as you know, i bought a gene cafe roaster from Sweet Maria’s a little over a month ago. i still haven’t really had a chance to use it, since it has been down practically since the day i opened it. the service on the equipment has a LOT to be desired. so much that i felt it was important for sweet maria’s to know about. here’s what i said:

Hi,

I just wanted to follow up about the resolution (or lack thereof) on this issue.

(note:  i initially contact sweet maria’s when the roaster broke.  they advised me that the service center would be contacting me.)

I’m hoping that not everyone who buys one of these has to go through the same thing I have, but I thought that you should be aware, since after-purchase service can sometimes make the decision of whether or not people buy a piece of equipment.

As I noted in my previous email, the roaster arrived and after one roast, the machine failed to function again. I contacted the service center (they did NOT initiate contact with me.) and spoke with Tim. He diagnosed the problem to be with a simple part and offered to send a replacement one and gave me instructions for replacing it. After following these instructions, I tried to run another roast through the machine, but again, the machine failed (in a different but similar way). I contacted the service center again, and he suggested another replacement part, but again, it did not solve the problem. Finally I was requested to send the unit back for further repairs. I had asked the service center for an RMA to send the unit back, but after not hearing from them in several days, I finally paid to ship the unit to them myself. Neither my email to the center requesting an RMA or my notification that I had shipped the package received any acknowledgment.

It is now over a month since I purchased the roaster, and I still have only one roast logged on it. I realize that you only sell the equipment, but I thought you would like to know about the service of the product and the difficulties that I’ve had.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Gee Barger

one thing i had missed about being a part of corporate america was the barrage of random shit that you get in your inbox. sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad…
i thought this one was pretty good…i particularly like the bit about “the derelict’s intuition”:

I was shopping at the local supermarket where I selected:
A half-gallon of 2% milk,
A carton of eggs,
A quart of orange juice,
A head of romaine lettuce,
A 2 lb. can of coffee, and
A 1 lb. package of bacon.

As I was unloading my items on the conveyor belt to check out, a drunk standing behind me watched as I placed the items in front of the cashier.

While the cashier was ringing up the purchases, the drunk calmly stated, “You must be single.”

I was a bit startled by this proclamation, but I was intrigued by the derelict’s intuition, since I was indeed single. I looked at the six items on the belt and saw nothing particularly unusual about my selections that could have tipped off the drunk to my marital status.

Curiosity getting the better of me, I said: “Well, you know what, you’re absolutely right. But how on earth did you know that?”

The drunk replied, “Cause you’re ugly.”

while i’m not completely averse to a round on world leaders, i think i’m going for a little lighter fare this week, and going with a jeopardy classic: the potent potables.

i haven’t taken suggestions for trivia night in a while, so let’s hear what you’ve got…

yes, this is geeky as all get out.  and yes, i want it, even though i’d probably blow myself up building something out of the book.

apparently jumping on the “i want to look like gee” bandwagon is the lead singer to pop punk band-du-jour fallout boy.  most disturbing of course is his taste in eyewear and chapeaus.

the cartoonist known as ape lad will draw you a hobo on a post card, based around whatever name you happen to provide. and he’ll do it for 10 bucks.

read here for more info.

just in time for easter, the peeps medium is revving up:

and my personal faves are here.

there’s a really interesting article in this month’s believer about an art exhibit currently going on at museo del barrio in new york called the disappeared.  one piece that i found really exceptional at capturing the essence of what it means to be “disappeared” is pictured below.  each of the tiny mirrors has a picture of a disappeared victim on it, but it only comes into view when the viewer breathes on the mirror, and the moisture of the exhalation reveals the image, and then just like the actual victims, the image just slowly dissipates until there’s no visible reminder of it at all.