My father was a frequent customer at Ashmont Discount Home Improvement Stores in the 80s and 90s, but the store finally closed down around 2002-2004 because everyone else found
Lowe's and Home Depot to be much better.
Thus, the trucks and cranes duly rendered the store into rubble, and a mini-Staples will rise in its place. I like Staples - I consider it a toy store for geeks and admins - and it'll be easier just to take the Route 50 bus to get my allotment of rubber erasers and funky calculators, but I can bet you that my Dad is looking for a few drill bits and masking tape at the Ashmont Discount in the beyond.
3/20/2008
3/10/2008
Beware with your RFID cards
If you have a Charlie Card, you know you can tap them and your fare gets subtracted (or you get a note, "Card good until end of the month").
Universal Hub offers this tidbit which is apropos of what has happened to me, i.e. your RFID chip, if it contains money, is extremely vulnerable. That is, someone with a cheap scanner can figure out your unique code, and take all your money.
It didn't happen to me with my Charlie Card. When my credit account came up for renewal, the company sent me one with an RFID chip.
Soon enough, I began to receive things in the mail I never ordered.
I figured all this bogus activity started around the 2nd of February, right after I bought some breakfast at Burger King or put some money on a (seperate) Charlie Card. All of the previous charges before I reactivated the card were fine and what I expected, but soon after the RFID card got activated, the fun started.
The credit card company has been outstanding in these travails. They cancelled my previous card, and gave me a new card, and refunded my money, but the new card also has new fraud charges popping up on them as well, either previous charges from the old card, or they simply got a hold of the new card. Think of those pop-up ads with spam, and then consider every time they do pop up, you get charged for it.
The one good thing about this is that these aren't huge charges - none of them were over $50. The companies I have dealt with understand completely, and they have been very nice about closing the previous (fraudulently opened) accounts.
The lesson I learned is no matter how safe and how careful you think you are in your accounts, think again. At first, I blamed myself - I was the victim of theft, even this type of petit larceny. Then, as more things came and I was able to say, "nope, not mine, close the account" I felt good, as it gave me hope that, yes, I was a victim, but no, I wasn't going to be passive about this - this a battle that affects not just me, but many others like me. Identity theft is no joke, especially when you have to consider all the man-hours of collecting information, calling the card companies, calling the businesses to close the accounts, being ultra-vigilant about new charges, contacting your credit reporting agencies - it's a huge pain in the ass, but well worth the difference between having your good name and credit history intact and having someone on their way to Tahiti while your available credit is zero.
When I was in 7th grade at Latin Academy, I had a bully attempt to extort money from me. The kid kept on picking on me and taking my money until I got fed up enough to go to my guidance counselor. I was scared shitless, crying, fearing retribution, but once he got suspended, six other kids told the exact same story, and the person was expelled later in the year. The headmaster and assistant headmaster were proud of me coming forward, and behind the scenes, the kids were grateful that someone came forward.
It might be cool for the jerk/scammer/script kiddie who swipes your credit card numbers, but the damage can be limited or minimal if you act immediately. Being a victim of any crime merits immediate action, even if you or the person who did it think it's minor. Not every battle or war requires bullets or guns, but depends a lot on keeping your wits (not panicking) and keeping a paper trail.
Universal Hub offers this tidbit which is apropos of what has happened to me, i.e. your RFID chip, if it contains money, is extremely vulnerable. That is, someone with a cheap scanner can figure out your unique code, and take all your money.
It didn't happen to me with my Charlie Card. When my credit account came up for renewal, the company sent me one with an RFID chip.
Soon enough, I began to receive things in the mail I never ordered.
- Five pounds of premium coffee, plus appropriate coffeemakers and grinders
- Mystery books
- Vitamins from a "neutriceutical" company
- Subscriptions to the Disney DVD club AND Scholastic AND Baby Einstein
- Auction trades
- Stamps.com
I figured all this bogus activity started around the 2nd of February, right after I bought some breakfast at Burger King or put some money on a (seperate) Charlie Card. All of the previous charges before I reactivated the card were fine and what I expected, but soon after the RFID card got activated, the fun started.
The credit card company has been outstanding in these travails. They cancelled my previous card, and gave me a new card, and refunded my money, but the new card also has new fraud charges popping up on them as well, either previous charges from the old card, or they simply got a hold of the new card. Think of those pop-up ads with spam, and then consider every time they do pop up, you get charged for it.
The one good thing about this is that these aren't huge charges - none of them were over $50. The companies I have dealt with understand completely, and they have been very nice about closing the previous (fraudulently opened) accounts.
The lesson I learned is no matter how safe and how careful you think you are in your accounts, think again. At first, I blamed myself - I was the victim of theft, even this type of petit larceny. Then, as more things came and I was able to say, "nope, not mine, close the account" I felt good, as it gave me hope that, yes, I was a victim, but no, I wasn't going to be passive about this - this a battle that affects not just me, but many others like me. Identity theft is no joke, especially when you have to consider all the man-hours of collecting information, calling the card companies, calling the businesses to close the accounts, being ultra-vigilant about new charges, contacting your credit reporting agencies - it's a huge pain in the ass, but well worth the difference between having your good name and credit history intact and having someone on their way to Tahiti while your available credit is zero.
When I was in 7th grade at Latin Academy, I had a bully attempt to extort money from me. The kid kept on picking on me and taking my money until I got fed up enough to go to my guidance counselor. I was scared shitless, crying, fearing retribution, but once he got suspended, six other kids told the exact same story, and the person was expelled later in the year. The headmaster and assistant headmaster were proud of me coming forward, and behind the scenes, the kids were grateful that someone came forward.
It might be cool for the jerk/scammer/script kiddie who swipes your credit card numbers, but the damage can be limited or minimal if you act immediately. Being a victim of any crime merits immediate action, even if you or the person who did it think it's minor. Not every battle or war requires bullets or guns, but depends a lot on keeping your wits (not panicking) and keeping a paper trail.
3/03/2008
Chuck E Cheese - it's trashtastic!
If you're a parent and you want to take your young'uns to a place where food and arcade entertainment mix pleasantly, may I suggest Dave and Buster's? (There are none in Massachusetts, but the closest one is at Providence Place in Rhode Island. Perhaps the element of gambling and not getting money back is a bad thing in Massachusetts?)
The food is a little more expensive, but at least you'll have the peace of mind not watching fistfights, intergang battles, fat white trash women arguing with skinny black gangbanger boyfriends (permascowls and cocked hats optional) while smacking their mixed-race spawn, and the mediocre pizza. Maybe the element of Fight Club and how the lower middle classes live is what draws this type of clientle; maybe other Chuck E Cheese franchises across the nation are more well behaved. I've never been to one.
However, as the night wears on, the clientele at D&B's becomes more adult, but not so much so that it requires a flak jacket and bail money.
The food is a little more expensive, but at least you'll have the peace of mind not watching fistfights, intergang battles, fat white trash women arguing with skinny black gangbanger boyfriends (permascowls and cocked hats optional) while smacking their mixed-race spawn, and the mediocre pizza. Maybe the element of Fight Club and how the lower middle classes live is what draws this type of clientle; maybe other Chuck E Cheese franchises across the nation are more well behaved. I've never been to one.
However, as the night wears on, the clientele at D&B's becomes more adult, but not so much so that it requires a flak jacket and bail money.
2/22/2008
"What if they replaced the word f--- for the word kill in all those movie cliches?"
That's an old George Carlin skit with examples like "kill the ump," "'Okay Sheriff, we're gonna kill ya now. But we're gonna kill ya slow.'" "Shamu the Killer Whale."
It wouldn't help either way in little Jim's situation; unless those clever and bitter souls who program Elmo have other naughty Elmos, like Elmo Knows the Aristocrats Skit, Elmo Says Racial Epithets, Elmo The Pimp/Gangbanger, and Elmo the Leftist Agitator Whose Arrest Record Is The Size of the Manhattan Phonebook.
It wouldn't help either way in little Jim's situation; unless those clever and bitter souls who program Elmo have other naughty Elmos, like Elmo Knows the Aristocrats Skit, Elmo Says Racial Epithets, Elmo The Pimp/Gangbanger, and Elmo the Leftist Agitator Whose Arrest Record Is The Size of the Manhattan Phonebook.
2/20/2008
The Northeast: where economic growth sputters
Jon Keller has the goods on a report from ALEC, a non-partisan forum highlighting where the economic pulse is good and bad.
According to the report, Massachusetts ranks 26th in economic outlook, which is one rung below the 50th percentile. Our saving graces: low sales taxes (5%), low income taxes (5.3%-5.95%) and "solid tort liability" (not sure what that means). Yet, we lose 330K residents thanks to a "high minimum wage" (national minimum is $5.85; ours is $7.50), high property taxes, high corporate taxes, and "forced unionism" (meaning that great "living wage" they tell you about also includes 20% or so in union dues, which promptly get spent on campaigns, strike funds, protests, and goodies for the union bosses).
A great example between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, for example? New Hampshire has an outrageously high property tax, about $50 per $1,000 per home value, meaning your $250,000 home in Nashua yields $12,500 in property taxes. They also have a meals tax of 8%. On the other hand, New Hampshire has 0% income tax and 0% sales tax. Massachusetts also has the largest concentration of colleges (including 10+ Ivy League schools), universities, and hospitals, and many are world class (is there a New York Latin School? A Kentucky General Hospital? What if Harvard were in Chicago?), whereas New Hampshire has one Ivy League school (Dartmouth), one quasi-ivy league school (University of New Hampshire) and many smaller state schools. In New Hampshire, apartment rents are at least 50% lower than those of Boston, if you can find an apartment not occupied by medical students and college students AND pay the $1000+/month rent.
It all balances out in the end - the strengths of one state may outnumber the weaknesses of the other, but it's how we pay the bills that makes all the difference. If you live in Utah, no worries - except in Salt Lake City, where word has it that the mayor is a little bit weird.
In case you're wondering who ranks dead last...when the report mentioned one Bernie Sanders as an "avowed socialist...enough said," I never thought Vermont would come in dead last. No wonder some Vermonters want to secede from America - they want to make it a new Cuba!
According to the report, Massachusetts ranks 26th in economic outlook, which is one rung below the 50th percentile. Our saving graces: low sales taxes (5%), low income taxes (5.3%-5.95%) and "solid tort liability" (not sure what that means). Yet, we lose 330K residents thanks to a "high minimum wage" (national minimum is $5.85; ours is $7.50), high property taxes, high corporate taxes, and "forced unionism" (meaning that great "living wage" they tell you about also includes 20% or so in union dues, which promptly get spent on campaigns, strike funds, protests, and goodies for the union bosses).
A great example between Massachusetts and New Hampshire, for example? New Hampshire has an outrageously high property tax, about $50 per $1,000 per home value, meaning your $250,000 home in Nashua yields $12,500 in property taxes. They also have a meals tax of 8%. On the other hand, New Hampshire has 0% income tax and 0% sales tax. Massachusetts also has the largest concentration of colleges (including 10+ Ivy League schools), universities, and hospitals, and many are world class (is there a New York Latin School? A Kentucky General Hospital? What if Harvard were in Chicago?), whereas New Hampshire has one Ivy League school (Dartmouth), one quasi-ivy league school (University of New Hampshire) and many smaller state schools. In New Hampshire, apartment rents are at least 50% lower than those of Boston, if you can find an apartment not occupied by medical students and college students AND pay the $1000+/month rent.
It all balances out in the end - the strengths of one state may outnumber the weaknesses of the other, but it's how we pay the bills that makes all the difference. If you live in Utah, no worries - except in Salt Lake City, where word has it that the mayor is a little bit weird.
In case you're wondering who ranks dead last...when the report mentioned one Bernie Sanders as an "avowed socialist...enough said," I never thought Vermont would come in dead last. No wonder some Vermonters want to secede from America - they want to make it a new Cuba!
2/04/2008
Loss is painful; class is forever
In all the years I've considered sports the realm of jocks and the groupies that follow them, last night was a much different story.
You felt the pain in their voices. You felt sorry for Teddy Bruschi and Junior Seau. You thought that with just a little more oomph, the Patriots could have done it and made it 19-0.
You never heard regret or self-pity for getting that far to the Super Bowl. Nowhere did you see "why me" or "our defense wasn't good enough" or "I'm gonna sign with another free agent." There was not a shred of hubris or cocky overconfidence amongst the bunch. Tom Brady could have been a primadonna and blamed everyone; he didn't. His candor and "yes, we lost the Super Bowl and the perfect season, but hey, we made it this far and we're proud to do it for our fans" is a stark contrast to players who mail it in, take dumb penalties, moon the crowd, talk trash, and then when contract time comes around demand salaries in the nine figure range. Never mind that Brady's amour is a supermodel and demands payment in Euros; Brady might have had a bad night strategically, but he skyrocketed to professor emeritus of the class department.
Randy Moss, he of the mooning the crowd while a Viking, would be expected to throw a hissy fit. He too was subdued, humbled, and willing to give credit to the Giants where it was due. Will he come back? I don't know.
On the other side, it was surprising that Bill Belichick left the way he did. Giants coach Tom Coughlin, had he been on the other side of the ledger, would not have done what Belichick did; the only good thing that happened was that for a brief moment, the two coaches congratulated one another.
While still not primadonna-ish, the coach's sudden and brusque departure left me wondering what was going through his mind. Unlike his players, I swear Belichick was pouting for not winning the match.
The Patriots played cleanly, lost admirably, and will return next year with their head held high. They proved loss can be painful, but class is forever.
You felt the pain in their voices. You felt sorry for Teddy Bruschi and Junior Seau. You thought that with just a little more oomph, the Patriots could have done it and made it 19-0.
You never heard regret or self-pity for getting that far to the Super Bowl. Nowhere did you see "why me" or "our defense wasn't good enough" or "I'm gonna sign with another free agent." There was not a shred of hubris or cocky overconfidence amongst the bunch. Tom Brady could have been a primadonna and blamed everyone; he didn't. His candor and "yes, we lost the Super Bowl and the perfect season, but hey, we made it this far and we're proud to do it for our fans" is a stark contrast to players who mail it in, take dumb penalties, moon the crowd, talk trash, and then when contract time comes around demand salaries in the nine figure range. Never mind that Brady's amour is a supermodel and demands payment in Euros; Brady might have had a bad night strategically, but he skyrocketed to professor emeritus of the class department.
Randy Moss, he of the mooning the crowd while a Viking, would be expected to throw a hissy fit. He too was subdued, humbled, and willing to give credit to the Giants where it was due. Will he come back? I don't know.
On the other side, it was surprising that Bill Belichick left the way he did. Giants coach Tom Coughlin, had he been on the other side of the ledger, would not have done what Belichick did; the only good thing that happened was that for a brief moment, the two coaches congratulated one another.
While still not primadonna-ish, the coach's sudden and brusque departure left me wondering what was going through his mind. Unlike his players, I swear Belichick was pouting for not winning the match.
The Patriots played cleanly, lost admirably, and will return next year with their head held high. They proved loss can be painful, but class is forever.
2/03/2008
Better to be an * than an a**
I don't know about many of you, but I'll be glad the football season is over.
Perfect is indeed the enemy of good. Yes, you can have straight A's from first grade to college, graduate with a summa cum laude, ascend from the ranks to the CEO, and then end up dead at your desk from overwork. You can be a child actor pulling in millions to billions of dollars, and then at 21, end up in the streets, partially nude, babbling incoherently, or at worst, be dead from a shotgun wound or drug overdose. You can meet your soul mate from first grade, marry after college, have two boys and two girls, and then end up dying from cancer at the ripe old age of 40.
Perfection above common sense kills. I will never be perfect. In fact, I was a straight B student, and nothing dastardly happened to me. I'm not married, and my world is not falling apart. The promoters, the hangers-on, and the Simon Cowells of the world thrive on perfection. They want to make sure their product has no flaws, no dings, and no skeletons hiding in their closets.
The Patriots may or may not have a perfect season by the end of the night. If they win at 19-0, it won't bother me. If the Giants win, making the Pat's season 18-1, it won't bother me. Both are excellent teams, no matter how much the New York Post asterisk-tsk-tsks the situation.
That's because after tonight, all that talk and hype building up over the past six months will be gone. The dopey stories about intermayoral bets, stock markets, inane commercials, premature claims to winning, scandals, and speculation will be lanced out like a giant boil, draining its poison into the sink, and salve of "no football" antibiotic smeared generously on the wound, covered by a six-month bandage.
UPDATE AT 10:08PM: The Giants won the Super Bowl, 17-14.
Perfect is indeed the enemy of good. Yes, you can have straight A's from first grade to college, graduate with a summa cum laude, ascend from the ranks to the CEO, and then end up dead at your desk from overwork. You can be a child actor pulling in millions to billions of dollars, and then at 21, end up in the streets, partially nude, babbling incoherently, or at worst, be dead from a shotgun wound or drug overdose. You can meet your soul mate from first grade, marry after college, have two boys and two girls, and then end up dying from cancer at the ripe old age of 40.
Perfection above common sense kills. I will never be perfect. In fact, I was a straight B student, and nothing dastardly happened to me. I'm not married, and my world is not falling apart. The promoters, the hangers-on, and the Simon Cowells of the world thrive on perfection. They want to make sure their product has no flaws, no dings, and no skeletons hiding in their closets.
The Patriots may or may not have a perfect season by the end of the night. If they win at 19-0, it won't bother me. If the Giants win, making the Pat's season 18-1, it won't bother me. Both are excellent teams, no matter how much the New York Post asterisk-tsk-tsks the situation.
That's because after tonight, all that talk and hype building up over the past six months will be gone. The dopey stories about intermayoral bets, stock markets, inane commercials, premature claims to winning, scandals, and speculation will be lanced out like a giant boil, draining its poison into the sink, and salve of "no football" antibiotic smeared generously on the wound, covered by a six-month bandage.
UPDATE AT 10:08PM: The Giants won the Super Bowl, 17-14.
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