Amazon.com Is it just me, or is Amazon.com slipping? Over the past couple years they've gone from being the premier online retailer, to just another e-store I'd expect to find on one of these bargain websites. Fortunately, they're rooted in solid technology, but behind the code I wonder if anyone's actually home.My biggest gripe personally has to do with their shipping. They're site might say "ships within 24hrs," but once you purchase it things change. In some cases, it's taken up to a week to ship a product that was advertised as "ships within 24hrs." What's up with that? It takes a shorter amount of time to go through the post than it does to leave an Amazon warehouse. Which is ironic because after they talk about a product shipping same-day, they advertise super saver shipping as taking something like 7 to 10 business days. Amazon, be honest, you guys have that backwards: it takes 7 to 10 business days for you to get it to the post office, and about a day for the post office to get it to my house. And I'm not the only one who's noticed. My fiancee has stories of it taking months for a product to arrive. Another friend of mine has reported receiving an empty box as his Amazon order. When he notified them of their mistake, they sent him another, but later billed him again because they said he didn't return the first! What's really going on?!?! I've been an Amazon customer for over 6 years now - it's tough watching them go in the wrong direction like this; almost like watching the Cavs last season. I get the feeling they've either changed management, or have decided to reduce their personal warehouse inventory (in favor of shipping direct from manufacturers or third parties) and cut costs. I guess in these days of shareholder interests, these are be smart moves, but c'mon, your service should still be the same. It's taking the fun, and to some extent the point, out of online shopping.
Viva Las Vegas Jennifer and I were in Las Vegas last week to celebrate my birthday. It's the third time we've gone, so we had fond memories to live up to. Not only that, but by this time we had a pretty good idea of what Vegas was all about.On the way out, we stopped on a little shopping spree at the Tangers outlet in Barstow. The idea was sparked based on the fact that I didn't have any clean boxers; rather than waste time doing laundry before we headed out (of LA), Jennifer said she'd buy me some new underwear to wear. I wish I could pack like that all the time! The outlet had some pretty nice shops, forcing our little excursion to last about an hour or so. After getting some In and Out, we made our start the second half of the trip. Because the Vegas plans were so spontaneous, we had to arrange our lodging in the car, in route. It turned out that our favourite place, The Stratosphere, not only had rooms, but had them at a good price, so booked a night with them. Upon arrival, however, we both realised that was silly and extended it to two nights :) After putting our stuff down in the room, we headed over to the Texas Station to play some Keno; something a bit of a ritual for us. Little did we know Keno closes, however, so we merely got something to eat and headed back to The Stratosphere. Jennifer loves the slot machines, so it was no surprise that she sat down at one not long after we got back. I headed off to get change, but when I came back her machine was going ape-shit. I mean, the credit meter wouldn't stop increasing! At first I thought the machine malfunctioned - this couldn't be real. Oh, but it was - she not only won, she won big! Big enough to pay for the trip! When the machine finally stopped, she hit the "cash out" button and we ran back to the room! It was incredible. We woke up Saturday with the intention of hitting the rides. The Stratosphere easily has the best rides in the entire world, so to say were excited to get to the top is an understatement. We first hit the two rides on the lower level, which included the new swing ride, then made our way to the upper level to hit the roller coaster and "Big Shot." We must have riden Big Shot 6 straight times before realising we hadn't eaten and were kind of hungry. Played roulette until the sun came up and drove back.
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