OmManiPadmiOmelet wrote:
> ms_peacock wrote:
>
> > "OmManiPadmiOmelet" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >
> >>$3.00 might buy ciggies, but it won't buy booze.
> >>
> >>Om
> >>
> >
> >
> > You haven't shopped the swill section of the liquor store. When I worked in
> > a liquor store you could buy a whole fifth of Thunderbird for 1.10. I'm
> > sure it's gone up some since then but I'll bet it's still under 3.00
> >
> > Ms P
> >
> >
>
> <shudder> Ok, I'll grant that.
> I'd just never stoop to T-bird..... ;-p

Well, la di dah... not a high class Boone's Farm/Ripple babe like you!
hehe

http://www.bumwine.com

I know you can get booze for less than three bucks but I don't think
there's any such thing as "cheap" cigarettes anymore.

Sheldon

Stan Horwitz > wrote in
:

> In article >, Andy <q> wrote:
>
>> "DWACON" > wrote in
>> news:xMu2g.3805$9c6.3799@dukeread11:
>>
>> >
>> > "Andy" <q> wrote in message
>> > ...
>> >>A lot of the small markets and gas/7-11s have a take a penny/leave
>> >>a penny
>> >> dish, where if you're a cent or two short you can take a couple
>> >> cents out of the tray to meet the cost if you're a few cents shy.
>> >>
>> >> I use it and contribute to it all time.
>> >>
>> >> Anybody else familiar with this practice?
>> >
>> >
>> > I've seen people grab a hand full of coins out of it to pay for
>> > something. Typically, they are the psychotic looking whakos... and
>> > they get away with it.
>>
>> I don't suppose you've ever flipped a begger a quarter when asked? I
>> support them too, no questions asked. The ultimate public service!
>> Where it ends up, I don't care. Ever had a quarter that you seriously
>> couldn't part with?
>
> You're doing those beggers no favor. A lot of them use their money to
> buy cheap cigarettes or booze. If you want to help out the homeless,
> donate to a soup kitchen. If you don't believe me, offer the next
> begger you see the choice of buying him or her a cup of hot coffee and
> a donut or to get the money directly. Guess which choice the person
> will make?


Funny you should mention that, I was at the Market East station today in
Philadelphia and a guy asked me for three dollars because he had just
gotten out of a hospital and needed to get to Trenton, NJ. Showed me a
hospital wristband not long enough to read it. He looked pretty fit (well
fed) and I offered him a quarter and he walked away without taking it.
Beggers are choosers obviously.

Andy

"OmManiPadmiOmelet" > wrote in message
...
> ms_peacock wrote:
>
>> "OmManiPadmiOmelet" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>$3.00 might buy ciggies, but it won't buy booze.
>>>
>>>Om
>>>
>>
>>
>> You haven't shopped the swill section of the liquor store. When I worked
>> in a liquor store you could buy a whole fifth of Thunderbird for 1.10.
>> I'm sure it's gone up some since then but I'll bet it's still under 3.00
>>
>> Ms P
>
> <shudder> Ok, I'll grant that.
> I'd just never stoop to T-bird..... ;-p
>

It's some seriously nasty shit. I smelled it once. <shudder> That's
closer than I ever want to get to it again. The liquor store I worked in
stocked three wino wines and T-bird was the cheapest.

Ms P

Sheldon wrote:
> OmManiPadmiOmelet wrote:
>
>>ms_peacock wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"OmManiPadmiOmelet" > wrote in message
...
>>>
>>>
>>>>$3.00 might buy ciggies, but it won't buy booze.
>>>>
>>>>Om
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>You haven't shopped the swill section of the liquor store. When I worked in
>>>a liquor store you could buy a whole fifth of Thunderbird for 1.10. I'm
>>>sure it's gone up some since then but I'll bet it's still under 3.00
>>>
>>>Ms P
>>>
>>>
>>
>><shudder> Ok, I'll grant that.
>>I'd just never stoop to T-bird..... ;-p
>
>
> Well, la di dah... not a high class Boone's Farm/Ripple babe like you!
> hehe
>
> http://www.bumwine.com

Yuck. ;-)
Almaden is about as low as I'll go......

>
> I know you can get booze for less than three bucks but I don't think
> there's any such thing as "cheap" cigarettes anymore.
>
> Sheldon
>

Prolly right.

Glad I don't smoke tobacco.

Om

ms_peacock wrote:

> "OmManiPadmiOmelet" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>ms_peacock wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"OmManiPadmiOmelet" > wrote in message
...
>>>
>>>
>>>>$3.00 might buy ciggies, but it won't buy booze.
>>>>
>>>>Om
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>You haven't shopped the swill section of the liquor store. When I worked
>>>in a liquor store you could buy a whole fifth of Thunderbird for 1.10.
>>>I'm sure it's gone up some since then but I'll bet it's still under 3.00
>>>
>>>Ms P
>>
>><shudder> Ok, I'll grant that.
>>I'd just never stoop to T-bird..... ;-p
>>
>
>
> It's some seriously nasty shit. I smelled it once. <shudder> That's
> closer than I ever want to get to it again. The liquor store I worked in
> stocked three wino wines and T-bird was the cheapest.
>
> Ms P
>
>

Guess I should be grateful I'm not homeless eh? ;-)

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 14:34:46 GMT, "wff_ng_7" >
wrote:

>"Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:
>> I think we'd be better off if everything was just rounded to the nearest
>> 5¢ and did away with pennies.
>
>I'm in favor of that too, but my guess is it will never go over. People tend
>to think *each item* will be rounded to the nearest 5¢ rather than the
>*total bill* being rounded. The financial impact to the consumer would be
>minimal if the total bill was rounded, even if it were always rounded up for
>each transaction.
>
>The penny dishes are fairly common around here in small establishments, but
>I rarely use them except in the "take a penny" mode, as I tend to empty my
>pockets of pennies in particular when I come home, and I don't tend to hit
>multiple establishments using cash on one outing. Technically, I'm not the
>one doing the "take a penny" thing, it's the cashier who is doing it.

They've had rounding in Australia for almost a decade now! When they
switched over people made a fuss about it being biased in favour of
businesses, and there were a few scandals about stores not rounding
properly... what they do is the items were regular priced and at the
end the BILL was rounded up or down to the closest five cents. Really
not a big deal and it cuts down on the amount of annoying small change
you have to carry around...

I've seen the penny dishes in the US but didn't know what they were
for so I've ignored them...

On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 13:59:20 -0500, Andy <q> wrote:

>"DWACON" > wrote in
>news:xMu2g.3805$9c6.3799@dukeread11:
>
>>
>> "Andy" <q> wrote in message
>> ...
>>>A lot of the small markets and gas/7-11s have a take a penny/leave a
>>>penny
>>> dish, where if you're a cent or two short you can take a couple cents
>>> out of the tray to meet the cost if you're a few cents shy.
>>>
>>> I use it and contribute to it all time.
>>>
>>> Anybody else familiar with this practice?
>>
>>
>> I've seen people grab a hand full of coins out of it to pay for
>> something. Typically, they are the psychotic looking whakos... and
>> they get away with it.
>
>I don't suppose you've ever flipped a begger a quarter when asked? I
>support them too, no questions asked. The ultimate public service! Where
>it ends up, I don't care. Ever had a quarter that you seriously couldn't
>part with?

With a pay washing machine and dryer in the building, my quarters are
PRECIOUS! It's such a hassle to have to go to the bank every few weeks
to get more to keep the darned machine fed So, no you can't have my
quarters... but you can have all the nickels and dimes you like!

Karen AKA Kajikit wrote:
> On Sat, 22 Apr 2006 14:34:46 GMT, "wff_ng_7" >
> wrote:
>
>> "Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:
>>> I think we'd be better off if everything was just rounded to the
>>> nearest 5¢ and did away with pennies.
>>
>> I'm in favor of that too, but my guess is it will never go over.
>> People tend to think *each item* will be rounded to the nearest 5¢
>> rather than the *total bill* being rounded. The financial impact to
>> the consumer would be minimal if the total bill was rounded, even if
>> it were always rounded up for each transaction.
>>
>> The penny dishes are fairly common around here in small
>> establishments, but I rarely use them except in the "take a penny"
>> mode, as I tend to empty my pockets of pennies in particular when I
>> come home, and I don't tend to hit multiple establishments using
>> cash on one outing. Technically, I'm not the one doing the "take a
>> penny" thing, it's the cashier who is doing it.
>
> They've had rounding in Australia for almost a decade now! When they
> switched over people made a fuss about it being biased in favour of
> businesses, and there were a few scandals about stores not rounding
> properly... what they do is the items were regular priced and at the
> end the BILL was rounded up or down to the closest five cents. Really
> not a big deal and it cuts down on the amount of annoying small change
> you have to carry around...
>
> I've seen the penny dishes in the US but didn't know what they were
> for so I've ignored them...

Now you know what they're for! If you don't have change to the exact penny,
you take a penny or two. If you have some extra pennies, drop one or two in
the penny dish. I think it's a fine little system as long as we have to
deal with pennies in the U.S. After all, if you need 2 pennies and don't
have them, and give the clerk a nickel instead, you're going to get stuck
with 3 pennies.

Jill

In article >,
Michel Boucher > wrote:

> Stan Horwitz > wrote in
> :
>
> > You're doing those beggers no favor. A lot of them use their money
> > to buy cheap cigarettes or booze.
>
> And you want to control people vices, do you? Micromanage much?

No, but I see no reason to contribute to the vises of complete strangers.

Stan Horwitz wrote:
> In article >, Andy <q> wrote:
>
>> "DWACON" > wrote in
>> news:xMu2g.3805$9c6.3799@dukeread11:
>>
>>>
>>> "Andy" <q> wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> A lot of the small markets and gas/7-11s have a take a penny/leave
>>>> a penny
>>>> dish, where if you're a cent or two short you can take a couple
>>>> cents out of the tray to meet the cost if you're a few cents shy.
>>>>
>>>> I use it and contribute to it all time.
>>>>
>>>> Anybody else familiar with this practice?
>>>
>>>
>>> I've seen people grab a hand full of coins out of it to pay for
>>> something. Typically, they are the psychotic looking whakos... and
>>> they get away with it.
>>
>> I don't suppose you've ever flipped a begger a quarter when asked? I
>> support them too, no questions asked. The ultimate public service!
>> Where it ends up, I don't care. Ever had a quarter that you
>> seriously couldn't part with?
>
> You're doing those beggers no favor. A lot of them use their money to
> buy cheap cigarettes or booze. If you want to help out the homeless,
> donate to a soup kitchen. If you don't believe me, offer the next
> begger you see the choice of buying him or her a cup of hot coffee
> and a donut or to get the money directly. Guess which choice the
> person will make?

Not necessarily true, Stan. I was approached by a homeless man at a gas
station a while back. Rather than give him money, I offered to go to the
Wendy's next door and buy him a sandwich. His face lit up like a Christmas
tree. He shyly asked, "Could I have that one I saw on the sign?"
Absolutely! I asked if he wanted some french fries or a baked potato or
anything else. "Oh, no ma'am. Just the sandwich." What about a soda? "No
ma'am; just water. Water is free." (Here he was worrying about me paying
for a soda!) A person truly in need won't turn down food.

Jill

"Andy" <q> wrote in message ...
>A lot of the small markets and gas/7-11s have a take a penny/leave a
>penny
> dish, where if you're a cent or two short you can take a couple cents
> out
> of the tray to meet the cost if you're a few cents shy.
>
> I use it and contribute to it all time.
>
> Anybody else familiar with this practice?
>
> Andy
Did it just last Friday and it was a major supermarket lotto kiosk.

MoM

"jmcquown" > wrote in message

> Not necessarily true, Stan. I was approached by a homeless man at a gas
> station a while back. Rather than give him money, I offered to go to the
> Wendy's next door and buy him a sandwich. His face lit up like a
> Christmas
> tree. He shyly asked, "Could I have that one I saw on the sign?"
> Absolutely!


Good for you. Most just want the money. Many of the "will work for food"
guys have been offered work, but choose not to take it. Others make a
pretty good living panhandling.

In article >,
"Edwin Pawlowski" > wrote:

> "jmcquown" > wrote in message
>
> > Not necessarily true, Stan. I was approached by a homeless man at a gas
> > station a while back. Rather than give him money, I offered to go to the
> > Wendy's next door and buy him a sandwich. His face lit up like a
> > Christmas
> > tree. He shyly asked, "Could I have that one I saw on the sign?"
> > Absolutely!
>
>
> Good for you. Most just want the money. Many of the "will work for food"
> guys have been offered work, but choose not to take it. Others make a
> pretty good living panhandling.

Don't get me started!

For many years, my dad hired homeless men to help him do carpentry jobs.
Two or three times a month, my dad needed help for a day or two to do
some extra work that he could not handle on his own, but also was not
enough to subcontract out. I don't know if it still exists, but there
used to be a social service agency in the Philadelphia area that was
essentially a temp agency for jobs that involved minimal skills and
heavy physical work. This agency catered to homeless young men.

My dad is extremely energetic, but he's also small and fairly light, so
he sometimes needed help carrying heavy materials up stairs, installing
3/4" sheet rock panels, demolition, and cleaning up afterwards.

My dad is a difficult man to work for. I worked for my dad any day that
school was out, from elementary school to my later years of college, so
I know my dad is very demanding, but he always paid extremely well. He
was always good at showing people how to work and what to do, but he had
no tolerance at all for slacking off or not doing exactly what he
wanted. My dad was the kind of carpenter who other carpenters came to to
learn how to do new kinds of projects. Some of my dad's work even made
national magazines due to my dad's obsession about quality. As a result,
my dad almost always charged premium prices and he almost ways had more
customers that he could handle, but that also meant he could afford to
pay those who worked for him quite well.

None of the homeless workers my dad hired worked more than a few hours
before they fled. The typical situation was that the homeless worker du
jour would excuse himself to use the bathroom or take a lunch brake, and
never return to work.

My dad is an optimist so he kept trying, but he never found one of those
guys who would work a full day. These were almost always big husky guys
who had no trouble doing the work if they wanted.

Those guys all showed up at my house chomping at the bit to earn some
good money, but none of them had the energy to keep up with my dad and a
thick enough skin to put up with his demanding personality. I am
surprised I was able to handle it all those years, but I did! As a
result, my dad gave me a very strong work ethic that serves me well
today, even though I manage computers for a living. My dad is retired
now, and aching from all his hard work, but at the time, $15/hour was a
lot of money for part time work.

My sister is a clinical psychologist. During her internships and as part
of her practice, she worked with homeless people and other troubled
souls who are addicted to drugs and she has learned all their tricks. My
sister and I also have a close relative who fits that description and
our relative has hit everyone of his family members up for money many
times (except for me and my sister who refuse to play along).
Unfortunately, it took years of my sister and me trying to educate our
parents not to play his game before they finally began to practice tough
love, but that's a different story. The point is, I know from personal
experience why giving handouts is not a good idea. Better to donate the
money to homeless shelters.