Food Stamps Up – Economy Not Improving.
This is a startling stat.
“The number of Americans receiving food stamps rose to a record 45.753 million in May, up 2.5 percent from the previous month, the Department of Agriculture said. Recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program subsidies for food purchases were 12 percent higher than a year earlier, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday in a statement on its Web site.” — New York Times, August 2
One of my frustrations has been the lack of options with wireless carriers related to blocking numbers from calling you.
This morning I received several calls from a number, after last nights several calls too. This person was obviously not in a good state, because when I called back and asked them to not call me, they started to insult me. I had no idea who they are, but obviously it wasn’t someone I wanted to speak to.
Called AT&T and the agent tells me there is no way to block a number without paying $4.95/mo for a service! Yep they want you to pay $4.95 to block calls.
So maybe now like the computer virus industry we are going to have a rash of people receiving calls they don’t want to receive and opt for the service and pay $4.95, the AT&T rep was not pleasant at all.
So lucky for me… the number this person is calling is a Google Voice number!!! Yeah. So I log into my account and BLOCK the number… now what the person will hear is… “Not in Service” message.
THANK YOU GOOGLE!
AT&T you are becoming less relevant in my world, the more you try to think different the more it costs me for your services!
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At this roundtable discussion, a panel of leaders from some of the fastest growing companies in Los Angeles will discuss how they’ve embraced the latest technologies to get closer to their customers, made the most of their time and scarce resources, differentiated themselves from the competition, and developed innovative strategies that set the stage for growth. This intimate event will include:
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| Panelists: Maisha Walker, Contributing Editor at Inc., President of Message Medium Dave Stritzinger, CEO of Flipswap Noah Gedrich, Senior Director of Business Development at BLITZ Michael Schneider, CEO of Mobile Roadie |
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Yourdecoshop
Yourdecoshop offers wall decoration, e.g. more than 4, 300 Wall Decals (35 colours available) or photorealistic quality prints, up to a size of 1.20 x 15 metres!
Trendy photo wall murals: adhesive (removable without any residue) or to attach with clue, over 2,000 motifs in individual sizes.
Canvas art: Over 3,000 pictures printed on 320 gram linen fabric, already framed, XXL or panoramic formats available as well, up to 32-piece pictures
Window decorations: Over 2,500 motifs for windows and mirrors.
NEW: tile stickers – door wall murals – window murals
So here we go again, after months of dealing with Chase to set auto bill pay and their denial that there was any problem and then admitting there was a problem with their system. I gave up! and started making push payments to them. Why do companies not get it, that they need to make it a priority to allow customers to make payments. Get a clue people, if you make it hard for customers to pay then you are going to frustrate customers, although you may charge the late fees and finance charges, it is just not right.
Anyway.. now it is Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation,
Their site is not loading on my computer no matter what I do.
I have called the first customer service number 800.456.6622 and they had no way to help me.
No I have called another number 800.406.5895 and they report no problem with the site.
In the meantime I cannot load the site no matter what I do.
I have talked to Anthony and he said to try back in 45 min. No ref for my call.
No I am on with Jennifer Montogomery and she is confirming that there is a problem with the website.
Spoke with Margaret first and she didn’t know.
So why did Anthony and Margaret not know there was an issue with the NMAC website, and that the problem has been going on since last night, or maybe even before then. Because that was my first interaction with the website www.nissanfinance.com
Still I went away from the call that Nissan is not handling the situation properly regarding customer service.
1. No reference for a call.
2. Assuming the customer is wrong, i.e. that the website is working. Without verifying.
I will try another computer, and reboot, but I can get to other sites no problem.
Thursday, August 4
Limited seating on a first-come, first-served basis
YEMEN BLUES
Be dazzled by this band’s groundbreaking revitalization of Yemenite Jewish musical traditions.
Founded by rising star and charismatic Yemenite Israeli vocalist Ravid Kahalani and arranger/bassist Omer Avital, the nine-member Yemen Blues plays an ebullient mix of traditional Yemenite Jewish melodies, American blues, jazz, funk, and West and North African grooves. The electrifying musicianship of this ensemble must be seen to be believed!
“Led by the ridiculously charismatic singer Ravid Kahalani, the nine-piece ensemble combine traditional Yemenite melodies and instruments—including all sorts of percussion; even empty jerry cans!—with jazz, blues and funk to come up with a sound that’s like nothing we’ve ever heard before.”—National Geographic
Yemen Blues are: Ravid Kahalani (vocals/gimbri); Shanir Blumenkranz (oud/bass); Galia Hai (viola); Hilla Epstein (cello); Hadar Noiberg (flutes); Itamar Borochov (trumpet); Reut Regev (trombone); Rony Iwryn (Latin percussion); and Yohai Cohen (Middle Eastern percussion).
Parking: $10 per car (cash only)
Carpooling encouraged • Street parking strictly prohibited
Or take Metro Rapid 761
https://www.skirball.org/programs/sunset-concerts/yemen-blues
TO SIGN UP VISIT: https://www.eventbrite.com/
This month’s Startups Uncensored will be on “Building Bigger Businesses the Second Time Around.” Hosted by Jason Nazar (CEO, Docstoc), it will be an open and frank townhall conversation with some of Southern California’s most successful CEOs.
Our Panel:
Ryan Scott (CEO & Founder, Causecast): A former CTO, Ryan has made it his mission to change the world through an effective application of viral technologies and social networks.
Gil Elbaz (Founder, Factual): Gil has had a lifelong passion for organizing and structuring information, and building smart tools which can make better sense of data. To that end, he set out to develop an open data platform and community in an effort to maximize data accuracy, transparency, and availability.
Mark Suster is a two-time entrepreneur who has gone to the “Dark Side of VC.” He joined GRP Partners, the largest venture capital firm in Southern California, in 2007 as a General Partner after selling his company Koral to Salesforce.com (where he then worked as Vice President of Product Management).
This month’s event will be held at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica by the 3rd Street Promenade. The venue holds up to 300 attendees. Registration on Eventbrite is required to attended, however due to popular demand we cannot accommodate all requests. There will be a waiting list for the overflow, that will be accepted on a first come first-serve basis.
Though free tickets are available, only Premium ticket holders are guaranteed a seat (and our events DO sell out). After Premium ticket holders, free ticket holders will be seated on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event is followed by a reception/mixer at the Milken Institute.
TO SIGN UP VISIT: https://www.eventbrite.com/
Thursday, August 18th
6:30pm – 8:00pm Townhall
8:00pm on Reception
Milken Institute
1250 4th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401-1418
We would also like to welcome our sponsor Microsoft Bizspark, please take a moment and check out their amazing resources of free software for startups and entrepreneurs:https://www.microsoft.com/B
Also here Jason’s related blog post on the Challenges and Opportunities of Starting a Tech Company in Los Angeles: https://www.jasonnazar.com/
Videos from past Startups Uncensored:
#21 – https://www.jasonnazar.com/
#20 – https://www.jasonnazar.com/
#19 – https://www.jasonnazar.com/
#18 – https://www.jasonnazar.com/
#17 – https://www.jasonnazar.com/
#15 – https://www.jasonnazar.com/
TO SIGN UP VISIT: https://www.eventbrite.com/
Pico de Gap LA
The cost of local events, wether it is a dinner put together by a group or a cooking class put on by another organization, some are even non-profits, is way too expensive for most people trying to support local events but just can’t afford it.
I just received an email from a local organization and a cooking class costs almost $100.
A three hour class on how to preserve tomatoes cost $100 or a class on making Kombucha is $50.
That is way too expensive for ordinary people, organizations need to appeal to those that are lower to middle income. I know we hear about how we should all shop at the farmer’s market… but when you go to the grocery store and shop and can buy peaches for less than $1 a lb or shop at the farmer’s market and pay $2 or even $3 a lb. How is that helping the struggling family that is having a hard time making ends meet?
I am totally in support of farmer’s markets, and classes, seminars, etc.. but I just think we