I went to the bakery to buy pastries for our desert breakfast tomorrow.

I gave the lady my order, and waited for them to put everything together.

A family with two young kids arrived to buy breakfast too.

I was paying my bill with cash.

The man from the family paid with his Apple watch.

I said "Wow! You can pay by your watch now?"

"Yes" he said, adding "this is the modern way. Yours is the ancient way"

I said "let me ask you a question. What is the shortest distance between two points? Straight line, do agree?"

He was smiling, and so was everyone else there, who were enjoying the discussion.

I said "I am dealing with this young lady here. I have the cash, and I handed to her. End of story. Job done. For you, your watch has to operate properly, the gadget you put your watch close to has to operate properly, there has to be an Internet connection, and has to operate properly. The bank system has to be up and running. If anything is wrong in that convoluted pathway, you cannot buy breakfast!"

Two young kids, wearing hoodies like those YO YO boys.

One said "Gosh! I never thought of it that way!"

Collected my pastries, and said "you all have a very nice day. Hope your Apple watch keeps working!"

They were laughing as I left.

Only you Saeed, only you. . . . .

It is now worse than Stone Age.

Many places nowadays, for ordinary purchases, will not accept cash as a means of payment.

We have rotated 180 degrees from simple.

Rogers Communications who handle just about all this stuff in Canada, had a technical problem last week. The entire economy was basically shut down for over a day, including 911 service. World War 3 will start with a total loss of our electronic capabilities is my theory.

Grizz

Michael, sadly that's true. But unless the law has changed ( + I would REALLY like one of our resident lawyers opinion here) that American currency is "the coin of the realm, for ALL debts public + private" + can not be refused as method of payment; + here we enter another area; by refusing to accept said payment, the product can be assumed given to the patron free of charge. Sounds kinda far out but so do a lot of other things these days. Another along the same lines; I stopped a new Valoline oil change outfit the other day in my work truck for an oil change. Don't exit the car + they don't take checks, only credit cards but there was no notice of this when I pulled into the bay. Then they wanted my email address to send me my receipt. NO,I don't have a printer. I want a hard copy (on paper) for a business vehicle for my CPA. + then my most hated words these days, "Sorry sir, that's just the way it is."

Griz, speaking of which, have you read any of the "Thrillers" by Kyle Mills (Vince Flynn), Brad Thor, or even James Patterson that writes of these possibilities in the novel form but understandably believable. Oh + BTW, as to my last post concerning my disdain for the current phrase of the day "That's just the way it is.", I must confess that I thought that concept was eradicated in 1946 in Nuremberg along with "I was only following orders."

On a lighter side, when a young person gives me my change back correctly, I compliment them. I agree that one should not feel obliged to compliment folks just for doing their job correctly, but since that seems to be such a rarity in these times, I feel that a good word never goes unappreciated.

Old Mother Earth Is Just One Direct Hit Solar Flare From The Stone Age. We Have Had A Few Near Misses In Recent History.

Sounds familiar. I took a young Guy who worked for me up to Auckland to help me pick up a kitchen Id just bought.
He saw my hand drawn map on a piece of paper and started to give me shit about being a fossil and explained how his phone was going to tell us where to go. Half way there and his phone went flat and he'd forgotten a charging cable.
Where too now? I asked Ummm I dont know. Ask the phone, ask the phone.
See I dont need to plug in my piece of paper.

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
Sounds familiar. I took a young Guy who worked for me up to Auckland to help me pick up a kitchen Id just bought.
He saw my hand drawn map on a piece of paper and started to give me shit about being a fossil and explained how his phone was going to tell us where to go. Half way there and his phone went flat and he'd forgotten a charging cable.
Where too now? I asked Ummm I dont know. Ask the phone, ask the phone.
See I dont need to plug in my piece of paper.

It really IS amazing how stupid, and lazy some young people are today.

We get deliveries by several courier companies.

Some send a message asking for a dropped PIN on Google maps so they know where to deliver.

This despite the fact that they have the correct address, and all they need do is look it up in Google maps.

I send them a message back, saying LOOK IT UP IN GOOGLE MAPS.

Some actually send an answer saying it will be quicker if I send them a PIN.

I tell them if they are too lazy to look it up, don't deliver. and I will copy all these message to their bosses.

They deliver.

Thats how I still operate, by map or directions. Many years ago when I worked for another shop + we all had radios in our trucks I called in to a buddy who had been to that job site before + on the open air gave me the directions, "You go on down Country Club Road + you take a right at that street where we saw those 2 dogs hung up about a month ago."

Since we are sharing laughs over dumb asses.

Summer of '67 I drove a concrete mixer truck.
Contactor; "Red". Pouring a foundation under an existing house.
I looked thru the basement window and saw what
I believed was a weak spot at the base of the form.

I told Red, "take a look at that form it looks weak to me".
Instead, he blew up at me: Who the Fuck is running this job you or me?
Your ONLY job is to give me mud when I say give me mud!""

I got on the radio to the boss:
"502 to Willford I'm about to pour mud for Red under a house I believe the form is weak and told Red to take a look at it.
He blew up at me and said all he wants from me is mud when he calls for it, what should I do knowing the form won't hold?"
"502 when he calls for mud, Give Him Mud" "10 4".

Oh yeah, me outside with the truck running full blast in the bright summer sun
looking thru a small window into the dark.
I kept the mud running hard and peeked in when I saw a hand waving.
"Huh, what? can't hear you, can't see you either".

Hey, my ass was covered by the boss!
I heard later those guys were ass deep in mud and Red didn't ever want me to deliver to him again.

Sometime later Willford called me in the office.
"I heard you gave Red mud when he called for mud"
"that's what you said to do"
"good job, I like a man that follows orders". Both grinning.

A few years later blowing up at his hired help Red had a fatal heart attack.
So much for temper!

George

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
Sounds familiar. I took a young Guy who worked for me up to Auckland to help me pick up a kitchen Id just bought.
He saw my hand drawn map on a piece of paper and started to give me shit about being a fossil and explained how his phone was going to tell us where to go. Half way there and his phone went flat and he'd forgotten a charging cable.
Where too now? I asked Ummm I dont know. Ask the phone, ask the phone.
See I dont need to plug in my piece of paper.

It really IS amazing how stupid, and lazy some young people are today.

We get deliveries by several courier companies.

Some send a message asking for a dropped PIN on Google maps so they know where to deliver.

This despite the fact that they have the correct address, and all they need do is look it up in Google maps.

I send them a message back, saying LOOK IT UP IN GOOGLE MAPS.

Some actually send an answer saying it will be quicker if I send them a PIN.

I tell them if they are too lazy to look it up, don't deliver. and I will copy all these message to their bosses.

They deliver.

Yep. I dont know that it would be a problem for you, but where I live we have no cell phone reception. The confusion when I refuse to give someone my cell number or send them a TXT to confirm something. Because I know that even if i tell them I cant receive their side of the info via cell. It will be ignored, and a week later the info i needed will be found in a message sitting on my phone when I finally head to town to do the job myself, because they never replied.
There are some things that just make sense even if only as redundancies. Cash in your wallet, a map book and even knowing how to read a map.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Michael, sadly that's true. But unless the law has changed ( + I would REALLY like one of our resident lawyers opinion here) that American currency is "the coin of the realm, for ALL debts public + private" + can not be refused as method of payment; + here we enter another area; by refusing to accept said payment, the product can be assumed given to the patron free of charge. "

Go argue with the Federal Reserve and see if you can move Federal monetary policy

Is it legal for a business in the United States to refuse cash as a form of payment?
https://www.federalreserve.gov...s/currency_12772.htm

There is no federal statute mandating that a private business, a person, or an organization must accept currency or coins as payment for goods or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether to accept cash unless there is a state law that says otherwise.
Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," states: "United States coins and currency [including Federal Reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal Reserve Banks and national banks] are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues." This statute means that all U.S. money as identified above is a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor.

I decided to take the Old Forrester Brewery tour in Louisville KY, at the end of the tour they funnel through the gift shop. Considering that Old Forrester spent $17 million refurbishing an old factory building of theirs, I thought I would help defray the cost with a small purchase of a 750 ml bottle of 1910 Old Forrester.

The gift shop would not accept currency, only took credit cards. The grinning happy idiots behind the cash register had been trained to parrot that money was dirty and full of diseases. I claimed that was nonsense, and the reason they were not accepting currency was that electronic transactions are more profitable to Old Forrester. I told them that cash has a burden, it has to be counted, it has to be carried, and it has to be physically taken to the bank, whereas these electronic transactions automatically deposit money in the Corporations account. All cash transactions have human overhead. The sock puppets behind the counter immediately became cherish and were offended that I took a different position and implied they were being manipulated by their Corporation. I did not think fast enough to ask if they wiped down the electronic screen I had to sign, for each and every customer. They had not for me. If money was diseased, what about a touch screen where thousands of disease carrying, polluted meat sacks touch every day? I will use that example next time I run across sock puppets parroting their corporate training. I know it won’t make a difference as sock puppets don’t have brains.

I did research this, and found propaganda such as this:

Dirty money: New research proves our cash is full of germs
https://www.yahoo.com/entertai...rself-130851710.html

This is how Corporations change society. Obviously electronic transactions are more profitable to them, so they change societal attitudes through “experts”. These experts are nothing more than trained seals, who sit up and bark for a fish. They are convincing the stupid and ignorant that money is dirty, therefore, no cash transactions. And it works, and campaigns like this, have worked. You can look at how Corporations changed society by getting people out of streets. Automobile manufacturers and their Government representatives wanted the roads to be car specific, and that took getting pedestrians, bicyclists, and horsemen, out of the road.

The Invention of Jaywalking Was a Massive Shaming Campaign
https://paleofuture.com/blog/2...ive-shaming-campaign

By the way, notice that they same bastards are changing society to “environmentally friendly” electric vehicles, but not adding environmentally friendly modes of transportation such as walking, or bicycling. Bicycles could do many trips for the average person, but it is too dangerous to bicycle on roads. The system is designed to kill anything but a motorized vehicle on the tarmac, and it will stay that way, They want you to buy costly electric vehicles, or be a passenger on a costly electric bus. They don’t want you walking or bicycling down the street to a strip mall, even though that is far less polluting in the big picture. And so it shall be.

Anyway, cash is on the way out. It is a total win, win for Corporations and Government. Your electronic transactions are sold to Corporations to analyze, and Government likes the fact they can track you through your purchases. Don’t doubt your electronic purchases are being tracked and analyzed. You have zero privacy in the United States.

Back in 1983 I went to an IRS office with $550.00 in cash to pay a tax. They wouldn't take it and I had to get a cashier's check from the bank.

Slamfire, thanks for posting that. For years I have been under the misconception that corporate policy does not outweigh federal law.

788, I know what you mean. Several years ago I went into the county office to pay my property taxes in cash; aw hell, you would have thought I robbed the bank in Boston! After about 15 minutes when they looked over the bills really close they decided to accept my payment. Another story that is good but I can't verify it as true, but it ought to be is about the the guy who goes into the tax office here in Williamson County to pay his taxes. He brought gold; seems like that was how the original law was written in the 1869 constitution, that all taxes were to be paid in gold. + never updated.You can imagine all the foibles that would have caused + as I said, if it's not true, it ought to be. Great story nontheless.

quote:

Originally posted by NormanConquest:
Slamfire, thanks for posting that. For years I have been under the misconception that corporate policy does not outweigh federal law.

Federal law is written by Corporations, so who needs the legislature?

Gailbraith stated in his book, Predator State, that we live in a Corporate Republic. Sure looks like one from where I sit.

Indeed it does, unless there are other options I am unaware of it, we can hope to have the top CEO in our nation with America's interests 1st. Not quite looking that way right now though, is it? As an aside + similar, that I won't get into now; I have firm convictions that the onset of WW2 was primarily influenced by the need for petroleum products by both Germany + Japan.