#4 got it exactly right. If it's a "gratuity" it's optional. It it's a "service fee" then it's not.

Either way, I wonder if the 17% they got is worth all of the bad publicity. I know if I heard a story like this about a local restaurant I would not only not go there but would spread the word about their (lack of) customer service.

@Artor: Yes. Pedestrians have been badly injured and even killed by cyclists riding on sidewalks. In many cities, cycling on the sidewalk is illegal for this reason.

Man, I hate to be a downer since this guy seems really into it (and why I'm not posting at NG), but the first people to see Machu Pichu aren't the those coming from town in the morning, it's the people finishing their hike along the Inca Trail. Pretty much all hikers leave Wiñay Wayna in the dark so they can arrive at the Sun Gate by dawn to see the sunrise over Machu Pichu.

Oh please, Carl, "broke every window in his car" [sic]? Over-react much? Or are you just a tough guy on the internet? You clearly don't live downtown because this is 100% percent acceptable in both big cities I've lived in (San Francisco and London). It's a fact of life, and sometimes it's your only resort. Done gently, it does no damage to the bumpers (it does scuff the paint a little, but after a few years in the city it pales to the other, real damage you'll have accumulated.

Funny analysis, but there's a major data quality problem: since grandparent death is student-reported, the data set likely under-reports deaths on non-exam weeks as there is no incentive for students to report such (except, perhaps, if attendance is mandatory and recorded).

Why is "triangle" easier to remember than "top/left" for a colorblind person? I think this is a solution in search of a problem.

Plus, in the US, triangle signs (point up) mean yield, so seems like yellow is the best color for that shape.

I took my first trip on the Eurostar r/t between London and Paris for work earlier this week. There really is no comparison to flying-- no security queues, more space (in your seat, in the aisles, in the dining car), no stuffy/dry airplane air, no waiting for your bags, no need to get a ride to/from the airports, most seats have a power point, and EVDO/mobile phones work for much of the journey. I just wish there were more routes!

Some of these are attractive and might work if you're applying directly to a person or small company, but the reality of most medium or large companies is that your resume gets immediately scanned into the resume database. Sure, they might keep the original around to return with a search result, but if it's not easily text-searchable (weird fonts, small text, color, unusual layouts), a database search will never return it.