We bring you more on the mass shootings and total gun madness, the great news how British Airways lowers fees on flights originating in the US, learn about phone farmers, compare CEO salaries with their lowest paid workers, learn about pangolins, an amazing library with ancient books deep in the desert, the most endangered animal in each US state, the phonetic alphabet that will come in handy for you, how to become millionaires and what to do before you die, how to get a gun in Japan, the new price match guaranteed at Red Roof Inns and other stuff you may find entertaining, educational and rarely inspirational!
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This is a positive change! British Airways cuts taxes on one-way economy Avios redemptions FROM the US. We may even do the unthinkable…fly to London using British Airways Avios on, please sit down, British Airways lol.
You know, you call up a company and for one reason or another you need to spell out something. And do you get stuck trying to spell something phonetically that starts with a K? I do and I am embarrassed by it. But now you won’t! What is the Phonetic Alphabet and Why You May Need it For Airline Tickets. I do this a lot with my last name š And when it comes to my wife’s last name (which is just three letters) I always get a laugh with the csr telling her “she kept her own last name, do you blame her?”Ā Soooo, Kilo is for K. Quebec is for Q. And Uniform is for U…but I always use uranus š
I can see travel hackers attacking this š Red Roof Inn Launches Aggressive Price-Match Guarantee to Boost Direct Bookings. And I also see their new points program devaluing very soon hehe. But it is good to see that these price-match guarantees are not useless anymore.
Soy farmers are hurting due to the China trade war. No worries, the non Socialist President is giving them $15 billion to get by. Oh the absurdities of today…Ok, how did I get that? Because this link is about another type of farmer and How to Make a Phone Farm. Say whaaaat? You probably have seen some viral videos of some places in China with numerous cell phones clicking away and stuff like that. Yeah, this is something similar. And totally legit. Well, kind of. Not really! It seems like you could do something more useful for the world but, you know, conversions I guess smh.
Just in case you were wondering to See a different endangered animal in every U.S. state.
Your personal finance fix of the day: Why You Need to Make a ‘When I Die’ FileāBefore It’s Too Late. Yes, get on it. NOW!
Ok, here is another one. Hereās how much you should put in your 401(k) each month to retire with $1.5 million. You just need to start early! Like my son about to start first job after college who…will have no other option from me! Sucks to have a dad who is a financial planner #sarcasm.
The Onion regularly posts this after each mass shooting: āNo Way To Prevent This,ā Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens What a sad reminder…And can you imagine what would come out of their mouths if the shooters were non-white? Or…illegal immigrants? Here is a reminder by the way:
Just in case if you wondered about mass shootings in the world. Yeah, I am pissed. Sick of thoughts and prayers. And I sadly realize this outburst will happen again…it is only matter of time. How SAD is that!
I had no idea such place existed. Libraries deep in the desert in Mauritania, wow! The Lost Desert Libraries of Chinguetti.
Another pic (sorry, I don’t do shocking videos for the clicks) that will shock you: CEO Salary vs. Their Employees in 2019.
Did you know that the most trafficked animal in the world is pangolins? Well, now you do! I had no clue! The Worldās Most Trafficked Animal Has Scales. Amazing what you get to learn here at TBB when other bloggers pump you to death selling credit cards and….don’t get me started okay?
We are now entering BLOG BUZZ, a section for advanced hobbyists and veterans of this fast imploding hobby and also a section where I go on and on about some stuff that happens in my life because it helps me feel better about myself.
For most of the weekend I could not log in to my site. I had to hire a WordPress consultant to get me out of another tech jam. In tech awful days like this I wish I was in Boarding Area so I wouldn’t have to worry about that stuff. But it’s okay, I value my independence more.
Did you notice I whine less around here? June and July were great, thank you for your support. These two months followed three awful months I almost quit as I was way in the hole after paying blog expenses (mostly guest blogger Andy!) Oh, he is working on an amazing guest blog post soon. Only the best for you guys. Please don’t make me whine…Deep down, I hate it too lol.
I am slowly getting back into former running shape as my knee bruise injury appears to be mostly healed. I may have to stop playing soccer until my Marathon in October because I can’t afford another injury. When you cross 50…healing takes FOR EVER!
One Mile at a Time added another writer, Kate. Apparently she will attack the Canadian market. And of course the market for a mommy with kids travel hacking as a family. I am guessing diapers too at some point š
Am I the only one confused with so many travel programs out there or what? Global Entry, TSA-PRE, Clear, Sentri, Nexus, FAST…lets add one more you guys, WTF!
This Dan guy just has an amazing knack on doing things right and getting great PR to come along! After flight from Israel diverted to Cleveland Hopkins, this Clevelander made sure no passengers went hungry. And this is why his readers will go out of their way to support DansDeals.
Ok, action in the blogs goes way down over the weekends. So I am scrambling for worthy material. Ooooh, this just in. Have you ever wondered how easy it is to get a gun in Japan? Where gun violence and humans shot dead is virtually non existent! And no I am not going to live there and yes we are not the same. But maybe we can adopt some similar measures to make it harder without messing with the 2nd amendment spirit…just thinking out loud. Doing nothing just increases the body count! Here it goes:
To get a gun in Japan, first, you have to attend an all-day class and pass a written test, which are held only once per month. You also must take and pass a shooting range class. Then, head over to a hospital for a mental test and drug test (Japan is unusual in that potential gun owners must affirmatively prove their mental fitness), which youāll file with the police. Finally, pass a rigorous background check for any criminal record or association with criminal or extremist groups, and you will be the proud new owner of your shotgun or air rifle. Just donāt forget to provide police with documentation on the specific location of the gun in your home, as well as the ammo, both of which must be locked and stored separately. And remember to have the police inspect the gun once per year and to re-take the class and exam every three years.
Today I admit the blog veered more into politics. If you do not like it…nobody compels you to be here. I have no advertisers to please. Heck, I have no advertisers period lol. This is my baby and I can blog what I want. It is my little escape from my hectic life…changing the world for the better. I hope.
May I interest you now for some credit cards, especially the amazing ChaseSapphirePreferred? Thanks so much to the reader who got one from my site. Every time this happens it reminds me why the real pumping bloggers love the card so much š
And I leave you with this…We all love deals around here lol.
TBB
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Thanks for the library link. Much to think about!
Some of the Best Points Advice RenĆ© Ever Gave Me – Renes Points
This dude is doubling down on the Rene name!
smh
+1
A decent read on the trending violence in our country
https://theresurgent.com/2019/08/05/its-not-black-and-white-its-the-present-evil-age/
Added it to the “to read” pile, thanks
Reading anything from Erick Erickson’s site is probably not going to make you feel better after this weekend.
Hey Buzz-
Glad you had a good month in July. Itās about time!
Good to see Ben getting into family blogging. I havenāt seen an article about Disney sinceā-oh, last Tuesday. I think all the Disney mom bloggers must be at…….Disney World.
Thanks too for the link to that phonetic alphabet post. I always make stuff up like K as in king, Y as in why canāt you understand me. From now on, Iāll do it the TBB way and use Uranus. I think that gets points under both educate and inspire.
Thanks for the smile after reading your comment, well done. You know when I am asked to phonetically spell the U…and say Uranus…I have an evil smile on my face š
Have you ever wondered how certain stories make it into the greater press and mainstream media? Take Dan’s story. A great story. For me, it is somehow ever better if done quietly, with no pictures taken and no fanfare given. What happened to “humble”?
On the flip side, we wouldnt have known about this — and his kind act — if he didn’t self-publicize it. It might motivate others?
Where to start?
1. There is nobody more surprised than me to see this story published on the front page (above the fold!) of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Their travel writer reads my posts and loved the story.
Slow news day I suppose. I certainly don’t expect to convert any of those readers into daily blog readers.
2. I’m not a PR guy at all and typically shy away from the media and events, far more so than other bloggers. The pictures taken were sent to me by one of the passengers, it’s not like a brought a camera along to document what was going on. I didn’t even get a video of the UA agent being an unhelpful as possible, though that surely would have gone viral.
3. I never write about my charity giving or hours volunteered (did you know that I started DD 15 years ago while volunteering for an entire year at a bankrupt Sao Paulo school?), but I always write about my travel related stories, where this fell into.
The message of doing a random act of kindness is one I’m proud to stand behind and I hope my readers will do the same.
Wish you gave credit to Nick from FM on your Turkish Air mileage awards write up. You pulled a Gleff and made it seem like you unearthed this gem on your own, very disappointed in you Dan. Transparency is your friend, follow Buzz’ lead.
Shalom My Friend,
A Loyal Everyday DansDeals reader/amazon link clicker
#FakeNews
I most certainly did HT Nick:
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/turkish-airlines-insanely-generous-star-alliance-awards-can-now-booked-phone-youll-need-luck-side/
Nick even commented on the post:
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/turkish-airlines-insanely-generous-star-alliance-awards-can-now-booked-phone-youll-need-luck-side/#comment-1419957
+1
wow it was so small and insignificant, i missed it, he deserved more IMHO
To #3, yes, you’ve mentioned your time in BR several times. As Mother Theresa would say, it’s not charity when it’s part of your religious beliefs. Good for you that you did it and shared it with the world.
I must have missed the part of Judaism that says to do that. Or does that mean any charity given to a Synagogue or religious institution also “is not charity?”
Depends on the context and the role of the religious institution. If you are religious and a member of a religious institution and you tithe, that’s does not qualify as a charity in my book. Tithing used to be part of the tax system. I wouldn’t consider missionaries to be involved in charity. An atheist giving money to mother Teresa to feed the hungry and poor in Calcutta, I’ld say yes to that.
So then no Jew gives any charity because the Torah says you should tithe. Cool story!
When I see the word tithing it reminds me of my daughter growing up teething and brings back the nightmares š
Iām not here to argue, only to explain…
When ācharityā is mandatory due to your religion then itās by definition not voluntary. And, as well, the one donating is getting something even better in return (earthly dollars versus spiritual payoff) so itās not so much charity as it is a ROI decision.
Now thatās based on my personal definition of charityāthat it must be both voluntary and selfless.
Absurd logic. Nothing is ever mandatory as who exactly is auditing your religious practices?
Getting into the nitty gritty, while the Torah says to tithe, it was specifically referring to produce, not to income.
Regardless, saying because your religion calls for you to give charity means that it’s no longer considered charity may be the most absurd thing I’ve read in TBB comments. And that is saying something considering I was just called out above for not giving a HT when I actually did.
@Anonymous, I agree with that.
So only atheists give charity. Got it.
@Dan, you’re clearly biased. You haven’t been keep up with Ramsey’s comments!
@Dan, you know the answer to that. NO!
Dan, you’re great. Amazing job!
What really bothers me is zero accountability – both United and that specific gate agent.
He/she should be exposed and fired.
Sorry, but this is the problem, people acting like him/her. I remember when people
used to be nice to each other and you just proved it is still the case.
But he/she is the reason why hate is wining…
Hate isnt winning. You need to get out in your community more if you really believe that. If you look for it, you can see great things happening all over your community (poeple helping others, working together etc etc) I guess in the end its how you see the world and what you contribute
@ Andy: Please no firings, we all have bad days. Yeah, I do not agree with how she handled it but I can see why she could have handled it that way.
@ MU: That’s all you got? Really? That’s it? Thank you for your uplifting message of non hate. Sadly, many nuts with access to guns tried to stop the “invasion” because they did not want to get “infected”.
Buzz, dude you arent making any sense. Who are these “many nuts trying to stop an invasion”? Who are all these people you are referencing? Is it in the 100’s, 1000’s. What are you talking about?
“Library” pic is totally Instagram. Candles? Reclining nomad? Scrolls arranged ever so preciously? Romantic lighting?
I hate when people do shit like that. Pretty much all of Instagram. Why can’t they just take a picture.
Last comment (for the trifecta): Pie Chart on Murders is BS too. Why dont they go back to year 200) to include World Trade Center? Why don’t they call out Christian extremists by category? Who gets to decide what qualifies as rightwing or leftwing?
Its easy to manipulate the chart outcome by choosing the years and defining the categories the way you want. Read Al Franken’s (RIP) book “Lies and Lying Liars…”
@ WasIsLos ? What does your handle mean? Ok on the Dan story. Good story nevertheless, yes we need more! Not sure on that library pic…still great find I would say, you are welcome…and I am an Instagram hater, for the record. Regarding the murders pic…I don’t post stuff from ridiculous sources…This one came from Ian Bremmer, the dude heading the Eurasia Group…very legit I would say, I suggest you follow him on Twitter @ianbremmer
I am not WasIsLos, but you hear that phase in so many WW2 movies. Heard it last night watching Stalag 17 with Willam Holden for like the 10th time. I was not actually with William Holden, he died in 1996, he was in Stalag 17. GREAT WW2 MOVIE !!!
What’s Happening is the translation from German to English. Properly spelled WAS IST LOS
Your stock signal was right (pun intended) on again…
You know, one of these days…is not going to come back…and nobody knows when that will be…nobody.
I disagree with @Anonymous’ definition of charity. For me, it is a “pure” charity work if you do not benefit from it. His was not entirely pure (but still more than good enough).
Dan did a beautiful thing to help those stranded in the airport. For me, writing it up in a blog post was a detraction from the charity work in that he benefited from that post, and this is why I consider it not to be a “pure” charity. The post was a bit of a humblebrag, and helped him raise his standing within his specific community.
The fact that it was later written up in the newspaper was something I’m personally okay with, as it highlights the good deed and maybe will motivate others.
I’m sure people will read this comment and say that I am too harsh on Dan or “can’t a guy do something good without being questioned”. But why couldn’t he just do the good deed without writing a post about it?
Leave it for others to sing praises to you.
Silly how much I have to defend a blog post.
I’m a CLE based travel blogger. I write about my travel related stories. A 787-10 in CLE for the first time ever is interesting enough on its own, one coming from TLV is even more interesting. Why would I not write about it simply because I was involved?
I’d have written the same exact story if someone else in CLE had picked up the ball on this one. Local Jewish humanitarian organizations indeed tried to help out in this case, but they went through official channels and were told they would not be able to get food to the passengers.
It seems pretty easy to understand why I covered this story and don’t write about other non-travel related charitable efforts.
And to think of…how I added yr story at 6.15 am…Never ever expected this exchange of comments, wow!
Now if only the comments were conversions lol.
Dan, Good for you doing something nice. No good deed goes unpunished. Just gotta block out the people who want to complain sit on their azz and never change anything.
Hear, hear, Iāve seen you out there in your neighborhood fighting to change gun and immigration laws.
i think that is fantastic. we should all stand up for something we believe in.
@TBBTheDude Yes, Instagram is really shit. 100% narcissism. Causes people to crave Likes from assholes who just Like them to get a reciprocal Like. My message to all Instagramers: No one cares a whit about where you are right now and who you are with and what your dog is doing.
I would love to hear an argument from any of your dear readers if they disagree.
Does TPG’s dog have its own Instagram page? Is that dog an influencer?
Instagram/FB/etc is one of the reasons hate is winning.
Those losers-loners with no life look at others’ “happiness” and simply can’t stand it anymore.
How many days/weeks/months can you just kill online playing some moronic game?
One day you grab a gun and do it for real…
I guess still no word from United right?
Doesn’t take long for Fox News to say something on Sunday, then Trumps says it Monday, and then others repeat it soon after.
The key is to make it VERY hard to buy a shot gun!
It will reduce body count!!!!
I have not played a video game since…Pacman š
INGY IS ON FIRE today at Pointchaser
He fits there perfectly..maybe he needs the money š
I think Dan did something nice for some people. Good for him. If he got some press for it, all the better. Maybe someone else will be inspired to do something nice, when theyāre done leaving snarky comments of course.
So what did you do after you left that comment, Sam?
+1
We never comment on Anonymous posts.