Small Things Count

You’re having trouble with a feature on your new cell phone, or there’s a glitch in your tax-preparation program. You call the company’s customer service, knowing full well you’ll just be more frustrated.  And Sam, the representative, has an accent, meaning more difficulty.   After awhile, though, you find the person easy enough to understand and both knowledgeable and patient with you.  Voila!  The problem is solved.  The next day an evaluation arrives in your email.  Do not ignore it.  Take the few minutes to give the company your feedback, including how much you were helped.  Give Sam’s name, and be specific about how friendly yet professional Sam was.  Explain that you were regretting buying their product, but now, thanks to Sam, you’re happy enough to recommend it.  Or whatever positive comment you can make about the person who made your life so much easier.  Why?  Because this faceless person takes pride in a job well done yet seldom gets recognized for it.  And because your action fosters the idea of Dignity of Work.

A friend sent this to me. I thought it was a great definition of “strength,” which is a much-misunderstood concept in our society. I pass it on to you as today’s Thursday Thought quote.

You may want to think twice when shopping for a new stove, especially if you’re considering a gas model. A UCLA study showed that gas appliances in 90% of California homes give off carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter, formaldehyde. and other toxins. These are serious health threats to your family–and they don’t help the Earth, either. Before you go shopping, read this E/The Environmental Magazine article, Should I Ditch My Gas Stove? Learn about their impact on lung and heart disease, your vulnerability to viruses, headaches, and other health problems. Keep in mind that the study found that “children who grew up in a home with a gas stove are 42% more likely to develop asthma than those who didn’t.” The article also offers alternatives to gas stoves. It’s a worthwhile read.

A new holiday was launched in 2012 to balance out the self-absorbed madness of Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Giving Tuesday.  That’s TODAY!  People from all over—business, charities, communities, families—are entering into the spirit of giving.  In fact, as of yesterday, the movement’s website listed over 2100 partners in this endeavor.

The beauty of this is that EVERYONE can participate.  If not with our wallets, then with our excess food in our pantries or the second Buy-one/Get-One-Free item.  Or with that like-new clothing we that loved when we bought it but know we’ll never wear.  Or with those toys our kids opened Christmases ago but sit in their boxes, un-played with.  Or blankets and rain ponchos for the homeless who are about to be caught in what promises to be a series of bad storms.  Or simply with the gift of our time: to help at a shelter or soup kitchen; to visit a lonely elder in a nursing home; to comfort a grieving family; to be with a troubled child.

Yes, I really like this idea of a Giving Tuesday and hope it grows larger and stronger every year.  It turns my sour taste of Friday and Monday into the sweet anticipation of a Christmas season packed with all the meaning it’s supposed to have.

To all my Jewish friends and readers: May the light of the season always shine brightly on you and your loved ones.  Happy Hanukkah !

Shopping for a computer for college in the Fall?  Look for an eco-friendly one that saves money.  Buy one of the new energy-efficient models with a fan that doesn’t run constantly.  If just a moderate number of us did this we’d cut computer energy use in half and save $5.5 billion.

[For more easy, Eco-friendly tips, download a FREE copy of Green Riches: Help the Earth & Your Budget. Go to www.Smashwords.com/books/ view/7000, choose a format, and download to your computer or e-book device. Or download a free copy from your favorite e-tailer.]

Read the following, from Consumer Reports, then 1) protect yourself while shopping and 2) go to https://act.consumerreports.org/VubaIJ9 to email your to stop this blatantly unfair practice.

Ready to nab all those online Black Friday deals? Got your eye on that advertised XBox? Think you’ve got the Baby Yoda toy nailed down?

Think again. An army of software bots may have already bought them up — and they’re being resold online at huge markups.

In addition to supply chain problems and inflation, consumers this holiday season now face the scourge of ‘Grinch Bots.’ These bots keep tabs on thousands of retail web pages and immediately purchase the hottest items the second they restock. If you’ve ever put an item in your online cart, only to see it disappear by the time you checkout, you may have been GrinchBotted.

We know this legislation can make a big difference because it would give authorities the power to crack down on shopping bots. Consumer Reports backed a 2016 bill that banned bots used by ticket scalpers to snatch up the best concert and sports seats, and three ticket brokers who used bots were fined $31 million this year.

The Stopping Grinch Bots Act being introduced in Congress would make it illegal to circumvent online security and control measures retail websites use to protect real consumers, and allow the FTC and state Attorneys General to take legal action against those who deploy these bots.

But we won’t get action if we don’t push hard right now during the holiday season, when Grinch Bots are at maximum force. Tell your lawmakers you want action, now.

It’s blatantly unfair that Americans can’t buy the goods they want at a fair price because a small network of computer hackers have figured out how to beat the system. Please send a message to your lawmakers, and share this with all your friends and family so we won’t face another holiday season getting GrinchBotted!

Let’s end the Bah-Humbug!

Marcus Jones
Consumer Reports

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This Thanksgiving I give thanks for a world that is isn’t here yet but can be if we work for it together.  It’s a world where all human life is respected  and we give unselfish love to others, thus protecting our families and communities. Everyone’s basic human needs are met, and we strive for the common good.  Our business, governmental, and personal policies help people improve their own lives.The nobility of work is recognized, and all people have decent work and fair wages and own private property.  We believe we are our brother’s keepers, because we are a human family sharing a world.And we show our respect for God by being good stewards of all His creation.  I’m thankful for this view of the world, and for all those whose commitment will make this view a reality.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I’m borrowing this idea directly from my New Jersey son’s Facebook. I never thought about it. It could save your life.

What do wee have in common with trees? Just life itself.