Texsox

http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_t...able_01_37.html Some interesting facts and figures. I would need some time to sort through. Miles is probably a poor comparison. Grocery shopping would be the most terrific IMHO. We all eat. Start setting bombs in grocery stores and soon we'll be calling for metal detectors at every Piggly Wiggly

QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jan 6, 2010 -> 05:52 PM) VISA charges the merchant receiving the funds between 1 and 4% of the cost of the transaction. Instead of using VISA, you can use a number of other credit and debit card systems. Or write a check, or use cash for the transaction. Ticketmaster and LiveNation charges the consumer a surcharge of up to 30% in order to provide a transaction of a ticket owned by the venue/artist and deliver it to you, by you using your own ink and paper to print the ticket. Instead of using Ticketmaster or Livenation, you can either not make the transaction or try to illegally sneak into the show. So, please tell me why Ticketmaster - providing what is essentially the same service as VISA (but for concert tickets and less competition) is fairly priced again? How often do you speak to a VISA rep? Every time you use your card? How many VISA transactions versus TM are done each year? When you have a problem with a transaction, do you speak to VISA or the issuing bank and store? Is the software needs the same? Seems like tracking every venue and their different seating arrangements for each show is more labor intensive. Does VISA have to compete for anybody's business? It seems that venues have a bigger choice in how to sell tickets than stores and banks that want to accept/issue credit cards. I'm not saying TM is or isn't overcharging, I'm not an expert in their industry. I don't think VISA is a fair comparison. And I don't think that they can survive on 3 or 4%.

QUOTE (PlaySumFnJurny @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 10:21 PM) That new Taco Bell commercial where the dude asks to order from "Denise" to get the inside deal for 89 cents is ridiculous. No Taco Bell on earth employs two girls remotely that attractive. That one creeps me out. The dude is too old, it seems like he is trying to hit on her. Which is cool and entirely justifiable, if he was 10 years younger.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 09:21 PM) But a vital airline industry is important for the economy of the country, including the poor. Tourism, business travel, etc depend on airlines. Hurt thoe, you hurt all businesses, not just airline trevellers. Is that an argument for longer delays and higher prices with the extra security, or against?

Is there a minimum standard before self defense can be used? It is easy to say the suspect had a gun so I shot him. It is easy to say the suspect was driving his car at me and I shot him. Obviously it can't be the suspect was waving a newspaper at me and I shot him. I wonder where the courts draw the line?

QUOTE (The Gooch @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 07:05 PM) At least your school seems to be starting to get it right. I feel that the only subject we covered in proper depth from high school was the Holocaust. Everything else was just the who, what, and when. I have also taken to reading non-fiction history books lately including Blood and Thunder (my favorite as well), and I have learned more about our history then I ever have in class. Understanding the past is more important to our future than most people know, and unfortunately names and dates don't cut it. Being able to sequence dates is important, and I have yet to figure out how to grasp that without discussing dates. But I agree, the sanitized who, what, when, were, approach to history is ZZZZzzzz.

At the fountain, a splash of red flash, the vanilla flavor button, and Coke™ makes for a nice drink. And .99 for 48 oz at my local Stripes C-store.

QUOTE (kapkomet @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 06:41 PM) No, Visa does not. The issuing bank charges the interest, not visa. They're just a clearinghouse. GP, but the cost of the transaction, above and beyond the cost of the item, are about the same.

QUOTE (Alpha Dog @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 02:01 PM) Hell, why lock your car, if someone wants to steal it or what's in it bad enough, they gonna do it anyway. Save the money for the alarm and locks and spend it on something else. Why lock your front door either. If theives want your big screen, they gonna get it anyway. The point is to spend enough to stop the casual assholes, and hopefully most of the committed ones, without breaking the bank. Somewhere there is a 'it costs too much' point, but I don't know where that is. New technology is always gonna cost more at first. So should we stop looking for new ways to stop terrorism? Basically we all agree on this note. But we each clutch something slightly different. I bolded the part where the rubber meets the road. Dems I suspect will be less willing to spend on this, Reps, more willing. And for airport security, isn't this taking from the poor who fly less and giving to the rich who fly more?

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 04:08 PM) LOLerrific. Poor guy. Do you think if they water boarded him they could have discovered the "truth" that he really worked for a terrorist cell? After a couple hours of torture, what would he have said?

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 12:24 PM) The difference is retail stores purchase the items, TM is not purchasing the tickets. And cost of inventory is important, but even deducting for that, there is a cost of being in business. Employees have to be paid, computers maintained, new customers gained. What margin do you think they can work on? QUOTE (Rex Kicka** @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 12:35 PM) Think about it this way, do you think VISA deserves a 30% surcharge for the privilege of transmitting payment confirmations back and forth and providing proof of payment? Thank you for a great example of why TM may not be quite so overpriced. VISA charges interest from the consumers, as high as 20+% *AND* charges the stores a fee. TM gets less than that.

QUOTE (FlaSoxxJim @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 09:23 AM) Well, if we're not playing this year, then Abe Vigoda can live another 1,000 years for all I care. And he can marry Betty White along the way . . .

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 11:31 AM) Some Texas companies lauched out during the Civil War to try to take New Mexico and Colorado for the Confederates. With them were a lot of people from the southeast, not used to the dry climate and real mountains. It didn't go terribly well. But there are some fascinating stories about that campaign and its battles. I hated history when I was growing up, because all they taught was dry, surface level stuff. Who was the XXth President? That kind of stuff. Its not useful. I'd rather they covered less topics, but with more depth, to give people the real feel of why things were important, and what it was like to be there. When I read historical books published now (Blood and Thunder is a fave, speaking of Texas and the Civil War), they are just so much more interesting. I really wish they'd teach from books like that in high school, instead of the nearly useless textbooks. You will be happy to know we/I use textbooks as a resource, our curriculum is independent of any one book. And I'm trying to teach by telling stories whenever possible. I wish I had more time each day. We also use a lot more independently produced videos, etc. not just "education" ones. Plus, how many history teachers would play Hendrix?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 05:29 PM) Not.a.chance. He'll kill whoever he runs against, unless he is indicted in the meantime... Even then, he will most likely still win. ^^^^ I've been away a long time, but I will agree with SS.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 11:35 AM) That would make your argument that liberals get to decide and conservatives don't. I would argue that your definition of rights is very different than mine. You seem to believe that people have the right to take things that people have from other people as often as possible. I feel is should be done as little as possible. I think they have to have those rights first. You do have me rethinking the tax system and how some contribute more than others. However, I do not see a system working where everyone pays the same amount working.

Isn't spending money on something that is going to happen smarter than spending money on something that may never happen again?

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 11:16 AM) It depends, some bands who have the means handle that stuff themselves to keep their fans from having to pay the added fees. TM adds outrageous fees to the tickets they sell and the bands & venues do not receive much if any of that money. About 30% of the ticket price (which tm does not receive anything from). I'm not certain how outrageous a 30% mark up is. I imagine most retail items we buy carry at least that or more. How else can stores offer a 50% sale? The difference, as I see it, is there is no incentive for another service to come in that reduces the fee. The venues will still go with the vendor that offers *them* the most, not who will offer the ticket buyer a better deal. It has been awhile since I paid any attention, but I thought bands who tried that ran afoul of TM and the venue's exclusive agreements?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 11:05 AM) The funny part, besides it being Al-Jazeera, is that the argument would be pretty vilified if health care were substituted for security in that article. That sounds like a Tex stretch between two points

QUOTE (Leonard Zelig @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 11:00 AM) Yeah, but those "convenience" fees don't go to the bands and the venues. I thought the venues select how and who will offer tickets to the public.The anti-trust inquiry that the justice department undertook back when Clinton was president and Pearl Jam was relevant, basically said the real customer is the venues, not the people buying the ticket. Once the venues lined up in favor of Ticketmaster, the justice department backed down. Ticketmaster kicks back part of their fees to the venues, and supposedly, some back to some bands. I probably shgould not have mentioned bands, since the overwhelming majority do not benefit.

For the lazy people here

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 10:29 AM) Is your grade the one that gets to teach Texas History? No, that is 7th grade. I have US History; Beginning to Reconstruction. I start with the War of 1812 when we return. I have three national anthems to play, a traditional quiet, respectful one, one from the NHL All-Star game at the old Stadium , and Hendrix at Woodstock. I thought it would be a good lesson on nationalism. Plus I get to wear some Blackhawk stuff and talk trash with the Dallas Stars fans.

QUOTE (bmags @ Jan 5, 2010 -> 10:14 AM) you know what's also a rally killer? Having no one on base.

Too bad competition doesn't work in this case. The competition is which group can generate more dollars for the bands and venues, not who can sell to the public for less.

This is of course the great game of conservatism; picking which groups get to have their rights and money preserved. This is of course the great game of liberalism; picking which groups get to have their rights for the first time and money taken. Helping ya both . . .

It is funny, my gf is GRITS (girl raised in the south) and we joke about "the war of northern aggression" every so often. Also, the south Texas area, especially the border region, was key to some of the Confederate's strategy. There are a couple battlegrounds near here. Including the last battle, which the south won. However it was months after the Rebs surrendered (someone forgot to check their email). So I will wind up teaching some of this from a Reb point of view, which is so foreign to me after being educated in the north.