8 Ways to Sunday

As reported by BBC News:

I learned about this video from a post on Boing Boing, where Cory Doctorow raises an excellent question: why is the British news media covering this, but not the US media?

Arthur C. Clarke passed away yesterday afternoon, having suffered from breathing problems and back trouble during the last days of his life. His was some of the first “hard” science fiction I read, after graduating from the Star Trek spin-off novels in my local public library.

ZDNet’s Jason Perlow reminds me of a passage from 2010 that seems appropriate for the occasion. In this exchange, the dead/assimilated David Bowman talks with HAL about his own impending demise:

HAL: What is going to happen?

Dave: Something wonderful.

HAL: I’m afraid.

Dave: Don’t be. We’ll be together.

HAL: Where will we be?

Dave: Where I am now.

Thanks for your stories, Sir Clarke. Have fun exploring the universe.

Not only that, they’ve sold out hard.

This morning I heard a chopped-up version of “Island in the Sun” playing during a commercial for Beaches Resorts, the family-focused sibling brand of couple-focused Sandals Resorts.

I’ve got no problem with bands licensing their music to make some extra money, but Jesus Christ guys… did you have to go so yuppie with it? Weezer’s quirky/edgy style made them a favorite of mine in late high school and throughout college. Tropical luxury resorts just don’t seem to fit at all.

What next? “Dope Nose” in a commercial for Nasonex? “We Are All On Drugs” in a commercial for CVS Pharmacy?

You know, this is almost as bad as hearing Pearl Jam playing in Wal-Mart.

You’ve probably seen their clever TV advertisements, with that scruffy protagonist singing his catchy tune of remorse and financial ruin. They promise to monitor your credit score and alert you of any changes. Sounds great, right? Wrong.

The ad is deceptive. Listen closely, and you’ll hear Fast-Talking Disclaimer Man say this: “Offer applies with enrollment in Triple Advantage.” That’s the catch — their Triple Advantage service is not free. It has a free trial period of only seven days, after which it will cost you about $15 per month. The FreeCreditReport.com home page does explain this, but it does so in blue text on a slightly darker blue background. It’s not exactly easy to read, or even easy to notice if you’re in a hurry.

You’re entitled by law to a free credit report from each of the three credit bureaus every year. To get those reports, however, you need to go to annualcreditreport.com. Annualcreditreport.com is the one and only official source for these free annual reports.

The moral of the story is one I’m sure you’ve heard many times before: if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

I knew something was fishy about FreeCreditReport.com when I heard the ad’s disclaimer but I owe the details to The Simple Dollar, an excellent personal finance weblog by Trent Hamm. The comments on that site’s original post have some good advice on making the most of your free annual credit reports.

If I hear Lou Dobbs say “I don’t have a dog in this hunt” one more time, I swear I’m going to throw my shoe at the television.

Dobbs is overplaying his “Mr. Independent” shtick to the point of self-parody. I may find Chris Matthews insufferable, but at least his egomaniacal hooting is somewhat counteracted by the wit of Keith Olbermann. Even Wolf Blitzer’s mighty beard isn’t enough to nullify Lou Dobbs’s self-righteous preening.