National forecast has Houston in the “rain and t-storms possible” area, and maybe we’ll get some. We are on the edge though, and that usually means “no”. Beautiful day north of here yesterday, although it did get into the 90s. Scattered dark clouds and a spritz of moisture from the sky greeted my in Houston when I got near my neighborhood. Typical Houston “somebody is getting rained on” weather.
There was a lot accomplished at Casa de Nick, segundo. Just getting window coverings on all the windows makes it feel more homey. Staying the extra day was worth it. Still lots to do of course, and all the major work still ahead.
Today is the first day of the kids’ at home summer vacation. D1 is going to start doing some additional dog training. D2 is … gonna do something. Not sure what yet. Lots of GS activity planned later, but some time to ease into doing nothing….
I’ve got a jon boat to pick up, and one other lot that I’m sending to my mom. It’s a pole thing that should help her get into and out of the bath more safely. I won it cheaply enough that it is still cheap after I pay to ship it to her. One of my siblings or their spouses can install it during a visit. And of course I have all the normal stuff to do. Even more of it, since I was gone 4 days.
Time to get back to work stacking up stuff.
n
Whippets caused red flags to pop in the register system and were sold at management’s discretion. A pregnant customer was an automatic “no sale” on orders from Nashville HQ, with management there willing to take the heat.
Hatian by birth. The “optics” of that will be important in a few weeks as they open the floodgates at the border.
What is a whippet other than a dog? It sounded like you’re talking about whisks but I can’t think of why preggos wouldn’t be able to buy one.
WRT “A World Lit Only by Fire.”
I read it more than 10 years ago, so my memory of the details is a little foggy. It is NOT a scholarly work. It was meant as a forward to a book on Magellan, to contrast everyday lives with that of the powerful.
Much of the book was pointing out how very limited most peoples lives were at that time. He discusses the scandals in the church, and there were many, and asks how the people in the villages all over Europe could accept that. The people did not know.
If I had ever done any thinking on the subject, I would have realized that. It is obvious. But I never had thought about it and so the book was eye opening.
It took a child to point out that the Emperor has no clothes.
“Pretend to work somewhere else”
https://news.yahoo.com/pretend-somewhere-else-elon-musk-094406796.html
Our future, where even the non-meat foods become fake, like meat.
https://americandigest.org/rotten-rice/#more-33144
I topped off my rice bin last week. $37 per 25 lb bag.
Nitrous Oxide canisters for whipped cream dispensers. I guess that “whippet” is a Florida term.
Pregnant or not, druggies are still druggies.
I only sold one box in six months in the showroom, and that was legitimate. The register screen, out of view to the customer, still lit up with lots of BOLD all-caps messages, and a manager had to approve the sale.
85F and 80%RH as I drag my tired stiff and sore butt (and other parts) out of bed.
Hands are still stiff, but the rest is better than yesterday.
Headed out for my pickup. Didn’t hear back about the boat, hope I can meet the guy as my pickup is half way there.
n
What a disgrace the USMC has become:
‘We had a good run’: US Marine Corps Pride Month tweet comes complete with rainbow bullets
It is better to virtue signal than kill the enemy.
I’m so glad I’m retired from the military. I don’t think I could take it.
Thanks Obola, thanks plugs. Combat boots with heels and OD tutu’s in the future.
I watched the first two episodes of “Obi-Wan Kenobi” on D+. And, meh? It was like Picard, two hours of an old man yelling at clouds. The villain is a Black female and is pretty good. D+ says there has been racist stuff sent to her, but I haven’t read anything. Controversy made up maybe? Oh, yeah, Kenobi is now and old incompetent White dude. I don’t know if a former Jedi has to train to get back in shape. They can’t kill him off since he makes it to the movies with Luke.
Please pick up the Jedi pace, D+. Right now you series is boring. Another episode tonight.
If one is looking for powered hand tools Home Depot is having Ryobi days.
Regular 2.5 AH battery is $119.00 on the shelf. But buy two 4.0 AH batteries and a charger for $99.00 and a free tool is added. Fan, sander, glue gun, etc. Basically two larger batteries and a tool for less than a single battery. Buy three batteries and charger and the free tools are much more valuable. Impact driver and drill (both together are free), hedge trimmer, chainsaw, etc. Some good stuff. For really good prices.
Even if you don’t need the tool, the price on the batteries, if you use Ryobi, is a really good deal.
Anyone else noticing the number of private (“ma and pa”) restaurants and bars that have started charging extra for customers paying with a card?
What’s the brand and what’s the store? I’m all for finding a better thing.
NOT to be a smart aleck but I bought a couple of 20 lb bags of Riceland brand rice at Walmart last week for $9.98 each. I know there are different kinds of rice. Like there are different kinds of potatoes.
Being “economical”, I tried some HEB rice a few years ago. A 10 lb bag. Might have been Hill Country Fare, I forget. Store Brand anyway. I made a couple of batches in the rice cooker and tossed the rest into the trash. Didn’t bother giving it to the chickens. Tried another small 1 lb bag and right into the trash.
I’m the rice eater around here. More than once a week and the natives start to whine “rice again?”.
Mahatma might be good, I should try it. I think there is some rice in the oriental section but it’s in small bags and at $3 or $4 and plus, I’ll pass. Otherwise, it’s Riceland, Mahatma, and a store brand at either HEB or Walmart. Out here, in the boonies beyond Cedar Park.
While I like the stuff, Rice-a-roni and the yellow with saffron rice pouches don’t count.
HMart. The brand is Three Ladies. Jasmine variety.
Costco has Jasmine rice under the Kirkland brand, but I’ve had lousy luck with bugs when we buy it and store for the long term.
HMart is right at the boundary of Cedar Park and the “middle finger” of Austin that extends into Williamson County.
No. I haven’t been out to eat in quite a while. The whole wear a mask and every other table blocked off nonsense turned me off….. while the waitress is wearing a mask and carrying everything bare handed.
Some of the gas stations have different prices for cash and credit. The feed-store adds 3% or 3.5% if using any plastic. No extra charge for a check. The vet is the same.
You don’t get a discount for paying cash which is supposedly against merchant agreements with the credit card folks. Officially. You just pay extra for using plastic. I’m not seeing a difference.
Thank you. I’ve made a note. Haven’t been to Austin in a couple of years, no reason actually.
“’The jury gave me my life back.’ Johnny Depp celebrates in the UK as he wins defamation trial against ‘heartbroken’ ex-wife Amber Heard and walks away with $8.35M in damages”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10862287/Johnny-wins-Jury-rules-Depps-favor-blockbuster-defamation-trial-against-Amber-Heard.html
What a dumpster fire !
Nobody won here. They are both crazy.
Hat tip to:
https://www.drudgereport.com/
“Pretend to work somewhere else”
https://news.yahoo.com/pretend-somewhere-else-elon-musk-094406796.html
I suspect that a lot of office workers are getting ready to be fired for not showing up at their given job location.
RE: Johnny Depp vs. Amber Heard
Even if Depp had lost he won. Everyone’s opinion of Depp is pretty much the same as it was a couple of months ago. However, Amber Heard is now a complete freak show in the eyes of anyone following the trial (or viewing the highlights on social media). Depp won in the “court of public opinion” weeks ago. Heard is now just some psycho bitch that shits on beds and makes false accusations. Depp is now what? A playboy that likes to drink and use recreational drugs. We knew that about him 30 years ago. I imagine his career will resurrect and hers will tank.
In Austin, it will start when the new Apple campus opens and Tim Cook holds the first Come to Jesus meeting about returning to the office.
Hardly anyone around here accepts checks anymore. I think the grocery stores might, but they electronically scan them so they process ASAP (clear your account within a day or two).
I understand that business expenses are passed on to the customer in one form or another. However, I don’t like to see line items for them. Does it cost a percentage to take card payments? Yes, it does. However, why should that appear on my bill as its own item? They should just factor it into the cost of their menu items or merchandise. Otherwise, why not break down the electric, water, and gas too? If I dine-in should I have a line item for the cleaning of my table? If I get takeout should I have a line item for the takeout containers. Should customers that use the restroom have a water and sewer fee added to their bill? ALL of their expenses should be built into their prices. Frankly, I’ve never trusted wait staff to accurately and honestly account for all of their cash tips on their income taxes (if you dig around social media they admit as much).
What career? Never heard of Heard before the trial. Was she a storm trooper in Star Wars?
Amber Heard is Hera in the “Aquaman” films. That’s going to be a big problem for WB because, like almost everything else still in Hollywood’s pipeline for the next year, the upcoming sequel probably already had reshoots in the wake of “Spiderman” and “Ghostbusters”.
What’s another $100 million?
To keep on with beating the horse, the feed store has always tried to keep the price down. Things like a drought in Kansas eff up the price of feed here in Texas. The guy almost never runs the a/c. Tacking the merchant fee onto the bill doesn’t bother me.
So… you wanna use plastic to pay, pay the merchant fee also. Or write a check or use cash and avoid the “surcharge”. Why folks that pay with cash or check should subsidize credit card fees for folks that can’t be bothered to carry a check book, well, it’s a mystery.
edit….
What I feed the stupid bird is up now to almost $14 a 50# bag. I use to buy the stuff a ton at a time when it was $6 a bag. It’s been a few years. Tack on 3+% for using the debit card, yeah, I can find a ball point pen.
Figured that out after some research. And I still don’t know who she is. I tried watching Aquaman and got through about 10 minutes before I decided watching reruns of Gillian’s Island was more entertaining.
Where do you think that 2% cashback rewards come from? The card company charges 3.5%, or a minimum, then rebates 2% back to the card user. The card company makes 1.5% in the process. The biggest loser is the merchant. If there is no charge for using a CC, then I will. Otherwise I write a check. I get my 2% regardless of the source. Then there are the late fees and sky high interest rates that the CC companies rip from people’s pockets.
My brother lost everything back when the housing market crashed. Did not declare bankruptcy. He had a small <10 acre place where he raised show goats. One day he had enough, sold the goats, moved all his possessions out, left the tractor and implements (which he still owed money to the bank), irrigation system, and the home. He was underwater by several hundred thousand dollars. Walked into the bank and handed the bank the keys and said everything is yours. The bank never came after him for what he owed.
My brother is also a con artist.
@greg: @ray:
That’s “Mera”. Hera is one of the Greek Gods, and also the volcano that destroyed Santorini, and possibly the Minoan civilisation.
Amber Heard’s IMDB page is here.
G.
Where does that end? I’m not getting takeout, so why should I help pay for styrofoam clamshells? My house is closer to the business than others, so why am I charged an equal fuel surcharge?
started charging extra for customers paying with a card?
– businesses USED to just include the fees, a few offering a discount for cash. There are FAR more now charging the extra percentage they have to give the card company. This is typical of VERY LOW MARGIN businesses. I’ve watched it in certain industries before.
It’s also an attempt to keep published prices where they are, or as low as possible. No one can afford to ‘eat’ the percentage any more.
Part of it is the merchant banks charging more too. Used to be Visa/MC was 1-2% and Amex was 3%. But. Now people are very quick to do chargebacks, file complaints, and dispute bills, so the merchant banks have raised their percentage rates to cover that. I’m guessing that some businesses with high chargeback rates are paying more than 3% now, and simply can’t afford it, or think the can’t raise prices to cover it.
If you’ve got the money in your account, offer to use debit. The fees on debit cards are usually smaller than fees on credit card transactions.
Or carry and use cash. I do, and people always like seeing cash.
What I dislike, and try to avoid businesses that do it, is gas stations that have their price board list the CASH price, with credit at least 10c / gallon higher. The ‘at a glance’ lower price lures you in, and then you get the real price when you stick your card in. I find that borderline deceitful, and EVERYONE seems to be doing it now.
n
The only upside of “Aquaman” was the stunt casting of Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho in the studio’s “Dune”, which turned out to be a brilliant move.
“NuScale makes public debut but requires ‘a lot of financing’ to launch small nuclear reactor in 2029”
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nuscale-makes-public-debut-but-requires-a-lot-of-financing-to-launch-smal/624568/
I don’t think that SMRs will ever happen. Too much red tape and bureaucracy.
“Another Nuclear Plant Closes: Get Ready For Electricity Shortages”
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/another-nuclear-plant-closes-get-ready-electricity-shortages
Palisades 811 MW in Michigan. I am sure that they will add a few solar panels to replace it.
“Bloomberg: Hydrogen Leaks Could Drive More Global Warming”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/05/31/bloomberg-hydrogen-leaks-could-drive-more-global-warming/
OK, back to step one: eliminate 90% of the world’s population to stop global warming.
She’s gonna need that cash to pay Johnny. And her lawyers. She needs to find a rich sugar daddy stat. Is Musk available? I mean, after Grimes. LOL.
OK, groomer.
The only upside of “Aquaman” was the stunt casting of Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho in the studio’s “Dune”, which turned out to be a brilliant move.
He was great in the “Stargate: Atlantis” series.
“now all my fish are gonna smell like that”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10874039/Mother-goes-viral-free-birthing-son-ocean.html
Dirty hippy got lucky.
n
I mean, after Grimes. LOL.
— kicked to the curb already.
n
@Nick – isn’t the ocean (and lakes, etc) already full of fishy crap? What’s a little bit more?
Places that take checks usually process them via ACH at the time of purchase. Gone are the days of having a favorite bar that only banked the checks once a week to use as a cash float. Many restauarants charge for clamshels and have going back 30 or so years. Did some on-site corporate training were I had to drive from Milwaukee, WI to Schaumburg, IL and stay the week for 5 or 6 weeks. The biggest scam I ever saw was the cheap gas price being listed with the small print “with purchase of a car wash”.
Don’t see many cash price gas stations here anymore but they usually cost less than prevailing rate with the discount. I will not pay extra for clamshells but may pay extra for credit/debit on a small purchase but I try to keep a twenty handy for such instances. I won’t pay $15 dollars for 80 checks so I haven’t had a check book for years. Pick and chose what works best for you.
Wonder if NaN wants student loan forgiveness? If he does he is a hypocrite. If not, a troll.
Quoth Numb-a-Nuts:
OK, groomer.
Dang it, MrAtoz beat me to it.
You know, hypocrite or troll is not necessarily mutually exclusive. Someone can be both. And often are.
@NaN: Bbbbeeeeelllllccccchhhh.
I never stated that the interest rates were illegal. Clearly not as high as quickie loan places or payday loans. Yes, people agreed to the terms. Have a spotless record for 10 years, miss one due date by a day, bam, interest on the current balance, the prior balance, probably higher interest and a late fee. That can sometimes be solved with a phone call and threat to cancel the card.
The promises of 0% for a few months, balance transfers, and other incentIves are designed to lure the gullible. Reading the dozens of pages in fine print is an eye opener. Credit card companies, like casinos, have the odds in their favor. The primary money maker for CC companies is interest and late fees.
Before you start badgering my expertise on the subject you should know that I worked for years at a large commercial bank. I was involved in many meetings and discussions about credit cards, debit cards, and how to get more from the user without breaking any regulations. Greed was the driving force, not convenience for the user.
>> Nobody won here
Nobody won here except the lawyers
FIFY
>> If you’ve got the money in your account, offer to use debit. The fees on debit cards are usually smaller than fees on credit card transactions.
The Visa merchant agreement doesn’t allow surcharges on debit card transactions, even if processed as “credit.” Don’t recall if it’s the same for MC.
The Guaranteed Student Loan program was nationalized in early 2010 to provide a revenue stream which allowed Obamacare to pass via Reconciliation as “revenue neutral” after Ted Kennedy assumed room temperature in August 2009 and the Filibuster-proof majority in the Senate was broken. “Forgiveness” would be a very complex legal maneuver involving monetization of debt currently carried on the books of the Fed, which should be done by Congressional action, originating in the House, and not the stroke of a pen.
So, what, $56k/year, no benefits, while the tenure track faculty make twice that?
>> I will not pay extra for clamshells but may pay extra for credit/debit on a small purchase but I try to keep a twenty handy for such instances.
If at all possible I avoid merchants that add a surcharge. As long as the CC companies want to give me cash back (up to 6 percent) everything goes on the CC, even a pack of gum. And they float me the money for up to a month. Haven’t had cash in my wallet for several years. Not their ideal customer.
@nick
Dirty hippy got lucky.
Maybe. Perhaps an educated choice. Not my cup of tea but I haven‘t given birth multiple times with various aids. I don’t know what healthcare looks like in Nicaragua, maybe it’s great. I suspect it’s not.
I’ve known lots of women give birth outside of a hospital setting, most with a midwife. I’ve known two women who had complex unanticipated problems that likely would have killed them / baby without immediate medical care. Midwife deliveries are pretty common up here. Maybe the father knows a thing or two about midwifery. Maybe she has broad hips.
My pregnancy / birth experience was wretched. Due to multiple failures on the medical professional side. There was ICU time. I came darn close to dying. My daughter was delivered by c-section early as soon as they slowed my drain circling.
Dirty hippy. Three babies, three different medical methods, she looks pretty fit.
Again, not my cup of tea. Still, I‘ll give her the benefit of the doubt.
Me neither. I have not paid interest on any credit card in 20 years. I used to use Discover for the cash back. I now use CITI as the card is also Costco membership. 4% back on gas, 3% on travel which is significant when booking a trip to Europe, 2% on Costco purchases. I generally get about $700.00 rebate every year. I do pay the balance weekly online. No real advantage to waiting as interest rates on checking suck. Avoids large balances.
You’re forgetting Affirm, etc. which are exploding in popularity with the hipster set.
No need to state the obvious.
If he is not here, we don’t need hin; however, when he his here, we still don’t need him.
I made a comment about Fancy Lads just yesterday.
I’m not wrong about the student loans. I doubt the Feds will ever really move to terminate that revenue stream.
Visa 54%
Mastercard 23%
Amex 19%
Lots of competition there.
didn’t one of the p2p lenders just go broke recently?
I guess loans to deadbeats don’t make a good business model, whether big or small amounts.
n
When I was first on my own (18, 19),I used to hock my flute to make rent. Couple times a year the paychecks and bills would line up wrong.
The interest was super painful. I was glad to have the ability to borrow a quick hundred bucks, though. It really helped me as I struggled to get my financial feet under me.
I had no illusions about what a crappy financial deal it was for me.
I worked for a bank for awhile. Conversations were never about improving customer value. Always about squeezing more from the rubes. This was a family owned local bank, not a national behemoth. Credit cards, banks, not your friends.
Pawn shops are profit hounds, no doubt, but every one I’ve ever dealt with has been honest about their profit seeking ways. They know they’re in it for the filthy lucre and make no bones about it. Banks? Credit card companies? They pretend to be your buddy. They may or may not be outright liars, but they’re as deceptive as they think they can get away with.
The bank I worked at was one of the first to offer debit cards. There was a fee if the card was used to do an ATM withdrawal. It was discovered by bank management that Walmart was allowing cash back on a debit card transaction. Thus a customer could use Walmart as an ATM. Management at the bank was not happy at the loss of revenue as the ability to get cash back spread quickly among the thousands of customers.
I was tasked to figure out a way to charge those cash back transactions as an ATM transaction. I got into discussions with Walmart and the VISA network people to do the transaction at Walmart involving cash back as two transactions. One for the purchase, another as a cash transaction. Walmart said f-off as that would be two fees to VISA. VISA said interesting, but no. Reconciling accounts would be difficult. After a week I reported back to management that what they wanted was not possible. Management was not happy and actually had one of the VPs yell at me. I told her to talk to Walmart herself. I never heard from her again.
When I was in college I would use my debit card at Circle K several times a day. I also almost always got cash back, usually $5. Helped me control my spending, helped Circle K get cash out of the store.
Tried to get cash back at Circle K on a gasoline purchase last month in Conroe, and was told they lost their affiliation with Circle K, despite the signs on the building, and couldn’t do the cash back anymore.
n
More like Poverty of Intellect 01 (Remedial)
I’ve put up a short essay pondering some strange behavior.
Here or here.
People paying with checks…
Synchronicity – I was at Lowes today, buying some mulch, and the guy ahead of me paid with a check.
Its been years, a decade or more, since I used a check for retail or even seen it done. I’d forgotten how annoying it it is be in a line behind that person.
Probably for a largish sum since he had no items or cart.
>> I do pay the balance weekly online. No real advantage to waiting as interest rates on checking suck. Avoids large balances.
Better for your credit score too.
Sigh…
At least four people were killed Wednesday in a shooting on a hospital campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma, police said in a news conference Wednesday evening.
The gunman is also dead, police said. Authorities believe the shooter’s gunshot wound was self-inflicted, Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish said in the news conference.
They said he was looking for a particular physician…
n
NYFC
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10875489/Shocking-moment-16-year-old-girl-stabbed-shoulder-entering-deli-Brooklyn.html
n
Dirty hippy got lucky.
Probably not luck.
My mother was a RN (Registered Nurse) and SRM (State Registered Midwife) who trained in the ‘50s. I read her textbooks when I was in my teens, which was frankly a traumatic experience as they covered an appalling variety of possible bad outcomes. Added to which were the stories she could tell if you got her going about the bad outcomes she personally dealt with, both in and out of the hospital, as she did home delivery assists. One point which was very clear from the texts and stories was that ‘frequent flyers’ (women with 3 or more successful pregnancies) rarely had any issues with later ones.
By the way, if anyone wants a hilarious take on nursing (set, as I recall, in the ‘40’s) look for ‘A Lamp Is Heavy’ by Sheila Mackay Russell. Mum had that too.
>> Footage from the May 22 incident released by the NYPD on Wednesday shows the teenager entering the Urban Juice Bar & Grill in Brownsville around 6 p.m.
Appropriately named.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10875135/Shocking-video-shows-shootout-Coney-Island-five-suspects-exchange-35-rounds.html
More fun in NYFC.
n
Cashing out on Covid! Pfizer’s vaccine raked in $37 billion in 2021 – nearly doubling the revenue of every other available drug across ALL markets: US Covid cases approach 100k per day and daily deaths jump above 600
– I’m sure the money had nothing to do with it….
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/06/dr-fauci-says-entirely-conceivable-americans-will-need-yearly-covid-booster-shot-video/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10876809/Pfizer-asks-FDA-authorize-COVID-vaccine-children-six-months-four-years.html
n
OK, groomer2