Fintech bullies stole your kid's lunch money

Three companies control the market for school lunch payments.

They take as much as 60 cents out of every dollar poor kids' parents put into the system
-- to the tune of $100m/year.

They're literally stealing poor kids' lunch money.

In its latest report, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau describes this scam in eye-watering, blood-boiling detail:
https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_costs-of-electronic-payment-in-k-12-schools-issue-spotlight_2024-07.pdf
-- @pluralistic

#Olympics #harris2024

Gibt es eigentlich noch nennenswerte Hersteller von Nabendynamos?
Shimano baut (fast) nur mit Centerlock, SON kann ich preislich nicht rechtfertigen, da bleibt eigentlich nur Shutter Precision, oder?

#Laufradbau fürs #Lastenrad steht endlich mal an, da sollen auf jeden Fall 6-Loch Scheiben dran.

@fedibikes_de @CriticalMassMainz

So if the story of the recent election was tactical voting, now that the dust has settled it seems the Greens (who may well have benefitted from some element of tactical voting to get their increase to four MPs) are taking a harsh stance on the local party that sought to apply the strategy to unseating Jeremey Hunt... which was not achieved (although his majority was greatly reduced).

This was not how we expected tactical voting to play out....

#Election2024
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/26/greens-ban-surrey-members-for-allegedly-backing-tactical-voting-against-jeremy-hunt

#WestBank

Westbank... you know the other #Gaza.

"Israeli settlers attack foreign volunteers in the West Bank" [ < 1 min]
by Middle East Eye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGDM43TusPI

Quote by MEE:
"Jul 21, 2024
Foreign volunteers of the International Solidarity Movement were being treated in Nablus' Rafidia hospital after being wounded from an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank on Sunday, days after the International Court of Justice ruled Israeli occupation “unlawful”."

#CeaseFireNow #JailForNetanyahu

Vet visit.

#Gaza #Palestine
#IsraelWarCrimes

Anti zionist Jewish activist Rich Siegel explains his journey in leaving Zionism and how he became a Pro-Palestinian activist.

Rich Siegel is a musician and activist. Raised in what he calls “the cult of atheistic Zionism posing as Judaism”, in his youth Rich was very involved as a supporter of Israel, notably as a teenage Zionist youth group president.

He then lived in Israel in his 20’s working as a pianist in a luxury hotel.

✡️ 🇵🇸 ☮️

It's a good idea to point your nameserver to the correct location ... Sorry ... Giggles

Hugz & xXx

“Residents
remaining in the
southern neighborhoods of Khan Yunis
are to vacate them immediately
and temporarily move
to the created humanitarian zone
in the Al-Mawasi area.”

And the bombs fall on tents
And no where is ever safe
And guns fire
And the dead lie everywhere

Found 5 new servers and 2 servers died off since 3 hours ago.

21,397 servers checked. 14,114,616 Total Users with 1,027,270 Active Users today. Check out the stats!

New #fediverse servers found:

mi.yyya-nico.co a #misskey server from Japan
mi.tomadoi.com a #misskey server from Japan
gs.umearbo.net a #gotosocial server from Private
akko.cuddleslut.fr a #akkoma server from Finland
mastodon.noahduffy.me a #mastodon server from France

Help others find a home, send them to fediverse.observer

Wie schön ist es denn bitte, morgens am Meer zu sitzen? 🤩

#ostsee #ruegen #dranske #meerliebe

https://www.europesays.com/1363799/ Try and take the man seriously. How to drink Whyte & Mackay properly. Apparently. #Scotland #UnitedKingdom

Celine Dion has a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that causes muscle stiffness called stiff person syndrome. There is no treatment and she has not performed in 4 years. She just opened the Olympics with this stunning performance. Magnifique.

☀️ Artist: #DavidZinn in City: #AnnArbor USA 🇺🇸 07/2024 - Title:
🔴 "Eugene's morning commute is
disrupted once again by an
unexpected game of mouse and
cat" 🐭🐈
🟡 "Eugenes morgendlicher Arbeits-
weg wird wieder einmal durch ein
unerwartetes Katz-und-Maus-Spiel
gestört."
#StreetArt #Art #Chalkart #Artist #SidewalkChalk #3DArt #Walking TheLine #CatAndMouse

APOD from 2024-07-27

#Saturn at the #Moon's Edge

Saturn, visible before midnight, was recently occulted by the Moon for about an hour in parts of Asia and Africa. This telescopic image from Nanjing, China captures Saturn moments before it vanished behind the Moon's Glushko crater—though Saturn is actually 1.4 billion km away, far beyond the Moon's 400 thousand km.

HD image at https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240727.html#space #astronomy #planet #earth #planets #lunar

Pride – #Belfast city centre

#streetphotography

Palestinian children describe abuse, starvation, sexual assault and disease in Israeli prisons https://jrnl.ie/6443831

Moin. Erst mal Frühstück. Danach geht’s zum Festival. Habt alle einen schönen Samstag!

Trans- und Frauenfeindlichkeit: Die Angst vor mächtigen Frauen

Michelle Obama, Brigitte Macron oder auch die frühere Premierministerin Neuseelands, Jacinda Ardern: Sie alle wurden bereits Zielscheibe von transfeindlicher Desinformation - weil sie mächtige Frauen sind. Von E. Kagermeier und P. Siggelkow.

➡️ https://www.tagesschau.de/faktenfinder/michelle-obama-desinformation-fakes-100.html?at_medium=mastodon&at_campaign=tagesschau.de

#MichelleObama #Transfeindlichkeit #Frauenfeindlichkeit

Don't forget, August 8th

#GutenMorgen ihr Tröties und Toots!
#Kaffee ?
#Tee ?
#Toast 🍞 🍯 🥓?

Das Tagesprogramm sagt: spätestens 11:00h Abfahrt Richtung Westerwald zum Geburtstagsempfang meiner Schwester. Statt Reden wird es ein Museum mit Exponaten zu und aus ihrem 80jährigen Leben geben, die Rolle der Kuratorin hat ihre Tochter übernommen. Alle Mitglieder der Familie mussten einen Gegenstand und einen kurzen Text dazu liefern.
Alles streng geheim!

#HaveANiceDay 😍 🍀 🌻 💚

ICYMI: #Schools #DCEverestAreaSchoolDistrict DCE awarded $20K grant for mental health program https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2024/07/25/dce-awarded-20k-grant-for-mental-health-program/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

ICYMI: #Community #ChelseaNix Award-winning photography exhibition opens at Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2024/07/25/award-winning-photography-exhibition-opens-at-wausau-museum-of-contemporary-art/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

ICYMI: #AfternoonUpdate #News ‘Mean Gene the Dancing Machine’ shares what it means to be a Green Bay Packers superfan https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2024/07/25/mean-gene-the-dancing-machine-shares-what-it-means-to-be-a-green-bay-packers-superfan/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

ICYMI: #Sports #KennedyParkinWeston Wisconsin River Muskies to hold open football tryouts https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2024/07/25/wisconsin-river-muskies-to-hold-open-football-tryouts/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

ICYMI: #Community #FriendsofWausauHistoricLandmarks Tour of Wausau landmarks set for tonight https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2024/07/25/tour-of-wausau-landmarks-set-for-tonight/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

ICYMI: #AfternoonUpdate #AMUpdate JUST IN: Injuries reported in Hwy. 29 crash near Wausau, traffic rerouted https://wausaupilotandreview.com/2024/07/25/just-in-injuries-reported-in-hwy-29-crash-near-wausau-traffic-rerouted/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

I know you all like hidden gems.

Let’s be honest, though. That term gets abused a lot. Too often, popular games get labelled as hidden gems. So for the purposes of clarity, let’s define a hidden gem as a game you probably haven’t played.

When I say probably, I mean that it is extremely unlikely that you have heard of it.

And I think Tiny and Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers ticks that box.

This was an indie game that came out in 2012, and it was exclusive to PC. While it did get a physical release, from what I can tell, it was only issued in Germany. It is very unlikely you will encounter Tiny and Big in the wild.

For an indie game – made by two people, no less – this is as ambitious as it gets. Tiny and Big is no retro-style game with pixel art sprites. It is a full-fledged 3D platformer. Granted, 3D platformers made by indie studios isn’t such a big deal nowadays. But in the early 2010s, few developers were trying this.

But if being an indie-made 3D platformer doesn’t impress you, how about this: Tiny and Big was made with an in-house game engine. It is called the Scape engine, it’s been in continuous development since 2002, and it looks beautiful.

No game engine is anything without great art, and Tiny and Big delivers in spades. This game truly has a unique look, and this is because both developers are professional animators and comic book artists. Thus, while many old games really look their age, Tiny and Big looks as fresh now as it was upon release.

The wonders don’t stop there. Tiny and Big has one of the best video game soundtracks I’ve ever heard. I’m not saying this lightly. The whole game is a quirky mix of jazz, latin, and punk fusion. It is a mood. It is so good that I often find myself playing this game just to hear the soundtrack.

What about the story? The main conceit is ridiculous, of course. You are a nerdy inventor. Someone has stolen your grandpa’s underwear, and you must get it back. I’m won’t go into more detail but the whole narrative is hilarious, and I chuckled more than once.

The game mechanics are truly unique but what really stands out to me is this: you use a laser to cut your own platforms. When you’re at an impasse, you have to study your landscape, find the perfect angle for a cut so you can get from point A to point B. Seriously, how bloody cool is that?

Tiny and Big also runs beautifully on the Steam Deck. While I’ve owned this game for eight years, I must say that playing this with a handheld – suitably on a front porch with a beer in hand – is the best darn way to experience this game. No tweaks needed, it just works!

Black Pants Studio developed Tiny and Big. Other games they’ve made are About Love, Hate, and the other ones and On Rusty Trails.

Obviously, I recommend this game. I have nothing but good things to say about it. And I’m not the only one who things so. On Steam, Tiny and Big has a 92% positive rating.

On both Steam and GOG.com, Tiny and Big: Grandpa’s Leftovers sells for C$15.49. I believe it’s well worth it.

Extremely symbolic seeing the Refugee Olympic Team enter the Games in a boat

Still on X? Without notice, X has opted all users into training its "Grok" AI Model. To turn off this setting and stop your "posts, interactions, inputs, and results" from being used for training and fine-tuning Grok, visit https://x.com/settings/grok_settings and uncheck the checkbox.

https://youtu.be/ikEGSsQ1xHM

#BeauOfTheFifthColumn #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #GlobalWarming #HellInAHandcart

Moin, honeybunnies 😘 Saturday. Still booting.... 🥱

Wer kürzlich in Israel war, stellt nach der Rückkehr fest: Makramee und Kakteenzucht sind hierzulande die absoluten Topthemen.#DieWahrheit #Israel #Gaza-Krieg #Reisen #ReiselandIsrael #Wahrheit #Reiseland

Kunnen alle spoorwegen alsjeblieft weer genationaliseerd worden?

#EinNeuerTag

Die Gnade ruht auf einem Augenblick.

Hilde Domin

Hilde #Domin sagte:
"Ja ich empfinde mein Leben als Gnade. Denn Gnade ist etwas, was man empfängt, das nicht unbedingt begründbar ist, sondern man hat Glück oder Gnade. Ich sage Gnade, weil es bescheidener ist.

Ich glaube an die Gnade, die Gnade als Geschenk. "

#Achtsamstag
#Zitatesamstag

When Sergey told his mother he planned to leave Russia to avoid the draft, she told him it was his “duty” to go to war. When he reminded her that he’d likely die if he went, she said that at least his wife would be “the widow of a hero.” https://t.co/sQiy0NrqJp