Things that jerk my chain...

[Yossarian]

I'm glad that the place I work now is pretty good about letting us take care of family stuff. My last job, it wasn't the bosses, it was one of the #%**ing account execs that thought she owned the art dept. I sent around a notice that I'd be taking off a half day to go to the first ultrasound for our child. I found out from the traffic manager that this AE had actually emailed the bosses and traffic manager asking if it was OK for me to be taking off!:mad:

I was even madder after the fact, because that's also the day we found out that the ultrasound showed an abnormality with his kidneys and we spent the next week thinking there was a fair chance he'd die soon after being born or having to try for transplants. If that AE would have gotten her way, my wife would have ended up taking the news alone.

Luckily everything did turn out mostly alright though. Further tests showed it to be just one kidney affected and he'd already developed past the point that what went wrong with the first one wasn't going to happen to the other. We wouldn't know until after he was born whether he'd have to undergo surgery to remove the bad one. Thankfully they determined that it should continue to atrophy and shrink away naturally and the good one is growing larger than normal to help compensate.

[tuliptree]

Wow Yoss. That's a pretty intense event to go through. I'm glad everything turned out ok!

Good for all of you! I'm the same way, family is #1 priority. If it means throwing a picture of Johnny Cash and walking away from a job, then that's what it'd be if I would be forced to choose.

[Bladez]

I think of this chick as the office nazi....and apparently I'm not the only one.

No time off for you!! Come back.....Everyday!

[tuliptree]

Is she related to the soup nazi?

[a_muse]

mmmmm soup.
maybe I'll make soup for dinner.......

[Bladez]

hahahah, again...a thread turned onto food! Love it.

I don't think she's related the the soup nazi, but I'll bet their great friends!

[garricks]

Damn, guys those are some harsh stories, especially Yoss. I'm glad everything turned out OK for your family.

I've been really lucky with management. They understand work/life balance. I'd love to tell you some stories, but they're not my stories to tell. It's sad that there are so many jerkfaced control freaks out there. :(

[fredrich]

It's great when a customer want to focus on the graphics to "shine", and provides rather crappy material to do it with.

[Red Kittie Kat]

lmaoo Fredrich ... make my $h!t shine! :D

[John G]

So this week I've finally started cleaning, really really cleaning my place. Only right now I need my good print paper and I have absolutely no idea where it is.

I may have lived in cluttered filth, but I knew where everything was >.<

[Red Kittie Kat]

lmao John I know just what ya mean :D

[Jeff Fisher LogoMotives]

Forum members complaining about a self-promotion related post - that actually suggests a realistic method for them to promote their own businesses (ie: "If you are a home-based business owner, you may want to consider registering your business in the competition, too.") - resulting in the post being pulled. While in my post I even joked about not exactly being subtle, it does "jerk my chain" that some people obviously just don't "get it."

[Kool]

Well Jeff, since you decided you needed to make this public...


From the Welcome and Forum Rules:

2. Do not advertise here. A discrete link to your site or portfolio in your signature is acceptable, but blatant advertising is not. This includes posting referral links and links to other forums. Advertising in private messages is also not allowed. (If you receive spam by private message, please report it to one of the moderators so it can be dealt with accordingly.)

From the New User FAQ:

Question: May I advertise or sell my business, services, dog, blog, baseball cards, software, pants, etc...?

Answer: NO! Posting advertisements is not allowed on this forum AT ALL - posts will be deleted and users will be suspended.

It kinda jerks my chain when someone we have allowed to promote their books, blogs, other blogs, interviews, and dozens of other things that are clearly against the rules gets all snitty when we pull one completely non design related thing. :rolleyes:

[budafist]

Just got a call from our landlord. He got a call from our neighbor who suspected that we are using her washing machine. We thought that the laundry was shared, but apparently it is not. Just the laundry room is shared and we have to buy our own machine.

Poop.

Our landlord has told her that we haven't been using her washing machine and are looking to buy one asap. I think he told her that to try and keep the peace. Our neighbor has been out of the country since we moved in so that's why she hasn't said anything til now.

[urstwile]

Poop indeed. Is that a big expense in NZ? Can you buy them used, or make a deal with the neighbor to share hers for a certain amount a month?

[budafist]

I can pick one up second hand for around $200 on an auction site I think. Or new for around $500. Just had a look at auction sites today but I'm not even looking at ones that say "in great condition but..."

Buts are expensive and not worth the price. It's not a bargain if you pour hundreds into it to fix it. With our last washer, it was $100 per call out and if there were parts that was extra.

[WannaBrie]

Holy crap! Used for $200? I bought a used washer and dryer for $100. (knock wood, that was 5 years ago and they still run great.) What about a local used appliance dealer? Do they have those in NZ?

[CkretAjint]

What about Scratch-and-Dent World?

[Klavzz]

I think of this chick as the office nazi....and apparently I'm not the only one.

No time off for you!! Come back.....Everyday!

Do they go to AE school for that?
Cause we have the same prob

[Virgo Nightingale]

Sucks about the misunderstanding buda. :(

I actually plunked down $850 for a new washer and dryer this spring when my dryer conked out (all-in-one stackable unit, so when one went, the whole thing had to go). I saw it as an investment. Plus getting appliances into our basement is a pain in the ass, so I'd rather have a new one that I knew wouldn't likely konk out on us any time soon.

They will come with us when we buy a house (which doesn't look like it will happen for anther 5 years or so). If the new house comes with a set, the better set stays, the lesser one gets sold, or perhaps donated.

[budafist]

Holy crap! Used for $200? I bought a used washer and dryer for $100. (knock wood, that was 5 years ago and they still run great.) What about a local used appliance dealer? Do they have those in NZ?

That's not a huge difference as the US dollar is stronger than the NZ dollar.

I don't think anyone here uses used appliance dealers anymore because we have a great trade site (like ebay). It cuts out the middle man.

I am weary of a used washer because my parents gave me their old one and we spent $200 on it and in the end it flooded our garage. If I buy a used one, it has to be 100% perfect condition. At least we did a load of washing on Tuesday. I have fresh undies for a few more days yet. :D

[urstwile]

What about talking to the neighbor and seeing if you can work something out where you use hers, or is that just impractical?

[CkretAjint]

Good idea Urst. Cook her a meal, watch her cat one night, give her a sponge bath. I am sure you can work something out with her....

[hewligan]

If you have the money, getting a new machine is much, much better. They tend to last for ages. Second hand ones - well, they're usually looking to get rid of them for a reason ;)

Plus, the new one gets delivered by a couple of large blokes who put it where you want it. Life is always better when someone else does the heavy lifting.

[garricks]

Life is always better when someone else does the heavy lifting.
AMEN! Hewligan!

At the last apartment/flat I rented, there was one we could use, but the washer broke and the landlady had no interest in fixing it since she didn't live there. So I went to the laundromat or my parents' for two years to do laundry.

When I moved from the apartment to my house, I bought a new washer and dryer. I like being able to throw in a load whenever I want, even at two in the morning!

[budafist]

What about talking to the neighbor and seeing if you can work something out where you use hers, or is that just impractical?

Well we haven't actually met her yet, but from what the landlord says, she's very fussy and a bit of a pain. I'm actually dreading meeting her, but I don't feel like she's the kind of person that would be cool with that.

I wouldn't mind if it were the other way around but that's just me.

Good idea Urst. Cook her a meal, watch her cat one night, give her a sponge bath. I am sure you can work something out with her....

She doesn't have a cat. I'm waiting for her to notice our rabbit hopping around the backyard! I don't know about a sponge bath, but I'd be happy to cook.

Hewligan, I might still get a new one. The cheapest I could find is $488 but I have a few expenses coming up and I'm not sure if that is affordable right now. But we will have to have a look in the weekend.

[urstwile]

Ack, well if she's fussy you're probably best steering clear.

[budafist]

I've found a second hand one for $150 and the auction is closing in about half an hour. But if that auction suddenly goes up out of reach there is a washing machine at K Mart for $300 brand new. It's not a brand that I have heard of though, but hey at least it's not $500.

Anyway, back to the chain jerking...

[Bladez]

When you're right in the middle of doing something, and your train of thought derails and you can't for the LIFE of you remember what it was, or where you were going with it!!! But you know it was something that you needed to do! I've been struggling for the last half hour trying to figure out what it was I needed to do. Even retracing my steps hasn't helped! Frustrating!

[budafist]

I do that to Bladez. It normally means it's time for a coffee. I often do the retracing steps thing. Like if I'm at the computer and for some reason I've opened Google to check something out but by the time I've opened it I've already forgotten what it as that I looked up. So I'll back track my websurfing or look around the room or TV if it is on to try and remember. Sometimes it works but when it doesn't it's so frustrating!

[NTLemon]

I do that all the time, but for some reason I always think it was something more important than it really was so that by the time I actually remember it I feel like a moron for spending 30 minutes trying to remember that I wanted to tell my friend about the french fry sculpture I made or something equally ridiculous.

[a_muse]

I do the same thing a lot, I figure it can't be that important and then I'll remember what it was and realize it was!
I haven't finished a conversation when my children are present since the first one learned to talk, I have friends that are mothers too and I don't think we've had an uninterupted chat ever, so I am constantly loosing my train of thought......what was I saying? ;)

[WannaBrie]

haha, me too! I think when you have kids you lose some brain matter or something! :confused: :confused:

[Virgo Nightingale]

Can't be the kids. I have those "uhhhh.... duuuhhhh???" moments too.

[Typically]

i do too and i'm a dude :D

[WannaBrie]

ok, well, maybe its the kids plus that uh, thing that I can't remember....ya know, that thing....

[Bladez]

What are we talking about again? I got distracted by something shiny and can't remember now. Dammit! I hate that!!! Don't you?

[Typically]

yeaaaaa that thing :D

[Virgo Nightingale]

You got things?

[Bladez]

lol Virgo!
BAND-AID!

[Optimusdinkus]

Hurricanes a coming, boarding up windows is allot of fun.... :mad: Allthough it will be the first hurricane I have ever "been in" before. Maybe I should save this post till after the hurricane.. well if I have electricity.

[urstwile]

Be safe Optimus!

[Virgo Nightingale]

Hope all is safe with you Optimus, as well as everyone in coastal Texas... :(

[Virgo Nightingale]

Ugh.


A new start-up real estate gave us a hard copy of this huge well-known real estate company's 'contract of sale' and said, "Just plop our logo on this contract."

Our reply: "Please send us a digital copy so we can create a whole new form for you."

"Oh, um... hang on... Try this pdf [it's from a site where you can download generic legal forms]."

"Um, this pdf is password protected. I can't copy the text, and I can't alter the file in any way. It's useless. Do you have another pdf that's not password protected or can someone type the contract into Word for us?"

"We need this form really soon, we're technically open for business, and we really need to have a contract of sale. Tell you what, we'll fax the form to you."

"That won't do us any good. Your best bet would be to have someone in your office type up the form in Word. It doesn't have to be formatted at all, we'll take care of that."

(In my inbox this morning) "Here's another pdf. We are hoping to have this at the close of Monday's business day."

"Thanks, but this form is password protected too."

*bangs head on desk*

[Typically]

don't you wish you could slap someone over the phone?

[CkretAjint]

*lol* That sucks!!!

...Could be worse. I have been out of the office since last Tuesday. Turns out that instead of having other people do my work to keep it flowing the boss just held it all of me to complete.... today! That's right, work from Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday plus Todays work due TODAY! :(

[Bladez]

Tell them to fax it to you, print off their logo, tape it to the form, white out anything that doesn't apply to them and fill in with smiley faces and doodles, (don't worry about size, location or neatness) and fax it back with the following:
Based on the files I've received from you, this is the best I could do. If it doesn't meet your expectations, then send me something useful!

[BJMRGTIVR6]

Ouch that sucks. Hate when a vacation means double/quadruple workload the next work day.

Sounds like a great Real Estate company to use in the future!

[Virgo Nightingale]

He just asked us if we could print 50 copies of the pdf form they'd sent. No problem we tell them, we can print the form. Then he asks: "We wanted to know if when you print them you could add our logo?"

We had to explain to them (again) what 'password protected' means and what it means and why it's there.


*bangs head on desk*
*bangs head on desk*
*bangs head on desk*


FWIW, we did give him a price quote for typing this contract for him. Not cheap at all, since it is a 9-page, legal-sized document with lots of small type.

[Typically]

tell him to tape his logo onto the printout =]

[Yossarian]

Maybe just print their logo on a bunch of Post-it notes that they can stick to printouts and on computer screens as needed. :p

[reuber1]

OK, the price of oil is supposedly under $100 a barrel or something, I dunno, I just keep 'hearing' that the price of oil has dropped. Sooooooooooo, why the **** are gas prices not budging? :mad:

[NTLemon]

It's definitely dropped some, but Opec is cutting back production again, rigs were damaged in Ike and the dollar dropped again so that could have nullified changes we should have seen.

[budafist]

I'm laying up an job to send to plate so that they can print it first thing in the morning (it's Wednesday afternoon here). Our production manager comes in and wants me to resend a job I'd laid up about half an hour ago. He just wanted the 10mm gutter changed to 2mm.

As I was already working on an urgent job, I said to him I'd finish the job I was doing first. Give me 10 minutes and I'll have the current job done, as well as the correction he wanted for the previous job.

He didn't say it but the look on his face was no, that's not good enough. He stood there and gapped at me and didn't leave my office. What bugs me is that there are no night shift printers on tonight. As long as I do my bit by the morning, it will be fine.

It really bugs me when people say something is urgent (needed in less than 10 minutes) when it's just going to sit there for the next 14 hours doing nothing.

10 minutes people! It's not that long!

[tuliptree]

That's annoying! So did he make you do the second job first? Or did he eventually leave you alone and let you do what you needed to do?

[budafist]

That's annoying! So did he make you do the second job first? Or did he eventually leave you alone and let you do what you needed to do?

No I finished the job I was working on and then did the job he wanted. He eventually left when he realised that was what was going to happen.

Hmmm...Now that I think about it, I think he was just being an asshat because he was stressed. Maybe he thought that no one was on his side or something.

I just went and offered my help for the rest of the afternoon and he seemed to really appreciate it. Maybe he'll be nice to me tomorrow.

I'm sure I'm never an asshat just because I'm stressed.

[urstwile]

I hate those kinds of situations too, and I try to tweak them whenever I can. Usually I'll say something to the effect that "I can't really stop what I'm doing right now, it will negate the last 45 minutes I've spent on this project, but as soon as I'm done with this, I'll work on yours directly after". Sometimes, if I really want to push the envelope (because I know the deadline is a bogus one), I'll say I won't be able to get to that for at least an hour and a half. Sometimes it works. :rolleyes:

[Optimusdinkus]

well, this probably doesn't belong here, but, the hurricane came and destroyed allot of Houston, and ended up leaving my house fully in tact. I'm out of work till thursday, but boy, that thursday is going to be a hellish one >.< (office has corrupt data on a disk that has not been backed up....)

[Red Kittie Kat]

well thats good news though Opti :)

other than the disk problem ;)

[Tea]

When aI spring for a treat, albeit not spendy, but not one of the ten recipients of the treat says thank you. I realized that like 5 hours later and thought...well, I didn't know what to think other than...that's so sad.

[CkretAjint]

"Thank you" costs ink, ink costs money, companies don't have money to waste. :p

[garricks]

Tea, that really sux. And I can relate. That's why I don't spring for treats any more. :(

[MikeHun]

1) Oil companies are F*@king us, they figure we'll all take it smile and be complacent mindless sheep.
2) Stressed out Production managers get heart attacks exactly because of that hypertensive behavior.
3) Co-workers believe they owe you nothing, and YOU are lucky that they tolerate you presence.

I think it was a full moon too the other night

[Tea]

Yes. Monday. I lose a lot of sleep during the week of the full moon. Not that I turn into anything really interesting, but the dog wakes me up. Grrrrr. I have to go to work now...Color me mindless. Color me sheep.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Getting business card files in InDesign from another design studio from a print broker client, and basically being asked to make laser prints and hold on to the files until they go to the printer. We weren't supposed to actually do anything with the files.

Comes time to send them to the printer. The printer wants color separated pdf files, because the rip software they use to go to film can't handle files from newer software. Well, since we weren't supposed to change the files, we ask if we can just send the files that were sent to us as is. The files are in CS3, they have CS2. No biggie, I can export to an interchange file.

They can't open it.

And the original designer is being a dick about setting up the file the way the printer needs it, presumably because he's not getting the print job off of it.

So I'll make the color-separated pdf, we'll just have to charge the print broker who'll have to charge his client and explain why. Shouldn't be hard.

I can't friggin' get it to work. I've done it Quark countless times, but seems to be a bitch out of InDesign. And this is supposed to be a rush job. And I wasn't even supposed to have to do anything with these files.

:mad:

Oh and I forgot, the printer asked if we could make them 10-up for them because for some reason, they can't do it themselves.

[budafist]

the printer asked if we could make them 10-up for them because for some reason, they can't do it themselves.

WTF? They sound retarded.

[budafist]

When clients put staples through the logo they want you to scan.

I appreciate them stapling the businesses card to a bigger piece of paper so that I don't lose it. But did they have to staple through the logo?

[The_Black_Knight]

I'm laying up an job to send to plate so that they can print it first thing in the morning (it's Wednesday afternoon here). Our production manager comes in and wants me to resend a job I'd laid up about half an hour ago. He just wanted the 10mm gutter changed to 2mm.

production manager being a jerkOne of my previous supervisors used to do this ALL THE TIME. It nearly drove me insane. It literally drove me to drink — I would go out to a local bar for lunch and have a beer, sometimes even two (people who know me know that this just isn't something I normally do; I've never been much of a drinker, even less so at lunchtime). I was actually happy when I got laid off from that place.

Seriously, unless you're a doctor in an emergency room, no one will die in ten minutes while you finish something else up. Really, they won't. Yet some managers have a tough time believing this.

[fredrich]

The unevitable fact that things seem to come on top of each other EVERY friday. Especially when the rest of the week is filled with free time, but no, you will only get the message friday, demanding the work to be done by the end of the day or weekend. Sometimes, this thing that "needs to be done" have been around since monday, but nobody really cared until friday.

[urstwile]

Seriously, unless you're a doctor in an emergency room, no one will die in ten minutes while you finish something else up. Really, they won't. Yet some managers have a tough time believing this.

It's the tyranny of the urgent.

[garricks]

It's the tyranny of the urgent.
Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

(Now, if only that worked... :( )

[urstwile]

Yup. I'd love it if that worked garricks.

[Pointyhat]

The Tyranny of the Urgent! A good 73% of my angst every day. Extremely well put Ms. Ursty.

"Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."
So said the CEO of Merrill Lynch as he destroyed millions of retirement funds and walked away with $40 MILLION.
Hopefully we treat our clients better than that.

[garricks]

Yeah, Pointy, "The Tyranny of the Urgent" is going on my cube farm wall Monday morning. Ye has a great turn of phrase, urstwile! :D

[urstwile]

Arrr, I sure can't say if I can take credit for that one, but I'm glad I could share it with my mates here on GDF. :D

[Pointyhat]

There are actually 583 pages in this thread? HOLY CRAP!

[garricks]

Only 146 pages if you have your CP set to teh max per page. ;)

Arrrh! Avast!! Shiver me posts! ...er...timbers!

[Bladez]

Arrrh! Avast!! Shiver me posts! ...er...timbers!

Aren't posts usually made outta timber???

[garricks]

:D You caught on!!! ;)

[reuber1]

I am very weary of these "customers on hidden camera" commercials. They are everywhere; it seems that the majority of them are restaurant ones, where customers who are purposefully going to nice restaurants to get away from shitty fast food, are in reality getting shitty fast food. "Guess what! You just ate a Hamburger from Hardees! Congratulations! You just took in three times more calories than you were expecting! LOL!" Get f***ing real man.

The most galling is the Windows 'Mojave' (basically, customers on hidden camera being told they are looking at a 'new' OS from Windows, when it really is Vista under a different name...in other words, a completely lame attempt to rebrand Vista under an already cliched marketing tactic)...look, if it's crap to begin with, no amount of marketing is going to change that. Microsoft should just stick with the new and excellent "I'm a PC" commercial they've been running, because it is a great counterpoint to the very obnoxious "I'm a Mac" commercials that makes those of us who like Macs look like a bunch of snobbish douchebags.

[fredrich]

When you're on the subject of commercials...

It's OK when advertisers don't care to make a new commercial, and instead use the original one. But please, do NOT send a dubbed version with visible people speaking a different language than the original one. Now, your commercial - in addition to being a complete retarded one in the first place - even comes of dumber because of the stupid sync-problem you deliberately caused by dubbing it.

I am glad that I don't have to deal with the dubbing issue in movies, as some countries in Europe do. I have watched James Bond talking Spanish and The Simpsons speaking German. It was completely ridiculous.

[DesignVHL]

I couldn't be ANY more frustrated today with one of my clients. We are in round 2 of their website revisions. And I think there must be something wrong with them. Do clients not READ emails? I can't tell you how many times i have requested that they send me changes ALL IN ONE E-MAIL with an attached MS WORD .doc or .txt file...>BUT NO NO NO they must have missed that point which I have made about 4-5 times over the last 2 weeks because today I received 30 - yep, 30 email messages EACH containing their own revision for each page of their site.....I really wish I could charge extra for this - as it takes me twice as long to get organized, make my list of to dos, and organize the darn content. :mad: I am so irritated by this! GRRR!

[garricks]

Nobody reads beyond the first paragraph or the second sentence, whichever is shorter.

[Pointyhat]

I feel you pain VHL, I designed a 32 page "Playbill" type book a few years back. When I was finished I counted 643 emails. I was not happy.

[Virgo Nightingale]

Well if it takes you twice as long to go through all the separate emails, then I guess you'll just have to charge twice as much for that extra time. I would also reiterate this to them in the very first paragraph of the very next email you send them, in bold. Perhaps when you warn them that these extra emails will cost them more money, they'll get the picture and get their asses organized.

[CkretAjint]

I feel your pain VHL, I get the same thing from people within our dept here. It is SOOoo annoying, then I look sloppy and messy and get yelled at. I am sorry if I finished you project BEFORE you sent the last 9 emails with changes. If they were all together we wouldn't have these issues, would we? :mad:

[budafist]

Some places charge a minimum 15 minute block of time for each time a project is worked on. You could let your clients know that you enforce this rule.

That would mean that if you client decides to split up ten changes that take 1 minute each into separate emails and you deal with the separately, then they could be charged 10 times 15 minute minimum blocks. If they give you 1 email, then it will only be charged 1 time of the 15 minute minimum block.

Opening, making changes, save, pdf and emailing changes takes time y'know?

[DesignVHL]

Nobody reads beyond the first paragraph or the second sentence, whichever is shorter.

Well that's a terrible excuse not to follow directions - I've sent VERY short emails about requested their second round all be in ONE DOC...I just think they decided its EASIER for THEM to do it this way. I'm trying to be understanding about this - maybe its easier for them to stay organized...but not ME! :p

I feel you pain VHL, I designed a 32 page "Playbill" type book a few years back. When I was finished I counted 643 emails. I was not happy.

Welp, you got me beat there! :D


Well if it takes you twice as long to go through all the separate emails, then I guess you'll just have to charge twice as much for that extra time. I would also reiterate this to them in the very first paragraph of the very next email you send them, in bold. Perhaps when you warn them that these extra emails will cost them more money, they'll get the picture and get their asses organized.


YEP already thought that - round 3 revisions I'm definitely going to make that point - I just think they will be coming back for another website very soon so I don't want to piss em off too much - will have to communicate this quickly and delicately. Extra charges piss clients off - I try to give enough room for play in my estimates so I don't have to (Unless of course it is an expense like stock photography).

AND BUDA, you make a great point there for sure. AND a very good way to communicate that to my client. The thing is that they ARE sending the emails consecutively one after the other (I think she likes keeping them sep. for HER organization). So it isn't like she's sending one change here or there and then I send it back. I DID request that each round of changes be sent all at once - and technically they are withing a small 10 min time period. So, I think they DO understand that each round of changes needs to be supplied all at once.

[garricks]

V, that's been my experience. People are in such a rush to get stuff off their own desks that they just don't care. I'm just in a general snit right now about how jobs are poorly thought out and unorganized. :(

[DesignVHL]

I'm just in a general snit right now about how jobs are poorly thought out and unorganized. :(

This couldn't be any more true! We could open a huge discussion about this one...drives me NUTS NUTS when clients are like "oh btw can we add blah blah blah...." At the same time, i could argue that for some people its an in-process as you go thing - like one idea leads to another and it just progresses..and I would be just fine w/ this if the client understood how much extra time, planning and at times - aggravation it can cause and would simply accept extra charges for these types of Ah-ha moments...unfortunately that is not the case - even w/ that provision in the contract about adding things into a project that were not in the original proposal...yet another piece of text they've neglected to read or understand in their oh so busy lives. :p

[budafist]

I just got 3 separate emails of 1 change per email from a client. They were spaced over 10 minutes. I have sent him 1 sentence email telling him not to do that anymore. Let's hope it works!

[garricks]

Send the exact same e-mail to him three time once as a reply to each e-mail. ;)

[urstwile]

No, send it in pieces. Like one third of each sentence in each email. :D

[DesignVHL]

lol

one

word

at

a

time

[budafist]

Love it!

I haven't heard back from him which I suppose is a good thing!

[garricks]

ROFL and I thought *I* was evil!

The idea is to inform, not antagonize!

[Virgo Nightingale]

A big sign of disorganization that pisses me off is when they give you copy to work with and it turns out it isn't final. I understand changing a phrase or two here or there, but why would you decide to rewrite/rearrange/add/remove entire paragraphs mid-design? Why is it so hard to finalize your copy before handing it to the designer?

I have a political client now who emailed us about 5 columns he'd written for a local newspaper. Obviously, he writes. But he apparently can't be bothered to whittle down the copy for the pieces I'm designing for him. Granted we have a copywriter/proofreader and he'll be paying for her time, but you'd think that he'd have the desire and ability to write it himself.

[Bladez]

At least you get body copy.....

I had a guy ask me to do a promo flyer for a new business he's starting, and wants body copy on the front highlighting his major sales points....but doesn't have anything to supply me with.....Um....ok....if you don't know what you want to say to promote your business, how the HELL am I supposed to know? I threw something together and it didn't work for him...so now I've told him I can't really do anything else with it until he supplies me with something....lets hope he's able to figure it out.

[garricks]

Bladez, just greek the text and see if he notices. *insert evil smiley here*

[Bladez]

I'll give him Lorem Ipsum, and tell him it's a word jumble with all of his sales points hidden in there to make it more fun :)

[DesignVHL]

You know what is even worse? Trying to put a website together for your father's business and having to write ALL the copy for like 30 web pages, AND DO his industry research....he can't write or market with a crap...I feel SO bad that I have not even done his site yet...But paying clients come first...but I really just need to buck up stop sleeping, and do it already! Sometimes family can be the toughest clients! But if I don't get his site going soon, he thinks he may go out of business - which makes me feel even worse that I may be partially to blame for not getting his site done quicker....I am a bad, bad daughter. :(

[Optimusdinkus]

Ha, this is funny how many similar posts on body copies are coming in. My boss gives me an article that needed changes to referencing. To be a good employee I double check his work to see if it matches properly, and nothing lines up, and there are over 113 references in this particular chapter. I can fix it now that I understand his version of formating, but boy lets just make the graphic designer a research assistant who went to medical school why don't we....

[Bladez]

It's always nice to hear that others share in your problems *LOL* I say we start a movement that if body copy isn't supplied, we get to take over all creative input on wording, and they get no say in it!

I, personally, would mix lines from Poe and Shakespeare with Karl Marx, Lenin and Dante. Then no one would understand, and in the future they'd have body copy ready to go before contacting me!

[MikeHun]

Two commies, Three writers... thats three steps forward Two steps back . Still without Body copy! Off to the Gulag with you comrade Bladez.

[Bladez]

Random quotes would make up the body copy. They'll never ask me to write body for them again :)

and I don't see the 2 steps back. Marx was brilliant, and Lenin was crazy enough to provide interesting quotes.

[MikeHun]

Oh well only 70 years to beat the Soviet union and 100 million deaths attributed to death by communisn. Just a little idea dreamt up by Marx and executed by Lenin. No big thing ; )

I guess the peoples republic of China is a shining example of a true communist state.

[Bladez]

The true ideology of communism works tho, unfortunately greed is part of human nature and corrupts it every time. But for the sake of this thread, that's neither here nor there, and I'll avoid the political discussion/debate that always ensues because nobody is ever properly educated about the true communist state and society in school. It's always skewed and not all the facts are addressed. I originally thought communism was a terrible thing, until I took the time to research it on my own, including reading the Manifesto. It makes great sense, and would be a fantastic way to live (power to the people, not to a governing body) but unfortunately, as I stated, human nature is greedy and people always want more. Thus leading to the necessity of a governing body to ensure no one gets cheated. That leads into people pawing for the power to be said governing body....and from there it just builds and the ideology of communism is destroyed. It gets perverted, and soiled and is no longer true communism, and is instead a socialist dictatorship.

but that's all I'm going to say on the matter ;) This isn't the place to discuss politics.
</threadjack>

[tuliptree]

I just finished a small side project, and was supplied no body copy at all for a small section. Luckily it was for subject matter I am interested in, and I like to write, so I was able to cook up a little something. But, that's because it was only a small paragraph. Anything else and I wouldn't have been happy!

[garricks]

The true ideology of communism works tho, unfortunately greed is part of human nature and corrupts it every time.
</threadjack>
"Some animals are more equal than others"
George Orwell, Animal Farm. ;)

[Optimusdinkus]

oh but mike, there are more details. Basically my boss knows that this crap is no where in my background so he expects it to be wrong, and when it is, we spend hours of wonderful overtime to get it right, that leads to me making a nice paycheck later, soooooo, I digress

[Bladez]

lol @ garricks

So tulip....you wanna write a few paragraphs for me to put on this flyer thing?

[tuliptree]

uhh....sure! I can do that! :D

[Bladez]

Suh-weeeet!

K, get on 'er! He buys groceries in bulk and delivers them to small rural communities. Have at 'er! hahahaha

[Yossarian]

Just fill the text boxes up with "Om Nom Nom!" That should be close enough.

[tuliptree]

Ahem:

Tired of taters and squash every night? Fresh eggs got you down? Our grocery service will have you fine dining every night! And now, with our handy dandy auto grocery delivery option, you can serve up dishes like duck a l'orange, gingerbread waffles and cheddar rarebit every day!

[tuliptree]

Just fill the text boxes up with "Om Nom Nom!" That should be close enough.

http://forums.viachicago.org/style_emoticons/default/24.gif (javascript:add_smilie() omg perfect!!!

[Bladez]

Hahahaha! K, I'm gonna use both ideas! I'll type out tulips at the top, then finish it off with
OM NOM NOM

all the way down :D

[tuliptree]

Ahahaha!

Good luck with your job!

:D

[Tea]

Hell, screw the job. Try living in my world for one day. I dare you. I double dog dare you. Holy crap....I can't even tell you how fuming I am.

[Bladez]

Uh oh....Chamomile, Tea?
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/989/10025703.JPG

[Tea]

Thank you Bladez. I'll save it for tomorrow; I found something else to calm me down.

[budafist]

At least you get body copy.....

I had a guy ask me to do a promo flyer for a new business he's starting, and wants body copy on the front highlighting his major sales points....but doesn't have anything to supply me with.....Um....ok....if you don't know what you want to say to promote your business, how the HELL am I supposed to know? I threw something together and it didn't work for him...so now I've told him I can't really do anything else with it until he supplies me with something....lets hope he's able to figure it out.

I now refuse to work on something until I have body copy. I mean, what is the point?

If I start on it now, it might take me 3 hours. Then when I get the copy it might take me another hour to get it to fit.

If I work on the design with supplied copy, then it should be just 3 hours total.

I'm too busy to work on "what ifs".

[reuber1]

Checking out how much I paid for gas and food last month, and realizing it leaves me about $400 total, which are swallowed immediately by other bills. I can't win, man. :rolleyes:

[garricks]

Gas here is "all the way down" to $3.59/gal at the cheap gas station I pass.

[Optimusdinkus]

Off shore drilling in Alaska would only lower that another 25 cents.... can't even get the same stuff on our own damn soil to make a marginal difference ffs.... What's really jerking my chain? The looks on politicians of "we are pancaked and we haven't a clue how to get ourselves out of this mess" so lets make a huge debate, waste even more time to help get out of this slump, rather than colaborate and make the plan right in the first place!!!

[Typically]

Gas here is "all the way down" to $3.59/gal at the cheap gas station I pass.

$3.29 around here

[Virgo Nightingale]

I heard rumors of $3.25 in Lodi, NJ.

[reuber1]

Great! My car is leaking something! I swear this thing is a gigantic money pit.

[Red Kittie Kat]

aww man :(

[CkretAjint]

Gas here is "all the way down" to $3.59/gal at the cheap gas station I pass.

Please! I live 15 minutes from the port where it all comes in and gas here is $3.79 still!!!! :(

[CkretAjint]

Great! My car is leaking something!

What color is it? from where? front engine bay? back bay? drivers side?

[Bladez]

Reuber, get a drop of it on your finger, and touch it to your tongue.

If it's sweet - Antifreeze
if it leaves a film - Oil
If it burns - Battery Acid (my dad had that happen to him doing this test, so I figured I'd warn ya)

[Rizz]

If it kills you - cyanide

-Rizz

[Bladez]

lol @ Rizz

[NTLemon]

Those cyanide hybrid vehicles didn't last too long did they?

[Bladez]

No, they died off pretty quick.

[a_muse]

:rolleyes:
:D

[tZ]

People stating they are new when its implied from their post count. duh?

[NTLemon]

Hi Tz I'm new here, what are you talking about, I don't understand, because I'm new. New new new. Will you help me with my design homework because I am new?

Maybe people should start introducing themselves in narrative form about how they discovered the forums instead.

...It was a dark and rainy night as I stumbled from image to image on ffffound I had a deadline and I was procrastinating like a grade school delinquent. If only I could find some inspiration or some other designers I thought to myself, but who would be up at this hour of the night? Then I saw it, a link on the side of the page. "Graphic Design Forum," it read, and then I knew I found my salvation. I will create a post explaining how I am new and then I will ask the kindly forumers with lots of time on their hands to finish my brainstorming for me. What a brilliant idea I say as I pat myself on the back and wait for the page to load. (to be continued...)

[dwagener]

lol NTLemon...

-

I hate when people put Euro/German plates on their American-made mini-vans, stationwagons, focus's, old ass grand ams, trucks, etc. I mean yeah, people with euros don't need them on their cars over here either, but those are the cars they were made to go on at least...

At the moment irritated at a sales rep that left a nice little smart message on an ad for us, when the customer must have complained to them, well guess what we couldn't use what they had sent us so we had to work with what we had... send us correct files that we can use next time!!

[reuber1]

The 5th inning choke-fest by the Cubs.

[NTLemon]

Spending all day installing new sinks, only the faucets you get have different connectors than the hose into the wall, and then after getting an adapter they leak and even then after getting some rubber gaskets and pipe tape they still leak....

I even spent about 20 minutes in home depot trying to convince the guy helping me that I did in fact have 1/2" pipe threads instead of the 3/4 compression pipe.

Done for the day though, my hands are raw from the work and I'm worn out. Time for beer.

[garricks]

Damn, NT, enjoy that beer.

I've found that when dealing with hardware stores, getting a camera phone or digital camera close to the offending fixture with a ruler helps your case.

CSI: Home Depot



I just did that yesterday...Oh, really, marketeer? You think the posters you did for the United Way Campaign that HR was responsible for producing and distributing were perfect? Well, *click* *send* take a look at this sign posted in MY office!

<insert evil face here>

[artistsdad]

Profs that expect their students to bow before them and accept every word they utter as divine revelation...

[NTLemon]

lol, that sucks AD, I had a few like that last year.

If you go to home depot during the day they are pretty good and tend to have area specialists around, but after 5 or so its a crapshoot.

[Riefnu]

Comcast being the worst service company in the history of service companies.

[John G]

Sony's Sonic Stage.
I bought an NW-HD5 3 years ago, good mp3 player, owns the iPod in battery life and sound quality. Things couldn't be better. The interface is crappy, but I can deal, cuz ipod's suck.

Apparently Sony stopped their "connect" music store back in March thereby doing away with any new sonic stage. Yay... but, all we have is legacy software to update with. OK, great, whatever, always worked right? So I've reformatted my hard-drive, clean install and all that since I last wanted to update stuff and so I try to install this legacy Sonic Stage to update my player with music. Hey.. 4.3 doesn't install all the way. search search search, ok, use 4.2, it's the same thing but without vista support. Good, Vista sucks. And "hey it installed".

click the transfer tab: crash

Nothing I can do fixes this thing, Sony's ATRAC support forums that had all that wealth of information have been taken down, so there isn't really anything to troubleshoot on. Oh how I hate you "omgjbox.exe" crash.

Yay wasted money (no I'm not getting a crappy iPod that I can't even switch out the battery on). And I nice middle finger to your proprietary failures sony.

(as a side note, I found if I click transfer tab before the program has had a chance to scan for devices, I can make it usable) But I still hate sony software. But I can deal, cuz the 356kbps lossy Atrac still sounds better out of my HD5 than apple lossless sounds out of an iPod.

semi happy ending /hug.

[Typically]

i had a sony minidisc player that i had to jump through hoops to get music on it. the software that came with it didn't work. i don't even remember how it i got stuff on there but i tend to shy away from sony electronics since then.

[artgem1984]

I had a Sony minidisc player for a bit, I washed it and it died :(

[Typically]

want mine? i still have it with about 6 mini discs :D

[artgem1984]

I would be the coolest girl in the office....:D

[BJMRGTIVR6]

ok, so a while back my second harddrive crashed. Spent big bugs retrieving data from it.

And now I think either my main hard drive or motherboard is going up.....might be buying a new computer SOONER than later.


arrrrghh!!

[DesignVHL]

:( that sucks...I always fear that day....lately seems my G5 is working overtime...

I just started using Time Machine actually for backup (use retrospect on my mac). Do you use a backup system BJ? After your last crash, I would assume you are? :) Either way, good luck! Any ideas on what you want to get?

[BJMRGTIVR6]

Well, I currently have a Gateway PC. (crap)

and will most likely be getting an iMac. 24"
I know not as expandable as the Mac Pro but that is a bit more money and I would also want a larger screen (19" is starting to look small after having 22" at work).

And as far as backing up. I have not had a chance (i know I should have just done it earlier) to back up fonts and pics/vectors purchased online or any Magazines I have downloaded (my download folder is on the main drive).

will now be taking my computer to a friend of my brother in law (she works for the school system and at least knows others who should be able to help) more so than the Geeks who "ripped" me off-but what could i do.

[DesignVHL]

Ouch, I shudder at the gateway - I had to use one once - my company ended up having to replace it after 2 years of usage. I am sure an iMac is perfectly fine for your needs. We all want the best of the best of course - but you also have to be reasonable and stay within your budget - esp in these tough economic times. ***I HIGHLY suggest you back up*** If you get that iMac tho, get a large external HD that would fit all your files. Use Time Machine with it - its' really a great program and system! Backs up everything with ease - your OS X settings, libraries, apps, fonts, etc. and even stuff you have on different drives. I have 4 HDs total connected to my mac - My Startup drive which is JUSt for my software programs and OS, then I have a PROJECTS drive just for well design and projects...then I have another drive just for my Media (music, videos, etc..), and finally the fourth HD for backup (though I don't have space so I exclude my media drive).

Having a separate HD for just projects can really help keep your system running better - less wear and tear on your startup drive. :) Just a tip...

[BJMRGTIVR6]

Yeah. I have always planned that when i get a Mac (if I haven't purchased it before) I would get a Large External drive and store stuff there.
All my work has usually been on the second/external drive anyway.

but good to note.

[DesignVHL]

:) for sure...believe it or not a lot of people don't realize how much of a different it can make! I really feel that this method allows your computer to last a few years longer than it normally would. Good maintenance is key. Wish both my parents would learn that one!

[Optimusdinkus]

It's always nice when your boss asks you to look like an idiot at things that I have absolutely no power over, like, asking another designer to do something that I can do in a few minutes without pay only because he wants to see another solution (not the 5 that I've shown).... Of course I'll try since he asked me to, but hey failure is always fun to see first hand after being badgered to do it and I suppose since he pays me I can't complain :rolleyes:

[Rizz]

What is it with design firms that blame the printer for all mistakes when its their files that cause them?

My boss recently agreed to be the exclusive print provider for our biggest client. This means we get all the printing jobs for them, from letterheads and business cards to banners and car wraps.

The client goes though a well known design firm for all their design work. So we get all the files from them. The problem we're having now is the files we get are flawed. RGB images, wrong sizes, things too close to trim, fonts not outlined, transparencies not flattened, typos and even completely wrong files. When we call them and ask them to fix it, they throw a hissy fit, tell us we need to upgrade and refuse to give us the files the way we need them. They also blame us if the finished product is wrong, even though it was the way they sent it to us.

The client trusts the design firm, so we end up having to eat the cost on all re-prints. We spend hours upon hours of time fixing these files and we don't get paid any extra because we're paid just to print.

So I think we're about to lose the contract due to all the fighting we have to do with the design firm. We're a busy company and we don't always have the time to correct files that so called 'professionals' have done.

[budafist]

Rizz that sucks, but as a printing company you are within your rights to fire a client. Sometimes the reprints and the headaches are so not worth it. You end up at a loss and that is no way to run a business. If someone else wants their headache, give it to them!

[Rizz]

Yeah. But they are our biggest client. And its not the client's fault. Its their choice in design firm. Apparently they had a different firm doing their design before I started and there were no problems.

So, hopefully the client will realize this and switch back to the other firm.

-Rizz

[garricks]

Jerking my chain: The new Jack In the Box TV commercial for Pita snacks, with the two businessmen in a stroller that start crying and whining like 3-year-olds. They think that's going to move product??? :eek:

[a_muse]

The boy is sleeping I am finally getting down to real work and the neighbour calls and I can't get her off the phone for close to an hour.
She asks me everyday what I'm doing today and I always tell her "working", she just doesn't get it!! This happens almost every day. I would ignore her calls, but she just calls back :(

[Virgo Nightingale]

Being so pancakin' busy with political work (I hate this time of year) that I can't even get in here to post anything except this "I'm too busy to hang out in here!" post. :(

[budafist]

The boy is sleeping I am finally getting down to real work and the neighbour calls and I can't get her off the phone for close to an hour.
She asks me everyday what I'm doing today and I always tell her "working", she just doesn't get it!! This happens almost every day. I would ignore her calls, but she just calls back :(

That's when you tell her you are right in the middle of something, can you call her back? Then you don't call her back. Easy! :D

[schules]

People who jerk my chain are co-workers who read my email after I leave then either gossip or get angry about what was said in MY emails. Who are they to break a "moral law" then get angry about what they found?

[budafist]

People who jerk my chain are co-workers who read my email after I leave then either gossip or get angry about what was said in MY emails. Who are they to break a "moral law" then get angry about what they found?

What is your company policy on reading people's emails? I know that opening snail mail that is not addressed to you is illegal, but how does it go with emails?

[schules]

We are a small company, family owned. We've just hired two sisters who have no clue on how to behave in a "corporate" environment. I mentioned it to the VP and was told that it was no big deal. It IS a big deal to me. I'm a pretty private person, if I wanted them to know who I was dating or what was happening in my private life, I would tell them. I don't trust them and it is affecting my work.

[NTLemon]

That's pretty low schules, I'm surprised the VP brushed it off like that.

If I were you I would start sending myself some fake scandalous emails and use it to bait them into acting out. :p

[urstwile]

Password protect your screensaver, schules.

[garricks]

^^ Also, (and you don't say whether you do or not...) don't use company e-mail for personal correspondence. Use gmail, hotmail or one of the other free e-mail services, and log out after use.

[reuber1]

Quark has automatically shutdown on me at least twelve times in the past 20 minutes, and I am not exaggerating.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

Quark has automatically shutdown on me at least twelve times in the past 20 minutes, and I am not exaggerating.

Arrrrrghh that sucks Reuber.
Have you tried copying everything over to a new document?
maybe there is something screwy in teh old document to cause the crashes.


Though it could just be quirky quark. i hate quark.

[The_Black_Knight]

Also hates me the Quark. It could be a corrupt font causing the problems. Of course, finding out which one can be a real pain...

[Mynock]

Not saving often enough as my Photoshop just froze up.

[Yossarian]

I've got love/hate feelings for Quark. Quark 7 has been pretty good to me. Version 6 used to screw me over fairly regularly though.

[reuber1]

Turned out as I was resizing the multipage doc down to it's trimmed size, as I was deleting the custom trim marks I had, there was one group trim marks on one of the pages that would just cause the entire program to crash when I deleted it. I ungrouped them and they deleted fine. Of course, had to track them down as it was happening from Master page...I have no idea why that happened, but it sure was obnoxious.

I just noticed that this thread is kid tested and MD approved.

[The_Black_Knight]

Glad you figured out the problem, reuber.

[Tea]

People who say they want something, but never come and get it...so now I have to start all over finding a new home for the piano. *******.

[urstwile]

Oh, that sucks, Tea. You were using freecycle, too, weren't you? :(

[garricks]

Tea, when I was looking up "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" for the apostrophe/single quote thread, I discovered she's written a new book: Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door. (http://www.amazon.com/Talk-Hand-Bloody-Rudeness-Reasons/dp/B000VPKFRW/ref=pd_sim_b_3) I have it on my list. ;)

[Optimusdinkus]

I love when a studio said they will have things ready for us, then when I get there, nothing has been accomplished and I have to explain to my boss why it did not happen and how I have to take care of it, and all the BS of blaim towards the designer, even after 10 emails upon his request of what we wanted which he did see before they went out.........

[reuber1]

Chicago sports in general. The city of the choke.

[dwagener]

Cavities! Went to the dentist this morning, that wasn't fun :(

[MD]

Chicago sports in general. The city of the choke.

**** THE BEARS. They have screwed up my football bets and pools 3 weeks in a row.

[WannaBrie]

Aaargh! Its happened again! I go into the bathroom and there's the empty cardboard thingy on the roll. How F**king rude is that? We have 3 communal bathrooms and everyone here knows where the storeroom with the spare rolls is! Not only that, but one of our 2 male coworkers here leaves the seat up! Ewwww! I have no need to lift the seat and I don't wish to touch it to lower after they have left it up! Bleh!:mad:

/rant

[Typically]

I don't wish to touch it to lower after they have left it up! Bleh!:mad:

/rant

would you rather put it back down or whip pee off the seat? :D

i'm pretty good with this though but only because i don't want the kitties drinking blue water

[Virgo Nightingale]

The rule in our house is that the lid goes down every time. That way we both have responsibilities after doing the piddle. ;)

[WannaBrie]

I would rather do neither. I would think it should be up to each individual to be clean. There's only one kid I'll clean up after (my own) and even he knows not to pee on the seat. (I've taught him to put it back down after) I think that's common courtesy. Am I wrong?



p.s. I know you're just picking, Typ!

[Typically]

hehe i agree, if i miss i clean it up :D

[dwagener]

Since we're talking about bathrooms... I hate when the toilet paper is facing the wrong way!

CORRECT:
http://yatnis.com/blog/b2evolution/blogs/media/blogs/Cynthia/toilet-paper-over.jpg

WRONG:
http://www.popgadget.net/iimages/toilet-paper-under.jpg

[Optimusdinkus]

Hey now, think about us here a bit. Would you want us to get our hands dirty having to life up that seat everytime you have to go, I mean come on, if were gonna be considerate to each other, we could be half and half here, this gender specific nonsense has to be rectafied if we are to move as one in the colloquial enviorment known as......bathroom
/sarcasm /facetious

[Bladez]

Hearing something 'snap' in the car while shifting gears! now I can't get my car out of 4th. It's not a connection pin underneath, it's something in the console somewhere. I was about 2 blocks from my dads before I finally had to pull over. Then I had to get it to his place in 4th by feathering and burning my clutch a little bit. *sigh* So much bad luck with vehicles this year! And of course it happens when I'm on the wrong end of the city from my place (Dad is in the NE, I live in the NW), and have to pick up the g/f and her uncle and drive them home at the end of the night from the SE.

[CkretAjint]

Check the under tray of the shifter to make sure a small coin or piece of plastic didn't lodge in the shifters way. Also double check the splash shield under the shifter, if it's older and rusted it might be missing causing junk to get up in there. :)

[Bladez]

I already started pulling everything apart Ckret. I can move the shifter back and forth but it just moves loosely, doesn't actually shift gears. and I can't move it sideways at all (which really sux because unless my car is in reverse, my key gets locked in the ignition, so I can't even get it out right now). I'm thinking a connection in the console somewhere actually broke. When it happened there was a very distinctive sound of plastic snapping. Maybe I'll luck in when I get back to my dads today and I'll be able to climb underneath and shift it into reverse that way.

[Yossarian]

I had that happen to my Saturn last fall. Fortunately it was just a plastic grommet thing that attached the bottom of the shift lever to the linkage. I was able to put about 10 zip ties through it to hold it together until the part came in.

Sounds like yours must be deeper in. Good luck in finding the broken piece and getting back on the road.

[CkretAjint]

Yossarian hit the nail on the head. I would bet the issue is where the cable attaches to the pivot ball. Had a similar thing happen to my friends car when we installed his short shifter. Turns out all those bushing and locking washers are really needed! Who would have thunk?

[Yossarian]

Ah yes, bushing, that's the word I couldn't pull out of my brain. Thanks, Ckret.

Bladez, the first time I read your post when you said it wasn't something underneath, my mind leapt to it not being something right underneath the shift lever. I now realize that you were referring to actually underneath the car.

I took console to mean further up the shift tunnel, underneath the dash.

Now that I'm (hopefully) done being confused I really do think it most likely is the same type of bushing that broke on the bottom of your car's shifter.

After doing a little digging through car forums about my type of car, I figured out that I could order a new shift bushing from a guy on ebay. They're the equivalent part, but use a stronger material than the factory original. I think it was cheaper than going through GM too.

It was easy enough to install, just screwdrivers, pliers, and relatively mild swearing.

Maybe you'll be able to find a better aftermarket part too. If you try the zip tie thing for a temporary fix, make sure you shift carefully and check it every day. A couple of the zip ties broke after about 3 days, but if you use a whole crapload you should be fine.

[Bladez]

Yea, I've pulled apart what I can and I can't find where it broke, so I think I'm gonna have to take it to a shop. May be a little deeper in the dash than I can get to.

But of course, the shop isn't answering their phone for me to book an appt. to get in it....Love it!

[MikeHun]

On the subject of cars ... commuting today and there always an idiot who going 180km an hour passes on the right to squeeze into that car length between you and the car in front AArrrrgggghhhhhhh.... Plus he's been buzzing you and following you oh sooooo closely!!!

[Bladez]

Mike, you need one of these:
http://i5.tinypic.com/2u5xkzt.jpg

My dad's buddy installed something similar to one of his cars. When someone follows to close, he let it rip....melted the guys grill and he f***ed off REAL fast! Then dad's buddy disconnected it because it was a bigger fireball then he planned.

[Typically]

that is teh awesome bladez!

[dwagener]

:eek: ha! I need one of those too

[CkretAjint]

Tune a car with a Rotary motor... you'll get fireballs day in and day out!

[John G]

Are car afterburners even legal in any state now? (fuel line to tail pipe).

[CkretAjint]

Are car afterburners even legal in any state now? (fuel line to tail pipe).

No.

http://boxermotor.com/bilder/backfire/backfire1/backfire1.jpg

:D

[John G]

want

[CkretAjint]

I saw it first! :D

[dwagener]

my friend's lightly-tuned Evo IX can shoot fireball's (without fuel line to tailpipe)... its especially sweet when he does it under tunnels :p

[CkretAjint]

betcha it scares the crap out of you too when he shifts gears, huh? :p

[artgem1984]

Customers who sit on proofs for 2 months then the job is the most urgent thing in the world, where, if they don't have it by tomorrow, the world will end.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

That's not all customers?

I like the ones that ask how soon I can get them the work/prints and I have to ask them when can they supply me with the copy for it.

[MikeHun]

Want the flame !Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ...very good but I can foretell an Arms race ensuing.

[Virgo Nightingale]

I love when customers ask where are these pieces, I've been waiting, it's been over a week... Umm, still in my computer, you never actually sent me any final approval.

[garricks]

^^ You mean that "looks great!" e-mail wasn't good enough?

Don't you want to shout NO, you idiot gassbag!!!! ?

[Virgo Nightingale]

I didn't even get a 'looks great'. In the last round of changes, he said "Just do this one change and it's good to print." Well, it's policy to always always ALWAYS get the approval on the final version, so I sent him another pdf and said, "Let me know if it needs anything else changed." No reply, so I could only assume that they were still mulling it over. :rolleyes:

[emerson]

Clients who want one thing, then after you send them a proof, they change their mind and want you to redesign it with new text. Oh, and clients who always want outlined text, or think they want to put a line under all of their "important information". Pretty much any client who has not an inkling of an idea of graphic design or layout and want to butcher your proof which in the end just makes it look god awful. Then they want to ask you what you think, I always tell them what I thought was the first proof I sent them. I've even gone as far to tell a client "That's definetly not going in my portfolio" only after I have a good foundation that they are total tools and in no way could harm my reputation. You know, the ones that you can tell nobody wants to deal with no matter their needs. Ya, those people annoy me.

[emerson]

^And what sucks is that those are the people who always seem to be somewhat successful, at least financially. They just seem so undeserving with their ignorant attitudes.

[Bladez]

I've got to get my magazine out to print today and i'm still trying to get 7 proofs. Nobody is calling me back, or emailing me back. And I know if I don't run their ads, they'll complain....but if they're not right, they'll complain....

[Typically]

thats weak bladez... sounds like it's there fault for not getting back to you though. tell your boss about it so they know what the deal is if people complain. i'd leave it out rather than put it in if it wasn't approved.

[Bladez]

Got a call from the shop today about my car....the actual cable snapped! Which means they've got to run a new one all the way through....I'm not gonna have it back till like Tuesday (I only have a vehicle till this friday) and it's gonna run me about $720!

Can you all guess what the first words out of my mouth were?!?!

[John G]

fantastic fun!

?

[Bladez]

Well....it DID have an F, rhymes with "Duck"....first word wa kinda religious

[Virgo Nightingale]

Ouch... :o

[WannaBrie]

sucks, bladez. :(

[CkretAjint]

HOLY CRAP! What kind of car is it?? If it's foreign and slightly older, you might be able to run the cable yourself! Buy the cable, tie it to the end of the old one and pull it through.

YEESH thats a LOT... :eek:

[Bladez]

it's a 2000 Grand Am. Most of the cost is labor because they've got to pull the console apart to run the cable. It broke in a really shitty place. I have no place to do my own auto work. I live in an apartment complex with just a parking lot, and we're not allowed to do things like that in there. We can't even change our own oil in our parking lot! So lame! And it's starting to get to cold to work outside now anyways.

[BJMRGTIVR6]

FiretrUCK?

was that it???

wow, that sucks. I had an issue once where it was stuck in 2nd gear on my way to school. after a hard turn around, luckily partially on a hill to neutral it in reverse, i was able to get it home and to a nearby shop.

min, luckily was not that costly.

that really sucks!

[CkretAjint]

Stupid Pontiacs running cable THROUGH the car and not under it :mad:

Had a similar issue with a friends Sunfire. Turns out the tip of the cable snapped off at the transmission. Went to the junkyard to find a replacement cap and the first sunfire we find had the SAME issue but the owner used a paperclip to ghetto rig the cable to the transmission! I guess it's a common problem with the 2.4l engines (yours is a 2.4l, right?). We had a good laugh about that one. :p

[Bladez]

Hmmmmm....

*searches for paper clip and ponders*

Somehow I don't think this will work....I think it snapped mid line. It sounded like it came from the console itself when it went, and I couldn't see any issues when I crawled underneath. Everything looked hunky dory. So dumb.

I think my grand am is a 3.4L

[Virgo Nightingale]

I've killed two automatic cars by somehow destroying the transmissions (not sure how). Now that I have a stick that I plan on driving into the ground (well, not literally), you may have shed light onto the method by which I'll kill this car. :D

<<Trannie killer!!

[Riefnu]

<<Trannie killer!!
:eek:
hide the grass skirts and coconuts!

[CkretAjint]

Neutral drops, power 'shifting'? Lead foot?? On and off foot during shifts??? No maintenance???? Any number of things can destroy a transmission.

No worries Virgo, I am on number 5 in my car. The first 3 were all destroyed in 24k miles! :p

[Bladez]

LOL @ Riefnu
You caught that too eh?

boulders are great ways to kill a transmission too. I knew I guy who drove over one in a pick up and ended up smashing it pretty good.

I'm gonna blame the damage on my g/f. 5 years ago when we first dated, my el camino got rear ended. then after we broke up, we started to reconcile and I rolled a company truck. then things ended and I was all good. 5 years later we start seeing each other again and I roll my pick up truck (when I broke my hand in march). now we're actually back together, and this happens.....she brings a car curse!

[John G]

maybe somebody up top is trying to give you a hint about this girl

[CkretAjint]

If she were my girlfriend she would have gotten the boot long ago with a curse like that! I've never let anyone else drive my car, not my girlfriend, not my parents, not even my BESTEST of friends in the world. :p

[Virgo Nightingale]

Neutral drops, power 'shifting'? Lead foot?? On and off foot during shifts??? No maintenance???? Any number of things can destroy a transmission.

No worries Virgo, I am on number 5 in my car. The first 3 were all destroyed in 24k miles! :p

Didn't do any fancy shifting since they were automatic. Both cars were maintained, but each was around 10-12 years old at their time of death. Lead foot? Now that's a possibility... :o

[Bladez]

that's been the common belief John....I haven't learned yet apparently.

If she were my girlfriend she would have gotten the boot long ago with a curse like that! I've never let anyone else drive my car, not my girlfriend, not my parents, not even my BESTEST of friends in the world. :p

hahahah. She's never driven my vehicles, so it's just got to be something about having her in my life *LOL* I told her I may have to break up with her because of this. hahahah

[CkretAjint]

Next time she comes over, open up the door straight faced and just say "We need to talk."



:D

[Bladez]

it'll have to wait till after I get my car back. She's my ride this weekend *LOL* My luck I'll pull a stunt like that, she won't find it funny and break it off with me hahahahaha!

[CkretAjint]

LOL! Souds like a real sour puss you got there! :p

Don't worry though, I have destroyed SOOooo many things on my car. Last time I checked (2003) I had so many warranty repairs/claims that FORD tallied it up and said That they could bought my a brand new Cobra Mustang with all the money they dumped into my ZX2!!! :eek: I still drive the car, just don't race or tune it any more so everything stopped breaking! :p

[Optimusdinkus]

See that's why I go for dependable Camry, never a problem, never had anything break on it AND the baby has been in 2 car wrecks already (non my fault). 120k miles on it and it runs just like it did off the lot

[CkretAjint]

Stuff only broke on my car cause I was young and stupid. :p

Now I'm just old(er) and stupid! :D

[maggiestg]

I have to say it really bugs me when people say "I could care less". It's supposed to be "I couldn't care less" - as in I could NOT care less.....

If you "could care less" that means you're not at the very bottom of your caring... there's more disdain to be had. If you "couldn't care less" then you're right at the bottom of your caring.

So, people please if you can't care anymore then PLEASE use the correct expression "I couldn't care less". But then again I don't know why I care....I really couldn't care less what people say or do!

[Optimusdinkus]

I have to say it really bugs me when people say "I could care less". It's supposed to be "I couldn't care less" - as in I could NOT care less.....

If you "could care less" that means you're not at the very bottom of your caring... there's more displeasement to be had. If you "couldn't care less" then you're right at the bottom of your caring.

So, people please if you can't care anymore then PLEASE use the correct expression "I couldn't care less". But then again I don't know why I care....I really couldn't care less what people say or do!
It’s because when we say I couldn't care less it's when we wish to be more rude and mismanaged towards someone, be an ass basically, or when it's something completely out of our your control, like "I couldn't care less what happens to peter out there, if he dies so what."

As for, I could care less, is when we subtly wish to say, I have little care for what is happening, since you are caring less than you should......

I'm severely bored right now

[tuliptree]

Geez Bladez, sorry to hear that, that really stinks about your car! Hope it gets fixed soon, and some how the bill is magically less than you were quoted (lol right?)

Ok, my turn. . . yesterday when I went to check my checking account balance online, somehow we were overdrawn by about $200. I looked closer and about 5 transactions had double posted. So I called the bank. Turns out it was a widespread issue, and it wasn't just me. However, the woman on the phone pissed me off. Aparently I wasn't the only one to call, so I could tell all she wanted to do was get through this call. Yes, you aren't the only one. It will be fixed at the end of day. No, you won't get any overdraft fees if your account was in good standing before the double posts. Blah blah blah. Absolutely no confidence here that it would turn out well.

Soooo, this morning I go to check the balance, and guess what! The double posts were fixed, but we were hit with a $150 over draft fee! Lovely!! Now we're overdrawn again, and I need to go to the grocery store. This is so not cool.

Firetruck!!!!!

[Danger_Mouse]

Jerks jerk my chain. There are a lot of them per capita in Toronto. Oy. Almost got ran over twice while walking to work. Whatever happened to pedestrians getting the right of way....more like right out of the way.

Jerks.

[Typically]

ohhhhhh tulip that's terrible!! you need to get on the phone with them and bitch them out and make it right. if they don't do anything i'd switch banks. i bet that'd get them to fix it for you.

[tuliptree]

Ugh, I have been trying, but I've been on hold forever! I am sure they're flooded with calls now. I see that more overdraft fees are coming down the pipe now, too. Now I just want to cry. The worst part is, it's stopping me from getting FOOD! Do they not know they are messing with a GDFer and her food!!

[Typically]

uh oh that's dangerous! can you go down to the bank in person?