 Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,357
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 4,357 |
No longer being able to drive and experience the joy and independence it brings. Actually, I technically can drive, and have, but I can't afford a $100,000 van. I would be one of those slow drivers merging on a highway  .
The only reasonable argument for owning a gun is to protect yourself from the police.
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 16,441 |
I was just commenting on why it could actually be useful, not the real reason, but thanks for the condescending "Duh". Damnit, me. I didn't mean it like that. 
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422
axiomite
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OP
axiomite
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422 |
New gripe. I was over at AVS and their main page has been so loaded with "Featured Content" since they revamped their website that it has become annoying. I mean they have about 6 featured items in the slideshow and then another TWENTY featured items before you can even get to the forum threads that you are subscribed to.
So be it. I dealt with it, but today was really annoying. There were 2 "Featured Content" items the popped up. One was along the lines of "what movies would you like to see published on blu-ray." Another was a spoof of the Avengers trailer. I thought I would check them out. After all, these MUST had a lot of good content or be really popular. But no. One was started by a guy who had made TWO posts prior to his thread being "featured" and it was just a stupid spoof video. It had only one other post before it became featured, meaning some lame-o thread with 2 posts by a guy that had essentially not posted much (two total) posts prior. Really?
So then I check out the "what on blu-ray" one. It was started by some "administrator" with about 35 posts prior. I made a similar comment in that thread in disgust because here was a topic that I was the FIRST response to a "featured content" piece that had no content. How the hell is an empty thread "featured"???? Needless to say, my post got deleted because the "administrator," capnsmak didn't want to be called out for being a power-putz and promoting his own empty thread. So I posted something again, and it too was deleted. I complained to another admin and they basically said that they don't monitor their admins. They thanked me for the concern for making their forums better, blah blah blah, but what a bunch of crap.
Oh, did I mention that stupid capnsmak started another thread about the worse death scene, and made it featured before anyone even responded to it. I didn't bother posting there.
So now that I am done venting about the terrible administrative practices that leak through over at AVS, let me say that I love it that Axiom lets people participate in the society here, and allow people to disagree with them. Thank you!
Farewell - June 4, 2020
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422
axiomite
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OP
axiomite
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422 |
Bringin' back the gripe...
My employer just inacted a new travel policy. It used to be that any expense under $25 I did not need to keep a receipt for. Now, I need a receipt for EVERYTHING that I expense off. That includes those times when I have no time to stop and get a meal at an airport (or it is late and the food places are closed) and I get a drink and snack out of a vending machine... Oh wait, no receipt there, so no reimbursement. Or when I am driving and have a toll. Now I have to hope for a toll booth that actually has a person and have to ask for a receipt every time, even for a $1.00 toll. Nevermind those on/off ramp ones that aren't staffed.
I know that this may seem petty to some, to worry about $1.00 here or $7.00 there (soda and bag of chips at some airports), but when I am traveling because of work, it shouldn't cost me money to be there when work is requiring it.
Now I *DO* understand that I am sure that some people were scamming the system or taking advantage of it by eating a dollar burger or something for lunch and expensing off a $24 meal instead, but for the honest people, this sucks. I know that every trip will end with at least a few bucks in expenses without receipts and thus it will cost me to travel when my work requires it.
For those of you that think that I still get the benefit of eating out, or going to a movie (which costs me anyway), I would much rather be at home for those evenings. I also am losing a lot of the travel benefit programs. It will take a year to get back into Enterprise GOLD level after I spent all of last year working to Avis FIRST level per their request. Make up your mind on who I should be renting with.
Not to mention that they will no longer pay for my Delta AmEx annual fee. They used to pay the annual fee since I could then check my luggage for free (2 of my trips covered the annual fee, so it saved them money), but now they won't do that. The benefit from this was that every year I received a free companion ticket that we used and saved us $500+ per vacation. I also will no longer be able to book that companion ticket if I pay for the annual fee myself as I always tie a vacation into a work trip so that my flight was paid for by work (as long as it was the same of cheaper for them) and then I used that for booking the companion ticket for my wife. I was allowed to do that by booking on Delta.com (a requirement for when using a companion ticket) and attaching a copy of the purchase information. Now, everything MUST go through the company travel site, no exceptions. I also am wondering how this will impact my SkyMiles membership since Delta is now tracking miles and dollars spent. The miles will be there, but how they track or IF they allow the dollars from a 3rd party booking site to count will be a big question.
So I am losing pretty much all benefits of traveling for work minus some of the base level mileage, and it is actually going to cost me money to travel for work each year...
THAT, folks, has been my daily gripe.
Farewell - June 4, 2020
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 6,471
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 6,471 |
In honor of National Donut Day, a coworker brought in a dozen assorted Krispy Kremes. I've eaten three of them and now have a hyperglycemic brain fog. I think I need a nap. Dammit! Why is my life so hard?!
Bears, beets, Battlestar Galactica.
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458
shareholder in the making
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shareholder in the making
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 11,458 |
In honor of National Donut Day, a coworker brought in a dozen assorted Krispy Kremes. I've eaten three of them and now have a hyperglycemic brain fog. I think I need a nap. Dammit! Doh! Why is my life so hard?! Fixed that for you!
::::::: No disrespect to Axiom, but my favorite woofer is my yellow lab :::::::
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422
axiomite
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OP
axiomite
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422 |
Donuts are abound here at work too. I grabbed a glazed cruller, which to me is more pastry than donut... Does that mean that I can go back and get another? Actually, they are probably all gone. I work in IT and some of these guys are "big boys" and can put down the food. And to save people from Googling a glazed cruller, here is a large picture for you to drool over. Don't start licking your screens now. 
Farewell - June 4, 2020
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,281
connoisseur
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connoisseur
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 2,281 |
Bringin' back the gripe...
My employer just inacted a new travel policy. It used to be that any expense under $25 I did not need to keep a receipt for. Now, I need a receipt for EVERYTHING that I expense off. That includes those times when I have no time to stop and get a meal at an airport (or it is late and the food places are closed) and I get a drink and snack out of a vending machine... Oh wait, no receipt there, so no reimbursement. Or when I am driving and have a toll. Now I have to hope for a toll booth that actually has a person and have to ask for a receipt every time, even for a $1.00 toll. Nevermind those on/off ramp ones that aren't staffed.
I know that this may seem petty to some, to worry about $1.00 here or $7.00 there (soda and bag of chips at some airports), but when I am traveling because of work, it shouldn't cost me money to be there when work is requiring it.
Now I *DO* understand that I am sure that some people were scamming the system or taking advantage of it by eating a dollar burger or something for lunch and expensing off a $24 meal instead, but for the honest people, this sucks. I know that every trip will end with at least a few bucks in expenses without receipts and thus it will cost me to travel when my work requires it.
For those of you that think that I still get the benefit of eating out, or going to a movie (which costs me anyway), I would much rather be at home for those evenings. I also am losing a lot of the travel benefit programs. It will take a year to get back into Enterprise GOLD level after I spent all of last year working to Avis FIRST level per their request. Make up your mind on who I should be renting with.
Not to mention that they will no longer pay for my Delta AmEx annual fee. They used to pay the annual fee since I could then check my luggage for free (2 of my trips covered the annual fee, so it saved them money), but now they won't do that. The benefit from this was that every year I received a free companion ticket that we used and saved us $500+ per vacation. I also will no longer be able to book that companion ticket if I pay for the annual fee myself as I always tie a vacation into a work trip so that my flight was paid for by work (as long as it was the same of cheaper for them) and then I used that for booking the companion ticket for my wife. I was allowed to do that by booking on Delta.com (a requirement for when using a companion ticket) and attaching a copy of the purchase information. Now, everything MUST go through the company travel site, no exceptions. I also am wondering how this will impact my SkyMiles membership since Delta is now tracking miles and dollars spent. The miles will be there, but how they track or IF they allow the dollars from a 3rd party booking site to count will be a big question.
So I am losing pretty much all benefits of traveling for work minus some of the base level mileage, and it is actually going to cost me money to travel for work each year...
THAT, folks, has been my daily gripe. Request a slush fund. You know those petty little expense's could bring the company to the brink. JK
DOG is GOD spelled backwards.
What others think of me is none of my business.
M80 V3 MY GLOSS Cherry
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488
axiomite
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axiomite
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 8,488 |
Nick, I have some of the same frustrations, although (fortunately) I don't travel often for work.
The pain is probably NOT being initiated by your employer, but by the IRS. Any time they convey money to you (whether it is salary or expense reimbursement or whatever) they have a burden to show whether it is taxable income or not. Without the documentation, both your employer AND YOU run the risk of the reimbursement transaction becoming subject to federal tax.
Obviously, SOME of their change in behaviour could be because they want to "save money" but let's not completely discount the chilling effect that lawyers and accountants can have on Common Sense.
I want a donut.
bibere usque ad hilaritatem
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Re: The Daily Gripe
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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422
axiomite
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OP
axiomite
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 5,422 |
I understand that there is probably a lot of excess fluffing of people's expense reports, and that is just a hassle for the most part. In some cases it will cause me to actually spend a buck or two more on meals for example. Not because I am trying to "stick it to them," but because there are many times where I make a food choice based off of not wanting to carry around a receipt for everything. I note what the dollar amount after tip was and put that on my expense report. There have been some meals that I made sure came out to things like $24.50 or $24.75 just to not have another receipt to hang on to. That really was my only incentive since my daily food allotment was more than that per meal anyway and I always was well under budget.
Now I am just losing most of the other benefits of travel. I already know that I was never "entitled" to any of that, and I am someone who despises how so many people, at least in the U.S., have a sense of entitlement for no good reason, but it is just one of those things that made up for the time that I am away from home, my list of "to do" items, chillin' outside with the grill going or around the firepit like we do a lot in summer, or even just hanging out in the home theater.
It is going to be fun next week when my wife travels with me (we have 2 last trips, both this summer, that were "grandfathered" in). Every time that we get a bite to eat, I will have to give them 2 credit cards and get 2 receipts to separate my bill from hers.
Farewell - June 4, 2020
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