Black card means end of discussion, right?

Postman came late today; not the regular one.  Huckleberry was snoozing out in the garage and missed his chance to bark.  (Not that he's learned to bark anyway, nor even say "woof, woof.")

Couple Netflices for Joy; couple obvious throwaways.  And a fancy-schmancy black envelope fulla promotional material for: BLACK CARD!

Golly wow.  A Visa Card what's of a midnight hue.  Hewn of the finest carbon fiber and stainless steel.  (OK, so my regular plastic cards do get a bit tattered by the time they're due for replacement, but whatever.  Maybe the extra-strong card is resistant to ceremonial destruction by headwaiters?)  Interest rate obscene, about the same as my current cards, I think.  I never worry about the interest rate, 'cause I don't carry a balance.  (And, if I did?  One of the throwaways was Discover offering me 0% interest for almost a year if I start wearing my cardigan, or using my card again, or something.)

Oh, here's the catch!  Annual fee, $495/year.

No thanks.  Let the sort of idiot played by Hugh Laurie pay these blackguards a fat annual fee to carry a Very Special Card only granted to the sort of Very Special People who ride the Very Short Bus.

Comments

[Ellen Fox]

But can you use it to open a locked door? I mean, that's the real question, innit?

[Eric Wilner]

Hmmm. I suppose an extra-sturdy card might be better for that sort of thing. And, depending on the construction, perhaps one edge could be sharpened.
...Which leads to yet another tangent. Cards with the raised numbers for carbon-paper use, and with mag stripes, obviously need to be of standard shape and size. But what of chip-and-pin, pay-by-bonk, and other new technologies? Is there still a need for a standardized physical form?
Why not have modern electronic payment tokens in the form of house keys, teddy bears, shurikens, fishing lures, ...?

Are you perchance the Ellen Fox who went to Paly all those years ago?

[Ellen Fox]

I am she!