https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=marketing_us/fees

Other good stuff:

http://www.paypalsucks.com/

BitCoin transaction fees right now basically don’t exist because there are so many computers performing them for free.

I see that mentality too often with folks about the homeless.  “Sure, I’d gladly give them food, but not cash.” etc.  It’s silly.  Cash can buy food.  If that’s what they really need to make their life better that day, that’s what they’ll buy.  But maybe I have no idea what would really make their day.  Maybe a mission feeds them, so rather than dinner, they’d like insoles for their shoes, or some soap, or a new shirt, or some minutes for their phone to call their family or call about a job, or maybe they’re saving for rent or for a car or something who knows. 

And that’s with giving them the money for nothing.  With the hotspot deal, they’re giving you something of value for your money.  I don’t ask my internet provider at home what they’re going to use the money I give them in exchange for access for.  They’re not locked into spending it on only things I consider necessary or noble or fitting to their situation.  I see no reason to feel different about it because the salesman doesn’t have a permanent address. 

I did have the opportunity to talk to some homeless people. One I remember vividly was a woman who suffered through cycles of depression. She would sometimes become homeless, beg on the street, scrape together enough savings to get an apartment, get back on her medicine, sort of get her life together. Lather, rinse, repeat…maybe every three, four months. For her, getting out of bed each day was tough. She didn’t make long term plans; maybe figuring out a plan for a few weeks or a month was all she could do.

Many people have this kind of piecemeal life.  There’s a great book by a man who was a manager at Lucky Dog (in New Orleans) and he talks about this whole workforce of people of prefer to float around from one city to the next, taking up a job for a month or two, then getting a bus ticket and going to the next town. 

Why is the only solution for a homeless person what we would prefer, permanent employment? This, to me, seems like a humane way to provide temporary employment to people who might prefer a job that only requires one day or one week of commitment at a time.

As for solutions, here is what I learned homeless people want/need from doing outreach with them: a hot meal at least once a day, good camping gear, medicine, toothbrushes/toothpaste/floss, toilet paper, clean/dry socks, and for cops and religious nutbags to leave them the fuck alone.

So, the answer is: lots of people read it, and sometimes its worth it.

You’ve demonstrated that one person reads it.  Not that lots of people do.

But if I was looking for internet I’d actually pay for a wireless hotspot.  Soooo…yeah, the opposite of what you said.

And I think the underlying message about the product is pretty clear: “our product is so simple even non techies can run it. ” And their gimmick managed to stand out in a sea of gimmicks, so all the better.  And the service is beneficial to consumers, who get some free wifi. That’s a lot of wins, according to my tally.

I specifically remember too the CC (Chanel)  half t-shirts selling for $100 dollars, why not give that money to the homeless?

I might support this if the money was loaded onto a card for food, shelter or public transit passes.

I’d rather just talk ABOUT them, so I can maintain my snugness without getting hobo germs on my vintage Che t-shirt

…asking a homeless person to drop his drawers in exchange for a ham sandwich.

I do not appreciate being spied on.

Nobody is saying that the homeless shouldn’t be allowed to engage in whatever employment they want. But we should not take this exploitation of a person’s disadvantage as being a noble endeavor any more than a person might be considered noble for asking a homeless person to drop his drawers in exchange for a ham sandwich. It’s just capitalism. It’s not necessary that every business be sustainable and empower communities, but the only ones that deserve our attention and praise are the ones that are.

And props to them for employing people who can’t show a permanent address.

I hope the concern trolls don’t destroy this idea before it even has a chance to get off the ground.

I really love living here in Austin. People here think up new technological approaches to old problems all the time: the place feels alive.

If it isn’t being sold to the participants as charitable and is being sold to the participants as employment then it is ignoring employer responsibilities or abusing IC status, dependent on the model they claim.

(edit: although labour laws are not enforced in Texas for the most part, except OSHA here and there)

What I can’t think of, is how these undergrads were supposed to help the non-english speakers they would certainly encounter? Were they also supplied with fixers and translators, and if so, I echo your question as to why the fixers and translators would not be the better choice for the position.

Yeah, some of those people are nasty and fuck people over; but I don’t think it’s our job to judge people. If it is, we’re doing a terrible job of it; there’s no relation between being nasty and vile and your social status. The point is, this is an enormously wealthy society we’ve produced, in aggregate, and the pressure of survival that many people face is entirely unnecessary. If I’ve introduced a dichotomy, it’s merely to state that I’d prefer, at a minimum, that we keep it as a goal to lift that onus from as many shoulders as possible. Our reward will be a massively more productive society. That seems reasonable, doesn’t it?

It wasn’t a toonie’s worth of reading, but it wasn’t bad except for most of the writing. 

But, sometimes reading badly written newsprint on subjects that are generally unpleasant can give a perspective that would otherwise pass you by. 

Since I never give money to panhandlers unless they have something for me it was an exceptional experience as well several emonerdfluff girls looked as though they would have liked to say something to me when they saw me reading it, but were too shy. 

(I’m unassumingly handsome and have a truly beautiful wedding ring that my wife designed and had made for us, and yes, it was she who told me I have good looks, so don’t contradict her or I’ll fuck you up, it is embarrassing to have your ass kicked by a waif like me, so yeah girls look at me wistfully, I don’ mind at all)

I give give give back btw, I know I’m lucky, I just don’t care for panhandling and having been homeless myself in my youth I know it is not particularly necessary for survival in Toronto if I could manage without it in the deep south of the US many years ago.