Is Your Mobile Phone Company Ripping You Off?

How do telecommunications companies maximize their profit when it comes to customers’ data usage? Well, before I attempt to answer this question, let me preface everything by declaring up front that I’m not a tech wizard by any means. Like most people, I know my way around a computer and a smartphone for most basic uses and applications, but I’m at a loss when it comes to describing or explaining the intricacies of how this technology works. Having said that, I don’t think it takes expert knowledge to draw the conclusions I do in this post. As a matter of fact, some basic common sense along with an understanding of how our capitalist system works is more than enough. Let me start with the facts…

I am a Sprint customer. I currently own a Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone with a Sprint unlimited data plan. On a recent Saturday, I opened the YouTube app on my smartphone to watch a music video. At the time, I was connected to Sprint’s 4G LTE mobile network, rather than a Wi-Fi signal. When I clicked on the video, I got a message saying that the connection to the server was lost. I tried a number of troubleshooting steps (power cycle, soft reset, uninstall app updates, etc.), but nothing resolved the issue. I attempted to contact Sprint, but of course nobody was available outside of normal business hours (no 24-hour live customer service from Sprint). I then disconnected from the mobile network and connected to an available Wi-Fi signal. The YouTube video played without a problem on Wi-Fi. I went back to the mobile network, and the same error message appeared again. Hmmm…

Something else that has happened related to data usage is when I’ve moved from an area with 4G LTE coverage to one without it. At that point, my phone automatically connects to the much slower (and therefore less data-intensive) 3G network, if available. However, when I return to an area where I know there is 4G LTE coverage, the phone often remains on the 3G network instead of switching back to 4G LTE, which obviously keeps data usage lower.

It’s no secret that telecommunications companies want to charge their customers for data plans (unlimited and otherwise) while limiting traffic on the network as much as possible. Comcast, for example, admits to throttling Internet speeds when customers go above a certain amount of data per month (there’s much more to write about Comcast, but they will probably get a whole separate future blog post). Sprint encourages customers to connect to Wi-Fi whenever available rather than the company’s mobile network under the guise of prolonging the phone’s battery life. It may indeed be true that connecting to Wi-Fi prolongs a phone’s battery life, but that’s beside the greater point that Wi-Fi doesn’t cost Sprint anything while connecting to their mobile network does. Even the phones are designed to make it real easy to connect to Wi-Fi (swipe down>>>click “Wi-Fi” button… two steps) while making it significantly more difficult to connect to the mobile network (Apps>>>Settings>>>Network Connections>>>More networks>>>Mobile networks>>>Mobile data>>>click check box… seven steps). I’m probably the farthest thing from a conspiracy theorist, but these companies spend A LOT of money paying people to figure out ways to increase profit. So I don’t think I have to be sized for a tin foil hat for suggesting that these companies do the things described above ON PURPOSE!

What follows from all this? It appears that Sprint (and surely all other telecommunications companies as well) sometimes disables the network for data-intensive apps like YouTube in order to keep their customers from using too much data, even when these customers are paying for “unlimited” plans. These companies can do things like this on the weekends, not only because this is ostensibly the time when customers use their phones the most, especially for entertainment purposes (thereby using the most data), but also because tech support is not available to “solve” the connectivity issue. By the way, when I got back on YouTube later during the week, SURPRISE... the problem was gone! Of course, these companies can explain these problems away as isolated incidents that they had no control over.

It’s a shame that we live in a society where on the one hand, corporations could be getting away with such underhanded tactics just to increase profit, and on the other hand, most people are too ignorant or dependent on these companies’ products and services to do anything about it. For related news and information on this issue, visit stopthecap.com.

A Musician in the Middle of a Mess

There was a flyer circulated by an agent at Main Event Talent Agency (Main Event) related to a dispute with a World of Beer franchisee (WOB) over money owed to a number of bands that Main Event represents. I’m helping to disseminate it for at least two very important reasons. First, I play in two of the bands that are owed money, so in a way I’m suffering twice as much as anybody else! Second, I believe in fairness, and when a business does not honor its obligations, it should be known far and wide so that people can make an informed decision and take their business elsewhere if necessary.

It is for the second reason and fairness that I must also call a spade a spade. A large part of the blame for what has happened here lies directly with Main Event. As intermediary agent between the bands and the venue, it is Main Event’s responsibility to do their due diligence. This means that Main Event must ensure that the venues it deals with hold up their end. Main Event should also have a legally binding written business agreement (contract) with all parties involved, so that if anything like what’s currently happening goes on, it has the necessary evidence to seek damages in a court of law. My understanding is Main Event does not have such a contract with WOB, which would be a plain old bad business move.

Despite a number of invitations extended to Main Event’s agents over a period of many months, none of them has ever gone to see either of my two bands perform, not even once, even though they’re making money off our performances! So, if Main Event is hiring out bands that none of its agents has even seen live, how can anyone reasonably expect Main Event to have done its due diligence when establishing business with WOB? If they had done so, might not this whole situation have been avoided?

I don’t know where all this will end up. Hopefully, WOB will do the right thing and pay what it owes to all the bands. After all, they received valuable entertainment services which contributed to their sales. The honorable thing to do is to pay up promptly. As for Main Event, despite its normally successful track record, hopefully this experience will teach its agents to be more diligent. Oh, and while they’re at it, getting to know the product they’re selling a little bit better can’t hurt, either!

So, what can we the musicians, caught in the middle of this mess, do? After all, for us, dealing with sleazy and shady characters has been an occupational hazard for as long as music’s been around… and that’s just within a band itself! When it comes to venues, managers, agents, and all the other people who want a piece of the pie for bringing musicians and audiences together, well… we need to stand united and not provide our talents for the benefit of those who do not value it!

Memories of Grapeland Heights Park

Anytime someone celebrates The Way Things Were or declares that the past was somehow better than the present, they're usually dismissed as old-fashioned, out of touch, or some other term with a negative connotation. But, what about when The Way Things Were is actually preferable to The Way Things Are? I believe Grapeland Heights Park is a perfect example of this. Grapeland Heights Park had a significant part of it converted to a water park several years ago.

In many ways, Grapeland Heights Park was far superior to Grapeland Water Park.

• Grapeland Water Park is open only for a few months each year during the summer. Even then, it closes frequently when thunderstorms threaten. Grapeland Heights Park was open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, in any kind of weather.
• If a kid poops in any of the pools at Grapeland Water Park, the lifeguards are forced to evacuate everyone from the pool until it is properly sterilized (Who wants to go back in now?). Grapeland Heights Park did not have any pools, so you weren’t in danger of having a close encounter with Johnny’s log!
• Grapeland Water Park charges admission (2013 prices are $7 for kids ages 2-13; $12 for Miami-Dade County residents age 14+; and $15 for non-Miami-Dade County residents age 14+). Grapeland Heights Park was always free to everyone.
• Grapeland Water Park features artwork by Romero Britto. Grapeland Heights Park did not. Nuff said!
• Grapeland Water Park features a pool called Shipwreck Island, another pool called Pirate’s Plunge, and yet another pool called Captain’s Lagoon, along with a lazy river called Buccaneer River Ride. Oh, the variety... NOT! Grapeland Heights Park had baseball and softball fields, a football field (including goal posts!) that could also be used for soccer, a playground, tennis courts, a racquetball wall, basketball courts, and a recreation area with ping-pong tables. There was even a public library!
• Grapeland Water Park appeals to a very narrow age group, mostly children 12 and under. Grapeland Heights Park had something for all ages, whether you were a kid wanting to swing in the playground, a teen wanting to shoot hoops with friends, a middle age guy wanting to get his heart pumping playing tennis, or a senior citizen wanting to just go for a nice long walk.

Is my comparison between Grapeland Water Park and Grapeland Heights Park tinged with nostalgia? Maybe. I do have a lot of fun memories growing up and going to what was not just my neighborhood park, but one of the best parks around. When I saw construction under way to convert a large part of it to a water park, I knew that this was the end of yet another one of my childhood institutions, gone forever like so many other special places around the rapidly growing and changing City of Miami. And that did make me sad. Not so much because of nostalgia, but because I truly feel that Grapeland Heights Park was much better than Grapeland Water Park, and I think just about everybody who visited Grapeland Heights Park back in the day agrees!

After Newtown

The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown leaves many questions that need to be answered and many issues that need to be addressed. With all the hysteria over such a horrific tragedy, people often make judgments and draw conclusions based on emotions. Instead, we need to focus on finding real solutions. But in order to find these real solutions, the right questions must be asked.

As a teacher, my students and I inevitably spent some time discussing the events at Newtown. This was important, as it is principally the students’ safety which we are entrusted with, not just their education. Therefore, I wanted to get their valuable feedback.

What would make students feel safer?

Surprisingly, despite the outcry for gun control all over the cable news shows, the thing most students said would make them feel safer would be to actually have more guns! Specifically, they thought they would feel safer with at the very least one armed security guard or police officer on campus. We discussed how this person should not be allowed to make direct contact with students unless there was imminent danger, in order to avoid any accidents. In other words, most everyday incidents would still be handled by unarmed security and administrative personnel.

Students also bounced around the idea of having armed teachers. While this may sound far-fetched upon first consideration, I did point out that because teachers are in such close proximity to students, it would be essential to implement some very important safeguards. One of these would be to officially designate and authorize particular teachers, such as former members of the military, law enforcement, or who otherwise have received the proper training, to store a firearm inconspicuously in a safe inside the classroom. Only the administration, school district officials, and law enforcement agencies would know of the weapon’s presence.

Why did this person commit such a terrible crime? How can we help keep something like this from happening in the future?

Again, the students’ responses had very little to do with what the talking heads are blathering about all over TV. There was no mention of gun control, assault weapons bans or otherwise. Students understood that, while the specific details and circumstances may never be known, the man who committed this horrible act obviously suffered from severe mental illness. They compared what happened in Newtown to similar events elsewhere, such as the shootings in Aurora, Arizona, and Virginia Tech. They agreed that in order to avoid similar future occurrences, we need to focus on improving the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. I pointed out that mental illness is poorly understood and even more poorly treated in this country, not to mention the stigma that’s attached to it in our society. As a result, addressing this complex issue is difficult. My students, in their youthful wisdom, pointed out that none of that is an excuse to not do something. Children do not deserve to die just because the solution is complicated, they said. Amen to that!

What about gun control? What about banning certain types of weapons?

The response to these questions is perhaps the most interesting of all. It involves a story I'd like to share about an avid gun owner named Miguel. He is a loving, devoted, and responsible husband and father who has raised two girls and hosted countless family gatherings and parties with dozens of guests over the years, all while keeping a large cache of weapons in his home. There has never been anything approaching an incident involving guns at Miguel’s house, because he keeps his weapons locked in a safe at all times. Miguel is a healthy and well-adjusted adult. He would never go anywhere and shoot up a crowd. There are thousands, if not millions, of people just like Miguel all across the United States. Any kind of ban on specific weapons is only going to affect people like Miguel and other responsible gun owners without doing much to prevent a mentally ill person from going out and committing mass murder. After all, a mentally ill person who is determined to carry out an act of wanton destruction will simply find whatever means is most convenient, whether it be shooting a gun at school children, driving a car into a crowd of people, or tossing an explosive into a busy restaurant.

Besides, why does the government need to do what the free market is already doing? Major retailers, such as Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods, have voluntarily stopped selling weapons similar to the one used in Newtown.

Yes, there is a place for government regulations and restrictions, some already in place, others not yet implemented. Prospective gun buyers should surpass the strictest standards in order to determine whether they are fit to own a firearm. Things such as longer waiting periods, mandatory gun safety courses, and even psychological evaluations for any and all prospective gun buyers could be considered. Gun owners could even be required to own a licensed and registered safe, further ensuring that guns are stored out of harm’s way. Tax increases on the purchase and sale of firearms to help pay for gun safety programs are another possibility. Perhaps even advanced tracking and tracing technology can be used to minimize the proliferation of illicit firearms. All these, and other ideas, could go a long way toward making sure guns are kept in the right hands and out of the wrong hands, without having to ban specific guns.

But the inevitable questions persist. Would any of this have helped prevent what happened in Newtown? The answer is at best a vague “No one knows.” If we’re really honest with ourselves, we might realize that sadly the answer is more likely “Probably not.” Because as long as we go for the easy and emotionally satisfying “fix” (gun control) instead of properly and decisively addressing the real issue (mental health), we leave ourselves open to yet another unfortunate tragedy like the one in Newtown. God help us!  

A Not-So-True Christmas Story

I attended an Early Release Day workshop recently at the school where I work. Among the activities, we had to write about a holiday experience. So, I made one up. I volunteered to read it out loud, and everybody seemed to get a kick out of it, so I decided to post it here. Merry Christmas to all!

A Not-So-True Christmas Story

Grandma got run over by a reindeer. No, really, she did! It all happened on a cold, snowy winter’s night in Miami. My family and I were sloshing through the sidewalk of our neighborhood, going from house to house singing off-key renditions of classic Christmas carols like “You Put WHAT in the Eggnog?” and “The Pig Fell on the Ground Last Noche Buena.” Needless to say, we were a big hit.

As we were turning to leave a particularly well-decorated house, Grandma tripped over an extension cord that had been obscured by the relentless snowfall. As the cord went taut, it caught a nearby plastic Rudolph statue complete with bulbous red nose that blinked to the rhythm of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” The red-nosed ruminant came flying across the lawn and tackled poor Grandma, pinning down her frail shoulders with its shiny plastic hoofs. She was okay, however, her unfortunate fall cushioned by the soft white blanket underneath. We helped Grandma up and continued on our merry way, stopping by La Carreta for some churros and hot chocolate before heading home to open our Christmas presents.

Getting Our Fiscal House in Order

We the People. Those three words launch the blueprint of our democracy. Abraham Lincoln said we have a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” That means our government serves us. Our government reflects us. Our government is us! That’s why our government must behave and act responsibly on our behalf. We should expect our government to face its fiscal challenges the same way any responsible citizen would.

A responsible citizen who spends more than he makes must adjust in order to balance his budget. He can cut his spending, increase his income, or do a combination of both. Just like the citizen with an unbalanced budget, our government spends much more than it takes in. And our government faces the same choices when it comes to spending and income.

The responsible citizen can find an extra job, or a higher paying job. But that takes time. He must update his resume, look for job openings, go on job interviews, etc. None of these things are guaranteed to work, and even if he is eventually successful, it takes some time. In the meantime, he can bring his budget immediately under control by focusing on the spending side of his balance sheet. He can trim his excess spending and begin to balance his budget even while still earning the same income.

Likewise, our government should do the same thing to balance its budget and steadily diminish the national debt: cut excess spending first, then raise the revenue necessary to complete the budget balancing process. In other words, our government needs to slash wasteful spending, find more efficient ways to run its programs, and eliminate unnecessary expenditures before it goes raising taxes on anyone, wealthy or otherwise. Once our government is running in the most reasonably efficient and cost-effective way possible, then and only then does it earn the right to increase any citizen’s taxes. As long as our government wastes, misspends, or otherwise throws away our tax dollars, it does not possess the moral right to ask any of us to pay more.

President Obama insists that raising tax rates on the wealthiest Americans is a necessary first step toward getting our fiscal house in order. But our government should make sure it is spending our tax dollars fairly first before it asks anyone to “pay their fair share.”

Miami Marlins Boycott

Most of my sports watching involves cheering on my hometown teams: Miami Heat, Miami Dolphins, Florida Panthers, FIU, and UM (except, of course, if UM is playing FIU). Of all the sports I enjoy watching, my favorite by far is baseball. So naturally, the Marlins have been my main sports focus for many years.

I’ve endured the ups and downs of the Marlins franchise, from the thrill of the World Series victories in 1997 and 2003, to the struggles of just about every other season except those two, attending an average of about a dozen games or so every season. Last season, I took an extra step in support of my hometown MLB team, spending hundreds of my hard-earned and scarce teacher salary dollars on a ticket plan for the inaugural season at the new ballpark.

The Marlins began the 2012 season with a new home, new manager, new star players, and high hopes. These hopes were unceremoniously crushed when, after a lackluster performance, the manager was fired and most of the high salary players were traded.

The Marlins front office may well have thought, “Well, we brought in all these stars, and we still had the lowest attendance ever for a new ballpark, so screw ‘em. If they won’t come to the games, we won’t spend money.” The Marlins ownership and management team is certainly entitled to make whatever decisions they feel are best for business. If they wish to alienate the fans, that is entirely their prerogative.

On the other hand, my prerogative is to choose where and how to spend my hard-earned and scarce teacher salary dollars. Therefore, I have chosen to officially boycott the Miami Marlins for as long as the ownership and management team includes Jeffrey Loria and David Samson. Any Marlins games I attend will be exclusively via a ticket that is a gift or purchased from a third party. I will, under no circumstances, buy a new ticket from the Marlins box office, website, or other avenue that would generate new revenue for the team. Any transportation to and from games will not involve parking in the stadium lots or garages. I will not patronize stadium concessions. I will not purchase any additional team apparel. I will also avoid giving my business to the various sponsors of the Miami Marlins to the greatest extent possible.

This boycott will be in effect regardless of whether anyone else joins it or not. However, there is power in numbers. Therefore, I urge any and all true fans of the Miami Marlins to join me in this boycott. Because if we truly care for our hometown MLB team, we must recognize that the current ownership and management team headed by Jeffrey Loria and David Samson puts the long-term health and vitality of the Miami Marlins in danger.