Must vent

Ghastly · Post by **Ghastly** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 8:56 pm

I just have to rant and rave for a moment and fully express the complete fucking pissed-offedness I'm feeling at the moment because otherwise I'll explode.

Over a week ago I went into the Long and McQuade (Lakeshore Music) store in Burlington to buy and Edirol PCR-80 61 key MIDI controller keyboard. Needless to say I was pretty annoyed to get there to discover that they only had they 4-octave and 2 octave Edirol keyboards in stock and not the 5 octave keyboards. I blame fucking one finger wonders and DJs for this, personally because anything less than 5 octaves becomes freaking useless to anyone with any sort of keyboard training. But what the hell. I order my keyboard. A week and a day later it arrives. The problem is this Long and McQuade store is way out in the middle of nowhere at the corners of bum fuck and exile. It's out in the boonies of freaking Burlington with absolutely nothing resembling a transit system to get anyone to it and I don't have a car. Living in the inner city of Hamilton a car is a hinderance as the transit or my feet get me anywhere I need to be.

It was hard enough getting me out to burlington the first time to order the damned thing so I had to send a friend of mine to pick it up for me. So he picks it up on Friday, but I wouldn't be able to get it from him until Sunday night. Well I get it from him tonight and guess what they gave him? Do you think it was the 5 octave Edirol PCR-80 keyboard? Nope? Was it the 4 octave Edirol PCR keyboard? Nope. Was it even the 2 octave Edirol PCR keyboard? Nope. It was a fucking Tascam US-122 MIDI/Audio Interface for the PC.

What!?!?!?!?!?

How the fucking hell could anyone with two fucking brain cells to rub together who works in a fucking music store confuse a MIDI controller keyboard from EDIROL with the model number PCR-80 for a MIDI usb interface from TASCAM with the model number US-122? HOW!?!?!? HOW!?!?!?

This makes no fucking sense to me. One is a great big 5 octave keyboard covered in knobs and sliders and switches. The other is a little thing about the size of a fucking mouse pad with a couple of knobs on it. They don't even look anything remotely the same. How the fuck could they have fucking possibly confused the two. Of course the friend I sent to pick it up is a guitarist, so I don't expect him to know jack about MIDI controllers so I don't fault him. But he told me the guy pulled up my order on the computer then went and got the item. Hell the hell could he have screwed it up this much? How?

HOW!?

It really just pisses me off to no end.

Anyways. My friend (Pete, Science Ninja Big Ten guitarist) has kindly offered to exchange the item for me tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to get it back off him though. It's way too late at night for me to call the store and vent my spleen to anyone there. So I've gotta come here and bitch. By golly I rarely get pissed off but I was pretty damned pissed to discover this snafu. I mean REALLY. Edirol PCR-80. Tascam US-122. They're nowhere close to being the same device. They don't even have similar names. I could see if the keyboard was a Edirol US-122 or the tascam interface was a PCR-80 or something like that. Maybe then I could understand it. But these two devices or so completely different from one another it just makes absolutely no sense to me.

Anyways, they'd better not have sold my fricken Edirol PCR-80 to someone else or I'll be really pissed if I have to wait another week for it.

Peaches · Post by **Peaches** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:00 pm

Hey man, when you've got a drama bomb, ya gotta drop it.

But if I may digress, I just went back home for the holidays, and it was kind of nice getting behind the wheel again (even at night with condensation all over my rear window and side mirrors, what fun), but after living a few months in a town where anything interesting is within walking distance, I think of those high gas prices and think, "Suckers!"

Bustertheclown · Post by **Bustertheclown** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 10:42 pm

That is absolutely idiotic. I honestly do not understand how some of these fuckin' plebeian mongoloids manage to get jobs in places where actual working knowledge and technical experience matters. Meanwhile, I'm over-knowledged and under-employed, and I still have to deal with these people when I go out to buy the supplies of my trade! Infuriating!!

But, y'know, while I was reading your great rant, with all of the PCR-80's and US-122's flying around, I couldn't help but think to myself that this would be great as a segment for the Conan O'Brien comedy bit Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage.

Just think of it. Ghastly's Ghastly Recliner of Rage

"Comfortable and angry, Ghastly?"

"Comfortable and furious, Conan."

GNU/Fanboy · Post by **GNU/Fanboy** » Sun Nov 28, 2004 11:14 pm

If this is the worst you have to worry about right now, then methinks you're doing rather well...

Irish Witch · Post by **Irish Witch** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 2:23 am

I'm guessing they somehow pulled up the wring order the first time and sent you someone elses package.. That happens much easier than the other kind of mixup. But even so the stupidity involved is remarkable!

Ghastly · Post by **Ghastly** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:59 am

Well I called the store today. They will make it all better. They were at a loss to explain how that could have possibly happened. It was either the guy's first day or Tibor was on the till.

Squidflakes · Post by **Squidflakes** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:17 am

I get the exact same damn thing every time I order fast food. I try to be clear and loud in my order. NO ONIONS.

I usually get a "You want extra onions?"
or more often "Que?"

So I've learned to say "No onions" in just about every language spoken at the places I frequent.

"No cebollas!" I say, fury rising.

about 50% of the time I'll still manage to get onions on the damn thing. I don't really expect much from fast food places, but sit down resturants are another matter entirely. It is as if people can't understand something as simple as leaving out a topping.

Of course, once I went to a Mexican resturant, ordered the taco plate and said
"Seinor, no cebollas por favor."
"No cebollas, si!"

And what do I get? A taco shell full of onions

Peaches · Post by **Peaches** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 11:37 am

Oh, snap!

Sorry to hear that, but I'm stealing your ancedote.

Ghastly · Post by **Ghastly** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 3:51 pm

Well the Edirol is home now. Very nice controller, although not that easy to program. Better than using my Ensoniq Mirage as a controller.

RavenxDrake · Post by **RavenxDrake** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 8:36 pm

I'm glad you got the controller. Mixups like that can happen(though I'm also at a loss to how that particuarl mistake could have occured).

And as for fast food, I hold them to the same standards I hold any resturant. I worked fast food before, and it's not demeaning or degrading. It's honest, hard work, and if you can't put forth the effort to do your job right, I'll see about getting someone who can, even if it means calling the store owner at home to come take my order.

C_wire · Post by **C_wire** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 9:18 pm

The whole "Gee, there's more than 2 octaves on a piano" is what's keeping me feeding notes in by hand using a PC keyboard and my piano skillz prepetually rusty as all hell, Ghastly. Except I'm still holding out for an 88-key.

Warskull · Post by **Warskull** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:41 am

That is a pretty impressive mix-up, sorry it had to happen to you.

Lictor · Post by **Lictor** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 2:21 pm

I think here's your wrong assumption:-

Ghastly wrote:How the fucking hell could anyone with two fucking brain cells to rub together

He probably just checked the order number with the one on the ticket stuck to the box and never bothered to check the description. It really annoys me when people fuck up through not doing something so simple.

And Peaches.

Peaches wrote:I think of those high gas prices and think, "Suckers!"

Unless you don't live in the U.S. or pay around $1.68 U.S. (87p U.K.) per litre don't even start about high petrol prices.

Happypeepeehead · Post by **Happypeepeehead** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 8:03 pm

I pay 1.80 and I live in one of the cheapest states for gasoline.

Ce6 · Post by **Ce6** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:18 pm

happypeepeehead wrote:I pay 1.80 and I live in one of the cheapest states for gasoline.

Yeah, but you're paying by the gallon, not the liter.
One good reason NOT to be on the metric system here

(though the payoff for that is random wars and international hatred)

Zoing · Post by **Zoing** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:37 pm

My Keyboard is custom handmade, has 4600 Voices and 160 keys and diamond knobs with a 1200 watt Marshall PA.

I havea dozend Porsche

Squidflakes · Post by **Squidflakes** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 6:38 am

[quote="Zoing"]My Keyboard is custom handmade, has 4600 Voices and 160 keys and diamond knobs with a 1200 watt Marshall PA.

I havea dozend Porsche

Infinity-Iz-Blue · Post by **Infinity-Iz-Blue** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:46 am

Just you lot wait. In a few years, all the oil will dry up, petrol prices will go through the roof, America's economy will go to shit, and I will laugh. I will laugh for days, on the sofa, in my bath, as I sleep and as transport myself by Shanks' pony (that's 'a pied', for anybody who speaks French).

(do you think maybe there's a hint of resentment here

? Don't worry, New World, I still love you)

Zoing · Post by **Zoing** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 2:01 pm

Infinity-Iz-Blue wrote:In a few years, all the oil will dry up, petrol prices will go through the roof, America's economy will go to shit, and I will laugh. I will laugh for days, on the sofa, in my bath, as I sleep and as transport myself by Shanks' pony

I love to wait for this time.
I will buy enough cheep slaves, strong nice girls, which like to transport me on a sedanchair.
All of theme get a course in loving, hunting, cooking, cleaning and singing.
The best 120 woman of them i will married, will have a lot of children and try to be a nice sheik without any religious bullshit.

PS: I prefere fresh oliveoil.

Captain Tylor · Post by **Captain Tylor** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 9:37 pm

What about the flying, nuclear cars they promised us in the 50's? They run forever on just a little uranium! (Hell, I think the Mr. Fusion is more likely. Gotta save up for a DeLorean, damn cool even if it doesn't fly!)

Actually, we could just use Alcohol like Brazil. All that f'in corn the government pays farmers not to harvest could be put to use, or at least feed the poor starving people of the world with the corn-powerd corn haulers. Bio-Desiel at least is making some progress.

Does anyone else remember a story a few years ago where Penn State developed a way to turn corn into Gasoline? It needed something like $1.80 sustained prices to become viable...

Around where I live, in PA, if you have a gas well, you get free natural gas. Well, heck, if I had a bit of land here, I have a car that would get converted to CNG damnquick. Sure, it would get maybe 10 mpg on it--but it's FREE. Good for commuting, anyway.

/end rant

Anyway, I don't know much about music gadgetry, but I know Ghastly likes his C64's for MIDI--How do Apple IIgs's fare? I know they had Amiga trackers, and a Synth program came with System 6.

Also, we had a keyboard in HS. It was short an octave or two I think, and it sounded funny on this one song where the bottom note had to be transposed up an octave.

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