Bureaucratic tangle, seen from the inside

November 30, 2008

With a name like mine, you might imagine it's rare to hear it pronounced or see it spelled correctly.

Recent columns

• Layaway makes its return as a cure for the holiday hangover

  November 23, 2008

  We haven't even started imbibing yet, and already most of us are preparing for that mega-huge post-holiday hangover.

• Sometimes, you really can't win for losing

  November 16, 2008

  Winning isn't everything. And sometimes, winning can feel far worse than losing.

• Be wary about giving out that security code on your plastic

  November 13, 2008

  The Q:

• When computers go bad

  November 9, 2008

  Aaron Shepard bought his Acer Ferrari 4005 WLMi laptop for $2,250 about three years ago to take to Columbia University.

• Untangling the Social Security-Medicare web

  November 6, 2008

  The Q:

• You don't (or shouldn't) have to show them no stinkin' SSNs

  November 2, 2008

  Sometimes, there is just no explanation.

• Layaway plan makes comeback in trying economic times

  November 1, 2008

  In the old days, when you saw something you really liked but couldn't afford, you didn't just charge it and take that sucker home. You put it on layaway.

• Cable TV prices are on the rise ...

  October 30, 2008

  So I just received an e-mail from a group called TV4US about Maryland residents paying an average of 6.4 percent more for cable television beginning Saturday.

• U-Haul fuel policy is running on fumes

  October 26, 2008

  If the needle on a gas gauge points to "F" and no one is around to see it, does it mean the gas tank is full?

• Who's looking out for the mortgages?

  October 23, 2008

  The Q:

• For a repair, skip to the fix

  October 19, 2008

  It has been more than a year since the surface underneath Kent Edel's carport was ripped up and repaved and then ripped up again. Unfortunately for the 59-year-old flooring contractor, a subsequent dispute with the paving company he hired spiraled out of control and left the job unfinished.

• Credit union customers are also protected under rescue package

  October 16, 2008

  The Q:

• Financial salvation? Why, it's in the mail!

  October 12, 2008

  One of the truly delirious joys I get out of this job is receiving mail from readers - especially the ones who send me those succinct, six-page, single-spaced letters griping about a business or the ones who just tell me I'm bananas.

• FDIC cost will likely mean higher bank fees

  October 9, 2008

  The Q: