Why did no one tell me about this sooner? Southwest apparently has a secret Rapid Rewards program for college students that gives double credits on all flights and four bonus credits just for signing up. Have I been living under a rock for the past four years?
Of course I called up Southwest immediately after I found out about the program. Given their reputation for customer service and my track record with them, I fully expected the rep to convert my standard Rapid Rewards account to the college version. (I was also secretly hoping she’d throw in some retroactive flight credits to compensate for all the flying I’ve done in the past year.) No dice.
D’oh!
So let my misfortune be a lesson to the whole lot o’ ya: if you’re in college and haven’t yet signed up for Rapid Rewards with Southwest, go through this link and get rewarded more rapidly.
If you’ve been thinking about signing up for Netflix—or even if you haven’t—I’ve got two free trial cards good for month-long excursions into the world of home movie rental. (The trial normally only lasts for two weeks if you sign up through the Netflix website.)
To get one of the golden tickets, email me at matt AT mattjacob DOT com.
Most of the time, I take pride in my attention to detail. I revel in the perfection of the grammar and spelling in papers I turn in. I bask in the glow of excellence of—well, you get the idea.
Sometimes, though, my perfectionism and other OCD-like tendencies get kind of annoying. Like, for example, when I was compelled to change double spaces to single spaces in a 35-page business plan I recently edited. In retrospect, it probably didn’t make that big of a difference, but I slept easier at night knowing that it was the typographically correct thing to do.
Many people I know still type two spaces after a full stop, and this is wrong on so many levels. Back when typewriters were alive and well, using two spaces was the way to go. You see, typewriters used monospaced fonts, which just means that each character takes up exactly the same amount of horizontal space. Now that computers and proportional fonts are in vogue, one space is sufficient because period characters are designed with the proper amount of kerning.
Still don’t believe me? The MLA agrees with me. So does the OWL at Purdue. So does this crazy Scottish guy.
I feel bad for the chicken that laid this egg. (Just kidding. I’m not talking about real chickens, but rather chocolate chickens that lay delicious Cadbury Creme Eggs. Just click the link.)
While replica eggs are growing to gigantic proportions, the actual eggs produced by Cadbury are apparently shrinking. Though your FAQ claims otherwise, we’re onto you and your egg-shrinking shenanigans, Cadbury! Furthermore, the official page has an extremely disturbing positioning slogan on it: “Dip in the goo to unleash your naughty, playful side!” Follow the link if you don’t believe me, but I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.
Actually, this tax season it’s more like twenty for me and none for you, Department of the Treasury. You’re working for no one but me. I gave you too much money last year, and now it’s time for you to pay up. And pay up, you shall. Between state and federal taxes, I got almost $800 back this year.
Do you have any idea how much Dublin Dr Pepper I can buy with that kind of money?
(For those miscreants out there who didn’t catch the reference, there are lyrics to “Taxman” by The Beatles interspersed throughout this post. If you didn’t know that, go read up on your rock and roll history right now.)
Christmas is only a few hours away, and it looks like we’re about to get hit with a huge snowstorm here in Tucson. It’s a blustery 65 degrees outside at the moment, and I’m all bundled up in my shorts and t-shirt. Burr. (You have my permission to start rolling your eyes right about…now.)
I can’t believe I’m saying this already, and I do apologize for using such a trite expression, but it seems like it was just yesterday that we were waving goodbye to 2005 and welcoming in 2006. As you can tell by the sparseness of my posts here, this year has been quite a busy one for me. Well, good riddance to you, 2006! One of my resolutions for next year is to update this site more often, so we’ll see how that goes.
Oh, and merry Christmas/feliz Navidad/buon Natale to you and your family! (And a happy Chrismahanukwanzakah, if you’re into that sort of thing.)
Many of you have no doubt heard of Airborne, but do you think it actually works? According to the pharmacist I talked to today, the answer is no. This is how our conversation went:
Me: So, does this Airborne stuff actually work?
Him: Quite honestly, no.
Me: The fact that it was created by a school teacher doesn’t exactly make me want to buy it.
Him: She knows how to make money, but she doesn’t know anything about medicine. Your best bet is to wash your hands often.
I don’t know about you, but I can certainly think of better ways to spend $6.99.
I know it’s been a while since I last posted here, but after all, I did just move into a new house last weekend, so cut a guy some slack! So, now that last week is accounted for, there’s still about a six-week span in which I didn’t write anything. You can use your imagination to fill in the blanks.
I’m down to just one or two more piles of stuff to organize/file/shred, and you can actually see the floor again! I’ve found that the easiest way to unpack is to buy a few of those stowaway plastic boxes that go under the bed. Just throw all your miscellaneous junk in those babies and you’ll be unpacked in no time. Cheap and effective.
I guess the weirdest part of the whole moving experience was the night right before I moved. It’s so strange to see nearly every possession you own boxed up and stacked to the ceiling. There was even a brief period of time on moving day where I thought my things would stay boxed up indefinitely thanks to U-Haul’s incompetence, but we got a truck from somewhere else and everything worked out better than I could’ve hoped for.
I’ll try to post more often as I’m able, but sometimes life wins out in the end. In my next installment, I’ll show off some pictures of my new digs. Until then, fair reader, I bid you adieu.
According to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air 2006″ report, Tucson has the fifth-cleanest air in the country. Cheyenne, Wyoming has the cleanest air overall, while Los Angeles has the most polluted air (big surprise there). Add yet another item to the list of reasons why I love living in Tucson.
The cheapest gas I saw while driving around today was $2.85, but that’s a bargain compared to what we might be paying in a few weeks. According to an MSN Money article, some experts think it’s possible that gas will get as high as $3.50 or $4 a gallon before prices go back down again. Even at those prices, I don’t think our driving habits will change very much. After all, we depend on cars to get around, so what choice do we have?
