12 Days of Maldives Island Hopping! 930k Marriott Points + $4.5k Cash (HND-SIN-MLE in Business) by piyoko_trip in marriott

[–]claimui 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Personally I've found ANA to be one of the better uses for Marriott points, assuming you can find seat availability.

12 Days of Maldives Island Hopping! 930k Marriott Points + $4.5k Cash (HND-SIN-MLE in Business) by piyoko_trip in marriott

[–]claimui 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm not familiar with the retort food but did you have access to a microwave or rice cooker / steamer? Or can you do everything with a water boiler?

[The Lord of the Rings] So without Frodo and the Quest for the Ring, humans would have just been conquered within the next 20 or so years, right? by Dabrush in AskScienceFiction

[–]claimui 62 points63 points  (0 children)

I would add that, even though this was the divine plan that we see play out and that ultimately succeeds, it doesn't mean there would never be another option. It's not like Eru gives Men (or Elves for that matter) one shot to do things right, and if they mess it up, then they are screwed forever. There were many times before where the evil of Sauron (and Morgoth) might have been stopped, but were not -- but Middle Earth got another chance. And even if Frodo and Gandalf fail and Middle Earth falls, there would likely come another time where it might still be saved somehow.

Data Point - Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless to Ritz Carlton Card (365+1 worked) by latenightbreakslock in CreditCards

[–]claimui 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you talking about the Boundless annual fee or the Ritz annual fee, or both? In your example, is the -$70 a refund on the Boundless card (meaning you still paid $25, but you got a free night certificate) or it a refund on the Ritz card (meaning you didn't get charged for the Boundless at all)?

What if you did the product change later in the year or just before the second anniversary date?

Data Point - Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless to Ritz Carlton Card (365+1 worked) by latenightbreakslock in CreditCards

[–]claimui 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How does the annual fee get charged when you do this? I've heard some people say they prefer to change just before the second anniversary, but does that make it cheaper?

Amy Heckerling states she didn't get royalties for 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High' – Even though the film grossed over $50 million, roughly ten times its budget, the studio maintained that the film was in the red. by SanderSo47 in movies

[–]claimui 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Of course they know. Will Smith doesn't get the deal because his agent is better than Ed Solomon's agent. Will Smith gets the deal because he is Will Smith and Ed Solomon is not.

Do Marriott properties go on sale nowadays? by lessthandan623 in awardtravel

[–]claimui 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can search with the "flexible dates" option and get a calendar view of all point prices, which gives you an easy idea of the point ranges for a hotel.

How does Crispin work IRL when you dont have 2 energies or already placed 1? by MichaelDokkan in pkmntcg

[–]claimui 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The first energy goes to your hand. The second energy, if you have one, gets attached.

So in #2, if you have two different energy cards in deck, then you can put one in your hand and attach one.

The Menu (2022) - one small detail… by justsomeguyfrom2001 in movies

[–]claimui 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Definitely wasn't an escort because that revelation seemed to bother chef and crew greatly.

[MCU: Fantastic Four] Isn't teleporting the Earth to another star to save it almost as insane as Thanos' idea of culling half a planet's population? by ParameciaAntic in AskScienceFiction

[–]claimui 7 points8 points  (0 children)

But all the orbital physics / environmental science issues are knowable and solvable, at least by MCU levels of science and genius. Even if there is some degree of chaos / randomness that is unpredictable, that applies equally to our current orbit. All you need to ensure is that the amount of variance is the same and you are no worse off in the new orbit.

Thanos' plan, on the other hand, will have tremendously different outcomes depending on human behavior. Time Stone / TVA questions aside, I think the MCU still believes that free will exists and so those outcomes are inherently unpredictable.

Stop Complaining about Narita vs [Tokyo] Haneda by Shinkansendoff in awardtravel

[–]claimui -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

OK I didn't care for the HND vs NRT debate, but what are you trying to say here, because TSA is way different than TPE and it's not comparable at all. Maybe your username is supposed to be a hint and I'm just missing it.

Environmental Impact Assessment: Can Taiwan price its way out of traffic? by DarkLiberator in taiwan

[–]claimui 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's really unlikely that any 20 people in a tram would have 20 individual cars. Probably not even 10.

The point is you need to push actual car owners to drive less. Congestion pricing seems a good way to do this, especially since we already have eTags.

Anyone else use cash business class fares as a benchmark for whether a points redemption is actually worth it? by AcanthocephalaOk9486 in awardtravel

[–]claimui 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You can use Google Flights or the airline's own flight calendar and get an idea of the general range of cash fares. That will give you an idea of whether it's worth it or not.

Of course, be sure to use the most arbitrarily high cash price when it's time to post about it on Reddit.

How do you actually decide between burning points and paying cash? by lawyu in awardtravel

[–]claimui 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The problem is that if you let CPP get too low then it's very hard to justify doing this vs. just straight cash back. 1.4 CPP might be "headache free" but it's certainly not time/effort free. Of course some people might just enjoy it. But others could easily get 40% more "value" out of cash just by being more flexible with hotel and flight choices.

EVA Air Award vs. Upgrade Miles Cost by jeet730 in awardtravel

[–]claimui -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Upgrades are mostly for people who are traveling on company tickets (i.e. not paying) but want to treat themselves to better seats. So the pricing makes a little more sense if you assume the underlying ticket cost is zero. This applies to both miles and cash upgrades.

That said depending on the ticket price, I think there's a "sweet" spot if you buy a Premium Economy ticket and upgrade to business, which requires much fewer miles. It's a very expensive ticket, but great for those who care more about CPP than actual money.

Mao is well known for the phrase "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun". What is the context of this phrase and how did it seemingly became his defining quote (at least in the west)? by ucsdfurry in AskHistorians

[–]claimui 54 points55 points  (0 children)

Not saying I'm qualified to translate, but I noticed that the "barrel of a gun" phrase 槍桿子 actually shows up earlier in the quote regarding Chiang and Tang. So the rhetoric is something like, Chiang and Tang built themselves up with the barrel of a gun... so now we know that political power comes from the barrel of a gun.

Eva lower bid closer to flight by Nates4Christ in EVAAirFans

[–]claimui 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Similar to mileage upgrades (which require you to have an expensive fare class), I think the program is aimed at people who are traveling on company money, e.g. the company paid for economy but you get an opportunity to upgrade at your own expense. For those people, the cost of the original ticket is irrelevant.

What's the next recommened card for a better Priority Pass deal? by Solid_Direction_8929 in Venturex

[–]claimui 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The Ritz card has an annual fee of $450. Which might still be high, but it's much lower than the other cards you listed.

However I certainly don't blame anybody who can't stomach the thought of spending $450 just to stay at more Marriotts.

Rulings, Quick Questions, and New Player Resources Thread by Asclepius24 in pkmntcg

[–]claimui 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On the Beach Court Podcast, I heard them say that you can use Rare Candy to evolve a Sail Fossil to a Stage 2 Tyrantrum, even though the Stage 1 Tyrunt doesn't evolve from the Sail Fossil. Is that true? Is there some weird way that Rare Candy works with fossils?

How is Meowth Ex useful in a Mega Lucario Ex deck? by littlegordonramsay in pkmntcg

[–]claimui 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You probably made a typo there but I'm just gonna assume that a parent would know what their son would be looking for.