“Results Not Typical”.

A TV ad for an online buying program suggests that products can be purchased at a huge discount.  They give examples of $800 flat screen TVs and $600 stand mixers being purchased for only a few dollars.  And while this all sounds great, there is also a disclaimer at the bottom of the ad stating that these prices are not typical.

As it turns out, this is an on line auction site so if no one bids on an item, you could get a really good deal.   But there is no guarantee of a low price.  In fact, you could actually end up paying more for a product if you are not careful.  Caveat Emptor.

A Bad Ad For Dell Leads To A Good Buy For Me.

In the Sunday paper recently I saw an ad for a Dell laptop.  It was on sale on line for $50 off the regular price.  But when I went to the link that was listed, it was not on sale.  Rats!  So, I went to the Best Buy web site to check their prices on that particular model.  And while their prices were the same, I did discover an ASUS laptop that was comparable to the Dell but $50 dollars cheaper.  So I went to Best Buy and purchased the ASUS.  Thank you Dell for planting the seed to buy a new laptop.

Mass Murder Kills 150.

Just over a year ago, a deranged killer slaughtered 150 innocent people.  Not only did he do this without an assault rifle, he did it with out using any sort of gun at all.

The killer was the copilot of a commercial jet.  And even though he was being treated for depression, he was still allowed to fly.  And, this was not the first mass murder of this type.  But since it didn’t involve a gun, the media quickly dropped it from the news.

A Portable Wine Glass.

I saw an ad for a portable wine glass that you can carry in your purse.  It looked a lot like a travel mug only made out of glass.  And while it looked interesting, I have to ask why anyone would need one?  I mean really, why does any one need to carry a glass of wine with them?

Comcast Service Is An Oxymoron.

My new cable box quit working the day after it was installed.  So, I called Comcast.  After following the prompts, I went into a queue.  After 20 minutes of waiting in queue, I gave up and decided to call back and answer the prompts differently.

Success, I got a live agent!  By looking at my calling telephone number, the agent knew who I was, and where I lived.  Great!!  The agent then asked for my full name for verification purposes.  And I gave her that information.  She then asked for the last four digits of the bank account that I use for automatic payment.

RATS!!  While I have a lot of logins and passwords written down, no one has ever asked me that question.  So, I could not answer it. And therefore, she would not help me.  So, I hung up and dialed in again answering the prompts differently.

Previously, I answered the prompts as a customer needing repair.  But this time, I answered the prompts as if I were setting up a new box.  I immediately got connected to a service rep.  And like the previous rep, she knew who I was and where I lived.  Only this time, she was focused on helping me and not on playing guessing games.

And while she tested the box, she could not fix the problem.  But she at least gave me a list of items to check.  Three hours later, the problem was resolved.

The treatment that I received from the first agent was unacceptable.  It is not like I was ordering a new service or feature, I just wanted my existing service restored.  I think that she was only interested in getting me off of the phone.

So Long Skimmed Milk.

A few months ago, Dr Oz told the world that skimmed milk is bad for you as it does not help in weight loss or diabetes.  He claimed that if you take the fat out of milk you are left with sugar and water.  Thus, every glass of skimmed milk has more sugar in it than a glass of whole milk.  Recently, these findings were confirmed by other leading health experts.  So, I guess I need to switch back to whole milk.