A Clever Yet Dishonest Way to Make Money

This morning I received an email that read:

Hello,

I am selling the .COM version of your domain name helpsend.us.

I am asking $100 for the domain name, let me know if this interests you and I can setup a secure Escrow transaction for the transfer of ownership over to you.

Thanks
Shawn
[Dishonest Company's Name Removed]

The offer seemed like a reasonable one and if I was wanting to buy the .com equivalent of HelpSend.Us I would have quickly reply with interest. I’ve purchased and sold domain names for a few times more than that. The only problem with Shawn’s offer was that the domain name he tried to sell me was actually still available to the general public as of this morning. He doesn’t actually own it.

No match for domain “HELPSEND.COM”.  >>> Last update of whois database: Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:00:58 UTC <<<
-AllWhoIs.com

Assuming that identity theft or a complete rip-off scam is not at play here… Had I responded to Shawn’s offer before checking to see if the domain name had already been taken, he most likely would have done the following:

1. Purchased HelpSend.com for around $7
2. Sold it to me for $100
3. Made a profit of $93

That is such a dishonest way of doing business. It’s terrible. If you don’t own it, you really shouldn’t try and sell it.

I don’t want to own the .com equivalent of my fundraising site, HelpSend.Us. The domain name I have now is a clever use of the TLD extension .US to fit a phrase. HelpSend.Com doesn’t give off the same meaning.

Moral of the story? If you are buying a domain name (or anything really), make sure it’s actually owned by the person trying to sell it to you first.

Real Life and the Movies: in 3D?

Have you ever seen a movie in 3D? What was your impression of it? I’ve not seen a movie in 3D since I was six years old. It’s not because of a lack of opportunity or interest. Coraline and Up were great movies in 2D. Toy Story 1 & 2 are coming to theaters in a special 3D double feature. I love Toy Story! I’ve not seen a movie in 3D recently because I’m legally blind in one eye. Turns out you need two properly working eyes to see in three dimensions.

I’d consider myself a pretty big fan of the movies. My wife and I see a movie in the theater on average of two or three times a month. I feel a bit discriminated against when a really interesting movie hits theaters in only 3D. There are 2D options eventually, but not until after the movie is released for home viewing or at a second run theater.

Film has traditionally been a two dimensional method of presentation. The three dimensional aspect of story telling has, to my knowledge, only hit the main stream in the last couple of years. I see real life in the same two dimensional way that used to be confined to film.

As a kid I was outside playing by myself in the driveway of our family’s town home in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. I was pulling the antenna on my dad’s car down and watching it spring back and forth. One last time I pulled the antenna back as far as I could, to watch it go back and forth with maximum ferocity. I leaned over the edge of the car (I wasn’t a freakishly tall child, the side of the driveway I was standing on had a a support wall a few feet high)  and let go of the antenna. The tip of it flew directly into my eye. A few surgeries later I have a fairly damaged left eye that I am legally blind in.

All that having been said, I’m excited about film moving forward into the future with new technologies. I am however, a big supporter of the classic 2D way of making movies. Perhaps one day I’ll be able see in 3D again. Until then I’ll see both movies and real life in just two dimensions.

Always Learning,
-joel

$1.56

Several weeks ago I sent a SASE to Coke requesting a game piece for one of their “1 in 8 bottle caps wins a free drink” contests. I got the game piece in the mail a couple days ago.

Coca-Cola spent $1.56 in postage to send me a losing bottle cap. That’s more than what I would pay to buy a 16 oz. bottle of Coke at the grocery store! I know they can’t just be giving away their product, but it seems foolish to spend more on a rejection than just to give out the product. Coke should have just sent me a paper coupon worth a free Coke. They would have saved money and made a very happy consumer out of me by doing so.

Always Learning,
-joel

Health Care Reform

There is a lot of talk in the United States right now over healthcare reform and if/how to go about doing it. For those of you unfamiliar with the situation I’ll start with a couple of quick stats:

1.) Over 45 million people in the US are uninsured.

2.)  Nearly 1/5 of all US hospital’s emergency room visits are by the uninsured.

3.) “The average cost of a family policy now exceeds $13,000 a year…”

In my view this is unacceptable. Based on GDP we were the richest country in the word in 2008. How can our country produce so much and yet take care of it’s citizens so poorly?

As a United States citizen I view affordable health care as a right not a privilege. There are several plans on the table right now in the US congress on how to deal with the issues of rising healthcare costs and needs in the United States. To my knowledge all of them include some sort of new tax in order to pay for a government related option (i.e. government run healthcare, government regulation of health care, etc.) I am comfortable with the idea of paying a little more in taxes to make sure I can always get health insurance at a reasonably affordable rate.

My wife and I only have health insurance for the first time as a married couple because of the job my wife has. After almost losing her job (and our health insurance) earlier this year we shopped around for other insurance options. We looked at what it would cost to get insurance through my job and via privately provided health insurance plans. I was absolutly shocked to find out that even the least expensive plans (ones that  included some sort of maternity coverage and had a $1,000 deductible) would cost us anywhere from $7,320 to over $15,000 a year. That’s as much or more than we spend in rent on our apartment in a year! There is no way we can afford such costs. It’s just another reason we need reform.

Some things I think would be great to include  in some sort of health care reform:

Cost limits based on income.
If you make $250,000 a year you can afford to pay more for your health insurance than someone who make $25,000.

Preventative Health Care
People need to be better educated about proper health habits and get preventative medicines and health screenings more often. The idea goes like this… If it wasn’t so expensive to be educated or get screened regularly by a doctor there would be less health issues to deal with on a national level.

Affordable Health Food
There needs to be more healthy food options at an affordable price for members of the general public from grocery stores and fast food chains.

The best answer to the healthcare debate may not be the government, but if not the government then who? The cost of health care has been a problem for years. Is it possible that it will no longer be an issue in the near future?

I’ll leave you with this quotes from “Jesus’ Health Care Plan: An editorial by George Barna – Sept. 2009”

You can describe Jesus’ health care strategy in four words: whoever, whatever, whenever, wherever. Whoever needed to be healed received His healing touch. Whatever affliction they suffered from, He addressed it. Whenever the opportunity to heal arose, He seized it. Wherever they happened to be, He took care of it.

Don’t overlook the fact that Jesus called on His followers to personally attend to the health care needs of the poor and disenfranchised. Not only did Jesus model healing for His followers, but He supported such outreach with ample philosophical underpinnings. You see Him teaching His followers before, during and after instances of healing. We are familiar with the principles, but perhaps not their application to health needs.

What do you think?

The Best Part of Going to the Movies

One of my favorite parts about going to the movie theater is watching the previews. The actual movie I’m going to see, the popcorn, soda and snacks are great too. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy those things, but the previews may very well be my favorite part.

The excitement I feel while  seeing a preview on such a large screen, with crystal clear picture and pure digital surround sound is superb. The anticipation of seeing a teaser trailer for a movie I’ve been waiting to see for months is a wonderful feeling. I know I can see previews at home on my Mac for free, but it’s nothing like actually seeing it in the theater.

Next time you go to the movies, when the lights go down and the previews start, PLEASE stop talking at that moment. It’s almost the only reason I go to the movies.

Always Learning,

-joel