OK-- I just got the package from the AMA and have yet to look at the DVD. But the thing I can't figure out is the coin that they sent also. So the big wheels at AMA think the average modeler needs something else --perferably something that is worthless except to a modeler--junking up his house. I Apppreciate the gesture, but other than clutter, what purpose does it serve? Anybody gonna glue one to their field box?[:-]

it's not worthless......


i think it is exactly the amount of weight i need to add to the motor box of my funtana90 for perfect balance. drill one hole and bolt it on....."perfect cg"



David S. tampa - Fl.

Is this coin some kind of a promotional to help bring in new members or what?[sm=confused.gif]

Now that IS funny! LOL

I'd just as soon they kept their crap. I resent the hell out of getting stuff unrequested in the mail that I'm expected to pay for, or have to send back if I don't want it. They could do themselves and everyone else a favor by not sending this stuff out unless it's asked for; all they have to do is advertise it in MA that it's available, and let those who want it ask for it. Maybe the disc has some good stuff on it; I'll never know, because I returned it unopened as a matter of principle: I don't accept unrequested mail. Besides, If I can't get what I want from Cafeenman's site, it ain't worth havin'.

I could not agree more. I'd rather keep the DVD and send the coin back though!!!!!

Man, your going to give yourself a stroke! You gotta find something else to worry about and not let things get to you so much. Its called advertising, and your going to be subject to it no matter where you go. Don't like it, pull the blinds, lock the door and don't leave the house. Make sure you turn off the radio and tv.

You think I'm bad with this-- you ought to hear what I have to say to the telemarketers who keep calling although I'm on the national no-call list. I don't mind advertising, but getting things in the mail I didn't ask for wouldn't be so bad as long as I have the option of just keeping it or throwing it away.. If AMA wants to send me a DVD, let its price be included in my AMA dues; don't expect me to pay extra for it unless I call them and request it. This whole idea reminds me of the old album clubs like Columbia House; they sent you something whether you requested it or not, and then you either had to pay for it, or send it back before a certain date, or they'd bill you. I don't like having stuff crammed down my throat; with TV, I CAN change the channel or turn it off. I consider this kind of advertising an unavoidable intrusion, and it pisses me off.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad, at you or anybody else (well, except for telemarketers and the AMA, maybe[X(]). If they want to advertise, that's what the magazine is for.

khodges,
You do not have to pay for something that's sent to you in the mail unrequested, nor do you have to send it back. There are laws preventing it.

If there weren't, don't you think every company that exists would be doing mass mailings in the hopes that you'd fail to send something back?

Just keep the DVD, pay for it if you think it's worth their price, send it back if you feel like being a nice guy, or keep it and ignore them.
Dennis-

Yeah there's a WHOLE other discussion starting on this...

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_27...tm.htm#2701084

khodges,

Thanks for the good laugh this morning. You and me must be related. You described how I am when it comes to this subject 100%.

The coin is part of a new tradition in the military, they are called challenge coins, the challenge is to collect as many as one can - it is like a status symbol. Contractors, suppliers, consultants, and even military brass "GIVE" the coins to the soldiers and their superiors to collect. In the armed forces this is a big deal.. Since these coins are earned it is frowned upon trading / bartering however they often are and that why they have become valuable. Some of the coins are very elaborate with inlays, paintings, etc. Many times they are logos of flight missions, aircraft, radar systems, or even events or branches of the armed services.

Most likely this is what they were trying to achieve. It has not caught on at all in civilian ranks. I have dozens of them (I am a civilian contractor) they are pretty cool actually.

Some examples can be found here.
http://www.9thinfantry.bravepages.com/c_coins.html


DP

Challenge coins aren't new. They've been around for years. In the military tradition, if you're all at the bar and one soldier gets out his challenge coin and drops it on the bar. Everyone else does like wise, and the one that doesn't have his coin with him buys a round of drinks.

If the AMA were to send someone the coin and then try to collect when they paid their next years' dues, I would imagine that it could get ugly. I don't know what's up with AMA these days. All this is going to do is to further the animosity that a lot of people are feeling lately toward the AMA and some of it's other endeavors, such as the facility at Muncie and the dues supported museum and all the fluff, instead of being put directly into it's lobbying efforts on behalf of the membership. This is what I would like to see done with the lions' share of my dues, and not to support someones' mutual admiration society or to line the pockets of those who provide mere window dressing and don't really have any purpose other than to make something appear to be more than it is.
I don't have a problem with AMA having these facilities, but I don't pay dues to provide someone else with a nice income. I pay AMA dues for them to work on my behalf and to provide me with cheap insurance. If they want to have the museum and the flying site and all the fluff, that should be by private donation, or funded by a business venture of some sort.
I tend to view things like this coin issue as "legal extortion" because it requires me to do something about something I didn't even want in the first place. If you don't want something you should not have to do anything in order to not have it, other than to ignore the request or advertisement or the commercial and move on.
But mailing something to me and then expecting payment or remailing the item requires some effort on my part regardless of whether I wanted the coin or not. It should not demand me to do anything for something I did not want.
Want me to buy the coin? Put it in the catalog. But mail me the coin, expect me to pay or send it back? I might just skip AMA alltogether.
If AMA really wants to add members I think it needs to sell off the window dressing, boot out the bureaucrats and get back to its' roots. Just my two cents.

randall is correct; I've still got mine from when the 2nd Ranger Battalion was re-formed in 1974 and I was a "plankowner".

Its an old tradition that began among airborne troops, which has been *******ized and spread among the non-warrior feather merchants in the services so they'll feel useful... and this has somewhat diminished the tradition, IMO.

About 15 years ago, I was at an H&K school in Virgina. After hours, I was drinking at the hotel bar with a couple of Seals also in the class. I coin-checked them; one didn't have his, and he bought the next round. Then, of all people, Oliver North walked in and went to a table in the back. One Seal said; "Hey; wasn't he Force Recon (Marine Corps airborne)?" We agreed that he was, and the other Seal, the one who didn't have his coin, said to me, "You ain't got a hair on your ass if you don't coin-check HIM."

Well, I did. He didn't have his coin, and wasn't particularly friendly about it, but he bought us a round. He looked pretty bad; this wasn't long after he had been raked over the coals by the Comgress head-hunters. But he did autograph a bayonet for one of the Seals, using a Magic Marker...

khodges and ChopperBob, I'm with you guys. That sort of "advertising" is pushy and intrusive. Flyboy, we're not stressed about it; simply annoyed.

Pix in the next thread.

A vintage coin.

Welcome Home Steve. Unfortunately, I think you're right about things getting their meaning diminished. It's just like the yellow ribbon issue. Now you can get ribbon magnets for your car with your favorite sports team [:@] Talk about diminshed value...........

Check your state laws on receiving unsolicited items in the mail.
I'm not sure if the law has changed, but in Minnesota we had/have a law that allows you to keep the unsolicited item if you didn't request it.
I found this out about 10 years ago when a company sent me some coins to inspect. If I liked them I would keep them, if not you were to send them back. I checked with the attorney generals office and was told in Minnesota you weren’t legally obliged to return the item. Just keep it, and the sender eats the loss.
I haven't seen anyone from Minnesota post on this issue yet.

Greg

Just what is this all about? I haven't recieved anything from AMA......yet.

You state law may allow you to keep the coin but I'd look for AMA to hit ya up or make it hard for you to renew if you do. That's what bothers me most about this.

Thanks for the support, guys. I kinda felt like I was making much ado about nothing, and it IS a small thing, when you omit the principle behind it. I am in total agreement with you, Randall, on your entire post. It seems like AMA wants to do good by us, but just can't quite get the formula down; at least that's what I'd like to believe, but you hit the nail on the head about the 'fluff'. Instead of a single national site, I'd rather see them work for corporate or commercial sposorship for funds, and have several regional sites, I think it would make it easier for membership to have the opportunity to use them. Unless you live within a couple hundred miles of Muncie, how many people actually are able to utilize the site regularly enough to justify its cost coming from membership dues. But this is diverging from the topic.

As far as the coins go, I have seen them, but never had any of my own. I found the quickest way to buying a round for the house at the O Club was forgetting to remove your cover when you entered. Speaking of buying a round-- our USAF medevac group bought this guy beer for 3 hours in San Antonio, I think he could have drank the lot of us under the table. My 15 minute of fame: BTW, this was 1988

Absolutely amazing!

I was absolutely wrong and others were absolutely right.

A few days ago, RCadmin opened a thread in the AMA forum. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Anyb...2688010/tm.htm
When nrcflyer opened his thread in the AMA forum, the one opened by Marc was two threads below it. Marc has to be sitting back laughing his butt off at all of you.

Worse yet, is that you are all just as Gordon Mc described you. I would never have believed it.

Don't you know? The AMA doesn't like girls!




Maybe they don't like how you parted your hair.[X(]

Don't feel bad Nitrowoman, my brother got one, but I didn't.

(I think we may be the lucky ones. )
Dennis-

OK, I'm taking everyone to court. I want worthless junk just like everyone else.[sm=bananahead.gif]