Category Archives: Consumer activism

Recs for downtown Boston businesses: Long’s Jewelry, Minuteman Coin & Jewelry, Watch Hospital, Downtown Barbers

I went for a walk downtown today to get a new battery for my wife’s watch, and I was pleasantly surprised to have positive experiences with four different businesses. So here’s a shout out to… Long’s Jewelry and Watch Store at 100 Summer Street (617-426-8500). I stopped here first. The woman who helped me was friendly,… Read More: Recs for downtown Boston businesses: Long’s Jewelry, Minuteman Coin &… »

Operation Smile: Unrepentant, Egregious Spammers

Operation Smile started spamming me in 2004 after I donated to them on-line and gave them my email address so they could send me a receipt. They have sent me spam on November 5, 2004; December 22, 2004; January 11, 2005; December 7, 2005; December 20, 2005; March 8, 2006; May 11, 2006; May 28,… Read More: Operation Smile: Unrepentant, Egregious Spammers »

AT&T Tilt continues the tradition of crappy Windows Mobile phones

So, I know that I said that when my phone contract expired I was going to switch to PalmOS or BlackBerry, because the software on the AT&T 8525 (a.k.a. HTC Hermes) was so sucky. But when push came to shove and I needed to buy a new phone (because I dropped the old one for… Read More: AT&T Tilt continues the tradition of crappy Windows Mobile phones »

Virgin Mobile makes amends

My letter to the CEO of Virgin Mobile paid off, although it took them two months to respond. I got a voicemail message from a woman there apologizing for the way my problem was handled and letting me know that she was sending me a new phone and putting a $10 credit on my account to… Read More: Virgin Mobile makes amends »

Virgin Mobile sucks

I sent the letter below to the CEO of Vigin Mobile over a month ago. Thus far, there has been no response. Can anyone suggest a decent, inexpensive prepaid cell phone service?

Why we’ve stopped buying red meat

My wife and I have recently made the decision that, at least for the time being, we will no longer buy any Kosher butchered red meat (although we will probably continue to eat red meat out of our house and buy pre-prepared fleishig foods). I am writing this article to explain our decision, to (a)… Read More: Why we’ve stopped buying red meat »

“American Friends of Tzohar”: disreputable, money-wasting charity

As I’ve written previously, I’ve been trying for almost a year to eliminate junk mail from my mailbox. The main strategy I use for this is, quite simply, to ask the organizations that send me junk mail to stop, and to escalate my request when it goes unheeded. In extreme cases, where the escalation is… Read More: “American Friends of Tzohar”: disreputable, money-wasting charity »

Fighting junk mail, one envelope at a time

Do you get a lot of junk mail? I mean the kind that arrives on paper through the able ministrations of the U.S. Postal Service, not the kind that arrives via email. You know, mail-order catalogs, promotions from the phone company, requests for money from charities, that sort of thing. Do you throw most of… Read More: Fighting junk mail, one envelope at a time »

Fascinating phishing attack — the links are fine, but watch out for the toll-free number!

A phishing message in my spam folder caught my eye today, so I decided to take a closer look at it. It claimed to be from CapitalOne. It had a legitimate sender address, a legitimate Subject line (“Please Call Us Regarding Recent Restrictions”), and convincing-looking content that was mostly lifted straight from a real CapitalOne… Read More: Fascinating phishing attack — the links are fine, but watch… »

Target vs. Dillard’s

Several years ago, a Target store opened near us in Watertown, Massachusetts. Having grown up in Minneapolis, I had fond memories of Target and hoped that this meant we would finally have a tolerable department store near us. To say that I’ve been disappointed by our local Target would be a monumental understatement.