- Wish I knew which was a better nutritional option for my morning half-bagel: Cream cheese (old topping) or peanut butter (new). Both taste good. Feel more healthy after eating the peanut butter. Am sad that it contains more fat.
- An unnamed major retailer of junior clothing and accessories is going to get a big kick in the pants (figurative) from me if they don't get their act together soon.
- Facebook status update most lacking in self-awareness to date: XYZ "is off to his aunt's funeral. DO NOT TEXT ME THE LAKER SCORE!!!! if you do, I'm going to kick your ass!!! Especially you, Matt!!!"
- Not sure what I hate more: Boring/bragging/annoying/right-wing nutjob status updates, or myself for checking Facebook so often.
Monday, July 27, 2009
A self-centered post
A.K.A. a lazy post.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
An open letter to the NYT
I e-mailed this note today to Andrew Martin, a New York Times reporter, in response to a story he wrote about credit card companies and the crazy transaction fees they charge retailers. They really are robbing the nation blind.
Can you tell it's a personal issue for me?
I hope he reads it.
--
Hi Andrew, very nice story today on the interchange fees.
May I suggest a follow-up about another major way in which VISA/MC have retailers by the **lls? Credit card fraud. If someone charges a stolen credit card and the real cardholder files a dispute with VISA/MC, the cardholder is reimbursed -- no questions asked. Who takes the hit for this unconditional guarantee? The merchant.
VISA/MC automatically "charges back" the fraudulently charged amount, ie. takes it from the merchant's bank account. Unless a very specific set of conditions are met (positive photo ID, verified signature) -- and think of how many hundreds of thousands of Web and phone transactions happen daily without those safeguards -- there is little room for argument and no forum for recourse. Short of small claims court, and what merchant has the time for that?
Basically, VISA/MC lulls consumers into feeling safe and using their cards as much as possible in order to engender tons of transaction fees. VISA/MC have little incentive to fight credit card fraud, because that would make transactions harder and more time-consuming (ie. fewer transactions, less revenue from fees). Instead, they ignore the problem and simply shift the costs of fraud onto the backs of small businesses.
The worst part is that VISA/MC make all these universal "rules" that are very hard to understand, both for consumers, small businesses, and Congress. So they're not scrutinized and regulated in a way that makes it fair for all participants.
Why not just stop accepting credit cards, you say? That's simply not feasible for most merchants in this day. Credit cards are a part of life. It would be like telling a commuter in NY, don't ride the subway. But if you do ride the subway, you are liable for anything that may happen to you on it. Because you chose to take the ride.
Hope you're interested enough to look into this.
Can you tell it's a personal issue for me?
I hope he reads it.
--
Hi Andrew, very nice story today on the interchange fees.
May I suggest a follow-up about another major way in which VISA/MC have retailers by the **lls? Credit card fraud. If someone charges a stolen credit card and the real cardholder files a dispute with VISA/MC, the cardholder is reimbursed -- no questions asked. Who takes the hit for this unconditional guarantee? The merchant.
VISA/MC automatically "charges back" the fraudulently charged amount, ie. takes it from the merchant's bank account. Unless a very specific set of conditions are met (positive photo ID, verified signature) -- and think of how many hundreds of thousands of Web and phone transactions happen daily without those safeguards -- there is little room for argument and no forum for recourse. Short of small claims court, and what merchant has the time for that?
Basically, VISA/MC lulls consumers into feeling safe and using their cards as much as possible in order to engender tons of transaction fees. VISA/MC have little incentive to fight credit card fraud, because that would make transactions harder and more time-consuming (ie. fewer transactions, less revenue from fees). Instead, they ignore the problem and simply shift the costs of fraud onto the backs of small businesses.
The worst part is that VISA/MC make all these universal "rules" that are very hard to understand, both for consumers, small businesses, and Congress. So they're not scrutinized and regulated in a way that makes it fair for all participants.
Why not just stop accepting credit cards, you say? That's simply not feasible for most merchants in this day. Credit cards are a part of life. It would be like telling a commuter in NY, don't ride the subway. But if you do ride the subway, you are liable for anything that may happen to you on it. Because you chose to take the ride.
Hope you're interested enough to look into this.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
A food manifesto
There are SO many food lifestyles out there. Your vegetarians and your vegans, your flexitarians, pescatarians, lacto-ovarians, (breath), your raw foodists, macrobiots, non-red-meat eaters. And, naturally, your organic grass-fed meat eaters.
Although I've always been a proponent of eating anything and everything, my interest in a different food lifestyle has been piqued by several friends' recent conversion to veganism. So I've decided to give at least semi-vegetarianism a go. Eric has proven to be (surprisingly, after always saying he wouldn't) a willing and cheerful partner in this.
This means we prepare meals with an exciting lineup of vegetables but no meat, eat meat on special occasions like dining with the parents, and continue to enjoy sushi. Yes, it's a very flexible lifestyle.
Some observations: I've been enjoying vegetables more and not missing meat much. A nicely seared piece of salmon with a little salt and lemon gets my mouth watering the way a grilled pork chop once did. I feel healthy too, with fewer of those episodes of heaviness that can follow a meal.
I've learned some things about how I want to go about eating. Without further ado, a manifesto on food:
1. Listen to your body, not just your tastebuds.
Don't eat stuff that makes you feel bad after you eat it. For me, that means eating less meat, by considering it more as an adornment to a dish and only once in a great while as a centerpiece of a meal.
2. Enjoy food and honor it.
Whether it be a simple tomato sauce or a juicy burger, think of it as something wonderful and to be savored. It can't be healthy to think of any food as bad for you, as the enemy.
3. Keep an open mind.
If you're a vegan, try to understand the appeal of a roasted bone marrow. If you're a red-meat lover, give the subtle taste of tofu a chance.
* Vegetarians with ethical or environmental imperatives, take heart. Even though I have different reasons for eating veggie and doubt that I'll ever eschew meat entirely, just think, if everybody were to cut down their meat consumption to 1/5th of what it is now, how great the world would be.
Although I've always been a proponent of eating anything and everything, my interest in a different food lifestyle has been piqued by several friends' recent conversion to veganism. So I've decided to give at least semi-vegetarianism a go. Eric has proven to be (surprisingly, after always saying he wouldn't) a willing and cheerful partner in this.
This means we prepare meals with an exciting lineup of vegetables but no meat, eat meat on special occasions like dining with the parents, and continue to enjoy sushi. Yes, it's a very flexible lifestyle.
Some observations: I've been enjoying vegetables more and not missing meat much. A nicely seared piece of salmon with a little salt and lemon gets my mouth watering the way a grilled pork chop once did. I feel healthy too, with fewer of those episodes of heaviness that can follow a meal.
I've learned some things about how I want to go about eating. Without further ado, a manifesto on food:
1. Listen to your body, not just your tastebuds.
Don't eat stuff that makes you feel bad after you eat it. For me, that means eating less meat, by considering it more as an adornment to a dish and only once in a great while as a centerpiece of a meal.
2. Enjoy food and honor it.
Whether it be a simple tomato sauce or a juicy burger, think of it as something wonderful and to be savored. It can't be healthy to think of any food as bad for you, as the enemy.
3. Keep an open mind.
If you're a vegan, try to understand the appeal of a roasted bone marrow. If you're a red-meat lover, give the subtle taste of tofu a chance.
* Vegetarians with ethical or environmental imperatives, take heart. Even though I have different reasons for eating veggie and doubt that I'll ever eschew meat entirely, just think, if everybody were to cut down their meat consumption to 1/5th of what it is now, how great the world would be.
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