I think the argument is that the mainstream news is already split with Fox and MSNBC being the two most obvious flag bearers for their side. Nobody actually wants calm, reasoned news, presenting the pros and cons of a situation. It's a surefire recipe to make both sides hate you.
I too use Google News to see what's going on, but for every story large enough, I find myself reading the Wikipedia page.
Too much "mainstream news" (and I loathe myself for saying that) is opinions about the opinions of other people with opinions on the news. Tune in at 11 for Kim Kardasian's reaction to the NFL "Hand's Up" player entrance reaction to protester's reactions about Ferguson verdicts -- our experts will provide insight!
At least the Wikipedia page gives me information on all the players -- can't tell 'em apart without a scorecard -- and I can make my own decisions.
If Wikipedia tried to be news, it'd be like reading the Talk page on Scientology:)
Maybe this should be back in the autism spectrum thread, but I hate stuff in my pockets when I'm sitting. I've never, ever, had wallet in my back pocket, and right now, sitting in front of my on my desk are my phone, my money clip card-holder, the fob for my car and a small collection of pens and papers.
The first thing I do when I get in the car is fill the cup holders with a phone, my wallet, my badge and my fob.:(
Which is great until sometime between steps 6 and 7 the customer overspends on their credit card.
It's a great idea if you run a tight budget and have the discipline to do it. Most people would be better off financially just packing a lunch a couple extra times a month instead of eating out.
Hey, guess what, plenty of businesses in my neighborhood, gas stations especially, offer a discount for cash. Even when you couldn't charge more for credit, you could give a discount for cash....because technicalities.
Businesses on a budget in this town have charged credit and debit surcharges since the second they could - most notoriously Dell Tacos charged a ~$0.50 surcharge on swipes for a long, long time.
You might also find that, outside of big chains, lots of vendors will give you a couple of percentages off for paying cash on a large enough purchase to justify the override time at the register. They're likely paying 2.5% plus a transaction fee every time you swipe. If you're buying enough, they'll cut you a 2% break for cash.
If stopped by the local PD, I don't know any that will accept a photo of a driver's license from a phone.
If you're driving, there's little substitute for a driver's license. My state will take photos/scans/apps for Insurance.
If you're not driving, you're about 50-50 on being compelled by law to identify yourself to police, and in most cases, no presentation of state identification is necessary, only providing your legal name is required. YMMV, IANAL, TINLA.
The problem is knowing exactly when the 10% is, or having it when a merchant wants to verify identity on his Visa or Mastercard branded debit card -- despite the fact that it's expressly not required. I've got better things to do than earning a lifetime ban from Fry's Electronics after successfully completing a no-ID Visa purchase there...
A merchant must not refuse to complete a transaction solely because a cardholder refuses to provide additional identification information. However, there are certain situations where a merchant may require some personal information, such as a shipping address for online purchases. Additionally, if your MasterCard card is unsigned, a merchant should request personal identification to confirm your identify and ask the cardholder to sign the card before completing the transaction.
Although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID except in the specific circumstances discussed in this guide, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance. Therefore, merchants cannot as part of their regular card acceptance procedures refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID. It is important that merchants understand that the requesting of a cardholder ID does not change the merchant’s liability for chargebacks. However, it can slow down a sale and annoy the customer. In some cases, it may even deter the use of the Visa card and result in the loss of a potential sale. Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures. Laws in several countries also make it illegal for merchants to write a cardholder’s personal information, such as an address or phone number, on a sales receipt.
Hey mythosaz... I think you will find that trying to save every single one of the many billions of people in the world from all the nasty carrots which get wiggled in front of their faces by big companies every day is a losing proposition.
I'm reminded of the Cecil Adams / Straight Dope tagline: "Fighting ignorance since 1973 -- It's taking longer than we thought."
I've seen lots of people successfully churn every last purchase, every last reimbursable business expense, every last opportunity to pick up the check at a shared meal when their friends were paying cash and be very, very, successful.
I've also seen people buy the JetSki, figuratively.
I have no illusions of saving the world. I'm just sharing my thoughts on a message board built for that very purpose after someone else brought up the topic.
The credit card company loves people like you who evangelize the idea of using your credit card for everything and then paying it off immediately and then earning cashback on it.
Why? Because most of the people you reach with your message will fail to do so correctly, and ultimately will owe the credit card company fees. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
It's just too tempting for most people to say, "Well, this ONE month, I'll pay it late and then get that JetSki I've had my eyes on."
Absolutely. ApplePay adds nothing to the combination of daily-use-debit, identification, and emergency cash for most people.
Despite being a minimalist, my money clip still has way more in it.
Daily use debit card. Driver's License. Blink Network card. Big box membership card. "Emergency" credit card. Cash roughly equal to a full buy-in at my poker table of choice.
I'm down to a keyless car fob, a mail key, a house key and a sturdy metal flash drive.
Other than using my big box membership card as my emergency credit card, or using the emergency credit card to make day-to-day purchases eliminating the debit card, I can't go much lower. Leaving the Blink card in the car melts the damned thing.
I use Google Wallet where it lets me, in that I like the bonus layer of a virtual card. No need to panic every time a home improvement store gets hacked, or worry who gets my card info when I buy a Coke from a vending machine......but I have no illusions that it's somehow helpful to me in reducing what I have to carry in the card slots on my money clip.
You know what's awesome? The state of the world today is so twisted that I can't tell if your post is absolutely dripping with sarcasm or if it's real-deal honest-to-goodness SJW nonsense.
For starters, it's a record of the police's activity.
What? The police arrested you and let you go 37 times last year? You'd like to take action against the police? Sorry. We don't keep record of arrests...only convictions. Guess you're SOL.
It's probably just more leverage to encourage people not to drive drunk.
Some people can live with the possibility of a delayed fine or suspension of license just fine - but couldn't bear to see their name tweeted badly in public.
Slashdot Mirror
I think the argument is that the mainstream news is already split with Fox and MSNBC being the two most obvious flag bearers for their side. Nobody actually wants calm, reasoned news, presenting the pros and cons of a situation. It's a surefire recipe to make both sides hate you.
I too use Google News to see what's going on, but for every story large enough, I find myself reading the Wikipedia page.
Too much "mainstream news" (and I loathe myself for saying that) is opinions about the opinions of other people with opinions on the news. Tune in at 11 for Kim Kardasian's reaction to the NFL "Hand's Up" player entrance reaction to protester's reactions about Ferguson verdicts -- our experts will provide insight!
At least the Wikipedia page gives me information on all the players -- can't tell 'em apart without a scorecard -- and I can make my own decisions.
If Wikipedia tried to be news, it'd be like reading the Talk page on Scientology :)
The nice man on Sunday told me all the animals were created in one fell swoop, so it's the chicken.
Maybe this should be back in the autism spectrum thread, but I hate stuff in my pockets when I'm sitting. I've never, ever, had wallet in my back pocket, and right now, sitting in front of my on my desk are my phone, my money clip card-holder, the fob for my car and a small collection of pens and papers.
The first thing I do when I get in the car is fill the cup holders with a phone, my wallet, my badge and my fob. :(
Which is great until sometime between steps 6 and 7 the customer overspends on their credit card.
It's a great idea if you run a tight budget and have the discipline to do it. Most people would be better off financially just packing a lunch a couple extra times a month instead of eating out.
They don't lose money on you.
They got paid 102.5% for everything you bought after the merchant's transactions fees were added.
Giving you a portion of that 2.5% back still leaves them in the black.
Hey, guess what, plenty of businesses in my neighborhood, gas stations especially, offer a discount for cash. Even when you couldn't charge more for credit, you could give a discount for cash. ...because technicalities.
Businesses on a budget in this town have charged credit and debit surcharges since the second they could - most notoriously Dell Tacos charged a ~$0.50 surcharge on swipes for a long, long time.
You might also find that, outside of big chains, lots of vendors will give you a couple of percentages off for paying cash on a large enough purchase to justify the override time at the register. They're likely paying 2.5% plus a transaction fee every time you swipe. If you're buying enough, they'll cut you a 2% break for cash.
If stopped by the local PD, I don't know any that will accept a photo of a driver's license from a phone.
If you're driving, there's little substitute for a driver's license. My state will take photos/scans/apps for Insurance.
If you're not driving, you're about 50-50 on being compelled by law to identify yourself to police, and in most cases, no presentation of state identification is necessary, only providing your legal name is required. YMMV, IANAL, TINLA.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...
In my state, police can ask, and I'm required to provide my legal name. Nothing more.
The problem is knowing exactly when the 10% is, or having it when a merchant wants to verify identity on his Visa or Mastercard branded debit card -- despite the fact that it's expressly not required. I've got better things to do than earning a lifetime ban from Fry's Electronics after successfully completing a no-ID Visa purchase there...
http://www.mastercard.us/suppo...
http://usa.visa.com/download/m...
Hey mythosaz... I think you will find that trying to save every single one of the many billions of people in the world from all the nasty carrots which get wiggled in front of their faces by big companies every day is a losing proposition.
I'm reminded of the Cecil Adams / Straight Dope tagline: "Fighting ignorance since 1973 -- It's taking longer than we thought."
I've seen lots of people successfully churn every last purchase, every last reimbursable business expense, every last opportunity to pick up the check at a shared meal when their friends were paying cash and be very, very, successful.
I've also seen people buy the JetSki, figuratively.
I have no illusions of saving the world. I'm just sharing my thoughts on a message board built for that very purpose after someone else brought up the topic.
The credit card company loves people like you who evangelize the idea of using your credit card for everything and then paying it off immediately and then earning cashback on it.
Why? Because most of the people you reach with your message will fail to do so correctly, and ultimately will owe the credit card company fees. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
It's just too tempting for most people to say, "Well, this ONE month, I'll pay it late and then get that JetSki I've had my eyes on."
As an old man, I now have to make sure that my glasses are on my face and that I know the location of my wallet, keys, phone and badge at all times.
Walking through a door? WKPB?
You can't imagine the havoc a the keyless ignition on my car has caused me in losing count of my four items.
In what way?
My MasterCard branded checking card can be run as debit or credit without issue at, well, pretty much anywhere except Peter Luger's Steak House.
Absolutely. ApplePay adds nothing to the combination of daily-use-debit, identification, and emergency cash for most people.
Despite being a minimalist, my money clip still has way more in it.
Daily use debit card.
Driver's License.
Blink Network card.
Big box membership card.
"Emergency" credit card.
Cash roughly equal to a full buy-in at my poker table of choice.
I'm down to a keyless car fob, a mail key, a house key and a sturdy metal flash drive.
Other than using my big box membership card as my emergency credit card, or using the emergency credit card to make day-to-day purchases eliminating the debit card, I can't go much lower. Leaving the Blink card in the car melts the damned thing.
I use Google Wallet where it lets me, in that I like the bonus layer of a virtual card. No need to panic every time a home improvement store gets hacked, or worry who gets my card info when I buy a Coke from a vending machine... ...but I have no illusions that it's somehow helpful to me in reducing what I have to carry in the card slots on my money clip.
Those stars are stationary.
We're moving at a third of the speed of light.
It does not beg any questions.
You can be arrested and not charged. Happens all the time.
You know what's awesome? The state of the world today is so twisted that I can't tell if your post is absolutely dripping with sarcasm or if it's real-deal honest-to-goodness SJW nonsense.
Not really sure what a police blotter is...
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=what+is+a...
Twitter reporting is pull-based. You only see the tweets of things you subscribe to.
For starters, it's a record of the police's activity.
What? The police arrested you and let you go 37 times last year? You'd like to take action against the police? Sorry. We don't keep record of arrests...only convictions. Guess you're SOL.
Stops aren't tweeted. Just arrests, per TFS.
Not all people arrested are charged. Some are released after being arrested.
This is the same information that's been in the morning paper for decades.
Ah, well, you see, we put "on the internet" in front of same police blotter we've always published...
It's probably just more leverage to encourage people not to drive drunk.
Some people can live with the possibility of a delayed fine or suspension of license just fine - but couldn't bear to see their name tweeted badly in public.
Which is why, after you're arrested, you get your day in court, even in the UK.
Records of your arrest already exist and were already public information.