Category Archives: WTF?

Zipcar fail

Posted on January 28, 2016 by Raoul

I’ve been a user / member of zipcar for 5 or more years.  I don’t think I’m a heavy user by their standards, but I probably rent from them 1-2 times a month and there were periods when I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Travel, WTF? | 2 Comments

The wretched state of “healthcare” in the US, part 279

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Raoul

I have high blood pressure – well under control – but whenever I have to deal with the various health insurance layers of obfuscation I’m sure it spikes to dangerous levels. The latest is whether or not when BlueCross BlueShield … Continue reading →

Posted in #100HealthyDays, Fitness, Life, WTF? | Leave a comment

The sad, confused state of healthcare in the USA 2014

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Raoul

I’m not going to get into the whole messed-up big picture of all that is wrong in the current state of healthcare – just give a micro example of the dysfunction that is endemic. I live in New York, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness, Life, WTF? | Leave a comment

Dishonesty in business – a crisis of late capitalism?

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Raoul

After my latest experience of being lied to and misled by a business (Chase credit cards this time) I reflected on the peculiar pathology that seems to be all around us.  A certain subset of businesses (usually the larger ones, … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Tech, WTF? | 1 Comment

Apple launches three-factor security, incorrectly calls it two-factor

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Raoul

In 2008, when MobileMe was first launched, Steve Jobs was apoplectic at its flaky, poor functionality – he told the team that they “should hate each other for having let each other down” (source). iCloud replaced MobileMe, and in some cases … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Tech, WTF? | Leave a comment

Managing Contacts in OS X

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Raoul

This appears to be needlessly complex – at the moment I now have 4 or 5 different versions of each contact on the Mac Mini.  Thankfully the iPad and iPhone only appear to have a single version each. I think … Continue reading →

Posted in Tech, WTF? | Leave a comment

Don’t buy a Seagate Momentus XT drive if you have a Mac

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Raoul

I bought this hybrid 500GB drive for my old MacBook Pro and had endless issues with it.  If it wasn’t for the actual laptop beginning to die, I think I would have been able to ascribe more of the issues … Continue reading →

Posted in Tech, WTF? | Leave a comment

Politics

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Raoul

My friend Jen told me last night that I’m the most politically-charged non voter she has ever met.  Well, I’m not a non voter by choice, but she has a point. I believe in righting wrongs and fighting injustice and … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, WTF? | 1 Comment

All I want to do is watch Region 2 DVDs

Posted on March 7, 2012 by Raoul

I’m from England, I also travel a lot to other parts of the world – South America, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, and Asia.  Sometimes I buy DVDs in those places that are not available in the USA. Currently those … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Travel, WTF? | Leave a comment

Winter in the UK

Posted on December 2, 2010 by Raoul

As a Brit, a Geographer, and someone has lived many places and traveled to many more; I am fascinated and puzzled by the British attitude to the weather. I could fill dozens if not hundreds of pages about various UK … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Life, Travel, WTF? | Leave a comment

Embracing my feminine side?

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Raoul

According to urlai.com: “Text analysis raoulmiller.com is probably written by a female somewhere between 36-50 years old. The writing style is personal and happy most of the time.”

Posted in WTF? | 1 Comment

American Express are thieves

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Raoul

In common with most of the rest of the parasitic “financial services” industry they don’t deserve to remain in business. Their latest bullshit is to inform me that the “membership rewards” I earned by charging over $100,000 in business travel … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, WTF? | Leave a comment

How much does AT&T suck? Let me count the ways

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Raoul

My original iPhone is finally dying and I decided it was time for the iPhone 4 upgrade.  In fact, I tried to get on board that train the first day of release, but AT&T’s crappy website left me without a … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, WTF? | Leave a comment

Die Antwoord in Brooklyn

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Raoul

If you don’t know who Die Antwoord are, go here to see the Ninja video and then come back. Kim bought me tickets to see them last Sunday and we trekked into darkest Williamsburg to the Music Hall for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Music, WTF? | Leave a comment

Hot and cold

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Raoul

OK it’s weather rather than climate – but as we are in record-breaking heat in NYC, it’s record cold in Alice Springs. But Michael Mann used the word “trick” in a private email that was stolen and published, so clearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Science, WTF? | Leave a comment

Helpful sizing advice from Nike

Posted on June 29, 2010 by Raoul

“If your body measurement is on the borderline between two sizes, order the smaller size for a tighter fit or the larger size for a looser fit.” Wow.  Add this to the list of things that really should never need … Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness, WTF? | Leave a comment

Friday Sesame Street YouTube mashups

Posted on June 18, 2010 by Raoul

Elmo auditions for Casino with Robert deNiro (language NSFW) Grover sings a Sufi film theme from the 1970s (trippy) Cookie Monster sings along with Rammstein (Das Krümelmonster is an even better name! – er sagt “Nein!”) Bert and Ernie become brutal … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, WTF? | Leave a comment

Two reasons why Melbourne / Victoria is the New Jersey of Australia

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Raoul

(probably most of interest to my American readers, but still… ) On my very first day in Melbourne I was walking down William street to Foster’s and I saw this strange sign (remember USAians, that Aussies, like all right-thinking people … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Photography, Travel, WTF? | Leave a comment

Snowpocalypse!

Posted on February 6, 2010 by Raoul

Greetings from the Aloft hotel in Ashburn, VA where I’m watching over 24″ (60cm) of snow fall and now blow all over the place.  It’s fun to be part of snowmageddon or sn_omg, but I’d much rather be home than … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Travel, WTF? | Leave a comment

Airport Food? Just carry Clif bars

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Raoul

It’s hardly original to criticize airline and airport food, but why not add to the voluminous literature on the subject? Well, airline food has pretty much disappeared so that rules out that area.  Except for international flights – but it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Fitness, Life, Travel, WTF? | Leave a comment