Author Archives: jik

Computers that feel pleasure

Apparently, the United States Postal Service has made a remarkable breakthrough in artificial intelligence. This evening, I bought stamps from an USPS Automated Postal Center (APC) kiosk. As I was leaving after completing my purchase, the kiosk bid me farewell with the following message: “It was my pleasure to serve you.” Remarkable!

“The No Asshole Rule”

I recently won a contest at www.trenchmice.com, and one of the prizes I received was the recently released book by Robert I. Sutton, Ph.D., The No Asshole Rule — Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn’t. It’s a fabulous book, and one I heartily recommend.

American Airlines bites

July 6, 2007 Customer Relations American Airlines Post Office Box 619612 MD 2400 DFW Airport, TX 75261-9612 To whom it may concern: I am writing to complain about the unsatisfactory experience my family had on recent American Airlines flights.

Lost baggage, take 2

July 6, 2007 Continental Airlines, Inc. Post Office Box 4607-NHCCR Houston, TX 77210-4607 To whom it may concern: I am writing about your handling of my delayed baggage on a recent Continental flight.

Lost baggage, take 1

July 5, 2007 Customer Relations USA British Airways Post Office Box 690098 East Elmhurst, NY 11369-0098 To whom it may concern: My wife and I are incensed over the loss of our baggage on a recent British Airways flight. Actually, “loss” is a misnomer, because BA knew where our baggage was at every moment and… Read More »

What the Dell 3000cn toner refill instructions don’t tell you

I followed the instructions I was given for refilling my Dell 3000cn toner cartridges to the letter.  They didn’t work.  The printer kept telling me over and over again to replace the toner cartridge I’d refilled. I finally got it to accept the refilled cartridge by enabling the “non-dell toner” option.  To do this, hit… Read More »

Why not to use Toner Wiz

I recently bought a kit from Toner Wiz for refilling the toner cartridges for my Dell 3000cn printer.  The kit was supposed to come with instructions and a funnel for pouring the toner into the cartridge. The kit arrived with neither instructions nor funnel.  I sent them email at their support address.  They emailed back… Read More »