A few years ago, at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, I noticed something strange on the departure boards. American Airlines had three flights scheduled that afternoon from ORD to Boston, and all were apparently operating on time. United, on the other hand, had three flights scheduled from ORD to Boston, but none were operating on time. In fact, all three United flights showed "canceled."

I smelled a rat. I went to the United counter and asked the reason for the cancellations. "Weather."

Weather? The airlines couldn't have it both ways. Either American Airlines pilots were irresponsible, crazy air jockeys who were going to tease the gods and fly into the face of serious storms, or United's official cancellation reason was a convenient untruth.

I checked the weather in both Chicago and Boston: totally clear.

I went back out to the United gates and informed the counter agents that I knew the weather was fine and also explained that all the American flights were operating without problem. And then I invoked Rule 240 — which states that in the event of any flight delay or cancellation caused by anything other than weather, the airline would fly me on the next available flight — not their next available flight, which might not leave for another 24 hours.

And guess what happened? A lot of United passengers made it to Boston that day — on American.

Stranded at the airport? Don’t forget Rule 240 - TODAY: Travel - MSNBC.com

Super handy mileage calculator, even handles promotions, elite bonuses, etc.

MileCalc :: The Ultimate Mileage Calculator for Frequent Flyers

I flew 65,000 MQMs in 6 months, so Delta hooked me up with Platinum Medallion, which is supposed to take 75,000 MQMs. I am very pleased.

SkyMiles frequent flyer program benefits

Fortunately for America's 95 million investors, Adams' secret nine-point formula was finally revealed in "Dilbert and the Way of the Weasels." Notice its simple brilliance in the exact reproduction of his formula:

1.
Make a will
2.
Pay off your credit cards
3.
Get term life insurance if you have a family to support
4.
Fund your 401k to the maximum
5.
Fund your IRA to the maximum
6.
Buy a house if you want to live in a house and can afford it
7.
Put six months worth of expenses in a money-market account
8.
Take whatever money is left over and invest 70% in a stock index fund and 30% in a bond fund through any discount broker and never touch it until retirement
9.
If any of this confuses you, or you have something special going on (retirement, college planning, tax issues), hire a fee-based financial planner, not one who charges a percentage of your portfolio

Adams boldly states that this is "everything you need to know about personal investing." In just 129 words, nine simple points, one page you have the unabridged "Unified Theory of Everything Financial." That's it. Everything!

'Dilbert's' 9-point financial plan worthy of economics Nobel - MarketWatch

Delta talks with Northwest, United are confirmed by Congressman

Delta officials are formally discussing merger possibilities with executives from both Northwest and United, U.S. Rep. Jim Oberstar, D-Minn., confirmed in a Tuesday interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune (free registration). Oberstar says he met with two high-ranking Northwest executives Tuesday, saying: "They confirmed that Delta is looking at a Northwest option and a United Airlines option for a merger. Northwest sees a benefit to them of a merger with Delta." And if Delta opts for a United option, "then Northwest clearly feels a pressure to protect itself in the marketplace and will look for a [new] partner," says Oberstar, who is also chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

I made platinum on Delta. Wonder if I'll get to use it? Ugh, I hate United's program.

Delta - Today In the Sky - USATODAY.com

Atlanta
Location:
Mail Recovery Center
5345 Fulton Industrial Boulevard SW
Atlanta, GA 30378-2400

Directions: From Interstate 20 East or West, exit at Fulton Industrial Boulevard and continue South for approximately 3 miles. After 3 miles, exit right onto Bucknell Drive, then right at the next street which is Bucknell Court. Follow this drive around to the stop sign and the Mail Recovery Center will be on the right.

Inspection of Merchandise: 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Auction Time: 10:00 am - Completion

USPS - Auctions

It is the only explanation for what we are seeing. The markets should be selling off like crazy, given the financial problems. They are not. They keep bouncing back, no matter how hard they are driven down. That money is not coming from the financial institutions and hedge funds that got ripped on mortgages. But it is coming from somewhere. We think that somewhere is the land of $90-per-barrel crude and really cheap toys.

Many people will see this as a tilt in global power. When others must invest in the United States, however, they are not the ones with the power; the United States is. To us, it looks far more like the Chinese and Arabs are trapped in a financial system that leaves them few options but to recycle their dollars into the United States. They wind up holding dollars — or currencies linked to dollars — and then can speculate by leaving, or they can play it safe by staying. In our view, these two sources of cash are the reason global markets are stable.

Energy prices might fall (indeed, all commodities are inherently cyclic, and oil is no exception), and the amount of free cash flow in the Arabian Peninsula might drop, but there still will be surplus dollars in China as long as it is an export-based economy. Put another way, the international system is producing aggregate return on capital distributed in peculiar ways. Given the size of the U.S. economy and the dynamics of the dollar, much of that money will flow back into the United States. The United States can have its financial crisis. Global forces appear to be stabilizing it.

The Chinese and the Arabs are not in the U.S. markets because they like the United States. They don’t. They are locked in. Regardless of the rumors of major shifts, it is hard to see how shifts could occur. It is the irony of the moment that China and the Arabian Peninsula, neither of them particularly fond of the United States, are trapped into stabilizing the United States. And, so far, they are doing a fine job.

Friedman Writes Back » China and the Arabian Peninsula as Market Stabilizers

"We � found that your usage over the past 30 days exceeded 10 Gigabytes. � This level of usage is so extraordinarily high that it could only have been attained by activities, such as streaming and/or downloading movies and video, prohibited by the terms and conditions," Verizon said in a terse letter.

Hope I don't get hit with this.

Verizon Limits Its "Unlimited" Wireless Broadband Service

Supporting Innovation: Georgia Tech Edison Fund Provides Funding for Early-Stage Technology Companies
November 9, 2007

Thomas Edison often receives credit for inventing the electric light bulb, though his real accomplishment was in making the device -- as well as the phonograph and motion picture camera -- commercially successful. That focus on commercializing innovation is now providing the foundation for a new venture bearing Edison's name at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

071022AP252_eii.jpg
Stephen Fleming, Georgia Tech's chief commercialization officer, will manage the new Georgia Tech Edison Fund.
Launched by a multi-year grant from the Charles A. Edison Fund -- which is named for the inventor's son, a successful businessman and former governor of New Jersey -- the Georgia Tech Edison Fund will provide seed funding for early-stage technology companies that have a close association with Georgia Tech.

"We will focus on startups at the very early stage, because that's the hardest money for an entrepreneur to find," explained Stephen Fleming, Georgia Tech's chief commercialization officer and manager of the new fund. "Once companies have customers, a product and some traction in the marketplace, they can interest larger investors."

Early stage funding in Georgia.

Memestreams: hit this guy up for some cash to sell meme appliances to businesses.

News & Publications

What Frequent-Flier Miles
Really Get You
Our Test of Six Major Airlines
Found Significant Differences
In Seat Cost and Availability
March 6, 2007

Are some airlines more miserly than others when making discounted frequent-flier award seats available? It would appear so.

I recently checked available award seats on 24 routes for various summer and fall 2007 travel dates found that Delta Air Lines Inc. and US Airways Group Inc. often required more miles than other major carriers.

AMR Corp.'s American and UAL Corp.'s United were the most generous, with coach seats available at their lowest award levels on 14 of 24 trips checked. Continental Airlines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. fell in the middle. US Airways, however, offered its lowest-priced award on only two of 24 itineraries; Delta on zero.

The Middle Seat - WSJ.com