\u00a0What I recently learned:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n1. Don’t download any of the new software your browser pops up with. It’s a scam, a virus or malware.<\/p>\n
2. All your communications bills are out of hand. All the monthly bills are incomprehensible — deliberately so. The only “strategy” is to call the provider, say your bill is too high and that you’ve found another provider. Settle for a $30 a month reduction. Don’t try to figure the “logic.”<\/p>\n
3. Tesla, Google, Apple and Facebook don’t want to hire me, despite what my emails tell me. The senders are looking for me to pay them money. They’re another variation on the Nigerian “Please help me get my money, my inheritance, out of this nasty country” etc.”<\/p>\n
4. Leaving your computer on all night is lazy and exposes it to all sorts of nasties.<\/p>\n
5. You don’t have to download every upgrade to every piece on software on your machine. There’s an old rule in the computer biz: If it works, don’t mess with it.<\/strong> Good rule of life, too.<\/p>\n6. FlightView.com<\/strong> tracks airline flights. It will tell where the plane that’s meant to be taking you is. It’ll give you the information which the airline gate staff doesn’t have, or won’t tell you. You can also get FlightView on your iPhone.<\/p>\n7. User names are not case sensitive. But passwords usually are. Good to start with a capital letter and end with a couple of numbers. Easy to remember.<\/p>\n
8. Personal guarantees are useless. If the project collapses, so does the guarantor’s net worth.<\/p>\n
London is ulta-expensive<\/strong><\/span>. A friend just returned. Restaurant prices are unreal. A dry, over-cooked hamburger cost $32. Main courses were $70+. He says a typical meal with cheap wine will cost you one hundred pounds — $170 per person. A short ride on the subway $17. A taxi to the airport $130+. He says, “the city is for billionaires and Saudi princes.”<\/p>\n\u00a0A news parody show made this up:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nThis year, in a bid to stem taxpayer losses for bad loans guaranteed by federal housing agencies Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed that borrowers be required to make a 5% down payment in order to qualify for a loan.<\/p>\n
His proposal was rejected 57-42 on a straight party-line vote because, as Senator Dick Trickle (D-Conn) explained, “Passage of such a requirement would restrict home ownership to only those who can afford it.”<\/p>\n
A bunch of “legitimate” news organizations\u00a0 picked it up and ran it as hard news.<\/p>\n
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\nHarry Newton. Finally, a week later my cold is mostly gone. Some energy has returned. Which means time to catch up on “big” projects I’ve been neglecting. Like parsing my birthday presents.<\/p>\nFirst rule of selling:<\/strong> It’s their money. It’s their time. They can do with them what they like. The only sure-fire way to get anyone to do what you want is to write a big check. Few people will do anything because you<\/strong> think it will benefit them.<\/strong> This is a good rule when dealing with charities. All of them have their own agenda. That agenda does not include you.\u00a0 Be ultra-careful which ones you pick. Most spend far too much of your money on their own salaries, their travel and other expenses. This is cynical, but fact — based on my experiences. Best: Form your own charity. Do your own thing.<\/p>\n
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