MetaFilter posts tagged with check

Used for centuries, end of lifed October 31st 2018 - The Cheque

Mutant — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:55:21 -0800

They were first known as "Praescriptiones" and used by The Romans from around 100BC ¹. Employed by Perisans of the Sassanid Dynasty during the third century, they were then known as "Saqqs". They have been found in Egyptian ruins dating from the 12th century, about the same time as The Knights Templar bolstered their use by issuing written instruments, redeemable for cash to pilgrims bound for holy land bound. Even so, it took another five centuries for the cheque to be adopted by England. Closely related to Bills of Exchange, cheques were originally issued by Goldsmiths, who allowed depositors to issue negotiable claims - cheques - against gold held on deposit. Later codified by successive acts of Parliament, cheques have remained largely unchanged for centuries. In fact the last big innovation we've witnessed with cheques was the introduction of magnetic ink some 53 years ago. However with the rise of electronic payment systems cheque use has declined sharply, to the point where The Payments Council, the organisation responsible for operating the UK's interbank payments systems, will retire cheques effective 31 October 2018 . Pensioners and others critical of bankers were unimpressed by the move, while banks supported the idea, citing the high per cheque processing cost. ¹ as documented by Durant in The Story of Civilization, Vol 3, Caesar and Christ.

Poor people drive our economy, okay? Poor people ... with checks.

grabbingsand — Thu, 22 May 2008 04:43:40 -0800

"America's most valuable resource is poor people." The award-winning Internets Celebrities (Dallas Penn, Rafi Kam and director Casimir Nozkowski) take on check cashing joints with a short documentary called Checkmate. Don't know the IC? Educate yourself with Bodega, Cereal Is Dope and the incredibly informative Urine Nation. (via Hip-Hop is Read)

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones

stavrogin — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 23:03:26 -0800

Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. He plays the banjo, but he isn't just some hick. He enjoys Chicks, jamming with friends, wide open spaces and fights.

Bounce a Check to save your life?

Izzmeister — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 05:44:26 -0800

Would YOU lie to save your life? The Doctor said that I needed a keyhole operation called a coronary angioplasty to clear the blockages, but the waiting list on the NHS was nine months. I couldn’t believe my ears. I knew that I would struggle to survive the next nine days, so nine months seemed an impossibility. What the doctor had just handed me was a virtual death sentence. He must have seen the look of horror. He said that if I paid for the operation, he could fit me in for the angioplasty within the week. The cost privately, he told me, would be around £8,500. I looked at him, my head a whirl as I tried to make sense of what he was telling me. As far as I could see, the choice was clear — if I paid I would live, if I didn’t I would probably die. I’m a pensioner living on £150 a week. And no bank would have given me a loan. But in that split second my survival instinct kicked in and I realised I had to convince the doctor that I had the money. ‘Well, you can’t take it with you,’ I said cheerily. ‘I’ll go private.’ The following morning, I gave the administrator the cheque before I was discharged from the hospital. Some people would say this was fraud, because I knew it would bounce. But there was nothing else I could do — I wanted to live.

Great American Health Check

fenriq — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:07:53 -0800

The Great American Health Check
Cancer.org has a great online resource to figure out what your individual health risks are, to help get into better shape or to help quit smoking. Its free and kicks out a personalized list of concerns to print out and bring to your doctor.

ParisParamus — Thu, 11 Oct 2001 16:18:36 -0800

NYC Mayor Returns $10 Million Check From Saudi Arabia For Anti-Israel Position Mayor Giuliani is magnificent. What else is there to say (I'm sure something...)

sigsegv — Tue, 02 Oct 2001 00:32:28 -0800

Polls say blacks tend to favor checks.
"African-Americans ... are more likely than other racial groups to favor profiling and stringent airport security checks for Arabs and Arab-Americans in the wake of this month's terrorist attacks, two separate polls indicate."

"The findings by the Gallup Organization and Zogby International were met with varying degrees of disappointment and disbelief by black activists and intellectuals, who struggled with explanations."

Could it be that income and education are more related to racialist attitudes than race itself?

Kino — Mon, 18 Jun 2001 17:32:13 -0800

The next time you receive a pesky junkmail cheque promising you untold riches perhaps you should pause for a moment and consider the prospect that it may not be a zillion miles from the truth afterall. On the other hand - this rather tediously longwinded account of someone scamming a scam might itself be nothing more than just a.. erm.. nother scam.