Selling Epubs via Flash Drives

[Apache]

Originally Posted by DNSB

The last person I saw attempting to write a cheque at a grocery store was about 3 years back and that was an American tourist couple who had trouble understanding why Safeway would not accept their cheque. The clerk spent way too long trying to explain that Canada Safeway does not accept cheques from local residents never mind citizens of a foreign country trying to write a cheque on a foreign bank and she did not care if they had a Safeway cheque cashing card (I think that was the ID they tried to use).

It reminded me of the episodes of Border Security where Americans try to bring their handguns into Canada and have trouble accepting that the CBSA does not care if you have a concealed carry permit or that you need 2 handguns in the car to protect your wife and children, etc. Generally, most of the episodes involve people who seem to have trouble understanding that they are no longer in the USA and the rules are different.

Even in the US a concealed carry permit does not give you the right to carry a gun in every state. You are legally entitled to carry a concealed hand gun in your state. And if your state has a reciprocity agreement with other states you can legally carry one in those states. But, you must obey the laws and rules of that state which can be different than the laws in your state. No state has reciprocity agreements with all 49 of the other states. Some may surprise you. Georgia and Nevada do not have a reciprocity agreement. Nevada has the most liberal gun laws in the US but a resident of Georgia can not legally carry concealed in Nevada. People who believe they can carry guns into foreign countries are either stupid or...……………….lets just go with stupid.
Apache

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by SigilBear

I should have emphasized that I'm considering flash drive delivery as an ALTERNATIVE option. People will still be able to buy my books via conventional methods. I just wondered if there might be a significant percentage who would want to do the flash drive thing - enough to warrant offering it as an option. Of course, I can always try it as an experiment.

If nothing else, it is going to be fun attempting to deliver a DRMed ebook on a flash drive.

[Deskisamess]

A long time ago, we lived in the frozen north of Marquette Michigan near the Air Force base there. We knew a young couple, a stupid young couple, who went into Canada via the crossing at Sault Ste. Marie with weed in their car. This was in 1978, and he was in the Air Force.

When told of the trouble they could have been in, they seemed surprised. We didn't take trips with them after that.

[Apache]

At the least he would have been court martialed.
Apache

[theducks]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Is that the cost to run the EV?

We have tiered rates where I live and I think it's around $0.22/KWh here. During summer with AC running (thermostat at ~78-80°F, just enough so we don't get heat stroke), our electric bill is $200-250 per month.

We have a City run Utility, ~12cents per KWh +fees. the City hall payment drop is just a little over 5mi round trip. I get ~5mi / KW (city speeds)

An, yes, our rate beats PG&E easily. 35Years here, and I just got my first window A/C (we had more 100 degree days last year, than the previous decade). Even running that, our electric (portion) bill was only $140 before taxes

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Apache

At the least he would have been court martialed.
Apache

We had a misguided Marine from our ship get caught by the local Istanbul police with/smoking weed. We left port with him AWOL (in jail, with no chance of release).
Everyone was warned about breaking Turkish law before we hit port.Some folk don't believe the rules apply to THEM.

[Deskisamess]

This couple also held stuff for other single airmen that lived on the base. Some of the guys kept weed in their cars and drove on base all the time. We were never stopped, but it was well known that they could search your cars at any time before letting you drive through the gates of the base. This was a nuclear base...

College protestors were hosed down with fire hoses, in February, when they wanted on the base to protest. Average temps were probably around 20 degrees F that time of year. They were stupid college students.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

This couple also held stuff for other single airmen that lived on the base. Some of the guys kept weed in their cars and drove on base all the time. We were never stopped, but it was well known that they could search your cars at any time before letting you drive through the gates of the base. This was a nuclear base...

One of my nephews had an in-law join the USMC. When he and his wife purchased a used car, they had the MPs check it for drug residue before driving it around. He wasn't sure if it was an apocryphal story but rumour was that after one NCO at the base had purchased a used car, drug residue was detected during a random check and he spent some "quality" time under arrest before the investigation cleared him.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by theducks

An, yes, our rate beats PG&E easily. 35Years here, and I just got my first window A/C (we had more 100 degree days last year, than the previous decade). Even running that, our electric (portion) bill was only $140 before taxes

That seems pretty high to me. I pay £47 a month for electricity (about $60), and I'm projected to end the year with a small surplus in my account.

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That seems pretty high to me. I pay £47 a month for electricity (about $60), and I'm projected to end the year with a small surplus in my account.

Harry, the only proper way to compare is to compare heating costs + electricity costs. Different climates have different electricity usage patterns. . .

[Apache]

Where I live, Southern US, our winters are January and February. March and half of April are Spring. The last half of November and December are Fall. Every thing else is Summer. And Summers generally are upper 90's to even low 100s with 100% humidity. It is December 30 and the high today is 75. Tomorrow is supposed to hit 77. I am still using my AC because the humidity is 99% right now. I guarantee you do not want to pay electrical bills here.
Apache

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Apache

Where I live, Southern US, our winters are January and February. March and half of April are Spring. The last half of November and December are Fall. Every thing else is Summer. And Summers generally are upper 90's to even low 100s with 100% humidity. It is December 30 and the high today is 75. Tomorrow is supposed to hit 77. I am still using my AC because the humidity is 99% right now. I guarantee you do not want to pay electrical bills here.
Apache

It's really fascinating to read how it is in other climates (I'm not much of a traveler). Here it's winter in November through the first half of April, basically. The second half of April till the middle of June is spring (leaves appear on deciduous trees in mid-May, usually). September and October are autumn.

We see daylight for only 4-5 hours or so in November, December and January. 3 hours in the middle of this period. And even then the light is gray and watery, no direct sunlight. The artificial lights are on most of the time indoors. OTOH, in the middle of summer there is no real darkness at all. The sun sets for 3-4 hours, during that period it's twilight.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Harry, the only proper way to compare is to compare heating costs + electricity costs. Different climates have different electricity usage patterns. . .

Yep. We only use gas/heater for water. As such, our gas bill is always $10-15 regardless of season.

[Apache]

My in-laws lived in Huntington Beach California. The weather never got below 50 or above 80 and the humidity was mostly zero. The sea breeze kept them cool during the day and the breeze off the land kept them warm at night. No AC and the only time they needed heat was mostly in early morning to take the chill out of the air. About 9:00 AM they would open all of the windows and enjoy perfect weather. I remember their utility bill being around $20.00 a month.
Apache

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Harry, the only proper way to compare is to compare heating costs + electricity costs. Different climates have different electricity usage patterns. . .

To be complete, then, my gas bill (heating and hot water) is £34/month, so I'm paying a total of £81/month ($103) for all my fuel use.

With both gas and electricity it's a fixed monthly payment, although usage of course varies through the year. They estimate your annual usage based on previous years and divide that by 12 to get a monthly amount (which is generally pretty accurate). I use nearly all my annual gas use between about October and May, when I have the heating on. In summer, I use gas only for hot water, which is a negligible amount.