Frugality/Materialism

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Finally hopped on the HDTV wagon this weekend. My little experiment worked exactly as I had hoped. Analog OTA reception where we live is lousy for UHF channels so I am basically paying $24/month to watch WB or Fox without snow or ghosts. HD broadcasts for both VHF and UHF channels look absolutely gorgeous using

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Just noticed today that T-Mobile has sweetened its prepaid offering considerably. Previously, Gold Rewards kicked in after spending $250, but that threshold is now a mere $100 (effective May 2005?), which is roughly the amount I spend per year since Cingular increased the minimum purchase (from $20 to $25) to extend account expiration by 90

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Over a year has passed since I stopped carrying photo ID on a regular basis (inspired by the Hiibel case). Only twice has the lack of an ID created any sort of problem: once while being carded to enter a bar (I was allowed in anyways) and once while using a reward certificate at Barnes

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Just noticed that Cingular prepaid (KIC has been rebranded as GoPhone: Pay As You Go) now requires a $25 refill (up from $20) to extend account expiration by 90 days.

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Can’t book a domestic reward flight on Continental at the 25000 mile level without a Saturday night stay. Haven’t seen this documented anywhere on the OnePass web site, but I confirmed this with a customer service rep recently.

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Argh, so much for that idea. Online auction leagues coming soon.

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I recently bought an unlocking kit for my Sony Ericsson along with a T-Mobile To Go SIM since I wasn’t sure that I would be able to use my Cingular prepaid phone outside of the Northeast region. Interestingly, I just noticed that the Cingular prepaid coverage map extends nationwide (as of July 2004?). Guess I

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Not a huge change, but annoying nonetheless… From my latest Verizon bill: Effective September 1, 2004, a monthly recurring charge of $1.50 will be charged to all subscribers of the Verizon e-Values Long Distance Plan.

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Noticed today that as a result of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) of 2003, consumers are entitled to a free credit report each year. I browsed the various credit reporting web sites, however, and all of them still charge a small fee. Apparently, this part of the law doesn’t go into effect

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Time to get off my duff and restart the learning Cantonese project. It would be a shame to let so many years of Chinese school go to waste. The annual Museum Mile Festival will be held next week.