Dive into the archives.
A good economy for discounts on cosmetic surgery
It must be a sign of the times. Last week, I got a letter in the mail from a doctor that I’d previously had a consultation with for laser resurfacing. (This was months ago.) They sent a letter out to all clients, offering a 10% discount on all procedures (face lifts, laser resurfacing, rhinoplasty, tummy tucks, breast augmentation, you name it) scheduled for next month. They also offered interest-free financing, and a cash discount. After receiving the letter, I assumed that the economy must be hitting these “elective-surgery” places pretty hard — if the economy is suffering, people are pulling back on cosmetic procedures. So the doctors are offering more and more deals and discounts to keep business flowing in. Interestingly, a nurse from the office called the week after I received the letter to “follow up” and make sure that I got it.
How to force-quit an application on a Mac
Most of us are familiar with good old control-alt-delete — the way to force quit a program that isn’t responding on the PC. But if you’ve recently purchased a new and pretty Macbook (like me), control-alt-delete won’t do it for you.
How much am I supposed to tip??
I wish sometimes that people would just tell me what their expectation is. I certainly don’t want to be rude, but sometimes I really don’t know what the expected tip is. Generally, I tip 20% for everything, be it drinks, dinner, or haircuts. I don’t use valet parking much, but when I have, I’ve usually given the guy $5. My haircuts are $40, and I usually leave $48, but last time I was there, I told the guy in front to put $48 on my card and he rang it up for $50.. Subtle hint from a friendly gay guy that I should be tipping more? I took it as such, and welcomed the input…
Baseball Report to Reveal Names of Steroid Using Players
Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell on Thursday will release his long-awaited report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs (i.e. steroids, etc.) in Major League Baseball. Speculators say that the report has already been leaked on the internet — and that these are the names:
The best rewards cards for credit card deadbeats
The credit card industry refers to people who use their credit cards frequently, but then pay the balance in full every month as “deadbeats” or “freeloaders.” Why such a negative term for people who are diligently and responsibly taking care of their finances? Because the card companies can’t charge them any interest. (Don’t feel bad for them, though, they still make money on transaction fees charged to the seller every time the card is used to make a purchase.)
How walkable is your neighborhood? Now you can calculate it online.
We’re all familiar with Zillow, the online housing value estimator. But when looking for a house, another way to measure its livability is by the walkability of the surrounding neighborhood. That means determining how many amenities and service businesses (restaurants, bars, grocery stores, fitness clubs, schools, parks, etc.) are available within walking distance.
The XO free laptop program (one laptop per child)
The much-fabled $100 laptop is almost ready to go into production. The plan was to create an inexpensive laptop, rugged and resilient to heat, cold, humidity, and tumbling about, and get governments to pay to distribute them to children in the world’s poorest nations, so that they could access the education that the internet provides.
How to get a free online credit report
I’ve been watching my credit at TrueCredit.com. Keeping track of my credit online lets me know what to expect if I apply for a new loan or line or credit, and lets me know right away if something incorrect is showing up. TrueCredit.com includes a free credit score (not included in most free credit reports), and provides graphs of your debt-to-income ratio, available credit, balances/payments, and total debt over time.
Into the Wild
I saw a screening of this movie tonight. It has the makings of a good, or certainly at least OK movie, but about an hour could have been left on the cutting room floor…
My kid could paint that — the Marla Olmstead documentary
The documentary is about Marla Olmstead, a 4-year old girl (now 6) who has been the subject of international news stories, and has sold over $300,000 dollars worth of art
