Movie Review (Smokin' Aces)

At the urging of the VelveMantis from bugly.com I went to catch this movie while he and I were traveling.

This movie is about a dude, Buddy “Aces” Israel, with about ten people trying to kill him. The hit was ordered by some mob boss, and the FBI is trying to save him so he can testify against said mob boss. The above two sentences are the ONLY thing that made sense during this movie. Once the plot is formed it spirals into gratuitous violence and cussing interspersed with attempts at incredibly artsy camera work that turn out to just be annoying.

The cast in this is huge. Ben Affleck, Jeremy Piven, Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia, Ray Liotta, and one hundred other big names making cameos , some in disguise, pop up throughout the movie. This is a recipe for disaster and the movie just sucked. There are two black female “hitmen” that love to use the words “pussy” and “nigger” for shock value. The shock wears off after the first 80 uses of those words though. The movie appeared to have potential at the beginning and the story actually starts out pretty interesting before it devolves into chaos and stupidity.

The one brilliant bright moment was delivered in 120 seconds by Jason Bateman. He absolutely stole the show using his very limited role. His lines almost appeared to be ad-lib and were delivered perfectly.

If you are tempted or conned into seeing this, stick a knife in your leg to get out of going. The injury will be far less painful than sitting through this garbage.

Just the facts (Bill Clinton's legacy..etc)

Current unemployment is 4.6% by the way.



The things people think they know!



You should have to take a test to get a voter registration card.



I LOVE the protest warrior crew, they capture the true spirit of so many things.

Ford Motor Company gone ghey

That's real nice, good family values and all that. I thought that was tasteless and pretty gross until I saw this today. BE WARNED, that scene is nasty and graphic. It's from some show on FX that Ford sponsors.

Cary buying part two

Yesterday during lunch I went to a local dealer who advertised a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan SXT for $13,900. When I got there we looked over the car and I asked what my truck was worth in trade. They wanted my 2001 B4000 and $4500. Seemed fair but then he said "We were looking at the wrong car." Takes me back out and shows me a 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan two trim levels below the SXT for the same price. He said the other had sold but he could do the current POS for the same price and no one could beat his price. I told him he didn't have the vehicle I came to see so I wasn't interested. His reply, " They're pretty much the same anyway." I had planned on just leaving but now I decided to make a point to the mental midget. I said " Jackass, if they are the same why is this one $4,000 more, and why doesn't it have the features I am looking for?" Idiots!
I saw a 2005 Grand Caravan in the paper at a different lot and drove over only to find out that it wasn't a Grand Caravan, it was the short wheelbase regular Caravan. This was particularly fun as they had to drive it over from a different lot. It's also fun to see the turds run out of the building when you pull up and hover around your car before you get out. Equally as fun to watch their whole body pucker up when I tell them I don't currently have a car payment. I told them I didn't need to look inside since this vehicle was the shorter wheelbase. Their line "Well these are a lot easier to park." My line "Jackasses, in the Chrysler minivans you cannot get rear heat and air for your children unless you get the long wheelbase." Response "The front blower works pretty good." Me "You're an idiot."
Today at lunch I am going to Carmax to see if the rumors are true. I would rather pay $1,000 more and dispense with these morons.

Buying Cars

As I prepare to sell my very cool little truck and end up driving a minivan myself, I feel the need to bitch about the whole car buying process. What is wrong with these people? They act like rocket scientists, you have to spend forever with a powerless individual, and they just try and rip you off. I understand they are trying to make money and that's fine, but the way they talk to people is ridiculous. "Well that's a wholesale price, your trade won't be worth as much." BS! I know what my truck is worth, and I know what your van is worth.

They dislike me because my vehicles are paid for, and I can do math.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Peyton Manning and the Colts for getting the "monkey" off their backs. All the more appropriate to do it against the one team that has been the toughest for them, or anyone else, to beat the past five years. Great adjustments by the coaching staff at halftime to get the pressure off Manning too. As for the Bears, I still can't believe they are winning games.

Grey's Anatomy

I was reading this article, and wondered how we got to this point. Looking at what he said:

"No, I did not call (co-star) T.R. (Knight) a faggot," Washington told reporters. "Never happened, never happened."

The speech police, ironically so-called liberals, immediately jumped his case. First off, it appears he used the word in context and did not actually use it as a slur. Secondly, it appears as if he was responding to a question.

In case I am ever questioned about anything I would like GLAAD, PETA, the ACLU, and other similar organizations to please post a list of words that I should not use; even when answering specific questions or within the context of defending myself against accusations. I assume "faggot" should be the "fag-word" since "f-word" is spoken for. Perhaps it should be the "gay f-word", or can we not use gay?

TR Knight had this to say on, shocker, the Ellen DeGenerate show:

Knight, who said soon after the October fracas that he is gay, appeared in Tuesday's taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" to discuss the original incident and Washington's recent comments.

"He referred to me as a faggot," Knight said of the October incident. "Everyone heard it."

I would also like announce that if I am ever in the spotlight and it starts to fade I will immediately announce that I am gay. Simultaneously I will then ask people to act like I never said that since I am supposed to be no different than anyone else. If that doesn't work I will wait three months and announce that I am not gay just to start conversation about myself.

Also, Robert Redford thinks the Bush administration owes us an apology.

Why I watch...

I watch the first three weeks of the show because it makes me feel better about myself. When I see these talentless delusional morons jack their jaws about how great they are and then they sound like a bag of cats I feel like a freakin' genius. For sure I am not a genius but compared to these yo-yos I should run the country. It's truly funny to watch people who are tone deaf and have NEVER sung before in front of anyone think they are good only to get beaten into reality by their own failure.
I won't be watching the show after the hysterics are over since they always seem to run off anyone with musical ability at the end. I will say the exception to that is the season one winner who has actually done well so far, and perhaps the season four winner will also continue to be successful.

H.I.N. pt8

Monday Presto cleaners spent 5 hours , they were quoted 2 by Generic home improvement center, cleaning the downstairs of my house. At the same time a different company came in and vacuumed the duct work. The company that vacuumed the ducts also lays tile flooring and said mine looked like crap. Thanks!

Three Men

The Three Funerals

Did anybody happen to notice the other day, the picture God painted for us as we watched the events of the day unfold on every news station around the world. The portrait of three men's lives shown clearly through the events of their deaths. One a wise man, one a foolish man and one a wicked man.

Three men captured the world's attention by their lives and their deaths. Their funerals spoke volumes about the course of life they had chosen to pursue with the few short years God had granted to them. Yesterday, God opened the Book of Proverbs and showed the world the truths contained in His sacred Word.

All three men, President Ford, James Brown and Saddam Hussein had choices in their destiny. Today they have all three stood in front of the God of this universe with those choices unveiled and judged.

God allowed us to see three men yesterday.

President Gerald Ford, a man whose faith in God and service to his country was eulogized by many speakers during the solemn and dignified ceremonies which marked his passing. A man of character and integrity, not perfect but made righteous by his faith in Jesus Christ. It was in this righteousness he lived out his life as a servant to his fellowman and his country. Great men and dignitaries attended his funeral. All coming to pay respect and honor to a man most deserving.

James Brown also was eulogized in a funeral ceremony befitting his life choices. There was blaring rock music, gyrating bodies, costumes, and great sensual displays of revelry to portray the contribution this man had given through his life to his fellowman. He lived a life of drugs, alcohol, immorality and rock music. He was heralded the father of Rap music and the inspiration of Michael Jackson's greatness. His funeral with all of it's theatrics was befitting the excess of waste his life portrayed.

Then we had the gruesome hanging of Saddam Hussein. His death as gory as his life. A brutal murderer and dictator, hung by his neck and secreted away in the middle of the night to an unmarked grave. Thousands of Iraqis celebrated his death for through his life he had brought untold misery and death to many. A man so wicked that it seemed the world breathed a collective sigh of relief at the pronouncement of his death.

Three men--three men who left their mark on the entire world, three famous men. All three have now stood before their Creator to answer for the choices they made in their life as you and I will someday.

There is only one choice and Gerald Ford's life exemplifies the nobility of choosing to walk in harmony with The Creator through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as his Redeemer.

James Brown choose to walk in the flesh. His life's work glorified the flesh and his death magnified the flesh.

Saddam Hussein choose evil. He was a narcissistic megalomaniac. His life glorified evil and his death was gruesome.

This all played out in one day. God painted a great picture for mankind to see. I pray people got His message.

H.I.N. pt7

Yesterday Dude7 agreed to send a cleaning crew to my house this morning to clean my house. Additionally, he sent Dude8, who is the replacement for Dude3, to my house last night to inspect the work. Dude8 had just driven in from a vacation in SC with his family and I felt bad that he was having to deal with me on this. He was shocked by out time line and some of the events. Again I was asked "why didn't we just fix this?" He caught himself and asked the best question I could have hoped to hear; "Captain Dude, what do you want us to do for you right now?"

We are providing Dudes 7 and 8 with a time line of events, a list of how customers are inconvenienced in these situations, and a process improvement document since we don't feel it's fair to complain if you don't have a better solution.

Goodbye to a friend

Yesterday morning my good friend, worship leader, youth minister and associate pastor resigned his position(s) at our church. I have know for quite awhile that he was leaving and although I am excited about this new opportunity for his family to witness to a new community and church, that doesn't take away the pain of my brother leaving.

H.I.N. pt6

Friday, keep in mind we have not been staying in our home since there is currently no kitchen, I stopped by and saw that all of my new tile was laid. Dude2 was coming back on Saturday to grout and clean before sealing the grout on Monday. I went over Saturday afternoon and saw immediately that the spacing of my new tile is completely haphazard at the entrance to the kitchen. UNREAL! The tile, although no longer cracked, looks MUCH worse now than it did previously. There are also a few tiles that are 1/4" above the adjacent tile. Beyond that crap, Dude2 said he "cleaned" the whole floor. It looks like he took a hand towel and smeared the dust all over the room. The bottle of grout sealant says the grout must be clean and dry before applying. I borrowed a mop and bucket from my church and started cleaning when my wife and I decided we should not have to be doing any of this. I plan to phone Chick2 and have her come look at the mess today. We were originally quoted 4-5 days for the entire 900 square foot job; it has now been seven days for 250 square feet and no end in sight. I want my money back, several plasma TVs, and new appliances. I called Dude2 yesterday and told him not to bother coming this morning since the floor cannot be sealed in its current state. I will update this post later today with their reactions.

UPDATE! I spoke with Chick2 who has the flu but was at work. She seemed concerned and wanted to come see what I was talking about. I get a call back from the latest installed sales manager, Dude6, who confirms an 1100 appointment. I headed home at 1100 to meet Chick2, Chick1, and Dude6. BIG SHOCKER, Chick2 does not come and instead sent only her two flunkies who have been screwing this up for months. My wife told them they could not come in and we sent them packing. After a lengthy telcon with the corporate 1-800 number that involved pleading, crying, screaming and begging we were finally told the district manager's name, Dude7, and that he worked at the store nearest our home. I ran to that store to talk to him, while my wife stayed at home being assured that Dude7 would call her within thirty minutes. Come to find out their standard practice is a 48 hour turnaround for a call back. What company in their right minds thinks 48 hours is acceptable once something has escalated to that level. ANYWAY no on eat the store will actually introduce me to Dude7 but he did call while I was standing in his store and wanted a situation report. I summed up and he said he would send the Area Installed Sales Manager to my house TOMORROW! I told him I didn't need a flooring expert to come and tell me my house was a wreck, and that the tile looks like ass. I need someone with the power to get my house back to "normal" and give me my freakin' money. I also asked what I was supposed to do for day number 8 that my entire downstairs was covered in dust with all furniture sitting in my garage, also covered in dust, and all my appliances in the living room. He didn't know. After some more explaining he is sending someone to clean our ductwork today. I suppose that's a start.

H.I.N. pt5

Yesterday, 01/10/07, I learned that when you complain to Generic home improvement center's corporate headquarters they simply ask the local store to contact you. What a freakin' waste. In response to my letter from yesterday I received a call from yet another store manager, Chick2. I asked Chick2 who she was, since I had been dealing with a different "store manager", Dude6, for the past year. "Oh, he is the operation manager." What the hell does that mean? Really when you ask to speak to the manager isn't that who you should get, or should you have to know every companies insider proprietary lingo? Anyway, I tell Chick2 where we stand. Her installer shows up when he wants, and the store doesn't seem to care that our house is filthy and who will be cleaning it. To give her some perspective I told her that when the original complaint was initiated we were a happy family of four, and my wife was not pregnant. We are now a happy family of five with a 7 month old, stunned silence and then this question. "Why didn't we just fix it right away?" Really?!?!?! What am I supposed to say to her? I told her it's her store and her company so I didn't feel qualified to answer that. She did eventually capitulate and agree to pay to have my house, including the duct work, cleaned.

Progress made I suppose.

H.I.N. pt4

My letter:

I wanted to write and update the corporate offices of my flooring situation. Initially the tile work was supposed to be redone last week, Week of January 1, but the installer injured his hand and could not fulfill his obligation. While this is understandable we had arranged to be with out most of our downstairs, including our kitchen, for that week and had also arranged for places to stay since that is the majority of our home. My only real complaint with that was that Generic home improvement center had the installer call us instead of being accountable for that person, but that issue is past and resolved with the in-store people. It became apparent when speaking with the installer that he had little knowledge about the project as well, and had no idea of the square footage he may be working on, this gave us a bit of concern and has also been resolved. Yesterday, 01/07/07, the delivery truck arrived with the materials for the installer to begin work today. We noted immediately that there was no 1/2" hardibacker and no baseboards which we were told would be installed. What happened is the original order in 2005 was not correct and had to be fixed then adding an additional day for install. It appears that incorrect initial order was replicated for this reinstall instead of taking the time to get it right. Chick1 took extraordinary pains to try and accommodate us and do things right, but follow-through as things left her hands has been less than impressive.

I am confident that these two issues will be resolved and that the inconvenience we are experiencing throughout this lengthy process will net a properly installed tile floor. I chose Generic home improvement center for this job because I have had carpet installed by your biggest home improvement competitor and the customer service and experience was many times worse than this. As stated in a previous e-mail my home needs numerous small to large improvements over the next five years. These include but are not limited to a new deck, new patio doors, new refrigerator, major kitchen remodel, new washer/dryer, and new interior blinds. Generic home improvement center has been our store of choice in the past; however, this experience has been anything but pleasant. While Generic home improvement center has honored, or is in the process of honoring, the warranty on their product I cannot stress enough the amount of inconvenience this has caused my family and me. We purposely held a mortgage on two homes so that the current house could be vacant during the initial installation, now we have to greatly disrupt our daily home schooling routine as well as our evenings for 4-5 days. We have a 7 month old baby, born in the midst of all of this negotiation and hassle, and my wife is recovering from surgery that has hampered her ability to lift and move anything over 10 lbs for several weeks. Speaking with the Delivery driver, Dude2, yesterday he stated that "99.9% of the time we get it perfect." I truly believe that is the case based on the outstanding service given us by the managers as far as they were able. The main problem, in my estimation, has been employee turnover in the installed sales department and the "telephone game" problem of passing instructions verbally. Your time and attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Captain Dude

UPDATE: No response to the above letter, my entire home is covered in dust, and as of 1030 on 01/10/07 the installer has not showed up or called. This sucks completely!

H.I.N. pt3

More updates for Tuesday. One of the reasons it took so long to get this party started was determining the cause of my ceramic floors cracking.

The first area manager, Dude3, said I had a crowning floor joist problem because there was no vapor barrier under my kitchen. I then asked Dude3 how come no other floor joists were crowning as there is no vapor barrier anywhere under my home; additionally I asked why the crack were 36" apart, the width of hardibacker board, and not 16" on center like floor joists would be. Stunned silence, and Dude3 is no longer employed by Generic home improvement center.

A representative from HardiBacker, Dude4, finally came to my home in October made me sign about twenty release forms and chipped up two tiles in my kitchen. He determined that since the HardiBacker piece seams had not been taped, faulty installation, that this was the reason the tile was cracking. Generic home improvement center then decides to fix all tile in my home and not just the kitchen area since it is likely that all HardiBacker seams are not taped.

Sunday, 01/07/07, the delivery truck arrives with only 1/4" HardiBacker. Two-thirds of my home's tiel flooring is on 1/2" Hardi and only the kitchen is on 1/4". Once again I am placed in a day long waiting loop to correct this problem. Tuesday, generic home improvement center's delivery department calls me at 1430 to say they are "coming over to replace that pallet of 1/4" with 1/2" HardiBacker." I called back and told Dude5 that I only need 29 sheets of 1/2" and it's not an even exchange of one pallet for another. This sparks a barrage of questions for me as if I am qualified to answer contractor or flooring questions. I happily told Dude5 to figure it out himself. The reason I have no patience for Dude5 is the Dude2, the installer, has now determined that the kitchen installation was done on top of "floating linoleum." I will stop at this point and explain the physics of a ceramic tile installation.

In a house with wooden joists and plywood sub-flooring, those surface are prone to expansion and contraction and possibly some additional movement as the material ages and settles. The HardiBacker is fastened to the sub-flooring with screws, they used nails in mine, so that it essentially "becomes" the sub-floor. HardiBacker is a semi-porous material that allows the next component of the installation to soak into its surfaces, the same can be said for the backside or downward facing side of a piece of ceramic tile. Thinset is a type of mortar/adhesive That soaks partially into the HardiBacker and partially into the back of the ceramic tile. The goal is to make the Sub-floor, HardiBacker and tile become one solid piece throughout the installation. This way when your wooden sub-flooring swells, contracts or moves with settling the entire new floor moves as one unit. This is very important since wood will flex and move while ceramic tile will not. The point was that if the different pieces of HardiBacker were not taped together they could move in different direction with their respective pieces of sub-flooring. Sounds good to me, I don't care, fix my floor! Skip to Today when Dude2 uses the phrase "floating linoleum." When this type of floor is installed a 1/4" piece of plywood is tacked to your existing sub-floor and then the linoleum is jut rolled out and cut to fit. It isn't glued down and is only attached at the edges. The "float" is to allow the linoleum to flex, expand and contract with either the sub-floor or temperature changes. This, in theory, greatly increases the longevity of the linoleum by preventing stretching and cracking. Also, this is apparently VERY BAD to install ceramic tile on top of due to the aforementioned reason of attaching something inflexible to something that is very flexible.

Dude2 is also having GREAT DIFFICULTY separating the tile/HardiBacker from the sub-flooring while his daughter, Chick2, is easily peeling it off of the linoleum. He asks me if it would be ok to just do the kitchen and patch the hole he made, about 7 square feet, in the living room. Well how the hell would I know? I just want my floor fixed and I don't want to rest to crack. Another call by to Generic home improvement center to determine the best course of action and find out if we can get some extra warranty in case we do decide to only fix the kitchen. While you were reading this, I was drafting another letter to Generic home improvement center's corporate office. It will be posted tomorrow.

H.I.N. pt.2

So the e-mail in the previous post got results and in November Chick1 got authorization from Corporate to "make it right." Skip to January 07 as that is the earliest we could get a contractor on site to perform the job.

Yesterday the contractor, Dude2, showed up to survey the job he was hired to perform. He lives about an hour away and noticed immediately that he had not been informed that he was replacing about 800 square ft. of tile. He was under the impression that he would be doing only our kitchen. He also noted that the materials sent by Generic home improvement center were both incomplete and inadequate to do the job correctly. He left to go to the store to "Get our ducks in a row." I like Dude2, he seems very concerned with re-doing this job correctly no matter the cost to Generic home improvement center. No work was performed Monday as he was not prepared for the scope of the job.

Tuesday, it is snowing lightly here and Dude2 wants to go home for the day because "The roads might ice over." Southerners kill me with this crap. They cannot drive the speed limit when roads are dry, instead choosing to go absolutely as fast as possible. Any hint of rain or snow and they cannot drive at all for some reason.

Stay tuned!

Home "Improvement" Nightmare

Here is the first act of my current drama.

October 29, 2006

To: Generic home improvement center Corporate Management

From: Captain Dude

Subject: Defective installation of ceramic tile

After months of seeking resolution regarding a defective installation of ceramic tile purchased through the installed sales department of your store Somewhere in Knoxville, Tennessee, I feel it is necessary to seek your intervention.

The tile was installed in the great room, kitchen, and master bath in a seven year old home we purchased in May of 2005. The first cracks appeared in the kitchen in August of 2005. After several visits to the home by the installed sales manager, Dude1 and various representatives of the contracted flooring company, we were told that the cracks were isolated and that it was best to just patch the long cracks on the grout lines and overlook the tiles which were cracked at corners. Matching grout was unavailable and therefore the “repair” was unsightly and looked quite like a band-aid on a sore. Because it had taken so many phone calls and visits to the house during my wife’s pregnancy, we were simply weary of dealing with the situation by the time the grout was patched in the spring of 2006 (MONTHS after we initiated the complaint). We then brought up the issue of warranty, because of the fear that the underlying problem had not been solved, but we were assured by Dude1 that since the complaint had been initiated during the warranty period that any related trouble would be covered. Even though we were displeased with the looks of the patching, we chose not to pursue this issue during the arrival of a new baby.

In August of 2006, it became obvious that the cracks were not isolated, as the tiles started cracking in four different places (some are long, extending through up to nine tiles). We immediately called Dude1, but were told that he had been replaced by Chick1. She came to inspect the floor on August 18^th, and assured us that she would take care of it. One of our major concerns is that the kitchen is adjacent to the great room. The tile in the great room is fine, but the rooms must match, so Chick1 said she would investigate whether or not or tile was still available. Two weeks later Chick1 returned with the district manager of installed sales. For the sake of efficiency, I will simply tell you that we were told that since the tile was cracking over ¼ inch backer board, and that the manufacturer of that backer board guaranteed tile jobs on their ¼ inch that it would be necessary to involve a representative from Hardi (the adjacent 25 foot great room was installed over ½ inch board and there are no cracks in it).

Other than to be told over the phone by Chick1 in early September that it appeared our tile could still be obtained and then told on September 27^th that the Hardi representative should be available the week of October 9^th to inspect our tile (he then wasn’t), no progress has been made. Every time my wife or I call to speak with Chick1, she is friendly and concerned, but it appears her hands are tied regarding the resolution of this issue.

As we communicated to Chick1 and her district manager, this was a huge investment in our home; it was chosen as permanent flooring, which would increase the value of our home. It is very important to us to have the situation remedied as soon as possible. The cracks are a daily inconvenience, as we have a baby in a walker that we must keep away from the cracked areas and because my wife has to avoid the areas when mopping.

Additionally, this situation has delayed other home improvement projects on our agenda. We need to replace a large deck, install enclosed blinds on the patio doors, and upgrade our blinds throughout the house. As a Generic home improvement center credit cardholder, my wife would prefer to patronize Generic home improvement center for these projects, but we are uncomfortable making a large purchase at Generic home improvement center until the situation with our tile has been rectified.

Anything you can do to help Chick1 expedite this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Their response was :

Replied On 11/2/2006 10:37:24 AM

Dear Captain Dude:

Thank you for contacting Generic home improvement center and sharing your experience with us.

We have forwarded your e-mail to your local store management to make them aware of the situation. They will contact you within 24 hours.

Please contact us by replying to this e-mail if you have additional questions or comments.


Thank you,
Chick2
Generic home improvement center Customer Care
Received On 11/02/06 09:13:09

More to follow!

Movie Review (Rocky Balboa)

Everyone should see this movie. It's not really about boxing, more about self and accountability.

Stallone knocked it out of the park this time with both the script and his acting. The scene outside the restaurant with his son was brilliant. Almost as good was the scene with Paulie at the meat packing plant. I actually felt tears in my eyes at different times during the film. It was hard to watch a chapter of American "history" close at the end. The only bad things about this movie were the poor character development with the non-standard players, and the terribly crappy camera work (especially during the fight.)

Rocky is an American icon created by Sylvester Stallone. He wrote the first movie and then became Rocky for all the world to embrace. With the exception of Rocky V they are all great movies, if not a bit typical. As a whole this is an instant classic and if you have ever liked a Rocky movie you will like this one. I took my wife who normally hates "guy" movies, and has never seen a Rocky movie, she loved it.

I highly recommend seeing this movie, especially since Stallone showed you can still make a great movie with a PG rating.

Airline Travel Update

So Delta sent me the $100 voucher even after I wrote them and said this was not anywhere close to adequate compensation for my time. Beyond the fact there is no response to that the voucher, which can only be redeemed by me(not transferable) and only in an airport (not online), has my name misspelled. A little research uncovered that it is actually worthless now unless someone out there has the same first name as me, and only two letters in my last name transposed. Odds are there isn't anyone out there. I called and had to leave a message on their 1-866 line, and have sent an e-mail inquiring on the status of my Plasma TV.