That’s a screen shot of an antidepressant commercial. The blob is the depression - both it and the “patient” are listening to a doctor’s lecture on the drug. Naturally, there is important information being narrated, but you’re too distracted by the blob taking notes to listen to it. Gotta love drug ads…if they’re not hiding the scary details in plain sight, they’re not doing their job.
Midtown Commons at Crestview Station is apparently a success in one investor’s eyes. Just got this notice from the City of Austin which effectively means they are building out phase 2 of the project, just north of the original. I can attest they’ve found their sweet spot for rental pricing - the complex’s parking garage is bulging at the seams.
Same models, different mags.
Ingenious Craigslist Scam
I was recently on the hunt for a used MacBook on Craigslist. Having searched around for a while, you start to get a sense of the price points. MacBooks, for example, fall in the $500-700 range. MacBook Pros usually start around $800.
The other day, I came across an almost-too-good-to-be-true deal:
Apple Macbook Pro Core Duo 3.06ghz 4gb - $500
The seller went on to say that it was BRAND NEW, and that they had won it in a raffle, but because they already owned a MacBook Pro they wanted to unload it for cash. Seemed like a reasonable story, so I emailed the person last night and asked if it was still available. And this morning, I got my not-so-human response:
Hey, Sorry it took me a while to respond, but I sold it already, you might want to check out BozBids I picked up 2 brand new ones for under $70. Since the holidays no one is online, no one is bidding, it's like xmas all over again. The trick is to bid only when the counter hits 4 seconds. If I can do it anyone can. Bozbids also has a Guarantee Good luck Janet
Basically, I just emailed a spammer and/or scam artist and gave them permission to contact me. I guarantee you this….I’m not about to recommend their crappy site to you people. In a way though I am impressed - it’s a rather ingenious way to induce people to visit a website that have laser-focused interest in a product and a willingness to pay. Screw them of course, but learn from it.
Duff & Phelps: Careers
I wrote a testimonial over at the Duff & Phelps’ career page on LinkedIn. No BS, love it here.
We don’t know how to build snowmen in Austin.
AT&T U-verse and Mobility
Random thought when enjoying my U-verse TV service, thinking about bundling and integration options with mobile service. Guess what, there are none. U-verse and Mobility don’t talk to each other - except for maybe the occasional iPhone app. For being the same company you’d expect some convergence. Take for example the AT&T Microcell, a femtocell which lets you use your broadband to run a private cell site. Here’s my question: why aren’t they bundling that sucker with U-verse? I already have a router with built-in WiFi. How about another radio in there to handle AT&T Mobility service! If you already have a working femtocell in your house, I think you’d be a heck of a lot more likely to pick AT&T for your mobile phone. How many of us have lousy reception at home? It’s a benefit to consumers since we get improved coverage immediately. It’s beneficial for AT&T too - not only would VZW and Sprint customers that have U-Verse be more likely to switch to AT&T Mobility service (higher demand), but U-Verse + Mobility customers would be less likely to switch to cable (lower churn). I hope they are looking at this.
Seen in my parking garage. If this was my Lotus I’d be pissed.
