TBWAIN - AKA Jeff Svare's Blog

Or not. As this is the season of Christmas cheer, peace on earth, and goodwill toward men, I thought I'd publicly air my frustrations in trying to return a piece of defective software to my local Target store. Here's the e-mail I sent to their customer service department just a few minutes ago. On Wednesday, 27 December 2006, my son purchase a computer game, Cabela's Outdoor Adventures (SKU 20102842, receipt redacted ). I installed the game, and when he tried to play it the video would not display. I then spent a considerable amount of time verifying that all the video, sound, and monitor drivers on his computer were up-to-date, and tried again, with the same result. I then contacted the manufacturer's technical support for assistance. They had no idea why the game would not work. We verified the computer it was installed on met all the system requirements before purchasing. I attempted to return the game today to the store where it was purchased and secure an in-s...

From my childhood, one of my favorite Christmas movies was The Bishop's Wife . Not the dreadful one with Denzel Washington (whose work I really enjoy, especially Crimson Tide ), but the 1947 version with Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young. I think my favorite scene was when Dudley (Cary Grant) decorates the Christmas tree using his angelic powers. During the course of the show, Dudley find himself falling in love with the bishop's wife (Loretta Young), and she with him. All because the bishop's attentions are focused more on building a new cathedral than on his wife and daughter. Years later, I began to appreciate the closing scene of the movie. Bishop Brougham is struggling trying to write his Christmas Eve sermon, and Dudley takes over the task, dictating to the typewriter what the bishop's sermon will be. It's an eloquently short sermon that plainly teaches that charity is what we should be giving to one another. "Tonight, I want to tell you abo...