I did some Google searching, and it seems like no one talks about having bought a pair of fake ic! berlins.  The fakes all seem to be glasses with much more famous names (Gucci, Armani, Diesel).  Which is interesting, because I consider these glasses to be pretty low quality, given their price.

I have noticed with many other types of goods (such as clothes and fountain pens).  Brands that are stylish but not particularly good quality (Gucci, Montblanc, etc) seem to be faked frequently, whereas brands that produce better quality products but do not have the name recognition (Paul Stuart, Pelikan) are rarely imitated.

This is good for someone seeking value, because they can buy high quality, used products somewhere like eBay, without worrying about it being counterfeit.  Often, this will even cost less then buying a new, lower quality product.

I do not understand the point of this phone call.  It is not going to change any opinions.  If I am an Obama supporter, I will say, “That evil John McCain!  Saying bad things about Barack Obama!” and this ad will simply confirm my existing beliefs.  If I am a McCain supporter I will say, “That evil Barack Obama! Saying bad things about John McCain!” and this ad will confirm my beliefs.  Or if I hate both of them, and the way that politics is more like cheer leading than like rational discussion, this will merely confirm my beliefs.

To make this post informative, let me explain how to get taken off of this calling list.  Just call 888-686-8191 and press “1″ when the machine picks up.

Today I was reading an academic paper, and wanted to read one of the papers it cited, published in 1996 by a well-known academic publishing house.  I looked the journal up on my university library’s website, and found that it was available.  When I clicked on it, however, I discovered that it was only able to access articles published after 1997.  At this point I gave up, Googled the author, found his website and e-mail address, and requested a copy directly from him.  If he had been hit by a bus yesterday, I would be out of luck.

I wish the open-access movement success.

Sometimes though, they just suck.  Today I was trying to read a book through the library’s website, and it required me to install some junky software (ebrary), written by people who apparently have not discovered caching yet.  Once I closed my browser, installed it, reopened my browser, and found the book again, the fun started.  Turning pages in this system takes between 30 seconds and two minutes.  So, I started reading a (physical) book between page flips, alternating between it and the e-book.

This whole situation is ridiculous.

Chicago has skyscrapers with large grassy fields in front of them, which seems very strange to  someone used to crowded East Coast cities.  It is as though someone built clusters of high rises in the middle of a farm.

I also do not understand the housing market here.  There are condos for sale EVERYWHERE, and they are relatively inexpensive.  Our hotel is in the South Loop, which has almost no restaurants, grocery stores, or retail businesses, and there are tons of condos for sale near here.

They gave me a credit on my account equal to more than what it will cost me to replace the DVD, so this does not bother me.  I am curious how their processing works though, if they are not able to catch a DVD, even if they know in advance where it is coming from and what sleeve it will be in.

I opened an account at Citizens Bank in Roxborough (the new one on Ridge and Lyceum). I specifically chose a type of account with no fees. The guy “Ed” said that there was no fees for the debit cards, or the account, and there was just a $25 minimum. Sounded great.

In the past two months, I paid $55 in fees for this “no fee” account. The first $25 was for a “rewards program” that I never heard of, asked to be enrolled in, or was ever informed of. It’s not in the service agreement I signed, in any of the brochures they gave me, or on any of the statements.

Then there were two $15 overdraft charges. Overdraft charges make sense, if I overdraw my account, I should pay them. However, I put a few hundred dollars into a savings account, specifically because Ed said that it would provide protection in case I overdrew my account. He explicitly told me that there was no fee if I went over in my checking account, if I had money to cover it in my savings. In fact, the ONLY REASON I SIGNED UP FOR A SAVINGS ACCOUNT was to protect myself from overdraft fees. I have never overdrawn an account in my life, the only reason I overdrew this one is because I figured it did not matter since I had protection. I do not understand what the point of overdraft protection is if you get charged a fee whether or not you have it.

I called the toll free number today, and they were able to remove the $25 fee and de-enroll me from the rewards program. She said there was nothing they could do about the overdraft fees though. I said, “so basically, this guy lied to me?” She said, no, he made an error. What a great deal. The company makes an error, the customer pays $30. I should get into the banking business. Until then, I am going to stash my cash under my mattress.