It seems that these days very few businesses besides gas stations charge a different price for cash vs. credit. I know that there is a cost to accepting credit cards (transaction fee and percentage of sale), but companies consider it a cost of doing business and absorb the cost. Years ago when I started accepting credit cards for NotfiyMail, I too realized this and if I wanted to get more customers, I’d have to accept credit cards and charging different prices would not sit well with customers. It would seem that either gas stations are on a super slim margin or just want to milk customers. There are 2 gas stations near my house; for a long time neither accepted credit cards, so I always got cash before going (they charged a $0.35 convenience fee for ATM transactions). Then one of them starting accepting credit cards for the same price as cash. Well, the second station started accepting credit cards at a different price (6 cents higher), so the station I was going to just started doing the same thing. This really annoys me, but it won’t stop me from going there as the bank is in the same shopping center so I can get cash and it is convenient.
One of the least accessible places in San Diego
I’ve always thought to myself that there are several places in the city of San Diego that are extremely inaccessible in case of emergency. One of those would be Cowles (pronounced Coles) Mountain. Why is it so inaccessible? There are 2 ways to get to it on the ground; the first is up the winding narrow trail that won’t support a vehicle and the second is a fire road up the back. My theory was proven correct yesterday as Copter 1 had to rescue a hiker off the mountain. The only other option was to have rescuers hike up the mountain and carry the injured person down on a backboard which would definitely not be a fun task. (Parts of Mission Trails Regional Park and some beach areas are also very inaccessible in emergencies.)
Fire truck on fire
Yesterday’s news showed a fire truck that caught on fire. That really was a bummer to see a $350,000 emergency vehicle up in flames. To top it off, I saw a big 39 on the side…that’s the fire engine that serves my neighborhood. I hope that it gets replaced soon. (This is the second fire truck that has caught fire in the last few days.)
Did you spill some perfume?
Lately I’ve noticed that when there are lots of treadmills open at the gym, someone is bound to get on the one next to me. Normally this isn’t a huge issue, but the last few times I’ve been at the gym, women who dipped themselves in perfume have decided to stand next to me. It could be my stunning good looks that made them stand next to me, but I doubt it. So, today after about 10 minutes of having to inhale perfume, I stopped the treadmill, made a mental note of my progress, got off, and moved down about 6 treadmills (only 4 of about 12 treadmills were in use). The old lady wearing the perfume kept looking at me funny kind of questioning why I moved. Uggh; at the last gym I went to, there were signs up telling people not to wear perfume or cologne as a courtesy to other users. I guess people just aren’t courteous.
Are expiration dates real?
Just about every consumable product we buy has an expiration date. from the obvious ones like milk, eggs, and cheese, to the less obvious, but increasingly common ones such as batteries and beer. Yesterday while I was going through my first aid kit to replenish the supplies, I found some hand warmers that expired in 2001. Could these really expire? They have some iron and some other stuff in them when exposed to air heat up to about 100 degrees Fahrenheit for about 6 hours. These weren’t exposed to air and were still completely sealed. I decided to test one, opened it up and in about 20 minutes, the hand warmer was cold. So I guess the expiration date on this particular product actually meant something (maybe it would have lasted another 2 years, but I’m still a few years out).
Excess packaging
It seems like many things I buy come in boxes that have bags and bags in them along with manuals, CDs, etc. I usually keep boxes and packaging for stuff I buy for 6 months to a year depending on what it is in case I have to return it or have it repaired under warranty. Yesterday, as I periodically do, I tossed a bunch of packaging that I no longer needed. As I was going through it, I realized that there is a lot that isn’t needed. First off, blister packs are just awful to recycle as you really can’t; cardboard boxes are much easier to recycle. However, marketers like people being able to see the contents. Second, I find the documentation in plastic bags. Is it really needed when there is scant documentation anyway? Then there is the CD. Is it really needed? Most times I download newer versions anyway. For those that can’t download, how about a number they call to request the CD; these days there can’t be that many people with that problem. In my process of tossing stuff, I separate out the paper/cardboard and plastic stuff. I recycle the paper/cardboard. How many people really do that? If the packaging were reduced and people were as conscientious as I, we could have a huge reduction in the amount of waste we send to the landfill.
Surgery complete!
I managed to replace the hard drive in my PowerBook with a Hitatchi Travelstar 7200 RPM, 80 GB drive. The instructions from www.pbfixit.com were excellent as well as their screw guide which I used to dutifully place and tape all the screws I removed. The drive is now formatted and appears to work. I still have to wait until tomorrow morning to get my backup and restore it. I completely understand the warning “no user serviceable parts inside”. Replacing a hard drive in a laptop takes time and patience.
Metal Spork
I think that a spork is one of the neatest utensils ever invented. There are lots of times that I need both a spoon and a fork such as eating pasta like macaroni or shells; sometimes you need to scoop them, sometimes you need to stab it. However, the patent for the spork is for a plastic utensil. I really want one that is metal and acceptable to use for everyday eating. In my search, I’ve found indications that metal sporks exist, but I still haven’t been able to find one. If you know where I can get one, please leave me a comment.
Animal Control on Speed Dial
One of the best things about my Samsung A900 that I complain about a lot is that I can send my address book from my desktop to it over Bluetooth. This has allowed me to put all the names and numbers that I’ve collected into my phone even if I rarely use them (I did exclude some). Several years ago I saw a dog walking around the street (busy street with 2 lanes in each direction), so I called my wife and had her give me the number to animal control; ever since then I’ve had the number in my address book (at the time I was able to sync my phone with my desktop). Yesterday as we were walking our dog, we see a dog wandering around on a street where we had just seen someone zooming by at easily 55 MPH (residential street with a speed limit of 35 MPH). The dog looked like it had a collar on, so I tried to approach it, but it growled at me, so I backed off.
I pulled out my phone, found the emergency number for animal control (outside of business hours) and reported it. Unfortunately animal control never made it (I got a call later). I hope that the dog made it home safely. Loose dogs always scare me as the chances of them being hit by a car are quite high.
Tax Refunds
Why does it seem that many people are excited to get tax refunds? H&R Block is advertising a double your refund back giveaway implying that their customers get tax refunds. If someone gets a tax refund, it means they paid the government too much tax. The government got to use that money instead of the individual using it. While the amount of interest on most people’s refund doesn’t amount to much, it is the principal that matters. I haven’t gotten a refund in years and I like it that way. The goal is to pay as close to possible as the actual tax bill as possible without going over. People shouldn’t be excited about refunds.