Saturday, August 30, 2008
Maximum Performance 'pure' oxygen
This is the worst new commercial I’ve seen in a while. A man and woman are running; the film is black and white. He stops, tired, saying he can’t go on. Suddenly, there’ colour, and she is handing him “maximum performance”. He takes a hit from the can at which point she tells him that it is pure 92% oxygen.
Has anyone ever heard of 92% oxygen? If it exists, this stuff is it in pure form. If not, I’m not quite sure how they can get away with putting the word ‘pure’ before ‘92%’.
I asked my personal trainer about taking pure oxygen, and he said that I’m fit enough and don’t need it. Although I suspect that on my low energy days, it could help.
But! Don’t buy this stuff. At $19.95 for “up to” 30 applications, it is very poor value. Especially when they recommend that you take 2 or 3 breaths, which makes the can have 10 to 15 applications. The web has several better values. Like this one: http://www.oxygeninacan.com/, which is a mere 90% oxygen, contains 70 breaths for $15 (and they give smallish volume discounts), but they recommend 4-6 breaths (12-17 applications). Or this one: http://www.oxygen4energy.com/order_oxygen.htm. This claims 99% purity but recommends 10-15 breaths! This would yield 9.5-14 applications. But this one is easily the cheapest, at $8.75 per refill can if you buy 12.
I confess I had not understood how some oxygen is more potent than other oxygen (!), so I asked. 10-15 breaths are how many it would take to infuse your bloodstream. Anything less may be beneficial based upon your level of fitness and exertion. But the 2-3 recommended by Maximum Performance is likely to be bait to get you to buy it, and unlikely to be enough.
Some of that previous paragraph came from Craig, at oxygen4energy.com. If you have any questions, you’ll find him very friendly and helpful. I hope the guy succeeds, whether I buy his product or not. If he used the same level of ‘honesty’ on his website that Maximum Performance use in theirs, his product would seem to yield between 47.5 and 70 applications per can. If you’re going to buy, buy from the person who is most honest, not from the one making the grandest claims.
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Has anyone ever heard of 92% oxygen? If it exists, this stuff is it in pure form. If not, I’m not quite sure how they can get away with putting the word ‘pure’ before ‘92%’.
I asked my personal trainer about taking pure oxygen, and he said that I’m fit enough and don’t need it. Although I suspect that on my low energy days, it could help.
But! Don’t buy this stuff. At $19.95 for “up to” 30 applications, it is very poor value. Especially when they recommend that you take 2 or 3 breaths, which makes the can have 10 to 15 applications. The web has several better values. Like this one: http://www.oxygeninacan.com/, which is a mere 90% oxygen, contains 70 breaths for $15 (and they give smallish volume discounts), but they recommend 4-6 breaths (12-17 applications). Or this one: http://www.oxygen4energy.com/order_oxygen.htm. This claims 99% purity but recommends 10-15 breaths! This would yield 9.5-14 applications. But this one is easily the cheapest, at $8.75 per refill can if you buy 12.
I confess I had not understood how some oxygen is more potent than other oxygen (!), so I asked. 10-15 breaths are how many it would take to infuse your bloodstream. Anything less may be beneficial based upon your level of fitness and exertion. But the 2-3 recommended by Maximum Performance is likely to be bait to get you to buy it, and unlikely to be enough.
Some of that previous paragraph came from Craig, at oxygen4energy.com. If you have any questions, you’ll find him very friendly and helpful. I hope the guy succeeds, whether I buy his product or not. If he used the same level of ‘honesty’ on his website that Maximum Performance use in theirs, his product would seem to yield between 47.5 and 70 applications per can. If you’re going to buy, buy from the person who is most honest, not from the one making the grandest claims.
Friday, August 29, 2008
A day at Long Beach and the gulls strut their stuff
I had mentioned to someone that I never get to the beach, and she recommended that I should go to Long Beach, Long Island. She goes alone. So I decided that rather than another day at Union Square, I would take myself off there last Sunday.
As I was going alone, I decided to take no valuables at all and also not take a credit card. But at Flushing LIRR Station, the machines only take cards, and I couldn’t try to find the ticket office, given that the train was about to leave. So I bought my ticket on the train. It was $19 and the beach pass was another 10, as opposed to the complete package if I’d had some plastic with me, costing $18. Lesson learned!
The day was beautiful and I was surprised that the beach wasn’t crowded. People constantly left their stuff unattended, and the only thing I saw taken was a tied up plastic shopping bag, which apparently had leftover lunch in it. The thieves were gulls, which made for an amusing diversion. There had been a lot of them the entire time I was there, and I had been surprised that they had avoided walking on towels.
That changed half an hour before I left. First one bird that had been getting close to unattended belongings but not looking in open bags, discovered something that really interested it and started pulling it this way and that. Several birds swooped down, barely missing him or her. He (for sake of my telling) saw them off non-violently and resumed. This happened a few times until a little grey gull upped the ante and more aggressively made the bag his.
Several attempts were made to usurp him, and each time he came closer to meting out actual bodily harm before the upstarts left. And then my attention was switched to the excitement caused by a woman throwing food and causing aerial pandemonium. With her action, the violence became real, although no blood was drawn. As the excitement there waned, I looked back at my original focal point. There was garbage strewn over several square yards with several gulls strutting and happily pecking.
I left shortly after that, as I wanted to be on the 6 o’clock train back to Brooklyn. Definitely heading back this weekend, and I will most definitely go several times next year. Take food and drink, a book if you are so inclined, an iPod if you are more brave than me, and enjoy.
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As I was going alone, I decided to take no valuables at all and also not take a credit card. But at Flushing LIRR Station, the machines only take cards, and I couldn’t try to find the ticket office, given that the train was about to leave. So I bought my ticket on the train. It was $19 and the beach pass was another 10, as opposed to the complete package if I’d had some plastic with me, costing $18. Lesson learned!
The day was beautiful and I was surprised that the beach wasn’t crowded. People constantly left their stuff unattended, and the only thing I saw taken was a tied up plastic shopping bag, which apparently had leftover lunch in it. The thieves were gulls, which made for an amusing diversion. There had been a lot of them the entire time I was there, and I had been surprised that they had avoided walking on towels.
That changed half an hour before I left. First one bird that had been getting close to unattended belongings but not looking in open bags, discovered something that really interested it and started pulling it this way and that. Several birds swooped down, barely missing him or her. He (for sake of my telling) saw them off non-violently and resumed. This happened a few times until a little grey gull upped the ante and more aggressively made the bag his.
Several attempts were made to usurp him, and each time he came closer to meting out actual bodily harm before the upstarts left. And then my attention was switched to the excitement caused by a woman throwing food and causing aerial pandemonium. With her action, the violence became real, although no blood was drawn. As the excitement there waned, I looked back at my original focal point. There was garbage strewn over several square yards with several gulls strutting and happily pecking.
I left shortly after that, as I wanted to be on the 6 o’clock train back to Brooklyn. Definitely heading back this weekend, and I will most definitely go several times next year. Take food and drink, a book if you are so inclined, an iPod if you are more brave than me, and enjoy.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
86th street in Bay Ridge – the eternal digging continues
3 weeks ago, my daughter asked me what all the digging was on my block and when it was going to end. I told her that I think it is to do with water and they will continue digging until the end of time.
It has been over 5 months since they started. Shortly after my last offering on this subject, they redug the original very deep holes from the beginning of March. I barely saw them for a while after that, but did hear them sometimes after dark – except when it rained or was hot. Slightly wry there, I hope you’ll understand, seeing as it was a warmer than average July.
The block between 4th and 5th has now been reclaimed for cars and the deep hole on that side of the intersection was filled in. But now whenever it rains, nothing drains away. A couple of weeks ago, they closed off 2 lanes of the block between 2nd and 3rd. My block? On Tuesday, they dug another new trench. 5 ½ months and no sight of an ending. It’s beginning to really piss me off.
It has been over 5 months since they started. Shortly after my last offering on this subject, they redug the original very deep holes from the beginning of March. I barely saw them for a while after that, but did hear them sometimes after dark – except when it rained or was hot. Slightly wry there, I hope you’ll understand, seeing as it was a warmer than average July.
The block between 4th and 5th has now been reclaimed for cars and the deep hole on that side of the intersection was filled in. But now whenever it rains, nothing drains away. A couple of weeks ago, they closed off 2 lanes of the block between 2nd and 3rd. My block? On Tuesday, they dug another new trench. 5 ½ months and no sight of an ending. It’s beginning to really piss me off.
More reflections: 52nd Street & 6th Ave, NYC
I liked the first picture because of all of the vehicles, parked and reflected and the people walking by with their umbrellas up. I felt that the cab turning onto 52nd completed the shot.
The larger reflected building in the second picture would be the one I work in and took these pictures from. What caught my eye was that it looked so warped.
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The larger reflected building in the second picture would be the one I work in and took these pictures from. What caught my eye was that it looked so warped.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
An evening in the East River Park Amphitheater/Ain’t supposed to die a natural death
Yesterday was one of those perfect weather days in New York that there are few enough of that they should really be savoured: Not too hot but very warm in the sun, very low humidity and clear skies. I have been very lucky with these evenings this year, having gone to the Symphony in The Park a month ago on a perfect evening.
Last night, I went with Carrie to see the Melvin Van Peebles musical ‘Ain’t supposed to die a natural death’, which was set in the very violent 1980s. The production was magnificent. Brilliantly staged and acted, with some wonderful voices and dancing. And having never heard any of the songs before, they were all fresh and highly enjoyable and each told their stories at first with some humour, then with poignancy as the story became more serious.
The production is now moving to St. Mary’s Park in The Bronx and I urge anyone reading this before August 15th/16th to treat themselves. Or if you hear of it being revived and coming your way, go. It is a very fresh telling of a very 70s to 80s reality.
The setting at the Amphitheater (Sic.) in the East River Park was so very beautiful, particularly after dusk. There was a constant flow of pleasure cruisers and water taxis, and I even saw a little yacht. At one point, a small flock of white birds flew low against the river, and several times, butterflies we framed in the spotlights. Couple that with the wonderful costumes and some moments where all but the one or two principals in a scene were motionless on stage, and I wish I could have taken a picture. But flash photography at night would not have been a good thing. What a perfect setting though. I know I will go back for the right event, and I would certainly suggest to others that they will find few better ways of spending a beautiful New York evening.
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Last night, I went with Carrie to see the Melvin Van Peebles musical ‘Ain’t supposed to die a natural death’, which was set in the very violent 1980s. The production was magnificent. Brilliantly staged and acted, with some wonderful voices and dancing. And having never heard any of the songs before, they were all fresh and highly enjoyable and each told their stories at first with some humour, then with poignancy as the story became more serious.
The production is now moving to St. Mary’s Park in The Bronx and I urge anyone reading this before August 15th/16th to treat themselves. Or if you hear of it being revived and coming your way, go. It is a very fresh telling of a very 70s to 80s reality.
The setting at the Amphitheater (Sic.) in the East River Park was so very beautiful, particularly after dusk. There was a constant flow of pleasure cruisers and water taxis, and I even saw a little yacht. At one point, a small flock of white birds flew low against the river, and several times, butterflies we framed in the spotlights. Couple that with the wonderful costumes and some moments where all but the one or two principals in a scene were motionless on stage, and I wish I could have taken a picture. But flash photography at night would not have been a good thing. What a perfect setting though. I know I will go back for the right event, and I would certainly suggest to others that they will find few better ways of spending a beautiful New York evening.
Friday, August 08, 2008
Round trip Subway ride – bad luck and nasty MTA
The first four days of this week, I arrived on the platform at 86th Street within a minute of a train leaving, so I had to wait several minutes for the next one. On one of those days, as also happened once last week, as my train pulled in to 36th Street, the D train I want had barely started pulling away from the platform.
This morning, I was a little later, and as I reached the turnstiles, a train was pulling in. Was I lucky today? No! My monthly pass had run out, so I needed to buy a new one. Americans have their name for such luck, but the British call it Sod’s Law. And that was a perfect example.
On my way home, I took the N train. At Pacific Street, we sat for at least two minutes. An M train pulled in and it was almost at a halt, the doors to the N train closed. The train started moving as the doors to the other opened. Hardly rare, but why have us wait for 2 minutes and pull away then? I know they claim it is necessary to do such things during the rush hour, but anyone who has travelled much on the New York Subway will be all too aware that they do the same thing away from the rush hour also. I think it is part incompetence and part insensitivity/nastiness. I really don’t like the MTA.
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This morning, I was a little later, and as I reached the turnstiles, a train was pulling in. Was I lucky today? No! My monthly pass had run out, so I needed to buy a new one. Americans have their name for such luck, but the British call it Sod’s Law. And that was a perfect example.
On my way home, I took the N train. At Pacific Street, we sat for at least two minutes. An M train pulled in and it was almost at a halt, the doors to the N train closed. The train started moving as the doors to the other opened. Hardly rare, but why have us wait for 2 minutes and pull away then? I know they claim it is necessary to do such things during the rush hour, but anyone who has travelled much on the New York Subway will be all too aware that they do the same thing away from the rush hour also. I think it is part incompetence and part insensitivity/nastiness. I really don’t like the MTA.
Rockefeller Center Post Office – redefining futility
By today’s standards, the Post Office in the basement of the Rockefeller Center is large. And considering how many people work in the area, it should come as no surprise that it is usually busy in there. When I went in yesterday at about quarter to two, just at the tail end of lunchtime, there was a fairly lengthy line, though certainly not the longest I have seen. Five tellers were behind the counter, of whom, I would discover, only three were serving customers – all, very, very slowly.
Unfortunately, the man in front of me was muttering every 20 seconds comments such as “oh, come on!” and “so slow!” He let up when I said “Please! You’re not making them go any faster!”
While the number of active tellers rose briefly to 5, the line moved somewhat quicker. It took barely more than 5 minutes for me to go from 17th in line to 5th, then another 10 minutes from there. I was aware all of this time of one woman who could put out DVDs on how not to work. This woman is near genius level. Only near, because if she was true genius, I wouldn’t have tumbled her.
I watched this woman putting labels on envelopes with extreme deliberation. She moved things from the right to the left side below her counter, then moved things from right to left, then attached more labels, looked thoughtful, attached yet more labels and further re-arranged things. All the while, she was initiating conversations with the woman a the station next to her. Oh the laughs they had!
When she finally took a customer, she continued her conversation and managed to take several minutes processing a single package. And then another couple to recount money and move some more things.
When I was close to the front of the queue, a woman was walking around asking people if they were aware of the new hours at that office, and handing out glossy leaflets for those who couldn’t remember that it will now close at 5pm without a piece of paper. My thoughts, having witnessed the work ‘ethic’, was that it must be incredibly exhausting avoiding work so effectively, and by 5pm they presumably are too tired to continue.
More seriously, if Post Office tellers were paid by the number of customers they see, my time in that place would have been 5 minutes instead of 40. What a total disgrace.
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Unfortunately, the man in front of me was muttering every 20 seconds comments such as “oh, come on!” and “so slow!” He let up when I said “Please! You’re not making them go any faster!”
While the number of active tellers rose briefly to 5, the line moved somewhat quicker. It took barely more than 5 minutes for me to go from 17th in line to 5th, then another 10 minutes from there. I was aware all of this time of one woman who could put out DVDs on how not to work. This woman is near genius level. Only near, because if she was true genius, I wouldn’t have tumbled her.
I watched this woman putting labels on envelopes with extreme deliberation. She moved things from the right to the left side below her counter, then moved things from right to left, then attached more labels, looked thoughtful, attached yet more labels and further re-arranged things. All the while, she was initiating conversations with the woman a the station next to her. Oh the laughs they had!
When she finally took a customer, she continued her conversation and managed to take several minutes processing a single package. And then another couple to recount money and move some more things.
When I was close to the front of the queue, a woman was walking around asking people if they were aware of the new hours at that office, and handing out glossy leaflets for those who couldn’t remember that it will now close at 5pm without a piece of paper. My thoughts, having witnessed the work ‘ethic’, was that it must be incredibly exhausting avoiding work so effectively, and by 5pm they presumably are too tired to continue.
More seriously, if Post Office tellers were paid by the number of customers they see, my time in that place would have been 5 minutes instead of 40. What a total disgrace.
Saturday, August 02, 2008
I hate UPS
Can anyone please explain to me why this company is so big and why they have so many shipping contracts with major companies? They are unreliable, they lie about attempted deliveries and what they call Customer Service surely falls foul of the British Trade Descriptions Act, which unfortunately has no American parallel. People answer the phone and talk, but what percentage of calls ever end with the customer getting what they wanted? I really hate dealing with them. And after yesterday, I hate them even more.
Hannah, my daughter, is going on a trip to England on Monday. She asked me to order a camera for her, as I have Amazon Prime and get free 2-day shipping. I shall be emailing Amazon about their choice of shipping company, but that’s off the point.
Her camera was due to arrive on Friday and she stayed home most of the day. At 6:40pm, 20 minutes before the end of the official UPS work day, I called customer service to try to find out the status. I was supposed to meet both of my kids for dinner and the non-delivery of the package was ruining our plans. I had no doubts as to what I would be told but hadn’t anticipated speaking with a representative who wouldn’t have a job if they recorded calls.
“The last time a package hadn’t come by this time, no attempt was ever made, and the next day the website showed that there was an attempted delivery at 7:35, but that was a lie.”
“That was then and this is now.”
“Can you please try to find out whether there is a chance of this being delivered today?”
“It will be delivered today.”
“Well I absolutely don’t believe that and have good reason not to.”
“That was then and this is now, sir. It will be delivered before 7 o’clock.”
“It will be delivered in the next 13 minutes?”
“Yes, sir, it will.”
“And if it isn’t, can I get it delivered tomorrow?”
“It will be delivered today, sir.”
His tone was mocking.
“Can I speak with a supervisor, because you can’t help me.”
“There’s nothing a supervisor can do. Your package will be delivered.”
At which point, I started telling him again why I wasn’t so confident, and he started whistling! Sounds funny in the telling, but this arsehole is supposed to be providing customer service.
Naturally, I got angry with his attitude and he repeated his one line. So I asked if he would put me through to a supervisor again and at first he repeated his answer to that earlier question.
“So you’re not going to put me through to a supervisor then!”
“Oh, I’ll put you through.”
And he transferred me to a Spanish language phone queue which took 10 minutes to pick up, as opposed to a few seconds for the English language number – seems like a possible discrimination court case there if that is usual. I decided to wait, just to prove a point.
When the phone was finally answered, in Spanish, I told the woman, who fortunately spoke perfect English, what had transpired in my previous conversation and asked if there was any way for her to tell who has ‘helped’ a customer track a package. No, there is no way of doing that. Can a delivery be made on Saturday? Not for 2-day delivery. Not even if UPS don’t deliver when they are supposed to? An emergency message could be sent through then and someone would call me by 10am Saturday. But! The driver must attempt delivery according to the rules, so there is no official end time for them. A delivery could be made after 8pm and she can do nothing for me until the driver returns to the depot with an undelivered package.
So Hannah came out to dinner, leaving her boyfriend waiting until after 8:30 for UPS, who of course never showed up. When I got home and waited for her confirmation that there was no attempted delivery notice, I checked online and was surprised that there was was nothing in the system saying that an attempt had been made, and I made the call to get the delivery re-scheduled.
This guy told me that a 2-day package cannot be delivered on Saturday, even if UPS screwed up. I asked if the package could be picked up and he said that the depot would be closed all weekend. This was actually a change from his initial story and I didn’t believe him. I asked him to send a message to the depot that the delivery on Monday must be made before 2pm, as my daughter will be leaving then. He put me on hold and came back saying he’d sent a message. When I asked him if he put the reason why it must be delivered by that time on the message, he insisted that the reason was not necessary. I disagreed, but as the customer is always wrong, he refused to send another message, insisting it would accomplish nothing, and told me someone would call me by 10am Monday.
I already know that when they call me, they will say that the package is already out on the truck and there’s nothing that can be done to change the route – it will get there when it gets there.
Hannah actually called them up today and was told that until an attempted delivery is made, a package cannot be picked up from the depot – even if delivery was supposed to have been made.
Exactly how bad is this company! I think they used to be better, but now they have rules for everything and none of them favour their customers. I can only hope that they get what they deserve and start losing major contracts. It is one company I would be happy to see go under, as that is the fate they deserve.
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Hannah, my daughter, is going on a trip to England on Monday. She asked me to order a camera for her, as I have Amazon Prime and get free 2-day shipping. I shall be emailing Amazon about their choice of shipping company, but that’s off the point.
Her camera was due to arrive on Friday and she stayed home most of the day. At 6:40pm, 20 minutes before the end of the official UPS work day, I called customer service to try to find out the status. I was supposed to meet both of my kids for dinner and the non-delivery of the package was ruining our plans. I had no doubts as to what I would be told but hadn’t anticipated speaking with a representative who wouldn’t have a job if they recorded calls.
“The last time a package hadn’t come by this time, no attempt was ever made, and the next day the website showed that there was an attempted delivery at 7:35, but that was a lie.”
“That was then and this is now.”
“Can you please try to find out whether there is a chance of this being delivered today?”
“It will be delivered today.”
“Well I absolutely don’t believe that and have good reason not to.”
“That was then and this is now, sir. It will be delivered before 7 o’clock.”
“It will be delivered in the next 13 minutes?”
“Yes, sir, it will.”
“And if it isn’t, can I get it delivered tomorrow?”
“It will be delivered today, sir.”
His tone was mocking.
“Can I speak with a supervisor, because you can’t help me.”
“There’s nothing a supervisor can do. Your package will be delivered.”
At which point, I started telling him again why I wasn’t so confident, and he started whistling! Sounds funny in the telling, but this arsehole is supposed to be providing customer service.
Naturally, I got angry with his attitude and he repeated his one line. So I asked if he would put me through to a supervisor again and at first he repeated his answer to that earlier question.
“So you’re not going to put me through to a supervisor then!”
“Oh, I’ll put you through.”
And he transferred me to a Spanish language phone queue which took 10 minutes to pick up, as opposed to a few seconds for the English language number – seems like a possible discrimination court case there if that is usual. I decided to wait, just to prove a point.
When the phone was finally answered, in Spanish, I told the woman, who fortunately spoke perfect English, what had transpired in my previous conversation and asked if there was any way for her to tell who has ‘helped’ a customer track a package. No, there is no way of doing that. Can a delivery be made on Saturday? Not for 2-day delivery. Not even if UPS don’t deliver when they are supposed to? An emergency message could be sent through then and someone would call me by 10am Saturday. But! The driver must attempt delivery according to the rules, so there is no official end time for them. A delivery could be made after 8pm and she can do nothing for me until the driver returns to the depot with an undelivered package.
So Hannah came out to dinner, leaving her boyfriend waiting until after 8:30 for UPS, who of course never showed up. When I got home and waited for her confirmation that there was no attempted delivery notice, I checked online and was surprised that there was was nothing in the system saying that an attempt had been made, and I made the call to get the delivery re-scheduled.
This guy told me that a 2-day package cannot be delivered on Saturday, even if UPS screwed up. I asked if the package could be picked up and he said that the depot would be closed all weekend. This was actually a change from his initial story and I didn’t believe him. I asked him to send a message to the depot that the delivery on Monday must be made before 2pm, as my daughter will be leaving then. He put me on hold and came back saying he’d sent a message. When I asked him if he put the reason why it must be delivered by that time on the message, he insisted that the reason was not necessary. I disagreed, but as the customer is always wrong, he refused to send another message, insisting it would accomplish nothing, and told me someone would call me by 10am Monday.
I already know that when they call me, they will say that the package is already out on the truck and there’s nothing that can be done to change the route – it will get there when it gets there.
Hannah actually called them up today and was told that until an attempted delivery is made, a package cannot be picked up from the depot – even if delivery was supposed to have been made.
Exactly how bad is this company! I think they used to be better, but now they have rules for everything and none of them favour their customers. I can only hope that they get what they deserve and start losing major contracts. It is one company I would be happy to see go under, as that is the fate they deserve.
