iPhone 4 Antenna Song

First Crop of Corn

Kris and I ate our first two cobs of corn grown in our backyard!

We did have a little help...

First Crop of Corn Album

iPhone 4 Lawsuit Before 30 Day Return period?!

The iPhone 4 hasn't been out 30 days and there's already a class action lawsuit.  I agree with the reasoning below.

I'll tell you how absurd this is. When you buy the phone, you've got two weeks to 30 days to take it back and get your money back if it doesn't work or if you don't like it.  You're not stuck with it.  You've got some time.  They're trying to get this class-action lawsuit going, even before that contract period to take the phone back has expired, which is immediately suspect.

--Rush Limbaugh Why Apple Comes Under Attack, June 29, 2010

Hey, everyone who bought an iPhone 4, you still have 24 days to return it for a FULL REFUND! There is no need to sue Apple. Just get your money back and get a life.

-- noexpectations, Comment on Apple Insider Forum, July 1, 2010

Government, Let Them Stop the Oil Leak

 

(source: IMDb)

The Oil Leak has been gushing for 72 days!

I was trying to think of a solution to stop it, and I finally realized, this is not a job for mere mortal man.  What we need is a superhero!  Superman, Batman, Wolverine, Jean Grey, The Hulk, Mr. Incredible.  Any of these guys could stop it within the timeframe of a movie.  The problem is our government doesn't understand them and is afraid of them.  They've put all the superheroes under the Superhero Protection Program and made them promise not to use their superpowers.

I know some of these superheros are scary, but because we don't let them do their jobs we are allowing an oil leak to destroy the Louisiana coast line, the marshes, and allowing the feds to put more regulation on the oil industry which will raise the price of gas.  These superheroes are here to fight crime and save us from man-made and natural disasters.

Please join me in helping our superheroes by signing this petition to discontinue the super hero protection program, so super heros can do their job.

Thanks.
Ben

DD-WRT Firmware for Buffalo Routers

If you're looking for some good wireless routers Buffalo Technology officially released their DD-WRT firmware for the WHR-HP-GN and the WHR-HP-300N.

Chase vs. Schwab Credit Card

Update June 22 -- The Schwab card is no longer available.

Chase vs. Schwab

 or 

Chase Freedom Plus vs. Schwab Invest First

For the last year my wife and I have been using the Chase Freedom Plus. It gives you 3% cash back in the top 6 categories for each billing cycle and 1% everywhere else. Save up to $200 in rewards and you get an extra $50 bonus! Not bad right? When Charles Schwab came out with the Schwab Invest First (flat 2% cash back at the end of every billing cycle) card I wondered which would fare better. Finally ran the numbers of my actual spending on the Chase card against the flat 2% I would have gotten back with Schwab:

Month	Chase Freedom Plus % back	Schwab Invest First % back
Jan.	1.52%	2%
Feb.	1.83%	2%
Mar.	1.68%	2%
Apr.	0.69%	2%
May.	1.60%	2%
Jun.	1.97%	2%
Jul.	1.70%	2%
Aug.	1.57%	2%
Sep.	1.69%	2%
Tot.	1.32%1	2%

Ouch! 1.32%?! I figured I would at least be getting 2%. What happened? Well, it turns out that I should be getting closer to 2% but Chase doesn’t classify the categories correctly for many stores. For example: One of our biggest expenses is groceries but Chase doesn’t include Trader Joe’s or Stater Brothers in the “grocery” category. They’re in the “other” category which always pays 1% cash back. We made several large home improvement purchases on the Chase card in April when we bought the house but none of it went towards a category!
I suppose your results will vary depending on where you spend your money. It may not be the best for everyone, but with our spending habits we’ll get an extra %0.68 by switching to Schwab.
Schwab also has the advantage of paying you back each billing cycle meaning you have immediate access to the cash rebate and instantly start earning interest on it.
A few other differences:

Feature	Chase Freedom Plus	Schwab Invest First
Rebate Availability	Wait until $200 accrued	At end of billing cycle
Quicken	Transactions available as they clear	Transactions available at end of billing cycle
Foreign Transactions	3% Fee	No fees
Annual Fee	$30	None
Spending Limit	No limit	No limit
Rewards Cap	None	None

¹ The total includes $50 bonus (adjusted as if I had spent a perfect $200 to get the maximum benefit) and the $30 annual Chase credit card fee as if it were amortized over 12 months (because I only put up 8 months of data). Obviously how much and how you spend your money will cause the total percentage to vary.

Breakfast

Applewood Smoked Bacon, Eggs, Pancakes, Butter, Maple Syrup, Orange Juice, Apple Sauce, and Coffee.

You can’t beat that. Thanks Kris!