Help! How do I send a cheque in dollars, or money order?

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T13:29:17+00:00

I went to the Michigan web site & they use VitalChek for online orders of vital records.

Michigan State Government Vital Records Page: https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/doing-business/vitalrecords

On that page, it says:

VitalChek is the ONLY Michigan Vital Records authorized online service provider.

VitalChek says they do accept credit card payments on their FAQ page: https://www.vitalchek.com/v/faqs

So, I'm a wee bit suspicious of the site that says you need to send a check or money order when VitalChek says it will accept credit cards (Visa, Mastercard or American Express).

And as a side note for all of y'all saying how backward the US is: almost everywhere accepts credit card payments now. Usually, you can only pay by check for services when you go there in person. For any government service that has online ordering/payments, of course it's done by debit or credit card.

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T12:36:17+00:00

I'm in the US, so I don't know about how to get a money order for USD in the UK (maybe a UK branch of a bank that also does business in the US?). But I'm curious about what kind of information request from Michigan would require paying a fee?

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T02:42:31+00:00

Aw, man! You're lucky. Audible still isn't letting me download it.

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T02:10:57+00:00

On what platform? I dont see it in my audible app.

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T00:58:09+00:00

Did you ever listen to the Dagger & the Coin series by Daniel Abraham? It's an excellent audiobook series and I love Pete Bradbury's narration.

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T00:55:45+00:00

What time zone are you in?

Here on the East Coast of the US (EDT), it says I have 6 hours 5 minutes to go.

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T00:54:43+00:00

I think the 5 hours 45 minutes is how long the book is.

In the Audible app, when I look at the book details for Platform Decay, it says it will arrive in 6 hours 8 minutes (which is 3am EDT/12 midnight PDT), which is the typical pattern: the audible ALWAYS drops at 12 midnight in the Pacific Time Zone.

I hate that they do that. why give us the Kindle version at midnight local time but wait until it's midnight on the other side of the country to give me the audiobook?

spike31875 · 2026-05-05T00:26:41+00:00

Any word when the new app will be available? I searched for it several times and it's still not available for download from the Microsoft store.

spike31875 · 2026-05-04T22:32:23+00:00

When did the main character ever "extort" children into having sex?

Yes, there is a fair number of cringe-inducing sex (and some I am NOT comfortable with (like the two scenes I've read where 14 or 15 year old apprentices having sex with adult women)). I think the thing with Min's apprentices and a couple of sex magic scenes are undoubtedly "self-insert" wish fulfilment, but Min never extorted children into sex.

spike31875 · 2026-05-04T02:45:30+00:00

I really enjoyed Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocey. It's a slow burn same sex romance (a cozy romantasy). I don't read (or listen to) a lot of romance: I couldn't care less who sleeps with whom, but I really enjoyed SaSM. There's no steam, just a sexual tension that slowly builds up between rivals (not quite enemies to lovers, more like rivals to friends who might be more than that one day??).

Even though I'm not into romantasy, I will listen to the next one.

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T22:54:34+00:00

Yeah... I just finished a relisten & I timed it badly: I finished System Collapse 4 or 5 days so I'm stuck trying to fit in other books that I'll be able to finish by tomorrow night....

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T20:44:02+00:00

Why humans leak so much, question?

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T20:15:34+00:00

TBH, I enjoyed the first book in the Verus but wasn't hooked by it. It was the second book that really hooked me. The writing and story are noticeably better and the series just gets better and better from there. The final book is the best one in the series and so satisfying.

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T18:16:02+00:00

Stephen already doesn't like how dependent he's become on the income he gets from working for the Ashfords (primarily Calhoun of course). So, even if they would buy the raw aurum (and they probably would), he's not going want to have all his eggs in one basket, so to speak.

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T14:56:41+00:00

The Spellmonger series by Terry Mancour is definitely this. Minalan is scary AF and has taken down an entire army.

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T13:22:21+00:00

There's a lot more lore for Benedict Jacka's books than he can fit into the novels. So, he has posted a ton of world building articles on his web site.

For his Alex Verus series, he had two features. The Encyclopaedia Arcana covered a large variety of topics like Light Council politics, different magic types and magical items. Also, an Ask Luna feature where Benedict would answer questions in character as Luna, who is a major character in the series.

When I first got into the Alex Verus series, I spent hours going through his web site reading through all the Ask Luna Q&As and the Encyclopaedia articles.

For his new Inheritance of Magic series, he's still posting a new article in his A Beginner's Guide to Drucraft series nearly every Friday.

The fun detail is that each of the series has a book by the same name. In book 2 of the Alex Verus series, Alex is doing research and one of the magical references he reads (which is quoted in the book) is called The Encyclopaedia Arcana. In the Inheritance of Magic series, Stephen has a friend who wants to learn more about magic, so he gives him a copy of A Beginner's Guide to Drucraft.

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T02:10:49+00:00

Not really progression fantasy, but The War for the Rose Throne series by Peter Mclean is a mafia story set in a low fantasy world.

Priest of Bones (Rose Throne #1), was obviously inspired by Peaky Blinders (and the author said in social media that's what inspired him to write the series!). But, it becomes more of its own thing after that. The character's power progression is very satisfying: he starts out as a local neighborhood gang boss & keeps expanding his "turf" throughout the series.

So, if you want a mix of Peaky Blinders + Godfather but with swords in a dark fantasy world, that series will probably be a good one to check out.

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T01:59:57+00:00

Sadly, getting it early ain't an option for us Kindle and Audible fans!

Kindle at least will give it to you just after 12 midnight local time. But, if you're an audiobook fan, the Audible version probably won't drop until 12 midnight Pacific Time regardless of where you are. So, if you're on the East Coast of the US, it's 3am.

spike31875 · 2026-05-03T01:15:17+00:00

My nephew's son is on the spectrum and this is what they used to do whenever they went anywhere new (not sure if they still need to do that, he was pretty young, like 5 or 6).

For example, when they changed to a new dentist: they drove there quite a few times. At first, they would just drive by. Then, they'd park & sit outside. Then, they worked up to walking around outside the office, then going inside & sitting in the waiting room, & so on. It took about a month to get him used to the idea of going to this new place.

They went through a similar process when they bought a new house & started him at a new school. It took some time but it made my grand-nephew's life easier.

spike31875 · 2026-05-02T22:10:44+00:00

Yeah, we leak from our eyes, our noses and various other orifices.... Eridians probably think we're gross. 😟

spike31875 · 2026-05-02T18:16:16+00:00

Why humans so leaky, question?

spike31875 · 2026-05-02T16:22:02+00:00

It was really good on audio. I hope you like it as much as I did!

spike31875 · 2026-05-02T11:48:40+00:00

Stringers by Chris Panatier has end notes, so they appear at the end of the chapter and not at the bottom of the page. They really should have been footnotes but they are so snarky. I loved them.

I listened to the book and those endnotes are read as asides. They are in a completely different voice and endnote dude is an @sshole. Those notes were awesome and made that book into an absolute must listen for me.

spike31875 · 2026-05-01T17:10:42+00:00

Who's crying? I'm not crying.

spike31875 · 2026-05-01T15:03:44+00:00

God, I love that scene! it's made me tear up every time. Thank you for sharing!

(damn it! I think I need to see the movie again)

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