# In My Humble Opinion **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1466 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1467 --- ## [Knowledge that could drive people insane--possible? Real (or fictional) examples?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knowledge-that-could-drive-people-insane-possible-real-or-fictional-examples/629953)
**Author:** [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/knowledge-that-could-drive-people-insane-possible-real-or-fictional-examples/629953 "2012-08-10T15:27:46Z")
I’m midway through the first season of Fringe, and please don’t spoil it for me. But it brought to mind a bit of a trope that dates back at least to Lovecraft: the idea that there are things that Man Was Not Meant To Kno… --- ## [Last Graduate Class - interesting or easy?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-graduate-class-interesting-or-easy/630762)
**Author:** [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/last-graduate-class-interesting-or-easy/630762 "2012-08-10T15:11:38Z")
I’ve got one last class to take, and I’m asking the esteemed members of the Dope for advice on what I should take. There are two options under consideration: History of Children’s and Young Adult Literature Programmin… --- ## [What is the perfect first question to strangers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-perfect-first-question-to-strangers/630758)
**Author:** [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Replies:** 85\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-perfect-first-question-to-strangers/630758 "2012-08-10T14:38:50Z")
I’m trying to formulate the perfect wording of that first question, when you meet someone for the first time, that most accurately and efficiently helps draw out the salient aspects of their personality. The perfect firs… --- ## [Would you be a reasonable suspect in anyone's murder?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-a-reasonable-suspect-in-anyones-murder/630874)
**Author:** [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-be-a-reasonable-suspect-in-anyones-murder/630874 "2012-08-10T12:55:03Z")
Before you answer, please consider the folllowing. I am not asking if you would commit murder; I’m not even asking if you’d kill in self-defense. I am certainly not asking if you have ever committed murder, and anyone wh… --- ## [Toilet-paper klingons: is this really a problem???](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-paper-klingons-is-this-really-a-problem/630927)
**Author:** [@Jimbabweosu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimbabweosu)\ **Replies:** 26\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toilet-paper-klingons-is-this-really-a-problem/630927 "2012-08-10T11:50:45Z")
OK, it’s late, and I’ve had a bad day, so I’m tired and cranky and in no mood to put up with Cottenelle’s advertising foolishness. Have you seen their campaign with the bears who prefer Cottenelle (I think it’s Cottenel… --- ## [Hiring a lawyer: Lion or Lamb?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-a-lawyer-lion-or-lamb/630964)
**Author:** [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-a-lawyer-lion-or-lamb/630964 "2012-08-10T08:37:27Z")
A buddy of mine is a lawyer. He has handled a few minor items for me and all went well. He is very intelligent, and an overall nice guy. BUT he is a very mild mannered, laid back, polite to the point of ingratiating, ki… --- ## [If "Coxswain" is the perfect metaphor, what is the best less silly sounding metaphor?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-coxswain-is-the-perfect-metaphor-what-is-the-best-less-silly-sounding-metaphor/630944)
**Author:** [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-coxswain-is-the-perfect-metaphor-what-is-the-best-less-silly-sounding-metaphor/630944 "2012-08-10T03:51:56Z")
I’m putting together a new music project for which I am the songwriter and head of the project but I am not performing as part of the project. In the music circles I run in, pretty much everyone is mostly locked into a s… --- ## [Should Twitter cooperate with the law if someone tweets a mass shooting threat?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-twitter-cooperate-with-the-law-if-someone-tweets-a-mass-shooting-threat/630790)
**Author:** [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-twitter-cooperate-with-the-law-if-someone-tweets-a-mass-shooting-threat/630790 "2012-08-10T03:38:06Z")
Story here So, should Twitter cooperate or not? --- ## [Driving cross-country with a cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-cross-country-with-a-cat/630821)
**Author:** [@Danja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danja)\ **Replies:** 19\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-cross-country-with-a-cat/630821 "2012-08-10T02:13:37Z")
I am going to grad school on the opposite side of the country and need to figure out a way to get my cat there. I originally wanted to have her fly with my parents when they come visit me but I checked the regulations an… --- ## [Legal Question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question/630994)
**Author:** [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legal-question/630994 "2012-08-10T00:53:11Z")
I have lived next door to a parnoid schizophrenic for the past 35 years now. The last 20 years he has put our family through hell. In his mind he is retaliating against me for spying on him with xray cameras. He has a l… --- ## [How do you carry on? (Passing of a SO or spouse)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-carry-on-passing-of-a-so-or-spouse/630633)
**Author:** [@Sticks\_and\_Scones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sticks_and_Scones)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-carry-on-passing-of-a-so-or-spouse/630633 "2012-08-10T00:47:31Z")
This is not so much a sympathy thread as a ‘now what’ thread. As I posted previously in the MMP in MPSIMS, my boyfriend passed away suddenly two weeks ago. On Sunday we were coming home from a great little vacation. O… --- ## [Friend stopped taking Pristiq (sp) abruptly and I'm not sure if this is a good idea](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-stopped-taking-pristiq-sp-abruptly-and-im-not-sure-if-this-is-a-good-idea/629172)
**Author:** [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [August 10, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/friend-stopped-taking-pristiq-sp-abruptly-and-im-not-sure-if-this-is-a-good-idea/629172 "2012-08-10T00:06:25Z")
She seems fine, but I can’t help but think this isn’t the best idea she has had in her life. Some background: Beautiful person, depressed on and off (part genetic, part life events), very proactive in trying to help her… --- ## [Reading Magic by Mem Fox](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-magic-by-mem-fox/630897)
**Author:** [@blueslipper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueslipper)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/reading-magic-by-mem-fox/630897 "2012-08-09T23:13:59Z")
I recently was given a book - Reading Magic by mem Fox. It was an initiative by Rotary with the Maternal Child nurse service. It has been on my reading list for a while but I have not had a chance to read it before. Wel… --- ## [Homophobic and Damned Ashamed of It](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homophobic-and-damned-ashamed-of-it/630376)
**Author:** [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Replies:** 62\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homophobic-and-damned-ashamed-of-it/630376 "2012-08-09T22:59:55Z")
So as not to highjack the thread about having one’s choice of sexual preference… Indoctrination, largely. The cultural/media/pop image is of some influence in this. I know a lot of guys who have a severe fear of bei… --- ## [Possession of a non-functioning weapon or gun](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possession-of-a-non-functioning-weapon-or-gun/630905)
**Author:** [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possession-of-a-non-functioning-weapon-or-gun/630905 "2012-08-09T22:39:10Z")
In places where possession of weapons, firearms, guns, whatever you call them, is a non-functioning revolver in a museum like display case regulated? --- ## [How could people in the past not have known or guessed these things?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-people-in-the-past-not-have-known-or-guessed-these-things/630260)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 71\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-could-people-in-the-past-not-have-known-or-guessed-these-things/630260 "2012-08-09T22:28:59Z")
I was inspired by this part of a post: http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15327393&postcount=6 I see such claims all the time, and they just don’t wash when even a little bit of observation could dispe… --- ## [Anyone live/travel to Ulan Bator?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-live-travel-to-ulan-bator/630761)
**Author:** [@No\_Wikipedia\_Cites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_Wikipedia_Cites)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-live-travel-to-ulan-bator/630761 "2012-08-09T22:16:53Z")
I heard that Ulan Bator was one of the worst cities in the world to live in (ok one person told me but they are in the know, so they say). Possibly due to the climate? Anyone actually visited or lived there? Is it an ex… --- ## [Hackintosh? Any experiences?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hackintosh-any-experiences/630990)
**Author:** [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hackintosh-any-experiences/630990 "2012-08-09T22:12:33Z")
I was cruising around killing time at work and came across the term Hackintosh, which apparently means using loading tools and whatnot to load a version of OS X onto a non-apple machine (desktop, laptop, netbook). Anyon… --- ## [stairway handrail use - a survey](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stairway-handrail-use-a-survey/630327)
**Author:** [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Replies:** 51\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stairway-handrail-use-a-survey/630327 "2012-08-09T22:09:28Z")
I am looking for opinions and practices about use of handrails with steps and stairs. Please feel free to add additional comments or criteria if necessary. Feel free to elaborate on the difference in how steps and stairs… --- ## [My cat has pimples? What is this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-pimples-what-is-this/630737)
**Author:** [@Why\_Child](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Why_Child)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-has-pimples-what-is-this/630737 "2012-08-09T22:06:34Z")
Notmai Kitty has strange bumps on her lower jaw. It started with just a hard little bump on the tip of her chin. When I scratched her, she’d angle her head to make me scratch that spot. I felt it, and scraped it (a littl… --- ## [Craigslist Scam - What am I missing?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craigslist-scam-what-am-i-missing/630988)
**Author:** [@ducati](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ducati)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/craigslist-scam-what-am-i-missing/630988 "2012-08-09T21:32:56Z")
So I’ve got a cheap used car on Craigslist. There’s been some interest, with several people getting my address in order to come see the car. I never hear from them again. I’m waiting on one now, but he’s overdue and n… --- ## [My left hand is messed up.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-left-hand-is-messed-up/630993)
**Author:** [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-left-hand-is-messed-up/630993 "2012-08-09T21:30:00Z")
I’m seeing the doctor next week, but until then I thought somebody might have an idea what’s going on. A couple months ago my little finger got tingly numb. Annoying but not too bad. Then it spread to the side of the … --- ## [Let's talk about respect](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-respect/630986)
**Author:** [@panaccione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panaccione)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-talk-about-respect/630986 "2012-08-09T21:28:52Z")
Ill say that two of the most important qualities people can show for one another are love and respect. To show love I think is easier than respect just because it comes more naturally. If you are happy, you will show lo… --- ## [Easiest Beach drive from DC Metro?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-beach-drive-from-dc-metro/629843)
**Author:** [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easiest-beach-drive-from-dc-metro/629843 "2012-08-09T20:31:11Z")
So, I promised Celtling that she’d get to see the ocean this summer. I’m really not a fan of Ocean City, MD, so I’m looking for a short drive, kid-propriate beach, with cheap-ish housing options. for a 2-3 day trip. Bo… --- ## [Help me buy a wheelchair](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-wheelchair/595214)
**Author:** [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-buy-a-wheelchair/595214 "2012-08-09T20:27:16Z")
Please help me shop for a wheelchair. I’ve poked around on the Intrawebs, but most of the information about models and options I’ve found seems to be based on the assumption the buyer knows what she/he wants in a chair. … --- ## [Companies you thought would have gone belly-up by now...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-you-thought-would-have-gone-belly-up-by-now/630686)
**Author:** [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Replies:** 155\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/companies-you-thought-would-have-gone-belly-up-by-now/630686 "2012-08-09T20:21:57Z")
My wife has recently been buying Lance crackers at our local Publix supermarket. I guess I’ve always associated their products with prehistoric vending machines in cheap hotels, but apparently the business is fairly rem… --- ## [Drug Users: Ever Feel Guilty](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drug-users-ever-feel-guilty/630588)
**Author:** [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drug-users-ever-feel-guilty/630588 "2012-08-09T19:32:58Z")
For those of you who have used illegal drugs have you ever felt guilty not because of the fact that you used them but because some of the money you used to buy them went to criminal gangs who regularly commit murder and … --- ## [Insurance Forms - what the heck is a suffix?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-forms-what-the-heck-is-a-suffix/630885)
**Author:** [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/insurance-forms-what-the-heck-is-a-suffix/630885 "2012-08-09T19:13:39Z")
Says Last Name, Suffix, First, Middle What the heck is a Suffix? Is that the Mr, Miss, Ms thing? --- ## [Buying Facebook shares yet?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-facebook-shares-yet/630958)
**Author:** [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-facebook-shares-yet/630958 "2012-08-09T18:55:45Z")
According tothis poll, almost 95% of dopers said no way when the IPO came out. Pretty much everyone thought it was overvalued at just over $38 at the time. Well, now it’s down to about $20 after a pretty big drop in th… --- ## [Explain sudden improvement to boss, or not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-sudden-improvement-to-boss-or-not/630965)
**Author:** [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [August 9, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-sudden-improvement-to-boss-or-not/630965 "2012-08-09T18:49:04Z")
Whenever there’s a sudden improvement in your performance, because of a change of strategy…should you mention it to your boss? Well, I like to keep my work habits private…but I don’t want my boss to think my sudden impr… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1465) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=1467)