ACK & DJ

I've been with the same cell phone company for 15 years (before they were T-Mobile). I've endured bad service and only gotten four phones over the years. Now I understand that they have a charge for upgrading and then I'm only getting the same price as a new customer. How do I go about negotiating a better deal? Is it better to do it over the phone with customer service, by letter, or in a store? Exact language to use would help a great deal.

If I brought a single hot plate with me to a Disney resort hotel room to cook simple one pot meals (soup, oatmeal, etc) would I get kicked out?

We have a large half dead pine tree hanging over our property line from our neighbors yard. It is too large to trim without a professional. When we had tree work done to remove trees from around our house, we asked permission from the neighbor to trim the tree. Originally we recieved permission from wife, but when the tree trimmers asked permission to go into their yard the husband said no, but that we could pay to cut it down. We in no way intended to pay that much money. When we contacted to town, we were told we had the legal right to trim overhanging branches, but not by trespassing on their property. There is no way to trim it without getting into the tree. We now have vermin in our attic that have gained access from their tree. How do we legally proceed? I now have to pay to have someone remove the vermin from my HOUSE.

I find the iTunes music store just annoying to navigate and using their help pages is worthless. Do I seriously have to go to Amazon to listen to clips before I purchase them from iTunes??! I beginning to think that the iPod was not the greatest investment for entertainment.

I love LOVE LOVE this new Driving Direction, Traffic Update in the Yahoo Go Mobile program under Maps. The first time I used it I was totally lost, it found me by a cell tower signal, and sent me right to my destination. I was so entranced I drove in my car constantly updating my position on the map. Who needs a GPS Navigation system for $300 if I have this!?!

... not so much, because for the next week, the program refused to find me even when I went to the exact same places it had found me before.

Has anyone else used this? Any tips on how to make it work accurately or at all?

If you watch the video closely, there is a guy in the back in Yellow who is obviously not a professional dancer. Kudos to him for doing the video when he was obviously none too comfortable with dancing. He's usually watching what the others are doing for his cues. Hilarious... I hope I'm meant to laugh because I like to think I'm laughing with him and not at him.

I would like to purchase a unique toilet seat from the UK but the dimensions/specs aren't listed. I need the seat for a round (not elongated) seat. Is it likely to fit or are the fittings completely different?

We know what the difference is in HOW they work but not in why. We are researching tubs for a bathroom remodel, but no one seems to know why you would choose a whirlpool (swirls the water around) or an air spa (blows air into full tub). Anyone know what the heck the difference is?

I would like to have an alarm system installed in my house using an independent contractor so I can buy a better system for cheap and then negotiate my monitoring contract with a company. My electrician says he doesn't do it. Is this unheard of in the industry? What kind of contractor would do this kind of installation?

We are considering the cost differences if we were to rent a public storage unit or use a POD. We will have a full service moving company do the local move, but what kind of fees are we looking at if they have to make a second pickup at a storage unit? Would it be cheaper to have them unload the POD while unloading the truck? Will they do that? Would we have to hire a second group of people to empty the POD?

Please don't answer if you don't know what a POD is.... thanks!

My BFF is going to France with her family for two months and I wanted to get something as a going away present for her two year old son. I was trying to think of a kitchy saying tshirt or something that is hip in France. Nothing that screams "I'm an American hear me roar" like tourists getting the UK flag hats when visiting England.....

Thumbs up, thumbs down. What 's the point?

My father has moved to the Atlanta area and it's time to get him an active social life. We're trying to come up with things that will keep him healthy, active, and social. Looking for specific ideas in volunteering, church, etc.

I thought it would be easier than fighting crowds at the stores, but then I got slammed on the tax that no one else is paying for the same items. The company claims they have to charge state sales tax if there is a store of theirs in your state, but if you buy at their store, you don't have to pay the sales tax. WTF?

Elliot Morris wrote it but it isn't available on his website or Crayola's.

For the last six weeks we have had a single bird that spends anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half trying to get into a specific window. He hovers, he bumps into, and pecks at the glass. He rests by hanging on to the screen below. What is this about?