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Where's my damn flying car?
https://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/wheres-my-damn-flying-car/Content?oid=2502661 (https://www.connectsavannah.com/savannah/wheres-my-damn-flying-car/Content?oid=2502661)
That its' still not butter....
The Cubs won the World Series
A certain person is president
They're still making 007, Star Wars and Alien movies
Quote from: inkyatari on May 05, 2017, 09:49:32 AM
The Cubs won the World Series
A certain person is president
They're still making 007, Star Wars and Alien movies
Add to that the fact that they're making new versions of old game shows (Match Game, The $100,000 Pyramid, To Tell the Truth), and a team from Cleveland won a championship.
People who were born in 2000 are going to start their last year of high school.
Seems weird to me
typo
Game Boys are valuable items.
That Interstate 49 is still not completed.
...cars are ugly appliancemobiles. We might as well be driving refrigerators and microwave ovens...LOL! Go watch a movie made from the Fifties to the Eighties. You can tell what most cars are. Now go to a WallyMart and see how many cars you can ID. Even the ones you can most likely are lacking in style. If I had known the early 21st century was going to be so ugly, I think I would have looked for a cryogenic storage facility a quarter century ago...LOL!
Rick
Quote from: nexus73 on May 05, 2017, 12:17:23 PM
If I had known the early 21st century was going to be so ugly, I think I would have looked for a cryogenic storage facility a quarter century ago...
And what if the future is even uglier?
Quote from: nexus73 on May 05, 2017, 12:17:23 PM
...cars are ugly appliancemobiles. We might as well be driving refrigerators and microwave ovens...LOL! Go watch a movie made from the Fifties to the Eighties. You can tell what most cars are. Now go to a WallyMart and see how many cars you can ID.
That's because you grew up admiring them, and then stopped doing so.
To me, I'd fail to identify most cars pre-1980 (save the really sporty stuff and a few select others). But from the 1980s to most modern-day cars, I'd notice. There's a few that would slip through the cracks; Mercedes-Benz has too many cars with forgettable model designations, but it's all an indicator of the times in which a car (or any other type) enthusiast started taking notice from the point they stopped caring.
With the exception of going a car show, how many Buick Elcectras, Lamborghini Urraccos, or Toyota 2000GTs am I going to encounter on the roads or parking lots in 2017? That's a number very close to none.
Also, your statements would have a lot more credibility if you weren't laughing to yourself
all the time.
Quote from: kphoger on May 05, 2017, 12:04:23 PM
Game Boys are valuable items.
Is that really a thing with how many units Nintendo produced?
Quote from: nexus73 on May 05, 2017, 12:17:23 PM
...cars are ugly appliancemobiles. We might as well be driving refrigerators and microwave ovens...LOL! Go watch a movie made from the Fifties to the Eighties. You can tell what most cars are. Now go to a WallyMart and see how many cars you can ID. Even the ones you can most likely are lacking in style. If I had known the early 21st century was going to be so ugly, I think I would have looked for a cryogenic storage facility a quarter century ago...LOL!
Rick
Beats the shit out of me what most '50s cars are from looking at them. Anything before 1960 tends to look alike. Cars since 1960 are a lot easier, IMHO, to tell apart.
Some of my daughter's classmates have driver's licenses.
... I don't have a hoverboard
The Y2K problem still hasn't materialized.
It will in 2038 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem) if 64-bit time values aren't widely adopted.
Quote from: vdeane on May 05, 2017, 02:02:41 PM
Quote from: nexus73 on May 05, 2017, 12:17:23 PM
If I had known the early 21st century was going to be so ugly, I think I would have looked for a cryogenic storage facility a quarter century ago...
And what if the future is even uglier?
Now that is a scary thought!
Rick
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on May 05, 2017, 06:37:23 PM
It will in 2038 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem) if 64-bit time values aren't widely adopted.
Yes, but current versions of Unix have used 64-bit time fields for quite a few years already. Lots of embedded systems remain, but they'll probably be long thrown away by the time today's newborns are having their first drink.
I can't believe how much money I make...and I'm still broke.
Microsoft is forcing me to use my old browser, because the latest upgrade they forced on me has kept me from using my current one.
Then again, maybe I should believe it.
:angry:
Cars still run on gasoline
They still publish phone books and offer 4-1-1 directory assistance.
People still write paper checks at the store (usually when I'm behind them and it's an express lane)
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 09, 2017, 06:05:43 PM
People still write paper checks at the store (usually when I'm behind them and it's an express lane)
Thing is, though, (and I know this from working at one) that most major retailers these days have a POS system that runs paper checks like debit card transactions. While yes, it takes longer, mostly because writing a check takes longer than swiping a piece of plastic, it's also pretty much impossible to kite a check (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Check_kiting) these days because the system immedately runs the account info and checks to see if the transaction is valid, like debit/credit cards.
...anyone under the age of 30 smokes cigarettes.
Someone beat Alabama in the title game (GO TIGERS)
I lost the game...AGAIN
I-72 in Missouri still isn't finished. The Denver beltway is still only 3/4th done. The last K Mart hasn't closed yet. Wal Mart still sells cigarettes. Cities like Indianapolis and Nashville still have no rail. I-43 on Milwaukee's north shore is still only 4 lanes.
Quote from: dvferyance on July 14, 2017, 02:38:00 PM
I-72 in Missouri still isn't finished. The Denver beltway is still only 3/4th done. The last K Mart hasn't closed yet. Cities like Indianapolis and Nashville still have no rail. I-43 on Milwaukee's north shore is still only 4 lanes.
It will be years (if ever) before I-72 is finished in Missouri. More likely that I-57 is finished in the southeastern part of the state.
Everything else I agree 100%, especially the part about Indianapolis and Nashville not having rail.
Well I would like to say some very political things right here, but that would start a nasty comment war that would get this thread locked, so instead I would like to say something more broad and agreeable (at least I'd like to think so).
It's sad that people are still so selfish and greedy that they will willingly take advantage of less fortunate people for their own gains, and it's also sad that people are willing to kill each other over petty things.
(DO NOT start comment war over this, please)
Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on July 14, 2017, 09:10:26 PM
It's sad that people are still so selfish and greedy that they will willingly take advantage of less fortunate people for their own gains, and it's also sad that people are willing to kill each other over petty things.
Unfortunately, that has been the case since the beginning of time, and will continue to happen until the end of time.... :-/
that we believed that Dec. 21, 2012 was going to end the world
Quote from: I-39 on July 14, 2017, 09:19:42 PM
Quote from: iBallasticwolf2 on July 14, 2017, 09:10:26 PM
It's sad that people are still so selfish and greedy that they will willingly take advantage of less fortunate people for their own gains, and it's also sad that people are willing to kill each other over petty things.
Unfortunately, that has been the case since the beginning of time, and will continue to happen until the end of time.... :-/
Your completely right, but I'd like to think that humanity has made some progress in certain locations, because the quality of life and poverty levels are much better than they were 100 years ago, but whether that will continue is questionable.
Quote from: I-39 on July 14, 2017, 09:05:14 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on July 14, 2017, 02:38:00 PM
I-72 in Missouri still isn't finished. The Denver beltway is still only 3/4th done. The last K Mart hasn't closed yet. Cities like Indianapolis and Nashville still have no rail. I-43 on Milwaukee's north shore is still only 4 lanes.
It will be years (if ever) before I-72 is finished in Missouri. More likely that I-57 is finished in the southeastern part of the state.
Everything else I agree 100%, especially the part about Indianapolis and Nashville not having rail.
What I should have said is I am surprised that at least more of I-72 hasn't been completed in Missouri. I would think more would exist now that that little stub just west of Illinois.
Quote from: JJBers on July 14, 2017, 09:35:40 PM
that we believed that Dec. 21, 2012 was going to end the world
or 01-01-00
Quote from: dvferyance on July 14, 2017, 09:57:45 PM
Quote from: I-39 on July 14, 2017, 09:05:14 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on July 14, 2017, 02:38:00 PM
I-72 in Missouri still isn't finished. The Denver beltway is still only 3/4th done. The last K Mart hasn't closed yet. Cities like Indianapolis and Nashville still have no rail. I-43 on Milwaukee's north shore is still only 4 lanes.
It will be years (if ever) before I-72 is finished in Missouri. More likely that I-57 is finished in the southeastern part of the state.
Everything else I agree 100%, especially the part about Indianapolis and Nashville not having rail.
What I should have said is I am surprised that at least more of I-72 hasn't been completed in Missouri. I would think more would exist now that that little stub just west of Illinois.
They've tried to extend it west to US 24, but the FHWA won't allow it.
That SunPass and EZPass are still not interoperable with each other :hmmm:
Quote from: 21stCenturyRoad on July 15, 2017, 10:05:43 AM
That SunPass and EZPass are still not interoperable with each other :hmmm:
I think they're all so heavily invested in Toll-by-Plate that they really don't care anymore.
People groused about it 15 years ago, and it's funny how North Carolina responded to the challenge, but Florida's Turnpike Enterprise hasn't.
Quote from: 21stCenturyRoad on July 15, 2017, 10:05:43 AM
That SunPass and EZPass are still not interoperable with each other :hmmm:
Or that there is not a universal transponder that works on every toll road system in the United States.
Also, that there still isn't a lot of smartphone applications to help with paying tolls.
US 36 across Missouri is fine just as it is. It's not heavily traveled, there are grade-separated interchanges at most major crossroads, and the at-grades that do exist are not really in need of upgrading. Leave it as it is. It doesn't need to be a full freeway. (Just like US 31 in Indiana or US 220 in Virginia.)
- That I have to double-check when purchasing to see if the clock can set itself, or if I have to set it manually
- That some retailers still use swipe technology in their card reader technology, and have the chip slot taped up.
- That reducing costs trump everything including good customer service and good security practices
- It still takes forever for the DMV to process some simple tasks
Quote from: ZLoth on July 15, 2017, 11:37:32 PM
- That some retailers still use swipe technology in their card reader technology, and have the chip slot taped up.
Have I said lately how much I hate the chip reader and prefer swiping my card? :bigass:
Having said that, I recently went to mail something at the Jackson, Ky. post office and noticed that their card readers have the chip portion blocked with a notation to use the swipe function. I found that very ironic, considering that the government mandated the conversion to chip technology. The postal clerk shared my feeling of irony when I noted it aloud.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 15, 2017, 11:24:58 PM
US 36 across Missouri is fine just as it is. It's not heavily traveled, there are grade-separated interchanges at most major crossroads, and the at-grades that do exist are not really in need of upgrading. Leave it as it is. It doesn't need to be a full freeway. (Just like US 31 in Indiana or US 220 in Virginia.)
I do think the southern section of US 31 in Indiana between Kokomo and IN 38 should be converted to freeway, but the rest is fine for the foreseeable future (although the pavement needs to be rebuilt on the older sections in between the freeway segments). Other than that, I agree with everything else you said.
Quote from: ZLoth on July 15, 2017, 11:37:32 PM
- It still takes forever for the DMV to process some simple tasks
Tell that to my DMV, who is going from taking 5 minutes to produce your license to giving you a temporary license and having you wait
6 weeks to wait to get your new license by
snail mail. Which brings me to another point: I still can't believe that people use snail mail other than to receive physical goods.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 16, 2017, 01:52:05 PM
Having said that, I recently went to mail something at the Jackson, Ky. post office and noticed that their card readers have the chip portion blocked with a notation to use the swipe function. I found that very ironic, considering that the government mandated the conversion to chip technology. The postal clerk shared my feeling of irony when I noted it aloud.
Which law was that? I was under the impression that the processing companies were behind the shift.
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on July 16, 2017, 02:44:37 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 16, 2017, 01:52:05 PM
Having said that, I recently went to mail something at the Jackson, Ky. post office and noticed that their card readers have the chip portion blocked with a notation to use the swipe function. I found that very ironic, considering that the government mandated the conversion to chip technology. The postal clerk shared my feeling of irony when I noted it aloud.
Which law was that? I was under the impression that the processing companies were behind the shift.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/emv-chip-credit-cards-required-law/
Quote from: US71 on July 16, 2017, 03:59:14 PM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on July 16, 2017, 02:44:37 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 16, 2017, 01:52:05 PM
Having said that, I recently went to mail something at the Jackson, Ky. post office and noticed that their card readers have the chip portion blocked with a notation to use the swipe function. I found that very ironic, considering that the government mandated the conversion to chip technology. The postal clerk shared my feeling of irony when I noted it aloud.
Which law was that? I was under the impression that the processing companies were behind the shift.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-cards/emv-chip-credit-cards-required-law/
This article seems to contradict the claim:
QuoteOctober 1, 2015, is the day of the much-discussed EMV liability shift – the reason your credit cards now have or will soon have chips embedded in them. But who decided that? Did the U.S. government pass a law requiring it? In short, no.
That "in short" bit might be hiding something, though, but what?
Quote from: JJBers on July 14, 2017, 09:35:40 PM
that we believed that Dec. 21, 2012 was going to end the world
What do you mean "we," kemosabe?
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on July 16, 2017, 04:46:56 PM
QuoteOctober 1, 2015, is the day of the much-discussed EMV liability shift – the reason your credit cards now have or will soon have chips embedded in them. But who decided that? Did the U.S. government pass a law requiring it? In short, no.
That "in short" bit might be hiding something, though, but what?
The credit card companies did it
voluntarily after the government threatened to pass a law. Maybe the law would have been more stringent?
Quote from: hbelkins on July 16, 2017, 01:52:05 PM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 15, 2017, 11:37:32 PM
- That some retailers still use swipe technology in their card reader technology, and have the chip slot taped up.
Have I said lately how much I hate the chip reader and prefer swiping my card? :bigass:
Having said that, I recently went to mail something at the Jackson, Ky. post office and noticed that their card readers have the chip portion blocked with a notation to use the swipe function. I found that very ironic, considering that the government mandated the conversion to chip technology. The postal clerk shared my feeling of irony when I noted it aloud.
You might like the Wegmans chip card readers. They process the transaction after removing the card rather than while it's inserted, so the card is in and out of one's wallet as fast as swiping. Can't imagine storing and sending the details on the chip is more secure than having the chip do the verification, though. Haven't seen these types of readers elsewhere.
...we don't have a consensus on what defines upstate New York.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 16, 2017, 01:52:05 PM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 15, 2017, 11:37:32 PM
- That some retailers still use swipe technology in their card reader technology, and have the chip slot taped up.
Have I said lately how much I hate the chip reader and prefer swiping my card? :bigass:
Do not remove card...
Do not remove card...
Do not remove card...
Do not remove card...
OK remove it now Now NOW NOW NOW BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
Quote from: kurumi on July 17, 2017, 09:10:53 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 16, 2017, 01:52:05 PM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 15, 2017, 11:37:32 PM
- That some retailers still use swipe technology in their card reader technology, and have the chip slot taped up.
Have I said lately how much I hate the chip reader and prefer swiping my card? :bigass:
Do not remove card...
Do not remove card...
Do not remove card...
Do not remove card...
OK remove it now Now NOW NOW NOW BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
Gas stations and the Quickly Swipe feature always bugs me:
I was just conveying myself in a large suit of rolling armor at 30 meters per second; please define "quickly".
- that the USA still has not adopted the International System of Units (Come on, it's so easy to use!).
- that the USA still does not have a "free" (i.e. tax funded) health care system.
- that so many newborn boys are still circumcised in the USA (WHY? Foreskin is just a normal thing, and it's also normal for it not to retract at first, but by three years of age most boys can pull it back. Fortunately the rate is decreasing).
It was about to point out that USA still hasn't signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs, but neither Spain has done so yet, despite the latter using that signage.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 17, 2017, 04:00:08 PM
- that the USA still has not adopted the International System of Units (Come on, it's so easy to use!).
- that the USA still does not have a "free" (i.e. tax funded) health care system.
- that so many newborn boys are still circumcised in the USA (WHY? Foreskin is just a normal thing, and it's also normal for it not to retract at first, but by three years of age most boys can pull it back. Fortunately the rate is decreasing).
It was about to point out that USA still hasn't signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs, but neither Spain has done so yet, despite the latter using that signage.
I highly doubt any of those will ever happen.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 15, 2017, 11:24:58 PM
US 36 across Missouri is fine just as it is. It's not heavily traveled, there are grade-separated interchanges at most major crossroads, and the at-grades that do exist are not really in need of upgrading. Leave it as it is. It doesn't need to be a full freeway. (Just like US 31 in Indiana or US 220 in Virginia.)
I think US 31 would make a nice I-67 someday. The whole route in Michigan is already a full freeway counting I-196. In Indiana not all that many upgrades would even be needed. It's full freeway for a ways up from Indianapolis and around South Bend. But I do agree with you on US 220 it's fine the way it is. I-73 should be used for the US-127 freeway in Michigan instead.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 17, 2017, 04:00:08 PM
- that the USA still has not adopted the International System of Units (Come on, it's so easy to use!).
It's not impossible, but it's not going to be an easy change: Many US street blocks and road grids are based on the mile, and land by the acre, so that physical difficulty is not likely to change. Lots of measurements dealing with dwellings are based on Imperial units. Paper goods are typically standardized in inches. Temperature is culturally discussed in Fahrenheit. Baking/cooking typically deals with cups and other measurements, et al.
Lots of things like food packaging, hardware/tools, recent mechanical items, and some household items/appliances are either measured in both units, or have quietly metricated (especially food packaging). There's there will seemingly always be exceptions for archaic measurements regarding clothing, sports, trade, and other specific traditions.
I think with easy-to-perform conversions, it's hardly as big an issue (converting either way) as it's made to seem. But for most folks outside the scientific world, or those who frequently shift between units, it would be similar to picking up a new language.
I'm not touching the other two items, and most US road signs are similar to other nations on our continent.
Quote from: dvferyance on July 17, 2017, 06:39:11 PM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 17, 2017, 04:00:08 PM
- that the USA still has not adopted the International System of Units (Come on, it's so easy to use!).
- that the USA still does not have a "free" (i.e. tax funded) health care system.
- that so many newborn boys are still circumcised in the USA (WHY? Foreskin is just a normal thing, and it's also normal for it not to retract at first, but by three years of age most boys can pull it back. Fortunately the rate is decreasing).
It was about to point out that USA still hasn't signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs, but neither Spain has done so yet, despite the latter using that signage.
I highly doubt any of those will ever happen.
To address Topics 1, 2 and 4:
1. We tried to adopt it in the 70's and 80's, but the only place it caught on was on DE 1
2. My $.02: Country is too far in debt to support it
4. Only 4 smaller countries in the Western Hemisphere have implemented it (Chile, Cuba, French Guiana, and Guyana), and some of the items in it are universal anyway.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 17, 2017, 04:00:08 PM
- that the USA still has not adopted the International System of Units (Come on, it's so easy to use!).
- that the USA still does not have a "free" (i.e. tax funded) health care system.
- that so many newborn boys are still circumcised in the USA (WHY? Foreskin is just a normal thing, and it's also normal for it not to retract at first, but by three years of age most boys can pull it back. Fortunately the rate is decreasing).
It was about to point out that USA still hasn't signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs, but neither Spain has done so yet, despite the latter using that signage.
1. I'm just so used to Imperial here (yeah yeah we use our own measurement for gallons, whatever) that kilometers would just be an issue to adjust. I could learn it, but it'd be like learning another language. There was an attempt around 30 years ago, but the only remnants are I-19, DE 1, and random dual units signs in California.
2. We're gonna get there one of these days. We'll just be extremely late to the party that the party will be over.
3. Is this a personal fetish of yours?
My stuff:
-that heavy metal hasn't made a comeback yet
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 17, 2017, 04:00:08 PM
- that the USA still has not adopted the International System of Units (Come on, it's so easy to use!).
I recently started using the metric system when measuring things.
Let's put it this way, would you rather try to figure out fractions, or switch from centimeters to millimeters?
I hate math, so metric it is!
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 17, 2017, 04:00:08 PM
- that the USA still does not have a "free" (i.e. tax funded) health care system.
Thank God, and I hope we never do. If so, let's just tear up the constitution and throw it away.
Quote- that so many newborn boys are still circumcised in the USA (WHY? Foreskin is just a normal thing, and it's also normal for it not to retract at first, but by three years of age most boys can pull it back. Fortunately the rate is decreasing).
Two reasons, I suppose. One is that it's more hygienic to be "cut," so I'm told. Two is that it's a Judeo-Christian religious tradition, and this is the most dominant religion in the US.
I've also been told that it's much more painful to endure and recover from, the older that you are. I was circumcised at birth and have no memory of the procedure.
Over here, "cut" is normal and "uncut" is just weird.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 17, 2017, 07:08:00 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on July 17, 2017, 06:39:11 PM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 17, 2017, 04:00:08 PM
- that the USA still has not adopted the International System of Units (Come on, it's so easy to use!).
- that the USA still does not have a "free" (i.e. tax funded) health care system.
- that so many newborn boys are still circumcised in the USA (WHY? Foreskin is just a normal thing, and it's also normal for it not to retract at first, but by three years of age most boys can pull it back. Fortunately the rate is decreasing).
It was about to point out that USA still hasn't signed the Vienna Convention on Road Signs, but neither Spain has done so yet, despite the latter using that signage.
I highly doubt any of those will ever happen.
To address Topics 1, 2 and 4:
1. We tried to adopt it in the 70's and 80's, but the only place it caught on was on DE 1
2. My $.02: Country is too far in debt to support it
4. Only 4 smaller countries in the Western Hemisphere have implemented it (Chile, Cuba, French Guiana, and Guyana), and some of the items in it are universal anyway.
2. Country is too far in debt to support something that will eventually lower costs?? That makes no sense.
Quote from: noelbotevera on July 17, 2017, 11:05:42 PM
3. Is this a personal fetish of yours?
Just a cultural thing. Here in Europe circumcisions aren't done just because, they usually have a medical justification. I even consider this genital mutilation. So no "hygienic" crap (While that is somewhat true, I decided to pee with the foreskin back for the same reason), and Europe is mostly Christian. Anyway, this is unrelated to what I proposed once in the "Threads you'll never see on aaroads.com" thread (I only wrote something that surely won't happen here).
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 11:20:22 AM
Thank God, and I hope we never do. If so, let's just tear up the constitution and throw it away.
WHAT??? This statement clearly matches the thread subject for me. You haven't lived in Europe. I wouldn't take an insurance only to get a treatment denied. This doesn't happen in countries were the health care system is publicly funded, and as result people get a longer life expectancy than in the USA.
Anyway, let's get back on-topic. Although I have to admit, I use degrees Fahrenheit when I want to exaggerate heat.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 11:20:22 AMTwo is that it's a Judeo-Christian religious tradition, and this is the most dominant religion in the US.
It's a Jewish (and some Muslim traditions) thing. A lot of the New Testament is Paul getting annoyed at people treating it as something Christians ought to do for religious reasons.
Certainly, among Christians/people in nominally Christian cultures, it comes and goes in popularity, with the justification usually health or morality (typically anti-onanism) rather than as a religious or ethnic marker. Many in the US (and a fair few in Canada) currently treat it as a healthy thing and so the US circumcises over half it's newborn boys (with wide regional and ethnic variations).
The UK is more tolerant than most of the rest of Europe on this, but very few are circumcised these days. We don't see it as a preventative health thing at all - it's done for religious reasons, or to treat specific medical conditions. We have seen it as something to do for health - in the early 30s it was 35% of boys circumcised compared to the early 00s it was 3.8% and apparently about half of those were due to a misdiagnosis of phimosis (that the foreskin is overly attached to the glans) on toddlers.
About the only thing keeping it legal in continental Europe is that Jewish and Muslim groups can play the minority card (though, at the same time, the religious nature of it is why some campaigners are keen to ban it). A German judge ruled it child abuse and so it was illegal for three months while Merkel ran around trying to fix it rightly saying that Germany was a laughing stock for the anti-Semitism of the ruling (obviously Germany is extremely touchy about anti-Semitism). It's now only legal in Germany if it's a ritual ceremony performed by a medical professional.
Quote from: ParrDa on July 17, 2017, 03:40:21 PM-That I'm one of the last graduates born in the 20th century
High School? One can get a degree at any age. I know people graduating university this year who have children who were adults in the 20th century.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on July 17, 2017, 07:08:00 PMOnly 4 smaller countries in the Western Hemisphere have implemented it (Chile, Cuba, French Guiana, and Guyana), and some of the items in it are universal anyway.
French Guiana is not a country, but an integral part of France that is merely overseas. And you mean "the Americas" as Portugal, most of Spain and the UK and a lot of France are in the western hemisphere. Please use "the Americas" in future as it's not only more accurate, but less arbitrary (as any line from pole to pole dividing the world into two would be) and shorter. ;)
And speaking of Western hemisphere countries with free healthcare: the UK's beloved NHS (that bottomless pit of taxpayers money that we can't dare criticise for risk of being cast out of society that worships it as their religion and possibly lynched by a mob of fanatics) came top in a study on healthcare systems in developed countries this week. It provided the most egalitarian care, best procedures and management, was one of the cheapest systems to run*, etc and was bottom for actually curing and treating problems. The Guardian, without irony, in an article praising our beloved health service, said "the only serious black mark against the NHS was its poor record on keeping people alive." :pan:
The US came bottom, as it typically does. Obamacare just changed what the serious problems were, as will it's replacement. The US did do rather well on actual medicine stuff on this study but was bottom/near bottom on social and structural measures.
Both countries have serious failings in their health systems, and both countries see the debate as a binary between the two extremes. Something between the two would be nice, if only it wasn't seen as a switch from one extreme to another.
*a great deal was made of that by the mob who have been complaining that the NHS is cash strapped due to 'cuts' that have still increased the budget higher than inflation in a time of Government austerity. It's not so poor that it can't afford £50k/year salaries for diversity co-coordinators.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 18, 2017, 12:09:14 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 11:20:22 AM
Thank God, and I hope we never do. If so, let's just tear up the constitution and throw it away.
WHAT??? This statement clearly matches the thread subject for me. You haven't lived in Europe. I wouldn't take an insurance only to get a treatment denied. This doesn't happen in countries were the health care system is publicly funded, and as result people get a longer life expectancy than in the USA.
Read the United States Constitution and tell me where it gives the federal government the specific authority to provide medical care for the citizenry.
Quote from: english si on July 18, 2017, 01:34:10 PM
French Guiana is not a country, but an integral part of France that is merely overseas. And you mean "the Americas" as Portugal, most of Spain and the UK and a lot of France are in the western hemisphere. Please use "the Americas" in future as it's not only more accurate, but less arbitrary (as any line from pole to pole dividing the world into two would be) and shorter. ;)
This also fits the thread:
- That there are people who believe the western hemisphere is synonimous with the Americas. I live in the western hemisphere (by less than half a degree), but not in the Americas.
And I forgot:
- That some people here don't know other countries have subdivisions with names other than "state". That makes me to say there's no answer possible from me when a thread is titled "something in your state" (as Spain doesn't call its subdivisions "states", but "autonomous [sic] communities"), but I give stuff out if the thread is named "something in your subdivision". For example, I've just done that in the "Crossroads of your state". If it was named "Crossroads of your subdivision" or something like that, I would have answered. BTW, for my community of Aragon the crossroads is clearly Zaragoza.
- That I'm overly picky with what I said above.
...there is sill a sizeable amount of losers people who still clamor for the day-to-day activities of the whole Kardashian/Jenner Family.
...that Justin Bieber's musical career is still alive.
re the metric system, sure, multiplying by 4 or 12 in your head isn't terribly hard, but remembering what you multiply by 4 and what by 12 and what by 3 and what by 16 and what by 5280 isn't that easy to remember. I still have no intuitive grasp of the relationship between a cup, an ounce, a quart, and a pint, and only a rough idea of which one is probably biggest. I have no idea how many tsp is in a Tsp, probably 33⅓ or something.
Having two units of measure for two totally different things with the same name is stupid. "One ounce of almonds" could conceivably mean "one ounce of almonds by weight" or "one ounce of almonds by volume".
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 02:02:38 PM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 18, 2017, 12:09:14 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 11:20:22 AM
Thank God, and I hope we never do. If so, let's just tear up the constitution and throw it away.
WHAT??? This statement clearly matches the thread subject for me. You haven't lived in Europe. I wouldn't take an insurance only to get a treatment denied. This doesn't happen in countries were the health care system is publicly funded, and as result people get a longer life expectancy than in the USA.
Read the United States Constitution and tell me where it gives the federal government the specific authority to provide medical care for the citizenry.
Quote
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 18, 2017, 06:16:05 PM
Quote from: english si on July 18, 2017, 01:34:10 PM
French Guiana is not a country, but an integral part of France that is merely overseas. And you mean "the Americas" as Portugal, most of Spain and the UK and a lot of France are in the western hemisphere. Please use "the Americas" in future as it's not only more accurate, but less arbitrary (as any line from pole to pole dividing the world into two would be) and shorter. ;)
This also fits the thread:
- That there are people who believe the western hemisphere is synonimous with the Americas. I live in the western hemisphere (by less than half a degree), but not in the Americas.
To be fair, your area of the world put the
Prime Meridian over
your land(s), declared a
Western and
Eastern Civilization, a
Middle East,
Far East, and a
Down Under with respect to
your location.
Perspective.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 20, 2017, 06:27:06 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 02:02:38 PM
Read the United States Constitution and tell me where it gives the federal government the specific authority to provide medical care for the citizenry.
Quote
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,
Actually, that's just the introduction to the constitution. The Preamble.
Here's where his argument is made:
QuoteThe Ninth Amendment:
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
QuoteThe Tenth Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people.
By using the preamble, in other words the introduction, you can justify any number of things, some possibly good, possibly evil.
Quote from: inkyatari on July 20, 2017, 08:57:17 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 20, 2017, 06:27:06 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 02:02:38 PM
Read the United States Constitution and tell me where it gives the federal government the specific authority to provide medical care for the citizenry.
Quote
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare,
Actually, that's just the introduction to the constitution. The Preamble.
Here's where his argument is made:
QuoteThe Ninth Amendment:
The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
QuoteThe Tenth Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people.
By using the preamble, in other words the introduction, you can justify any number of things, some possibly good, possibly evil.
When the Social Security Act was upheld as Constitutional, the Court relied on the Taxing and Spending Clause, which empowers Congress to tax to support the "general welfare." Courts have typically interpreted that pretty broadly.
Here's the text that he asked for:
"The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States"
A national healthcare system would be Constitutional as long as it was equally distributed among the States. The Courts have never held that the Constitution has to expressly grant very specific powers, that would destroy the flexibility of a document written in the late 18th century after all. The Constitution grants Congress the power to do certain things (tax and spend, regulate interstate commerce.....etc.) that it then applies to the situation of the day. If you start saying things like "SHOW ME WHERE THE CONSTITUTION GIVES CONGRESS THE POWER TO DO X" then you expose the fact that the Constitution is a 200+ year old document, written by people who could not have anticipated the world we live in today. The Framers however were smart enough to realize that the world would advance beyond their understanding and included language that granted very broad powers.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 02:02:38 PM
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 18, 2017, 12:09:14 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 18, 2017, 11:20:22 AM
Thank God, and I hope we never do. If so, let's just tear up the constitution and throw it away.
WHAT??? This statement clearly matches the thread subject for me. You haven't lived in Europe. I wouldn't take an insurance only to get a treatment denied. This doesn't happen in countries were the health care system is publicly funded, and as result people get a longer life expectancy than in the USA.
Read the United States Constitution and tell me where it gives the federal government the specific authority to provide medical care for the citizenry.
lmao you just proved that your first statement didn't make any sense
The Constitution has nothing to do with it
Find the part of the Constitution, then, that allows governing bodies to establish speed limits! Oh it's not in there, I guess we should take all the speed limit signs down.
Come on.
Quote from: formulanone on July 20, 2017, 07:30:56 AMTo be fair, your area of the world put the Prime Meridian over your land(s), declared a Western and Eastern Civilization, a Middle East, Far East, and a Down Under with respect to your location.
Perspective.
Or, in other words, it's a totally and utterly meaningless descriptor and shouldn't be used? That's exactly my point!
Quote from: paulthemapguy on July 20, 2017, 11:38:48 AMFind the part of the Constitution, then, that allows governing bodies to establish speed limits! Oh it's not in there, I guess we should take all the speed limit signs down.
The 10th amendment allows governing bodies (the states or the people) to establish speed limits, etc: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people."
However it is these exact same words that prohibit the
federal government from doing anything but which they have the specific authority to do so - the feds cannot establish speed limits and this was hbelkins' point re:healthcare.
The NMSL got around the 10th amendment by not being a federally mandated maximum, but a ban on federal roads money to states that didn't have a max speed limit of 55mph. The drinking age of 21 has similar (and yes, it's highways money) and
South Dakota v. Dole (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota_v._Dole) resolved that the Federal Government can, via the spending clause, penalise states in such a way.
QuoteThe Constitution has nothing to do with it
lmao
If it involves the federal government, the Constitution has everything to do with it - it's the rules that both give the feds the authority to do things, and the rules that tell them what they can't do.
So what section of the constitution would be so grossly violated by universal HC? I'm pretty sure "universal healthcare shall never be a law of the land" isn't in there.
Now that's being obtuse of course, but explain it to me.
...people still believe that the moon landing was a hoax, and/or that the Earth is flat.
Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 20, 2017, 01:54:23 PM
...people still believe that the moon landing was a hoax, and/or that the Earth is flat.
Or people who believe that clouds are made of chemicals.
Don't even get me started on conspirisheep. #CAKU
From the above.
- Cars as "appliancemobiles" . Nah. I see this idea a lot on racing BBs trying to explain NASCAR's decline (easy to explain: Brian France) but there are younger "car people" and there are exciting cars being made. It is a version of false memory, because you remember the cars that stood out when you were about 18, forgetting all the plain cars of the same era. So will today's 18 year olds in 39 years.
- DMV. Name something the governemnt does well. The thing that befudles me are people that want governement to be in charge of their health care.
- Credit cards. Their very existance is what I cannot believe. Not that long ago, stores had credit cards, but the general accepted everywhere card was just for the upper middle class, mostly trabelers.
- Metric. The USA will never adopt the metric system because the American system is just so much better. Metric was invented in the French revolution and while the units work out by 10 and all of that, they have no basis. American's system was developed out of people's needs. The units reflect things people can do or need. A pint is about the right amount of beer. The weather is going to be in the low 70s means something. A mile is about how far a good athlete can run without pacing himself. An acre is the amount of land one needs to own. So on. Metric is just random meaningless numbers. Good for scientists, meaningless for people.
- Circumsion. There were these protestors in town last summer. Men, and some women, wearing white pants with blood stains and big signs. Apparently this is what they do, rather than, well, work for a living. Travel the country. With all of society's problems, this is a pretty strange issue to devote one's life to worrying about.
The things that most befuddles me is the scientific illiteracy of so many people who have received a good basic western education.
Quote from: inkyatari on July 20, 2017, 01:56:25 PM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 20, 2017, 01:54:23 PM
...people still believe that the moon landing was a hoax, and/or that the Earth is flat.
Or people who believe that clouds are made of chemicals.
Don't even get me started on conspirisheep. #CAKU
Yes they are. Is there anything tangible that
isn't made of chemicals?
Quote from: 1 on July 20, 2017, 02:09:50 PM
Quote from: inkyatari on July 20, 2017, 01:56:25 PM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 20, 2017, 01:54:23 PM
...people still believe that the moon landing was a hoax, and/or that the Earth is flat.
Or people who believe that clouds are made of chemicals.
Don't even get me started on conspirisheep. #CAKU
Yes they are. Is there anything tangible that isn't made of chemicals?
Oh, I know exactly what you mean, but I'm talking about the chemtrail lunatics.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 20, 2017, 01:53:29 PM
So what section of the constitution would be so grossly violated by universal HC? I'm pretty sure "universal healthcare shall never be a law of the land" isn't in there.
Now that's being obtuse of course, but explain it to me.
The 10th amendment makes it clear - the federal government has no power got given to it by the constitution. Healthcare is not one of these powers.
State governments can do universal healthcare, but the federal government can't. The AHCA, for all it's many many faults (not that the GOP is offering anything better), does rather well at skirting those issues and won the cases in the Supreme Court based on 10th amendment claims - less so on the 1st amendment suits against it. The feds can 'tax' (to use the word Chief Justice Roberts pulled out of nowhere to allow the feds to fine with crippling fines those who don't comply) people who don't have healthcare.
Name something the Government does well:
We waited for the private sector to step up and improve our road system for decades to no avail. Without government, the U.S. Interstate Highway System would have taken longer to come into fruition.
Quote from: SP Cook on July 20, 2017, 02:03:14 PM
Name something the governemnt does well. The thing that befudles me are people that want governement to be in charge of their health care.
From experience, the private sector seems to provide a lazy job of handling insurance claims, to the point defrauding clients by charging for remainders it failed to recoup due to missed deadlines. No accountability; I understand that running a practice is far from easy on top of being a dedicated professional, but billing standards aren't rocket science. Either you have insurance (or not), look it up, find out if it is / or not / partially-covered, to what extent, and how much you split it all by. Instead of taking a few minutes to give a final or expected cost, they'll just "bill you later", only to find out that some odd or secondary procedure isn't covered. There's expensive software to figure that all out to the high-school educated folks at the front desk.
I think that's the galling thing about healthcare: no other industries can get away with flat-out lies, malpractice, inflated bills, kick around claims endlessly, provide endless legalese, and red tape like they can...except federal and/or state government. They're perfect for the job. :)
Quote from: SP Cook on July 20, 2017, 02:03:14 PM
- Metric. The USA will never adopt the metric system because the American system is just so much better. Metric was invented in the French revolution and while the units work out by 10 and all of that, they have no basis. American's system was developed out of people's needs. The units reflect things people can do or need. A pint is about the right amount of beer. The weather is going to be in the low 70s means something. A mile is about how far a good athlete can run without pacing himself. An acre is the amount of land one needs to own. So on. Metric is just random meaningless numbers. Good for scientists, meaningless for people.
But if I don't drink beer, a pint is meaningless to me. My parents owned an acre of land that I grew up on and it was unwieldy; way too much grass to mow, and that much land here in the city would be expensive as all hell, so I own far less than that. The acre is useless to me.
I do drink soda, though, so I know exactly how much 2 liters is.
Quote from: inkyatari on July 20, 2017, 01:56:25 PM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 20, 2017, 01:54:23 PM
...people still believe that the moon landing was a hoax, and/or that the Earth is flat.
Or people who believe that clouds are made of chemicals.
Don't even get me started on conspirisheep. #CAKU
Oh yea, I completely forgot about "chemtrails". :ded: I wonder if the "lizard people" conspiracy was actually started as a joke that the conspiracy nuts took seriously.
SM-G900V
I'm sorry but that really pisses me off that you see people suffering and dying as "sorry, its against our laws and that's more important to me."
Quote from: SP Cook on July 20, 2017, 02:03:14 PM
- Metric. The USA will never adopt the metric system because the American system is just so much better. Metric was invented in the French revolution and while the units work out by 10 and all of that, they have no basis. American's system was developed out of people's needs. The units reflect things people can do or need. A pint is about the right amount of beer. The weather is going to be in the low 70s means something. A mile is about how far a good athlete can run without pacing himself. An acre is the amount of land one needs to own. So on. Metric is just random meaningless numbers. Good for scientists, meaningless for people.
Actually the metric system WAS based on something concrete.
The meter is some power of 10 fraction of the distance from the equator to the north pole (not some arbitrary scales like the length of some king's arm or thumb). (Of course they got that distance slightly wrong, but ...) A hectare (land measurement) is 10000 square meters (not like an acre which was the amount of land a team could plow in a day, or something like that). Weights were based on the weight of a cubic centimeter of water. Calories are how much energy it takes to heat up that cc of water (what is a BTU based on?). Every unit is somehow linked to other units.
And if you were brought up with the system, you would begin to think in metric. One big reason the US never went metric was the way it was presented to us in school. Instead of measuring in and thinking in metric, we were taught how to multiply and divide to convert pounds to kilos or meters to feet. Dreary.
Quote from: english si on July 20, 2017, 02:49:41 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on July 20, 2017, 01:53:29 PM
So what section of the constitution would be so grossly violated by universal HC? I'm pretty sure "universal healthcare shall never be a law of the land" isn't in there.
Now that's being obtuse of course, but explain it to me.
The 10th amendment makes it clear - the federal government has no power got given to it by the constitution. Healthcare is not one of these powers.
State governments can do universal healthcare, but the federal government can't. The AHCA, for all it's many many faults (not that the GOP is offering anything better), does rather well at skirting those issues and won the cases in the Supreme Court based on 10th amendment claims - less so on the 1st amendment suits against it. The feds can 'tax' (to use the word Chief Justice Roberts pulled out of nowhere to allow the feds to fine with crippling fines those who don't comply) people who don't have healthcare.
With all due respect, this is just false.
Nothing in the Constitution prohibits the United States government from using its spending power to create a national healthcare system. Read the rest of the Constitution, the government has an unambiguous authority to tax and spend.
No court in the country is going to find a national health care system unconstitutional.
Yeah, that's a big part of the problem. America's approach to metric conversion is/wasn't "change the units that are used" so much as "continue to use the same units, and convert before starting or finishing every single task". I imagine a task like doubling a recipe would be approached by first converting milliliters to teaspoons, multiplying the number of teaspoons by 2, and then converting back to milliliters.
Quote from: SP Cook on July 20, 2017, 02:03:14 PM
- DMV. Name something the governemnt does well. The thing that befudles me are people that want governement to be in charge of their health care.
I've never received anything less than good service at the less busy locations (such as in a rural area, or a mobile satellite office). I imagine the main problem is understaffing.
Quote
- Metric. The USA will never adopt the metric system because the American system is just so much better. Metric was invented in the French revolution and while the units work out by 10 and all of that, they have no basis. American's system was developed out of people's needs. The units reflect things people can do or need. A pint is about the right amount of beer. The weather is going to be in the low 70s means something. A mile is about how far a good athlete can run without pacing himself. An acre is the amount of land one needs to own. So on. Metric is just random meaningless numbers. Good for scientists, meaningless for people.
Are the units really so fitted for how we live our lives, or have we fitted our lives to the units because we like nice, round numbers? Is a pint really the right amount of beer, or is it the amount you're used to because it's the most conveniently sized container for our measuring system?
Quote
- Circumsion. There were these protestors in town last summer. Men, and some women, wearing white pants with blood stains and big signs. Apparently this is what they do, rather than, well, work for a living. Travel the country. With all of society's problems, this is a pretty strange issue to devote one's life to worrying about.
Well, there is this thing called "time off". At least, there is at my job. And the fact that society has big problems doesn't mean that we should ignore smaller ones.
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on July 18, 2017, 12:09:14 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on July 17, 2017, 11:05:42 PM
3. Is this a personal fetish of yours?
Just a cultural thing. Here in Europe circumcisions aren't done just because, they usually have a medical justification. I even consider this genital mutilation. So no "hygienic" crap (While that is somewhat true, I decided to pee with the foreskin back for the same reason), and Europe is mostly Christian. Anyway, this is unrelated to what I proposed once in the "Threads you'll never see on aaroads.com" thread (I only wrote something that surely won't happen here).
I asked my mom about our little history concerning this topic, so most of it is (paraphrased) from what she said.
My family formerly lived in the Philippines, and my older brother was never circumcised at birth. She said "Alright, he looks good, no need to be circumcised.", and everything was fine and dandy up until he was 3 or 4 years old. Now normally, families taught their children to pee with the foreskin back (just like you), but my brother had issues in where he couldn't pee because the foreskin closed. So he was circumcised, and when I was born (which was an accident) my mom took precautions and decided to circumcise me to avoid a repeat.
So yeah, I'm part of the crowd, but it's not hygienic crap this time around.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on July 20, 2017, 08:45:19 PMWith all due respect, this is just false.
Nothing in the Constitution prohibits the United States government from using its spending power to create a national healthcare system. Read the rest of the Constitution, the government has an unambiguous authority to tax and spend.
With all due respect, read what I've been saying - that spending powers allow the federal government to encourage state governments to sign up to something that they themselves cannot do.
QuoteNo court in the country is going to find a national health care system unconstitutional.
A specific system, sure, however there's a very narrow band of operation. That the 10th amendment cases against Obamacare were heard all the way up the court chain shows that there clearly is a constitutional tightrope - if it was clear cut, then the cases wouldn't be picked up by appeal courts and the lower courts' judgements sustained.
And that's ignoring the 1st amendment cases against the AHCA that won in the Supreme Court - it was unconstitutional in places (and if not repealed soon, will see other cases against it on these grounds).
Quote from: GaryV on July 20, 2017, 07:09:07 PMActually the metric system WAS based on something concrete.
The meter is some power of 10 fraction of the distance from the equator to the north pole (not some arbitrary scales like the length of some king's arm or thumb).
The massive difference is that the north pole to equator via Paris is a deliberately non-visualisable concept (and as you point out they couldn't even calculate it properly at the time because it was so divorced from reality). Dimensions of regal body parts at least could be compared to things close to hand - people, on average, have nearly 2 arms and nearly 2 feet, and nearly 2 thumbs that are at least reasonably correct. Yes, sure, the king was a big bloke, but someone was needed to be used as a standard for what people have been doing since the dawn of time in using body parts to measure stuff.
When I want to measure, I use a measuring device. When I want to estimate/visualise, I don't. Unless it is a metre where I imagine a metre rule - because that's how abstract it is - we have to have these sticks that are the right length to enable us to comprehend how big a metre actually is, rather than having them just to make sure we get an accurate measure.
The Metric system was made deliberately aloof from the mundane. It was never meant to be practical - it was meant to be calculable. The British experience, whereby we measure things precisely in metric, but most of us estimate in imperial (and convert stuff into imperial to get a better grasp of its size) shows that.
QuoteA hectare (land measurement) is 10000 square meters
I was taught almost entirely in metric growing up, and I was in my late 20s when I knew that and only because I finally got fed up of not having a clue what one was (I still don't really, though I can grasp m^2, km^2 and acres). It's a hect- (a prefix only really used for this that means x10^2) 'are' (a made up term for 100m^2). The reason that these unhelpfully named units exist is because metric needs these psudeo-customary measures because it's deliberately abstract and not designed to give good numbers. BTW - I was about 11 when I could deal with acres (including conversion to m^2).
See also the common French thing of buying "un livre de jambon" (a 500g 'pound' of ham) - a kilo is too much, and cinque cent or demi-kilo is a bit of a mouthful, so they often call it a pound.
The reason customary has odd multipliers is because it wasn't designed as a system, but was a variety of different units, created for different tasks, smooshed together to make a system. You don't need to know that there's 660 feet in a furlong, or 1760 yards in a mile because you will be using one or the other and have little need to convert.
Quote(not like an acre which was the amount of land a team could plow in a day, or something like that).
A task orientated unit and thus tells you useful information about how long it would take to plough. A hectare exists because a sq km is too big for the task and a m^2 too small and they wanted a less clunky name for a hecto-square decametre (you could also call it a square hectometre, but that's not the etymology), so they made up the name 'are' for a square decametre and added the almost never used prefix for 100. See also, with far more success, the litre, which is a cubic decimetre.
QuoteWeights were based on the weight of a cubic centimeter of water.
No they aren't - weights are based on accelerating an object of the mass of 1000 cubic centimetres of water at the rate of 1 metre per second per second.
Masses are based on the mass of a cubic centimetre of water. Neither is useful information most of the time - I guess it's handy to know that a litre of water weighs the same as a kilogram (ie 9.81 Newtons) for stuff, but that's as far as the usefulness goes.
QuoteCalories are how much energy it takes to heat up that cc of water.
Calories are one of those psuedo-customary measures. For years I thought it was imperial, because nutritional information would have kJ and kcal on it under energy. The conversion factor is 4.184, and all food intake talk is in kcal rather than kilojoules because the numbers sound better (same reason that the UK went from describing weather with near exclusive use of Fahrenheit to dual units with preference for C in winter and F in summer to near exclusive use of Celsius without any pressure over the course of 30-40 years - the numbers sound better). Though, when it comes to heating water itself, a task where calories would be perfect, we use kJ/s (ie kilowatts) to describe the capability of such devices.
Also note that it's a kcal - that's because the numbers are more the right scale rather than having tons of zeros - a big problem with the metric system is that the original centimetre-gram system was terrible and, despite the move to metre-kilogram there's a lot of artifacts of the old system.
Quote(what is a BTU based on?)
the amount of heat needed to raise a pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. If you think that's dumb, it's no worse than a kcal being a kilo of water and Celsius. Neither are of any real use!
QuoteEvery unit is somehow linked to other units.
Which is something that we don't particularly need. There are some uses and you typically have to bring in multipliers anyway, like the ~4.2 heat capacity of water. The whole thing about this being amazing is a mountain out of a molehill.
QuoteAnd if you were brought up with the system, you would begin to think in metric.
I was brought up with metric. At best I'm bilingual (I'm certainly fluent in both systems), though instinctively I think in imperial.
It seems like millimeters and grams are used for very small values, even in the United States.
Examples include pencil "lead" thicknesses (usually 0.7mm, but 0.5 and 0.9 also exist), and nutrition labels showing 2g fat, 10g sugar, etc.
Quote from: 1 on July 21, 2017, 10:25:14 AM
It seems like millimeters and grams are used for very small values, even in the United States.
Examples include pencil "lead" thicknesses (usually 0.7mm, but 0.5 and 0.9 also exist), and nutrition labels showing 2g fat, 10g sugar, etc.
Medicine and medical sciences are almost exclusively metric, even in the US, as are many nutritional standards. As for tiny objects/quantities, it's probably because things like "grain" and "dram" have almost no basis outside of the medicinal world in the past half-decade, so the average person has no use for the measurement. Ounces and Inches are kind of assumed to be the smallest measurements of weight and length in the public's mind. But go to an import automobile shop, and speaking about millimeters (with the exception of wheels, tires, and lug nuts) isn't so unusual.
I think folks are also usually crappy at understanding fractions other than quarters and halves, and maybe eighths...ask most people whether 9/64ths is greater or less than 7/32nds, and you'll probably get a blank stare at first, which is also a really good reason to move to metric.
Quote from: 1 on July 21, 2017, 10:25:14 AM
It seems like millimeters and grams are used for very small values, even in the United States.
Examples include pencil "lead" thicknesses (usually 0.7mm, but 0.5 and 0.9 also exist), and nutrition labels showing 2g fat, 10g sugar, etc.
And then we have the mixed up measurements used by EPA, simply because they give a more pleasing number. Vehicle emissions are measured in grams per mile.
It's 2017 and I still can't believe that...
...adam sandler is still allowed to make movies.
Quote from: inkyatari on July 21, 2017, 05:16:28 PM
It's 2017 and I still can't believe that...
...adam sandler is still allowed to make movies.
Sandler will be allowed to make movies as long as the people continue to pay to watch his crap. Same thing with Michael Bay.
Quote from: tribar on July 21, 2017, 05:24:19 PM
Quote from: inkyatari on July 21, 2017, 05:16:28 PM
It's 2017 and I still can't believe that...
...adam sandler is still allowed to make movies.
Sandler will be allowed to make movies as long as the people continue to pay to watch his crap. Same thing with Michael Bay.
Translate into other languages, distribute, wait six months = profit. The theory is that if 10% of the world is impressed by explosions and fart jokes, there's still money to be made.
That's a big reason why a lot of really average and sub-par movies get made, but it's fair to say not everyone is trying to make the next Godfather nor Citizen Kane.
Quote from: 1 on July 21, 2017, 10:25:14 AM
It seems like millimeters and grams are used for very small values, even in the United States.
Examples include pencil "lead" thicknesses (usually 0.7mm, but 0.5 and 0.9 also exist), and nutrition labels showing 2g fat, 10g sugar, etc.
Who cares about lead thickness?
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 21, 2017, 10:43:27 PM
Quote from: 1 on July 21, 2017, 10:25:14 AM
It seems like millimeters and grams are used for very small values, even in the United States.
Examples include pencil "lead" thicknesses (usually 0.7mm, but 0.5 and 0.9 also exist), and nutrition labels showing 2g fat, 10g sugar, etc.
Who cares about lead thickness?
Test reading machines can only read certain thickness of lead.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 21, 2017, 10:43:27 PM
Quote from: 1 on July 21, 2017, 10:25:14 AM
It seems like millimeters and grams are used for very small values, even in the United States.
Examples include pencil "lead" thicknesses (usually 0.7mm, but 0.5 and 0.9 also exist), and nutrition labels showing 2g fat, 10g sugar, etc.
Who cares about lead thickness?
You might care if you buy .9 mm and they don't fit into your .7 mm pencil.
Quote from: english si on July 21, 2017, 08:29:07 AM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on July 20, 2017, 08:45:19 PMWith all due respect, this is just false.
Nothing in the Constitution prohibits the United States government from using its spending power to create a national healthcare system. Read the rest of the Constitution, the government has an unambiguous authority to tax and spend.
With all due respect, read what I've been saying - that spending powers allow the federal government to encourage state governments to sign up to something that they themselves cannot do.
QuoteNo court in the country is going to find a national health care system unconstitutional.
A specific system, sure, however there's a very narrow band of operation. That the 10th amendment cases against Obamacare were heard all the way up the court chain shows that there clearly is a constitutional tightrope - if it was clear cut, then the cases wouldn't be picked up by appeal courts and the lower courts' judgements sustained.
And that's ignoring the 1st amendment cases against the AHCA that won in the Supreme Court - it was unconstitutional in places (and if not repealed soon, will see other cases against it on these grounds).
Note that you're talking about the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, which is the formal name for Obamacare. AHCA is the American Health Care Act, the garbage bill passed by Paul Ryan & co. a few months ago that neither party is all that fond of.
Of course, if the Constitution gets in the way of providing healthcare, we could always just amend the damn thing a 28th time. For that to be viable a concrete plan would need to be proposed that is acceptable to the red states, though–we're not there yet.
If single-payer is to happen in this country, I think a good way of accomplishing it would be for a large, liberal state (by which I mean 'probably California') to take the first step and initiate it for their state only. If it works, other states could sign onto it by interstate compact. At that point, it would be a lesser push to roll it over into a federal program.
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2017, 02:10:50 PM
If single-payer is to happen in this country, I think a good way of accomplishing it would be for a large, liberal state (by which I mean 'probably California') to take the first step and initiate it for their state only. If it works, other states could sign onto it by interstate compact. At that point, it would be a lesser push to roll it over into a federal program.
^^
This is exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind when drafting the Constitution. Let the states govern themselves and become the "laboratories of democracy". States can experiment with laws/programs without having them affect the entire country.
The vast majority of the political problems we have today stem from the fact that the federal government has way too much power, without any meaningful checks. This enables them to enact all this "one-size-fits-all" legislation that costs a ton of $$$ and is very polarizing. This has been going on for about the last 100 years or so (since the enactment of the 16th and 17th amendments, the amendments that established the federal income tax and the direct election of senators respectively) and both parties have played a factor in expanding the federal government.
I'm not advocating a return to the pre-civil war days, but I truly believe the solution to our problems is less federal bureaucracy and having the states play a bigger role in formulating policy (so they can experiment with things such as single-payer health care, free college, tax cuts) and allow them to override the federal government in certain circumstances.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on July 21, 2017, 11:05:31 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on July 21, 2017, 10:43:27 PM
Quote from: 1 on July 21, 2017, 10:25:14 AM
It seems like millimeters and grams are used for very small values, even in the United States.
Examples include pencil "lead" thicknesses (usually 0.7mm, but 0.5 and 0.9 also exist), and nutrition labels showing 2g fat, 10g sugar, etc.
Who cares about lead thickness?
Test reading machines can only read certain thickness of lead.
Should'nt there just be one thickness of lead then?
Quote from: I-39 on July 22, 2017, 02:58:14 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2017, 02:10:50 PM
If single-payer is to happen in this country, I think a good way of accomplishing it would be for a large, liberal state (by which I mean 'probably California') to take the first step and initiate it for their state only. If it works, other states could sign onto it by interstate compact. At that point, it would be a lesser push to roll it over into a federal program.
^^
This is exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind when drafting the Constitution. Let the states govern themselves and become the "laboratories of democracy". States can experiment with laws/programs without having them affect the entire country.
The vast majority of the political problems we have today stem from the fact that the federal government has way too much power, without any meaningful checks. This enables them to enact all this "one-size-fits-all" legislation that costs a ton of $$$ and is very polarizing. This has been going on for about the last 100 years or so (since the enactment of the 16th and 17th amendments, the amendments that established the federal income tax and the direct election of senators respectively) and both parties have played a factor in expanding the federal government.
I'm not advocating a return to the pre-civil war days, but I truly believe the solution to our problems is less federal bureaucracy and having the states play a bigger role in formulating policy (so they can experiment with things such as single-payer health care, free college, tax cuts) and allow them to override the federal government in certain circumstances.
The Founding Fathers recognized the need for a strong central government when they discarded the Articles of Confederation and wrote the Constitution. If the Founding Fathers didn't want a federal government that did anything, they wouldn't have given them the right to regulate interstate commerce or construct post roads or any of the other powers enumerated in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers recognized a role for the federal government in maintaining the general welfare of the nation.
Given the limited revenue streams of a state government, it isn't feasible for 90% of states to experiment with something that expensive. The Founding Fathers recognized the limited abilities of state governments when it enumerated certain powers to the federal government (raising of a military, regulation of interstate commerce....etc.).
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2017, 02:10:50 PM
If single-payer is to happen in this country, I think a good way of accomplishing it would be for a large, liberal state (by which I mean 'probably California') to take the first step and initiate it for their state only. If it works, other states could sign onto it by interstate compact. At that point, it would be a lesser push to roll it over into a federal program.
Unless California secedes first.
And upon saying that...
It's 2017 and I still can't believe that people think they have a right to the goods produced and services rendered by others without appropriate compensation.
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
And, to think, some people believe in a floating check.
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
And, to think, some people believe in a floating check.
See Page 1 Post 23
I live next to one of the most dangerous roads in America according to AAA
...this thread is still alive.
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
And, to think, some people believe in a floating check.
I never want this to change. I do not trust the internet to pay bills. I don't shop online...and don't plan to do so anytime soon. Automatic bill-pay involves granting access to my money to an outside 3rd party so they can take it when they are ready. No thank you. You will get my money when I know I have it to give.
Paying bills online when I have the money to give involves entering my personal information into the internet. Thanks, but no thanks. I am not going to make it easy for someone to steal my identity. I will continue to pay with paper checks, float them to have them arrive at their destinations right on my payday, and the world can kiss my ass.
*Damn I sound like an old man.
Quote from: cjk374 on July 29, 2017, 07:49:25 AM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
And, to think, some people believe in a floating check.
I never want this to change. I do not trust the internet to pay bills. I don't shop online...and don't plan to do so anytime soon. Automatic bill-pay involves granting access to my money to an outside 3rd party so they can take it when they are ready. No thank you. You will get my money when I know I have it to give.
Paying bills online when I have the money to give involves entering my personal information into the internet. Thanks, but no thanks. I am not going to make it easy for someone to steal my identity. I will continue to pay with paper checks, float them to have them arrive at their destinations right on my payday, and the world can kiss my ass.
*Damn I sound like an old man.
You could always use giftcards
Quote from: The Nature Boy on July 28, 2017, 09:30:32 PM
Quote from: I-39 on July 22, 2017, 02:58:14 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 22, 2017, 02:10:50 PM
If single-payer is to happen in this country, I think a good way of accomplishing it would be for a large, liberal state (by which I mean 'probably California') to take the first step and initiate it for their state only. If it works, other states could sign onto it by interstate compact. At that point, it would be a lesser push to roll it over into a federal program.
^^
This is exactly what the Founding Fathers had in mind when drafting the Constitution. Let the states govern themselves and become the "laboratories of democracy". States can experiment with laws/programs without having them affect the entire country.
The vast majority of the political problems we have today stem from the fact that the federal government has way too much power, without any meaningful checks. This enables them to enact all this "one-size-fits-all" legislation that costs a ton of $$$ and is very polarizing. This has been going on for about the last 100 years or so (since the enactment of the 16th and 17th amendments, the amendments that established the federal income tax and the direct election of senators respectively) and both parties have played a factor in expanding the federal government.
I'm not advocating a return to the pre-civil war days, but I truly believe the solution to our problems is less federal bureaucracy and having the states play a bigger role in formulating policy (so they can experiment with things such as single-payer health care, free college, tax cuts) and allow them to override the federal government in certain circumstances.
The Founding Fathers recognized the need for a strong central government when they discarded the Articles of Confederation and wrote the Constitution. If the Founding Fathers didn't want a federal government that did anything, they wouldn't have given them the right to regulate interstate commerce or construct post roads or any of the other powers enumerated in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers recognized a role for the federal government in maintaining the general welfare of the nation.
Given the limited revenue streams of a state government, it isn't feasible for 90% of states to experiment with something that expensive. The Founding Fathers recognized the limited abilities of state governments when it enumerated certain powers to the federal government (raising of a military, regulation of interstate commerce....etc.).
The Founding Fathers did not intend for the federal government to grow to the size it is now and to micromanage everything. Indeed they wanted a stronger central government for better organization and unity between the states, but they would be appalled at what it has become. Notice they still put safeguards in place that gave states a check on federal power, such as the lack of an income tax and allowing state legislatures electing senators instead of via a popular vote (the way it should be). Both were eliminated by the 16th and 17th amendments respectively, which began the slow erosion of federalism.
It appears you missed the point of what I was saying. My point was there needs to be a better balance between state and federal government and one should not micromanage the other. Yes, federal law should still be supreme and there are times when they need to act to help the nation, but states need to have meaningful checks on federal power and have the ability to override the federal government if necessary (via an amendment to the Constitution that would allow 2/3rds of states to repeal/vacate any federal law/executive order/regulation/supreme court decision, etc, which even if that existed, would not be used very often as it would be very difficult for 2/3rds of the states to agree on something to repeal/vacate). We cannot continue to have all this "one-size-fits-all" legislation being passed out of Washington and we cannot rely on Congress for everything. States should have the flexibility to experiment with certain things (such as single payer health care, free college) without having it affect the rest of the nation.
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
If the plumber comes to my house to fix a leak and wants payment right away, how else am I going to pay him if I don't have that much cash on me? And if, say, a co-worker in another location is taking up an order for T-shirts and I need to send her the money, how else do you suggest I do so if said co-worker doesn't have PayPal?
Quote from: cjk374 on July 29, 2017, 07:49:25 AM
I never want this to change. I do not trust the internet to pay bills. I don't shop online...and don't plan to do so anytime soon. Automatic bill-pay involves granting access to my money to an outside 3rd party so they can take it when they are ready. No thank you. You will get my money when I know I have it to give.
Paying bills online when I have the money to give involves entering my personal information into the internet. Thanks, but no thanks. I am not going to make it easy for someone to steal my identity. I will continue to pay with paper checks, float them to have them arrive at their destinations right on my payday, and the world can kiss my ass.
I'm not that paranoid about identity theft. Your personal information is stored so many places anyway that if hackers are THAT determined, they'll get the info.
I pay a lot of bills online, but I have a couple for which that is not an option. If I look through my check register, I see a lot of debit card transactions and a lot of online bill payments, but there are a couple of recurring check payments that I make each month. One has to be mailed; the other can be placed in a drop box in my town.
Automatic payments are inflexible, especially when your payday isn't consistent. We're supposed to be paid on the 15th and 30th of each month, but that get moves around depending on weekends and holidays. And the state legislature has employed a budget-balancing trick the last few years that involves the last paycheck in June actually not arriving until July. This year, June 30 was on a Friday, so that paycheck was not delivered until Monday, July 3. That caused problems for anyone who had an automatic payment set to deduct on July 1. (In actuality, most people with direct deposit got their money on the 30th, but for those who still get paper checks, they could not get them until July 3.)
I like having control of when the money leaves my account, so I typically schedule online payments manually.
Quote from: Nanis on July 29, 2017, 09:49:18 AM
You could always use giftcards
Tow truck driver: "That will be $120 for the roadside service call."
Nanis: "Here, take these gift cards."
Tow truck driver: (smacks Nanis across the forehead with a tire tool) :pan: :pan:
I'm sure cjk's electric company, water company, cable company, cell phone provider, etc., would be happy to have a Walmart or iTunes or Cracker Barrel gift card in payment for services rendered, instead of money.
Checks, money, etc.
Identity theft is 99% BS. Fact is good old time legal protections such as the requirement for a signature and a notarized signature still work. Really, you just need to be smart, if you have money you are not using, keep it in a separate account. Your functioning monthly pay the bills checking account needs to have only a small cushion above what you will pay out. Also you should check any account like a retirement or 401(k) every month just to make sure no one has gained access to it.
The only time I write a check is something like a home repair man. I pay all bills online. My bank will, at no cost to me, generate a paper check and mail it to any vendor not sophisticated enough to take their electronic funds transfer. There are two ways to pay online. One is via every vendor's website, which is authorizing each to take money out of your account. Nope. The other is to have the vendor mail you a paper bill and then pay it via your bank's website. This is the bet method. Never allow anyone to withdraw from your account. If, say, the water company screws up and says you used a gazillion gallons and owe $10s of 1000, they will, or at least try to, drain (no pun intended) your account. Make them mail you a bill and if it seems wrong, you still have your money and can talk to them about it. The only exception I make is to my car insurance, which gives me 5% off for letting it take money straight from my account. This is a once every 6 months deal and they e-mail me twice beforehand. (This is probably because my state forces car insurance companies do all sorts of certified mail if you are even one day late on a payment, so it saves them money._
Actually receiving a check is almost a burden to me. The only checks I get are refunds of small amounts from like a deductible at the doctor. It is a PITA to go to the bank to deposit a check for less than $10 or so.
However, the very rude people, IMHO, that write checks at retail checkouts. Every bank I know of will give any customer a debit card, and most people can get a real credit card. It is rude to make other wait.
Quote from: SP Cook on July 29, 2017, 01:29:35 PM
It is a PITA to go to the bank to deposit a check for less than $10 or so.
My bank has an app for my phone that allows me to deposit checks by taking a picture of the front and back. It's really handy for cases like that–last time I got a check was for my birthday (from my grandparents, no less) and I didn't even have to get out of my chair to deposit it. You simply shred/destroy the check once it clears.
Even small businesses like handy men and food trucks can use the square.. Etc
I prefer 1 time payments online instead of automatic payments. I had my previous employer who shorted me almost $900.. Automatic payment for gym and netflix were paid.. But i was charged 35 overdraft fees for each one. So that 10 for netflix became 45.. BoA will gladly charge me a fee if to "help"
Its good to have a prepaid visa mastercard or amex to pay bills.. They dont have access to full checking account.. You putwhat is needed for bills in there. If its not available it declines
LGMS428
Quote from: cjk374 on July 29, 2017, 07:49:25 AM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
And, to think, some people believe in a floating check.
I never want this to change. I do not trust the internet to pay bills. I don't shop online...and don't plan to do so anytime soon. Automatic bill-pay involves granting access to my money to an outside 3rd party so they can take it when they are ready. No thank you. You will get my money when I know I have it to give.
Paying bills online when I have the money to give involves entering my personal information into the internet. Thanks, but no thanks. I am not going to make it easy for someone to steal my identity. I will continue to pay with paper checks, float them to have them arrive at their destinations right on my payday, and the world can kiss my ass.
*Damn I sound like an old man.
Your check book could be stolen...
Most merchants convert personal checks to electronic payment anyway.
Or you can take out cash to pay bills.. Get held up at gun point and have everything stolen.. Last week in Orlando the news was saying to watch yourself leaving banks.. People were being followed after making withdrawals.. Thief would rob them at their next stop..
There are risks with everything
LGMS428
Quote from: hbelkins on July 29, 2017, 12:57:12 PM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
If the plumber comes to my house to fix a leak and wants payment right away, how else am I going to pay him if I don't have that much cash on me? And if, say, a co-worker in another location is taking up an order for T-shirts and I need to send her the money, how else do you suggest I do so if said co-worker doesn't have PayPal?
Electronic transfer via PopMoney.
Quote from: cjk374 on July 29, 2017, 07:49:25 AM
I will continue to pay with paper checks, float them to have them arrive at their destinations right on my payday, and the world can kiss my ass.
*Damn I sound like an old man.
Your checks include some personal identifiable information, including name and address in the top-left corner, and routing number and account number at the bottom. There are more insecure than entering in the account information online using an encrypted form.
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 04:16:20 PM
Quote from: cjk374 on July 29, 2017, 07:49:25 AM
I will continue to pay with paper checks, float them to have them arrive at their destinations right on my payday, and the world can kiss my ass.
*Damn I sound like an old man.
Your checks include some personal identifiable information, including name and address in the top-left corner, and routing number and account number at the bottom. There are more insecure than entering in the account information online using an encrypted form.
If someone came up with the idea of a check today, it would be thought of the world's dumbest scam. It's like saying "Hey, let's create a piece of paper on which you'll put all of your personal identification. Then, we'll put your bank account information on it. Then, when you need to use it, write an amount on there in such a way that someone could modify that amount, give it to someone you don't know, and let it pass by numerous people between the cashier and the bank.
For added measure, not only is your banking account on it, but if you're paying a bill, write in the account number of the bill your paying too, so now the check contains the payee and that account number as well.
It is laughably the world's most unsecure document. Trusted by millions.
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on July 29, 2017, 02:28:35 PM
My bank has an app for my phone that allows me to deposit checks by taking a picture of the front and back. It's really handy for cases like that—last time I got a check was for my birthday (from my grandparents, no less) and I didn't even have to get out of my chair to deposit it. You simply shred/destroy the check once it clears.
My bank has that, but they charge for it, so I pass on it. Their newer ATMs can scan a check but their older ones require an envelope. I have trouble remembering which outlet has which. The only time I ever go to the actual inside of the bank is to get cash to take on a gambling trip, or to put something in the safety deposit box. If someone could develop a cost free way for ordinary people to take cash to casinos, it would be a good thing. I carry cash now, which is dumb, I know. I used to use traveler's checks, but they look at you like you have an extra head when you ask about them now. Casino credit, AKA markers, are for people above my level.
Quote from: SP Cook on July 29, 2017, 04:43:55 PM
I carry cash now, which is dumb, I know.
There's nothing wrong with carrying cash.
Quote from: SP Cook on July 29, 2017, 04:43:55 PM
My bank has that, but they charge for it, so I pass on it.
Odd, it's free with mine. Maybe time to find a different bank?
Quote from: hbelkins on July 29, 2017, 12:57:12 PM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
If the plumber comes to my house to fix a leak and wants payment right away, how else am I going to pay him if I don't have that much cash on me?
Most home services now have a gizmo to plug into a phone to be able to charge to a credit card.
I use online bill pay through my bank for most things. As a rule, I don't give companies direct access to my account. There are a couple exceptions - notably Verizon (which they require for only having one service) and E-ZPass (to get the tag deposit refunded, and because it makes roadtrips easier), and they both go to a credit card, not my bank account.
I use checks for a few things, though it's occurred to me that the vast majority of those are either in place of withdrawal slips when I get my quarters (then I can just walk into the bank instead of taking time to fill in my account information, plus it allows me to or could be done by credit card if I really wanted to.
Depositing checks by phone sounds convenient, but what do you do with the check afterwards? You can't just put something with someone's bank account info in the recycle bin, and I don't own a shredder.
Quote from: I-39 on July 29, 2017, 10:17:33 AM
Notice they still put safeguards in place that gave states a check on federal power, such as the lack of an income tax and allowing state legislatures electing senators instead of via a popular vote (the way it should be).
But don't senators still represent their states since they're elected by only people from within those states, not anyone outside of the state?
Quote from: vdeane on July 29, 2017, 06:14:49 PM
But don't senators still represent their states since they're elected by only people from within those states, not anyone outside of the state?
The original intent of the Senate was not to represent the people per say, but to represent the state governments in Congress to balance out the directly elected House of Representatives. Hence, why senators, until 1914, were chosen by the state legislature and not directly elected. The senators voted however the states wanted them to, otherwise they would get recalled. This allowed for the Senate to block legislation that took power away from the states. It is no coincidence that a lot of the legislation that expanded the federal government to where it is today was enacted after the 17th amendment.
Quote
Depositing checks by phone sounds convenient, but what do you do with the check afterwards? You can't just put something with someone's bank account info in the recycle bin, and I don't own a shredder.
You're supposed to write Deposit and the date on it. Wait a few weeks to make sure there's no issues, then do with it whatever you want. You can cut it up and put different pieces in different trash bags if you're concerned about privacy.
Quote from: 1 on July 29, 2017, 04:53:22 PM
There's nothing wrong with carrying cash.
The reason it is dangerous to carry cash in the scenario I described is that cash is a bearer note. The FAA denies me my Second Amendment rights, and leaving that aside you can just lose cash in all of the hassle of the TSA's ruse or just accidentally.
Other than going to the casinos, I usually carry maybe $200. And a 9mm.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 29, 2017, 01:01:08 PM
Quote from: Nanis on July 29, 2017, 09:49:18 AM
You could always use giftcards
Tow truck driver: "That will be $120 for the roadside service call."
Nanis: "Here, take these gift cards."
Tow truck driver: (smacks Nanis across the forehead with a tire tool) :pan: :pan:
I'm sure cjk's electric company, water company, cable company, cell phone provider, etc., would be happy to have a Walmart or iTunes or Cracker Barrel gift card in payment for services rendered, instead of money.
I honeslty thought he was talking about buying stuff online.
Quote from: GaryV on July 29, 2017, 05:13:30 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on July 29, 2017, 12:57:12 PM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
If the plumber comes to my house to fix a leak and wants payment right away, how else am I going to pay him if I don't have that much cash on me?
Most home services now have a gizmo to plug into a phone to be able to charge to a credit card.
And those are useless in the vast areas of rural America where there is no cell service.
Quote from: hbelkins on July 29, 2017, 12:57:12 PM
Quote from: ZLoth on July 29, 2017, 01:00:21 AM
It's 2017, and yet checks are still used as a payment method.
If the plumber comes to my house to fix a leak and wants payment right away, how else am I going to pay him if I don't have that much cash on me?
Easy. You must give them your first-born son as an apprentice for a proportional amount of time.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on July 29, 2017, 08:05:25 PM
Quote
Depositing checks by phone sounds convenient, but what do you do with the check afterwards? You can't just put something with someone's bank account info in the recycle bin, and I don't own a shredder.
You're supposed to write Deposit and the date on it. Wait a few weeks to make sure there's no issues, then do with it whatever you want. You can cut it up and put different pieces in different trash bags if you're concerned about privacy.
Or light it on fire!
LGMS428
Quote from: jwolfer on August 04, 2017, 05:53:34 PM
Quote from: jeffandnicole on July 29, 2017, 08:05:25 PM
Quote
Depositing checks by phone sounds convenient, but what do you do with the check afterwards? You can't just put something with someone's bank account info in the recycle bin, and I don't own a shredder.
You're supposed to write Deposit and the date on it. Wait a few weeks to make sure there's no issues, then do with it whatever you want. You can cut it up and put different pieces in different trash bags if you're concerned about privacy.
Or light it on fire!
LGMS428
Or pay with goats! :D
-There are still cloverleaf interchanges here in Mass. They always back up and create headaches.
-The Mass Pike still only has a set number of interchanges.
-I-495 hasn't been extended to the Bourne Bridge.
-676 still has a traffic light on it in Phila.
That there is STILL hope for the Alan. :clap: :bigass:
Quote from: cjk374 on August 06, 2017, 10:02:32 AM
That there is STILL hope for the Alan. :clap: :bigass:
The Alan IS hope.
...Fairfax County still has an unpaved portion of state road left. (Kincheloe Rd, from Old Yates Ford Rd to Kincheloe Park near Clifton.)
I somtimes have slow internet.
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 06, 2017, 10:14:37 PM
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Consider yourself lucky
Cell phone service is a luxury in half of Maine, which baffles a lot of people.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 06, 2017, 10:16:00 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 06, 2017, 10:14:37 PM
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Consider yourself lucky
Cell phone service is a luxury in half of Maine, which baffles a lot of people.
Moose don't have cellphones.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 07, 2017, 03:36:16 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 06, 2017, 10:16:00 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 06, 2017, 10:14:37 PM
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Consider yourself lucky
Cell phone service is a luxury in half of Maine, which baffles a lot of people.
Moose don't have cellphones.
Caribou (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribou,_Maine) and moose are not the same thing. However, caribou and reindeer are.
Mind you moose bites kan be pretti nasti.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 07, 2017, 03:36:16 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 06, 2017, 10:16:00 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 06, 2017, 10:14:37 PM
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Consider yourself lucky
Cell phone service is a luxury in half of Maine, which baffles a lot of people.
Moose don't have cellphones.
I'll relay that to my friends in Northern and Downeast Maine. Verizon is practically useless north of Bangor.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 07, 2017, 06:03:02 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 07, 2017, 03:36:16 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 06, 2017, 10:16:00 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 06, 2017, 10:14:37 PM
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Consider yourself lucky
Cell phone service is a luxury in half of Maine, which baffles a lot of people.
Moose don't have cellphones.
I'll relay that to my friends in Northern and Downeast Maine. Verizon is practically useless north of Bangor.
You can be friends with animals.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 07, 2017, 08:11:39 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 07, 2017, 06:03:02 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 07, 2017, 03:36:16 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 06, 2017, 10:16:00 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 06, 2017, 10:14:37 PM
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Consider yourself lucky
Cell phone service is a luxury in half of Maine, which baffles a lot of people.
Moose don't have cellphones.
I'll relay that to my friends in Northern and Downeast Maine. Verizon is practically useless north of Bangor.
You can be friends with animals.
Friends of yours?: https://www.google.com/search?q=grizzly+adams+cast&client=ms-android-att-us&prmd=ivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiexcPVscbVAhXs54MKHfIvA7AQ_AUICigB&biw=360&bih=559#imgrc=FggnlFBHipvqQM:
:bigass: :hmmm:
Fax Machines are still commonly used
... that Labor Day is in September instead of May 1st (The true Labor Day, as observed in the rest of the World).
Quote from: CNGL-Leudimin on August 10, 2017, 03:32:32 PM
... that Labor Day is in September instead of May 1st (The true Labor Day, as observed in the rest of the World).
It's precisely because May 1st was the true Labor Day as observed in the former eastern block countries that the United States labor day had to be a different day. U.S. labor did not want to be associated with communism.
...that the Grand Unified Alan has not returned.
Quote from: noelbotevera on August 10, 2017, 07:44:18 PM
...that the Grand Unified Alan has not returned.
He took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
Quote from: inkyatari on August 07, 2017, 04:07:44 PM
Mind you moose bites kan be pretti nasti.
Just so you know, this made me laugh, like hard, and I have absolutely no idea why.
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 07, 2017, 06:03:02 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on August 07, 2017, 03:36:16 PM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on August 06, 2017, 10:16:00 PM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on August 06, 2017, 10:14:37 PM
There are spots in my town (especially inside Stop & Shop) where cell phone calls get dropped.
Consider yourself lucky
Cell phone service is a luxury in half of Maine, which baffles a lot of people.
Moose don't have cellphones.
I'll relay that to my friends in Northern and Downeast Maine. Verizon is practically useless north of Bangor.
Yeah, but it was pretty cool when I was in West Quoddy State Park and my phone switched to Atlantic Time.
That banks still charge maintenance fees sometimes for checking accounts.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2017, 05:47:49 PM
That banks still charge maintenance fees sometimes for checking accounts.
I agree. Way too many banks out there now that don't charge maintenance fees to be choosing a bank that does charge fees.
Mmmm..... try financial institutions instead of banks. :)
And, the feeling that I get from some of those financial institutions is that they will find a way to charge a fee for anything, including a fee for having multiple fees being applied. I tend to stay away from the megabanks of America and conduct my business with a local credit union. And, yes, I am aware that that there are some credit unions that are as bad as banks. :banghead:
Quote from: cjk374 on August 12, 2017, 07:20:39 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on August 12, 2017, 05:47:49 PM
That banks still charge maintenance fees sometimes for checking accounts.
I agree. Way too many banks out there now that don't charge maintenance fees to be choosing a bank that does charge fees.
I have a savings in a local credit union, but for everything else, I have a cash management account with Fidelity. Best decision I ever made. THey charge no fees, not even overdrafts, and you get ATM fees refunded, and a minuscule amount of interest. You can open one with as little as a penny, and there's no minimum balance.
It's 2017 and I still can't believe that white supremacists think they can sound remotely sane in a modern political climate.
...there are more bank branches being built now despite all the hoopla regarding on-line banking.
Quote from: PHLBOS on August 14, 2017, 03:03:53 PM
...there are more bank branches being built now despite all the hoopla regarding on-line banking.
My brother's roommate used to be a head teller at a bank that shall remain nameless. He talked about how they were supposed to upsell online banking to customers. So they were being graded on how well they were making themselves obsolete.
Quote from: Takumi on August 14, 2017, 03:06:53 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on August 14, 2017, 03:03:53 PM
...there are more bank branches being built now despite all the hoopla regarding on-line banking.
My brother's roommate used to be a head teller at a bank that shall remain nameless. He talked about how they were supposed to upsell online banking to customers. So they were being graded on how well they were making themselves obsolete.
My brother once asked a bank teller why some many bank branches are still being built in the wake of on-line banking and all he got was a blank stare.
Until you can get quarters online without any kind of fees or laundry machines start accepting credit cards, there will be a need for physical bank branches.
Or as long as businesses in general take cash period.
One time I needed to get some quarters from a dollar bill, so i popped into a bank in a strip mall. They asked me if I had an account there, I said no, so they refused to break the dollar for me. When did a financial institution become a frickin' country club??? It's not like I was asking to break a phony C-Note. I told them to F-off!!!
And then they wonder why everyone hates banks.
Quote from: vdeane on July 29, 2017, 06:14:49 PM
Depositing checks by phone sounds convenient, but what do you do with the check afterwards? You can't just put something with someone's bank account info in the recycle bin, and I don't own a shredder.
You could wait a week or so to be sure all's well, then take the check to a party store or check cashing outfit and cash it again. (Note: I'M KIDDING.) I'm in payroll and have to deal with the fallout when employees pull that stunt with paychecks (because the check will bounce when it tries to clear a second time, and then I have the party store owner on the phone yelling at me). Yeah, I know we're not legally liable, but it's a pain in the ass. Mobile deposit has got to be the stupidest concept the banking industry ever dreamed up. They knew about the potential fraud, but ignored it because it was just another way to look COOL and rake in millions more in fees.
Quote from: english si on July 20, 2017, 12:42:40 PM
Quote from: formulanone on July 20, 2017, 07:30:56 AMTo be fair, your area of the world put the Prime Meridian over your land(s), declared a Western and Eastern Civilization, a Middle East, Far East, and a Down Under with respect to your location.
Perspective.
Or, in other words, it's a totally and utterly meaningless descriptor and shouldn't be used? That's exactly my point!
Quote from: paulthemapguy on July 20, 2017, 11:38:48 AMFind the part of the Constitution, then, that allows governing bodies to establish speed limits! Oh it's not in there, I guess we should take all the speed limit signs down.
The 10th amendment allows governing bodies (the states or the people) to establish speed limits, etc: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by states, are reserved to the states respectively or to the people."
However it is these exact same words that prohibit the federal government from doing anything but which they have the specific authority to do so - the feds cannot establish speed limits and this was hbelkins' point re:healthcare.
The NMSL got around the 10th amendment by not being a federally mandated maximum, but a ban on federal roads money to states that didn't have a max speed limit of 55mph. The drinking age of 21 has similar (and yes, it's highways money) and South Dakota v. Dole (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Dakota_v._Dole) resolved that the Federal Government can, via the spending clause, penalise states in such a way.
QuoteThe Constitution has nothing to do with it
lmao
If it involves the federal government, the Constitution has everything to do with it - it's the rules that both give the feds the authority to do things, and the rules that tell them what they can't do.
A bit late in the reply to this, but my read on Federalism in the USA's Constitution is that the individual states can do whatever they want in the area of provision of 'health care' services, going as far as creating a full clone of the NHS if they so desire. This is part of the USA's federal system the has often been referred to as the 'laboratory of the states'. A couple of states (namely California and Vermont, opposite ends of the population scale) have very seriously looked into setting up at least state-run 'single-payer' health schemes in very recent years, but both have ultimately rejected them in that they estimated that there was simply no way that they could physically bring in enough in-state tax revenue to pay for them.
Also, until they were blown up a few years ago by what I call the 'Unaffordable Care Act', my home State of Wisconsin had very successful and well-run in-state health plans for the both lower end crowd who couldn't otherwise afford private plans (called 'Badgercare') and a 'high risk' pool for those who were rejected for service by the private insurers due to pre-existing conditions.
BTW, I note, too, that while watching Premier League games on the 'Tele' here over the past few seasons, I am frequently seeing ribbon-board ads for private health insurance plans aimed at the UK domestic market.
Mike
. . . that fútbol in North America is not yet organized into a promotion and relegation federation.
Mike
... that people use unnecesary loanwords. It's football, and more specifically association football (as opposed to gridiron, i.e. "American", football as it came to mean in the USA). Futbol is actually a adaptation into Spanish of "football".
That people still see a future in soccer in the USA. The sport of the next generation, three generations and counting.
As to the use of "loan words" , it is, like ,most soccer marketing in the USA, an affectation. Thus "Real Salt Lake" (useing the Spanish for "Royal" meaning "under the patronage of the king of Spain" for a place that was never (really, yes some Spanish guy drew a line on an inaccurate map, but nobody told the Utes about it) part of Spain; Houston Dynamo (the Commies used to play pretend that the teams were made up of workers in various industries, thus Moscos Dymamo, meaning "power plant workers", it actually was the KGB's team; Atlanta and DC "United", coming from Manchester United so named as to overcome sectarianism in that town, a concept having no application in 21st century America; and my personal favorite, Sporting Kansas City, apeing Sporting Lisbon, so named 100 years ago to give an English air to the team. That's right, an affectation of an affectation.
There's enough interest in soccer in the USA to keep it going, it's just always going to be a minor sport. It's not going to replace (American) football or baseball etc.
Quote from: vdeane on August 14, 2017, 09:02:53 PM
Until you can get quarters online without any kind of fees or laundry machines start accepting credit cards, there will be a need for physical bank branches.
There's these certain rectangular pieces of green paper that can be used at any change machine located at laundromats, car washes, etc. to get quarters (notice that I did not mention banks); maybe you've heard of it...
cash. :sombrero:
It's not butter.
Quote from: kkt on August 15, 2017, 01:19:20 PM
There's enough interest in soccer in the USA to keep it going, it's just always going to be a minor sport. It's not going to replace (American) football or baseball etc.
Shhhh. Don't tell that to the fanatics who think it'll be a really big sport here (or Canada or Australia or anywhere except much of Europe and South America).
Quote from: Brandon on August 15, 2017, 02:03:06 PM
Quote from: kkt on August 15, 2017, 01:19:20 PM
There's enough interest in soccer in the USA to keep it going, it's just always going to be a minor sport. It's not going to replace (American) football or baseball etc.
Shhhh. Don't tell that to the fanatics who think it'll be a really big sport here (or Canada or Australia or anywhere except much of Europe and South America).
It might take another 50 years for it to happen...one day it may join the Big Four Sports, but even then, it's only likely to be big in larger cities with a burgeoning immigrant population, and less so in rural areas (if at all). But it won't replace American Football any time soon...the irony is that soccer isn't the greatest threat to football, but that gently fading interest of NFL/NCAA/HS football coupled with long-term injury fears might relegate out of peak popularity after a few decades. But that sea change hasn't really set in, and it may never happen because every sport has physical risks involved. If parents are less interested in getting their kids to play it, we'll see less players try out, and that has a long-term effect in any sport. I don't think we'll see it completely disappear in my lifetime, but nothing is permanent.
After all, the NFL was a bit of a niche sport compared to baseball and college football, until nationwide broadcasting (1970 or so?) helped it become dominant; we're seeing a decline in the viewership of almost all sports, so it averages out.
Quote from: SP Cook on August 15, 2017, 08:57:39 AMHouston Dynamo (the Commies used to play pretend that the teams were made up of workers in various industries, thus Moscos Dymamo, meaning "power plant workers", it actually was the KGB's team
I believe Dynamo Kiev is the inspiration for Houston Dynamo's name, though they are using an English word order.
'United' almost certainly is Man U, but Atlanta, DC and Minnesota could have taken their name from various other teams - it's a pretty common suffix, like 'Town' and 'City' or even Wanderers (the first team to win the FA Cup were 'Wanderers', so Bolton, Wolverhampton and Wycombe have it in their name). These suffixes generally aren't used unless there's a clash (only Manchester, Bristol, one of the two Sheffield teams have it) or if it's a nickname (which could be what is going on in Sheffield with Wednesday) and thus used like Leicester are called the Foxes, Wolverhampton the Wolves, Arsenal the Gunners, Swansea the Swans, West Ham the Hammers, Southampton the Saints, etc.
What is interesting is that English County Twenty20 cricket league saw all (except Surrey) of the long (like pre-1900) established county teams pick up American-style nicknames for their teams, despite it making little sense (many have since dropped them, and Yorkshire is on their third name now - though I'd imagine 'Yorkshire Vikings' would stick) - Warwickshire went all in, and the Warwickshire Bears (after the county's emblem) became the Birmingham Bears for alliteration sake. Rugby League did similar, though there wasn't quite the take up, but more have kept their names and there was even Halifax Blue Sox!
However moves to rename soccer clubs in the same way has gone down badly: both Hull City AFC (nicknamed the Tigers) as Hull Tigers, and Cardiff City FC (nicknamed the Bluebirds after the blue bird on their logo, and the blue kit) as Cardiff Dragons (swapping home and away kits so that red, rather than blue, was the main one - to gain support in East Asia) were very opposed by fans and ultimately dropped, though some red and a dragon (legit as Wales) got put on the badge of Cardiff.
Quote from: Brandon on August 15, 2017, 02:03:06 PMShhhh. Don't tell that to the fanatics who think it'll be a really big sport here (or Canada or Australia or anywhere except much of Europe and South America).
Soccer is a big-enough sport in Australia. It's no less a major sport than soccer in Ireland (where Gaelic football rules, and Rugby comes close second). Arguably soccer down under (not New Zealand, of course) is as popular as rugger.
Quote from: MNHighwayMan on August 11, 2017, 10:50:06 AM
Quote from: freebrickproductions on August 10, 2017, 08:15:20 PM
Quote from: noelbotevera on August 10, 2017, 07:44:18 PM
...that the Grand Unified Alan has not returned.
He took a wrong turn at Albuquerque.
But it was a right turn.
But if the Grand Unified Alan has not returned, does that mean the rulers of the Perkins Union and Nimbya have and haven't returned?
Quote from: PHLBOS on August 15, 2017, 01:38:15 PM
Quote from: vdeane on August 14, 2017, 09:02:53 PM
Until you can get quarters online without any kind of fees or laundry machines start accepting credit cards, there will be a need for physical bank branches.
There's these certain rectangular pieces of green paper that can be used at any change machine located at laundromats, car washes, etc. to get quarters (notice that I did not mention banks); maybe you've heard of it... cash. :sombrero:
My apartment complex does not have a change machine and I've never seen any that does. Never been to a laundromat in my life. Plus, my cash tends to be limited to a $20 and a $10 (total $30) since I hardly use it because I find dealing with bills and coins to be inconvenient. I really only keep some around in case I find myself somewhere that doesn't take anything else, and when I need to use it, I top it off and straighten out the bill distribution (I'm pretty anal about it). Pretty anal about the quarters too - I like to keep the number of quarters I have to a multiple of 4 so that I'll end a roll evenly once every three weeks. I do have an extra right now, but only because I'm saving it in the hopes of finding a US Virgin Islands territory quarter to complete my collection (I've never seen one for some reason... starting to think that they're mythical).
Quote from: vdeane on August 15, 2017, 08:15:05 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on August 15, 2017, 01:38:15 PM
Quote from: vdeane on August 14, 2017, 09:02:53 PM
Until you can get quarters online without any kind of fees or laundry machines start accepting credit cards, there will be a need for physical bank branches.
There's these certain rectangular pieces of green paper that can be used at any change machine located at laundromats, car washes, etc. to get quarters (notice that I did not mention banks); maybe you've heard of it... cash. :sombrero:
My apartment complex does not have a change machine and I've never seen any that does.
Neither does mine. I usually get my quarters from either a laundromat up the road or at a self-serve car-wash that's also nearby. Side bar: another laundromat near me uses tokens rather than quarters; so not all laundromats are created equal I grant you.
Quote from: vdeane on August 14, 2017, 09:02:53 PMNever been to a laundromat in my life. Plus, my cash tends to be limited to a $20 and a $10 (total $30) since I hardly use it because I find dealing with bills and coins to be inconvenient.
Dealing with coins, I can see due to their weight; but with bills, I have to disagree. Having seen my father get into such ridiculous credit-card debt while growing up; I try to only use credit cards for large expenses and/or emergencies. It has been proven that many get into credit card debt by continually using them for small-ticket items.
Anyway, regarding your original post regarding the need for brick-and-mortar banks: my original post that you replied to was commenting on the
increasing number of banks despite the increasing push for on-line banking. I agree with you in principle that brick-and-mortar banks will still be needed; but does one really need more bank branches w/offices (I'm not referring to stand-alone ATMs)?
Quote from: PHLBOS on August 16, 2017, 09:26:52 AM
Quote from: vdeane on August 15, 2017, 08:15:05 PM
Quote from: PHLBOS on August 15, 2017, 01:38:15 PM
Quote from: vdeane on August 14, 2017, 09:02:53 PM
Until you can get quarters online without any kind of fees or laundry machines start accepting credit cards, there will be a need for physical bank branches.
There's these certain rectangular pieces of green paper that can be used at any change machine located at laundromats, car washes, etc. to get quarters (notice that I did not mention banks); maybe you've heard of it... cash. :sombrero:
My apartment complex does not have a change machine and I've never seen any that does.
Neither does mine. I usually get my quarters from either a laundromat up the road or at a self-serve car-wash that's also nearby. Side bar: another laundromat near me uses tokens rather than quarters; so not all laundromats are created equal I grant you.
Quote from: vdeane on August 14, 2017, 09:02:53 PMNever been to a laundromat in my life. Plus, my cash tends to be limited to a $20 and a $10 (total $30) since I hardly use it because I find dealing with bills and coins to be inconvenient.
Dealing with coins, I can see due to their weight; but with bills, I have to disagree. Having seen my father get into such ridiculous credit-card debt while growing up; I try to only use credit cards for large expenses and/or emergencies. It has been proven that many get into credit card debt by continually using them for small-ticket items.
Anyway, regarding your original post regarding the need for brick-and-mortar banks: my original post that you replied to was commenting on the increasing number of banks despite the increasing push for on-line banking. I agree with you in principle that brick-and-mortar banks will still be needed; but does one really need more bank branches w/offices (I'm not referring to stand-alone ATMs)?
Not sure if this is company-wide, but the Wells Fargo Banks in my area were all overbuilt: Most Drive Up Tellers have 6-10 lanes while the interior walk up tellers have no less than 10-12 stations.
Quote from: thenetwork on August 16, 2017, 10:06:27 AMNot sure if this is company-wide, but the Wells Fargo Banks in my area were all overbuilt: Most Drive Up Tellers have 6-10 lanes while the interior walk up tellers have no less than 10-12 stations.
Off-topic side-bar (& would become a politically-heated debate on its own): I'm surprised that environmental & anti-car activists haven't crusaded against drive-up windows at banks, fast-food places, etc. yet. Given the amount of pollution & wasted gas (from idling); one would think that such would be an easy target.
...that stores still utilize mail-in rebates. :banghead:
Quote from: SSOWorld on August 16, 2017, 07:01:48 PM
...that stores still utilize mail-in rebates. :banghead:
Rebates are a bit of a scam. They're a product discount you have to work for. I especially hate how in store circulars they will have the
low price of a product in big, beautiful fonts, and underneath
*after $6.66 mail in rebate
Quote from: SSOWorld on August 16, 2017, 07:01:48 PM
...that stores still utilize mail-in rebates. :banghead:
Bridgestone traditionally does this (get $50-100 back), but they don't mention prices because you could pay between $250 and $1500 for a set of tires. It's sort of better that way, because they won't mix pro-rating and in-store discounting, such as "Get 3 and 1 Free".
At least you can submit for it online in the past few years.
...there are unplanned pregnancies, or that people still accidentally get pregnant.
...people start smoking cigarettes.
...people start using addictive illegal drugs.
That analog meters are still in use. You'd think the shitty Smart Meters would be completely in-use by now.
Quote from: hbelkins on September 07, 2017, 11:37:03 AM
...there are unplanned pregnancies, or that people still accidentally get pregnant.
...people start smoking cigarettes.
...people start using addictive illegal drugs.
Sex and drugs are fun!
Just kidding sort of
Sex and procreation ate instictivally driven
Drugs activate pleasure center in brain. Doesnt matter the legal status of the drug. People can want oxycontin whether they have a prescription or not. And if your granny gives you a percocet she got for her arthritis for your sprained ankle it still takes away the pain.
Meth and adderal are essentially the same.
Many illegal drugs were made as medications originally( e. g. heroin)
LGMS428
QuoteQuote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 03:39:33 PM
Sex and drugs are fun!
Just kidding sort of
Sex and procreation ate instictivally driven
True, but everyone knows what causes pregnancy and there are ways to prevent it. Why they don't avail themselves of those measures is what puzzles me. Why have unprotected sex and risk an unplanned pregnancy when you can keep it from happening?
QuoteDrugs activate pleasure center in brain. Doesnt matter the legal status of the drug. People can want oxycontin whether they have a prescription or not. And if your granny gives you a percocet she got for her arthritis for your sprained ankle it still takes away the pain.
Meth and adderal are essentially the same.
Many illegal drugs were made as medications originally( e. g. heroin)
But people know the damage recreational use of illegal drugs, including prescription medications, can do. Knowing the risks, why get high?
fixing unmatched bbcode --sso
Quote from: hbelkins on September 10, 2017, 05:15:48 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 03:39:33 PM
Sex and drugs are fun!
Just kidding sort of
Sex and procreation ate instictivally driven
True, but everyone knows what causes pregnancy and there are ways to prevent it. Why they don't avail themselves of those measures is what puzzles me. Why have unprotected sex and risk an unplanned pregnancy when you can keep it from happening?
QuoteQuoteDrugs activate pleasure center in brain. Doesnt matter the legal status of the drug. People can want oxycontin whether they have a prescription or not. And if your granny gives you a percocet she got for her arthritis for your sprained ankle it still takes away the pain.
Meth and adderal are essentially the same.
Many illegal drugs were made as medications originally( e. g. heroin)
But people know the damage recreational use of illegal drugs, including prescription medications, can do. Knowing the risks, why get high?
Affordability, a lot of people can hack the bills for condoms or birth control....even less so if they are buying drugs on the side.
fixed unmatche bbcode --sso
No excuse. Free condoms from planned parenthood. Also sometimes "unplanned" pregnancies are done on purpose.
For some having a kid is an achievement. Paying for anything for that kid is not important.
Americans are over medicated in general
LGMS428
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 06:03:09 PM
No excuse. Free condoms from planned parenthood. Also sometimes "unplanned" pregnancies are done on purpose.
For some having a kid is an achievement. Paying for anything for that kid is not important.
Americans are over medicated in general
LGMS428
How many people who are having these unplanned pregnancies really know about those programs or where they can find free stuff? I'm not saying it isn't inexcusable but there is a huge level or willful ignorance that really is a day-to-day thing for a lot of people out there. Really financially there isn't a benefit to having a kid, there is no way the tax benefits outweigh the expenses of raising a child. If I recall correctly isn't the average cost of a child somewhere between 12-18k these days?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 10, 2017, 06:17:25 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 06:03:09 PM
No excuse. Free condoms from planned parenthood. Also sometimes "unplanned" pregnancies are done on purpose.
For some having a kid is an achievement. Paying for anything for that kid is not important.
Americans are over medicated in general
LGMS428
How many people who are having these unplanned pregnancies really know about those programs or where they can find free stuff? I'm not saying it isn't inexcusable but there is a huge level or willful ignorance that really is a day-to-day thing for a lot of people out there. Really financially there isn't a benefit to having a kid, there is no way the tax benefits outweigh the expenses of raising a child. If I recall correctly isn't the average cost of a child somewhere between 12-18k these days?
At least ten times that.
Quote from: Takumi on September 10, 2017, 06:42:52 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 10, 2017, 06:17:25 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 06:03:09 PM
No excuse. Free condoms from planned parenthood. Also sometimes "unplanned" pregnancies are done on purpose.
For some having a kid is an achievement. Paying for anything for that kid is not important.
Americans are over medicated in general
LGMS428
How many people who are having these unplanned pregnancies really know about those programs or where they can find free stuff? I'm not saying it isn't inexcusable but there is a huge level or willful ignorance that really is a day-to-day thing for a lot of people out there. Really financially there isn't a benefit to having a kid, there is no way the tax benefits outweigh the expenses of raising a child. If I recall correctly isn't the average cost of a child somewhere between 12-18k these days?
At least ten times that.
To clarify I meant annually, definitely isn't something that is cheap these days especially if you want a kid to go to college without loans or a scholarship.
Quote from: Takumi on September 10, 2017, 06:42:52 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 10, 2017, 06:17:25 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 06:03:09 PM
No excuse. Free condoms from planned parenthood. Also sometimes "unplanned" pregnancies are done on purpose.
For some having a kid is an achievement. Paying for anything for that kid is not important.
Americans are over medicated in general
LGMS428
How many people who are having these unplanned pregnancies really know about those programs or where they can find free stuff? I'm not saying it isn't inexcusable but there is a huge level or willful ignorance that really is a day-to-day thing for a lot of people out there. Really financially there isn't a benefit to having a kid, there is no way the tax benefits outweigh the expenses of raising a child. If I recall correctly isn't the average cost of a child somewhere between 12-18k these days?
At least ten times that.
They dont consider associated costs.. They are not making budgets, planning for college etc. They think of the extra amout in aid only.
My friend cousin is a pill head.. She has 5 kids by 4 men... Getting them declared disabled so she gets more each month. Trades food stamp money for drugs. The way she sees it when kids turn 18 she looses income. She is 34 but looks 60
LGMS428
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 07:09:03 PM
My friend cousin is a pill head.. She has 5 kids by 4 men... Getting them declared disabled so she gets more each month. Trades food stamp money for drugs. The way she sees it when kids turn 18 she looses income. She is 34 but looks 60
Actions have consequences, and sometimes those actions are unexpected or unintended.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 10, 2017, 06:46:05 PM
Quote from: Takumi on September 10, 2017, 06:42:52 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 10, 2017, 06:17:25 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 06:03:09 PM
No excuse. Free condoms from planned parenthood. Also sometimes "unplanned" pregnancies are done on purpose.
For some having a kid is an achievement. Paying for anything for that kid is not important.
Americans are over medicated in general
LGMS428
How many people who are having these unplanned pregnancies really know about those programs or where they can find free stuff? I'm not saying it isn't inexcusable but there is a huge level or willful ignorance that really is a day-to-day thing for a lot of people out there. Really financially there isn't a benefit to having a kid, there is no way the tax benefits outweigh the expenses of raising a child. If I recall correctly isn't the average cost of a child somewhere between 12-18k these days?
At least ten times that.
To clarify I meant annually, definitely isn't something that is cheap these days especially if you want a kid to go to college without loans or a scholarship.
Nope. I decided I'd rather spend my life traveling instead.
Quote from: Takumi on September 10, 2017, 09:19:43 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 10, 2017, 06:46:05 PM
Quote from: Takumi on September 10, 2017, 06:42:52 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 10, 2017, 06:17:25 PM
Quote from: jwolfer on September 10, 2017, 06:03:09 PM
No excuse. Free condoms from planned parenthood. Also sometimes "unplanned" pregnancies are done on purpose.
For some having a kid is an achievement. Paying for anything for that kid is not important.
Americans are over medicated in general
LGMS428
How many people who are having these unplanned pregnancies really know about those programs or where they can find free stuff? I'm not saying it isn't inexcusable but there is a huge level or willful ignorance that really is a day-to-day thing for a lot of people out there. Really financially there isn't a benefit to having a kid, there is no way the tax benefits outweigh the expenses of raising a child. If I recall correctly isn't the average cost of a child somewhere between 12-18k these days?
At least ten times that.
To clarify I meant annually, definitely isn't something that is cheap these days especially if you want a kid to go to college without loans or a scholarship.
Nope. I decided I'd rather spend my life traveling instead.
It certainly doesn't help with the prospects of that, most people I know don't really go much of anywhere and blame it on it being too expensive with the kids. Funny thing though, when I was a kid the best times I had with my Dad was just traveling on the road with him around the country. He never spent a ton of money (granted a lot of times he was being reimbursed) but we saw a whole of what was out, he was the one who actually got me into this hobby. I think that these days its probably better for people to wait until they are in their 30s when they have stable careers and incomes to support things like children. Usually it is the people who get someone knocked up in their teens or early 20s that really end struggling through the rest of their lives.
Incidentally, something that really sucks about 2017 in general that is that it truly does in almost every circumstance take two incomes to raise a family and live comfortably. It seems like the era where that was a thing was mostly post WWII to maybe the early 1990s. I suppose it couldn't last give businesses got smart about things like over paying wages and benefits but really that was an era we'll probably never get a wiff of again.
What prompted my musing about an unplanned pregnancy...
I know someone who had a miscarriage a few years ago while experiencing an unplanned pregnancy. Now this person has a college degree (it may only be an associates, but still) and is employed with a decent career track. She's ended up pregnant again by someone she's only been dating a short while. It just boggles my mind that she wasn't on birth control if she was going to be sexually active (and that's assuming she is medically capable of using any of the several types of birth control available for females) or she didn't insist on her partner wearing a condom -- or she didn't allow him to have intercourse with her and instead chose another way for them to achieve orgasm.
And, why does no one call condoms rubbers anymore, as we did while I was growing up and well into my 20s and 30s?
Sex is not a completely rational thing. Some people are excited about taking risks, some people's hidden or not-so-hidden desire for a baby overrules their good sense. Some birth control methods have high initial costs (yes, I know the costs of any of them are much smaller than the costs of taking care of a baby), hormone methods have bad side effects for some women, barrier methods require fiddling with them in the heat of passion.