scams
I am not making this up
Yesterday I was waiting in the customer service line at Price Chopper to buy a 10-trip bus pass, since the fare was just raised to $1.50 and I never seem to have any change. Not to mention 10 trips cost only $13. The woman in front of me, who I would guess was from Trinidad […]
Faking Suicide
Samuel Israel III is missing. He may have jumped off a bridge or faked his own suicide. His car was found on the bridge, keys still inside. He wrote “suicide is painless” on the windshield. He left a bottle of pills in the car. This is complete overkill. I think the removal of any two […]
Sub Prime Mortgages
A few years back, I was living in Pennsylvania, working at a community college and in the process of buying my first house. The offer process was irritating as hell, the owner wanted to raise the purchase price and pay my closing costs and do a number of shifting balances of things, and I was […]
The Secret
My employer recently opened a Wellness Center. (Considering my employer is the state Department of Health, this is arguably several decades behind the curve). There have been a series of lunchtime discussions and activities related to dieting, stress relief, aging gracefully, tai chi, and the like. None of this caught my attention until I saw […]
Amish miracle heaters
This is a remarkable scam even by the feeble journalistic standards of Parade magazine: Amish-made portable fireplaces without any of the “flames, fumes, smells, ashes, or mess” of a real fireplace. And they’re absolutely free if you call within 48 hours! Needless to say, they are ordinary Chinese-made electric space heaters encased in a wooden […]
Jack Silbert, curator