Blog: Ramblings and Rants

The GetHuman Project is a volunteer Website devoted to improving the quality and speed of telephone support and service systems in the US. The Website offers general tips and advice for speeding through and getting the most out of dealing with any company over the phone. For instance, did you know that most companies’ Spanish support queue is often a potentially much shorter wait than the English queue, and that most operators on the Spanish queue are bilingual, offering support in English as well? Chose uno and maybe you’ll be helped and off the phone faster than you would if pressing two.

The most useful advice provided by GetHuman is the GetHuman 500 Database, an invaluable resource listing specific methods to cut through phone system menus and voice prompts to—you guessed it—get a human on the line. America On-Line, for example, who no longer even lists a customer service phone number on their Website, has a primarily voice-only telephone system. If you can’t enunciate to the system’s satisfaction your problem, secret question answer, desired department, probable problem area, and favorite Spice Girl, then you’re out of luck. The system doesn’t even offer the ability to press buttons for most of its prompts. Fortunately, the GetHuman 500 Database has the secret finishing move code—up, up, left, down, right, right, down… Whoops! I mean: 0 (zero), repeatedly while staying silent during all requests for vocal interaction.

Even with the secret codes, there’s no guarantee of reaching a competent human, just that you will reach a human.

Next time you have to call your ISP, cable company, credit card issuer, airline, or just about anywhere else, check the GetHuman 500 Database for the fastest way through to getting to a human.

This past Friday, Strawberry Blonde and I surprised Mojo by checking her out of school to go see Ghost Rider on opening day. Mojo, whose grades had been suffering the first part of the year, worked hard and brought D’s and F’s up to A’s and B’s in the last grading period, and seeing the movie was her reward.

While I’m at it, here’s a quickie review of the film:

Ghost Rider was a fun ride, but jarring leaps in scenes, character development, and logic were disorienting. Willing suspension of disbelief couldn’t be maintained because every few minutes I found myself asking: “Wait! Did I miss something? I don’t recall stepping out of the theatre…”

Lead by Nicholas Cage, who, as lead Johnny Blaze, wore an obvious digital facelift, the acting was excellent, hitting all the nuanced highs and lows expected during the story. Unfortunately, the jerky editing made it impossible to become emotionally involved with the characters. Whereas other superhero films of recent years—most notably Spider-Man—gripped the viewer’s heart and, in many, even elicited tears, Ghost Rider carried the same deep character development and universally heart-gripping themes, but too much of it wound up on the cutting room floor. All the poignant moments remain, but the connecting scenes, the subtle moments that make the poignant believeable and engaging were omitted.

Although an extremely fun ride for all audiences—not just comic book fans—Ghost Rider was a two and one half to three hour movie chopped to run in 1:50, which is more than apparent in the stuttering theatrical release. I’m looking forward to the restoration of numerous scenes in the director’s cut DVD and the opportunity to care about the characters.