Ever feel bother by those telemarketers? or perhaps other unimportant people or businesses trying to reach you and keep ringging your home phone(s) over and over again?

When I’m really busy I feel sorry to those telemarketers but I just feel like throwing out those phone as far as I could, anyhow I found out about the National do not call registry on the web, it really help me get through with these. Just go to donotcall it’s easy you can register your phone online and they said after 31 days you shouldn’t receive any more of telemarketers’ calls.

What you should know about the national do not call registry

The National Do Not Call Registry gives you a choice about whether to receive telemarketing calls at home. Most telemarketers should not call your number once it has been on the registry for 31 days. If they do, you can file a complaint at this Website. You can register your home or mobile phone for free.

Hope this help
Link1, Link2

I found out about 1019898 and 1010229, and you could save on your long distance and international phone calls to Asia. They have great rates. US interstate is 2c / minute, but the real deal I think is in the international rates. They do have a connection fee of 10 cents and 20 cents per call, but overall it still is cheaper than anything else I have found.

See International rates for 1019898

See International rates for 1010229
I used to use OneSuite, however it gets tedious to re-charge the pin each time.

Dialing instructions for 1019898 :

For calls within the USA and Canada for using 1019898
Dial 101 9898 + 1 + area code + number

For international calls for using 1019898

Dial 101 9898 + 011 + country code + number

Dialing instructions for 1010229 :

For calls within the USA and Canada:
Dial 1010 229+ 1 + area code + number

For international calls:

Dial 1010 229 + 011 + country code + number

There are NO monthly fees with 1019898 and 1010229. You are only charged for calls actually made and charges appear on your regular Pac Bell or Verizon phone bill.

Update: 1019898 works for residents of state of California, using Pacbell or Verizon.

At this moment the 1010229 network is only available in the states of California, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the great Toronto area.

In San Francisco Bay Area, housing prices are among the highest in the nation. In some Bay Area cities such as Palo Alto, CA and Cupertino, CA - the housing prices are even higher. Part of this is driven from the quality of the public schools in this area.
From US News High School ranking.

Seven South Bay schools have a lot to brag about today - they’re among the top 100 in the nation according to a new survey by U.S. News and World Report.

Lynbrook High School in San Jose ranks #73 out of 100 and that, along with eight other schools in the Bay Area, is a notable accomplishment - considering more than 18,000 high schools were analyzed in the U.S..

The list focuses on broad achievement in the U.S.. The rating is done by U.S. News & World Report. It’s the magazine’s first-ever ranking of America’s best high schools. It measures how well schools educate all of its students and their college readiness - using a formula with a three-step analysis.
First, it looks at students’ state testing data, like math and reading results, and factors in poorer-performing students. The analysis also evaluates how well each school’s disadvantaged students did. A third factor is availability of college-level coursework and how well students did on A.P., or advanced-placement tests. The top 100 schools earn gold medals. Nine in the Bay Area shot to the top of that list.

Ranking of Bay Area High Schools from U.S. News & World Report:

#2 Pacific Collegiate Charter, Santa Cruz
#49 Mission San Jose, Fremont
#59 Monta Vista, Cupertino
#66 Henry M. Gunn, Palo Alto
#68 Piedmont High, Piedmont
#69 Lowell High, San Francisco
#72 Saratoga High, Saratoga
#73 Lynbrook High, San Jose
#85 Palo Alto High, Palo Alto

In total, the U.S. News ranking recognizes almost 1,600 high schools that meet its criteria for great learning achievement. Aside from the top-100 gold medal schools, many more can boast silver and bronze status and at least half a dozen of those are also in the Bay Area.

Link

Okay, I live in San Francisco (in the San Francisco Bay Area) which has some of the best (read: mildest) weather in U.S.A. The weather is generally mild, around here. Bay area is home to some of the most diverse micro climates around though. Yesterday the weather was so sunny, and the temperatures was in the 90s F and this afternoon it gets so foggy around here.

San Francisco specifically can get very foggy during the summer. See these 2 pictures courtesy of Wikipedia and you’ll see the difference.

San Francisco - Nice day:

San Francisco - Foggy day:

Now, what is the cloudiest city in America.

Apparently after I downloaded the data from Weather Facts, and doing some simple Excel Sorting, I found that “Cold Bay, AK” is the cloudiest city in America with 304 cloudy days a year (365 days).

I found that my city, San Francisco, has 105 cloudy days per year (365 days).

The sunniest city in USA: Yuma, AZ (did you see 3:10 to Yuma yet? )

Link (Wikipedia), Link (WeatherFacts) , Cold bay (AK)

At first, it started with a lot automated phone calls to my home phone. “..We have detected some suspicious activity in your credit card purchases. Please contact Chase Fraud Detector back …”
I didn’t recognize this charge in my credit card statement, and after googling “ID*Protection 888-217-0291 DE” it , I found that it was Chase Fraud Detector / Chase ID protection service.

I am trying to get this membership charge removed from my Chase Visa credit card by calling their customer service number. I called their 1800 number ( 1-800-621-0361 and 1-888-217-0291 ) and have waited for over 60 minutes and have not even been able to speak with a customer service rep.

The classical music was cheesy, annoying at best. I am so, so, very much irritated.
Anyone has a better idea on how to cancel this and get rid of this charge? Thanks in advance.

What I really hate is that there is no “web form” for me to submit my inquiry or cancel this thing. This is the 21st century. Their Contact Us page only lists one method of communication : the number 1800-621-0361 . I really *hate* calling 1800 number and waited over the phone until my ear gets red and hot. And what I don’t understand as well: why large corporations spend so much money on their call center operations when many of the things can be streamlined with a web form/case management interface.

On a side note, identity theft is definitely a problem in America and you can follow these tips to prevent problems:

1) Start getting electronic statement for your credit card, phone, and utility bills. Save trees and paper :). And Also save you time from opening mail and throwing away paper trash You never realize how much time you spend on opening up mails, reading them, filing them, and throwing away paper trash.

2) Don’t give out your SSN (social security number), driver’s license number, birth date, maiden name - or personally identifying information, unless it is absolutely, critically, unarguably necessary.

3) Stop Junk Mail by asking to be removed from mailing lists.

4) If you feel that your SSN has been compromised, you can put a credit freeze or fraud alert so no one can open a new line of credit without manual verification.

Many states have laws that let consumers “freeze” their credit – in other words, letting a consumer restrict access to his or her credit report. If you place a credit freeze, potential creditors and other third parties will not be able to get access to your credit report unless you temporarily lift the freeze. This means that it’s unlikely that an identity thief would be able to open a new account in your name. Placing a credit freeze does not affect your credit score – nor does it keep you from getting your free annual credit report, or from buying your credit report or score.

Credit freeze laws vary from state to state. In some states, anyone can freeze their credit file, while in other states, only identity theft victims can. The cost of placing, temporarily lifting, and removing a credit freeze also varies. Many states make credit freezes free for identity theft victims, while other consumers pay a fee – typically $10. It’s also important to know that these costs are for each of the credit reporting agencies. If you want to freeze your credit, it would mean placing the freeze with each of three credit reporting agencies, and paying the fee to each one.

You can find more information about credit freeze laws specific to your state by clicking here, including information on how to place one.

A fraud alert is another tool for people who’ve had their ID stolen – or who suspect it may have been stolen. With a fraud alert in place, businesses may still check your credit report. Depending on whether you place an initial 90-day fraud alert or an extended fraud alert, potential creditors must either contact you or use what the law refers to as “reasonable policies and procedures” to verify your identity before issuing credit in your name. However, the steps potential creditors take to verify your identity may not always alert them that the applicant is not you.

Link

Amazon was aggressively promoting their Amazon Prime - 2 day-shipping for FREE, and I fell for it last month. I probably clicked on the link without really thinking, like a sheep.

Now when I see my credit card statement, I see a charge “& AMZ* Prime Club - NV” For $79.00 . Well, Amazon didn’t send any email confirmation for the charge or anything.

Well I was quick to do some Google search and found that apparently there are SO MANY PEOPLE that were having the same issues.

How to get the refund of Amazon Prime

1) Call Amazon Customer Service at 1-866-557-2820 —

2) and press “7″ and you will get directly to a customer service representative.

3) Say it politely and courteously: “I would like to get a refund of the Amazon Prime charge - could you please help me for it”. That should do the trick.

This is probably much easier than calling your credit card company to file a chargeback complaint or dispute.

And, anyway for the Moms out there:
Amazon is now offering 20% of BRITAX Car seat products until the end of the month. Check it out.

Source: Link1, Link2, Link3.