Mojo31

Don't forget the 70s.

big john

fify

Bah Humbug

Dave Ramsey is like AA - it may work for certain people with a problem, but it's not a requirement for everyone. And a little culty.

Never use one to spend money you don't have outside of the direst emergencies. Do use them for points, perks, cashback, and security.

Full disclosure, it is of course my business, very indirectly.

TMonk

We just pay it off at the end of each month. When I was younger, I would pay it religiously, several times per week, which isn't necessary. Either way, if you float enough in your checking acct, you good. It all comes down to spending habits tho either way

BillyD

Speaking of checks, just a month ago I was a victim of check theft and fraud. It's an intriguing story. I wrote out checks to pay three bills and dropped them into a nearby official, corner postal mailbox. One of the checks was for $5,200 to pay off moving expenses on my credit card. Two days later I noticed the check had successfully cleared my account, but a week later the payee still had not been paid. Naturally, I said "Uh oh"! Went back to my account and got an image of the check and discovered some guy had added his name next to the payee name on the 5k check and successfully cashed it.

I contacted my bank, the cc bank, and the local police. The mystery is how did he manage to get all 3 of the bills I mailed (hasn't cashed the others yet) but there hasn't been a crime wave reported to the police yet, which one would expect if he scooped up everybody's mail, not just mine. I figure it had to be an inside job, somebody who works for USPS, specifically the guy who collects the mail from the corner boxes. He sorted through the ones that looked like bills and cashed the biggest one he found (mine) and is sitting on the rest until the smoke clears. This is the only explanation that makes sense.

My bank closed the old account, opened up a new one and reimbursed my $5k, because they shouldn't have cashed that bogus **** in the first place. The cc bank says they know who it was, but they declined to tell me. I 'm just glad to get my funds back, and glad they didn't think the perp was me.

Bah Humbug

You don't know what's best for everyone... just "big picture". Ok. That's totally different.

You can keep trying to browbeat me into submission, but no, I'm not going to agree with you. Maybe one day you'll be able to accept that.

For everyone else, y'all know why I like streaming and hate discs? I remember when DVD came out and was so much better than VHS. "Great" though me. "I can finally make a permanent, high-quality collection.". After a while, out came BluRay. I rolled my eyes until I saw it... and suddenly my collection of DVDs was obsolete. Then came 3D (eyes stayed rolled - RIP and good riddance). Then UHD. Now HDR, and making sure you get the right master. Next is what? 8K? Some glassless 3D? Whatever it is, I'm sure a hypothetical collection of Dolby discs will once again be replaced with the next shiny thing.

I'm old enough to remember the ballyhooing of the first USB. A quarter of a century later and now the nerds are all obsessed with C. This too shall pass, and one day it'll be old garbage with C and we'll be told promises about the next port. There is nothing that will make me believe otherwise.

Bah Humbug

Yes. Live within your means. I used to pay them off every week after one case of forgetting; now I pay them off every paycheck, so twice a month. Spend less than you make. Take the free money.

When we had that big delay in Dulles over the holidays we got to sit in the Turkish Air lounge because I have a Marriott card that gives me Priority Pass. It's saved me from the hell of the terminal a number of other times.

Bah Humbug

And speaking of media, the new Willow series is sadly different in tone from the movie - it is story beats from LOTR (and a bit of Star Wars), a setting strongly influenced by A Song of Ice and Fire, YA Girl Power sensibilities, and FX that must have been done with the same software as Locke & Key.

It's not bad, exactly, but a whole different tone from the movie.

WhyFi

I'm not trying to browbeat anyone in to anything and you're putting words in my mouth - and setting up a strawman - to insinuate that I, or anyone else, thinks that C is some kind of end game (this also implies that you think that Lightning would have been free from any future changes, which is silly). C already has the products on the market with 2-4x more charging capacity and data bandwidth than Lightning, and they've got stuff in the works that doubles and triples that. Will the connector eventually need to be changed? Yeah, eventually... but I don't know how one could argue that having consumers and industry focus on one iterating standard, rather than multiple iterating "standards," is a bad thing.

Bah Humbug

Of course you're trying to browbeat me - as per usual, you will continue to argue any point with anyone who disagrees, doing your best to put on your air of fatherly authority. You refuse to even engage with my other posts because you can't leave that scab unpicked - you'll keep going until the other person gives up. Not browbeating though, heaven forbid. Just right now I'm in no mood to deal with that.

bampilot06

So, Simon and I were have a pretty serious discussion about what his first bike could be. Started with a Specialized Allez. He seemed interested but wanted something more. So I start talking Pinarello Dogma with Ultegra Di2. Instantly he starts crying.

Since then i’ve mentioned Pinarello a couple more times, and he cries. No love for Pinarello with this one.

Bah Humbug

See what he thinks of Cervelo.

genejockey 

We finally are living within our means, but it took increasing the means to do it.

Bah Humbug

That does help. Interestingly (along with a bunch of increasing, as well) the pandemic made it a lot easier. A few months in I decided to stop spending so much on random crap and... didn't miss it, at all. Less crap cluttering the house, more money in the bank.

The move to Boulder should do that too - will be no space for anything new until we get a house. I may get a second 34" monitor though. Go full supervillain lair.

genejockey 

Why so serious, son?

genejockey 

Yeah, the Pandemic did seem to cut expenses. Which is funny, given how much more often we got dinner from restaurants. Not delivery, though.

Bah Humbug

Been a while since we've done much of that at all, due to the dietary issues. Also avoids those fees mentioned earlier.

thin_concrete

The problem is that Pinarello makes so many good bikes. Asking him to choose 1 when he’s less than a week old is a lot. Give him a few weeks - he’ll come around.

bampilot06

His first word will be Vamoots

genejockey 

Now that The Older Boy is back working at Safeway, we're eating from Out a lot less. He keeps buying stuff. Now I have to figure out what to do with beef shortribs. Again. Mrs. GeneJockey didn't like the last ones because she's used to the very-well-trimmed boneless ones from Costco, not ones with actual bones, and all the associated connective tissue and fat.

BillyD

He cries because he can see right through the propaganda of crabon. Offer him some steel, it's real.

seedsbelize2

Gorgeous weather today, and it is unclear whether I will be able to get out. I posted. back at the beginning of Winter, that, come Summer, I can never figure out why I ride so little in the beautiful winter weather. Now I know. I'm keeping myself busy and still falling behind on my projects. It's a time issue. Why I have more time in the summer I can't say. Perhaps I am simply more driven in the summer. Winter has always been for re-charging. And it is a very easy thing to fall into in this weather.

BillyD

For eleven years I have suffered the loss of Costco access, having retired from working in close proximity to one. When I relocated to Albany recently I just knew there would be one nearby. This is, after all, the capital of the Empire State. Alas . . . no such luck. WHY, just WHY?? What have I done to deserve this?

seedsbelize2

<===Was getting high.

seedsbelize2

Similar story, I used to use my Mexican debit card online, always, with nary an issue. I used it to pay for new license plates, and someone attempted to use it within the hour(I got the two part security notice). The bank gave me a new card on the spot. Interestingly, apart from what you hear about Mexico, the vast majority are honest. A common payment method, which takes some getting used to, is to deposit the money in the sellers bank account, and then he ships the item.