the new video

Frustrated that we could never get the previous "Will Rolls Over" video to post on our blog, Carrie shot a new video this afternoon after Will's bath:

This video is a bit more bare bones than the other, less theatrics. But we are pleased with his progress and development. He did not sleep well last night, and we think he has a cold which make it harder to breath and eat, which in turn make him more cranky.

In an effort to write about more than our son, I thought I would share with you one of my pet peeves coupled with my billion dollar idea:

If you think my million dollar idea is baby mullets you're wrong. I am not that smart.

It bugs me to know end to pay for things that do not work. Just today in our relatively new car the shade broke, due to the cold, and would not bend back into roof of our car in "rest" position. Worse than that are the technology companies that offer products that consistently break. How many times has your internet stopped working for a couple hours or even days? How many times has your cell phone just booted you off your call even when you should be in the middle of great reception? How about how cable can turn off randomly? I feel like technology has grown faster than these industries' ability to serve their paying customers and fix problems with their product. They just do not know how to fix it. Multiple times in college our cable would get bad, and we would call their customer service line. The first question they would always ask was "Have you turned your box off and on?" "Yes." "Hmmmm...I do not really know what to do then. You should probably wait a few days, and if you are still having problems return the box and we can give you a discount on a new box, with DVR!" There are no super tech fix-it people who can fix anything. The technology will not allow it.

Another factor that these companies take advantage of is exclusivity of service. We have moved 3 times in the last 4 years, and each time we do not have much choice in who our cable and internet provider is. It seems like even my parents who live in suburban Boston have no more than a few choices. The lack of choices makes it harder for the markets to punish companies whose product is no good.

To make matters worse, each of these companies demands long-term contracts from their customers. These contracts allow for huge profits because you are locked in for a long time. I believe that these contracts make these tech companies very lazy. What is their motivation to fix the problem when they have you locked into your phone plan for another year? If you want to keep your unbeatable internet/cable package at that introductory rate you have to sit there and take the abuse.

Here are my related idea(s): What if an internet company made you this pitch: "We are a new cable company in town. You will have to pay more for our services. BUT, we have a monitor on every box we send out. If it is not working, our box knows that it is not working, and you stop paying for the service. When the box starts working again you have to pay us. This way we are motivated at providing the best product to you our paying customer. Some companies guarantee their product. How's ours?" You could do the same with phone service or internet. I think well-informed consumers would eat it up. I would pay more for "guaranteed service".

Will thinks his dad is a freakin' genius. Or he has gas. Or he is thinking about food.

Here's another thought. Why don't consumers band together to stop the abuses of these lazy companies? I remember brainstorming similar ideas with roommates about Provo and how if the students would pool their purchasing clout they could wield considerably more political clout there. As it is the students are too busy with school and high-octane creative dating to care that much, so the city of Provo just sticks it to them. How cool would it be to have students react to a rash of local car towings by telling that business or apartment complex who allowed the towings, "Fine, we will not use your establishment." I was then and still am disappointed at the way BYU does not stick up for its students. It is shameful the way they are taken advantage of. I am not a union man. But there are some good things when people work together so that they are treated respect. Unions have a well-deserved bad reputation, but they have done a lot for the common man like reducing the work day to workable hours and causing child labor laws to be written. A consumer union would enable people to make better decisions.

To sum up Tony's billion dollar ideas:
(1) guaranteed tech services: phone, internet, cable, ets.
(2) consumer union- this could be a stellar website

In other news, I hate Deal or no Deal. It is a stupid show that requires no skill and has inane commercial breaks. When I have caught a few minutes of the show I inevitably feel frustrated by the contestants lack of understanding of math, which always leads to foolish choices to go longer than they should. No matter what it frustrates me- I get bugged when they lose the money they should have gotten and even more bugged when they stupidly keep going and they make more money than they should. I am a cantankerous curmudgeon.

Maybe Will comes by his negative attitude naturally