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Comment Never understood how they made money to begin with (Score 1) 100

This would be a horrible investment anyway. I use Affirm, which is similar. You pay for something kind of expensive - minimum is 100 USD - break it into 3 or 4 zero-interest payments, use a virtual credit card they generate, which is tied to your real credit card or bank account, to make the purchase. Every few weeks, they take a payment from you from their automated process to repay the loan from either your real credit card or directly from your bank account. You pay your real credit card balance every month and viola! you have your merchandise and don't pay anyone any interest. I may be an outlier doing it this way, but I don't see how money is being made except possibly through some sort of affiliate program. The other way is to take a plan that bears an interest rate that is similar to real credit card rates, which is not a good decision to begin with. That said, it's no different than using a real credit card and having a balance. Those people have always been a high risk, which is why the interest rates are high to begin with. If memory serves, they have been defaulting at an increasing rate for years, so they may have reached a point where those loans are also unprofitable. In any case, I don't see these services making money. YMMV.

Comment Re:The "diesel fans" in America (Score 1) 221

I used to own a VW diesel - for ten years. When I got it, diesel was much cheaper than even the cheapest gasoline (87 octane unleaded). At that time, it was much cheaper to run the diesel than a gasser. Once the US government mandated the use of low sulphur diesel, the price of diesel became as expensive as the highest grade of gasoline (unleaded premium - 93 octane) and the cost advantage became a liability even considering the increased milage given by a diesel engine. The sound depended on the quality of the fuel you used - I added cetane boosters, which increased milage slightly and eliminated the clattering noises you speak of. I never had any performance issues and the engine itself was bulletproof as far as reliability goes. I sold the car to a friend of mine and it's still running like a top. Not saying a gasoline engine would not be, but diesels are known for being reliable and my anecdote bears that out.

Comment Re:Maybe Anonymity Was The Point. (Score 2, Informative) 93

I do a lot of hiking (recently completed soloing the Palmetto Trail), and ibuprofen and Tylenol are commonly used for the minor injuries that are common. Not sure how effective they would be against starvation. You may be right, but there's nothing unusual about using them on the trail. What shocks me is the lack of a cell phone and/or GPS. I carry paper, too, but as a backup to my backup. Likely some form of mental illness. Sad case.

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