It’s often said that buying an extended warranty is a waste of money, but I don’t necessarily agree with that. I’ve done quite well buying the extended warranty on some laptops, and some TVs – getting far more in fixes than I ever paid for the extended warranty. I don’t buy it on everything though, mostly because I know about the “hidden” extended warranty that I have.

What the heck is a “hidden” extended warranty? Well, it’s one that many people have, and don’t even know it; it’s offered through your credit card company. My credit card is a TD Travel Infinite Visa, and it comes with a number of handy features, including “extended warranty protection.” This extends the original warranty of the product for up to 1 year, and it’s really easy to make a claim if you have to.

My first claim was for an Archos 605 video player. It seemed like a great thing when I bought it, but the battery became so poor that it wouldn’t even turn on (their power technology was so poor that the battery had to be able to receive a charge for it to work, even if it was plugged in – junk!). The problem was that I had owned it for 18 months, and it had a 12 month warranty. I knew I bought it on my credit card (Visa Gold Card), but I had never explored the extended warranty before. I had to send them my receipt, Visa statement showing the purchase, and a form that I had filled out (and I had to send them the device). In return they sent me a check for the FULL amount I bought the thing for (which was pretty close to $400). What a deal! I got 18 months of use from the player, and then got all my money back. I had bought an external battery pack for the thing which became useless, but I didn’t really care at that point.

Now I’ve had to use it a second time after I started having problems with my iPhone 4S. I bought an adapter to use an HDMI cable with it for a trip, and when I plugged it into the phone the device didn’t show up. It worked fine on the iPad, but not the iPhone. Took a trip to the Apple Store and they confirmed that it was a problem with the phone connector, and it would be $200 to fix since my phone was out of warranty. I got some documentation from them that listed the problem, and how much it would cost, and called my credit card people when I got home. Scanned all the documents and sent them to them, and earlier today I got word that they’ve sent out a check for the $208.95 to cover Apple’s out-of-warranty “repair” (they just give you a refurbished phone). Awesome!

So, check your credit card and see if you have extended warranty protection. If you do, purchase things like electronics on the card, and know you’ll be covered for 2 years, without much hassle if you have to make a claim. I’ve been very impressed with the feature the two times I’ve had to use it.

There’s been a lot of talk about gun control in the US since the recent mass-shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary school, but I always think about the other deaths that could be prevented with stronger gun control laws. These are the ones we never hear about.

In Virginia you can walk into a gun store, fill out some paperwork and walk out with a gun. There’s no “cooling off period” like many other states have – the time between when you apply to buy a gun, and you’re able to pick it up. If you’re someone who hasn’t been convicted of a crime, you’ll likely be able to get a gun in Virginia.

Three years ago a man in his early 30s walked into a Virginia gun store, filled out some papers and walked out with a gun. He wasn’t going to use it for target practice, or use it to protect himself, or rob a bank. He was going to use it to kill someone.

What the person who sold the gun didn’t know was that the man he just sold the gun to was depressed. His marriage was over; his wife had left him, and he couldn’t imagine a life without her. It was his fault. He went home with that gun and used it to kill himself, putting an end to his depression.

How many other lives like this could have been saved by stricter gun control laws? No one knows, because these are the deaths most of us never hear about. I’m almost certain that if Virginia had a cooling off period this man, my friend, would still be alive today.

When people talk about gun control in the US, I think of my friend, a victim of depression and a gun that was far too easy to obtain.

I remember going to the library every Wednesday as a kid, finding a new book (or comic – I loved Asterix and Tin Tin), and then devouring it before the next week when I’d go back and get a new book. I made less time for reading as I grew older, filling it with other things, like spending (wasting) time on the computer, or watching TV and movies. Well, that’s changing; I’m making more time for books, and I love it.

The Dead Man Volume 1

I’ve recently started reading a new series called “The Dead Man,” created by Lee Goldberg and William Rabkin. I’ve gotten to know Lee a little bit over the years because of his work on a number of shows (SeaQuest DSV, Diagnosis Murder, and tons of others), and I’ve always been interested to read some of his work. When he announced this new series, “The Dead Man,” a few years ago, I thought it sounded like a cool premise; guy dies, but comes back to life and… well… stuff happens. What intrigued me the most was the story behind the series; they originally conceived it as a TV show and put the idea in their back pockets when the networks passed. Deciding it was too good to waste, they decided to turn it into a series of stories.

These are novellas, which I hadn’t read before. It’s longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel, and after reading the first three stories in The Dead Man series, I’d have to say it’s a lot like reading an episode of a TV show, which is pretty freakin’ awesome. I’d say the stories are about 80-90 pages in length, and they’re definitely page-turners. Kat has been making fun of me because I’ve been walking around holding my eReader in my hands reading these stories (it’s usually her doing that). They’ve also brought on a ton of other writers for the series, making it more like a TV show, since shows usually have lots of writers working on them. Yes, there’s a slightly different tone in some of the books, but it’s not a bad thing at all.

Here’s the description of the first book:

Matt Cahill is a widower leading a quiet, solitary life–cutting wood at a lumber mill in the Pacific Northwest, watching out for his trouble-prone friend Andy, and making his first, tentative attempt at a new romance with his co-worker Rachel. But a getaway to a ski resort goes tragically wrong and he is killed in an avalanche. That should be the end of his story, but for Matt, it’s only the beginning. And now finds himself taking the first step in a horrifying odyssey across a dark world that exists within our own, where he must confront a violent, supernatural entity that spreads evil among us like a plague.

It’s classified as “horror,” though this isn’t the type that will keep you up at night, worried every time you hear a strange sound. It’s more of the “oh-my-god-what’s-happening-I-have-to-keep-reading” kind, which I really enjoy.

The series has been out for a year and a half, and the 16th book comes out at the end of January. They’ve also been packaging 3 stories into one volume, which is how I’ve been buying them, and, here’s the best part, the first volume is current on sale for ONE DOLLAR! That’s right, Amazon.ca has a sale on 50 books for $1 each (I think I’ve already bought 4 or 5 of them). These are all digital books for the Kindle, though you can read them on a ton of devices; Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Kindle (obviously), or if you have a different eReader you can look around for how to convert from MOBI to ePub to use it on that.

Bottom line, if this sounds interesting to you at all, download the first volume for $1 (aka, 1/4 the price of the coffee you probably bought today), and get reading, then post your thoughts here. The sale is only good until January 6, and after that it’ll return to the $5 price I paid (still an awesome deal!).

Here are the other books I bought for the 50 for $1 sale:
The Hitman’s Guide to Housecleaning
The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volumes 1-4 (The Heirloom Collection)
A Guest in the Jungle
Night Blind

What books are you reading right now, or what genre do you normally read?

I love Threadless, a website that has thousands of cool custom T-shirts, so I was very disappointed when my last order wasn’t up to the quality of my previous orders. The t-shirts were made in India, and they were really poor quality; the fabric was thin, it stretched, the fit was poor, and it just felt cheap. This wasn’t what I was used to.

I sent them a polite email letting them know that I wasn’t happy with the order, and later that day I received a response. I could return the shirts to them for a full refund if I wanted (I chose to keep them, because I got them on sale), but they also let me know that they were working on their own t-shirt which they’d use going forward, and hey, we’ve put your name on a list to get a free one when they’re done so you can see the quality yourself. I was impressed.

The other day my free shirt arrived (it’s a black shirt with the Threadless logo), and they were right, it is their best shirt ever! The fabric feels nice, the fit is good, and it stretches and then pops back into shape immediately; this is a great shirt. So today I went back to the Threadless site and placed an order, the first order I’ve placed since those crappy shirts from India arrived.

Sometimes it’s good to have an issue with a company come up because it allows you to see how they deal with it. Threadless did everything right here; offered to refund my purchase, and sent me a free t-shirt to gain back my trust, and in turn I rewarded them with more of my business. Awesome!

Want to know what else is awesome? Right now they have a sale going on, and most shirts are $9.99! Go to Threadless and order some!

Here are the new shirts I ordered:

And these are the ones for Kat:

Last week I did something hard – I said goodbye to my two chinchillas.

Seven years ago Kat and I drove to Sylvan Lake, about 1.5 hours away, to pick up Brisco and Elby from a chinchilla breeder. I had wanted chinchillas since I was in Jr High and a magician brought one to our school as part of his act. They were cute, furry, and weren’t a common pet. While I was living in my condo I considered getting a dog, but realized they required more attention than I could give at the time, so I did some more research and decided on chinchillas. The cage was already ordered from the States and was set up and ready for them when we got them home. I had a really awkward spot in my condo; to this day I don’t know what it was intended to be used for, but it was the perfect size for the chinchilla cage. They were the centre of attention, right off the dining room table. We’d say “hi” to them when we got up, and “goodnight” when we went to bed. I played with them, took care of them, and loved the little furballs.

When we moved into our house, we didn’t know where to put the chinchillas. Their cage was huge, and there wasn’t a good place to put them on the main level. We were also getting a dog, a Shiba Inu, and they were bred to hunt small mammals. The dog and the chinchillas weren’t going to be friends at all. So they went to the basement, in my office, because they like it cool, and quiet, and the office was both. The problem was that the office wasn’t used very often, and the chinchillas, which used to be the centre of attention in the condo, were now in a room that hardly was used. The dog, and the cat which we got a short time later, took up more time, and less was available for the chinchillas. Then, the baby came, and the free time I had  almost gone. The chinchillas were never completely forgotten, but they weren’t getting the attention they should have, or deserved. It took me a long time to make the decision, but I knew they had to leave our house.

It was a tough decision to make because I was having to say goodbye to my little friends, but also because I was admitting I was a bad pet owner. When I picked them up from the breeders I was almost entering into an agreement with them, agreeing that I would take care of them, and love them, and I felt as though I was letting them down. It was upsetting to say goodbye to them, but I was also doing it knowing that this was the best thing for them. I found their new owners through Kijiji (like Craigslist, for those that don’t know what it is); two girls in their early 20s who didn’t have any other pets. The chinchillas would be the centre of attention again, and that made me happy. While they could have a decent life living with us, they’d have a good life at their new place. It was hard, but I had to say goodbye.

Their cages are gone, and a bookshelf sits in their place. The room has more stuff in it now, but it feels more empty than before. I miss my little friends, but I know it’s for the best.

My furry friends, Elby and Brisco

My last post (which was far too long ago) talked about how Kat and I are trying to reduce the sweets we consume, and I figured I should provide a little update.

It’s actually going well, which surprises me a bit. It’s become quite easy, well, at least until I got past the first week. I found avoidance to be the best solution early on, but now I can tempt myself without falling victim to the sweet sugar, like the bakery we used to stop in at when we went for walks. I would get this delicious apple square there, and while I still crave it, I can safely walk past without needing to stop in and get one. I’d also buy donuts at Safeway every time I’d go to pick something up. I’d eat them in the parking lot so Kat wouldn’t find out (I came clean about this, so I can safely blog about it), but now I can walk through the bakery section without looking at the wall of sugar.

Neither of us has completely cut sugar, but we didn’t set out to do that, either. I’ll still enjoy a small piece of quality chocolate (and by small, I mean 1/10th of a 49g chocolate bar), and we’ll get a dessert if we’re out at a nice restaurant (which is rare these days), but my daily sugar craving is gone.

Do you have anything you’re trying to cut down on, and if so, how’s it turning out for you?

I have a sweet tooth. Actually, that’s incorrect; I have a sweet mouth. I love the sugary taste of sweet treats; cookies, cakes, syrups, and chocolate… ohhhhh how I love chocolate. But things are changing… I’m trying to cut down.

Kat and I are trying to become healthier as a family, both for ourselves, and for Broderick. We don’t want him growing up exposed to tons of sweets, so we’re cutting things down now. Kat was really the one to start this, and I agreed to it initially to be supportive, but now I’m making the conscious effort to cut down as well. When she first started trying to reduce the sugar in the house, I was fairly good, not bringing stuff into the house that would tempt her, but now I’m not even going after sweets outside the house when she’s not around.

Now I’m not saying I’m going to completely cut sweet treats out of my life, but I won’t have as much. We’ve both agreed that anything we do have around should be homemade, and hopefully with reduced sugar (and natural sugar, like sugar cane, when sugar is used). Homemade cookies, brownies, or pies will be better for us than things bought in stores because we know exactly what’s going into it, and it’ll be more of a treat.

I think it’s been about a week since I started this, and I feel good. It’s hard, but the cravings are slowly going away. I can do this…