Moo! The Musings of a Plaid Cow

Here is a three question quiz to see if you’ve got what it takes to be my former insurance agent.

**Trick Question 1 – A Word Problem**
Randy has five insurance policies. Randy informs his insurance agent that he will not be renewing his policies when they expire. How many policies should the insurance agent cancel?

1. None
2. One
3. Two
4. Three
5. Four

**Trick Question 2 – Truely False**
When, Randy cancels an insurance policy the insurance agent should also cancel the auto-debit that drafts his checking account to pay for this policy.

1. True
2. False

**Trick Question 3 – Cat and Mouse**
Randy sends an email and finds the insurance agent is on vacation for a week, but that the office will still be open normal hours. Which email address should Randy expect a reply from?

1. The Agent’s email account
2. The Staff’s email account
3. Both a) and b)
4. None of the above.

If you’re having trouble stemming the flow of junk mail into your life, [Catalog Choice](http://www.catalogchoice.org/) may be able to help. I’ve been putting information on unwanted catalogs on the site for several years and can say that we definitely get far fewer than we used to.

Check them out and you might find that you don’t have to empty the recycle bin quite as often as you are used to.

Like any good drug, stopping Microsoft Excel may not be so easy.


According the the email I just got, “You can be ugly and stupid as long as your shaft is big.”

How did I get on the mailing list for stupid, ugly people with under-sized shafts?

Yesterday I tried to use the Mafia Wars secret access code that had been given out a few weeks ago. Even though I copied off the screen shot, I was told the code was invalid. So I took a shot and sent an email to Zynga customer service.

How good can customer support be for a free game? My ticket was closed out with a personalized email and a new access code in three minutes.

> Hello Randall,

> Thanks for contacting Zynga.

> My name is Michael and I will be assisting you with your concern.

> Try to use this code: XXXXXXXXXX

> If the code does not work feel free to send us a reply with your UID.

> Answer Title: What is a User ID and how do I find it?
> Answer Link: http://zynga.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/250

> Randall, we appreciate your patience and understanding. I hope this does not affect your gaming experience. Thank you and enjoy playing Mafia Wars.

> Kind regards,
Michael T
Zynga Customer Support

Even though most of it is boiler-plate copy and paste, I in three minutes I got:

* a code that should work
* instructions on what to do if it doesn’t
* an answer to my most likely follow-up
* a thanks for playing

Amazing.

I am amazed (or maybe saddened) by the lack of grasp of English by the majority of people on the web who claim English as a first language. This is especially true in reading comprehension tests. (Every time you respond to a post or a comment on a blog, it is effectively a reading comprehension test.) Here are a couple from a recent post on the [state of Flash on mobile devices](http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/may/18/apple-adobe-flash-player-solution).

**Statement:** they [Adobe] could just develop a working Flash player for any mobile
platform.

**Response:** Flash works well on Windows. That’s the OS that runs on 90% or
more of all desktops.

**My Take:** Some people may consider a Windows desktop a mobile device. I don’t.

And here is another from the same comment:

**Statement:** Windows Mobile 7 and Android don’t have Flash either and Adobe themselves have
failed to make it work well on any mobile device, let alone the iPhone

**Response:** Windows Mobile 7 _will_ support Flash, just not at initial release. Android
_will_ support 10.1 under Froyo. Symbian^3 _will_ support 10.1 too as _will_ Blackberry OS 6.0.

**My Take:** Congratulations. You have listed four phones which do not currently have Flash. (Perhaps they _will_, but they don’t.)

I would like to think things will get better, but then I start listening to politicians. They are better at this than most.

With all the [hubbub](http://www.macworld.com/article/151281/2010/05/macalope_flashback.html) about the lack of Flash on the [iPhone](http://www.apple.com/iphone/), I have to question why [Microsoft](http://www.microsoft.com/) hasn’t been complaining that there isn’t a [Silverlight](http://www.microsoft.com/getsilverlight/) plug-in either. Flash and Silverlight target the same market, don’t they? If Adobe is right, shouldn’t we be hearing the same kind of rhetoric from Microsoft?

When I got all of the [new policy paperwork](http://moo.plaidcow.net/2010/05/insurance_policy_endorsements) a week ago, it was because I am changing insurance carriers. The policies and endorsements are nothing compared with the company I am leaving, however. On Saturday, I got one letter, with a check for a partial refund of my home-owners premium. Today, I got *five* more letters:

* The remainder of the refund on my home-owners premium
* A notice of cancellation of auto insurance for the car
* A notice of cancellation of auto insurance for the truck
* A notice of change in price on the now cancelled auto insurance for the car (since we cancelled homeowners, we no longer get the multiple policy discount)
* A notice of change in price on the now cancelled auto insurance for the truck (since we cancelled homeowners, we no longer get the multiple policy discount)

Now with six separate mailings out of the way, I hope that we are halfway through. In addition to the two auto insurance checks, there are two other policies which were also cancelled (for which a refund is also due). And the separate letters to tell us the policy was cancelled.

Where is [Susan Powter](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p063wg78Yss) when you need her?

According to [Jing](http://www.jingproject.com/), Simple is Beautiful.

How about making your “free” software even simpler by **NOT** requiring me to sign up for an account to use it. Or, at least tell me, before I take the time to do it, that setting up an account _on an **unrelated** service_ is required.

Don’t waste your time. [Jing is Crap](http://www.jingproject.com/).

Most people think that they are a good driver and that every one else on the road is an idiot. According, to [this quiz](http://moneycentral.msn.com/quiz/driving-skills-quiz/home.aspx) I’m right.