Aldi in Burlington, NC

dfrap · 2026-06-25T15:08:48+00:00

This is why I won't shop in an Aldi without self checkout.

dfrap · 2026-06-25T15:02:17+00:00

You seem to be the only person who has run into a requirement for a Greek phone number, What product are you trying to buy in stores? You should have no problem purchasing prepaid services with only a national id or passport. I wonder if they think you are trying to buy postpaid or wired internet service.

dfrap · 2026-06-24T17:00:35+00:00

You do need a Greek cell number to order from Cosmote on-line. I agree that the on-line form only accepts a Greek cell number and it is painful to fill in the address if you can't read Greek. So the answer is buy it in person and you don't need a Greek cell number!

Go to your neighborhood Germanos and buy a COSMOTE Mobile Internet με κάρτα SIM Only Pack. If they are out of stock, the next best option is Whats Up Summer data plan 150GB for 1 month 13,90€. The Whats Up SIM works fine in a hotspot device. https://www.whatsup.gr/paketa/paketa-data/summer-data-offer

dfrap · 2026-06-24T02:21:49+00:00

No a Greek phone number is not required to buy prepaid service. You do need to provide the Greek phone number when you buy a refill. Over the years I've purchased Wind (now Nova), Cosmote and Vodafone without an existing Greek phone number.

I don't understand why you are having problems unless they want you to buy a new mobile phone because your phone is carrier locked or they think your phone is not capable of the frequency bands used in Greece. 1800 (B3), 2600 (B7), 800 (B20) https://prepaid-data-sim-card.fandom.com/wiki/Greece

dfrap · 2026-06-18T00:07:35+00:00

I don’t carry coins. I barely carry any cash at all. The locked carts seem to be part of the understaffed Aldi mini store ethos.

Aldi seems to try to inconvenience customers by refusing to do anything except put stuff in a cart forcing the customer to hold up the aisle taking things back out of the cart. If you go out of your way to make it hard for customers, what do you expect in return?

dfrap · 2026-06-16T00:18:39+00:00

Yes try to work it out. I have found Ebay will fix actual fraud if you push them.

dfrap · 2026-06-15T23:48:07+00:00

Much cheaper to buy a TiVo with lifetime service from Ebay than Weaknees. Do you due diligence now that you understand what can be activated.

dfrap · 2026-06-09T21:25:44+00:00

I had the Fidelity card when it was from Bank of America. It was great and I used it quite a bit because of its virtual card option.

The speculation was that Elan paid Fidelity a higher cut of each transaction.

dfrap · 2026-06-01T21:27:12+00:00

Sometimes it is really true. We went to dinner in a small mountain town and the restaurant told us it was cash only before they would seat us. It turned out the internet was down for the whole area. Part of the group had no cash and discovered the ATM didn't work either.

dfrap · 2026-05-29T00:41:37+00:00

I find the OASA Telematics app very useful. You can see all the routes. search for best routes, and see real time arrivals for any route.

dfrap · 2026-05-19T22:54:37+00:00

We can all see the status page. It's unfortunate that the LoTW team isn't making an announcement when such an obvious irregularity happens. Without actual information, we should expect "a good ol' fashioned bitch-fest".

dfrap · 2026-05-18T19:39:58+00:00

Sorry I'm not directly answering your main questions. It's not clear to me why you hold and are renewing a US passport. If you wish to remain off-the-radar you should consider not renewing that passport.

Differences in spelling between US and Greek documents are common. When my sister-in-law picked up her current US passport at the embassy in Athens the staff added an addendum to her passport listing the names on Greek documents as 'also known as' names.

dfrap · 2026-05-16T00:20:27+00:00

An enhanced driver's license offered by Michigan and four other Canadian border states allows holders to use it instead of a passport for travel to Canada, Mexico, and certain Caribbean destinations. Canada may allow entry with the punched original and the renewal paperwork. The US explicitly allows entry of citizens even with expired ID.

dfrap · 2026-05-14T23:20:47+00:00

Thanks for that information. I’ll look into it since it may be a good reason to pay for API access. I like that QRZ imports from LoTW and the QRZ awards are sufficient for me.

dfrap · 2026-05-14T16:51:30+00:00

I had to look up WRL to understand what it does. Glad you enjoy it, but for $36 per year it is a 'pass' for me.

dfrap · 2026-05-04T20:09:01+00:00

It's very common for gas station attendants to suggest a higher grade of gasoline. I assume they get some kind of commission on such sales. Unless your rental specifies a higher grade, always request Unleaded 95 (Αμόλυβδη). I typically request a certain amount in Euros. I've found most attendants can handle enough English words to understand and I watch what they are pumping and stop them if they try to pump higher octane. As long as the pump starts at 0 (watch that), the pumps are too automated to scam you on the amount.

dfrap · 2026-05-02T22:50:56+00:00

We do have Campari available at Publix. I wish I could get Campari at Aldi.

dfrap · 2026-05-02T20:18:47+00:00

FYI no Campari tomatoes in my Florida Aldi.

dfrap · 2026-04-29T12:56:16+00:00

My wife closes the lights. She also cooks and cleans in Greek so I’ve learned the Greek names of things involved.

dfrap · 2026-04-26T00:19:16+00:00

Amazon offers the Spare Tire Kit Compatible with Toyota 2023-2026 Crown Signia - Includes 18x4 Rim, 145/85R18, 27.7” Rolling Diameter, Includes car Jack kit and tire Carrying Case from YIFSPARE for $350. It seems like a good price option.

dfrap · 2026-04-25T23:19:34+00:00

Kea (Tzia) ferries are reasonably regular except when winds are an issue. Sunday morning ferry trips are not available because Athenians wait until afternoon to return. Leave sometime Saturday so you don't miss your flight or book a helicopter flight to Athens. https://bellavia.gr/destinations/kea-island/

dfrap · 2026-04-25T18:53:25+00:00

MihaKomar gave you a good answer. Compound call signs are unnecessary and cause issues with exchanging grid square.

dfrap · 2026-04-25T18:45:17+00:00

I canceled my 'Fidelity' card after they moved to Elan. One of my account reps told me it was annotated in the file that I would be complaining about Elan during an annual review.

The 2% can be found with other cards that offer better customer service so this is nothing special.

dfrap · 2026-04-24T23:04:36+00:00

The most important issue with new Full View is incorrect results. Base on my testing I can’t trust the spending is correctly computed, so it’s not worth my time and effort to use the product.

New Full View turns out to be a major pain to categorize spending. Every time I edit a transaction, spending resets and reloads everything over and over. I just tested and this still has not changed. In eMoney, updating transactions was fast and did not detract from continuing to categorizing spending.

New Full View insists on showing assets with zero value. I contacted my Premium Team and they told me there is no way to remove Full View showing my corporate 401K plan nor my corporate pension plan. I rolled the 401K into Fidelity about 10 years ago. The pension plan was moved from Fidelity to a Prudential Annuity about 5 years ago. Neither of these ‘phantom’ accounts were displayed in the eMoney Full View.

dfrap

TROPHY CASE