Archive for September, 2012
|Verizon or AT&T Breaking Your Heart? Why Not Dump the Bitch and Make the Switch?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 19, 2012 by admin in Technology
Wednesday, September 19th, 2012There was a time when “prepaid” meant “brokeass”, but prepaid cellphone providers are now amongst the top-rated, beating the big three with low prices, solid coverage, and NO CONTRACTS. Switching mobile providers is easier than you think.
 This parody image borrows from an hilarious book by Cynthia Heimel |
Years ago, whenever I was having problems with a girlfriend, a dear friend of mine who was gay would cattily say “Why don’t you just dump the bitch and make the switch?” In spite of the sexist term, this always drew a laugh and eased some of the seriousness of the situation. So I’m here to offer you some similar advice. I know, I know. You’ve been with her for what – two years? Five, ten years? In the beginning, she was sweet to you. She seemed to give you the world, and all she asked in return was a little loyalty. “Just promise you’ll be with me for TWO YEARS” she said, “and I’ll give you everything you could possibly want”. And she WAS like a new lover every two years, getting a complete makeover, just to please you, because she knew that others were vying for your attention. Then, at some point, she started getting a little more clingy. A little more selfish. She had you roped in, so she said “Well, if you really love me, you’ll stick around ANOTHER two years. But this time, I’m not putting out. And if you want to keep me happy, you’ll have to THROW DOWN SOME CHANGE, buddy!” After a while, even though you needed her pretty much 24/7, you felt trapped and exploited. And by then, there were only a couple of others who still might want you, and they seemed to be just about as high-maintenance. How would you ever escape this smothering relationship? Well, as it turns out, there’s some fresh blood in town, so maybe it’s time to break it off.
Whether you’ve been with Verizon or AT&T (by far the dominant duopoly) you may have noticed that over the last decade, the monthly rates have skyrocketed, the great deals have dwindled, and the service – unless you’re paying through the nose for a premium data plan – is no better than it was (and in some cases is worse) than ten years ago. For me, this finally reached critical mass a few months ago, when I went into the local Verizon store for my “new every two” deal. First, I’ll share my little story (I’d love to hear yours in the comments!) and then I’ll tell you how I discovered that “pre-paid” no longer means “broke-ass”, and how easy it was to find and switch to a new provider.
So below is my story. As I said, we’d love to hear yours in the comments. If you don’t want to read my sad tale, just skip to the alternatives I list at the end. Read the rest of this entry »
Thrive: The Movie
[ Comments Off ]Posted on September 11, 2012 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012Put on some popcorn and a tinfoil hat. Foster Gamble is taking you for a ride, in his doughnut-powered spaceship of libertarianism.
Do you ever have a vague sense that something is just plain wrong with the world, and that there must be some unseen forces guiding things? That maybe there’s a group of powerful people connected to banking and large corporate interests that have an agenda for re-shaping the world to suit their desires? That behind the daily headlines we see, there’s a subtext that isn’t being revealed, and if it were, that a lot of global events would make more sense? If you do, and you’re looking for answers, you may want to watch the movie Thrive. Not because it offers any useful answers to these questions, at least sane ones. But there are a few things about the film that makes it worth a look. First of all, there’s the price. It’s free! You can view it right on the creator’s website (or on YouTube, if your prefer). That may in fact be the film’s strongest point. You may actually want to procure a copy though