Categories
10 Things Internet shopping

Amazon.com has the Best Customer Service. (Zappos ranks high, too)

Amazon.com Gift Card
Amazon.com Gift Card

When it comes to Customer Service, what retail companies come to mind?

We’ve heard countless stories about companies like Costco taking back anything that they sell, no matter how long ago you purchased it… but while Costco is an awesome place to shop, the long lines and lack of salespeople on the shopping floor can turn some potential shoppers off, as getting out of there with a purchase can be a bit more difficult than it needs to be.

Web Watch enjoys the staff at the local Home Depot and Lowe’s, but there are times when both stores struggle to answer our seemingly simple questions.

We do’t ask for much – we just want each shopping experience to be superior to the last outing.

Categories
Funny Gadgets Science Websites

Hate your body? Try a HUMAN UPGRADE

Upgrade Me: Our Amazing Journey to Human 2.0
Upgrade Me: Our Amazing Journey to Human 2.0

Do you remember the classic TV show, MAN FROM ATLANTIS?

It featured an actor with webbed fingers and toes, able to swim deep into the ocean to solve crimes.  Our recollection is that he had gills and could breath underwater like Aquaman, but there’s been a lot of alcohol in our system since then so we may be confusing two different characters.

But the webbed fingers and toes?  Those were real.

Categories
Internet

How much money do porn sites make?

The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google
The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google

In 2006, the US adult industry made over $13 billion in revenue.

In revenue, porn brings in more money than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple, Netflix, and Earthlink combined.

Let’s say that last word again:  combined.

Yes, online (and elsewhere) we can safely say, “porn is king”.  Just like the porn industry is credited with the rise of VHS over Beta, the porn industry is also credited with pushing the technology envelope and make today’s Internet what it has become.

Categories
food How To

How much do you tip your waiter? Chances are, you’re paying them way too much

How to Make Money and Bigger Tips as a Waitress
How to Make Money and Bigger Tips as a Waitress

How much do you tip your wait staff when you visit a bar or restaurant?

Some people go for the standard 20% off the final total of the bill — just take the total, move the decimal point, and multiply by 2… voila! No math required and you left a 20% tip.

Some people jump through complicated hoops to come up with a 15% or 18% tip.

We’ll be honest here – there have been times that Web Watch has left less than 15%… but trust us, the wait staff didn’t do their job that day by listening to what the customer wanted (they didn’t bring us the requested drink, the requested condiment on the side rather than on the sandwich, etc – and it wasn’t because the restaurant was busy that day… it was just bad service all the way around.)

Categories
10 Things Gambling Travel

What to do in Vegas? In 2011, “not gamble” was on the list

Weird Las Vegas and Nevada: Your Alternative Travel Guide to Sin City and the Silver State
Weird Las Vegas and Nevada:
Your Alternative Travel Guide to Sin City and the Silver State

Web Watch loves visiting Las Vegas.

Then again, we also agree with our friends who say that “a little Las Vegas goes a long way”.  In other words, these people don’t necessarily enjoy the entire gambling, casino, nightlife, gambling aspect of Sin City.

Web Watch knows people that took a vacation out to Nevada and other points west, and their Las Vegas experience consisted solely of driving down the Las Vegas Strip.  They didn’t stop, they didn’t browse.  They had lunch as a nearby McDonald’s (not even at the In-n-Out!) before continuing on their merry way.

We don’t blame them.  There are aspects of Las Vegas that we don’t appreciate either.  But to each their own.

But then the Nevada Gaming Control Board decided to come out with their compilation of revenue numbers and financial analysis of the 2011 gambline business, and the numbers look a bit unusual to us here at Web Watch.

Categories
10 Things Travel

Seven rights you don’t have when you take a cruise

What You Need to Know About Your First Cruise - Cruise Like a Pro Your First Time
What You Need to Know About Your First Cruise – Cruise Like a Pro Your First Time

Have you ever taken a cruise before?

Well, they’re a lot of fun.  And not filled with old people playing shuffleboard.  Of course, it helps if you’re able to take a cruise with a large group of people, so you always have someone fun to hang out with besides your Significant Other.

But let’s keep in mind that a cruise ship is its own entity – especially when it gets out into International Waters, where almost anything can happen when you’re outside of a specific country’s jurisdiction.

So in order to keep order, cruise lines have tiny fine print on the back of their tickets (maybe not literally, but at least figuratively) that you have to sign away on when you agree to board the boat.

Categories
Music

Music Mashup fun: Disco remixes of your favorite hits from today (Adele, Gaga, others)

Village People - Can't Stop the Music
Village People – Can’t Stop the Music

Nobody can deny that disco music is, well, just plain fun.

It may have been the height of cheese back in the day when it was new, but there’s something special about hearing those synth riffs and rock flute over a hip-shaking beat that just makes you want to move your booty.

So here’s one person who mashed up today’s hits from Adele, Enrique Iglesias, David Guetta, Timbaland, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Taio Cruz, and others with a little bit of that 70’s disco beat that can just get your feet moving. 

Hear the tunes after the break…

 

Categories
10 Things Travel

The 25 Least Expensive Places to Live

Cost of Living and Doctor's Fees in 1848
Cost of Living and Doctor’s Fees in 1848

Sometimes it’s not so much how you live as where you live that determines how much money you can really save over the course of a year.

And we can thank the COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH (C2ER) for their annual COST OF LIVING report that lists the LEAST EXPENSIVE CITIES to live in, based on the monthly rent for a 2-bedroom apartment, monthly average house payment, a gallon of gas, a hamburger, and a 1/2-gallon of milk.