Rants and musings, without care for substance.
Posted in complaints, healthcare, money, oddities on Jan 9th, 2012
Health insurance is convoluted. It’s hard to understand when you don’t utilize it; it’s easier to understand when you do utilize it, but there are still plenty of weird things about it. One example from the past year.
I saw a physician in April. The bill was submitted to my insurance company a week later. I [...]
I signed up for BGE’s PeakRewards A/C Program this summer. When there is a high demand for power in the region, the electric company can selectively disable my air conditioner’s compressor. In exchange, they deduct $25 from my bill during each of the four summer months.
There’s a program for water heaters as well, but it [...]
I’m proud to be participating in Movember Baltimore this year. Last year it was more of a social event, but this year I’m getting a bit more involved to raise funds for charity.
I sent the following email to some folks I know, asking for contributions. I don’t usually solicit friends or family for charitable causes, [...]
After a year with Amazon Prime, I’m renewing my membership. The convenience and savings — both time and money — make it more than worthwhile.
In the past year, I placed 23 distinct orders with Amazon that weren’t covered as part of my free trial to Prime. Each of the orders contained at least one item, [...]
Took a quick stab at my taxes for the year. It appears that despite a decline in side work — that usually balances out some of my taxes paid — I’ll be getting a larger refund than I expected. As much as I’d prefer to have my money working for me throughout the year, I’d [...]
Posted in advertising, google, money on Jan 14th, 2010
I was surprised to read about Google’s new approach to China. Very public. On the other hand, the search magnate seems to like grand and shocking departures from norms, even theirs. While I wouldn’t consider censorship and humanitarian issues “antics” per se, it seems like Google is fed up.
We have decided we are no longer [...]
Posted in life in general, money on Nov 21st, 2009
I just received a call on my cell from 269-768-2213. An automated call, wherein the recorded voice — belonging to someone named Rachel, supposedly — informed me that there are no problems with my credit card but that I’m eligible for a lower rate of 6 point something percent. My eligibility will expire soon, so [...]
I was cleaning out the starred items in Google Reader and found one of Snay’s posts wherein he calculated the cost of his daily commute. He commutes via the Washington Metro system — a combination of bus and rail — at a cost of $5.40 per day.
A year later, I decided to figure it out [...]
Posted in life in general, money on Nov 1st, 2009
I just got an “important notice” in the mail from Verizon.
We will be upgrading your FiOS Internet speed to up to 10/2 Mbps in the next few months.
Emphasis theirs, it’s strange the way that the sentence is phrased. Maybe it’s boilerplate in that they can’t say that they’ll give you exactly 10/2 but that it’ll [...]
Posted in food, gadgets, life in general, money on Oct 5th, 2009
Despite my penchant for helping out the little guy, I feel like most of my shopping is done online these days. Today however, was an exception. I found myself quite the consumer all afternoon and into the evening.
Chili
Area Rug
Gasoline
Phone
Cereal
Aluminum Foil
Bread
Steam Trays
Ginger Ale
Jeans
Garage Door Opener
Gyro
My poor credit card, it’s only reprieve was the chili and the [...]
Posted in cars, life in general, money, things i'd like to see on Jun 26th, 2009
I owe a coworker a Diet Coke for his suggestion to follow up with the landscaping company. I owe a lunch to Sharon at Safelite for her reinforcement of that suggestion. Either I’m too cynical or I’ve had bad experiences in the past.
The landscaping company that maintains the property around the office paid for my [...]
I’m a regular but infrequent E-ZPass user. I probably only use it once or twice a year, but when I do I rack up $30 or $40 worth of tolls across the East coast.
Back on January 5th, 2009 the Maryland Transportation Authority proposed raising toll rates for large vehicles. That doesn’t affect me so much, [...]
Posted in cars, complaints, money, privacy on May 18th, 2009
I really don’t like car salesmen. My experience with them has led me to believe that they’re a bunch of crooks for whom exaggeration, document substitution, and lying are all tools of the trade. There are some salesmen who would gladly tell you anything to make the sale. You can’t trust people like that, yet [...]
Pricing a set of basic staples can tell you a lot about inflation. Typically economists might consider a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, or carton of eggs. I was out shopping for a Super Bowl viewing and decided to do the same with cheap beer. Sorted in the order from more affordable (per [...]
My buddy’s wife recently acquired round trip tickets from Reagan to Nice for $349, with a quick layover in New York. That’s a round trip to France for less than $400. Perhaps ticket costs have dropped considerably since the last time I looked or maybe there were some unbookable flights, but it still seems like [...]
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