Credit card companies don't care as much as you might think. The credit card companies have very little incentive to prevent or prosecute fraud.
Fraudulent credit card charges are either paid by the consumer (if the consumer fails to take the proper steps to dispute the charge), or paid by the merchant (if the consumer does dispute the charge). The burden of proof that the charge is valid falls on the merchant. If you dispute a charge, and the merchant does not have adequate proof that the charge is valid, the credit card company takes the amount of the charge back from the merchant -- and may also charge penalties or higher service charges in the future if a merchnt has too many "chargebacks".
Last year I, as a merchant, came across an order submitted to our retail website using a stolen credit card number. We contacted the owner of the card, who refused to cancel the card because it would be too much of a hassle and he knew he wouldn't be held responsible for the fraudulent charges anyway. We reported it to the credit card company, who refused to act unless the cardholder reported the problem. Same with the police in the city to which the thief tried to have the merchandise shipped. They all consider the cardholder the "victim" depite the fact that the merchant is the one who stands to lose money due to the fraudulent charges. I finally filed a complaint with the FTC against the credit card company, but nothing has come of that as far as I know.
You can find clarification about that letter here. The statement that "those combinations of chemicals to make explosives is a federal offense" isn't quite accurate -- it depends on what type of explosives you make and what you do with them.
The Fireworks Foundation is working to preserve hobbyist pyrotechnics, including funding legal defense against the CPSC in their efforts to restrict chemical sales.
The Fireworks Foundation is an organization devoted to the preservation of the fireworks hobby.
The primary purpose is to ensure, in perpetuity, the existence of hobbyist fireworks and clubs by:
1) Funding the necessary legal defense, both civil and criminal, to protect and preserve our rights and privileges under existing law.
2) To fund, create and develop teaching, outreach and training programs in pyrotechnic operator instructions and in seminars and publications on related topics.
3) To be of aid and assistance to fireworks clubs in time of need.
4) To work with individuals, governmental entities, business entities and communities as needed to further the cause of hobbyist pyrotechnics.
If you want to preserve your ability to purchase chemicals (whether for pyro or some other use) without a federal explosives manufacturing license, please consider a donation to this organization.
Some time ago, we tried to sign up for AdWords and were refused because we sell supplies for making fireworks. We don't sell fireworks, explosives, or chemicals; we sell items like paper, string, paste, and equipment used by professional fireworks manufacturers as well as (serious, legal) hobbyists. We don't even sell how-to books or instructions. The reason Google rejected our advertising was not because of the items we sell, but because we market them as fireworks building materials.
This won't help when you're actually using the equipment, but for storage nothing beats Pelican Cases. They are watertight, tend to float if not packed too heavily, and most come with customizable foam padding inside. They're also nearly indestructible, and come with w lifetime guarantee (doesn't cover shark bite, bear attack, or children under the age of five).
I have the luxury of using an entire room in my
house (third bedroom) as a home office. Space
is still a consideration as I do share the
room with my two (large) birds and their cages.
I removed the closet doors and put one of my
desks in the closet. Mom passed along
this tip from a magazine she'd read, and I am
amazed at how much space it saves (plus I get
a whole extra usable wall).
My other desk is a big piece of lam pine from
Home Depot on top of a couple of drawer units
from IKEA with home-built spacers on top to put
the desktop at the right height.
The lam pine hasn't shown any signs of warping
after 5+ years of big monitors on top.
My hardware setup is less than ideal -- just
utility shelving (vertical supports screwed
into the wall with slots for shelf brackets)
and pine boards for shelves. I wouldn't really
recommend this stuff as it's turning out not to
be sturdy enough for heavy stuff. I plan to
replace it with something similar, though --
the overall arrangement works well.
The extra heat near my desk is actually a bonus
in my case, because my husband likes the house
temperature kept somewhere around the "meat
locker" setting.
Other storage and a drop-leaf table (more
horizontal space when I need it, out of the
way when I don't) is provided by an IKEA
"IVAR" wall unit. May not be the best
quality in the world, but it definitely wins for
ease of customization.
Slashdot Mirror
Credit card companies don't care as much as you might think. The credit card companies have very little incentive to prevent or prosecute fraud.
Fraudulent credit card charges are either paid by the consumer (if the consumer fails to take the proper steps to dispute the charge), or paid by the merchant (if the consumer does dispute the charge). The burden of proof that the charge is valid falls on the merchant. If you dispute a charge, and the merchant does not have adequate proof that the charge is valid, the credit card company takes the amount of the charge back from the merchant -- and may also charge penalties or higher service charges in the future if a merchnt has too many "chargebacks".
Last year I, as a merchant, came across an order submitted to our retail website using a stolen credit card number. We contacted the owner of the card, who refused to cancel the card because it would be too much of a hassle and he knew he wouldn't be held responsible for the fraudulent charges anyway. We reported it to the credit card company, who refused to act unless the cardholder reported the problem. Same with the police in the city to which the thief tried to have the merchandise shipped. They all consider the cardholder the "victim" depite the fact that the merchant is the one who stands to lose money due to the fraudulent charges. I finally filed a complaint with the FTC against the credit card company, but nothing has come of that as far as I know.
You can find clarification about that letter here. The statement that "those combinations of chemicals to make explosives is a federal offense" isn't quite accurate -- it depends on what type of explosives you make and what you do with them.
If you want to preserve your ability to purchase chemicals (whether for pyro or some other use) without a federal explosives manufacturing license, please consider a donation to this organization.
Some time ago, we tried to sign up for AdWords and were refused because we sell supplies for making fireworks. We don't sell fireworks, explosives, or chemicals; we sell items like paper, string, paste, and equipment used by professional fireworks manufacturers as well as (serious, legal) hobbyists. We don't even sell how-to books or instructions. The reason Google rejected our advertising was not because of the items we sell, but because we market them as fireworks building materials.
This won't help when you're actually using the equipment, but for storage nothing beats Pelican Cases. They are watertight, tend to float if not packed too heavily, and most come with customizable foam padding inside. They're also nearly indestructible, and come with w lifetime guarantee (doesn't cover shark bite, bear attack, or children under the age of five).
I removed the closet doors and put one of my desks in the closet. Mom passed along this tip from a magazine she'd read, and I am amazed at how much space it saves (plus I get a whole extra usable wall).
My other desk is a big piece of lam pine from Home Depot on top of a couple of drawer units from IKEA with home-built spacers on top to put the desktop at the right height. The lam pine hasn't shown any signs of warping after 5+ years of big monitors on top.
My hardware setup is less than ideal -- just utility shelving (vertical supports screwed into the wall with slots for shelf brackets) and pine boards for shelves. I wouldn't really recommend this stuff as it's turning out not to be sturdy enough for heavy stuff. I plan to replace it with something similar, though -- the overall arrangement works well. The extra heat near my desk is actually a bonus in my case, because my husband likes the house temperature kept somewhere around the "meat locker" setting. Other storage and a drop-leaf table (more horizontal space when I need it, out of the way when I don't) is provided by an IKEA "IVAR" wall unit. May not be the best quality in the world, but it definitely wins for ease of customization.