It would really be nice if our senior Dopers would not hold newbies in contempt.
Give 'em a break, make 'em welcome. They may bring us something interesting, or fun, or … if we treat them like trash, we’ll never know.
If they’re not up to Doper standards or if they transgress in a major way, Something Will Happen. Sometimes they need a little time and education to get their bearings. Some even need a little, um, steering. But give them a chance. We took a chance on you, didn’t we?
(For those of you who are nice to new people, thank you very much.)
Clearly, the Board has changed, when a M.A.S.H. reference slips by without immediately sparking a discussion of exactly when Hawkeye jumped the shark, detouring the entire thread into the minutiae of his relationship with Hot Lips.
My new assistant is dynamite. A week or two ago she handed me some paperwork as I was in the process of asking her for it. I said, “Nice work, Radar” and she said, “Who’s Radar?”
Well, dad gummit - look at that! I spelled rue as ROO. Whatever is the matter with me? I know rue isn’t spelled ROO. I guess I need my head examined. ROO!
Yes, the USA is significantly bigger than all of Europe. News in CA for example that would cover occurrences in NY is equivalent to a Portuguese news item covering Sweden.
Same with vacations. Note the USA includes Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Alaska. We have Tropics, we have Arctic, we have rainforests, we have two Disney park complexes and so forth. A Swede who travels to Ibeza for the beaches is about the same as a New Yorker going to Hawaii- but travels far less distance.