# In My Humble Opinion **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1207 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1208 --- ## [Unusual on/off significant metatarsal pain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-on-off-significant-metatarsal-pain/671853)
**Author:** [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unusual-on-off-significant-metatarsal-pain/671853 "2013-10-22T21:16:23Z")
The formalities; I’m not asking for medical advice, you’re not my doctor, in fact I’ve already been to an orthopedist for x-rays and a prognosis. Problem was, he couldn’t provide me with one. So I’m asking here if anyo… --- ## [Where to buy a new computer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-a-new-computer/671490)
**Author:** [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-to-buy-a-new-computer/671490 "2013-10-22T21:11:05Z")
I’m in need of a new computer. The one I have now is 6-7 years old and occasionally crashes and sometimes does not reboot the first time. I usually use my computer for the internet, photos and genealogical work. I don’t… --- ## [Have Skald's polls officially jumped the shark?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-skalds-polls-officially-jumped-the-shark/671862)
**Author:** [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-skalds-polls-officially-jumped-the-shark/671862 "2013-10-22T20:30:36Z")
You can see the latest here. What say you? --- ## [Is it Safe to Have Sixpack Abs? Healthy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-sixpack-abs-healthy/671145)
**Author:** [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Replies:** 265\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-have-sixpack-abs-healthy/671145 "2013-10-22T20:12:31Z")
A middle-aged (40s) family member of mine has been going to the gym a lot lately. We (his family) are all telling him that he looks perfectly fine and that his physique is consistent with fitness and good health. This … --- ## [Back to school for engineering](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-to-school-for-engineering/669456)
**Author:** [@kwc27](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kwc27)\ **Replies:** 28\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/back-to-school-for-engineering/669456 "2013-10-22T19:02:31Z")
Any engineers in the house? I’m 26 and graduated in 2005 with a degree in Agronomy. That’s the study of soils, plants, insects, and ways of dealing with them in an agricultural setting. I grew up on a farm and pursued t… --- ## [Help! What to talk about to someone dying of cancer?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-what-to-talk-about-to-someone-dying-of-cancer/671749)
**Author:** [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-what-to-talk-about-to-someone-dying-of-cancer/671749 "2013-10-22T18:30:35Z")
Baked up a batch of Sweet Potato Get Well Sooner cookies and got some flowers together, and will soon be on my way to visit my friend’s mom in the hospital. I don’t want to just stand there looking sad with nothing to sa… --- ## [Did I just have a migraine?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-have-a-migraine/671732)
**Author:** [@Mielikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mielikki)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-just-have-a-migraine/671732 "2013-10-22T17:20:17Z")
I’m 45, and never had migraines as far as I know. But something weird happened yesterday, and someone suggested I had a migraine, and that scares me a bit. I know people who deal with those regularly and they sound ter… --- ## [Do sirens exist?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sirens-exist/670943)
**Author:** [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-sirens-exist/670943 "2013-10-22T16:54:55Z")
You know: the ones that lure men (sailors) close to them with their singing and then drown them. But how would we ever know? If anyone has actually seen a siren, they couldn’t have lived to tell the tale. --- ## [Airplane Repo: isn't there a smoother way to operate?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-repo-isnt-there-a-smoother-way-to-operate/671892)
**Author:** [@Heracles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heracles)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/airplane-repo-isnt-there-a-smoother-way-to-operate/671892 "2013-10-22T15:41:21Z")
We just watched an entire episode of “Airplane Repo” on Discovery. And we don’t understand what it’s about. If the bank forecloses on my house, I don’t think they’ll send a bounty hunter to repossess it. It’ll just be … --- ## [Need gag "going to prison" gifts (funny, bizarre story of why included)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-gag-going-to-prison-gifts-funny-bizarre-story-of-why-included/669877)
**Author:** [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-gag-going-to-prison-gifts-funny-bizarre-story-of-why-included/669877 "2013-10-22T15:15:43Z")
So my best friend had a package come to her house. She opened it and found this old Mickey Mouse book, along with a receipt for $1.08 for its purchase. She was confused, so she checked and found it was addressed to the p… --- ## [inexpensive binoculars](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inexpensive-binoculars/671779)
**Author:** [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/inexpensive-binoculars/671779 "2013-10-22T15:12:18Z")
I want a pair for general use, some birding & I want to go under $100. I googled reviews and read a bit; what do folks think of these three? Nikon 8244 Aculon A211 7x35 1.5 pounds? Leupold BX-1 Yosemite Porro Prism … --- ## [Advice to the elderly from the middle-aged](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-to-the-elderly-from-the-middle-aged/671641)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-to-the-elderly-from-the-middle-aged/671641 "2013-10-22T15:06:51Z")
Or, lessons from my aunt. Your family love you and want to help you, so let them. Please downsize before you have to. One day you’re going to wake up and no longer be able to cope. Yes, that two bedroom ground floor fl… --- ## [Calling All Lawyers! A Contest ...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-lawyers-a-contest/671848)
**Author:** [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calling-all-lawyers-a-contest/671848 "2013-10-22T15:01:23Z")
As young articling students years ago, a group of us had a contest to see who could work the most ancient citation in to a bit of paying business, in a manner that was not overly contrived (that is, it was actually a use… --- ## [Post-Interview Thank You Note without contact information (need answer fast)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-interview-thank-you-note-without-contact-information-need-answer-fast/671899)
**Author:** [@Dr.Love](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Love)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-interview-thank-you-note-without-contact-information-need-answer-fast/671899 "2013-10-22T14:36:20Z")
I just had a phone interview with two people, but I was not given either of their contact information. I’d like to send them thank-you notes. I can think of two ways to do this, and I’d like to know which is preferable… --- ## [So, my mother probably has Alzheimer's](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-my-mother-probably-has-alzheimers/670508)
**Author:** [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-my-mother-probably-has-alzheimers/670508 "2013-10-22T10:49:11Z")
Mum is sixty-nine, and we’ve known she is having cognitive problems (memory and vocabulary) for about six or nine months, but we have recently realized she’s been concealing more worrying symptoms from us (wandering at n… --- ## [Ski Rack, Luggage rack - does it matter which term you use for that thing on car roofs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ski-rack-luggage-rack-does-it-matter-which-term-you-use-for-that-thing-on-car-roofs/671761)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ski-rack-luggage-rack-does-it-matter-which-term-you-use-for-that-thing-on-car-roofs/671761 "2013-10-22T05:03:24Z")
My early childhood years were spent on a snowy Air Force base. Ski rack became part of my vocabulary. No one actually skied in my family or transported skis. Thats just the name for that rack that attaches to the car roo… --- ## [Would you date the child of a pair of serial killers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-the-child-of-a-pair-of-serial-killers/671852)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-date-the-child-of-a-pair-of-serial-killers/671852 "2013-10-22T02:20:45Z")
Yes, it’s a hypothetical with a longish storytelling OP and possibly a poll, depending on my mood when I hit submit. If you don’t like these, why are you still reading? Surely there’s a World Series thread open somewhere… --- ## [What could this union be hoping to accomplish?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-this-union-be-hoping-to-accomplish/671844)
**Author:** [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-could-this-union-be-hoping-to-accomplish/671844 "2013-10-22T01:59:34Z")
In my town, you will see periodically protestors standing in front of a business with a large banner on a PVC tubing frame. The banner will be customized and say “Shame on ABC Company - Labor Dispute” or ABC Company Eng… --- ## [Black walnut taste?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-walnut-taste/671868)
**Author:** [@gray53](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gray53)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/black-walnut-taste/671868 "2013-10-22T01:57:49Z")
I got an $18 1-lb bag of black walnut pieces at the Western North Carolina Farmers Maarket. These were the first I’ve ever tried (I’ll crack some I harvested myself in a couple weeks). They have a floral/fruity flavor – … --- ## [Let's talk about socks.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-socks/671720)
**Author:** [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-socks/671720 "2013-10-22T01:51:55Z")
The kind you wear, not the ones that get banned. I need some new socks. Every pair I buy these days ends up ripping at the toes after one or two washings. And that’s not just the cheap stuff. I prefer knee highs, but… --- ## [Visiting San Francisco in December](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-san-francisco-in-december/671607)
**Author:** [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/visiting-san-francisco-in-december/671607 "2013-10-22T01:48:51Z")
Okay so… I live in LA, but I’ll be hosting a friend from Melbourne for the holidays, and he wants to see SF. Because of work, it looks like we’ll be going up sometime between 12/7 and 12/15. I need to figure out where… --- ## [Do you think Sicilians look like Middle Easterners/North Africans, and Latin Americans?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-sicilians-look-like-middle-easterners-north-africans-and-latin-americans/624623)
**Author:** [@the\_apples\_fell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_apples_fell)\ **Replies:** 97\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-think-sicilians-look-like-middle-easterners-north-africans-and-latin-americans/624623 "2013-10-22T01:45:12Z")
Many on the internet believe that Sicilians don’t look like other Europeans, with some citing Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, or a host of Latin American countries as places they would fit better. Some even say they think Sicil… --- ## [Emotionally moving/beautiful scenery](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotionally-moving-beautiful-scenery/671887)
**Author:** [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/emotionally-moving-beautiful-scenery/671887 "2013-10-22T01:24:03Z")
A recent thread in GQ is discussing nature scenes and why and to what extent it is emotionally satisfying. What are some scenes, places in the world, etc. that have been meaningful for you, or those you know? For me, w… --- ## [Does this disprove diffusion?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-disprove-diffusion/671855)
**Author:** [@TashaKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TashaKitty)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-disprove-diffusion/671855 "2013-10-22T01:16:11Z")
Diffusion states that a solute moves from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration until the solute is evenly distributed through the solution. So when I make hot tea and the sugar melts, why does t… --- ## [Why does scenery make people emotional](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-scenery-make-people-emotional/671850)
**Author:** [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-scenery-make-people-emotional/671850 "2013-10-22T01:13:22Z")
Why do most people get an emotional reaction when viewing aesthetically pleasing scenery, sometimes so much that many people consider their subjective belief in the beauty of nature as proof of the existence of God? --- ## [Is Thanskgiving a religious holiday?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanskgiving-a-religious-holiday/671547)
**Author:** [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-thanskgiving-a-religious-holiday/671547 "2013-10-22T00:25:34Z")
This blog post about the overlapping of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah had this very interesting passage: Uh, a holiday started by religious exiles? And that started as an official national holiday in 1863 of Thanksgiving … --- ## [Cell phone problem: one contact rings when profile is set to silent](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-problem-one-contact-rings-when-profile-is-set-to-silent/671813)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cell-phone-problem-one-contact-rings-when-profile-is-set-to-silent/671813 "2013-10-22T00:16:55Z")
I had a BlackBerry Style 9670 for about five years and liked it. Decided to upgrade, but not ready for the Q/Z10 yet, so I got the Bold 9930 last week. I had the problem I’m going to describe on the 9670 and was hoping a… --- ## [Antivirus Live CD recommendations, please](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivirus-live-cd-recommendations-please/533219)
**Author:** [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [October 22, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/antivirus-live-cd-recommendations-please/533219 "2013-10-22T00:01:07Z")
Apparently, my niece was downloading things she shouldn’t have been, and ended up infecting my sister’s computer with a virus, or multiple viruses. After fooling with it for more than two hours, my dad gave up on repairi… --- ## [what is this vegetable?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-vegetable/671846)
**Author:** [@IceQube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IceQube)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-vegetable/671846 "2013-10-21T21:51:57Z")
It’s the light coloured stuff. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/22/a9ubujav.jpg --- ## [Do probiotic supplements reduce depression and anxiety?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-probiotic-supplements-reduce-depression-and-anxiety/671816)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [October 21, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-probiotic-supplements-reduce-depression-and-anxiety/671816 "2013-10-21T20:17:04Z")
I had always lumped probiotic therapy in with other nutritional woo, but recently I heard about a study that suggests that probiotic supplements reduce depression and anxiety. In a nutshell, “good” bacteria in the gut s… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1206) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1208)