mike carey

No, that wouldn't work. For a start, sharing the information has already been discussed so even with the name blurred out it would clearly be about him. Secondly, as a general point, even without any prior discussion, posting the exchange in a thread about a particular provider would be seen as being about them. To say that it wasn't about them but was about a random interaction with an unnamed provider would stretch credulity.

Provider here: All of these things are just common sense. 
These are good standard rules to live by! - except rule #3 which is unreasonable in my view. (There would be no way to verify the ID they show you is genuine anyway, but - to each their own.) My discretion is something I value really highly and I give my clients the exact same respect in return. 
 
Let me explain why I have deposit requirements:
The amount of last minute cancelations I have had, the amount of times I have been booked for fake appointments and gone to hotels only to have the client magically stop replying when I am only one block away, have made it impossible for me to work without a deposit from clients I have not met. This happened once to me 7 times in a row btw: Either fake booking or last minute cancel.
It has meant I have had no choice but to either quit or implement a deposit policy, but I try to make it as easy, safe and discreet as possible. 
My policy is - if you want an advance booking: 
You can send deposit by cash app (anonymous + private) or Venmo (anonymous + private)  I only require a small deposit - can be as little as $20-$50. whatever amount you are comfortable with, just send something to show me you are legit and serious.  I have over 50 positive reviews, you can contact the reviewers, you can see my pics, my address, etc. If despite all that that you are STILL uncomfortable with deposits, that is totally OK, I get it and totally understand peoples hesitation - some clients are in the closet or married, maybe they have a job that could be jeopardized and requires higher level of discretion, and after all you do read the horror stories here from people who send deposits of $1000s to providers with wonderful photos and no reviews,  - there could be a multitude of reasons why they do not feel comfortable with deposits - you can still just message me on the day of the appointment- and if I am still available, we can get together and we WILL have a fun time. The clients that are not comfortable with doing Venmo/cashapp - they more often than not still message me on the day, so I have found this system works well for these clients too. If they don't message, it's not a problem as I haven't cleared my calendar or refused other potential bookings.   
If you send me a deposit - I do then refuse to accept any other bookings in that time slot.
If you don't send a deposit and I keep the spot for you and you then cancel last minute - I am left in the red and its just not a viable way to conduct business.
Since I implemented this system it has weeded out almost all of my cancelations, and actually increased my bookings. 
 
 
Just to note- I get that people are worried about scams - as they should be - but you may not be aware that:
 Providers get contacted by scammers EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
We get contacted by pranksters EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
We get contacted by time wasters who are literally jerking off while metaphorically jerking us around EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!
Just today I have been contacted three by fake accounts saying "I want to send you cheques just give me your bank details!" (of course they don't open with that, but they waste our time chatting first, usually pretending to want a multi hour booking). When scammers contact us pretending to be clients - we have no choice but to reply as initially, we can not tell the difference between a genuine enquiry and a false lead.  A client who says that they are willing to spend a few hundred dollars on a provider who has many reviews  - but won't spend $20 on a deposit to lock it down - unfortunately lacks credibility.
I have proven to you I am real, authentic and genuine, a small Venmo or Uber allows you to do the same! 
We really put ourselves out there and asking for a minimal deposit is not a stretch too far.  
 
To surmise- The OP gives really good advice.  Take it!  The post is not about 'are deposit good or not', but how to do harm reduction and I think the points raised are wise and are super sensible - but of course there will be a chorus of anonymous profiles shouting "no deposits! scammers!"  I would bet the farm a good deal of them like to be able to cancel last minute! 
 
Have fun out there guys!  Be Kind! 

The US version of chicken parmesana. 

And from the US, @Jamie21 is only a short flight away!

No, that wouldn't work. For a start, sharing the information has already been discussed so even with the name blurred out it would clearly be about him. Secondly, as a general point, even without any prior discussion, posting the exchange in a thread about a particular provider would be seen as being about them. To say that it wasn't about them but was about a random interaction with an unnamed provider would stretch credulity.

Some become investment bankers because shafting their clients is a transferable skill. 

Yes and then 30 mins on the Elizabeth line from LHR to my studio 😃

And from the US, @Jamie21 is only a short flight away!

Don't. Posting private conversations with an identifiable other person contravenes forum guidelines. 

Don't. Posting private conversations with an identifiable other person contravenes forum guidelines. 

This is the truth.

Yes, the government pension (funded from the current government budget not prior individual contributions, and open to everyone but means tested on a sliding scale based on other income and on assets), is poverty level. I don't qualify for that. Mine is one funded by my lifetime pre-tax contributions, and employer contributions over my career. It started out as a military retirement scheme but was rolled into a fund that complied with the mandatory national superannuation scheme when it was implemented in the 90s.

This is an incredibly sad story, but one that in some respects is unsurprising, We have continuing public discussions and community disquiet about domestic violence in this country, and calls for more to be done in an attempt to rein in the number of murders of women and their children by their current and former [overwhelmingly] male partners. Advocates in that space have acknowledged the parallels in this case, and indeed cited it as further evidence of the same problem. The signs, as reported in the Channel 10 news item, that the alleged perpetrator displayed after his relationship ended are similar to behaviour recognised after other cases of intimate partner violence.
The story has been in the news since the items were discovered in the skip at Cronulla on Wednesday and at the top of bulletins since Detective Superintendent Doherty's presser yesterday. What's struck me has been the matter-of-fact way the story has been covered in the local media, in a BBC item I read yesterday, and in the story posted above. There hasn't been a hint of salacious reporting nor comment on the gender of the couple, just reporting of Jesse and Luke and of the alleged perpetrator. As it should be. Just a senseless crime.

This is an incredibly sad story, but one that in some respects is unsurprising, We have continuing public discussions and community disquiet about domestic violence in this country, and calls for more to be done in an attempt to rein in the number of murders of women and their children by their current and former [overwhelmingly] male partners. Advocates in that space have acknowledged the parallels in this case, and indeed cited it as further evidence of the same problem. The signs, as reported in the Channel 10 news item, that the alleged perpetrator displayed after his relationship ended are similar to behaviour recognised after other cases of intimate partner violence.
The story has been in the news since the items were discovered in the skip at Cronulla on Wednesday and at the top of bulletins since Detective Superintendent Doherty's presser yesterday. What's struck me has been the matter-of-fact way the story has been covered in the local media, in a BBC item I read yesterday, and in the story posted above. There hasn't been a hint of salacious reporting nor comment on the gender of the couple, just reporting of Jesse and Luke and of the alleged perpetrator. As it should be. Just a senseless crime.

Uber?….lmao
Ms. Thing, get your fancy ass on the subway….just like I do. 
Also, I don’t want some hooker fucking up my Uber rating.
I’m not cheap, but I detest wasting money and time. 

Haha. In Europe upper class men of fashion carry male handbags or at least did in the 1980s. Made of fine leather, in Italy or England usually. They are about 4 by 6 inches and folded in two. You can put them under your arm. I got in the habit when I lived in Switzerland. Of course I just happened to be gay but most of the men I knew who had one were straight. 

Are you trans ?

LMAO.
I want to put this a t-shirt and wear it to this year’s PS event. 

I have vertigo, but it’s seasonal; it fades after the Fall.

Genetically modified banana resistant to Panama disease given approval for Australian consumption
In short: Scientists have used a gene from a wild banana that is almost immune to TR4 and placed it in a Cavendish variety. The genetically modified banana has been developed as an industry back-up in case Panama TR4 breaks out, but will not replace the Cavendish variety.
What’s next? Scientists hope to use gene editing to develop other disease-resistant and climate-smart varieties to future-proof the banana industry. A genetically-modified (GM) banana is a step closer to commercial reality as Queensland scientists gain regulatory approval to release a GM variety of Cavendish banana for human consumption.
Scientists say the QCAV-4 variety is the world’s first genetically modified banana and will be the first GM fruit approved by the federal government for growing in Australia.
But it is unlikely to end up on your toast or in your smoothie any time soon.
While scientists say they will be safe to eat, the GM variety will be considered a “back-up option” in the fight against Panama Tropical Race 4 (TR4), as it is nearly immune to the disease. Panama TR4 is a fungal disease that starves banana trees of nutrients, eventually killing the plant. There is currently no treatment or cure and, because the disease lives in soil, infected areas can no longer grow most banana types, including the popular cavendish variety.
“We welcome this decision as it’s a very important step towards building a safety net for the world’s Cavendish bananas from TR4, which has impacted many parts of the world already [including Australia] ,” said Professor James Dale, leader of the banana biotechnology program at the Queensland University of Technology.
“About 95 per cent of Australia’s bananas are grown in Queensland, and Cavendish banana accounts for 97 per cent of production.”
Most bananas are grown in Queensland’s Far North around the Atherton Tablelands, Innisfail and in the Tully Valley.
Panama TR4 was first recorded in the Tully Valley in 2015 and, while the movement of the disease has been restricted to eight affected properties, recent floods have raised concerns about the potential for further spread.
Are GM bananas safe?
Scientists discovered a gene that is nearly immune to Panama TR4 in a banana called Musa acuminata ssp malaccensis, a wild banana that occurs in a number of parts of south-east Asia, and create a variety of Cavendish that included that gene.
“We have moved a banana gene from one banana to another,” said Professor Dale.
“There’s nothing scary. The gene was already present in Cavendish … it just doesn’t work so we have put in a version that works.”
He said Panama disease TR4 was “fairly well under control” in Australia and biosecurity arrangements were “really limiting it’s spread”.
“However, that may change so this is really our safety net,” Professor Dale said.
“Cavendish bananas are not going to disappear [but] this banana is ready to go though, if TR4 really gets going and starts to really hurt our industry.”
What happens next?
Following more than seven years of field trials in the Northern Territory, QCAV-4 bananas will now be tested in Queensland paddocks.
Professor Dale said his team would also turn its attention to developing a gene-edited version of the QCAV-4 that was resistant to other diseases.
“Gene editing provides far less concern, particularly to regulators and to consumers, so that’s the next stage, a gene-edited version,” he said.
“The biggest disease other than TR4 in the world is black sigatoka … a leaf-infecting fungus.
“In Australia, we’re very lucky. We have a milder version of that. But in some countries, particularly in Central America, they spray up to 60 times a year to try to control this fungus.
“So we want to develop not only a TR4 resistant Cavendish by editing, but also sigatoka resistance as well.”
Professor Dale said gene editing will help future-proof food like bananas by allowing scientists to create varieties that can handle different threats and conditions.
“We’re going to need these sorts of technologies to cut down on pesticides, but also as we’re getting into a much more challenging climate, we’ve got to be able to generate new cultivars that are able to cope with all these new conditions,” he said.
“Because of the technologies we have available … we can also add, as we have in in one of our projects in Africa, increased nutrient content, particularly nutritional values.
“This will be really important for the fruit industry and the banana industry.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-16/australia-approves-first-genetically-modified-banana-panama-tr4/103476986

I'm not sure I had either, but the 12, 144 and 20 were obvious, so it wasn't hard to figure out (and confirm with a search).

32. The text says she has 32 not she had.

I'm sure anxious readers will be relieved to hear that shortly after 6pm AEDT on Monday Equestrian Australia announced that it had cleared Shane of any breach of the sport's code of conduct. He was interviewed on the ABC news channel after he was cleared. He said that the mankini was uncomfortable, and particularly so when riding a horse. The infamous mankini was not the only fancy dress costume he wore at the event, he also appeared in a Mr Duff Beer costume (something to do with 'The Simpsons' I'm told).
Any publicity is good publicity (until it's not). Apparently he has been run off his feet with media interviews all day from around the world. Someone told him that they had never paid any attention to equestrian sports but now they had a reason to do so. So perhaps Equestrian Australia can look forward to more interest in its events and in the coverage of the Australian team in Paris.

looking forward to meeting you.