My experience matches yours. I found AmEx accepted maybe 50% of the time, if not less. But Visa or MasterCard were accepted 99% of the time, both big and small businesses.
I suspect you're right: it depends on the specific card/bank, not whether it's credit or debit.
I was just in Germany and lived on my credit card - not a single Euro used. I strongly disagree with this generalization based on extensive personal experience.
Strong disagree, and I used to go to that Wegmans regularly. It's fine. Solid market. Whole Foods is equally fine, and excels in some ways. Neither is obviously better.
> The most frustrating part of Bazel is how shoddy the workmanship is.
Without commenting on the above statement:
> For example, Bazel throws away your analysis cache when you change flags that have nothing to do with what's being built or how, like flags that change what tests are run.
I don't think this is a good example. Bazel's analysis cache clearing is to preserve correctness in the context of a legitimately algorithmically difficult problem. The fact Bazel has this limitation is a testament toward its correctness strengths. I'm not aware of systems that have solved that algorithmic problem but curious if anyone knows any.
Also Bazel avoids that problem for most "flags that change which tests are run", since that subset of the problem is more solvable. --test_env was a notable exception, which was fixed (https://github.com/fmeum/bazel/commit/eb494194c1c466f7fd7355...) but not sure if it's in the latest Bazel release yet? But generally changing --test* has much smaller performance impact.
I live in NYC and disagree with your assessment. Last I checked I'm a real person as are most people I know. Don't cast stones like that. It's unfair to other peoples' opinions and dilutes your points.
It's kind of a running joke here in NYC how we'll watch some movie depicting the city as a dystopian wasteland, then we walk outside into tree-lined streets, coffee shops, overflowing sidewalk cafes, and people generally living and enjoying their lives.
That image is incredibly outdated and has become an increasingly tired cliche.
This applies equally to the outer boroughs. Poorer neighborhoods (in any borough) are scrappier, of course, than the rich areas. But they're just as full of life and vibrancy.
I really take your point on the media projection. It's relentless. And it really keeps an outdated image alive, especially in the minds of people who don't live here and can't directly contrast with their own eyes.
Rental prices are what the market will bear. These may or may not be strongly correlated to the landlord's ownership.
Two very relevant examples of when the "amortization" argument won't apply:
- a rising market in which the landlord bought a long time ago. Their purchase price was way below the area's current market value. So they can cover their expenses while you still pay less in rent than what a modern-day mortgage would be.
- a home buying market that's expecting continued pricing appreciation. Homeowners can (and will) rent out property at a loss with the expectation it'll be made up in a higher sale value years down the line. Whether or not this actually happens, of course, depends on their ability to accurately predict the future.
There's also the inverse case of declining markets, when landlords can end up over the heads financially and simply can't charge the rates they need to cover their mortgages, because the entire area has turned south.
There are very real financial risks to landlords. They can't just charge whatever they want. It really depends on the state and future of their market.
I suspect you're right: it depends on the specific card/bank, not whether it's credit or debit.