In 2010, Peter and I had managed to get our finances back on track after the great crash of 2008, and mortgage rates were at a (then) historic lows. We figured we could save quite a bit by refinancing, but as we soon discovered, it would be a painful, long-drawn out process that would take…
Month: January 2012
My Review of the Vegas Magic Theatre at the Gold Coast Casino
I took the time to write reviews on Tripadvisor about the hotels we stayed at in Las Vegas last week, since one was godawful and overpriced (The Sunset Station in Henderson), and another was a bargain and loads of fun to stay in (the Luxor.) But I couldn’t write about the show we saw, because…
Old Vegas/New Vegas
On our most recent trip to Las Vegas, Peter was dismayed to see the Sahara Hotel and Casino had shut down. It was yet another of the older Strip casino-hotels to close, as the town itself becomes nostalgic for the way things were. The relatively new Encore casino had a nightclub named Sinatra, but most…
Fujitsu’s Zoolander Booth
Fujitsu had the only booth at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) which was exclusively staffed by booth babes. They had no inkling of what the products in the booth were supposed to do, and there was not a single person there who knew. I came away more than a little miffed that all I got…
The Downside of Groupon
I have friends who love Groupon, and buy the coupons and discounts avidly. Personally, I’m leery of getting anything I’m not absolutely, positively sure I’ll use. I’ve used Goldstar and Artsopolis for performing arts, since I like the surprise of seeing a new show at a venue I may or may not have experienced before,…
Carolyn’s Adages About Taxes
A few years ago, my progressive friends started singing about the glories of taxation, and how much they loved paying taxes, and why, oh why, couldn’t the rest of us understand how important it was to hand over even more of our hard-earned money to the omniscient, wise state. I felt like I was in…
Walmart to Go and Other Grocery Delivery Services
A few weeks ago, I received a postcard in the mail telling me I could have groceries delivered from Walmart. It seemed almost too good to be true. I love grocery delivery — at least in concept — and whenever we can, we’ve been driving 30 miles to Gilroy just to go grocery shopping at…
Farewell My Old Friend the Racing Bike
In 1985, the bicycle I’d used to commute to and from school was stolen off a Greyhound bus and my mother and I went to the local bike shop to get me a new one. The bicycle which caught my eye and my heart was a KHS racing bike with a light aluminum frame, 12…