#Selling united miles

[bussiness123]

Unlocking the Value: A Guide to Selling United Miles

Welcome to "Unlocking the Value: A Guide to Selling United Miles." If you're a frequent flyer with United Airlines, you're likely familiar with the perks and benefits that come with accumulating MileagePlus miles. But did you know that those miles hold more value than just free flights and upgrades? In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the world of selling United miles, uncovering the strategies, considerations, and potential pitfalls along the way.

[jonnesstuart31-blog]

The Ultimate Guide: How to Redeem United Miles for Cash

Introduction

For frequent flyers enrolled in United Airlines' MileagePlus program, the rewards earned in the form of United miles hold significant value. While these miles are traditionally used for flight redemptions, there are times when converting United miles into cash may be more desirable. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of redeeming United miles for cash, highlighting the benefits, considerations, and steps required to maximize the financial value of your MileagePlus rewards.

Benefits of Redeeming United Miles for Cash

Instant liquidity: Converting United miles to cash provides immediate access to funds that can be used for various financial purposes, including bill payments, investments, or personal expenses.

Flexibility: Unlike traditional redemption options, cash offers complete flexibility in how the funds are utilized, allowing you to allocate them according to your specific needs and priorities.

Potential higher value: Depending on the conversion rate and market conditions, redeeming United miles for cash can sometimes yield a higher value compared to flight or travel redemptions, ensuring maximum return on your loyalty rewards.

Considerations before Redeeming United Miles for Cash

Program restrictions: Familiarize yourself with the terms and conditions of the United MileagePlus program to ensure cash redemptions are permitted. Be aware of any limitations or potential fees associated with converting miles into cash.

Conversion rates: Understand that the value of your United miles may vary depending on the method of conversion and the marketplace you choose. Compare rates across different platforms or buyers to secure the best deal.

Potential devaluation: Stay informed about any changes or updates to the MileagePlus program that may impact the value of your miles. Timing your conversion strategically can help you maximize their worth.

Steps to Redeem United Miles for Cash

Research reputable platforms: Start by researching trustworthy platforms or brokers that facilitate the conversion of United miles to cash. Look for positive reviews, reliable payment methods, and secure transaction processes.

Compare offers: Take the time to compare conversion rates, fees, and redemption options offered by different platforms. This will help you identify the most favorable terms and ensure you get the highest return on your United miles.

Initiate the conversion process: Once you have selected a preferred platform, follow their instructions to initiate the conversion process. This may involve providing your MileagePlus account details, specifying the number of miles you wish to convert, and confirming the preferred method of receiving the cash.

Verify the transaction details: Before finalizing the conversion, carefully review all transaction details, including the conversion rate, fees, and estimated payout. Ensure that you are comfortable with the terms and conditions before proceeding.

Complete the transaction: Once you are satisfied with the transaction details, proceed to complete the conversion. Follow the instructions provided by the platform to finalize the transaction securely.

Receive the cash: Depending on the platform, you may receive the cash via a direct deposit, PayPal transfer, or another agreed-upon method. Confirm the receipt of funds and ensure their accuracy.

Conclusion

While United MileagePlus miles are primarily used for flight redemptions, converting them into cash offers immediate liquidity and flexibility for various financial purposes. By understanding the program restrictions, comparing conversion rates, and following the steps outlined in this guide, you can successfully redeem your United miles for cash. Remember to stay informed about potential devaluations and choose reputable platforms to ensure a secure and rewarding experience. Unlock the financial value of your MileagePlus rewards and leverage them to achieve your financial goals with the option to redeem United miles for cash.

[drdemonprince]

So that was the DNC. The young liberals, white feminists, and leftists-in-name only have gladly fallen in line behind Kamala Harris, because she makes them feel good, and because all they have wanted was to find sufficient reason to stop feeling bad and get back to brunch. They've abandoned Palestine, the same way they abandoned the immunocompromised and abolition of the police, because these and so many other left political movements were little more than fashion to them. They were never interested in seeing the destruction of a political system that many of them could, theoretically, make themselves comfortable inside. They just wanted to be seen as current and good.

Did you know that there are 24 million millionaires in the United States? 24 Million. Millionaires. 24,000,000 millionaires. Up from 22 million in 2022. That's about 7.2% of the population. So much for "we are the 99%." There is a sizeable segment of this population that benefits from economic inequality and imperialism, increasingly so, as both the size of the lower class and the upper class expand.

Many millions of additional people have no interest in changing the U.S. political paradigm, because they have been propagandized to believe all compassion and competence fall away under "anarchy," or because they lack community in any meaningful sense and have no conception of how to act collectively. This is not their fault, but it means they act in ways counter to leftist organizing: calling the cops on people, refusing to show up for others, hoarding what property and wealth they do have, demanding that all acts of resistance be peaceful and brief, and pouring all of the political energies into exhorting others to vote (no matter how dyed blue or gerrymander red their districts are, no matter how genocidal, transphobic, and xenophobic all the options might be).

People think that participating in community is buying a $355 Chappel Roan ticket. The big voices for leftist organizing, supposedly, are individuals who market themselves as such on Instagram and TikTok in order to sell books, tarot decks, subscriptions, and workshops.

The sole method for social or political engagement that most people know of is making posts online, on an overblown advertising platform, and then complaining that they did not receive enough attention on their (monetized) posts. A person with shrewd social media instincts and a strong writerly voice can fake an entire political identity, professional connections, and expertise, and be followed by tens of thousands while doing nothing constructive in their day to day life or even being the person they claim to be. The more actively they post and generate revenue for Meta, the more lucrative their grift becomes for themselves and the more social power they accrue. Chasing power and profit for oneself is definitionally counter to leftist ideals. Even if they do not believe in electoralism, people like this produce endless content about the subject, because people follow it like it's sports. They're glorified entertainers, selling politically themed content, never taking themselves off the stage.

Challenge any of this and people will lash out at you, because you've attacked their cloth mother, and they're very lonely and afraid. The corporately-moderated semblance of connection is nearly all they ever get. You can't talk about sex, drugs, death, or any difficult human realities. If you don't present a disneyfied version of yourself you get accused or being a degenerate predator. If you don't participate at all, you must be apathetic, which is very bad, because having the wrong emotions or thoughts makes you evil.

The protests at the DNC were all either ill-conceived PSL honey traps leading dozens of 19-year-olds into arrest via Signal chat, or bloated 3-hour fundraising attempts miles away from the United Center and corralled by the police and Department of Justice marshalls and their collaborators. Everybody else is far away, enjoying brat colored cocktails and picking out demure tradwife clothing to disappear into for the fall. Dreaming of not having to worry anymore is akin to longing for death, and many liberal Americans have gladly embraced total obliteration.

It's not just conservatism that is a death cult. It's also the preservation of the nation-state. State-making obliterates whole cultures, languages, lands, traditions, and unique, person-to-person modes of relating. You get your food from a corporation or a government bureaucracy that does not know you and makes you fight for it, never from a person. This makes you forget that it's just persons, like the ones you know, like yourself, who do everything. It makes you cling to the state, and to normalcy, rather than speaking openly and messily to anybody else.

This is where it all begins and ends. The hope of a revolution rising up to somehow liberate Palestine was always a fantasy, the stuff of kid's movies. The truth is much darker, but more bearable, because it's real. We are very far from a dramatic political change. Most people aren't willing to even let a stranger into their homes to keep them sheltered. Did we really think they were going to rise up and put their body on the line to fight the state? Give up Starbucks and their PPO? Break the law? Lower their property value? Of course not. Get real.

And so, where do we start? By moving far, far away from the individualistic, capitalistic, clout-based avenues of political "participation" that do nothing but benefit people who present themselves as influential voices. By doing the small, slow, humble work of actual community building. Talking to your neighbors, feeding people, housing people, sacrificing something for others, driving a senior to the doctor, building a way outside of your own head.

We have to become more reliant upon one another and less moved by big personalities who will never know us or give a damn about us as people. Instagram pays me the more of you look at my posts and share them on their app. It pays every other high follower account you take political guidance from, too. You should be suspicious of me. And all the rest of them. You should place more trust in your friends, your neighbors, and the power of your own mind.

The way out of all this will not be easy. And it will not happen on here.

[reasonsforhope]

"On a blustery day in early March, the who’s who of methane research gathered at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara, California. Dozens of people crammed into a NASA mission control center. Others watched from cars pulled alongside roads just outside the sprawling facility. Many more followed a livestream. They came from across the country to witness the launch of an oven-sized satellite capable of detecting the potent planet-warming gas from space. 

The amount of methane, the primary component in natural gas, in the atmosphere has been rising steadily over the last few decades, reaching nearly three times as much as preindustrial times. About a third of methane emissions in the United States occur during the extraction of fossil fuels as the gas seeps from wellheads, pipelines, and other equipment. The rest come from agricultural operations, landfills, coal mining, and other sources. Some of these leaks are large enough to be seen from orbit. Others are miniscule, yet contribute to a growing problem.

Identifying and repairing them is a relatively straightforward climate solution. Methane has a warming potential about 80 times higher than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, so reducing its levels in the atmosphere can help curb global temperature rise. And unlike other industries where the technology to decarbonize is still relatively new, oil and gas companies have long had the tools and know-how to fix these leaks.

MethaneSAT, the gas-detecting device launched in March, is the latest in a growing armada of satellites designed to detect methane. Led by the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, or EDF, and more than six years in the making, the satellite has the ability to circle the globe 15 times a day and monitor regions where 80 percent of the world’s oil and gas is produced. Along with other satellites in orbit, it is expected to dramatically change how regulators and watchdogs police the oil and gas industry...

A couple hours after the rocket blasted off, Wofsy, Hamburg, and his colleagues watched on a television at a hotel about two miles away as their creation was ejected into orbit. It was a jubilant moment for members of the team, many of whom had traveled to Vandenberg with their partners, parents, and children. “Everybody spontaneously broke into a cheer,” Wofsy said. “You [would’ve] thought that your team scored a touchdown during overtime.”

The data the satellite generates in the coming months will be publicly accessible — available for environmental advocates, oil and gas companies, and regulators alike. Each has an interest in the information MethaneSAT will beam home. Climate advocates hope to use it to push for more stringent regulations governing methane emissions and to hold negligent operators accountable. Fossil fuel companies, many of which do their own monitoring, could use the information to pinpoint and repair leaks, avoiding penalties and recouping a resource they can sell. Regulators could use the data to identify hotspots, develop targeted policies, and catch polluters. For the first time, the Environmental Protection Agency is taking steps to be able to use third-party data to enforce its air quality regulations, developing guidelines for using the intelligence satellites like MethaneSAT will provide. The satellite is so important to the agency’s efforts that EPA Administrator Michael Regan was in Santa Barbara for the launch as was a congressional lawmaker. Activists hailed the satellite as a much-needed tool to address climate change. 

“This is going to radically change the amount of empirically observed data that we have and vastly increase our understanding of the amount of methane emissions that are currently happening and what needs to be done to reduce them,” said Dakota Raynes, a research and policy manager at the environmental nonprofit Earthworks. “I’m hopeful that gaining that understanding is going to help continue to shift the narrative towards [the] phase down of fossil fuels.”

With the satellite safely orbiting 370 miles above the Earth’s surface, the mission enters a critical second phase. In the coming months, EDF researchers will calibrate equipment and ensure the satellite works as planned. By next year [2025], it is expected to transmit reams of information from around the world."

-via Grist, April 7, 2024

[riaaanna]

Queen drummer Roger Taylor remembers his childhood in King’s Lynn

In 1999, Roger Taylor spoke to the EDP's arts editor Trevor Heaton about his childhood in King's Lynn.

EASTERN DAILY PRESS, Saturday 20th March 1999

Roger Taylor was the King's Lynn schoolboy who grew up to be a superstar as part of rock group Queen. He talked to Trevor Heaton about his early life in the town, and his strong links to its ancient fishing community.

THE DAYS OF MY LIFE IN LYNN.

King's Lynn was proud of the new maternity wing at the West Norfolk and Lynn Hospital, off London Road. So, when it was announced that the Queen would be coming to open it officially, it was the icing on the cake for townsfolk and the band of health workers and volunteers who supported the hospital's work.

When the Queen (now the Queen Mother) arrived for her two-hour tour of the hospital on Saturday 1st August 1949, she was handed a golden key to perform the official ceremony, watched by serried ranks of the great and the good of Lynn. The opening over, the Queen chatted to the 16 mothers or mothers-to-be in the new unit.

The first one she spoke to was Mrs Winifred Taylor, who lived with her husband Michael at 87 High Street, in the heart of the town's shopping centre. The Queen told her how lucky patients were to have "such a lovely place". She chatted with Mrs Taylor about her new son, and his name.

Family home: Beulah Street, Off Wootton Road, Gaywood.  " A funny narrow house, and I had a tree house in the garden".

And thus, at just six days old, Roger Meddows Taylor found himself at the centre of attention.

It was something he would have to get used to. For years later, he joined with Brian May, John Deacon and one Freddie Bulsara - who had changed his name to the much-more memorable "Mercury" - to form Queen, and went on to grab the world of rock music by its collective scruff of the neck and sell countless millions of singles and albums.

But let's press the rewind button for Roger Taylor, the superstar singer, songwriter and musician and go back to a little four-year-old who was trying his best to resist his mother's efforts to get him to start his first day at Rosebery Avenue School in Gaywood on an autumn day in 1954.

School Days: Rosebery Avenue First School.

"I remember being dragged off to school on my first day hanging onto the ice cream sign because I didn't want to go", he laughs.

But, with a bit of persuasion, he let go and found himself travelling the few hundred yards from Beulah Street to the school, where he joined 40 or so pupils in the reception class and settled down to this new phase in his life.

Roger's parents, Winifred and Michael, a manager with the Potato Marketing Board, had moved to the street, off Gaywood's arterial Wootton Road, soon after his birth.

Beulah Street is now much as it was then, a neat collection of classic early 20th century town villas. Sturdy, no-nonsense houses, the bricks-and-mortar equivalent to a pair of sensible shoes.

A couple of years after the houses were put up around 1913, the Germans sent Zeppelins over the East Coast, and people from the town used to come and stay in the houses to escape the bombs.

Nowadays, a bridge goes over the Gaywood river which runs at the bottom of the road, joining Wootton Road to the River Lane sports pitches.

Wootton Road itself is much busier than in the early 1950s, with a constant stream commuters going back and forth to the hundreds of houses which have sprung up on the outskirts of Lynn over the past generation.

But back then, things were quieter, and Beulah Street was a cul-de-sac, with the road petering out by the river (a fact which caused many a missed heartbeat to unwary drivers over the years), and then looking out over miles of heath and farmland to the town proper.

Not a bad place to grow up in, as Roger readily concedes. "The road used to be very quiet. I remember going down to the end of the street and looking into the river. I used to see the odd pike or two. I was constantly being warned not to fall in" he says (he didn't).

The Taylors' home - "a funny narrow house and I had a tree house in the garden" - brought them into contact with the Spinks family, Edna and Ron. Ron was like Michael, what used to be a "white-collar worker".

Mrs Spinks, who later remarried after her husband's death and is now Mrs Corbyn, recalls: "We were close neighbours, with the Taylors the length of time they were in Beulah Street. Michael and Win and Ron and I often used to play cards together on a Saturday night. And we had Christmas, birthday and Bonfire Night parties at my house. We had a big kitchen table and we all used to get around it. The children used to go round in a big group over to Rosebery Avenue" she recalls.

"There was my son John, Jimmy Gathercole, Roger and Pam and Judy Raven. Roger used to go around with John and looked up to him because he was two years older. He used to say "I'll be glad when I'm as old as John Spinks" ", she chuckles.

"They used to do the things boys do - riding their bikes around, that sort of thing. They were good neighbours and we missed them when they left".

Roger, and later his younger sister Clare - who had arrived on the scene three years after Roger - also used to play at the home of Beryl and Norman Raven, who lived in a house on Wootton Road, which backed on to the cul-de-sac.

Mrs Raven - now Mrs Chadwick - recalls: "I remember Roger and his little sister well. Roger and his friend John used to play cricket in our back garden".

Stick 'Em Up - From left, Roger Taylor (standing on a box!), John Spinks, Jimmy Gathercole, Leonard Fiddy

"My dad worked for the Potato Marketing Board, based in Lynn. He used to go out and visit the farmers, and occasionally I'd go out with him", he says. "I used to go regularly on the train to Hunstanton and Heacham… I remember it was a hell of a long way to get out to the sea. I remember those times with very great fondness. We used to go sledging down those sand pits in Wootton Woods, when they were covered in snow. I remember my toboggan well. And then we used to go to see Castle Riding as well".

But as well as his immediate close-knit circle of family and friends, older members of his family exerted a considerable influence on his life. His great-grandfather, Charlie Fysh, was a former fisherman, and a stalwart of the old North End fishing community, who lived to the ripe old age of 95. The Fysh family can be traced back hundreds of years in the town.

North End Link: Roger's great grandfather, Charlie Fysh, pictured around 1949.  "He was a real character... a very, very funny man".

"He was a real character" says Roger. "He used to go on the radio singing slightly naughty sea shanties - and make up rude rhymes for me. He was a very, very funny man. He used to go for a walk every day of his life with his navy blue sweater and fishing cap on, and he had this big white moustache. During the war he used to sew up all his money in his trousers!"

Charlie Fysh was also an expert at the old Norfolk art of step-dancing, and his radio broadcasts included a 1957 BBC broadcast in the River and Byways of England programme. The North End Trust - which works so hard at preserving the memory of this centuries-old community - believes a tape of this broadcast still exists in the Wisbech area, but, tantalisingly, had never been able to track it down.

And then there were his grandparents, Arthur and Annie Hickman, who lived in Birchwood Street. Even after the Taylor family moved to Cornwall in 1957, the grandparents - especially Annie - remained an important part of Roger's life.

"I was very close to my grandmother. I used to come every summer holiday and stay with her. She was another one who lived a long time - she was 93 or 95 when she died. She had a very strong personality and a very strict moral code, although her politics weren't like mine - in fact, she was a little bit right win. She used to say things like "Never, ever borrow money", and "Don't ever, ever do that". I was very close to her".

Roger managed to keep in close touch even when he was in the globe-trotting superstar bracket, sending her regular postcards and visiting as often as he could.

Michael Taylor was brought up in Cornwall, and the family moved there in 1957 when his job permitted. It was in Truro that the now teenaged Roger first became serious about his music, but moved to London to begin studies in dentistry at the Royal London Hospital. Unluckily for dentistry but luckily for rock, he joined the group Smile, and then helped to form Queen. 

And as for Queen? Well, the story has so many highlights... The 40-plus hit singles, including Bohemian Rhapsody - regularly at the top of "best single ever" lists... Roger's own classic compositions such as Radio Ga Ga and These Are The Days Of Our Lives... the stunning performance at Live Aid... playing to a quarter of a million fans in Rio De Janeiro...

Roger, now set to return to Norfolk with his new band, is constantly amazed at how the Queen phenomenon lives on, even though it is now more than eight years since Mercury's death.

"Well, it'll always be the thing for which I'm best known - and that's fine by me" he says. " It was a fantastic 25 years. We were a very strong team and I'm still good friends with Brian and John".

The musician might now live "in the depths of Surrey, close to London but out in the country"... but Lynn will always be able to claim him as one of its own..

My note - this post has been collated from these sources: this original site, this photo print, and this online article.

[collapsedsquid]

The Darién Gap was thought for centuries to be all but impassable. Explorers and would-be colonizers who entered tended to die of hunger or thirst, be attacked by animals, drown in fast-rising rivers, or simply get lost and never emerge. Those dangers remain, but in recent years the jungle has become a superhighway for people hoping to reach the United States. According to the United Nations, more than 800,000 may cross the Darién Gap this year—a more than 50 percent increase over last year’s previously unimaginable number. Children under 5 are the fastest-growing group. The U.S. has spent years trying to discourage this migration, pressuring its Latin American neighbors to close off established routes and deny visas to foreigners trying to fly into countries close to the U.S. border. Instead of stopping migrants from coming, this approach has simply rerouted them through the jungle, and shifted the management of their passage onto criminal organizations, which have eagerly taken advantage. The Gulf Clan, which now calls itself Ejército Gaitanista de Colombia, effectively controls this part of northern Colombia. It has long moved drugs and weapons through the Darién Gap; now it moves people too. Everyone who works in the Darién Gap must be approved by the cartel and hand over a portion of their earnings. They have built stairs into hillsides and outfitted cliffs with ladders and camps with Wi‑Fi. They advertise it all on TikTok and YouTube, and anyone can book a journey online. There are many paths through. The most grueling route is the cheapest—right now, about $300 a person to cross the jungle on foot. Taking a boat up the coast can cost more than $1,000.

[...] Guides and porters follow the migrants in the jungle with their iPhones rolling, asking, “Do you feel good?” and “Have we treated you well?” They film incessantly during the first day of walking, when people are still able to conjure a smile. (Even I ended up in one of their videos.) They post the videos on social media, selling trips across the jungle as if they were joyful nature walks. The profit motives of the cartel have become yet another factor fueling migration. [...] The porters we had paid to continue on with us told us to stay close together because bandits were thought to be intimidated by large groups. Later, we learned that was false—they were in fact targeting large groups, perhaps because it was more efficient than robbing a handful of people at a time. Our anxiety grew when we passed a couple of abandoned backpacks. We pushed through thicker and thicker brush until I realized there was no longer any sign of a path. One porter accused another of leading us astray. They started arguing, until a third hissed, “No yelling!” We turned around, but a bottleneck formed in front of a fallen tree trunk. One of the porters shouted for us to hurry: “Grab the kids and go!” [...] Most of the migrants I met in the processing line told me they’d been robbed by bandits at a checkpoint within a day’s walk of the community. The women said they’d been groped; some said they’d been digitally penetrated under the guise of a search for hidden cash. Panamanian border officers standing nearby showed no interest in investigating. Indigenous leaders say they have asked the government for help addressing crime against migrants, but the situation seems to be getting worse. In February, Doctors Without Borders published a report on sexual violence against migrants in the Darién Gap, showing a frequency more typical of war zones. Soon after, the government kicked the organization out of the area.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from the Substack Distilled:

In the last few months, the Biden administration has quietly passed multiple federal policies that will transform the United States economy and wipe out billions of tons of future greenhouse gas emissions. 

The new policies have received little attention outside of wonky climate circles. And that is a problem.

Earlier this year, I wrote that Biden has done more to mitigate climate change than any President before him. For decades, environmentalists tried and failed to convince lawmakers to pass even the most marginal climate policies. It wasn’t until Biden took office that the logjam broke and the climate policies flowed. And yet few American voters are hearing this story in an election year of huge consequence.

It’s been two and a half months since I wrote that article. In that short time, the Biden administration has passed a handful of climate policies that will collectively cut more than 10 billion tons of planet-warming pollution over the next three decades, more than the annual emissions of India, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Saudi Arabia, and the entire continent of Europe—combined.

One climate policy that flew under the radar recently was the administration's latest energy efficiency rule, unveiled at the beginning of May. The new rules will reduce the amount of energy that water heaters use by encouraging manufacturers to sell models with more efficient heat pump technology. The new regulation is expected to save more energy than any federal regulation in history. 

Most people give little thought to how the water in their homes is heated, but water heaters are the second-largest consumer of energy in the average American home and one of the largest sources of climate pollution in the country. 

A few days before the administration announced its water heater efficiency rules, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced another sweeping policy.

According to the new rules, existing coal power plants will need to either shut down or install carbon capture technology capable of removing 90% of their carbon pollution. The policy will also require any new natural gas power plants that provide baseload power—the ones that run throughout the day and night, as opposed to the peaker plants that only run for a small fraction of hours in the year—to install carbon capture technology. 

The new power sector rules are effectively a death blow to coal power in America, which has slowly faded over the last two decades but still emits more carbon emissions than almost every country in the world. 

The water heater rules and power plant regulations will help the country meet its goal of cutting emissions by 50% by 2030. But impactful as they will be, they weren’t the most important climate policy that the Biden administration passed in the last two months. 

That honor goes to the EPA’s tailpipe rules, which are set to transform the auto industry over the next decade.

Today the transportation sector is the largest source of climate pollution in the United States. Within the sector, passenger cars and trucks are the biggest contributors to emissions. While electric vehicle adoption has grown in recent years, America lags behind many other countries in decarbonizing its vehicle stock. 

The EPA’s new rules will force automakers to reduce the amount of pollution and carbon emissions that come from their vehicles. The federal policy doesn’t specifically mandate that automakers produce EVs or stop selling gas-powered cars but instead regulates the average carbon emissions per mile of a manufacturer's entire fleet over the next decade. That means automakers can still sell gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing trucks in 2035. They’ll just need to sell a lot more EVs or plug-in hybrids to bring their average fleet emissions down if they do.

Like the power plant rules, the EPA’s new auto regulations are designed to avoid being thrown out by a conservative and hostile Supreme Court. 

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst

One of the great unknowns about the 1970 Chrysler 300 Hurst is exactly how many cars were built. Estimates put the total as low as 485, and as high as 502 cars. Regardless of what the figure actually is, the car itself is a pretty special piece of machinery.

The 300 Hurst is a giant of a car at 19′ in length. All of the Hursts rolled off the production line finished in Spinnaker White. The cars were then shipped to the Hurst factory in Warminster, Pennsylvania, where a substantial transformation was performed. The first change to be made was the removal of the standard Chrysler steel hood skin, which was replaced with a fiberglass unit. This featured a decorative hood scoop and the obligatory set of recessed hood locks. The deck lid was also removed, and once again, a fiberglass replacement, complete with a spoiler integrated with the rear quarter panels, was also installed. The White paintwork was complimented by the addition of Satin Tan highlights and contrasting pinstripes, and the wheels were adorned with the same Satin Tan color in the centers. This Hurst is a clean car, with a small area of rust visible in the lower section of the driver’s side front fender, and surface corrosion present on the car’s underside. The Spinnaker White paint appears to be in good condition, but there has been some deterioration of the Satin Tan paint on both the hood and the deck lid. The exterior trim and chrome all look good, while the tinted glass is close to perfect.

The 300 Hurst was a premium car at a premium price, so naturally, it required a premium interior. In this case, seat upholstery was available in a single type and color. Continuing the exterior theme, the color is Saddle Tan, and the material is leather. The plush front seats are not standard 300 items but have been pilfered from the Imperial parts bin. While the original intention was for a Hurst shifter to be part of the interior features, this is something that never eventuated. The interior of this Hurst is close to perfect, with a single discolored spot on the dash pad being the most obvious fault. The rest of it presents in virtually as-new condition, and as befits a luxury car, it is loaded with luxury touches. These include air conditioning, power windows, six-way power seats, cruise control, a remote trunk release, and I think that there also might be an 8-track player hanging under the dash.

The 300 Hurst was the biggest of the muscle cars, and as such, it needed a big motor to get it moving. In this case, it is the TNT 440 engine, pumping out 375hp. The Hurst also features a 727 TorqueFlite transmission, a 3.23 rear end, power steering, power brakes, heavy-duty rear springs and front torsion bars, and sway bars. The exhaust was a full dual system, ending in quad tips. This Hurst hasn’t seen a lot of recent use, and documentation confirms that between 1986 and 2019, it managed to accumulate a grand total of 20 miles! Since being removed from its climate-controlled storage, it has undergone a meticulous mechanical check and recommissioning, and it is now said to run and drive perfectly. The owner does suggest that while the tires look good, they are pretty olds, and replacing them might be a good idea. He also says that the Hurst may need mufflers fairly soon. The car does come with a fair collection of documentation, including the original Build Sheet and Window Sticker, a pristine Certi-Card, Owner’s Manual, as well as dealer paperwork and other assorted items.

While there has always been some question surrounding the build totals for the 1970 300 Hurst, one thing is certain, and that is that there are less than 300 cars in existence today. Pristine examples can fetch sums in excess of $30,000, and even a rough example in need of restoration can still sell for anywhere around $13,000. This one doesn’t need a major restoration, but it does require some cosmetic work. I’m not sure where bidding is eventually going to go with this one, but I would suspect that it will be somewhere around the low to mid $20,000 mark. Even at that price, it probably wouldn’t be a bad buy.

[sourvers]

01: DON'T BE A STRANGER

chapter summary: a familiar face visits and asks for your help. the choice of refusal is dim.

⤷ this is the first chapter of 'Petrichor'! hope you enjoy lovelies. minor plot change for my heart's sake.

cod main masterlist . petrichor masterlist . ao3 link . next chapter .

The Yukon was pleasant and frigid beyond belief. 

Nevertheless, you craved haskap berries, and spring was inching over the horizon; crawling up your spine and shaking you alive. 

You sigh, gingerly closing your copy of ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’ , your hand instinctively tracing over the gold details as your French pronunciation lingers across the plain of your tongue.  

‘Vingt mille lieues sous les mers’ , You think, the ventures of Captain Nemo still fresh in your mind like Kate’s stilted voice reverberating in your ear: a siren, a horn, a whisper of dread you couldn’t shake. 

It started outside the grocery store, four days ago. 

Whitehorse was a 15-minute drive from your secluded home, found on the very outskirts of the capital and wrapped by lush pine trees. In the summer, grand fields of wildflowers spread across your horizon and became your choice of commerce during the warmer months, knowing how skilled local businesses made soap from dried fireweed. 

You drove into town to buy items you had put off: flour for the pie, extract, a new toothbrush after your other snapped in half, and red yarn. 

The locals kept to themselves and united all at once. A strange, inexplicable harmony you couldn't penetrate or grasp. Perhaps years of unyielding winters carve and shape people, like a sculptor holding the heart of their project. You hoped one day, you’d understand it too. 

Nevertheless, what you did understand was the townspeople's standoffish and overwrought nature. You were new to the town, a woman who only came to town to buy or sell, spending your ‘elusive’ days in or around the outskirts of your home or a vague “out” as you’d phrase it.

A group of the townspeople’s children even titled you the ‘Wicked Witch of the North’ after you accidentally struck over several vases during a summer market. While it was the talk of the town for several weeks; muttered under hasty quiet breaths despite being miles away, it was when the townspeople heard the most of your voice. From the strange resonance in your voice to how you pronounced your ‘o’s and ‘r’s. 

However, there was one citizen who seemed to find your presence jovial. 

“Oh my!” exclaims Sophia, her brown eyes gleaming under the fluorescent light of the grocery store; casting the small store in an odd shade of green, “Even you don’t come this late, what brings you here witch?” she teases, her bright smile flashing like headlights. 

“Well, I’ve come to pick up my ingredients,” you explain unfazed, your eyes scanning the shelves for your brand of flour,  “I have to keep up appearances of course. Can’t scare the children if I don’t tempt them with pie.” 

Sophia chuckles, her laugh bright and boisterous like the sun beaming down on you. “I suppose you can’t.” 

You scoff, yet, the subtle pull of your lips rivals your sarcasm. 

“You know, the new delivery of flour is behind,” Sophia smiles, “Small tip.” 

You take the one in the front, a small cloud of flour coming to life at your touch, “Thank you… I’ll take note of that.” 

Sophia smile dips and she sighs, tilting her head as she watches you promptly take what you need, contemplating for only a few seconds. 

“Do you have something to say?”

Sophia’s breath hitches, however, she gives you a small tentative smile, “You should come over… have dinner with my family some time, being alone in a place like the Yukon isn't good for the soul.” 

Your hand freezes as you reach for the vanilla extract, its sweetness exuding from the bottle like an elixir. Sophia’s eyes don’t reach you from behind the shelves. Despite being considerably older than Sophia, a part of you stung with childish envy. 

You sigh, and hum in mellow amusement, reaching for your thin wristwatch as you emerge from behind the shelves growing shadow, “And who told you that?”

“My grandmother,” stated Sophia, a small bud of pride growing in her chest, “She is our elder in the community.” 

The corners of your lips rise into a tentative and strangely warm smile, one of kinship even. “A wise woman I can surmise.” 

Sophia grins, “More than you can know.” 

Soon, you line your groceries on the belt and Sophia scans them silently. The beeping and incessant hum of the heater were the only words communicating in the air. 

“You must think I’m annoying.” 

You raise a brow, your eyes searching through your wallet before responding, “How so?” 

Sophia scoffs, “Well, I’m a nineteen-year-old store clerk who bothers a grown woman every time she shops. A bit of an asshole move if you ask me.” 

You let out a momentary laugh, swiping your card, “I’ve seen worse assholes, you’re by far the least dangerous.” 

“So I’m still an asshole?” 

“The good kind.” 

Sophia cracks a smile as she hands you the receipt, “If you let people know you more, they’ll like you.” 

“And why’s that?” you muse, stuffing the receipt in your jacket pocket while starting the car.

“I’m sure you know why,” states Sophia, “Don’t be a stranger.” 

You gaze at her, half amused, “I’ll take note of that.”

You amble towards the door, the sun long set as you reach for the door handle–

“Wait! God I almost forgot,” piped Sophia, “A woman came here earlier, I think she was looking for you given her description. Blond short hair, blue-greyish eyes I think? Anyways, do you know anyone like that? She spoke a bit fast too–”

Your eyes widen before promptly sharpening like the blade of a knife, “Thank you, Sophia. I’ll keep that in mind.” 

“But wait-” 

You swing the door open, a blast of frigid evening air brushing against your cheek as the grip on your grocery bag tightens. You let out a slow, restrained sigh, tuning into the crunch of your boots on snow, leading you to your car. Despite the layers you wore, you still shivered as the moon gleamed down on you, its rays tender and soothing. 

Too soothing. 

“It's rather rude to not announce your presence,” you mutter quietly, lacking any bite as you sink your empty hand deeper into your right pocket, eyes fixed on your reflection in the car window and the crunching of snow.

“I hear the townspeople call you ‘The Wicked Witch of the North’, quite the title. I wonder what you did to get it.” 

You hum in amusement, gradually turning your head to face her, the first fall of snowflakes landing on the tip of your eyelashes, “What are you doing here Laswell?”

Kate let out a sharp exhale, a cloud of white rising into the atmosphere. She crosses her arms over her chest, “I need your help, but first, we need to talk.” 

Your eyes go up and down her figure, as your lips curve into a smile, ignoring her pensive face, “As punctual as always. But you didn’t come prepared did you?” 

“Winter’s never been my type.” 

“A shame, you’re missing out,” you quipped, turning your back as you opened the passenger door, “Come on, I don’t have a choice do I?” 

Kate gives you a small smile, uncrossing her arms and shoving her hands deeper into her thin coat pockets, “According to my weather app, it's expected to be spring soon.”

You scoff amused, “Word of advice? Don’t fully trust the weather app.” 

Kate’s smile falters and you become acutely aware of the paper cut between your fingers. You pull out of the parking lot and onto the road. Snowflakes collect on your windshield while the hum of your tires against gravel fills the silence; looping like a song’s beat, over and over. 

“Kate.” 

“Yes?” 

Kate turns her head to face you: your face stiff, steadfast, unwavering; gazing head-on into infinite darkness. Even now- face cast in the evening shadows and dim starlight- Kate’s stomach churned at the sight of you, twisting like a knot. You seemed to be untouched by time: delicate scars still engraved in your skin, acute angles and tender curves still bridging together the map of your face, sharp and ever more subdued. As if deep in slumber. 

It was just as Kate recalled it to be. 

“This ‘help’ that you’re going to ask of me,” you probe, eyes fixed on the road, Kate’s gaze burning through your neck scarf, “I won’t be able to refuse, will I?” 

Kate releases a strained sigh, leaning back into her chair, she gazes ahead. Frost grows on the window. “I don’t want to force you into anything.” 

“But it seems you’ll have to,” you reply smoothly, methodically as if in thought, “Don’t downplay yourself, the only reason I’m here in the Yukon is because of you .”

Kate stiffens and gazes at you shortly, awaiting your words behind the small, tentative pause. 

You shake your head and sigh, lowering your voice, the sound near soothing, “I owe you a debt I will never be able to repay.” 

“I wouldn’t phrase it like that.”

“And yet, here you are.”

You look at Kate for the first time since you’ve entered the car; a sly smile reaching your lips before your eyes swiftly dart away from Kate’s weary stare. 

She notices.  

“Now that we have that out of the way,” you begin, promptly, “What exactly do you need help with?”

“I hope you don’t mind being in a bit of a boy band.” 

You raise an eyebrow, “I think the Backstreet Boys are alright if that’s what you’re referring to.” 

Kate releases a laugh, “It’s a different kind of boy band.” 

Kate gave you a week to pack, say goodbyes if you had any, then depart. 

The file she had given was still placed, rather haphazardly, on your coffee table alongside your book while your craving for haskap berries gradually faded, melting into the Earth like snow. 

You sigh, gradually rising from the couch and crossing your arms. The file staring back at you, its contents spilled across the table while its words were thoroughly engraved in your mind. 

“A covert task force,” you muse, bringing one of the papers to your face, your eyes dancing over the lines, rearranging them like a puzzle, “Four members. All men,” you scoff, “No wonder Kate called it a boyband.” 

Kate had given you a considerable amount of time to pack despite not owning any items worth considerable significance. A duffel bag would do just fine, you’d wear your trench coat, and leave the winter gear behind. 

You haven’t even begun packing.

“God. I even bought groceries,” you sigh, rubbing the bridge of your nose, “Might as well give it to Sophia for free.” 

After Kate stayed for that night, she left the following morning, her phone ringing call after call. 

“Busy?” 

“More than you can imagine.”

A part of you wondered why she decided to visit from the States; probing your mind until you wrestled in bed for an answer. She could have easily phoned you. Nevertheless, Kate plotted peculiarly. A method of thought meant for only those who understood. Perhaps she came to dangle the medicine for your terrors over your lips, to be of some consolation and company. Or more likely, to ensure the handcuffs around your wrists were still burning through your skin. 

“I never said we needed a new asset to the team.” 

Kate sighs, gingerly placing the cup of tea in front of John. Its smell quietly blended with the air, “You and I both know that we’ve run dry on information.” Kate pulled her chair open, taking a seat, “This friend of mine provides a new set of skills to the task force, something to give us an edge.” 

“Then why is there a strain in your voice?” 

Kate stares at John blankly, her voice low, grave even, “After what nearly happened to Soap, we should reconsider who we consider our assets and informants.”

John remains silent, heaving a sigh before gazing out the window, his eyes mellow for a brief moment. The cup of tea still untouched. “When is he coming?” 

A small smile reaches Kate’s lips, “Bold of you to assume it’s a he John,” Kate pulls out a thin file, its contents scarce, “She’s outsourced, not military but has more than enough skills to carry her weight.” 

John reaches for the file, his eyes scanning over the information: height, weight, eye color, name. 

‘Someone from the outside’ he remarks.

“No photo?” muses John, “She wears a mask like Simon?” 

“No time for a photo. Had to call her in quickly. Though, she prefers long coats instead of a mask.” 

John hums, amused, “Anything else I should know? Before telling the team?” 

Kate pauses, her small smile remains, her tone candid, “Negative.”

[lulu-christiangirlygirl]

ATTENTION DIRECTIONERS !!!

(Please read everything)

⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

so guys, i've read several posts that were particularly critical of the "carelessness" and meanness of the boys regarding Liam and his death and other issues. There were also criticisms of the meanness and jealousy between the boys' fandoms (as individuals) and the meanness of the Directioners, as a fandom, towards other fandoms (like swifties).

Okay, I think a little clarification is needed to calm the waters…

I started listening to One Direction's music about a year ago. I was immediately struck by their songs (the music, the lyrics, the style in general) and I delved deeper and deeper into their story.

I immediately felt welcomed into a big family always ready to support me, comfort me and make me smile again: I no longer felt alone.

Every time I feel sad, it's just me and their contagious smile: the smile of ordinary kids, like me full of problems (and not living a perfect life).

Even though I've been a Directioner for a "short time", I immediately understood how the basis of this big family is:

1. Mutual respect (each with their own way of being and fragility);

2. Forgiveness.

I've never thought of Directioners as an aggressive or resentful family, but rather the complete opposite.

I think we all know about the terrible machine of fiction that the managers created around the band (even in their "rebellious" behaviors, in reality, all studied in the smallest details to sell).

Regardless of the sad “ending” (and, speaking plainly, who thinks the band will reform?) of this surreal “fairy tale”, we should not forget how much these guys have done for us and the lessons they have taught us.

As they have been by our side when we needed it, we (Directioners, Harrie…), now more than ever, should stick together, supporting and respecting each other (and of course supporting the guys too).

Even though we are somehow united by the love for a "fiction" created to sell, we still "came out" of this situation stronger. Why? Why do One Direction make us feel good? The reason is simple: because through this great passion we have found real sisters/brothers who, even if distant from us miles and miles, share (even if in part) our situation, each with their own way of being and problems.

There are thousands of us, but at the same time each alone (physically). As time goes by, even the "virtual" contact is getting lost, as well as that air of family and brotherly love, solidarity and mutual help.

This is not a “fandom”, we do not transmit this message. This is a FAMILY where everyone is loved and welcome.

Even if the guys are “not part of the band anymore” this does not mean we should forget everything. A family is always a family, for better or for worse.

Directioners, we have a power in our hands that no other “fandom” has: humanitas (kindness, respect, forgiveness, mutual support…). This is our keyword. We could do great things together, towards one direction: the stars.

❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

Please share the message ❤️‍🩹

Classroom for Directioners: g72tp7m

[bignaz8]

ARIZONA INTERESTING FACTS:

1. Arizona has 3,928 mountain peaks and summits, more mountains than any one of the other Mountain States (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming).

2. All New England, plus the state of Pennsylvania would fit inside Arizona.

3. Arizona became the 48th state and last of the contiguous states on February 14, 1912, Valentine’s Day.

4. Arizona's disparate climate can yield both the highest temperature across the nation and the lowest temperature across the nation in the same day.

5. There are more wilderness areas in Arizona than in the entire Midwest. Arizona alone has 90 wilderness areas, while the Midwest has 50.

6. Arizona has 26 peaks that are more than 10,000 feet in elevation.

7. Arizona has the largest contiguous stand of Ponderosa pines in the world stretching from near Flagstaff along the Mogollon Rim to the White Mountains region.

8. Yuma, Arizona is the country's highest producer of winter vegetables, especially lettuce.

9. Arizona is the 6th largest state in the nation, covering 113,909 square miles.

10. Out of all the states in the U.S., Arizona has the largest percentage of its land designated as Indian lands.

11. The Five C's of Arizona's economy are: Cattle, Copper, Citrus, Cotton, and Climate.

12. More copper is mined in Arizona than all the other states combined The Morenci Mine is the largest copper producer in all of North America.

13. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, two of the most prominent movie stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, were married on March 18, 1939, in Kingman, Arizona.

14. Covering 18,608 sq. miles, Coconino County is the second largest county by land area in the 48 contiguous United States.(San Bernardino County in California is the largest).

15. The world's largest solar telescope is located at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Sells, Arizona.

16. Bisbee, Arizona is known as the Queen of the Copper Mines because during its mining heyday it produced nearly 25 percent of the world's copper. It was the largest city in the Southwest between Saint Louis and San Francisco.

17. Billy the Kid killed his first man, Windy Cahill, in Bonita, Arizona.

18. Arizona grows enough cotton each year to make more than one pair of jeans for every person in the United States.

19. Famous labor leader and activist Cesar Chavez was born in Yuma.

20. In 1912, President William Howard Taft was ready to make Arizona a state on February 12, but it was Lincoln's birthday.

The next day, the 13th, was considered bad luck so they waited until the following day. That's how Arizona became known as the Valentine State.

21. When England's famous London Bridge was replaced in the 1960s, the original was purchased, dismantled, shipped stone by stone and reconstructed in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, where it still stands today.

22. Mount Lemmon, Tucson, in the Santa Catalina Mountains, is the southernmost ski resort in the United States.

23. Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch in Picacho, Arizona is the largest privately-owned ostrich ranch in the world outside South Africa.

24. If you cut down a protected species of cactus in Arizona, you could spend more than a year in prison.

25. The world's largest to-scale collection of miniature airplane models is housed at the library at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona.

26. The only place in the country where mail is delivered by mule is the village of Supai, located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

27. Located on Arizona's western border, Parker Dam is the deepest dam in the world at 320 feet.

28. South Mountain Park/Preserve in Phoenix is the largest municipal park in the country.

29. Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station, located about 55 miles west of Phoenix, generates more electricity than any other U.S. power plant.

30. Oraibi, a Hopi village located in Navajo County, Arizona, dates back to before A.D. 1200 and is reputed to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in America.

31. Built by Del Webb in 1960, Sun City, Arizona was the first 55-plus active adult retirement community in the country.

32. Petrified wood is the official state fossil. The Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona contains America's largest deposits of petrified wood.

33. Many of the founders of San Francisco in 1776 were Spanish colonists from Tubac, Arizona.

34. Phoenix originated in 1866 as a hay camp to supply military post Camp McDowell.

35. Rainfall averages for Arizona range from less than three inches in the deserts to more than 30 inches per year in the mountains.

36. Rising to a height of 12,643 feet, Humphreys Peak north of Flagstaff is the state's highest mountain.

37. Roadrunners are not just in cartoons! In Arizona, you'll see them running up to 17-mph away from their enemies.

38. The Saguaro cactus is the largest cactus found in the U.S. It can grow as high as a five-story building and is native to the Sonoran Desert, which stretches across southern Arizona.

39. Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, grew up on a large family ranch near Duncan, Arizona.

40. The best-preserved meteor crater in the world is located near Winslow, Arizona.

41. The average state elevation is 4,000 feet.

42. The Navajo Nation spans 27,000 square miles across the states of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, but its capital is seated in Window Rock, Arizona.

43. The amount of copper utilized to make the copper dome atop Arizona's Capitol building is equivalent to the amount used in 4.8 million pennies.

44. Near Yuma, the Colorado River's elevation dips to 70 feet above sea level, making it the lowest point in the state.

45. The geographic center of Arizona is 55 miles southeast of Prescott near the community of Mayer.

46. You could pile four 1,300-foot skyscrapers on top of each other and they still would not reach the rim of the Grand Canyon.

47. The hottest temperature recorded in Arizona was 128 degrees at Lake Havasu City on June 29, 1994.

48. The coldest temperature recorded in Arizona was 40 degrees below zero at Hawley Lake on January 7, 1971.

49. A saguaro cactus can store up to nine tons of water.

50. The state of Massachusetts could fit inside Maricopa County (9,922 sq. miles).

51. The westernmost battle of the Civil War was fought at Picacho Pass on April 15, 1862 near Picacho Peak in Pinal County.

52. There are 11.2 million acres of National Forest in Arizona, and one-fourth of the state forested.

53. Wyatt Earp was neither the town marshal nor the sheriff in Tombstone at the time of the shoot-out at the O..K. Corral. His brother Virgil was the town marshal.

54. On June 6, 1936, the first barrel of tequila produced in the United States rolled off the production line in Nogales, Arizona.

55. The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse desert in North America.

56. Bisbee is the Nation's Southernmost mile-high city.

57. The two largest man-made lakes in the U.S. are Lake Mead and Lake Powell, both located in Arizona.

58. The longest remaining intact section of Route 66 can be found in Arizona and runs from Seligman to Topock, a total of 157 unbroken miles.

59. The 13 stripes on the Arizona flag represent the 13 original colonies of the United States.

60. The negotiations for Geronimo's final surrender took place in Skeleton Canyon, near present day Douglas, Arizona, in 1886.

61. Prescott, Arizona is home to the world's oldest rodeo, and Payson, Arizona is home to the world's oldest continuous rodeo, both of which date back to the 1880's.

62. Kartchner Caverns, near Benson, Arizona, is a massive limestone cave with 13,000 feet of passages, two rooms as long as football fields, and one of the world's longest soda straw stalactites: measuring 21 feet 3 inches.

63. You can carry a loaded firearm on your person, no permit required.

64. Arizona has one of the lowest crime rates in the U.S.A.

[jonnesstuart31-blog]

Why Selling Miles for Cash Makes Financial Sense

Introduction:

If you're a frequent flyer and have accumulated a substantial number of miles, you might be wondering how to maximize the value of your loyalty rewards. While redeeming miles for flights and upgrades is a popular choice, an increasingly attractive option is selling your miles for cash. In this transactional blog, we'll explore the compelling reasons why selling miles for cash can make excellent financial sense.

Monetize Your Unused Miles:

Many travelers find themselves with a surplus of miles that may go unused or expire. By selling these unused miles for cash, you can transform them into tangible value. Rather than letting your miles go to waste, you can monetize them and use the cash for other financial priorities or indulge in experiences beyond traditional travel.

Flexible Spending Options:

Cash provides ultimate flexibility compared to limited redemption options offered by loyalty programs. While flights and upgrades are popular choices, selling miles for cash allows you to utilize the funds in any way you see fit. Whether it's paying for everyday expenses, treating yourself to a luxury purchase, or investing the cash for future financial goals, the possibilities are endless.

Access Immediate Value:

Selling miles for cash offers an immediate financial benefit. Unlike accumulating miles for future travel, which may require time and planning, selling miles provides instant value. This can be especially advantageous in situations where you need quick access to funds or when you want to take advantage of time-limited opportunities.

Maximize Value for Less Frequent Travelers:

For individuals who travel less frequently, accumulating enough miles for significant rewards can be challenging. Selling miles for cash allows you to extract value from your loyalty program participation without the need for extensive travel. By selling your miles, you can enjoy the benefits of your loyalty program without the requirement of accumulating miles through travel.

Flexibility in Pricing and Negotiation:

When selling miles for cash, you have the opportunity to negotiate and set your price. The value of miles can vary depending on factors such as airline, demand, and market dynamics. By exploring various platforms and buyers, you can potentially secure a higher cash value for your miles, maximizing your return on investment.

Supplement Travel Expenses:

Selling miles for cash can be a strategic way to offset travel expenses. Rather than relying solely on miles for flights or upgrades, you can sell a portion of your miles and use the cash to cover additional travel-related costs, such as accommodation, transportation, or dining. This approach allows you to optimize your travel experience and stretch your budget further.

Conclusion:

Selling miles for cash presents a compelling opportunity to unlock the value of your loyalty rewards. By monetizing your unused miles, enjoying flexible spending options, accessing immediate value, and maximizing your return on investment, you can make the most of your loyalty program participation. Whether you're a less frequent traveler or looking to supplement travel expenses, selling miles for cash offers a financially sound strategy to leverage your accumulated rewards. Explore reputable platforms and buyers, negotiate competitive prices, and embark on a journey to transform your miles into tangible financial benefits.

[myconetted]

oh my god

objectively speaking, this is based and a huge win for green energy production

but jesus christ the optics of using this site for this purpose are hilarious

[blazehedgehog]

My discord got me thinking about how Naughty Dog tried to do a Jak 4 and they were so obsessed with cinematic realism that they went "nope, this is too creepy" and backed off because they literally refused to do it any other way

Thinking of when Double Fine was still doing the Devs Play video series, and they had someone from Naughty Dog on there, and even though I don't think he worked at the company anymore, he still was so very clearly "cinematic realism" poisoned. Even when talking about Naughty Dog's Crash Bandicoot games, he was going on about how they were always trying to apply Hollywood techniques and make the games more cinematic.

And thinking about how much of the game industry is bleeding itself dry trying to replicate things we already have in real life. Across two generations of hardware, Naughty Dog has released two new games and eight ports or remakes. Some of which are double dips. When you think about Insomniac's woes over struggling to break even with Spider-man, one gets the impression from all these ports and remakes that Naughty Dog isn't doing much better.

Do you know how much money Lethal Company made? It has 260,000 reviews on Steam, and you can probably charitably double, triple, or even quadruple that number to get within the ballpark of what it actually sold. We'll reign it in a little and estimate it sold 600,000 units. That's $6,000,000 of what is very likely pure profit. People have retired on less. This kid isn't even 25 years old.

Meanwhile, for Spider-man 2, Insomniac had to sell 7,000,000 units just to start turning a profit. Spider-man 2 put them nearly FIVE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS ($500,000,000) in the hole. For a game, by their own admission, people may not even be able to tell is any better visually than Spider-man 1. They talk about smaller side games like Miles Morales as a cheap way to reuse assets and buffer the astronomical financial drain these games are. They've got to make up ground somewhere.

There's rumors Naughty Dog's next game might be a remake of Uncharted 1. The well's going to run dry eventually. Then what happens to Naughty Dog when they're writing a one-billion dollar check for the next evolution in cinematic realism that is impossible for anyone to be able to cash? When does this all break down? Soon, right?

It sure feels like it's going to be soon. This is such a boring waste of money.

[gatheringbones]

[“Not many miles from the resort town of Dalat, Ich Thien village comprised one of the few successful land development centers the Diem regime had built for non-Catholics. In 1961, two hundred and twenty-five families from the coastal plains of the center had come to settle there in the highlands and to farm the land the government had cleared for cultivation. Allotted a small acreage, they were given enough money to tide them over until the first harvest and the rights to all the jungle land they could clear and till for their own use. After three years of good harvests, the farmers — most of them former landless laborers — had achieved a degree of prosperity they had never known before: they built substantial houses, bought buffaloes for the plowing, and new clothes for the women and children. To them the land development center had every virtue but one.

As one farmer — I shall call him Mr. Buu — described the source of the trouble:

An official from the Office of the General Commissioner for Land Development was… in full charge of the area.… The area chief (as he was called) could distribute money and materials to whichever family he wanted and refuse to give it to whoever he wanted. It was the area chief who ordered that family records and identification cards be made. He could refuse to give these extremely necessary papers to whichever family he disliked and that family would have no place to turn. The people’s fate lay in the hands of the area chief. The area chief… was a very wise man. Outwardly, he seemed very nice, gentle with everyone, but inwardly he was corrupted and siphoned off aid such as flour, penicillin and milk and so on. Besides growing rubber trees in the land they had been given, the villagers cleared more land to grow corn, potatoes, manioc, etc. They went to the jungle to gather firewood, bamboo shoots, and honey. The people were forced to sell all these products to the area chief at a very low price. The area chiefs in turn sold these products to the dealers at high prices. The people knew about this, but there was no way they could stop this exploitation. The other officials… were no better. They often caused trouble to the people, such as each time someone wanted to leave the Land Development Center, he had to obtain a certified statement of his absence. The absent person couldn’t receive his food money for the day he was absent… but he still had to sign the paper to certify that he had received his food money for that day so that the officials could pocket the money. And so the people couldn’t like these officials. They were afraid of them because their lives were directly related to the officials of the office of the General Commissioner for Land Development.”

Beginning in 1963 the NLF cadres began to come to the center occasionally at night to talk to the families in the hamlets nearest the forest. Before a year had passed, they were coming every two or three nights. From time to time the guerrilla units would surround one of the hamlets so that the cadres, with the help of their newly recruited supporters in the village, could hold a general meeting to explain Front policies.

By the end of 1964 the GVN officials, including the area chief, no longer dared to spend the night at the center. The twenty government defense guards hid in their outpost every time the NLF appeared. Finally in February 1965 a large number of Front troops came to surround the entire center. The defense guards hid their weapons and fled. The next morning the guerrillas deployed themselves around the center, leaving only a few armed cadres inside. These cadres then called the people together and proclaimed the dissolution of the “illegal local government of Ich Thien village” and raised the Front flag on a pole.

In Ich Thien village the Front had no need to employ violence against the government authorities. Its cadres had already prepared the way carefully, making friends among the villagers and gathering intelligence and explaining their policies — making the kind of contact with the villagers that the government officials had never bothered to make. But for the Front there was no question of “rooting out the infrastructure” of government. The GVN officials had never had any roots in the village.”]

frances fitzgerald, from fire in the lake: the vietnamese and the americans in vietnam, 1972

[thebreakfastgenie]

Which Trekkers do you think use the Holodeck to recreate Mash

Julian Bashir and Miles O'Brien for sure

Julian is a Hawkeye-esque character. His jokes are terrible and he isn't as cool but the holodeck characters act like he is. O'Brien is more of a Radar character, but older than Radar (Julian wrote the part of BJ for him, but O'Brien thought a historical surgery sim sounded boring so they wrote him a different role with other storylines in the unit). Garak periodically invades the program as a Colonel Flagg-esque figure.

Kira comes in once to talk to Julian and he calls her Hot Lips as a joke and she immediately ragequits the program. Jadzia would play a Trapper role with Julian once or twice but she'd be casual about it. Early seasons Jake and Nog find it and play out Sometimes You Hear the Bullet, Nog plays the underage soldier and Jake plays Tommy Gillis except he goes really over the top with the death scene. Worf gets mad that the program isn't pro-battle. Quark replaces Rosie's with a 1950s Korea version of Quark's and sells holodrinks for real gold-pressed latinum. Odo impersonates a series of supporting character holograms to surveil Quark and bust him for selling holodrinks for real money. Sisko refuses to play a 20th century Earth hologram that isn't about baseball.

I think Katherine Pulaski would like it because I think she'd be like into re-enacting old field surgery, but she'd have a Civil War field surgery program she liked more. She just Civil War re-enactor vibes. Crusher would get all preachy about the medical ethics and Picard would get all preachy about the decision-making ethics.

I think Tom Paris would be into it and he'd probably drag Harry and B'Elanna into it. I could see Chakotay having fun with it maybe.