My Kayak

For my birthday, Cathie gave me a life jacket. I stared at it for a little while trying to figure out exactly what the gift was and she and the kids looked on smiling. When they brought the paddles in, I knew for sure. I'm a pretty tough guy to buy for and it's tough for Cathie to stay ahead of me with gifts for my first love: gadgets. I loved kayaking on vacation last year and what made this such a great gift was that it was unexpected and thoughtful. (For the record, Nate told Cathie that I'd hate it because it wasn't technology.)

I knew squat about Kayaks, but after doing some digging, I found out that Cathie got me exactly the right one and got a great deal on it to boot.  Cathie wasn't quite sure how to get it home, so Nate and I went to pick it up and saw what she meant.  It's about 14' long and without a Kayak rack, there's no easy way to transport it.  I quickly figured out that the ropes I'd brought weren't going to cut it and bought a cheap set of cables and foam rack to take it home.

 We've been having a blast with it.  I've got it stored at a friend's cottage about 15 minutes away and we've used it almost every weekend since.  The kids and I have had a blast with it and I've gone out with friends to do some longer trips.

Part of the reason I love mountain biking is that it combines exercise with the outdoors.  This is the same kind of thing, but you can do it tandem or solo.  You can talk while you're Kayaking, and it's about as simple as you can imagine to pick up.  Maddie and her friend have taken it out on the lake and had a great time with it.  Emily even paddled me around for a while, figuring out how to steer it and maneuver it pretty quickly.  The Kayak is incredibly stable and moves pretty effortlessly.  We've had a blast so far, and the beauty is that it gives me some great one-on-one time with the kids as we're taking it out.

Madde's Choir Concert

I guess I Suffer from Information Overload Syndrome

This could be my brothers and I dancing

Watch Footworking videos and dance lessons at DanceJam.com

Why I Love South Lyon

Where else can I wait in line behind a shirtless guy walking up to the
drive through ATM?

Why I don't leave my to-do list laying around

Emily and Cathie were both kind enough to update it for me...

Future NFL Corner

Begin forwarded message:

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One way to know your daughter is mad at you!

The new pet rats: Pip and Squeak

The Maddie's out Kayaking

DirecTV Questionable Dishonest Business Practice (aka Bait and Switch)

Wow, did DirecTV hose me.  I had called to cancel and switch to DishNetwork based on the fact that the service had become too expensive (~$90/month) and I didn't want to pay a few hundred dollars for a few new high definition receivers.  They enticed me not to switch by offering me the receivers for free and a $20 discount on my bill.  When they actually came to install the gear, they installed different equipment than they'd committed to.  When I called back in I was told they'd never signed up for the high definition DVR's and that I was welcome to cancel.  I escalated it, more because I was ticked that they'd suckered me and got nowhere, not even an apology.

I wrote the letter below and then waited for a bit.  After not getting a response from my earlier calls to speak to a manager, I called back into cancel.  Apparently their cancellation desk has a little more leeway than their customer service desk and they ended up apologizing profusely and giving me what they'd originally promised.

Here's the letter I submitted.  The response I got back was, "We show you got what you wanted in the end".  No "We screwed up." No "I'm sorry for your inconvenience".

Disappointing.

To: Ellen Filipiak, VP of Customer Care
CC: Michael Palkvoic, EVP of Operations, Better Business Bureau

Hi Ms. Filipiak,
I've been a subscriber with DirecTV for a long time and very happy with the service. I'm writing to express my concern about a dishonest transaction that happened in your department. I am cc'ing the Better Business Bureau and Michael Palkovic on this as well.

Due to the costs associated with upgrading my existing DVRs to HD, I had recently called DirecTV to cancel my service to switch to Dish Network. On that call, I was offered two new HD DVR receivers at no cost if I stayed with DirecTV. I agreed, but that was not what was installed. When I called to ask about the mix-up, I was told that what they were only giving me the HD receivers, not DVRs, and that I must have misunderstood.

I asked them to go back and listen to the call and what was committed. I shared that the rep I spoke with had some English language challenges that might have accounted for the mix up.

I would not have switched from DVRs to straight receivers. I was very clear on the call as to what I was told about getting the DVRs, and frankly, I was surprised I was getting such a great deal.

I am going to move forward with the cancellation of my account and switching to Dish Network because of this incident and I thought you should be aware of it. Through this incident, I go from being a happy long-time customer of DirecTV to someone who sees DirecTV as a company with questionable business practices.

Thanks,
Dave Kurt

Doesn't get much better than that

Snuggling Baby or Dog?

The Kurt's

Lola's got shaved

Before:
 
After:

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Best caption?

Em liked this bike because it had a rat pack on the back

Taking the dog for a walk?

Father/Son Sushi

Emily and I at the Jeffrey Animal Hospital Pet Expo

Police K9 Exhibit