Minor things that bother you

[jeffandnicole]

Dispute the charge with your credit card issuer if you have no luck with the selling merchant.

Considering that this is AliExpress we're talking about, that's probably what will end up happening.  Chatting with OnTrac last night yielded nothing (they didn't even try to deliver today), and chatting with AliExpress to try to get them to put a note on my account to never ship OnTrac again was also worthless.  Not really sure what I can do at present.  It doesn't look like I have much recourse until 30 days have passed, technically we're still before the estimated delivery date, and the other packages are all in between countries at the moment.  I'm not even sure that telling OnTrac to not try delivering anything on the days that I'll be away will help - given their incompetence, they'd probably take it to mean deliver only on those days.  And none of this does nothing to alleviate my astronomically high stress levels over this.  I'm already impatient enough when it comes to online shipping, so having anything go wrong just makes it get that much worse.

A few summers ago, I saw a motorized pool float online from what may have been AliExpress.  Ordered it. Tracked the shipping from China to Tennessee.  Then poof!  It was never tracked or seen again.  Something went badly.  I recall I got my money back fairly painlessly though.

[ZLoth]

AliExpress? More like AliNoThanks to me.

[CtrlAltDel]

Earlier this summer there was some fraudulent activity with the debit card for an organization that I am the treasurer for. So, I reported it and filed a police report and all that, and got a new card. Then, last night there was more fraudulent activity with the new card at the same place as before.

[JayhawkCO]

Earlier this summer there was some fraudulent activity with the debit card for an organization that I am the treasurer for. So, I reported it and filed a police report and all that, and got a new card. Then, last night there was more fraudulent activity with the new card at the same place as before.

Sounds like an inside job.

[CtrlAltDel]

Earlier this summer there was some fraudulent activity with the debit card for an organization that I am the treasurer for. So, I reported it and filed a police report and all that, and got a new card. Then, last night there was more fraudulent activity with the new card at the same place as before.

Sounds like an inside job.

I hope not. The only one with access to the card, or even the card number, is me.

[SEWIGuy]

Earlier this summer there was some fraudulent activity with the debit card for an organization that I am the treasurer for. So, I reported it and filed a police report and all that, and got a new card. Then, last night there was more fraudulent activity with the new card at the same place as before.

Sounds like an inside job.

I hope not. The only one with access to the card, or even the card number, is me.

Well, it looks like the culprit has been found. 

[CtrlAltDel]

Earlier this summer there was some fraudulent activity with the debit card for an organization that I am the treasurer for. So, I reported it and filed a police report and all that, and got a new card. Then, last night there was more fraudulent activity with the new card at the same place as before.

Sounds like an inside job.

I hope not. The only one with access to the card, or even the card number, is me.

Well, it looks like the culprit has been found. 

I'm afraid a jury will agree.

But seriously, this is annoying, and I can't just lock the card since that feature is not available with the organization's account. Maybe I should get rid of the card all together, but it does come in handy every now and again.

[ZLoth]

The Amazon pricing games continue...

A few days ago, this mini PC which I have been eyeing for a possible "Beginners virtual box" was listed as a $389 computer with a $30 coupon. Now, it's a "Limited Time Deal!" at $359, but no coupon.

Why is the temptation not there? Maybe I'm holding off on what used to be Black Friday now Black November deals.

[Bruce]

An example of the stop line issue: I was on a bus in Bellingham today that made an acute right turn and had to stop because a car was illegally using this striped area as a left turn lane. It was once a left turn lane but was removed because buses kept having problems with their swing-out right turns.

[LilianaUwU]

An example of the stop line issue: I was on a bus in Bellingham today that made an acute right turn and had to stop because a car was illegally using this striped area as a left turn lane. It was once a left turn lane but was removed because buses kept having problems with their swing-out right turns.

I was in a similar situation here ages ago because a car was past the stop line on Seigneuriale, and there was no place for both the bus (turning from QC 360 EB) and the car to pass each other. The same has happened getting from Seigneuriale to QC 360 WB too, and it's not a question of stop lines being too far back; there's just no place for buses to turn otherwise.

[epzik8]

An example of the stop line issue: I was on a bus in Bellingham today that made an acute right turn and had to stop because a car was illegally using this striped area as a left turn lane. It was once a left turn lane but was removed because buses kept having problems with their swing-out right turns.

Only takes one

[wxfree]

An example of the stop line issue: I was on a bus in Bellingham today that made an acute right turn and had to stop because a car was illegally using this striped area as a left turn lane. It was once a left turn lane but was removed because buses kept having problems with their swing-out right turns.

I was in a similar situation here ages ago because a car was past the stop line on Seigneuriale, and there was no place for both the bus (turning from QC 360 EB) and the car to pass each other. The same has happened getting from Seigneuriale to QC 360 WB too, and it's not a question of stop lines being too far back; there's just no place for buses to turn otherwise.

My problem with stop lines isn't really about how far back they are, but is when they're put in a place where you can't see cross traffic.  This isn't an issue when there's a signal that gives you the right-of-way.  If the line is well back from an intersection with a stop sign to keep space available for turning vehicles in a place with good visibility so you can see when it's safe to go, to me that's a good design.  If you have to roll up to the intersection to see, then the stop line isn't keeping any space open, it's just leading to the problem of incentivizing a quick maneuver to maintain momentum instead of stopping at a place where you can see traffic (which is less safe but legal if you made the required stop before the line).  In a situation with a problem due to narrow roads, maybe a signal is a good solution, with a stop line far enough back to solve the problem.  The overuse of stop lines in places where they don't give you a safe place to stop and start from doesn't improve safety and just trains people to ignore traffic controls.  If they're limited to places where they're necessary then they wouldn't be road spam that's too easy to ignore.

Here are some proposed rules:  Use of stop lines at signals can be done without regard for whether you can see from behind them.  Turns on red are banned as needed.  Use at a stop sign should, as much as possible, be at a place from which you don't need to crawl forward in order to see when it's safe to go.  Stop lines should not be used with crosswalks.  (If you don't have enough sense not to run down pedestrians then you don't have enough sense to stop before a line.)  Stopping before a crosswalk is required at a signal indicating red.  Waiting in the crosswalk to turn on red is banned.  If you can't see from behind it, then turns on red are banned (as a frequent pedestrian, I often see a crosswalk under a Walk signal blocked by a vehicle waiting for a turn).  At a stop sign, the crosswalk is treated as a separate yield before the stop.  Stopping before a crosswalk is required if it's occupied (that's the yield implied by the crosswalk).  Whether or not you stop before the crosswalk, stopping before the intersection in a place from which you don't need to move forward to see (what you would do if there were no lines) is required (that's the stop required by the sign).

[J N Winkler]

Re. positioning of stop bars:  in my experience in Kansas, they are simply not used at all at stop-controlled junctions where a driver must edge forward so that his or her front bumper touches or crosses the ETW of the intersecting street before he or she obtains adequate visibility.  I wonder if this problem of stop bars being positioned behind the sidewalk is an issue specific to Texas.

Generally speaking, an intersection designed completely from scratch should have a sight triangle ample enough that conflicting traffic is visible from the stop bar, wherever it is positioned.  However, I am not aware that engineering criteria uniformly mandate the preservation of such sight triangles in cases where the road that benefits from stop control is widened, e.g. from two-lane to four-lane undivided or five-lane curb and gutter with TWLTL.  I am very skeptical that the owning authority would mandate the demolition of corner houses just to carry adequate visibility through such a widening.

[D-Dey65]

Recently, I found a Wikipedia article on the Florida Welcome Centers. In the history section, they mentioned the general locations of the old welcome centers with a reference link to Florida Memory.

"The first center opened in November 1949. It was located on U.S. Highway 17 near Yulee. The success of the first welcome center led to additional welcome centers on US 1 (near Hilliard), US 41 (near Jasper), US 231 (north of Marianna), US 90 (west of Pensacola), and U.S. Route 19 in Tallahassee."

The trouble is, the link that was provided was broken, didn't tell me the exact location of these old welcome centers, and couldn't be archived.

Fortunately, I found the updated URL and corrected it in the article;
https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/295196
Unfortunately, it still doesn't give me the exact locations of the former welcome centers on US 17 near Yulee, US 1-23-301 near Hilliard, or some of the others. I don't think I need anything about the one on US 231, since it still exists.

[LilianaUwU]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

[CtrlAltDel]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

If there's a war on Christmas going on, Christmas is clearly winning, having defeated Thanksgiving, and now attacking Halloween and within striking distance of Labor Day.

I don't like it much either.

[LilianaUwU]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

If there's a war on Christmas going on, Christmas is clearly winning, having defeated Thanksgiving, and now attacking Halloween and within striking distance of Labor Day.

I don't like it much either.

What's weird is that I wasn't that way not so long ago. I was fine with starting the festivities on November 1, since there was nothing up until Christmas (after all, Thanksgiving is in October in Canada). But now it's way too far.

[Max Rockatansky]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

If there's a war on Christmas going on, Christmas is clearly winning, having defeated Thanksgiving, and now attacking Halloween and within striking distance of Labor Day.

I don't like it much either.

I'm fairly certain Halloween would mop the floor with Christmas if they came to blows:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightmare_Before_Christmas

[jeffandnicole]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

If there's a war on Christmas going on, Christmas is clearly winning, having defeated Thanksgiving, and now attacking Halloween and within striking distance of Labor Day.

I don't like it much either.

What's weird is that I wasn't that way not so long ago. I was fine with starting the festivities on November 1, since there was nothing up until Christmas (after all, Thanksgiving is in October in Canada). But now it's way too far.

Halloween is a bit of a weird holiday.  It's not really a holiday - no one gets off for it.  It was about the kids getting candy.  Then it became a bit of an adult day, with parties.  While there's always been things to buy, especially scary stuff, retailers have been pushing outdoor Halloween decor for the past 5 or so years, with mixed results.  Now they're find putting it on clearance sales about 10 - 15 days before Halloween to bring out Christmas stuff, which is a good sales driver...even before Halloween.

[D-Dey65]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

If there's a war on Christmas going on, Christmas is clearly winning, having defeated Thanksgiving, and now attacking Halloween and within striking distance of Labor Day.

Oh, that is so true. However, I think we can only say this is true in the western world. In much of the Middle East and even South Central Asia it's on the ropes, along with other aspects of Christian tradition. I've seen news footage from a long time ago of Indians protesting Valentine's Day.

[kkt]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

Good luck.  Suggest minimizing the time you spend in stores between now and mid-January.

[LilianaUwU]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

Good luck.  Suggest minimizing the time you spend in stores between now and mid-January.

what do you MEAN mid-January

[Max Rockatansky]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

Good luck.  Suggest minimizing the time you spend in stores between now and mid-January.

what do you MEAN mid-January

Probably clearance merchandise.

[LilianaUwU]

Christmas garbage should start on December 1, with the month before being only decorations being sold at stores. I fucking hate Christmas stuff stealing Halloween's spotlight.

Good luck.  Suggest minimizing the time you spend in stores between now and mid-January.

what do you MEAN mid-January

Probably clearance merchandise.

That is fair, as is such merchandise starting November 1. But it's October 24 right now.

[Scott5114]

What I want to know is what sort of person the idea of buying Christmas stuff in mid-October appeals to.