# Discussion thread for the "Polls only" thread (Part 2) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 16, 2024, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636 "2024-02-16T02:56:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 396
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7902 "2025-08-07T20:36:40Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > It’s going to depend on how much less than $25 the item is. I’m probably not going to want to pay more than $4 or $5 for shipping; but that’s a much greater percentage of, say, $2.50 than it is of $24.99. Product(s) cost = $21.75 Shipping = $20.93 It’s something I _want_ but is totally unnecessary to own & only available from them. It’s still sitting in the cart, only because I didn’t close the browser yet. \* L/S T-shirt, mouse pad, & a couple of other even smaller things; legit company that I’ve dealt with before; everything is on clearance so dirt cheap. Only shipping option is FedEx Ground at 3 days. > [@Loach](#): > > After years of going to games the only foul ball I have was one that rolled to my wife’s feet while I was in the bathroom. That’s how I knew she was the one. Does she have a sister? (I still don’t have a MLB foul ball. ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7903 "2025-08-07T21:26:34Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > For most small items, I’ll pay about $5 for shipping, and will have them shipped if there isn’t a better way to obtain them. Doesn’t matter if the small item costs $2.50 or $50. Similar to @puzzlegal, @thorny_locust, and @DrDeth it’s more about absolute values than percentages. For me, it’s generally getting something in a physical media (often used!) rather than getting the digital only format. So I might track down a book that went missing over decades and moves, or a CD of an old/obscure album and they may not be even available in digital - though for music especially I prefer the physical medium if the prices are comparable. Used paperbacks/hardcovers/CD’s are often available used on Amazon from a number of sellers, for $5-20 but with $4-5 in shipping. And I’m okay with that - as others have said, it’s mostly about total pricing, rather than evaluating either separately. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7904 "2025-08-07T21:49:26Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Actually, it was “_A yam, what a yam!_” My kingdom for a yam! Cookies are for closers! As for shipping, it is not how much the item costs; it is how eager I am to possess it; which can vary widely. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7905 "2025-08-07T23:32:04Z")
Oddly, most parking lot spaces in Ohio are 90 degrees to the driveways, while in Florida they often are 45 degrees (something to do with snow?). In the former I typically pull through unless there is a large vehicle to my immediate left, blocking my vision when I pull out. In the Sunshine State I’ll only pull through if in a section with very few vehicles minimizing the chance of a head-on encounter (where I can pull to the side to let them by). ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7906 "2025-08-07T23:34:49Z")
Pulling into a spot with an open spot ahead of it and continuing into that open spot, so when it’s time to leave you don’t have to back out? That’s called Granny Parking. Is backing into a spot so you only have to go forward when leaving Granny Parking also? Not sure. I’d say no, because the idea is never having to back up. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7907 "2025-08-07T23:36:26Z")
I have taken to backing in to parking spaces because my ~~car~~ computer-on-wheels generates a seagull’s-eye-view of my car when in reverse, which makes backing up _fun_. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7908 "2025-08-07T23:39:42Z")
I’ve never till now seen Abstain offered as a poll choice. Not sure what to make of this. I voted anyway because it seemed to be offering Ranked Choice as an option, but some of my choices were two sixes and two sevens and I’m not sure how that plays out. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2025, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7909 "2025-08-07T23:44:34Z")
I wouldn’t trust computer-generated anything when driving in a not-computer-generated vehicle. But if you want to call that Granny Parking, or Tough Guy Computer Assisted Parking, be my guest, just don’t park next to me (Baby blue Ford Fusion with Massachusetts plates). ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7910 "2025-08-08T00:34:27Z")
There are a couple of blocks on the main drag of my town where backing into a parking space is _required by law_. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7911 "2025-08-08T00:56:15Z")
Well, parallel parking often requires backing. A couple of times I have managed to drop it right in there in one move. The next model up from mine has a self-parking feature, which just takes all the fun out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7912 "2025-08-08T06:11:22Z")
I get headaches. I never thought of them as migraines because they don’t have the classic symptoms. My neurologist said they consider them migraines even though they don’t have the usual symptoms. It’s much better now that they have me on some medication. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7913 "2025-08-08T16:55:44Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > If that ball were hurtling toward me, I would duck, no matter how valuable it is. A friend of mine was sitting in the third row from the field on the right field side about halfway to firstbase. He got hit in the face by a foul ball. I think he was lucky he wore glasses because I think they took the brunt of the force. His glasses were mangled, and he developed an impressive bruise, but he never lost consciousness, and he said it didn’t hurt that badly. He gave the ball to a kid sitting near him. I have been getting migraines since I was 12 yo. I just finished a four-day cycle. Don’t talk to me about migraines. @Loach, I didn’t know my headaches were migraines because I thought migraines always had the aura affect. I never had the aura. Then, I heard a doctor who did headache research explain that there are five symptoms of migraines, and if you have at least two, you have migraines. I had four. What medication do you take? I’m on a triptan (Imitrex). Btw, my younger sister gets migraines as well, and she just had an aura! She went to the eye doctor because she thought she might have had a detached retina. Yikes! I used to wear full make-up: foundation, blush, powder, eyeliner, mascara, (eyeshadow only for evenings). But that was when I was working. I don’t think I’ve worn foundation once since I retired. I do wear eye cream and a face lotion with sunscreen, though. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7914 "2025-08-08T17:36:55Z")
I’ve been to probably 30 MLB games, and another half-dozen minor league games. I’ve not ever come even close to catching a foul ball – there’s not ever been a foul which came close to me for that to have been a possibility. And, I’ve never sat in outfield seats at a game, so catching a home run ball has not ever been an option. I’ve also not ever had a ball handed to me (by a player, coach, ball boy, etc.). I did once find a batting-practice ball near my seat when I arrived at the game, which I gave to a nearby kid (who was thrilled). ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7915 "2025-08-08T17:37:18Z")
Caught a batting practice home run (albeit after a couple of small ricochets), so assumed that that counted. Note since Covid ballparks no longer let fans in during BP. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7916 "2025-08-08T17:44:26Z")
At the beginning of the perimenopause fun, I had a few migraines with the classical zig zag patterns. Didn’t occur very often - less than half a dozen times, and the doctors didn’t find anything worth correcting. Haven’t had another one in years. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7917 "2025-08-08T17:47:35Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > What medication do you take? I take nortriptyline at the lowest dose it comes in. It’s apparently an antidepressant but is also used for migraine pain. My headaches haven’t disappeared but they have decreased in frequency and intensity. That’s good enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7918 "2025-08-08T17:52:15Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > At the beginning of the perimenopause fun, I had a few migraines with the classical zig zag patterns. I know my migraines were related to my hormonal changes, so this doesn’t surprise me at all. I was talking to a supermarket checker one day years ago, and she said her migraines stopped when she hit menopause. I had hopes. _Sigh._ > [@Loach](#): > > My headaches haven’t disappeared but they have decreased in frequency and intensity. That’s good enough for me. Yeah, I have to take my triptan when I feel the migraine coming on, or it’ll take much longer to take effect, if it even does. It also leaves me feeling drained physically, but so much better than the wanting-to-chop-my-head-off pain and vomiting. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7919 "2025-08-08T18:14:14Z")
Decades ago I scored some incredible seats at an NHL game, directly behind the Boston Bruins’ bench. I could have reached forward without stretching and scratch the back of whichever player was sitting in front of me (I did not do that). The Bruins’ manager handed me a game-used puck with the Bruins’ logo. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7920 "2025-08-08T18:20:33Z")
> [@Polls only: No discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/6118): > > I have been handed or thrown a ball from a player or coach at a professional baseball game other than MLB. We were at a Brockton Rox (very minor league New England team) game where one of the visiting outfielders had a bunch of fans, family, or friends in the stand, I’m not sure which they were. Anyway, on one of his trips in, he flipped the ball toward us, and I caught it and gave it to my son. Later I told a friend about it, and I said, “I’m not sure if he was trying to throw it to someone he knew, maybe I shouldn’t have kept it?” and he said “well, now you know why he’s in the minors.” Fair enough. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636/7921 "2025-08-08T18:27:13Z")
At a sparsely-attended Florida Marlins game in 2001, my friend and I were literally the only two people sitting in a section above the left-field wall. Damian Jackson of the Padres hit a home run off A.J. Burnett, which landed about 20 feet to my right. I was able to casually walk over and pick it up with no competition whatsoever. Later in the game, my friend also retrieved a home run ball! On more than one occasion I’ve picked up foul balls at minor league games under similar circumstances. I’ve also picked up foul balls and given them to others. Never caught any on the fly, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=395) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/discussion-thread-for-the-polls-only-thread-part-2/997636.md?page=397)