# Hijack this thread! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 22, 2005, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809 "2005-12-22T16:21:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/101 "2005-12-24T17:47:39Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > Not nearly as bad as FLIX, though. They have a library of (seemingly) fifty or so titles, which get aired, on average, four times a week. I really hate those channels that used to be commercial-free now have gone to the barrage mode. AMC is worst. It really gets annoying when they come up with one of those disclaimers saying they had to edit the movie for the “time allotted.” Right! Take a two-hour movie, schedule it for a two-hour time slot then whack it up enough to allow 30 minutes worth of ads. Most often it’s so mutilated that there’s no plot to recognize and minor characters don’t even appear at all. And it’s even worse when theaters and DVD’s start with the ads. What hath God wrought? ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/102 "2005-12-24T17:56:20Z")
The wrought iron railing on my stoop is rusted and ugly. I’ll probably replace it with vinyl covered steel this spring ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/103 "2005-12-24T19:21:33Z")
I spent two weekends rescuing the wrought Iron rail on my front porch. It took 4 drill wire brushes and a lot of hand wire brushing and then 6 cans on Black Rustoleum and a couple of old sheets. It looks great and has held up for 3 years so far. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/104 "2005-12-24T21:53:03Z")
Old sheets are great for covering the floor when you’re repainting a room. Of course, it’s best if it’s a nice cheerful paint color, not like that ugly pale green my husband used for the woodwork in the dining room. ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/105 "2005-12-24T22:29:45Z")
Just for the record, some of those bright, cheerful color combinations designers are so fond of look really heinous to those of us who are color-blind. Do you think advertising agencies and the like have someone on staff who is color-blind for that reason? Can I have the job? ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/106 "2005-12-24T22:35:00Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I don’t know if there’s any truth to it, and I feel too lazy to check it out, but I once thought that Weimaraner meant “gray ghost” and there was an old TV show about Mosby’s Rangers in the Civil War called “ **Gary** Ghost.” I realize that the word I’ve bolded in the quoted passage is a typo, but I was reminded of “La Llorona”, the weeping phantom woman occasionally spotted in the [city of Gary, Indiana.](http://www.prairieghosts.com/lalloron.html) ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/107 "2005-12-25T00:04:13Z")
Gary, Indiana or Cicero, Illinois: Which is the greater hell-hole? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/108 "2005-12-25T15:06:18Z")
> [@Governor Quinn](#): > > Gary, Indiana or Cicero, Illinois: Which is the greater hell-hole? Okay, you have Indiana and Illinois, two states whose names start with the same letter, and they touch each other in a non-biblical way. How many other such pairs of states can you name? I’d start looking at the M states since there seem to be a lot of them, and maybe S states later. Since Tennessee and Missouri border the most states (as well as each other) maybe that’s a helpful starting place, too. Otherwise, Marry Christmas, one and all! ---
**Author:** ![Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kilvert\_s\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kilvert_s_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/109 "2005-12-25T15:30:20Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Okay, you have Indiana and Illinois, two states whose names start with the same letter, and they touch each other in a non-biblical way. How many other such pairs of states can you name? I’d start looking at the M states since there seem to be a lot of them, and maybe S states later. Since Tennessee and Missouri border the most states (as well as each other) maybe that’s a helpful starting place, too. > > Otherwise, Marry Christmas, one and all! And Merry Christmas to you, too. One of the things about Christmas is that, since my wife and I always stay in a hotel in Indiana (not Gary 🙂 ) with the two young kids for Christmas, Mrs. Pagan and I cannot touch each other in a biblical sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/110 "2005-12-25T16:45:35Z")
> [@Kilvert's Pagan](#): > > since my wife and I always stay in a hotel in Indiana Re-hijack to **Zeldar** ’s question – not only does Illinois border Indiana, it also touches Iowa. There was a minor-league baseball [Three-I League](http://www.three-eye.com/home.htm) that featured teams from the Prairie, Hoosier, and Hawkeye States. You also have New York abutting New Jersey, and the adjacent (to each other, not to NY and NJ) Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2005, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/111 "2005-12-25T20:15:58Z")
I loved the charater Alan Alda played on M_A_S_H. But I don’t think his name was Hawkeye States. Anyway, the best episode on M_A_S_H was the one where Tuttle is “killed” ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/112 "2005-12-26T14:40:38Z")
> [@Sgt Schwartz](#): > > I loved the charater Alan Alda played on M_A_S_H. But I don’t think his name was Hawkeye States. Anyway, the best episode on M_A_S_H was the one where Tuttle is “killed” I get the feeling that the West Wing writers are trying to structure Alan Alda’s character so that it will be obvious who is the more popular opponent in the race, but that Smits manages to pull off some last minute rally to win the majority of the hearts of the country. The live debate is what I’m basing this opinion on. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/113 "2005-12-26T17:55:29Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > I get the feeling that the West Wing writers are trying to structure Alan Alda’s character so that it will be obvious who is the more popular opponent in the race, but that Smits manages to pull off some last minute rally to win the majority of the hearts of the country. The live debate is what I’m basing this opinion on. Jimmy Smits was great in L A Law. I used to love that show. It was about the only TV I watched regularly. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/114 "2005-12-26T19:04:50Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > Jimmy Smits was great in L A Law. I used to love that show. It was about the only TV I watched regularly. I’ve always wondered why people hate lawyers but will queue up to read books and watch TV shows and movies about them. ---
**Author:** ![Cranky\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cranky\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cranky_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/115 "2005-12-26T19:28:54Z")
My cousin is a lawyer. He says it was the only job he was qualified for after his accident. His skull was cracked and he had to have surgery to remove the ethical center of his brain. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/116 "2005-12-26T19:40:14Z")
> [@Cranky Hermit](#): > > My cousin is a lawyer. He says it was the only job he was qualified for after his accident. His skull was cracked and he had to have surgery to remove the ethical center of his brain. Does anybody remember a comic strip character named Open-mind Monty from old Dick Tracy strips? I recall he had a knife blade sticking out of his forehead. Man, there were some sleazy looking characters in that old strip. The movie capitalized on the ugliness, I submit. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/117 "2005-12-26T22:32:43Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Does anybody remember a comic strip character named Open-mind Monty Which reminds me – Monty Hall is 83, so he might be a good candidate for your Death Pool list if you have yet to submit one. Of course, the [Monty Hall problem](http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Monty+Hall+problem&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&linktext=Monty%20Hall%20problem) will long outlive him. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/118 "2005-12-26T23:10:31Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > Which reminds me – Monty Hall is 83, so he might be a good candidate for your Death Pool list if you have yet to submit one. Of course, the [Monty Hall problem](http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Monty+Hall+problem&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&linktext=Monty%20Hall%20problem) will long outlive him. Have you ever been to Carnegie Hall to see a concert? It’s supposed to be a wonderful place to hear music performed. I’ve walked past it many times but have never been it. ---
**Author:** ![marque\_elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@marque\_elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marque_elf)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/119 "2005-12-26T23:11:32Z")
Do you think that Monte and Carnegie Hall are brothers? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809/120 "2005-12-26T23:25:35Z")
> [@marque elf](#): > > Do you think that Monte and Carnegie Hall are brothers? Half brothers by a different mother perhaps. I always thought Monte Video was a cool stage name but Monte Hale and Monte Hall sort of wore out the Monte thing. In case you’re not up on B Westerns, Monte Hale was not all that bad. In fact, I can’t think of any of those old guys at Republic that were all that bad. Maybe Sunset Carson, who was probably Johnny’s half-brother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hijack-this-thread/336809.md?page=7)