Basically what happened is I had about $200 in my Chase account and a few thousand dollars in my main USAA account. Over the weekend, I charged $80 to my Chase account in several small transactions. Sunday night, I paid a bunch of online bills through my USAA account, but one of them, a student loan account, I didn't realize had been set to take payments out of my Chase account by default (I was paying bills from my Chase account for a while this semester because my GI Bill money had been delayed for several months - irrelevant though).

So, Monday morning, that $250 transaction cleared first thing causing my account to have -$36. Then, all those other transactions started clearing - most of them on Monday, and most of them for under $2... and Chase charged me a $33 fee for every single one! NINE overdraft fees, total! I logged into my account Friday to see a negative $400 when I thought I had a positive $133 balance. Crazy, right?

So I called them, and they even explained to me that they PURPOSELY prioritize and clear large payments first because that is just how they do things. Then, they said they could ONLY credit me up to $70 in overdraft charges. Isn't that just completely bogus??

Going through the register, I noticed that Friday they also reversed charges on a $8.20 payment I made to Quizno's and a $1.97 payment I made to 7-Eleven (why they did that, I have no idea). At this point I was speaking to the highest level manager. So I convinced him to reverse the two $33 overdraft charges made for those transactions, but he wouldn't remove anything else.

This Tuesday, when the banks open, I'm going to march down there and deposit $106.48 that will cover the amount of money my account was short to begin with (not including the two charges they reversed - that's their issue), and I'm going to close my account. I used to be a WaMu customer, and so my account was just transferred to Chase - I never would have voluntarily signed up to bank with them in the first place!

Anyway, if they try to come after me for all these late fees, I'm just going to ask them to prove that I ever agreed to pay their late fee charges. At most, I'm willing to pay them one single late fee charge of $33 - but the rest is their fault because of how they choose to clear the transactions. If they cleared the transactions in the order they were made, I would have had a $133 balance when that single $253 charge was made, and I would have had one overdraft and one overdraft fee.

All this is to basically say: Fuck big banks.

You should stick it to the man too: http://moveyourmoney.info/

Google Nexus One

While not the iPhone killer, I think the Nexus One spells the beginning of the end for any type of SmartPhone dominance by Apple. Check out this consumer survey and how dramatically it changed in 3 months in Android's favor.

The real killer feature of Android 2.1 that this RedEye article failed to mention is that voice-to-text can completely replace typing on the phone altogether... and as far as I know, Apple has no plans to implement this feature any time soon.  Furthermore, while multi-touch isn't available out of the box, the hardware is multi-touch capable.  Because of the high demand, I figure it should will show up in Android 2.2 by the end of summer (knock-on-wood).

Here's the important point to take home, however: Android was designed by engineers and its open-source architecture means it has countless more developers contributing to its evolution than Apple's iPhone OS, which, coincidentally, was designed by marketers.  Here Apple is making the same mistake it did when competing with the PC in the 80's.  With dozens of companies creating Android-based hardware (actually forcing an even faster evolution of the software), there will always be a "latest and greatest" Android device available on the market every other month while the iPhone will lag behind with annual releases at best.

The competition to create the next great Android device also means their capabilities will leap forward much faster the iPhones which will be developed one at a time.  This also means that the price on Android devices will drop faster than Apple devices and you'll end up with the same thing you find in the laptop industry: Apples's $1700 Macbooks are stacked up against comparable Windows based systems going for only $700. I still can't believe people are willing to pony up that much extra money for something that marginally performs better.  Never underestimate the power of marketing and people's willingness to pay a high price just to look trendy.

The fact that the Apple's internal marketer-driven development process means locking the foundation of their devices to consumer's ever changing preferences today means that their hands are tied in evolving their products to meet the demands of tomorrow

These reasons and more are exactly why Android was able to go from a rumor to a crawl (the G1 launch), to a sexy device (the Droid), to what is arguably a better than iPhone piece of hardware (Nexus One) in a fraction of the time the iPhone has existed on the market.  With a few software updates, the Nexus One will be inarguably a better device than the iPhone, and much to Apple's chagrin, Google Apps are developing at a lightning faster pace than Apple Apps.  Oh yeah, and what a pain for Apple: The iPhone is still locked to the AT&T network for a few more months...

Also, don't forget about things like Google Voice, and Google's continued development and acquisition of VoIP capabilities (allowing you to place unlimited international calls for free with an unlimited data plan on your phone).  Or how about Google's quiet acquisition of the UHF bandwidth, giving them the ability to take on all the major telecom phone providers and their 3G/4G networks, leaving Apple and any phones they develop for the traditional telecoms in the dust?

Everyone's all excited about the upcoming Apple Tablet, but I'm afraid that about a dozen even better Google Android/Chrome-powered tablets will probably launch within enough time to take it out of contention before the device even catches on.

While Apple may have a slight lead right now, Google has way more under the hood and hasn't even begun to put the pedal to the medal.  The iPhone's days as #1 are numbered (I'm guessing in the two digit category), and Apple is going to have to make some drastic changes to its development model if it wants to catch up.  Apple's only real prayer at this point is that they can some how out market Google and its family of Android developers, thus doing what it has done in the PC/laptop market and get its drone-like Apple loyalists to stay tied down to an inferior product with a much higher price tag.

Welcome to the Google Age.

Hollywood has been remaking Hong Kong movies for years now… And why not? “The Departed,” a Hollywood remake of Hong Kong police drama “Infernal Affairs” netted $290 million worldwide and bagged 4 little golden statues. Sadly, it seems like horror flicks get the Hollywood remake treatment more often with terrible films such as “The Eye” being foolishly lifted from HK cinema. Apparently, they were trying to piggy-back on the success of Japanese horror remakes such as “The Ring” and “The Grudge” – but you have to start with a good movie…

I must point out that this remake trend rubs both ways – most often with HK Cinema emulating Hollywood flicks (since the beginning really), and even directly remaking a few movies (The US thriller “Cellular” was recently remade in Hong Kong under the title “Connected”).

It is no wonder that the next fertile ground for cinema remakes that Hollywood has targeted is Korean cinema. Korean cinema has recently been titled “The New Hong Kong” and rightly so: They spent the better part of the last decade cranking out the hits and pushing the cinematic envelope just like Hong Kong did in the 80’s. Don’t believe me? Check out “Oldboy” – “a beloved by Tarantino” violent revenge flick released in 2003 (I must point out, this was actually based on a Japanese Manga).

“The Lake House” starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock was a remake of Korean drama “Il Mare” – but didn’t fare too well in the box office. While I wasn’t surprised that the Korean film “Memories of Murder” was being remade a la “Departed” style this year, I was shocked to learn that the twisted Korean romantic comedy “My Sassy Girl” was also being remade this year.

Actually, I heard about the “Sassy” remake over a year ago when Jessica Alba was still cast as the lead (the part eventually went to Elisha Cuthbert). Now, I’m not a huge fan of romantic comedies, but I tend to like “My Sassy Girl” and can’t imagine an American treatment of this film – or at least a half-way decent one. One of the key things that makes this movie so fun to watch (for me anyway) is the distinctly Korean cultural element – which don’t resemble American culture at all. Through that lens, even the most outlandish behaviors of the lead character, known only as “The Girl,” and the fact that she still gets the near unwavering loyalty from Kyun-woo seem to make a little bit of sense…

Ever since I heard they were remaking this movie, I knew that a Hollywood treatment wouldn’t do the story justice – would cheapen it – and would never sell to a wide American audience. Well, turns out I was right. The remake was made, but in all its wisdom, the studio decided to make this one a straight-to-DVD film. This seems quite strange for a film starring Jesse Bradford & Elisha Cuthbert to go straight to DVD without getting a big-screen release first… but this merely confirms my suspicion that this remake totally sucks.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0404254/
(its being released on Amazon.com on 26 August)

Hollywood should really think twice before trying to translate every popular Korean movie into an American film. Just because it flies in one culture doesn’t mean you can transpose it into another cultural setting and retain that same magic that made it a smash hit in the first place. I just heard that the Korean films “A Tale of Two Sisters” and “Failan” are being remade now. One is a deeply disturbing horror film, and the other is a very introspective romance/drama. Gee, I wonder which one is guaranteed to bomb (if not both of them). Do these Hollywood types ever learn?

It is 93 days and covers almost 4,300 miles and is limited to only 14 people. You must be a somewhat advanced cyclist to make it. This year it cost $6,500 (which includes all camping, lodging, food, and a van transporting equipment from camp to camp), and of course I would have to buy a crap load of equipment (and a better bike) to make the trip which could cost me even more... which might also limit when I'd be able to take the trip. Plus, I'd have to "train" for it wouldn't I?

Ooooooh, I want to make this trip so bad! Probably won't happen for a couple of years, but I'm TOTALLY going to do it!

This tax rebate is about as pointless as increasing the credit limit on a maxed out credit card and pretending I got a pay raise. It may allow me to spend more now, but I'm just going to have to pay it back eventually. Since the government isn't decreases spending by $110 billion, myself and every other American with any common sense knows that we're going to have to pay for the government's current spending in taxes sometime in the future - and with interest to boot! How does that make any sense??

I'd rather see the government decrease its spending so it can actually afford a tax rebate. With the example our own government sets, its no wonder credit card debt & personal bankruptcy is almost at an all time high. Is spending beyond your means, whether you're a government or an individual, really helpful to the economy in the long run? Obviously, all this fiscal irresponsibility does is lay the ground work for a looming future economic catastrophe.

Anyone could tell you that easing a little pain today at the expense of a limb or your life tomorrow is about as foolish as it gets, yet somehow some (if not most) of our politicians are willing to pull the wool over our eyes and make us feel like they're doing us a favor in order to keep their political party in favor. I don't buy it for one second, and I have a feeling that enough Americans are rational enough that enough of this stimulus plan won't get spent to do the economy any good.

Business cycles are a natural trade-off for having freedom and free, open-markets. However, the more the government tries to offset one recession, the worse the next one will be. We'd all be better off if we just accepted the fact that because we're not all equally impoverished citizens of the USSR we're going to go through the occasional recession and have temporary rises in unemployment. If Americans were managing their money properly during the good times, and not like the government teaches us, recessions and unemployment wouldn't "hurt" so bad.

In conclusion, this tax rebate plan is simply another example that most of our politicians are either not smart enough or dishonest enough that they are willing to do the exact things that got us into this mess in the first place in order to avoid taking the blame for the said mess. Its time for a change - REAL change. Not a change from one party to the next - who both want to increase the size of government when we already can't afford to pay for the one we have now. So sad... so sad...

For more information on the National Debt visit zFacts, or one of the links I provided above.

For over 8 years now I have closely followed the words and cultural samplings of these two guys and their magazine and longed to meet them face to face. Although it wasn't the right setting for a sit down and long chat over drinks about all the burning questions I have for them, this was certainly one of the happiest and most long awaited meetings of my life.

Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera with me today (I thought I had it my bag and did not!), but I did remember to bring my favorite clothing item: A G.R. hoodie. I got Eric & Martin to sign it, and I provide the pictures for you now (free of charge!).

(click a picture to view larger image)

Thanks Eric & Martin - you've informed and expanded my world, and saturated my life with fascinating culture while keeping it real and teaching me what "real" actually is. Next time (in another 8 years?), maybe we'll be able to do a conversation and photo.

So you tried it,
And you found
You found out
Things about yourself
From those people
Certain things
You never knew.

You’re a nerd,
You’re obnoxious,
You’re annoying, and a dork
You like weird thing,
And your humor
Your “sense” of humor
What sense of humor?
You’re way uncool.

All you did was
All you did
You just relaxed
Just got comfortable
You were yourself
Just yourself, and nothing more
Nothing less
Just you.

Turns out
As it turns out
No one really
No one wants you
Wants you to be
Be yourself
Just yourself
What a crock, what a lie
But you learn
What to do.

So you’re quiet
And reserved
Not too much
But not too little...

Okay,
So when you’re done
Let’s be honest
Can we be honest?
There’s little left
Nothing’s real
Just a microscopic version
Of the real
Of the actual
Of the actual
Real you.

You get along
But no one knows
No one knows you
You know no one
And you’re hidden
In a shroud
Behind a curtain
In a grave.

Now you’re just
Shallow
Nice, but shallow
Not a person
Not a person
Not a person
Not a person
Just a shallow
Shallow, hollow,
Micro, shadow,
Phantom, echo,
Puppet, bimbo...

Just a heel,
Just a heel,
Not a person
Not a person.
Was it worth it?
Could it not be?
Was it really really worth it?
And you ponder
And conclude.

That it was
It was worth it
Then again, that it wasn’t
Cuz’ it’s not worth it
No, not really
But there was nothing
Nothing else
You could do.

You had your choices
You made your choices
You chose no choices
There was nothing
Nothing else
Nothing really
Nothing else
You could do.

Be yourself
But they hate you
Be yourself
But they can’t stand you
Be yourself
But they’ll destroy you
Destroy yourself
Do it, do it,
Make them ask
Make them wonder
Never know
That you’re who.

Now you’re gone
It’s self-inflicted
They’ll never know
Because they’re happy
They’ll never know
And they don’t care
They’ll never know
And you won’t let them
They’ll never know
The real one:
You.

I've done all the things
I was supposed to do:
I did my homework.
I cleaned my room.
I brushed my teeth.
I said my prayers.
I lay in bed
Praying.
Praying for God to put me to sleep.
Praying for God to put my mind at ease.
The answer comes
In the form of silence.
I guess I have to find sleep on my own.

How are you sleeping?
I'm not sleeping at all…
Sometimes my mind
Is full of words.
Words march
In a single file line
Across my brain
Like ants,
Marching with a purpose
Up and down the cracks of the sidewalk.
Sometimes my mind if full of nothing.
Nothing but waves
In a never ending ocean.

Nothing helps.
Reading doesn’t help.
I am either unable to focus
On what I am reading.
Or I concentrate too much.
Sometimes my mind becomes so focused
I wonder how it is possible.
Words leap off the page
Directly into my brain.
I seem to be taking
Every sight in
All at once.

How are you sleeping?
I’m not sleeping too much these days…
I was exhausted earlier.
Yet something is missing.
I lay in bed wondering
What is missing.
I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Something is certainly missing.
What could it be?

Every day I accomplish
As much as I can.
Every night
I lay in bed
Feeling like I accomplished
Nothing.
What is it my mind
Wants me to do?
What is it my body longs for?
Where has that sweet feeling
Of rest
And certainly,
Safety
And comfort,
Hope
And peace…
Gone?

How are you sleeping?
Hopefully better than I…
For your sake,
I hope sweet rest
Finds you
When your head hits the pillow.
I hope you feel
Like you had a good day.
I hope you feel
Like nothing is missing.
I hope you feel
Like sleeping is the right thing to do
When you lie down to do it.
And sleep well.
Undisturbed.

Maybe I am afraid
Of the dreams that will come.
The dreams I don’t remember,
But I wish I did.
Or do I?
I know that whatever is missing
Finds me in my dreams.
It taunts me
Until I wake up,
And then,
It is gone
Leaving me helpless,
But to relive
Another day
Missing
Something.

Something
Is missing.
I can’t say what it is.
Something won’t let me
Sleep like I should.
When will I find it?
When will I sleep?

How are you sleeping?
I’m not doing so well…
Just know
That for your sake
I hope you sleep
Well.

I’ve been in bed
For over three hours.
Or what some might call
An eternity.
I know I’ll sleep eventually.
I hope I will.
And I hope I’ll wake
When the time is right
Rested.
Not plagued with fatigue
From fighting ghosts
In my dreams.

Do you dream?
Do you love your dreams?
Do you sleep when you should?
And wake at the right time?
I hope you do.
I hope you have it all:
Good sleep.
Good dreams.
Good mornings.

Goodnight.

He saw her as the sun
Came up in the morning
Casting its rays upon her face and hair
Should he leave his path
To meet this beautiful stranger?
Should he risk it? Should he dare?

Then she noticed him and smiled
Ever so gently
With a smile that melted his heart
So cautiously he approached her
With a curious longing
And his life began to imitate art

“It’s you!” he said
Not really knowing why
“Are you also on a path alone?”
“I was…” she replied
In a voice like a whisper
Hope revealed in her voice’s pure tone

And they noticed their paths
Seemed to wind together
So they walked along in peace
Side by side they walked
And shared their stories
And their loneliness began to decrease

Cautiously he reached out
And took her by the hand
But she didn’t pull back or retreat
Instead she squeezed
His hand back gently
It was a joyful moment of love so sweet

“I feel something
Like our destinies pulling
Us together for a purpose,” he said
“I feel it too
Though our paths are uncertain”
She replied and they both turned bright red

“I have to warn you
I’m afraid of life’s great trials
Are you willing to crash and burn with me?”
She stopped for a moment
Puzzled at the question
But decided this was too good to flee

And caught up in love’s
Sweet intoxication
And the warmth of his strong embrace
“Yes” she replied
With no more hesitation
Then held him close, his chest against her face

And in that embrace
She could feel his heart beating
Faster she heard it thumping with joy
And the joy took her over
In sweet elation
Full of love nothing could destroy

So together they marched
On a single path
Hand in hand, and side by side
Seeing few hard times
On the road ahead of them
Confident through all they could abide

Unexpectedly, the path
Became quite rocky
And she stumbled nearly falling apart
But he picked her up and
With all the strength in him
He carried her with the love in his heart

In his weakness he stumbled
Nearly dropping his love
But he refused to set her down
Though it hurt her at times
He squeezed her tighter
His strength and love never ceased to abound

Finally, he weakened
And began to falter
Facing a rough path of his own
But she kept him going
With hugs and kisses
He kept going because he wasn’t alone

There were times when their path
Became such a struggle
They reached inward trying to make it alone
And each time she did this
It hurt him quite deeply
Each time he did, she began to fear the unknown

Her uncertainties grew
Each time she saw his weakness
And his weaknesses grew when he saw her doubt
And the path ahead of them
Began to darken
Seeds of fear, in her heart, began to sprout

Secretly she began to wander
From their path together
Seeking another path safe with certainties
Missing her, but not knowing
Why he felt it
He stumbled and fell to his knees

In this state she found him
And saw all his flaws
At the same time she saw their path ahead
She was the first to notice
The chasm looming
She was the first to be filled with dread

When finally he saw
The cliff in front of them
He mustered all the courage he had
“We can do this!” he said
Hope filling his voice
“Together we can fly right over the bad!”

He pulled her along
Thinking this was the moment
When her promise to crash and burn
Would be fulfilled and yet
Together they would triumph
And through trial and triumph they would learn

But the doubts in her heart
Were already winning
She had found many paths seeming more secure
Yet a small piece of hope
Allowed her to keep going
And together they reached the edge in a blur

Then he jumped with a leap
To reach the other side
And for a moment he thought he was flying
Until he turned his head
And saw her staying behind
And he realized that instead he was dying

Further down he fell
Her image getting smaller
Then she turned and walked away
He felt betrayed because
She had not kept her promise
The one they both made on that beautiful day

So he crashed and burned
Just as he feared
And he let out a gut wrenching groan
High above him she heard it
Echoing through the canyon
And she realized they are still together

alone.