People basically have one of 5 responses to being enlightened regarding a specific piece of knowledge that they were either ignorant of or blind to in the past.
A. They don't believe it to be true and thus discard it.
B. They believe it to be true but don't believe it applies to them and thus discard it.
C. They believe it to be true and believe it applies to them but don't care and thus discard it.
D. They believe it to be true, believe it applies to them, and do care, but aren't willing to change and thus discard it.
E. They believe it to be true, they believe it applies to them, they care, and they change their life accordingly.
I blogged about my personal experiences of American Express reducing my credit limit for no reason about 4 years ago. There are probably a dozen posts about Amex on my site with over 500 comments of people being wronged by the company. All the same story: I had perfect credit, made a big payment, then Amex reduced my credit limit to the balance or cancelled my card...etc.
Fast forward today, Amex is refunding $85 million to its former customers for wrong doing. This refund probably covers many things but I am sure they are getting out of it cheap.
NY Times:
American Express will reimburse $85 million to about 250,000 customers to resolve accusations that the company violated federal law in its marketing, billing and debt collection practices, the company and the government said Monday.
The settlement is the latest in a series of enforcement actions that federal and state regulators have brought against some of the nation’s largest financial institutions for problems in their credit card businesses.
The multiagency investigation of American Express included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions. They discovered problems in three American Express subsidiaries between 2003 and 2012 that ranged from the way the company advertised its cards to how it pursued customers behind on their bills.
The violations of consumer protection laws started “from the moment a consumer shopped for a card to the moment the consumer got a phone call about long overdue debt,” Richard Cordray, the director of the consumer protection bureau, said in a statement.
To win customers for its “Blue Sky” travel reward credit card program, the lender sometimes offered them a $300 reward, which never materialized, the regulators said. In doling out credit, they said, American Express also discriminated against applicants based on their age. The company also duped consumers into paying off stale credit card debt with the promise of improving their credit score, the investigators said; in fact, regulators found, American Express was not reporting the payments to the credit bureaus at all.
The three subsidiaries involved in the agreement are American Express Centurion Bank, American Express Travel Related Services Company, and American Express Bank FSB.
American Express customers should expect refunds by March 2013, regulators said. The company also agreed to pay $27.5 million in fines to the regulators.
American Express, long known for its aspirational cards and tonier customer base, said it had outlined plans to address each of the violations and “cooperated fully” with regulators.
Under the deal with regulators, the company must halt the deceptive practices and set up independent auditors to ensure that its practices comply with consumer protection laws. The fines and customer refunds will be paid, for the most part, by reserves established in prior quarters, American Express said.
“Separately, the company is continuing its own internal reviews and is also cooperating with regulators in their ongoing regulatory examination of add-on products in accordance with an industrywide review,” American Express said in its statement.
The move against the bank is part of a broader push by federal and state regulators to protect consumers from illegal credit card and debt collection practices as millions of Americans struggle to pay their bills in a floundering economy.
So far this year, the newly minted Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has leveled enforcement actions against Capital One and Discover Financial over sales tactics of credit products. Last week’s action against Discover resulted in the company agreeing to pay $200 million to more than 3.5 million cardholders who bought credit protection services over the phone, plus an additional $14 million in civil penalties to banking regulators.
Monday’s enforcement action was “intended as a message to all entities,” said Kent Markus, assistant director of enforcement for the consumer bureau. “There are consequences for violating the law.”
Looks like there are a ton of new and faster tablets coming out with a lower price point. I like the fact that competition is making them cheaper and better. These two seem to be the stand outs right now because they are priced in the $199-$249 range.
So I have been so busy in the real world that I haven't had any time to blog or do what I like to do. But here I am again. awhile back I talked about a quad core tablet that would come out in the summer for only $149 made by asus. Apparently, it has come out but it is priced at $199 and called the Google Nexus 7. It is made by Asus and the reviews are excellent.
I am not going to buy one yet, but I will get one in a few months. I see many other tablet prices falling now. I even hear a rumor of an apple 7 inch ipad coming out.
Specifications Software : Android 4.1 Jellybean Processor : 1.3GHz quad-core NVidia Tegra 3 Memory: 1GB Storage: 8GB/16GB; no expansion slots Display : 7" backlit IPS capacitive touchscreen, 1280x800 pixels Connectivity : Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 Ports : Micro USB, 3.5mm headphone jack Camera : 1.2 megapixel front-facing Battery : Li-ion 4325mAh Size : 199x120x10mm Weight : 340g
I emailed a friend about a $3 mp3 amazon credit and he replied he already received it and also mentioned he hasn't seen me much on the blogosphere. Honestly, I have become to busy in the real world and maybe lost a bit of interest in blogging in general. I have been blogging literally for 5 years now.
My first post is called Moo and was posted on July 5, 2007. I lived in a different city and different state. And yes I was also in a different state of mind. I was concerned with the stock market peaking and the housing market bubbling over. At that point in time, I was reading about how the housing market which had basically tripled in the previous 6 years was about to collapse. But I think all the housing bubble bloggers had been saying that for the previous 4 years.
My TV had broken in July, 2007 and without the boobtube I seemed to have an abundance of time. The TV was repaired for free under my warranty and incidentally I still have that same TV today. I am waiting for it to break so I can justify buying a new one with all them new features.
I don't watch the stock market anymore and pulled out all my capital back in 2007 before the crash. It has finally come back but I am just not into that anymore. The housing market did collapse in dramatic fashion with foreclosures still happening everyday at a record pace. However, I was able to take advantage of market conditions and secured a great place a couple of years ago where I can relax without financial worries.
What I learned from reading those blogs was that it only made a difference if you made decisions and took action based on what you believed in. Sure, there were many people who were right and wrong, but the question is what did they do about it. I met people at work who sold their houses at the right time, but most people I know thought the market would come back. It collapsed and they lost all their equity. They decided they were right and the market and I were wrong, and now they live with the decision of not selling. A few of my relatives who I did share my opinion back then are out about $500,000 to $700,000. They are struggling financially as well. That is a lot of money and honestly, I could easily retire on that amount of cash.
Two years ago I learned the value of all living beings. In that lesson, I became a dedicated vegan. I no longer eat animal products which means no meat, no eggs, and no dairy. My health is at its best, and my body literally cured itself of all its ailments. My best advice to you my friend is to do the same. Exercise is not enough. Most doctors are wrong about how to live healthy. I was under the delusion of eating fish and chicken and drinking milk was good for you when that is all a bunch of crap. My father exercised 6-7 days a week, was not overweight, and ate the recommended diets by doctors and eventually died of a heart attack. That's right he would have lived a longer life if he simply changed his diet. At the time, I used to think it was just his time. Now, I know better. If you want to live the best quality of life, then simply convert into being a whole foods plant eater like me. I know of other people who have converted and are now doing better health wise. You will see immediate results and your body will thank you.
I am still consider shutting down this blog and may transfer the whole thing onto a free blogspot blog that I already have set up. So one day this may "poof" and be gone as quickly as it came. Thanks for visiting and have an excellent day.
You can learn about a person by the type of music they listen to. Since I met my wife, my musical taste has broaden and I am so glad because there is a ton of music I now enjoy and appreciate.
I watched the last 2 fights and thought they were pretty entertaining. I was tempted to bet on the underdog Evans because the odds were 5-1. Good thing I didn't because he lost.
The weather has been getting warm lately. So we are starting to use our air conditioning again. However, we installed two ceiling fans 3 weeks ago before the weather changed. Now we can keep the thermostat at 78 with the fans spinning, the temperature feels like it is 68 degrees inside. We will save a lot of money on our energy costs this summer.
I haven't really been posting much as my real life has become more busy. It's funny how these things get put on the back burner. I think I am going to transfer as many posts as I can on to my blogger version of this site since I do still pay for hosting. I have made some good money on this blog, but I am not sure if I will be able to keep posting as often as I would like.
I think it will be 5 years come this July since I began posting. Many things have changed since then. My broken TV is still working from back then. One of the reasons I started blogging is my wife suggested it since I liked to read housing blogs back then. That was before the bubble burst and here we are now. LOL. The conspiracy people were right in their predictions.
I have been much busier than usual in my real life lately that I have had less time to blog. It is something I still enjoy doing but on a less frequent basis. I had other side blogs I started and did those for about a year, but eventually lost interest.
This particular blog I want to keep going because I have had it since 2007. Since then I have changed hosting companies two or three times. I have made a few thousand dollars just blogging my thoughts on this website and most of it is just my mindless rambling. Also known as random noid musings. I do pay expenses to keep the site up with the name and hosting, but I am and have looked into moving my blog on a free platform. In the last two weeks, I have had two friends ask me where to start their blogs and I recommended blogger because they are owned by google and I don't think they will ever change their "free" pricing in the future. Some of these other blogging companies seem to put restrictions on your blogs so that was another consideration in recommending blogger. That is where I set up my other blogs which was very easy to do.
One thing I like to talk about is my conversion to being a vegan. I really don't like labels but I have increased my vitality, improved my overall health, and feel better now than in my twenties when I use to workout everyday.
Truth be told, I believe that most of our diseases in America are from eating animal products. I have seen enough documentaries and read more books about the subject matter than most. I believe that most heart diseases, diabetes, cancers, and tumors have origins based on the animal by products we consume in the western diets. In America, most of our doctors support the pharma industry by prescribing drugs for everything to simply treat the symptoms and not cure the disease. I think most doctors can't be trusted and that is based only from my personal experience and dealings with them. I am sure every one's experience is different but I know from experience that people who have passed away around me could of had a more extended and better quality of life if the doctors converted them to a whole-food, plant based diet.
In retrospect, when I look at all the doctors who have served me or my family, one thing I have noticed is that most of them are unhealthy. That is simply from my observation. In fact, the first doctor who gave me a physical in college was obese. This takes nothing away from the skills that they learned in school to save lives in emergencies, but it does demonstrate that many, if not most of them, do not respect their own bodies with proper diet and exercise.
My life is excellent because I appreciate everyday that I am alive and count my blessings. Beyond that I make sure I make the choices that will serve my body, mind and soul the best. You can pray, meditate, and exercise to help, but you can not feel your best if you continue to consume dead animals. It is that simple. Try changing your diet even for a few days and you will feel your body rejuvenated. You may disagree with my opinion, but you can not argue the results many people are achieving changing their diets to excluding all animal products.
The way I was brought up eating meat with every meal was foolish. The older I became the more I consumed. At one point, I was over 176 pounds and I am only 5'6". When I became vegan I literally lost weight even though I was eating more everyday. My body became efficient and I was super regular on bowel movements. I had an increase in energy that allowed me to have better workouts. I think everything we are taught about diet and health in my generation was wrong and influenced by the meat and dairy industry. If you look at our young generation today, where we start them out eating fast foods at a young age, you will see them getting overweight earlier along with developing diabetes earlier. The sad thing is it is all avoidable.
If you have time I recommend you watching the videos below.
The first one is your typical American diet most people eat. It is a documentary called Super Size Me.
This documentary tells you of people who "cured" their incurable disease diabetes. Yes, the same disease that most doctors simply prescribe insulin for the rest of your life. I could only find 30 minutes of the movie online embedded below.
Disclose.tv - Simply Raw - Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days VideoProducers of Forks Over Knivesby qbrev
The next video is probably the best video to watch if you want to understand what these doctors have to say about how changing to an all plant based diet will transform your life and why. There are 4 people who we watch over the course of 2 months change not only their personal appearance for the better, but change their real health on the inside. I am talking about their blood work and cholesterol levels.
This is the link to the movie Forks over Knives. There is no animal cruelty or those types of footage in this movie. I think they wanted to focus more on the health aspect of our diets.
I think coronary heart disease is also a big issue that can be solved by going on a plant based food diet. This doctor Caldwell Esselstyn is one of the pioneers who did an actual study. Caldwell Esselstyn, MD, chief of surgery at the Cleveland Clinic, discusses his 18-year study whereby he reversed severe heart disease in every patient in his program — who had all been sent home to die by their cardiologists. Dr. Esselstyn shows you how by changing your diet you can prevent and reverse heart disease. A low-fat plant-based diet is the key.
Make Yourself Heart Attack Proof video
The last movie I think you should watch is Earthlings. The video is hard to watch but if you are eating animal products, then I think it is important for you to understand why eating dead animals is bad for your health. I think when we eat burgers, steaks, chicken, lamb and pork we forget that these are living sentient beings that feel pain just like you and me and that most have suffered to provide you with a meal of luxury.
I know we see cats and dogs and have feelings for our pets, but I believe there is a real disconnect with all the other animal species. I am guilty for being blind for so many years, but now that my eyes are open, I know there exists a true connection of life for all beings and that it should be respected.
This video is very difficult to watch. I think it is not just because we witness animal cruelty but because we become exposed to the whole truth about what we eat. Think about it, we have all seen gory horror movies and people getting killed in movies all the time. Why does this film provoke so much feeling in us. I believe it is because it is the truth in its raw form and may make you change in how you see the world.
If you prefer reading, then the books I can recommend are The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health, Diet for a New America, and Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet
I watched this movie awhile back and it changed my life for the better along with the other movie Earthlings. This movie is one of the reasons why I am Vegan for life and why this whole-food, plant based diet has dramatically improved my health.
I appreciate all life now.
Enjoy the video I linked below and I do hope it stays up for awhile.
Forks Over Knives
Cheers!
A good friend of mine came down with a terminal illness. I cried when I found out. It seems like every year for the past 5 years someone I know seems to pass away. I thought of the past and realize that even though these things are just a part of life, it is important to cherish the time and memories you had with these people. The good thing is my friend shared his situation with me and that allowed me to thank him for being in my life at an earlier time.
I wanted to repost my thoughts of gratitude from an earlier time. I hope if you read this, that it helps you in some way.
Once you learn to appreciate everything in your life, happiness follows. I have read enough self help books and listened to many CDs on the matter and they generally preach the same thing. It is no secret. Focusing on all the gifts in your life will put you in the best state of mind.
During these tough economic times, everyone worries about money and how they are going to pay their bills. Really that is not a big deal. We all figure it out somehow. And if we dont’ the worse that can happen is some of the bills don’t get paid on time. So why worry about it?
I won’t deny it, I have an excellent life but most of that comes about my perception of what I have. I think most people have more than they realize.
I am thankful I am healthy.
I am thankful I am healthy and no longer eat animal products.
I am thankful for my wife of over 20 years and the great relationship we have it.
I am thankful we have delicious food to eat everyday.
I am thankful for the coffee we share together everyday.
I am thankful for the roof over our heads.
I am thankful for the economical car that we have.
I am thankful to be able to enjoy my life another day.
Everyday I take time out to recognize what I have to be grateful for. Simply known as counting my blessings. I am sure we all do it but being consistent and meaning it is the most important thing about gratitude.
I have learned to love everything in my life and not take it for granted. So be happy today because tomorrow is not promised.
There was a free UFC last night that I missed. The card seem to have a lower tier of fighters with most that I haven't heard of. Anyways, it is a good thing I can find them online if I decide to watch them. Based on the results I read, they didn't sound too exciting.
Tonight, there is a free Strikeforce fight I want to check out. The main event is a women's mma match which I am looking forward too. Enjoy the show.
Here is the whole card:
MAIN CARD (Showtime)
Champ Miesha Tate vs. Ronda Rousey (for female bantamweight title)
K.J. Noons vs. Josh Thomson
Paul Daley vs. Kazuo Misaki
Bristol Marunde vs. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza
Lumumba Sayers vs. Scott Smith
PRELIMINARY CARD (Showtime Extreme)
Alexis Davis vs. Sarah Kaufman
Caros Fodor vs. Pat Healy
Ryan Couture vs. Conor Heun
Roger Bowling vs. Brandon Saling
I received my free nook color via my staples rewards points, and two days later it died on me. Not sure if I just got a lemon but that is the first gadget that actually failed on me. In a way I was lucky it happened so fast because I was able to go back to the store and exchange it easily.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it or just sell it on ebay at this point for a quick profit. However, I got such a great deal on it and really liked the feel of it, so I am giving it another chance. Also, the quad core android tablet for $250 is not out yet so I wanted an ereader for all my kindle books that I have recently acquired.
Another reason why I decided to keep it is because I already ordered all the accessories that arrived in the mail quickly. After a few days of use and installing the mod update via microsd card, I am very happy with my gadget. It is definitely meeting my short term needs and would highly recommend it.
I have actually installed some free apps from amazon that I wanted to use but took up too much room on my android phone. :cool:
