More troubles with Sears. Remember my statement yesterday: "The smart money, incidentally, says he doesn't show up with the necessary part"? Well, that's what happened. My wife waited at home from 8:00 until 3:30. The fix-it guy showed up and said he didn't have the part, and it'd take 5-7 days to get it. When we called over three weeks ago to report the problem, we explained the situation to the person ("the support bar snapped in half"), but no matter. The fix-it guy says they never send him out with the part because he needs to make the diagnosis himself (in case, you know, the 18" support bar was just faking its snap).
I'd call to complain, but Sears doesn't take calls. They just put you into voice mail hell. They give callers hold music, as if that makes the wait pleasant. It'd be more honest if they gave callers jeers ("You really think the person you need is going to pick up in the next three minutes! Ha, Ha. You're dumb").
Well, that's enough complaining for this week/year. I've started each day this week with disgruntlement, which is hardly proper for a blog that dubs itself a "eudemon" (spirit of light), especially during Advent. Here's some good stuff: The Catholic Channel is now airing at Sirius Satellite Radio. I've never been very tempted by satellite radio, but this channel looks pretty good. They're going to be humorous. A very good thing (and tough to do).
Also worth noting: The Saint Nicholas Center (via Welborn). Today is St. Nick's Feast Day. I think I'll buy myself a present. A six-pack of fine pale ale would be good.
On the self-promotion end:
My weekly column at Catholic Exchange is up (this one might rank my favorite), and my monthly column at National Catholic Register is online.
It's early for Brews You Can Use, but Terry Nelson at Abbey-Roads referred me to this: St. Louis police say a woman shot her husband, who was about 70 years old, four to five times in the chest after he tried giving her a warm can of Stag beer. The real tragedy isn't the death or even the existence of warm beer. It's the man's pathetic servile state that reduced him to serving beer to his wife. Talk about topsy-turvy. He should've shot himself out of a sense of dignity.
Here's a survey to show your college-bound daughter: "The survey also found men care more about the sexual history of a potential partner than women do. More than half of all women said they did not care how many previous sexual partners a man had but only 29% of men said it was not an issue." Sexual revolution? Pshaw. Men, including some decent ones, have a double standard. Always have, always will. If you want to marry a decent guy, stay out of his bedroom and his acquaintance's bedroom.
Doing a lot of Christmas shopping for loved ones? Be careful. You're liable to screw up: "We frequently have the most trouble understanding the tastes of those we know a lot about. Not only do we feel overconfident that we'll pick something they like, but our tendency to assume that we are extremely similar to the ones we love also motivates us to ignore cues that don't support preconceived notions." This could be useful information. If your male friend buys you some Judy Garland CDs and apple martini mix, you might want to re-think that invitation he extended for dinner and an Elton John concert.
And perhaps the best story: Man Accused Of Faking Retardation -- For 20 Years. A real life ringer, but how do they know the guy wasn't on a 20-year binge?
