Dana is frustrated with NBC TV coverage of the Olympics.
One symbolic example of how they’re blundering through the money losing spectacle.
Terry Fox is a Canadian legend whose cross-Canada run, the Marathon of Hope, inspired Canadians while raising money for cancer research. Michael J. Fox is a Canadian actor who starred in the legendary “Back to the Future” trilogy and has become an advocate for Parkinson’s disease research. They’re pretty easy to confuse for each other. Right, NBC?
It’s understandable to misspeak the name during a live setting, so we can give Meredith Vieira a pass. But the graphics are a little harder to explain, especially considering the broadcast actually showed Terry Fox before switching to the “Family Ties” star. …
A few hours after the announcement of the God tablet, the nay sayers have had time to weigh in.
… To be fair, it would have been almost impossible for the actual iPad device announced today to live up to the insanely hyped idea of an Apple Tablet that consumed the Internet’s attention in the weeks (if not months) leading up to today’s event. There are also many positives that are hard to deny about the iPad, not the least of which is its characteristically drop-dead gorgeous design aesthetic.
Nevertheless, before this thing wins your hard-earned dough, make sure you know what its limitations are. …
I still think it will be a huge hit. But I’m not sure I personally need one if I’m willing to haul around my much superior laptop.
I love Facebook, but some of their redesign decisions SUCK.
Recently I’ve noticed that some of my friends updates were not appearing in my Feed.
Why is that?
Turns out that Facebook decided to show me only 250 of my 500+ friends. Somehow they were choosing what 250 I’d want to see. Those who post most often, I assume.
Only those who get a really high volume of posts in their stream can use the fix that worked for me. (see below) Most people get all their friends posts and won’t see the box below.
… you can quickly restore all your friends by scrolling to the bottom of the home page -> click on EDIT OPTIONS -> and change the number of friends from the default (250 in my case) to a number greater than your total number of friends.
By coincidence, there happens to be a surplus of young women looking for my demographic …
These girls are so hard up, they have to advertise on Facebook.
I’ve tried clicking the X. They simply feed me new dubious ads.
I’ve tried using internet tools like Readability to take out those unwanted ads. … It doesn’t work on Facebook.
Leave a comment if you know a way I can avoid them. The only solution I’ve found, so far, is to read new posts in Seesmic Desktop. But the features in that Twitter client are really limited.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Facebook. But they allow deceptive ads from scumbag bottom feeders.
UPDATE: It looks like the claims in this post are false. See details in the COMMENTS.
Here’s the response we got back from Canada Post:
Over the holidays, a customer contacted us by email to ask us why private sector partners would be allowed to charge more for the same service provided by corporate offices. The reply they received contained misinformation and we would like our customers to know the facts – rates are the same at all Canada Post establishments both corporate and private sector partner locations.
It is very important to us that your customer experience is the same no matter where you choose to shop.
In fact, the agreement that Canada Post has with its private sector partners specifies that the maximum postal rates that they can charge are the Canada Post published rates. If a postal outlet charges prices that are over the Canada Post published rates, they are in violation of their contract. You should also know that the equipment used by private sector postal outlets is programmed with Canada Post’s published rates. Therefore, the rates should be the same no matter where you choose to get postal services.
We are very disappointed to hear of this experience and we are investigating the matter. If you have any questions or concerns about our rates, contact us at http://canadapost.ca/contactus
AND another response by email:
It is very important to us that the customer experience is the same no matter where our customers choose to shop.
With respect to the rates, all of our 6,000 automated post offices, corporate or dealer use the same Retail point-of-sale system software and corporate rating engine. Therefore they all charge the same rate for the same identical service.
Dealers cannot charge a higher rate for a postal service, as the system will not permit it and contractually they would be in default.
We will further investigate the matter that you brought to our attention.
Do those rates seem sensible to you? Who comes up with these pricing formulas?
More recently, a blogger mailed two identical packages via Canada Post, one week apart.
From a Canada Post postal outlet, cost was $11.74. Next week … a clerk at a Canada Post office said the $11.74 on the second package was not enough. He’d have to buy $6 more in postage.
WHAT!?
That story came in by email from George. It’s posted in the comments.
Veronika Strofski, Customer Service Canada Post, explains:
Only Canada Post Depots and Corporate Post Offices are obligated to follow the price of stamps and postal products that are legislated by Canada Post. Any commercial and private establishment (e.g. convenience store or pharmacy) may charge extra fees as a convenience to their customers. It is at their discretion to apply additional service fees to products that they sell. We suggest visiting a Corporate Post Office in order to avoid paying additional service charges ….
Why haven’t I ever heard about these extra charges?
Seems those extra charges do not exist.
I’ll forward these complaints to Canada Post’s current Ombudsman: Ms. Nicole Goodfellow.
As at most bogus organizations, there’s no email contact. Only phone. Or mail. She really doesn’t want to hear from Canadians.
… On another page I found the address: ombud@ombudsman.postescanadapost.ca
I’ve still not heard back from the Ombudswoman. Who’s the Ombudsman for Ombudsmen?
Bottom line: In Canada, avoid snail mail. Do as much as possible online. Or by FAX.
‘We’ve already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax’
Of all the over-paid right wing radio talk show nobs, I like Rush the best. He’s got some sort of folksy appeal. Once in a while he talks some common sense.
That said, he’s a bald-faced liar, at times, distorting facts to serve his own political biases. That he’d use the suffering of innocents in Haiti just to bolster ratings … and bash Obama. That’s the last straw.
Rush Limbaugh is dead to me. I’ll never listen to the Big Fat Idiot again.
Why Consumers Get Screwed, and How You Can Always Get a Fair Deal
I heard an interview with the author Bob Sullivan who has good advice for us. Especially regarding our mobile phones, banks, credit cards, insurance and vehicles.
… evade the financial traps big businesses set for unwary consumers—and shows you how to get the best possible deals every single time.
Today’s marketplace is full of hidden fees, fine print, and other booby traps designed to trip you up and take your money. You may be losing big even when you think you’re getting a steal! But with Sullivan’s keen guidance and sensible advice, you can save money and regain control of your financial life.
Clearly and concisely, Sullivan reveals
• why American consumers make such easy targets for corporate America (you’ll be stunned, for example, at how poor our math skills are)
• how Wall Street will skim off one third of your retirement money (avoid this trap with Sullivan’s new “Pitfall-Proof Pyramid”)
• the myths behind credit-card reward programs and “the 21st-Century Bank Account”
• the real numbers to focus on when buying a new car
• why you should spend more time shopping for your mortgage than your home
• the key questions you must ask before buying life insurance
• the secrets to saving for college and paying off student loans the right way
• the best deals on cell phones and pay-TV service
Rick McCharles 