RD3

We switched to AT&T for cell service from Sprint last year. At the time saved $35 but we also got 2 iPhones 8 out of it (Sprint wasn't offering any deals). We switched to Directv Now over Memorial Day weekend and saved $100 on that. Comparing my bills from a year ago I'm saving $135 a month and we have 2 iPhone 8s out of the deal. June 2018 - $170 AT&T (cell, 2 iPhones including 1 iPhone 8 with installments + 1 free iPhone 8) - $74 AT&T (internet) - $38 Directv Now with free HBO (tv) TOTAL = $282 May 2018 - $195 AT&T (cell, 2 iPhones including 1 iPhone 8 with installments + 1 free iPhone 8) - $186 AT&T (internet + tv) TOTAL = $381 May 2017 - $200 Sprint (cell, 2 iPhones no free phones) - $216 AT&T (internet + tv) TOTAL = $416

I underlined the most important part. You didn't reup and they can't sell your seats at the same price you were paying. Which tells me these guys are clueless on how to make being a season ticket holder "stickier"; even Schlitterbahn reduces the cost of season tickets if you renew. And the Athletic Dept has no idea how to price them.

Problems: games are too long, DKR-TMS has way too many seats (and I hope CDC's new "rescrubbed" plan includes not adding any seats, removing the SEZ bleachers and putting in suites in its place), kickoff times need to be locked down sooner to allow fans to plan for other social activities/travel. Easy solutions/low hanging fruit: End stopping the clock after 1st downs and incomplete passes unless in the last 2 min of each half. Reduce halftime duration. CFB halftime were longer than the pros because back in the day both bands played. When was the last time we saw the other teams band??? Maybe 1 game a year? Texas/OU let the "home" team band play at half. People think that the tv networks want longer games; they don't!!! It screws up their schedule. They want a good product that lasts the duration they put on the guide. CBS hates it when the late Sunday game goes long and impacts the start of 60 Minutes. In fact, 60 Minutes is one reason CBS sold out the rights to March Madness to TNT/TBS/TRU (one reason not the only). Now CBS does the early Sunday games during March Madness and it frees them up for no conflict with 60 Minutes.

The ADs took a money grab and now they are at the behest of the tv companies who honestly don't care if the games sell out. As John U. Bacon wrote, fans aren't leaving college football; college football is leaving the fans.

I have maxed out my 401k since I started working 15+ years ago. My company has had some match but at this point I don't even remember what it is. I basically take as much tax deferral as I can. Max out dependent day care, health care savings account... Bottom line: decrease your taxable income as much as possible and find a way to live off the rest of your paycheck and keep saving more on top of that.

Who wrote this? Good column and something I have been following for years. I highly recommend John U. Bacon's book on the college football experience. "4th & Long: The fight for the heart and soul of college football". http://amzn.to/4thLong

Just as I was saying... Southwest is rolling out a newer higher end credit card. $150 instead of $99 but you get more benefits just like I was pitching. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/chase-and-southwest-have-a-new-travel-credit-card-but-is-it-a-good-deal-2018-07-19 Gives you some upgrading boarding, discount on drinks and wifi,...

He enrolled early and suffered the concussion during the spring?

Don't get me wrong; the show was still great but I think it lost a big element when Livia died in real life... Apparently S3 was going to have her testifying against Tony in court.

He could use a bigger boat, err sign.

Sopranos seasons 1 & 2 are some of the best tv ever. But the series took a step back in season 3 when his mom on the show died. The biggest thing that separates Sopranos from any other mob show/movie was the conflict between Tony and his mom. Corleone's mom in The Godfather; did she even speak english? She cooked and hugged them. Tony's mom tried to have him killed and his uncle Junior was a part of it. That family conflict is what drove him to need a shrink. Ironically, the public caught on to the Sopranos after season 2; the show got more famous after it peaked. And in real life she died before season 3 aired. But when that conflict died, it wasn't the same. It was still great tv and I wish we had tv like that. But seasons 1 & 2 were the best. p.s. In real life, Tony's mom is based on David Chase's mom who was a sociopath. https://www.quora.com/Was-the-portrayal-of-Olivia-Soprano-Tonys-mother-that-of-a-malignant-narcissist-a-borderline-or-a-psychopathic-personality

Let me take a step back -> this won't be a slam dunk. It would take a huge step. And that's what those guys are paid the big bucks to consider...

I added Directv Now in May. Are they increasing it $5 for new users or all?

Call Protect app is the tits. Pos Rep to all you bastards.

I have the $15 discount via AT&T Wireless unlimited choice enhanced (they need a longer name!). When I 1st signed up, they didn't give me the discount and later refunded me $15. I have the "Just Right" $50 plan and they charged me last week $37 with that discount... And HBO Go free via Directv login (even though I have Directv Now). Only knock is Cartoon Network app off Roku won't let me sign in as Directv Now. I still get the channel on live tv but my kids can't watch the locked programs on Carton Network for the time being. Maybe Carton Network adds DTV Now sooner than later though....

Disruption (as Prof. Christensen defines) is when a company continues to go after higher margins leaving lower margin segments to other competitors until the lower competitors scale up with different (disruptional) technology to compete at lower costs and unseat the original company. And the danger is the original company (in the short term) is incentivized to continue on this high margin path. IBM is another example when they introduced the PC. The original IBM PCs threatened their own higher margin businesses... and IBM eventually made a ton of money off that forward looking move. Of course they opened up Pandora's box and the rest is history.

The classic example is actually Intel. They started off as memory company and was the worldwide leader in DRAM. Then the Japanese leap frogged them and they were faced with the dilemma. What to do? Chase DRAM or put their chips all in on their smaller micropocessor group? Andy Grove was a genius and said what would our successors executive team do? Gordon Moore (or Moore's Law) said microprocessors... Then why wait? And the rest is history. http://watercoolernewsletter.com/the-revolving-door-test-how-intel-overcame-fear-by-gaining-an-outsiders-perspective/

I'm a huge fan of Ben Thompson but he's a bit off here. Why? Intel has a viable path -> they have so spin off the fabs. Even in a day of mobile and less desktop computers, there is a need for more foundries. TSMC is the gorilla and they charge a pretty penny. Intel is a bit behind TSMC but these guys can leapfrog each other and continue to fill their fabs. Running fabs isn't cheap but we are in a world with more electronics, not less. The team that can get disrupted is Intel design. Intel's reliance on x86 is similar to Microsoft's reliance on Windows. But without going to a fully fab-less design company, I don't see Intel changing. For the record, their datacenter/server business is KILLING IT. And that can continue if they went fab-less.

100% agreed with you. With kids in school, you never know if the call is from a teacher or the school nurse. So I field these unknown calls and it can be frustrating b/c 95% of them are spam. Of course that 5% has been the school nurse and fielding that call makes the 95% worth it. BUT this app has worked so far. I have had 2 so far and it is showed as "Suspected Spam". I filtered that out.

When AMD launched their 1st CPU outside traditional AMD/GF fabs (Ontario TSMC 40nm), I said that there could be a day in which AMD had products at Intel fabs. This was around 2011? My point was that Intel needed to spinoff their fabs to a new company. They still should. The weakening PC market means that Intel cannot fill up their fab. And they have dipped their toe into the foundry model (they have a side business) but for them to succeed at it, they need to go all-in. The design side would benefit because they could have the flexibility to use TSMC 7nm; the foundry side would benefit because TSMC has no real competition (GF and Samsung, ehh). I promise you; the last thing TSMC wants is to have Intel as a competitor on the foundry side.

Downloaded the Call Protect app.... how does it work?

Just added AT&T Call Protect...

Long term, twitter has to dump the fake accounts. If it means speed bumps in "active users" so be it. Twitter's downfall will be stuff like bots. Go get 'em. As a user of twitter but stock holder of Square, I don't care if twitter goes under; I hope Jack Dorsey gets back to Square full time...

I have AT&T. What's this app?

I've always had a soft spot for Sammy. The 1st concert I ever watched was Van Halen with him. Summer 1993 @ the Woodlands Pavilion. We drove from San Antonio for it; just graduated high school...