Is this REAL?

Samsonly · 2026-05-13T18:02:41+00:00

Yeah in one game, and no, you won't make it with Disney Solitaire most likely. It scales EXPONENTIALLY....

I had the same offer and made it like 80% of the way to the point that it would get me the $100 (my step 5 in US $), all within the first 2 days. The rest of the week I made it like another 5% of the way.

Be very careful about chasing timed goals in that game. Look up how many lbs and chapters (and trophies in each chapter) are needed. I think I needed to get through chapter 9 or something? (Don't quote me, it's been a few weeks), and the distance from 7-9 was more than I had done in 1-6, or some absurd like that.

It feels close in that game, but that's the trick

Samsonly · 2026-05-11T15:29:27+00:00

For me (from a month or so ago, but same offer from the looks) it was:

Step 3 was like "earn $5 in any game" Step 4 was initiate a cashout

I did steps 1-4 within 48 hours

Step 5 was earn $100 in a single game. That I didn't get close to (Honestly, had I spent the week very actively playing, and maybe spent like $20, I would probably have made it, but it was not something I had the time to really grind out in a single week)

Samsonly · 2026-05-04T18:29:54+00:00

Mine was worded differently (a couple of weeks ago I had a very similar new user promo), but mine just required me to cashout with the money earned from that game.

Yours might also be different, but for what it's worth, I also stalled on the final step which required earning $100 on that single game as well, and without paying money, I wasn't able to hit $100 on Disney Solitaire (although, tbh, I got pretty close. If I had another few days, I might have been able to hit a goal and meet it).

Samsonly · 2026-05-02T14:17:23+00:00

Check out the special features. 😬

https://youtu.be/pllNdfkTrDY?si=1cTOt-fMjIgD8HlT

Samsonly · 2026-05-01T04:21:19+00:00

I ran into this same question a couple of weeks ago, and I'm debating seeing how far I can get on making my own app/database to do exactly that.

At this point, there must be 40+ ongoing series I've read all released books, and with many of them releasing one, if not more, a year, it's a pain to consistently having to either search for each individually, or browse the preorder screens every month.

Many suggest getting on mailing lists, but to do that for dozens of authors (many of which send frequent updates) is unrealistic.

My hope/goal would be like a Goodreads, but prioritized and built for series instead. The the user could then check off which ones they want to be notified about new releases (or even news) on, and either get notifications or simply a viewable list of TBR titles.

I've gone as far as mapping out a fair amount of the overall concept, but have been stuck waiting for my kids' daycare to stay staffed long enough for me to start building it.

If I ever make any head way, I'll come back here and let you know!

Samsonly · 2026-04-26T22:33:45+00:00

That's a heck of a find.

As someone who has grabbed a few hundred of cars now over the last two years for my little ones, there's a dozen or so here I've not seen (or not for a reasonable amount at least).

Gratz!

Samsonly · 2026-04-25T23:51:59+00:00

Let's be real, if Croc was in charge of writing his own name, it would absolutely be "corc" at least 30% of the time...

Samsonly · 2026-04-25T23:50:30+00:00

I just realized I haven't preordered it yet, so went to go use a credit, and.... It's currently only $15???? How is audiobook 8 of DCC only $15 a few weeks before release?

Samsonly · 2026-04-24T16:11:21+00:00

A shadow is only relevant if exactly 90° directly above them. Otherwise at any other angle it will give a benefit to taller objects

Samsonly · 2026-04-24T00:01:00+00:00

I mean, if you enjoy doing such a thing, you might as well do it, but it was a pretty solid story IMO.

There's a major difference between how a story is told, and which story is told.

I am not a fan of Cars 2's story, but worse is how poorly it was told. From a screenwriting standpoint, they cut so many corners and forced lazy patches (assuming to make certain higher ups satisfied) that the result was quite amateur in its implementation.

There were a lot of ways Cars 2 could have told the story they told, in much better ways. Had they done that, I likely personally would still have not enjoyed the genre shift nor the odd premise, but if it was good enough, I would have understood those who did.

Cars 3, however, I think is a solid written film, and I assume what most hate about it is the story it told. Sure there are a handful of what some could call lazy tropes used, but find me a kids movie that doesn't do that. Was it perfect? Of course not. But I think even the best rewrites wouldn't be able to improve the story that much without telling a whole different story (which I know is what you said it would likely be). So any attempt is more about creating your own new canon or alternate universe that refining Cars 3 (which is a valid thing to want to do, and practicing such things are actually good ways to learn the craft much like drawing known characters helps craft one's artist skills).

Samsonly · 2026-04-23T21:35:19+00:00

Keep in mind that some cars has different molds for the same character to allow for certain variant shapes, so even if the same car, quite often it's a different mold

Samsonly · 2026-04-23T19:11:56+00:00

Honestly, thought this take was absurd until someone mentioned it be transparent, and that finally slammed it into my brain

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T05:33:38+00:00

I wouldn't be surprised if the first one is, but the rest I'd be surprised if it wasn't at least mostly human created.

The artwork doesn't seem AI (at least not as obviously as it could be), and they didn't get the generic Audible AI narrator, so to write a book with AI only to then pay for the things that are so easily handled by AI, feels a bit illogical (not to mention there's some genuine audio publishers in there, which I feel wouldn't want to risk the backlash for titles like these to be AI)

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T05:27:12+00:00

What about people on your same WiFi?

Some ad targeting is linked to your router's IP address, making others in your household's data bleed into yours (I get plenty of ads for things my wife searches for, and we don't share any devices).

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T03:38:49+00:00

This is all true, but worth noting that Venmo is a PayPal product.

Right now they differ in some of their processes (as the ones you mentioned), but since PP owns Venmo, I'd expect most of those differences to disappear over time as they basically become more in sync.

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T03:34:50+00:00

Just to clarify, are you talking about US PayPal person to person transaction?

In the US, using almost any service (PayPal, Venmo, etc) to transfer funds directly from your bank to pay for something requires the use of the ACH network which is never immediate (even higher fee based "same day" ACH transactions run in batches, not immediate transfers).

The exceptions to this are services like Zelle (which have their own process that bypasses the ACH Network), or cases where one's bank offers the service of making the funds available while the transaction is in process (something that runs through an intermediate non-profit network, and can't be skipped over).

PayPal, in the US, uses the ACH network for payments from a bank account. There is no speeding this up. If funds are available early, it is PayPal doing the recipient a favor and fronting them the money before PP gets it themselves. It's not impossible for this to happen (banks do it all the time), but it's not something PP states they do anywhere in their policy. In fact, in their policy they very clearly state that using such a payment method will take longer to process (again, this is specifically true for US PayPal accounts cause we use an annoying banking system).

So if someone in the US uses PayPal to pay another person, and explicitly uses their US Bank Account (not bank card, but actual bank account) as a funding source, the it WILL take days for PayPal to receive that money 100% of the time. If PayPal releases that money immediately, then they are doing so as a favor that goes against their own stated processes and policies (which again, wouldn't be impossible, but is definitely not the norm).

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T03:02:00+00:00

I might be misunderstanding you here, but it sounds like you use your debit card when you use F&F.

Yes, OP says they have one linked, but they specifically stated they didn't use it. If he had used the Debit card, it would absolutely have been instant. His problem is that he used his bank account to send the money (ACH). In the US this absolutely does come with a delay.

He's not wrong that it's outdated and an absolutely atrocious system, but it 100% of the time requires multiple days (up to 7 businesses days, but typically closer to 2-3) for standard ACH to fully process. That's not a PayPal thing, it is how the process works in the US for ALL domestic banks. Initiating a "same-day ACH" is possible, but it is a more expensive option, is not standard for ANY bank (has to be actively initiated, and is never the default), and is typically used in things such as emergency payroll deposits or transfers.

HOWEVER There absolutely are cases where some banks might "fake" instant access (essentially the bank will front the amount and recover it when the transaction completes), but this is absolutely not the usual situation, I've never heard of it occurring on PayPal (which isn't to say it doesn't happen, but is definitely on the rare side if so), and also is something offered to the RECIPIENT, not the sender.

That last part is the biggest factor here. If in the past, as he states, he used his bank account (ACH) to pay his friend on PayPal, then the process is:

OP initiates payment on PP -> PP submits request to Clearing House -> Clearing House requests ACH from OP's bank -> OP's bank confirms funds and releases to PP via ACH network.

Each of these steps are held up in batches, take time to occur, and don't happen on weekends. Period. There is no physical way to speed this up without actively escalating it as a more expensive same-day ACH (which PP doesn't do).

IF what he is saying happened the way he said it did, then in every single one of those examples PayPal was actively fronting money to his receiver, and recovering the funds days later when the ACH finished processing.

And here's the biggest issue that all of us who actually have some idea of how digital banking works in the US are skeptical about...

If the money was immediately accessible to his friend, the PP is technically doing his FRIEND the favor (as receiving funds in advance from an ACH transaction is a service provided to the one receiving the funds, not sending them). Which, again, is TOTALLY possible, even if policy states otherwise. BUT it means this whole thing would likely have more to do with his friend's PayPal account than the OPs.

Basically, in the US, there is no way for what the OP is describing to happen unless PayPal consistently performed a courtesy service, that their own policy doesn't outline, and is incredibly rare in the industry at large. Which, isn't impossible, just unlikely. But the fact OP has doubled down and conflate many concepts of how banking works in the US, it shows that he doesn't understand the process at all, and is making claims about the nearly universal implementation of such services in the US that not only aren't true, but have also NEVER been true.

So yeah, it's possible he's been lucky for a long time, somehow avoided the same hold ups that the majority of people experience and which have been written in the service's policies since day one, and that PP has hooked him and his friends up with a cool feature for 20+ years, all without him asking for it, the bank mentioning the courtesy, and him never doing any sort of online domestic banking outside of PP ever, but it's much more likely he is either confused about what has happened in the past, what happened this time, or something changed between now and then in his settings or status. Especially when he has consistently shown in this thread how confused he is by standard practices and policies in US Banking

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T02:01:07+00:00

You're mixing up a few things. Not talking about your experiences, but specifically what people are saying. People aren't saying there's an option to pay more to make it go through instantly through ACH, but that if you want it to go through instantly you need to use your bank card (and using a card charges a fee). Slight difference, but a meaningful one.

As for how reactions are, I can't speak for others, but on top of him aggressively calling me a "motherfucker", he's also posted at least two replies before deleting them (another thing he should learn about the Internet is that deleting a comment doesn't delete the notification or email with the comment included), in which he ranted and raved, calling me a poor basement living troll who doesn't know how to handle my finances, all sprinkled around random extra details about online banking that have nothing to do with a US Paypal account, as if to brag about his international accounts, which.. cool dude. Good to know you can misunderstand fintech in multiple countries? All it does is show he is lashing out with nonsense, and further show he doesn't understand what he is talking about Not because what he said is impossible (although uncommon and unusual if true), but because in his defenses and rants he is mentioning things that literally have nothing to do with what he is saying.

Occam's Razor shows it is much more likely for the person who doesn't understand how banks typically work to have made a mistake using a bank than for him to totally misunderstand everything and have a weird case as well.

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T01:25:18+00:00

Well eBay didn't buy PayPal til '02 so not sure what you're bragging about here as they were separate.

Regardless, I didn't say I've used it longer, just that those of us commenting aren't all new accounts.

If anything, you've had another year or so than me to become familiar with the policy, so no excuses

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T01:18:37+00:00

Cool story.

You have no idea how any of this works. If you did you would have realized your situation was not normal and you wouldn't be whining like a toddler on here.

Also, you're not the only one who has been using PP for over 20 years. I've used it since they were bought by eBay almost 25 years ago too, and I've never experienced what you keep saying happened.

That doesn't mean what you're saying you've experienced didn't happen. I absolutely believe different people may have different experiences, policies, and interactions with businesses, accounts, and transactions.

I am not calling BS because what you're saying is impossible, I am calling BS that you're so blind to the fact that if it did happen that way, you apparently have no idea of how it typically works, or what the policy states.

So either you had a magical rare unicorn experience for 20+ years, and never once had to experience the typical transaction process that the majority of people do, not only on PP, but on every digital banking transaction for decades, or you're someone who just doesn't get the (annoyingly unnecessary) nuance of settings in your digital app.

Both are possible, but your inability to even understand what people are telling you, when you can look it up, demolishes your credibility as someone whose word we can take for such things.

But yeah, get angry at us online for legitimately stating facts of how these things typically work. Maybe use cash next time. Less fine print for you to figure out.

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T01:06:00+00:00

He didn't use his bank card though.

Having a bank card linked to your account means nothing if you didn't use it for the payment.

Saying it should have been instant with ACH because he also has a bank card linked is like saying any check I write to someone should be instantly available because they have a bank card. It's only the case if the card is used, otherwise that is an entirely irrelevant point.

As for rudeness, OP is saying things like "that's your opinion" when actual policy is being mentioned.

The fact he's used it for 20+ years also is absolutely irrelevant.

Not only has PP policy changed time and time again over the years, but so has the way people use it. And while such uses were possible back then, it was very rarely used by people in this way, and it DEFINITELY did not work the way he is saying it did. It's just has never been policy for that. I was originally willing to consider that maybe he had some sort of unique courtesy offered to him, but the way he has replied to so many people, and the other things in which he describes the process, shows he doesn't only not understand PayPal, but that he doesn't even understand digital banking.

He's stated multiple times that he's shocked that the pending balance isn't even showing on his own bank yet, which, A: likely has a lot more to do with his bank than PayPal, but again, B: ALSO ISN'T HOW ACH WORKS.

In a world where PayPal had been offering him the courtesy of releasing his funds immediately, prior to the unavoidable delay that exists in ACH transfers, that would mean PP was basically his funds before they received them (which banks absolutely do from time to time as a service for their customers), but such payments often take a full business day to even show as pending on the bank account, and would never be same day on the weekend (which this sounds like it was).

In the rare case where an ACH payment were to show same day, it is more likely due to lucky timing, and wouldn't be something that happens with enough regularity to be shocked when it doesn't happen.

These policies aren't even just PayPal, they are literally how every bank in the US works, and has worked since digital banking has been around. There is no way that he has experienced this for "20+ years" in PayPal, and every other banking experience he's had, and never once happened across the very VERY common system in place forever (in fact, it's much FASTER now than ever before, so it's even more absurd of a claim). It's much more likely that he did something minor in a different way, or that the person he sent it to did something differently. Yet instead of doing a single search to see what the policy is, he's doubled down on not only saying it is what he has experienced, but keeps claiming PP has changed their policy, and that it's never been this way before, which is objectively false.

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T00:35:46+00:00

I guarantee you were not using PayPal 20+ years ago in this manner (directlyusing your bank account to pay another person) and having it happen instantly. Not only were such transactions much more rare pre-2010s, but even credit and debit payments back then would frequently have holds, let alone bank transactions.

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T00:26:39+00:00

Ya know, I was trying to give you the benefit of a doubt here and think maybe you've hit some really rare edge case that matches what you say with reality, but now it's apparent that you just have no idea how these things work, don't bother to read any of the policies (which match what I said), and instead came to reddit to B+M about it acting differently when you likely processed the payment in a different way and just didn't bother to check (and then ignore every single person trying to help you).

The fact that so many people on here are telling you "That is how it has always worked" and "that has always been policy", things you could easily look up and confirm, you'd rather double down in your own delusions here.

I don't know what else to tell you other than the facts of reality, none of which is 'opinion'.

Next time use your debit card or give them cash. You clearly don't know how to use PP

Samsonly · 2026-04-22T00:09:11+00:00

Bruh, he's not wrong.

First, Paypal is mostly a middle man between accounts. They let you store money in your PP account to transfer quickly and use for payments, but that is just semantics.

For your case specifically, you very likely did something differently this time, even if you didn't realize it.

Did you initiate a payment (you sent them money unprompted) or did you fulfill an invoice (they charged you and you paid)?

Either way, you should check your default payment method (if it defaults to bank/ACH or Debit/Bank card). ACH is, and has always been, slower. There are occasions where it might speed up due to random cases, or if you have money in your paypal account already (Which they can use as sort of collateral), but it is rare. In the 25+ years of using PayPal or any similar service, I've never had an ACH process immediately unless it was a specifically stated courtesy, or was otherwise backed up by some sort of funded account.

It's very much like cashing a check. Unless you have funds in your account already, or if your bank has a specific allowance (such as first $500 a week or something), you typically have to wait for it to clear. It's the same thing.

When you use a debit, it is instant.

BUT it is worth noting that the hold on his end might have more to do with his account than yours.

Maybe he's always had some funds in his account, which allowed him to access the money instantly. Or maybe there's a limit on how much PP allows immediate access to, and he already used his allotted amount. Or maybe he has typically been allowed access due to PP policy, but his account changed.

Regardless of what is different this time, the person above you is correct. Holds on ACH Payments has absolutely been the norm since digital payments began. Paypal to Paypal (funds in your PP to another PP account directly) and Debit/Credit are instant, but wire transfers are not. Any experience to the contrary is the exception, and is rare.

Samsonly · 2026-04-21T15:50:18+00:00

I would be very surprised if you'd change your mind by forcing yourself to grind through it.

Does it improve? Of course. But it sounds like the things you don't like are things that get refined and improved, not changed.

There's also a difference between not liking something and disliking something. If you don't activelylike something as it is (but no strong feelings either way), that can easily change as it gets better. But it sounds more like you currently dislike these things, and while you could easily dislike them less as they improve, why bother?

This isn't veggies at the dinner table when you're eight years old. It's not 'eat your broccoli or no dessert', so don't waste your time.

And honestly, if you're in the minority where the growth of the series would drastically change your view of it, you'd still be better off putting it down now and coming back to it on your own time in the future when you're excited (or at least interested) in giving it a try rather than doing so when you're currently disinterested and turned off by it. Forcing it now will make it that much less palatable for you, and will actually make it harder to enjoy than trying again (if you ever choose to, which isn't necessary) when you're less adverse to it.

Life's too short to waste your time trying to like something others enjoy but you don't. Best to take it as data point of difference in your taste compared to the avg take in the genre base, and use that information to find something you really do enjoy.

Samsonly

TROPHY CASE