Madonna - Cherish

Cherish the thought
Of always having you
Here by my side
Cherish the joy
You keep bringing it
Into my life
Cherish your strength
You got the power to
Make me feel good
Perish the thought
Of ever leaving
I never would

Dia 18 de Dezembro vai demorar séculos para chegar esse ano:

Garry writes:

First, I want to say that I was a happy Vonage customer for 4 years. The only reason I chose to leave them was I got a better deal. Leaving is the rub. Even after you leave, Vonage keeps on billing, and they resurrect dead service without notice. This company is technically a good operation, but the customer service and billing has earned this fiasco of a company the right to a dirt nap.

In late September 2005 I ordered VOIP service form another carrier and canceled Vonage. Several calls to Vonage sent me through a succession of people, many who had poor command of English, and eventually led me to wait on hold for the person authorized to end my account. The wait was too long, and I finally believed I closed the account on a Saturday after spending more than 2 hours on the phone with them. When I had allegedly discontinued service, I had been using my new carrier for several weeks and had disconnected the Vonage ATA box. They billed my American Express charge for the entire month, and I paid the entire bill. All was well until the next American Express bill arrived and the usual charge from Vonage was again on the bill again. I had now not used the service for 2 months Long waits finally got assurances form a Vonage employee that the service was discontinued, although no one would agree to credit me for the illegitimate charges. I paid the bill and moved on to more productive endeavors rather than fight over $30. The next month, you guessed it. Vonage billed my American Express again. I phoned American Express, and they contested the charges and since Vonge did not bother to proive they were legitimate, the charge was reversed. Every Month following that time, I had a new charge from Vonage that was contested and reversed. I repeated called Vonage and emailed them to no avail. As a rule no one could find my account when I phoned them or I was told it was an error. This continued for more than 2 years until I finally closed the American Express account. Finally all was quiet after 2 years of trying to get read of the Vonage beast.

Today I received two collection notices from an agency writing on Vonages' behalf. They say I owe more than $250 for Vonage service including charges from last year - more than 2 years after I canceled service.

First, ask your ex-phone company for written confirmation that you canceled your service two years ago. Send your request directly to Vonage's executive offices. Forward a copy of the confirmation letter to any debt collector that demands money. If, like Vonage, they don't relent, threaten to report them for mail fraud.

Enroll in the program and spend $1,000 on non-Costco purchases and you will get an additional 1% cash back on every eligible purchase (up to $200 extra!) between September 1 and October 31st!

That means I'll be getting 4% cash back on gas, 3% on travel and 2% for every other non-Costco purchase.

And you know what else? I don't have to wait for my rebate check to receive the extra cash back. It comes as a statement credit to my account 6-8 weeks after the promotion ends.

You have to be invited to participate. If you're worried that you may have mistakenly tossed your invitation go to www.americanexpress.com/costco1000 and you can enter your login and password to see if you're invited.

There's lots of fine print, so check that out, of course.

It's a great deal for me. I hope you can take advantage, too!

Herve Sedky, American Express Business Travel Global Advisory Services vice president and general manager, said the company's corporate clients increasingly are enforcing advance purchase policies and encouraging travelers to trade down to economy tickets, but high fuel costs, capacity cuts and new fare restrictions continue to drive the cost of domestic fares upward.

Amex said its clients paid on average $260 per way for domestic tickets—$24 more than the second quarter this year compared with the same period in 2007. On the international front, exit-North America fares to other regions averaged $1,980.

The American Express data confirms what many airline executives said during their second-quarter earnings calls—that the cost of air travel is going up, new fences are being built around business fares and business travelers are purchasing their tickets further in advance to offset increases (BTNonline, August 11).

"Advance purchases in most instances, though not in all, yield savings," Sedky said. "When companies are looking at this return on investment, it's about how do you stretch this dollar and take it further. Advance purchase is a great way to do this. The other trend is down-trading," Sedky said regarding business class usage among corporate travelers.

Sedky said 89 percent of domestic purchases were discounted coach fares, showing "that more travelers purchased tickets in advance." Sedky said advance purchases can save companies up to 17 percent on domestic fares. Sedky noted that companies that shifted from a 7-day- to a 14-day-advance purchase policy saved on average $49 per segment.

Amex studied client purchases during the second quarter across 329 citypairs in the United States and Canada to yield its domestic figures, and examined 160 international citypairs originating from North America to determine its international average fare.

http://www.btnonline.com/

More info Here - Download

A while back I had read in an article that actor/music artist/superhero deluxe Will Smith never has a plan B. Once he sets his mind out on something, he goes for it – there is no fallback plan, no second option. Tough mentality to live by. Tough in the sense that its balls out, for all the marbles, we’re going in and burning all the bridges, setting our ships on fire – there is no going home until we win, until we get what we set out to achieve. Reading this article made me reflect. It made me think back to some of my glory stories – moments I was proud of myself for refusing to turn back until I got what I came for. It also made me realize something strong – the dire reality that the problem with our society today, is that plan B’s exist everywhere. In debt? No prob, sign up for your 5^th Amex. So deep in debt? No sweat, file for personal bankruptcy. Not happy with your husband or wife, come on, there’s a bar right around the corner – surely singles are there for the taking. Cheat. Still not happy? – get divorced. Don’t like your job? Too much work? Quit. Switch it up. Too many B’s and not enough A’s. A plans that are well thought out and fueled with passion. A-plans that enable you to live your A-game.

And even as I write this right now, I question what I’ve done or continue to do in my life. Am I falling victim to the reality that I do have an abundance of plan B’s by my side? Have I sucked the life out of the options that keep me afloat? Options taken so often that they’ve softened my character, made timid my focus and persistence? Have I become lazy and complacent in my quest for something great? Has the high amount of resources and support crippled my edge for living strong, living with purpose? Has too much of a good thing led to mediocre things? Nah not yet. I’m still alive and kickin’ strong. I think big and have got big goals. Goals that fall in the plan A category. A’s that don’t know no B’s.

And so the self reflection for us all begins. How come so many of today’s success stories came from nothing? How come so many with so much from the start, go on to live lives unremarkably? Why is it that those with nothing to lose, seem to be the biggest winners in the end? And those with everything to lose, end up most of the time, losing it in the end? Losing their way – losing their focus, their passion, their persistence. Failing flawlessly to notice that sometimes the best plan to have, is a plan with no other plan. Its all or nothing. It’s the heart and soul of knowing deep down inside – that what you came here to do, what you came here for – is going to be reality. Its a fantastic realization that without out the safety net, its remarkable what we can accomplish when we have no other choice.

And so I leave you with this. If you want something so bad, why is it that you don’t get it? Why is it that you don’t get it, that in order to get it, you’ve got only one job and that is to get it? You’ve got only one responsibility to yourself and to society, and that is, to be true to yourself. Be true to who you are, go for what you want – and never even let it cross your mind, that plan b exists.

So let me tell you what RantingMark knows about the Black Card...

What does it cost?  As of about a year ago, Amex started charging a one-time fee of $5,000.  Prior to that they didn't charge a fee.  They also charge $2,500 per year and $1,000 for each additional black card.  Apparently some fancy celebs don't get charged any of the fees.  RantingMark is no celeb.

How to qualify?  The general rule is that you have to spend $250,000 with an Amex Platinum card over a 12 month period, be in good standing, and have a certain level of assets in order to get an invite, although they do let certain important exec's, celebs, athlete's qualify as well.

Benefits?  There are a bunch. 

• You get 24/7 travel and concierge service.  This is a pretty good service, however I personally have had better luck getting better priced and better located tickets from outside brokers than with Amex on more than one occassion.  The concierge service is great at booking hard to get dinner reservations.  I've never had a problem with the travel service and it is very convenient.
• You get a free night in any Mandarin Oriental Hotel (except NY and London) with a paid night.
• Priority Pass Membership (airport lounge access for most airports)
• Gold/Platinum/Elite status for Continental, Delta, Virgin and US Airways
• Elite Status at various hotels
• Upgraded Rooms and extra benefits at Preferred Hotels: better hotels like the Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons and others generally provide extras like free gifts, upgraded rooms when available, meal credits, free meals or credits towards hotel services and 4pm late check out.
• Free First Class buddy tickets (I believe Platinum has this service too)
• Personal shoppers at certain high end stores (never used this feature)
• I just received a $1,000 gift card to Mikimoto out of the blue.  Of course most items in that store are probably well over $1,000. 

It is worth it?  This really depends on how you use it.  For many people it probably isn't worth it other than the cachet of having one.  Do you get treated better when you throw it on the bar?  Usually yes.  Would it be worth it for that?  No way unless you have some kind of inferiority complex.

I travel constantly.  I get upgraded rooms all the time.  I've gone from a $750/night oceanfront room at the Ritz Carlton South Beach to a $3000/night Presidential suite (3 night stay) and had similar experiences many times.  I've easily saved thousands of dollars in savings at hotels for meals, massages and more.  I've taken advantage of the 2-1 first class tickets.  I've gotten reservations to restaurants like Per Se (amazing), Daniel (classic), babbo (overrated) and others without any problems.  Last year they even sent an awesome Canon Digital Camera around the holidays.  For RantingMark it is definitely worth it. 

Other Tidbits You also get a couple of magazines with the Black Card.  Departures is an awesome travel magazine (which I believe also gets sent to Platinum card holders) and Black Ink is a pretty useless magazine that basically shows you absurd ways to spend much more money with your Amex card and little else.

The Black Card is made of Titanium and does indeed set off airport metal detectors.  This happened to RantingMark at JFK one time.  It also doesn't like gas station slots that are too narrow and can scratch the card a little.  The card does not have an unlimited credit limit.  The limit is based on your assets, earnings and history. 

If you have any questions about the Amex Black Card, let RantingMark know and he'll try to answer them for you.

FYI - this site has some good info on the Amex Black Card:  http://www.blackcardsource.com/

Well I thought this way, We have So many advancements, new technology, etc. etc..., The basics of life is to have food and shelter, remaining other things are luxury in every possible way, even though you can argue for the sake it requires in today's world, I surely differ because it was created by us.

Rich / Upper Middle / Middle / Poor, Who created these groups? We don't have this when we were born or when we form ourselves as a single cell into this world. But for the sake of some one's stupid accumulation (of money and things) we have this differences. Any way we have these differences. Due to these differences we have a state in every nation called as "poverty" and this word takes the toll of the children when it activates itself.

I thought of how to eliminate poverty out of this world, I strongly believe poverty can be eliminated and it doesn't need to be from a huge Donation. This amount Amex is providing can be a setting stone for something new, something the world population can initiates themselves into something better.

Why I'm saying this is because, lot of times most of the people are left out when doing something good, that was created do to the fact of the word volunteer. Instead it should have been the responsibility or a necessity of a world citizen, if elimination of poverty is made as a necessity, why would there be a poverty?

Poverty will not be there because every one will be working towards that. At times, I've thought why were the technologies or analysis are not working to eliminate this barrier.

There are so many countries, so many charity organizations, why they are not even thinking about group the world as one face together.

Personally I believe we are ONE form, If we are one form everybody is included as close as your organs. So if one of our organ gets hurted, won't we take the necessary step.

Similarly, I proposed one such initiative in this project (Click the below link for more details), If you have any question, comments please reply here or email to webmaster [at] vtrip.info:

Please Vote:
Food for Children for Life

Middag på Sturehof med spontant sällskap av två Östermalmsdamer varav den ena bor vid klockan i huset där Birger Jarlsgatan möter Biblioteksgatan. Hon åt samma soppa som jag och vi lovordade den. De fullständigt älskade min frisyr och jag berättade med inlevelse min Bobbys färdigheter. Kände mig lite falskt och naivt övertygad på något sätt men staden är så vacker på natten så jag viftade bort det hela och jag trivs med livet. Låt gå då, smartass, tänkte jag och mindes vad Fox sagt om att sluta tänka.

Det är annat än Svenssonlivet med villa och volvo. Ingen vovve däremot men de obligatoriska två barnen. Som av misstag råkar kalla mig mamma ibland, vilket jag tycker säger ganska mycket om hur mycket jag verkligen gör där. Fast de inte verkar se det. Stiletter på grusgången funkar inte. Knappt de kläder jag har heller, lerbrottning är inte klänningarnas favoritlek. Favoritleken utspelar sig i stadens upplysta natt och kallas 'det ljuva livet'.

Sämsta solfjädern idag: ett kuvertbrev. Hög prasselvarning!

Oh my f God! AmEx Centurion!! Most wealthy guy today utan tvekan, trots Årskorten för 55 lax kontant. Det är inte ofta.

Low and behold the Dow Jones was up 1.2% and the TSX was down marginally with our major banks reversing early losses with upward movements between 2% - 4%. Looking at some of the US financials, they are up 50% from their lows just a week ago.

Sub-prime loan losses seem to be stabilizing although there is still weakness in home loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The guys shorting financial stocks have been getting killed over the last few days and the pain of holding on. Oil stocks have been getting hurt as well as demand has been dropping. You can read my posts of last week on short covering of financials and "Buying Oil can be bad for your Health" as those themes continue into this week.

Dennis Gartman, who publishes The Gartman Letter and is followed by analysts and portfolio managers around the world is increasing his exposure to US stocks highly correlated to the index and is shorting oil with the belief that oil prices will continue their downward trend over the short-term.

Even some of the preferred shares I mentioned last week are up about 10% in just a few days as 7.25% bank backed investments are too attractive to ignore. What's next?

I haven't mentioned REIT's. The acronym stands for Real Estate Investment Trusts. I dont follow US or Global REIT's so my comments pertain to Canadian REITs. As an individual investor, it can be hard to diversify Real Estate holdings. By investing in a REIT, you get broad diversification in a portfolio of holdings, monthly distributions and preferrential tax treatment. REIT's have been trading well below their highs of a year ago. Most are trading well below their net asset value with sustainable distributions in the 7% - 11% range. Top tier names include Riocan, Primaris, and Boardwalk. Expect some smaller names to be taken over in the next 12 months as this sector moves back in favour. The beauty of REIT's as well is that you have complete liquidity with the ability to buy and sell a real estate portfolio in the open market on a daily basis.

What are your thoughts? Do you think REIT's have upward potential in the coming months?

Thanks, but I think I'll stay away.

American Express made $653 million, or 56 cents a share, for the quarter, down from the year-ago $1.06 billion, or 88 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for an 82-cent profit. American Express said the latest quarter reflected a $374 million addition to its credit loss reserves, as the effect of falling house prices and rising unemployment "was evident even among our longer term, superprime cardmembers."

As a result, the company has abandoned its earlier forecast of 4%-6% earnings growth for the year. The company also said it would accelerate "re-engineering efforts" in the second half, meaning more job cuts are likely on the way. The comments strike a much more pessimistic tone than those heard earlier from Bank of America (BAC) chief Ken Lewis, who said repeatedly he views the economic slowdown and the bank's possible credit losses as "manageable." AmEx shares fell 10% in postclose action.

The new hotel benefit is available through the Gold Card Destinations program, a collection of special travel benefits offered at no additional cost on all consumer American Express Gold Cards. To take advantage of the new hotel benefit, Card members need to book through American Express by visiting their local American Express Travel Service Location or calling 1-888-559-5576.

Source: eMedia World

American Express just released this SPG Starpoints promo that appears to be targeted.  If you qualify for this promotion, you can magically earn 2,500 extra Starpoints.  Once you're on the promo site, here's all you have to do:

Step 1: To enroll in this one-time offer, please enter your 14-digit RSVP code. Or, if you are registered to manage your account online, enter your user ID and password.
 
Step 2: Contact your wireless provider to set up automatic bill payments and you can start earning rewards.

It appears that some people did not receive a 14-digit RSVP code, yet when they entered in their online login ID and password, they received successful confirmation.  Unfortunately, your truly was rejected like a lowly Premier trying to use 500 mile e-upgrades on United.

Good luck . . . and make sure you read the legalese at the bottom of the promo site!

All you have to do is swipe your regular American Express card when it asks for you to swipe your Costco card, then swipe the credit card you want to pay with.  I have not tried this, but I have read numerous accounts of it working.

Apparently it works because Costco has a Costco Amex card, and that card can be used as proof of membership, however the machine is trained to only read the line of code that says it's an Amex card and nothing else.  Therefore when you swipe a regular Amex card the machine thinks that it's a Costco member Amex card.

Locate a Costco nearby, try it out and let me know how you enjoy your (roughly) 10 cent discount on gas!