Things that make you go "Hmmmm…"

[Xyzzy]

This is like drinking free coffee at a diner, but then also eating a muffin. Sure, you can get away with leaving without paying - but the diner's owner simply will not serve you ever again. He will not go to court with you for the dollar-and-change.

.

[chalsall]

So, this turns out to a simple problem.

Amazon encouraged me to experiment with the system "for free" for a year. So one of the experiments I ran was "taking a 'snapshot'" of the (small) file-system attached to an instance.

Turns out the snap-shot wasn't deleted when I shut down all the other services, because it was still 'attached" to an AMI (I had to jump through hoops to remove the connection).

Thus the ~$1.50 USD bill for storage per month for two months.

I spent over $100 USD of my time figuring this out on their pathetic user interface, and trying to figure out how to contact a human directly (the latter appears to be impossible).

I will pay the ~$3 USD bill...

...and I will never use nor recommend them again....

[chalsall]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

"I bought a donut and they gave me receipt for the donut. I don't need a receipt for the donut. I gave you money and you gave me the donut, end of transaction. We don't need to bring ink and paper into this. I can't imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought a donut."

-Mitch Hedberg

I know this was meant to be funny, but what Mr. Hedberg is missing is the receipt is not only for the customer's protection, but the retailer's.

At the end of the day there is (or, at least, should be) a reconciliation between the number of donuts made that day and no longer on the premises, and those logged in the cash registers as sold and the amount of cash in same.

I have actually witnessed (decades ago) cash register operators who were good at math who would, at the end of the day, walk away with several hundred dollars of the company's profit in their pocket.

There is a reason some retail outlets have signs that say "If you don't get a receipt, report it, and it's your's free".

[tServo]

Originally Posted by chalsall

It is trivial for someone to put a negative entry on your record. Even for a few cents. And you likely will never know about it, unless you explicitly ask.

Ask.

A site that explains how to get your free report and other considerations is an FTC one
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles...credit-reports

Even tho this is a US law, I'll bet that anyone can order one, even if you live in a place like, say, Barbados. It is amazing what kind of junk you might find in there. The credit agencies must be paid by quantity not quality. After my divorce, my ex's and my reports were mushed together; it took us years to untangle them. Also interesting is info like how often your credit report is accessed. I remember some credit card company ( Capital One, I think ? ) accessed my report EVERY MONTH!
As chalsall said, ASK!

[Xyzzy]

[retina]

http://harpers.org/archive/2011/12/t...erse/?single=1

[Xyzzy]

http://www.today.com/news/man-freed-...ood-2D79627267

It sounds weird, but if I had to do it all over again, I don't know if I'd do anything different…

[philmoore]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://www.today.com/news/man-freed-...ood-2D79627267

Great article!

[retina]

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...ndwich-patent/

[kladner]

Originally Posted by retina

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2...ndwich-patent/

Beyond ridiculous.

1. Thu May 08, 2014 12:58 pm Reader Fav glutto wrote:
   I'd post a facepalm.jpg, but after so many stories of patent abuse it's no longer worth the effort.
   
   
   I intend to patent the method of responding to complaints regarding patent reform with graphics files depicting a human or humanoid covering their face with their hand/appendage in frustration.
   up ( +82 | +82 / 0 ) down 19019 posts | registered Aug 19, 2003
2. heartburnkidArs Praefectus Thu May 08, 2014 12:58 pm Reader Fav glutto wrote:
   I'd post a facepalm.jpg, but after so many stories of patent abuse it's no longer worth the effort.
   
   
   It's a good thing you didn't, because you'd run afoul of my newly-granted patent on using media stills to express emotion.

[retina]

http://www.mjt.me.uk/posts/falsehood...out-addresses/