The closest one to me (which was closed down in the last round) was also a high-profile, high-traffic location and had a HUGE sci-fi section. Most of the employees knew their stuff. The one I've been going to since then always seemed too big and not enough stock bookwise (although a huge computer section with the emphasis on security books, at least it was that way before they started moving stuff around).
I thought there was something odd about the almost-constant coupons and sales they seemed to run as of late...now I know why.
At one point, I had a psychiatrist who wanted to commit me and put me on Lithium...no explanation past "your daughter is antisocial and needs this" (okay, you refuse to explain, we refuse to consent). All because I had something called an imagination which apparently you weren't allowed to have past the age of 10. I also had a therapist (nothing to do with meds, we just talked once a week) who was following this very closely and was appalled when my mom told her what was happening.
I got their blessing (and coaching so it wouldn't backfire) to mess with the psychiatrist. After a few carefully-planted seeds, it came to light that she believed all teenagers were psychotic.
Well, you know there is a barrier between the mother's blood and the baby's, right? Some things make it through and some don't.
Just as extra nutrients ingested by the mother are good for the baby, the bad things can also pass through (crack and Thalidomide babies, FAS, any number of birth defects linked to antidepressants or other medications, etc). That's why a lot of medicines have the warning to consult a doctor if you're pregnant.
Sometime around the mess with the resperidone, I had a shrink who wanted to put me on lithium. My mom pressed for an explanation but she refused (okay, you refuse to explain why I need it, we refuse to agree). At the time I also had a therapist (nothing to do with meds, we just talked once a week) who was keeping a very close eye on all this, and she was appalled.
My mom and therapist gave me the go-ahead to mess with the shrink, with the goal of finding out exactly how her mind worked (interestingly, the shrink also refused to discuss her 'suspicions' with the therapist). After a few carefully-planted seeds, it came to light that she believed all teenagers were psycho.
I can believe that. When I was very young, I was put on a tricyclic that I recently learned should never be given to children (I don't believe that whoever prescribed it didn't know this). I never was able to find out what the reasoning was for putting me on that stuff, only that it was causing mild depression as well as a host of other odd side effects.
In my teens, I was put on Resperidone which didn't do shit. That reasoning was schizophrenia...all because I was an avid gamer and fanfic writer. The only thing that happened is my grades sank like a stone because I couldn't concentrate (also a messy almost-accident involving a table saw). My mother took me off of it after I passed out in the car and apparently stopped breathing for a short time. A month later, we see the doc..."She seems to be doing really well! How are the meds going?" "She's been off them for a month." It was quite telling that he couldn't tell I wasn't taking the pills...further proof that I didn't have what I was being "treated" for.
What did I actually have? Brain trauma in infancy that eventually sorted itself out naturally. I can't help but wonder if had I not been put on all that shit things would have been different.
I'm going with the "customer is an idiot" theory (isn't that always the case?). I've seen some good products get cumulative 1- and 2-star reviews because someone had a problem with the Marketplace seller they bought it from. Rather than use the handy dispute service that Amazon provides they slammed the seller in the product reviews and made it sound like the item was at fault.
It used to be that they absolutely could not go into your linked bank account unless you gave them permission (how it would differ from deposit permission--or even if it does--I know not). Their TOS has been changed so many times that now I'm not sure. IIRC you can contact your bank and instruct them to auto-deny withdrawal requests from any entities.
I have a secondary account linked to PP, and sweep money from that bank account to my primary (which PP has no knowledge of) every so often.
Down near my grandparents' house, there used to be a massive wooden playground (I was always greatly amused by the location--next to a cemetery). No rubber or plastic anywhere; the beams and planks were weather-sealed, but still splintered (I had a pair of "playground gloves" in the car to ward off the 3-inch spears that would sometimes crop up). None of these silly rubber mats on the ground, just mulch. In the summer there was a risk of burning yourself on the metal slides/poles/chains/etc.. Every time we went would be hordes of kids there.
2 years ago, we drive past the spot and note that the wonderful wood playground had been torn down, replaced by a weirdly out-of-place candy-colored plastic unit that took up a tenth of the space (if even that). Even at the height of the good weather, it's completely deserted now.
A friend and I have been saying essentially the same thing for a few years, but aimed at the perceived antiterror airline BS: The only "truly safe" way to fly would be if passengers are naked, sedated and stuffed in little pods just large enough for one upright person.
I just applied for low-income health care a few weeks ago. Luckily, I find that my doctor accepts one of the plans that is under the aegis of the state's low-cost provider. All well and good, right?
Nope. Apparently, I am "only eligible" for the plan that almost nobody within 5 miles accepts, and I do not find this out until I call the insurance co. to find out why my card hasn't arrived yet (I was told that I needed to choose a physician and when I said I had they then tell me that "that physician does not take [Plan Z]"...wtf, I thought I had applied for Plan X). And I'm almost smack in the middle of a major medical area of the city. The doctors/hospitals that do accept the plan I was shoehorned into aren't taking new patients. So, even though I will have insurance I am unable to see the doctors that do accept it.
Nowhere on the application form did it say that I was to be locked into Plan Z, however this is what the CSR I spoke to is now claiming. My doctor told me that they just randomly assign plans to people and hope they won't complain. Well, I'm going to complain.
So, of the three credit card frauds I have personally been privy to, I don't see that there is any attempt to even slow down the fraud. I have to assume that there is some way that the credit card companies make money off of the fraud. My case took almost a year and a threat of getting the state AG involved to get the bank to do anything.
Basically, they (suddenly, after the police got involved) tried to claim I was defrauding them...I almost wish they had attempted to sue, as we had mountains of evidence which they were handily ignoring.
I'm sure they make money off of fraud...I was still being charged interest on the amount that was supposed to have been frozen while in dispute.
That's exactly what happened to me. The perp stole a statement of mine from the mail, then when housesitting for us one week some time afterwards, ordered the stuff over the phone and had it delivered to the proper address. It was the FedEx delivery guy, when delivering a legit order for my mom, who clued us in on the woman's activities.
The merchant apparently asked for no other info (CVV/expiration date; IIRC those are not easily accessible from only a paper statement). She forged my signature on delivery...all the bank/merchant cared was that my name was signed, therefore I had to have placed the order (apparently I can bilocate, as I was across the country--with my card--during the time these orders were placed and delivered).
The way I understand it it's part of the show to, when a myth is busted, go as far as they can to make it work (to wit proving how ridiculous it is). So far I haven't found any of the science to be truly wrong. A bit sloppy at times, yes (possibly for the purposes of making it understandable to the average viewer).
If it's a fantasy world making copious use of magic, real-world physics need not apply--the author should be able to whatever they want as long as it's plausible in the story's canon. Sheesh.
The Microcenter near me is pretty competent; every once in awhile a friend will come to me with some bad TS info given by them, but the fix is generally simple and the culprit was either an unintentionally poor explanation or incorrect interpretation (but then again that's why friends come to me, to make sure they heard the technician right). The salespeople at mine know their stuff, will listen to what the customer wants and won't try to upsell junk.
Yes, the consumer needs to know what they're doing, but that's not much different from any other sales realm (cars, homes, etc).
Unfortunately I cannot say definitively that I do in fact have it, since I have been labeled with a host of disorders, Asperger's being one of the later ones. Many others who may have this condition may never be specifically diagnosed with it. I may also have it, although I also had many (incorrect) diagnoses/treatements and some events in infancy that may had led to signs mimicking AS. I'm not saying "I don't have this", simply questioning it as I learn more about what actually happened. I was diagnosed in the mid-90s. I seem to have very few of the classic signs however.
As it stands now, the diagnosis does benefit me though, so I'm not complaining.
This test will be very useful (separate those who truly have it from those who only show some signs and in fact have something completely different or nothing at all, and possibly help to narrow things down for those who don't have it).
That depends. They can have some mildly obscure settings requirements for third-party routers, at least that's what I was told...recent experience with my router confirms that the modem is a bottleneck. The PC that's hardwired to the router is fine, but the wireless laptop gets kicked off every so often.
In that respect, I would think that simply memorizing your SSN would be sufficient; it could be cross-checked with another form of ID if all that's required is to ensure the name assigned to the number matches the other forms of ID you have.
When I went for my learner's permit the first time, the RMV demanded the physical card (and then promptly yelled at me when I needed to have the local SSA office fax it to them...eventually that got straightened out). For various reasons the permit lapsed, and I now need a new one. The "acceptable identification" page of the manual states that a SS card is not required, yet a drone I talked to on the phone said they needed one.
IIRC, "Check ID" or "CID" written over your signature on the back of the card (with a green highlighter or similar so the sig is visible) is acceptable, but simply writing "See ID" (with no signature) is not. If a credit card does not have the holder's signature in the back panel, a business is within their rights to refuse the card (the card agreement states that a card is not valid for use until signed).
When a CC of mine was stolen a few years ago, the thief did forge my signature (or try to). Probably did a fairly bad job of it too, but try as I might I couldn't get the merchant, delivery company or my bank to cough up the alleged signature so I could look at it. As far as they were concerned, someone signed my name (and used my card), the only person that could have done so must have been me. Nevermind that I wasn't even living at the delivery address at the time.
I live in Boston, and only noticed what had happened when my housemate turned on the news and started going on and on about a "terrorist attempt". Trying to enter into anything resmebling a rational discussion with her about this was pointless, as she believes Fox and other questionable news sources.
She has taken my argument to mean that I "think it's perfectly fine to place circuitboards all over the place"...erm, no that's not what I said. Explaining that any normal person would not see the device as a bomb was/is useless...
I was able to do so as well (on reflection, it was my own actions that caused the situation). I passed through security, then must have dropped my boarding pass, with my ID in the envelope. The stupid thing I did was to exit the security checkpoint area, thinking I had dropped it at the checkpoint. They didn't find it; I ran back to ticketing and was able to get my boarding pass reissued as selective screening (using my Sams Club ID which had a picture on it).
After I passed through that rigamarole (I also learned that apparently with the equipment that airport uses, a ringing cell phone can throw a positive on the ion-detector thingy)...it turns out a shopkeeper inside the concourse had found my pass/ID...and waited until after my original flight had departed to turn it in (the flight was delayed, but the boarding pass did not reflect that added time).
My mom does the same thing (I think she assumes that anyone calling for me on the landline is a personal friend). All friends, family and hardware-support clients have my cell and/or email.
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That would make too much sense; although I am curious if a security-related job would still ask for it (and why).
The closest one to me (which was closed down in the last round) was also a high-profile, high-traffic location and had a HUGE sci-fi section. Most of the employees knew their stuff. The one I've been going to since then always seemed too big and not enough stock bookwise (although a huge computer section with the emphasis on security books, at least it was that way before they started moving stuff around).
I thought there was something odd about the almost-constant coupons and sales they seemed to run as of late...now I know why.
At one point, I had a psychiatrist who wanted to commit me and put me on Lithium...no explanation past "your daughter is antisocial and needs this" (okay, you refuse to explain, we refuse to consent). All because I had something called an imagination which apparently you weren't allowed to have past the age of 10. I also had a therapist (nothing to do with meds, we just talked once a week) who was following this very closely and was appalled when my mom told her what was happening.
I got their blessing (and coaching so it wouldn't backfire) to mess with the psychiatrist. After a few carefully-planted seeds, it came to light that she believed all teenagers were psychotic.
Well, you know there is a barrier between the mother's blood and the baby's, right? Some things make it through and some don't.
Just as extra nutrients ingested by the mother are good for the baby, the bad things can also pass through (crack and Thalidomide babies, FAS, any number of birth defects linked to antidepressants or other medications, etc). That's why a lot of medicines have the warning to consult a doctor if you're pregnant.
Sometime around the mess with the resperidone, I had a shrink who wanted to put me on lithium. My mom pressed for an explanation but she refused (okay, you refuse to explain why I need it, we refuse to agree). At the time I also had a therapist (nothing to do with meds, we just talked once a week) who was keeping a very close eye on all this, and she was appalled.
My mom and therapist gave me the go-ahead to mess with the shrink, with the goal of finding out exactly how her mind worked (interestingly, the shrink also refused to discuss her 'suspicions' with the therapist). After a few carefully-planted seeds, it came to light that she believed all teenagers were psycho.
I can believe that. When I was very young, I was put on a tricyclic that I recently learned should never be given to children (I don't believe that whoever prescribed it didn't know this). I never was able to find out what the reasoning was for putting me on that stuff, only that it was causing mild depression as well as a host of other odd side effects.
In my teens, I was put on Resperidone which didn't do shit. That reasoning was schizophrenia...all because I was an avid gamer and fanfic writer. The only thing that happened is my grades sank like a stone because I couldn't concentrate (also a messy almost-accident involving a table saw). My mother took me off of it after I passed out in the car and apparently stopped breathing for a short time. A month later, we see the doc..."She seems to be doing really well! How are the meds going?" "She's been off them for a month." It was quite telling that he couldn't tell I wasn't taking the pills...further proof that I didn't have what I was being "treated" for.
What did I actually have? Brain trauma in infancy that eventually sorted itself out naturally. I can't help but wonder if had I not been put on all that shit things would have been different.
I'm going with the "customer is an idiot" theory (isn't that always the case?). I've seen some good products get cumulative 1- and 2-star reviews because someone had a problem with the Marketplace seller they bought it from. Rather than use the handy dispute service that Amazon provides they slammed the seller in the product reviews and made it sound like the item was at fault.
I wonder how ebay plans to defend/justify their "just a venue" stance now.
It used to be that they absolutely could not go into your linked bank account unless you gave them permission (how it would differ from deposit permission--or even if it does--I know not). Their TOS has been changed so many times that now I'm not sure. IIRC you can contact your bank and instruct them to auto-deny withdrawal requests from any entities.
I have a secondary account linked to PP, and sweep money from that bank account to my primary (which PP has no knowledge of) every so often.
Down near my grandparents' house, there used to be a massive wooden playground (I was always greatly amused by the location--next to a cemetery). No rubber or plastic anywhere; the beams and planks were weather-sealed, but still splintered (I had a pair of "playground gloves" in the car to ward off the 3-inch spears that would sometimes crop up). None of these silly rubber mats on the ground, just mulch. In the summer there was a risk of burning yourself on the metal slides/poles/chains/etc.. Every time we went would be hordes of kids there.
2 years ago, we drive past the spot and note that the wonderful wood playground had been torn down, replaced by a weirdly out-of-place candy-colored plastic unit that took up a tenth of the space (if even that). Even at the height of the good weather, it's completely deserted now.
A friend and I have been saying essentially the same thing for a few years, but aimed at the perceived antiterror airline BS: The only "truly safe" way to fly would be if passengers are naked, sedated and stuffed in little pods just large enough for one upright person.
I just applied for low-income health care a few weeks ago. Luckily, I find that my doctor accepts one of the plans that is under the aegis of the state's low-cost provider. All well and good, right?
Nope. Apparently, I am "only eligible" for the plan that almost nobody within 5 miles accepts, and I do not find this out until I call the insurance co. to find out why my card hasn't arrived yet (I was told that I needed to choose a physician and when I said I had they then tell me that "that physician does not take [Plan Z]"...wtf, I thought I had applied for Plan X). And I'm almost smack in the middle of a major medical area of the city. The doctors/hospitals that do accept the plan I was shoehorned into aren't taking new patients. So, even though I will have insurance I am unable to see the doctors that do accept it.
Nowhere on the application form did it say that I was to be locked into Plan Z, however this is what the CSR I spoke to is now claiming. My doctor told me that they just randomly assign plans to people and hope they won't complain. Well, I'm going to complain.
Basically, they (suddenly, after the police got involved) tried to claim I was defrauding them...I almost wish they had attempted to sue, as we had mountains of evidence which they were handily ignoring.
I'm sure they make money off of fraud...I was still being charged interest on the amount that was supposed to have been frozen while in dispute.
That's exactly what happened to me. The perp stole a statement of mine from the mail, then when housesitting for us one week some time afterwards, ordered the stuff over the phone and had it delivered to the proper address. It was the FedEx delivery guy, when delivering a legit order for my mom, who clued us in on the woman's activities.
The merchant apparently asked for no other info (CVV/expiration date; IIRC those are not easily accessible from only a paper statement). She forged my signature on delivery...all the bank/merchant cared was that my name was signed, therefore I had to have placed the order (apparently I can bilocate, as I was across the country--with my card--during the time these orders were placed and delivered).
The way I understand it it's part of the show to, when a myth is busted, go as far as they can to make it work (to wit proving how ridiculous it is). So far I haven't found any of the science to be truly wrong. A bit sloppy at times, yes (possibly for the purposes of making it understandable to the average viewer).
If it's a fantasy world making copious use of magic, real-world physics need not apply--the author should be able to whatever they want as long as it's plausible in the story's canon. Sheesh.
The Microcenter near me is pretty competent; every once in awhile a friend will come to me with some bad TS info given by them, but the fix is generally simple and the culprit was either an unintentionally poor explanation or incorrect interpretation (but then again that's why friends come to me, to make sure they heard the technician right). The salespeople at mine know their stuff, will listen to what the customer wants and won't try to upsell junk.
Yes, the consumer needs to know what they're doing, but that's not much different from any other sales realm (cars, homes, etc).
As it stands now, the diagnosis does benefit me though, so I'm not complaining.
This test will be very useful (separate those who truly have it from those who only show some signs and in fact have something completely different or nothing at all, and possibly help to narrow things down for those who don't have it).
That depends. They can have some mildly obscure settings requirements for third-party routers, at least that's what I was told...recent experience with my router confirms that the modem is a bottleneck. The PC that's hardwired to the router is fine, but the wireless laptop gets kicked off every so often.
In that respect, I would think that simply memorizing your SSN would be sufficient; it could be cross-checked with another form of ID if all that's required is to ensure the name assigned to the number matches the other forms of ID you have.
When I went for my learner's permit the first time, the RMV demanded the physical card (and then promptly yelled at me when I needed to have the local SSA office fax it to them...eventually that got straightened out). For various reasons the permit lapsed, and I now need a new one. The "acceptable identification" page of the manual states that a SS card is not required, yet a drone I talked to on the phone said they needed one.
IIRC, "Check ID" or "CID" written over your signature on the back of the card (with a green highlighter or similar so the sig is visible) is acceptable, but simply writing "See ID" (with no signature) is not. If a credit card does not have the holder's signature in the back panel, a business is within their rights to refuse the card (the card agreement states that a card is not valid for use until signed).
When a CC of mine was stolen a few years ago, the thief did forge my signature (or try to). Probably did a fairly bad job of it too, but try as I might I couldn't get the merchant, delivery company or my bank to cough up the alleged signature so I could look at it. As far as they were concerned, someone signed my name (and used my card), the only person that could have done so must have been me. Nevermind that I wasn't even living at the delivery address at the time.
I live in Boston, and only noticed what had happened when my housemate turned on the news and started going on and on about a "terrorist attempt". Trying to enter into anything resmebling a rational discussion with her about this was pointless, as she believes Fox and other questionable news sources.
She has taken my argument to mean that I "think it's perfectly fine to place circuitboards all over the place"...erm, no that's not what I said. Explaining that any normal person would not see the device as a bomb was/is useless...
I was able to do so as well (on reflection, it was my own actions that caused the situation). I passed through security, then must have dropped my boarding pass, with my ID in the envelope. The stupid thing I did was to exit the security checkpoint area, thinking I had dropped it at the checkpoint. They didn't find it; I ran back to ticketing and was able to get my boarding pass reissued as selective screening (using my Sams Club ID which had a picture on it).
After I passed through that rigamarole (I also learned that apparently with the equipment that airport uses, a ringing cell phone can throw a positive on the ion-detector thingy)...it turns out a shopkeeper inside the concourse had found my pass/ID...and waited until after my original flight had departed to turn it in (the flight was delayed, but the boarding pass did not reflect that added time).
My mom does the same thing (I think she assumes that anyone calling for me on the landline is a personal friend). All friends, family and hardware-support clients have my cell and/or email.