I've been checking Acer's website often, looking for any update on my laptop repair. It just constantly says "Under Repair".

Well, after waiting weeks and hearing nothing back from Acer, I called them...

Oh, apparently they faxed me a quote the day after they got the laptop :-(

I don't remember any fax...

I checked my faxserver logs:

Dec 14 20:51:59 localhost FaxGetty[2802]: STATE CHANGE: RUNNING -> LISTENING
Dec 14 20:51:59 localhost FaxGetty[2802]: STATE CHANGE: LISTENING -> ANSWERING
Dec 14 20:52:05 localhost FaxGetty[2802]: ANSWER: FAX CONNECTION  DEVICE '/dev/ttyS1'
Dec 14 20:52:23 localhost FaxGetty[23714]: RECV FAX (000002195): recvq/fax000002099.tif from Fax Server, route to <unspecified>, 0 pages in 0:18
Dec 14 20:52:25 localhost FaxGetty[2802]: RECV FAX (000002195): session with Fax Server terminated abnormally: T.30 T2 timeout, expected page not received
Dec 14 20:52:25 localhost FaxGetty[2802]: RECV FAX: bin/faxrcvd "recvq/fax000002099.tif" "ttyS1" "000002195" "T.30 T2 timeout, expected page not received" "" ""
Dec 14 20:52:35 localhost FaxGetty[2802]: MODEM ROCKWELL RC288DPi/V2.200-K56_DLS
Dec 14 20:52:35 localhost FaxGetty[2802]: STATE CHANGE: RECEIVING -> RUNNING (timeout 30)

etc. I got them to re-send, and the same thing... You'd think they could check their fax system some time (I know that I have no problems on my end) or maybe make their status website say something useful like "awaiting go-ahead from client" instead of "Under Repair"...

And how about phoning me and saying, "did you receive our fax?". They had a very good system for SMSing me when they got my laptop, so surely they can keep up the good work on contact?

So I called back again, and after having my brain curdled by some incredibly bad hold-music, I tried to get my past contact, Dave Malherbe. He is away in the Dubai (good for him)... I spoke to his manager, Deon, and he said that I have to wait until he can get Dave to approve the quote. Lovely!

"Do you need cash in a hurry?"

At 15:14. I got another phone call from Plantinum. The first thing that I got from the woman was a contact number: 086 711 1660

I asked to speak to her boss, but she said he was out. Funny that. When I asked to leave a message, I was hung up on.

The phone call didn't last for very long... :-(

Here's a screenshot from the LG Chocolate website:

Anyone detect a Freudian slip?

Well, I got home this morning to find a courier waiting outside my door to collect my laptop.

So, it's all packed off to Acer. Lets hope I see it again, preferably in working condition :-)

I've been doing some themeing work on Clug Park, and it's pretty much ready to go now. It could still do with some theming work, and probably some more blogs (I bet there are other blogging CLUGgers out there).

It seems that PlanetPlanet might switch to an entirely re-written version of it's software. That shouldn't be a problem, I think the themes are still compatible.

We've hacked our planet to always display 2 entries from every member. If we switch, the hack will have to be ported. Which isn't a bad thing, I don't want to pass the patch upstream if planetplanet is about to switch to another trunk, anyway :-)

After reading the slashdotted google hacked sites fiasco, I (and by the look of it, the rest of the Internet) decided to check out Google Webmaster tools.

Verifying all my sites was a pain (the verification server probably got slashdotted, and when it was working, it wasn't resolving DNS properly), and took about a week. But now that that's over, it gives me some useful info. It really helps, to get a view of your site, as google sees it.

Most of the use for me, is the Preferred Domain tool (i.e. make google prefer www.yoursite.com over yoursite.com), and the Site Content tool.

I'll look into sitemaps another time :-)

OMFG, I just received a bounce from an e-mail I sent 6 months ago.

The mail was written to postmasters, complaining about their MTA's not understanding 45x codes. Sounds like that is just the beginning of their problems...

/me wonders if that "lost connection" was 6 months ago, or ran for 6 months before it got lost...

This is the Postfix program at host gs-smta-01.broadbandscope.net.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be be delivered to one or more recipients. It's attached below.

For further assistance, please send mail to <postmaster>

If you do so, please include this problem report. You can delete your own text from the attached returned message.

<postmaster@mail.sfd.co.uk>: lost connection with mail.sfd.co.uk[81.140.0.66] while sending message body

From: Stefano Rivera <XXXXX@rivera.za.net>
Subject: Misconfigured mailservers (greylist incompatible)
To: postmaster@sfd.co.uk, postmaster@mail.sfd.co.uk, postmaster@broadbandscope.net
Date: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 15:47:17 +0200
User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.9i

Sorry, but you guys have no technical contact listed anywhere, so I just mailed all the relevant postmasters.

Your outgoing mail servers don't seem to retry mail when they get temporary errors (45x series). The problem servers for me were gs-mta-04.broadbandscope.net [81.140.160.226] and gs-mta-03.broadbandscope.net [81.140.160.225].

There seems to be a shortage of single core AMD Athlon 64 processors at the moment. All the suppliers blame it on AMD-ATI merger....

I finally found one at Sahara, and so signed up with them. (Yes, I know they have a bad reputation with returns, but all the suppliers have those). The message from my sales consultant contained 11 disclaimers. You'd think one would suffice, or maybe even zero (my personal favourite), but no, 11... I really enjoy the variations in formatting :-)

Enjoy your day.

Any enquiries contact me

XXX YYYY

Sales Consultant

XXXX@cpt.sahara.co.za

021 551 5595 /Ext. XXX

Fax: 0866077368

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

PLEASE NOTE

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. Please note that any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Sahara Distribution (Pty) Ltd. Finally, while Sahara Distribution attempts to ensure that all email is virus-free, Sahara Distribution accepts no liability for any damage caused by any virus transmitted by this email.

Sahara Distribution (PTY) Ltd Private Bag X180, Halfway House, 1685, South Africa

Scanned and protected by MailScanner @ mail.cpt.sahara.co.za

Somehow the electrician thought that putting the halogen transformer under the insulation would be a very good idea, that way it would stay warm, very warm.

Silly git.

I've heard back from my contact at Vodacom. (cough smitty cough):

I have looked at this clients complained and have established the following: We have in the passed received similar complained from this company (Platinum) Firstly they are not a WASP service so they don't need to comply as stated. They are a company that do sales and use random cell phone ranges prefixes 082 445 xxxx to SMS clients or call randomly. If the client wants to stop them from contacting him, he needs to call then and advise them accordingly.

Platinum 0219441600

Regards

Sounds like they are from Cape Town, (but north of the borewors curtain).

So, I phoned them... Naturally, I ended up at a voicemailbox (for extension 1649), so I asked to be called back. Lets see...

If I don't hear from them, next stop is the Ombudsman for financial services.