Summer Shares March 3, 2005March 25, 2012 Still in computer hell, but I figure those of you in your twenties are beginning to form your summer shares and set the rules. And this actually applies to family situations year-round. Herewith a counterintuitive but BRILLIANT suggestion one of you offered: “You cook, YOU clean.” Sounds crazy, no? The guy who cooks should kick back and watch everyone else clean. But think about it. The cook who knows he’ll have to clean will replace bottle caps as he goes, will rinse the utensils clean rather than lay them in a pan of grease, and otherwise organize things so as to cut the average cleaning time by 28.3%. (This based on a study of 1000 families and summer shares conducted in six geographically diverse communities entirely in my imagination.) The next night, the chef gets to kick back entirely, as someone else both cooks and cleans. A small problem if someone is a terrible cook. But how badly can anyone muck up black bean soup, burgers, corn, and frozen grapes? Voila! Everyone clears the table, but otherwise, you’re on your own, Cookie.
Computer Hell March 2, 2005March 25, 2012 So I turned on my trusty Thinkpad and after a huff and a puff it beeped twice and died. Something about a fan problem. I kept trying, and managed to get it limping along to keep from losing data. I plan to spend the next three weeks trying to transfer it all to my other Thinkpad and get back up and running. O, woe is me. Self pity floods my office. It takes a canoe to get around. But the bright side for you is a mercifully brief posting for a change. Indeed, this may be the perfect time to pass on this little item that’s been circulating, in case you hadn’t seen it. It’s about being concise: “A college class was told they had to write a short story in as few words as possible. The story must contain three components: (1) Religion, (2) Sexuality, and (3) Mystery. There was only one A+ paper in the entire class. In full: ‘Good God! I’m pregnant. I wonder who did it.'” Not me. Make backups!
Enough with the Rebates March 1, 2005March 1, 2017 REBATES – ONE LAST TIME Jim Hickel: ‘You have inspired me to create my own one-page web site, sharing everything I’ve learned about successfully collecting on those pesky rebate offers.’ Mary Schroeder: ‘The one retailer that seems to be an exception to the stories posted, at least in my experience, is Costco. You file a rebate claim online. You mail in nothing. And I’ve received 100% of the rebates I’ve claimed.’ Brad Payne: ‘Staples now offers ‘easy rebates’ – you just go to their web site and enter a code from your receipt; no clipping, no boxes, no mailing. If enough people are fed up with rebates, other stores may follow suit. If we’re lucky, this could be the beginning of the end for the rebate scam.’ Tom Reingold: ‘I bought four phones (for my whole family) from T-Mobile. We’ve been their customer for two years. We were due four rebates. We got letters, saying we had not complied with the terms. The customer service rep we spoke to said that lots of those letters went out in error. She corrected the problem for us. But she only does it for those who call to complain, not those who get discouraged. The best I can say is that this is a huge pattern of errors in the vendors’ favor, and that’s not very good. The worst I can say is far worse. I would sound cynical, but the pattern is so clear, I think it’s really willful manipulation of customers not to give the deal they promise.’ Jim Thorp: ‘There is one more option for local store rebates: direct negotiation with the local store manager. Even if the rebate fulfillment house rejects your rebate, it is a lot cheaper for the local manager to pay the rebate directly than to face you in small claims court (where a judge will certainly accept the copies you made), and where the judgment could be much higher than the face amount of the rebate.’ ☞ OK. No more. Write me anything about rebates and I will cancel your subscription.