Don't Back Down

I generally like things being made available online. Sure, I have issues with putting data online, because when my connection goes out - and it will go out - I like to be able to get to it. But providing the option to get at things online is a nice feature. Making it so that they have to be retrieved online just blows. It really blows.

One of the hats that I wear in my life as a computer consultant has to do with networks - and when I'm wearing that hat, it means that I have to deal with Microsoft products. This really doesn't mean that I am a Microsoft hater, because a lot of what they do is decent. But some days they do nothing other than make my life miserable. Take eOpen, for example.

Read "Microsoft eOpen Sucks" »

It's no secret that I'm not a fan of overpriced fundraisers. Just look at the Girl Scouts. I mean I'll eat some cookies and all, but the way they sell those overpriced boxes of heaven is just ridiculous. Why don't they just ask for the money? I don't mean to pick on the girl scouts. Really. They aren't alone.

When I was a kid, I came home with all sorts of things from school that I dutifully schlepped around the neighborhood, thinking that I was doing everyone a monumental service. Was it really so bad? Probably. These days, our kids bring home all sorts of overpriced crap, then they are made to feel bad when the teacher announces that they can't have a pizza party until everyone turns in a purchase.

The other day I received a phone call from the firefighters, not wanting to miss out.

Read "Firefighters Sell You Tickets You Won't Use" »

A few months back, I profiled the Elite Stock-Market Advisory of Scott S. Fraser, and how I thought it was a remarkably bad investment. As of today, there is a single stock that has actually moved higher from that group, but I have now been chosen as the lucky recipient of another advisory, so I thought I would see if Scott is doing any better.

The first thing I noticed is there is a featured stock - but there isn't a basket. What's even more interesting is that with the exception of one of the stocks from the last group being pointed out as a winner, not a single one is even mentioned in this group. For less than a year later, that's a warning sign in my book. As to the details, let's take a deeper look and see what we can learn.

Read "Scott S. Fraser Gives Me More Stock Picks" »

It strikes me as I'm driving down the road (listening to the radio) that perhaps things have gone a bit far when it comes to licensing. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that people want to protect their property - whether it is intellectual property, such as software, or actual property, such as a brand in which they have invested or even a trademark.

But maybe - just maybe - things are a little out of hand when someone isn't allowed to say the name of the local football team or the big game that they play at the end of the year without writing out a check to someone. That's ridiculous. It's not like they don't know who they are talking about. I mean I understand wanting to protect your investment and all, but come on people!

Read "Licensing Gone Awry" »

Exactly six years ago today, our country underwent one of the most gut-wrenching moments in its existence. Nineteen people hijacked four airplanes were hijacked. Two of the planes crashed into - and eventually toppled - the world trade centers in New York City. One crashed into the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. At this writing, 2974 deaths were directly attributed to the attacks.

It is an easy leap to attribute a huge number of additional deaths to this, as the United States sent a military force to Afghanistan and Iraq. It's quite possible that those tallies will never be accurate, but the numbers are certainly much, much higher - both on our side and on theirs. Whether right o wrong, a number of lives have been lost.

What is interesting to me is that one of the issues with those planes is that the hijackers knew how to turn off the emergency locator beacon in the planes, so that their exact location could not be found. It seem that if you are going to hijack a plane, this would be a really, really good idea. Hijack the plane, and turn off the signal so that no one can find you. Is it hard to do? I don't think so.

Read "Maybe we Should Hide the Emergeny Locator Beacon" »

With the primaries just a bit over two weeks away, I thought it important to mention a lesson that I learned slightly after the last election: The importance of timely material. More specifically the importance of the timely arrival of material.

If you're like myself and millions of others out there, as an election draws near, you are very likely bombarded by mailings and phone calls to tell you to vote for someone - or, perhaps, to not vote for someone. There's a very likely chance that you simply deposit the mail in the trash (or, if you're a good neighbor, in the recycle bin) without ever looking at it. This is generally what I do.

But one piece of mail caught my attention after the last election, and I thought it worth mentioning. I think that just about everyone will find it interesting.

Read "The Importance of Timing on Election Day" »

Though it has been established that many people - and specifically those in Charlotte - do not read what they are signing before they sign it, many of you may well be wondering - and rightfully so - where that leaves things. What will happen if the transit tax is revoked?

First and foremost, everyone purchasing something in Mecklenburg County will save a bit of money with every purchase. That's the good news. And it's probably the end of the good news, especially if you're a resident of the county. Why? Because we've already been told that if the tax is repealed that it will be replaced by higher property taxes. The fact that the citizens don't want the tax - and by extension, the transit plan - is completely irrelevant. The council will do what they want. They showed us that with the arena, and they're going to do it again. Are you used to it yet? I'm not either - so let's see what else we can find out.

Read "More on Charlotte's Light Rail and Streetcar Number 85" »

Obviously, there are those of you out there (I'm talking about the people who actually care what the American Community Survey may represent) who do read before they sign. But these days, when buying a house requires a lawyer because of the monstrous stack of documents that would take you months to read through, and even applying for a credit card can require hours of reading if you really read every single word, do you read everything before you put your name on the dotted line?

Apparently there is a significant percentage of people here in Charlotte who don't (I suspect that there are plenty in other places too).

For those who haven't been paying attention, it's recently been verified that the petition to force a referendum to repeal the transit tax (enacted in 1998) has 48,000 valid signatures, which means a November vote on the issue is likely. So why is it an issue if people pay attention to what they are signing? Because it seems that those who asked for people to sign the petition didn't actually tell folks what they were signing, and many of those who did sign didn't bother to read. But it's also apparent that many of the people who voted for the original tax in 1998 did so based on what they were told, rather than reading the fine print as well, so the proverbial knife can cut both ways.

Read "Do You Read Before You Sign?" »

Every few minutes, I receive an email telling me how I'm about to miss out on the latest stock market darling if I don't act fast enough. I think that many of us do. But I also get something really similar in the mail every couple of weeks. One of these that I received earlier this year was Scott S. Fraser's Elite Stock Market Advisory. Dated "3rd Week - January 2007", I figured I'd hang onto it, and see just how well old Scott did with his picks. I mean if he did well, maybe I ought to pay a little more attention not only to him, but to those email messages as well.

So now it's a little more than six months after I received this letter, and I figured that it's worth checking back in to see how things have fared over time. Sure, it's possible that a short-term ride would have done well, but I'm more of a buy-and-hold investor anyway, as I never have time to check in every few minutes. While it's definitely possible that we may need to check back in after an even longer waiting period, as six months may not be a good measuring stick, it's a decent estimate, just to see what's happening. Ready? Here we go!

Read "Scams Can Come in Snail Mail Too" »

Looking for a quick getaway, we decided on... camping. Yes, for some reason we thought that it would be nice to go camping. Actually, I've always had a bit of a soft spot for camping, since I did a decent amount of it as a kid. So my wonderful wife, who was in charge of this getaway, booked a reservation at a campground near Maggie Valley, and we packed up our cooler, loaded the tents and sleeping bags, and headed to Ghost Town in the Sky.

I didn't say that we were particularly good at camping. I just said that were were going to give it a try. So we thought that we'd stop at Ghost Town on our way, since doing a theme park on the way was going to be easier than spending night out, then trying to do it on the second night, after fitful sleep and lack of showers and such. Since Ghost Town had just recently reopened, and we were off on a Friday, we decided that it would be a good day to avoid the crowds. On that front, at least, we were right. But it doesn't mean that it's a good value. Read on for the details.

Read "Ghost Town in the Sky" »

I have recently decided that I won't be shopping at CompUSA any more. I may return to view some items prior to purchasing elsewhere, but it's just too much hassle for me to actually give them any of my money and there are so many other places that are willing to take my money and give some semblance of service, I don't think there's any reason to go back to CompUSA. I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has any other experience with them, either here in Charlotte or elsewhere.

To this point, every time I go into one of their stores (admittedly, here in Charlotte, but they do have two), the process has been painful. Usually buying hasn't been too bad, but sometimes even just getting something can be downright horrible. Why is that? I understand that we don't live in the "customer is always right" world anymore, but why make it difficult for people to shop? I just don't get it. Anyway, if you'd like to know why, read on.

Read "Why I Won't Shop CompUSA" »

According to an article in today's Charlotte Observer, at some point in the next two years or so, our fair city will lay tracks along Elizabeth Avenue for a streetcar to make its way outside of the so-called urban core and introduce a new sort of growth to Charlotte. Sounds good, right? Sure it does. It mostly sounds good to me because we live way out on the East Side near Eastland Mall and it's long been rumored that any plans for a streetcar will (eventually) make their way out Central Avenue and to the mall. I harbor no illusions that it will make it to my house or anything, but to that fancy new transit center in the mall parking lot would be nice. So what's the problem?

The problem is that according to this same article (not linked because of the Observer's policy of pulling articles after a short while online), since no federal funds will be available for this line, the North line will get priority over the streetcar line, meaning that even though they lay track in the next couple of years, it will be sometime around 2019 until cars start running, and it will be 2023 until the "full line" is open. There isn't an explanation of what the full line is, but I would suspect that might just mean it's running all the way to Eastland. Maybe it's me, but I'm thinking that even having a plan for something like that is just stupid.

Read "Charlotte Streetcars Play the Waiting Game" »