(no subject)

There's a toy that we've had our eye on for awhile, and we finally bucked up and got one on Saturday.
( Picture behind a cut. )

It doesn't have as much torque as some of the other models they sold, but it looks way cooler, and I think it's got sufficient power for anything we plan to do.  Mom owns the same brand/model (though she's only got the 3-quart bowl) and hers has been going strong for 20 years.

I put it to the test shortly after we got it home.  I thawed some of the pumpkin I roasted last year and made a couple of pies.  The last couple of times I made these I made the pie shells by hand, using a pastry cutter.

Now I know how a caveman would have felt upon discovering satellite television.  How did I ever get by without this?

I think the pies turned out well - leastwise nobody complained about them.

(no subject)

I find it hard to sympathize with a telemarketer when he/she is having a bad day at work.

http://www.livejournal.com/community/customers_suck/12270368.html
http://www.livejournal.com/community/customers_suck/12269206.html

I was going to do up a poll, but I'll just leave it to open discussion. 

- I don't mind the occasional phone survey or poll, but there's no way to differentiate those from the other calls until you pick up the phone.

- I dislike telemarketers who won't take "no" as an answer.  When I have told you that I don't want your product, your insistence only ensures that I will never buy your client's product.  (Not that the person at the other end of the phone cares one way or the other.)

- I actually dislike charities who call even more than I do carpet cleaners or credit card up-sellers.  The charities are usually much more aggressive, and will often play the morality card if I decline. 

    "This is a really good cause, that helps a lot of children.  Do you want the poor headless orphans to starve?"
    "I'm already spending my money helping a hapless pr0n actress to survive.  Which reminds me, you're interrupting my streaming video goodness.  Goodbye."

- If I only got one call every day or two, it wouldn't bother me quite so much.  Before we put up our trick answering machine we were getting upwards of 4 calls a night, though.  I am seldom as polite and cheerful with the 5th caller as I am with the first.

How do you all out in cyberland feel about telemarketers?  Poor folk just doing their job, or pond scum who are one step above (or below) kiddy pr0n dealers?