Off on an Adventure to Khao Yai National Park inThailand

I checked out of my hotel and took a taxi to the Northern Bus Terminal where it seems like each bus route has it's own ticket booth. Fortunately the Thais are very helpful and I able to find the right one.


The bus from Bangkok to the town near Khao Yai National Park took 2 hours cost $5 for a comfortable air conditioned ride with a stewardess serving free cokes.


When I arrived I called the Greenleaf Guesthouse and in five minutes I was picked up be a Songthaew ( collective truck ): It is a pick up truck or a small truck converted as a kind of bus. The backside of the truck is covered with a plastic roof and two benches are placed on the 2 side of the truck. The Songthaew is the most used kind of transportation and can be found in every city of Thailand.

The Greenleaf Guesthouse looks like a total dump from the road, but my room was new clean and cheap at under $10. The food is simple, fresh, cheap and tastes good.
Around 3PM we took off on the Half Day Tour.

Seven of us piled into the back of a songthaew. I was the only American, the rest were young European and Canadian backpackers. After a while the pickup started driving slowly in the breakdown lane and I thought something must be wrong with the engine, but it turned out our guide was looking for wildlife along the roadside. Soon we stopped.

From Khao Yai Thailand


The Whip Snake comes in different colors and is not poisonous, but it can bite.


From Khao Yai Thailand

We also saw a pretty cool spider. He was big, about three inches across.

From Khao Yai Thailand

Even though I know better I am in Thailand at the end of the dry season when it is at it's hottest.


The swimming hole sure was a nice way to cool off from the heat of the dry season.

Then we went to a Buddhist Temple with it's own special cave.



The cave has several types of bats, a lot of Buddhas (the monks go down into the cave to meditate), and tarantulas and other insects that Harry Potter fans should recognize from the fourth movie.


There were also tarantulas.

From Khao Yai Thailand

I can't remember whether this was a millipede or a centipede, but whatever it was it was sort of scary having on the back of my hand.

From Khao Yai Thailand

Then we drove to a field beside a large hill. About an hour before sunset bats started streaming out of a cave near the top of the hill. There were literally millions of them and they formed fluttering black river in the sky that twisted and turned and moved in all three dimensions as it flowed out of the cave and over the horizon. It lasted over an hour and was very beautiful to watch as the sun slowly set. There were several hawks that came for a snack.

From Khao Yai Thailand

Going on a full day tour and trek in Khao Yai National Park

Opening night at State Road

Another Evasive Reply from Sony Support

I have received a reply from Sony Support.  Once again they want me to contact someone else in the
Sony system.  Here is my reply along with their email.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Kyle,

You don't seem to get it.  I have been trying for days to get the serial number, not just with you, but also with Sony Style. 

You work for Sony and seem to have some idea of how to get the serial number for Adobe Premiere, so would you please try to help me, other than sending me on another wild goose chase. (Also you didn't even tell me how I am supposed to contact the SonyStyle team.) 

 You try calling the Sony Style Sale team and see if you can get my serial number.  When you do you know my email and you can call me at 508 xxx xxxx or 508 xxx xxxx.

Hopefully you will be able to get an answer were I haven't.

Jay Lagemann


-----Original Message-----
From: Support [mailto:support@info.sel.sony.com]
Sent: Friday, March 05, 2010 1:41 PM
To: Jay Lagemann
Subject: Re: FW: Problems with sony support getting Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 [Incident:100304-010847]

Jay,

I?m sorry that the issue is not resolved. Since the Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 is preinstalled with the Computer the only option to get the Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 is by contacting the SonyStyle Sale team. I suggest that you contact the SonyStyle Sale team to get the Serial number. They will be happy to help you.

Thank you for your time.

The Sony Email Response Team
C6N4
Kyle


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachments associated therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
   
  
  
 -----Original Message-----
  From:  Jay Lagemann [mailto:Jay Lagemann]
  Sent:    Friday, March 05, 2010     9:13 AM 
  To:  'Sony Style Customer Care'
  Cc:  
  Subject:  RE: Problems with sony support getting Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 [Incident:100304-010847]
  
 As I said in my blog:  
  
 I think I'll reply that I don't need another number to call, I need for them to come up with a solution and call me.  It should be obvious, even to the Sony people, that I have already talked to more than five (5) Sony people about the same very simple problem and none of them were able to tell me the serial number, so why would anyone think that another random call to Sony's support system would solve the problem?
  
 So please have someone come up with a solution to how to give me the serial number for the program I purchased from you.
  
 Thanking you in advance,
  
  
  
 -----Original Message-----
  From:  Sony Style Customer Care [mailto:sonystyle@custhelp.com]
  Sent:    Thursday, March 04, 2010     6:22 PM 
  To:  jaynwa@gowildisland.com
  Subject:  Problems with sony support getting Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 [Incident:100304-010847]
  
  
  
  Response
 Dear Valued Customer, 
 We appreciate your interest in Sony products! Due to the complexity of our products, we are unable to assist you via email. 
 If you would like assistance with a product you already own, please contact the Sony Support team at 800-222-7669.< p> 
 If you are interested in purchasing a new product which is available on SonyStyle.com, please call to speak with our  Sale team at 877-865-7669 and select option 1.< p>
 We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
 Sony Style Customer Care
  
  Discussion Thread
  Customer (Jay Lagemann)
 03/04/2010  04:21 PM
 The computer is great, but I need the Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 that I bought bundled with the machine. Sony Supprort has be unable to help and is very frustrating to work with. You can see the details at my blog
 http://jaylagemann.blogspot.com

 I need help.
  
  

Third day of slush

Sony Customer Care replies in an email

From:  Sony Style Customer Care [sonystyle@custhelp.com]

Subject: Problems with sony support getting Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 [Incident:100304-010847]

Sent: Thursday 3/4/2010 6:22 PM
Problems with sony support getting Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
 Response
Dear Valued Customer,
We appreciate your interest in Sony products! Due to the complexity of our products, we are unable to assist you via email.
If you would like assistance with a product you already own, please contact the Sony Support team at 800-222-7669.< p>
If you are interested in purchasing a new product which is available on SonyStyle.com, please call to speak with our Sale team at 877-865-7669 and select option 1.< p>
We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
Sony Style Customer Care
 Discussion Thread
 Customer (Jay Lagemann) 03/04/2010 04:21 PM
The computer is great, but I need the Serial number for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 that I bought bundled with the machine. Sony Supprort has be unable to help and is very frustrating to work with. You can see the details at my blog
http://jaylagemann.blogspot.com

I need help.
__________________________________________________________________________

I think I'll reply that I don't need another number to call, I need for them to come up with a solution and call me.  It should be obvious, even to the Sony people, that I have already talked to more than five (5) Sony people about the same very simple problem and none of them were able to tell me the serial number, so why would anyone think that another random call to Sony's support system would solve the problem?

The Twins can swim

The twins finally believed that they could swim, so now they can.  Only a couple of feet before they put their toes back on the bottom of the pool. But those are definitely the hardest two feet to learn.  Now  I have taught all six of my grandchildren to swim.  I think that is something for all of us to be proud of. 

Trying calling Customer Service rather than Tech Support

The first guy I talked to took over my computer and looked in most of the same places as the last few Tech support people.  Then he passed me on (after a ten minute hold) to a "Tier 2 engineer".  We discussed the issue for a while (I am learning a lot of useless, most of the time, information about product keys and their place in ""the Registry".  Rather than wait around looking at my computer screen I asked him to call me back when he figured out how to deal with the problem.  He agreed and said he would call me back.  That was around 6:30 PM and not it is after 9 PM.  I hope he has the sense not to call until morning.

Reply emails from Sony to my complaint

I got two emails from Sony in responce to my complaints listed in my last blog.  I was hoping that I would get some help.  Here is what I got instead:



Jay,

I'm sorry that the previous response did not resolve the issue. As mentioned in the previous response, the issue you describe requires more extensive troubleshooting and communication than can be effectively handled via e-mail. Please contact our telephone support staff who will be happy to provide further diagnosis and assistance at: (888) 476-6972 or (239) 768-7669 Intl.

Thank you for your time.

The Sony Email Response Team
CP82
Jeff


Original Message Follow
------------------------
I am very frustrated.  Here is what I wrote on my blog: http://jaylagemann.blogspot.com/2010/03/problems-with-sony-support.html

Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Problems with Sony Support
I ordered my new Sony Vaio Laptop with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 preinstalled.  The whole point of getting the new laptop was to be able to edit HD Video.  Naturally I have questions about the software.  But Adobe doesn't want to talk to me until I give them the serial number for Premiere.  That is reasonable and usually you have the serial number on the package the software disks come in as well as in the Help / about screen.  My problem is that since this is bundled software there is no packaging and no disks and no product key on the About// Help screen. The Sony website says to find the serial number on the Start menu, but it isn't there on my computer.  So I figure I'll try email support after telephone and web support can't find the serial number.

Here is the reply I get:

Jay

Thank you for the detailed technical questions. The issue you describe requires more extensive troubleshooting and communication than can be effectively handled via e-mail. Please contact our telephone support staff who will be happy to provide further diagnosis and assistance at:
(888) 476-6972 or (239) 768-7669 Intl.

Thank you for choosing Sony.

The Sony Email Response Team
C6H6
David


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachments associated therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
I have two issues.

1.I ordered the computer with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.  In order to talk with Adobe I need to know the serial number.  On the web site it says that I  should be able to find it on the start menu, but it is not there on my Sony.

2. I have a Sony HDR-HC9 hd camcorder.  I can capture video from that camcorder to my computer in two ways: I can use the sony capture utility that comes with the computer which captures the HD Video files as .m2t files; or I can capture the HD files using Premiere which captures them as .mpeg files.  Is one capture type better that the other?  If so in what ways?

Then when I want to edit the HD video I  can't figure out which project preset to use.  It seems that the m2t files are AVC HD files, but do I use the AVCHD preset which seems to be about using a particular AVCHD codec and I don't know whether the m2t files are using that codec.

Thank you for your help,

Jay Lagemann

----------------------

So now that I have a new Sony support number to call I get on the phone and spend almost two hours with a support tech guy who remotely takes over my computer and keeps looking in the Start menu for the serial number ( and naturally can't find it).  Then he reinstalls Adobe Premiere Pro, and keeps looking in the Start menu for the serial number (still can't find it)  keeps looking until finally he transfers me to an Tech Support guy who is supposed to be a specialist in Premiere Pro.  He spends a lot of time looking in the Start menu and then downloads some program off of the web to search for product keys in the Registry.  That doesn't work either so after an hour and a half he says he is going to transfer me and I have to wait another half an hour listening over and over again to the same junk until finally someone new comes on the line.


Naturally I am expecting to move up the Tech Support ladder to someone who might know more, but no... The new guy doesn't know anything other than to look in the Start Menu. At this point I gave up and had dinner.

At This point I'm about ready to send the computer back to Sony since it is in the 30day trial period.  The problem is that it is a good computer and seems like it can really do the job of editing HD video. Posted by Jay at 8:32 PM
Labels: Sony Technical Support Problems Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 lousy

-----Original Message-----
From: Support [mailto:support@info.sel.sony.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 3:13 PM

Subject: RE: vpc-f1190x

Jay

Thank you for the detailed technical questions. The issue you describe requires more extensive troubleshooting and communication than can be effectively handled via e-mail. Please contact our telephone support staff who will be happy to provide further diagnosis and assistance at:
(888) 476-6972 or (239) 768-7669 Intl.

Thank you for choosing Sony.

The Sony Email Response Team
C6H6
David


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachments associated therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
I have two issues.

1.I ordered the computer with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.  In order to talk with Adobe I need to know the serial number.  On the web site it says that I  should be able to find it on the start menu, but it is not there on my Sony.

2. I have a Sony HDR-HC9 hd camcorder.  I can capture video from that camcorder to my computer in two ways: I can use the sony capture utility that comes with the computer which captures the HD Video files as .m2t files; or I can capture the HD files using Premiere which captures them as .mpeg files.  Is one capture type better that the other?  If so in what ways?

Then when I want to edit the HD video I  can't figure out which project preset to use.  It seems that the m2t files are AVC HD files, but do I use the AVCHD preset which seems to be about using a particular AVCHD codec and I don't know whether the m2t files are using that codec.

Thank you for your help,

Jay Lagemann

-----Original Message-----
From: Support [mailto:support@info.sel.sony.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 1:38 PM

Subject: Re: vpc-f1190x

Jay Lagemann,

Thank you for contacting Sony Support.

I'm unable to determine the exact nature of your support issue using only the information contained in your original message. Please reply to this mail with the detailed technical question, so that I will be able to research and assist you.

Thank you for your time.

The Sony Email Response Team
C1SJ
Jaymes


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachments associated therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------

Privacy Flag : No
Name         : Lagemann, jay
Street       : 18 Wequobsque Road
State        :
Zip          : 02535
Phone        :
Product Group: Sony
O/S          : Windows R 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Model        : vpc-f1190x
Question     :

------------------------------------------------

So I  complain that I wasted four hours on the phone trying to get the Premiere Pro Serial number and email suppport tells me to call the same number.  Did they even read the email?

Later I recieved another email from Sony.  Did they have an answer to my question?  No, they wanted me to take a survey about how well their email support worked for me.  You can guess how I answered that.


Greetings!

Thank you for your recent e-mail. Sony values your opinion and would like to ask you to complete a short online survey to help us understand how you rate our customer support. The survey is only a few questions and should only take a few minutes.

Please click the link below or copy it to your web browser to take the survey.

http://www.surveys.sony.com/surveyma/Email_Survey10.asp?Event_ID=2555017

Thank you for your time,

Sony Customer Information Services Center

This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients. They may contain privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachments associated therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.


 Doesn't Sony support get it?  I bought and paid for Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.  I need the serial number to talk to Adobe Support.

Problems with Sony Support

I ordered my new Sony Vaio Laptop with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4 preinstalled.  The whole point of getting the new laptop was to be able to edit HD Video.  Naturally I have questions about the software.  But Adobe doesn't want to talk to me until I give them the serial number for Premiere.  That is reasonable and usually you have the serial number on the package the software disks come in as well as in the Help / about screen.  My problem is that since this is bundled software there is no packaging and no disks and no product key on the About// Help screen.  The Sony website says to find the serial number on the Start menu, but it isn't there on my computer.  So I figure I'll try email support after telephone and web support can't find the serial number.

Here is the reply I get:

Jay

Thank you for the detailed technical questions. The issue you describe requires more extensive troubleshooting and communication than can be effectively handled via e-mail. Please contact our telephone support staff who will be happy to provide further diagnosis and assistance at: (888) 476-6972 or (239) 768-7669 Intl.

Thank you for choosing Sony.

The Sony Email Response Team
C6H6
David


This message and any attachments are solely for the use of intended recipients and may contain confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you received this email in error, and that any review, dissemination, distribution or copying of this email and any attachment is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error please contact the sender and delete the message and any attachments associated therewith from your computer. Your cooperation in this matter is appreciated.

Original Message Follows:
------------------------
I have two issues.

1.I ordered the computer with Adobe Premiere Pro CS4.  In order to talk with Adobe I need to know the serial number.  On the web site it says that I  should be able to find it on the start menu, but it is not there on my Sony.

2. I have a Sony HDR-HC9 hd camcorder.  I can capture video from that camcorder to my computer in two ways: I can use the sony capture utility that comes with the computer which captures the HD Video files as .m2t files; or I can capture the HD files using Premiere which captures them as .mpeg files.  Is one capture type better that the other?  If so in what ways?

Then when I want to edit the HD video I  can't figure out which project preset to use.  It seems that the m2t files are AVC HD files, but do I use the AVCHD preset which seems to be about using a particular AVCHD codec and I don't know whether the m2t files are using that codec.

Thank you for your help,

Jay Lagemann

----------------------

So now that I have a new Sony support number to call I get on the phone and spend almost two hours with a support tech guy who remotely takes over my computer and keeps looking in the Start menu for the serial number ( and naturally can't find it).  Then he reinstalls Adobe Premiere Pro, and keeps looking in the Start menu for the serial number (still can't find it)  keeps looking until finally he transfers me to an Tech Support guy who is supposed to be a specialist in Premiere Pro.  He spends a lot of time looking in the Start menu and then downloads some program off of the web to search for product keys in the Registry.  That doesn't work either so after an hour and a half he says he is going to transfer me and I have to wait another half an hour listening over and over again to the same junk until finally someone new comes on the line. 

Naturally I am expecting to move up the Tech Support ladder to someone who might know more, but no...
The new guy doesn't know anything other than to look in the Start Menu.  At this point I gave up and had dinner.

At This point I'm about ready to send the computer back to Sony since it is in the 30day trial period.  The problem is that it is a good computer and seems like it can really do the job of editing HD video.

Nature's Perfume

Snowdrops for a snowy day

Sculpture Garden Party this Saturday, August 12, 4-7pm All are Welcome.

 I am having an open studio at my sculpture garden on Saturday August 12 from 4 to 7. The address is 18 Wequobsque Road in Chilmark. Turn l...