Bundling Gone Bad

So a person has a home phone, cable, Internet, and a cell phone.  Itemized, the monthly costs are*:

Home Phone	$45
Cable	$86
Internet	$30
Cell Phone	$99
Total	$260

Bundling puts the home phone, cable, and Internet (including the cell phone with some companies) on one bill and offers the customer a discounted price**.  Instead of the total cost being $260 for the total services as separate bills, the entire bill could be something like $190.  Who wouldn’t want to save $70 a month for the same services?  That’s the smart way to go.

The downside on bundling is that when times are tough and that one bill can’t be paid, EVERYTHING is disconnected. 

As soon as times look like they might get tough, i.e. layoff notice, termination, resignation without something to replace that income, increased healthcare costs and bills, major car repair, and the like, immediately call up the service provider and unbundle all services.  The costs will go up, but the consumer is back in the driver’s seat to pick and choose what can stay and what can go.  If something needs to be scaled back or get disconnected, it won’t affect the rest of the services. 

Bundling may have contractual terms.  Be sure to read each and every line and understand the terms of having bundled services before signing up for the program.  Be sure to get the terms in writing – don’t just rely on what says the customer service rep.  Know if there are any unbundling penalty and/or cancellation fees and when they would incur.   Any unpaid fees (and equipment not returned) are immediately forwarded to collections and eventually becomes noted on credit reports where the notation will remain whether the fees are paid or not.

*Dollar amounts indicated for example purposes only and do not reflect or is associated with actual costs or charges from any communication services provider.
**Bundling can also include energy utility services, however this post is specific to communications bundling.

The Performance Review

Many folks will be returning to work at the start of the new year to face that annual performance review...that tool that most employers use to gauge an employee’s value to the company.

Back in the day, it was a simple meeting. Either Sam didn’t meet, he met, or he exceeded expectations....same with Sally.

Now, it’s a scientific study with factors outside the control of an employee.

Today’s performance review in large corporations is now based on a weighting system including mathematical calculations to determine if the employee should receive a merit raise, a bonus, or continued employment.

Today’s performance review is also based on personal opinion. Not only the supervisor has input, but fellow colleagues can provide feedback to an employee’s review. If the fellow colleague has a negative personal perception of the employee, their feedback will direct negative feedback toward that employee and be recorded as so on a permanent job record that will follow that employee maybe even after he or she leaves the company.

An employee’s success, livelihood and career track at a company is superficially dependent on this new almighty performance review.

Tips to survive the performance review:

• Be sure you know exactly where your source is. Your success, your growth, and your very existence is outside the walls of the place where you work.

• Your success is dependent on your own self-value.

• Your life is not based on where you work.

• Do not feel you need to be defensive about any statements. You know your skills, demeanor, character, and intentions better than anybody.

• Remember that your job is merely a means to keep cash in your pocket, a roof over your head, and food on the table. Your sun and moon does not rise and fall based on The ABC Company to where you report from the bus/train or pull up to everyday.

• Do respond with written factual documentation when responding to any personal negative opinions and do so with no emotion. Act like you’re Spock on the Enterprise.

• If the performance review turns out to be ridiculous, begin looking for another job immediately. The economy may seem tough and rough, but people are still being hired each and everyday. Also, put on a happy face that everything is okay. You are worthy to work at a place that is worthy to have you and that place is waiting for you right now.

• If the performance review is excellent, be sure to thank your supervisor and continue the good work. 

Edited and Reposted from a February 2011 blog post by Lady Intelligence.

The Focus

Countless stories about children who have died at the parent's hands from being in a hurry or not thinking in a change in the routine.  

A routine situation would be waiting for the kids to get in the car and going in reverse before either making sure that all kids are inside the vehicle and accounted for or making sure that the child is visible going through the building door or standing on the sidewalk away from the vehicle.

The non-routine comes from a story a few years back where the father had to take the child to the daycare when usually the mother did.  It was a hot day.  People at the job told him that police were at his car.  He forgot to drop the baby off.  The baby died.¹

Just read this story about a woman who thought her child was in the SUV and put the SUV in reverse and her child didn't make it.  But, the child had survived four heart operations.² 

Now, there's this push for carmakers to have better vehicle standards for going in reverse.  This may help but guess what?  PEOPLE drive cars.  

There's not enough carefulness in the world.  If a person is OCD about going in reverse and wants to look to be sure a thousand times, that's all right.  That'll save their child's life or the life of someone else’s child.

A simple thing to do but not easy to do is to tone down the distractions like the radio or worrying about the job when the child is in the car - especially if it's a new routine.  Would it hurt to make a habit to check all seats (underneath the seats too if a van or bus) before getting out each and every time and walking away?

(shrugging shoulders)  Just saying.

 

N





¹ Similar story

² Associated Story

What We Know Now...

…about School Safety

• Familiarity with a visitor to the school does not mean their visit is well intentioned.
• Nice quiet towns instead of urban or inner-city communities have been the setting for the majority of mass school shootings.
• Mass shooting gunmen may not have licensed permits and may not have legally obtained or personally own the weapons used - thus making the gunmen free from gun control radar.
• Remotely buzzing a visitor into the inside of a school from an office does nothing but allows an unescorted, non-physically detected person into the school to go where he or she wants to go and be able to shoot anybody in their path along the way.
• Talking about gun control and changing rules will not keep guns out of the hands of people who illegally obtain weapons.
• Talking about gun control until the latest emotional upset settles down will not prevent another school shooting.
• Concentrating on gun control with no physical safeguard changes in the schools will not prevent another school shooting.

Hypothetically…

• A well-trained and armed patrolling security team in constant communication with an adequate number of members to cover all floors and areas of the school may spot an intruder quicker and thwart an incident.
• Well-monitored surveillance cameras covering every side and corner of a school’s exterior may reduce the time that an intruder can get into a school undetected.
• Without setting schools under the same security measures as federal buildings, courthouses, and airports, another school shooting is possible by not just an outside gunman but by a student of the school.

Online or Internet Dating

Online or Internet dating sites are advertised from time to time in TV and radio commercials.  That concept of meeting people has been around for a couple of decades now and might be very convenient for the busy individual.

In "Big Girl Little Girl", there is a chapter that essentially discourages online (or internet) dating - especially for the non-technical non-savvy individual because online dating is a great tool for a man with no-good intentions to meet vulnerable and/or desperate women.  

This is not to say that online dating is for the vulnerable and/or desperate woman.  Online dating is merely a third party filtering info that it is given to compile a group of people with the characteristics that an individual would like to see in a person they meet.  The hiccup is that the information given may not be necessarily true.

Most online dating sites give step-by-step safety tips.  But those tips are basic and don’t scratch the surface of what can be done with the slightest bit of data either gathered online or through conversation.  News articles detail that.*

How Online Dating Works

The site asks for registration information that includes: Full Name, Date of Birth, E-mail Address, and a Password.  Then the site ushers the user to an online questionnaire to complete to share city and state where they live, their physical stats, their interests, hobbies, favorite foods, astrological sign, smoking and drinking habits, racial and religion info and then what they are looking for physically and demographically in another person.  To complete the profile, the user adds a photo.  A fee is charged for upgraded services like being able to send e-mail or seeing who has looked at their profile.  Other than that, users can search profiles and send little signals to indicate interest until they cough up the monthly fee.

The Real Safety Tips

• Treat the process of meeting people online as if meeting them on the street.  One doesn’t usually give their full name, birthday, address, phone number, names of ages of kids and where they work when they first meet someone.  It’s easy to divulge that information because there is a misperception that just because the communication is electronic and the person is not in arm’s reach to cause bodily harm, it’s safe to divulge. A person can say in their profile that they live in North Dakota, but in reality, they can be in the very same city and state around the corner.  The same with their picture.  Whose to say that it is really them?

• The first name, last name, and general idea of the residence city or state is all someone needs to get an address.  There are sites online where if the first name, last name, city and state are entered, the site will spew out everybody with that name and even similar to that name within that vicinity.   To test this out, one can enter their name, city and state, and then all kinds of people search sites will pop up.  Enter the info in those people search sites.  If the person has a social media page, those will come up as well if their profile is set for public search.  Only give first name in conversation.  Do not use real city in profile. Avoid giving out biographical information, such as the month, day or year of birth,  schools attended and definitely not workplace location, workplace phone number and/or workplace e-mail address.  Be vague on places frequented such as shopping centers, grocery stores, movie theaters, place of worship, and school and daycare names and locations.

• Once a photo is posted online, it leaves possession forever.  A simple right-click, then download gives the person a copy of a picture stored on their personal computer.  Never text or e-mail a pic.  Texting will give the other person phone number information and immediate possession of the personal picture.

• NEVER GIVE OUT PHONE NUMBER IN THE BEGINNING. When calling the other person, always dial *, then 67, then the phone number to hide own personal number.  Never leave a voicemail message because their voicemail system envelope options may detail the number that called to leave that message even if *67 was used.  Again, sending text messages will reveal the number automatically.   

• Limit conversations to the site’s e-mail system and limit the time on online chatting.  The more people talk, the more they become relaxed and comfortable with the other. The more relaxed and comfortable, the lower the guard.  Note that there is spyware that people can download remotely to a computer that will turn a webcam on without the user knowing and without the webcam light coming on.  Place something over the webcam if using any kind of instant messaging program thus do not e-mail using own personal e-mail address.  Keep the covering over the webcam in case spyware has been remotely downloaded to computer.  Be sure to keep antivirus and antispyware applications up to date and have computer scanned for these types of intrusions at least once a month.  Remember to communicate only through the site’s e-mail system.

• Meet online via webcam first.  When it's time to meet face to face - do it first via the site's webcam capabilities.  Do not do it outside of the site's communication wall.  This at least shows what the person really looks like.  Make sure the background in view to the other person does not include family pictures or any other personal information or home layout.  Again, there is spyware that people can download remotely to a computer that will turn a webcam on without the user knowing and without the webcam light coming on. Take the precautions mentioned earlier.    If possible, do a printscreen of the person.   

• Think like a criminal and act like a law enforcement official. When it's time to meet the person in person, share the picture obtained from the webcam with trusted friends and family and have someone come along for the initial dates. Since the person is not known from Adam, go overboard.  Have someone to come along in conversation and have someone else watching everything and other people around them.  Keep the accompanying companion and trusted friends and family information as sacred as own information.  Be sure that he does not follow you or your accompanying companion when the meeting is over.  If he does, drive straight to the police station and lay on the horn or call the police from your car.  Seriously.  Also note, that just because a friend or family member is around doesn't mean that he won't have a friend or family member around somewhere peeping out the scene as well.

• Let the man do the traveling.  If he is not in a position to travel, then he is not in a position to be trying to talk to somebody.

• Remember to let the head speak louder and tell the heart to shut up.  Don’t fall in love with the thought of falling in love.  The person is still a stranger if their first, middle and last names; their date of birth; their residential address; their workplace address; home and work phone numbers; personal background; criminal background; financial, mental, emotional and health background; number and ages of all children; and their marital status are all unknown or unproven.

• A profile that sounds too good to be true is probably too good to be true.

• Don’t begin a charity organization. At the first moment, he says he’s in a crunch or is stuck somewhere and needs financial assistance - meaning if he hints at it or just asks directly for it, cease all communications IMMEDIATELY.  It’s a scam.  Report it. Block them. Again, let the head speak louder and tell the heart to shut up.

• Typically, if a person is a stranger, one doesn't know what that stranger may have.  Save/keep your kisses and protect your health.

NOTE:  Follow these suggestions as and where applicable when:  

• taking a look at a new home or apartment presented by an  owner
• purchasing a car, appliance, furniture, etc. from a posted ad - whether in print or online

N

Other Internet safety tips:

Visit the FBI Cyber Crime Website (http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/cyber/cyber)

*bConcerned.com (http://www.bconcerned.com/page1131550.aspx)