# In My Humble Opinion **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=408 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 409 --- ## [Q for engineers (programming language)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-engineers-programming-language/832140)
**Author:** [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Replies:** 75\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2019, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-engineers-programming-language/832140 "2019-04-19T21:37:25Z")
About 25 years ago, my late brother, who was a free-lance systems analyst, made the following prediction: I don’t know what programming language engineers will be using, but I know what it will be called: Fortran. What … --- ## [Stopping a monthly payment from being withheld](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-monthly-payment-from-being-withheld/832740)
**Author:** [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2019, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stopping-a-monthly-payment-from-being-withheld/832740 "2019-04-19T21:12:31Z")
A friend is over their head in debt and is thinking of letting the finance company take the car back. They would not be able to sell it as the loan payoff is higher then the car’s value. They realize the impact to their … --- ## [Confiscation of guns: What do gun owners fear exactly?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confiscation-of-guns-what-do-gun-owners-fear-exactly/827510)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 458\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/confiscation-of-guns-what-do-gun-owners-fear-exactly/827510 "2019-04-19T16:55:46Z")
Suppose against all odds the 2nd Amendment is repealed and laws are passed and the government goes knocking door-to-door to confiscate all privately owned guns. What is the feared result exactly? Is is that gun owners w… --- ## [You have superhuman strength now - how profit?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-superhuman-strength-now-how-profit/832643)
**Author:** [@MrLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrLee)\ **Replies:** 47\ **Last updated:** [April 19, 2019, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-have-superhuman-strength-now-how-profit/832643 "2019-04-19T14:48:17Z")
As a partial extension of another OP from a few years ago… Let’s go with the following hypothetical - ignoring the actual scientific and and physical viability aspects of it: You discover, somehow, that you have Jessi… --- ## [Who here has served in the military, law enforcement, or the justice system?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-has-served-in-the-military-law-enforcement-or-the-justice-system/832230)
**Author:** [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Replies:** 74\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-here-has-served-in-the-military-law-enforcement-or-the-justice-system/832230 "2019-04-18T23:22:05Z")
Inspired by this statement in another thread: I’m interested in the range of this kind of experience represented among our peers here, so if you’re willing to share your knowledge, I’d love to learn … What was your ro… --- ## [What are today's communal cultural experiences?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-todays-communal-cultural-experiences/832697)
**Author:** [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-todays-communal-cultural-experiences/832697 "2019-04-18T21:07:58Z")
Inspired by this thread mourning the loss of water cooler TV shows. Cultures have always had shared communal experiences that bind a group and in recent decades in multicultural America shared television viewing has cre… --- ## [What have you backed on Kickstarter?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-backed-on-kickstarter/832623)
**Author:** [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-backed-on-kickstarter/832623 "2019-04-18T19:06:35Z")
Ever backed anything on Kickstarter? Ever put up a project on Kickstarter? What was it? Only thing I’ve ever backed on Kickstarter was Wasteland 2, but I’m currently debating with myself whether to put $299 into “Froma… --- ## [Hiring lawn care tips](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-lawn-care-tips/832729)
**Author:** [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hiring-lawn-care-tips/832729 "2019-04-18T18:25:14Z")
We don’t have an enormous suburban yard–maybe a sixth of an acre all told–but we have a janky old mower and two adults who hate mowing and no edge trimmer; and my wife has said that she’d love me to look into a lawn serv… --- ## [Begging for a Job on LinkedIn?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/begging-for-a-job-on-linkedin/829310)
**Author:** [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/begging-for-a-job-on-linkedin/829310 "2019-04-18T17:21:46Z")
I’m in a contract job until June 30, but I’m staying active on LinkedIn. I keep running across posts like this (copy and pasted as is, identifying information removed) \*Dear Friends, I am looking for a job . It would … --- ## [The Mounties and Canada?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mounties-and-canada/832526)
**Author:** [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Replies:** 42\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mounties-and-canada/832526 "2019-04-18T14:21:25Z")
Why are the Mounties always associated with Canada? It seems every country has its symbol that other countries identify them with. With the USA, I think it might be the Capitol. By why Mounties and Canada? I have been t… --- ## [Voice booster for speech impediments?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-booster-for-speech-impediments/832572)
**Author:** [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-booster-for-speech-impediments/832572 "2019-04-18T11:57:49Z")
My mother-in-law is 80 years old and is suffering from Parkinson’s Disease. One of the manifestations of this is that she only able to speak very softly. For the most part her enunciation is OK, but her volume is really … --- ## [How dangerous is it for a DIY with no iron pipe experience to un-couple and cap a gas pipe?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-it-for-a-diy-with-no-iron-pipe-experience-to-un-couple-and-cap-a-gas-pipe/832685)
**Author:** [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-dangerous-is-it-for-a-diy-with-no-iron-pipe-experience-to-un-couple-and-cap-a-gas-pipe/832685 "2019-04-18T11:43:33Z")
Here’s the deal. I have a 1/2 ID threaded iron pipe that runs ALL THE WAY across my basement for the sole purpose of supplying a gas log insert that is no longer there. I’m getting ready to replace my electrical panel,… --- ## [any penalty for filing taxes a week late due to sheer laziness? (link to Cecil question ca. 1996)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-penalty-for-filing-taxes-a-week-late-due-to-sheer-laziness-link-to-cecil-question-ca-1996/832656)
**Author:** [@Win\_Place\_Show](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Win_Place_Show)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-penalty-for-filing-taxes-a-week-late-due-to-sheer-laziness-link-to-cecil-question-ca-1996/832656 "2019-04-18T05:10:17Z")
I went ahead and filed mine online late last night - I “owed” a few hundred bucks, so I hadn’t been in any hurry to finalize my return, after having compiled my stuff back in February. So chalk it up to pure laziness / … --- ## [Will Trump go all "Jim Jones"?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-go-all-jim-jones/832463)
**Author:** [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Replies:** 166\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-go-all-jim-jones/832463 "2019-04-18T00:22:07Z")
The speeches given by Donald Trump, at the rallies he regularly holds in front of his fans, are becoming more and more deranged and bizarre. I increasingly find myself being reminded of listening to the tape recordings m… --- ## [Can you learn 3+ languages and be good in all of them?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-learn-3-languages-and-be-good-in-all-of-them/832505)
**Author:** [@JakeRS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JakeRS)\ **Replies:** 25\ **Last updated:** [April 18, 2019, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-learn-3-languages-and-be-good-in-all-of-them/832505 "2019-04-18T00:16:14Z")
I speak Serbocroatian as my native, I’m (I hope) really good in English, Russian and now I’m studying German (currently at a basic level). I am from a city where there’s 1/3 of Hungarians and I’m close to the border, so … --- ## [Microscoping Living Organisms in the Local Pond](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscoping-living-organisms-in-the-local-pond/826648)
**Author:** [@molten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/molten)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2019, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/microscoping-living-organisms-in-the-local-pond/826648 "2019-04-17T22:29:08Z")
I want to get a basic setup to be able to watch organisms (likely larger than a cell) from my local pond. I want to watch the stuff on any kind of screen, not directly with the eye piece. I looked at a few microscopes … --- ## [Do you know anyone well adjusted happy & trauma free whose life has been completely ruined by drugs?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-well-adjusted-happy-trauma-free-whose-life-has-been-completely-ruined-by-drugs/832653)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-know-anyone-well-adjusted-happy-trauma-free-whose-life-has-been-completely-ruined-by-drugs/832653 "2019-04-17T17:32:24Z")
I don’t want to hijack this thread but from what I’ve seen, many people who fall down the rabbit hole of drugs have pre-existing issues they are trying to escape from. Traumatic childhoods, social isolation, depression, … --- ## [Proposing hypotheses in the scientific method : better approaches?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposing-hypotheses-in-the-scientific-method-better-approaches/832610)
**Author:** [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Replies:** 15\ **Last updated:** [April 17, 2019, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proposing-hypotheses-in-the-scientific-method-better-approaches/832610 "2019-04-17T13:58:25Z")
So here’s what bugs me about the scientific method. In the most recent results in AI, the best outcomes were obtained from artificial systems that don’t start with pre-existing human supplied assumptions. To me, the id… --- ## [Are the survivalists on the TV show alone actually good survivalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-survivalists-on-the-tv-show-alone-actually-good-survivalists/832559)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-the-survivalists-on-the-tv-show-alone-actually-good-survivalists/832559 "2019-04-16T23:11:08Z")
I’m not a survivalist but I enjoy watching this show. It seems to me that almost all the contestants end up starving and losing lots of weight, and lots of them also get taken out for medical reasons. Sometimes those me… --- ## [Trump & public tax returns](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-public-tax-returns/832547)
**Author:** [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Replies:** 58\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2019, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-public-tax-returns/832547 "2019-04-16T17:15:08Z")
The issue of Trump and his tax returns is a bit of a puzzle for us on this island on side of the Atlantic. Our politicians don’t publish theirs. I understand that it has been a voluntary convention, but he doesn’t have … --- ## [Groundhog Year](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-year/832564)
**Author:** [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/groundhog-year/832564 "2019-04-16T16:13:42Z")
If you were forced to relive one year of your own life, of your choice, in a loop, possibly forever, what year would you choose? Why? It can be any period of 365 consecutive days, starting on any day of the year you cho… --- ## [When Things Are Done Right](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-are-done-right/832410)
**Author:** [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Replies:** 27\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-things-are-done-right/832410 "2019-04-16T15:34:30Z")
Inspired by this thread: https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=873861 What are the things you find around you that either work so well they are almost invisible or when you’ve encountered it you went"Why… --- ## [It's kitten season and we need names](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-kitten-season-and-we-need-names/832475)
**Author:** [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Replies:** 52\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2019, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-kitten-season-and-we-need-names/832475 "2019-04-16T14:57:38Z")
Ah, kitten season. It’s in full swing now. We have two ready-to-pop mamas on top of the daily influx of kittens born under trailers, kittens found in garages, kittens living in workshops, mamas that can’t stay in their h… --- ## [Veggie juices not based on tomato?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veggie-juices-not-based-on-tomato/482590)
**Author:** [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [January 23, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veggie-juices-not-based-on-tomato/482590 "2009-01-23T06:19:50Z")
Seemed like too much of a hijack to ask over here, so here I am. I have problems with acid reflux which led to having to have surgery on my vocal cords a while back, so it’s relatively serious. I think that one of the c… --- ## [App recommendation: English to Spanish translation](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/app-recommendation-english-to-spanish-translation/832608)
**Author:** [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [April 16, 2019, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/app-recommendation-english-to-spanish-translation/832608 "2019-04-16T09:35:31Z")
I’m traveling a fair bit to Spanish speaking countries for work lately, and I have no gift for languages. What apps do people use for translation? I’d like something really simple - type in a phrase or sentence and get t… --- ## [Why does Facebook do this?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-facebook-do-this/832546)
**Author:** [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2019, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-facebook-do-this/832546 "2019-04-15T21:55:24Z")
Every few weeks, it suddenly decides that I don’t need to see any of my news feed that is older than 5 minutes ago. The news feed gradually builds from that point, but earlier posts are apparently lost forever. I suspec… --- ## [New (small) concrete pad advice requested](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-small-concrete-pad-advice-requested/832032)
**Author:** [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Replies:** 20\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2019, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-small-concrete-pad-advice-requested/832032 "2019-04-15T18:30:53Z")
There is water migrating to and pooling in the corner near my entry steps. The pooling water has nowhere to go once it gets there, so it’s draining into the crack between the house and the existing concrete. I’ve conside… --- ## [How much power is "too much" for your side?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-power-is-too-much-for-your-side/832512)
**Author:** [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Replies:** 24\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-power-is-too-much-for-your-side/832512 "2019-04-15T14:43:01Z")
The renowned quote is that “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” With that, how much power would you be comfortable with your side having (i.e., your political party or faction)? If your side held every single seat in … --- ## [What countries are better than the U.S.A.?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-are-better-than-the-u-s-a/832334)
**Author:** [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Replies:** 116\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2019, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-countries-are-better-than-the-u-s-a/832334 "2019-04-15T12:59:48Z")
Using your own definition of “better”(elaborate if your wish), what countries are better to live in than the United States of America? --- ## [It is Tax...OMG! Taxes are due on MONDAY! Help!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-tax-omg-taxes-are-due-on-monday-help/832483)
**Author:** [@Cerridwyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerridwyn)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [April 15, 2019, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-tax-omg-taxes-are-due-on-monday-help/832483 "2019-04-15T06:17:19Z")
I am horrible when it comes to tax time now. I’m on SSD. I went to the SSA & IRS & asked them if I could pay taxes. They both told me I did not have to. Only if I work do I have to pay taxes. I told them I wanted to. I … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=407) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/in-my-humble-opinion/14.md?page=409)