Radical Georgia Moderate

April 28, 2008

Random Monday

I’m all booked for a trip to New York to watch the Yankees play Oakland on July 18. Hopefully there won’t be a strike this summer.
Why you should never buy another gift card. Ever. This commenter’s summary is spot on:

I guess this is another reason why gift cards are stupid: they make you a creditor, exposed to the risk that your debtor (the business that issues the gift card) will weasel on the loan, using any of the 817 standard weasel-tactics.

Found via Garrett’s comment on Amber’s blog.
Speaking of buyer beware, always, always, always seek out independent reviews of an online merchant before buying something from it. In an incredible lapse of judgment on my part, I ordered something from Camera Addict (no link for you), having never done business with them before. A co-worker asked me, “Where did you find that camera so cheap?” So I sent him a link, and he sent me one back that said, uh Rusty…

I am very fortunate that I had the opportunity to cancel my card before they had a chance to charge it. All it cost me was feeling stupid all day Friday for having been duped. A lot of other people haven’t been so lucky. There was no excuse for this lapse on my part, as the link above was the first link that came up in Google under “camera addict reviews.” I really should know better.
If you don’t use it, you lose it. I played a live game of poker for the first time in a couple of years this past Friday, and ended the night down $27. Not that I was ever all that great, but I gave away my hand a couple of times, fell into a routine with my betting, and wasn’t nearly aggressive enough. It was a cash-out game with eight people, so even if I had played well it’s doubtful I could have won outright (nobody else did). But I had the opportunity to do better than I did.