Yesterday Jakki and I became proud owners of EA's [Rock Band](http://www.rockband.com/) (Special Edition) for Wii. We bought it at Wal-Mart. There was only one package left and the box had a bit of damage; but I thought, "Hey, it's Wal-Mart, they'll take it back if anything is wrong." Right? Wrong! The trend I've noticed is that manufacturers are now putting documentation inside the package that forbids you from dealing with the store you purchased the item from, and forcing you to deal directly with the manufacturer. Such was the case we discovered upon opening Rock Band. Upon further inspection, it appears some hapless fork-lift driver tried to drive _through_ a stack of Rock Bands and impaled the one destined for us. The drumset component was totally destroyed. After some choice phrases, I quickly logged onto EA's support website (as provided in the "Thou Shalt Not Deal With Thy Store" insert). After a miserable experience with some poorly crafted PHP pages and a 3-5 day "Express" service, I'm out a $125 deposit (insurance that I will indeed send the broken unit back). Wow. This is not the first time I've noticed such a trend. We purchased a Hoover FloorMate from BestBuy a few weeks ago, and in it's package was a similar "Do Not Go To Store, Do Not Pass Go" insert. Fortunately for us, the FloorMate was intact. The part of this I find disturbing (in addition to the 3-5 day wait for replacement and the $125 deposit), is that the manufacturers have lost faith in the level of customer service that the stores that carry their merchandise provide. Is it that the Wal-Marts and BestBuys of the world have gotten so big, and their profit margins so "wafer thin", that they can no longer provide the level of service that customers have come to expect from the manufacturers? I see this as a failing of the free market economy because of two reasons: 1- If the manufacturer is going to force the customer to deal directly with them for "customer service", then what stake does the store have in treating their merchandise like it was their own? 2- How can the manufacturer *ever* hope to provide a level of customer service better than a place I can drive to conveniently? Despite these market forces aligning against us, and Big Corp. trying to keep us down-- Jakki and I played late into the night. She on vocals and me on guitar/bass, our band, "The Analogues", made it into Act IV.

Jakki passed the NCLEX! It was a huge relief for her, and for me by proxy. It's official on the Washington State Dept. of Health site [here](https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/providercredentialsearch/ProviderDetail_1.aspx?CredentialIdnt=905427). Jakki has her first shift as an RN tonight in the ER at [Holy Family Hospital](http://www.holy-family.org/) in north Spokane. Thanks to everyone who supported her, here at the conclusion of her journey.

This morning, Jakki and I discovered a newly opened restaurant place not far from the house. It's called the [Cottage Cafe](http://www.tasteeverythingonce.com/restaurants/1095/) found at [6902 E. Appleway](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=6902+E+Appleway+spokane+wa&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=44.793449,59.414063&ie=UTF8&ll=47.6603,-117.311025&spn=0.009351,0.022831&z=16&layer=c&cbll=47.656018,-117.311997&panoid=qlagrz7b6v5FwrMBRpu2GA). It used to be a rough old re-upholstery shop, but they did a complete remodel and turned it into a charming English-style cafe. The food was very good, and the service was quick and attentive.They serve breakfast and lunch only, and I would say the average plate runs about $9.00 a person. It's supposed to be viciously hot this weekend for [Hoopfest](http://www.spokanehoopfest.net/site/), so we are trying our best to stay out of the downtown area. We might catch a movie or something later to cool off. We did a little yard work this morning while it was cool (including repairing more sprinklers), but it's started to heat up already.

Last night was the Spokane Community College graduation ceremony. Following that was the Nursing Graduate Pinning Ceremony. Here is a [link to the slideshow](http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3658559543801453632&hl=en) that was shown. **NOTE:** You can now watch the video in [full HD resolution here](http://www.vimeo.com/1200945). You can also download it, but bear in mind that at this resolution, the file size is around 266 MB.

> And Spring arose on the garden fair, > Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere; > And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast > rose from the dreams of its wintry rest. > ~**Percy Bysshe Shelley**, _"The Sensitive Plant"_ Spring is definitely upon us here in the Inland Northwest. A 90+ heat wave has caused some serious snow melt and the Spokane River crested several feet above flood stage last weekend. We went down to Riverfront Park with the Melbys' and took photos ([see the album here](http://picasaweb.google.com/kellytadams/SpokaneRiver)). Also there is a [small album](http://picasaweb.google.com/kellytadams/Spring2008) of macro photos I took of various spring flowers in our yard. Film is expensive, but digital is free, right? In other news, Jakki is terribly excited about how close she is to graduation. I've been brewing beer for her graduation party, and we are working on a slide show to show at the pinning ceremony. She's on the graduation committee, assuring that things will be done right :)