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kottke.org posts about homeless

How panhandlers use free credit cards

A reporter for the Toronto Star handed out prepaid credit cards to panhandlers and waited to see what happened.

“Can I trust you with this?” I said, handing him a $50 card and telling him to buy what he needs, but that I need it back when he was done. He nodded and scrambled to his feet. He said he would be back in a half-hour.

He came back right on time, slurping from a large McDonald’s soft drink cup โ€” root beer โ€” and with sweat on his brow. He wanted to have pork and rice from a Vietnamese noodle joint on Spadina but they wouldn’t take the card. So, he scrambled to McDonald’s. Lunch was a double quarter-pounder with cheese.

The reporter’s offer was frequently declined, which seems surprising at first. But panhandlers are savvy businesspeople. They didn’t want a short-term and potentially risky venture interfering with their main panhandling income stream. Eyes on the prize. (via the browser)


When Terry Gilliam checked out of a

When Terry Gilliam checked out of a NYC hotel a few minutes late, they charged him for a whole extra day. To get back at the hotel and do a good deed, he tried to find a homeless person to stay in his stead but couldn’t locate one. (via gf)


Jorn Barger, homeless in SF?

Jorn Barger, homeless in SF?. Barger denies this version of the story; he’s the editor of the still-excellent Robotwisdom.