Jon Bon’s Money

And it’s never good.

I really don’t like being in such a position, and I try to avoid them.  No matter if your situation is in a relationship, a job where you’re overpaid and under qualified, or simply as a consumer it is never a good thing. You give the other party all the power, and often times things are just hunky dory either the other party does not know they have the upper hand on your, or they do know it and are ok with the status-quo.

This is the situation that I found myself in today.

I needed a new iphone, mine went thru the wash, and it needed to be replaced. The only place I could do it sort of buying a brand new one at $500 was the aptly named Apple Genius Bar.  So I went to the Apple store, well first I had to schedule an appointment, an appointment! This is not a visit to my doctor, or a job interview. I want to give Apple a large portion of money, and they want me to schedule a time do it! Their first problem was that they have one single Apple store in a metro area of well over a million people, but I will set that aside.  The store was packed, and to their credit it went pretty fast. They smiled as they send me out the door with my ‘new’ $200 iphone.  Regardless I still don’t think I like the idea of a business dictating to me when I am allowed to come in and give them my money.

I just worry what happens when Apple realizes that they have the complete upper hand with me, and can do just about whatever they want to me.

Apple is a company that has been to the brink of disaster and come back several times. They have fired their current CEO in the 90’s just to bring him back 5 years or so later. To me everything apple does is centered in a tactical objective of protecting their competitive advantage.

Your Apple product can only sync with other apple software and run Apple applications. Your Apple can only be worked on by Apple Technicians, and your Apple MP3s will only work on Apple Devices.  The only recourse dissatisfied customers have with a business is to give their business to someone else, but with Apple products is that even possible without replacing your entire media collection, computers, and music players? There has been talk that Apple is pushing out Flash and Adobe players because they wont play ball with apple, and as a result everyone’s iphones no longer will run videos or documents in those formats.

Now this is all well and good if you love apple, and are happy with the way things are. It just worries me that apple is sending us all down a path of dependence that there is not getting off of.  I love my phone, it’s made by Apple, but I don’t think I can give it up. I just hope Apple does not raise its prices simply because it can.

I went to Las Vegas this weekend with 11 great friends of mine to celebrate my upcoming marriage with a great bachelor party. I have never been to Las Vegas before and I had a great time. It is without a doubt unlike any other city in the world. It makes people act crazy and totally and utterly forget who they are back home.

Usually I am not a gambler whatsoever, and I still would say that has not changed, but I did spend a little time at the tables.

I started with roulette which has terrible odds (around 5% house edge). Its very easy to play and requires no thought, skill, or talent of any kind. I then had a disastrous foray into 3 card poker. I think I lost around $130 in a matter of minutes. I then moved onto black jack which I very much enjoyed. I probably lost around $50, but I spent about 6 hours at a few different tables at different times. I more then made up for the losses by the free drinks I received.

My takeaways from Vegas

Monopoly Money: In Vegas I treated $50’s and 100’s as 5’s and 10’s

Chips: Using chips as currency further distances your losses with actual cash

Time: Where did it go? No clocks, no windows, very easy to lose track of time.

Drinks: the entire strip is open container. So BYOB lessens the pain

Expectations: Don’t think your going to win, and set some sort of number that is your loss limit

I loved Vegas and am very grateful to my friends who helped make it happen. All we need next year is for someone else to get engaged and we can find an excuse to do it again.

Cheers

            Well I have had my Iphone for two weeks now and I still love it. I like just about everything about it, and I have had no trouble with the AT&T network save for 1 call that did not get connected the first time.  There are lost of things I like about it, and a few that I don’t.

The Touchscreen: its actually super easy to use, and the software is smart enough to know when I tapped the screen by mistake. Typing takes a little getting use too espically in the portrait orientation.

 Email: I have never had a smart phone before, so getting the Iphone was like going from a 1987 Ford Fremont to a band new Lexus. I had my first “Iphone moment”. We have had a fair amount of winter weather recently, and I was wondering if my classes were going to be cancelled. I did not know the schools weather hotline number, but I knew I had it in my emails. With in seconds I pulled up the email, tapped the number and found out that I did indeed have to go to class.

 Apps: They make apps for everything of course and some are just so dang useful you wonder how you ever got around before. I could try to explain the awwwesomeness that is the Iphone Apps, but it is just something you have to experience yourself.

 The Camera: again, just so easy and convenient to use. Most pictures I want to take I am not going to hang in a studio, so the need for a 10MP photo is moot. Here is a hint, the apps utilize the camera in ways that I never thought possible.

 Cost: Now this is something I don’t like! I got my first bill for $124 this included some prorated charges as well as an activation fee. Cell phone plans are not cheap for any phone and since I think this is the best phone that money can buy, it is justified. So the cheapest plan with unlimited data and texting should run $85ish a month.

Final thought: Zero buyer’s remorse.

Yeah that’s right. I love it.

            The last time I went to the library to actually check something out must have been in high school at some point.  So it has been a while. I can’t remember how, why, or when I joined the library, but I have the card in my wallet.

            I was doing a very good job of spending JonBon’s money at Barnes and Noble, as well as getting them shipped to me from Amazon. It was starting to add up, so I figured I would try to cut expenses and give it a go. I started with getting a few books and CDs from the library. The best part is how easy and convenient that it is. All you have to do is go online, put in your card number and request that the book arrive at any branch that you want. Usually just a few days later you will get an email telling you your book is ready for pick up. I just stop by on my way home, and grab the books that already have my name printed on a slip of paper. It’s fast, easy, and best of all free!

            Now my mother has been doing this for years, and I guess maybe this is one time when I was actually behind her on something. Hey we pay taxes for libraries, might as well use them right?

           As someone who contends that they live below their means, and aggressively saves for a home and retirement how can I justify a pricey trip “across the pond” to France?

            If you know anything about world currencies you know that the dollar is currently in the doghouse. One American Dollar will get you about .65 of a Euro. Put it another way if I spent 1000 Euros in Europe is  more then 1,500 USD.

Ouch

            So yeah the Dollar pretty much sucks but I am saving more then enough to make up for the lousy exchange rate.

1) Airfare: Flying directly into Charles De Gaulle airport on Paris costs around $1300 bucks per ticket. We chose to fly into Luxemburg for less then half that, spend two days in a very small country then take the high speed train to Paris.

2) Lodging: In Lux. We are going to use my Hilton points for free hotel rooms. Hopefully we will not have to pay sales tax on the room. In Paris we are staying with my Aunt and Uncle who have rented an apartments for six months.

3) Food: It is going to be a challenge for me, I love eating out, especially in the thousands of open air cafes that Pairs has to offer. But if we limit ourselves to a nice dinner every other night, we should be in great shape.

4) The Sights: Hilary has done a bit of research and lots of the attractions: Eiffel Tower, Louvre, the Orsay have free or discount prices at the non-peak times.

5) Getting Around: Paris has a great subway system and we plan to use it. Cabs are a huge waste of money.

            Moral of this story: if you do a little research before hand you can reduce costs without reducing the fun.