The Return of Micro-MAN-ager

I joined the Navy right out of high school. I served from 1992-1998, from the ages of 18-24. Then I got out and got a “real job”. I’m glad I served, and I’d do it again, but I’m also glad I left active duty when I did. I have a lot of reasons for that. [...]

Why Are Job Descriptions So Poorly Written?

This is something that has always baffled me. When companies need to hire somebody, don’t they want to hire an experienced and talented person? If so, why do they make it so darn hard to figure out what the job actually is? I like to keep an eye on what opportunities are out there. I [...]

TUAW: iPhone 30% Profit Share of Apps, 30% Dropped Calls

According to The Unoffical Apple Weblog, AT&T's dropped call rate for iPhones in New York City are the exact same percentage as Apple gets in profit sharing from apps sold in the App Store: 30%. I'm not sure what AT&T's overall percentage of dropped calls is in New York City, but for the iPhone it's [...]

Reader’s Digest Is Filing Bankrutcy? I’m Happy

My title might be a little bit attention grabbing. I came across an article stating that Reader's Digest is filing bankruptcy. Please keep in mind that bankruptcy does not mean "going out of business". It simply gives the company some court protection to rearrange finances and try to come out from under financial problems. Some [...]

When Surveys Get Pushy

I can remember back to the days of the last NJ Governor’s election in 2005. Let’s see, it was Demonican John Corzine vs. ideological duplication Republicrat Doug Forrester. Seriously, if I were voting AGAINST Corzine, what was my point of voting FOR Forrester, who came out at the last minute and basically said “I am [...]

I Hate Having to do Other People’s Jobs for Them

OK, here’s the situation. In July, I visited a dentist’s office. Their business policy required me to pay for the visit up front, then they would send the claim to my insurance, and if any was covered by insurance, they would send it to me. I remember filling out a form telling them how I [...]

Vox Day vs. Federal Express

Vox Day is a Worldnetdaily columnist, blogger, and author. He’s also highly insightful. He currently lives in Europe and recently had a battle of wits with Federal Express in America. At least, in this recount, Vox Day was armed with wits, but FedEx was armed with business processes and morons who follow them legalistically. Vox [...]

Darn It Jim: Attention to Detail in the Health Care Industry

A while back, I wrote a series of posts about how it took two years to get a single pediatrician’s bill settled with Aetna. I spent two years and many hours on the phone. I titled my series "Darn It Jim, I’m a Computer Geek, Not A Medical Billing Specialist". I based that, of course, [...]

Fortune Magazine: 101 Dumbest Moments in Business

As we progress through the generic, unmentionable "holiday" season, we grow closer to the New Year. As we contemplate the past year and look forward to the next one individually, we can look forward to news organs performing a similar process. Through the Fake Steve Jobs blog, I came across Fortune Magazine’s "101 Dumbest Moments [...]

For A Supposedly World-Class Telecommunications Company, AT&T Isn't Very Reliable

It’s 6:30 AM on Sunday. My wife forgot to pay the AT&T Wireless bill, so I thought I’d take care of it before everybody gets up for church. I log into AT&T’s website to find "We’re sorry, this feature is not available right now." That is to say, their entire account management system is not [...]