asty.org – Page 4 – the homepage of Chris Allegretta

Pandemic car buying redux: How CarMax beat Carvana for the best touchless delivery experience in 2021

Posted on September 8, 2021September 9, 2021 by chrisa

My experience of buying from CarMax without ever visiting the dealership, and where they have room to improve

[Some up front disclaimers and info: I am not affiliated with any auto company or dealership, directly or indirectly. My employer probably owns some self driving companies somewhere along the way but I don’t deal with any of them day-to-day. This article is just based on my experience buying a car in summer 2021.]

As you know from my previous post, I had a really great time buying a car in 2020 from Carvana just as the pandemic started. Unfortunately just 1 year later, due either to staff turnover, trying to expand too quickly due to increasing online sales demand, or …

Carvana’s car buying experience has gone into the toilet in just 12 months

Posted on August 15, 2021August 16, 2021 by chrisa

[Some up front disclaimers and info: I am not affiliated with any auto company or dealership, directly or indirectly. My employer probably owns some self driving companies somewhere along the way but I don’t deal with any of them day-to-day. This article is just based on my experience buying a car in summer 2021.]

Background

Since the pandemic started I’ve actually bought two vehicles. My first experience was with Carvana in Summer 2020 – we wanted a car to someday tow an RV, and I thought I’d also use it to occasionally visit my family out of state. Overall I’d say our first Carvana experience was very good considering the pandemic was raging; some bumps along the way but overall …

Forget Savings Accounts: Earn double digit interest with $FLAME on Tezos (currently >80%!)

Posted on June 14, 2021June 14, 2021 by chrisa

[pre-disclaimer: I am not affiliated with any of these currencies or exchanges, and am not being compensated in any way for this article. No one is being given copy approval, and all spelling mistakes are my own. No affiliate links are used in this article as I believe strongly in individual privacy when using cryptocurrency, especially my own. I am not a financial advisor; never invest more than you can afford to lose.]

Before we begin, there are of course many ways to earn interest at rates better than even the best bank nowadays using crypto platforms. One of the most common is of course Pancakeswap on the BNB chain. At this point however, per my previous post, I’m …

Why I’m focusing on Proof of Stake cryptos from now on

Posted on June 10, 2021September 23, 2021 by chrisa

Just a short post that I’m working on articles related to Proof of Stake cryptos, namely Tezos (XTZ) and Cardano (ADA). I wanted to put down my thoughts on why separately in one place that I can link to.

I have said this to anyone who will listen: cryptocurrency is currently treated like Linux was in 1995. Most people don’t know about it, the ones that do are mostly misguided about it, and many think it will only be used for criminal activity. I really need to take a moment here and address this since I see it online all the time, and even in conversations with otherwise quite intelligent people.

“Crypto is only used by criminals”

Now, this …

Rogue Heroes: Ruins of Tasos Review

Posted on April 5, 2021April 5, 2021 by chrisa

A flawed but very fun co-op Zelda-em-up that’s worth your time

Platform reviewed: Steam. Also available on Nintendo Switch.

Introduction

Like many folks I have certainly been having my share of run playing around in the forest in Valheim. It’s fun to get your survival game on when there is good atmosphere and quality of life in a multiplayer indie game. But sometimes you don’t want to push your luck and hunt for more Trolls, or find the next Burial Chamber for upgrade materials, or your usual Viking crew just isn’t around.

Around the same time I started playing Valheim, I found another game on Steam which really piqued my interest the moment I heard about it. It’s …

Mezcla Plant Protein Bar Review

Posted on August 15, 2020August 17, 2020 by chrisa

A delicious post-workout snack, if you like peanut butter or spicy chocolate

Intro

I’ll say it up front, this it the first time I have ever been asked to do a product review rather than just yelling about something because the mood struck me.

Probably because I’ve been covering some health related items recently, the Mezcla folks reached out and asked if I could review their plan protein bars. Here’s a little secret about me: I love protein bars; I could eat them with every meal, and for that matter instead of a meal many times.

Because of this fact, I was happy to review a sample of 3 of their plant protein bars. I am always looking for as …