RE: Hwy 7 From Hot Springs to Harrison Ar
Very confusing thread! I had to read through it a couple of times before I realised that you were not talking about Harrison Hot Springs in British Columbia. Oh, and you do take Highway 7 to get there as well! :). Please carry on!
RE: Tips on to go orders and....
I thought most restaurants have some sort of tip-sharing policy where the people in the kitchen get a percentage of the tips so I usually leave a 10% tip when I pick up a takeout order at a sit-down restaurant.
I thought so too, but it didn't appear to be the case where I was today.
RE: Tips on to go orders and....
We just came back from dinner at a bar & grill. I asked the waitress who served us if they did take out orders and if people tipped when they were picked it up. She said that the barkeepers give the take out orders to the customers, and why would any one give them a tip. The orders are put on the bar by the kitchen staff and all the bartender does is collect the payment. She said that she wouldn't tip if she picked up a food order.
As far as I can see, you tip for service. If there is no or little service and you still give extra money, then it is some kind of voluntary social payment.
I used to work in a bank, I would have loved a 1% tip on some of the deals I did. Yes, I was paid, but how about the times I came in early, stayed late, or came in on the week end just to make sure a deal went through, a little tip would have been nice!
RE: Converting $/liter to $/gallon
I have to admit the temp scale here makes more sense to me, when 0 degrees is the freezing and 100 degrees the boiling point of water. Much better system than 100 degrees being based on the average body. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit#History
It's funny that, as although I am bi-lingual with regard to Imperial/Metric measurements, the temperature is the one of two items that I prefer in the 'old way'.
Maybe it is because where I grew up (UK) and where I live now (South Vancouver Island), 0-100F, represents about the extreme range of temperatures that I can encounter. This way, I get to use a more finely graduated scale and not have to bother with minus temps.
The other one I do not like is the way we measure fuel consumption, Litres per 100Km. In this one, the higher the figure, the worse it is! and to convert back to MPG you have to divide the L/km into 280 to get the MPG(Imperial) and I think into 240 something to get the US figure. Very cumbersome and counter intuitive.
RE: Margaret Thatcher passes away.
Yes, I was saddened to hear that as well. Probably in the top ten of 20th century leaders.
I had left the UK by the time she came to power so I didn't get to see the effect that her policies had on the country.
As for the Falklands War, she was brilliant. It was obvious at the time that this war was begun because Argentina believed that as The UK was being run by a woman, they would not respond to an attack. Boy, were they wrong!
RE: Vehicle Deposits
Yes it looks as though even though the price is quoted in US dollars, when you pay by Visa at least, they actually put it through as Pesos. This makes sense as they are in Mexico, and all of their banking system would be in Pesos. In Canada, all the banks can run accounts & Visas in US dollars, and I think HSBC does it Pounds Sterling as well, but I don't think they would do that in Mexico, even in the US, it is rare, if they do it at all.
This is similar to when RV parks in Mexico advertise their rates in US dollars, but actually charge you in Pesos. What rate is used at the border to convert the $200 to Pesos is anyone's guess, they may use the single US/Peso, 'mid point' exchange rate that appears in many websites and newspapers, and as Ron mentioned earlier, there is no Buy/Sell aspect to this transaction.
It is when this transaction shows up on your Visa, whether it be US or Canadian, that it is treated as a SELL, and the selling rate is applied, as basically the bank/visa is selling you pesos so you can give your deposit. This selling rate is a percent or two ABOVE the 'mid-point' rate, and most Visas(except the US version of the Capitol One card) add another couple on top of this.
As far as the Visa goes, the same happens in reverse when the deposit is returned , the BUY rate is used and the various percentage points are subtracted from this figure. As I said earlier, the amount you get back is going to be different, even if you did it right away.
What I'm wondering though is what actual amount is returned? Do they give you back the amount of pesos they initially charged you, or whatever they reckon $200US is equivalent to?
Wow!
RE: Vehicle Deposits
Like Moisheh I haven't done the deposit thing at the border, so I cannot really comment on what is done, other on than the foreign exchange side of it, as I used to be in that business. I'd be interested in knowing how the first transaction went through your visa, I am only assuming that it is a Canadian Dollar one?
RE: Vehicle Deposits
Orion: Your logic would be correct except the transaction is supposed to be BUY in$$ and SELLl in$$. What would happen if you paid cash for the deposit? They are supposed to refund that in cash$$ This is not supposed to be a foreign exchange transaction.
Moisheh
If the transaction is in cash, then as you correctly say, there is no foreign exchange rate, and you get back exactly what you paid. So the transaction is in US dollars? so when you pay for it with your visa, and you are Canadian, does it show as "$300 USD @ 1.03561 = $$311.17" ?
If so, then folks with a US Visa, shouldn't have any difference when they get their refund.:?
RE: Vehicle Deposits
Last year we got back the full amount we paid and I can't see any reason for buy-sell to enter into it, just exchange rates. We'll be crossing in 3 or 4 days, so will look closely. RYV
There is ALWAYS a buy/sell angle to any foreign exchange transaction.
If you say go to the US and buy something with your Canadian Visa, the transaction will go through your Visa account in Canadian Dollars, and the bank will SELL you US dollars to pay the merchant. So your $600 item will cost you $622.68. (Today's Royal Bank rate-sorry they don't do Mex. Pesos in this calculator)
As you walk out of the door with your purchase, the wheel falls off! You go back in for a refund. They have to put the $600 back on your visa, so now the bank is BUYING US dollars and the amount they credit your visa with is $592.56.
Here is what I was using, make sure you click the 'non cash' option.
If you get the same amount back, it would be because of a change in the rates.
RE: Reality TV shows are degrading
I watch 'Pawn Stars' and 'Storage Wars' just for the many interesting items that they have on the show. To me, they are kind of like a 'Blue Collar' Antiques Roadshow, but with more interesting items. As for the antics between the various cast members (What will Chumlee do next?) I try to tune that out as much as possible, even though to many, for some inexplicable reason, this is the best parts of these shows. These interactions I find to be extremely corny and embarrassing to watch.
I do however like watching Barry on Storage Wars and also thought Dave Hester(RIP) was a great actor. He's off the show & not dead!
RE: Vehicle Deposits
Even if the 'rate' was exactly the same on the two days that the transactions went through, you would still get back less as one transaction is a 'buy' and the other is a 'sell'.
RE: Filling propane tank in CA
You will not get it filled if it is older than 10 years. I have never known them not look for the date, but you might get lucky!
Even if they have been recertified? That is just crazy, I can have the tank recertified here for $5 and it is good for another 5 years and every 5 years after that. Also here the tank is good for 12 years from the date of manuf.
Sorry, I should have been clearer. It is ten years since the latest date on the cylinder, which could be the original or re-certification date.
RE: Filling propane tank in CA
You will not get it filled if it is older than 10 years. I have never known them not look for the date, but you might get lucky!
RE: Lying Groundhog
I really don't know what you lot are on about. Here we are, just below the 49th parallel and all the birds are singing, the flowers are out, my neighbour has done his lawn for the 3rd time, and I am outside in my T shirt.
You must all be doing something wrong!
RE: Anybody else see the comet?
Nice picture! You even caught a hint of red near the horizon. This is what Spaceweather.com said, " As predicted, a coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field at 0600 UT on March 17th. The impact lifted the solar wind speed from 300 km/s to 700 km/s and sparked a moderately strong (Kp=6) geomagnetic storm. Northern Lights spilled across the Canadian border into the United States as far south as Colorado:"
As for the comet, it is still quite low on the horizon, near above where the sun set, for an hour or so after sunset.
RE: Anybody else see the comet?
I saw it properly for the first time last night from a hotel in Roseburg Oregon. I could only see it with binoculars though and I could clearly see the fan type tail. There were too many lights around to see it with the unaided eye.
For those seeing a comet for the first time, remember that when they are receding from the Sun, as this one is, the tail is not streaming out behind , but is being pushed ahead by the 'light pressure' of the Sun. It is actually travelling 'back to front'!
RE: Don't text while driving in Tennessee, Someone is looking.
I did not text, I dialed... or rather pushed buttons. According to what I read, just using a cell phone will get you a ticket issued by the revenuers. But it certainly won't happen again.
Round these parts, a 911 call is allowed while driving.
RE: Bought new motorhome in Florida, taking it home to Canada
I seem to remember years ago, there were threads on here about Canadians with US registered vehicles. The question was about Canadians from Vancouver who owned summer homes in Birch Bay WA. While there, they bought a small car to run around with while down there. They thought they would drive home to pick something up. They had a really big problem at the border. To the Canadian Customs, they were IMPORTING the vehicle and taxes had to be paid. I suppose, when you think about it, how could they prove they intended to return it to the US.
I have tried to verify if this still happens, as a family member took an exotic car down to the US to get it rebuilt. After it's done, he wants to register it down there and use it while they're down there.
However he does want to come home with it sometime, so I can 'Have a go with it'. I think he's going to have a similar problem.
RE: How'd you handle money
As others have said, get your Canadian cash when you get to Canada. The volume of foreign exchange is much higher in Canada and therefore the 'spreads' between the buying & selling rates can be lower.
Every bank will have different buy & sell rates, there is no 'official rate'. Every bank, except it appears, Capitol One,US issue, will add a 1-3% on to their selling rates. A SINGLE US-Canadian exchange rate that you may see on a website or in a newspaper is meaningless as it will represent the average between the buy & sell.
