The AP reports today that Iraq’s national security adviser is insisting on a timetable for American troop withdrawal.

President Bush has always been against the idea of a timetable, and it seems his position hasn’t changed.

On the other hand, Bush is on record as saying:

We are there at the invitation of the Iraqi government. This is a sovereign nation. Twelve million people went to the polls to approve a constitution. It’s their government’s choice. If they were to say, leave, we would leave.

I can only hope that he sticks to his word and gets us out when the Iraqi government asks us to leave. I’m glad to see that they are willing to start standing on their own.

I bought my wife a speaker system w/ cradle for her mp3 player. Unfortunately, I can’t get the mp3 player to fit in the cradle. So, I hit up Sony’s support site. You can see here how little they helped me.

chat id : 24c9b053-90ca-4c85-9766-25dada016215
Problem : attachment doesn’t fit srs-nwz10 cradle.

Caleb_ > Please wait, while the problem is escalated to another analyst

Dane_ > Hi Dustin. Welcome to Sony Online Support. I’m Dane. Please allow me a moment to review your concern.

dustin > ok

Dane_ > Thank you for waiting, Dustin. I’m sorry for the inconvenience you’re experiencing in connecting the cradle to the Player. I’ll be glad to assist you with this.

dustin > It seems that the attachment is too big to fit in the cradle

Dane_ > Dustin, the SRSNWZ10 is compatible with the Player.

dustin > right. I checked that before buying it.

dustin > The directions say to fit the attachment that came with the mp3 player into the cradle

dustin > I am unable to fit it. I’ve tried to put even just the mp3 player into the cradle and it’s too wide.

Dane_ > Thanks for the additional information.

Dane_ > Please stay online while I check this information for you.

dustin > k

Dane_ > This may take a while longer. Thanks for waiting

dustin > yup

Dane_ > Thanks for waiting, Dustin.

dustin > yup

Dane_ > Please remove the attachment from the cradle before connecting the Player to the cradle.

Dane_ > I’ll be happy to provide more information on that. Would you happen to have the Operating Instructions to follow along?

dustin > I do

Dane_ > Please refer section E on the first page of the Instruction Manual to get the information to remove the attachment to connect the Player to the cradle.

dustin > the attachment was never in the cradle

dustin > it doesn’t fit

Dane_ > Okay, Dustin.

Dane_ > I understand that you’ve not received the attachment with the cradle. Is that correct?

dustin > There was no attachment with the cradle, but there was an attachment with the mp3 player.

Dane_ > May I know the place of purchase of the cradle?

dustin > um, let me check

dustin > amazon.com

Dane_ > Okay, Dustin.

Dane_ > I understand that you purchased the cradle as a closed box unit. Is that correct?

dustin > The cradle and speakers were in one closed box, yes.

Dane_ > Thanks for confirming.

Dane_ > Please install the circular attachment supplied with the player to the cradle by following the steps on the Instruction Manual of the cradle and check if that helps.

dustin > That doesn’t work. It doesn’t fit.

dustin > As I’ve said, the attachment does not fit in the cradle.

dustin > The mp3 doesn’t fit in the cradle without the attachment, either.

dustin > mp3 player*

Dane_ > I’m really sorry for the difficulties you’re experiencing in connecting these brand new units.

Dane_ > Dustin, as this issue requires extensive troubleshooting, I suggest that you contact our Audio Hotline Team at 1-800-222-7669 to resolve the issue.

Dane_ > They are the next level of Technical Support and would be able to assist you.

Dane_ > Their hours of operation are as follows:
Mon - Fri 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM (EST).
Sat - Sun 10:30 AM - 7:15 PM (EST).

dustin > thanks

Dane_ > You’re welcome.

Dane_ > Please contact them and they will be glad to further assist you with this.

Dane_ > Are there any other concerns that we have not covered yet?

dustin > nope

dustin > bye

Dane_ > Good bye and take care.

Dane_ > Thank you for contacting Sony online support today.

Dane_ > Analyst has closed chat and left the room

This short conversation took an hour to complete. Dane must have had a pretty intense game of solitaire going.

Lesson Learned: Sony eSupport is slow and useless.

Since Dane didn’t refer me to phone support until 10:15pm, we’ll see how that goes tomorrow.

I was checking today’s primary results on Yahoo! and was surprised to see the following:

As of 10:30pm, with 1,000% of precincts reporting, Ron Paul has 2,513% of the votes.

This is a huge win for Paul, as he has never led in a presidential primary, let alone by 228%.

Yes, you may notice that McCain has 3,184,412 more popular votes, but that doesn’t matter. People who vote for Ron Paul deserve to have their vote count more than others anyway. Am I right or am I right?

I have student loans from Sallie Mae.

Sallie Mae cares very much about my privacy.

Therefore, Sallie Mae sends every communication to me as a password protected PDF attachment.

This includes the monthly message that my bill is available to view online.

So, every month, I have to download an attachment, string together a complex password they set up for me, and read through a wordy message which essentially tells me to go to their secure website to pay my bill.

Why do I read each of them? Because I never know when one of those messages might actually be important.

Am I the only one who thinks this process is overkill?

Just send me a message saying “Your bill is now available for viewing on our secure website.” in a plain-text e-mail! Leave the password protected attachments for communications that need to contain sensitive information and/or that I want to keep for reference.

Here’s what I have been listening to lately:

• The Parlor Mob - “And You Were A Crow”
  Straight up Rock & Roll like it was done in the 70s. The vocals remind me of The Mars Volta.
  
  
• The Raconteurs - “Consolers Of The Lonely”
  Like 70s Rock & Roll, but with a twist. The group includes Jack White, so you know it’s got to be quirky. I think this album does a good job of living up to the standards their first release set.
  
  
• Tegan and Sara - “The Con”
  One of my college friends sang the praises of Tegan and Sara often, but I didn’t really get into them until I heard the song “Back In Your Head” a couple times on the radio. Now I really enjoy this album.