Stupid Pineapple Express

First of all, Cam's still not home. And I still don't know when he will be. Hopefully just another week or so. But that's not what I came here to talk about.

You know those red boxes full of DVDs popping up at grocery stores and McDonald's and elsewhere? It's a great idea - a DVD for a buck a day, no late fees. Helps fill in the gaps between Netflix rentals, or satisfies an unpredicted urge for a movie night. Good stuff! But wait. There's a catch... And I can't believe I'm the only person who's gotten trapped.

While all of these machines seem to be red, they are actually run by two different companies, DVD Play and Redbox. They look quite similar, though, and function the same way, so I didn't realize that. You can see it coming, I'm sure - I rented a DVD Play disc and returned it at a Redbox. And then found a $28 charge on my credit card for Pineapple Express, the movie I'd "failed" to return.

I can hardly believe I'm alone here. I know it's my own fault for not paying closer attention, but it seems like they've got kind of a racket going on. I'm not litigious, but this little runaround really makes me wonder.