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Archive for September, 2005

Mystery Gas Prices

Thursday, September 22nd, 2005

I saw a gas station today that has stopped publishing their gas prices. Their sign is now blank. They got tired of changng it all the time. They are trying to compete based on location and shorter lines. It’s an interesting strategy, but they are a no-name operation and I don’t think any competitors will notice and follow through. Anyway, save 5 cents a gallon and use the BP across the street.

Interesting Tidbits on Biking

Tuesday, September 20th, 2005

Supposedly the State of Georiga passed a law authorizing a new “Share the Road” specialty license plate for cars. A bike messenger in Canada who won the right to deduct extra food expenses as “fuel.” Supposedly he uses more than 4,000 calories a day.

No Human Checkout at Home Depot

Saturday, September 17th, 2005

The Home Depot near me has had 4 of the Self-Checkout machines. I was there this evening about three hours before closing, there were NO HUMAN LANES OPEN, only the Self-Checkout lanes were open. The world did not come to an end. I just find it interesting that more low end jobs are being eroded away. I don’t know what people with college degrees will do in the future.

T-Mobile Requires a Physical Address?

Friday, September 16th, 2005

I just got off the phone with T-mobile, my cellphone carrier. I had a small problem with my phone and was calling for tips to resolve it (which they did). On the call, the customer service rep said that I had to provide T-mobile with a “physical address” not just a PO Box. She said that they would continue to send the bill to my PO Box, but that their policy now required a physical address. I declined to give them one and the operator could not tell me why it was needed or what would happen if I didn’t provide one. We tried entering the street address of the Post Office, but it would not take it.

I Sold my TV on Craig’s List

Friday, September 16th, 2005

I sold my last television on Craig’s List this week. It was a tiny 11 inch that I got from a college roommate who upgraded. It’s heavy and doesn’t have much value, so I decided to try and get rid of it on Craig’s List instead of eBay or GoodWill. I listed it for $10 and indicated that they must pick it up as I wasn’t interested in boxing and shipping it. Within two or three hours, someone e-mailed and said they’d take it. That was really easy and there were no fees.

DragonCon 2005

Friday, September 9th, 2005

DragonCon last weekend was a blast! The very best part was that the folks at needcoffee.com put on a “Gonzo film festival” that was just terrific. What a rush for 300 people to scream “and knowing is half the battle – GI JOE!” or sing along with one of the counting songs from Sesame Street.

Electric Cost Per Kilowatt-Hour Up 14%

Wednesday, September 7th, 2005

I was just looking at my electric bill and noticed my cost per kilowatt-hour is up 14% from this time last year. That’ s not my “consumption” or number of hours used… that’s the cost for the same amount of power.

Aging Computer Users

Tuesday, September 6th, 2005

I feel sorry for older people who are having a hard time adapting to new technologies. This is a growing trend. It used to be that not-technologically-savvy people simply couldn’t use high-technology. Today, the technology is penetrating everywhere. In five or ten years, I think that the knowledge gap is going to become a serious handicap to a lot of people.

I wonder how we can catch people up. One would think a book that explains the basics would be in order. Not a book about how the technology works, but how to work the technology. You can’t build a web site, or e-book. Those would be as silly as a DVD telling you how to hook up your DVD player. If you could play the DVD, you would not need to.

We need to figure this problem out. I think it would drastically cut down on technical support issues, and some day I might be one of these “swamped by technology” people who need help.

                  

 
     
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