Capital One Gotcha

I received my statement the other day and found that my interest rate had doubled. WTF?! I called them to ask why and was informed that it had nothing to do with my credit standing, credit history or payments but that they had sent me a letter last February warning me of an increase and giving me the option to opt out and close the account while I paid it off at the old interest rate. But, this option was not available to me now, so sorry. Some poor phone guy in India got an earful and was called a criminal and usurer. Sorry, guy, but that what you get for associating with a criminal enterprise.

You see, the whole situation was set up to avoid the new credit laws which take effect today. They would have had to freeze existing accounts at the old interest rate and only new purchases could be charged the higher rate. So they snuck a form letter into their queue of junk mail and didn't send any other warning flags about the impending account change. To charge 19% when the Fed is at fractional interest rates should be criminal.

I will pay off Capital One ASAP and they can take a flying leap at the moon. And I guess I'm not the only one getting stuck.

Lombardi Gras?

The press began calling the Saints Superbowl Victory Parade last Tuesday "Lombardi Gras". I guess it was supposed to be a combination of the trophy name, The Lombardi Trophy, and Mardi Gras, which is today. But it doesn't make sense to me.

In French, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify. Hence, the translation for Mardi Gras is "Fat Tuesday", not "Tuesday Fat". Then, Lombardi Gras would mean "Fat Lombardi". But I don't think the intent was to imply that Vince Lombardi was overweight or that the trophy was greasy. I think the event should have been called "Mardi Lombardi". Not only does it rhyme, but it clearly indicates that the event happened on a Tuesday. Anybody else have any suggestions?

Fantasy Fulfilment

There's a scene in "Exit to Eden" where Rosie O'Donnell first arrives at the resort and one of the staff asks her how he could fulfil her fantasy. "Go paint my house", was the response.

Well, if a painted house is a woman's fantasy, my wife and I worked on that fantasy this past weekend - yes, even on St. Valentine's day. If you've ever painted a house in South Louisiana you know that your window of opportunity is short. Wait too long in the season and it becomes unbearably hot. The planning started last summer with my wife picking out several color samples and then painting swatches on the back of the house to see what they looked like in various kinds of light. After several months of testing, she found a combination she was happy with. We (well, mostly she as she was painting while I was holding down the desk in the office) started in January but the cold weather due to Anthropomorphic Global Warming has slowed progress. However, we have enlisted the aid of niece and her guy friend and will catch up soon.

If you have a house painting fantasy, I'd like to recommend the new Behr paint that has the primer already in it. (This is a non paid endorsement) It goes on smooth and adheres well. It ain't cheap but it could save you a coat.

In the meantime, have a happy and safe Mardi Gras. You'll probably find me giving a coat of fresh paint to the shutters. Laissez le Bon Temps Roullez!

Super Bowl Parade

What other city could put together a victory parade that draws 800,000 fans in the matter of few days? What other quarterback would go to a local watering hole after the parade and do this?

Home Boy Does Good

When Peyton Manning was a little boy, he probably used to dream about throwing the winning touchdown for the Saints in the Superbowl. Well, Sunday night, he did!