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iPhone 4 stolen
Was ripped from box, most likely by an associate of UPS / UPS store. It was stolen before it arrived at my house.
Opened box and someone cut the iphone 4 box open and took the iPhone and all accessories but left the rest of the torn box.
Serial number: 82034N51A4T
IMEI: 011951000392903
iPhone 4 32GB
Update on 2010-09-03 23:47 by Mike Mu
Update on 2010-09-06 16:20 by Mike Mu
What happened was the iPhone was ordered from AT&T and delivered successfully to Las Vegas via FedEx from AT&T.
It was then brought to a UPS store to get shipped to me here in Los Angeles. Somewhere between when it was given to UPS to ship and moments before it arrived it was stolen. It was fully in the care of UPS and their associates.
I was not personally involved in any details of the shipment.
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AT&T says it's cheapest for us to open up another line, and naturally they don't do anything about stolen iPhones.
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Apparently Apple iPhones are a high theft item at UPS. Sadly it was shipped un-insured from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
Gruve makes sure you move
Mom was right. It's not good to sit in front of your computer for hours on end without moving. Over time it can lead to blood clots in some bad areas, especially if you don't have a nice fancy ergonomic work station.
I just read about the Gruve, and it's on sale now at Amazon for today's Gold Box deal.
Sure, you could do the same or similar for cheaper but who wants to deal with the hassle? Definitely worth checking out if you want to meet certain 'movement' goals - might even help you lose weight. But it will make you healthier and that is probably worth the price of admission.
New credit card rules are in effect - see what you are protected against and watch out for new bank fees
Release Date: June 15, 2010
For immediate release
The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday approved a final rule to protect credit card users from unreasonable late payment and other penalty fees and to require credit card issuers to reconsider interest rate increases imposed since the beginning of last year.
"The new rules require that late payment and other penalty fees be assessed in a way that is fairer and generally less costly for consumers," said Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth A. Duke. "Card issuers must also reevaluate recent interest rate increases and, if appropriate, reduce the rate."
Among other things, the final rule, which amends Regulation Z (Truth in Lending):
- Prohibits credit card issuers from charging a penalty fee of more than $25 for paying late or otherwise violating the account's terms unless the consumer has engaged in repeated violations or the issuer can show that a higher fee represents a reasonable proportion of the costs it incurs as a result of violations.
- Prohibits credit card issuers from charging penalty fees that exceed the dollar amount associated with the consumer's violation. For example, card issuers will no longer be permitted to charge a $39 fee when a consumer is late making a $20 minimum payment. Instead, the fee cannot exceed $20.
- Bans "inactivity" fees, such as fees based on the consumer's failure to use the account to make new purchases.
- Prevents issuers from charging multiple penalty fees based on a single late payment or other violation of the account terms.
- Requires issuers that have increased rates since January 1, 2009 to evaluate whether the reasons for the increase have changed and, if appropriate, to reduce the rate.
The final rule represents the third stage of the Federal Reserve's implementation of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, which was enacted in May 2009. The provisions of the Act addressed in this rule will generally go into effect on August 22, 2010.
The notice that will be published in the Federal Register is attached.
Consumers can learn more about changes to their credit card accounts by accessing a new online publication, "What You Need to Know: New Credit Card Rules Effective Aug. 22." It explains key changes consumers can expect from their credit card companies as a result of the third phase of the new credit card rules. Additional information about credit cards can be found on the Board's website at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/creditcard/.
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IT is very important - but why do companies keep cutting back?
Ask any business executive how important IT has been to their business over the past 5 years and chances are they will agree that not only is it crucial, but it's becoming more important than ever.
But if you talk to accounting and get an idea of the company's IT budget, you will see a completely different story. It seems that businesses are cutting back on IT expenditures, and overall money spent on IT innovation has been steadily dropping. From the years 2005-2009, IT innovation has dropped from 20% to the 14% of the typical IT budget expenditure according to a study done by A.T. Kearney It Innovation and Effectiveness.
What is astounding to me is that there is the attitude that while the technology portion of their business is important, the IT department isn't. It's now only there to merely keep things running. This past year we have seen cuts of over 25% across the board and more businesses that are just asking for contract IT to come in to repair, not even perform preventative maintenance - much less innovate or upgrade IT infrastructure. And if anything with the way the economy has been going I've been seeing IT cut-backs so that even maintaining company IT infrastructure is a challenge.
These same companies are leaving IT out of the loop. They are taking a do-it-yourself attitude and trying to take IT innovation in their own hands. This ranges from buying their staff a complete new set of android based smart-phones, to new computers, all the way to complete new servers without consulting IT. Naturally when compatibility issues come up, and things don't work (as wass as the advertising campaign where the business owner is standing next to a simple server box with a smug look on his face) - they blame IT for their downtime.
Business executives, please let us do our job. Dell computers does not know your business like we do. Best Buy is not selling you computers that will work in your corporate environment. Consult with us. Listen to what we have to tell you. Don't cut back on your IT budgets because in the long run, your business will suffer.
Green Mountain Coffee Hazelnut for Keurig = weak and flavorless
Thank goodness for sampler packs. I'm practically struggling to get through this small batch of the Green Mountain Coffee Hazelnut. It has a wonderful aroma, (I will give it that) but even on small cup size it taste like someone took yesterday's used coffee grounds and put a drop of hazelnut essence, re-brewed, and then watered it down. Well you get the gist of it. I'm thinking of just tossing the remaining cups.
I see now on Amazon that they have a Green Mountain Hazelnut Dark Roast Extra Bold