Archive for ◊ January, 2007 ◊

Author: schester
• Sunday, January 28th, 2007

So I decided to cancel my Blockbuster Total Access service as I don’t feel that it provided me with a good incentive to switch from Netflix and I didn’t feel like paying for both.

During the cancellation process, there is a spot where they ask for your comments, so I typed the following:

  • You could receive movies within 1 day of me shipping them to you 50 miles away. You could ship movies same day as receiving them and I could receive the movies 2 days after I sent them, like it is with Netflix most of the time.
  • You could make it a WHOLE LOT easier to add HD-DVDs to your queue.
  • You could ship movies when I have fewer than 30 movies in my queue.
  • You could offer an incentive for me to switch from Netflix.
  • You could provide a way to transfer my queue and previous ratings from Netflix.
  • You could offer HD-DVDs in your stores.
  • You could make the envelopes universal instead of linking them to a movie.

Actually, I had one more on there, but I decided to keep that to myself.

However, when I went to submit it, I was told they couldn’t cancel my account because I had typed more than 255 characters! Couldn’t they have told me that before I typed away? Better yet, couldn’t they have limited the field size to 255 characters?

So, I resubmited it with telling them that I was ready to give them advice to improve their service, but that their website wouldn’t take it. Of course, this was too long too! I ended up leaving: “Hire a webmaster that has a clue!”

But, here’s the important part: I figured out how to save a few bucks. Once you get past that screen, they make you an offer for a cheaper plan!

Current Plan: you will receive up to 3 DVDs at one time, plus one E-coupon per month for a free in-store movie or game rental.* $17.99 plus applicable taxes will be charged to your payment card at the conclusion of your four week trial.

Subscription End Date: 01/29/2007
3 at a time 6 month Special for $15.99 per month – $15.99 for 6 month plus applicable taxes
1 at a time 3 Month Special for $8.99 per month – $8.99 for 3 month plus applicable taxes
2 at a time 3 Month Special for $12.99 per month – $12.99 for 3 month plus applicable taxes

So, if you want to save $2 a month for six months, just start to cancel your membership!

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Author: schester
• Sunday, January 07th, 2007

So here we are with a new year and a clean slate. OK, well maybe it isn’t quite that easy, but yeah… So far I’ve got a 100% attendance rate at Church, but I offer no guarantees as to how long that will last for. I have promised myself that I will try more this year… I’ll have to give Temecula a run for it’s money here shortly and see how it lives up.

I did the math yesterday on the potential cost savings of either moving to Murrieta or getting a more fuel efficient car. Getting a higher mpg would cut my costs by 1-2/3, or $100-200 a month. Moving would only save me about $50 – and even that is probably a stretch. Half of me says it would be good for me to save the money each month and that it would be better for the environment if I was to switch vehicles, but the other half of me says it is a small percentage of my expenses and that I really would be spending more in the end on a new car.

2006 ended up being a good year for the business. … Personally however, 2006 was pretty darn uneventful from what I can think of. I guess that could be a good thing, but I could use something different in my life.

I was supposed to be going to MacWorld this week. Alison wanted me to help her move some stuff to her new place in Monterey and I was thinking about going to see the new addition to the family in Sacramento – Samantha’s baby in addition to sliding in for the keynote, but I just don’t think I have the time to spend out of the office with 2006 still looming over my head. I need to do inventory and make end of the year adjustments as well as still properly account for the equipment lease and more.

I finally got my grades last week – and – I was able to squeak by with a C in Acct 301B! I hope the girls, Kortney and Ashley, were able to do as well. I also ordered books for next semester from Amazon yesterday, so hopefully I was able to save some money and will be able to get ready for the semester early.

I heard that Blockbuster had introduced a new Netflix style offering called Total Access and decided it was time to give them a try last week. I signed up Tuesday night after being mad that there was no mail for three days in a row and that Netflix was closed on Saturday as well. I was just plain out of movies! For the same price as Netflix, $17.99/month, you get the same thing Netflix offers, 3 movies out at a time, unlimited rentals, but you also get a coupon for one free movie or game rental in store each month. But there’s more – you can also return your movies to the store and exchange them for in store rentals instead of mailing them back. Now, you have to return the in store movies to the store still, but when you have nothing to watch, it sure as heck beats waiting for Netflix to get their act together. They still haven’t mailed back the movies which I sent back Tuesday (which they should have got Thursday after them actually going out Wednesday cause Tuesday was some weird holiday).

So far, it seems OK. They didn’t ship my movies Wednesday like I would have thought they should have, but they did get them to my Friday. Adding HD discs isn’t nearly as nice as it is at Netflix where you just add titles to your queue and it figures out the rest, but maybe they’ll get with the game eventually.

Now, i think that about wraps up the last bit of the year – let’s talk about 2007 now:

My first goal of the new year is to work on being a better person.

I would like to have some sort of personal life beyond CBC.

I would like to get and stay in a bit of better shape than I am currently in. I need to get out and exercise more and I could start by walking to lunch instead of driving. I could also take healthy food to work with me instead of eating out everyday.

I need to continue to find places to cut back on my spending.

I will graduate from college! With only one semester left, this shouldn’t bee too hard to accomplish, but I know it can get hard and frustrating sometimes, so I will try and hold tight to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Eternal Father, I thank you for sending your Son to die for me. I thank you for understanding and looking after us. Please be with me this year, guide me in all that I do to help me make the right decisions while keeping me on the straight and narrow path. Please help me to be more Christ-like to others and to be more sociable. Please continue to help me in growing the business, but now let us start to fine tune while we are growing so that we can become a highly efficient operation. Father, please continue to bless my mom and keep her comforted. It would be great for her to be around for me to start a family of my own. Father, please use me to do your will here. Let me use my disciple training I received in Rexburg, Idaho here in Southern California. Father, please help me to keep in touch with the friends I made while in idaho and hopefully someday I can return the love they have given me. Thank you for all the people that have been instrumental in my life, from the people of my current ward to those in Idaho and most especially those that got me on the path to Idaho and where I am today. For that, I am forever indebted. Seeing as how today is Fast Sunday, I bear my testimony that through reading the Book of Mormon and council with You, I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true Church, restored in these latter days and that a prophet of God lives with us here today. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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Author: schester
• Friday, January 05th, 2007

Thank the Lord – I just hope everyone else in my Acct 301b class was able to squeak by too!

Fall 2006--------------------------------------------------------------(Senior)
DEPT/NO   COURSE TITLE              UNITS GRD/PRV GRD PT  FOOTNOTE  S# SIZE/GPA
ACCT-301B Intermediate Accounting    3.00  C        6.00
ACCT-302  Cost Accounting            3.00  A       12.00
ACCT-308  Concepts Fed Income Tax    3.00  B        9.00
ECON-335  Internat Economy (WEB)     3.00  B        9.00
MKTG-351  Principles Of Marketing    3.00  B        9.00
Academic Status Not Yet Determined
Enrollment  Dates:   August 19, 2006 to January 2, 2007
ENROLD    EARNED    GPA UN    GRD PT    GPA    GRD PT BAL
Term         15.00     15.00     15.00     45.00    3.00       15.0
CSUF         69.00     69.00     69.00    229.20    3.32       91.2
Cumulative  150.00    150.00    170.00    585.20    3.44      245.2
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