Open letter to Walmart

I have been trying to use the Walmart VUDU conversion Disk to Cloud service since Christmas and have gotten a whole lot of frustration for my troubles.Last night was the final straw for me so I wrote an open letter to Walmart. Here is the letter I sent. Here's hoping for a helpful reply.

Sunday January 20, 2013 10:00 am

To Whom It May Concern:

I am at my breaking point on a subject that needs someone’s immediate attention.  Since Christmas I have been trying to convert my DVDs to the VUDU cloud. I have purchased movies with the coupons to try the VUDU service, and I currently use the VUDU service with all new movie releases.  However, and this is where my breaking point comes in, despite all the advertising Walmart has created for this, coupons, commercials, and the website, no one seems able to do this.

I have been to five different stores, at a high cost to me in gas and travel, and again NO ONE is able to do this VUDU service.  Last night was the final straw in my endeavors to convert these titles.

I have gone to two stores that are close to me, since Christmas mind you, neither Store #1837 nor Store #849, have been able to access the service. The main photo center employees know how to do it but are not able to access the service. The employee at Store #849 has called three other stores and the all said yes they could convert the movies, calling before driving to these locations as not to waste my time and gas.

Store #5287, which is ten miles from my home said they could do it, that’s a twenty mile round trip, and upon my arrival they said they could not do the conversions without sending my disk off to be converted to CDs. This is NOT the service I need nor want, and on the coupon themselves state I keep my disk.

The next store on my list that said they could do it was Store #3500, which is thirty miles from me, a SIXTY mile round trip. I was met with the same answer, they would have to send my disk off to be converted to CD.

The last store, Store #1137, which is thirty-three miles from my home, SIXTY-SIX miles round trip. When arriving at this store the employee stated with the same excuse, they would have to send my disk off. I told the employee to get the store manager and when the MOD(Manger On Duty) came he had no idea what I was talking about either. The first employee who stated that the store did not even have the VUDU service changed his store when the MOD arrived and said he could not access the system.

I handed the MOD my coupon so he could read for himself that the disk do NOT leave the store he walked away and called someone then came back to me and said they did not have the VUDU service. All the while the MOD is on the phone the store employee is going out of his way to come back to me and argue with me, even after I told him I was done talking to him for calling me a liar after I told the MOD what the employee had stated at first about having to send my disk off then saying he never said that. This employee came back over and over, trying to provoke me into physical contact and saying I was a liar.

When the MOD came back he stated again that they could not perform the service but that store #3500 could, saying his employee called the store and talked with their photo center, not knowing I had already been to that location. I told him that the employee was lying because I just came from that store. The manager asked me to leave the store and I asked for my coupons back, as that was $8 worth of conversions, and he said he didn’t have it, they were in his hands. Only when I got belligerent did he give me back my coupons and I walked out of the store.

This has gone on long enough. I am trying to use a service that is advertised as easy to use. I am trying to use a service that I have a large need for yet no one seems to be able to help me, instead telling me at EVERY location I have gone to that I should just go online and use the service instead of coming into their store. If I COULD do these conversions online then I would. IF this is the feeling of the store employees then perhaps I SHOULD take my business elsewhere and have my online followers begin to do the same because the employees do not wish to help their customers.

I would like someone to contact me back about this matter. I do not believe this is company policy and I am giving Walmart a chance to save face.

Thank you for your time,

Max M. Power

I Am A Naval Aviator

When I was 8yrs old I took my first flight, non stop from Houston to Sacramento, on the red eye. My mother kept my brother and I awake all day, making us play outside so we would be tired and sleep on the flight. Sadly for her, that plan backfired. Seeing the Boeing 737 for the first time I was in love, she was the most beautiful thing I had even seen in my short life.

On the flight I was wide awake. Looking out the window I could see all the stars in the Universe, well my small Universe. There was no way I could sleep. A flight attendant seen my excitement and, being this was the 80's, asked if I wanted to see the cockpit. I jumped out of my seat and waited for her to catch up. I was not able to go inside the small cockpit but I did get a good look at the instrument panel. I was in heaven. I announced to the flight attendant that I was going to be a pilot someday. When we landed she handed me a pair of plastic wings and said she would see me around in the air.

Three years later I found myself in California visiting family once again. One day my aunt rented Top Gun, the Navy's biggest recruiting commercial. I have always loved the Navy ever since my Uncle, a nurse in the Navy, took me to see The Hunt For Red October and gave me all his Tom Clancy books. Not knowing any details about Naval Aviation I absorbed every line of the movie. I took everything as real. I knew what kind of pilot I wanted to be.

While my little brother and cousins had bought Matchbox toy cars I bought jet aircraft. I had every aircraft from Top Gun and a few other Navy aircraft. I would sit by myself and play out the movie over and over, repeating line for line, blowing the Mig 28s out of the sky. Iceman could be my wing man anytime.

As I was getting ready for high school I told my parents I wanted to attend the magnet school that revolved around aviation because I wanted to be a pilot when I graduated. Being a pudgie boy all my life, and all the stereotypes on pilots being bean poles, my parents said I could not be a pilot, I was not smart enough, because there was a lot of math involved and to be honest, I sucked at math majorly. I answered, "I don't care if I fly a cargo plane full of rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong I want to be a pilot."

After recovering from being slapped for cursing I didn't push the issue anymore but I did not give up the dream. Another aspect of being me at that age was I looked nothing like my real age. After my Freshman year I made one last visit to California, this time making it to see relatives down in San Diego as well. We went a boardwalk and the only thing I remember is there was a Navy flight simulator, giving "rides." You had to be eighteen to ride, and I figured if they didn't check my age I wasn't going to tell the truth, I just wanted to sick behind the stick and fly. When the rise was over I found out it was used as a recruiting tool and the recruiters were mad that I had pretended to be older. I didn't care because I had flown a fighter jet, well a simulated one anyway.

Over the next four years I was told over and over that I could not become a pilot, primarily because I was not smart enough. Given that it took me three years to pass basic algebra I guess I could not blame them. But what I lacked in book smarts I more than made up for in my passion for aviation. Every flight simulator game I played I aced. I felt like it came naturally to me. 

I am a Naval Aviator. I kept telling myself that, I am a Naval Aviator. Everything I did I did to fly for the U.S. Navy. When I graduated high school I slimmed down, ready to join the military. My ASVAB scores suggested grunt work, not allowing for a chance to become an Officer and an Officer is what I needed to be.

A year later I found myself in a flight school that would allow me to get a degree in aviation and a degree meant OCS (Officer Cadet School). I began to absorb everything again, despite my lack of math skills navigation came easy to me, being a pilot would not be a problem. My flight instructors were another matter.

I grabbed the mechanics of flight but in the air it was a different story. I was trying to do everything I was being told on how to fly but inside my instincts were telling me something different. later I found out I was "flying by the seat of my pants," which meant I did everything my feel and not my instruments told me. that type of flying is highly discouraged and I thought I would flunk out and prove everyone right until my instructor decided to let ME fly the aircraft.

I felt so free. I took off and did everything I was suppose to, not a clean as he would have liked but still, I was flying. We were not close to my first solo, however, when we were going over full stops I thought I did something wrong because he got very quite. I sat there is silence waiting for him to order us home and I would fail another flight. Instead he opened the door and unplugged his headset.

"I want two touch and gos then one full stop to pick me back up."

When he slammed the door I was gripped with fear, this was it, do or die. I pulled out onto the runway and took off. As soon as the wheels lifted off the ground and I was airborne I told myself once more, "I am a Naval Aviator."

Gun Control

teaching family to shoot properly

There is a lot of talk these days about gun control. With the recent school shooting people are more scared than ever about guns. Sadly, people want you scared. I say fight the fear and get informed.
Some do not agree with me and think I am pig headed in my views on gun control. Heck, the truth is I am but I also don't take people, who have no idea about what they are truly saying, seriously. When I'm asked what Gun Control means I always answer, "It means holding onto the gun and hitting your target."
Let's get a few facts straight. Yes the old saying is old BUT oh so true, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." If I laid a loaded gun, ready to fire, on a table and walked away it will NOT fire and kill someone UNLESS someone else picks it up and pulls the trigger. That is a fact proven over and over again.
Do not get me wrong, if you do not like guns, that's okay by me, I am not saying that you have to like guns. But like them or not, they are a part of our society. You have every right NOT to like guns, all I ask is that you do not try to take away MY right to carry one. This is something that has gone on throughout history and not just with guns.
The only way a few can control a large mass is IF and ONLY if the masses allow themselves to be ruled. People in power never want to lose power, and those that stay in power by force are always fearful that the masses will rise up and fight back. Solution, take away their means of fighting back. this little tid bit of history repeats it self over and over more than anything else.
Getting back to the argument at hand, there is a lot of talk about arming teachers in schools and there are some good and bad arguments on both sides of this coin. I feel that if a teacher, who goes through the proper training, wishes to carry a gun, then should be allowed to. An argument thrown at me on this is that bad guys, no matter their state of mind, will not care if someone has a weapon to stop them, they are going to do what they want to do. They couldn't be more wrong on this. ONLY a select few will not care and stopping them in their tracks before harming ANYONE is a good thing and can only be done if they have the means to do so.
Then I was told, well if you give some teachers guns then they can take those guns and just do what as they please as well. Well, what is stopping them from doing that anyway but think about this, IF there are teachers you feel would do this then do they REALLY need to be teaching in the first place? Do you REALLY want them around your child? I know I don't so that argument is NOT a valid one.
Now here in Texas, there is talk about reducing the amount of class time to get a CHL, concealed handgun license, and an even more convenient way of renewing your CHL the same way you do a driver's license. To this I say NO WAY! Does this surprise you? Let me explain.
There are some people who are driving that should not be. They have lost the ability to operate a motorized vehicle safely and I'm sure there are plenty of you out there who knows of someone I am referring to. They get their license renewed automatically to easily. But when you first get your license you have to take some form of class time, even if its studying the handbook and taking the driving test. This needs to be done with CHL licenses as well.
The system for class time is not broke, so please do not try to fix it. And for those looking for short cuts I say to you, IF you can not sit through the class and learn properly then you do NOT deserve the license at all. Gun safety is very important and even instructors have to be retrained from time to time. Take the class, do the time, prove you deserve to keep that license.
In Law Enforcement an officer has to prove he can still handle a firearm and has to do so once every two years. In private security I have to do the same thing. Even though my current location does not require me to carry a side arm I still have to maintain my proficiency with a firearm. Every 20 months I have to re qualify for the state of Texas. That's 8hrs of class room time and then on the range to prove I can still maintain my "gun control." I see some people who do not need to be carrying side arms in these classes and the only way to show they should not be carrying a side arm is by being in these classes. To cut that would be down right irresponsible.
So in short, the answer is NOT less guns but more training. I am always willing to show anyone how to handle a fire arms properly and safely. I will teach you how to shoot accurately  and show you fire arms are not the enemy at all. What's that old saying, "A well armed society is a polite society." Well don't forget to be well informed while you're at it.

Aliens, where are they?

I like to watch shows such as Ancient Aliens, I think the history is fascinating   I do believe there are aliens out there and I'm not referring to illegal aliens crossing our borders.  Our Universe is too big to NOT have other life out there, because if we are, then it's a lot of wasted space.  Okay so here's MY theory as to why Aliens do not visit Earth as often as they use to. For those of you who have younger siblings will get what I'm about to say.
When Aliens first visited Man we were in our infant state.  We were cute, fun, and easy to get to do what they wanted us to do.  Like making a baby dance any way you want or making them make funny faces.  We were a source of entertainment for these space travelers.
As we got a little older, the entertainment changed.  Being the older wiser sibling, the Aliens taught us things to get by.  They were our protectors, but this protection came at a price.  They told us things and did things to scare us, make us do what ever they said, all the while, we looked up to them, thinking they were so cool and that we mattered because they were taking care of us.
As we got older, began to think for ourselves, we didn't look at them in the same way.  They too were now older and wiser and it was time to take on the Universe in new ways.  Toying with us was not as fun as it use to be but if they wanted to remain the "Cool" sibling they needed to let us grow on our own.  Of course, every once in a while they need to come home for a visit and remind you who is boss.
So that's why Aliens don't visit us anymore, we're not as entertaining to them as we use to be.

2013

Welcome to 2013. I'm glade everyone survived the Mayan calendar, even though they NEVER said the world would end, but moving on.
I've been asked what my New Year's resolutions are and to be honest, I never make them. So I answer, "To make it to 2014." That sounds like a good goal right, to make it through the year in one piece?
Well I decided this is the year I will sign with an agent. The ONLY way I see that happening is to get off my butt and push my writing. I have to admit, I have been getting lazy in this department and I need to change.
I'm going to try to post more often here, writing little by little, so I ask that you please bear with me with some stupid post that I know will be coming throughout the year. My hope is that by writing daily, no matter how out there it may be, I will sharpen my tool that is my mind.
Happy New Year everyone.

Are You Better Off Today?

Are you better off today than you were four years ago?  This is a question that’s being asked a lot in this political arena.  It’s a question that was asked over twenty-five years ago when conditions were pretty much the same as they are now.

As I’ve heard this question asked more than a dozen times in one hour it got thinking, am I really better off today than I was four years ago?  That’s a heavy question to answer and one that could not be answered easily.  Taking all politics out of the question, so I could get a true honest answer, am I better off today than I was four years ago?  The answer is YES.

Like I said, I’m taking all politics out of my answer so when I say Yes, it has nothing to do with the policies of ANY political party.  Now, when I answer, “Yes I’m better off,” it’s because of my own hard work and nothing else.

The year was 2008.  I had been writing as an author for two years now and had less than twenty followers or fans.  I had lost my house and was now living in the heart of the ghetto of North Houston, Greenspoint, better known as Gunspoint.  There was only one car to share between my wife and I and since she had my daughter she got the car, one that was barely running at the time.

To pay the bills I was working for a security company that was barely keeping it’s head above water.  I had no health insurance, close to eighty security officers who reported to me and hated my guts, a bunch of properties that were under my care to improve on their conditions.  I worked close to eighty hours a week, twenty four of those hours were straight, but only got paid for sixty of those hours.  I was on call 24/7 and if I got four hours of sleep at a time I was lucky.

Thanks to my hard work the company was expanding and expanding fast.  By the end of the summer I had helped to double the size of our branch, we were no longer treading water.  Just as things were looking up Mother Nature threw us a curve ball, Hurricane Ike.  After the storm I went to work protecting our interest.  I made sure all our properties were being looked after, personally driving in a patrol vehicle twelve hours straight and having the other patrol officers take up the other half.

That hard work earned me a full time office position and a raise.  Our accounts doubled again because of my hard work.  In January of 2009, thanks to the raise, I was able to get my family out of the run down apartments in Gunspoint and into a house we rented.

With my hours now reduced I was about to concentrate on my writing.  I had self published two books and learned the hard way about self publishing.  If I wanted to sell my work I had to sell it myself.  Selling myself I did.

I was already an avid blogger on the MYFOX sight.  Houston was my main source of blogging but I was making appearances in New York, Los Angeles, and much to my surprise Raleigh, North Carolina.  I went from having less than twenty followers in a two year period to having over fifty followers, as well as a few haters.  I’ve always said, “You haven’t made it big until you have a few haters.”

I was living high on the hog for the next two months.  Life was great until one day I came into the office and the gates of hell had broken loose the night before.  Long story short I was now without a job because I did the right thing.  I refused to allow the loss of a job to turn my life upside down again.

I made a few new contacts due to my actions after Hurricane Ike.  I managed to gather a few favors while I was at it.  I decided to try to cash those favors in.  While there was a hiring freeze going on; through the contacts I landed my current job and am still here today.

A month after my new employment I received an email from my publisher that they were going to make a deal with local book stores to buy back any unsold books not sold during a book signing IF they gave me a chance to have a book signing.  It was my job to get the store manager to agree.

I hussled and emailed every Barnes and Noble in the Houston and surrounding areas but they were pretty much all booked up for the summer.  There was a Barnes and Noble where I worked and after meeting with the manager face to face he decided to give me a chance, even though self published authors was frowned upon by B&N.

I was excited.  I was interviewed on an internet radio show and by the local newspaper where I was going to have the book signing.  I just had one major problem, my publisher was screwing me over on the price of the book.  They were charging $25 for the paperback book and I had no say over the price.  It was MY book and even I would not pay that price, so I came up with ideas for freebies.

The book I really wanted to push was The Guardians, and I had not found a publisher yet, refusing to use the same publisher I was using.  I figured if I could drum up enough interest in the book I had a better chance of getting an agent to sell the book to.  I hand printed booklets on my printer with the first two chapters as a teaser.  I had T-Shirts made up that said I <3 a="a" angels="angels" back="back" book.="book." bought="bought" first="first" for="for" guardian="guardian" of="of" on="on" people="people" set="set" span="span" style="mso-spacerun: yes;" ten="ten" the="the" who="who" wings="wings" with="with"> 

Also I had book marks, a cloth shoulder bag to carry the books in, and booklets of poetry I’ve written for everyone who bought a book.

Invitations were sent out to all my contacts in the Houston and surrounding areas.  The day of the book signing came and it was time to see if all my hard work had paid off.  I had twenty books to sell and only four hours in which to do so.  With support from my family and hard work I sold eighteen of the twenty books, the other two selling a few days later.  I made new fans that day and am very grateful to all whom came out, including one who drove almost an hour to come see me.

There was one person who walked past me and smugly said, “If I can’t read it on my Nook then it’s not worth me reading.”  That comment stuck with me.  Right then I decided to take matters into my own hands.  I was no longer going to be at the mercy of some publisher who did not care about me.  I needed an agent.  Over the next few months I pounded the pavement with both fist trying to get an agent for The Guardians.  I was rejected over and over.  Finally I received a rejection that hit me hard.  While every rejection I’ve gotten so far was a form letter this rejection was hand written and was a personal attack on me and my book.

That rejection letter hit me hard, I was about ready to give up, put the cap on my pen and never write another word.  I went into my dark place and didn’t come out for two weeks.  When I came out I decided to do everything myself, after all, no one will work harder to sell me than me.

Over the next few months I was working hard to get the books I had completed so far to print, in paper and electronic form.  Granted I rushed, and have been trying to fix my mistakes ever since.  With my books printed, my ebooks available for free, I started to gain more followers. 

In 2008 if you did a Google search for Max M. Power it took you five pages before you found me.  Now, four years later, if you do the same search it takes three pages before I’m not on the page.

I have a steady job, three years so far.  I own two cars, and will be getting a third in February of 2013.  I have my own house, in a nice quite area, far from the ghetto I have lived all my life.  I have health insurance, it may be shitty insurance but it’s still better that the none I had four years ago.  So YES, I am better off today than I was for years ago but this is due to my own hard work and nothing any political party has done for me.

Are you better off today than you were four years ago?

Weapons vs Police Officers

A few things the average person does not know about weapons vs Police Officers.
1. A person with a knife can clear 21ft and stab an officer in the neck before he can clear his holster, even if the officer backs way while doing so.
2. A BIC pen can be shoved in someone's neck with very little force.
3. A knife CAN go through a bullet proof vest but most knife attacks are not to the torso but other vidal areas.
Keep this in mind. When an officer tells you to put something down or show your hands it's for everyone's safety. An officer does NOT have allow you to attack them and kill them before they act. At the end of the shift EVERY officer would rather go home on their own two feet than in a body bag.

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To My Fans

First I would like to start by saying Thank You to all my fans. Without you I would just be a big mouth with no one to tell my stories to. Your support has been overwhelming, again, Thank you.
This year has been a rough one. I had a lot thrown at me all at once and I have been taking things one problem at a time. In my heart I keep telling myself, How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. That's how I'm taking these issues, one at a time. Now that we are nearing the end of the year I am coming around to my final bites.
I know I have been an advocate for free materials to anyone who wants to read, and I am still very serious about this, which is I created Please Read To Me. Through this venue I will provide free books and ebooks to those who make a request on my website, www.writingwithpower.com
With that said, it is with a heavy heart that I make this announcement, as of January 1st all my ebooks will now cost $0.99. I have been giving away my books for free since 2008 in hopes of gaining fans of my work. I know it's not the best in the world but I am always trying to improve for you, my readers.
My grammar is still, for a lack of a better word, lacking, and that too is something I am working on for you, which is why I am reediting all my books and if you have a copy of my current email me with the titles you have and I will send you a copy of the revised version.
With the new year will come new projects. Hopefully you will like what I have in store for you. Thank you for your continued support.
Forever your humble author,
Max M. Power