendars!

Knowledge Base will be featured on BitsduJour next Tuesday for $19.95! That's 76% off the regular price! The BitsduJour feature last August resulted in my best day yet. I'm hoping this feature will shatter the old record. :)

I will post the results of the one day sale here.
Stay tuned!
- Brandon

Customer: "If this works, I'm going to send you a big basket of flowers."

Me: "That would be amusing to show off to all these big burly technicians... I don't know, it might brighten up the department a little bit."

A few days ago, the garbage disposal locked up for the third time in our marriage. It is REALLY annoying. I was afraid I would have to un-mount it from the sink again, but even then I wasn't sure how to unjam the motor. (What if you have a "really good jam?" How do you fix it?)

I decided to Google it and found out there is a special 1/4" Alan Wrench I can use to loosen up the motor. I thought: "Great, after the home remodel, it is probably long gone." I decided that if I headed to the garage, maybe I can find one of my large Alan wrenches and hope for the best. As a rifled through my toolbox, I saw the tool I needed just sitting there starring back at me. Holy smokes!

I was amazed that I actually found something I was looking for. I took it back in the house and went to work. I was able to turn the motor about 10 times. It had a little bit of a fight to it. Finally, whatever it was freed itself automagically and I was able to freely turn the wrench with no problem. I tried it out and boo yeah! Fixed!

It's a minor victory in the joys of home ownership. At least I didn't have to tear the whole thing down.

Well, I am off to the next battle.
Stay tuned.

It will be a miracle if I can get our Verizon "pay as you go" phone to program. The phone has a number to call (for initial programming), BUT surprise!... the number doesn't work! Greaaat. So I call Customer Service... wow, I have never seen people run away so fast in my life. Apparently their only skill is transferring.

Thanks Verizon. I will never sign up for another contract and your "pay as you go" phone is a waste of money. Thanks for the great customer service.

I am officially retiring from one of the best jobs in Utah Valley any day now.

I'm a family man now and my family needs me.
This is exciting, even if I were to work a few hours of overtime a day at my so-called day job, I would still be home everyday way before 7:00. :)

I have been thinking about my nearly three years of service. I really have been a stable employee for being a part-timer. What skills will my successor need?

1. Flexible and easy-going attitude.
2. Somewhat OK customer service skills.
3. Computer skills.
4. Ability to cope with long periods of inactivity.
5. Seeing the humor in a prospective student calling you right back just to say he isn't "impressed" with the course offerings.
6. Somewhat dependable. The department will be your new home. Learn it, live it, love it.

I thought I would mention some more amusing moments:

1. In 2005, the high school specialist kept a wallpaper of shirtless guys in swimming shorts. One day I finally said: "Does that mean I can have girls in bikinis for my wallpaper?" She simply said, "Sure, go for it."

2. One colleague was amused by writing random things on the department calendar. This same girl was really stressed one day and blurted out: "What are these T.P.S. reports and why are they due by Monday!" I got a huge laugh out of that one.

3. A few years back, we only had an old school credit card machine to take credit card payments and we could only take Visa or Mastercard. One of the girls accidentally ran an American Express. Huge drama. :)

4. When I first started, I took a call from Eagle Mountain one night. The girl was having connection problems with her browser, so we dove into troubleshooting. She finally said: "Do you really work for Distance Ed. or are you just being nice?" That comment will live on long after I retire from here.

- Brandon

P.S. Maybe this post will help someone in need get a good part-time job just as one of my readers got the job for me. It's only fair. Thanks Shawn!

Bad news for home buyers.
I hope the crisis bottoms out soon.

 http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/11/news/companies/fannie_freddie_shares/index.htm?postversion=2008071108