Senators Charles Schumer and Mark Warner have announced that the FTC is close to filing a lawsuit against companies that use deceptive telemarketing techniques to sell extended car warranties.  Additionally, these companies are often in violation of the federal Do Not Call list.  I receive at least a few of these every year – interestingly, [...]

Who is more upset right now? The Los Angeles Dodgers ownership, or all of the fantasy baseball nuts who have ManRam on their squads and have to find a 50 game replacement? I thing the Red Sox are pretty happy they have Jason Bay right now with all of the problems of their former left [...]

This week, Chrysler announced plans to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.  This is not liquidation (chapter 7).  The intent of chapter 11 is to give a company time to restructure its debt.  In the case of Chrysler, it appears that it will emerge from bankruptcy under joint ownership of Fiat, the United Auto Workers [...]

Today is the debut of the weekly entertainment column.  The Soap Boxers welcomes Bob Inferapels to the staff. Being the entertainment guy, I’ve struggled with what exactly I want to cover each week. Do I want to cover every show I watched over the last week, or do I want to pick which one I [...]

In sharp contrast to the negative customer service experiences you often see on The Soap Boxers, today I happily regale you with quite possibly the best customer service experience ever.  I have purchased many items from Buy.com over the years (mostly electronics) and have never had a bad experience.  I have, however, had one great [...]

This is part two in a series.  Part one was a high level summary of Ferdinand’s life.  In part two, we see the beginning of his friendship with Bob the Squirrel. It was a beautiful spring day, but Ferdinand the Turtle was in a grumpy mood.  The kids at school were making fun of him [...]

It was a great sports day for me. Two of my least favorite sports figures made the news. The twice retired quarterback Brett Favre told my Minnesota Vikings that he does intend to stay retired this time. I truly hope that this is his final answer. I have a great deal of dislike for Brett [...]

Ryne Dee Sandberg was born on September 18, 1959 in Spokane, Washington.  The son of an undertaker was an all-around great athlete in high school (at the same time that fellow Spokane athletes Mark Rypien and John Stockton were leading their own Spokane schools).  Many expected Sandberg to attend Washington State University to play quarterback, [...]

My wife and I have a 20 month old daughter.  In the time since she was born, we have become very aware of which businesses are baby friendly and which are not.  Some places are so baby-unfriendly that we don’t go there any more – and likely won’t return even after our daughter is older. [...]

Each year the first Saturday in May rolls around….and the casual horseracing fan in all of us takes over. It is much like the Indianapolis 500, or Wimbledon.  You may not follow the sport at all, but one week out of the year you tune in.  You watch.  You might even host or go to [...]