# In My Humble Opinion **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1439 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1440 --- ## [Why all the paranoia about China but not India?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-paranoia-about-china-but-not-india/635172)
**Author:** [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-all-the-paranoia-about-china-but-not-india/635172 "2012-09-28T18:11:45Z")
You get the sense that a lot of Americans are worried about the way China is going to surpass them as Number 1 Nation ™ in a few years. While there is some truth in this, I would personally have thought it is more likely… --- ## [When Will The Next (USA) Real Estae Bubble Happen?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-next-usa-real-estae-bubble-happen/636134)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-the-next-usa-real-estae-bubble-happen/636134 "2012-09-28T18:10:09Z")
Given the current depression/recession, it is hard to see another bubble coming. But real estate (in a few cities)-like SF, Boston, Seattle, is up considerably from the low point (in parts of Boston, people are getting … --- ## [What is your ongoing battle?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-battle/635192)
**Author:** [@Agent\_Foxtrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Foxtrot)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-your-ongoing-battle/635192 "2012-09-28T15:39:38Z")
In another thread, someone quoted Plato: “Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” I think that’s true and I’d like to know what battle you’re fighting that most other people don’t see. As for mine, I was … --- ## [What problem is keyless ignition trying to solve?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-problem-is-keyless-ignition-trying-to-solve/635801)
**Author:** [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-problem-is-keyless-ignition-trying-to-solve/635801 "2012-09-28T14:20:41Z")
I recently rented a Nissan Altima, which had the “feature” of keyless ignition. I found it really annoying. I was constantly tempted to put the key fob in the cup-holder, where I would then forget it when I left the car.… --- ## [Question for men: Which noun do you prefer to be designated by?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-men-which-noun-do-you-prefer-to-be-designated-by/636106)
**Author:** [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-men-which-noun-do-you-prefer-to-be-designated-by/636106 "2012-09-28T05:17:07Z")
If you had to be referred to with a noun that specified your gender as an adult man (if you’re not adult yet, answer as if you were), how would you like to be designated? The option “a male” here refers only to the word… --- ## [Pittsburgh Left](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pittsburgh-left/588816)
**Author:** [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Replies:** 82\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pittsburgh-left/588816 "2012-09-28T03:14:26Z")
The traffice maneuver whereby the first car in the left turn lane makes his turn as soon as the light turns green rather than wait for the oncoming traffic to start up and clear. I had seen it practised in Pitsburgh and… --- ## [Saving seats](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-seats/359003)
**Author:** [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saving-seats/359003 "2012-09-28T01:11:48Z")
My daughter’s HS graduation is on Friday, and she said we would need to get there 1 1/2 hours early to get “good” seats. (Let’s leaving aside the issue of whether ANY seat at a graduation could be accurately described a… --- ## [Sugar and the immune system](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-the-immune-system/635921)
**Author:** [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-the-immune-system/635921 "2012-09-28T01:05:56Z")
This is going to come off as extremely ignorant, but I know very little about health science, so here goes. I was just in a nutrition-oriented work session where the speaker mentioned a number of things I’d never heard … --- ## [When helping someone fix a small problem, do you also have often to fight the helpee to to continue?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-helping-someone-fix-a-small-problem-do-you-also-have-often-to-fight-the-helpee-to-to-continue/636044)
**Author:** [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [September 28, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-helping-someone-fix-a-small-problem-do-you-also-have-often-to-fight-the-helpee-to-to-continue/636044 "2012-09-28T00:34:35Z")
I get this sometimes: when dealing with a problem that by its nature takes a number of steps, I have not just to deal with the problem (solving which usually has a simple decision tree), but also with the other person pe… --- ## [Is a house cat this large potentially dangerous to young kids?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-house-cat-this-large-potentially-dangerous-to-young-kids/635563)
**Author:** [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Replies:** 48\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-a-house-cat-this-large-potentially-dangerous-to-young-kids/635563 "2012-09-27T23:48:06Z")
This YouTube video touts “Savannah cats” as being excellent companions, but given the size of this cat the destruction it could wreak if pissed looks to be considerable. Is a cat of this size a concern re child safet… --- ## [Ever get screwed over through Jury Duty?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-screwed-over-through-jury-duty/636048)
**Author:** [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-get-screwed-over-through-jury-duty/636048 "2012-09-27T20:52:04Z")
I did, though I admit it was mostly my own fault. At my job, for every quarter you work and get perfect attendance, you are awarded a bonus vacation day the following year. The conditions for earning these days are very… --- ## [Scientific (non-medical) charities?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientific-non-medical-charities/634438)
**Author:** [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scientific-non-medical-charities/634438 "2012-09-27T20:33:42Z")
Working on our life insurance paperwork today, I realized that my third beneficiary (after my wife and daughter, of course!) is left blank. I remember the agent asking me to fix this, but didn’t do so as, well, you know…… --- ## [How mad should I be?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mad-should-i-be/635823)
**Author:** [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-mad-should-i-be/635823 "2012-09-27T19:31:58Z")
I just got back from an eye exam at Walmart Vision Center. I order my glasses online, so they always write down my pupillary distance on the prescription. I noticed that this time it was 66, when I was sure it had been 6… --- ## [Is this stealing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stealing/635732)
**Author:** [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-stealing/635732 "2012-09-27T17:38:03Z")
I know, I know, if you have to ask, it probably is. But, I really don’t know on this one. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to get one of those motion-activated light switches for the garage. In my house, we have a g… --- ## [Home security suggestions?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-security-suggestions/635857)
**Author:** [@Stendhal\_Syndrome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stendhal_Syndrome)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/home-security-suggestions/635857 "2012-09-27T17:08:03Z")
Today my neighbor/friend’s home was broken into and burglarized in broad day light. Somebody kicked opened her front door, ransacked the house and took money, jewelry and some other items from her home. Thankfully, nobod… --- ## [Why aren't you a doctor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-a-doctor/635286)
**Author:** [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Replies:** 104\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-arent-you-a-doctor/635286 "2012-09-27T16:07:10Z")
At some time in our lives I suspect many of us have entertained fantasies of being a doctor - you see yourself inventing a cure for some hideous disease, performing life-saving surgery, going into the bush and administer… --- ## [Pedantry as a personality characteristic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedantry-as-a-personality-characteristic/635026)
**Author:** [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Replies:** 35\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pedantry-as-a-personality-characteristic/635026 "2012-09-27T15:32:23Z")
Is there a personality characteristic that can be adequetly described as an inclination towards pedantry and correcting others? --- ## [Solar panels and/or wind power for homes...any experience?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-panels-and-or-wind-power-for-homes-any-experience/633929)
**Author:** [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/solar-panels-and-or-wind-power-for-homes-any-experience/633929 "2012-09-27T14:38:29Z")
I am putting a new roof on my house soon, and I’ve been told that’s a great time to install solar panels or anything else that needs roof mounting. I have always wanted to use alternative energy like solar voltaic and/o… --- ## [Work Comp.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-comp/636019)
**Author:** [@kevin4900](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevin4900)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/work-comp/636019 "2012-09-27T14:18:09Z")
Can anyone help me? I am trying to find what law I can use to make the insurance company ylet me use the best surgeon for my injury. This surgeon is not in their list of perferred doctors…This case is in California and t… --- ## [Did I break a bone?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-break-a-bone/635836)
**Author:** [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-i-break-a-bone/635836 "2012-09-27T14:16:35Z")
The side of my foot took a hard hit from a low line drive this afternoon. Continued playing with minimal discomfort. Six hours later it’s fairly painful to walk on. However, there’s no discoloration and very minimal s… --- ## [Hypochondria is Hell](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypochondria-is-hell/635917)
**Author:** [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypochondria-is-hell/635917 "2012-09-27T14:12:10Z")
So after an ordeal with what turned out to probably be a non-existent UTI - the ordeal being the digestive hell that the antibiotics wrought - I found myself concerned, on Monday, about a tender spot on my waistline, on … --- ## [How can I have my property taxes paid forever?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-my-property-taxes-paid-forever/635861)
**Author:** [@core\_dump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/core_dump)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-have-my-property-taxes-paid-forever/635861 "2012-09-27T12:53:32Z")
Cecil has addressed perpetual care funds for cemeteries, which raised the question for me: How would I set up an entity so that my property taxes are paid in perpetuity? For trusts and related entities, you’re pretty m… --- ## [Marketing people: What's the process for getting bids on web design and other materials?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marketing-people-whats-the-process-for-getting-bids-on-web-design-and-other-materials/635948)
**Author:** [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/marketing-people-whats-the-process-for-getting-bids-on-web-design-and-other-materials/635948 "2012-09-27T12:02:21Z")
Last month, I left teaching and started working as a sales rep for a very small company. So small, in fact, that they have no real marketing materials to speak of, and their website looks like someone took a dump on a Ge… --- ## [How easy is it, practically, to flunk out of graduate school?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-practically-to-flunk-out-of-graduate-school/615179)
**Author:** [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-practically-to-flunk-out-of-graduate-school/615179 "2012-09-27T04:49:24Z")
From casual conversations I’ve had, it seems that, at least in the US, grad school is generally a piece of cake as long as you put in decent effort. I know someone personally who seemed to sail through, almost getting a… --- ## [ACOAs and confrontation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoas-and-confrontation/635964)
**Author:** [@BTEzra04](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BTEzra04)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoas-and-confrontation/635964 "2012-09-27T03:23:32Z")
(Adult Children of Alcoholics is the abbreviation). I’m curious–how do you develop the skills to deal with your problems or situations where you need to communicate? I wasn’t raised in a “strictly alcoholic” home, but m… --- ## [Question on Dog Responsibility](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-dog-responsibility/635680)
**Author:** [@Intolt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intolt)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-on-dog-responsibility/635680 "2012-09-27T02:51:26Z")
A neighbor’s adult daughter has moved back home 2 to 3 weeks ago. She brought a dog with her that, yesterday, got into my yard and mauled my cat. My question is: Do the parents (the homeowners) have any legal responsi… --- ## [Damn elephant sitting on my chest](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-elephant-sitting-on-my-chest/635883)
**Author:** [@RedBloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedBloom)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-elephant-sitting-on-my-chest/635883 "2012-09-27T02:25:32Z")
I’m stopping off here before going to see a doctor. Don’t ask me why. Probably because I’m scared shitless. A year ago I got put on beta blockers for a pounding heart/heart palpitations/tight chest. After numerous ca… --- ## [what american girls think about Middle eastern men?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-girls-think-about-middle-eastern-men/635434)
**Author:** [@Loveforever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loveforever)\ **Replies:** 40\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-american-girls-think-about-middle-eastern-men/635434 "2012-09-27T01:35:44Z")
Do American Girls like to date middle eastern men? --- ## [What are good books to introduce yourself to Asian and African history?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-good-books-to-introduce-yourself-to-asian-and-african-history/635947)
**Author:** [@spunkymuzicnote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spunkymuzicnote)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [September 27, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-good-books-to-introduce-yourself-to-asian-and-african-history/635947 "2012-09-27T01:35:04Z")
I have a lot of knowledge about United States and European history, as well as some about Central and South America, but I know absolutely nothing of Asian and African history. I’d like to rectify this and would love sug… --- ## [Do you have different levels of physical attraction to photos compared to reality?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-different-levels-of-physical-attraction-to-photos-compared-to-reality/635825)
**Author:** [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [September 26, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-different-levels-of-physical-attraction-to-photos-compared-to-reality/635825 "2012-09-26T23:21:22Z")
I know I do, and by quite a margin. This is my second attempt at writing this OP as the first one made me sound a bit of a pervert so I want to see if anyone experiences this phenomena in general and why it may be. To b… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1438) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1440)