It's difficult to be loyal, Microsoft. Very. Difficult.

Remember the issue I had with Outlook 2007? Well, I thought I had it fixed, after five hours on the phone, before I left for vacation. Nice try, but no dice.

I spent yesterday on the phone again. 324 minutes, to be exact, with a bunch of semi-cheery folks from Bangalore. Ultimately, all issues are resolved....for now.

But here's the rub, 50 minutes on hold, before I hang up, after I'm told I'll be spoken to in approximately 2-3 minutes. (I actually couldn't believe that it was taking that long, and presumed something wad VERY wrong, hence, the hang up.)

I call back, and am told it will be 7-8 minutes before I am connected to a tech support person. The time on hold? 73 minutes. For shame, for shame, for shame.

Best moment of the day...

I'm transferred from Outlook support, by Outlook support, to portable device support. The outlook issue affected my ability to sync my phone. Outlook was fixed, and I needed to fix the Mobile Device Center issue. Ahmed, at portable device support was going to charge me. I explained the issue, and he transferred me to Outlook support, and told me to tell them to document the file for a "grace case," and then have them transfer me back to him, so he could read the file, and start to solve my problem.

Really.

I complied, only to ease my pain, but I asked him if that was "my job" as a customer to inform their support people on file completion, that is, to instruct support personnel to document a file, and he replied that he thought it was.

Really.

Beautiful.

I work for a Fortune 100 company. Their Customer Service Rep's can see how long someones in the cue...73 minutes would lead to someones firing. It's not the tech support person's fault, it's Microsoft's.

Here's a clue, Microsoft, hire more people. You CAN afford it.

The man's a lobbyist, I tell ya!

As Fred Thompson's campaign continues to gain traction, so do the stories that examine Fred's background. One issue that lurks in the shadows is his prior lobbying history. I sense this will remain an undercurrent for a few reasons. One, lobbying connotes Fred as a political insider, and further, that's a "bad thing." Two, most people have no idea what lobbying involves, but have a general queasiness about it. And three, most people no longer understand the ethical obligations of attorneys.

Now to be fair, I'm an attorney. And yes, there are some bad and some famously bad ones in our midst. There are even some famous ones who are not really that bad, but who come off as buffoonish in the press. Some of the famous ones have been lionized when their actions really didn't deserve it, and others have been unduly criticized for doing their job.

Most lawyers are not what you see in the news. Most toil in obscurity and are good at what they do. They make a reasonable, not wealthy, living while dealing with the minutiae of paperwork and picayune clients who are rarely happy with the result, no matter how good that may be.

The role of attorney has been denigrated. That's been mostly self inflicted, I think, because of tacky, greedy lawyer advertising, and Hollywood style trials and commentary. (I know, or have known, and worked with some of the more famous ones you now see in various forums on television, and truthfully, it's mostly an embarrassment. It's nothing more than self-promotion disguised as analysis. But that's the subject of another post.) The importance of law, and lawyers, to America has been reduced to the level of cocktail banter. We're a punchline. Denny Crane is the new Atticus Finch.

But the essence of a lawyer as independent thinker, defender of rights, and advocate is as important today as ever. Healthy discussions about democracy, law, and the adversarial system have been lost to snippets of tabloid sensationalism. And a quick perusal of the the Fred Thompson was a Lobbyist! headlines suggest the sensationalism runs rampant.

Now, let me put this plainly.Fred's lobbying efforts were part of his work as an attorney, and it's part of what his former law firm did for clients.

Notwithstanding what your personal thoughts on lobbying are, it is a legal and regulated endeavor. And an attorney's obligation is to his client, and in these matters, the attorney's work consists of pushing the ideas of his client. It's the lobbyist's job to have access and bend the appropriate ears. It's not illegal, nor unethical, and it shouldn't be the subject of a plainly hidden whisper campaign.

Let's move on.

Oh, Canada.

Well, folks, I'm home. Camping with my son was as fun and challenging as ever. Canada continued her unique hospitality; daily rain for a half hour or so, chilly evenings, great food, exciting history, and the nicest, kindest people I've ever had the pleasure to meet.

Some highlights included homemade bread for campsite toast, inside information on a wonderful chocolatier on Île d'Orléans, thirty stories of steps at Chute de Montmorency, the Citadelle, Bistro Sous le Fort, an out of the way fromagerie outside of Trois Rivieres, the Montreal Jazz Festival, Chaka Khan, Soul Live, Streetnix, Whipcream, Vasti Jackson. And last but not least, Jacques, Jocelyn, Viola, Gwen, Glenda, Ku, Micheline, Elodie, Catherine, and Daniel and his family.

Thank you, Canada and new friends!

I am...Tanned. Rested. Ready.