Google Reader Shared Items

I don’t think I’ve mentioned this here before, but since I started using Google Reader, I’ve been sharing stories from the feeds I read that I find particularly interesting.  You can see an RSS feed of the latest 5 things I’ve shared in the sidebar to the right, and also on my Facebook profile (via the Feedheads application).

Alternatively, you can actually go to the “Matt’s Shared Items” page here for a blog-like layout of all the stuff I find interesting.  Right now I follow about 200 feeds (each with multiple stories per day), and I share a couple a day max.  So maybe you’ll like something that I like!  Enjoy!

iPhone Weather

Have you seen that iPhone commercial with the airline pilot who had his iPhone in the cockpit and  told air traffic control that the weather was ok according to his iPhone so they should take off?  Well, some smart aleck passenger tried to pull that on a pilot recently when delayed on the runway.

Read here for the pilot’s response.  Classic!

Going Under the Knife

Just a quick note to everyone.  Tomorrow morning (Monday morning), I will be undergoing surgery to reconstruct the ACL in my left knee.  I’m not really looking forward to this because I’ve never been forced to stay overnight in a hospital before.  I hate hospitals.  Every time I go in one, I invariably get nauseous.  It’s no small irony that I married a nurse who spends three nights a week in a hospital.  One time she asked me to meet her at her hospital for dinner.  We were still dating at this point, so I thought it would be a good way to win some brownie points.  The second I walked on her floor, I lost my appetite and didn’t eat a thing.  She thought I was weird.  I haven’t been back to the hospital since.

The surgery will last approximately 90 minutes and will involve removing torn cartilage on both sides of my knee, as well as replacing my destroyed ACL with one from a cadaver.  Unfortunately, there’s no way to choose the cadaver they will use on you beforehand.  I’m hoping my cadaver is an athletic gang-banger from North Philly and not an 80 year old woman with osteoporosis. 

In any event, I’ll be confined to the couch for a good part of this week, probably, so expect to hear from me often since I won’t have anything better to do than sit here with my computer.  It will annoy Kelly to no end.  I’ll try and post updates as often as I can, but I’m not sure if I’ll have wi-fi in the hospital.  I should have my cell phone on me though, so check out my Twitter to see if I’m dead or not.  If you’re the praying sort and think of it tomorrow, I wouldn’t mind if you would offer one up for me asking that that doesn’t happen.  Thanks.

Google acquires Feedburner

I must have missed this due to my busyness last week.  I wonder what Google will do with Feedburner?  There are a lot of “geeks” out there that tend to decry Feedburner for whatever reason, but it’s a service that I’ve always liked.  It came in especially handy when I moved my blog from Blogger to WordPress last year.  I didn’t have to worry about giving everyone a new RSS feed for the new site.  Instead, I justed changed everything over in Feedburner and walla! 

It’s just like when the law changed a few years ago allowing you to keep your same cell phone number when you change between carriers.  You didn’t have to worry about calling 100 people to tell them your new number.

Sweetness.

Technorati Tags: feedburner, google, rss

Done and Done

The big exam is finally over everyone, and I have to say that I’m pretty relieved.  5 months of studying is done for now, and I can finally relax a bit.  The test itself went fairly well, I thought.  It was a bit intimidating though.  There were about 1,000 people in my testing center (the PA Convention Center in downtown Philly).  They have everyone in a giant room testing at the same time, so it’s not exactly a “warm and fuzzy” feeling in there.  The testing room reminded me a lot of East Berlin, actually– a lot of concrete and dark lighting.

The general consensus was that the morning session was easier than the afternoon, and I tend to agree with that.  If I pass, then I get to do this all again next year, and if I pass that one, I’ll get to do it again after that.  If I pass that, then I will finally be awarded the CFA designation.  So best case scenario, we’re looking at 2009 here.  Craziness.

Gekko is Back!

According to Techcrunch, there is going to be sequel to Wall Street.  Evidently Gordon has been released from jail and now working in the hedge fund industry.  Sweet!

Ballhype is a cool site

Attention sports fans: check out Ballhype.  It’s a Web 2.0 sports site that I’ve been playing around with this morning that is actually very cool (thanks as always to Techcrunch for linking to it).  You can join and set preferences for what you’re interested in.  Then you read through sports news stories and interesting links float to the top based on voting (think digg for sports). 

For example, I’ve set my favorite teams to “Notre Dame” and “Cleveland Indians“.  I also added “Charlie Weis” as one of my favorite coaches.  That way I can just view stories relating to those teams.  If you’re interested in a sports as a whole, you can view stories about the NFL, NHL, or whatever as well.

It’s a pretty cool site that I recommend checking out if you’re at all into sports.

Technorati Tags: ballhype, sports, news, site

Astronaut canned

Lisa Nowak, the wack job astronaut who drove 900 miles in a diaper to kidnap a woman she thought was having an affair with her astronaut lover, has been fired by NASA.  Join with me in a collective, “What the heck took so long?”  Do you see this mug shot?  Is it my understanding that American taxpayers have been paying her salary for the last couple months since she went berserk?  Infuriating. 

“I’ve been in space.” - Lisa Nowak

Technorati Tags: astronaut, fired, nasa, crazy

Some bad news

Today is President’s Day, which for me now means I have the day off because the stock market is closed.  So now I have a day to catch up on some blogging, study for my CFA, and probably take a nap.  On to the bad news.

After consulting with two different doctors and undergoing an x-ray and MRI, I have been told that I indeed have a torn ACL.  This stinks, of course.  The doctor believes I actually tore it several years ago, and that over the past two months I have simply re-aggravated it (first in November playing Frisbee on the beach, and most recently in Honduras jumping off a Mayan ruin).  I think I probably did it Freshman year playing team handball on that crappy Loftus astroturf (this was of course before the installed field turf in there).  I had completely forgotten about hurting my knee back then, but my parents reminded me about it.

So here’s where I am now: my knee is still fairly swollen and I have a hard time going down stairs.  However, I have almost gotten rid of my limp from my latest episode.  My Dr. recommended to me that I have reconstructive surgery to repair the knee since I’m still a relatively young person and will want to be active.  Evidently when you have a torn ACL and continue to tweak it like I have done the last two months, it breaks down the cartilage.  I already had 1/3 of it removed in high school, so at this rate I’ll be out of knee cartilage by age 35 and have severe arthritis.

Unfortunately I just don’t have time to have major surgery and endure 3 days of physical therapy per week.  So I’m looking at an early June incision date (the exam is June 2nd).  Unfortunately, looks like this golf season could be cut a bit short.

I hate getting old.

Take a doodoo pie…you’re guilty!

We had some take a doodoo pie news today when Tracy Morgan plead guilty to drunk driving.  You may remember when Morgan was arrested back in November.

Morgan was quoted as saying “Drunk driving ain’t cool”.  Nice.

Technorati Tags: “tracy morgan”, “take a doodoo pie”

Problems with Verizon FiOS bill payment

Recently I had a problem with my Verizon FiOS internet bill. Since my dad works over there, I decided to take it up with him. Naturally I’m sharing the email I sent him with all of you:

Dad,

Below you will find a copy of the recent email I received from Verizon billing services. Here’s a rundown of what happened:

- Had my credit card # stolen in early December. Cancelled the card and received new one. Decided to boycott Circuit City for the rest of my life since my number was stolen on their site and they later tried to sell me a two year protection plan on a $15 DVD I purchased in the store two days later.

- As I had used my AMEX to pay my Verizon bill automatically every month, I went into my account on Verizon.net to update my card info as any upstanding customer would.

- I completed the form online, pressed submit, and got a message saying, “Thank you. You have successfully updated your card information”. I smiled in the false belief that everything was well in the world. This was back in December.

- I received the threatening email you see below a couple days ago saying that Verizon had tried to charge my card as normal, but that the info was not valid. If I don’t pay my bill within 10 days, my service will be shut down.

- I went back into my account on Verizon.net and discovered that my new AMEX card info had not been saved successfully when I changed it the first time. Verizon lied to me.

- I tried multiple times to update my card info on the web. Each time it said it had been done successfully, but when I exited and returned, my old number was still in there. Verizon lied to me several more times.

- I tried to make a one time payment in lieu of setting up auto-payment again. This too said my card info was invalid and/or could not be processed.

- I tried to call the 1-800 number (after spending 15 minutes trying to find a 1-800 number), but it said all agents were busy and to leave a message. I’m not leaving a message on a machine for some poor 18 year old Indian guy that has to return calls to disgruntled, American customers at 4 AM in New Delhi when a person in the know at Verizon headquarters in New Jersey is number 5 on my speed dial.

I know I didn’t punch in my card info incorrectly as I repeated this process at least 5 times over the course of 45 aggravating minutes. I know the card is good because I’ve been using it to pay for other stuff (including other online bill payments and your Christmas present) for over a month. I would not like to have my internet service shut down on me because I enjoy using the internet and need it to do work. I’m trying really hard to pay you guys, but you don’t seem to want my money. I know you’ve spent billions of dollars on the FiOS rollout and would like to start generating a reliable revenue stream, and by taking my money we both win. I get screaming fast internet, and you get money. Your stock had a good year in 2006, but imagine how much better it could have been if you accepted money from your customers!

I was thinking about threatening to switch to Comcast, but unfortunately I think I’ve already tipped my hand when I told you how much I hate them. I will say one thing for Comcast, though: they take my money all the time.

Any help or advice you can lend would be much appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

“Valued Verizon Online Customer” Name Redacted

Dear Valued Verizon Online Customer,

Thank you for choosing Verizon Online. Unfortunately, we are unable to bill your Verizon Online service charges to the credit card you provided. To avoid disruption of your broadband service, full payment is required immediately.

Important! Please update your credit card payment information now for your Verizon Online Internet access service charges. Here’s how to make changes to your current credit card:

Log in to the Verizon secure Web site using your Verizon user name and password at www.verizon.net/myaccount. From the choices on the left, under the Billing heading, click on “Change Payment Method.” This is the correct choice whether you are changing to a different credit card on merely updating the expiration date on the credit card you are currently using.

Also, you may elect to make a one-time payment online by credit card, debit card, or direct debit from your bank account to pay the balance on your account. If you select this option, you must pay your balance in full in order to avoid disruption of your broadband service

Log in to the Verizon secure Web site using your Verizon user name and password at www.verizon.net/myaccount. From the choices on the left, under the Billing heading, click on “Make One-time Payment.

NOTE: Making a one-time payment will not change your billing method or any credit card information currently on file. You MUST select the “Change Payment Method” choice to make changes to your current credit card on file for your Verizon Online monthly recurring charges.

You may also make a one-time payment by calling us at 1-888-338-9333 between the hours of are 8-6 EST Monday through Friday.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. If we do not receive updated credit card information or another form of payment within 10 days of the date of this notification, we will suspend your account and refer any outstanding debt to collections. If you have an annual service contract and your service is terminated before the end of your annual commitment, an early termination fee may apply.

Verizon Online is committed to delivering high quality service and world-class technical support to you and all of our customers. Please know that while you’re enjoying your Verizon Online Internet service, we’ll be working hard to keep your business.

Sincerely,

Verizon Online
Billing Services

——————-
View your bill, understand the details of your bill, update your credit card information, make a one-time payment, and more online at http://www.verizon.net/myaccount.

This message was sent from a notification-only e-mail address that cannot accept incoming e-mail messages. Please do not reply. Copyright 2006 Verizon. All Rights Reserve

Technorati Tags: verizon, fios, bill, circuit city, comcast, complaint

Blockbuster Total Access

If you’ve watched any of the BCS bowl games this year, you’ve probably noticed an abundance of ads for Blockbuster Total Access.  Coincidentally, I had just signed up for this service about two weeks ago, so I thought I’d write a little bit about it here because it’s freakin’ sweet.

I’m kind of a movie nut.  I love watching movies.  But for whatever reason, I’ve never really been in to renting movies.  I always tend to buy them instead.  I figured, why would I go to a movie store, stand in line, pay $4 to rent something I’ll watch once, and then have to drive back to the movie store to return it when I could just buy the stupid thing for $12 at Best Buy. 

Well, there is definitely some truth to that.  For movies you’ve seen and know are worth buying, or ones you are almost certain you’ll like, I think that’s the way to go.  But for me, there’s a lot of movies I hear about, but I’m not sure I want to take the plunge and buy them.  Oftentimes some of the flicks I want to see aren’t available in Best Buy (a lot of foreign movies,  for example).  So when I saw a Techcrunch post about Blockbuster Total Access, I thought I’d take the plunge.  Here’s how it works:

1) Sign up at blockbuster.com and create your movie queue.  A queue is basically of list of movies you want to see arranged in order of importance to you (a top 10 or 40 or 100 list, if you will).  Once you sign up and create your queue, your first movie will be shipped to you within a day or so.

2) Get excited when you see the movie has been delivered to your mailbox.  Since I live in a major metropolitan area (Philadelphia), the movies get to my door relatively quickly.  They come in a simple paper envelope with a paper CD sleeve inside, and also a return envelope.

3) Burn a copy of the movie for later use Enjoy the movie within the clearly defined parameters of the MPAA.

4) Return your movie.  Here’s where Blockbuster is differentiating itself from Netflix because you have two options:
       a) Return the movie by mail in the prepaid postage envelope and have your next queued movie shipped to you, or
       b) Return the movie to a participating Blockbuster location

    Now, if you choose option b), you get to do the following:

5) GET FREE MOVIES.  When returning a Blockbuster Total Access movie to a bricks & mortar location, you get one free movie rental (subject to the normal return policy).  Essentially, this allows you to double your movies!  When you return the movie you got mailed to you, Blockbuster automatically checks it into the system and mails the next movie on your online queue.  But while you’re waiting for that one to show up at your house, you can enjoy the free one you just picked up at the store.  The free rental is also now good for video games (which normally rent for $8 a pop and of which a burned copy can be played on a hacked Xbox and are fun for the whole family).  Now you can do this:

6) Get more free movies!  Every month, every Blockbuster Total Access customer gets an e-coupon good for one free movie rental.  You can use that any time you want before it expires.

Now as far as plans and pricing goes, there are all sorts of options.  I went with the cheapest one, which allows you to have one movie out at a time and limits you to two movies per month.  This plan costs just $5.99 per month.  However, when you think about it, I’m really getting five rentals per month for $6 (my two online ones, plus my two free ones when I return an online one, plus my e-coupon movie).  That works out to $1.20 per rental.  Now, if you were to go to Blockbuster and rent those movies in the traditional way, it would cost you $20 (movie rentals are now $4 each).  I’m saving $16 by participating in Blockbuster Total Access, and it’s a crapload more convenient (especially since I have a store within 4 minutes of my house to get my free movies).

If you rent movies at all, I highly suggest you check this out.  So far, I’m a huge fan.

Technorati Tags: blockbustertotalaccess, movies, netflix

Music labels starting to get it?

Here’s an interesting bit of news today: some major record labels are going to begin releasing unrestricted (read, sans DRM) MP3’s of popular artists to gauge demand for such a product.

This is fantastic!  The major reason I have resisted iTunes up to this point is because of the embedded DRM in anything you buy there.  I’ve heard horror stories about people losing their entire music collections when they change PC’s or MP3 players because the DRM only allows the files to be on one machine.  That’s ridiculous.

I would gladly pay for songs that I can do whatever I want with.  It’s a convenience and usability issue, not a financial issue.  If I pay for something, I own it.  I can do whatever I (legally) want with it.  Let’s hope this takes off.

Technorati Tags: DRM, music, mp3, labels

Bush gets nasty

What do you do when a communist government starts testing nuclear weapons and won’t listen to anything you say?  You bomb the crap out of them and ask questions later take away their iPod’s, of course.

Word out of North Korea is that Kim Jong Il is most pissed about the embargo on Segway electronic scooters.

I wish I were making this up.

Make a doodoo pie…you’re arrested!

Tracy Morgan, least known for his “make a doodoo pie” sketch on SNL, was arrested Tuesday and charged with DWI in New York.  Morgan now stars on NBC’s 30 Rock, which can’t hold a candle to Studio 60.

Seriously, if you’re not watching Studio 60, you really need to check it out.

Snoop Arrested

At this point, news that Snoop Dogg got arrested is like hearing that someone got killed in Iraq.

Hey, hey, hey…it’s a Faaaaat settlement!

Bill Cosby settled out of court today with a woman accusing him of alleged sexual assault.  According to the woman, Cosby drugged her in his Cheltenham mansion and then assaulted her.  Cosby’s attorneys, however, contest that he merely gave her some Benadryl because she was compalining of headaches and problems sleeping.  “Bartender?!  Martini and a roofie-Colada!”

Details of the settlement were undisclosed, but I suspect that Jell-O Pudding Pops and freaky African-made sweaters were included in the deal.

“Druggin’ chicks is da coolest!”

Election Results: MA

Congrats to Ted “Gin Blossom” Kennedy on winning yet another term in the MA senate.  Is he dead yet?

Man Arrested for Indecent Exposure

What do you do for fun in El Cerrito, CA?  Well, if you’re 33 year old John Sheehan, you shove an ice pick up your butt and masturbate on a tree stump.  I don’t even know what to say to that.

Stuk in Irak

In response to this:

Some clever U.S. soldiers came up with this:

Nice.  Thanks to Jared Carr for that photo.