Kristy's Blog

I am so sick of people calling up the toll free number on my creditinfocenter.com site and asking me idiot questions! It clearly states we don’t give out free advice on the phone. But people argue with me about that.

Typical conversation:

Them: “I’m looking at your website right now and I have a question – how do I fix my credit?”
Me: “Are you interested in our counseling service?”
Them: “I just have a quick question?”
Me: “We don’t give out free advice on the phone, I’m sorry”
Them: “You don’t?”
Me: “No, I’m sorry. Have you read the free information on the website?”
Them: “Which website is that?”
Me: “Creditinfocenter.com. Where did you get our number?”
Them: “On the internet. Which website am I on?”
Me: “Creditinfocenter.com”
Them: “I just had a question about the Statute of Limitations”
Me: “We can’t give out free information on the phone – are you interested in our counseling service?”
Them: “How much is it?”
Me: <gives price>
Them: “Oh well – I just had a quick question about the statute of limitations in California. You see I had a credit card about 3 years ago and….”
Me: “I’m sorry, we can’t answer questions for free on the phone.”
Them: “You can’t?”
Me: “No, I’m sorry. You can read all of the information on the website for free, you can go to our discussion boards and ask your question there for free.”
Them: “Which website is that?”
Me: “Creditinfocenter.com”.
Them: “How do I find it, your discussion forums where I can ask a question?”
Me: “Click on the ‘Forums’ button on the website, and it will take you right there.”
Them & Me: <5 minute conversation on exactly where on the CIC website to click to get to the forums>
Them: “Will I be able to get my question answered? You see, I had a credit card about 3 years ago and now a collection agency is going after me. Do you think they will be able to sue me?”
Me: “I’m sorry, we can’t answer questions for free over the phone.”
Them: “You can’t?”
Me: “No, I’m sorry. Why don’t you try reading the information on the website and then asking your question, if you still have one after reading the information, on the forums.”
Them “Which website is that?”……………….

👿

If you don’t know about twitter – it’s time to start! Twitter is mostly a mini-blog, allowing you to make posts of 140 character or less. (See the About page of this blog). Now there are even more ways to enjoy it! Many of the posts on this blog are made through Twitter. I quote my friends constantly or just do brain downloads right when I think about something. Who cares what I think? I guess you do, if you’re reading this page. 😛

Some of cooler Twitter tools are contained in the following article. The best is the one which will allow you to post pictures. Yeah!

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=770

Happy Tweeting! Oh yeah, if you would like to follow me on Twitter, my id is (guess what!) techartist.

I am excited! I may actually willingly purchase an American made and engineered car. I’ve purchased a Mazda made in Detroit and a Mercedes made in Alabama, but they were not American engineered.

From Edmunds:

The Chevrolet Volt is projected to be released in November 2010 as the vehicle’s innovative gas-electric powertrain is being test-driven for the first time on public roads and is hitting its target of 40 miles on pure electric power.

“Today is a big day,” GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told Edmunds’ AutoObserver in an exclusive interview Tuesday. “Today is the first day it is running on the street on battery power.”

Lutz said the Volt’s powertrain, comprised of an advanced lithium-ion battery and a small gasoline engine, was installed into a mule vehicle and is being driven on public roads around the automaker’s proving grounds in Milford, Michigan. More important, Lutz said, the battery is hitting GM’s goal of 40 miles on pure electric power.

“It is reliably meeting its objectives,” Lutz confirmed. “Even with a rough calibration, even with the wrong drive unit, the wrong body, etc. etc., it has been hitting its 40 miles on electric power.”

Learn more about the Volt.

Yes, an actual quote from Bill Gates, at the “All Things Digital” conference, when questioned about the Yahoo/Microsoft ill-fated romance. The conversation has widely been reported all over the web, and even got a mention in my favorite gossip rag, the Wall Street Journal.

http://d6.allthingsd.com/20080528/monopolies/

[Microsoft CEO Steve] Ballmer: To accelerate scale it made sense for us to consider a Yahoo acquisition. The truth of the matter is, if nobody else gets scale except the current leader, what happens? … Some day all the ads for The Wall Street Journal Online might be sold by one guy and he’ll tell you exactly how much your editorial is worth.

Kara: Yeah, like a monopoly. Interesting.

Walt: That’s a great point. That’s exactly the sort of argument that was made against Microsoft.

Ballmer: Am I saying there’s something wrong? I’m just saying we are guys who will compete. That’s all I’m saying.

Gates: Guys like us avoid monopolies. We like to compete.

Don’t I keep telling you I’m a geek?

Yes, I’m a geek!

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/main/index.html

Who hates Microsoft Vista!? Raise Your Hand! This is the s…l…o…w…e…s…t software (along with the most confusing) I’ve ever encountered!

Other annoying software programs? Try these:

Techrepublic’s Top 10 List of Annoying Software on The Internet