# Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=1273 [Latest](https://boards.straightdope.com/latest.md) · [Categories](https://boards.straightdope.com/categories.md) · [Tags](https://boards.straightdope.com/tags.md) **Page:** 1274 --- ## [Why Is The S Emulating Soviet Communism?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-s-emulating-soviet-communism/588616)
**Author:** [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Replies:** 67\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-the-s-emulating-soviet-communism/588616 "2011-07-12T19:17:05Z")
The insane decisions coming out of Washing defy explanation-it seems that the government doesn’t believe in the free market anymore. We get crazy edicts like the “low flush” toilets (that didn’t work), the banning of inc… --- ## [See what Google thinks of you](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-what-google-thinks-of-you/588094)
**Author:** [@mittu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mittu)\ **Replies:** 56\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/see-what-google-thinks-of-you/588094 "2011-07-12T19:03:17Z")
Clicky It looked pretty accurate for me, the demographic wasn’t too detailed (just said male, which is correct) but this may be because I use AdBlock and clear my history regularly. Still, it’s interesting to see how y… --- ## [A relaxing walk in the field… (wildlife encounters)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-relaxing-walk-in-the-field-wildlife-encounters/587379)
**Author:** [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-relaxing-walk-in-the-field-wildlife-encounters/587379 "2011-07-12T17:17:00Z")
We have 50 acres of land on our family farm, the field is planted with timothy and alfalfa hay, our neighbor cuts the hay and bales it, we get first choice of the cuts (2 to 3 per season) for our horses We’ve had the fi… --- ## [Switching from DirecTV to Dish TV](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-from-directv-to-dish-tv/588465)
**Author:** [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switching-from-directv-to-dish-tv/588465 "2011-07-12T15:40:14Z")
I have been moderately unhappy with DirecTV for some time now but never so much to want to leave. That has changed. To preface, I have been a subscriber for over a decade and have all of the movie and sports channels s… --- ## [Southeastern tornado relief thread - PLEASE help. \[edited title\]](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southeastern-tornado-relief-thread-please-help-edited-title/580716)
**Author:** [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Replies:** 31\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southeastern-tornado-relief-thread-please-help-edited-title/580716 "2011-07-12T13:38:04Z")
I have mod permission to post this thread. Dopers, PLEASE HELP. Your contributions are desperately needed. As most of you probably know, the southeastern US was absolutely crippled last week by a series of tornadic s… --- ## [I have been invited to observe arguments before the United States Supreme Court.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-invited-to-observe-arguments-before-the-united-states-supreme-court/588360)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 29\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-been-invited-to-observe-arguments-before-the-united-states-supreme-court/588360 "2011-07-12T07:15:11Z")
My late wife’s cousin has been granted cert. to argue a case before the US Supreme Court this October, and has invited me to attend as a spectator. This is the second time he has argued before SCOTUS, and we are very pro… --- ## [How computer geeky is this](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-computer-geeky-is-this/588461)
**Author:** [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Replies:** 11\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-computer-geeky-is-this/588461 "2011-07-12T05:56:18Z")
I am performing a repair install of an XP virtual machine by mounting an image of a windows CD to a virtual CD rom drive all via RDP. Just typing that made me have a little “Holy shit I really am a computer guy” moment. … --- ## [Zipper Keeps Falling Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961)
**Author:** [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Replies:** 36\ **Last updated:** [July 12, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/zipper-keeps-falling-down/586961 "2011-07-12T01:40:16Z")
Maybe I could put this in general questions, but it seems awful petty even if it is annoying the crap out of me. I have a pair of jeans in good shape, but as of today the damn zipper keeps falling down. It just won’t s… --- ## [I welcome death...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-welcome-death/588469)
**Author:** [@Lancia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lancia)\ **Replies:** 22\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-welcome-death/588469 "2011-07-11T22:11:59Z")
This day has been leading to an evening of pure hell. My wife, my kids and I had been planning on attending a parade this evening. I was expecting only partial misery because my wife’s family would be there and that the… --- ## [Need help rehoming cats, GA/AL](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-rehoming-cats-ga-al/588658)
**Author:** [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/need-help-rehoming-cats-ga-al/588658 "2011-07-11T21:17:03Z")
This is just breaking my heart, and I’ve been putting it off as long as possible. Mr Kitty had his double lung transplant surgery in January. There were definitely ups and downs, but he’s well on the road to recovery. … --- ## [I want to make cardboard blocks](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-make-cardboard-blocks/588470)
**Author:** [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Replies:** 10\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-make-cardboard-blocks/588470 "2011-07-11T21:12:57Z")
For my kids. To build forts and things. I’ve been looking online but all the suggestions are for milk cartons, and I’m in Canada. We get milk in bags, of course. I could ask all the neighbours to start saving their juice… --- ## [Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in the head?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904)
**Author:** [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Replies:** 454\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congresswoman-gabrielle-giffords-shot-in-the-head/566904 "2011-07-11T20:56:23Z")
I can’t get this story to load. But I read it here. Is there more news somewhere? I’m horrified. --- ## [I love me some trees, but these damn Hickory trees...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-me-some-trees-but-these-damn-hickory-trees/588317)
**Author:** [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-love-me-some-trees-but-these-damn-hickory-trees/588317 "2011-07-11T19:44:06Z")
are a PITA! I have 4 fully mature hickory trees in my backyard, one of which overhangs the deck on the back of our house, while another overhangs my driveway. I’m a bit of a tree-hugger, but dang, these are a poor choi… --- ## [Stuff your surgeon doesn't tell you](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-your-surgeon-doesnt-tell-you/588568)
**Author:** [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-your-surgeon-doesnt-tell-you/588568 "2011-07-11T15:37:33Z")
If you have a body part held together with a boatload of metal and you plunge that body part into ice water, the area gets very cold very fast and stays that way for quite some time. Crikey! --- ## [Happy Fourth of July - an Independent MMP](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-an-independent-mmp/587801)
**Author:** [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Replies:** 198\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-fourth-of-july-an-independent-mmp/587801 "2011-07-11T14:24:20Z")
In the spirit of American Independence Day, you are FREE to post whatever you want. As opposed to, well, you know, our usual MMPs where there’s occasionally a shred of a topic. So be safe with your fireworks, don’t dr… --- ## [I am posting this from 30,000 feet](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-posting-this-from-30-000-feet/588557)
**Author:** [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-posting-this-from-30-000-feet/588557 "2011-07-11T05:08:42Z")
I am currently on a Southwest Air flight from Phoenix to Manchester, and it the first time I have used their WiFi hotspot. Works pretty good, though my laptop battery is almost drained, i was using it in the airport. T… --- ## [Are there personal cooling devices like the Black Ice neck cooler, but cheaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-personal-cooling-devices-like-the-black-ice-neck-cooler-but-cheaper/588450)
**Author:** [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-personal-cooling-devices-like-the-black-ice-neck-cooler-but-cheaper/588450 "2011-07-11T04:57:47Z")
I want a personal cooling device, but most of the ones on the market rely on low humidity to work (neck coolers, head bandanas, evaporation fans, etc). I live in an environment where when it is hot it is also likely humi… --- ## [The Humble Beater/Jalopy/Paddock Basher](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humble-beater-jalopy-paddock-basher/587870)
**Author:** [@Jaguars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaguars)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-humble-beater-jalopy-paddock-basher/587870 "2011-07-11T04:44:31Z")
That is, an old non-roadworthy car used to do skids and donuts and stuff. When my brothers and I were around the driving age, we bought a 1984 Mitsubishi Mirage for $150, advertised as ‘No WOF, gd runner’ in the \* Trade … --- ## [Yemen Hemen Semen](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yemen-hemen-semen/588416)
**Author:** [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Replies:** 12\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yemen-hemen-semen/588416 "2011-07-11T03:56:38Z")
What are some others? Notice they don’t rhyme – at least not to my ear. --- ## [Sort of a serious question. This has been bothering me for a while...](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sort-of-a-serious-question-this-has-been-bothering-me-for-a-while/587855)
**Author:** [@stint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stint)\ **Replies:** 33\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sort-of-a-serious-question-this-has-been-bothering-me-for-a-while/587855 "2011-07-11T02:58:16Z")
This past November, my mother was found to have a very large brain aneurysm and needed surgery to have it clamped. It was a difficult time in my family’s life but she got out of the hospital a few days before Christmas,… --- ## [kind find the kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kind-find-the-kitty/588548)
**Author:** [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Replies:** 8\ **Last updated:** [July 11, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kind-find-the-kitty/588548 "2011-07-11T01:45:31Z")
i am house sitting and kitty sitting. The cat hates me because I have to give him medicine and he doesn’t know me. I saw the cat a few hours ago in the kitchen and then had a guest over for a couple of hours, the only ti… --- ## [What Life Is About (according to some translation-bot)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-life-is-about-according-to-some-translation-bot/588566)
**Author:** [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-life-is-about-according-to-some-translation-bot/588566 "2011-07-10T23:56:03Z")
George Bernard Shaw (if you don’t know him, shame on you) said: \* “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” \* Some automatic translation engines out there in cyberspace have remade this int… --- ## [A day at the airport](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-at-the-airport/588475)
**Author:** [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Replies:** 9\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-at-the-airport/588475 "2011-07-10T23:21:18Z")
The Arlington Fly-In has been going on, and roomie and I went today. She’d worked last night, and had been up since 19:30. But she wanted to go. We were to meet up with someone from a now-defunct MeetUp group I was in… --- ## [Реклама](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/588084)
**Author:** [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Replies:** 60\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/588084 "2011-07-10T22:31:21Z")
Здравствуйте! Могу я разместить на вашем замечательном форуме немного рекламных ссылок бесплатно? Ежели нет, то потрите мой пост. --- ## [Save up, send off and get](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/save-up-send-off-and-get/588526)
**Author:** [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/save-up-send-off-and-get/588526 "2011-07-10T22:11:53Z")
Childhood practices that have carried forward into your adult years. What are some of the things you sent away for in comic books, magazines, from radio instructions, off TV ads, or wherever, when you had to wait days t… --- ## [ATL Public School System Cheating - Admin and Teachers](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atl-public-school-system-cheating-admin-and-teachers/588539)
**Author:** [@Bloodless\_Turnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bloodless_Turnip)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atl-public-school-system-cheating-admin-and-teachers/588539 "2011-07-10T21:19:17Z")
Full article IMHO this should lead to a whole lot of criminal charges. How will those kids recoup the time lost? Time they could have been getting help in whatever subject they needed it in, but they didn’t because t… --- ## [My dad, the college radical](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dad-the-college-radical/588515)
**Author:** [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-dad-the-college-radical/588515 "2011-07-10T19:48:44Z")
My dad sent me a link today, something I’ve been scouring the net for since he first mentioned it in passing years ago. It’s a documentary about the student protests at Yale University in 1970, and my dad, a senior there… --- ## [Is my sister in-law being extorted by plastic surgeon?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-sister-in-law-being-extorted-by-plastic-surgeon/588272)
**Author:** [@JHE1967](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JHE1967)\ **Replies:** 30\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-my-sister-in-law-being-extorted-by-plastic-surgeon/588272 "2011-07-10T17:59:51Z")
I’ll try and make this short–my SIL is having a mastopexy (breast lift). 2 weeks ago she went in for a test and they said she tested for 2nd hand smoke–she was advised not to smoke. She didn’t. She did go in a bar where … --- ## [The passivity of people](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passivity-of-people/587869)
**Author:** [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Replies:** 37\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-passivity-of-people/587869 "2011-07-10T16:16:33Z")
Yesterday I was walking through the Chinatown area of Queens, and went into one of those narrow but tall four-story malls they have there. It was absolutely teeming with people. On the first floor was a big bustling mark… --- ## [Other than nuclear info, is there any info that represents an existential threat to the entire US?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-nuclear-info-is-there-any-info-that-represents-an-existential-threat-to-the-entire-us/588137)
**Author:** [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Replies:** 18\ **Last updated:** [July 10, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/other-than-nuclear-info-is-there-any-info-that-represents-an-existential-threat-to-the-entire-us/588137 "2011-07-10T15:40:35Z")
I think a lot of what we fear as a country: instability, rebellion, overtaking by another military power, assassination of our leaders, are things whose importance are overstated in this day and age. They come from an e… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=1272) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/c/miscellaneous-and-personal-stuff-i-must-share/10.md?page=1274)