Inside the Mind of Suz

I’m a known complainer, and really isn’t that a pretty good reason to have a blog? No? Well, I’m gonna use it ask a venting vehicle and today I’m looking at you, Dropbox!

I love the concept of “in the cloud”. Especially, if you’re like me and sometimes your computer’s hard drive craps out on you for no reason! And one of the main reasons I gravitated to Dropbox, to begin with, was how many platforms I could sync my files across with ease. Countless iPhone apps are being built/updated with Dropbox functionality, which also makes my life easier.

I download music, documents, and all sorts of files to Dropbox for safe keeping. Heck, my entire Nook Color library is backed up on Dropbox, as well as all of the pictures/videos on my iPhone camera roll! Better safe, than sorry, right?

However, a large problem arrives when you run out the 2GB of space that Dropbox so graciously provides you for free. Now, I’m not opposed to upgrading to a full account, but honestly, their plans suck! Read more »

If you take a look around the internet, you’ll see 2 distinct camps, with regards to reading: a) The techies that are all about e-readers & think everyone else lives in the stone age and b) the traditionalists who look down upon e-reader crowd saying things like “I like to feel the page turns”.

It’s really unfortunate, and that’s why I absolutely adore the new Barnes & Noble Nook commercial, titled “Read Forever”!

If you prefer one reading medium over the other, that’s great! In my opinion, if one of them gets someone, who otherwise wouldn’t be reading, to read, then shouldn’t we all be celebrating that rather than engaging in a flame war?

I’m one of those e-reader people. I adore Lula Mae, my Nook Color, and I wouldn’t have read a single page from a book this year if it weren’t for her. Physically turning a page, or folding the corner over to bookmark, doesn’t mean a thing to me. I’m thankful for e-readers, because they got me to read!

I don’t look down upon those who prefer actual books. I’m just glad that when people talk about specific books or what I’m reading, I actually have an answer!

So, the B&N Nook ad provides a bit of a a Kumbaya moment, right? Even Kindle owners are co-signing in approval. And speaking of the Kindle, read on to see Amazon’s decidedly different ad approach to the battle. Read more »

Can someone please make this happen?

There are a million sweet iPhone apps; and I probably own 90% of them. They’re packed with extremely useful features that I’ve become extremely accustomed to.

It’s gotten to the point that when I open the Tumblr app, I expect to see those same features. But then become instantly disappointed, because they aren’t present in any Tumblr apps. I don’t know if it’s because the API doesn’t allow it, or simply that the really talented app devs just aren’t interested, but I wish that’d happen.

What am I really missing? There are overall Tumblr improvements I’d like to see, which would then, hopefully transfer over to any apps that are developed and/or updated. Read more »

The Victoria’s Secret Semi-Annual sale is a wonderful thing. And so is SlickDeals.net. Combine the two and it makes for a wonderful transaction; especially if you live in Columbus, OH (where the VS international HQ is located).

I’ve had my eyes on a couple of suits since the company released their 2010 Swim Catalogue, but wasn’t able to snag them early on. Bring on the Semi-Annual sale!

Here are my purchases:

Added bonus? I already have a bikini body at the beginning of January (Thanks, TurboFire!). It’s only going to get better from here!

What about you? Have your eye on a bikini? Is it motivation to get in shape? Share!

A few weeks ago, I discovered the glorious-ness that is Dairy Queen’s Pumpkin Pie Blizzard. Reading up on it, it seems to have debuted in 1991. Where the hell was I? I was in middle school (yes, aging myself) and there was a DQ directly across the street from my school. We pretty much lived at the DQ. It was our main hang out!

Made with pumpkin pie mix and pieces of flaky pie crust blended with creamy DQ vanilla soft-serve and capped with whipped topping and a sprinkle of nutmeg, the chilly fall treat is available at all Dairy Queen and DQ Grill & Chill restaurants nationwide beginning Oct. 1.

If I had known then what I know now…

Anyway, if you visit the DQ website, it lists the Pumpkin Pie Blizzard as the “Blizzard of the Month”. Now, I only discovered this wonderful treat a few weeks ago and they’re going to take it away after 1 month?

Not so fast… I went back to DQ today to get a couple more, mini-sized of course, and I asked the driv-thru attendant. He said that they simply start selling them in October & will continue to do so until they run out, probably around CHRISTMAS!! So, no need to panic! Even if he exaggerated how long it’d be available, clearly The Pumpkin Pie Blizzard should be around longer than just October!

This wouldn’t happen if this were a live Nascar race. And it certainly wouldn’t be an issue if a Golf tourney were on, but since we’re talking about Grand Slam tennis, it’s become an issue.

The 2010 US Open Men’s Final was rained out yesterday and rescheduled for today at 4PM. I’m sure many local Columbus folks were bummed they had to wait another day, but were glad to see it would air at 4PM on Monday.

So, come 4PM, you turn to CBS/10TV and what do you see? Oprah. Great…

Now, I know this is Oprah’s final season and there’s a lot of hooplah around this premiere, but for her show will be on every. single. weekday. until Spring! The US Open is a once a year event and this is the freaking FINAL!

Where did 10TV put this match? On channel 10.2, which is one of the analog digital channels that you can only get if you’re using a digital tv/converter box or happen to have Insight or WOW cable. Everyone else? You’re SOL. Fair? Hardly.

In the release, which is dated 11:05 AM today, WBNS says the following:

Our digital channel, 10.2, can be seen on WOW and Insight cable. If you don’t have either cable system, call your cable company.

Really, 10TV? Really? The event is TODAY, and you want me to call my cable company? What do you think that’s going to to accomplish? Think they’re just going to flip a switch and immediately all Time Warner Cable customers will suddenly have your channel 10.2? It doesn’t work like that. This is a major, major fail on your part, and will keep me watching NBC4 for my local news fix.

I’m sure many are thinking “why is this chick so angry? She can watch it online, right?” Yes, I can. But that’s not the point. And let me share a story as to why.

Before the Big Ten Network came into existence, 10TV was the local station that aired the vast majority of Ohio State Men’s Basketball games. They came on during primetime and what did 10TV do?

THEY BUMPED ALL THAT HIGHLY RATED CBS PROGRAMMING AND RE-AIRED THEM AFTER MIDNIGHT!

And it wasn’t just once in a while. It was weekly for the duration of the college basketball season. So, here we have a one-time sports program on, 10TV isn’t obliging its local viewers by bumping Oprah. (They’re too scared, I guess) Instead, they’ve relegated this sports program to a channel that a very small percentage of local viewers can even get. (Other local cable providers include AT&T, Time Warner, DirecTV, & I’m sure others) And that, my friends, is bullshit.

When things piss me off, like this, the first thing I do is blog. People are going to know how I feel. That’s why I have a blog.

So, in closing, 10TV, you really need to get your priorities straight. And while you’re at it, kiss my black ass. That is all.

This happened a couple of weeks ago, but I’m just now getting around to writing about it. I wasn’t going to, but I feel that CVS deserves to be called out for this.

Last month, while browsing the Sunday ads, I came across a wonderful manufacturer’s coupon for Playtex Gentle Glide tampons. (If you are a male, don’t worry, I’m not going to go into details or anything about its intended usage lol) Anywho, it was a buy 36-count box and get an 18-count box free. Yes, free!

I’ve never seen a coupon like this for this particular product, and since it’s a regular purchase, I was ready to jump all over it!

But when I got to CVS, the only available options for Playtex Gently Glide were the 36-count boxes. This isn’t a matter of the 18-ct boxes being sold out. The display was fully stocked but only with 36-ct boxes. So, even if you bought a box, you couldn’t use your coupon to get a freebie.

Now, I buy my tampons at CVS all the time — overall, I’m a very loyal shopper — and they have always had both 18 and 36 count boxes available. But clearly, they knew about this coupon, so they removed the 18-ct boxes as a money saving move. I know they run a business, but this was a punk move IMO and I don’t appreciate it. They probably didn’t think that many people would notice, but I did, and so, I’m calling them out.

It was one coupon, one time! It’s not like Playtex regularly places this in Sunday papers. (In fact, this is the 1st time I’ve ever seen one!) So, give your customers a freakin’ break already. The economy’s bad!

Now, I shall return you all to your regularly scheduled programming.