3/ Federal workers face growing uncertainty as #government #shutdown continues in2 second week. Newly disclosed memo from the Office of Management and Budget #OMB claims that #furloughed #employees are not guaranteed back pay despite a 2019 law designed to ensure it. Demo suggests a legal basis for denying retroactive compensation to as many as 750,000 employees,. Meanwhile, #SocialSecurity recipients won't find out the size of next year's #checks as long as the shutdown delays #inflation #data.

New figures released by the German government reveal a significant strain on the Federal Police (Bundespolizei) following the intensification of border controls... https://news.osna.fm/?p=16565 | #news #border #checks #overtime #police

Concerns are emerging regarding the sustainability of current border control measures in Germany. Uli Grötsch, the Federal Police Commissioner, has indicated th... https://news.osna.fm/?p=15875 | #news #border #checks #german #police

Good morning. 🏖️🩴🌊

8 September 2025

Checks and Balances

Have you noticed that writing checks isn’t as popular as it once was? It’s very much a 20th-century thing. I still keep a checkbook and write the occasional check—usually to pay a bill that can’t be handled online, or for a larger purchase that my credit card might not accommodate. The checkbook isn’t forgotten; I still keep the ledger up to date.

I use a debit card now and then, though I prefer a credit card. The thing is, nowadays many small businesses charge extra when you use a credit card. Some even tack on fees for any card, which misses the point entirely—they’re not charged extra for processing a debit card. That’s yet another reason I might reach for a check.

Back in the 20th century—especially in the ’70s and ’80s—writing checks was common practice. People carried their checkbooks everywhere and used them for everything. Need gas? Write a check. Groceries? Write a check. Just want a cold soda? Write a check.

I still remember opening my first checking account and thinking, I have arrived. It took a lesson or two to learn about balancing the checkbook, and the statement you received in the mail didn’t always reflect your actual balance. Live and learn.

Nowadays, if I’m waiting in line at a store and the person ahead of me waits until all her items are scanned before digging through her purse—only to retrieve a checkbook—I might let out a silent sigh. I’d be careful not to show any emotion, not even impatience. Even if she waits until asked for ID to start rummaging again, my outward demeanor would remain impassive.

For I remember when.

“Any general statement is like a check drawn on a bank. Its value depends on what is there to meet it.” — Ezra Pound

“The good old days weren’t always good, and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.” — Billy Joel

#morning #beach #birds #photo #checks #nostalgia #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature

Music veteran who survived cancer tells men health checks are vital

“Prostate cancer can hit anybody at any time.” Dugan knows this too well. About 10 years ago he…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #are #Cancer #checks #Health #men #music #NewZealand #NZ #survived #tells #veteran #vital #who
https://www.newsbeep.com/107958/

Germany's largest social welfare association, the VdK, is advocating for greater standardization, or "bundling" of processes in social benefit distribution.Spea... https://news.osna.fm/?p=14366 | #news #benefits #checks #individual #simplify

Germany is considering increased oversight of individuals receiving care at home from family members, according to a statement from the Federal Association of C... https://news.osna.fm/?p=11918 | #news #advocate #care #checks #independent

Germany's reintroduced border controls have incurred substantial costs since their implementation in mid-September 2024, totaling 80.5 million euros through the... https://news.osna.fm/?p=11492 | #news #border #checks #cost #germany

Institutional #checks exist to guard against outright #manipulation. Mishandling economic #statistics or improperly accessing the #confidential information used to compile them is a #felony - chart @wsj https://www.wsj.com/economy/trump-jobs-economic-data-risk-e4b7410b

Germany's Bundesrat, the upper house of parliament, is considering a proposal that would require all airlines to verify the identification of passengers, even o... https://news.osna.fm/?p=11042 | #news #checks #considers #europe #flights

Французьке казначейство готується відмовитися від чеків. 5 серпня.
https://buymeacoffee.com/valdeloir/5-3901127

#Україна #Франція #Фінанси #Медицина #Чеки
#France #Finance #Healthcare #Checks #Shortages

To bolster efforts against undeclared work, employees in hair salons, barbershops and nail studios will now be required to carry photo identification, such as a... https://news.osna.fm/?p=10318 | #news #checks #combat #employment #germany

Infant death prompts review, calls for mandatory medication checks

The revelations have prompted the Ministry of Health and Health New Zealand to “urgently” review the incident. Medsafe…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #calls #checks #Death #for #infant #mandatory #Medication #NewZealand #NZ #prompts #review #sherwood
https://www.newsbeep.com/27255/

Josh Hawley Senate has introduced Bill to improve the checks to improve fares star-news.press/wp

,Josh Hawley Senate has introduced Bill to improve the checks to improve fares star-news.press/wp, 2025-07-28 20:00:00 Allan Smith #Josh #Hawley #Senate #introduced #Bill #improve #checks #improve #fares

https://star-news.press/sen-josh-hawley-introduces-bill-send-tariff-rebate-checks-americans-rcna221457/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Concerns have been raised regarding the procedures employed by the Berlin State Office for Immigration and Refugees (LEA) in processing naturalization applicati... https://news.osna.fm/?p=8797 | #news #accuses #berlin #checks #citizenship

Australia is quietly introducing age checks for search engines like Google

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-11/age-verification-search-engines/105516256

#HackerNews #Australia #Age #Checks #Search #Engines #Google #Privacy

Latest Brotherhood Podcast – Maliq Brown Checks In With Updates On His Rehab And More https://www.rawchili.com/nba/144086/ #and #Basketball #brotherhood #Brown #checks #CollegeBasketball #Duke #ExcludeFromStnVideo #FrontPage #his #in #latest #maliq #more #ncaa #NCAABasketball #ncaab #on #podcast #rehab #report #updates #with

Australians to face age checks from search engines

https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2025/australians-to-face-age-checks-from-search-engines.html

#HackerNews #Australians #Age #Checks #Search #Engines #Privacy #Online #Safety

#randomthoughts...

the #USofA

the fox now has a #free "reign" in the #henhouse... with little or no #checks and #balances

you may well become the Royal #trumpdom of America... "all hail #tRump"

#SCOTUS

@pl Lots of answers to that question, few simple ones. https://github.com/Mic92/nix-fast-build might help, via it's usage of https://github.com/nix-community/nix-eval-jobs. Readme explains it quite well: it evals in multiple threads, kills them upon excessive memory usage and then builds in parallel.

nix-fast-build defaults to eval'ing & building .#checks