In Our World

  • Whatever Happened to Customer Service?

    In general, I consider myself to be a fairly easy-going person. Those of you who know me well may or may not agree, but it's typically the case that I don't get really worked up about very much. Where I do let things get under my skin is…

  • Dial C for Cell Phone Interference

    In the Cell Phones on Planes episodes of Mythbusters, it was shown both that cell phones could cause interference (in the homemade cockpit) and that cell phones probably would not cause interference (in a real cockpit that's probably more like real planes in use today). Of course, any…

  • Is Bruton Smith a Bully or a Genius?

    The news outlets have been abuzz recently with word that racing magnate Bruton Smith wants to build a drag strip at the Lowes Motor Speedway complex in Concord. This alone should hardly be newsworthy – Smith generally does what he wants and gets away with it. After all,…

  • Is All Plastic Bad, or Only Certain Kinds?

    It's not uncommon to find people screaming at the top of their lungs that credit cards are bad. Of course, if you use just about anything incorrectly it can be bad. Frankly, I don't have anything against credit cards – I think that they are great, provided you…

  • Curiously Celebrating Christopher Columbus

    Today the United States – and to be fair, a number of other countries – celebrate Columbus Day. Unlike many other holidays named after a person, this one doesn't celebrate his birth (for the most part because no one knows exactly when he was born) but when he…

  • Licensing Gone Awry

    It strikes me as I'm driving down the road (listening to the radio) that perhaps things have gone a bit far when it comes to licensing. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that people want to protect their property – whether it is intellectual property, such as…

  • Maybe we Should Hide the Emergency Locator Beacon

    Exactly six years ago today, our country underwent one of the most gut-wrenching moments in its existence. Nineteen people hijacked four airplanes were hijacked. Two of the planes crashed into – and eventually toppled – the world trade centers in New York City. One crashed into the Pentagon…

  • When is Zero not Really Zero?

    It's no secret that I don't really care much for politicians. Sure, I understand that they are necessary and all because we can't have complete anarchy (though a little bit might be nice). Maybe they could just get their nose out of everything and we'd be okay. But…

  • Why Eastland Mall Must Go

    A few months back, the Charlotte Observer ran a story about how Eastland Mall must go. Unfortunately, the Observer has this policy where all of their articles older than a week or so are no longer available online (are you telling me if the New York Times can…

  • Attracting More Bees with Honey

    I'm not always a fan of the cliche, but every once in a while, they do come in handy. For instance, I was in Office Depot one Sunday morning, picking up something, when suddenly a lady simply explodes on the cashier about how she absolutely has to get…