So I had an entire afternoon! To! Read! Today! What did I read, with this COMPLETE, UTTER, GIFT??? Bob Woodward? Maggie Haberman? Masha Gessen? 🤣🤣🤣 Nah, I did some deep diving into some of the trial stuff I skipped at the time! (But Gessen is bonkers-intelligent and heartbreakingly correct. Read their stuff.)
Anyway, I decided to brave some of the more technical elements of the case and…it went as well as anybody would have expected it to go, for me, personally. 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️. (I am Gelfand’s mythic “Mac Person”, in that I use Macs because all tech is confusing to me, except I have internet searches for Idris Elba, the dude who played Neville in Harry Potter, Beto, and that one Hobbit from the LOTR trilogy. At any rate, I digress.)
Reading about the partition and the size of it relative to the…other? Legitimate? Non-felonious?…Part of the computer, and what was on the Linux side versus the other (I have never seen The Three Amigos.) got me thinking…
In the sense of the “burner” cell phones that are available and popularized on television and movies, is there such a thing as a “burner laptop”? I know about the much ballyhooed router and some media (thumb drives?) that were overlooked/not found/stuck in customs at DeGaulle/nonexistent, could that be because there was a “burner laptop”?
(In case there is doubt about why I ask: he did the crimes. He definitely did it. We got him. He got got! [Insert John Oliver Pounding On His Desk “We Got Him!” GIF from 2017 here.]. I am just wondering if he somehow rose to the level of his incompetence while bumbling his way through this horrible crime, thereby finding a novel approach to being more fully and irredeemably terrible, maybe?)
If this is well-trod ground, I haven’t seen it, or more likely didn’t know what I was seeing when I did. Links gratefully accepted if so!!! If there is some obvious reason there are (or aren’t) such things, can you simplify it for me (or the other kids in the class who went to the SOTDRT Tech Program)? I appreciate the heck out of all you technical folks!

I work in Liquor and I am not surprised in the slightest regarding the fatal stabbing at the Jingili BWS. The way Coles and Woolworths consistently neglect employee safety and prioritize profits is shameful. I don't work for BWS, but I was really hoping my company would make a statement about what happened and ensured employees nationwide that they would make changes within the company (especially regarding hours, working alone, etc). Of course, I gave them too much credit and nothing has been mentioned.
I wanted to write in and ask them what they will do to make sure what happened in Darwin never happens again. I have no doubts they plan on doing anything and will continue to favor profits over employees. Deal with the problem if it ever comes up sort of mentality.
I don't live in the NT, and while crime rates there have been skyrocketing, other states and their suburbs have also been experiencing crime increase, though not as severe from what I know. An event like this isn't reserved for Darwin and it can happen anywhere. The amount of gronks who flip their shit when refuses service is ridiculous. I've gone ahead and served so many people just to avoid trouble, especially when alone. It's normal to be alone from 6pm - 10pm, and for periods of 3-5 hours throughout the day. I've worked at a few different locations and I've felt unsafe on multiple occasions.
I was hoping to look at some crime stats in Darwin, specifically Jingili, for the past year or month. I know it'd be much higher than my suburb, but I want to be able to point out any similarities I can when I write into the company. Other states have crime maps that break down the crime itself (theft, assault, drugs, etc.) which would be helpful to see in the NT stats. I just can't seem to find much at all.
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Thanks in advance. I'd also love to hear if anyone else who works in Liquor feels the same way.

Here's the story. Last week this Atlantic article was posted on neoliberal :
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/03/south-korea-fertility-rate-misogyny-feminism/673435/
The original version of the article included this startling claim:
Indeed, a 2016 survey by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family found that 62 percent of South Korean women had experienced intimate-partner violence, a category that included emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as a range of controlling behaviors.
Many users here fixated on this claim, and the comments section was full of disparaging comments about Korean men. The only problem? The statistic turns out to be completely bogus. It appears to result from a misleading translation in the english-language version of the Ministry's report (the correction notice on the Atlantic article tells a different story about the source of the error, but I don't believe them), which you can find here:
http://www.mogef.go.keng/lw/eng_lw_s001d.do?mid=eng003&bbtSn=704933
Here's the key section:
Spousal violence
□ Prevalence of Spousal violence
○ The study surveyed the victimization and perpetration of physical, psychological, economic, and sexual violence among married men and women over the age of 19.
○ As for women, 12.1% had been victims of spousal violence in the last year: 3.3% being physical, 10.5% psychological, 2.4% economic, and 2.3% sexual violence. 9.1% of women reported that they had perpetrated spousal violence.
○ As for men, 8.6% had been victimized by their spouse in the last year: 1.6% physical, 7.7% psychological, 0.8% economic, and 0.3% sexual violence. 11.6% of men reported that they had perpetrated spousal violence.
○ 18.1% of women were initially victims of spousal violence within the first year of marriage and 44.2% after the first year but within the first five. 62.3% of women experienced violence within the first five years of marriage, and 2.0% before the marriage.
Someone not critically thinking too hard might look at that last point and interpret it as saying that 62.3% of all Korean women have been abused. But that's not what it's saying -- it's saying that, of women who've been abused, 62.3% of them were abused in the first five years of their marriage.
There are several giveaways for why this is the correct interpretation: first, it's prima facie implausible that considerably more than 62.3% of Korean men abuse their wives, given that Korea has an extremely low violent crime rate. Second, there's basically no way to get from a 12.1% annual abuse rate to a 62.3% rate over five years -- this implies that wife-beaters in Korea have zero recidivism! (I was mass downvoted for pointing this out in the original thread). Third, the report doesn't mention how many men start abusing their wives after five years, an omission that would be inexplicable unless the authors of the report assume the reader can easily deduce this figure for themselves by subtracting the other numbers from 100%.
I subsequently confirmed my suspicions by google translating the original, Korean-language version of the report, available here:
http://www.mogef.go.kmp/pcd/mp_pcd_s001d.do?mid=plc504&bbtSn=83
On pages 91-92 of the Korean-language version of the report, it's absolutely clear that the 62.3% figure is not intended as a proportion of all Korean women. These are the figures presented there:
First experienced abuse before marriage: 2.0%
First experienced abuse in first year of marriage: 18.1%
First experienced abuse in years 2-5 of marriage: 44.2%
First experienced abuse in first five years of marriage: 62.3%
First experienced abuse after five years of marriage: 35.7%
Note that these figures sum to 100%. On page 92, the report gives similar figures for men who've been abused, which also sum to 100%. If there was any remaining doubt I'm right about this, my interpretation was also confirmed by a Korean-speaking neoliberal user who read the original report.
What's the correct figure for how many Korean women have experienced abuse? Well, since The Atlantic fixed their error after I contacted them, you can find it in the current version of the article:
A 2021 study by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family found that 16 percent of South Korean women had experienced some kind of intimate-partner violence—a category that included emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as a range of controlling behaviors.
I found this figure in the Hankyoreh, a Korean newspaper, and sent it to The Atlantic:
https://english.hani.co.karti/english_edition/e_national/1056632.html
So The Atlantic was originally off by a factor of 4. Oh, and a 16% combined emotional/physical/sexual abuse rate is actually extremely low by international standards -- the analogous figure for American women is more than twice as high! Whoops. Sorry, Koreans, we accidentally printed misinformation smearing you as a bunch of wife-beaters for our millions of readers. Don't worry, though, I'm sure this type of thing has never caused problems for any ethnic group in the past.
I feel obliged to add that neoliberal did not cover themselves in glory in the thread on this article. Just to be clear, guys, comments insinuating that Asians are all backwards, patriarchal abusers are racist. So are comments about how Korean women should ditch Korean men and maybe find love overseas (with a white guy?) instead. I have Korean friends who are devoted, loving husbands, they don't deserve to be maligned like this. It almost seems like the users here will tolerate any amount of racism so long as it's packaged with enough misandry: "Its not Koreans that are the problem, it's those pesky Korean men." Not okay guys. Feminism is not an excuse for bigotry.

And now we have another mass school shooting, this time in Tennessee with three 9-year-old girls dead as well as 3 adults. Immediately followed by another pathetic Republican congressman claiming that Congress can’t do a thing.
A community is grieving, schoolkids across America are terrified, and after 130 mass shootings in the first 87 days of this year — 33 of them in schools and colleges — you’d think average Americans would finally understand the horrors of the gun violence Republicans in Congress and on the Supreme Court have inflicted on us.
This is a phenomenon as systemic and unique to the United States today as Jim Crow was in the 1950s. The gun control movement needs to learn from the Civil Rights movement.

Back in 1955, young Black people like 14-year-old Emmett Till were routinely murdered by white people all over America, usually with no consequence whatsoever.

Emmett Till was kidnapped by two Mississippi white men, brutally tortured, murdered, and his mangled body was thrown into the Tallahatchie River. (And the white men who did it, and the white woman who set it off with a lie, never suffered any consequence.*)

His mother, Mamie Bradley, made the extraordinarily brave decision to show her child’s mutilated face with an open-coffin funeral in their hometown of Chicago.

Jet magazine ran a picture you can see here of Emmett, which went viral, invigorating the Civil Rights movement as it horrified the nation. As President Biden said last month, honoring the release of the new movie Till:

“JET magazine, the Chicago Defender and other Black newspapers were unflinching and brave in sharing the story of Emmett Till and searing it into the nation’s consciousness.”

That picture made real the horrors of white violence against Black people in America for those who were unfamiliar, or just unwilling, to confront it.

We’ve all heard about Newtown and Stoneman Douglas and Las Vegas, but have you ever seen pictures of the bodies mutilated by the .223 caliber bullets that semi-automatic assault weapons like the AR15 fire?

Chest x-ray of young girl suffering from #1 cause of death in children / adolescents in the U.S., source

The odds are pretty close to zero; most Americans have no idea the kind of damage such weapons of war can do to people, particularly children.
But we need to learn.

In the 1980s, egged on by partisans in the Reagan administration, America’s antiabortion movement begin the practice of holding up graphic, bloody pictures of aborted fetuses as part of their demonstrations and vigils.

Their literature and magazines, and even some of their advertisements, often carry or allude to these graphic images.

Those in the movement will tell you that the decision to use these kinds of pictures was a turning point, when “abortion became real“ for many Americans, and even advocates of a woman’s right to choose an abortion started using phrases like “legal, safe, and rare.“

Similarly, when the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of 9-year-old “Napalm Girl” Phan Thị Kim Phúc running naked down a rural Vietnamese road after napalm caught her clothes on fire was published in 1972, it helped finally turned the tide on the Vietnam War.

Showing pictures in American media of the result of a mass shooter’s slaughter would be a controversial challenge.

There are legitimate concerns about sensationalizing violence, about morbid curiosity, about warping young minds and triggering PTSD for survivors of violence.
And yet, pictures convey reality in a way that words cannot. One of these days, the parents of children murdered in a school shooting may make the same decision Mamie Till did in 1955.
America’s era of mass shootings kicked off on August 1, 1966 when Charles Whitman murdered his mother and then climbed to the top of the clock tower at the University of Texas and begin shooting.
The vast majority of our mass killings, however, began during the Reagan/Bush administrations following the 1984 San Ysidro, California McDonald’s massacre, the Edmond, Oklahoma Post Office shooting of 1986, and the Luby’s Cafeteria massacre in Killeen, Texas in 1991.
We’ve become familiar with the names of the places, and sometimes the dates, but the horror and pain of the torn and exploded bodies has escaped us.

It’s time for America to confront the reality of gun violence. And all my years working in the advertising business tell me that a graphic portrayal of the consequences of their products is the greatest fear of America’s weapons manufacturers and the NRA.

We did it with tobacco and drunk driving back in the day, showing pictures of people missing half their jaw or mangled and bloody car wreckage, and it worked.

And now there’s a student-led movement asking states to put a check-box on driver’s licenses with the line:

“In the event that I die from gun violence please publicize the photo of my death. #MyLastShot.” This isn’t, however, something that should just be tossed off, or thrown up on a webpage.

Leadership from multiple venues in American journalism — print, television, web-based publications — should get together and decide what photos to release, how to release them, and under what circumstances it could be done to provide maximum impact and minimum trauma.

But Americans must understand what’s really going on.

A decade ago, President Obama put then-VP Joe Biden in charge of his gun task force, and Joe Biden saw the pictures from school shootings back then.
Here’s how The New York Times quoted then-Vice President Biden:

“‘Jill and I are devastated. The feeling — I just can’t imagine how the families are feeling,’ he said, at times struggling to find the right words.”

Obama himself, after seeing the photos, broke into tears on national television.

And we appear to be tiptoeing up to the edge of doing exactly this. Yesterday’s Washington Post featured an article about what happens when people are shot by assault weapons and included this commentary:

“A Texas Ranger speaks of bullets that ‘disintegrated’ a toddler’s skull. “This explains the lead poisoning that plagues survivors of the shooting in Sutherland Springs, Tex.; David Colbath, 61, can scarcely stand or use his hands without pain, and 25-year-old Morgan Workman probably can’t have a baby. It explains the evisceration of small bodies such as that of Noah Pozner, 6, murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary, and Peter Wang, 15, killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. The Post examined the way bullets broke inside of them — obliterating Noah’s jaw and Peter’s skull, filling their chests with blood and leaving behind gaping exit wounds.”

But we need to go the next step and show the actual pictures for this truth about the horror of gun violence to become widely known. Doing this will take leadership.

And, of course, there must be a Mamie Bradley: a parent, spouse or other relation willing to allow the photos of their loved one to be used in this way.

In 1996 there was a horrific slaughter in Tasmania, Australia, by a shooter using an AR15-style weapon, culminating a series of mass shootings that had plagued that nation for over a decade.

While the Australian media generally didn’t publish the photos, they were widely circulated.

As a result the Australian public was so repulsed that within a year semi-automatic weapons in civilian hands were outlawed altogether, strict gun control measures were put into place, and a gun-buyback program went into effect that voluntarily took over 700,000 weapons out of circulation.

And that was with John Howard as Prime Minister — a conservative who was as hard-right as Ronald Reagan!
In the first years after the laws took place, firearms-related deaths in Australia fell by well over 40%, with suicides dropping by 77%. There have only been two mass killings in the 27 years since then.
The year 1996 was Australia’s Emmett Till moment.
America needs ours.
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/photographs-of-child-victims-of-mass-shootings
*Carolyn Donham - Emmett Till
https://www.reddit.com/politics/comments/125x2z5/it_is_time_to_show_the_american_people/

5-year-old fatally shoots 16-month-old brother at Indiana apartment

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/16-month-old-boy-dies-gunshot-wound-indiana-apartment-rcna77153
https://www.reddit.com/news/comments/125x58m/5yearold_fatally_shoots_16monthold_brother_at/

The Nashville Shooter’s Arsenal Makes a Mockery of US Gun Laws

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7evwx/nashville-shooting-gun-laws
https://www.reddit.com/politics/comments/125q80z/the_nashville_shooters_arsenal_makes_a_mockery_of/

This is America

https://i.redd.it/7w5tallt5sqa1.jpg
https://www.reddit.com/oddlyterrifying/comments/125zxgo/this_is_america/
[INDIA]

Hate speeches will go away when politicians stop using religion in politics, says Supreme Court

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/hate-speeches-politics-religion-sc-contempt-plea-8525908/ https://www.reddit.com/india/comments/125o0j6/hate_speeches_will_go_away_when_politicians_stop/

Has anyone else had to renew their contents insurance lately? I'm with State, have been for 20 years and also have my vehicle insurance with them. My policy renewal for my Contents policy arrived in the mail today and the premium due is over 62% more than last year (after years of either staying the same or decreasing due to no claims for all the time I've been with them).
After not finding any info on their customer web portal I rang them and waited on hold for 32 minutes. Then I got someone who was hard to understand due to very compressed audio but also English not being their first language. They listed multiple reasons why it may have gone up including
'increase in sum insured'
'inflation'
'GST'
'the area you live in' (this was before getting my details).
I said that the sum insured had increased by 1%, inflation by maybe 7%, GST is the same as last year and I've lived here for 20 years so the area should have no bearing. She repeated everything, maybe three times with increasing impatience before realising that I wasn't giving up that easily. She then told me they'd been getting lots of calls of this nature and they'd been given a list of things to read to the client.
I said that it wasn't good enough, the things she listed nowhere near accounted for the huge rise in cost and I'd like to speak to the person who wrote the list. Of course that didn't happen but she did then get my policy number and details and said she'd speak to her superior...
Another 25 minutes on hold later and she came back to me, speaking in a lot more friendly manner and said that she'd been told that the premium increase was due to 'rising crime rates' and 'weather related claims'. I told her that I hadn't been affected by crime with regard to my house contents (and had made no claims) and that I didn't live on a flood-plain or unstable hillside...
To no avail. It was obvious that this is where the conversation was ending so I told her I had a month to pay my premium and I'd shop around in that time. (But I likely won't, I have 20 years history with no claims with State after all and that decreased my premium a lot. It would take a while to get that level of discount with a new company).
I mean, I understand that the insurance sector is facing a lot of claims lately and I MIGHT have been willing to just swallow that explanation and the premium increase if they'd been decent enough to include a letter to that effect with the policy renewal documents. Instead they made me wait on hold over an hour and talk to someone who had no idea how to answer me.
Anyway....

☀️ ☀️ ☀️ Anyone use Palmetto Solar (based in Charleston SC) to install solar for their home? They seem to have very high ratings from around the country and have a good PR department judging from the articles on them in the last few years, but I’m curious how they fare in California/the Bay Area since they usually farm out work to local contractors.
If you’ve worked with them before, I’d love to know how they did on pricing, paperwork, installation/repairs, and follow up.
The quotes they’ve given us are the most reasonable so far, but I’m wondering if there’s a catch 🤔
Thanks 🙏🏽

I have a mix feeling about the empire so due to they’re making progress in the planet like as in Star Wars vision episode 8 they are helping the planet if you follow them and the crime rate goes down and also their economy also goes up so yeah I think that is a good one but they do destroying a few planets with their giant Death Star so this isn’t good but that planet contains rebel forces but the thing is that they also contain civilians who don’t involve in the war and also I wanna say to you that the sith may be evil he just wanna be a ruler so yeah I think that the empire is way better than the republic

My girlfriend and I are in the process of relocating to Detroit and we found an apartment that we really like. I obviously won't say the address, but it is on Michigan Avenue near Mexicantown. However, when my girlfriend brought up the location of the building to her mom, she told us to not move there because of crime and that our cars would "definitely" get stolen. Her mom lived in this area before in the 2000's, so we are taking her concerns seriously. However, my new boss in Detroit said that this spot is an "up and coming area" when I mentioned where the apartment was. Crime rates there between websites seem mixed too. I guess I am curious what you all think if this area? We were super excited about the possibility of living there but we are less certain. I know that people can be too hyperbolic about Detroit's crime as well, so I'm not sure what to think. Any and all insight would be much appreciated!

I will have to occasionally park around East Village at night. Is it pretty safe to leave your vehicle overnight there or would you avoid it at all costs? I haven’t spent too much time in Calgary the last few years but have been told the crime rate has gone up lately. Are there any indoor overnight parking options in that area for a reasonable cost? Thanks in advance!

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https://preview.redd.it/hqb0ur6utrqa1.png?width=439&format=png&auto=webp&s=ce49c8a50f3bbf7eb7766a0b9741ce3dd3a065fc
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https://preview.redd.it/e1v5b7fvtrqa1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd7ac0e2912d809fe01f52870e4cfdff1dce3b20

My perspective is going to be very limited because I live in the UK, and I went to a good, well rated, public (comprehensive) school in a suburb of a big town that has a low crime rate and homicides are in the single digits. As you'll probably know, in the UK, "school" and "shooting" in the same sentence isn't a 'thing'. We've only had one school history in our entire history. Dunblane was genuinely an anomaly, a freak. We didn't have one for centuries before it and haven't had one since.
It wasn't that long ago I was in school, but I do remember that safety wasn't an issue I thought about. We didn't have metal detectors, a police officer, or even a security guard in school premises at all. We only had to worry about fire drills, not these absurd active shooter drills.
There was misbehaviour and the occasional fights and scuffle (which school doesn't have those!), but no cases of serious violence. I don't remember one case where a student brought a weapon (gun, knife etc) into school. There was no rational basis to 'fortify' our school, since we were in a safe area. I never saw a police officer in my school ever because they weren't necessary. If there was a situation that warranted it, then the police could be called in. But it never happened. Our school was literally a 'weapons free zone', and there wasn't the expectation that a weapon would be brought in, so no need for metal detectors. I'm grateful for that.
There are a few schools in the UK that have metal detectors and/or have a police officer in them because they are in areas notorious for knife crime and there have been cases of pupils bringing knives into school. But they are more exceptional than normal. But 'fortified schools' are more of a thing in America because of mass shootings and the parts of inner cities known for high crime. I don't look down on these schools because they are different environments to the one I grew up in. If my school students brining knives in and stabbing were occurring in the area, we would have metal detectors. I'm not sure what I would do. You can't just do nothing. Maybe in some schools the guard and metal detector is necessary.
But as a general point, I think "lack of security" at my school was a symptom of how safe it was, and wider public safety and lack of fear, rather than vulnerability. While 'security' are often symptoms of unsafety and fear above all.
I do hope the day comes when this securitisation is rolled back, but not expecting it anytime soon.

Following the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, Congress mandated a study on the impact of the law. A 6.7% reduction in homicide rate was found but the result was not statistically significant.
A 2017 review on the effects of firearm laws on homicides found that limited data from 4 studies published regarding the Federal Assault Weapons Ban did not provide significant evidence that the ban was associated with a decrease on overall firearm homicides.
A 2020 RAND Corporation review of five studies regarding the effects of state assault weapon bans on violent crime concluded that there is inconclusive evidence of an effect on total homicides and firearm homicides.
A 2014 study found no impacts on homicide rates with an assault weapon ban. A 2014 book published by Oxford University Press noted that "There is no compelling evidence that [the ban] saved lives".
SOURCES: Lee, LK; Fleegler, EW; Farrell, C; Avakame, E; Srinivasan, S; Hemenway, D; Monuteaux, MC (January 1, 2017). "Firearm Laws and Firearm Homicides: A Systematic Review". JAMA Internal Medicine. 177 (1): 106–119. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2016.7051. PMID 27842178. S2CID 205119294. Limited data from 4 studies on the effects of the federal assault weapons ban (in effect from 1994 to 2004)* Gius, Mark (2015). "The impact of state and federal assault weapons bans on public mass shootings". Applied Economics Letters. "Effects of Assault Weapon and High-Capacity Magazine Bans on Violent Crime". RAND Corporation. April 22, 2020. Beckett, Lois (September 24, 2014). "Fact-Checking Feinstein on the Assault Weapons Ban". ProPublica. Retrieved July 13, 2019.

I'm a girl, soon i'm going to be moving out on my own. I have very few friends and they don't live near me. That means im going to be living alone most likely (honestly idk how to find a roommate or something). I'm scared. I'm also gay (I'm single forever anyway) so im not going to have some boyfriend to "protect me" from other men. I'm going to be alone forever. Basically, im just terrified for my future. I have an overall fear of men, of people in general, and my mind is poisoned by all the things i read online about what can happen to girls. Sometimes i just spend hours scrolling and scaring myself. I think of every possible horrible scenario and it makes me want to never leave my home. I hate being a girl. Where I live is very unsafe with a very high crime rate. How do i cope with the anxiety and uncertainty? It makes me so sad and tears me up inside and idk what to do

A thread for new collectors to ask basic questions of the community.
Frequently Asked Questions below!
A longer version of the subreddit rules is here.
For questions specifically concerning bootlegs or vendor legitimacy, please ask in the Bootleg Megathread.
NSFW & Spoiler Guidelines

• For Self Posts: include a bolded NSFW note next to links in that post.
• For Links to sites/images: If the figure is NSFW, or the website has any NSFW content (including ads) be sure to tag your post NSFW and use the appropriate link flair.

Bootlegs
Any collection posts containing bootlegs, comments advocating buying bootlegs, or links to sites selling bootlegs, recasts, or unlicensed merchandise will be removed.
People often ask about the legitimacy and/or safety of a number of websites which sell large resin statues. The more commonly-asked of those deal primarily in resins from studios which do not have a license from the Japanese IP holders to produce merchandise. Therefore links to those sites are not permitted here. Another sign is if MyFigureCollection doesn't list the either the statue, its manufacturer, or the shop it's being sold on.
MyFigureCollection
My Figure Collection is like MyAnimeList... but for figures! Their database includes thousands of items which been produced during the last couple of decades, along with reviews of shops and other helpful articles. One can also list their own collection and post gallery photos.
Shops

Retailers:
AmiAmi HobbySearch Mandarake (sells rare figures) Good Smile Company Online Shop (often has exclusives) Good Smile Company US shop Crunchyroll Shop Hobby Link Japan (aka HLJ) Solaris Japan (MFC partner) BigBadToyStore (MFC partner, US retailer) Big in Japan (also has proxy service) Tokyo Otaku Mode Right Stuf FigureHaven Archonia (EU) Yorokonde (EU) Figuya (EU) Dekai Anime (UK) Gamersheek (UK) Jungle
List of retailers on MFC
/AnimeFigures' List of Retailers
Community Guide to Shopping in Japan

Blogs/News:

Nekomagic (News/Previews) NyaaFigurines (Reviews/Releases) Kahotan's Blog (News/Reviews) Figma Blog (JP)

Buying & Shipping

1. What’s the best place to buy my anime figures from?
That’s going to depend a lot on what works for you, but most people around here buy them from Amiami, Big in Japan, Hobby Search, HobbyLink Japan, or Tokyo Otaku Mode. If none of those work for you for whatever reason, there’s a list of reputable retailers in the sidebar that you can check out at any time. Be extra careful when ordering figures from websites like Amazon or ebay, as there are a lot of bootlegs on those sites. Don’t be afraid to ask in our Bootleg Megathread if you’re unsure.
2. What differences are there between the shipping options I get from most Japanese shops?
Below is a rundown of the main shipping choices you’ll get at most retailers. Keep in mind that if an order is large enough you will be forced to use one of the more expensive options, as SAL shipments have lower size and weight restrictions.

• Unregistered SAL: Sometimes referred to as uSAL, is usually the cheapest method. It does not come with any tracking or insurance. Usually takes up 2-4 weeks for delivery.
• Registered SAL: Sometimes referred to as rSAL, is insured for the declared value up to 6,000 yen. It comes with a tracking number and usually takes 2-4 weeks for delivery.
• EMS: This method of shipping is much faster than either SAL options, usually arriving within a week of shipment. EMS shipments are insured for the declared value up to 2,000,000 yen.
• Airmail
• E-packet
• Surface: Shops don't offer this very often. It's an actual cargo ship and slow as a result.
  
• DHL: Becoming more available as an alternative to EMS on AmiAmi and other sites. Can be less expensive than EMS and of comparable speed, but may be more reliant on the specific geographical area being shipped to. The price is also determined by the size of the box. Offers their own tracking.
  

3. I placed two+ orders for figures at different times. Will my items be shipped together, or will I have to pay shipping twice?
Most shops will ask you to pay shipping on a per-order basis, but here are some that will allow combined shipping:

• Amiami: You can combine orders here, as long as the orders ship in the same month. It doesn’t matter if the item is new or preowned. Any preorders that are set for that month can also be combined with other orders for that month. However, be aware that if the preorder gets delayed, Amiami will remove that item from that month’s shipment and place it on a new order. To combine orders on Amiami, use the “Combine Orders” feature under “My Account”.
  
• Hobby Search: Hobby Search will let you combine orders that release in the same month, but you cannot combine in stock items with preorders. If you want to combine multiple preorders, or multiple in stock items, you can do so using the “Order Recombination” feature on your account page.
  
• HobbyLink Japan: At HLJ, you have the option to send paid orders to their “Private Warehouse”, where you can store them for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to ship the items, you simply select which items to ship and HLJ will combine them into one shipment for you. To use this, just select the “Private Warehouse” option as shipping when you order.
  

If you’re unsure about whether or not a shop we haven’t listed will combine your orders, please refer to their individual FAQs.
4. When will I get charged for my preorder?
Most Japanese shops charge you once the item is in stock and ready for shipment. When that happens, they will send you an email asking for payment. Some shops (mostly overseas ones), will allow you to pay for the item up front though, if you’d like. A few with that option are:

• Big in Japan (Japanese store)
• Tokyo Otaku Mode
• Anime Island
• Crunchyroll

Keep in mind that overseas stores will likely get the figure a few months after Japanese ones, so pay attention to the release date stated on the website you are buying from so as to avoid that confusion.
5. Should I expect to pay customs fees when importing figures?
That depends on where you live. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Australia: 10% GST is now assessed up front.
• Canada: Minimum declared value for charges is around CAD$20 for regular shipments, and CAD$60 for gifts (gifting something only seems to lower the declared value by about CAD$40, not deplete it completely). When using Amiami, try their Small Air Packet option. It comes with tracking, gets there in about the same time as EMS, and is better at avoiding customs.
• European Union: As of 1st July 2021, VAT has to be paid on all goods imported from outside of the EU. Retailers are supposed charge VAT for purchases under €150, however many Japanese retailers currently do not, so VAT will be charged when your order arrives in the EU. Orders that are >€150, VAT and duty will be charged by your local customs.
• UK: As of 1st January 2021, VAT is to be charged by retailers for orders <£135. However, customs isn't currently charging VAT on parcels valued at <£135, even if the VAT hasn't been paid. Goods >£135 will have their VAT and duty calculated and charged by customs.
• Mexico: Minimum declared value for customs fees is USD$300 for shipments by post, and USD$50 for shipments by courier.
• United States: A shipment has to have a declared value of USD$2,000 before customs starts hitting you with fees, so you most likely won’t have to worry about them at all.

6. The figure I want is an exclusive, how do I go about ordering one outside of Japan?
You have three options for this:
A. Big in Japan is known to stock exclusive figures and ship to other countries. Usually the price is higher because they build in their proxy fees, but it’s easier than worrying about using a forwarder or proxy service. If you live in the US, Crunchyroll, Right Stuf, and Tokyo Otaku Mode also get exclusives sometimes, but out of the states the shipping can get expensive.
B. Forwarding Services: A forwarder is someone who you ship an exclusive item to so that they can forward the package on to you, usually for a flat fee + shipping. When using a forwarder you still make the purchase yourself, and enter their address into the shipping field. When the box arrives at the forwarder they will then stick your address onto the package and send it on its way.
Some popular forwarders are:

• Big in Japan
• Tenso

Be sure to read each sites instructions on forwarding carefully!
C. Proxy Services: With a proxy, you tell them what the item you’re looking for is and they will purchase it in your stead. This is handy for when a company doesn’t accept foreign credit cards, or you’re having trouble navigating a Japanese website.
Some popular proxies are:

• Big in Japan (Won’t proxy for Yahoo Auctions)
• From Japan

Again, be sure you thoroughly read through each sites proxy instructions.
7. I see a bunch of really cheap figures that ship from China on ebay. Are those okay to buy?
Generally, no. They’re most likely bootlegs. If you want a second opinion on that, feel free to ask in the Bootleg Megathread that’s always stickied at the top of the sub.
8. What’s a bootleg, and how can I avoid buying them?
A bootleg is a counterfeit figure often made using rejected molds of the official product. They are usually priced significantly lower than the genuine article, and in order to make their profit, bootleggers use lower quality materials and have less attention to detail- resulting in a substandard figure.
The Bootleg Megathread that I mentioned in question 7 is a great tool to avoid buying any bootlegs. It has a few tips and tricks to avoiding them to begin with, and a few more on how to spot them if you’re worried you might already own one.
9. Does anyone know when figure X is going to be released? How do I know if it was delayed?
My Figure Collection (sometimes referred to as MFC) does an excellent job of staying on top of information like release dates and delays. If you’re curious about an upcoming figures release date, check there first. This information can be found directly under the “Releases” section on a figure’s entry. If you only see a month and a year in that section, it means the release date has not yet been announced by the manufacturer, and there is still a chance the figure could be delayed.
If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.
10. The figure I want is long sold out at normal retailers! What’s the best place to pick it up in the aftermarket?
A list of reputable retailers can be found under the “Shops” section of the /AnimeFigures sidebar. They all sell legitimate products, and many of them also sell figures second hand. However, the most frequently suggested second hand sites are Mandarake and Amiami- who has a preowned section that they update every night save Sundays and Japanese holidays around 1PM JST and again around 6PM JST.
AmiAmi grades their pre-owned items on a letter scale. The general consensus from buyers is that their ratings are conservative, so unless the item and/or packaging is specifically indicated as having significant flaws, pre-owned items from them are usually in at least as good a condition as their rating suggests.
Note: When you search Mandarake, you’ll get the best results by using the Japanese characters for whatever you are searching. If you don’t know them, you can find them on MFC by clicking on any of the “details” in that figure’s listing.
11. Amiami has a figure I’m interested in labeled as “For sale in Japan only”. Does this mean I can’t order it without a proxy or forwarder?
No, you can still order it. Amiami’s English site has that warning on many items, and it’s mostly meant to inform you that this product was made for a Japanese market, and as such, will have Japanese speaking/writing in it- so don’t expect any instructions to be in English. If Amiami doesn’t want foreigners buying a certain product, they won’t even list it on their English site.

Displaying Your Figures

12. What display cases do you recommend?
If you live near an Ikea try out one of these:

• Detolf *
• Klingsbo
• Billy (Often used with Morliden doors and glass shelves.)

*If you decided on a Detolf, you might find that there is a lot of wasted space. Here are a few tutorials on raising the shelves or and adding extra ones in.

• Using metal clips
• Using acrylic supports and PVC pipe

If you don’t live near an Ikea, Amazon has a few display options, though they are more expensive. Also keep an eye on your local Craigslist (or your country’s equivalent) and stores near you that are closing up.
13. What lighting do you guys recommend?
Ikea’s Dioder LED strips were discontinued after a long run. A current version is the Vattensten, if you're inclined to buy your case and lights at the same time.
LED strips have become very commonly available in recent years; most hardware and home furnishing stores carry a selection now. Just make sure that the lights don’t get too hot!
14. What are those clear plastic boxes that I see under everyone’s figures in their collection posts, and where can I get them?
Those are called risers. Most of us use standard acrylic risers like these. Some other, easy to find things that have been suggested are:

• Plastic picture cubes
• Card Deck Boxes
• If you’re feeling adventurous, try making your own!

Check your local hobby store for the first 2 options, or your local hardware store if you want to make your own.
Another common suggestion is to visit The Container Store if you have one near you. They have a lot of things to choose from that can suit a variety of needs. Be sure to check out their standard acrylic risers, their Amac boxes, and the various display cases they sell (baseball cases, mini car cases. hockey puck cases, etc).
15. Should I keep my figures sealed?
That is, of course, up to you really, but here are a few things to keep in mind when debating this question:

• Keeping it sealed can actually damage your figure. PVC figures usually have something called plasticizer in them, and that plasticizer needs to be able to breath. If a PVC figure isn’t exposed to oxygen, after a period of time the plasticizer starts to break down and form a sticky substance on the surface of the figure. Simply opening your figures and taking them out of the box prevents this from happening. If you happen to find plasticizer goo on one of your figures, Kahotan has a handy guide for dealing with it.
• Unlike some other figure markets, keeping an anime figure sealed won’t raise its value by a whole lot. In fact, because of the plasticizer problem mentioned above, your figure could actually be in better condition if you open it versus keeping it sealed.

Finding the Right Figure(s) for You

16. What are "scales" and "prizes"? What is the difference between them?
Those are classifications for figures based on a few factors.

• "Prizes" are generally more simply produced figures which are intended to be given as prizes for playing arcade games such as claw machines. They are inexpensive and lack the detail of scale figures, though some prize figure lines have standouts which may approach lower-end scales in quality. That is uncommon and often depends on the individual figure.
• "Scales" are called such because they are nominally designed to be proportional to the dimensions of the character which they are based on. They are generally of much better manufacture and materials than prize figures, allowing for more detail in painting, accessories, or complex poses.
• "Trading" figures appear in gashapon machines or as blind boxes on shop counters, often as sets which include multiple characters. As suggested by the class name, the randomness encourages trading. They are usually very inexpensively-produced, though as with prizes, some series are better than others.
• "Non-scale" encompasses a variety of other categories. It is often used to encompass poseable figure lines such as figma (which actually do fit inside a broad scale classification) and Nendoroids.

In recent years producers such as Good Smile Company have attempted to further bridge the gap between prize quality and scales by introducing figure lines which are intended to be moderately-priced while retaining a higher level of detail than the typical prize figure.
17. There are so many figure companies! Who makes good figures?!
Obviously this is a very subjective question, but as a general starting point, here are a few well renowned figure companies:

• Alter
• Max Factory
• Good Smile Company
• Kotobukiya (usually hit or miss for people. Use your best judgement based off of the prototype)
• Flare
• Stronger

18. I really love “series X / character X”- how can I check if any figures were ever made for it?
My Figure Collection can be your best friend here. Simply do a search on the name of the series or character using the search bar located at the top right of the screen, and all associated figures pop up!
Alternatively, if you’re looking at a figure’s MFC entry, most of the text under the “Details” section can be clicked on and used to run a search.
19. How can I commission a custom figure?
None of the major figure companies (Alter, Kotobukiya, Good Smile Company, etc.) will take a commission for a single figure. This thread has a few websites in it that you can check out, or you can look into garage kits. Some kit painters would be willing to resculpt, frankenstein together, or otherwise modify kits for the right price.
If you're looking for help completing a garage kit, /brushforhire may be useful.

Keeping Up with New Announcements

20. How can I keep up with figure news (announcements, updates, etc.)?
Most people use a MFC combined with any or all of the following news sites:

• Neko Magic
• Alter’s Blog (In Japanese)
• Kahotan’s Blog (Only GSC and their sister companies)

Many figure companies are active on Twitter, so following them there is recommended for quicker news.
To use MFC for this I’ll quote question #9.

If you make an account on MFC you can also subscribe to comments, changes, and pictures via a checkbox on the right hand side of a figure’s listing. Subscribing to any of these things will allow MFC to send you an email anytime the subscription in question updates. Subscribing to “changes” is a great way to keep up with release dates and delays, among other things.

Most companies have one or more Twitter accounts. Some examples: Good Smile Company sales, Good Smile's USA branch, Max Factory, AmiAmi Hobby News.
21. Everyone’s excited about something called Wonfes….. what the heck is that?!
WonFes (short for Wonder Festival) is a biannual figure expo where many figure producers (both large and small) show off new sculpts and updates to figures already under way. Most companies save their most exciting announcements for WonFes, so we all look forward to the expo whenever it rolls around! Winter Wonder Festival is usually held in February, while Summer Wonder Festival is usually in July. The event has also spread to Shanghai, in the late spring.
22. One or two (or 15) figures were announced at WonFes that I’m really excited about! How can I keep track of their progress once the event is over?
MFC is always really quick about getting new WonFes announcements (or any others throughout the year, for that matter) listed in their database, so we suggest using that. To find a figure from the event you can search any number of things, including the name of the character or the name of the show. You can also use the tag search to search “WonderFestival 20xx_[season]” to see all items announced at that event.

I, a woman, encountered Steve Earle in a darkened stairwell after he finished an astounding set. I was a little drunk, and breathless over what I'd just experienced, but, for him? For him it was just another dim stairwell far from home, and I was just another vessel waiting to be filled up with the details about his recent home mortgage refinance.
Flushed and panting and high from the rush of performing and the thrill of sharing his new monthly payment with a stranger, Steve got down to business like I was a LIBOR rate that needed locking. Shyly, I followed his lead, revealing that I had recently purchased a house myself, so I wouldn't pull away from his strong emotions. I knew a thing or two about being burned by Private Mortgage Insurance, after all. He said it was a crime that a woman like me couldn't come up with a 20% down paymet. I told him that no man had ever said those words to me before.
Our cries echoed off the cinderblock walls as we exclaimed over how unethical some balloon and adjustable rate mortgages are, especially for virgin homeowners who had their Innocence sullied and their credit record violated by subprime mortgage instruments. He was so vulnerable while sharing his fear of short sales, and I opened up to him about my past, and how I'd once attended a foreclosure auction for a house I'd never even seen. He did not judge me. "It probably had asbestos siding," he said. It was like he'd seen into the depths of the day planner in my tote, in which I'd made notes about the house that would never be mine.
By the end, I was exhausted and had to pee, so I crept away before he came to and realized what had happened. I can't believe I was the one to cut my conversation with Steve Earle short, but it had been about an hour already and he was getting too serious with his talk about homestead exemptions.
It was a long conversation about mortgages in a stairwell with Steve Earle. It was fairly boring, but more interesting than some of the sex I've had, sadly.

To give the recent events a chronological context, so we all see how well structured and directed these actions against the crypto are, I created a list of the most important events I have memory of, that one way or another paved the path to where we are now:
​

1. May 2021. the Treasury Department announced that it would require any transfer worth $10,000 or more of cryptocurrency to be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), as part of a broader plan to crack down on tax evasion and close the tax gap. The Treasury said that cryptocurrency posed a significant detection problem for tax authorities and that reporting rules would help improve transparency and compliance.
2. November 2021: the White House released a comprehensive framework for responsible development of digital assets, which outlined six key priorities and nine reports with recommendations to address the risks and benefits of digital assets. The framework called for increased enforcement of existing laws, consumer and investor protection, financial stability, countering illicit finance, U.S. leadership and competitiveness, financial inclusion, and responsible innovation.
3. November 2021: the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected a proposal by VanEck to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), citing concerns about fraud, manipulation and investor protection in the bitcoin market. The SEC also delayed decisions on several other bitcoin ETF applications, signaling its reluctance to approve such products without more regulation and oversight of the crypto industry.
4. September 2022: Treasury officials called for a crypto crackdown, recommending that agencies continue to rigorously pursue their enforcement efforts focused on the crypto assets sector. The Treasury Department and other federal agencies released a series of reports that — among other things — encourage the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission to “aggressively pursue” investigations and enforcement actions against "crypto scams, frauds, and other illegal activity in the digital assets space".
5. November 2022: the Federal Reserve announced that it would launch a public consultation on the potential design and policy issues of a U.S. central bank digital currency (CBDC), also known as a digital dollar. The Fed said it would publish a discussion paper in mid-2023 and seek feedback from stakeholders and the public on various aspects of a CBDC, such as benefits, risks, legal frameworks and operational considerations.
6. October, 2022: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) reported to have brought 82 enforcement actions in the fiscal year 2022 – a whopping 22% of which were filed against crypto-related entities.
7. December 2022: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) issued a policy statement on deposit insurance for stablecoins, a type of digital asset that is pegged to a fiat currency or other asset. The statement clarified that stablecoins are not eligible for deposit insurance unless they meet certain criteria, such as being backed by actual deposits at an insured bank and being redeemable at par value on demand. This confirmed their posture released on May 20, of the previous year.
8. January 2023: the U.S. Justice Department announced a major international cryptocurrency enforcement action, involving multiple agencies and foreign partners. The details of the action were not disclosed, but it was expected to target illicit actors using digital assets for money laundering, terrorism financing, ransomware and other crimes.
9. January 2023: the New York Attorney General’s office ordered BlockFi, a crypto lending platform, to stop offering interest-bearing accounts to New York residents, saying that the products violated state securities laws. The order was part of a broader investigation into BlockFi’s operations and compliance with consumer protection and anti-money laundering rules.
10. February 2023: the SEC fined several public figures for crypto promoting, as well as TRON network CEO for releasing "unregistered securities". This development happened a couple of months after the mentioned network released Stablecoins pegged to foreign currencies (GBP, EUR, and CNH/Chinesse Yuan in Dec, 2022).
11. February 2023: the SEC charged Coinbase, a leading crypto exchange, with misleading investors about its revenue and profitability projections ahead of its public listing in April 2022. The SEC alleged that Coinbase made false and misleading statements in its registration statement and prospectus, inflating its expected revenue growth and concealing its exposure to market volatility and regulatory risks
12. March 2023: President Biden signed an executive order on ensuring responsible development of digital assets, which outlined the first whole-of-government strategy to address the risks and benefits of digital assets and their underlying technology. The order laid out six key priorities and called for measures to protect consumers, investors, businesses, financial stability, national security, and the environment.
13. March 2023: after the collapse of the SVB Bank (one of the leading banks serving crypto-related businesses) following the raise of the interest rate by the Fed. Reserve; First National Bank bought all SVB's assets, excluding the crypto branch, a move that many experts pointed out as forced by anti-crypto regulators' pressure.
14. March 2023: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a civil enforcement action against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by trading volume, accusing it of illegally offering derivatives products linked to cryptocurrencies to U.S. customers without registering with the agency. The CFTC also alleged that Binance failed to implement adequate anti-money laundering and customer identification procedures.
15. March 2023: a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill to ban TikTok, a popular social media app owned by a Chinese company, from all federal devices and networks. The bill, called the “Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT)” Act, also gave the president and the secretary of commerce the authority to regulate or ban any communications technology products and services linked to foreign accounts. If passed, it could have far-reaching consequences for the US crypto industry, since the bill could be used to ban or restrict access to crypto applications or web portals hosted or developed by foreign adversaries or their affiliates, limiting the choices and opportunities for crypto users and developers in the US market. Additionally, imposing harsh penalties for using communications technology products and services with applications or web portals associated with foreign adversaries, which could create a chilling effect on the freedom and privacy of crypto users and developers who use VPNs or other tools to circumvent geo-restrictions or censorship. Moreover, the bill's broad and vague powers could undermine the innovation and competitiveness of the US crypto industry by creating uncertainty and fear among crypto companies, investors, and customers, thus creating a hostile and unpredictable environment for the industry.

As you may notice, the events are escalating in both number and boldness; the encirclement is advancing at an accelerating rate, and is followed by a lot of mainstream FUD against the industry and its main players.
We are not yet threatened directly by them, but the way is being paved for it. And we do nothing, the big boots will arrive at each of our doorsteps.
If the RESTRICT act is passed in congress, we might be also seeing the seed of a development similar to the "War on Drugs", where the US forced the whole world to completely ban and make all kinds of drugs -illegal, basically forbidding any research on very useful compounds, and ruining the lives of millions across the world. Just this time crypto and privacy might be the next target.
Ps. If I got any date or fact wrong, missed something, or whatever, please point it out so I can correct it! This is by no means a definitive list, and it's probably quite flawed and incomplete :).

Pretty soon drivers throughout Georgia and South Carolina should be getting quests for the Master’s Tournament. Some of y’all will be asking about whether it is worth it, and some of y’all will be asking about strategies for working the tournament, so I’ll try to cover both in this post. For reference, I have been an Uber driver in Augusta since 2017. I did two Master’s Tournaments as an X driver pre-pandemic and one Master’s Tournament as an XL driver last year (the two tournaments during the pandemic were closed to the public and were for members only). Sorry to the Uber Black drivers who are looking at this post, I don’t really have much experience to share with you about your platform, but hopefully some of this guide will still be helpful. I don’t do Eats, but they should do well here, too.
Market basics:
Augusta is a rate-card market. It pays UberX $0.60/min and $0.09/mile and pays UberXL $1.45/min and $0.22/mile. Those who are coming from an upfront market (and new drivers who decide to start during The Master’s) will be accepting trips blind (unless Uber goes upfront within the next week). You have to have a SC vehicle inspection to pick up rides in North Augusta, SC, so unless you are a SC driver, or you come from a border town and did the SC vehicle inspection, you might want to avoid that side of town (near downtown, Augusta). Alternatively, if you do have a SC vehicle inspection done, this is a great location to get trips that other drivers (including most taxi drivers) cannot get. Outside of the tournament, the Augusta market only has UberX and UberXL. The platforms that I remember from last year during tournament week included UberX, UberX Diamond, Uber Comfort, UberXL, Uber Black, and Uber SUV. I know Lyft (which normally only does Lyft and LyftXL) also has Lyft Lux, but I’m not sure of their other platforms.
Tournament basics:
The rideshare waiting lot for the Augusta Nationals (the name of the golf course which hosts the Master’s Tournament) is on Washington Rd about a mile East from Exit 199 of I-20. Most tickets can only be used twice for entry into the tournament. The entrance to the rideshare lot is just after the taxi lot entrance which is just after the Olive Garden restaurant if you are coming from I-20. The tournament starts at 8 am and ends when all the players are done on the course, typically around 5pm-ish. Those who attend to watch the tournament but are not members are called patrons. A lot of patrons will only come to see a particular golfer (Tiger Woods draws a lot of attention) and will leave when their golfer leaves (especially during practice rounds). Some patrons will sit at a single hole and will leave when all the players that they want to see for the day have come across that hole.
The women’s amateur tournament already began on Wed March 29, 2023, at Champion’s Retreat. The women’s tournament players get a practice day on Fri March 31 and will compete on Sat April 1 at the Augusta Nationals. Mon, Tues, and Wed April 3-5 will be the practice rounds. A lot of your middle-class fans will be here on one of these days as they will have a hard time getting tickets to the actual tournament; most of these patrons will only be here for a single day. Thu-Sun April 6-9 is the actual tournament. Most of your better-off patrons (and very lucky patrons) will be here during the actual tournament. They will often be here all four days. April 6-9 will be, by far, the busiest times of the tournament.
A lot of businesses arrange for tickets. Outside of C-suite employees, most of these tickets will be given out to customers and awarded to employees for a half-day visit (as they can be used twice) to get the most bang for the buck. This is good for UberX & UberXL drivers as a lot of these patrons who are there for half-day help fill up some of the time between the start time rush and the end of the day rush and are more likely to use Uber (or taxis) to get around.
Try to get along with the law enforcement and the workers at and around the Augusta Nationals. The Augusta Nationals has a reputation for banning and trespassing those who don’t follow their fairly stringent rules, although most of the workers there just work for the week. The Augusta Nationals have stripped members of their membership for things we might feel are small infractions; they certainly don’t care about trespassing a random Uber driver.
Airports:
Augusta has two airports:

• The regional airport (AGS) will be mad crazy during tournament week, but many, many, many drivers will be hanging around the airport, including taxis, Uber Black, limos, hired drivers, shuttles for the master’s, hotel shuttles, etc. Unless you are Uber Black, I honestly don’t recommend hanging out at AGS (but do what you feel is best), although I personally would accept any requests that I got from the airport if I were outside the queue as there could be a hidden surge attached to it. AGS also closes their cellphone waiting lot to rideshare during tournament week. Be wary of picking up at AGS. There are six whole legal spots to pick up at AGS (six more spots at departures), and the Marshalls (GA’s police department responsible for airport operations at AGS) will probably take up two of them for some stupid reason. One of those six spots is also technically a shuttle pickup spot that the Marshalls may or may not be enforcing. Speaking of enforcement, the Marshalls will come out with a new policy several times a day during the tournament, so be polite, follow their immediate instructions, but don’t count on it being the same the next day. Also, the pickup spot in the app is the pedestrian crosswalk that goes between arrivals and departures (smack dab in the middle of the front of the airport). Make sure you pause for several seconds at that spot to start the cancelation timer before driving down towards the exits for arrivals. If you don’t, you have to go all the way around the airport to start the timer. Many knuckleheads will be ordering Ubers while sitting on the tarmac, so you might be collecting a few cancelation fees. A side note: you can always turn left into the rental parking lot and park along the sidewalk if necessary…this includes if you need to run into the airport to use the restroom or when there are not enough places to wait for your rider. This is about the only other place that the Marshalls will not harass you for stopping besides the designated pickup area and the cellphone waiting lot (when not closed). You technically need Uber stickers displayed to pick up at the airport, but I’ve never seen this enforced. If you want to see arrivals and departures, go to flyags.com and certainly don’t rely on the Uber app.
• At AGS, there is also an FBO (some riders will call it “Aviation Services” or “The private terminal” or “The executive terminal” or “The civil part of the airport” or something similar). Unfortunately, passenger auto-pins from here gets lumped into the general commercial pickup location. You will get mostly pilots coming from here as anyone who can charter a private plane will likely have a private ride already scheduled. You can legally pick up from the FBO (and also drop off). When you enter AGS, you’ll see a blue sign pointing to the cell phone waiting lot. Turn right into that lot and then turn left at the next street. Try to pick up under the awning, although you might have a line of grey Mercedes Sprinter vans in the way as those drivers feel they get special privilege (which they kinda’ do because the Augusta Nationals has a TON of political clout in Augusta).
• The other airport is the civil airport in the middle of the city named Daniel Field. Unlike AGS, this airport is typically underserved by Uber but is also extremely busy during the tournament. Despite there likely being a huge line of taxis there, you’ll likely get rides from here if the riders order the Uber before they see the taxis. These riders will likely leave their phone in their plane, so you might not see their blue location dot update. If you see them not have their phone with them (phones are not allowed in the tournament), let them know that there is an Uber representative that can order them a ride back on their account in the parking lot that you drop them off. (You probably won’t get their return trip, but they’ll help contribute to any surges later that you’ll benefit from.)

Quests:
Last year, the quests were for $15/trip originating from the rideshare parking lot at the Augusta Nationals between 3pm and 7pm. This sounds great, but I only got a total of 7 trips during that quest time for the entire four days of the quest (and one of those trips was a “high priority” return after a very short trip). The big issues are that the tournament might end before 3pm for bad weather or might go beyond 7pm (usually because of weather delays). Also, every driver is trying to cram into the rideshare lot to get in the queue for that quest. Even if the tournament gets out during the quest hours, you will be fighting traffic out of and back into the rideshare lot. The lot seems to be designed for about 20 vehicles, but there were at least 60 vehicles crammed in most of the time last year. Drivers can also park at the Publix parking lot near the Augusta Nationals to get in the queue, but then you must crawl through traffic to get to the pickup. As a strategy, it might be worth it to jump into the Publix lot, though, to get your position in the queue to get one more quest for the night. The quest is what brings drivers to Augusta, but it isn’t really where drivers make their money….
Tips:
Stories abound in and around Augusta about $100 tips that patrons give out during their visit to the Master’s Tournament. In the three years that I drove for the tournament, I only got some of these tips one year (last year) and none the other two years, but I received four of them last year for the following reasons: (1) being a military veteran, (2) returning binoculars that were left in my vehicle, (3) going through a Chick-Fil-A drive thru, and (4) making a half-dozen stops for one rider for cigars and alcohol and ice and other items. The first two tips were easy money; the second two tips cost a lot of time during high surges (although I would have still had a hard time doing better than the $100 during that time). If you are a young lady that is easy on the eyes (not sure of a better way to put it), you will have a much easier time getting the $100 tips, but you’ll likely also face some very stereotypical frat-guy behavior from the mostly older male crowd. Most people giving out these types of tips are not taking UberX or UberXL, though.
Surges:
As an upfront market, real surges are hidden, but you’ll still be able to see sticky surges. The best time for surges (aka, the times when riders exceed drivers) are in the early hours of the morning, the closing hours of the tournament, and during late night. The event starts at 8am (watch out for weather delays), but the rides easily start before 5am. There are a lot of moving parts to get the tournament started, and a lot of the rides that you’ll give as an UberX or UberXL are to those who support the tournament rather than the patrons. Parking lot attendants, traffic control, hospitality, camera crews, etc., are all heading to work. Uber shines at this time as the other modes of transportation have a hard time capturing this traffic unless prescheduled. A lot of patrons will start coming in soon after the workers to try to get the “ultimate” spot, and patrons will keep coming in for several hours. At the end of the tournament, there is no magical place to be except as close to the Augusta Nationals as possible. Patrons, workers, etc. are all streaming out of the same location.
Hot Spots:

• The rideshare lot for the Augusta Nationals: obviously
• Hooter’s: I swear a third of my mid-day trips went between Hooters and the Augusta Nationals. A very short trip.
• Other common restaurants that I would sit at (most of these have other restaurants close by that will be busy, too, but not necessarily as busy): Twin Peaks, T Bonz Steakhouse (in Augusta, not so much the one in Evans), Abel Brown, Beck’s, Cork and Flame (in Evans) and Frog Hollow (and other downtown Augusta restaurants).
• Hotel Clusters: For patrons, these hotels include those on Steven’s Creek Rd (aka Claussen Rd), Gordon Highway off of Exit 3 of I-520, downtown Augusta (one of which is in North Augusta, SC), Wheeler Rd off of Exit 2 of I-520, Jimmie Dyess Pkwy off of Exit 194 of I-20, and Lewiston Rd off of Exit 190 of I-20. Workers will primarily stay at the “cheaper” hotels (which will still be relatively mad expensive) throughout the city, especially around Washington Rd, Wrightsboro Rd near the Augusta Mall, and all the old hotels that litter the rest of Gordon Highway (good locations to pick up 5-7am).
• Underserved house rental clusters:

1. Don’t bother around Washington Rd as patrons will be primarily walking (not worth fighting the traffic for such low fares to the tournament either, imho, unless you are very, very close already).
2. West Lake is a huge location for pickups. It is a gated community, but if you tell the guards you are picking up at 3556 W Lake Dr (the Club House), they should let you right through the gate. You can even type this address in your app to get directions to it (without using your precious destination filters) and have your app look like you are actually going to there for a pickup.
3. There are several subdivisions near Washington Rd and William Few Pkwy in Evans, GA, that are commonly underserved.
4. Whole blocks within River Island Pkwy are rented out by Mercedes Benz and other corporations and is a good source of rides.
5. River North Dr in North Augusta, SC, is a great source of rides for patrons for those drivers who have submitted a completed a SC vehicle inspection to Uber.
6. Otherwise, workers and patrons will be staying in housing all over the city.

Roads to Avoid:

• Traveling down John C. Calhoun Expy/Washington Rd between downtown Augusta and the Augusta Nationals when patrons are going to/from the tournament. If coming from downtown or traveling to downtown, take Riverwatch Pkwy (erroneously labeled River Watch Pkwy on some GPS apps). Both Greene St and Reynolds St become Riverwatch Pkwy if you travel West on them long enough. At Alexander Dr, you will turn left, and then turn left again on Washington Rd (about ½ block from the rideshare entrance). To go downtown, turn left from the rideshare parking lot (not technically allowed, but most people still do so), turn right on Alexander Dr (the next light), and then turn right on Riverwatch Pkwy.
• Berkmans Rd (which becomes Alexander Dr at Washington Rd and becomes Highland Ave at Walton Way) will be closed by the Sherriff when the tournament ends. Until then, feel free to use it although it will be congested at the start of the tournament. The best way to avoid it is a long way around which is to take Walton Way to Walton Way Ext (a right turn), turn left onto Wheeler Rd, and then turn left on Marks Church Rd, to go West onto I-520, then to go East onto I-20, then get off at Exit 200 to Riverwatch, then turn right onto Riverwatch, and then turn left onto Alexander. If you do this with a rider in the car though, they might get really upset for all the extra miles they are paying for although it is much, much faster.
• Boy Scout Rd, which is technically the alternate route for Berkmans Rd when Berkmans Rd is closed. Just about all northbound traffic heading toward the tournament (or to Hooter’s or other nearby restaurants/hotels) that do not use the expressway will be stuck on this road when Berkmans Rd is closed. If Berkmans Rd is closed, you’ll likely regret taking Boy Scout Rd. Otherwise, Berkmans Rd is almost always better.

Law Enforcement:
The LE that you come across in Augusta are overworked outside of the tournament and will have had some really long hours by the time the tournament even starts. If you do something stupid enough to warrant the LE to actually bother going after you, expect at least a ticket. Be polite to LE because their fuses are already short. If you screw up, the best thing to do is to just apologize and accept the chew out if they are yelling at you from the road. Arguing will likely get you swarmed by police in Augusta.
Some notable things to point out:

• The North Augusta Police (in SC) have a reputation for giving out tickets for minor speeding infractions (and North Augusta has some of the lowest speed limits in the market). If you cross the bridges, stay at the speed limit until you get back to GA.
• Georgia State Police (GSP) have a reputation for giving you a ticket if they pull you over, even during non-tournament weeks. Most of their cars are the telltale grey on blue, but they do have a few stealth cars in the Augusta Market (black writing on black paint).
• Speaking of stealth cars, the Richmond County sheriff also have stealth SUVs and a TON of unmarked police cars.
• Georgia Public Safety (GPS) officers come out in numbers and single out a lot of commercial vehicles during tournament week (along with GSP). Note that Ubers are technically commercial vehicles. This is especially true on Doug Bernard Pkwy (the road going to/from the regional airport) and on I-520 and I-20. Doug Bernard Pkwy is easy hunting for GSP & GPS as the road is built like a 65-mph highway but only has a 45-mph speed limit. Everyone I’ve seen pulled over were exceeding 60 (I believe), but that is all the choice of the officers.

Competition:

• Other rideshare drivers: Not as bad as you would think. During the big money-making times, it won’t really matter. The market is flooded with rideshare drivers, though, which means that the surges are less common. Uber Black and UberX/XL surge separately, so there were times that Black was cheaper than X/XL according to several locals. Any stories about the Master’s Tournament driving the surges up to massive amounts all day long comes from 2016, which was the first time that Uber came to Augusta. The subsequent years have been much milder.
• Taxis: Taxi drivers come from all over GA and SC to drive during the tournament. I saw more taxis sitting at Daniel Airfield (our small civil airport in the middle of the city) during a slow time during tournament week last year than I’ve seen in all of Augusta during the rest of the year! At the Augusta Nationals, the taxi lot is next to the rideshare lot (but with a separate entrance), and patrons will have to walk past the Ubers to get to the taxis. At AGS, the taxi lot has its own beautiful exit coming out of the terminal, so the taxis often get riders before riders resort to Uber.
• Limos: Limos come from even further out. I saw limos from Myrtle Beach, Tampa, Kentucky…. LOTS of them all over the place. They are moving around the Daddy Warbucks type patrons and are getting most of those $100 bill tips. =P Limos and shuttles share a lot on Berckmans Rd.
• Hotel vans: Every decent hotel has at least a shuttle or two that they run during the tournament. Many of these hotels park their shuttles for the other 51 weeks out of the year. >.> These shuttles are not supposed to be in the rideshare lot, but some of them were last year.
• Private shuttles: A ton of companies, home-rental companies, and even the Augusta Nationals hire private drivers and use the grey Mercedes Benz Sprinter shuttles to get around. These shuttles are moving around the players, the CEOs, the big sponsor employees, etc. They are getting the rest of those $100 bill tips (many of them get a much higher single tip at the end of the tournament as a percentage of the shuttle cost).
• Public transportation: public transportation (the buses) suck in Augusta and are not really very relevant during the tournament.

Traveling from Other Markets:
One of the mistakes many drivers make is not recouping the costs of traveling from/to their market and missing the surges that result from other drivers leaving their market. I assume that a driver is not going to stay overnight in Augusta as the hotel costs are prohibitive. I also don’t recommend sleeping in your car because the local LE already have short fuses with the extra hours and the extra work brought on from patrons during the tournament (patrons routinely include heads of states and billionaires). If you are over 2 ½ hours away and don’t have a place to crash in Augusta, I wouldn’t bother.
Here is what I would do if I were in these other markets (but your reasoning or circumstances might be different):

• Aiken, SC: Technically the same metro although Augusta & Aiken drivers rarely overlap trips. I’d definitely be outside the Wilcox early to get one of the many patrons needing a ride.
• Athens: I might as well come to Augusta if I didn’t have a game going on. Still a four-hour round trip that I’d have to overcome. Brownie points if I could finagle a ride from the Thompson civil airport on the way to or from Augusta. Sadly, I know more about Atlanta than I know about Athens, but I would guess there are some (relatively) cheapskate patrons staying at hotels in Athens that would need a trip to Augusta early in morning. If so, I’d jump on that if I came across one (probably give them my number to get their return trip, too).
• Atlanta: A five-hour roundtrip is nothing to take lightly. I would only come to Augusta if I had a long-distance trip here (which many patrons will go straight from ATL or even a hotel). Atlanta does well during the tournament as a lot of drivers go to Augusta deadheading both ways, some drivers get pulled to Augusta thanks to long-distance trips, and Augusta ends up sucking up all the rental cars in the SE. A combination that is really, really good for drivers in ATL during tournament week and especially for airport drivers. If I got a long-distance trip back to ATL at any point (likely mid-day or at/near the end of the tournament), I’d take it in a heartbeat and call it a great day while finishing up in Atlanta if I had any more hours to burn.
• Columbia, SC: As I’d only be about an hour away, I’d definitely head over to Augusta. I’d also sit downtown Augusta during the few times that I would sit. I’d try to begin the day with a trip from the hotels in downtown Columbia as lots of international travelers will stay in Columbia (last year a lot of patrons from Ireland stayed in Columbia as the Augusta hotels were full, international travel to Columbia was easier, and the patrons came for a specific Irish player that qualified for the tournament fairly close to the tournament date).
• Macon: I don’t think that I would bother. Very unlikely to find trips along the way either way. To head directly to Augusta takes lots of state highways through small towns, too.
• Savannah: Even worse than coming from Atlanta. No interstates to travel up/down. I’d only do it if I got a patron staying at a hotel in Savannah (and give them my number to get their return trip, too).
• Statesboro: Quite a bit closer to Augusta than Savannah, but still traveling down state highways with little chances of getting a ride between the two metros. I would be surprised if any patrons stayed in Statesboro and ubered back and forth, but I’d accept a ride to Augusta if it came up (again giving my number to get their return trip).

I know we are all sick of banging on about Marama Davidson's fuck up, but I'm not trying to talk about her at all. This is more of a traditional "look at Stuff fuck up type post."
In this Stuff article released today they conclude four things:

(crime is) predominantly perpetrated by men, against women and children

Statistically true. The best kind of truth.

If you interpret Davidson’s comments as if it’s only white cisgender men who commit violence – which Prime Minister Chris Hipkins appears to have – it’s evidently not true.

Duh.

“New Zealand European” men make up the majority of the male population and are responsible for the majority of reported family violence offences.

Hang on, are we talking on a per capita or gross basis here?
According to page 124 of their source document, a New Zealand Crime and Victim's Survey produced by the ministry of Justice in June 2022 (which is a more than respectable source of information btw); New Zealand Europeans overall committed 161,000 family offences versus the Māori rate of 95,000 family offences within the given time period. (Albeit there is a caveat that the Māori rate has a margin of error between 10% and 20%, which doesn't effect the overall conclusion of the calculations we are about to do either way.)
Pākehā represent 70% of the population with Māori representing 16.5% as per the 2018 census stats. Let's calculate the rate of family offences per 100,000 people for each group:
For New Zealand Europeans: (161,000 / 0.70) = 230,000 offences per 100,000 people.
For Māori: (95,000 / 0.165) = 575,758 offences per 100,000 people.
Calculate the percentage difference between the two rates: ((575,758 - 230,000) / 230,000) x 100% = 150%
Therefore, Māori commit family offences at a rate that is 150% higher than that of New Zealand Europeans, as a percentage of their respective populations.

Her later statement, about women being more likely to be victims of family and sexual violence (and men more likely the perpetrators), is true.

Also true. Congrats on three out of four...
Choosing to make a conclusion based on gross statistics instead of based on per capita stats is disingenuous at best and deliberately misleading to the point of creating misinformation at best (what they claim the entire point of this series of articles is to combat).
What I don't understand in particular, is what the author, Dr Natalie Thorburn, who is also the principal policy advisor from Women's Refuge, is trying to achieve?
Family violence is a societal problem that is perpetrated by all ethnicities, ages and socio-economic classes. But surely, you would want funding and availability of rehab and anger management programs to be prioritised and shaped to suit the demographic most in need? I'm talking by Māori for Māori programs.
Sort your shit out Stuff.