No, I wasn’t joking. Don’t you know how BIG Texas is? Alabama, Texas — what’s the diff?
O.K., I was mistaken, damnit! It was midnight and I was in stupid question mode and all the drugs I took as a teenager are finally catching up to me and. . .
Well, which part is the panhandle?
The skinny western part, as opposed to the peninsula. The part that looks like it could be a handle.
I don’t know how credible this is…
On MTV’s Jackass (I must admit, I’m a sucker for that show), Steve-O went “bobbing for jellyfish.” They were going to put a jellyfish in a fishtank and he would basically stick his head in it. Before they did the stunt, the professional zoologist (or whoever) told him to urinate in a milk jug because he would need it later. He later poured it all over his face, and the pain was somewhat relieved.
Or, they could be dyslexic.
Colored lenses, to some suffering from dyslexia, help to alleviate to symptoms that they have. It doesn’t work for all of those who have it. And patients differ as to the color with which they respond best.
More specifically, if you look at a map with cities, it’s the part that runs roughly from Tallahassee to Pensacola.
The panhandle is the part that as you so eloquently put it is the part that “is under Texas” or Alabama if you want to resort to the real name of the state.
Now is anybody gonna answer my Cecil question?
Hrm…In this age of ergonomics, I would say that the peninsula part actually looks more like a handle.
Yeah, yeah, I know. Ix-nay on the itpick-nay. 
I believe that deus ex machina means “hand of god.” As mentioned before, it refers to an event (or turn of events) in a story that is so improbable that it can only be explained as divine intervention.
Stephen King’s The Stand contains a rather literal example of this. Trashcan Man brings Flagg a nuclear warhead–it is a hand-shaped bolt of lightning that detonates the weapon. (At least it was hand-shaped in the wretched mini-series…I’ve read the unexpurgated book several times, but I don’t remember exactly.)
Hopefully none of these are offensive, but…
What does Uber mean?
What does w00t mean?
What does Feeb mean (Please please please don’t let that one be offensive.)
And finally, what does Shibby mean? (C’mon matt, don’t make me beg!)
Über is German and it most often translates to super in English. It means super in the sense of “greater than” and “above and beyond.”
I have no idea where it comes from, but generally means an expression of joy and excitement. Synonymous with “yay!” or “hooray!”
I believe that this is short for “feeble” or “feeble minded.” I’m not sure how offensive it is. It basically means “stupid” but it implies that a person is metally ill as well. Probably wise to steer clear of it.
Dr. Lao, thanks. Now I can use those terms with reckless abandon (with the exception of “feeb”. Doesn’t really seem like my style).
I wonder if anybody knows what Shibby means. I think it means “cool”, but I’d like to be a little more certain before I use it and am told it actually means “native of Idaho” or something equally embarrassing.
The literal translation of deus ex machina is "god out of (or “from”) the machine. “Hand of God” would be Manus Dei (check me on that, Latin scholars).
Well, I wouldn’t want to touch them…
Speaking as a South Carolinian, I have to say the only reason good ol’ Strom was never booted out was because he’s kind of like a historical figure. Hey, we’re all about preserving things here. You can’t paint your house downtown unless you paint it the same color it’s always been.
I do have to say that Strom has been lucky to have aides (who we all know do the real work) and I for one thank God that he is not running for re-election. (Can you imagine him having his 100th birthday party while at work?)
We do realize that he is an old codger that probably should have left a long time ago. Whenever there is a question on Jeopardy about the Civil War, my father invariably answers “STROM THURMOND!”
Also, the local paper had people guess what was going to be found inside the Hunley submarine when it was raised. The number one answer? A bumper sticker that said “Don’t blame me, I voted for Strom Thurmond.”
I can’t think of any questions I must have answered, so I may post later…
Well I can’t walk away from this without quoting the only thing I ever heard Gallagher say that was funny:
I like that! Change the state motto from “Florida: America’s Vacation Spot” to “Florida: America’s Dangly Bits”. 
But which section is the panhandle of Texas?
Yeah, it does mean “little.” Seems to be used mostly when adults are talking to infants, though I see it used a lot in flamewars on various newsgroups.
Not really sure of the origin, but I suspect it comes from the Jamaican pronunciation of ‘little’ as ‘likkle’.
Homer: Florida?! That’s America’s whang!
Psychiatrist: They prefer to be called “The Sunshine State.”
-The Simpsons
The answers to this thus far have been rather incomplete. You can search the web for an in-depth answer, or simply read your owner’s manual for your car. Funny how few people think of things like that. RTFM!
Anyway, an automatic transmission has gears just like a manual tranmission, but there’s a complicated mechanism that shifts for you. Your automatic transmission appears to be a 3-speed, that is, there are three gears. It shifts from one to the next as you accelerate, with the third gear being the “tallest” gear, i.e. the one you need on the highway. The 2 and 1 positions limit the transmission to those respective gears, preventing the transmission from shifting to the next higher gear.
Why would you use these? Sadly, few drivers who don’t know how to drive a manual transmission car understand this. There are a number of scenarios, among them:
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Driving down a long descent, thus using the engine to help slow the car (known as “engine braking”) and avoiding overheating the brakes.
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Driving up a steep hill, to avoid straining the engine in low RPM.
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When towing something, which causes the above conditions to be potentially more serious.
Some misguided folks who drive automatics seem to think that these positions should never be used. Not so! Consult your car’s manual.
Hope this helps.
Can you really take a cab from Manhattan to Connecticut? I saw this on a re-run of Sex and the City and thought, “No, there’s no way. That would be prohibitively expensive.”
But, is it? Do people do this on a regular basis?
Starbury, thank you for your answer. It’s not like I have been up all night thinking about this, but when I’m reading something I would like to know what words mean.
I can now go back to reading that particular board (although not as much as this lovely board!).
Have a lot of friends from Idaho, do ya, joyfulgirl?
Ahem. Perhaps I should clarify. Not only do I have friends from Idaho, but family. People from Idaho are WONDERFUL! They are some of the best people in the world! They are smart, funny, and kind. They are better people than I could ever dream of being. I love them! They rock! [sub]Ok grandma, can you put the gun away now? Haha. Please?[/sub]
That said, I still wouldn’t want to have something like this happen -
Me: “You know, you’re pretty Shibby.”
Good looking person I’m talking to: “No, I’m from Chicago, you dork.”
Me, trying to play it cool: “Yeah, well, that’s what I meant. Heh”