Category Archives: Consumer activism

My letter to the FCC about the open internet proposal

To: openinternet@fcc.gov Subject: Internet must remain open To the commissioners: Those who object to regulating internet service providers to ensure an open internet, as the FCC is currently proposing to do, adhere to the rigid political philosophy that regulation, by definition, stifles competition, innovation, growth, etc. However, this philosophy is only even theoretically true when… Read More: My letter to the FCC about the open internet proposal »

“Beantown AutoMobile Detailing” vandalizes my car, refuses to clean it up

On Wednesday night, April 16, 2014, after our minivan sat idle for two days while we celebrated the beginning of the holiday of Passover, I went out to run an errand and found a sodden, disintegrating advertisement from “Beantown AutoMobile [sic] Detailing” stuck between the driver’s side window and its lower rubber gasket. When I… Read More: “Beantown AutoMobile Detailing” vandalizes my car, refuses to clean it… »

An open letter to the owner of The Chubby Chickpea Food Truck

Dear Avi, “You know what the great thing is about owning your own business? You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” That’s what you told me this morning when your food truck arrived 10 minutes past its scheduled opening time and still hadn’t opened 10 minutes after that. That’s what you told… Read More: An open letter to the owner of The Chubby Chickpea… »

Globe Direct: Hey Boston, here’s 34 tons of trash per week on us!

What would you say if I told you that there’s a Boston business that adds more than 34 tons per week of trash to the City of Boston’s waste stream*, trash that the residents of Boston end up paying to dispose of to the tune of >$100,000 per year**? What would you say if I… Read More: Globe Direct: Hey Boston, here’s 34 tons of trash per… »

Boston Herald rude sales people won’t leave us alone

To: Boston Herald home delivery department Subject: Rude sales call from Boston Herald My wife and I (you can find us in your records under our home phone number [elided]) are no longer Boston Herald subscribers. We currently have no desire to resume our subscription. Since we canceled our subscription, your sales department has called… Read More: Boston Herald rude sales people won’t leave us alone »

Another reminder of why I so “love” Paychex

Because I am a boring old fuddy-duddy, I was spending the minutes leading up to the New Year trying to reconcile my 2013 medical flexible spending account (FSA), i.e., to match up the FSA transactions listed on the Paychex web site with those listed in my financial management software and confirm that there were no… Read More: Another reminder of why I so “love” Paychex »

Das Keyboard comes from behind for the win

I recently received a package from Metadot, the creators of Das Keyboard. It contained: Here’s what the enclosed note says: The day before, I’d received another package from them, containing a brand new Das Keyboard. From the “We’re sorry we messed up!” you might suspect that there’s a less positive back story leading up to… Read More: Das Keyboard comes from behind for the win »