Just Saying -- the soapbox thread

[Govmnt_Lacky]

PSA for those that travel and book through 3rd parties......

I booked a family vacation hotel stay apparently through a 3rd party (I was linked to it via the hotel website without knowing) and received what I thought was a decent price for the entire hotel stay. Upon departing the hotel on the last day, I was given a printed receipt for my stay. Funny thing was, the total on the receipt from the hotel was exactly $372 LESS than what I paid  After WEEKS of back-and-forth communication with the booker and hotel, I discovered that the 3rd party had added the extra expense as "Taxes and Fees" even though their policy stated that they only charge a $14.99 booking fee. Also learned that the hotel was NOT supposed to give me a receipt. Now I know why.

Currently have a BBB claim against them and awaiting mediation.

Bottom line... ALWAYS get a hotel receipt when you check out and compare that to what you paid (if booked via a 3rd party)

[EBK]

You may also consider filing a fraud report with the FTC.
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#/

You won't benefit directly from doing so*, but if the FTC or DOJ ever investigate that third party, they can use what they have in their database as evidence.

*Settlements between companies and the FTC aimed at compensating consumers financially are rarely satisfactory and thus rarely pursued.  Instead, the FTC is likely to force a stop to the unfair/deceptive activity and require corrective disclosure of the company's policies.

[davent]

Sampling of fifty savory non-dessert pies from all over Europe, filled with vegetables or meat or fish or poultry or cheese or eggs or  various combinations... Pot pie apparently was a Roman Empire dish served at banquets.

https://www.tasteatlas.com/50-most-popular-savory-pies-in-europe

Europe & beyond.

https://www.tasteatlas.com/most-popular-savory-pies-in-the-world

[Govmnt_Lacky]

Don't know how many of you fine people reside in the state of Pennsylvania but, I hope you are all getting serious kick-back checks!

Just got billed for a 290-mile round trip car ride through the state on the Turnpike. Total cost = $81 

For those that don't want to bother with the calculator, that would be $0.27 per mile!

I don't remember seeing any gold in them roads!

[jimilee]

By who?


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[Govmnt_Lacky]

By who?

That would be the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Collectors for the toll roads.

They don't have people working the toll booths anymore. It is all automated. Go through the toll booth and it snaps a pic of your license plate and they bill you. Got 2 separate bills. One for the trip there. One for the trip back.

Bill #1 = $46.70
Bill #2 = $33.60

That is just RIDICULOUS!

[jimilee]

By who?

That would be the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Collectors for the toll roads.

They don't have people working the toll booths anymore. It is all automated. Go through the toll booth and it snaps a pic of your license plate and they bill you. Got 2 separate bills. One for the trip there. One for the trip back.

Bill #1 = $46.70
Bill #2 = $33.60

That is just RIDICULOUS!

That’s insane. Is there a way to avoid toll roads?


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[Govmnt_Lacky]

That’s insane. Is there a way to avoid toll roads?

There always is. Until now, it was always better to pay the tolls to save the added time. Now, it may just be worth the extra few hours 

[thesmokingman]

Sampling of fifty savory non-dessert pies from all over Europe, filled with vegetables or meat or fish or poultry or cheese or eggs or  various combinations... Pot pie apparently was a Roman Empire dish served at banquets.

https://www.tasteatlas.com/50-most-popular-savory-pies-in-europe

Europe & beyond.

https://www.tasteatlas.com/most-popular-savory-pies-in-the-world

some of the unmentioned ones I regularly frequent here in Tampa include Jamaican beef patties and the various Cuban entries like pastelitos con carne, deviled crab, papas rellenas, or croquetas de jamon ... a little closer to my midwestern roots I feel like tamales should count as well as bierocks and kolaches
 

[alanp]

For a couple years now, I've had better luck crimping molex connectors with needlenose pliers than my crimping tool.

I found out a couple weeks ago that there is more than one kind of crimping tool. The one I have is meant for crimping round sleeves over stranded wire. (It's also dead keen for crimping spade connector-y things.)

Bought a proper molex crimping tool from Tayda. So much pain and hassle I could have skipped!

[alanp]

The nice thing about the Melbourne Cup being on this year is that, even though I really don't care about a load of ponies running around in circles, my bosses do. So, on Cup day, it tends to be an early day.

[Muadzin]

Unexpected side benefits of the job for the win?

[alanp]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX3CN4-sw0zOgp-ahZ5vrVgpZGydHEr1s

It's a list of videos, this time. All stationary steam engines running rice mills in Myanmar, all at least 90 years old, some 100, one 120 years old, all still chugging along.

It isn't as stupid as you might think, too. They're usually in remote, rural areas where electricity is not reliable, and fuel costs a lot of money. Steam engines will run on anything burnable... like, say, the chaff from the rice, which the mill owner would otherwise have to pay to have taken away, so the engine effectively runs for free.

[jimilee]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLX3CN4-sw0zOgp-ahZ5vrVgpZGydHEr1s

It's a list of videos, this time. All stationary steam engines running rice mills in Myanmar, all at least 90 years old, some 100, one 120 years old, all still chugging along.

It isn't as stupid as you might think, too. They're usually in remote, rural areas where electricity is not reliable, and fuel costs a lot of money. Steam engines will run on anything burnable... like, say, the chaff from the rice, which the mill owner would otherwise have to pay to have taken away, so the engine effectively runs for free.

Without watching the video, what heats the water, and is it clean energy?

[alanp]

The chaff from milling the rice -- basically the shell around the part that you actually cook and eat. (If you eat brown rice, you sometimes get a grain with a husk around it. That's part of the chaff.) It goes from the milling machinery to the firebox.

And yeah, it is not green in any way at all, other than the fact that it's making use of the chaff, rather than dumping it in a river or something.