# In My Humble Opinion **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1458 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1459 --- ## [My way of looking at criminal punishments](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-way-of-looking-at-criminal-punishments/632437)
**Author:** [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-way-of-looking-at-criminal-punishments/632437 "2012-08-24T02:05:58Z")
I consider the following to be true: a) In some sense, people experience things. People suffer. Punishment is unpleasant. b) There is no such thing as free will c) There is however something rather akin to free will w… --- ## [High school rings: Passe or not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-rings-passe-or-not/632188)
**Author:** [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Replies:** 57\ **Last updated:** [August 24, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/high-school-rings-passe-or-not/632188 "2012-08-24T01:48:49Z")
Pundit Lisa mentioned high-school rings in a tangential way yesterday, noting that these overpriced things are not only still in existence, despite the fact that most parents are aware that they’re ripoffs, but that her … --- ## [Shingles Vaccine - For the Over 60 Crowd](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shingles-vaccine-for-the-over-60-crowd/542778)
**Author:** [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shingles-vaccine-for-the-over-60-crowd/542778 "2012-08-23T23:47:45Z")
This is the vaccine to prevent or reduce the symptoms of shingles that has been available for several years. Have you or anyone you know had this vaccine? In a nutshell, I’m curious about any side affects that may have … --- ## [pay as you go cell phone recommendations for a tween](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-cell-phone-recommendations-for-a-tween/632107)
**Author:** [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pay-as-you-go-cell-phone-recommendations-for-a-tween/632107 "2012-08-23T21:58:54Z")
My 12 year old needs a phone for my convenience. For those that have tweens, any recommended pay as you go plans? I don’t expect a lot of talking but I’m probably underestimating how much it will be used. I could also a… --- ## [Cramming for tests doesn't help. Say What?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cramming-for-tests-doesnt-help-say-what/632327)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cramming-for-tests-doesnt-help-say-what/632327 "2012-08-23T20:04:40Z")
With all due respect. This study is full of crap. I’m not proud to admit this. There were several times in college that I choose having fun with a new gf over studying. I’ve had 36 hour study sessions where I hadn’t rea… --- ## [Product Design Peculiarities - trivial, yet irritating](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-design-peculiarities-trivial-yet-irritating/632403)
**Author:** [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/product-design-peculiarities-trivial-yet-irritating/632403 "2012-08-23T19:23:01Z")
Did you know that the angle of the rear window on a 2011 Nissan Maxima is aerodymically perfect…for dried-out acorn tops? If they fall down into the gap where the window meets the trunk, then when you drive, there is en… --- ## [Why do people love working for tech startups - because they sound terrible.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-love-working-for-tech-startups-because-they-sound-terrible/629117)
**Author:** [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-love-working-for-tech-startups-because-they-sound-terrible/629117 "2012-08-23T19:16:44Z")
I’ve worked for a wide variety of companies over the years, including a number of tech startups, and I’m trying to wrap my brain around why people love working for them. Ratings on Glassdoor.com are often 5 stars and pe… --- ## [Did you have an unconventional education?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-an-unconventional-education/632385)
**Author:** [@Acorns.but\_not\_Bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acorns.but_not_Bacon)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-have-an-unconventional-education/632385 "2012-08-23T18:39:24Z")
And if you don’t mind I’d like some advice. So are there any Dopers who didn’t go through the education system the usual way? Usual meaning going to school getting the right grades going onto college/university, I suppo… --- ## [Problems asking former landlords for references](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-asking-former-landlords-for-references/632308)
**Author:** [@F.Pu-du-he-pa-as](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.Pu-du-he-pa-as)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/problems-asking-former-landlords-for-references/632308 "2012-08-23T16:45:06Z")
If a future place I rent wants to ask my former landlords for references, I will have a problem. I’ve had three landlords; the first landlord was fine, but the other two were real pieces of work. I imagine that if some… --- ## [Big medical problems you solved yourself](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-medical-problems-you-solved-yourself/632262)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-medical-problems-you-solved-yourself/632262 "2012-08-23T15:18:20Z")
I’ve posted before about how I have occasional severe asthma that has put me in the ER once, my asthma only responds well to epinephrine inhalers which went off the market in the USA and are not available anywhere else a… --- ## [Worst American Generals?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-american-generals/625152)
**Author:** [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Replies:** 80\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-american-generals/625152 "2012-08-23T13:45:10Z")
Not an American bashing thread, but I was wondering who members would perceive as the least capable of American Generals. We can naturally extend it to Admirals. This article nominates McArthur. Whatever his faults it s… --- ## [Have you ever actually smelled rotten eggs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-smelled-rotten-eggs/631737)
**Author:** [@urban1a](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/urban1a)\ **Replies:** 45\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-actually-smelled-rotten-eggs/631737 "2012-08-23T13:27:44Z")
There is currently a series of radio commercials from the local utility company warning people about gas leaks. In the commercial they discuss the fact that they have added mercaptan to the gas to make it detectable and… --- ## [What is an appropriate hourly rate for IT consulting services?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-appropriate-hourly-rate-for-it-consulting-services/631686)
**Author:** [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-an-appropriate-hourly-rate-for-it-consulting-services/631686 "2012-08-23T13:24:17Z")
I’m talking about high-level IT consulting services, like project manage and execute moving a company’s business computing environment, designing and implementing the business systems to allow them to enter the cloud, et… --- ## [Alien Invasion-proof Earth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-invasion-proof-earth/631663)
**Author:** [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alien-invasion-proof-earth/631663 "2012-08-23T12:43:03Z")
This week I’ve read Larry Niven’s Footfall and watched Spielberg’s War of the worlds, and I was thinking, in reality, mankind wouldn’t have much of a chance against alien invaders with the technology to move between the … --- ## [How worn is too worn to give to charity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worn-is-too-worn-to-give-to-charity/632240)
**Author:** [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-worn-is-too-worn-to-give-to-charity/632240 "2012-08-23T12:26:48Z")
When I buy new bras, I buy them all at once. Then I have a big stack of old bras, still wearable, but a few years old. I don’t want to give them to charity because they seem too worn (although I took excellent care of th… --- ## [Laptop size](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-size/632203)
**Author:** [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/laptop-size/632203 "2012-08-23T11:57:08Z")
I’m trying to decide between a 15.6" or a 17.3" laptop. I’d be taking it to work 3 days a week but I would hardly ever take it anywhere else, not even moving it around the house. Still, 17.3" is kind of big, although loo… --- ## [Ideas for Adult Care?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideas-for-adult-care/627420)
**Author:** [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ideas-for-adult-care/627420 "2012-08-23T07:53:59Z")
My wife, 47, had a stroke in March. Since May, she’s been home, and going to outpatient rehab 3 days a week. My mother-in-law has been paying for a caregiver the other two weekdays. Yesterday she told me she can only do … --- ## [Slavery aside: did the Confederate States have a point about secession?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slavery-aside-did-the-confederate-states-have-a-point-about-secession/631693)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/slavery-aside-did-the-confederate-states-have-a-point-about-secession/631693 "2012-08-23T06:13:08Z")
The purpose of this thread is not to argue about the true causes of the American Civil War. I believe the South’s purpose in seceding was patently the preserveration of the evil institution of chattel slavery, but I’m su… --- ## [Why are some vaccines so age specific?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-vaccines-so-age-specific/632304)
**Author:** [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-some-vaccines-so-age-specific/632304 "2012-08-23T04:27:02Z")
This thread reminded me of a long-standing question: Whay are certain vaccines so age-specific? Like the new HPV vaccine that is only for children, and the shingles vaccine I can’t have yet. I’m a firm beliver in educ… --- ## [Pre-OP Urine test?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-op-urine-test/632170)
**Author:** [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pre-op-urine-test/632170 "2012-08-23T02:50:56Z")
A friend just called, freaking out, asking me about how to beat a drug test. She’s having surgery on a tendon in her hand, and the nurse called and told her to be ready to give a urine sample when she gets there. It wi… --- ## [Jefferson was a real shitheel.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jefferson-was-a-real-shitheel/632123)
**Author:** [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Replies:** 41\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jefferson-was-a-real-shitheel/632123 "2012-08-23T02:48:18Z")
I’ve always been fascinated by Jefferson. We all know his good deeds and this thread is not to detract from that. But I am looking for information about his bad character traits. Yes, we know he said that all men were… --- ## [What's your opinion of meditation?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-of-meditation/631907)
**Author:** [@Dickie.and.his.cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dickie.and.his.cat)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-opinion-of-meditation/631907 "2012-08-23T01:51:16Z")
Hello, I’ve dabbled with this a few times but not seriously, I always ended up giving after a few days. Anyhow as I understand it the point is (I think) to try and calm your mind by focusing (on for example your breath… --- ## [Flannel sheet recommendations?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flannel-sheet-recommendations/632249)
**Author:** [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flannel-sheet-recommendations/632249 "2012-08-23T01:21:56Z")
The nights have (finally) started to get cooler, and I pitched away my last flannel sheet set in the spring. It was an Eddie Bauer set that was okay but not great. I guess I got four years out of them, but they kind of… --- ## [Ever have two contradictory memories at the same time?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-two-contradictory-memories-at-the-same-time/632157)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 23, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-have-two-contradictory-memories-at-the-same-time/632157 "2012-08-23T00:30:51Z")
I woke up last night after an odd dream in which my father told me one of my classmates was at the door to see me about a paint job I had done on his car. When I awoke, I realized that the dream’s classmate died when I … --- ## [Is this hiring method common?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hiring-method-common/632227)
**Author:** [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-hiring-method-common/632227 "2012-08-22T22:44:25Z")
Where I work there is a very strong preference to hire someone from another part of the company. Some managers think someone from outside is a very risky hire but an internal guy is very safe. Since the company is g… --- ## [Tell me about ghosts.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-ghosts/632028)
**Author:** [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-ghosts/632028 "2012-08-22T22:41:08Z")
I was watching the show “Ghost Hunters” just because they were doing a place I visited the old Missouri Penetentiary. Of course they found some suspicous stuff (as well as finding EMF by a fusebox!), but they told the gu… --- ## [Brussels, Bruges & Amsterdam travel questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brussels-bruges-amsterdam-travel-questions/631680)
**Author:** [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2012, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brussels-bruges-amsterdam-travel-questions/631680 "2012-08-22T21:24:54Z")
Since there are many very well traveled and knowledgeable Dopers out there, I hope some of you can help me out. I will be traveling to Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam and Paris during the first two weeks of October to celeb… --- ## [What's wrong with my squash plant?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-squash-plant/631837)
**Author:** [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Replies:** 23\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2012, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-squash-plant/631837 "2012-08-22T20:54:24Z")
We planted a crookneck squash this year, which is growing like gangbusters. Problem: none of the flowers are turning into squashlings. There was one, but it’s not getting bigger, and in fact is looking rather dessicat… --- ## [Many a little makes a mickle. Savvy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-a-little-makes-a-mickle-savvy/632117)
**Author:** [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2012, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/many-a-little-makes-a-mickle-savvy/632117 "2012-08-22T19:39:25Z")
One of the unexpected pleasures of studying a foreign language is foraging up new phrases in one’s main language to squirrel away for future use. While studying this idiom in Japanese, 塵も積もれば山となる （Chiri mo tsumoreba yam… --- ## [Straight women & gay men: Are crazy men better in bed?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-women-gay-men-are-crazy-men-better-in-bed/632275)
**Author:** [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 22, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/straight-women-gay-men-are-crazy-men-better-in-bed/632275 "2012-08-22T17:57:16Z")
The title pretty much says it all. In your experience, should you let the crazy stick its dick into you? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1457) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1459)