Author Archives: Michael Katz

Free Prize Inside

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22 COMMENTS

Have you ever owned a supermarket? Me neither. But I am willing to bet that one headache of such ownership is the never-ending challenge of finding and retrieving shopping carts from the parking lot. Even if you manage to keep track of them all (doubtful), you still have to pay people to constantly roam the lot. Not to mention dealing with unhappy customers whose cars are occasionally dinged by runaway carts. Well, one innovative market near me (Aldi) has come up with a clever solution: the carts are locked together at […] Click to read more…

The World According to You

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12 COMMENTS

The time on my bedside clock is four hours and 45 minutes behind the actual time. Is it because I am trying to trick myself into staying up late so I can binge-watch old episodes of Derry Girls? No, but now that you mention it, that’s not a bad idea. The real reason is that we had a power outage about four months ago. Only my wife, Linda, knows how to change the clock time, and since I only need it if I get up in the middle of the night, the fix just […] Click to read more…

Hard Habit to Brake

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18 COMMENTS

“Whatever you do, don’t engage the emergency brake.” That bit of advice came yesterday from Scott, my auto mechanic, when I picked up my car at the end of the day. He said the emergency brake cables were catching. This prevents the brake from releasing completely, which explains why for the past couple of weeks, whenever I began driving it felt like I had a bunch of middle school skateboarders hanging onto the back bumper. Fortunately, Scott was able to free the cable. But he needs to order some parts to […] Click to read more…

Easy Rider

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13 COMMENTS

When it comes to exercise, biking is not high on my list. I’m more of a “recreational biker” – I enjoy bopping along on a rail trail at an easy pace, not sweating my way up a steep hill as fast as possible. So when my wife, Linda, suggested we join a ride organized by the nearby Ashland Bike Club this past weekend, I was less than enthusiastic.   However, once again, she was right (I’ve lost count at this point). It was a beautiful day and riding with a group – there […] Click to read more…

Take Advantage of Your Advantage

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5 COMMENTS

I had a problem earlier this week with my life insurance … I forgot to pay the premium. The bill arrives quarterly – just infrequently enough for me to never have bothered automating the payment. And somehow, between it being summer, us going on vacation, and the new season of Welcome to Wrexham, it slipped through the cracks. Frankly, it’s been a terrible investment. I’ve been paying those life insurance premiums for 20+ years and they have yet to pay off. That aside, I’ve heard that insurance companies will sometimes cancel policies for […] Click to read more…