Category: general

Today, somehow, we got on the conversation of the BowFlex.  Don’t ask how, we somehow got to it by means of Chuck Norris.  Anyways, a guy at work here saw an infomercial one night about the new BowFlex Revolution.  Anyways, I was looking at them and noticed the “low low monthly payments”.  However, after seeing the total cost, it seemed awfully strange.

Digging a little deeper revealed that in addition to $2500, you have to spend $200 to have it shipped to you.  Ok, so total is up to $2700, but we’re only paying $37 a month.  A little math later, we get that annual payment is $444.  However, Bowflex isn’t nice enough to give it to us for no interest penalty, oh no.  Instead, they give us an awesome 12 month fixed rate promotion of 16.99%.  Such a deal.  So, the first year’s interest is $458.73.  So, by paying the minimum monthly payment, you actually don’t make back the interest.  You’re, in fact, in the hole the initial purchase plus $14.73, and you’re a year into it, and I’m sure not using the damn thing anymore.

Let’s fast forward to the end of year two.  You’ve payed BowFlex $888. So, if this was an interest free purchase, you would still owe $1812, which isn’t too bad.  But now you figure in the first years interest, which is the above $458.73, plus the second years interest (based on $2714.73 and a standard rate of 21.8%), which is $591.81.  All the sudden, you’re in the hole the initial purchase plus $162.54.  Ok, but lets say you forgot to make a payment, or didn’t pay the “low low low monthly price” one month.  That means your interest rate jumps to 25.8% (WOW!), so now you’re in the hole the initial purchase plus $271.13. 

As you can see, it just spirals out of control, since you have never actually paid back any of the interest AND take a chunk out of the principle.  With these interest rates and the required low monthly payment, you can never actually pay it off.  I guess that’s one way to make money, eh? 

Now, I’m not saying this is the company’s fault, far from it.  And yes, I know my math isn’t perfect, but it’s close enough based on the amount of interest and the monthly payments.  It just shows you how easily it is to get suckered into a “deal”.

This is just a public service announcement to remind everyone that goes to Chicago as much as myself (i.e. not very much), that tolls prices are increasing.  Come the first of the year, I believe all, tolls are doubling. 

All the signs on the interstate are reminding people.  It makes me wonder what size piece of the pie Jewel gets for selling the speed pass.  I mean, that’s essentially what the city of Chicago is trying to do, get everyone that uses the tollroads to use the speed pass.  It makes sense though, fewer toll workers, less congestion, etc.  The only down side now is that it looks like the city is fleecing tourists even more, since they’re the ones that are going to be paying the majority of the toll increase.

Just curious if anyone knows, but is the Skyway toll going to double too?

Colleen has been taking the death of a friend of ours pretty badly.  It disheartens me when she feels this way, especially when there’s not really anything I can do about it.  I’ve offered to sit down and be a good listener for her, but for whatever reason (I can think of a few real good ones), she has declined.

I still care about her, and I really don’t want to see her like this, but there’s not really much I can do.  And I can understand why I wouldn’t be the first person she’d come to.  I mean, we’re still friends and all, but I don’t see myself as being the first person she’d come to.

Oh well, as I said before, there’s not much I can do, even though I wish there was.  It just bums me out to see her like that.

Why exactly should I work so hard when, no matter how hard I try, I’m rewarded exactly the same as people who work half as hard?

Interested in buying some computer parts?  Well, good news, I’m selling some.  Feel free to check out what I’m selling at my post on ArsTechnica.

So, for those of you that never saw me as a kid, you’ve never actually seen me with anything but long-ish hair. 

This afternoon that all changed.  Yes, that’s right, I got it cut short.  I was so sick of it, especially in this humidity.  It would stick to my face, blow around, just be a pain in the ass.  But now all of those problems are a thing of the past because quarter inch hair doesn’t really do much of anything, but stand on end.  Yes, that’s right, I went from hair that was about down to my nose or more, to a short quarter of an inch.  Wow, talk about a difference.  You should see my patio out back, it’s covered in hair. 

At first I went to an inch, but that’s almost too long for those stupid guards, so I went shorter.  Half an inch, and it seemed to long still.  I hit a quarter of an inch, and wow, that’s what I was going for.  There’s only one guard shorter at one eigth of an inch, but I’m saving that for next time. 

I just want to thank Aaron Binford for making this all happen.  But I think I’m going to actually go buy a razor.  Hopefully Colleen won’t flip out too much, since she’s in Virginia at a wedding.  I told her I was going to cut it off, but I don’t think she was thinking this short.  Oh well, she’s moving out next weekend anyways…

I just got back from watching Super Size Me at the New Art Theatre.  Documentaries like that are insanely more fun to watch for me, then any of the big Hollywood films.  If you haven’t heard about it, or are too lazy to click the friggin link above, it’s about a guy that eats nothing but McDonald’s food for a month.  That’s right, 3 meals a day, plus snacks, etc from McDonald’s.  As if that’s not bad enough, he stops exercising.  He tries to become a “normal” person with respect to exercise, so he takes a cab everywhere (he’s in New York), and stops walking everywhere.  It’s actually quite revolting was becomes of him. 

At first the doctor’s didn’t think anything was going to happen, but boy were they wrong.  He gained more than 20lbs in under a month, his cholesterol drastically increased, and his liver at one point was almost at the point of failure.  The doctors were quite worried about him, but according to his interview on The Daily Show, his brother encouraged him to complete the month even against the doctors advice. 

The movie definitely shines a light on what you’re eating, and what you really shouldn’t be.  Now, I rarely eat fast food.  The last time was when Colleen and I went down to Jackson after a full weekend of climbing.  I don’t feel bad about eating in those types of situations just because I rarely eat when I’m climbing, so I need a larger influx of carbohydrates and fats.  Before that, I can’t remember the last time I’d been to McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, Taco Bell, etc. 

It’s just disgusting how horrible the American diet actually is.  Now, I’m not one to talk, because, frankly, I don’t eat that great all the time.  However, I don’t eat nearly as bad as most, and I work out at least three times a week.  Let’s just say, according the the movie, that’s about at least three times more than the average american 🙂

The role that children are put into was equally digusting.  When I was in school, there were no soda dispensers.  All we had were water fountains.  Imagine this, we all lived too!  Now, it’s horrible how much soda children are sucking down a day.  There is absolutely nothing beneficial about it.  My mom would almost always make dinner too, which is hard to come by now.  Hell, even when I was in high school I’d have dinner with my parents, and my mom would prepare a healthy meal.  All my other friends in high school were on their own for dinner.  They would almost always end up at a fast food place.  My mom would also only buy diet soda.  Granted, it’s still not the greatest thing for you, it’s almost infinitely better than regular soda.  Ever since I’ve only had diet.  I actually dislike the taste of most regular soda’s because of how sugary they are.  They coat my teeth and I absolutely hate that.

Oh well, I’m sure it won’t get better until the government somehow intervenes, just like cigarettes.  It seems as if us American’s can’t help ourselves until we’re almost forced.  As horrible as it sounds, it may be what lies in the future.

Things I hate about about Best Buy:

1.  The fact that nothing is priced correctly.  Granted, it worked in my favor this weekend, but seriously, how hard is it to post the correct price on the product when it is essentially all you do.  I went and picked up the Katie Melua album this weekend, after downloading it last week, and it was clearly marked as $12.99.  However, when I get to the register, it rings up as $9.99.  It just reminds me to be extra careful at that place, since who knows if it works in Best Buy’s favor some days.

2.  How much crap can they try to push on you at checkout?!  It was bad enough when they try to push you the Performance Service Plan (PSP), but now they try to cram Entertainment magazine down your throat too.  No I do not want that, and no, you don’t have to point it out to me.  If I was at all interested I would have looked at it myself, or I would already subscribe to it.

3.  I hate how Best Buy is the only place open on weekends, that sells some computer parts.  I was looking for a USB 2.0 card for a drive enclosure I recently purchased.  You can always rely on finding the worst price on computer accessories there.

I want to send a congratulations out to Jason and Sara on their special day 🙂

Well, I subscribe to the Reuter’s Health RSS feed, and I found this article.  Now come on people, are our children really this dumb?  Is this outbreak in stupidity quarantined in Ohio?  For Christ’s sake, the children are “our future.”