Gameranx:

You probably remember from May of last year the Tropes versus Women in Videogames campaign launched on Kickstarter by Feminist Frequency. A few weeks into funding, controversy erupted overnight at the mere thought that such a project might exist, amidst which a small group of fellows decided to organize a Tropes versus Men in Videogames campaign on Indiegogo in June by way of a retort.

While I didn’t back Tropes vs Women in Video Games on Kickstarter, I had been following the project on its way to the release of the first video earlier this month. I hadn’t heard a single thing about this protest campaign, though, which I guess is not surprising because they only raised about $3,000.

It took eight months from the end of the Kickstarter campaign for Anita Sarkeesian to release the first Tropes video, so a common complaint among project detractors was that it was a scam. This makes it patently hilarious that it’s the Tropes vs Men organizer(s?) who appear to have taken the money and ran. Read on about Gameranx’s research into where the money went.

Yesterday’s episode of 60 Minutes had a segment on a government study due to be released today on the United States credit score system. It is apparently not very good:

A new government study to be released tomorrow indicates as many as 40 million Americans have a mistake on their credit report. Twenty million have significant mistakes.

… the reliability of the industry is being questioned in an 8-year Federal Trade Commission study to be released tomorrow. Jon Leibowitz is the chairman.

Jon Leibowitz: Here’s what we found. Some pretty troubling information. One out of five Americans has an error on their credit report. And one out of 10 has an error on their credit report that might lower their credit score.

Before the episode even aired, the Consumer Data Industry Organization, a trade group that represents the three major credit bureaus in the United States, released a statement disputing the promo for the segment:

“The promotion released yesterday for a ‘60 Minutes’ story airing this coming Sunday, February 10, demonstrates that ‘60 Minutes’ has selectively interpreted an upcoming Federal Trade Commission (FTC) study to ignore the most significant results,” stated Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) president and CEO Stuart Pratt. “The FTC study shows that 98% of credit reports are materially accurate, a fact it appears ‘60 Minutes’ is set to ignore.”

…

“It is irresponsible for ‘60 Minutes’ to be reporting the findings of the study in this manner. The FTC’s study concludes that only 2.2 percent of credit reports have an error that would lead to higher-priced credit for the consumer. It is simply wrong to suggest that 21 percent have errors that would lead to this consequence,” stated Pratt.

The CDIA statement only gives percentages, so there’s no way to tell from it how many credit reports the 2.2% figure actually means. The 60 Minutes segment says that there are “200 million Americans” kept on file, so 2.2% of that would mean that 4.4 million people have an “error that would lead to higher-priced credit.” Even the CDIA’s numbers don’t sound all that great to me.

David Dishneau of the AP on what one woman would do:

Chicago billing clerk Stephany Harris, 53, didn’t miss a beat.

“Of course I would,” she said. “If the armored car had been in an accident of something, I’d make sure the drivers were OK and I’d call 911. But I’d put as much money in my pockets (as I could) and run.”

But what if her kids were there? “I absolutely would not take any money,” she answered again without hesitation. “I wouldn’t want them to get the message that grabbing money that is not yours is the right thing to do.”

Well at least she’s honest (note that this is not in any way a consolation).

Peter Svensson of the AP on the slow move toward EMV credit card technology (probably more commonly known as chip and PIN) in the U.S.:

The U.S.’s status as a holdout has also started to cause problems for travelers. While most European stores and restaurants still accept magnetic-stripe cards, Americans are finding that their credit cards don’t work in European automated kiosks, like the ones that sell tickets for the Paris Metro. Some U.S. banks, like Wells Fargo, have started issuing smart cards to customers who travel abroad.

Next year, Visa will start dangling this carrot in front of store owners: If they replace most of their terminals with ones that accept smart cards, they will no longer need to have their payment-system security checked every year. U.S. stores spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year for these audits, according to the NRF.

In an even more momentous shift, in 2015 Visa is shifting the liability for a certain kind of fraud from the banks to stores.

EMV is definitely not perfect either, and there have been a few successful attacks demonstrated in the U.K., but it is certainly more secure than what we have now.

Brett Arends, writing for SmartMoney.com:

… in 10 years’ time my $500 will have grown to about $800. That’s in today’s dollars—after inflation. In 15 years it’ll be about $1,000, and in 30 years, $2,000.

I figure I’ll be retiring in about 30 years, which is when I’m going to need lots of capital. I can have the iPad now, or about $2,000 then.

Thanks, but I’ll take the $2,000.

…

Yes, I typically do these mental calculations, at least in the back of my mind, for most things. A “$50” lunch at Morton’s really costs $200. A “$5,000” trip to the South Seas: $20,000. And so on. It tends to cut down on the spending. I typically come back from the mall with no bags, gleefully clutching my future millions.

‘Ili: This man leads a sad, lonely existence.

Colin: Yeah, exactly.

Colin: I was awestruck reading it.

Colin: “I don’t want to die poor, and I don’t want to live miserably and die rich either.” Could have fooled me.

‘Ili: Obviously long-term planning and weighing the benefits of large purchases is generally a good thing.

‘Ili: But this man crossed the Scrooge McDuck line ages ago.

Colin: Stick a dollar bill up this dude’s ass and it’s not pennies that pop out, but a half pennies.

Colin: So the best part about that story is that

Colin: The Street already ran it in 2007. http://www.thestreet.com/story/10366263/2/the-true-cost-of-an-iphone-try-17670.html

‘Ili: How does this guy function in society?

‘Ili: I’m imagining him in the produce section at a supermarket with a calculator.

‘Ili: “I really feel like some corn, but…” ::punches numbers::

Colin: I’m betting that he considers himself rich enough to not worry about this, and is doing the rich person equivalent of mansplaining.

‘Ili: “… if I don’t buy an ear now, I’ll have enough money to buy four of them in thirty years!”

‘Ili: ::goes home and boils a shoe for dinner::

Colin: ahahahahahahaha

Colin: On an old fashioned pipe stove.

Colin: “Why upgrade now when I could buy five stoves in 40 years?!” ::gets a crazed look in his eye::

‘Ili: He’s actually indistinguishable from a hobo.

‘Ili: “Why own a place to live now when I can have four later?”