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werevulvi · 3 years

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I wanted to write a bit about sex segregated spaces, in regards to people who pass as the opposite sex. This is not actually about trans people, as much as it is about the safety, integrity and general rights of male-passing biological women. I am not the only gender non-conforming woman who gets tossed out of female only spaces, based on the false presumption that we’re men. I do not care about validating trans women, or even trans men, for that matter. I care about real life practicality, risks and safety for ALL women, not just those who look conveniently clearly female, which starts with accepting that some women, whether they've medically transitioned or not, pass as male. And none of them should have to feminise themselves to access female only spaces. Whether that be to ensure safety from males, or to just take a leak.

The fact that I choose to keep my beard has almost nothing to do with that I'm male-passing. It may be my strongest "male" feature, but it's hardly the only one. I still pass as male with a clean shaven face, which makes shaving my beloved beard rather pointless, in my opinion. I would realistically need to go through more than just facial hair removal to pass as my own sex again. I'd probably even need facial feminisation surgery, hair transplant, voice feminisation and full body hair removal, at the very least, to even get close to passing as female again. But even then, I'd probably STILL be read as a trans woman, i.e. male. And even IF I did all that... WHY should I have to mutilate myself (a second time) by buying into harmful patriarchal beauty standards, which would worsen my dysphoria and reduce my comfort in my own skin significantly, to be allowed the safety of male-free spaces?

Does that sound feminist to you? Because to me, it's incredibly misogynistic, and strongly counterproductive. To uphold patriarchal gender roles for the safety of women... is the most insanely anti-feminist double standard I can possibly ever think of.

To lay out my argument on this topic, I'm going to use my own experiences as examples a lot. Mostly because I cannot with any conscience speak for anyone else than myself, at least not in such detail and with such harsh judgement. But I'm sure a lot of my experiences are applicable to other masculine women as well.

First off, I still consider myself gender critical, but my allegiance to radical feminism has been waning lately. This is mostly due to that although I agree with the base premise of radfem, I tend to disagree with the proposed solutions to almost all of the issues, because to me they come across as unfounded beliefs (yes, BELIEFS) that "it would just work" without much of any evidence to back up such a claim.

And when it comes to trans people, I've noticed a lot of... shall we say, willful ignorance, going on among many radfems, which does affect opinions on gender abolishion as well as sex segregated spaces to appear rather... intellectually dishonest, to be frank. Although this is not intended as a call out by any means, I merely want for people of all sides of the radfem/gender critical/pro-trans fence to stay critical and keep questioning everything, even one's own beloved ideology. Which I don't see a lot of. Instead I see almost religious defending of radfem as the ultimate/perfect ideology... oh, guess where I've seen that before? I've come to believe that "hivemindedness" is probably part of every possible ideology out there. Even radfem.

So, anyway.

One thing I come across time and time again is the belief (yes, I dare say "belief") that people never pass as the opposite sex, although it's mostly directed at trans people, this very much applies to people who are just gnc as well. Let's not forget that. And this belief seem to often lead to that transitioned/gnc people can just use the space intended for their biological sex, no problem. However, this is not the case. There is a problem. Very many trans people, and some gnc people, pass well enough to at least blend in enough to not raise much of an eyebrow among the opposite sex, and to most definitely stand out as an outsider among people of the same sex. OR they pass barely enough as either sex, and thus stand out as an outsider among both the same sex and the opposite sex, which can cause similar problems with single sex spaces.

There's also the thing that it generally is easier to pass as the opposite sex among complete strangers, compared to people who know you/your background. They tend to read you differently, depending on that.

At least in my experience, complete strangers assume I'm male and don't even as much as raise an eyebrow about how male I come across as. They accept their false assumption at face value. And why wouldn't they? 99,97% of people who "look like me" are biologically men. Then people who know I'm transitioned, but didn't know me pre-transition, tend to see me as a female who looks very convincingly male, whether that makes me a masculine woman, trans man, or any other (female) label in their eyes. They claim to be able to "see" my female nature, yet they somehow had no idea before I told them about my true sex. Then people who know about my history and saw it happen from the time before my transition (now only really my family) never quite succeeded to see me as anything other than a gnc woman. To quote my dad: "You look like a woman who's trying to look like a man." Although I'm sure my mom and sister don't have quite as harsh views about me, lol. They still seem to see me the way they always have, regardless of what name or pronouns they use for me.

This matters, because although people who know I'm transitioned and may even have witnessed my transition from the beginning, struggle to see me as a man (which I respect entirely and I'm VERY careful to not push wanting to be seen/read as anything in particular, but also, people do not want to be rude, especially irl) that does not go for people who have never even seen me before the moment I walk into... say, a public bathroom. To them I cannot possibly be anything other than a man, and it's almost impossible to change their view of me as male once their brains have registered me as such. I need to conjure up pretty fucking compelling evidence to shatter that view they have of me.

This is important, because it means I cannot feasibly use female only spaces, unless someone else (who is also female) vouches for me and explains my situation for me. This is, most likely due to people being more likely to believe an unlikely explanation when it's told by someone else, because maybe I could be lying; and only someone of the same sex as me can accompany/escort me into female only spaces, obviously. But even then, there's a ton of tension around my presentation. An air of distrust, basically. The question that hangs in the air: "Is that a trans woman?" even after they've been given a thorough explanation of my situation. It's uncomfortable for everyone involved. Imagine how it goes then if I'd just show up unannounced, and without someone to vouch for me. I just get booted on sight.

Yes, I can whine about this all day, but that is NOT my point.

My point is that I'm either directly, or implicitly, unwelcome in female only spaces, despite being biologically female, because of my transitioned appearance... despite I'm not even on testosterone anymore since 2 years ago. Sure, most gnc women (whether transitioned or not) don't seem to have turned out quite as passable as me, but clearly, it happens. So let's stop pretending that it doesn't.

So with that in mind, I don't always have access to a gender neutral space. Like for example when I travel with the ferry that goes between my island and the mainland of my country, there is only men's bathrooms and women's bathrooms. No third option. That's a 3 hour boat ride, and with my coffee drinking habit, I will need to pee at some point or another while aboard that ship, alright. And no, peeing in the ocean is not an option, as squatting over the railing would be incredibly dangerous, and most likely not even remotely allowed. Granted, I don't take the ferry often, it's just the most clear example I can think of. Because it's my only means of transportation to/from the mainland, except from flying, which is incredibly expensive, less reliable and obviously an environmental hazard. So when I do have to use that ferry, I'm kinda stuck with my choices.

So then, am I better off going with the men's or women's bathroom? I am much more likely to be left alone to do my business in the men's, so even though that is not the space I want to be in, nor do I think it's "right" for me to be there, sometimes it's even a bit scary, other times even impractical if there's only urinals and no stall, and it's absolutely not validating at all - it's the only bathroom that I can realistically use, without too much trouble. And I don't want trouble. But I also hate having to put my own safety on the backburner for the perceived safety of other women, who are not actually at any higher safety risk when left alone with me.

So, onto the more general, political aspects of this issue:

Women in male only spaces may be less of an issue in regards to safety, at least for the majority of people (men) in that space, especially if the woman in question passes as male. No one gives a fuck, generally. But problem is then that she is at far greater risk than the majority of people (women) would be with a single male, in a female only space. As I think a group of women against one male is generally less risk towards the women, when compared to a group of men against a single female, which can be extremely dangerous for her. Although I've so far never been faced with any sort of violence in a male only space, let's not pretend that my presense in a male only space is somehow LESS dangerous for me, than how dangerous the presense of ONE male in a space with a whole group of women, would be for those women. Statistically and realistically, I'm at a far greater risk than they are, and no, I do not have any more choice in the matter than they do.

Thus, this kinda skewed idea of safety and choice, becomes a question of ethics, I think.

Furthermore, I'm a person of principles, and it wouldn't sit right with me that if males should never under any circumstances be allowed in female spaces, but females could be allowed in male spaces. I refuse to be a hypocrit on purpose! No, if males should never under any circumstances be allowed in female spaces, then females should also never under any circumstances be allowed in male spaces. OR, if females CAN under some special circumstances be allowed into male spaces, then males should be allowed the same in female spaces. Both of these solutions pose serious problems, which I keep seeing being brushed under the carpet a lot, and that annoys me.

But if we go with the first idea, of barring people from using opposite sex spaces altogether, then where the fuck do I pee? Should I utilise my "right" to use female spaces, despite making everyone uncomfortable and feeling threatened by my presense, as well as risking being kicked out and forced to use the equivalent male spaces anyway, which is exactly what that idea is meant to prevent - or should I completely avoid being in places which I know does not have a gender neutral bathroom, such as the ferry? Would that not be discrimination? Which is the most reasonable option here, what is the most practical, what's wrong and what's right? Do I even have a RIGHT to use female bathrooms, and if so, how do I prove it, considering my ID still says I'm male?

Trans men aren't gonna be nearly as willing to use female only spaces, and trans women definitely not eager to use male only spaces. But aside from that validation factor, I have the exact same struggle as trans people do on this particular point. Quite often they do toss and turn at which bloody bathroom to pick, not just out of validation, but because they genuinely struggle to figure out which one is the best option for them practically. Especially if they don't quite pass as either sex, and most and foremost just wanna do their business without unneccesary drama.

Also, to clarify: barring trans people from opposite sex spaces is NOT discrimination, as they never belonged there to begin with - but leaving them with no other option than to pee themselves, is. Which means that I think it's fucked up to barr them from those spaces BEFORE having solved the problem of "if they can't go there, then where?"

Perhaps I'm the only one around here who cares about males' integrity, safety and human rights. But even if so, I should not be the only one to care about gnc females' integrity, safety and rights. Male-passing females, whether transitioned or not, whether bearded or not, are still female, and if we don't want them in female only spaces, and not in male only spaces either; why? Because they "chose" to medically transition and/or dress in men's clothing?

Yeah, well, in most cases of transitioned females, they transitioned because of dysphoria, which no one chooses to have. It's a medical condition. Barring people from spaces they'd otherwise be welcomed into, due to the visual outcome of the treatment of their medical condition... is ableism. Barring a woman from a female only space she belongs in, solely because her unusual physical appearance freaks you out... is ableism. Also, simply being gnc and being viscerally uncomfortable with presenting femininely is also not a choice. And even if it was... shouldn't it be? That's why I cannot roll with that sorta solution. I dunno if it counts as a form of discrimination by definition, but it just smells a lot like it from where I sit. That it's no more right to toss me out of, or give me trouble, in a women's bathroom, than a masculine women who also passes as male but who has not medically transitioned.

That said, however, women's safety DOES matter a lot to me. Hence my reluctance to join their spaces, despite being a woman myself. I guess, what I'd want is complete sex segregation to work in my favour, but I can't promote a rule that would discriminate against me. I'm sorry, I just can't. I desire FUNCTIONAL sex segregated spaces, but realistically they cannot function. Truth is that the only womens spaces I've been allowed into since I began passing as male, are "trans inclusionary" ones that openly allow in trans women, ironically. I care about the safety of other women, and their right to have their own spaces... but not at the expense of my own rights, as a fellow woman. To say otherwise would be a crime against myself. I really wish this could be solved in some way that would work in practice, but honestly I don't think it can anytime soon. Not without some seriously tried and proven, practical and humane methods to check what sex people entering single sex spaces actually are.

That is the reality that people have to face. And personally I'd rather focus on women's rights than trans rights, but as a woman who's medically transitioning, I'd shoot my own foot no matter which one I'd choose. That's quite a dilemma.

So where my opinion stands on this right now, is basically this: I think female only spaces should only be for biological women, but I'm reluctantly okay-ish with males who pass as female utilising female only spaces, and vice versa for females in male only spaces. However, this does not feel ideal at all. It's a compromise. Ideally, I want such spaces to be entirely sex segregated, and for even people who pass as the opposite sex (like myself) to be allowed into spaces of their biological sex. My appeal here is both realistic practicality with the reality that some people really do pass as the opposite sex, as well as the safety, rights and integrity of male-passing women.

#female only spaces #gnc women #yes some trans people pass #but not only trans people pass #radical feminism #gender critical #ok to rb #my opinions and concerns

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everydayanth · 4 years

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Just a friendly reminder because I’m watching documentaries today and it’s hitting me pretty hard:

Poverty is not a thing to go through that develops character.

Most of us didn’t steal even though we had to. We went to bed drinking a shit ton of water so we could fall asleep and woke up hungry, your thief isn’t #relatable.

We’re not lazy, we’re working endlessly and then burned out and then facing the existential reality that we have no power to make our lives different because we are trapped in a wheel. Every time you save up enough money, someone else wants it - rent increases, healthy food is expensive, reliable public transportation is nonexistent, you have medical issues to catch up on. It feels like you’re always going to be behind and there’s nothing you can do and no one that cares.

We’re often scared. Our lives are held together by one tightly woven thread and if any single thing pulls too tightly, another has to give, there is no slack. We are often taught it’s our fault, we deserve it, or we cannot beat the system that is against us, and so do not ask our rich friends for help, ignore many problems, and hide our anger and shame when we begin to participate in the levels of society that mock us without understanding, be it language, ability, or general ignorance of privilege. People grow sensitive about things, prideful about what they will be able to do someday with arbitrary goals. Some people want to fit into that dress others want to open a bank account with a feeling of success instead of dread.

A protagonist has to develop from learning about the world, not simply surviving it, especially if it’s all they’ve known. They have to make choices and have emotions and experiences; oh no, I’m poor and now I’m not, I’m such a strong individual who isn’t like other girls isn’t enough. Thank you for trying to represent poverty, but you have to actually talk to people about their lives. We have to do better or the rigid structural agenda is never going to become more functional because the only access to actual context that many people higher up in the system have to poverty is through entertainment.

If the tone of a show or a book is gawking at poverty and romanticizing it, it’s probably not written by people who have experienced it. If, however, it simply exists around it and the audience is left hollow and cold at the revelation, well, then we’re getting a hell of a lot closer to understanding each other.

#poverty #society #anthropology #writing #writing resources #social stratification #character growth

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appalachiananarchist · 4 years

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I think barriers to healthy eating can be hard to understand. The reason I am posting this is because I recently had someone who grew up in an area with good store access and reliable public transportation more or less mock my patient population for dietary choices and its health effects. The exact phraseology was something like “There’s a Walmart just up the road and there’s vegetables there, so there’s no excuse for all the diabetes.” Yes. There is a Walmart super-center that sells vegetables. It is the only one in 50 miles in every direction and services dozens and dozens of towns.

But 50 miles is a commitment in both time and gas money. Do you even own a car? There is no real public transportation in rural areas, so you can’t make the trip if you don’t own a car. (Let me tell you, this is where the issue starts and stops with most--they don’t have car). So let’s assume you own a car or have access to one. If you live and work in Town B, with is 50 miles from the store, how often can you make the trip for groceries while working full time and raising a family? How often can you afford the gas for the trip? Perhaps once a month? I can tell you from experience, the answer is once a month for most, twice if they’re really lucky. If you can only go once a month, what do you buy? What can you afford? Sure you can go for veggies, but you have to get food to last you a whole month on your limited budget. Fruits and veggies go bad quick and you can’t freeze an entire month’s worth of vegetables, so you’ll probably want to buy some “junk” food that won’t go bad as easily. If you do have or are at-risk for conditions that require special diets, like heart disease or diabetes, do you have access to a healthcare provider who can teach you about what foods to buy/avoid? If you get the food, when will you prepare it? Do you have time after work to cook, or are you working multiple jobs or unconventional hours? Do you have the physical ability to cook, or are you ill or disabled in such a way that you can’t?

There are so many barriers to eating healthy that you would never think about if you hadn’t seen or experienced them. I’m not saying that to make excuses for anyone, or to say that it is okay to eat poorly. It isn’t okay at all that people have to live without access to healthy meals. But I am saying to both healthcare providers and anyone else who thinks telling someone to “eat healthier” is sufficient that it isn’t. Sure, sometimes people just make bad choices. That’s people for you. But sometimes, people are making the best choices they know to make with the options they have. It should be our job, especially if we are working in areas defined as food deserts, to know or create resources to help.

For example, we have a company that provides transportation to low-income people, grocery delivery, and wood delivery for those still primarily relying on wood stoves for cooking (and house heating). We have regular farmer’s markets all around the surrounding counties to provide more options for fresh foods. We have organizations that cook and serve healthy meals regularly for those who can’t do so themselves. We have free clinics to provide nutrition education for medical conditions (or just general health). None of these are perfect, but they are somewhere to start, and much more helpful than telling someone to “eat better” without trying to solve and correct the underlying reason why they are not already doing so.

I’ll end by posting a quite old, but still quite good, map from this article that shows food access, car access, and comparisons to areas with high rates of diabetes and obesity. The similarities in these maps are not coincidental.

This stuff is old news. Very old news. So why are so many people, and so many healthcare providers in particular, still not acknowledging it?

#health #medicine #food insecurity #my ramblings

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vaguely-problematic · 4 years

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people from the rest of the world say, oh those americans only talk about what's happening in america or the american point of view as if that's all that matters!

but consider, the media in the u.s. bombards us with american news and american opinions and american propaganda. technically we have access to the internet and can google international shit, but they don't show it on the damn news here. we don't know about what's happening overseas okay? we certainly aren't taught an international perspective on historical issues, when we are taught about those issues at all.

that's why we don't talk about it!

people from other countries belittle americans who try to claim the heritage of their ancestors. scottish people mock scottish americans, italians mock italian americans, africans mock african americans. you call us pathetic and sometimes tell us to just go die.

but consider, the reason we don't speak the language or know the customs, traditions, religion, recipes, culture, history etc; is because that was all stripped away from our ancestors. the u.s. strips such things from all immigrants to various degrees; in the past, even moreso. if that italian meatball recipe is all you have left of your entire pre-american lineage, damn straight you hold onto it with both hands, even if it's been twisted and mutilated beyond all recognition.

did you buy that bit about america being a melting pot? that is used to cover the millions of people fighting to retain their heritage and history against overwhelming odds. it's a lie. the u.s. has always engaged in cultural genocide.

welcome to america, the greatest land on earth. speak english, conform to our ways, and send your kids to public school to be indoctrinated with our propaganda. you're american now: you don't need that other shit. oh okay you can have green beer; we are a melting pot after all!

that shit is all we are allowed to have.

if we had our heritage, we could connect to other people around the world and find common cause. we might question american superiority.

if white people knew their german, french, english, scandinavian etc etc heritage, they'd know that being white was not a common cause, and that their ancestors fought all the time. we might question white supremacy.

so they strip it all away. "bury the past, rob us blind, and leave nothing behind"

people around the world hate americans for our military imperialism. that is obviously legitimate. that's nothing to be explained away and while i don't have the same experience of it, i hate it too. many americans hate it.

so why don't we do something about it? (i mean, besides the fact that americans have worked against it for generations.)

part is we are fed hatred and fear. part is because politicians on both sides keep approving that shit. they make money off of it. even when we replace them the next ones do the same.

part of that is because joining the armed forces is the only way many have to get housing, food, healthcare, education (not that the u.s. honors its veterans with anything but the worst of care, if that). basically it suits the govt to keep us poor and needy, so we'll volunteer to be their pawns.

and i do mean we can't get healthcare or education or housing or food or transportation etc. i'm not talking about getting good quality, i mean the vast majority of us struggle to even get these basic necessities at all, and we have to work two and three jobs just to keep them precariously in reach. we still go into bankruptcy-level debt trying to keep up even so. and we lose these fundamental things all the damn time. all the damn time. this is normal here.

millions of us have full-time work and live in our cars. millions of us work and can't afford enough food, or medicines. millions of us can't find work at all.

and is the blame placed on the people responsible? of course not. the megarich are morally superior to us all: that's how they got rich in the first place. that and hard work. if you free yourself of such hurtful thoughts and work harder, you can be a trillionaire too.

no, we are fed hatred and fear and propoganda, which puts the blame especially on marginalized and oppressed groups. sometimes other groups around the world, but we are already disconnected from the rest of the world, so more often groups in the u.s... you know, people that we'd need to actually work with in order to oppose the powers that be. how better to keep us fighting and exhausted and misinformed oppressing our own damn neighbors so we can't change anything.

oh and also it's our own damn fault, individually, because we used a disposable straw.

we are full of anger and fear and shame and outrage and pride and despair. we are repressed as hell. we don’t have clean air or clean water or reliable sources of information. we are fucking exhausted and confused, and your commonplace rando american is not usually much in charge of their own damn life, much less those of others around the world.

but it is part of american propaganda that americans are only those obnoxious prideful clueless spoiled pampered snobs who the rest of the world can’t stand--- because otherwise the rest of the world might find common cause with americans in order to improve the state of the country and indeed the world.

americans are not america.

but america uses us to do what it does.

it's fucked up. it fucks us up. we are oppressed and we are complicit in the oppression of others. we are the victims and the monsters and yet we are still largely ineffectual. all of this is true. this is how we are broken.

it is truly shit to be an american, on a fundamental level. the fact that i just heard a thousand people say "yes americans are shit" in my head does not help. we already fucking know.

#so very long #living in the u.s.a.#this dystopian nightmare of a country #dystopian reality #i left so much of the american nightmare off of this but it's still so long #2020 #propaganda #you are not immune to propaganda #america fuck yeah #actually hard pass on that thanks #not as much of a rant as a lament :(#i also cannot emphasize enough how we do not have reliable source of information and also how we are bombarded with misinformation 24/7 #truly hard to comprehend

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overdrivels · 4 years

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Moving money in the Overwatch world is somewhat of a subplot in TWtaH. I was reading an article just this morning about how money-laundering is at a standstill because criminals are having a hard time transporting and exchanging their ill-gotten gains in this Covid-19 lockdown. So that got me thinking about Overatch’s currency--credit.

I don’t really think ‘credit’ as a currency is canon in the Overwatch world. I just took the cash shop stuff and shoehorned it into the story because I didn’t want to use specific currencies like ‘bitcoin’ or ‘dogecoin’ or whatever else is out there.

With cryptocurrency, you get exchange goods and services without having to physically interact with any paper or coin money. On an individual level, it just means that a pandemic such as COVID-19 wouldn’t stop people from paying for stuff and no one has to worry about transmitting disease using money as a carrier. On a much larger-scale like money-laundering, the story becomes a little different.

We understand that the original concept behind bitcoin is, at a very high level, a representation of money (”cryptocurrency”) that is traded for goods and services. There is no central governing authority (decentralization), it is mostly anonymous, and very secure (or as secure as your password and wallet ID is anyway) because the code behind it sure is.

There are pros and cons to this. Let’s address the three ones I mentioned:

1) No central governing authority. This means that whatever cryptocurrency we’re talking about isn’t controlled by anyone. No federal government, no international government, nothing. That means no singular entity can lock you out of your money if suddenly let’s say all banks fail or something or government declares some law that suspends withdrawal of money.

On the flip side, that also means there’s no one to regulate the money. For example, 1 bitcoin is worth whatever the fuck the people decide. This leads to instability and the rollercoaster of having bitcoin being worth $10k per bitcoin to suddenly dropping to $6k per bitcoin in a three day period. It is incredibly unstable. This also means there are no laws governing what happens if you get scammed or the like or anything to protect the consumer. If you lose your money, it’s your fault (by and large).

2) It is mostly anonymous. Yes and no. Yes, as in your name and social security number isn’t blatantly associated with your wallet ID. In theory, you could set up like five or six wallets and trade that way to obfuscate (hide) your activities. Then there’s the ‘no’. Similar to how police can triangulate where your cellphone is based on which cellphone tower your phone pinged last, investigators can get a general idea of who you are, and what transactions were made. Bitcoin specifically uses a public ledger to record all trades. If they see $400 come from wallet A to wallet B with the same amount and transaction ID, they may have a match. Then there’s recording IPs and the like. Lots of contextual data that can be used to track someone down if someone was determined enough.

3) It’s mostly secure. This one is the backbone of cryptocurrency. There’s not much to say except it’s based on algorithms. Really, really annoying to crack algorithms. It’s not exactly possible to steal money unless you have access to the person’s wallet and password. However, this goes back to point 1 where if you lost your wallet or had it stolen, there is no central authority that can really help you.

Okay, so why the fuck am I talking about this?

I’d imagine that with the development of omnics and the progression of omnic rights, Overwatch’s world may have evolved to move away from physical money to digital currency and to keep paper money around kind of as a novelty or only used in really remote places. Having digital money means paying people more reliably, paying people faster, less errors, and less hassle.

(I messed up a little in my fic and I’m thinking of retconning it to remove the part about different countries and their currencies still having different exchange rates. Instead, I might just say that they still use the same symbols they always used to indicate money and the numbers are in credits instead.)

Anyway, back to the three points again. I think in the world of Overwatch, if cryptocurrency were to become the norm, they would first get rid of point #1. They would absolutely centralize the fuck out of it. It’s money. What bank, what government, what nation wouldn’t want to have control over money? If it’s global, I’d assume the World Bank would create a branch specifically dealing with cryptocurrency. They issue the regulations, they do the audits, they handle the interest rates, inflation, and everything related to the control of money. Then the banks of each nation would accommodate that. Though, with the obsolesce of physical money and different exchange values, that can imply that currency is no longer really tied to anything. Up until the end of WWI or Great Depression (I forget which), the de facto standard was gold (hence ‘gold standard’). How much physical gold you had is how much wealth your nation had and it was translated into paper money. But then the Great Depression(?) happened and then that became stupid. Now the monetary system is based on 'fiat money’, so I guess it’s not too dissimilar to a full cryptocurrency system. It’s just that there won’t be any bills.

Next is the anonymization. If it becomes centralized, I can’t imagine how it would remain anonymous. Money-laundering and bypass of trade sanctions would be rampant. It’d be an international disaster and undo the many years of regulatory law each nation has put in place. (Look, money is a serious business. Look up regulatory compliance, look up OFAC, look up KYC, and the like. It is a very, very big deal.) So, lack of anonymization would likely take place. However! That doesn’t mean it’s not possible.

Point 3 is an interesting one because it is literally the backbone of cryptocurrency as we know it in 2020. This might actually create a problem. If someone, let’s say a super omnic or the like is about to figure out the algorithms used to generate and validate new cryptocurrency, wouldn’t that mean money is worthless? Whoever can figure this out can essentially make themselves infinite money and then tank the economies of powerful world nations. Because you can’t print physical money anymore, so now you have to spoof digital money. Security (specifically cybersecurity) would be super huge and the tools to protect this crytocurrency generating process would be unworldly. Maybe even Sombra’d have a hard time cracking it.

Though, digital currency does pose one itsy-bitsy problem. The poor. The criminals. The underdeveloped. The current issues plaguing us now and why we don’t see contactless payments everywhere. There could be a billion reasons why a person cannot get a credit card or some form of contactless payment ranging from poor self-control to shitty credit scores as a result of their reckless youth but they know better now, victim of constant identity theft, unable to afford any fees if they were to occur, etc. So, how does cryptocurrency overcome this? It can’t. Not unless restrictions on who can use financial facilities are non-existent such as anyone can open an account regardless of current financial status and the like, or unless it’s something that is automatically given to every person regardless of their current status in life, etc. There’s a ton of restrictions, but we assume Overwatch’s world has already overcome these.

Finances are complicated. Monetary systems are complicated. I’m having a hell of a time picking this stuff apart. There’s pros and cons to all of this stuff. If the cryptocurrency stuff is centralized and people are reliant on it to live, people can easily get locked out of their methods of living. On the flip side, if there’s no central governing body, we’ll see the insane fluctuation of the market that could very well spell the life or death of nations.

In TWtaH, donors are giving to an account managed by the Chef. Chef redistributes this money under the name of the restaurant and under the guise of paying vendors and the like. With the above points in mind, it’ll be a spoiler to talk about it anymore, but a lot of this stuff is relevant.

#drivels drivels #to new followers #good luck because this blog is mostly me toying with real world ideas as applied to overwatch #and i talk about finances fairly often #i just wanted to talk about money and money laundering #welcome to my infodumps #back on my mundane bullshit #fuck there i go again talking about one topic and rabbitholing down something else

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magicalwastelandbasement · 4 years

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Cheap Homes and Tips For Buying a House in Sale

A home is a financial asset and more: it's a place to live and raise children; it's a plan for the future; it's an investment in your community. That's why all Americans should have an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of owning a home. And here are some tips for first-time home buyers.

Knowledge is said to open doors. This is literally true when it comes to buying a home. To become a first-time home buyer, you need to know where and how to begin the home buying process. The following questions and answers have been carefully selected to give you a foundation of basic knowledge of home purchasing. In addition to helping you begin, these steps will give you the tools necessary to navigate the entire home buying process - from deciding whether you're ready to buy house, all the way to that final proud step of owning a home, getting the keys to your new home.

1. HOW DO I KNOW IF I'M READY TO BUY A HOME?

You can find out by asking yourself some questions:

Do I have a steady source of income (usually a job)? Have I been employed on a regular basis for the last 2-3 years? Is my current income reliable? Do I have a good record of paying my bills? Do I have few outstanding long-term debts, like car payments? Do I have money saved for a down payment? Do I have the ability to pay a mortgage every month, plus additional costs?

If you can answer "yes" to these questions, you are probably ready to buy your own home.

2. HOW DO I BEGIN THE PROCESS OF BUYING A HOME?

Start by thinking about your situation. Are you ready to buy a home? How much can you afford in a monthly mortgage payment? How much space do you need? What areas of town do you like? After you answer these questions, make a "To Do" list and start doing casual research about property. Talk to friends and family, drive through neighborhoods, and look in the "Homes" section of the newspaper, Foreclosure Listings, and internet search.

3. HOW DOES PURCHASING A HOME COMPARE WITH RENTING?

The two don't really compare at all. The one advantage of renting is being generally free of most maintenance responsibilities. But by renting, you lose the chance to build equity, take advantage of tax benefits, and protect yourself against rent increases. Also, you may not be free to decorate without permission and may be at the mercy of the landlord for housing.

Owning a home has many benefits. When you make a mortgage payment, you are building equity. And that's an investment. Owning a home also qualifies you for tax breaks that assist you in dealing with your new financial responsibilities- like insurance, real estate taxes, and upkeep- which can be substantial. But given the freedom, stability, and security of owning your own home, they are worth it.

4. HOW DOES THE LENDER DECIDE THE MAXIMUM LOAN AMOUNT THAT CAN AFFORD?

The lender considers your debt-to-income ratio, which is a comparison of your gross (pre-tax) income to housing and non-housing expenses. Non-housing expenses include such long-term debts as car or student loan payments, alimony, or child support. Monthly mortgage payments should be no more than 29% of gross income, while the mortgage payment, combined with non-housing expenses, 4 should total no more than 41% of income. The lender also considers cash available for down payment and closing costs, credit history, etc. when determining your maximum loan amount.

5. HOW DO I SELECT THE RIGHT REAL ESTATE AGENT?

Start by asking family and friends if they can recommend an agent. Compile a list of several agents and talk to each before choosing one. Look for an agent who listens well and understands your needs, and whose judgment you trust. The ideal agent knows the local area well and has resources and contacts to help you in your search. Overall, you want to choose an agent that makes you feel comfortable and can provide all the knowledge and real estate services you need. But make sure you check the prices for homes in the area on internet before you visit any real estate agent.

6. HOW CAN I DETERMINE MY HOUSING NEEDS BEFORE I BEGIN THE SEARCH?

Your home should fit way you live, with spaces and features that appeal to the whole family. Before you begin looking at homes, make a list of your priorities - things like location and size. Should the house be close to certain schools? your job? to public transportation? How large should the house be? What type of lot do you prefer? What kinds of amenities are you looking for? Establish a set of minimum requirements and a 'wish list." Minimum requirements are things that a house must have for you to consider it, while a "wish list" covers things that you'd like to have but aren't essential.

7. WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR WHEN DECIDING ON A COMMUNITY?

Select a community that will allow you to best live your daily life. Many people choose communities based on schools. Do you want access to shopping and public transportation? Is access to local facilities like libraries and museums important to you? Or do you prefer the peace and quiet of a rural community? When you find places that you like, talk to people that live there. They know the most about the area and will be your future neighbors. More than anything, you want a neighborhood where you feel comfortable in.

8. HOW CAN I FIND OUT ABOUT LOCAL SCHOOLS?

You can get information about school systems by contacting the city or county school board or the local schools. Your real estate agent may also be knowledgeable about schools in the area.

9. HOW CAN I FIND OUT HOW MUCH HOMES ARE SELLING FOR IN CERTAIN COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS?

Your real estate agent can give you a ballpark figure by showing you comparable listings. If you are working with a real estate professional, they may have access to comparable sales.

10. HOW CAN I FIND INFORMATION ON THE PROPERTY TAX LIABILITY?

The total amount of the previous year's property taxes is usually included in the listing information. If it's not, ask the seller for a tax receipt or contact the local assessor's off ice. Tax rates can change from year to year, so these figures may be approximate.

11. WHAT OTHER TAX ISSUES SHOULD I TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION?

Keep in mind that your mortgage interest and real estate taxes will be deductible. A qualified real estate professional can give you more details on other tax benefits and liabilities,

12. IS AN OLDER HOME A BETTER VALUE THAN A NEW ONE?

There isn't a definitive answer to this question. You should look at each home for its individual characteristics. Generally, older homes may be in more established neighborhoods, offer more ambiance, and have lower property tax rates. People who buy older homes, however, shouldn't mind maintaining their home and making some repairs. Newer homes tend to use more modern architecture and systems, are usually easier to maintain, and may be more energy-efficient. People who buy new homes often don't want to worry initially about upkeep and repairs.

13. WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR WHEN WALKING THROUGH A HOME? In addition to comparing the home to your minimum requirement and wish lists, use the Home Scorecard and consider the following:

Is there enough room for both the present and the future? Are there enough bedrooms and bathrooms? Is the house structurally sound? Do the mechanical systems and appliances work? Is the yard big enough? Do you like the floor plan? Will your furniture fit in the space? Is there enough storage space? (Bring a tape measure to better answer these questions.) Does anything need to repaired or replaced? Will the seller repair or replace the items?

Imagine the house in good weather and bad, and in each season. Will you be happy with it year-round?

Take your time and think carefully about each house you see. Ask your real estate agent to point out the pros and cons of each home from a professional standpoint.

14. WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD I ASK WHEN LOOKING AT HOMES?

Many of your questions should focus on potential problems and maintenance issues. Does anything need to be replaced? What things require ongoing maintenance (e.g., paint, roof, HVAC, appliances, carpet)? Also ask about the house and neighborhood, focusing on quality of life issues. Be sure the seller's or real estate agent's answers are clear and complete. Ask questions until you understand all of the information they've given. Making a list of questions ahead of time will help you organize your thoughts and arrange all of the information you receive. Prepare your own Home question list before you visit property. Find out about monthly utility bills for entire home.

15. HOW CAN I KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE HOMES I SEE?

If possible, take photographs of each house: the outside, the major rooms, the yard, and extra features that you like or ones you see as potential problems. And don't hesitate to return for a second look. Organize your photos and notes for each house.

16. HOW MANY HOMES SHOULD I CONSIDER BEFORE CHOOSING ONE?

There isn't a set number of houses you should see before you decide. Visit as many as it takes to find the one you want. On average, home buyers see 15 houses before choosing one. Just be sure to communicate often with your real estate agent about everything you're looking for. It will help avoid wasting your time.

YOU'VE FOUND THE DREAM HOME

17. WHAT DOES A HOME INSPECTOR DO, AND HOW DOES AN INSPECTION FIGURE IN THE PURCHASE OF A HOME?

An inspector checks the safety of your potential new home. Home Inspectors focus especially on the structure, construction, and mechanical systems of the house and will make you aware of only repairs,that are needed.

The Inspector does not evaluate whether or not you're getting good value for your money. Generally, an inspector checks (and gives prices for repairs on): the electrical system, plumbing and waste disposal, the water heater, insulation and Ventilation, the HVAC system, water source and quality, the potential presence of pests, the foundation, doors, windows, ceilings, walls, floors, and roof. Be sure to hire a home inspector that is qualified and experienced.

It's a good idea to have an inspection before you sign a written offer since, once the deal is closed, you've bought the house as is." Or, you may want to include an inspection clause in the offer when negotiating for a home. An inspection t clause gives you an 'out" on buying the house if serious problems are found,or gives you the ability to renegotiate the purchase price if repairs are needed. An inspection clause can also specify that the seller must fix the problem(s) before you purchase the house.

18. DO I NEED TO BE THERE FOR THE INSPECTION?

It's not required, but it's a good idea. Following the inspection, the home inspector will be able to answer questions about the report and any problem areas. This is also an opportunity to hear an objective opinion on the home you'd I like to purchase and it is a good time to ask general, maintenance questions.

19. ARE OTHER TYPES OF INSPECTIONS REQUIRED?

If your home inspector discovers a serious problem a more specific Inspection may be recommended. It's a good idea to consider having your home inspected for the presence of a variety of health-related risks like radon gas asbestos, or possible problems with the water or waste disposal system.

20. HOW CAN I PROTECT MY FAMILY FROM LEAD IN THE HOME?

If the house you're considering was built before 1978 and you have children under the age of seven, you will want to have an inspection for lead-based point. It's important to know that lead flakes from paint can be present in both the home and in the soil surrounding the house. The problem can be fixed by repairing damaged paint surfaces or planting grass over effected soil. Hiring a lead abatement contractor to remove paint chips.

21. DO I NEED A LAWYER TO BUY A HOME?

Laws vary by state. Some states require a lawyer to assist in several aspects of the home buying process while other states do not, as long as a qualified real estate professional is involved. Even if your state doesn't require one, you may want to hire a lawyer to help with the complex paperwork and legal contracts. A lawyer can review contracts, make you aware of special considerations, and assist you with the closing process. Your real estate agent may be able to recommend a lawyer. If not, shop around. Find out what services are provided for what fee, and whether the attorney is experienced at representing home buyers.

22. DO I REALLY NEED HOME OWNER'S INSURANCE?

Yes. A paid home owner's insurance policy (or a paid receipt for one) is required at closing, so arrangements will have to be made prior to that day. Plus, involving the insurance agent early in the home buying process can save you money. Insurance agents are a great resource for information on home safety and they can give tips on how to keep insurance premiums low.

23. WHAT STEPS COULD I TAKE TO LOWER MY HOME OWNER'S INSURANCE COSTS?

Be sure to shop around among several insurance companies. Also, consider the cost of insurance when you look at homes. Newer homes and homes constructed with materials like brick tend to have lower premiums. Think about avoiding areas prone to natural disasters, like flooding. Choose a home with a fire hydrant or a fire department nearby.

24. IS THE HOME LOCATED IN A FLOOD PLAIN?

Your real estate agent or lender can help you answer this question. If you live in a flood plain, the lender will require that you have flood insurance before lending any money to you. But if you live near a flood plain, you may choose whether or not to get flood insurance coverage for your home. Work with an insurance agent to construct a policy that fits your needs.

25. WHAT OTHER ISSUES SHOULD I CONSIDER BEFORE I BUY MY HOME?

Always check to see if the house is in a low-lying area, in a high-risk area for natural disasters (like earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.), or in a hazardous materials area. Be sure the house meets building codes. Also consider local zoning laws, which could affect remodeling or making an addition in the future. Your real estate agent should be able to help you with these questions.

26. HOW DO I MAKE AN OFFER?

Your real estate agent will assist you in making an offer, which will include the following information:

Complete legal description of the property Amount of earnest money own payment and financing details Proposed move-in date Price you are offering Proposed closing date Length of time the offer is valid Details of the deal

Remember that a sale commitment depends on negotiating a satisfactory contract with the seller, not just Making an offer.

Other ways to lower ins-insurance costs include insuring your home and car(s) with the same company, increasing home security, and seeking group coverage through alumni or business associations. Insurance costs are always lowered by raising your deductibles, but this exposes you to a higher out-of-pocket cost if you have to file a claim.

27. HOW DO I DETERMINE THE INITIAL OFFER?

Unless you have a buyer's agent, remember that the agent works for the seller. Make a point of asking him or her to keep your discussions and information confidential. Listen to your real estate agent's advice, but follow your own instincts on deciding a fair price. Calculating your offer should involve several factors: what homes sell for in the area, the home's condition, how long it's been on the market, financing terms, and the seller's situation. By the time you're ready to make an offer, you should have a good idea of what the home is worth and what you can afford. And, be prepared for give-and-take negotiation, which is very common when buying a home. The buyer and seller may often go back and forth until they can agree on a price. Check Home price in that area on websites.

28. WHAT IS EARNEST MONEY? HOW MUCH SHOULD I SET ASIDE?

Earnest money is money put down to demonstrate your seriousness about buying a home. It must be substantial enough to demonstrate good faith and is usually between 1-5% of the purchase price (though the amount can vary with local customs and conditions). If your offer is accepted, the earnest money becomes part of your down payment or closing costs. If the offer is rejected, your money is returned to you. If you back out of a deal, you may forfeit the entire amount.

29. WHAT ARE "HOME WARRANTIES", AND SHOULD I CONSIDER THEM?

Home warranties offer you protection for a specific period of time (e.g., one year) against potentially costly problems, like unexpected repairs on appliances or home systems, which are not covered by home owner's insurance. Warranties are becoming more popular because they offer protection during the time immediately following the purchase of a home, a time when many people find themselves cash-strapped.

GENERAL FINANCING QUESTIONS:THE BASICS

30. WHAT IS A MORTGAGE?

Generally speaking, a mortgage is a loan obtained to purchase real estate. The "mortgage" itself is a lien (a legal claim) on the home or property that secures the promise to pay the debt. All mortgages have two features in common: principal and interest.

31. WHAT IS A LOAN TO VALUE (LTV) HOW DOES IT DETERMINE THE SIZE OF MY LOAN?

The loan to value ratio is the amount of money you borrow compared with the price or appraised value of the home you are purchasing. Each loan has a specific LTV limit. For example: With a 95% LTV loan on a home priced at $50,000, you could borrow up to $47,500 (95% of $50,000), and would have to pay,$2,500 as a down payment.

The LTV ratio reflects the amount of equity borrowers have in their homes. The higher the LTV the less cash home buyers are required to pay out of their own funds. So, to protect lenders against potential loss in case of default, higher LTV loans (80% or more) usually require mortgage insurance policy.

32. WHAT TYPES OF LOANS ARE AVAILABLE AND WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF EACH?

Fixed Rate Mortgages: Payments remain the same for the the life of the loan

Types

15-year 30-year

Advantages

Predictable Housing cost remains unaffected by interest rate changes and inflation.

Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMS): Payments increase or decrease on a regular schedule with changes in interest rates; increases subject to limits

Types

Balloon Mortgage- Offers very low rates for an Initial period of time (usually 5, 7, or 10 years); when time has elapsed, the balance is clue or refinanced (though not automatically) Two-Step Mortgage- Interest rate adjusts only once and remains the same for the life of the loan ARMS linked to a specific index or margin

Advantages

Generally offer lower initial interest rates Monthly payments can be lower May allow borrower to qualify for a larger loan amount

33. WHEN DO ARMS MAKE SENSE?

An ARM may make sense If you are confident that your income will increase steadily over the years or if you anticipate a move in the near future and aren't concerned about potential increases in interest rates.

34. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF 15- AND 30-YEAR LOAN TERMS?

30-Year:

In the first 23 years of the loan, more interest is paid off than principal, meaning larger tax deductions. As inflation and costs of living increase, mortgage payments become a smaller part of overall expenses.

15-year:

Loan is usually made at a lower interest rate. Equity is built faster because early payments pay more principal.

35. CAN I PAY OFF MY LOAN AHEAD OF SCHEDULE?

Yes. By sending in extra money each month or making an extra payment at the end of the year, you can accelerate the process of paying off the loan. When you send extra money, be sure to indicate that the excess payment is to be applied to the principal. Most lenders allow loan prepayment, though you may have to pay a prepayment penalty to do so. Ask your lender for details.

36. ARE THERE SPECIAL MORTGAGES FOR FIRST-TIME HOME BUYERS?

Yes. Lenders now offer several affordable mortgage options which can help first-time home buyers overcome obstacles that made purchasing a home difficult in the past. Lenders may now be able to help borrowers who don't have a lot of money saved for the down payment and closing costs, have no or a poor credit history, have quite a bit of long-term debt, or have experienced income irregularities.

37. HOW LARGE OF A DOWN PAYMENT DO I NEED?

There are mortgage options now available that only require a down payment of 5% or less of the purchase price. But the larger the down payment, the less you have to borrow, and the more equity you'll have. Mortgages with less than a 20% down payment generally require a mortgage insurance policy to secure the loan. When considering the size of your down payment, consider that you'll also need money for closing costs, moving expenses, and - possibly -repairs and decorating.

38. WHAT IS INCLUDED IN A MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENT?

The monthly mortgage payment mainly pays off principal and interest. But most lenders also include local real estate taxes, home owner's insurance, and mortgage insurance (if applicable).

39. WHAT FACTORS AFFECT MORTGAGE PAYMENTS?

The amount of the down payment, the size of the mortgage loan, the interest rate, the length of the repayment term and payment schedule will all affect the size of your mortgage payment.

40. HOW DOES THE INTEREST RATE FACTOR IN SECURING A MORTGAGE LOAN?

A lower interest rate allows you to borrow more money than a high rate with the some monthly payment. Interest rates can fluctuate as you shop for a loan, so ask-lenders if they offer a rate "lock-in"which guarantees a specific interest rate for a certain period of time. Remember that a lender must disclose the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of a loan to you. The APR shows the cost of a mortgage loan by expressing it in terms of a yearly interest rate. It is generally higher than the interest rate because it also includes the cost of points, mortgage insurance, and other fees included in the loan.

41. WHAT HAPPENS IF INTEREST RATES DECREASE AND I HAVE A FIXED RATE LOAN?

If interest rates drop significantly, you may want to investigate refinancing. Most experts agree that if you plan to be in your house for at least 18 months and you can get a rate 2% less than your current one, refinancing is smart. Refinancing may, however, involve paying many of the same fees paid at the original closing, plus origination and application fees.

42. WHAT ARE DISCOUNT POINTS?

Discount points allow you to lower your interest rate. They are essentially prepaid interest, With each point equaling 1% of the total loan amount. Generally, for each point paid on a 30-year mortgage, the interest rate is reduced by 1/8 (or.125) of a percentage point. When shopping for loans, ask lenders for an interest rate with 0 points and then see how much the rate decreases With each point paid. Discount points are smart if you plan to stay in a home for some time since they can lower the monthly loan payment. Points are tax deductible when you purchase a home and you may be able to negotiate for the seller to pay for some of them.

43. WHAT IS AN ESCROW ACCOUNT? DO I NEED ONE?

Established by your lender, an escrow account is a place to set aside a portion of your monthly mortgage payment to cover annual charges for home owner's insurance, mortgage insurance (if applicable), and property taxes. Escrow accounts are a good idea because they assure money will always be available for these payments. If you use an escrow account to pay property tax or home owner's insurance, make sure you are not penalized for late payments since it is the lender's responsibility to make those payments.

44. WHAT STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN TO SECURE A LOAN?

The first step in securing a loan is to complete a loan application. To do so, you'll need the following information.

Pay stubs for the past 2-3 months W-2 forms for the past 2 years Information on long-term debts Recent bank statements tax returns for the past 2 years Proof of any other income Address and description of the property you wish to buy Sales contract

During the application process, the lender will order a report on your credit history and a professional appraisal of the property you want to purchase. The application process typically takes between 1-6 weeks.

45. HOW DO I CHOOSE THE RIGHT LENDER FOR ME?

Choose your lender carefully. Look for financial stability and a reputation for customer satisfaction. Be sure to choose a company that gives helpful advice and that makes you feel comfortable. A lender that has the authority to approve and process your loan locally is preferable, since it will be easier for you to monitor the status of your application and ask questions. Plus, it's beneficial when the lender knows home values and conditions in the local area. Do research and ask family, friends, and your real estate agent for recommendations. Once again internet research can help you in home financing too.

46. HOW ARE PRE-QUALIFYING AND PRE-APPROVAL DIFFERENT?

Pre-qualification is an informal way to see how much you maybe able to borrow. You can be 'pre-qualified' over the phone with no paperwork by telling a lender your income, your long-term debts, and how large a down payment you can afford. Without any obligation, this helps you arrive at a ballpark figure of the amount you may have available to spend on a house.

Pre-approval is a lender's actual commitment to lend to you. It involves assembling the financial records mentioned in Question 47 (Without the property description and sales contract) and going through a preliminary approval process. Pre-approval gives you a definite idea of what you can afford and shows sellers that you are serious about buying.

47. WHAT IS A CREDIT BUREAU SCORE AND HOW DO LENDERS USE THEM?

A credit bureau score is a number, based upon your credit history, that represents the possibility that you will be unable to repay a loan. Lenders use it to determine your ability to qualify for a mortgage loan. The better the score, the better your chances are of getting a loan. Ask your lender for details.

CLOSING

48. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER I'VE APPLIED FOR MY LOAN?

It usually takes a lender between 1-6 weeks to complete the evaluation of your application. Its not unusual for the lender to ask for more information once the application has been submitted. The sooner you can provide the information, the faster your application will be processed. Once all the information has been verified the lender will call you to let you know the outcome of your application. If the loan is approved, a closing date is set up and the lender will review the closing with you. And after closing, you'll be able to move into your new home.

49. WHAT SHOULD I LOOK OUT FOR DURING THE FINAL WALK-THROUGH?

This will likely be the first opportunity to examine the house without furniture, giving you a clear view of everything. Check the walls and ceilings carefully, as well as any work the seller agreed to do in response to the inspection. Any problems discovered previously that you find uncorrected should be brought up prior to closing. It is the seller's responsibility to fix them.

50. WHAT MAKES UP CLOSING COST OF HOME?

There may be closing cost customary or unique to a certain locality, but closing cost are usually made up of the following:

Attorney's or escrow fees (Yours and your lender's if applicable) Property taxes (to cover tax period to date) Interest (paid from date of closing to 30 days before first monthly payment) Loan Origination fee (covers lenders administrative cost) Recording fees Survey fee First premium of mortgage Insurance (if applicable) Title Insurance (yours and lender's) Loan discount points First payment to escrow account for future real estate taxes and insurance Paid receipt for home owner's insurance policy (and fire and flood insurance if applicable). Any documentation preparation fees

51. WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO HAPPEN ON CLOSING DAY?

You'll present your paid home owner's insurance policy or a binder and receipt showing that the premium has been paid. The closing agent will then list the money you owe the seller (remainder of down payment, prepaid taxes, etc.) and then the money the seller owes you (unpaid taxes and prepaid rent, if applicable). The seller will provide proofs of any inspection, warranties, etc.

Once you're sure you understand all the documentation, you'll sign the mortgage, agreeing that if you don't make payments the lender is entitled to sell your property and apply the sale price against the amount you owe plus expenses. You'll also sign a mortgage note, promising to repay the loan. The seller will give you the title to the house in the form of a signed deed.

You'll pay the lender's agent all closing costs and, in turn,he or she will provide you with a settlement statement of all the items for which you have paid. The deed and mortgage will then be recorded in the state Registry of Deeds, and you will be a homeowner.

52. WHAT DO I GET AT CLOSING?

Settlement Statement (itemizes services provided and the fees charged; it is filled out by the closing agent and must be given to you at or before closing)

Truth-in-Lending Statement

Mortgage Note

Mortgage or Deed of Trust

Binding Sales Contract (prepared by the seller; your lawyer should review it)

Keys to your new home

#home #decor #homedecor

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somerandomwriter1234 · 5 years

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Girl Meets World Fanfiction: Girl Meets Reality Chapter 1

Summary: A science experiment goes wrong and sends Riley and Maya to an alternate universe where their lives are a TV show called Girl Meets World. In this strange world, Riley and Maya watch clips of their lives in TV show form, meet actresses Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter, look up fanfiction and fan art involving them (yeah, nothing bad could happen from that), but more importantly: discover how their lives made a much bigger difference than they ever could have thought.

Chapter 1:

Early one morning Riley and Maya walked into Farkle's bedroom and saw him working on a large metallic device shaped like a circle with a computer attached to it. Riley then said, "Okay Farkle. We got here as soon as we could. What do you have to show us?" An excited Farkle then said, "Okay guys. Don't freak out. But with Smackle's help... I think I may have discovered a way to access alternate universes." A confused looking Maya then said, "Alter-what's-it?" Farkle then said, "Other worlds. It's the multiverse theory. The idea that: what if people made different choices in the past, and it resulted in worlds similar to ours but different." Maya then said, "Ohhhhhh... I still don't get it." Riley then said, "Well I'm proud of you Farkle. So how does it work?" Farkle then said, "Well it's still untested technology so don't..." Riley then pressed a large button near Farkle's computer as she said, "Ooo. Shiny!" Farkle then finished his sentence by yelling... "Don't touch anything!" Suddenly a large vortex appeared near the machine and right in front of Riley and Maya. Riley and Maya then instantly got sucked inside as they yelled, "Whoa!" Then within seconds... Riley and Maya were gone.

Riley and Maya suddenly appeared in the bedroom but Farkle was gone. As Riley looked around she said, "Wait. What happened? Where's the vortex? Where's Farkle?" Maya then said, "More importantly... where's the fourth wall?" Riley and Maya then saw in front of them was a TV sound studio with empty seats for a potential studio audience. Riley then said, "When did Farkle's room get so much bigger?" Maya then said, "More like why did someone build a re-creation of Farkle's bedroom in a TV studio? Come on. Lets look around." Riley and Maya then walked around the studio and found an exit door. The two girls walked outside and saw a bright outdoor sky and parking plot. Riley then said, "Well at least we're still in New York. Look at all of those buildings and... Wait. This isn't New York. Where are we?" Maya then said, "I've seen pictures of this place. Riley... I think we're in Los Angeles." A freaked out looking Riley then said, "We were transported to the other side of the country!? Oh man. How are we gonna get back?" Maya then looked at her phone and said, "Well however we're gonna do it, it won't involve our phones. I got no cell service." Riley then looked at her phone and said, "Me neither. Come on. Maybe we can use a computer or phone at that mall over there." Maya then noticed a mall not far away, and then she and Riley headed over towards it.

Riley and Maya began walking through a mall together. As they walked, several people began to make quick stares at them. Riley then said, "Maya, is it me, or are people starring at us?" Maya then said, "Eh. We're east coast girls. West coast folk probably think we smell weird." Suddenly a little preschool girl ran up to Riley and Maya and said, "Hey. Is it really you? Are you really Riley and Maya?" A surprised Riley then said, "Um... yes. How do you know us?" The little girl then said, "I love your show. It's the only thing I used to watch on Netflix. Can I get both your autograph?" A surprised looking Maya then said, "Um... sure." Riley and Maya then began to sign a piece of paper the little girl had as Riley said, "Is she talking about our old middle school news broadcasts?" Maya then said, "I guess. Didn't know the school had a deal with Netflix though." An adult woman then walked over to the three and said, "There you are Stacy, and... Oh wow. You're the ladies from my daughter's favorite show." Riley waved and said, "Hi. Nice to meet you." The little girl then got the piece of paper back and said, "Look mommy. They signed it." The adult woman smiled as she looked at it and said, "Aww. They signed it in character. That's cute." The adult woman and little girl walked away as Maya said, "Well this keeps getting stranger."

Riley and Maya then walked into a book store as Riley said, "Well maybe we can hook into the wi-fi here. How about getting a smoothie at the cafe first? My treat." Maya smiled as she said, "Thanks. But you're already my treat." Riley smiled as she went over to the cafe counter and said, "Two banana smoothies please." A young adult woman at the counter looked at Riley and Maya as she said, "Oh my gosh. Oh wow. I can't believe this. Listen, I know it must feel weird for a 27 year old to be saying this, but I love your show so much." Riley glanced at Maya as she whispered, "I had no idea so many people across the country were watching our morning announcements." The young woman then said, "I watched your show every Friday night with my niece and it meant so much to her, and some episodes even really touched me. We were both so devastated when Disney canceled Girl Meets World." A wide eyed Riley then said, "Girl Meets What?" The young woman then said, "Anyway, I'm sorry. I'll stop bothering you. Hey. Whatever you want, it's on the house." A confused looking Riley then said, "Uh... thank you."

As Riley and Maya sat in a corner booth by themselves Riley said, "Maya... has the world gone mad? Why are people treating us like celebrities? And why did that woman talk about Disney canceling our show? Wait... could we be in an alternate universe that Farkle's invention sent us to?" Maya who was looking at her phone said, "Way ahead of you. I had a feeling we were pretty far from home, and I got into this place's wi-fi and remembered the girl mentioning a show called Girl Meets World, so I searched for it and... well... look." Maya then held her phone up towards Riley and Riley's eyes got wide as she looked at the screen. There Riley saw pictures posted of her friends and family next to a large logo that said Girl Meets World. Then Riley looked at a description box and read it as she said, "According to this: Girl Meets World is an American comedy television series created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on Disney Channel from June 27, 2014 to January 20, 2017. The series is a spinoff of Boy Meets World and stars Rowan Blanchard as Riley Matthews, Sabrina Carpenter as Maya Hart, and... Hold on. Our lives a TV show in this world!?" Maya then said, "Apparently. We even have our own theme song. Check it out." Maya then started a video clip of the Girl Meets World theme song. As it played Riley look at it and said, "What? How did they get this video footage? Have they been stalking us!? This... this is too weird!?"

About an hour later, Riley and Maya were hidden in a very isolated part of the book store sitting on the floor still looking at their phones. Maya then said, "Wow, watching these clips sure feels creepy. It's like some stalkers set up hidden camera all around our bedrooms, classrooms, and favorite hang out spots." A scared looking Riley then said, "Oh no. The episodes don't include scenes of me taking my hour long morning shower do they?" Maya made a little smile as she said, "No honey, this is apparently a family show. Although judging from the comments in some of these video clips, there are some guys that wish they could've seen that... and some girls." Riley then said, "I just don't get it. Who would want to watch a TV series about our lives? I mean I wasted all of third grade just tripping all of the time because I couldn't tie my shoes. Who would want to see that?" As Maya continued to look up information on the show she said, "It's not our whole lives Riley. Just from the beginning of 7th grade to the middle of 9th. Apparently the show ended right after your mom decided not to move to London." Riley then said, "Wait. Why did our show end?" Maya then said, "Apparently a reasonable explanation was never given from Disney and fans started a huge campaign to save the series. On social media the day it ended, it was apparently the second highest trending topic worldwide behind only the 2017 presidential inauguration." A wide eyed Riley said, "Worldwide!? How popular was our show!?" Maya then said, "Well the premiere got just over five million viewers in the USA, but it's apparently been aired worldwide, so we may have been watched by over 100 million fans at some point or another."

Riley then slouched back in her chair as she said, "A hundred million people!? My Harajuku phase, first kiss with Lucas, and paint fight with you was seen by over 100 million people!?" Maya then said, "Well if it make you feels better, it wasn't technically you. In this world it was an actress named Rowan Blanchard." Riley then looked at a picture of herself as she said, "What!? I don't look like a Rowan!? That's a weird name for someone who looks like me." Maya then said, "Tell me about it. I can't believe my face belongs to some actress in this world named Sabrina Carpenter. What kind of name is that anyway? It sounds like the name of some cartoon cat who's a handy-woman." Then Riley said, "Who are these two girls anyway? Lets look them up." Maya then said, "Well, lets see. According to this: Rowan Blanchard on top of acting, is also a public activist in areas such as feminism, human rights, and gun violence." Riley then said, "Whoa. And according to this: Sabrina Carpenter is an accomplished actress and singer, with multiple hit albums and sold out tours." A wide eyed Maya then said, "What!? No. That's gotta be fake." Riley then said, "Well it is hard to sort out which news sources are more reliable on this alternate world. I know. Let me search what's real and what's fake on this Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter and see what's the real deal with them and... Huh? Is that... OH MY GOSH!" A worried Maya then said, "What!?" Riley then said, "Oh God. Whatever you do: don't image search our actress' names and the word fake next to them." Maya then glanced at Riley's phone and said, "Oh my gosh. That is so messed up... Your boobs are way more bigger than that in real life." Riley then began pressing buttons on her phone fast as she said, "Ahh! Delete internet history! Delete internet history!"

Later Riley and Maya were walking through the mall again as Riley said, "It's just so weird Maya. For so long: my life was just... my life. And now I learn in some alternate universe... it's been watched and studied by millions of people." Maya then said, "It's not us Riley. It's just stories being performed by two girls who look like us... and who are smarter than us... more famous than us... and way more talented than us." A concerned looking Riley then said, "You okay, Peaches?" Maya then said, "Yeah. It's just... I always wished more people paid attention to my art. And to see a world where another version of me has her art adored by millions of people... it's amazing but still very strange." Suddenly a man ran over to Maya and said, "You. You're supposed to be on stage in fifteen minutes. Why aren't you in hair and makeup?" A confused Maya then said, "What?" The man then said, "Oh. Miss Blanchard. Nice to see you. I suppose she's hanging out with you today?" Maya then said, "Um..." The man then said, "Come on. Lets go." The man then quickly led Maya over to a closed door and let her and Riley in. The man then said, "Apologies for not getting your sooner. It's just I was told you were already here and... Wait. What?" Suddenly everyone stopped as Riley and Maya saw walking around a corner in makeup were actresses Rowan Blanchard and Sabrina Carpenter. All of the girls stopped walking as they looked at each other. Rowan Blanchard then looked at Sabrina Carpenter as she said, "Sabrina, what is going on?" Riley then looked at Maya as she said, "Oh boy. This sure got complicated."

TO BE CONTINUED...

*Author's Note - This story was co-written with fanfic writer: Just a Complicated Person. So what did you all think of this tale so far? Feel free to leave a comment or message with your thoughts, and feel free to share what should happen next, along with what other corners of the Girl Meets World online fandom that Riley and Maya should discover. Until then, thanks for reading!

#girl meets world #girl meets world fanfiction #gmw fanfic #riley and maya #riley x maya #rilaya #rowbrina #rowan blanchard #sabrina carpenter #rowan blanchard x sabrina carpenter #girl meets world f #girl meets world fandom #gmw fandom

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beyondthetemples-ooc · 4 years

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Oh NO!

There’s a MEETING on the fifth! HECK.

As soon as I got the message saying “May 5th”, I was like “huh, that sounds familiar, why”. And then I looked in my calendar. And saw the blank square. And stared at it.....

And then I realized THAT’S WHEN APOKOLIPS WAR COMES OUT.

HHHFFFFFF

Highest priority for me about seeing it is seeing is AS SOON as possible so I don’t get ANYTHING else spoiled! I don’t even want to see a single gif before I see the movie for myself! I’m really genuinely excited about how Constantine and Raven are going to be in this whole situation, and how the HELL they’re going to get out of it with their two strongest on the meta and mystical side nerfed so hard!

So, I’m starting my new job on Monday. Which means I’ll have worked on Tuesday, May 5th. And I was planning to get home, get food, and get watching...

And then I was thinking, okay. The meeting doesn’t start until 8pm. Maybe I can do what I did with the SU finale, where I watched until IMMEDIATELY before the meeting began, spent two minutes putting on my business jacket+foundation, used the bathroom, and slid right onto Zoom. Then did all my Post-Viewing Celebration and Liveblog Posting and fan-content consumption after the meeting. until like 3am, as is my custom.

So, maybe I could get home, watch the movie Immediately, and go right to the meeting after?

But here’s the thing. The bus ride home is an hour long. (It’s not even from transfers or anything, it just takes an hour for the bus to make a fifteen-minute drive down the street.) My work schedule is until 5:30pm. With current events, the buses are on a reduced schedule, so the first bus home doesn’t leave until 5:50... Best case scenario, I don’t get home until 6:50.

Amazon won’t tell me HOW LONG the movie’s RUNTIME IS.

But by the time the meeting is over, after the training and everything, it’ll be like 11. Sometimes it goes until midnight. And I’m not gonna want to start watching a movie that’s going to utterly FUCK me up emotionally at midnight. Especially not when I’ll have work in the morning.......

...Mmmmmmaybe... I could dip into the post-emergency-fund-savings stimulus check leftovers, and take a Lyft home? That’s a fifteen minute drive, I could be home by 6. I have bags of popcorn in my room, I could just grab a carrot and some hummus for dinner and get right to watching when I get home, and theoretically watch the movie by 7:45, though that would depend entirely on its runtime, how often I pause to take notes on commentary, and how the internet connection is.... nyyyygggghhhhh, for a full-length movie, that’s super risky, though. And even if I do get through the movie by 7:55, if the meeting miraculously only goes until 10:30, I’ll still have to get up for work in the morning and won’t be able to spent HOURS seeking fan content... Heck.

I’d hate to watch the movie and not have time to Process it before I have to go to bed-- I won’t be able to sleep after an emotional high without Processing it. And I really don’t want to be a zombie the next day, if I stay up late consuming fancontent... (Besides, sleep deprivation is really bad for your immune system. And I’m going to be on public transportation with gloves and no access to masks.)

So I guess, while I could theoretically watch the movie, I’m also going to need time to RECOVER from the movie. And that’s going to be a multi-hour process..... so as much as it pains me to realize, I’m going to have to avoid Tumblr on Tuesday (in order to avoid spoilers because people don’t tag reliably in this fandom-- plus there are so many different ways people phrase that movie’s tags).... and so, I just have to resign myself to wait until Wednesday evening to watch.

Damn it.

But really, that’s only one more day. And I’ve been agonizing over this movie since like February fricking 25th. Another singular day won’t kill me....

I’ll probably hop on Tuesday to make a brief LOA announcement, writing it from my blog’s page instead of the dash so there is Zero Risk of being spoiled, and just... Try Really Hard to get through the day without going on Tumblr. That’ll be interesting, but I can take a walk, browse new music, search for my muses’ music tastes. Generally just fill in the time before the movie.

And then let the entirety of my Wednesday evening be completely dedicated to JLD:AW!

I think that’s the better choice, anyways, because for a whole movie with Such a cast and So Many Things promised to happen, there’s probably going to be a lot to comment on.

i gotta know what the FUCK raven and damian are talking about in the freaking med room though! I gotta! I GOTTA. knowing them it’s going to be murderously vulnerable and force me to Feel Things. I’m definitely gonna need time for my damirae heart to heal over when I finally know what they’re talking about. And if, you know, Something Shippy happens. Because I was a hard sell on that ship, but once I fell for them, I completely PLUNGED.

So anyways, waiting ‘til Wednesday, final verdict.

My new Countdown Date for JLD: Apokolips War is Wednesday, May 6th.

#rhs personal posts #rhs jld:aw

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informationpolitix · 4 years

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Arguments for Drug Legalization and Regulation

I have recently attended jury duty on a Special Narcotics Unit Grand Jury

I believe that full drug legalization and regulation is the best solution for our current political context in the Americas

My experience as a juror has not changed my opinion on the subject, but has reinforced it and caused me to articulate the reasons for my beliefs more fully than I have in the past.

Free market competition is the only effective way to prevent the unregulated sale of dangerous substances at the street level

Competition from the drug industry would take all the business from street vendors, gangs, and criminal producers of drugs

It would be in the industry’s best interests to submit itself to regulation, as the alternative, criminalization, would present far greater risks and operating costs to the industry

Deregulation efforts will most likely not include the producers of drugs, who will still have incentive to commit violence in this scenario, and thus drug industry on the production side will not easily and cost-effectively be able to expand as much as it would in a legalized scenario. This would give producers incentive to participate in a legalized market instead of an illicit one

Customers will almost certainly go for the legitimate option with no legal consequences rather than risk legal consequences by purchasing illicit substances on the street

Customers can achieve greater confidence about what they are actually purchasing (purity, dosage, etc.) in a legalized and regulated industry than they could in an illicit or deregulated industry

Illicit industries reward people who are mentally unstable. Legitimate industries exclude these people from gaining control

Illegal industry incentivizes and rewards mentally unstable or insane people to participate. These are people who would not qualify for a job that carries much responsibility in a legalized and regulated industry

These people are the most likely to rise to the top in an illicit industry, as any means of operation is possible when your industry is already secret and clandestine out of the view of the public and authorities, and the most brutal and ruthless tactics and the ability to take extreme risks (which sane people would otherwise not attempt) will deliver the most advantage in this scenario

The drug war creates and sustains violent gangs

Gangs recruit members from childhood and teen age, either voluntarily when people live in situations that compromise their judgement or when the gang presents a real potential benefit to their lives, with children and teenagers being incapable of understanding the consequences or predicting how the situation could play out long term, or the gangs violently force people into their their ranks. Once involved, participation is mandatory, there is no escape for most and thus there is no other choice than to participate or face horrifying retaliations including death

The drug trade facilitates gang formation and gang activity more than any other source of revenue, it exceeds, by far, revenue from extortion, robbery, pimping sex workers, etc.

Gangs establish criminal networks and build transportation systems that allow them to transport drugs, guns, people across borders, anywhere they want. Once these routes are established they can be used to transport many things other than just drugs. Taking drugs out of the picture greatly reduces the ability of the gangs to construct these systems and conduct crimes across the spectrum

Ultimately, legalization will reduce violence

With gangs and other violent actors competed off the streets, violence will be reduced: particularly gun violence within cities

People need catharsis. Just as the increase in the popularity and availability of violent video games have been correlated with a reduction in street violence, access to the psychoactive experience in safe and controlled settings may further reduce motivation to commit acts of violence

Addicts can gain a social safety net through regulation

Prostitution is commonly resorted to as a means to maintain access to drugs in the case of addiction, and there may not be a need to obtain money this way if the industry was regulated such that drug prices can become cheaper than they are now, and such that proven addicts can receive free rehabilitation treatment, as an exchange by the industry for permission to remain in business

The legalization or decriminalization of sex work can further serve to create a safer society in the presence of drug use

Legalization can prevent the spread of disease

HIV and Hepatitis can be contracted via stays in prison in the case of rape and the other violent interactions that occur within these spaces, through the use of dirty needles, and through prostitution. The drug war creates circumstances that facilitate the spread of disease

Punishment makes life hard for people, prevents participation within the legitimate economy, and puts criminals in contact with each other, thus creating a self-feeding cycle

Prison stays reduce income and savings for convicts. Criminal records, trauma, visible scars and tattoos from prison and forced gang involvement makes it difficult for ex-convicts to participate in the legitimate economy, thus creating renewed incentive to sell drugs or resort to prostitution once they are freed

Prison concentrates criminals and allows them to network thus perpetuating the drug trade

Aggression within prison can aggravate people and turn them into violent criminals or addicts to cope with the trauma and aggravation

Inmates are commonly forced to use drugs in order to test potency of drugs smuggled into prisons, and are forced into addiction as a method of extortion. Prisons perpetuate addiction and produce new addicts this way

There is so much economic incentive to sell drugs that criminalization is basically just a perpetual game of “Whack-a-Mole”, except with dire consequences for society

If you arrest one dealer another will come up in their place weeks to months later

The generational aspect of human procreation will ensure that there is always someone emotionally immature to pick up the torch in the illicit drug market. The younger generations will enter the market before they are old enough to understand the history or the consequences, and they will fill in the voids left by established dealers who have been incarcerated

Unregulated drug markets can be exploited to push drugs on children and trick people into taking addictive drugs

Drug dealers are free to lace drugs with other drugs (like mixing heroin into cocaine) or to present drugs as different from what they are in an effort to make sales or get people addicted to the drugs they want to sell. A legalized industry can avert this by requiring the provision of transparent information about the drugs being sold

Drug dealers are free to violently push drugs on kids and sell to children or teens. Legalized industry can be effectively regulated to prevent this

An illicit industry will target people of poor mental health and addicts to sell drugs

An informed public can make responsible decisions about what to purchase and how to safely handle the effects of drug use within society

Reduction of stigma and open conversation as well as transparent information surrounding the drugs will allow the general population to become familiarized with the effects and dangers of the drugs. This will lead to greater public awareness and thus more responsible and informed consumption, as well as giving the public information necessary to implement effective regulations as the situation evolves

Regulations can effectively prevent industry from hiding facts about their product or irresponsibly commercializing it

Dosage will be much more reliable with legalized industry thus overdoses will be prevented

Increased visibility into the lives of addicts will act as a strong deterrent especially for those who are too young to comprehend the real life consequences and ease of addiction of some substances. Parents should already be showing their children documentaries of real life drug addicts as there are many now, freely available on YouTube, etc. which are far better of a depiction of the problems surrounding drug use than any PSA or educational videos I watched in school (I’m a 80′s-90s kid..)

The dangerous crimes committed by drug addicts can be prevented through harm reduction techniques

If the industry is regulated to support the addicts they create and detox them, etc., then theft and prostitution on behalf of the addicts can be averted

Reach out at point of sale can offer mental health services and mental health checks may be required to obtain certain drugs. Alternatives may be offered to prevent incentive for customers to obtain drugs on the street

The development of dangerous synthetic drugs and alternatives to illicit substances may be averted by legalization of safer and more natural drugs

The development and distribution of dangerous alternatives such as k2 and fentanyl can be averted if safer drugs are produced at scale and sold at competitive prices

The drug industry will produce benefits for all aspects of society as a side effect of the economic activities surrounding this industry

Technology will be progressed as research and innovation in the drug space is legalized and incentivized. This increases the potential for safer drugs to be developed and for more effective methods of detox, addiction prevention, and rehabilitation to be developed

The presence of a legalized industry will increase legitimate and stable economic opportunity spanning many fields

People who would otherwise have jobs as illicit or underground drug dealers could have jobs in a legalized industry which they can list on a resume, thus increasing economic mobility for large portions of society

Drug legalization can prevent global international economic instability and prevent immigration crises

Control over the production supply chain by a consumer base can prevent terrorist activity, the rise of gangs and the rise of warlords outside the country, as these organizations have historically gained traction through the exploitation of the drug trade. A competitive legal industry could serve to legitimize the operations of these organizations and provide incentive for them to pursue peaceful relations with local people and the outside world. Otherwise a legalized industry would fill market demand and compete these organizations out of existence.

Economic stabilization can limit emigration, as in the case of economic migrants, and make the world more secure globally

Removing power from gangs and drug lords will prevent emigration, as it would prevent the creation of refugees fleeing from the circumstances these organizations create

The following points present my suggestions for the most practical and effective regulation techniques

Price controls should not be established. Price should be competitive, to make the products sold by legalized and regulated industry more appealing to consumers than the products of an illicit industry (because they would cheaper, as well as being of higher verifiable quality, etc.) We are already seeing this effect with legalization efforts in the United States, in which black markets are still thriving because states are artificially increasing the price of legal drugs such that they aren’t competitive compared to black market products

Machines, procedure, and telemetry can be used to regulate the distribution of drugs such that the drugs don't end up on the street. We can distribute cash effectively with ATMs so we should also be able to distribute drugs in a similar way

The industry should be established in an incremental way such that people who may be effected by the change are compensated or given an advantage in establishing legitimate business, so not to disrupt local economies which may be reliant upon illicit drug trade and shift economic power away from minority social groups who may be most subjected to the street-level manifestations of the industry

Gangs will retaliate for a long time as their business is being taken from them. We created a beast with the drug war and it will not easily disappear, so the development of a legalized industry must be looked upon as a long term endeavor, and we must stay the course despite retaliation and the fear it will cause

The effects of drug use can be insulated from technical industries through the use of systematic drug tests and the use of sophisticated and highly redundant quality control and assurance methods. Engineers, doctors, and pilots will not all become drug addicts if these industries use techniques to prevent drug use among its highly skilled employees

Most jobs are relatively low risk and thus regulations should not attempt to keep everybody who participates in the work for to stay clean of drugs

To prevent drugs from being bought and resold on the street, certain drugs may be regulated such that they must be administered on site.

To prevent dangerous activities of drug users while they are on hard drugs such as LSD or other psychedelic substances from affecting others within society, certain drugs may be regulated such that they must be administered on site.

Further, only small amounts may be sold to any given person at a time. A potential mechanism to facilitate this regulation would be the use of cards that may be issued to allow cartels of sellers to keep track of how many items a particular customer has purchased in a given time. These cards or ids could be distributed such that the identity of the person is not stored or even used at all. An application and renewal process may need to exist involving psychiatric vetting and physical identification. The ability of central authorities to link identities to history of purchase can present a risk to customers.

Trained and certified staff, like doctors, psychiatrists, and professionals trained in restraint, as well as supporting facilities, may be required for certain commercial operations, particularly those which require administration of site due to potent disorienting effects of certain substances. This may seem like a nightmarish setting in which to consume drugs, but these types of facilities could be made presentable and fun. Commercial operations will find ways to create appealing experiences within the frameworks of regulation

Consumption off site may present risk of use while operating sensitive machinery or automobiles. This may provide further motivation to enforce consumption on site or to use some other method of prevention like confiscation of car keys and offer of driving service on site

Transport of substances off site may be necessary to increase the appeal of legalized product and allow the legalized industry to effectively compete with criminal enterprises, although consistency and quality of product along with lessened prices may be sufficient. The resale of substances may primarily target those who are underage since this is a market that most likely would not be served in the case of legalization, which would make this aspect of regulation a point of contention. Decriminalization allows that underage market to be served, but Portugal has shown positive results after decriminalization.

To mitigate the size of the underage market which thus creates a niche for gangs and other violent actors to fill, lowering of legal ages of consumption may be practical. One of the points of legalization is to prevent the rise of violent criminal organizations and the negative effects they have upon society. The negative effects of increased consumption among youth may be outweighed by the prevention of violent crime.

Mental health checks may be required for the purchase of certain substances

The economic stability of individual customers may also be necessary to evaluate in order to sell to certain individuals, so that drugs aren’t allowed to be sold to someone who is destitute or at risk of becoming destitute

The industry may provide rehabilitation services in many ways, taxation may serve as an effective means to establish a universal robust rehab system and welfare program requiring that rehab be carried out, so that people have a chance to rebound in case they become addicted and aren't forced into prostitution or to commit acts of theft to support drug habits. The worst that could happen in the scenario of legalization is that more people become addicted to drugs (and also driving becomes less safe as a side effect of increased drug use) If drugs are not criminalized and there is no violence surrounding it, and if prices can be brought down because of decreased risk associated with doing business, then people should be able to cope with their problems and function as addicts with (maybe) a lessened capacity to perform work (Joseph McCarthy was a heroin addict for example) until they gain the ability to overcome their addiction. Welfare as described above would probably be cheaper than paying police to enforce drug laws and to incarcerate people, and the industry would further provide benefit to the social mobility of economic minorities which would increase the power of local economies. The spread of disease would be prevented which would collectively save society a lot of money and provide stability. The industry could also be taxed to supplement the cost of this kind of welfare, so the industry and the surrounding regulatory infrastructure should easily have the ability to solve any problems that the industry creates

Counter arguments to legalization, in support of criminalization

Arguments may be made that criminalization is the desirable solution, in order to insulate ones children or family from access to substances. Many people would support this argument even if it means that economically disadvantaged children suffer more as a consequence. Ultimately, people will want to protect their own children at the cost of everyone else’s safety. Criminalization may be an effective way to achieve this morally questionable goal.

However, one may say that the immense emotional responses individuals may experience when considering effects on their children may cloud judgement and, further, families with economic means to escape risky situations may be isolated from the reality of the situation in the places that drug trade and drug use manifest their effects. Negative effects of criminalization may simply be transferred to other areas or other countries, particularly those without the economic means to carry out criminalization effectively. One may describe this tactic as classist or selfish in motivation. Legalization may pay for itself and thus prove to provide a more equalized solution while maybe not being able to achieve the classist goal of total isolation from access to drugs for certain segments of society (wealthy people’s children, etc.)

Increased presence of police in neighborhoods supposedly reduces crime. My question is: what kinds of crime? Maybe violent crime, robberies and overt drug sales are prevented, but drug transactions may actually still be occurring in the area, but just undetected. Also, increased better economic circumstances may correlate with police presence, so how can we know if this phenomenon caused the change or if some phenomenon in parallel caused the change, like greater access to technology for those who can “afford” to have more police in the neighborhood (local governments typically assign greater police coverage to areas of greater economic circumstance)

I have been told, though I have not yet found material on this yet, that the string of violent crime in the 80′s caused by crack addiction, which particularly instigated addicts to commit violent robberies with handguns and knives in order to support their addiction, was only solved by mandatory minimum sentences. However, through legalization, cocaine may reach a low enough price point and safer alternative drugs may be cheap enough and prevalent enough that crack wouldn’t be a popular phenomenon anymore, rehabilitation programs would be more available, and the sale of crack may even be effectively outlawed through regulation.

The U.S. military argued as to the use of psychedelic drugs, which are undetectable in tests and can exhibit after effects long after consumption, that it could be dangerous if somebody experienced a flashback spontaneously while in operation. A legalized industry may actually serve to prevent this from happening as there would be no legal consequences and less social consequences for disclosing prior use of drugs while being vetted for positions. A relative literally told me he and his company literally hallucinate on LSD while they were actively working on aircraft carriers in the military. This was after LSD had been illegal for a long time. Only in the case of a draft might the military be forced to accept people with this history of drug use. Maybe this potential for error would serve as a deterrent to enter into war and an incentive to prevent wars from escalating to the point of necessitation of a draft

#drug legalization #regulation #drug war #police #economics #free market #addiction #mental health #immigration

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thetravellingvagrant · 5 years

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Day 27- Slunj/Zagreb: In Which I Eat Two Sausages

I had booked my bus to Zagreb for 11:15; this gave me plenty of time to recollect my errant belongings- which, over the space of less than 48 hours, I had strewn over nearly my entire, generously proportioned room, without any real rhyme or reason- force them gracelessly into my bag, write a couple of blog updates which I knew full well I wouldn't be able to publish until I left this place and twiddle my thumbs for fifteen or so minutes, before I had to leave. One thing I did not do with my morning was eat. In my fugue state of pure-disappointment from the previous night, I had forgotten to go to the supermarket on the way home and consequently, I was left almost entirely without food for the bulk of the day. I'm sure it would be fine. I wasn't that hungry anyway...

I walked the same route I had done about one hundred times at this point, back through the snow to the town centre of Slunj and arrived at the bus station fifteen minutes early. I waited for those fifteen minutes and then an additional forty for the bus to finally arrive. Let me tell you,,waiting for hours in the cold for very late public transport to arrive is something I am deeply looking forward to not doing one I get home. I clambered on board, angry and cold, which had become something of a trend throughout this trip and spurted away to Zagreb.

As annoying as the wait had been, the bus driver, who was friendly and the relatively short travel time of slightly under two hours placated me, so soon, I had settled into both my seat and my podcast, quite contently.

Before long, I was back in Zagreb. I hoisted my bag back onto my shoulders, while both they and my spine crumbled to dust under the weightand walked to my hostel. The receptionist was very nice and immediately put me in a good mood by having a protracted conversation with me about how lovely Plitvice lakes are when all snowwy. And white (again, because of snow, not racially) My good mood was to continue when I stepped inside my dorm; although no frills, the dorm and in fact the hostel in general were clean, spacious and well designed. Each bed has its own little supply of personal power banks and the (admittedly communal) bathroom is pleasingly private and startlingly well stocked for a hostel washroom.

I relaxed for a little on what was to be my bed for the next two nights, before deciding I was too hungry to continue doing so, andventured out into the Zagrebian Christmas markets for food, which I had been told were consistently voted the best in Europe. The markets. Not the food.

To be fair, they were perfectly good markets. Much like the hostel, spacious and well thought out, with a lovely ice-rink in the middle of the main bit of the city-wide festivities- obviously I didn't go on it, but it was still nice to see- however, there was something significantly lacking in these markets and after some consideration, I've realised what it was; variety. While every stall, food or tat based was of a pleasingly high standard, there were only about four different types of food you could buy (sausage, different kind of sausage, burger and waffle) and the tat-hives all uniformly sold the most revoltingly unappetising, twee little christmas ornaments you've ever seen. All beige coloured and depicting, without exception, angels, snowmen or santa, there was almost literally nothing else on display. Slightly disappointed, though definitely seeing how the type of people who vote in polls on 'the best christmas markets in europe' would enjoy this sort of thing, I bought myself a very sad looking hot-dog, which tasted about three hundred times better than it looked and continued walking around.

This walk continued for a while, as I took in both the city (which I was enjoying a lot more this time than I had on previous visits) and the markets, before I grew tired, both of my surroundings and in general and decided to head back to the hostel. It was Sunday anyway, and the shopping and museum infrastructure of the city grinds to a standstill at that point, so there wouldn't have been any cause to stay out, even if I had wanted to. I bought another different kind of sausage on the way back because I was still very hungry, flumped back onto my bed and began, with access to reliably functional internet for the first time in about a week, uploading my blog, which took forever to do.

Once I had finished that, or finished as much as my attention span would allow, hunger once more reared its head. I still had no food with me (the supermarkets being, to put it delicately, closed as fuck), so I did made the brave choice to go out for a kebab. The kebab house was slightly weird, being, as it was your pretty bog standard kebabery, however also apparently the venue for a child's birthday party at the time, which...seems like an odd choice to me, but who am I to judge?

The kebab itself though, while expensive and small, like a diamond dwarf, was utterly delicious. Definitely the best kebab I have eaten on this trip and possibly ever. I didn't even mind clearly paying far, far, far over the odds for it.

Angry tummy now quieted for the time being, I returned to my dorm and, irritatingly my single other roommate. There's something uniquely awkward about hostel dorm rooms and for whatever reason that's amplified one hundred fold when you're sharing them with only one other person. He also glares at me whenever I make any noise whatsoever, no matter how justifiable, so I'm doubly not a fan. He can fuck off, basically.

I ignored the fuck out of him though and, too tired to do much else, spent the remainder of my evening watching a movie, quite happily until my laptop overheated and I decided that that would be as good a point as any to call it a night.

#Slunj #zagreb #croatia #travelling #vagrant #travel #europe

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footmantravelagency · 3 years

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5 Reasons Why You Need A Travel Agent - More Than Ever

Want to rent a villa in Tuscany and do it on your own? It’s simple. Just type “Villa Rentals Tuscany” into Google, then wade through the four and a half million responses - most of which look the same, whether they are good or bad, legit or bogus. Spend just 10 seconds each vetting sites, and you’ll be done in a year and a half - and still won’t have rented anything.

Good luck with that - or even with much simpler planning, like searches for “straightforward” airfares. The major search sites routinely leave out flights (lots of them) and even entire airlines. A lot of the flights they do show are ones you don’t want, starting with “basic economy” fares that hit you with tons of restrictions and fees, so the price you see isn’t the one you end up paying, along with connections way too short or way too long, ones that no responsible travel agent would let you book.

Travel agents are even more important to luxury travelers, who ironically often think they know a lot about travel and rely on their own misguided sense of expertise. But while a good agent is so vital that it is simply foolish to plan a high-end trip on your own without one, they can also help travelers of all budgets.

The reality is that while it was widely predicted that the internet was going to kill off travel agents when digital tools were placed at every traveler’s disposal, that just hasn’t happened, for several good reasons.

Shannon Compton Game writes on money saving travel tips and budget travel for Outside Magazine, not the publication I’d expect to praise travel agents over DIY. But last year she wrote a column about his subject and opened with, “I’m a big fan of travel agents, even though I could technically book all my trips through websites and apps.” She then listed the specific pros of using an agent: “They can find crazy deals”; “They will be your advocate”; “They’ll take care of the little things”; “They’re true experts” and “They don’t usually cost extra.”

True, true, true, true and true. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

I have been writing on travel and related tips for over a quarter of a century. I’m an expert on the subject, and I get interviewed and publicly speak about it. Do I sometimes use a travel agent? Absolutely. When friends ask for travel advice, and they do, all the time, one of the first suggestions I always make is to get a good travel agent. My tech savviest friends use travel advisors, and so does every major corporation - because it is the smart thing to do.

“Yes, the travel landscape is changing,” said Chad Clark, principal of Chad Clark Travel Ventures in Phoenix, an expert I have known for years. “Information overload, thousands of new hotels on the scene, all sorts of new cruise ships, passport and visa issues, weather, transit strikes, political unrest, natural disasters, travel insurance, travel providers going out of business, it’s never ending. How does one navigate all of this? To avoid the travel landmines that lay in front of you, you need to get a great travel advisor! You’ll be glad you did. After all, do you cut your own hair?” Good question, but his metaphor is a little off because you pay someone to cut your hair, while a good travel advisor can often save you money.

I wrote a feature about this topic here at Forbes eight years ago, and I still get thank you comments from people who took my advice. A lot has changed in those eight years, and a lot has not, so if anything, there are more reasons than ever to use a travel agent (for the record, good travel agents prefer to be called travel advisors, or sometimes travel consultants, and those are both totally accurate, but since most people still think of the industry in terms of travel agents, I’m mixing and matching).

Clark explained it to me this way, “Travel agents are a thing of the past - they primarily booked tickets and beds. Travel advisors have taken on a much more complex role - part psychologist, life coach, executive producer, concierge, fixer, dream maker, and ‘Blink Blink’ genie, with the multitude of services that they provide.”

Whatever you call them, I could go on and on about all the reason to use one, but here are the 5 biggies.

Emergencies: This is the one most applicable to the average occasional travel. Stuff happens, and whether you believe in climate change or not (spoiler alert, it’s real), big weather events have become more commonplace, widespread and unpredictable, and sooner or later Mother Nature is going to bite you when flying. But there are plenty of non-weather events disrupting flights, cruises, trains and destinations, from civil unrest to volcanic eruptions to disease outbreaks to massive wildfires to labor strikes. And just about every year you read about an airline that went bust and shut down suddenly, stranding all its passengers. Just a week ago I traveled with owner of a large New York based travel agency who has been in the business for 40 years, and he told me they recently stopped selling their customers tickets on Norwegian because the airline has had too many cancellations and became, in their view, unreliable. But cheap flights still show up in internet searches, and you probably would not know anything about it without expert advice.

Anything that causes cancelled flights (or cruises, etc.) means hassles, but the people who get through this process the most smoothly and the ones who get rebooked first and get the few available seats out of Dodge are usually the ones who used a travel agent. It’s that simple. First off, you actually have someone to call, versus long lines at banks of airport phones masquerading as “help desks.” But good agencies are constantly monitoring their clients’ flights and they usually know about your problem before you do - and often have a resolution before you even call them. They also have direct access to airline GDS (global distribution system) and don’t have to wait on long phones holds to get ticketing changes made. It’s worth noting that according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly two percent of all domestic flights were canceled in 2019, a significant increase from the previous year and the highest rate since 2014. Midway through the year, MSNBC reported that passengers were being bumped from flights - involuntarily - at a rate three times higher than a year earlier.

I’ve known Anne Scully for years, and as the President of high-powered Virginia-based agency McCabe World Travel, she is perennially ranked one of the world’s best travel agents, sits on advisory boards of major luxury hotel brands and cruise lines, and is an industry legend. She told me that, “Anyone who travels should have the clout of a top travel advisor in their pocket. To start, if the client’s flight is cancelled while they are waiting for take-off they could have us rebook and protect their journey before they depart the plane. No waiting behind 300 other passengers! We can have clients met at the plane door at a large number of airports worldwide and whisked through customs, either on to their tight connecting flight or simply faster to baggage claim - where they are given help with their luggage. Most clients don’t even know that service exists, but they only need to use it once to always request it on their itineraries.”

Expertise: No one knows everything about travel, no matter how deeply they are involved in the industry. I am an expert on ski travel, and I know the ins and outs of every major luxury ski hotel in this country. So, I wouldn’t call a travel agent to help me choose a ski hotel. But I know nothing about the hotel scene in Manilla or Sri Lanka. Some travelers cheat their way around this by sticking to brands like Four Seasons or Ritz-Carlton wherever the go, but in many tourism hotbeds like Fez, Morocco, all the best hotels are ones you have likely never heard of. This is where a travel advisor’s knowledge cannot be beat. And while even the best travel agent can’t know everything either, the good agencies parcel things up, so they have a safari expert, a cruise expert, a honeymoon expert, and so on, and they all work together.

Walter Brownell first escorted 10 guests to Europe in 1887, and 133 years later, Brownell Travel has 150 advisors. Sorry, but there’s no amount of research you can do or number of travel magazines you can read that can match that kind of institutional experience and collective expertise. That’s the knowledge base you want. Let’s go back to the 4.5 million villa hits - any good travel advisor will be able to tell you off the top of their head who you should be renting your villa in Tuscany from - and why. That just saved you eighteen months, and probably got you a better house.

Chad Clark believes travelers should, “Experience the extraordinary, not once in a lifetime, but every time!” and to showcase the knowledge base advisors bring to the table, he created a program he calls “Chad Clark Certified,” personally giving his stamp of approval to special hotels, restaurants, tours and experiences around the world. To date he’s certified nearly 700 different things his clients (or you) can reliably consider doing.

It is important to remember that these advantages are not just for luxury travelers. Good travel advisors do not just know what the best hotel is, they know what the best hotel is for you and your budget and can help you find the right fit. As we will see shortly, they can also save you a lot of money, no matter what style you travel in.

VIP Connections: Whether you are trying to book space at a coveted 8-villa safari lodge in Africa or get a room in a top Paris hotel during Fashion Week, most hoteliers keep emergency inventory and guess who gets it? The travel advisors they have known for years who book a lot of guests and send them a lot of business. It works this way with lots of things in the travel industry, from hard to get dinner reservations to the resort’s best ski instructor to a city’s top art expert as a private museum guide. Anytime there is scarcity, there is no substitute for personal connections, and the best agents have built these over years or decades. Plus we are living in the age of “experiential travel,” and good advisors create one of kind experiences most people would never have imagined in the first place.

“I had a client touring Russia who not only played piano well, but also took lessons from one of the best teachers in New York,” said Anne McCabe. “As a surprise, I arranged for him to visit the apartment of the great Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky Korsakov, and the curator invited him to play the composer’s piano, while his teacher listened over the phone his wife was holding. You cannot create those WOW moments if you do not get to know who your clients are, and what would make their holiday most special.” You also need to know the curator. Try booking that on TripAdvisor.

“This is a key point,” stressed Clark. “Travel advisors provide our clients with access: access to people, places, and experiences that could never be replicated, much less imagined. A great travel advisor has invested time and relationships in creating their ‘black book’ of contacts and relationships, so that when their clients travel, they are treated as a VIPs, not just a credit card number.” In my experience, everyone likes being treated like a VIP.

Seemingly simple things often annoy even the most seasoned travelers, but these irritants can be smoothed out by good advisors. One biggie is having your room ready to check in when arriving in Europe early in the morning after an exhausting overnight flight. I’ve seen lots of travelers, including myself, told to go walk around for hours and come back at two or three in the afternoon, even at the finest hotels. Do you think they tell that to Anne Scully and her peers?

Another one of the most frustrating recurring problems I hear in the industry - even at the top luxury hotels - is a notorious refusal to guarantee connecting rooms in advance for families booking multiple rooms (and paying a lot for them). But when your travel agent books hundreds of room nights with a hotel each year, the GM (or sales manager) will move heaven and earth to give that agent’s client - you - guaranteed connecting rooms. For the same price. Often with a room upgrade. And late check out. And a free food and beverage credit.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Extras: When you get more than you expected for the same price, that’s a great deal, and with travel advisors this happens all the time. The cruise industry is a perfect example of very large inventories that fluctuate in supply and demand each week, with a large audience of repeat customers who cruise again and again for years. The cruise lines do not want to lose the loyalty of those customers - or the agents who steer hundreds of them each year to particular brands. Yet it basically costs the line no more to have you stay in a deluxe suite than a basic room if that suite is available, and with the size of today’s ships, it often is. But who gets these upgrades? Advisors. Professionals who specialize in cruises have enormous volume clout and are legendary for routinely getting clients one or two class stateroom upgrades, free shore excursions, onboard credits and all sorts of things - for the same exact price you pay going direct. I would never book a cruise without using a travel advisor - it’s just foolish.

But it’s not just cruises.

“In an age of automation, it may come as a surprise that many of our new clients skew on the more tech-savvy side, and come to SmartFlyer for the first time seeking guidance on their honeymoon,” Michael Holtz, founder of extremely successful global travel agency SmartFlyer told me. “The millennial generation specifically may have seen their parents use a travel advisor, but don’t feel like they need one - until they are deep in the spiral of research. By shifting gears to planning with an expert, they feel liberated from the immense pressure of choosing the ‘best’ resort - because we’re cutting through the noise of all the conflicting opinions they’re seeing online. Our team has actually been to the properties first-hand - not to mention has personal relationships with the General Managers. For example, we just had a couple fly to Canouan, a remote island in the Caribbean that they had no idea even existed before we recommended it. When they arrived at the Mandarin Oriental, the GM double upgraded them thanks to SmartFlyer’s close relationship with the property. At the end of the day, it’s all about personal relationships translating into exceptional experiences for our clients.”

One of the biggest shortcuts to freebies and extras is Virtuoso, a network of top tier travel agencies, most in the luxury realm. While agencies belonging to Virtuoso are independent and free to recommend and book anything they want - and often do because they have strong opinions - the network has specific relationships with over 1,800 travel partners (cruise, tours, airlines and 1,400 individual hotels in 100+ countries) with which it negotiates exclusive (and contractually obligated) benefits. Why are travel suppliers so eager to work with agencies and advisors that belong to Virtuoso (advisors can join by invitation-only based on their track records)? Because last year Virtuoso members booked $26.4 billion in travel for their clients.

So in addition to the extras for personal connections you can get via people like Michael Holtz knowing the GM, anyone who books through a Virtuoso agency gets automatic perks like complimentary daily breakfast, room upgrades, early check-in, late check-out, complimentary airport transfers, spa credits and so on (specifics vary by hotel). According to Virtuoso, just the hotel benefits are valued at an average of over $500 per stay. Complimentary cruise benefits can be even bigger.

But having covered the luxury travel space for years, it seems that virtually every top advisor and agency I come across, the ones my friends, family and colleagues recommend, belongs to Virtuoso, as do all of the agencies mentioned in this piece besides the one in Travel Leaders. I just visited an amazing new luxury hotel in Italy, and they were quick to boast about having been admitted as preferred Virtuoso property - to them it was a mark of quality like earning a Michelin-star.

“The thing I love about Virtuoso is not just the quality of the advisors, but the strength of the entire network and the supplier partners they use around the world,” said travel writer, award-winning broadcaster and author Michael Patrick Shiels. “I decided to do this segment on running with the bulls in Pamplona and I had never been to Spain, so a Virtuoso advisor connected me with Made For Spain and Portugal, a partner ground supplier that does all the behind the scenes magic. They know everyone and totally set up an amazing itinerary and I ran with the bulls. In Italy, Virtuoso has an amazing local company called IC (Italian Connection) Bellagio that is totally wired into all the kinds of local things travelers say they want these days, special experiences, the best restaurants, art tours of private villas. When you ask your Virtuosos agent to plan a trip to Tuscany, it’s not just them, they have all this expert support behind them, down to the micro level. I’ve been all around the world, and before the first time I worked with Virtuoso I didn’t think I needed a travel agent’s help - now I can’t imagine not using one for anything complicated or specialized.”

Air: If you are trying to buy the cheapest round-trip economy ticket from New York to Dallas, even the best advisors probably can’t get it for less than you can buy it online, though you still have to deal with all the pitfalls of the online travel sites and you will lose the safety net advisors provide when things go wrong. But in a couple of other cases, buying your air through an agent can actually save you money, or miles, or both.

One case is when you are buying premium class tickets, Business, First or some of the even higher new classes. I have an extremely tech savvy friend in San Francisco who wanted to fly First class to Hawaii for his honeymoon, and even though he could afford it, he was shocked how much the airlines wanted. I suggested he call McCabe World Travel, and he was mystified how they could purchase the exact same tickets for about two thousand dollars less -each - than the best price he could find online, by calling the airline, or through the American Express Platinum Card travel desk. I don’t care how rich you are, if you can get the same tickets and pocket four thousand dollars that’s a good deal - plus you get all the peace of mind that comes with the advisor’s safety net. Not surprisingly, years later he still uses McCabe for all his travel. Consider this: the agency has three advisors in its air travel department who do nothing else, among its roughly 50 affiliated advisors.

When it comes to using miles, or miles and money, or just paying to fly in pricier premium classes, you might have trouble believing the miracles these specialists can work. As Largay’s Klimak told me, “I was working with a couple last year traveling to Australia and New Zealand for their dream cruise. They wanted to use frequent flyer miles, and I knew that they also had Dubai on their Wanderlist. I was able to change their flights from Business class on Qantas to First Class on Emirates - for half the mileage. We were also able to add a stopover with a wonderful desert and shopping experience in Dubai, checking two destinations off their list for a fraction of the cost.”

I use SmartFlyer for tricky tickets. Despite its name, it is a well-known, full-service luxury travel agency that does everything from safaris to cruises, but where they are better than just about everyone else is creative ticketing. I hear endless complaints from frequent fliers about the difficulty using miles, but I have found that is not the case - if you use a mileage and ticketing expert. I did a story on skiing in Japan, and SmartFlyer was able to get me to Tokyo in Business Class and back in First for $1,500 and 100,000 United miles. This was less than a third of the miles United directly quoted me for the same trip when I called the MileagePlus Elite desk, and I ended up getting more than three times the dollars per mile that most experts value frequent flier miles at.

On another trip recent trip to Bali, SmartFlyer found me flights on Cathay Pacific - one of the world’s best airlines - in Premium Economy to Hong Kong and then the five hour leg to Bali in Business class, for less than Cathy was selling the trip on its site just in Premium Economy the whole way. It just doesn’t seem possible, but it is, real tickets, same airline, better seats, less money. I don’t know how they do it, and frankly I don’t care, but if you know who to call this happens all the time (if you are not a client of SmartFlyer booking your vacation or business trip, they will charge you a fee to do the legwork and find you great deals on premium and mileage tickets, but in almost every case I’ve seen, it still saves you money).

“In terms of value, what we can do is unparalleled to anything clients will find elsewhere,” SmartFlyer’s Holtz told me. “Our negotiated air contracts, along with our in-depth knowledge of the carriers and actual aircraft, means we can advise travelers how to reach their destination at the best possible price and in the most comfortable configuration. Sometimes, this means hundreds of dollars in savings per ticket.” Or more.

Better Trips! At the end of the day this is the bottom line, the big win you get with a good travel advisor. They know more than you do, they are better connected, they have access to benefits you can’t get yourself, and they can match and often beat any prices you find. They plan a better trip and then provide a safety net. Having a top travel agent can make you an instant VIP, certainly will save you time and hassle, and quite possibly money.

Amanda Foshee is an advisor at Brownell Travel, and she summed it up nicely: “What everyone needs these days is more time and less stress, and that’s what we’re here for. Travel advisors take the overwhelming amount of information out there and distill it into the key points that apply to you - the best hotel/destination/tour for your interests, your budget, and your time frame. A client shared that going through all the information online to plan a trip would be a second full-time job for her, and I told her that’s why it’s my full-time job instead!”

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mplsdirtandmud · 6 years

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Emphasize the Everyday

Special events are single-use

I like people and I often get complimented on remembering people, their names, preferences, and what they’ve been up to. My desire to make lasting connections comes naturally and is something that was a huge help while I was in fundraising, an f-word to some for sure. Why? Because many people think asking others for their time or money doesn’t have tangible benefit if it doesn’t have a material good associated with it. The funny thing is that people like to be asked to be included in things because they feel valued.

It has never been a problem for me to ask someone to invest in a resource or social issue that aids our common welfare, and there are basically two ways to go about this: 1) one-time, give now because something is urgent or in short supply; 2) become a regular or sustaining patron, showing up many times so that something can become a reliable resource for you and your community.

In my opinion, the latter should be the default relationship and the former should be “in addition to.” It is more efficient and earnest to ask people to support everyday services, businesses, and organizations because “one hit wonders” cost extra time, planning, money, and material goods. While I have been invigorated by the special events I have produced and was proud of their unique appeal and accessibility, I also came to know how much easier and rewarding relations are through consistent interaction vs. inviting people to come out for one big wow. This was an evolution of my experience and thinking.

Also, events do not form good habits in the way that doing something every day can teach us to be part of an economy and community and not just be a blip on some chart. We need to be guided by everyday principles and partake in activities that make our village whole, for this is how people, neighborhoods, and businesses survive – by consistent, positive, participation not just on special occasions.

A troubling marketplace trend I have noticed is the ritual of shopping nearby for the things we need is being turned on end by flash sales, pop-ups, and glitzy, event-type hype. These one day only affairs are happening all the time and all over the place, so much so that it seems impossible to do anything more than jump from one to the other, making little remaining time to be part of things in our immediate, walkable vicinity.

Recently, I came across the aftermath of Open Streets on Lyndale and it was yucky. The values of Open Streets (using alternative transportation and getting to know local businesses and neighbors*) was overtaken by what people drinking and out for a disposable good time left in the wake of themselves – litter all over empty streets and low-volume patronage of businesses the next day.

Categorically, special events are wasteful and single-use. Maybe you have guessed that what I’m getting at is that we can all do better by going local on an everyday basis. We do not need flash, scarcity, or price reduction to get us to prioritize knowing our shopkeepers, neighborhood businesses, and activist organizations and who they employ and have as volunteers.

They are the fabric of our local network and economy and they count on us to keep coming back and investing in the village.

We may need help refocusing toward this standard. Stay tuned for more about a “go local” program that is in the works and is designed to incentivize purchasing from local growers, makers, and small businesses along one of north Minneapolis’ business districts.

Thanks for reading and take good care,

Kelley

*As a positive aside, Folwell Neighborhood Association calls Folwell Park its headquarters for committee meetings, Board activities, neighborhood night and other fun, togetherness activities. At their recent resource fair and ice cream social, the organizers should be commended for attention to waste reduction, waste management, and utilizing public space to for regular, recurring neighborhood interaction and togetherness.

#go local #special events #everday people #ittakesavillage #open streets #popup shop #businessdistrict #supportlocal #tap mpls

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yungcrybby-anonymousbosch666 · 6 years

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I went full tumblr on my last assignment

I’m a public health major and i am not at all optimistic today about the future of public health especially when it concerns the people most in need of empowerment. I’m getting a 0. I can feel it.

Society is changing and that's not a bad thing. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that changes in society are bad and wrong and that we should continue to ignore them and punish people through legislature until they live in a way that is acceptable. I see that a lot here in a red state in the bible belt. The rising numbers of Latino and other non-white immigrants is seen as a threat to the country and sexual and social freedom is seen as a threat to American values. The good thing is that no matter how hard law makers and other individuals work to take us back to the past, the past is not coming back. Moving forward, the arena of Public Health needs to become more inclusive. Inclusiveness means that people of diverse background and diverse lifestyles are included, instead of being forced onto the margins. Public Health will also need to be intersectional; aspects of individuals' realities and the reality of the communities they live in cannot be ignored. Intersectionality is about how all the different characteristics of life; age, race, sex, socio-economic status effects every single aspect of an individuals life in complicated and non-linear ways.

For me, the biggest example of inclusiveness is to make programs available to people of lower economic status and different lifestyles. Poor people should not be ignored and/or shamed with legislature designed to punish them for being poor. Shaming poor people and trying to force them to "not be poor" is ignorant of how American poverty works. We may be a 1st world country but we have a gigantic wealth gap. When children are not healthy, they do not do well in school and doing well in school is the only hope many poor children have for a brighter future. Often a school lunch is the only meal a poor child is going to have that day. School lunch programs, gym classes and other provisions are needed to ensure all children regardless of socio economic status have an equal chance. Public Health professionals are going to have a difficult time making this come to pass (especially in red states that want to punish children for being poor) in a time of high costs of living and low income for poor people.

With the wealth gap growing and it becoming harder and harder to save money it seems many people are going to be on the outside looking in when it comes to being healthy or being exposed to educational tools to improve health.

Low income "unskilled" workers are ridden hard by a system that wants maximum output from them with minimum input. The ACA did give some low income people access to health insurance but still many more are falling through the cracks, struggling to find low cost health care and not able to perform any preventative care. This crack needs to be patched. People need more resources.

The acceptance of other sexualities and sexual activity is a good change but unfortunately in many states it is believed that abstinence is the best way to hand sex education. Many women grow up not even knowing what their bodies do, how their sex organs work. Ignorance has paid off, Oklahoma has one the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the nation. Teen and single mothers are often unfairly vilified and trapped as a permanent underclass because they can never get their heads above water economically. So we're one of the poorest states with the poorest workers with the fewest rights. Good job, Oklahoma. Pining for the past when women had few options is not going to make the realities of modern living go away. Grade schoolers need knowledge to navigate the changing world. They need to know how to prevent pregnancy and not just abstinence. There needs to be better and more inclusive sex education.

Sex education, school health and worksite health are crucial going forward because the people who tend to fall between the cracks in public health usually die sooner from preventable diseases. The future is expanding and public health needs to do the same. There will be a larger demographic of elderly individuals so there will also need to be more outreach towards elderly people who may not be financially stable. The future looks bleak with services like Meals on Wheels no longer being funded.

Legislature is the only thing that's going to be able to remedy all these ills in the system.

Reply to someone else:

It's true that the United States have made some tremendous gains in terms of public health over the last 100 years. We are a first world country and because of that the future looks positive from afar. But I feel like the wealth gap is going to be the main determinant of which Americans are going to get to experience all of the improvements in health and public health to come. Technology will make things overall easier and give easier access to information but the information alone won't produce a utopia. Public Health professionals will still be needed to funnel and assimilate information.

A streak of anti-intellectualism runs through America. Any attempt to change health related behavior regarding what people eat and if they smoke etc., is being viewed as an infringement on American liberty. Along with that, in red states like the one we live in people have this view that they don't want their taxes being used to give "lazy people" "hand outs". The rest of the country will move forward providing more public health services to their citizens but red states where education has generally lagged behind more northern states will have a similar lag and discrepancy when it comes to providing public health services. Add to that, a refusal to adapt to changing social mores and the changing racial demographics of America and we're going to get more tone deaf public health (like putting a health eating psa in a part of town with no grocery stores and where a lot of families with children don't have reliable transportation) rather than anything that is going to be able to help at-risk populations.

#long post

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