Pulp Free

A few months back I received this check from Citi:

Nice touch Citi. 12 cents. It cost more to send me that check than the check is worth. And how much will it cost me to cash it? Even if I mail it to the bank instead of driving to the bank it’ll cost me a stamp.

I think I’ll just hold onto it as a way of understanding the true nature of big organizations. Still not as funny as an old Citi co-worker received a check for 0 cents. Yes. Zero. How do you cash that?

All this talk about “stimulus packages” and “bailouts”…

A billion dollars…

A hundred billion dollars…

Eight hundred billion dollars…

One TRILLION dollars…

What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I’d take Google Sketchup out for a test drive and try to get a sense of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like.

We’ll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slightly fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2″ thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun.

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet…

And $1 BILLION dollars… now we’re really getting somewhere…

Next we’ll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we’ve been hearing so much about. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it’s a million million. It’s a thousand billion. It’s a one followed by 12 zeros.

You ready for this?

It’s pretty surprising.

Go ahead…

Scroll down…

Ladies and gentlemen… I give you $1 trillion dollars…

(And notice those pallets are double stacked.)

So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase “trillion dollars”… that’s what they’re talking about.

Thanks to PageTutor.com for this example… Nice!

I was happy a few days ago with my updated Charter broadband speeds. Figured today I’d have to have some therapy. My love hate relationship continues.

My overly priced $142.03 HD Cable, Internet and Phone “Bundle” decided to unbundle itself – now coming in at $177.99 – I just about gagged myself.

Called into customer service and they can’t make any adjustments. Every year for many, many years Charter has been kind enough to reset my promo for another 12 months… Usually a few dollars more (meaning less than $5). This time around I’d have to buy more channels… More HBO and Cinemax. More Stars… Things we don’t need or want to watch. I asked for a line manager since I wanted to express my loyalty to Charter that seemed to be going unnoticed.

Line manager comes online and blows attitude after a few words of my background story. I asked why the attitude and he cuts me off and puts me on hold. Then tells me for $147.77 a month I can keep what I already have for 6 more months.

How hard can it be? I suppose for another $5 I could have picked up some more movie channels. Bleh. No wonder why they’re almost bankrupt. Customer service has always been their issue. Of course, people wouldn’t be calling into customer service if they didn’t screw up their billing and promotions all the time. People in the field have always been great.

Best of luck out there… I know a few of you are having your own issues. Care to share?

I was presented with an awesome offer that just seemed to good to be true today from an online e-tailer. Seems that there’s a new credit card in town…

So what is the “Black Card” ? Well…

For those who demand only the best of what life has to offer, the exclusive Visa Black Card is for you. The Black Card is not just another piece of plastic. Made with carbon, it is the ultimate buying tool.

The Black Card is not for everyone. In fact, it is available to only 1% of U.S. residents to ensure the highest caliber of personal service is provided to every Cardmember.

Whoa… It’s not for everyone… But heck – I’ve got good credit… Let’s take a closer look… I mean – who wouldn’t want such a prestigious card? C’mon… Carbon?? I DO want to get noticed when I’m out dining at Chili’s or Chevy’s…

Oh yeah… Let’s take a look at some of the other “features”…

• Limited Membership
• 24-Hour Concierge Service
• Exclusive Rewards Program
• Luxury Gifts
• Patent Pending Carbon Card
• Annual Fee $495

$495?? Annual Fee?? WTF?

No thanks… I’ll continue using the cards that I already pay off each month. They probably swipe and charge just as well as a carbon one.

In about a week’s time, Charter Communication will no longer be carrying the Saint Louis CBS affiliate KMOV television signal. I stumbled across this tidbit of fairly relevant information just today as EngadgetHD had an article about the new HDTV channels arriving shortly.

So a possible upside to this would be no longer being subjected to the daily Guiding Light obsession that my wife has had for the last 20 years… However, WE are big fans of How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Gary Unmarried, Flashpoint, and Rules of Engagement… Well – you get the idea. (I suppose grabbing downloaded episodes after they air might work in a pinch but very annoying and very specific…)

Having already been annoyed with Charter over not carrying the HD lineup for CBS, not carrying the entire channel is just ridiculous. Our family spends a good deal of money with phone service, HD and digital cable along with 16Mbs broadband… With rumors of Charter running low on cash – what options are there? Being that their HQ is just a few blocks from our house – there’s been little incentive for other options to present themselves… (I’m not going to say monopoly… but maybe I’ll hint at it…)

So KMOV has their side of the story… But I’ve yet to find any information on Charter’s side of the story… A quick search of Google will give you plenty of links to other newsworthy information…

“For more than two years, KMOV has been trying to reach an agreement with Charter Cable to have KMOV’s signal available to Charter cable customers,” KMOV leaders said in a written statement. “We have made offers, Charter has not responded. We want Channel 4 on Charter, but effective Dec. 31st, Charter will no longer carry KMOV.

Feel like letting off a bit of steam about your favorite shows? Give Charter a call…

Charter Communications offices: 314-965-0555
Charter Customer Service: 1-888-GET CHARTER (1-888-438-2427)
Charter E-mail: SteveGM@chartercom.com

Just as I was actually getting to like Charter after years of crappy customer support, technical support and dodgy quality, I have to wonder if other broadcast channels are going to be going static…