Jan 19, 2011
The TDG-Phenix Christmas Tree: One Bad Idea
I thought I was going to give Martha Stewart a run for her money. “Martha’s got nothing on you” was one comment flying around. I’m sure after this Christmas debacle, there is no future in becoming the ‘holiday decorator to the stars’; I will explain. Christmas ingredients: (1) eleven-foot fir (yes, eleven), 1,900 lights (keep reading), lovely gold sheer ribbon,... read more
Sep 27, 2010
Mr. Funeral Director, Make sure you use enough embalming fluid on Wachovia
Today is a new day for me personally and the business. Gone is the Wachovia brand (which I could really go off on a diatribe about their lousy service), and welcome to Wells Fargo: organized, sleek, good online functionality, a MOBILE APP for Android, and really nice debit card designs. I think I will like this new banking relationship. I may bring them brownies or something (wait, they still probably... read more
Sep 21, 2010
It’s like visiting with the Pope, but for banking
Larry De Palma was able to spend several wonderful hours at two summer 2010 fundraisers with the then House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA). A quote by De Palma’s dearest and oldest friend said “You look like a kid in a candy store”. Never one not to jump in and help the host, De Palma showed his finely tuned catering skills by creating the platters for one... read more
Aug 5, 2010
Dear PayPal, We Just Want to Have Our Class Reunion
I have decided that PayPal is the PAP Smear of the payments industry: for those who are familiar with PAP Smears, you know you hate them, but they are a necessarily evil. I couldn’t come up with a better analogy (or one that was of a male-gender, for that matter) to describe the bureaucratic nightmare that is the spawn of eBay. Why do I use such harsh words about an entity that I have fondly... read more
Jul 27, 2010
The New TDG-Phenix Infocenter: Not Just a Pretty Design..
Some have told me that my humor and wit rank high on the list of my best characteristics. Some have also noted that I do everything with a sense of passion (I either love something or hate something PASSIONATELY; there seems to be no middle ground there). So, as I cleared out over 1,000 boring pending posts about stuff that is inconsequential to my world or to the world of 98% of us in the payments and... read more
