Author Archives: Rick Matus

Airline Ticket Prices Are Wacky

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Rick Matus

I just returned from a trip to Australia and Japan. When I first priced the trip, it looked like it was going to cost about $6,000 traveling on the most discounted economy fares. However, there was one routing that stood … Continue reading →

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Eurozone Crisis for Dummies

Posted on May 26, 2012 by Rick Matus

Uncertainty about the Greek economy and whether Greece will be able to continue using the Euro as its currency have caused stock market gyrations lately. Why? First, what is the basic problem in Greece? In its simplest form, the problem … Continue reading →

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TSA PreCheck – No Waiting, No Undressing

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Rick Matus

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a new program, called TSA PreCheck, that allows certain trusted travelers to pass through security without removing their shoes, without removing jackets, without taking laptops out of briefcases, and without taking liquids out … Continue reading →

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I Am The Greenest Man in the World!

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Rick Matus

No, I’m not quoting Al Gore in the title of this blog post. I am speaking as myself. I just realized I am the greenest man in the world, and possibly the greenest person in the world. Sure, Al Gore … Continue reading →

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Review: An Economist Gets Lunch by Tyler Cowen

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Rick Matus

I recently read “An Economist Gets Lunch: New Rules For Foodies” by Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University. The blurb at Amazon made it sound like something right up my alley: Tyler Cowen discusses everything from … Continue reading →

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Satellite radio is subversive

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Rick Matus

My new car came with a free three month trail to Sirius XM satellite radio. It has hundreds of channels of programming, and being an engineer I had to listen to them all to decide if I should pay for … Continue reading →

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Political Haiku

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Rick Matus

I have not been able to get excited about any candidate for president this election season. Maybe I am just getting too cynical in my middle age, but I have finally decided this is actually a good thing. They work … Continue reading →

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Test Flight

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Rick Matus

Usually I have some destination in mind before I depart on a flight, which is pretty much required for proper flight planning, but today I took off with only the objective of testing my headsets. Along the way I ended … Continue reading →

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Freedom(TM)

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Rick Matus

Just finished Daniel Suarez’s Freedom(TM), the sequel to Daemon, which I reviewed here. The story picks up right where Daemon ended, but this book is more of a political story than a gaming and technology story. Like Daemon, this is … Continue reading →

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Drive by customer service

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Rick Matus

I wrote previously about my poor experience with AT&T customer service. Maybe this is some sort of weird retribution, but AT&T has managed to top that experience with something even worse. They are now providing poor customer service even when … Continue reading →

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