#the punch escrow

[readingaccountability]

the punch escrow - tal m klein

final thoughts:

so first off, the first page is a quote from star trek ii: the wrath of khan, so i knew i was in for a seriously fun sci-fi book right away. overall this book was everything i was hoping it would be - entertaining, fast-paced, great main character, great plot! definitely going to be a fave of mine, love a good clone/duplication/hard sci-fi type concept, and it was perfectly executed here!

#the punch escrow #tal m klein #science fiction #sci fi #bookblr #reading progress update #book tag #book review #original post

[howlingday]

Lancaster Dream House

Ruby: I never cared about playing with Barbie growing up. They were the perfect sacrificial lambs to my Power Rangers and their awesome powers!

Jaune: I played with Barbie when I played with my sisters. I never knew about the Barbie world, so I was just learning.

Ruby: How to play Barbie? Is it really that different?

Jaune: Well, yeah, because everything is so every-day and situational in the Barbie world. It's totally different from how you'd play with Naruto figures.

Ruby: True.

Jaune: I'm not making them fly up in the air and shouting jutsus at each other and punching each other in the face.

Ruby: "Kage Bunshin!" Heh heh heh...

Jaune: Exactly! I'd do all the voices, too, but... With Barbie, the way girls played, it was all situational and slice of life. They'd be like...

Jaune: "Here, they're having dinner right now."

Ruby: Huh... I never realized.

Jaune: "And now they're going driving in their car."

Ruby: Where would they go?

Jaune: Probably to their other friends' house. And I would do it because I didn't give a fuck! I just wanted to play with toys!

Ruby: What do they do when they get to their friends' house?

Jaune: They'd have dinner again.

Ruby: And after that?

Jaune: Probably go on a tour of the house. Y'know, just showing off their stuff like going on a tour.

Ruby: "I'm probably gonna have to do some landscaping and renovations if I wanna sell."

Jaune: Yeah, 'cause the houses are really nice, y'know, and-

Ruby: "Right now, I'm looking to lease with an option to buy." Like, they get really adult about it.

Jaune: Hahaha! "Yeah, I'm thinking, you know, it'll help build some equity and I think the ROI in ten years... It'll probably be... I wanna say, like..."

Ruby: "Ken is such an idiot! I told him to hire a lawyer before we go through escrow!"

Jaune: "I don't wanna get fucked by fees!"

Ruby: Heeheeheehee!

Jaune: HAHAHAHA!

Ruby: "Honey? It's time to stop playing with your dolls."

Jaune: "Play with the Dragon Ball figures, instead. Like your idiot sister."

Jaune: "And they'd go boom! A kaboosh! Bwaah! Bwerk! Kwah! And they crash into each other and smashes into rocks!"

Ruby: Snrk! Ken's like, "Barbie, I don't have a low sperm count! It's just, they have low motility!"

Jaune: "How is that better?!"

Ruby: "It's- I- I- There are pills I can take!"

Jaune: "Thanks for playing dollhouse with me~!"

Ruby: Yeah, and you're just sitting there in stunned silence.

Jaune: Ha ha ha ha!

Ruby: "With today's IVF advancements-!"

Jaune: "You know that doesn't work! I was just reading in GOOP the other day!"

Ruby: "It's worth a shot, at least!"

Jaune: "Is it two thousand lien worth a shot?! We have bills to pay, Ken!"

Ruby: "Maybe we wouldn't have so many bills to pay if you didn't run this god damned Malibu Dreamhouse 24/7!"

Jaune: "You always want the convertible! You want it custom-painted pink!"

Ruby: "Have you ever considered the climate implications on this dream car?!"

Jaune: "It's not even electric! You can see the gas intake right there!"

Ruby: "THAT'S BULLSHIT, KEN! ELECTRIC CARS STILL WORK OFF THE SAME GRID!"

Ruby: HAHAHA!

Jaune: HAHAHA!

Ruby: "Yeah, but they don't have emissions, Barbie! It's the best we can do, unless this society starts investing in trains and public infrastructure! That's all we can do!"

Jaune: "THEY TRIED, KEN! They tried in Mantle, and you know what? It was a FUCKING RED-TAPE BUREAUCRATIC DISASTER!"

Ruby: And your sisters are, like, "Can I go home?"

Jaune: HAHAHAHA!

Ruby: HAHAHAHA!

Ruby: "Barbie, that's why you need to run for office. You've been saying it your whole life, and you never do it."

Jaune: "...You know what, Ken? You're right."

Ruby: ...I love you.

Jaune: ...I love you.

Ruby: You can do anything.

Jaune: ...

Ruby: ...

Ruby: "Now let's have some tea!"

Jaune: Heh heh heh...

Jaune: MALIBU~! BARBIE DREAMHOUSE~!

Ruby: "Do you wanna be Ken now?"

Jaune: "Agh, well..."

Ruby: "You know, it's getting pretty late...

Jaune: "It's, like, three-thirty."

Ruby: "Can I bring Godzilla into this?"

Jaune: "Sure~! He can be who I'm running against for local office~!"

Ruby: "SKRREEEEEEEE! EEEEK-OOOONK~!"

Jaune: Now that I'd love to see.

Ruby: "Barbie, I want you to meet my new friend, Godzilla!"

Ruby: "Graaaaaagh!"

Ruby: "Oh my god! THE Godzilla?!"

Ruby: "Yeah, have you heard of him?"

Ruby: "HE'S WHO I'M RUNNING AGAINST~!"

Ruby: Boo-wooow-wow-wooow~!

Jaune: MALIBU~! BARBIE DREAMHOUSE~!

Jaune: Godzilla is running on a strong destroy the city platform.

Ruby: "I've gotta stop him~!"

Jaune: "And you know what? I say with all these politicians, I'd say they're all trying to destroy the city! AT LEAST HE'S HONEST ABOUT IT!"

Ruby: "He tells it like it is!"

Ruby: RAAAAAAAAAAAGHK!

Ruby: "Y'see?!"

Jaune: MALIBU~! BARBIE DREAMHOUSE~!

Jaune: ...What the fuck were we talking about before this?

Ruby: "Anyways, same time, 4PM?"

Jaune: "Yeah, sure..."

Ruby: "I'll bring Ghidorah..."

Jaune: "Ugh... Can't I just do homework instead?"

Ruby: "Can you bring the Technodrome with all the goop, too? I've got an idea..."

#rwby #jaune arc #ruby rose #lancaster #game grumps

[shmorp-mcdurgen]

horrible. awful thought Not Canon At All but it’s been rotating in the microwave if my brain for a while so

do you know the novel The Punch Escrow. it’s not my favorite ever but the CONCEPT. the concept ok

basically there’s this guy right. and teleporters exist BUT the way they technically work is they kill you and make a perfect clone of you on the other side and one day one of them malfunctions and doesn’t kill the guy before transporting him so there’s TWO of him running around

so what if. this but with Mark. kinda

he shot himself, became a ghost, etc. and then there was a COPY of his consciousness that became an alt and never realized he was a copy because he has all the same memories and emotions and everything of the original

imagine just. seeing a ghost of yourself

that would fuck him up in literally any version of this au-

god I’m so tired rn

OHH, yeah that would definitely fuck him up-

Like. Ghost Mark seeing his alt counterpart do horrible things with no way to stop him-

#asks are neat #ohh yeah that would be fucked up #it’s like. a ghost Adam alt Adam situation #but it’s mark

[lisacatara-actress]

Almost Lisa: Pt 14, “The Book of (most) Fuckary”

*I retain all rights to my photography and story, story details, biographical information, fashion designs, art work, and anything and everything I have posted which is my own creation*)

Fuckary: 1. Pertains to a person, situation (or place) that considered ridiculous or nonsensical · 2. An alternative to the word "Bullshit" · 3. Injustice

I don't know about you, but this post-pandemic world comes standard with a surmountable amount of unnecessary fuckary. Every simple service call I need to make is first met with a long prerecorded messages, followed by series of automated number-punching which inevitably lands me in the wrong place with someone who has a bad cell connection or bad WiFi and can not answer my question (or is ill equipped to). That's if they don't hang up on me when transferring/putting me on hold. I've spent entire days attempting to find proof of life in human form. From power to cell service to online orders. SO> MUCH> FUCKARY.

Here lie a partial list of the recent fuckaries to which I refer...

Tax Prep:

No one likes to prep or pay their taxes (it’s painful. Especially when you use your body as a battering ram for a living). Since moving from California to Georgia, I get to enjoy a surplus of extra fuckary. For one, I dissolved my old corporation and opened it anew in GA to cut ties clean from the greedy hands of the state of California. It took countless phone calls with each and every payroll company by which I’ve been paid over the last 19 years to make sure I’d now be paid royalties to me as a person, NOT my new corporation (which bears the same name). Despite assurances, these things are still not resolved a year and a half later. Additionally, I am now paying personal and corporate taxes in two states. On the day of my appointment with my CPA, we realized that one of the payroll company still failed to correct my information in their system, causing an unwarranted corporate tax form and more calls to get it corrected. The wait to receive this new- correct- document is rumored to be up to 12 weeks. I will have to file late and I will be charged by my CPA for the correction. Thanks California!

Investments:

Took me years to gain trust in investing my hard-earned dollars. Finally managed to find an investment broker to handle my “fortune” (ha!), and he called shortly after to say he's leaving the firm for another. Insisted that was good news and asked me to trek along. I checked them out and wasn't interested. Now what? The investment company randomly assigns me to another rep. Then another. Then another... urgh. I picked one and needed to vet him to be sure my cash is in competent hands. He checked out! Honestly, this one fuckary may turn out to be an upgrade. Whew! On to...

Mortgage:

My mortgage lender failed to pay my home insurance on time, resulting in the insurance carrier dropping me. I found another and signed, only to receive an apology from the former policy company for their mistake and a reinstatement of benefits. Okay, I canceled the new policy and waiting for their refund check to ad back to escrow. And bring my account back to green again. The check came. But didn't reflect the total refund. So I've spend countless hours, days, on hold... with the insurance broker trying to get a human being to help me fix things. Meanwhile the mortgage company which caused me the problem in the first place reevaluated my account, saw my escrow in the red (their fault), and assessed me at an additional $200/ month. I was told this would be remedied when the insurance check from the 2nd company was refunded and applied to the account. Well, I sent the partial refund (while attempting to get the rest) and asked for it to be applied to escrow as requested. Yesterday I was told someone applied the payment to principal instead. Long story shorter: My mortgage lender ran another early annual off site analysis, showing my property value increased. Now I'm paying a higher monthly amount based on increased value which I wouldn't have had to do until many months later when the annual analysis was scheduled. It’s all even more fucked than this, but I’ll end this section by stating I reported the mortgage lender. Ive no doubt nothing will come of it. I'm just paying more. Feels like fraud (turns out this is very common). You think this is nuts, wait’ll I tell you about...

Medical:

I've been seeing a Doctor at a local hospital in GA. He ordered a bevy of labs and tests based on symptoms I told him about and past records I brought with me. He had a suspicion about what was causing them and said we were going to look for it. Because of pandemic shutdowns and continued loss of work/income, I told him I would do the tests which are covered by my insurance. He checked and told me they were. So we proceeded. I have not stopped receiving bills since from the laboratory which processed my blood work, that was 9 months ago. Each bill comes with the same codes and dates of services but claims to be a new invoice. I've paid several in full, another comes. Insurance says some tests are not covered (yet, or at all), that they're awaiting an explanation of benefits. My doctor says he isn't responsible for how much or the way the laboratory charges, to call them. The laboratory says they're just billing what was ordered, to call insurance. Insurance says some invoices were flagged because they don't look right. There are questionable charges. Meanwhile, after all these evasive (and unbelievably expensive) tests, my doctor tells me he found what he was looking for! But not to worry about it because he doesn't think it's causing my symptoms. WHAT!!!! Why the fekkkk did he order these tests and labs? This goes on, around and around for many months. My insurance has been billed over $100,000 in services from this Doctor. Services I was told were covered. AND- it seems- have nothing to do with my symptoms.

At the suggestion from my plan provider, I filed a grievance against the doctor and was told not to pay any further bills until the situation was looked into. My hospital bills (which arrive between 4-8 months after services rendered) include all services rendered within the facility, including this Doctor. When I paid my last bill, the hospital applied payment in portions to each department, including this doctor, resulting in a balance due which was immediately reported to collections. Apparently no one is responsible for fixing this error. I’m now expected to pay the bill in full or suffer “consequences”. The amount I was reported for is under $200. After 9/11, I made sure my credit was perfect and that I owed no one for anything (even paid off my substantial student loans!). I pay bills early, every month. This situation reeks of a special kind of fuckary.

And, finally...

Work:

Remember what happened to me in 2007 due to the Writers Guild striking? How it all but ended my acting career? Well, there’s another writers Strike looming right now. In preparation for what will bring a shutdown on production, producers have been busy stockpiling content to air, planning for more reality programming and “real people” casting (we- actors- are not considered real people) in order to remain unscripted (without writers). Work has already been slow throughout 2022. Now, its eerily quiet in the Entertainment biz yet again. I was blessed to land a couple of projects recently. But my days were just cut due to production being behind schedule and wanting to wrap things up. A global pandemic shutdown wasn't enough. Now this. While I will be eligible in April, the nightmare which is Georgia Unemployment maxes out at an annual $4500 (CA is more then twice this). Who can survive on that? That’s about a month of bills for me. I could cancel my health insurance, I suppose (lol). Not much else to sacrifice and still remain relatively healthy.

*******

Is it me? No. Am I just complaining? No. Am I unreasonable? NO.

I have a feeling, many of you can relate. Some things have changed for the worse since this Pandemic began. Everything is challenging now. Simple communications aren't simple. Easy transactions, aren't easy. I long for the days people helped people. Not robots and AI. There are plenty of jobs for humans, but they don't pay livable wages. Not because the companies cant pay fair wages, but because they won’t. Investing in AI and tech is a write off. Investing (aka PAYING) people, isn’t. And those corporations want their multi-billion dollar profits. “Fuckary” everyone else.

Sigh. Back to our regularly scheduled program.

           (To be continued...)

*PS If you like what you're reading, I welcome contributions to the efforts via Venmo @LTarantinoDesigns)

#Hollywood #actress #stunts #film #movies #filmmaking #life #blog #Lisa Catara #medical #health care #finance #ai #technology

[mattsagervo]

Interview: Tal M. Klein, Author of 'The Punch Escrow'

The Punch Escrow has been a huge critical and commercial success, author Tal M. Klein's debut novel has garnered praise from everyone from NPR to Felicia Day, and with good reason. Set in the year 2147, Escrow combines a compelling story and cast of characters with masterful world-building - transporting the reader to an all-too believable future, constructed from a mix of imaginative fiction, and speculative extensions of real-world science and sociological trends. 

It has garnered many favorable comparisons to Ready Player One, which does it a bit of a disservice, since it's a work of breathtaking originality. The only similarities I note are that it successfully integrates, and updates, some beloved science fiction ideas, and that it has been fast tracked to the big screen; a film adaptation is already in development at Lionsgate.

I had the opportunity to interview Klein about the book's origins and influences, what to expect from him in the future, and how he masterfully constructed the world of 2147 - from science, to music and more. 

Matt Sager: Like a lot of great science fiction, The Punch Escrow has several themes, and is clearly about a lot more than a future of human replication and teleportation. How would you describe the book's plot and overall themes - or more bluntly, "what is your book about?"   Tal M. Klein: I like to say it’s a hard sci-fi technothriller with a love story at its core. Joel Byram, an everyday guy in 2147 New York is duplicated en route to Costa Rica as a result of a teleportation mishap, the company that runs teleportation wants to “fix the bug” by killing one of the duplicates, religious zealots want to use his circumstance as propaganda, and his wife is kidnapped by a rogue scientist. Now Joel is fighting to save his life and in his wife in a world that has two of him. The core elements of the story are rooted in identity: Are we who society says we are? Or who we think we are? Or who those who we love believe us to be?  

MS: You’ve attained huge success with The Punch Escrow - you’ve attained massive critical and commercial success, the book has been optioned by Lions Gate, and as of this writing it’s number 1 on Amazon’s Hard Science Fiction charts. Did you envision this level of attention and success for your debut novel?  TMK: I set out to tell the best version of my story. That was my criteria for a “job well done.” I’m thrilled people are digging it. The credit for its success is equally shared by my wife, my editorial team of Robert Kroese, Matt Harry, and Adam Gomolin, and Howie Sanders at United Talent Agency.  

MS: I’ve been told that the concept for the book came about over an argument over the plausibility of Star Trek transporters - can you elaborate on how that led to a book about teleportation and cloning? TMK: What you’ve been told is true! Back in 2012, I was complaining to a co-worker about J.J. Abrams’ over the top use of lens flare in the Star Trek reboot, when suddenly, our CEO interrupted our conversation by shouting “It’s bullshit!” It turned out he wasn’t talking about the lens flare, but Star Trek’s transporters. He was an expert in quantum physics and went on to explain that nobody in the right mind would ever step into a transporter if they knew how it worked. It was then that I realized that there wasn’t a good origin story for the commercialization of teleportation. The fact is, I initially set out the write The Punch Escrow as a textbook from the future, with scribbles in the margins by a smartass named Joel Byram. That was the first draft. By the time the final draft was done, Joel’s story became the focus on the book, and the “textbook” was relegated to liner notes, explaining the world Joel lived in.  

MS: I’m very aware that you're not a fan of J.J. Abrams' lens flare. Cinematography aside, are you a fan of the new Star Trek franchise? Other than the transporter argument, has it had any influence on your writing? TMK: Hah, well, discounting for his penchant for lens flare, I’m a huge J.J. Abrams fan, the first movie of the Trek reboot was great. I didn’t really care for the second or third. MS:  J.J. Abrams aside, I know that you’re a huge fan of Star Trek - which is your favorite franchise, and how has it influenced you as a writer? TMK: I’d qualify that by saying I love Star Trek, but I’m not a Trekkie. I say that because I learned my lesson at San Diego Comic Con. If you tell a Trekkie that you’re a Trekkie, they expect you to have an encyclopedic knowledge of the entire Trek cannon, which I do not possess. So, yes, I am a Star Trek fan. My favorite franchise was DS9, but my favorite season of all time was TNG Season 6. MS: Which other science fiction television shows, films, books and writers would you cite as your biggest influences?   TMK: Larry Niven, Scott Meyer, Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, and, because The Martian undeniably catalyzed me to write my book, Andy Weir. As for television shows, I think it’s fair to credit modern detective shows like Psych and Monk for helping me wrap my mind around Rube Goldberg plot devices. Most influential was my favorite show of all time, the X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen. I think they really nailed the technogeek persona. Influential movies run the gamut from The Princess Bride to Donnie Darko and everything in between, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention District 9, Looper, and Gattaca. MS: The Punch Escrow strikes me as a book that's in equal parts hopeful and fearful for the future. There are themes of utopian technology corrupted by corporate interference. How much of that - the good and the ill - do you see unfolding in the present? Is your fictional vision of 2147 similar to your actual view of the future? TMK: To borrow a phrase from The Jester, There's an unequal amount of good and bad in most things. The trick is to figure out the ratio and act accordingly. I don’t think future is dystopian or utopian, it’s just us progressing along our evolutionary path. MS: Music plays a major role in the book. I understand that we have a music industry background in common. What was your career in music like, and how did it contribute to the Joel's soundtrack, and the new genre of redistro? TMK: I never think of anything I do artistically as a “career” — music and writing are my hobbies. I’m very serious about my hobbies, but I pursue them for the sake of pure joy rather than income. MS: One of the most original ideas in The Punch Escrow is the brilliant, if gross, race of genetically engineered mosquitoes. What was your inspiration for these bugs that eat lighting and crap thunder, so to speak? TMK: Everyone loves the mosquitoes! The near-scandal is that I cut the mosquitoes in the third draft of the book because I learned about bacteria that eat methane and excreted oxygen, but my beta readers freaked out on me, so I put the skeeters back. The reason the mosquitoes are there is because I wanted to solve for air pollution but in a very messy, human way. Humans tend to to opt for quick fixes and shortcuts, I think it’s because we are a breed largely driven by the pursuit of instant gratification. MS: Hard science fiction like The Punch Escrow seems to grow more relevant by the day as AI and robots are, to varying degrees, infiltrating the workforce and performing tasks that were once the sole domain of humans. Do you see this as a growing issue, and if so, need it be a threat? Is AI really capable of supplanting people, and is that really what corporations as a whole want?  TMK: Will apps and robots take the place of people? Absolutely. But if we look at what happened in the Industrial Age, people were prophesizing similar doom and gloom scenarios, and that’s not how the future turned out. There will be plenty of human jobs after AI, it’s just that those jobs will be different than many of the jobs we have today. MS: How did you come up with the idea of a machine language - that is, a language by machines, for machines, cars talking to one another, etc? How surprised were you when Facebook had to shut down it’s AI because it had created a secret language for itself? TMK: If you’ve ever played with AI, it makes sense that two pieces of semi-intelligent code might form a more optimal method of communicating than our cumbersome language. I was a bit taken aback by what happened at Facebook, yes. But it wasn’t shocking. I also understand why they pulled the chord, but I kind of wish they hadn’t.   MS: What do you think machines are saying about us, and if AI continues to advance, do you think that they are going to develop an opinion of us? Do you think it will be favorable, and/or within our ability to influence?    TMK: Code will likely always be subservient to its programmer. As such, I think we need to add ethics to the list of engineering core competencies. If engineers exclusively focus on successful code execution without regard for anthropological outcomes in the age of AI, we may very well end up with evil robots.   MS: Are there sequels in the works? What’s next for the Punch Escrow universe, and for you as a writer? TMK: I’m contractually obligated to deliver two more books that take place in the world of The Punch Escrow. One of them will likely be a sequel of sorts in that we’ll get into matters unresolved in The Punch Escrow, but the other is shaping up to be a standalone novel with a narrative that is ancillary to that of The Punch Escrow. But who knows, both are at the very early formative stages.

#The Punch Escrow #Tal M. Klein

[geekandsundry]

http://geekandsundry.com/hard-science-makes-a-comeback-in-the-punch-escrow-out-now/

Imagine being pulled apart atom by atom as the very core of your being goes whooshing (scientific term) across the cosmos to be reassembled elsewhere. Don’t worry about leg room on this trip. You won’t have any legs, arms, or other vital organs to get in the way. But what happens when there’s a...

#Inkshares #The Punch Escrow

[fictionistmag]

Do yourself a favor and check The Punch Escrow out on July 25!

#the punch escrow #scifi #sci-fi & fantasy #hard sci-fi #hard science fiction #books #booklr #book recs #book reviews #book recommendations #tal klein #tal m klein #fictionist #fictionistmag #fictionist magazine

[wortverlust]

Okay…not me who bought the audiobook 'The Punch Escrow' by Tal M. Klein, BECAUSE… Matthew Mercer is reading it…nope…surely not ME…

#But let me tell you... #the first chapters are pretty interesting #how do I know? #uhm... #over THERE #LOOK a BUTTERFLY #*running in circles* #jo.babbles #PLEASE HIS VOICE!!! #I CAN'T EVEN CONCENTRATE ON DRAWING

[readingaccountability]

update, whoops its been a bit! luckily my reading journal has been really effective for me, its a nice zero stress way of keeping track! have read the following since my last post:

his majestys dragon - naomi novik

axioms end - lindsay ellis

the cartographers - peng shepherd

the apollo murders - chris hadfield

the punch escrow - tal m klein

the plot - jean hanff korelitz

currently starting a reread of the rook by daniel o'malley, and then stiletto as well, to prep for blitz coming out next month!

im also listening to an audiobook of finlay donovan is killing it by elle cosimano, which has been a lot of fun so far!

#his majesty's dragon #naomi novik #temeraire series #axioms end #lindsay ellis #the cartographers #peng shepherd #the apollo murders #chris hadfield #the punch escrow #tal m klein #the plot #jean hanff korelitz #daniel o'malley #the checquy files #blitz #the rook #stiletto #finlay donovan is killing it #elle cosimano #reading progress update

[creditcardprocessing22-blog]

Merchant Services - Now You Can Pick the Right Provider With Confidence

learn this here now Credit Card Processing

Regardless of what the size or scale your business is, chances are that you can conceivably profit by numerous individuals of the administrations that a vendor record can offer. Trader records can assist you with firing up another online business, they can help you in taking care of charge card exchanges, and they can even deal with escrow administrations for costly exchanges.

At the point when it comes time to choosing what vendor administrations supplier is directly for you, it is first imperative to choose what precisely it is that you need. In any case, numerous vendor account suppliers, otherwise called free assistance associations, offer things that can help your business that you may never at any point have thought of. The most ideal approach is to investigate how trader administrations work and what they offer before choosing how you can utilize them to develop your business.

Visa Processing

Probably the greatest favorable position to opening a trader administrations record will be your capacity to process charge cards. In this day and age individuals hope to have the option to pay with their cards any place they go, and if your business can't do it your potential client will discover some place that will. Visa use is just going to increment later on so an opportunity to jump aboard is presently.

There are a couple of ways your business can choose to process charge cards. The most widely recognized would be through a retail swipe terminal. This is the sort that you see on the counter at any accommodation store. Preparing charges on these are normally low on the grounds that there is less danger of misrepresentation when individuals pay face to face.learn this here now Credit Card Processing

You can likewise set it up with the goal that your business can process charge cards safely through your site. On the off chance that your clients need to purchase something on the web they can simply punch their charge card data in and it will be sent over to the vendor account supplier for handling.

Another choice is to set up a virtual terminal. A virtual terminal is basically a site that you can sign into from any PC associated with the Internet. When you have signed on you can basically punch your client's charge card data in. This is particularly helpful on the off chance that you get a great deal of requests through telephone or fax. Additionally, since you can get to the terminal from any PC that is on the web, you can take orders from pretty much anyplace.

When your record supplier has your client's charge card data it experiences a progression of complex advances. Fortunately, you don't need to be engaged with any of them. Around a few business days after the card data has been acknowledged the installment will be saved in your business' ledger. No muss, straightforward.

Charge/ATM Card Processing and e-Checks

At the point when your record supplier forms an ATM or charge card it works basically equivalent to a Visa. In any event it does on your end. The main contrast is that the cash is removed right from the client's financial records.

Preparing e-Checks is another help that your shipper account supplier can set you up with. It basically works like a genuine check, just on the Internet. All you need is the bank's name, the check's steering number, and the record number for the financial records. No signature is required.

There are a couple various ways that you can acknowledge these e-Checks. The first is to purchase a product application for your PC that is structured explicitly to print online checks. After you have printed the look at you simply store it in the bank like any ordinary paper check. The main issue with this technique is a similar issue with a typical check. It takes a couple of days for it to clear.

You can likewise acknowledge online checks through an exchange administration. It confirms that each check is finished, and it will likewise promise it for an extra charge. That implies that in the event that it ricochets, you won't be left hanging.

Escrow Services

Some shipper account suppliers considerably offer escrow administrations for extraordinary cases. These are generally just down to earth for first-class things like land or closeout sites that bargain in costly products.

An escrow administration gets your exchange through a four stage process that ensures everything goes easily. First your customer pays the escrow administration for the item. At that point the administration gets in touch with you and tells you that things have been paid for. After that you convey the item to the customer. At the point when they have gotten it and are fulfilled they educate the escrow administration, who at that point discharge the assets to you. In the event that they are not content with the item out of the blue they simply return the item and their cash will be discounted.

[riddlethriftpinkcoats]

A quote from the November 1961 Riddlegram: "Thrift Shop Is In The Saddle, Leaves Starter's Gate December 1st."

The Riddle Thrift Shop was a solid fact in November of 1961. The location was 315 Monroe Street in Media PA. A lease for one year was signed with the cost of rent at $125.00 per month and an option to renew for two additional years at the same rent.

A paid worker, Mary Hibberd of Media was hired and volunteers from the various auxiliaries were assigned to help with the running of the shop. The shop committee, headed by Rose Tree's Ruth Graham and Lillian Hinson of Springhaven, received unanimous approval from the Women's Board to spend up to $7,000 of the Associated Auxiliaries funds to finance the first year of operation.

A working schedule was set up from each of the auxiliaries to man the shop. There were two co-chairmen appointed from auxiliary members to help with the scheduling of workers and make decisions. The first co-chairmen were Ruth Graham of Rose Tree Auxiliary and Lillian Hinson of Springhaven Auxiliary.

By January 22 of 1962, the new Thrift Shop had already paid out $1,837 to consignors, and the shop showed gross earnings of approximately $800. In February of 1962, Alda Knox became the new professional worker for the Thrift Shop and in November of that year, Saige Macauley replaced Lillian Hinson as one of the co-chairmen.

The Thrift Shop was open to customers from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm. Consigning hours were 10 am to 1 pm, Mondays through Friday. Consignments were 75% of the selling price for the customer and 25% for the shop. Consignment fee was $1.50 per week, per consignor. The Thrift Shop was open from September until mid June, when it closed for the summer.

1965 found the Thrift Shop at a new address in Media. They moved to the site of the old post office at State & Jackson streets. The move took place in December over a weekend. Paint for the new location was donated by MAB Paint and a truck was loaned to them for moving merchandise and fixtures. Within 3 days they were back in business. They moved a third time to South Avenue in Media. Rosemary McClatchy and Irma Scholten were co-chairmen at that time.

In the years of 1969 to 1970 they realized a profit of $9,000.

At the September 13, 1971 Women's Board Meeting, the announcement was made that the Board of Directors for the Hospital were willing to consider approval of putting the Thrift Shop on Hospital grounds. By this time, the Thrift shop had made a profit of $69,800.00 for the hospital. A resolution was drafted by the Women's Board to be presented to the Hospital Board. At the October 11, 1971 Women's Board meeting, it was announced that the hospital had accepted the resolution to relocate and had provided the space.

The new building was to be 40' by 70', a two story building similar in design to a Wawa food market. Building would start after finishing the hospital.

At the Women's board meeting in April of 1972, it was agreed that $25,000 be set aside for the down payment and hold $5,000 in escrow for payment of lighting, heating, equipment, etc. In June of 1972 the Auxiliary met with an Architect, Mr. Edward E. Robinson, for final plans on the new building. Construction started in the fall with a $30,000 loan from the Women's Board and $100,000 five year loan from Southeast National bank.

The doors of the new Thrift Shop opened on March 13, 1973. The $100,000 was paid in full by February of 1975 with the help of the Women's Board. By the end of 1975 the Riddle Thrift Shop had actually paid for itself, all loans included. The total cost of the 6,000 square foot building and the 24 car parking lot area was $143,087.00.

On March 3, 1973, there was an Art Show and Cocktail Party for the purpose of introducing the new Thrift Shop. This event was not only a social success but also a financial success as well. Over 60 local artists showed their art work and about 700 people attended.

For several years, the Thrift Shop held a Fashion Show. These shows were always very well attended and fun was had by all.

There were many different Auxiliary members who were either chairmen or co-chairmen of the shop over the years. April of 1973 saw Marge Zultewicz as Chairman of the new shop. Alice Wilkinson became chairman in 1981. Our current Chairman is Janice Duryea.

A Fire Alarm system was added in 1976 for $831 and in February of 1982, the Associated Auxiliaries approved drawings by an architect for an addition to the shop. The second floor addition was completed by 1983 at a cost of $160,797.30. 1997 saw another addition to the shop, a much needed elevator.

The computerization of the shop occurred in the Fall of 1995. We trained our volunteers and employees over the summer and went "live" August 28, 1995. What a difference. Our consignments were typed into the computer. Tickets were printed rather than hand-written. Items were scanned at the register eliminating the time consuming "punching-in" of the numbers. This new system allowed us to do away with the manual posting of sold items and the handwriting of the checks. We were able to cut time in the office and utilize personnel on the selling floor and in consignment where they were needed.

We continued with this "DOS" system after a slight upgrade for the year 2000 until the summer of 2005 when we converted everything to a Windows based system. On-line credit cards, gift cards, touch screens and all kinds of bells and whistles accompanied the upgrade making us one of the most technologically advanced thrift shops in the area. Our Web Page is set to debut in the Fall of 2008.

Nina Cruice joined the Thrift Shop as an Assistant to manager Helen Corace in May 1982. She became manager of the Thrift Shop in November of 1984 when Helen Corace retired. In 2001, The Merry Token Gift Shop was added to the Retail Operations Department. As Director of Retail Operations, Nina is responsible for a staff of four full time employees, two part-time employees and approximately 190 volunteers.

The Manager of the Thrift Shop is Peg Stacy. Peg came to the Thrift Shop as a new employee in 1996. Peg has two assistants today, Jean Akers and Karen Hagan. There are 130 volunteers that help to keep the Thrift Shop running so smoothly today.Our Chairman is Jan Duryea and her co-chairmen are Karen DiPaolo, Audrey Lesky and Bette Smith.

The Thrift Shop is open in the summer, but on a modified schedule. It is open 4 days a week as opposed to 6 days. It has been found that it pays to remain open during the summer months.

The shop continues to evolve in an effort to serve the community and to fulfill its mission as a major fundraiser for the Associated Auxiliaries of Riddle Memorial Hospital.

The shop that began in a small store on Monroe Street in Media grew into a 10,000 square foot two-story building on the grounds of Riddle Memorial Hospital. Along the way it has contributed over $3,274,900 to the Associated Auxiliaries of Riddle Memorial Hospital.

#Riddle Thrift Shop #Riddle Thrift #Pink Coats #Ladies In Pink #Save Riddle Thrift Shop #Save Riddle Thrift #The Pink Ladies #Pink Ladies #Thrift Shop #Media PA #Media #Pennsylvania

[scifiandscary]

The Punch Escrow by Tal M. Klein #BookReview

Title: The Punch Escrow | Author: Tal M. Klein | Publisher: Geek & Sundry | Pub. Date: 2017-7-25 | Pages: 319 | ASIN: B073PBBL7C | Genre: Science Fiction Thriller | Triggers: None | Rating: 3 out of 5 | Source: Received a copy from Netgalley for review consideration. The Punch Escrow It’s the year 2147. Advancements in nanotechnology have enabled us to control aging. We’ve genetically engineered…

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#book reviews #books #reading #science fiction #tal m. klein #the punch escrow

[writinginobscurity]

Obscure #NonSpoilerReviews “The Punch Escrow”

“The Punch Escrow″ by @VirtualTal (Part One)

In today’s review, we’re going teleporting—just like in “Star Trek.” But unlike that show most of the time, we’re really going to dive into the ramifications of that kind of technology with Tal M. Klein’s “The Punch Escrow.”

What I love about this book:

I’ve heard of “The Ship of Theseus” thought experiment before, but this book managed to cement it in my mind better than anything else because it directly ties into the plot’s central conflict. In sum—the paradox is—Theseus’s ship was kept in port as a monument for generations. Over the years, planks, ropes, et cetera would rot and need to be replaced, and they’d be replaced with carefully crafted replicas to match the original components. Eventually, every piece of the ship is replaced in this manner. The ship in the harbor is the same in every regard, but is it still Theseus’s ship? If not, when did it stop being Theseus’s ship? 

As any good sci-fi should, “The Punch Escrow” tackles big questions and invites the audience to examine them from every angle. The ever revelatory question of; what does it mean to be human? Is a question that recurs throughout literature—not just sci-fi. The question might be the same, but the answers change based on the context in my experience. Since this is a story about teleportation, the human question and what makes you—you question are intertwined. Are you just the matter that makes up your body? Or are you a pattern of thoughts, a continuity of experience? There is a lot to consider in this book, and I love that.

The pacing in “The Punch Escrow” is quick—in my opinion. Klein never meanders too long in any one spot, and his characters are constantly in motion to the next thing. It’s not that I’m against slower-paced stories, but I always feel initial stories in a series or standalone novels are better served by not resting too much and being a more kinetic experience. For me, you have to earn those slow moments. They can be great for character development, but if I don’t know enough about why I should be interested in a character, I’m wary of the idea of sitting around waiting for them to tell me who they are.

Want more? Get my full review here:

#Book Review #mad scientist #Science Fiction #Tal M. Klein #teleportation #The Punch Escrow #Writing in Obscurity

[oddepia]

Film News Roundup: Tony Gilroy Developing Thriller With ‘Harry Potter’ Producer In today’s film news roundup, Tony Gilroy has come on board the project formerly known as “Methuselah,” “Beauty and the Beast” producers join “The Punch Escrow” and Almost Never Films hires executives. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT Tony Gilroy, who made his directorial debut with “Michael Clayton,... Read entire story. Source: Variety

#almost never films #film #news #the punch escrow #tony gilroy

[geekandsundry]

http://geekandsundry.com/gs-inkshares-contest-winner-the-punch-escrow-may-become-a-movie/

The Punch Escrow is a futuristic sci-fi novel written by Tal M. Klein and published on Inkshares. What’s really incredible about The Punch Escrow is that it is the winner of Geek & Sundry’s Hard Science Contest we held last year in partnership with Inkshares. For those who...

#Inkshares #inkshares contest #The Punch Escrow

[ramascreen]

‘Beauty And The Beast’ Exec-Producers Bringing You Sci-fi Thriller, THE PUNCH ESCROW David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films/TV previously exec-produced Disney's live action #BeautyAndTheBeast movie and now they're going to develop Lionsgate's feature adaptation of Tal M.

#Beauty And The Beast #The Punch Escrow