Remember When
December 16th, 2023 at 4:30:25 AM
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Quote: odiousgambitwow I got behind in this thread
Quote: DogHandEvenBob,
Hooterville is not far from Petticoat Junction, which has its own attractions, namely (from left to right) the Bradley sisters Betty Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Billie Jo:
link to original posttopless version .... yeah, pretty lame soft porn ... umm, I better just put the link here and you can click on it if you must, you sinner
https://lotus.paheal.net/_images/1363fd2bbc543c9ef24efb312137fc3d/1863714%20-%20Betty_Jo_Bradley%20Billie_Jo_Bradley%20Bobbie_Jo_Bradley%20fakes%20Linda_Kaye_Henning%20Lori_Saunders%20Meredith_MacRae%20petticoat_junction.jpg
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I imagine NSFW was the moment before they saw Uncle Joe coming their way.
Fortunately, for them, Uncle Joe was moving kind of slow, at the Junction.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
December 16th, 2023 at 5:27:27 AM
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yep!Quote: rxwineI imagine NSFW was the moment before they saw Uncle Joe coming their way.
Fortunately, for them, Uncle Joe was moving kind of slow, at the Junction.
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I have never doubted Uncle Joe had himself a good spot to spy on that water tank
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
December 16th, 2023 at 6:40:15 AM
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Quote: AZDuffmanGoogle has turned 25 years old. Hard to believe.
Remember how it was before Googlle
BG you had 5 or so main search engines. You had your favorite. Sometimes you switched or tried a different one to find what you wanted.
I was a dedicated Yahoo man. I was probably one of the last to leave Yahoo for Google.
At my age, a "Life In Prison" sentence is not much of a deterrent.
December 16th, 2023 at 8:57:19 AM
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Quote: DRichQuote: AZDuffmanGoogle has turned 25 years old. Hard to believe.
Remember how it was before Googlle
BG you had 5 or so main search engines. You had your favorite. Sometimes you switched or tried a different one to find what you wanted.
I was a dedicated Yahoo man. I was probably one of the last to leave Yahoo for Google.
It is amazing how long Yahoo lasted as a company. Their Chinese investments kept them going. Their last ceo tried everything to keep them going. She was super smart but I think her smarts were computer science more than business sense.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
December 16th, 2023 at 9:00:54 AM
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I get all my sports news from the Yahoo Sports website and their app.
December 16th, 2023 at 9:31:12 AM
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Quote: DRichQuote: AZDuffmanGoogle has turned 25 years old. Hard to believe.
Remember how it was before Googlle
BG you had 5 or so main search engines. You had your favorite. Sometimes you switched or tried a different one to find what you wanted.
I was a dedicated Yahoo man. I was probably one of the last to leave Yahoo for Google.
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I really liked Alta Vista and Northern Light and used them for as long as I could. I remember thinking what a stupid name Google was and that it would surely fail because of the name. LOL
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
December 16th, 2023 at 10:17:51 AM
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When Yahoo first started out, they guaranteed all their links were checked by a human to verify them.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
December 16th, 2023 at 10:44:04 AM
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Quote: AZDuffmanGoogle has turned 25 years old. Hard to believe. Remember how it was before Googlle?
This makes me yearn for the good old days of DOS.
"What, me worry?"
December 16th, 2023 at 3:15:55 PM
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Quote: MrVQuote: AZDuffmanGoogle has turned 25 years old. Hard to believe. Remember how it was before Googlle?
This makes me yearn for the good old days of DOS.
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I remember training for a bank job in 2003. Really old software. Instructor and some students said it was DOS. I tried to explain it was not DOS, it was terminal emulation, older than DOS.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
December 16th, 2023 at 3:39:45 PM
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Quote: AZDuffmanI tried to explain it was not DOS, it was terminal emulation,
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That sounds like it could be a crime in some states. You need a really good lawyer if you're charged with 'terminal emulation'..
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
December 16th, 2023 at 3:51:36 PM
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Quote: AZDuffmanQuote: MrVQuote: AZDuffmanGoogle has turned 25 years old. Hard to believe. Remember how it was before Googlle?
This makes me yearn for the good old days of DOS.
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I remember training for a bank job in 2003. Really old software. Instructor and some students said it was DOS. I tried to explain it was not DOS, it was terminal emulation, older than DOS.
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Sadly, a lot of people call all the native textmode displays "DOS". (They're not.)
Now you've got me thinking back to one of my first contract jobs, where I was installing serial lines to allow an office to get remodeled and keep actual serial terminals (not emulators) running... those stupid DEC-special 8P8C plugs with the off center retaining tab still tick me off.
May the cards fall in your favor.
December 16th, 2023 at 4:14:06 PM
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Quote: DieterQuote: AZDuffmanQuote: MrVQuote: AZDuffmanGoogle has turned 25 years old. Hard to believe. Remember how it was before Googlle?
This makes me yearn for the good old days of DOS.
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I remember training for a bank job in 2003. Really old software. Instructor and some students said it was DOS. I tried to explain it was not DOS, it was terminal emulation, older than DOS.
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Sadly, a lot of people call all the native textmode displays "DOS". (They're not.)
Now you've got me thinking back to one of my first contract jobs, where I was installing serial lines to allow an office to get remodeled and keep actual serial terminals (not emulators) running... those stupid DEC-special 8P8C plugs with the off center retaining tab still tick me off.
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You are correct, they see text they think it is DOS. Additionally, DOS was an OS, not "software." If you want to split hairs and call the OS software have at it, for these purposes I am not.
Your talking about lines reminds me of a practical joke I saw back in the USENET days. Seems someone put a program on the system that sent a random ASCII character to a random terminal at random times. Techs were going all over the lines to find the noise causing it. Soon as the people that put it on saw that they pulled it.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
December 16th, 2023 at 4:40:11 PM
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Terminal emulation is still used a lot to communicate to mainframes and minicomputers. A lot of hotel reservation systems are still run on minicomputers and the front desk clerks are on terminal emulators
At my age, a "Life In Prison" sentence is not much of a deterrent.
December 16th, 2023 at 4:55:05 PM
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Quote: DRichTerminal emulation is still used a lot to communicate to mainframes and minicomputers. A lot of hotel reservation systems are still run on minicomputers and the front desk clerks are on terminal emulators
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I can believe it. Some of those old programs do what they are supposed to do well and are hard to replace. The program I mentioned they were having a hard time replacing. It was the 2000s and there were problems going off the old systems. Stability was still an issue and they needed so many different features a new program could not be made.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
December 21st, 2023 at 4:23:22 PM
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Remember when to send a text you had to use the keypad letter by letter, maybe hitting the key 3 times to get the letter?
Watching "The Departed" right now and amazing how old the phones look.
Watching "The Departed" right now and amazing how old the phones look.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
December 21st, 2023 at 5:48:25 PM
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I remember getting a toy morse code tapper thing and also a crystal radio kit. I don't believe I ever made that radio kit operational.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
December 21st, 2023 at 6:03:02 PM
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We use terminal emulators at work. In fact, until fairly recently, some stations still had actual terminals, not emulators!Quote: DRichTerminal emulation is still used a lot to communicate to mainframes and minicomputers. A lot of hotel reservation systems are still run on minicomputers and the front desk clerks are on terminal emulators
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We also still run some legacy BASIC programs that can't run in any Win 7 or later environment. We use a DOS emulator to run those.
"Dealer has 'rock'... Pay 'paper!'"
December 21st, 2023 at 6:08:41 PM
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Quote: rxwineI remember getting a toy morse code tapper thing and also a crystal radio kit. I don't believe I ever made that radio kit operational.
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I remember getting a crystal radio kit about this time of year, several decades back.
I didn't quite have the knack for sanding the enamel insulation off the wires, nor the patience to neatly wind and glue the tuning coil.
I also never got it working right, although when Grandma turned on the big Sunbeam stand mixer, the motor brushes threw enough noise to make the earpiece come alive.
A few years later, I got handed a transistor radio kit that someone had hurriedly built (complete with solder bridges and cold joints), but not tuned as they went. Couldn't get that one working right either, but I wasn't motivated to disassemble and troubleshoot.
May the cards fall in your favor.
December 21st, 2023 at 6:27:21 PM
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Quote: DieterQuote: rxwineI remember getting a toy morse code tapper thing and also a crystal radio kit. I don't believe I ever made that radio kit operational.
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I remember getting a crystal radio kit about this time of year, several decades back.
I didn't quite have the knack for sanding the enamel insulation off the wires, nor the patience to neatly wind and glue the tuning coil.
I also never got it working right, although when Grandma turned on the big Sunbeam stand mixer, the motor brushes threw enough noise to make the earpiece come alive.
A few years later, I got handed a transistor radio kit that someone had hurriedly built (complete with solder bridges and cold joints), but not tuned as they went. Couldn't get that one working right either, but I wasn't motivated to disassemble and troubleshoot.
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Hah, someone must have put one of those together successfully. Things like that, that didn't get put together, would eventually escape the box in parts, and then never had any hope of being completed. In my teens, my older brother, (who had left home several years earlier) heard I was messing around with those Estee's rockets, so one day I received in a package a 5-foot replica (when assembled) of the Saturn 5. I never did get that thing together either. I believe it was supposed to separate into 3 stages after launch. I was always kind of sad, I didn't get that one completed.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
December 21st, 2023 at 6:36:54 PM
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Quote: DieterQuote: rxwineI remember getting a toy morse code tapper thing and also a crystal radio kit. I don't believe I ever made that radio kit operational.
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I remember getting a crystal radio kit about this time of year, several decades back.
I didn't quite have the knack for sanding the enamel insulation off the wires, nor the patience to neatly wind and glue the tuning coil.
I also never got it working right, although when Grandma turned on the big Sunbeam stand mixer, the motor brushes threw enough noise to make the earpiece come alive.
A few years later, I got handed a transistor radio kit that someone had hurriedly built (complete with solder bridges and cold joints), but not tuned as they went. Couldn't get that one working right either, but I wasn't motivated to disassemble and troubleshoot.
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This was my favorite Christmas present when I was about 8 years old.
At my age, a "Life In Prison" sentence is not much of a deterrent.
December 21st, 2023 at 7:22:40 PM
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Quote: rxwine
Hah, someone must have put one of those together successfully. T
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I did in 1960. After I got it working it was so touchy and it was so scratchy coming through the headphones that I got bored with it pretty quick.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
December 21st, 2023 at 9:30:21 PM
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Quote: EvenBobQuote: rxwine
Hah, someone must have put one of those together successfully. T
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I did in 1960. After I got it working it was so touchy and it was so scratchy coming through the headphones that I got bored with it pretty quick.
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That sounds about right.
The "foxhole" radios work, but you've got to be pretty starved for entertainment.
Now days, since most stations are FM, there just aren't enough nearby AM transmitters to listen to.
May the cards fall in your favor.
December 21st, 2023 at 11:47:51 PM
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Quote: AZDuffmanRemember when to send a text you had to use the keypad letter by letter, maybe hitting the key 3 times to get the letter?
Watching "The Departed" right now and amazing how old the phones look.
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I remember my 12 year old niece teaching me how to text on a flip phone. I said “ no one’s ever going to do this it takes too long, they need to invent something that you can talk into your phone and tell it what to say “
The mountain is tall but grass grows on top of the mountain.
December 21st, 2023 at 11:48:21 PM
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Quote: AZDuffmanRemember when to send a text you had to use the keypad letter by letter, maybe hitting the key 3 times to get the letter?
Watching "The Departed" right now and amazing how old the phones look.
link to original post
I remember my 12 year old niece teaching me how to text on a flip phone. I said “ no one’s ever going to do this it takes too long, they need to invent something that you can talk into your phone and tell it what to say “
The mountain is tall but grass grows on top of the mountain.
December 22nd, 2023 at 2:46:21 AM
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Quote: HunterhillQuote: AZDuffmanRemember when to send a text you had to use the keypad letter by letter, maybe hitting the key 3 times to get the letter?
Watching "The Departed" right now and amazing how old the phones look.
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I remember my 12 year old niece teaching me how to text on a flip phone. I said “ no one’s ever going to do this it takes too long, they need to invent something that you can talk into your phone and tell it what to say “
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I looked at texting and wondered why not just call someone. Even today, though, I never use talk to text. Nor do I use talk to type. Learning to type all these years when I want to compose something my mind needs to type it out not say it.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
December 22nd, 2023 at 4:10:56 AM
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I think many talk to text now as actually cal. But those 20 somethings could really thumb up a storm on a phone before that got more common.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
December 23rd, 2023 at 9:46:45 PM
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Remember when this is what old men looked like. Baggy pants suspenders thin hair wire rim glasses and a mustache. This picture is from the 1950s and it could be my great grandfather. You don't see old men that look like this anymore. You see them scattered around the movies in the 30s and 40s and through the 1950s. Today old men are more likely to be overweight rather than skinny. Seeing this guy really brought back memories. It's everybody's Grandpa.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
December 26th, 2023 at 10:52:25 PM
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Remember this on January 1st 1971? I grew up watching thousands of cigarette on TV just like everybody else. If you remember this I guess you're old.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
December 27th, 2023 at 2:50:06 AM
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Quote: EvenBobRemember this on January 1st 1971? I grew up watching thousands of cigarette on TV just like everybody else. If you remember this I guess you're old.
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This must have been a hard night for Don Draper.
BTW: Was that guy nuts going out with a woman with 5 kids??
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
December 27th, 2023 at 3:35:39 AM
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.
"Louie Louie", a cover by the Kingsmen, almost 9 million views on YT, was the first rock song that I liked a lot
the singer's voice was scratchy and the words were unclear
all the kids were saying the lyrics were "dirty" which added greatly to its popularity
that wasn't true - the actual lyrics from the song is at the 3rd link
except for the Beatles "Yesterday" it's been covered more than any other pop song - more than 5,000 times
incredibly, the FBI investigated the song because of all of the complaints about the dirty lyrics and found nothing - see link
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-fbi-laboratory-weighs-in-on-the-dirty-lyrics-of-louie-louie
https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+to+louie+louie&oq=lyrics+to+louie+&aqs=chrome.0.0i512l2j69i57j0i512l2j0i22i30l3j0i10i22i30l2.4016j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
.
"Louie Louie", a cover by the Kingsmen, almost 9 million views on YT, was the first rock song that I liked a lot
the singer's voice was scratchy and the words were unclear
all the kids were saying the lyrics were "dirty" which added greatly to its popularity
that wasn't true - the actual lyrics from the song is at the 3rd link
except for the Beatles "Yesterday" it's been covered more than any other pop song - more than 5,000 times
incredibly, the FBI investigated the song because of all of the complaints about the dirty lyrics and found nothing - see link
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-fbi-laboratory-weighs-in-on-the-dirty-lyrics-of-louie-louie
https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+to+louie+louie&oq=lyrics+to+louie+&aqs=chrome.0.0i512l2j69i57j0i512l2j0i22i30l3j0i10i22i30l2.4016j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
.
Please don't feed the trolls
December 27th, 2023 at 4:30:55 AM
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Quote: lilredrooster.
"Louie Louie", a cover by the Kingsmen, almost 9 million views on YT, was the first rock song that I liked a lot
the singer's voice was scratchy and the words were unclear
all the kids were saying the lyrics were "dirty" which added greatly to its popularity
that wasn't true - the actual lyrics from the song is at the 3rd link
except for the Beatles "Yesterday" it's been covered more than any other pop song - more than 5,000 times
incredibly, the FBI investigated the song because of all of the complaints about the dirty lyrics and found nothing - see link
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-fbi-laboratory-weighs-in-on-the-dirty-lyrics-of-louie-louie
https://www.google.com/search?q=lyrics+to+louie+louie&oq=lyrics+to+louie+&aqs=chrome.0.0i512l2j69i57j0i512l2j0i22i30l3j0i10i22i30l2.4016j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
.
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I believe that on the FBI. Same FBI got dragged to a garage because some dope thought the rope to pull it down was a racist noose. To some extent like the cops they have to answer the call at some point.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
January 12th, 2024 at 6:17:38 AM
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Lost Arts -
Tearing a phone book in half.
Plate spinning. If there are still plate spinners anywhere, might be some back-alley casino that still has low ball entertainment. Branson? Circus?
edit - oh, plate spinners probably on "U got no talent"' shows every other week.
Tearing a phone book in half.
Plate spinning. If there are still plate spinners anywhere, might be some back-alley casino that still has low ball entertainment. Branson? Circus?
edit - oh, plate spinners probably on "U got no talent"' shows every other week.
There's no secret. Just know what you're talking about before you open your mouth.
January 14th, 2024 at 5:39:29 AM
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Quote: rxwineLost Arts -
Tearing a phone book in half.
Plate spinning. If there are still plate spinners anywhere, might be some back-alley casino that still has low ball entertainment. Branson? Circus?
edit - oh, plate spinners probably on "U got no talent"' shows every other week.
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I can imagine the Wizard being a plate spinner.
At my age, a "Life In Prison" sentence is not much of a deterrent.
January 14th, 2024 at 7:24:34 AM
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Quote: rxwineLost Arts -
Tearing a phone book in half.
There is a Get Smart episode where a strong man is given an envelope to tear in half but he can't do it, so he says "If it were phone book"
My buddies and I to this day will say that to each other when we fail at a task
January 14th, 2024 at 1:15:30 PM
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Remember the Gulf War? Statistically, less than half the USA does. The air war began 33 years ago this week. That is 1/3 of a century for those of you in Rio Linda.
Other than 9/11 there is probably not a time since WWII when the USA was so united. And 9/11 is far different, a mixture of anger and fear. Other than WWII there was probably not a war the USA was involved in where the bad actor was so clearly in the wrong. The invasion of Kuwait was so parallel to the German invasion of Poland in 1939 one has to wonder how Saddam did not get any advice of how it was going to look. And at least the Germans faked a reason for the invasion, Iraq just rolled in on a few loose territorial claims.
The USA had been suffering a post-Vietnam lack of confidence in her military. That was erased in days. Meanwhile, it was wall-to-wall on the news. The first night was practically watching a sports event. You had a hard time finding an American flag at the store. Domestic flag makers even coordinated supplies to some extent.
If you were not of age to see and remember it you missed one of the big things of the 20th century.
Other than 9/11 there is probably not a time since WWII when the USA was so united. And 9/11 is far different, a mixture of anger and fear. Other than WWII there was probably not a war the USA was involved in where the bad actor was so clearly in the wrong. The invasion of Kuwait was so parallel to the German invasion of Poland in 1939 one has to wonder how Saddam did not get any advice of how it was going to look. And at least the Germans faked a reason for the invasion, Iraq just rolled in on a few loose territorial claims.
The USA had been suffering a post-Vietnam lack of confidence in her military. That was erased in days. Meanwhile, it was wall-to-wall on the news. The first night was practically watching a sports event. You had a hard time finding an American flag at the store. Domestic flag makers even coordinated supplies to some extent.
If you were not of age to see and remember it you missed one of the big things of the 20th century.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
January 16th, 2024 at 5:12:21 AM
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This was the average cost of an American home in the decade you were born
This is interesting though it does not show the size of the home changing. But to look at the inflation adjusted numbers, yes it has been harder and harder to get that first home over the decades.
This is interesting though it does not show the size of the home changing. But to look at the inflation adjusted numbers, yes it has been harder and harder to get that first home over the decades.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
January 20th, 2024 at 10:00:49 PM
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This video is still incredible and even more so cuz it's 40 years later. The talent on the stage is astonishing and this never gets old. I'm so glad they did this so we can look back and remember who these people were. Michael Jackson still had a nose.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 29th, 2024 at 3:55:12 PM
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Remember when if you used a credit card the cashier checked a paper list of hot card numbers and if the purchase was over like $50 they had to call in?
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
March 29th, 2024 at 9:34:20 PM
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Quote: AZDuffmanRemember when if you used a credit card the cashier checked a paper list of hot card numbers and if the purchase was over like $50 they had to call in?
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When I lived in California in the late seventies if I wrote a check at the grocery store for over $25 they had to call the manager to approve it and he had to know you personally or they wouldn't take it. This is almost 50 years ago and that's how rampant bad check writing was in California. I never saw anybody using a credit card everybody wrote checks in those days. In 1979 $25 was a big check because groceries weren't that expensive.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 30th, 2024 at 2:39:34 AM
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There was a local bar back in the '70's that had a list of bad check writers and their amounts. The checks would be under $10 usually but there'd be repeat offenders who would total up to near $50. The list was usually 10-15 names long, but you knew whoever was on that list was in a bit of hot water, and some were just incorrigible. They were mostly college kids, so police usually only came around for crowd control.
March 30th, 2024 at 2:50:18 AM
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Quote: EvenBobQuote: AZDuffmanRemember when if you used a credit card the cashier checked a paper list of hot card numbers and if the purchase was over like $50 they had to call in?
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When I lived in California in the late seventies if I wrote a check at the grocery store for over $25 they had to call the manager to approve it and he had to know you personally or they wouldn't take it. This is almost 50 years ago and that's how rampant bad check writing was in California. I never saw anybody using a credit card everybody wrote checks in those days. In 1979 $25 was a big check because groceries weren't that expensive.
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When I worked at the grocery store about 1989 they got the first system that gave them the ability to check on checks. I forget it exactly and was never trained on it but it replaced calling banks. Otherwise they had this laminated card with the account info and what stores you could write at, up to 5. To this day I think of how a person on the inside could have made a few up for 5 stores. Then on a holiday weekend load up the cart twice a day and write checks for the allowed $20 over. Hit 5 stores in the morning then the evening after the shifts changed on Sat, Sun, and the holiday Monday. I figure a person could haul out $3,000 per card per day, or a little over $10,000 for the weekend. This was in 1989! Even selling at a 50% discount on the street you would have cleared $5K
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
March 30th, 2024 at 10:38:58 AM
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Quote: AZDuffman
When I worked at the grocery store about 1989 they got the first system that gave them the ability to check on checks.
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Remember when you could float checks for days in between banks if you're short on money but you knew you had money coming in. I did this several times 30 years ago when I was in the antique business. I used to go to Indiana every Wednesday so I had a bank account there and I used to float checks between my Michigan Bank and my Indiana bank and I never got caught. Those days are long gone. Now when I see people write a check the merchant gives it right back to them because it's already cleared and been taken out of your bank account just like a debit card.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 30th, 2024 at 12:55:50 PM
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Quote: EvenBobQuote: AZDuffman
When I worked at the grocery store about 1989 they got the first system that gave them the ability to check on checks.
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Remember when you could float checks for days in between banks if you're short on money but you knew you had money coming in. I did this several times 30 years ago when I was in the antique business. I used to go to Indiana every Wednesday so I had a bank account there and I used to float checks between my Michigan Bank and my Indiana bank and I never got caught. Those days are long gone. Now when I see people write a check the merchant gives it right back to them because it's already cleared and been taken out of your bank account just like a debit card.
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The 9/11 attacks sped up this process. With everything grounded coast to coast checks could not be flown to their issuing banks. Even in the early 2000s most checks were flown in small planes by pilots doing the low pay job to get hours. Few people realized that the delay was costing all that interest but more important could have seized up the financial system. So many things can do a seize up like that it is scary.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
March 30th, 2024 at 9:38:27 PM
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Quote: AZDuffman
When I worked at the grocery store about 1989 they got the first system that gave them the ability to check on checks. link to original post
People who were not around before credit cards got big don't realize what a huge headache bad check writing was. It was rampant and it was everywhere, but specially in places like California where there were lots of transients. People who would move there for a few months and look like solid citizens and then they were gone. But even in normal places like where I live now bad check writing was a huge criminal activity. I remember a big story in the '80s where a guy stole a bunch company checks from a large company and he went on a check writing spree with a fake ID. He cashed thousands of dollars worth of checks around here and then he stopped for a while. Of course he was greedy so when he started again they caught him almost immediately but if he hadn't done that they probably never would have got him. That would be impossible to do now. When I had the bar in California we only took cash because bad check writing was out of control even among good customers. Some of the bars who were stupid enough to take checks had a bounced check wall that had stapled bad checks on them that they would never be able to collect.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 31st, 2024 at 2:42:02 AM
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Quote: EvenBobQuote: AZDuffman
When I worked at the grocery store about 1989 they got the first system that gave them the ability to check on checks. link to original post
People who were not around before credit cards got big don't realize what a huge headache bad check writing was. It was rampant and it was everywhere, but specially in places like California where there were lots of transients. People who would move there for a few months and look like solid citizens and then they were gone. But even in normal places like where I live now bad check writing was a huge criminal activity. I remember a big story in the '80s where a guy stole a bunch company checks from a large company and he went on a check writing spree with a fake ID. He cashed thousands of dollars worth of checks around here and then he stopped for a while. Of course he was greedy so when he started again they caught him almost immediately but if he hadn't done that they probably never would have got him. That would be impossible to do now. When I had the bar in California we only took cash because bad check writing was out of control even among good customers. Some of the bars who were stupid enough to take checks had a bounced check wall that had stapled bad checks on them that they would never be able to collect.
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At the grocery store they had a paper list of people never to issue a check cashing card to. About a dozen names, but just names hand written out. There was one guy they had a memo out on, he got them for lots of checks with lots of cards. Heck, once our former night manager wrote bad checks to the store.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
March 31st, 2024 at 3:14:04 AM
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In the early 1990's dumpster diving was all the rage for some sick reasons and especially stores and malls would have their trash sifted through and have carbon copies of credit cards stolen and those numbers were reused somehow, maybe over the phone to rack up bogus charges for the thief. Gone was the civility of trash is trash, it was now public property.
March 31st, 2024 at 4:02:05 AM
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Quote: ChumpChangeIn the early 1990's dumpster diving was all the rage for some sick reasons and especially stores and malls would have their trash sifted through and have carbon copies of credit cards stolen and those numbers were reused somehow, maybe over the phone to rack up bogus charges for the thief. Gone was the civility of trash is trash, it was now public property.
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I mentioned here before a high school buddy found one of those old school copies to use a very early online service.
Card not present was harder back then but mafia level rings made fake cards.
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others
March 31st, 2024 at 6:33:12 AM
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Quote: AZDuffmanQuote: EvenBobQuote: AZDuffman
When I worked at the grocery store about 1989 they got the first system that gave them the ability to check on checks. link to original post
People who were not around before credit cards got big don't realize what a huge headache bad check writing was. It was rampant and it was everywhere, but specially in places like California where there were lots of transients. People who would move there for a few months and look like solid citizens and then they were gone. But even in normal places like where I live now bad check writing was a huge criminal activity. I remember a big story in the '80s where a guy stole a bunch company checks from a large company and he went on a check writing spree with a fake ID. He cashed thousands of dollars worth of checks around here and then he stopped for a while. Of course he was greedy so when he started again they caught him almost immediately but if he hadn't done that they probably never would have got him. That would be impossible to do now. When I had the bar in California we only took cash because bad check writing was out of control even among good customers. Some of the bars who were stupid enough to take checks had a bounced check wall that had stapled bad checks on them that they would never be able to collect.
link to original post
At the grocery store they had a paper list of people never to issue a check cashing card to. About a dozen names, but just names hand written out. There was one guy they had a memo out on, he got them for lots of checks with lots of cards. Heck, once our former night manager wrote bad checks to the store.
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I worked at a grocery store in the 1990's. We too had a paper list for bad checks with about 300 names on it.
In the late 1990's, they finally got POS MICR scanners that had a go/no-go light. This ticked off the cashiers, who were used to getting a spiff for bad check stops - that stopped with the scanner.
A few years later, they finally started taking debit cards at the registers. I believe that change was concurrent with the next generation of the family taking over operations, and food stamps being replaced with payment cards.
May the cards fall in your favor.
March 31st, 2024 at 8:53:45 AM
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Quote: DieterI believe that change was concurrent with the next generation of the family taking over operations, and food stamps being replaced with payment cards.
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Back in the '80s when I had the cab company I would take food stamps whenever they were offered because I always got a deal and it was better than no money at all. So if the ride was $5 the guy would give me $10 in food stamps and I would accumulate them and take them to my local grocery store and buy groceries. You were supposed to have a special ID but they knew me for years so they never asked me. This kind of thing was done everywhere by merchants who took food stamps for cigarettes, liquor, lottery tickets. Food stamps looked like money and they were money.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
March 31st, 2024 at 2:05:50 PM
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Quote: EvenBobQuote: DieterI believe that change was concurrent with the next generation of the family taking over operations, and food stamps being replaced with payment cards.
link to original post
Back in the '80s when I had the cab company I would take food stamps whenever they were offered because I always got a deal and it was better than no money at all. So if the ride was $5 the guy would give me $10 in food stamps and I would accumulate them and take them to my local grocery store and buy groceries. You were supposed to have a special ID but they knew me for years so they never asked me. This kind of thing was done everywhere by merchants who took food stamps for cigarettes, liquor, lottery tickets. Food stamps looked like money and they were money.
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We weren't "supposed" to accept anything larger than a $1 coupon if it wasn't bound into the booklet. Had to be torn out in front of us, preferably by us, or refused.
$1's could be issued as change, so they were fair if unbound.
Did it happen anyway? Yeah, and then whichever agency checked those things started spot checking us with "secret shoppers" and the like. This demonstrated worry about the wrong kind of fraud, IMO.
Not DT, so I'll stop my political tangent just there, hopefully short of me taking a week off.
May the cards fall in your favor.
