Yes I went out....

... and it wasn't too bad.  I got a late start so I missed most of the early door crashers.  In fact I started at Costco which didn't open until 9:00 am.  I was 10 minutes early and there was a line.  I was hoping it was the line to get a Costco Polish dog as I had skipped breakfast but by the time I got over to the snack bar they had already run out and I would have to come back later.

I was able to get the Fitbit for my wife that she wanted and it wasn't too hard to get as most all the stores had it for about the same price.  Spoiler anti-alert, she is already using it.

As I was a late starter most of the crowds were thinned out by the time I got to the other stores so it wasn't too hard to meander around looking to find any overlooked bargains.  I came away with a couple of $9 shirts from JCPennys and a bundle of socks from Walmart and not much else.  Actually, the only other thing to bring home was food for the chickens and a couple of bags of Dove dark chocolates.

I wonder if I have become desensitized to the whole materialism that this season has become.  I don't have the desire to have just for the sake of having, and I don't really need anything.  Sure I like toys almost as much as the next person but logic is in the driving seat and I talk myself out of a lot of things before they become an issue.  I guess I can always go to the store and play the demo games on the X-box for 10 minutes to get my feel if I really need a dose or just sit at home and spend time on the Playstation 2 with games I haven't played in awhile.  I'm good.

And just because there was a metal barrier on the sidewalk in front of the Best Buy to keep the crowds in order, it wasn't needed by the time I got there and from the looks of all the boxes still in the aisles, there was a lot of leftover 'bargains' that shoppers didn't need either.

What I found interesting is that the on-line shopping is becoming more of a thing and it doesn't have to wait for Cyber Monday.  The brick and mortars all have internet stores and most of the specials are there as well.  If you go for that special bargain on-line, chances are you will find it without the hassle of braving the cold, the crowds, the fights, the parking, the...well you get the idea.  But I think there may be a new marketing ploy in play.

There were some items listed on line as being out of stock, which means you couldn't get it on-line for the specials price at that time.  I wonder if this is intentional as a way to get your desire for the special to move you to action and actually visit the physical store in order to pick up the item in person.  That way you are in the store and likely to be tempted to obtain other items as you are there anyway and how could you pass up such tempting bargains as they have waiting in front of you.  I don't know if that is the plan or not but I would not be the least bit surprised if it was done on purpose.

So I went back to Costco for my dog and sat and watched and thought.  I am thinking that this actually might be the last traditional Black Friday sales event year and that next year will be much more on-line driven.  And that the attempt to conjure up time-limited 'this day, weekend, week' only scarcity mind set is over.  In a virtual world, anything is possible and everything is open, 24/7. 

With any luck we can go back to having a Christmas season that doesn't have to start three weeks before Halloween.  With even more luck we can go back to when it was more about the presence than the presents.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Amazon ratings warning

I had heard a comment about this before concerning the Amazon Fire Phone where the ratings started out on the rough side and later when they were trying to clear out the old stock with a sale, they cleared the star ratings and basically started over in an attempt to get a better star rating.  I saw this but wondered if it had anything to do with the phone being pulled from the market for a period before giving it one more effort.  They brought it out with a much better price and threw in a year of Amazon Prime for less than half the original introductory price.

If this was merely a second attempt to market the phone and/or a version 2.0 of the phone, then it would make sense to make this the equivalent of a new product and deserving of a new star rating but if it was not, and the fact that they were still listing a rather large number of total reviews given just days after the reset, then they were playing games.

I have read others mention that this was happening and for items other than just the Fire Phone but didn't take a lot of heed.  I couldn't believe, or didn't want to believe that Amazon would do this.  Besides this seemed like a numbers game that others might play but not our tried and true Amazon.

Then I got an e-mail that talks about saving big on Xfinity Internet.  Always looking for a deal I clicked to see and was met with the opening visual:

At first glance it doesn't look too bad other than the price is kind of high for a measly 25 Mbps and excluding equipment, install, taxes and fees.  Go faster and it gets worse.  Still it looks like 916 customers have given it an average of 4 stars.  Pretty good by normal ratings standards.  Remember that on a scale of 1 to 5 the median is 3 and not half of 5 or 2.5.

Now after the first impression, you being the savvy shopper you are, you look down the screen to see what some of those reviews actually say and then com across this:

Initially it is still looking good.  Sure 3.8 is not the full 4 stars that it shows being filled in but 3.8 is still a good way to the higher side of middle ground.  But wait a minute.  86% of the 916 reviewers gave it a one star.  If you have read many reviews you will know that the only reason for some to give a one star review is because they have no way to give them a zero star review.

So let's do some math.  Don't worry, I will keep it simple.
916 * 86% = 788 then times 1 equals 788
916 * 2%  = 18 then times 2 equals 36
916 * 2% = 18 then times 3 equals 54
916 * 2% = 18 then times 4 equals 72
916 * 8% = 73 then times 5 equals 365

Double check 788+18+18+18+73 = 915  within one is better than government.
Now add 788+36+54+72+365= 1,315 for total stars given

so that means if we take the total stars and divide by the number of reviews we should get the real star rating of 1,315/916 = 1.435589519650655 or rounded out to 1.4 stars.  By the way, even if I throw in the extra person to make it a full 916 and give the benefit of the doubt that the missing count would have given a full 5 stars the number still rounds to 1.4 (1.441048034934498 to be exact).

Wait a minute, they calculated it to be 3.8 and rounded it to 4 when filling out the stars to display.  What gives Amazon?  Real math doesn't even come up to half that amount.

Is this just really bad math, somebody falling asleep at the wheel, or are you playing games because you have a deal going with Xfinity that is paying you to push their product on your web site and through you customer's via their e-mails.  If the later, then this is major league bogus, deceptive and fraudulent and should be beneath you or any business that desires to deal from a place of integrity.  If this is an innocent mistake then you have got other problems that need to be addressed and corrected quickly.

I understand that stuff can happen, typos occur and sometimes mistakes are just that.  If it starts to happen often or you start to hear examples coming from more than a few minor sources, it may indicate a trend or a change in policy that may negatively impact the relationship between a company and its customers.  I am not ready to make the call just yet because I have had a pretty good relationship with Amazon myself but this is worth watching to see where it goes form here.  If I were an investor looking at the company, I would definitely want to know more.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Amazon vs. Apple vs. Google vs. Microsoft vs. Samsung vs. other

and the winner is???

I am willing to wager that you like me have had to wrestle with this battle royale yourself, either in the past, present or to be addressed again in the future and always trying to come to some conclusion as to which is the best way to go.  This has not been easy, and the decisions made do not seem to be permanent.  Things change.  And that means, like Wrestlemania, roll out the roman numerals because even if you found a winner last time, it soon will be time to do it again.

I have been in a constant shopping mod for cell phones, tablets, laptops, desktops and any other electronic gadgetry that comes along that promises to advance my standard of living with the mere transfer of a cash transfusion and a future draft pick to be named later.  I used to thrill to the hunt, leap at the chase, research with relish, and analyse till the cows came home with the confidence that I would know at the end of it all that I could determine what was good, better, best.

It works with cars so why not electronics.  

By looking at the universe of products, you layout a list of features and attributes measured against their effectiveness of meeting certain personal objectives weighted to your biases and desires and rated on your relative scales of values to come up with a very limited number of finalist that make the cut.  You try them on for size, select one, find a store willing to give you the best deal and next thing you know it finds its way home among your most prized possessions.

With cars it is fairly easy to make apples to apples comparisons.  With electronics not so much.  With everyone using a different language and different measuring sticks the comparisons become confusing rather quickly.  The comparison quickly becomes one of Apples and Oranges or Androids or MS as the case maybe.

If all you know is that 'an 8 cylinder engine is more than a 4 cylinder engine so it must be better right' and don't care about what either one does or why then you may not be in the same boat as I am.  I am looking for more.  I need more.  More helps me define and confirm my decisions.  I don't want to know that it has a quad chip, I want to know which quad chip and what speed it is running and which generation ship it is.  These things matter when trying to make an informed decision but it takes some real detective work to find the answers especially with some manufacturers.

Not everyone likes to look that hard or think that hard or spend that much time worrying about what is right for them so they phone a friend, "Hey, what have you got? Do you like it? Cool." and go get one of those but the next model up cause you have to have some bragging rights, end of story.  And for many that works great.

I am still from an era where a dollar was hard earned and hard spent and have wanted to get the most bang for the buck so it was important to try and find the best of whatever for me, and as I said before, I really did enjoy the whole shopping experience.

It is all about the system

So for those still with me I will start at the foundation.  Every system out there tries to be a closed proprietary system meaning they want you to be locked into only buying from them for all your wants and needs.  That is fine if they can deliver all your wants and needs but if not drop them and look elsewhere.  Please take note, systems change, some for the worst, some for the better, some stick around, some die off.  Just because you can get a great 'deal' on something be aware that it might not just be the model that is being closed out.  Also note that even if the system on the whole is solid, one of its divisions may not be.  There are a lot of products out there that have come and gone without a lot of impact and barely able to make one of those 'do you remember these' lists that get past around your email inbox.

So my system look narrows quickly when related to cell phones and tablets with a slight pause at the desktop/laptops.  I have grouped these a little because even though the operating systems are different the main systems all come from the same roots.  Basically you have Apple, Microsoft and Android or some version thereof.

Let's start with Android and it's derivatives of which there are many.  Most closely associated with Google, Android is a base upon which many have built such as Samsung, Amazon's Fire and dozens of other names too numerous to mention here.  Some use their own modified version of Android and that presents its own set of challenges for the user.  For example Amazon wants you to stay with Amazon and will not play with Google.  Also the further away from a pure Android system, the less likely it will be kept up to date with it's operating system.  And Android has a lot of versions.  So many it is hard to keep up with which candy name you are on or dealing with.  (Was I eating a jelly bean or a lollipop?  And does it matter?) It matters.  Although I like the fact that the software side of a system is in a constant state of update, meaning improvements and advancement, it also means that the hardware side is in for the obsolescence pile sooner.  When the hardware can't keep up with the latest software you are stuck with an upgrade, one you might not have been planning for.

Microsoft on the other hand is trying to be all things to all people and failing miserably.  For the desktop/laptop scene they have a pretty well established line that has served them well even if it has made many a user scream in frustration.  The attempt to move into other areas has not gone as well.  Cell phones with Windows do not capture 2% of the market and when you are that small it doesn't pay to bother with them.  At some point they will get their act together or give up and I am betting on the later.

Which leaves Apple the 500 pound gorilla that may or may not use gorilla glass.  Apple probably has the best universal approach out there.  It's users can find a consistent, stable, universe of commonality.  And even though there are different systems for the cell phone and the desktop you have a better chance of interfacing here than on most other platforms.  There are of course downsides and they will be mentioned later but they are the current king for finding simple utility in a product.

There are other solutions out there but they are on the fringe so to speak.  If you have these other solutions then you also are on the fringe, and I don't say that to belittle anyone but to give them the respect they deserve because they are the ones willing to put up with a few inconveniences in order to have a better solution and more power to them.  I have found that I spend too much time fighting with the simple solutions let alone trying to be one who is running on the fringe.

Or is it?

There is something more to consider than just the system and that is what are you going to do with it?  I remember a few decades ago when the first PCs were coming out the the question again was Apple vs MS.  Going to school at the time and with limited funds and the fact that businesses were using IBMs and MS I went with a MS based PC rather than a Mac.  In the process of looking I had a friend that asked, 'What are you going to do with it?' as if I knew.  We are talking way back at the start of all this so I wanted the world but soon found out the technology of the day was very short of ideal.  What he was referring to was not so much the hardware but the software or applications that I wanted to run that would help me to 'do' what I wanted to do.  Which platform or system gave me the best chance of doing what I wanted to do?

Same thing today.  What apps do you want that will 'do' the things you want to do and do them the best?  And more importantly where can you get them?

Here comes the big elimination.  It isn't really about who has the most apps...but it is.  You can do pretty much anything you would like to on any system but...then again you can't.  And so here it is boiled down in a nut shell.  When you see an app advertised 99% of the time it will say 'Get it now at Apple or Google Play'.  If you are not one of those two or if you cannot access one of those two then you no longer count.  Sorry and thanks for playing.  Microsoft/Windows will get a few mentions but generally not enough to worry about.  Everyone says Apple iTunes or Google Play, but I don't recall anyone saying Amazon Apps other than Amazon so for now all the Fire devices are out because if Amazon Apps doesn't have it, even if it is an Android based app, you cannot get it from Google Play.  Even if you can get it from Amazon Apps there is no guarantee if it will work on the Amazon Android Fire devices, some don't.

And after apps, content is king.  

Everyone knows that Apple's iTunes is a treasure trove but much of it can also be found with Google Play and Amazon and Podcasts Addict and so on and so on and so one possible next step is to compare pricing of your favorite albums and books.  You may be willing to pay more for the hardware but are you willing to pay up for the further installments of apps and content?

Wait a minute, didn't you eliminate Amazon earlier but you mentioned them again, what gives?  Amazon was smart enough to have a two way street but dumb enough to close off half of it.  You can get Amazon apps that will run on any Android device as well as your Apples so their store is wide open for all, just don't expect their Fire devices to work the other way.

Now for the most part I like Google and Android and I have found relative good use from them but I find that they often keep coming up short.  All too often they are just not quite there.  I hate it when that happens because the hardware used to run Android can be had at such a better price and sometimes flat out better hardware that it disappoints me to think that I am considering, let alone deciding, that my best choice for next upgrade will be Apple.

And Here is Why

I love my wife.  But you knew that already.  Her tolerance with technology is not as high as mine therefore whatever we get next must be simple, intuitive, functional, and easy, and if that doesn't describe Apple I don't know what does.

Everyone I talk to that has an Apple says about the same thing.  They love it and wouldn't go back.  They get long life out of the product and good service even if it comes with long lines.  The phones are everywhere so you can feel good about being part of the 'in' crowd if that means something to you.  Their products work, so even if they are dated right out of the box, they have been tested enough to give you a pretty good assurance that you won't have any issues from the get go or from future releases and with fewer variations and a tightly controlled system there are less worries for the apps as well.

And if I get a phablet I can try to justify the costs by telling myself that I am really getting a phone and a tablet and an MP3 player and a camera both still and video all in one.  So if I add all those items up the cost of a new iPhone is only twice what I would normally spend for all the others combined.  And I would be cool.

Basically though, I have been down the other path, tried it, been there, got the T-shirt.  It is time to try the other side of the fence and see if the grass really has a greener hue from a Retina resolution display.

Just have to figure out how to afford it.  If I forgo the around the world cruise and down grade my next car from an S class Benz to the Civic...

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

Walmart and Visa debit card create big time fail

I generally like Walmart and have done much business with them.  I haven't been caught up in all the chatter about how 'Walmart is evil' which seems to be mostly a hate story merely because of their size.  You can find good and bad policy in almost every corporation in this modern day, it is mostly a matter of what you like to look for.

Bust some days, a mistake is made.  A mistake that lessons the company in the eyes of its customer's.  In this case, an attempt to purchase a couple of gift cards as birthday gifts.  Rather than getting a store specific card it was decided to get them something that could be used at any place they pleased with a Visa debit card that could be used anywhere.  How easy, how simple, how convenient.  Why not?

A transaction fee that amounted to an extra 10%, that is why not.  I was under the gun so agreed to this outrageous and inconcievable excess and am still having extreme buyers remorse for agreeing to this abusive practice.  As I sit here revealing my regrets, I realize that I could have given the original all purpose, all merchant accepted gift card that never has additional fees (hidden or otherwise) attached, never expires, and only loses value over time the same way that all currency does...and that gift card would be cash.

Will I return to Walmart?  Sure, there is still a lot of good found at Walmart, but I feel like something dear was lost...trust.  I will be skeptical about dealing with them.  I will scrutinize anything that appears to be a deal, or even any transaction that I would assume would work one way only expecting to find the fine print hiding somewhere that makes it feel like the proverbial internet scam rather than trusting it too be a straight up deal.  Things change, companies change, people change, relationships change and when they do we go back to square one and have to rebuild from scratch the things that are lost.

Business that works is business that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved.  When business becomes one sided it can quickly diminish into none existence and that is a shame of the highest order.  It happens to the big boys and it can happen to the little ones as well.  Be sure your integrity and those who represent you is of the highest order in all you do and you will have little to worry about.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farrwest.

On slow downloads and the reality of over sold expectations.

As I write this I am waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the last of a few files to download. I started the download sometime yesterday afternoon. It is now nearly 6:30 the next morning as the last file reports that there are 15 minutes remaining. The files are good size files I admit. There are about 50 files in all representing two classes, one on financial markets from Yale and one on Hebrew Scriptures in Judaism and Christianity from Harvard. Each file is in the 600 to 850 MB size range representing a 60 to 75 minute video lecture on the given topic. They come from the iTunes U store. There is a fascinating array of topics to be discovered there and so far if you stay on the Pod casts and iTunes U side of the iTunes store it has all been free, a price I readily relish in the internet age where far too many things have hyper inflated pricing under the label of being cutting edge technology. So why is my Qwest taking so stinking long to download a couple of school videos especially when they are bragging all the time about high speed internet and there wonderfully cheap pricing plan. By the way we have seen neither in our many months of belonging to them even after the changeover to CenturyLink. The bill remains high with extra charges that don’t make any sense and seem to reappear time and again even after request to have them removed. I am definitely going to have to find a better way. I know my computer is starting to show it’s age (and if you look in past entries you will see that it started showing its age shortly after we got it). It is very frustrating to be throwing good money after bad which makes a lot of decisions about upgrading versus buying new a dilemma as well. Who do you trust to deliver the goods on whichever path you proceed down? In these tight economic times, which decision will lead to the best value for the hard earned dollar? And if I get something new, will I ever be able to find a machine that can play the flight simulator programs with a fair bit of competence? Yahoo, the last file just finished, I am out of here, other errands to run, the job being one of them. Wish me luck. This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Tales of the HP, Part Two.

I found one (a portable backup hard drive), looks about right, on sale, says it’s easy to use, preloaded with backup software…let’s try it.

After much rebooting I was able to get the computer up and running longer than 3 minutes, plugged the backup drive in and started to copy files over. The best I was able to do was move 1.9 Gb before it crashed. This is not good.

I was not going to trust my data to someone I could not talk to first that should be able to save the data before rebuilding the computer. I chickened out and took it to a different local PC shop, one that advertised free virus scans and one I had been in once before when I went shopping for a particular piece of computing hardware with a friend. I was hopeful.

Too hopeful it turns out. You can’t run a virus scan if you can’t get the computer to run at all. Minimum diagnostics charge was $69, thank you very much, but they go through it totally and test each part then let you know what it will cost to repair before fixing…yada, yada, yada. I got the call the next day saying come pick it up it is ready to go. I go there and the lad tells me that they ran a hard drive check disk, found some bad sectors, repaired them and it ran fine. I asked if they ran the free virus scan and he plugged it in to their monitor to show me. It crashed three times before he sheepishly turned to me and said “You probably want to leave this with us a little longer.”

Several days go by and still no word so I stop in after work to see what the verdict is. He thinks it might be the memory but he also is not getting consistent readings. He has been pulling components out of my box and putting it into one of theirs then running the test piece by piece so at least this time they are using good method. The techie tells me that the hard drive is working fine. This is good news to me since that is where my data is. So I ask “Can you save the data?” to which he replies “yes, we usually charge $79 to transfer data.”, and I reply “WHAT, you have got to be kidding me?” but he wasn’t.

I then decided that I could do that part of the job myself if I only had the right tool. I found it in their shop, a box which will act like a portable hard drive when you insert your internal hard drive into it and then power it up and plug it into the USB port of another computer. I talked him into giving me a break on the price, he gave me $5 bucks off, and off I went $100 poorer but at least on my way to saving the photos.

Having a little mechanical savvy I was able to open up the box, pull the internal hard drive, build the portable unit, plug into my wife’s laptop that she is using for school, transfer the files, return the internal hard drive to its original position inside the HP desktop box, put the case back together and start feeling hopeful again.

I then immediately hooked up the new recently bought portable backup drive from Costco to the wife’s laptop and did a proper backup of all the files on her computer including the newly transferred files from the HP. This was another ‘whew’ moment.

Off to the UPS store and the computer was now on its way to PC repair store number two, the original one intended to do the repair work under the extended warranty. The repair tech contacts me a few days later saying he couldn’t find the power cord that I know I took with the box to UPS to be shipped, but he said it was o.k. he had one available. He then asked me several times making sure that I had backed up my data. I assured him I had made every effort to do so and that is why it took so long to get it to him from the day I first submitted the claim. This to me was confirmation that I had done the right thing in making sure I had my files off the computer before sending it in, a system rebuild was in the works and I could feel it.

A week went by but being busy with work I hadn’t had time to notice or do much with home computers anyway so I just let it be. About the time I did start to wish I had it here though it showed up from UPS, on a holiday no less. I unpacked the box trying not to get the packing peanuts everywhere. There was a note inside stating that they had replaced the System Board (Mother Board for us old timers) and power supply (evidently the power cord got lost along the way), and had run a “burn-in for more than 19 hours and everything is working fine”. They also installed fresh OS with all driver and window updates. Does this mean I am truly back in business and that I can run my computer without fear for the first time in its life? Honestly, I don’t know.

Only one way to find out, plug it in and try it out. So that is what I am in the process of doing. I took care to plug all the various wires and cords back into the same places they came out of (more or less). With fingers crossed I hit the power button and waited for the lights to dance. Of course the first attempt ended in a mouse that wouldn’t operate and a keyboard that quit after a few taps of trying to operate a computer without a mouse. I quickly called back the PC store who suggested I buy a new mouse since they sometimes go bad or try plugging it into a different slot and see if that works. The mouse and keyboard worked fine before I started all this so there was no reason for them not to work now and besides, I have a serial mouse, not a USB mouse so there is only one place to plug it and the keyboard into, and they are color coded from HP and no I didn’t get them mixed up thank you very much. It turns out Microsoft is still not as plug and play as they want you to believe so the computer had to decide what drivers to use and then needed a reboot. One reboot later the computer recognized the keyboard and mouse and I could try again.

Next thing I noticed is that I have in essence a new box and that there is nothing loaded on it but the newly loaded operating system. All the rest is gone. I still have the software disc for MS Office and such so not a big deal although it does require reloading everything with subsequent re-registering and reconfiguring and rearranging and just redoing everything that you had done once before. (These really are remarkable time saving devices aren’t they.) So I have Office on here now and IE8, both running on the newly updated 64 bit Vista with Service Pack 2. I also have my Anti-Virus software package running; it was the first thing to get loaded and updated.

Of course I have already done several system updates as suggested by Microsoft’s Windows update and currently have another 18 waiting for me since I just loaded MS Office. I have also had to reload a version of Adobe Acrobat reader which is required to read all the manuals and read-me docs that seem to be everywhere these days. I also tried to load Adobe Flash Player but that one got hung on me. In fact I already have 4 system problems that need checking for solutions, 2 for the HP and 2 for Windows. Actually when I pressed check for solutions it went looking for 18 of them. I hope this is not a sign of things to be with this system.

I will try to follow the software manufacturer’s suggestions, keep everything current and updated, treat this computer with the kid gloves I always have and hope that things are going to be different this time around, thinking that maybe I did just get a quasi-lemon last time and that I am fully repaired and now I can surf the web and compute without fear, and my productivity will go through the roof as my creativity soars by with the broken barriers of hardware limitations.

Optimist.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West. If you are ready to see the conclusion Click here for Part Three of the HP adventures. If you missed the beginning Click here for Part One.

Credit Consumers Beware

I still can not believe how stupid people think I am. I hope that they do not think the same of you.

What causes me to say such a thing has to do with the lame wad advertisements that come in the mail wanting me to do something extremely foolish such as take out a loan with them. The latest one came today from an 'American General Financial Services' company that thinks I am dumb enough to fall for the spiel that I can end the Credit Card Hassle by locking in fixed monthly payments and APR with them. They are even so kind as to let you pick a monthly payment due date that works best for you.

Thankfully they no longer hide the worst of it though there is the ever present small print, it just isn't as small as it used to be. So in big bold letters they tell me that my payment will be $156.31 per month for a loan of $5,150 (a strange number to be sure)for 48 months at (now get this) 19.85% APR. Who in there right mind would even consider a deal like this? People very hard up that haven't learned any better that's who and that is why I hope you are never in a position to do anything but laugh at the joke and the company that sends these out.

Now if that wasn't bad enough, they have the wonderful asterisk that refers to the note of small print at the bottom, this one at least is big enough that even I can read it, which might have been a mistake because it just adds to the insanity, so here goes.

"*Not a guaranteed offer. All loans subject to our normal credit policies. Rates and terms advertised are for very well-qualified borrowers and require collateral. Rates will vary based on individual creditworthiness and loan size. Rates will be higher for unsecured loans. Reply by..."

Can you believe anybody besides the government would have the gall to make you such an offer? What kind of fool do you take me for? How did you get my name and if you bought it off a list I want a cut to cover the abuse.

This is not the first offer from them nor the first from companies like them but I seem to be in the zone for these kinds of offers lately. Another one that came recently was a very official looking tri-fold envelope where you rip off the edges just like an official government notice. It had a picture of the statue of liberty on it, the words 'Form 1008-S Payment Reduction Notification' in the upper left corner and a warning that there is a "$2,000.00 Fine or 5 Yrs. Imprisonment or both for any person who interferes with or obstructs delivery of this letter or otherwise violates - 18 United States Code 1702 et seq. Advertisement - Newsletter". Pretty scary stuff...so I immediately handed it to my wife to open.

I saw it coming a mile away. It was more crap, an offering to do a refinance with them compete with many goofy references to the economic stimulus act which I had trouble following because I tend to read things a little more carefully than the next guy. The small print did indicate that it was a legal advertisement (aren't they all) and that "Schroeter Law Group is not sponsored or affiliated with you current lender (no edit check here) and this advertisement is not authorized by your current lender and your loan information was not provided by your current lender." I guess not since the name they used was not my current lender, nor were any of the amounts listed.

By the way, they go to the county recorders office and buy this information from our local public officials thereby having access to your name and address if you have bought or sold or refinanced a house recently. Again, we should somehow be able to stop this at the source, or at the very least get a cut back for a referral fee.

The last one I will mention came from a Dorcy Law, whoever that is, and I only find that out by their slightly referred too web address at the end of the letter. The rest of the letter came with the same illusionary mentions of the Obama Administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan of 2009 but nothing much else to go on. I say illusionary because I don't recall in all the hoopla and media hype about the stimulus packages passed and/or talked about, that an actual name was placed on an actual program actually instituted by the government, let alone any details on how it would work or who it would benefit. Rightly or wrongly I probably just assumed that I wouldn't qualify to receive, I would only qualify to pay for it.

Any way, it came from the Loan Modification Division, something that surely sounds more like an office section than the name of a company but that is what they had listed in the address heading along with a Washington DC address. (Does anything good come out of Washington DC these days?) In fact, there were no other names given than mine and the name of the original lender from the court records from way back when, and the only way I found a possible real company name (or at least a tie to one) was the reference in the web address at the bottom of the sheet. The letter wasn't even signed (how hard is it to get a computer to sign its own letters, I mean really) but was closed with the words "Sincerely, Sr. Home Retention Specialist". I wonder if they felt bad about printing the 800 number to contact them based on their level of effort to remain as anonymous as possible.

I do get upset when I see these things come in the mail and almost get to the point of wanting to call them up and expressing myself to them (or at the very least play with their heads and gain a little amusement for the effort) but then I get over it and decide that it really isn't worth the effort. These people are hopeless...but I don't have to be. And neither do you. There are so many loser organizations out there currently vying for your attention that we just shouldn't waste any more time on them that we have to. Thankfully some are way, way more obvious than others. Just do me a favor and watch out. If no one falls for their nonsense they certainly won't last long.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

I got Junk Mail

Ever since I was old enough to have an address associated with my name I have been exposed to junk mail. I am not just talking about all the silly stuff they try to send you the minute you set up an e-mail account. I am sure you are all well aware of the myriad methods of spam and other loosely direct sent ads that overwhelm your in-box once your e-mail address is known. I am sure there are computer programs out there that randomly generate addresses to known server domains in attempts to find a 'live one' just so that you can receive the latest method of physical enhancement or reduction depending your gullibility.

I am rather referring to the spam e-mails ancestor, the original junk mail that travels by snail mail and arrives in the mail box located outside in a physical form that requires you to interact with it by direct physical means.

I actually like this form of advertisement. Really. It is the direct and physical nature of it that appeals to me, mainly because I can deal with it on my terms and on my time table. E-mail needs to be dealt with right now. Once opened it demands attention, mostly because if you decide to deal with it later it will sit there waiting and building up with all the other e-mail messages you have waiting for your attention. O sure you could file it into another folder, one marked 'to be read later' and let that one build up until one day you force yourself to look at them and notice that you were invited to a special party all expenses paid, for you and all your friends and close associates and all you need to do is RSVP by Friday only to find that the Friday the e-mail is referring to happened two and a half years ago.

Actually this is a good method for handling certain e-mail for your work address. It is amazing how many work assignments can get lost or company policy statements can go unread without affecting your routine daily life structure. I have found that if you quit producing a neglected and useless report and no one says anything about it for the next six months it probably won't ever be missed and your time will be better spent elsewhere. Of course if it is missed for what ever reason and it is still a neglected and useless report your time will still be better spent elsewhere. Such is the existence of a cubicle dweller, but that is another topic.

Our topic is good old fashion junk mail. Now there are some that say that you should open your mail as you receive it and deal with it immediately as a form of good time waste management. Well sometimes I am just not ready to deal with it thank you very much and hard physical mail makes that possible. If I want to wait until later to read it I can and the urgency I place on this hard mail depends on the pile I put it in and how high it stacks up without falling over or allowing me the ability to create a path around it on the floor.

Hard physical mail comes in self contained packaging other wise known as envelopes that give an indication generally of who sent it and what is in it. Here I have the ability to decide if this is something I really want to deal with right now or is it something I have to deal with right now or, or is it something I can put aside for later review.

But e-mail also comes in a form of envelope just like hard mail, I hear you say. It has an address of the sender and it even comes with a subject line to let you know what the topic of the message is. But this is where it breaks with hard mail or should I say hard mail is easier to discern. Hard mail comes with a return address that is either truthful or not and you know at a glance what you are getting. If it is from a friend they will have their address on it and you will recognize it, if it is a bill or advertisement from someone you know they will also have their address and sometimes a logo that you will recognize and know. If it is junk the return address will be none existent or a p.o. box number or other address without a name listed, or if a name is included it will be some made up funky name built to resemble someone else's name like "United States First Federal Integration Refinancing District Office". This tells you someone has something to hide and it is pretty evident right now.

Come to think of it, that is kind of what the spam mail tries to do also. The difference is that some do not list an e-mail address or some will use phony addresses. I have even received e-mail that supposedly came from myself. If they can send out spam using my own address what is to stop them from using the address of your friends. Besides we have all heard of how they send e-mail trying to pretend it is coming from your bank or credit card company in order to steal your account information. Deceiving people are deceitful no doubt about it.

Of course e-mail accounts prevent this or at least they try to prevent this with spam filters. Spam filters by the way only work a little for me. I have had more spam make its way into my in-box and more real letters make their way into my spam box than makes sense. I don't understand why it happens but it does. I think we rely on our computers too much by letting them make way more decisions for us than we should, especially seeing how often they get it wrong. Point is you can't trust them to do everything for you, you are going to have to do much of it on your own.

So our e-mail accounts have tried to develop ways to work like we use too, or at least how time management consultants tell us we are supposed to. They provided folders and sub folders to use to sort through and keep track of all our e-mail traffic. In order to sort through the e-mail you pretty much have to open it up and read it unless it is the same old drivel advertisement from emazon or am-bay telling you about the great yo-yo sale they have going this week and how they remembered that you once looked at a picture of a yo-yo so you must be an aficionado, and though you know it is junk you can't quite commit yourself to labeling all e-mail from them as junk just in case they do send you something important like a half price sale on that left-handed smoke shifter you have had your eye on, especially ones that come in your school team colors of purple and green.

So like all mail, you need to go through it and determine if there is any value to you in it and will you act on it now, later, or never. It is the 'never act on' mail that makes me glad for hard snail mail. If you get spam it is electronic. If you really get upset and want to reply to the so and so that sent you this piece of time wasting mind numbing crap the best you can do is hit the reply button and spend even more time hammering out a message to them that will fully explain in detail what you think of the piece of drivel this cretin was thoughtful enough to leave in your in-box. After much venting and fuming and fusing over just the right wording to use you hit send only to find that the address given is none functional. That's right, it is a dead address, phony or spoofed and your message goes nowhere, and all that energy that charged you up the first time around enough to want to make a reply just got recharged and still has no place to go.

Hard mail on the other hand almost always has some number or address associated with it because they are trying to get you to take action and spend money on them (especially since they spent real money on you not that cheap electronic money they use to send spam). But I have found that it is generally still a waste to get my knickers in a knot and try to make a direct reply and have found that it is much better to dispose of my frustration energy by shredding, folding, bending, and mutilating physically the item that caused that frustration in the first place. This is done directly through hands on contact. Very satisfying. Something you just can't do with an e-mail...unless you print it out, but why bother.

Later I will have to share some stories of my junk mail with you that I find amusing. I have tried to save a few from immediate shredding just because they are so over the top with stupidity. Never deal with anyone that expects you to be dumber than they are in order for the deal to work.

One more thing about hard mail that I really love. It is not a sleazy phone call from a telemarketer. If ever I have wanted to reach out and touch someone. Beyond telling them directly to put you on their "Do Not Call List" I tell them to send me what they have via snail mail. If they don't have my address I am not about to give it to them and if they have it most are not willing to send you anything by post anymore. It actually cost them something to do this and not everyone is willing to work for your business anymore. It's a shame really. It helps subsidize the US Post Office, and from what I hear they can use all the help they can get. If they do send you something you have real hard mail that might help you change your mind about them and their product or at the very least you will have something to shred.

Remember to recycle as appropriate. There is bound to be plenty of good fertilizer in there somewhere.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Personal rules for Credit Cards

I said that I would add my rules for a credit card company and so I shall.

1. I will pay my balance in full each month. This is the standard that you set for yourself, and the most important one at that. There should never be any reason whatsoever to carry a balance on a credit card and incur the high interest rate charges that come with it. The only reason to carry a credit card is as a measure of convenience. If you do not have the money to make the purchase, you do not make the purchase. It is that simple. You must commit to yourself that you will not spend money you do not have. If you have to finance something there are better and cheaper ways to go about it, but saving for the price in full first is the best option you can make. The credit card is only to be used in place of carrying cash or writing lots of checks or other matters of transaction convenience. It is only used to consolidate purchases so that you are writing one sum total payment check, when due, on time, in full, each month always. No Exceptions.

2. Thou shalt incur no Annual Fees. First and foremost that means no annual fee, period, exclamation point and end of discussion. The very first thing I look at for any credit card offer is disclosure on annual fee. If there is one, I don’t need to read any further for it is off to the shredder. Beware of those that claim no annual fee but adds in small print ‘for the first year’ and then they charge an annual fee after that. Only be willing to take the bite on that one if it is your fully committed intention to cancel before the year is up and then follow through. By the way, they are counting on you to forget about it so if there is the slightest chance you will, don’t take their offer. Actually even your intention isn't enough, no annual fees period.

3. Thou shalt have no charge if paid in full during the grace period. This one should be standard by now but double check to make sure that it is. If you pay the bill in full by the due date of the bill there should be no charges what so ever. If there is no grace period or there is any way to assess fees that shouldn’t be there, then drop them like a hot potato.

4. Thou shalt not pay an excessive interest rate. Even though we said that we are going to pay off our balance in full each and every month so as to incur no fees and no interest charges, you don’t want to accept a card that has a 21% or higher interest rate just on the off chance that something should go wrong. Stuff happens and when it does you want to minimize the consequences as much as possible.

5. Thou shalt pay no excess fees. This goes along with rule four. If the offer made it this far without causing you to throw it away then look at the fees and see if they look excessive. Don’t compare them to other fees in the industry to decide if they are normal charges but compare them to your own standard of what seems reasonable. If a fee seems high by your standard it probably is. Fees everywhere have been inching up on all financial services to the point that they have lost their sense of perspective and proportion. It is time to use the power of the consumer and decide not to accept unreasonableness.

6. Thou shalt ask “What’s in it for me?” Lastly and I do mean last, what perks does the card offer? My first credit card was a Discover Card back when they first came out, for one reason, they met my criteria of no fees and they paid cashback. I liked that. I no longer like the Discover Card and I will report on it in another entry. I still like to get a kickback on my purchases. There are a myriad of perks being offered these days, some are better than others so compare carefully. Many of the perk cards come with a hefty annual fee, don’t bother with them, you can do better. Some provide airline miles, some simply provide points, I still prefer cash back as it can be used on anything at any time.

7. Thou shalt not change thy spending habits. Now that you have your credit card you must not change your spending habits, only your payment habits. This is especially important if you happen to have a card that has perks. Just because the government thinks it can spend its way into prosperity does not mean you should. There is no way you can create an income for yourself by spending $100 for a $1 return, so please don’t try. You can however look for ways to use your card in places that you used to use only cash as long as there is no added fee to do so. The daily lunch run can be handled by your card rather than cash at many places fast food joints included. Grocery stores almost expect you to use a card now. I will pull mine out even if all I am getting is a pack of gum. Again, you must remember that you are not changing your spending habit to earn perks; you are only changing your paying habit to earn perks. Big difference.

8. No matter what the available credit balance is thou shalt not try to use it all. The Credit balance that is issued on a credit card is an interesting side note and nothing more. It is a ceiling amount that can easily be raised and lowered but it is inconsequential if you are in charge of your account because you will never come anywhere close to using all of it. There is usually no need. It is an artificial measuring device that the card companies use; it is not a measuring device that you use on yourself. You set your limits. Remember that you have higher standards. Just because they say you can doesn’t mean you say you can.

If you have any self control issues at all then forgo all the above and use strictly cash. Give yourself an allowance that you carry in your wallet or an envelope or whatever system you choose and live from that knowing that once that money is gone, it is gone and will not be replaced until the next allowance cycle. Until you master yourself you will not master your money but that is a whole other set of standards and tools.

One side benefit of the above, I have a monthly balance that is paid in full each and every month which reflects nicely on my credit score. The monthly balance is far less than the available credit which also helps the credit score. Do I care what my credit score is? Not really since it should be perfect but isn’t. It is the most abusive and highly inaccurate financial tool used today which makes me wonder why it is given so much power with so little oversight or liability on its part. My credit score is fairly high I am told. I know that it is just a measuring device that has become an industry unto itself. I want to live my life and have my finances such that having a credit score or not will make no difference whatsoever in my life. Contrary to popular belief debt is not the natural order of life. If you think that it is then it is time for a change of mind. You will find that life gets easier if you avoid debt.

Well there you have it. This pretty well sums up my take on credit cards. By the way, I do not have a pocket full of them. Two is usually plenty, three tops, from different companies or banks. That way you have a back up if one becomes unusable for any reason such as a computer failure on their end. It’s rare but does happen.

Just remember that this is you we are talking about. You matter. You come first. You decide the rules you are willing to play by and you decide which ones you will have nothing to do with. You are the consumer, you have the say. You live with the consequences either way.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.

Beware credit companies, the consumer is coming

You may have noticed an increase in credit and credit card offers lately. Don’t be drawn in. The rules are about to change and the increase in offers is an attempt to lock in the old rules on those willing to play by the old rules.

So what are the old rules vs. the new rules? I am not sure, but I do know this, they involve high fees and high rates with harsh penalties, new or old. Like so many things coming out of Congress these days in the way of financial regulation, the details somehow get lost in the delivery to the public. I do know that there are rules trying to reign in the current almost obscene method credit card companies are using to adjust rates and charge fees.

In fact if you have listened to Clark Howard, Suze Orman or Dave Ramsey you have probably heard at least one call from a listener telling their story of how the credit card company was changing the rules on them mid stream and wondering what they could do about it seeing how they had been a long time good customer with that company. If they do not have any free cash available to close out their account then most times the answer seems to be try to negotiate with the company or try to live with the new terms. (Wherever possible provide yourself some options.)

Trouble is many people have been living on the edge for so long that there is no room for new terms. All of their spending money is pre committed and they are stretched to pay the minimum balance on these credit cards as it is. Sad to say but many people had a very hard time making their new minimum payment the last time Congress got involved and raised the required minimum payment on outstanding balances as the Congress’ way of trying to help (by force) people to lower their debt levels.

The latest round of increased minimum payment is coming about because of changes in the interest rates charged to the card holders by the card companies. The higher the rate, the higher the interest charges and the higher the minimum payment based on that higher charge. These rate changes come about because of changing terms that made your fixed card now a variable card or even worse. Some card companies have added clauses that state if you are late or default not only on their account but that of anybody else’s account they will raise your rate to loan shark levels, and they are doing it.

“But I had an agreement with them” you say “they shouldn’t be able to change the rules mid stream.” They shouldn’t but they do and it comes in the form of a little tiny printed piece of paper that comes with your statement every so often. Do you take the time to read all of them all the way through? Buried in the legalize is the change and if you aren’t paying attention they have you because it usually comes with a phrase or two that indicates your options are two, either continue to use the card and by default accept the new terms, or notify us now and we will cancel your account and your bill is now due in full for the outstanding balance.

If you are able then my suggestion is to pay off the amount in full and close out the account. Let’s put the power of the consumer back in our pocket. There are still lots of competition for credit cards out there if the number of offers I get is any indication which means there are still many companies that should be competing for my business. I as the consumer have the power to pick and choose who has the best deal to meet my best interest. I get to decide which if any is right for me, and I will vote with my hard earned dollars who I will work with, even if that means none at all.

After the new rules go into effect we should begin to see a new set of offers from companies that are trying to decide how best to play the new game in town. If you can hold off till then I think you will be better off for it. When it comes, I think it will be in all of our best interest to take a close look at what the new offers are and compare them to what we have now and actively switch to a better provider if one is found. Credit Card Companies you have officially been put on notice. If you don’t treat me better, and with the respect I deserve then You Are Fired.

The new rules Congress is laying down should make it harder for the companies to change your rules mid stream like they are doing in abundance now, but to get the new rules to apply to you it sounds like you will need to create a new account where the new rules will apply. I hope that is not the case but if it is I see it as an opportunity for those willing to spend the time and effort to search out better and more trustworthy companies to work with in the future. I will share with you my ideals of standards for a credit card in a later entry.

This is Ed Nef with a view from the Farr West.