Overheard on Facebook

[Davnasty]

Yes, it comes with a charger (and dual SIM, better water resistance, next gen processor, etc.)  Seriously, where do people come up with this stuff?

I think people come up with this stuff because it's in and hip and trendy to talk smack about Apple these days. People need to make themselves feel better, and to reinforce their decisions they grab on to every bit of bad news without ever questioning it. I forgot what this phenomenon is called but there's a psychological explanation for it. It could also be an adult version of the telephone game. In this particular instance it's possible that somebody heard or read somewhere that the "Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter" was no longer included (which is true), and because they had no idea what a "Lightning to 3.5 mm Headphone Jack Adapter" was they simply interpreted that as charger and started spreading the news in order to make themselves feel better because their just-as-expensive Galaxy Note came with a charger.

Oh, and I bet you're a big fan of Nickelback too, aren't you? :)

[zolotiyeruki]

Yes, it comes with a charger (and dual SIM, better water resistance, next gen processor, etc.)  Seriously, where do people come up with this stuff?

I think people come up with this stuff because it's in and hip and trendy to talk smack about Apple these days. People need to make themselves feel better, and to reinforce their decisions they grab on to every bit of bad news without ever questioning it. I forgot what this phenomenon is called but there's a psychological explanation for it.

As I understand it, it's a combination of confirmation bias and bandwagon effect.

[I'm a red panda]

Just read a linked blog article about an author's No Spend August.

The #1 item in the rules was "One starbucks per day". That was an absolute given, but to sacrifice, she couldn't get two a day.

I feel like my idea of no spend is a bit different from hers.

[Zikoris]

Just read a linked blog article about an author's No Spend August.

The #1 item in the rules was "One starbucks per day". That was an absolute given, but to sacrifice, she couldn't get two a day.

I feel like my idea of no spend is a bit different from hers.

LOL, no spend except for spending every single day.

It seems to me like if you're doing a no spend challenge, you should have a lot of days with zero financial transactions. Not 100% since you still need food and stuff, but quite a lot.

[DS]

Just read a linked blog article about an author's No Spend August.

The #1 item in the rules was "One starbucks per day". That was an absolute given, but to sacrifice, she couldn't get two a day.

I feel like my idea of no spend is a bit different from hers.

LOL, no spend except for spending every single day.

It seems to me like if you're doing a no spend challenge, you should have a lot of days with zero financial transactions. Not 100% since you still need food and stuff, but quite a lot.

Haha. No spend*

*except for all the spending

[ketchup]

Just read a linked blog article about an author's No Spend August.

The #1 item in the rules was "One starbucks per day". That was an absolute given, but to sacrifice, she couldn't get two a day.

I feel like my idea of no spend is a bit different from hers.

Haha, woow.  I'm going to quit smoking, but still smoke only one pack a day.  I'm going to quit cocaine but only do it once a day.  I'm giving up sweets except for cakes and cookies.  Come on.

[kms]

It's starting to give off an inordinate amount of heat and the battery isn't holding a charge nearly as long as it should.

These two issues are most likely related. My guess is that there's a background process running amok and wreaking havoc on your battery. The more computing resources a process requires the hotter the chips run and the more energy they consume. First thing I would try is restarting my phone. If that doesn't help, have you tried resetting it (aka factory default)? Of course it would be helpful to have a backup so you can restore all your data after resetting your phone.

[Sugaree]

It's starting to give off an inordinate amount of heat and the battery isn't holding a charge nearly as long as it should.

These two issues are most likely related. My guess is that there's a background process running amok and wreaking havoc on your battery. The more computing resources a process requires the hotter the chips run and the more energy they consume. First thing I would try is restarting my phone. If that doesn't help, have you tried resetting it (aka factory default)? Of course it would be helpful to have a backup so you can restore all your data after resetting your phone.

It has been restarting itself once it gets to about 20% battery, so I'm not sure that's helping.  I've got a spare memory card around here somewhere.  Once I find it and back up studf I'm going to try a factory reset.  I really want to eek out at least another 6 months out of this one.  It's a used Galaxy S5 mini that I've only had for about 2 years.

[SunnyDays]

Not on Facebook, but face to face, with new roommate:

55 years old, developed health issues, so had to sell her house and move in with relatives for support.  Okay, I can understand that.  But it didn't go well, so moved out of that city to come live near her adult son, but couldn't stay with him as he had too many stairs in his house.  I get that too.  So rented a room in my house (total stranger).  Put all her stuff in old city in storage - don't know monthly price, but assume about $200/month.  Gets here and has no job, but looking to work part-time from home doing computer work,  Has to go on social assistance until she can find something.  What?  Didn't you just sell a house?  Yes, but a low-value one.  Okay, but you spent all the equity in a year, while hardly being able to leave the house (thinking this, didn't ask).  Finds a job at minimum wage, last a few days, can't do it, so back on social assistance.  Reports to me that she told the worker she doesn't know how she can make it work on such low pay (about $11.00/hour) because she had been making no less than $100K a year for THE LAST 15 YEARS!  Holy crap, I think, what did you do with it all?  Didn't ask, none of my business.  Then I watch her habits - buys paper plates and uses 3 a day, eats supper out at least once a week, uses toilet paper like it's going out of style (it used to take me at least 2 weeks to go through 1 double roll, now it's one every 3 days), leaves the lights on in her room when she goes out for the evening, fills the bathtub more that half-way for a 2 minute bath, on her fourth toothpaste tube in 3 months, throwing it out when there's  a good 3 days worth left, drives to another town 20 minutes away to buy chicken because it's organic, eats all organic food, paying $8.00 for 4 hamburger patties and buys dog toys and treats that she clearly cannot afford.  Finally gets 2 part-time jobs that seem like they'll work out, but has to get an advance from one of them because she has no appropriate clothes, only athletic wear.  WTF?  At one point she says that she was having a hard time finding a room to rent and thought she might have to buy a condo in order to move here.  WITH WHAT?  You can't even afford work clothes!  How anyone can live like this is beyond me.  I expect she'll be working until she can't, because SS/OAS sure don't pay much.  The more I see of her, the more I love myself for making all the right, although sometimes hard, decisions that have left me sitting very pretty in comparison.  HOW can people be so dumb, even when they're smart?

[marty998]

Not on Facebook, but face to face, with new roommate:

55 years old, developed health issues, so had to sell her house and move in with relatives for support.  Okay, I can understand that.  But it didn't go well, so moved out of that city to come live near her adult son, but couldn't stay with him as he had too many stairs in his house.  I get that too.  So rented a room in my house (total stranger).  Put all her stuff in old city in storage - don't know monthly price, but assume about $200/month.  Gets here and has no job, but looking to work part-time from home doing computer work,  Has to go on social assistance until she can find something.  What?  Didn't you just sell a house?  Yes, but a low-value one.  Okay, but you spent all the equity in a year, while hardly being able to leave the house (thinking this, didn't ask).  Finds a job at minimum wage, last a few days, can't do it, so back on social assistance.  Reports to me that she told the worker she doesn't know how she can make it work on such low pay (about $11.00/hour) because she had been making no less than $100K a year for THE LAST 15 YEARS!  Holy crap, I think, what did you do with it all?  Didn't ask, none of my business.  Then I watch her habits - buys paper plates and uses 3 a day, eats supper out at least once a week, uses toilet paper like it's going out of style (it used to take me at least 2 weeks to go through 1 double roll, now it's one every 3 days), leaves the lights on in her room when she goes out for the evening, fills the bathtub more that half-way for a 2 minute bath, on her fourth toothpaste tube in 3 months, throwing it out when there's  a good 3 days worth left, drives to another town 20 minutes away to buy chicken because it's organic, eats all organic food, paying $8.00 for 4 hamburger patties and buys dog toys and treats that she clearly cannot afford.  Finally gets 2 part-time jobs that seem like they'll work out, but has to get an advance from one of them because she has no appropriate clothes, only athletic wear.  WTF?  At one point she says that she was having a hard time finding a room to rent and thought she might have to buy a condo in order to move here.  WITH WHAT?  You can't even afford work clothes!  How anyone can live like this is beyond me.  I expect she'll be working until she can't, because SS/OAS sure don't pay much.  The more I see of her, the more I love myself for making all the right, although sometimes hard, decisions that have left me sitting very pretty in comparison.  HOW can people be so dumb, even when they're smart?

I am exhausted and have lost all patience just reading this. I have no idea how you've held it together living with her and not totally lost it with her.

Posts like this make me lose faith in humanity (and I just read the IPCC 1.5 degree thread too. This is seemingly worse.)

[dragoncar]

It's starting to give off an inordinate amount of heat and the battery isn't holding a charge nearly as long as it should.

These two issues are most likely related. My guess is that there's a background process running amok and wreaking havoc on your battery. The more computing resources a process requires the hotter the chips run and the more energy they consume. First thing I would try is restarting my phone. If that doesn't help, have you tried resetting it (aka factory default)? Of course it would be helpful to have a backup so you can restore all your data after resetting your phone.

It has been restarting itself once it gets to about 20% battery, so I'm not sure that's helping.  I've got a spare memory card around here somewhere.  Once I find it and back up studf I'm going to try a factory reset.  I really want to eek out at least another 6 months out of this one.  It's a used Galaxy S5 mini that I've only had for about 2 years.

Sounds like the battery is in bad shape... is it worth paying what looks like around $20 to get a new battery if it gets you another 6 months?

[Sugaree]

It's starting to give off an inordinate amount of heat and the battery isn't holding a charge nearly as long as it should.

These two issues are most likely related. My guess is that there's a background process running amok and wreaking havoc on your battery. The more computing resources a process requires the hotter the chips run and the more energy they consume. First thing I would try is restarting my phone. If that doesn't help, have you tried resetting it (aka factory default)? Of course it would be helpful to have a backup so you can restore all your data after resetting your phone.

It has been restarting itself once it gets to about 20% battery, so I'm not sure that's helping.  I've got a spare memory card around here somewhere.  Once I find it and back up studf I'm going to try a factory reset.  I really want to eek out at least another 6 months out of this one.  It's a used Galaxy S5 mini that I've only had for about 2 years.

Sounds like the battery is in bad shape... is it worth paying what looks like around $20 to get a new battery if it gets you another 6 months?

It's worth a shot.  I looked back at my CC statements and it looks like I've only had it a year so I definitely need to get a little more time out of it.  And I still like it.  I tried that with my last phone and unfortunately found out that there were two slightly different versions of the S3 that had two different sized batteries.  Guess who ordered the wrong size the first time?

[SunnyDays]

Not on Facebook, but face to face, with new roommate:

55 years old, developed health issues, so had to sell her house and move in with relatives for support.  Okay, I can understand that.  But it didn't go well, so moved out of that city to come live near her adult son, but couldn't stay with him as he had too many stairs in his house.  I get that too.  So rented a room in my house (total stranger).  Put all her stuff in old city in storage - don't know monthly price, but assume about $200/month.  Gets here and has no job, but looking to work part-time from home doing computer work,  Has to go on social assistance until she can find something.  What?  Didn't you just sell a house?  Yes, but a low-value one.  Okay, but you spent all the equity in a year, while hardly being able to leave the house (thinking this, didn't ask).  Finds a job at minimum wage, last a few days, can't do it, so back on social assistance.  Reports to me that she told the worker she doesn't know how she can make it work on such low pay (about $11.00/hour) because she had been making no less than $100K a year for THE LAST 15 YEARS!  Holy crap, I think, what did you do with it all?  Didn't ask, none of my business.  Then I watch her habits - buys paper plates and uses 3 a day, eats supper out at least once a week, uses toilet paper like it's going out of style (it used to take me at least 2 weeks to go through 1 double roll, now it's one every 3 days), leaves the lights on in her room when she goes out for the evening, fills the bathtub more that half-way for a 2 minute bath, on her fourth toothpaste tube in 3 months, throwing it out when there's  a good 3 days worth left, drives to another town 20 minutes away to buy chicken because it's organic, eats all organic food, paying $8.00 for 4 hamburger patties and buys dog toys and treats that she clearly cannot afford.  Finally gets 2 part-time jobs that seem like they'll work out, but has to get an advance from one of them because she has no appropriate clothes, only athletic wear.  WTF?  At one point she says that she was having a hard time finding a room to rent and thought she might have to buy a condo in order to move here.  WITH WHAT?  You can't even afford work clothes!  How anyone can live like this is beyond me.  I expect she'll be working until she can't, because SS/OAS sure don't pay much.  The more I see of her, the more I love myself for making all the right, although sometimes hard, decisions that have left me sitting very pretty in comparison.  HOW can people be so dumb, even when they're smart?

I am exhausted and have lost all patience just reading this. I have no idea how you've held it together living with her and not totally lost it with her.

Posts like this make me lose faith in humanity (and I just read the IPCC 1.5 degree thread too. This is seemingly worse.)

Ha ha, YOU"RE tired?  I have to admit that it's somewhat shadenfreud-y, waiting to see how she can screw herself next!  I won't even get into her housekeeping habits and how she gets upset AT ME when I ask her to clean up or do something differently.  Luckily for her, I'm a pretty easy going person, although she is reaching the limits of even my good will.  I mostly tolerate her because she has the sweetest dog and it's only for about 9 more months.  Plus, I'm away a week a month, so I get a break.  But after this, no more roommates!

[Freedomin5]

XS and XS max are the newer model, if I recall correctly. Basically the.same.phone but with world-shocking improvements like dual sim capability and no free charger included :P

Yes, it comes with a charger (and dual SIM, better water resistance, next gen processor, etc.)  Seriously, where do people come up with this stuff?

Historically, the "S" version is never a big change.  They discontinued the X and now have the Xs with some improvements for the same price as the X last year.  If people want to fall all over themselves for it, so be it.  If you're an investor in index funds, you've got Apple stock, so enjoy.

I really like the name they gave to the latest iPhone — it’s very appropriate. The iPhone XS (Excess).

[DS]

I really like the name they gave to the latest iPhone — it’s very appropriate. The iPhone XS (Excess).

Should be XL!

[fat-johnny]

Facebook friend of mine.  Mom, always dressed to the nines, designer clothes, purses, and shoes.  Mother to a 6YO little girl.

Mom posts a pic of the 6YO daughter and an Asian woman, woman is giving 6YO daughter a side-hug.  Facebook posts says mom is at “XYZ Nail Salon”, and the post is “Little Suzy and her 3rd Grandma.  I’m so happy for the bond that these two have formed!”

Ummm…..you take 6YO Little Suzy to the nail salon so much that the nail tech is considered her “3rd Grandma”??  How about buying a $1 bottle of nail polish, and mom/daughter spend an hour around the kitchen table creating memories and painting each other’s nails?

I wonder what mom/daughter spend per month getting beautified.  SMH.

[StacheyStache]

Yall I have never posted on this thread but I just can't hold back on this gem any more. 

So a friend of a friend added me on facebook and although I rarely accept requests that I'm not real life friends with, I admit that I added this person solely to see if his life was as big of a train wreck as I've heard.  I don't know him that well but I'm on the fringe of his friend group and what I've heard is just fascinating. 

This person has had two tries at college, pursuing two degrees of the basket weaving persuasion  and dropped out both times, incurring massive student loan debt as a result.  For some strange reason employers weren't falling at his feet to hire him and when he did find a job he would quickly find himself fired due to 'personality conflicts' as well as a general inability to show up, on time or ever.  He insisted that the problem wasn't him (of course not) but the location he lived in and thus spent a few years bouncing around the country looking for 'a place where he belonged,' crashing on the couches of various friends and half-heartedly trying his hand at low paying jobs (retail, food service etc). From what I hear he has never moved FOR A JOB, in fact he has never had a job lined up prior to a move.  Move first, deal with the consequences later.  For some reason these consequences never come as he is unfortunately a charming individual and apparently capable of conning multiple kind-hearted souls into allowing him to stay rent free, sometimes for months, until he decides to move along to the next place that would be SO MUCH BETTER FOR HIM than wherever he was at the moment.

The newest attempt at adulting is in my city.  Once again instead of finding a job first he moved with no plan and plopped himself down on the couch of a very sweet and overly trusting friend of mine.  He stayed there for one of his longest stints ever, close to a YEAR before he found a job.  The arrangement, according to my friend, was supposed to be very temporary and he was supposed to be taking on a majority of the housework in lieu of rent.  This did not happen and in fact he quickly became the biggest slob in the house and seemed in no hurry to find a job.  Close to a year in he and my friend had a falling out.  Now to be fair I have no idea what his version of events is but according to my friend it involved a party my friend was hosting (at the house the moocher was staying at rent free) and inviting someone the moocher did not like.  When my friend refused to take this person off the guest list, moocher immediately grabbed all of his stuff and left the house, taking several of my friend's possessions with him that he claimed as his, and went to stay at yet another kind-hearted (and by this point I think we can add very naive) person's house.  Friend says he never paid a dime for the entire time he stayed there and only let him stay so long because he was saying he'd be on the street if he got kicked out.  This was apparently a lie as he immediately found a new place to stay after their argument (I think he sensed an impending collision for this particular gravy train). 

Well moocher added me onto facebook around this time and it's been about a year since he left my friend's residence.  The trainwreck is everything I could have imagined and more.  Moocher did manage to get yet another low paying job but this time he also got his own apartment (!!!) along with a roommate (victim) of course.  I knew when this happened because he bragged about it for weeks as if he'd cured cancer.  Despite being in his THIRTIES apparently any sliver of real adulting is worth celebrating.  Fine.  Good for him.  Except that almost immediately after he moved in he began posting about the Struggle of Rent. Constant memes about how rough our generation has it (and I legitimately believe our generation has it pretty rough so the fact that I'm side eyeing this tells you how bad it is), how everything is and has always been against him, how he'll have sleep for dinner again tonight, sad emojis everywhere.  WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY posting pictures of fast food and of himself at concerts and sporting events. 

All I can think of is that poor roommate and who the hell did he con this time.

What finally got me to post here is that in recent months the moocher has apparently been "bitten by the travel bug" and is on his third trip by PLANE this year.  His trips are of course well documented with selfies and memes about the Joy of Travel.  This has apparently made his money situation particularly desperate so he has gone from subtle asks for money ("woe is me I'm so poor how will I eat" quickly followed by "it sure would be nice if a pizza magically appeared on my doorstep."  I wish I was joking.) to not-so-subtle asks.  I mean directly saying "give me money, any money, even a dollar will do" in increasingly creative ways ranging from cutesy to straight up begging.  The frequency of these posts is directly proportional to the frequency of his travel posts and how excited he is to "go off on his next adventure."  Today's post was what pushed me over the edge:  Directions on how to give directly to his paypal because he doesn't know how he'll pay rent (again, that poor roommate) the same day as posting that he bought yet another plane ticket.

I want to comment so bad.  So so bad.  It's taking a lot of restraint not to do so.  But I also don't want to find myself blocked so I can keep on watching this train wreck.  I've always had a thing for bad TV. 

Edit:  You know what the worst part is?  People apparently can't put two and two together because he gets sympathetic comments all the time on his pity posts and congratulatory comments on his travel posts.  He once posted his amazon wishlist and told people to buy him stuff on it because it wasn't fair that people who got married got presents and he'd never get married so he should get presents just because (???).  AND SOMEONE POSTED THEY WOULD BUY SOMETHING OFF IT.  At some point I don't know who is worse, the moocher or his enablers. 

[Goldielocks]

^^!

I do agree with the moocher about weddings... well, about wedding SHOWERS.   They used to be to provide small useful household gifts for setting up a new home.    Of course, most people have lived on their own / with their partner for YEARS before getting married, so these gifts are not needed.

Instead, I think we should be giving our young adults "First Real Apartment" showers with house warming gifts, instead of Wedding Showers.     I will see if I can do that for my nephew in a couple of years when he graduates.

>> you can still have a bridal lunch with the ladies, before your event, if you like, but not a gift-giving event in addition to a Wedding<<

[StacheyStache]

^^!

I do agree with the moocher about weddings... well, about wedding SHOWERS.   They used to be to provide small useful household gifts for setting up a new home.    Of course, most people have lived on their own / with their partner for YEARS before getting married, so these gifts are not needed.

Instead, I think we should be giving our young adults "First Real Apartment" showers with house warming gifts, instead of Wedding Showers.     I will see if I can do that for my nephew in a couple of years when he graduates.

>> you can still have a bridal lunch with the ladies, before your event, if you like, but not a gift-giving event in addition to a Wedding<<

It's not so much the idea of getting a gift for your first apartment over a wedding that bothers me as much as it is yet another manipulative trick in this guy's never ending arsenal of ploys to get free stuff from his friends and family.  The ridiculousness is up there with those Nigerian prince scams and yet otherwise intelligent people keep falling for it.  Do they not realize that when they buy him food or household items or god forbid actually give him money what they're actually doing is subsidizing a lavish lifestyle that most people can't afford for themselves?  I'd love to go on three plane trips a year if someone else was paying for my rent!  Even my own boyfriend, who is closer to him than I am, admits he fell for this once and got him McDonald's because he bought the 'I'm starving' crap.  It's baffling.

[Kyle Schuant]

There are a number of these people around. One I know was moving house and was told by their mother, "Since you'll be living alone, I'll pay half your rent." Not even, "half up to $200" or whatever, but "half your rent." And their father's the same. The parents are divorced so there's probably a bit of making up for guilt etc going on there. But again: there are many people like this.

Of course, when someone else is in need, this person has not offered even a kind word.

It's all in the upbringing, I think.

[partgypsy]

I had a "friend" like that on Facebook, actually someone I went to HS (I think she was an exchange student). Actually when she was younger she had an interesting job working for a board game company. I'm not sure exactly what happened with her life, but as she had 2 teens with no mention of husband I'm assuming she was divorced. Her life was just OVERLY drama filled. She was posting either how this Wonderful job opportunity fell into her lap, and then after a few weeks the drama stories of the job would start, a lot of time interpersonal conflicts with customers posted in quite detail (like if you worked there you could figure out who they were) including expletives. There would be the stories of her father in law whom she had ahem "strong" negative feelings towards. Also super loving posts of her daughter followed by how her daughter is acting like a complete ungrateful BITCH. Or posts about how super amazing and wonderful her son is, and how proud she is of him, followed by an angry post how his friends destroyed her house.
I also ashamedly kept her as friend because it did make me feel better about my own life, or at least my ability to filter what I tell other people!
I finally unfollowed her when she posted this tirade how she was really happy that they passed this bill (In Germany? France?) how people couldn't label say veggie sausage veggie sausage, and almond milk with the "milk" term. The reasoning which is that only bourgeois people can afford those type of people while other poor people cannot afford these products therefore should be outlawed! I stupidly put my 2 cents in (a) the people who were pushing for this ruling were the dairy and meat councils, and b) many are transition foods to help people become more vegetarian, and c) I don't think anyone is actually confused that almond or soy milk has actual milk in it). Apparently what I said was incredibly offensive and it ludicrously escalated from there to the point I had to block her.

[Alfred J Quack]

nd c) I don't think anyone is actually confused that almond or soy milk has actual milk in it).

Have you ever made fresh almond or soy milk? It's quite the horror, getting up at 4am to milk those tiny buggers!

But Facebook drama I agree with, made me delete my account a few years ago and have been much happier since. Only use the wife's account occasionally for a specific support group, but even there the drama is quite the energy drain.

Ontopic: one of the most recent drama was a mom complaining that she didn't get a modified stroller but a wheelchair for her son. I get that the city wanted to provide the wheelchair and not the stroller but she felt that her son's disability was put on showcase. To be fair, he's 8 and a modified stroller is like 800 euros which won't break most banks. If I were in the same position of even prefer the wheelchair, of only that for his age it would be more appropriate and raise less eyebrows.
(This is part of the welfare society, those in need of extra support beyond what is expected of a family to provide can request their city to contribute. Most cities have various rules as to what will and won't be provided. Both our sons receive subsidized care based on the early intervention program, both are genuinely in need of it too though.)

[Kyle Schuant]

one of the most recent drama was a mom complaining that she didn't get a modified stroller but a wheelchair for her son. I get that the city wanted to provide the wheelchair and not the stroller but she felt that her son's disability was put on showcase. To be fair, he's 8 and a modified stroller is like 800 euros which won't break most banks. If I were in the same position of even prefer the wheelchair, of only that for his age it would be more appropriate and raise less eyebrows.

If he's 8 and in a pram, they're getting looks either way. And wheelchairs are pretty expensive, usually more than prams, so it may not have been a financial decision by the city.

[Alfred J Quack]

one of the most recent drama was a mom complaining that she didn't get a modified stroller but a wheelchair for her son. I get that the city wanted to provide the wheelchair and not the stroller but she felt that her son's disability was put on showcase. To be fair, he's 8 and a modified stroller is like 800 euros which won't break most banks. If I were in the same position of even prefer the wheelchair, of only that for his age it would be more appropriate and raise less eyebrows.

If he's 8 and in a pram, they're getting looks either way. And wheelchairs are pretty expensive, usually more than prams, so it may not have been a financial decision by the city.

Oh, it was definitely financial. Almost all decisions in this case are.

The wheelchair with a 5-point child-safe safety belt is something like 400 euros whereas the stroller is 800 commercially. The city has bulk buying discounts on the wheelchair but not the stroller (not enough users).

Recently there was a lawsuit though, filed by a supportgroup because a city denied a request immediately based on cost and advised the standard solution which was a lot cheaper.  The group won it too because the request was adjusted to that families situation and the law provides that any request should be judged on suitability and not cost (within limits). Made to measure may be more expensive but it may also allow for a more humane way of living, choice of carer etc.
Also, the supplied solutions by the city are generic which is why they are cheap. In our case we would have an accountmanager, 3 workers of various generic specialties at 12 euro an hour and no communication between them and other parties. Fortunately we got our request approved and now have a specialist who does all the work, meets with DSs school teacher to line up her work with theirs, meets with DS2s physiotherapist, speech therapist AND meets with the school where we intend to send him where she has a file a mile long which she uses to prove that he can do this if they only allow for minor adjustments.

She takes so much work off our hands I would pay her fee out of pocket, if I could. But even if she is more expensive she saves the city money in the long run simply because of all the other people I don't need which wouldn't be the case with the generic solution. And best of all, she gives us peace of mind that thing will end up OK even though now may be bleak.

[Mrs.Piano]

What finally got me to post here is that in recent months the moocher has apparently been "bitten by the travel bug" and is on his third trip by PLANE this year.  His trips are of course well documented with selfies and memes about the Joy of Travel.  This has apparently made his money situation particularly desperate so he has gone from subtle asks for money ("woe is me I'm so poor how will I eat" quickly followed by "it sure would be nice if a pizza magically appeared on my doorstep."  I wish I was joking.) to not-so-subtle asks.  I mean directly saying "give me money, any money, even a dollar will do" in increasingly creative ways ranging from cutesy to straight up begging.  The frequency of these posts is directly proportional to the frequency of his travel posts and how excited he is to "go off on his next adventure."  Today's post was what pushed me over the edge:  Directions on how to give directly to his paypal because he doesn't know how he'll pay rent (again, that poor roommate) the same day as posting that he bought yet another plane ticket.

We have a lady like that at our mosque, she is always complaining about how she is hungry, how she has no food in the house, etc. She has repeatedly stated that she has government disability payments monthly but is frequently posting on FB about how she has bought new art supplies or she has gotten a new tattoo. Now, I live a good ways from the mosque, about 1/2 hour on public transport. I live very near to the only pay-what-you-can grocery in Canada.  Offered to take her there, since I had to go home anyway.  She refused, saying, « Thanks, that would be nice but then I would have to cook the food ». I just said, « okay, let me know if you ever need a ride over there. Salaam aleikum » and then left.  I’ve been told that other people have given her food many times but I can’t see that as helpful or sustainable.

[MgoSam]

I was asked for money by a friend on facebook the other week. I was so steamed by it that it took me a while to decide to post it on here. The guy used to be a close friend but has drifted away over time. His page constantly shows him at various restaurants, including several that I have wanted to eat but haven't due to its cost. He also has expensive tastes when it does come to drinking, cars, and many more things. Suffice it to say, he spends a ton of money. I 'unfollowed' him a while back so I don't see any of his current posts.

Which is why when he asked for a loan I declined saying that money is tight. He got all huffy about it and said that he was good for it. I mentioned that last time I lent him money I had to wait a long time to get it back (only $100 but it's the principle of the matter, my friend clearly just hoped that I would forget about it).

He called me an "ungrateful friend," to which I asked what I should be grateful for. I told him to unfriend if he feels that way.

Haven't heard anything from him since, he hasn't unfriended me.

[partgypsy]

What finally got me to post here is that in recent months the moocher has apparently been "bitten by the travel bug" and is on his third trip by PLANE this year.  His trips are of course well documented with selfies and memes about the Joy of Travel.  This has apparently made his money situation particularly desperate so he has gone from subtle asks for money ("woe is me I'm so poor how will I eat" quickly followed by "it sure would be nice if a pizza magically appeared on my doorstep."  I wish I was joking.) to not-so-subtle asks.  I mean directly saying "give me money, any money, even a dollar will do" in increasingly creative ways ranging from cutesy to straight up begging.  The frequency of these posts is directly proportional to the frequency of his travel posts and how excited he is to "go off on his next adventure."  Today's post was what pushed me over the edge:  Directions on how to give directly to his paypal because he doesn't know how he'll pay rent (again, that poor roommate) the same day as posting that he bought yet another plane ticket.

We have a lady like that at our mosque, she is always complaining about how she is hungry, how she has no food in the house, etc. She has repeatedly stated that she has government disability payments monthly but is frequently posting on FB about how she has bought new art supplies or she has gotten a new tattoo. Now, I live a good ways from the mosque, about 1/2 hour on public transport. I live very near to the only pay-what-you-can grocery in Canada.  Offered to take her there, since I had to go home anyway.  She refused, saying, « Thanks, that would be nice but then I would have to cook the food ». I just said, « okay, let me know if you ever need a ride over there. Salaam aleikum » and then left.  I’ve been told that other people have given her food many times but I can’t see that as helpful or sustainable.

What is Islam's stance on tattoos I wonder? I know orthodox jews do not and I was raised eastern orthodox Christian, and at least when I was growing up tattoos were a definite no no.

[Warlord1986]

What finally got me to post here is that in recent months the moocher has apparently been "bitten by the travel bug" and is on his third trip by PLANE this year.  His trips are of course well documented with selfies and memes about the Joy of Travel.  This has apparently made his money situation particularly desperate so he has gone from subtle asks for money ("woe is me I'm so poor how will I eat" quickly followed by "it sure would be nice if a pizza magically appeared on my doorstep."  I wish I was joking.) to not-so-subtle asks.  I mean directly saying "give me money, any money, even a dollar will do" in increasingly creative ways ranging from cutesy to straight up begging.  The frequency of these posts is directly proportional to the frequency of his travel posts and how excited he is to "go off on his next adventure."  Today's post was what pushed me over the edge:  Directions on how to give directly to his paypal because he doesn't know how he'll pay rent (again, that poor roommate) the same day as posting that he bought yet another plane ticket.

We have a lady like that at our mosque, she is always complaining about how she is hungry, how she has no food in the house, etc. She has repeatedly stated that she has government disability payments monthly but is frequently posting on FB about how she has bought new art supplies or she has gotten a new tattoo. Now, I live a good ways from the mosque, about 1/2 hour on public transport. I live very near to the only pay-what-you-can grocery in Canada.  Offered to take her there, since I had to go home anyway.  She refused, saying, « Thanks, that would be nice but then I would have to cook the food ». I just said, « okay, let me know if you ever need a ride over there. Salaam aleikum » and then left.  I’ve been told that other people have given her food many times but I can’t see that as helpful or sustainable.

What is Islam's stance on tattoos I wonder? I know orthodox jews do not and I was raised eastern orthodox Christian, and at least when I was growing up tattoos were a definite no no.

I asked a Muslim guy this once. He said tattoos were frowned upon because they were changing what God created.

[I'm a red panda]

I asked a Muslim guy this once. He said tattoos were frowned upon because they were changing what God created.

Isn't this technically the Christian stance too? I mean Leviticus clearly says no tattoos, though it doesn't say why.

[onlykelsey]

I asked a Muslim guy this once. He said tattoos were frowned upon because they were changing what God created.

Isn't this technically the Christian stance too? I mean Leviticus clearly says no tattoos, though it doesn't say why.

I mean, for most Christian sects the Pentateuch and the entire OT is generally seen as non-binding because Christians are bound by the New Covenant from the last supper, and not the laws of the OT.  Otherwise christians would keep kosher, etc.  But I guess you could look at 1 Corinthians and get "no tattoos" out of 6:19's language about your body being a temple.

Even for Jews/OT adherents I think there is an argument Leviticus was talking about Canaanite ritual scarification and not tattoos if you read Kings.

[I'm a red panda]

I asked a Muslim guy this once. He said tattoos were frowned upon because they were changing what God created.

Isn't this technically the Christian stance too? I mean Leviticus clearly says no tattoos, though it doesn't say why.

I mean, for most Christian sects the Pentateuch and the entire OT is generally seen as non-binding because Christians are bound by the New Covenant from the last supper, and not the laws of the OT.  Otherwise christians would keep kosher, etc.  But I guess you could look at 1 Corinthians and get "no tattoos" out of 6:19's language about your body being a temple.

Even for Jews/OT adherents I think there is an argument Leviticus was talking about Canaanite ritual scarification and not tattoos if you read Kings.

Yeah, Leviticus only matters when it's about the gays.

[ixtap]

I asked a Muslim guy this once. He said tattoos were frowned upon because they were changing what God created.

Isn't this technically the Christian stance too? I mean Leviticus clearly says no tattoos, though it doesn't say why.

Well, Jesus did say that the old laws weren't really that important. Love thy enemy, do unto others, and turn the other cheek, rather than eye for an eye and kill every last one, leave no woman or child to seek revenge.
I mean, for most Christian sects the Pentateuch and the entire OT is generally seen as non-binding because Christians are bound by the New Covenant from the last supper, and not the laws of the OT.  Otherwise christians would keep kosher, etc.  But I guess you could look at 1 Corinthians and get "no tattoos" out of 6:19's language about your body being a temple.

Even for Jews/OT adherents I think there is an argument Leviticus was talking about Canaanite ritual scarification and not tattoos if you read Kings.

Yeah, Leviticus only matters when it's about the gays.

[JAYSLOL]

Ugh!  I can't take it anymore!  The former high school classmate Facebook friend of mine that has spent the last 2 years posting about how they really need to win the lottery to have any chance of paying off debts while posting photos of a brand new big screen tv and new huge dodge truck and complaining about their "loan place"(payday loans), and not making ends meet just posted that they crashed their SO's car and posted a photo of a brand new jeep SUV as the replacement.  I just don't understand how people can be so wrapped up in consumerism that they can completely destroy their own future for that new car smell today. 

[MgoSam]

I asked a Muslim guy this once. He said tattoos were frowned upon because they were changing what God created.

Isn't this technically the Christian stance too? I mean Leviticus clearly says no tattoos, though it doesn't say why.

I mean, for most Christian sects the Pentateuch and the entire OT is generally seen as non-binding because Christians are bound by the New Covenant from the last supper, and not the laws of the OT.  Otherwise christians would keep kosher, etc.  But I guess you could look at 1 Corinthians and get "no tattoos" out of 6:19's language about your body being a temple.

Even for Jews/OT adherents I think there is an argument Leviticus was talking about Canaanite ritual scarification and not tattoos if you read Kings.

Yeah, Leviticus only matters when it's about the gays.

I brought this up the last time I heard a Christian friend talking about the evils of homosexuality. He quickly changed the subject. The guy was eating pork at the time.....

[onlykelsey]

I asked a Muslim guy this once. He said tattoos were frowned upon because they were changing what God created.

Isn't this technically the Christian stance too? I mean Leviticus clearly says no tattoos, though it doesn't say why.

I mean, for most Christian sects the Pentateuch and the entire OT is generally seen as non-binding because Christians are bound by the New Covenant from the last supper, and not the laws of the OT.  Otherwise christians would keep kosher, etc.  But I guess you could look at 1 Corinthians and get "no tattoos" out of 6:19's language about your body being a temple.

Even for Jews/OT adherents I think there is an argument Leviticus was talking about Canaanite ritual scarification and not tattoos if you read Kings.

Yeah, Leviticus only matters when it's about the gays.

I brought this up the last time I heard a Christian friend talking about the evils of homosexuality. He quickly changed the subject. The guy was eating pork at the time.....

Paul does talk about homosexuality, but it's the ONLY gospel to do so... and in the context of him trying to find common ground with Romans (hey, we hate them, too!)... not super compelling.  The whole point of christianity is the new covenant.... not appending belief in Jesus on to Judaism (see, e.g. Mike Pence inviting a "Messianic Jew" to lead the prayer services yesterday).

[shelivesthedream]

Hey, has anyone overheard anything good on Facebook lately? [/end hint]

[I'm a red panda]

Hey, has anyone overheard anything good on Facebook lately? [/end hint]

If you want, I can find a post about how the Bible says gays are bad.  Or at least how Steve King says they are.  Dumbshit Steve King is taking up way too much of my facebook feed.

[mustachepungoeshere]

Hey, has anyone overheard anything good on Facebook lately? [/end hint]

A reasonably frugal friend was in the US for work recently.

He visited an outlet mall to pick up new running shoes for about half the price he would pay in Australia.

A colleague he was travelling with had a go at him for "wasting money on shoes".

The colleague is a pack of day smoker who pays more than a dollar each for every cigarette.

[dragoncar]

Hey, has anyone overheard anything good on Facebook lately? [/end hint]

A reasonably frugal friend was in the US for work recently.

He visited an outlet mall to pick up new running shoes for about half the price he would pay in Australia.

A colleague he was travelling with started had a go at him for "wasting money on shoes".

The colleague is a pack of day smoker who pays more than a dollar each for every cigarette.

You don’t get shoe withdrawal if you don’t buy more shoes

[Kitsune]

Hey, has anyone overheard anything good on Facebook lately? [/end hint]

A reasonably frugal friend was in the US for work recently.

He visited an outlet mall to pick up new running shoes for about half the price he would pay in Australia.

A colleague he was travelling with started had a go at him for "wasting money on shoes".

The colleague is a pack of day smoker who pays more than a dollar each for every cigarette.

You don’t get shoe withdrawal if you don’t buy more shoes

Really? Looking at some of my colleagues, you'd certainly think otherwise.

[Sugaree]

Hey, has anyone overheard anything good on Facebook lately? [/end hint]

A reasonably frugal friend was in the US for work recently.

He visited an outlet mall to pick up new running shoes for about half the price he would pay in Australia.

A colleague he was travelling with started had a go at him for "wasting money on shoes".

The colleague is a pack of day smoker who pays more than a dollar each for every cigarette.

You don’t get shoe withdrawal if you don’t buy more shoes

Really? Looking at some of my colleagues, you'd certainly think otherwise.

Me too.  And the worst offender is one of the guys.  I swear he has a pair of sneakers to match every single t-shirt he owns.  And I'm over here wearing 15 year-old Doc Martens with holes in them because I can't find new ones that I like for a price I want to pay (okay, and they are broken in and comfy). 

[marty998]

Hey, has anyone overheard anything good on Facebook lately? [/end hint]

A reasonably frugal friend was in the US for work recently.

He visited an outlet mall to pick up new running shoes for about half the price he would pay in Australia.

A colleague he was travelling with started had a go at him for "wasting money on shoes".

The colleague is a pack of day smoker who pays more than a dollar each for every cigarette.

You don’t get shoe withdrawal if you don’t buy more shoes

Really? Looking at some of my colleagues, you'd certainly think otherwise.

Me too.  And the worst offender is one of the guys.  I swear he has a pair of sneakers to match every single t-shirt he owns.  And I'm over here wearing 15 year-old Doc Martens with holes in them because I can't find new ones that I like for a price I want to pay (okay, and they are broken in and comfy).

Ok I will stretch a pair for as long as I can, but even I know (from experience) that old worn out shoes lead to blisters and foot problems pretty quickly.

Bite the bullet and get a new pair. Will save you much more in podiatry costs down the road.

[ysette9]

I just got another FB friend invite from my FIL. I searched for his name and found six accounts he has opened up over time.
It appears that he forgets his password or otherwise gets messed up and so instead of figuring it out or asking for help, he just opens a new account.

[Sugaree]

This just came up on a community based page that I'm a part of on FB:

"I need info about homeschool .
I'm wonting to take my child out of public school .any parents on here willing to tell me how I go about doing it. .
All info is appreciated."

[letsdoit]

What finally got me to post here is that in recent months the moocher has apparently been "bitten by the travel bug" and is on his third trip by PLANE this year.  His trips are of course well documented with selfies and memes about the Joy of Travel.  This has apparently made his money situation particularly desperate so he has gone from subtle asks for money ("woe is me I'm so poor how will I eat" quickly followed by "it sure would be nice if a pizza magically appeared on my doorstep."  I wish I was joking.) to not-so-subtle asks.  I mean directly saying "give me money, any money, even a dollar will do" in increasingly creative ways ranging from cutesy to straight up begging.  The frequency of these posts is directly proportional to the frequency of his travel posts and how excited he is to "go off on his next adventure."  Today's post was what pushed me over the edge:  Directions on how to give directly to his paypal because he doesn't know how he'll pay rent (again, that poor roommate) the same day as posting that he bought yet another plane ticket.

We have a lady like that at our mosque, she is always complaining about how she is hungry, how she has no food in the house, etc. She has repeatedly stated that she has government disability payments monthly but is frequently posting on FB about how she has bought new art supplies or she has gotten a new tattoo. Now, I live a good ways from the mosque, about 1/2 hour on public transport. I live very near to the only pay-what-you-can grocery in Canada.  Offered to take her there, since I had to go home anyway.  She refused, saying, « Thanks, that would be nice but then I would have to cook the food ». I just said, « okay, let me know if you ever need a ride over there. Salaam aleikum » and then left.  I’ve been told that other people have given her food many times but I can’t see that as helpful or sustainable.

i have to admit once i cooked a bowl of plain white rice and offered it to a guy that was always bitching about how hungry he was.  i was young, maybe it was uncooth, but i used to eat a lot of plain rice so i know he wasnt really hungry bc he rejected it

[letsdoit]

I just booted up my new iPhone 8 that I got because my employer gave it to me for free. I had previously planned on using my iPhone 6 until screen and battery replacements were no longer sufficient to keep it going. I have to say, I wouldn’t buy this new phone myself but I am enjoying all of its fancy fancy. :) Here is hoping the phone will take me to FIRE!

someone gave me an iphone 5 when my burner phoen died.
and the iphone sucks ,  doesnt receive calls or anything. 
i guess i can get this moto g6 and maye a SIM adapter and put the iphoen's SIM card in it with no problem  ?

[SugarMountain]

I just got another FB friend invite from my FIL. I searched for his name and found six accounts he has opened up over time.
It appears that he forgets his password or otherwise gets messed up and so instead of figuring it out or asking for help, he just opens a new account.

Those could be scam accounts.  There is a scam where the scammer opens an account with your name, your profile picture, and starts sending friends requests to your existing friends list. This happened to me once and I've since made my friends list private (by default it's public).

https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/F/facebook-clone-scam.html

[ysette9]

I think that is a question for Google, not for me. :)

[ysette9]

I just got another FB friend invite from my FIL. I searched for his name and found six accounts he has opened up over time.
It appears that he forgets his password or otherwise gets messed up and so instead of figuring it out or asking for help, he just opens a new account.

Those could be scam accounts.  There is a scam where the scammer opens an account with your name, your profile picture, and starts sending friends requests to your existing friends list. This happened to me once and I've since made my friends list private (by default it's public).

https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/F/facebook-clone-scam.html

I am pretty sure he just doesn’t know how to operate technology. A new account gets opened every few months and he posts the same photos to several of them. It is like he is logged into one FB account on the phone, another on the iPad, and a third on the computer....

[Just Joe]

I just got another FB friend invite from my FIL. I searched for his name and found six accounts he has opened up over time.
It appears that he forgets his password or otherwise gets messed up and so instead of figuring it out or asking for help, he just opens a new account.

My MIL is the same. I have 4 accounts that are all her, but she ups the game by using a different name every time. So frustrating.

We have a relative that asks their grown kids and grandkids for IT support. Everyone has varying skill levels. DW does IT support as part of her job.

DW will find abandoned accounts, passwords nobody wrote down, click here solutions and no awareness of what software or app they are using to "see the pictures" (social media). Even recovering passwords by email can be an adventure.

Too many cooks in the kitchen.