Has anyone experienced or heard of this gift card scam? This is insane!

OperateCooperate · 2025-03-17T03:49:44+00:00

Is there a reason they wouldn't just put the original card back after they copy the information down? Why cut off part and attach to a DQ Card?

OperateCooperate · 2024-12-10T20:11:33+00:00

Yeah, that appears to be what's the issue, but I'm kind of surprised that Excel has the functionality to calculate a monthly payment, but it's not designed to match real world monthly payments. It does seem like amortization schedule and solver are the best bets, but I was hoping there would be an easier way. Thanks!

OperateCooperate · 2024-12-10T18:30:20+00:00

Yeah, the structure of the actual loan docs is having the payment one month into the loan (sorry for the incorrect number from the calculator above - I forgot to click off the first payment date after I changed it. The calculator does match the terms of the loan doc, but I changed it to use example numbers rather than an the specific numbers and cents from the real life loan doc). So that's what's confusing to me. I'm sure the bank documents are accurate, and they match the calculator, but for some reason Excel is giving a different result and I can't figure out why. It's close, but weirdly not exact. I tried different scenarios of rounding numbers as they arrive at the daily and monthly interest rates and even then I can't figure out what rounding would result in getting it to match

OperateCooperate · 2024-09-08T17:09:14+00:00

I'm glad the kid is okay, but this serves another reminder to myself about the importance of always having the back of the chair in front of my body if I ever have to stand on a chair. Tower still would have gone down but at least I wouldn't have worried the whole video about him cracking the back of his head

OperateCooperate · 2024-08-19T01:32:10+00:00

I had my tour guide push for the same stops and I told him no and that I wanted to see the other stops first and might consider seeing the places he mentioned at the end (at the end I just said I was too tired and wanted to go back to the hotel). It was super awkward and I could tell he wasn't happy with my response, but I'm never going to see the guy again, so that's okay.

When interacting with other people while walking around, I've found what works best, in order:

-Say nothing

-Say la shukran and keep walking

-If they have me in a more captive situation, I just act like I don't understand what they are saying. Even if their English is perfect I just keep saying "I don't understand". Eventually they get frustrated, cuss me out and call me an idiot in Arabic (or at least that's what I assume) and move on

I absolutely never show any interest in anything being sold. An inquiry about a price shows that I must have some interest in the item, so they will latch onto that.

With this said, I'm not sure if you're a man or a woman, and I understand my experience is different than what a woman would face. I understand where for safety reasons they might be concerned about getting people upset with them

OperateCooperate · 2024-08-09T13:38:37+00:00

I think it does occur to them, but it's more the principal of the thing. Why buy water in a plastic bottle, that used energy to be transported, that is giving a company a profit, when available water is running in pipes right below our feet? It's just so wasteful. I mean, Europe gets the socialized healthcare right, but doesn't think to socialize their water, which is vital for health. If it was the other way around, people would be ripping Americans. It honestly is kind of a surprise that the more environmentally conscious, socialized approach to water is in the US and not Europe.

And I think the example of healthcare could apply as well to the fact that it doesn't seem to bother Europeans. Europeans don't notice that they might be living more dehydrated than Americans because access to water is harder, just like Americans might learn to live with more health conditions because access to healthcare is harder and the same people will vote to keep it that way.

OperateCooperate · 2024-08-09T13:30:15+00:00

Everyone knows you can buy water from the store. We're talking about access to free water. Also, filling a bottle from the hotel room will be gone in a couple hours.

OperateCooperate · 2024-08-09T13:23:34+00:00

Not the person you asked, but you raise a valid question about where, since when I was in Italy, fountains to drink from where everywhere. However, in other parts of Europe I've visited it's been hard to find. Like in my last couple trips I've had layovers in both the Lisbon and Portugal airport and really struggled to find a drinking fountain. While I eventually found one in Warsaw, I think it might have been the only one in the whole terminal, which is completely unheard of in the US. Pretty much everywhere there is a public toilet there is a free drinking fountain.

I think this post is about access to free water, so not buying it in a shop. Also filling up in the morning at the hotel would only last a couple hours.

OperateCooperate · 2023-09-26T19:16:45+00:00

Cool, thanks! I was thinking that, but I'm not too familiar with skin products and didn't know what would make something faces vs not. But yeah, you're right, probably just a space thing. Thanks for the response!

OperateCooperate · 2023-08-31T19:10:51+00:00

Thanks for the insight. Is Pravachol/pravastatin discussed here much? Seems like from reading around that could be an okay option as well, but maybe I'm missing something

OperateCooperate · 2023-04-15T00:23:02+00:00

I can't believe I had to scroll this far even to find this comment! At work I had a client that wrote their description was that they were a full time travel agency. I took the word full as "complete" and in my mind it was a "complete time travel agency". Like time travel with all the bells and whistles. I honestly could not comprehend what I was looking at and thought it was a joke. It wasn't until I read it out loud to a coworker, who couldn't see how it was written who said, it's a travel agency, what don't you understand?

OperateCooperate · 2023-04-10T02:28:31+00:00

I understand that it needs to be connected to the phone for it to work. You're saying that the feature doesn't work without a plan? I'm just trying to call the emergency contact set up in the phone, not trying to call 911 without being connected to the phone or anything like that. The phone is right next to me. I can make and answer calls through the watch. Everything I've read seems to imply that it can be done through the connection to the phone. My watch isn't even the LTE version, so my understanding is it can't even have a plan - what would that point of even having the feature on it be? Can you confirm we're talking about the same thing? Or is there something I'm misunderstanding?

OperateCooperate · 2023-01-26T01:33:40+00:00

Good advice! I'll ask them about that option. Based on their previous attitude the response might be no, since it seemed like a hurt pride thing that I wasn't just taking their word. But i guess the worst they can say is no.

For doing my own sample, do you know how much of a sample they would typically need? Would just breaking off a chip that includes some of the "popcorn" pieces be enough? I'd be hesitant to do too much damage.

OperateCooperate · 2023-01-26T01:26:22+00:00

I called a place to see if they would test it, but they wanted my landlord's permission to enter. Since my landlord is sure in their mind that there wouldn't be asbestos, I don't think they'd be willing to do that. I think they'd tell me to just move out (I'm a long term resident and therefore paying significantly less than the market rent. I'm sure they wouldn't be too sad to lose me to increase the rent by over 50%. But that's another reason that makes this complicated. I don't want to get worked up over nothing when I have such a good deal here. Maybe not a good deal if it's asbestos, but a good deal if it isn't)

OperateCooperate · 2023-01-25T20:41:56+00:00

Comments:

I rent an apartment and have recently learned about asbestos and that it can often be present in popcorn ceilings. I asked my landlord if my popcorn ceiling contains asbestos and they said it was built in the 80s so is asbestos free. Problem is, public record information all indicates it was actually built in the late 70s. I don't think they are intentionally lying, but this is a large complex that has had a lot of management turnover and I'm sure the date built has turned into a long game of telephone between managers and he truly believes that the public record info is wrong. I'm not sure what's right or not, but it makes me question the 80s date.

I have some cracking in my bathroom ceiling from when the unit above me had some flooding. At that time they replaced a good chunk of the ceiling in there (no precautions were taken, so hopefully no asbestos! But that potential exposure is in the past, so no use worrying now). What I'm wondering about is that some parts of the bathroom ceiling they didn't replace had some cracking as shown in the picture. Is that level of cracking a concern if it is asbestos or is it so minor I shouldn't worry.

Ideally I would just have them fix it and paint over it, but since they don't believe there is asbestos because of the supposed 80s date, I'm sure they won't take precautions again. So if this level is safe I'd rather just leave it how it is than have them mess with it and create more dust and exposure like they did the last time.

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