# Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=1005 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1006 --- ## [Yay! My Kickstarter is LIVE!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-my-kickstarter-is-live/652767)
**Author:** [@CastleAnthrax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CastleAnthrax)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yay-my-kickstarter-is-live/652767 "2013-03-12T23:53:47Z")
I am just inordinately excited by this. I’m a henna artist, knitter of insanely detailed silly knit hats, temari ball maker, and belly dance teacher. I do a lot of small to medium festivals close to my home, but this y… --- ## [I can't get in to Facebook](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-in-to-facebook/652737)
**Author:** [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Replies:** 17\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-get-in-to-facebook/652737 "2013-03-12T21:38:49Z")
So I followed a link to another page from Facebook, and now all of a sudden they want me to verify my identity. They want to send a code to my mobile device. Believe it or not, I don’t have a mobile phone. Otherwise I… --- ## [Why no ghosts in urban violent hoods?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-ghosts-in-urban-violent-hoods/652120)
**Author:** [@SleuFeets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SleuFeets)\ **Replies:** 66\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-ghosts-in-urban-violent-hoods/652120 "2013-03-12T20:25:38Z")
I think that ghosts existing are completely plausible. I’m not saying for sure that they do exist, but for that very reason, I can’t say that they dont. Sometimes I like to watch the ghost…um…chaser(?) shows on sci fi (I… --- ## [Ugh. I know a guy who fell for an internet scam.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-i-know-a-guy-who-fell-for-an-internet-scam/651575)
**Author:** [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Replies:** 46\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-i-know-a-guy-who-fell-for-an-internet-scam/651575 "2013-03-12T20:19:03Z")
I always wondered who might be lured into giving their hard earned money to a random scammer. I work with one such person. Nice guy, but must not be aware of all the dishonesty and thievery that the bad guys are willin… --- ## [Sandy devastates Seaside Heights NJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-devastates-seaside-heights-nj/639321)
**Author:** [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-devastates-seaside-heights-nj/639321 "2013-03-12T20:05:55Z")
My wife’s relatives have places there, so this is of more than a little interest. Apparently: 1.) 50 feet of Funtime Pier is gone, maybe more by now 2.) Part of Casino Pier is gone 3.) A lot of Boardwalk between the p… --- ## [My most broke meal](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-most-broke-meal/344774)
**Author:** [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Replies:** 93\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-most-broke-meal/344774 "2013-03-12T19:48:55Z")
I just made rice-a-roni without butter. And I mixed corn in. Grocery store brand corn. The thought of adding katsup for flavor crossed my mind, but then I had to go flog myself for thinking sultry food-splurge thought… --- ## [An appropriate salute to Opalcat, RIP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-appropriate-salute-to-opalcat-rip/652747)
**Author:** [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-appropriate-salute-to-opalcat-rip/652747 "2013-03-12T19:13:55Z")
I would like to point out that the “Bye , Opal” memorial thread has, so far, reached 13,800 views-all in barely 15 hours since the first, sad, post. This appears to be a record for the most views in such a short ti… --- ## [WTF is up with the neighbor's porchlight/](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-up-with-the-neighbors-porchlight/652525)
**Author:** [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wtf-is-up-with-the-neighbors-porchlight/652525 "2013-03-12T17:28:25Z")
The guy whose backyard adjoins ours. His porch light dims, brightens, turns on and off. Perhaps he is signaling aliens, commies or terrorists. --- ## [Treatment for Food Allergies In Clinical Trials](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/treatment-for-food-allergies-in-clinical-trials/652546)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/treatment-for-food-allergies-in-clinical-trials/652546 "2013-03-12T17:04:08Z")
Until you or someone you love has to deal with a food allergy - a real one, not merely a dislike - it’s hard to understand what it’s like. Fortunately, I’ve never been as allergic as some of the kids in this article, bu… --- ## [Deal breakers on a new home...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deal-breakers-on-a-new-home/652584)
**Author:** [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Replies:** 68\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deal-breakers-on-a-new-home/652584 "2013-03-12T16:51:16Z")
I would like to be living in a new home within 2 years and I’ve been casually browsing homes listed for sale in the area I want to move in. I was excited when a home I was looking at on a real estate website seemed on p… --- ## [Sephardic Jews...um...our bad. Come back to Spain](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sephardic-jews-um-our-bad-come-back-to-spain/652337)
**Author:** [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sephardic-jews-um-our-bad-come-back-to-spain/652337 "2013-03-12T11:56:05Z")
After a looooong time Spain is seemingly trying to attract the ancestors of expulsed Sephardic Jews. \[ \](Sephardic Jews invited back to Spain after 500 years - BBC News)Somehow this story reminds me of Abdoulaye Wade’s… --- ## [California is a rumbling...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-a-rumbling/652638)
**Author:** [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/california-is-a-rumbling/652638 "2013-03-12T11:26:43Z")
Earthquake in CA a few minutes ago. Not a huge one, only 5.1 by the scale. --- ## [Actual vote fraud case in Hialeah Florida](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-vote-fraud-case-in-hialeah-florida/631440)
**Author:** [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actual-vote-fraud-case-in-hialeah-florida/631440 "2013-03-12T09:15:24Z")
And it looks pretty damn organized, the case started when the postal service reported a woman dropping off mass amounts of absentee ballots all at once. Gathering more than a hundred ballots from incapacitated voter… --- ## [My doberman Jake has bone cancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doberman-jake-has-bone-cancer/639379)
**Author:** [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Replies:** 72\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-doberman-jake-has-bone-cancer/639379 "2013-03-12T04:37:49Z")
Jake was at the vet today getting x-rays because he’d developed a limp and a swollen hip. It turns out that it’s bone cancer instead of the arthritis or dysplasia that we thought it might be. He’s only 8. There is no rea… --- ## [WalMart hands over its Twitter feed to Mark Burnett - WHY?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walmart-hands-over-its-twitter-feed-to-mark-burnett-why/652606)
**Author:** [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/walmart-hands-over-its-twitter-feed-to-mark-burnett-why/652606 "2013-03-12T02:08:53Z")
I’ve gathered that Mark Burnett has made some sort of Bible miniseries for the History channel. I’ve gathered this because WalMart handed over their Twitter feed to the guy for a couple of hours tonight and he’s been pro… --- ## [People Never Fail To Amaze Me (in a bad way)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-never-fail-to-amaze-me-in-a-bad-way/630177)
**Author:** [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Replies:** 54\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-never-fail-to-amaze-me-in-a-bad-way/630177 "2013-03-12T00:59:20Z")
I thought I’d start this thread after reading about people using the handicapped tags of their dead relatives over in IMHO. What stories do you have of people you know who amaze you with some of the things they do… in a… --- ## [Naked in the parking lot. WTH is with parents?!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846)
**Author:** [@AngelSoft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelSoft)\ **Replies:** 50\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naked-in-the-parking-lot-wth-is-with-parents/651846 "2013-03-11T22:47:50Z")
So I was at the grocery store with my daughter this afternoon, picking up a few things. We’re heading back to the car and I notice something strange in the open spot in front of my car. A grown man, slowly toddling behin… --- ## [10 Weirdest Members of Congress,](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-weirdest-members-of-congress/652302)
**Author:** [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Replies:** 7\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/10-weirdest-members-of-congress/652302 "2013-03-11T20:54:28Z")
This was the cover story in The Houston Press last week. (It’s a weekly alternative like The Village Voice or The Austin Chronicle.) And hey! Three are from Texas! http://www.houstonpress.com/2013-02-28/news/the-ten-w… --- ## [Number of American homes with guns has been declining steadily for 40 years](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-american-homes-with-guns-has-been-declining-steadily-for-40-years/652579)
**Author:** [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/number-of-american-homes-with-guns-has-been-declining-steadily-for-40-years/652579 "2013-03-11T20:07:45Z")
I did not know this until this New York Times story. The General Social Survey has been asking Americans if they have a gun in the house for at least since 1972. Since then the number has dropped steadily, from over 50… --- ## [An Amazing testimony on my story](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-amazing-testimony-on-my-story/652495)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-amazing-testimony-on-my-story/652495 "2013-03-11T19:32:04Z")
I want to share a testimony of my life to every one. i was married to my husband smith, i love him so much we have been married for 5 years now with two kids. when he went for a vacation to Paris he met a lady called Mar… --- ## [Ever Had Your Car Damaged In An Automated Car Wash?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-car-damaged-in-an-automated-car-wash/620637)
**Author:** [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-had-your-car-damaged-in-an-automated-car-wash/620637 "2013-03-11T18:53:06Z")
I’m curious about people’s experiences with vehicle damage with automatic car washes. Full disclosure, I operate a pair of tunnel washes in the Midwest and damage claims are the bane of my existence. I’d like to hear yo… --- ## [Evil Bastard Me and telemarketer](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-bastard-me-and-telemarketer/652104)
**Author:** [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Replies:** 53\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evil-bastard-me-and-telemarketer/652104 "2013-03-11T18:38:55Z")
Yes, I picked up the phone and let them have it. In Wisconsin it’s illegal to call any phone on the do not call registry to sell stuff. We are on it and one company that gets fined and gets prosecuted again and again is … --- ## [Breaking news: Hugo Chavez dead at 58](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-hugo-chavez-dead-at-58/652130)
**Author:** [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/breaking-news-hugo-chavez-dead-at-58/652130 "2013-03-11T16:42:05Z")
Fidel Castro can’t be very far behind. --- ## [Scottish Rite Masonry](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scottish-rite-masonry/651997)
**Author:** [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scottish-rite-masonry/651997 "2013-03-11T16:36:37Z")
This almost certainly won’t interest anyone but my Masonic bretheren here on the boards, but I wanted to share that I went to the Scottish Rite Masonry one day class in Boston on Saturday, and had a great time. Experienc… --- ## [This will make you flip your yarmulke](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-will-make-you-flip-your-yarmulke/652593)
**Author:** [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-will-make-you-flip-your-yarmulke/652593 "2013-03-11T14:48:51Z")
So today a friend of mine had the unveiling scheduled for his mom. \[The unveiling is a Jewish practice that takes place a year after a person dies. It is the “unveiling” of the headstone–although there may or may not be … --- ## [Fun with farts and other harmless pranks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-farts-and-other-harmless-pranks/652002)
**Author:** [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Replies:** 55\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-with-farts-and-other-harmless-pranks/652002 "2013-03-11T14:44:55Z")
Now, being a lady, I don’t officially do anything as base and crude as “fart,” but if you do, here is a harmless little prank I recently learned from my 15-year-old son. (This age of boy, as everyone well knows, is a per… --- ## [Comet to pass (or hit) Mars in 2014](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-to-pass-or-hit-mars-in-2014/651735)
**Author:** [@sohvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sohvan)\ **Replies:** 13\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-to-pass-or-hit-mars-in-2014/651735 "2013-03-11T14:13:15Z")
Via Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy Seems like an impact is unlikely but undetermined at this point, but it’s going to make a very close pass. Impact force would be ~800 teratons of TNT at current estimates on it’s mass and… --- ## [On-Line Giraffes!](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-line-giraffes/652586)
**Author:** [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-line-giraffes/652586 "2013-03-11T13:22:00Z")
Just spotted this article about the giraffes at Giraffe Manor, a hotel and giraffe sanctuary near Nairobi, Kenya, where the giraffes join the guests for breakfast. Lots of photos included. --- ## [First timer not so good Easter basket and candy hunt ideas](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-timer-not-so-good-easter-basket-and-candy-hunt-ideas/652293)
**Author:** [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-timer-not-so-good-easter-basket-and-candy-hunt-ideas/652293 "2013-03-11T12:56:24Z")
Pretend you didn’t grow up getting Easter baskets or doing candy hunts for hidden candy. Your culture has no Easter traditions. You just read about Easter and plan on having a candy hunt and Easter basket for your kids f… --- ## [The "I haven't done this in a while, so here" MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-i-havent-done-this-in-a-while-so-here-mmp/651986)
**Author:** [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Replies:** 396\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2013, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-i-havent-done-this-in-a-while-so-here-mmp/651986 "2013-03-11T12:49:55Z")
There are lots of things I haven’t done in a while, some of which I would very much like to: Visit San Francisco Go Horseback riding Go Bowling Go to a ball game or a concert Oh, heck! Anything except just going to … [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=1004) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=1006)