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Greek State of Mind

Robbed by Verizon Wireless Again!

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By now I’m sure that you all know the myriad problems that I’ve had with Palm’s Treo 700p. This smartphone/PDA is a complete disaster (as you can find out by reading comments on Palm’s own blog on the matter). I’ve had the Treo replaced numerous times and each time I get a new device, it has a technical glitch. This time around the earpiece doesn’t work. In other words, when I have to use a hands-free device while I’m driving (because it’s the law), I can’t use one because the connection doesn’t click. I can hear the person, but they can’t hear me.

It’s a joke. This phone is a damned joke.

So I called Verizon Wireless a little while ago and to make a long story short, there’s nothing they can do to help me with this phone. After some discussion with two folks who, by the way, were very pleasant I asked this question: “I have a phone that I can’t use, I can’t replace, I can’t return, and I can’t fix. So are you telling me that I have a $500 paperweight here?” And God bless the Supervisor I was talking to because without actually saying, “Yes,” she said, “Yes.” That’s skill right there!

She made a point about what other business allows you to return a device months, even years, after you bought it? A clever ploy on her part which I’m sure confounds many people, but I came back with the fact that there are lemon laws in place where if your purchase is faulty you can return it. After reminded her that this would be the FOURTH replacement for this phone in an 18 month time frame, she dropped that argument. But she still saved Verizon Wireless some money because in the end – and without actually saying so – she suggested that I dump this device in the garbage. And there you have it, folks. I have a $500 paperweight sitting on my desk. If you’re interested, I’ll let it go for a mere $400… 😉

At this point, I’m not sure whether or not I’ll stay with Verizon. It’s extremely insulting to have them come back at me with, “There’s nothing we can do. Sorry.” I’ve been a loyal customer who pays his bill EARLY for almost a decade and these bums can’t do anything for me? That’s not right. It used to be that the customer was always right – within reason. I believe that I am far within reason on this issue and that Verizon is trying to save themselves from having to give back a few bucks (or even from replacing this phone) from the consumer. It’s a shame, really.

Apparently my business isn’t worth much to this company. But of course, everyone I know has Verizon so if I go to a different carrier my bill will undoubtedly go up due to the fact that I’m on a new network.

I’m incarcerated by my mobile company!

And now I put this out to you folks – what do I do with my phone? Do I bag it up and demolish it with a hammer? Do I box it up and send it over Verizon Wireless and tell them to keep it? Do I donate it to some group when I know that it doesn’t work? Let me know what you think!

Book Review: The Millionaire Next Door

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One of my co-workers read this book last spring and she was very high on it. I picked up a copy around April because it was in the bargain bin and I admit, it’s a good read. Most of the information is dated (the book was published in 1996), but the core financial principles are universal in scope.

The authors of this book, Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko, have been studying millionaires for decades. They study everything about millionaires from their automotive decisions to their shopping habits to how they treat their children, where they live, where they work, and a multitude of other variables. The end results are fascinating. Most millionaires are the people living next door to you!

Stanley and Danko make some large, common sense generalizations about how to become a millionaire: spend frugally, research large expenses before they are made, be ware of get rich quick schemes, teach your children to be careful with money, don’t spoil your kids, don’t spoil your adult children, save for the future, etc, etc. All of these are basic principles that we each know (whether you realize it or not), but sometimes hearing real-life stories that back-up these principles can be very powerful. Stanley and Danko create a very powerful book by using excellent examples.

I highly suggest reading this book if you are interested in money or growing wealthier. It’s a quick, easy read that you will find hard to put down once you get to reading it. And hey – you never know…you might learn something about money!

Book Review: The Undercover Economist

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One of the primary reasons that I picked up this book was because it was endorsed by the guy who wrote Freakonomics. That might be one of the best things that this book as going for it.

I’m sorry, but this book was a complete bore. Sure, the author made some great points about Starbucks and the burgeoning Chinese economy. And yes, he made some of the finer points of economics come to life with pertinent examples from the real world; but something was missing. I think that this missing link was simply good writing.

Tim Harford (the author) should be commended for his excellent work in making economics more tangible to those of us out there in the real world, but it wouldn’t hurt if he got a professional writer to help him along with his next book. This one was actually painful to read through – very boring sometimes and at other times you want to scream, “We got the f’ing point! Move on!”

My suggestion is that if you want to read a book about economics, you should pick up a copy of Steven Levitt’s Freakonomics. It’s just better all-around.

Book Review: Freakonomics

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Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt with Stephen J. Dubner caused quite a stir when it was released last year. That’s because it takes a different look at some common questions like why did crime drop in the 1990’s and do teachers cheat in the face of standardized testing?

I don’t want to go into too much of the book’s content, but I do want to say that I thought the book was a good read. It took me about 4 days to read the entire thing and that includes working and playing over Memorial Day Weekend. The book is not written in a thick, academic style so it should be appealing to all comers. Actually, the authors wrote the book with the intent to bring this new way of thinking to the masses – or at least make their train of thought accessible by the masses.

You may be turned off by this book from what the left-wingers say about it. For example, there is a passage in the book that talks, in-depth, about how legalized abortions brought on a massive drop in crime a decade and a half later in the face of experts claiming that crime was about to explode all over the United States. Some people have diminished the “economics-based” message of this passage by saying, “Freakonomics says that abortion would lead to less black babies and thus, less crime.” Well that’s ridiculous.

Read the book and you’ll see how the principles of economics actually do explain the drop in crime (along with increased police presense). The book does tend to trail off towards the end as a less than stimulating discussion about children’s names ensues. I would have put this study earlier in the book, but still, there is a lesson to be learned amid the data. The results of the name study are interesting, but rather boring overall.

I suggest this book for anyone looking to get a different view on topical issues. More specifically, I would hope that young people read this book in the hopes of getting a different way of looking at issues than “all liberals are morons” or “all conservatives are crazy.” There are, in fact, other ways of viewing the issues and Freakonomics begins to explore some of these alternative viewing methods.

What type of response has the book garnered? Well, from the authors’ own blog, we have:

…the vast majority of teenagers (and their parents) we’ve heard from have talked about how the frank discussion of various topical issues in Freakonomics have actually encouraged lots of good dialogue between kids and their parents, as well as kids and their teachers and kids and other kids.

Again, feel free to leave your comments about this book if you decide to read it. For those interested, the authors keep a blog and they will even send you a signed bookplate so you can say you have a “signed” copy of the book. Enjoy!

Book Review: How to Get Rich

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A while ago I posted my review of Donald Trump’s The Art of the Deal. Here’s a look at one of his new books, How to Get Rich.

In the beginning of his book he makes a good point that not a lot of people tend to grasp on: you ask a baker how to make bread…so why wouldn’t you ask a billionaire how to get rich? Makes enough sense to me. Trump goes into how to make money, but he talks about how to make it in his context – the context of a billionaire.

I think one of my problems with Trump’s book is the same problem that I have with every money book that I read – it’s unrealistic to the majority of people in my age category (18 – 34). We’re saddled with debt that reaches the six figures from credit cards, student loans, consolidation loans, mortgages – you name it. Reading this book only serves to reinforce the fact that we’re up shit’s creek without a paddle. Sure, the Rich Dad series and some other books give you a better view on how to get OUT of the situation that you’re in, but they still assume that you’re able to just cut out needed expenses like cell phones, food bills, and internet access.

Doesn’t work like that in 2006.

Overall, the Trump book isn’t so bad that I would suggest not reading it. I do, however, suggest that you take it as a work of fiction…

Book Review: Own Your Own Corporation

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I started reading Own Your Own Corporation a few months ago – sometime during the summer, I believe. The book is part of the Rich Dad series that attempts to give everyday schmucks like you and me some insight into what the millionaire mind thinks about money and making money. The series is actually a pretty good series and I recommend it to anyone out there who is looking for a different view on money.

My adventures with the Rich Dad series began sometime last spring; I think it was around February or March. At the time, I was trying to figure out how to juggle all of my finances in a way that 1) paid off my debts quickly and 2) I could start to build some financial assets, no matter how small. Well, without losing focus of this particular book review, the Rich Dad approach worked for me with respect to helping me understand money and who needs to get paid first on payday…

This book, written by Garrett Sutton, Esq., is an excellent review of the types of business entities that you could potentially start and what makes each of them different. Sutton goes over the advantages and disadvantages of each entity and then gives some pointers on how to make money to fund your new organization.

I admit that the information in this book wasn’t exactly applicable to me and my new web design firm, but the stuff about employees and independent contractors was interesting and could be useful in the future. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking to start a big-time company, but if you’re looking to start a small-scale (and I mean SMALL-scale) company like me, then Own Your Own Corporation may not be the best investment for you, though the information on the pros and cons of different organizations may be helpful at some point in the future.