Jammy Jester’s Shiraz

We recently had a very jammy shiraz, Mitolo’s Jester Shiraz. Normally, although we do recognize the fruit in shiraz, most have such an acidic underdone (as mentioned before described as “heartburn wine”) that we don’t like them. However, this one also doesn’t have a lot, if any, “heartburn” and is just pretty jammy. Its from the McLaren Vale region, just like the d’Arenberg. I’m not sure if this is typical of this region, as I could’ve swore I had some that had the typical heartburn feel, but I like it, particularly for $15-17.

Letter Writin' Fool

As some of my friends know, I am a letter writer. If I have an unpleasant experience at a restaurant, store, or with a product, I write a letter. As a side note to those servers out there- I waited tables for 8 years so I certainly give servers every benefit of the doubt and usually, my complaints are not service oriented and I ensure that I say my service was fine. Some make fun, but recently I sent a letter to the CEO of Motorola because my razr phone was blacking out on me, 2 months outside the manufacturer’s warranty period:

Dear Edward Zander,
I recently did a graduate project on Motorola’s logo and culture and during my research I read quite a bit about the company and of course how you were the first “outsider” to run Motorola. I chose Motorola because I wanted to pick a US based company, I own a Razr, and I received my undergraduate degree in Business at ASU and thus lived down the street from Motorola.
I read an interview you did in 2004, regarding how Motorola’s quality and innovation has declined based on the non-urgent culture and how you were hoping to bring Motorola back to the top. You were interested developing the 4-in-1 phones and I have seen that in your new lines. I respect that. I like to see US based companies on top, coming up with the latest and greatest innovations and think its sad that so many of us have gotten used to associating foreign brands, like Sony or Samsung, with quality.
Well, I am sad to say that have owned my Motorola Razr for 14 months and it has started to just “die” at random times. I have to remove the battery and then power it on. I’ve tried master reset and nothing works and its getting worse. I have insurance, of course, and I get a replacement phone for $50, but I think its sad that I have to. I buy insurance so I’m covered if I lose the phone, not because I expect the phone to break on me 2 months outside the manufacturer’s warranty period. I’m eligible for a phone upgrade in a few months and was considering getting the Motorola Razr2, but I don’t think I am. I’ve had better luck with other phones and I’m not alone in my concerns about the Razr lines- I have quite a few friends and business associates who own them and while all of us really loved the slim size, what we want is a innovative phone with good service that is easy to use and doesn’t fail on us when we need it.
I just wanted to let you know how disappointed I am. Hopefully, in trying to be the most innovative and develop the latest and greatest products, you don’t lose sight of making a quality product that at least lasts the typical wireless contract period- 2 years.

I sent that on a Saturday. By Friday, less than one week later, I received a call from Motorola’s customer service. They stated they would fix my phone for free and were emailing me a pre-paid Fed Ex label. Isn’t that astonishing? Less than one week. I doubt the CEO read the letter and said wow, we need to fix that girl’s phone. I’m guessing what happened was that it got routed to the CEO’s office, his executive admin read it and forwarded it to Customer Service, who prioritized simply because it came from the CEO’s office. (not because anyone requested it was rushed)
But still-I’m impressed. Well the phone is on its way there (I had to find a spare phone to use in the interim) and I’ll keep you posted on progress.

Is K-Fed worth $20,000 a month?

Uh no, but I just read this on e! online…

According to financial declarations pertaining to the estranged exes' ongoing custody battle, Federline earned more than $500,000 in 2006, including $3,300 in royalties for "Popo Zao." But after factoring in his business and monthly personal expenses, including $7,500 for rent, $6,000 for security, $5,000 for "entertainment, gifts and vacation," $2,000 per month for clothes, etc., he only made a profit of $7,436.

Thank goodness for the $35,000 he was getting from Spears each month, $15,000 for child support and $20,000 for spousal support.

They said the 20K spousal support was going to expire soon, but the child support will likely go up. Now, I’m all for the child support- and Brittany deserves to fork out someone….girl needs to keep her panties on and get a license!
But really- 20K a month for K-Fed??? So he can keep spending $5K/month for enterainment? Puulleeeeze.