It happened to me...I was finally hit so hard with the verification code that nothing in my known arsenal worked.....

So, I did some more experimentation and was able to share my "insights" with the helpful gent at tech support...ummm, well, not REALLY tech support, but you know, that "SPECIAL" number they gave us "SPECIAL" people to contact them?????

Yeah, so, after two aborted waits on hold, where they successfully forwarded me to the two question "how did we do" survey WITHOUT actually ever getting me to speak with anyone (on a scale of 1 to 5 they got 1's) I finally was able to speak with "the MAN."  He was very polite.  He appeared to have never heard of this problem before (I'm thinking this is part of the training)...he assured me that THIS IS the number I am supposed to call for such technical support.....SO....he listened, he put me on hold a couple of times....he came back to clarify.....he put me on hold some more...and then he reported that this is INDEED a SITE problem ....  DO NOT TOUCH YOUR BROWSERS, YOUR SETTINGS, ERASE YOUR BLOGS, DO A RAIN DANCE......this is NOT your problem.....

"They" are working on it....IT started on another eBay SITE and has "jumped over" to OUR eBay SITE...(whatever THAT bit of technical information is supposed to mean!)

SO, since I'd had ALL that free time on my hands while waiting on hold, I had ALSO penned a trouble ticket to the technical gurus at eBay....and I took the opportunity to read it to my phone guy.....

I will share it with you.

"For more than two weeks members have been experiencing the pop-up SECURITY VERIFICATION code periodically, either when trying to comment on blog posts, or even read the comments.  This is annoying at best, but entering the provided verification code does not work. The member is simply presented with another pop-up of the same nature.
Many members have contacted eBay Live Help to obtain help and have broadcast the results of these sessions to all bloggers.  Sadly, though there have been MANY responses to the reported problems, NONE have resulted in an improvement.  So far what we know does NOT work:
1. Changing to a stronger password
2. Clearing URL history, cookies, etc.
3. Listing eBay.com as a trusted site
4. Lowering the security features on our firewalls
5. Logging off and logging back in
6. Actually ENTERING the provided Security code
7. Deleting posts
8. closing ALL other interactive sessions such as IM while blogging
9. Logging in under the same ID from a different computer
10. Using a browser other than IE
11. Updating Java
12. Adding or removing extra Toolbars

Now, what DID work for me today and for others in the past is to simply log in under a DIFFERENT ID...same computer, same settings, same everything EXCEPT account.

Once on with the alternate ID, blogging was possible, in a normal fashion.

After logging off of the ALTERNATE ID, I was able to log back into my primary account using my primary ID and was able to read comments, and blog normally.

I am growing weary of seeing so many eBay members being told odd "fixes" to try to rectify this problem which is clearly an eBay problem.

The latest "advice" being bandied about on the blogs is to delete all of our posts and start from scratch, supposedly, thereby freeing up eBay storage.....

Come on folks, PLEASE address this issue and post a RECOMMENDED FIX before your entire blogging community has successfully "fixed" their personal computers to the point that they can no longer use eBay....it just seems counter productive to me.  Thank you."

My little techie guy assured me that it is being worked and I suggested they post an announcement to that effect...he thought maybe they would have it "fixed" before an announcement was necessary...umm....yeah....

Moral of the story.....my "techie guy" gives different answers than your "techie guy"....NOBODY, and I mean NOBODY will KNOW the answer until THEY have found the answer.... anything you care to try is entirely up to you. But please don't feel the need to jump onto every bandwagon, just because someone else got that particular answer..... 

I don’t know why I decided, at 3:30 this afternoon, to take a hike out in the woods and gather what was left of the hickory nuts.  The trees have all but completed their shedding I have been happily racing the squirrels and other lovers of this savory nut in their collection.  I did not have an opportunity to go hunting yesterday, and so, cutting out to the woods a bit early today, seemed like a great idea.

I walked a good long way and collected about 8 lbs in my journey.  After an hour on my hike, I decided I had probably scoured most of the woods and that this was to be the last such excursion for this nut season.  On my way back, I, as always, kept my eyes glued to the ground ready to snap up that one overlooked nut.

I thought about how I my perspective of these woods has changed this year.  Until this year, I had looked at the woods as a great natural barrier between me and the rest of the encroaching population. I was happy to share this woodland paradise with any, non-human creature that cared to wander through…humans, on the other hand, had to ask permission.  I saw the woods as a great body of trees which, in their winter nakedness, offered me a glimpse through to the water that is 750 feet from my back door, but whose summer frocks hide any hint of water at the forest’s edge.

I always loved the noisy ruckus that is the Living Woods and at the same time, the implied “quiet” this ruckus affords me.  It always brings to mind such favorite, comfort words, “yea, tho I walk through the valley of the shadow….” and “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep.” And all about me, this roar of silence, refreshes my very being.

But this year, honestly, for the first time in the five and half years we have lived here, I really HEARD the woods…not the creatures of the woods, but the woods themselves.  I heard the branches touch and scrape one another in the gentle breezes, even as the wind chime added music to their scratchy dance.  I heard old, dead trees finally succumb to the festering insects within and the persistent woodpeckers without, falling haphazardly across the forest floor. And I heard the percussion of falling nuts.

I also saw the forest floor differently this year. I spent many hours looking down, hunting evidence of hickory trees, by the fallen nuts and hulls left on the leafy carpet. And today, just as I was wrapping up the season, and thanking mother nature for the bounty of hickory nuts this year, I stumbled on a copse of trees, I had, apparently, overlooked in my previous jaunts.  Another hour later, I was still scooping more hickory nuts into my sack, now weighing in at over 20lbs when hubby brought me back to my senses…..”Judy, I’m starting supper!”

So, I dragged myself, and my very heavy sack of nuts back to the house, and was astonished to find it was 5:45 PM…and I KNOW where I will be tomorrow, as soon as I get the pesky “work” stuff out of the way!

“......And miles to go before I sleep.”

If you are like me, I have noticed that, for the past couple of days, when listing my auction item, I am being "charged" the full listing fee.  Now, knowing that this has been a regular problem in the past, with listing fee sales, I decided to check my "seller's account" page to verify the amounts ACTUALLY being charged. 

Where it really matters they have it right.  Apparently, at listing time, they are having a problem reporting the actual fees being charged, so it APPEARS I am being charged full price.  BUT, I am not.  I recommend checking your seller account page regularly anyway.  Just keeping eBay "honest."

When I was in high school, well even as far back as Jr. High, I was one of those kids that was never in a “group.”  I was always in the advanced classes, so I was seen by those not in the advanced classes as being an “egg head” as they called such kids in my day.  However, I can assure you, I was always the “mascot”, the “barely made it into the class” version of the egg head.  I was not a class clown, per say, but I was the one to crack a joke in lieu of answering the question I was unprepared to answer.

In the world of sports, I was a good sport….that’s about the best I can say about my athletic abilities.  I have no depth perception and contrary to popular belief, I really CANNOT tell when the ball is about to hit me in the face!  So, a “jock” I never was.

I was interested in things political, for reasons I have yet to determine, and so was active in the student government…you know…. the stuff, nobody else wants to do….however, I was, again, not the stellar achiever the other members were.  At the Model UN held at Georgetown University my senior year of high school, I went, not as a representative of a country, but as a page….LOL….no preparation required for that one!

I played in the school orchestra and in the County Youth Orchestra and was considered “very good” but never first chair.  And I played roles in school and community theatre productions, but was never the lead.

I was not particularly a leader, nor a follower.  And yet, I had those who “followed my lead.”  And I had those who devised competition with me, where none was needed.  I personally would never waste time standing around to fight, I’d rather go and read a good book.

When I got to college, I discovered I really had nothing that “defined” me.  More of the same from high school, really.  Just a smaller fish in a bigger pool.  I did however discover there was one person I dearly enjoyed competing with.  Myself.  How hard could I work to get what I wanted?  How quickly could I make it happen?  How little could I invest (monetarily) to achieve my goal?  How high COULD I soar?

Well, I found out I could do a lot with a little. I found I could push the envelope almost to bursting, and, yes sometimes beyond, and most often, the results were pretty good. I managed to get a four year degree in just over two years, and was in the work-a-day-world at age 20, degree in hand.  Not a great plan, as it turns out, but it was this ever-pressing need to see what was around the next corner that drove me.

Along the way, I made some mistakes.  They were my mistakes and they were mine to make.  But I can never erase those mistakes.  They are my history.  They are what make me who I am today.  My competition with myself didn’t end with college, nor has it ended today.  I still am neither a follower, nor a leader. I still make mistakes and I am still creating my personal history. I do hope, that with age, I am making a bit better decisions on how to create that history, for I know, very well, that I will never be able to escape it.

After our 8 hour return trip from SC today, hubby and I decided to let the local Chinese restaurant serve us soup and egg rolls for supper.  The food was tasty, as always.  And I learned a good lesson while there. 

My fortune cookie held the following:

"The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be"

Very profound, yes?

Now, hubby, fumbling to get his glasses so he could read his, and discovering he had left them as home, handed me his "fortune" to read.

And I quote,

"You'll meet your big cheese today."

(bookmark this post...you will want to reference it often, I am certain!)

What do you think...will the seller get the message that I think his product and service were somewhat lacking?

"Hi, on October 4, 2007 I purchased and paid for these laser head pens. I paid for Priority Mail, and was notified that shipping occurs Monday - Friday except on holidays. Items are shipped when cleared payment is received. Only after I contacted you on 10/20 were the items actually shipped (shipping date 10/22). I received them today when I returned from out of town and am disappointed to discover that they are NOT full metal body as advertised, and that only 4 of the 10 work.  They are not pens either, even though your title advertises them as pens.  All in all, I am very dissatisfied.  I will await your reply as to how you intend to rectify this matter. -- Judy"

On the other hand, I also returned home to find a PERFECT lot of the iced lights from one ddskitty!  I guess you win some, you lose some!

Recording is pretty crummy, so turn the volume pretty low!

One of my very first posts in Blogville was in line with your post topic a few minutes ago.

Thank Goodness I'm not Skinny any more...and other random thoughts

So this morning, an hour or so into our drive, just after I had opened the laptop and logged into the Wonderful World of WeBay, my cell phone rang.  I reached to grab it before the caller gave up, wrestling it out of the side pocket of my backpack, where I had so carefully tucked it as we exited my MIL’s house this morning.

I was SURE it was my daughter calling from France….but no, it was my choir director, and personal friend.  “Judy, how is your day going?” she asked in a hushed tone.  Immediately concerned there was something wrong, I answered that we were having an uneventful trip home from SC and asked her what was up.  Well, she wanted my son’s phone number, and still, in this hesitant, hushed voice.  Since her son and my son have been very good friends for a number of years, I immediately began to worry that something had happened to Tommy, and his mother was trying to reach Stephen to let him know. So, I told her that I had the number on my cell phone, but would have to hang up, get the number and call her back, which I did. 

After giving her my son’s cell number, I asked her if something was wrong.  She said, “well, sort of….I need to see if Stephen will do me a big favor and fill a part in the play!:

Good grief!  I said, “Wow, I thought something was wrong, the way you were talking! I’m sure he will do it for you.”

I swear, it easy to create drama where there is none and SO easy to jump to conclusions!

Now, back to my Internet surfing!

I sold 96 (48 pairs) of these bears....and yes, my customer gets free shipping on the deal!

Three boxes full...two 24's and one 48!

Oh, yeah and I sold some more of the hickory nuts!   I wonder if there will be any more for me to collect when I get home?  Sunday I'll know!

Well, today was a bit different, for a “vacation” day.  Actually, I have been continuing to take my daily morning conference call even while taking a little personal R&R time.  So, at 9 AM I called into the call and one thing led to another, and I ended up with back to back calls, and a few “ultra important” tasks. I had to tell hubby and MIL to go on without me.  I would stay at the house, babysitting dogs and keeping my employers happy!

So, on a day for which I was taking 8 hours of “Paid Time Off” as they like to refer to our vacation time, I actually worked from 9-4! LOL. 

At 4PM, having determined that was enough for one vacation day, I decided to go down to my FIL’s “building” and try out the industrial type nut cracker he has bolted to the work table.  I popped one of the hickory nuts I had brought with me between it’s jaws and pulled down the handle with all my strength (which is legendary, I assure you) and the nut CRACKED!!!   Woo Hoo!  No more hammer and smashed fingers!   I’m going to buy one of those contraptions! I will have to look long and hard for one, I’m certain, as it appears to be at least 40 years old and is nothing fancy….but I will write the patent number down tomorrow and start my search!

So, I spent the next hour cracking hickory nuts, enjoying to cooler, sunny late afternoon and watching the dogs play.  When John and Ma returned from the movie (which they said was awful), I proudly showed them my accomplishments!  They both laughed, shook their heads and nodded to each other, as they said, in unison, “Bud Jr,!”  Oh, well!

My day was also made better by a call from my daughter, still enjoying her time in France, and eager to tell me her latest funny story.  I’ll share that another time.  That she is happy and healthy is all I needed to know.

We finished the day by going to my SIL’s house where her husband had made chicken and dumplings for supper…..they were delicious, and I am NOT generally a dumplings fan….but these were great!  It was kind of fun to sit at the table and listen to my hubby and my brother in law discuss their “favorite biscuit recipe,” etc.

So, tomorrow we will drive back to VA and leave behind once again, the quiet little SC town where my husband was born and lived the first 43 years of his life….until he had the occasion to meet me on-line, and, of course, the rest is history!

Today we had fun looking at the changing leaves.  Ma was driving and she hates heights, so even though we were heading to the mountains to look at the leaves, at the lowest elevations, she was already “done!”  LOL  (I think the true goal of these leaf viewing outings is to eat at the cafeteria.  No matter where we go, they always “remember there was a good cafeteria on the way.”  So, we spend a fair amount of time hunting the food and, oh yeah, looking at the leaves!)

Back at the house again, John took a look at the owner’s manual for Ma’s riding mower, so he could get it started for her.  Ma’s new baby, Katie, was very “helpful” in the whole operation.

Katie reads the owner’s manual.

Katie absconds with the mower keys.

Katie watches the operation, carefully sitting on the owner’s manual (you know, like a paper weight)

Katie is pleased with the operation and runs to greet Killian.

Everyone loves MA!!!

Did something recently change in the auction listings with Buy It Now options?  I just noticed that two of my listings which I started at 99 cents with a Buy It Now price of $9.99, and for which the initial bid of 99 cents has been made, still show the Buy It Now option....

These listings did not have a reserve specified.

I checked the fees I paid for the listings and they do not include the cost of a reserve....

Anyone else have this happening, or know whether this is some sort of change?

Here is an example of one of the listings.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=120174455750&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

When hurricanes bear down on parts of our country, do we roll out the “humorous” marketing techniques?  Yes, when I lived in Florida, it was quite popular to have “hurricane parties” and the media was always sure to show a few of those residents, laughing in the face of impending disaster.  But, I did not see a "humorous" “Hurricane Sale”…a business making fun of the fact that good, hard-working people would lose lives, homes and livelihoods due to the latest of Mother Nature’s offerings.

And when the great tsunamis hit, even though they were not impacting our immediate neighbors, and even though SOME of those affected by the monstrous natural disaster were the “spoiled rich and famous”, and even though the media decided to showcase those “household names” that were affected, I did not see a "humorous" “Tsunami Sale”…a business making fun of the fact that good, hard-working people would lose lives, homes and livelihoods due to the latest of Mother Nature’s offerings.

And when the ice and snow storms cripple the northern-most parts of our country, taking lives and livelihoods, I do not see a "humorous" “Blizzard or Avalanche Sale”…a business making fun of the fact that good, hard-working people would lose lives, homes and livelihoods due to the latest of Mother Nature’s offerings.

Even in the face of man-made disasters, I do not see this form of “humor” being used to sell goods. 

And yet, I understand that each has the right to speak his mind and advertise as he pleases. 

I suppose I should thank those who are using this advertising technique for bringing humor to a situation that is life threatening to many simple, normal folks in southern California. If you can make them all smile while their homes burn, while their children struggle to breathe, while their elderly parents are forced to leave the small, but safe homes they have worked very hard all their lives for, then certainly, it is worth it.

If you believe that your "humor" is justified because the "haves" will soon be the "have nots" and will join those who have also lost much in their lives, or have never had anything in life,  then I think you might be suffering from some delusion.  If you make a few sales with this advertising technique, I guess it is worth the hurt you inflict on those who themselves, or whose loved ones are currently living this very real nightmare.

If my brother, my sister-in-law, my nephew and niece survive the fires, as I have confidence they will, I am certain they will do exactly what they did before the fires to help ensure a safe future for themselves and their neighbors.  They will not make jokes about those who have lost so much.

Each is free to post as they please, but humor, is a far cry from what I see here.

How would you rank me, the seller? You are the bidder.

• I list an item for sale.  A bidder bids and wins.  The winning bidder pays immediately.
• I ship the item.
• The customer receives the item quickly, opens it, and discovers I have sent the wrong size.
• Customer contacts me, alerting me to the error.
• I respond immediately, apologizing, asking her to hold onto the wrong one, and I will ship the correct one, with a prepaid mailer in which to return the wrong one, and refund part of her original price
• I do just that and, a few days later the customer receives the correct item.
• She pops the wrong item into the provided mailer and into the mail to me.
• I receive it in a few days.
• She leaves me feedback

What feedback would you leave, if you were she?

I am curious about the POS, NEUT or NEG, the verbiage and the detailed “star” feedback.

So what is the deal with UPS shipping?  I have sold several 16 lb boxes of hickory nuts for which my customers elected UPS shipping.  On larger weight items, and with the special eBay rate for UPS, customers can realize a significant savings over the cost of USPS, Priority Mail OR Parcel Post. 

However, I don’t ship enough via UPS to be intimately knowledgeable on their shipping rates, and I was surprised to discover the EXACT SAME 16 lb box of nuts cost $9.11 to ship from my home in Gloucester, VA ALLLLLL the way to Lansing, MI, and it cost $9.11 to send it to Troy, NY, but it cost $11.15 to ship it to the state adjacent to mine. 

Is it just West Virginia that takes that hit, or does UPS really cost less and less the farther the package travels? (By the looks of it, California buyers would get SUPER LOW shipping with UPS from our side of the nation!)

Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Yes, yes, I love the swing....and when I read this poem I am brought directly back to my childhood...fast.  And, "push me higher, push me higher" we cried as we took turns on the swing.  And the glider...four kids could squeeze in and two could push and all the time, "higher, higher!" they'd cry.....

And then the glider, now swinging so high it hit me in the head and knocked me down...knocking the air out of my lungs and making me certain death was near...and all the while, the others still crying..."higher, higher!"

I do so love Robert Louis Stevenson...perhaps I am NOT a grown up after all!

The Swing

          How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide, River and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside--

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown-- Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

Well, I am sitting in the little TV room in my mother-in-law’s house in SC.  We made the trip safely today, though we did see some pretty wicked accidents due to the heavy downpours along the way.  How I wish we could have diverted those downpours to the southern parts of California.  True, the Carolinas are in need of the water, but at least they are not burning.

Things have changed since I was last here (in March).  My mother-in-law got a puppy.  This is a very cute, rambunctious puppy, and has provided Ma with both a great focus, now that Bud is no longer living, and, well a challenge!  She is learning how much it costs to care for a puppy (even a little one) and finally decided she had to install a fence, or end up in the hospital herself!  This little Katie can really pull, and Ma is not fast on her feet!

So, within two seconds of our arrival, I had an enthusiastic, red mud footed puppy in my arms as we negotiated Killian into the new fenced area, and introduced her to the new member of the family.  John just looked on as I scooped Katie up, and said, “You’re covered in mud now!”  Oh, well, I’m washable!

We had a great meal of home cooked food and visited with Ma and Katie for about four hours and then, when darkness fell, all, except this night owl, headed to bed.  I feel like the kid in the Robert Louis Stevenson’s Child’s Book of Verse

Bed in Summer

In winter I get up at night

And dress by yellow candle-light.

In summer quite the other way,

I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see

The birds still hopping on the tree,

Or hear the grown-up people's feet

Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,

When all the sky is clear and blue,

And I should like so much to play,

To have to go to bed by day?

But, to me, the day is hardly begun by 8 PM when hubby, Ma, Killian and Katie, are ready to hit the sack…..thankfully, nobody cares if I stay up late.  Guess I’m glad I’m finally a grown up!

Hi all! Just dropping in to say hello as we make the trip to SC today. I'm loving this wireless Internet connection!  Traveling down I-85 without even  hitch (also this rain we have just happened on could present some issues!)

Hope you are all having a great day!