Why I Gave Up Donating Via eBay/MissionFish

I’m an enthusiastic eBayer I buy and sell stuff all the time on it … it’s one of the few ways I can keep my computers up-to-date because I don’t earn a great deal and all of that goes to keeping us in a house, food, bills and a daughter in university.  I’m also a humanist and like to donate money to charities I consider worthwhile … one of these is the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason & Science (RDF) so you can imagine my excitement when I discovered that eBay had a charity facility awesome, now I could earn money to buy myself AND I could put money into something worthwhile.

Sure like every other seller I resent the fees eBay charges but more than that I get pissed when they screw up or do things badly. So the first problem I had was that when I created my charity account I couldn’t access it … I contacted MissionFish (the company that handled the charity arrangements) and they said it was eBay’s responsibility. So I contacted eBay and they said (you guessed it) it was MissionFish’s responsibility but that wasn’t what really bugged me (though it became relevant). My second problem was that the donation took no account of profit so I was being charged on my total money gained BEFORE eBay took the fees and that meant that in some situations (typically for smaller items) I could end up paying more out that I actually got back.

Being me, wanting to buy computer stuff with my hard earned cash, the first thing I wanted to do once I was sure the buyer was happy was spend it … but MissionFish have a setup rather like Direct Debit and took the money at a time of their choosing sometime in the next 30 days or so, without access to my charity account, I had to keep track of charity donations (which ones had and which ones had not been paid) and this was largely beyond my organisational abilities. It came to a head when I forgot I had a charity payment to be taken and was smacked by eBay bills and I didn’t have sufficient funds in PayPal to cover it so not only did  I no longer have any funds to play with the next thing PayPal dowse is take it from your credit card … so, in my attempt to try and be slightly philanthropic I ended up in debt … result!

So I have given up using eBay/MissionFish as my charity donation mechanism and now directly advertise on eBay sales that I will give a percentage of my profits (once I know them) to RDF … this means I can easily manage when I pay my donations and even means I can donate more to RDF because I know what I am spending is exactly what I am spending and goes exactly when I want it to.

Sorry eBay/MissionFish … nice try but it just didn’t work for me.

Kyuuketsuki (Co-Founder: “Science, Just Science” Campaign)

The Rules

A slightly late bit of humour for Valentines day:

1. The FEMALE always makes the rules.

2. The RULES are subject to change at any time without prior notification.

3. No MALE can possibly know all the RULES.

4. If the FEMALE suspects the MALE knows all the RULES, she must immediately change some or all of them.

5. The FEMALE is never wrong.

6. If the FEMALE is wrong, it is due to a misunderstanding which was a direct result of something the MALE did or said wrong.

7. The MALE must apologize immediately for causing the misunderstandings.

8. The FEMALE may change her mind at any time.

9. The MALE must never change his mind without the express written consent of the FEMALE.

10. The FEMALE has every right to be angry or upset at any time.

These are, in my opinion, so true … there are extended versions out there but I think these 10 rules really sum it up!

Kyuuketsuki (Co-Founder: “Science, Just Science” Campaign)

On The US WGA Writer’s Strike “Deal”

I was glad when the WGA strike was over, even more glad that I thought they had got some measure of what they wanted but if Harlan Ellison (I assume the same as the respected SF author and a significant force behind Babylon 5) is typical of the view the WGA memebers hold they were shafted:

HARLAN ELLISON ON THE WRITERS STRIKE SETTLEMENT

YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION TO RE-POST THIS ANYWHERE:

Creds: got here in 1962, written for just about everybody, won the Writers Guild Award four times for solo work, sat on the WGAw Board twice, worked on negotiating committees, and was out on the picket lines with my NICK COUNTER SLEEPS WITH THE FISHE$$$ sign. You may have heard my name. I am a Union guy, I am a Guild guy, I am loyal. I fuckin’ LOVE the Guild.

And I voted NO on accepting this deal.

My reasons are good, and they are plentiful; Patric Verrone will be saddened by what I am about to say; long-time friends will shake their heads; but this I say without equivocation…

THEY BEAT US LIKE A YELLOW DOG. IT IS A SHIT DEAL. We finally got a timorous generation that has never had to strike, to get their asses out there, and we had to put up with the usual cowardly spineless babbling horse’s asses who kept mumbling “lessgo bac’ta work” over and over, as if it would make them one iota a better writer. But after months on the line, and them finally bouncing that pus-sucking dipthong Nick Counter, we rushed headlong into a shabby, scabrous, underfed shovelfulla shit clutched to the affections of toss-in-the-towel summer soldiers trembling before the Awe of the Alliance.

My Guild did what it did in 1988. It trembled and sold us out. It gave away the EXACT co-terminus expiration date with SAG for some bullshit short-line substitute; it got us no more control of our words; it sneak-abandoned the animator and reality beanfield hands before anyone even forced it on them; it made nice so no one would think we were meanies; it let the Alliance play us like the village idiot. The WGAw folded like a Texaco Road Map from back in the day.

And I am ashamed of this Guild, as I was when Shavelson was the prexy, and we wasted our efforts and lost out on technology that we had to strike for THIS time. 17 days of streaming tv!!!????? Geezus, you bleating wimps, why not just turn over your old granny for gang-rape?

You deserve all the opprobrium you get. While this nutty festschrift of demented pleasure at being allowed to go back to work in the rice paddy is filling your cowardly hearts with joy and relief that the grips and the staff at the Ivy and street sweepers won’t be saying nasty shit behind your back, remember this:

You are their bitches. They outslugged you, outthought you, outmaneuvered you; and in the end you ripped off your pants, painted yer asses blue, and said yes sir, may I have another.

Please excuse my temerity. I’m just a sad old man who has fallen among Quislings, Turncoats, Hacks and Cowards.

I must go now to whoops. My gorge has become buoyant.

Respectfully, Yr. Pal, Harlan Ellison

I suspect my good friend Ben will have more to say about this!

Kyuuketsuki (Co-Founder: “Science, Just Science” Campaign)