A Dime a Day Takes Junk Mail Away Friday, Jun 29 2007 

Environment Mel 10:46 am

Sometimes saving the environment trumps saving money. Enter Green Dimes – you pay just a dime a day ($36/year) to significantly reduce your junk mail. I’ve always found junk mail to be an annoyance (and I’m sure it’s an equal or greater annoyance for the mailman). But it’s much more than annoying and inconvenient to the environment. According to Green Dimes, 100 MILLION trees are sacrificed and 28 BILLION gallons of water are dumped into producing junk mail. All so we can shred credit card offers and toss consumer catalogs. It’s rather infuriating when you really think about it.

A membership can reduce your junk mail by up to 70%. A great gift to yourself, a friend, and Mother Earth.

 

Expedia Strikes Again Wednesday, Jun 27 2007 

Travel Mel 8:18 pm

It’s been a little over two months since my Expedia fiasco. After being tempted by their low fares, my sister rolled the dice and booked an airfare, hotel, and car rental package, hoping for the best. Maybe she thought my “experience” was an isolated incident. Wishful thinking.

ONE DAY before (actually, less – maybe 15 hrs before), she received a voicemail from an Expedia customer service rep, explaining she could view her updated itinerary online. Hmmm…they usually don’t call to remind you to view your itinerary. I guess the word “updated” was a red flag. Turns out Expedia took the liberty of updating her itinerary for her, by bumping her flight to the following day. When she called, they completely denied this and told her she must have updated it herself. WHAT?

Why do they think this is okay? People have commitments, jobs, and families to get home to. It would be one thing if the company admitted they overbooked the flight and offered compensation. But to turn the blame to the customer is just insulting.

Please, please, please do not book with Expedia. Two out of two (of my personal) experiences in two months have been horrible. Their rates are good, but you are gambling with your travel experience when you book with them.

What needs to happen to shut this company down???

Related links:

http://www.victimsofexpedia.com/

http://www.frommers.com/cgi-bin/WebX?13@13.ZbsBba1noMo%5E0@.eedad0f

http://www.rateitall.com/i-19232-expediacom.aspx

 

Food for Thought: What the World Eats Monday, Jun 4 2007 

Uncategorized Mel 8:00 pm

Husband-and-wife team Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio’s new book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats explores what 30 different families in 24 countries typically eat over the course of one week. Each profile features a photo of the family with a week’s worth of groceries, as well as the cost of the food. No doubt seeing these photos serves up a hefty plate of perspective. Not only is the cost of the food fascinating, the photos also provide insight into the dietary habits and lifestyles of the citizens of the world.

Interesting how the wealthiest countries (US and Europe) are eating perhaps the unhealtiest foods (processed, sugary foods as opposed to the fresh produce and grains on the tables of many other countries).

Time has graciously served up a sampling of some of the book’s captivating images.