Sprint's weird billing practices

I checked my Sprint account yesterday to see if I was credited for the phone I returned (due to them ordering the wrong phone). Well, I had a huge credit, so I call them and after awhile on the phone, found out that they charged my credit card, then issued a credit on my account then bill the phone to my account. I already knew they did this weird stuff; so when I originally ordered my new phone, I didn't put in my Sprint number so that they couldn't do this game. Of course, that failed because they sent me the wrong phone. So I checked my credit card statement and found a credit for the original phone. I'm now completely confused and will see what happens when my bill comes. Why can't Sprint just bill my credit card and not touch my account? Is that so hard to do? Also, why can't they list detailed charges prior to a bill being generated so that I could see the charges and credits instead of just seeing a -$605 balance? Uggh.

Trademark violation by the local paper

Our wonderful local newspaper, the San Diego Union Tribune, needs to do a little research when stealing clipart to use for different sections. In yesterday's paper, I see a symbol called the Star of Life which is used by paramedics, EMTs, as well as on ambulances. I recalled that this was a registered trademark registered to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that could be used only by paramedics, etc. Also, the registration was set to expire in 1997. After a little research (look for serial number 73033491), I found that the trademark was renewed in 1997 and the US Patent and Trademark Office had a note on the registration that said:THE CERTIFICATION MARK IS USED BY PERSONS AUTHORIZED BY APPLICANT TO CERTIFY THAT EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE VEHICLES MEET U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION STANDARDS (CLASS A), THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE PERSONNEL OPERATING THE VEHICLE HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO MEET U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION STANDARDS (CLASS B), OR BOTH.So, as a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), I'm allowed to use the mark. The newspaper, however, isn't. I sent the paper email telling them to knock it off.

CERT Helicopter Training

Last winter I took training to become a member of CERT which is Community Emergency Response Team. I figured maybe someday I can put my EMT skills to use (I've been an EMT for 12 years, but never worked as one). Today was the second part of training for an add on module where we were able to learn about the San Diego Fire Rescue department Air (helicopter) Operations. It was pretty neat learning about the helicopter and how to work around it. I took a bunch of pictures and we even got to spend taxpayer dollars by flying all of us around for a few minutes (there were about 30 of us, so we had to fly in shifts).

Las Vegas

This past weekend, my wife and I went to Las Vegas for a family gathering on her side. (Why we went to Las Vegas, we're still wondering; her family sits around and watches football all weekend. Can't we do that in California without the smoke, gambling, and crowds?) I'm amazed at how much money is in Las Vegas and how much people spend. A large majority of people lose money (otherwise Las Vegas wouldn't have money). I just can't understand how people can afford to drop so much money. I was watching one lady playing 2 $1 slot machines stuffing them with $100 bills and just hitting the button. She wasn't really winning and just kept feeding it. Seems to me, she lost a few hundred bucks in a few minutes. To me, it just seems like flushing money down the toilet. My wife had a good time playing the penny slots. I had no luck and lost about $5 in the penny slots in a matter of minutes. She played for a few hours on about $3.

I hate smoke and don't drink, so Las Vegas isn't the place for me. However, I had a good time watching my wife play the slots. It was also good to get away. When we got home, we went into the decontamination chamber (the garage where the washing machine is) and washed all our clothes immediately even before getting into the house. Smoke really penetrates everything. Yuck.