The Shield Season 5 Episode 4 January 31, 2006
Posted by vinnyt in : The Shield , add a commentThis show is quickly escalating in intensity. The show begin with a brief discussion between the scum bag play by Forrest Whitaker and Lem; Lem is being told that he needs to produce a little more information or face the consequences. In a move to try and gain Lem’s confidence the detective gives Lem some fishing lures for his birthday, a fact that none of the other guys on the strike team seem to remember. We then discover a gruesome murder seen involving a pregnant woman being shot , and then the baby being cut from her stomach. It was quite rough. The show then progresses with some filler, but goes into Vic having the realization that I.A.D. must have a witness who has sold out Lem in order for them to be laying so much heat down on him. Vic’s digging results in him discovering that his long time C.I. has sold Lem out. Additionally, during this time Vic has approached a public defender in hopes of finding a lawyer to represent him, and it appears that after some initial digging she has decided to take on the case. The show ends with Vic confronting the C.I. and threatening her, but I think it may be too late for her I think once you lose your trust with detective Mackey you’re pretty much done. To make it even more interesting during this confrontation Kavaanugh (scum bag) rolls in and just about squeezes on off in his trousers when he sees Vic. This moment is quite shocking to see the look on his face, and more than likely it appears he might be suspicious that his cover is blown. I have to say the shows intensity is building from week to week and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to take the pressure of waiting from week to week. Like I’ve said in the past regardless of Vic’s past actions I believe he is above a man who sticks up for his people and this shows his true character. He would protect his own to a fault, and although he made mistakes he is getting right and hopefully this will all end up right.
The Battle with Sprint Continues January 31, 2006
Posted by vinnyt in : SprintPCS , add a commentAbout 4 months ago my cell phone contract expired with Sprint, now up to this point I had no problems whatsoever, the phones worked great and the bill was correct nearly every time. So at the time I felt renewing and continuing service with Sprint was an easy decision. My sister and I who have an arrangement to share phone time went to the Sprint store in hopes of simply renewing the contract. We went in and got placed in their waiting room system, and after about 5 minutes my name was called. The sales consultant pulled up our account clicked the screen a few times, and started writing numbers down and finally after about 5 minutes looks up explaining that with the purchase of 2 additional phone lines we could end up saving about $50.00 a month. I read over all the documentation and based on what was drawn up it looked quite illegitimate, and so after a little thought I agreed to the plan and was quite impressed with the level of service I had received from this sales person. This was quite the departure from what I had experienced when I initially had dealt with Sprint nearly two years prior when I originally got Sprint service. Unfortunately this deal like everything else turned out too good to be true. The first 2 bills arrived and everything was about $2.00 off I went ahead and paid the bill because I believed it was just a small error and would be corrected the next billing cycle. The problems began with the 3rd bill. The invoiced arrived as it did near the beginning of the month, and upon opening the bill was off by nearly $50.00. My resolution was to go to the Sprint store and question the sales person who had sold me the phone and get this resolved. Well I was surprised to discover that our sales person had been fired apparently for making promises and shady dealings so this indicated to me that I was in for a big mess. The problems I had where 2 fold. first I had requested that all my phones have no additional services beyond roaming, and the replacement plan, just basic stuff to make up for the shortcomings of our plan, well I had a phone that was never used and on that phone was a charge that accounted for the $50.00 for some extra services that where never used. The other problem was we had a 3rd phone that was promised to be canceled as soon as year ended but this was never canceled. With some minor explanation I was able to get them 2 drop the extra charge for the unused services, but all the notes on the account that had been written when I signed up where gone. This meant that the notes about the cancellation where missing so it was my word against theirs. This process took nearly the duration of the month to go through and by the time we finished the next bill arrived and with a charge of $150.00 for early termination of the line. I was livid at this point, and I contacted Sprint, with some explaining, and a lot of complaining they finally dismissed this charge. I’ve grown quite tired of this, and my suspicion is that next month I’m going to have to fight another battle, I suspect everyone else with Sprint has fought these battles and just want to know if any one has found a way to escape the prison that is sprint.
Pimp Chronicles Revisited January 26, 2006
Posted by vinnyt in : General , add a commentI’ve maintained a site next to this site called Pimp Chronicles this site initially was dedicated to the fictional adventures of 4 mythical pimp like characters that I had invented during my college days. As of late these characters have lost relevance to my life, and so writing in their voices is much harder for me than it used to be. I think I could maintain the site but no where near the level I once could so as a result I’m going to change the focus of the site to more of a strange new consolidation site, with an edge towards humor. I think what I’ll do is have Bubbles (the pimp character comment on the stories as they come across) so please if you have anything of interest please forward it to bubbles@pimpchronicles.org.
Season 5 episode 3 January 25, 2006
Posted by vinnyt in : The Shield , add a commentThe drama continues, it now appears that Lem has not sold Vic, and the fellas out. However, it appears that only Shane and Vic know the real story about Terry, so this is a tangled web in which we are beginning our descent. The team has become aware of Lem’s position and they are now focused on clearing things up, and getting right. I personally hope they are able to fix things, and get out of the hot water. Like I said Vic reminds me of my father during his time on the force, not the real scumb bag part, but the new Vic who in my opinion has seen the error in his ways and is trying to overcome his past. Oh yeah, and the busting of heads and ass kicking that’s the best part. I think John Kavanugh is a punk and I hope he get’s his.
My Switch To Vonage January 20, 2006
Posted by vinnyt in : computers , add a commentSo like more people my age I pack a cell phone so that I can discuss important topics with my friends. Any way, I found myself sitting at home the other day, and the cell phone battery was slowly fading and finally died. As my luck goes as the phone dies I realized that I had support duties that night. So after several hours of driving to locate the charger I was able to get back in business. I then realized that my lack of a land line was really hurting me. In the past I had SBC, and frankly they got the bill right about once every 5 months so that was next to worthless. So I decided to look for alternatives, we have a second land line provider here in KC, but frankly their reviews and track record rivaled the worthlessness of SBC so they where out of the question. So I figured I’d go for the VoIP solution. I maintain a high-speed Internet connection here at the house along with a few web sites so my connection is congested from time to time. So I have to say I was at first some what skeptical of try VoIP, but I figured what the hell if it doesn’t work then I could go with out it and be ok. So I began doing some research, my ISP offered phone service, but frankly I wanted to save money. I then looked at Skype, but frankly I didn’t like the feature set, and so after reading some reviews and looking at a price comparison realized that Vonage would be the one to go with and most likely the easiest to deal with so far. I called the customer service line, and in a matter of about 15 minutes was all done, I had my phone number assigned, and was able to view the details of my account, 2 days passed and a box arrived at my door step. I opened up the box to find a blue linksys router, with a brief instruction pamphlet explaining to plug the router into the wall, plug the router into my internet connection, then plug the phone into the router. I think with the coffee break I took during the setup process I was up in running in well under 5 minutes. I’ve used this phone nearly every day since, and even with a call log that typically stretches multiple pages on a daily basis they have not once got the bill wrong. I have to say that thus far the experience has been great. I recently made a discovery that is really going to make this thing smoke. There is a phone out there that is WiFi enabled, and connects directly to your access point via the wifi, and then goes to vonage. This is about the coolest thing, because right now I do take the phone to work with me, but it requires a little maneuvering. With this new phone all I carry is the phone and I could keep it on nearly as much as my cellphone. Right now I give this bad boy the double thumbs up. If you are in the market to get a land line this would be my suggestion its easy as all get out, it’s highly portable just unplug and take your router with you, and finally it just plain works. The only drawback and the only reason I carry my cell phone is if the power goes out I’m dead in the water.
The Shield Season 5 episode 2. January 19, 2006
Posted by vinnyt in : The Shield , add a commentI have been expecting at some point an episode will be aired and I’m going to look up and feel as though I’ve been cheated. This episode was not that episode. We picked up right where we left off, Lem, who I stood behind in line for 2 hours waiting to see a movie during my last visit to LA, is being harassed by Forrest Whitaker’s character. I really don’t like this man in the show, and frankly I hate to say it but I don’t feel I’d like him in real life either. Lem discovers that Terry was an undercover fed agent, a fact I believe Vic failed to mention when they capped him so many years ago. So Lem agrees to wear a wire. The side stories with Dutch and Claudette and Julian and his new partner are kind of boring, but interesting none the less. The show is growing more and more intense by the episode, and I feel that the end is going to blow everyone away I can not wait….
My Only Guilty Pleasure. January 11, 2006
Posted by vinnyt in : The Shield , add a commentI try to live a good life I don’t kick dogs I kiss babies, and I help old ladies across the street. I can’t honestly say I’m a gentleman, but I think I’m close. I do have one thing that ends all this and that is my addiction to the show The Shield. I began watching this show early last year, and instantly I was a fan. I was intrigued by the drama, and honestly at some level envisioned my dad’s time on the police department involved him being like Vic Mackey, minus the scumbbag part. I think this has what has kept me hooked for all this time. I know so much of this show is somewhat far fetched, but I think on some level it’s pretty close to the real thing. I have been waiting now for about 3 months since the last episode of the previous season aired, and finally tonight my wait was over. The show began with an intense riot, and the pace never slowed from that moment. Frankly, if the show maintains this intense of a pace going forward I don’t know if I’ll be able to survive the emotion. I can’t wait to see what happens next.!!
