Outside the UK? I thought ‘Football’ meant the same thing everywhere in the world except the U.S.
But if you mean “among most non-UK anglophones”, then, definitely I see your point.
I believe the South American countries call it futbol.
Gosh, gas prices sure are high. It costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars a month to fill your vehicle. That must hurt. We should send those greedy oil companies a lesson, huh?
Hmm, what could we do, what could we do? We could our cars less and use less gas. No? You don’t like that? How about we could drive our cars a little slower and use less gas. You don’t like that either? You sure, because you’ll definitely spend less on gas that way. Okay, well, is it okay with you if I slow down? No? Because you sure could easily pass me in that wide open lane directly to the left of ours.
A few weeks ago I was having dinner with a friend and the waiter kept asking us if everything was, “well.” Huh? “Is everything well?” I seriously thought I had to have heard him wrong, but he said it at least two more times. It reeeeally bothered me, especially since he was a pretentious little twit.
The macaroni’s OK, but I think the cheese has a touch of the flu?
I’m waiting on some news that might be good or bad and I’m going absolutely batshit crazy over here. Bouncing my leg, nibbling my nails, fidgeting with my hands, hard time concentrating…ah!
I hate waiting for important news.
I hope it’s good news.
What we don’t like about it as a strategy is that it merely holds off the permanent shortage for a little while. Increased demand and declining production will put us right back where we are now. The problem won’t be solved. Only through far-reaching cultural mindset changes can we “teach the oil companies” a lesson. We need:
Employers must allow telecommuting where appropriate for the job
As a country, we need to get away from the meme that children MUST be raised in a house, not a condo or apartment. This is, IMO, the biggest impetus that drives our suburban lifestyle and the gasoline consumption that goes with it.
As a people we have to get away from the expectation that everything around us must look hunky-dory. City dwellers know this. People who live in New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles know that, probably every day, they will see a homeless person, or someone who doesn’t seem to be up to their standard of cleanliness or personal presentation. We know we will pass by some corner whose sidewalks, for reason, always seem to be filthy. We’ll take the bus or metro and have to sit next to – you know. Cities offer a lot of culture and have some aspects that are very beautiful. The Golden Gate Bridge, the NYC skyline, PCH from Santa Monica to Oxnard, these are marvelous things to behold, but we who live in these metro areas have learned to take the not-so-good along with these things.
It’s a lot easier, and in the end, less painful to make slight adjustments to our attitudes than it is to build all the mass transit we’d like to have, or come up with a cheap personal-mobility alternative once the era of cheap oil ends.
Attention fellow males: if you piss on the toilet seat in the office restroom…CLEAN IT THE FUCK UP!
Ladies, too, please. I’m glad you love to squat when you piss, but I’m a lady. I put down a seat cover, but that doesn’t do me much good when the seat is already covered in your lovely yellow droplets (and occasionally red ones…wtf?).
TWC: “Time Warner Cable, how my we assist you?”
Me: “Hi! My son just poured a cup of milk into my digital cable receiver, smoke came out, and I no longer can watch tv. How do I go about getting a replacement box?”
TWC: “Sir, may I have your phone number please?”
Me: “Yep! 956-xxx-xxxx”
TWC: “Sir, what is the problem you are having?”
Me: “Hi! My son just poured a cup of milk into my digital cable receiver, smoke came out, and I no longer can watch tv. I have already unplugged the equipment for two minutes, then reconnected it, and I still have no signal. The front LED display is displaying characters not known in any western alphabet. How do I go about getting a replacement box?”
TWO “Sir, would you please disconnect from the outlet for twenty seconds?”
<snip the rest, you get the idea.>
They’re sending a tech out sometime next week. You just know the tech won’t have a spare receiver handy when they show up.
This is officially the most disturbing thing I’ve read online this week. And I read the thread about the huge tarantula in the bedroom.
Um…at least they’re not brown.
Automatic hand dryers are a public health menace.
I’m sure that a lot of people just won’t wash their hands if they are in a hurry, because it takes so much longer to blow your hands dry than to towel them off.
Look man, it is just sex. You are having a normal response to a semi-attractive woman. She is not better than you. Sex with her will not change your life. Not having sex with her will not change your life. You have gone out with her twice. That does not mean that she is “playing a game” with you. You both are 19. You are both way to young to be planning your lives together. You do not know enough about her to try to speak for her. Going the way you are, you are going to make sex with her the monumental moment of your life. And then you don’t have a whole lot left too look forward to. I wish someone had talked to me this bluntly when I was your age. I tried to tell you and save you the trouble, but you think I am talking out my ass. Live and learn, man.
SSG Schwartz
A nearby boutique is gearing up for Mother’s Day. In their window, alongside a display of baubles that might appeal to dear old Mom is a framed placard that reads:
If Mama isn’t happy, nobodies happy.
Yes, the underlining is theirs. :rolleyes:
Come on, dear shopkeeper, surely in the last two or three weeks someone has pointed out your mistake. You may not be Saks Fifth Avenue but you are trying to appeal to the upper crust in our little burg. Show a little class! Crank up your computer and print up a new sign, already.
400 miles to work a week? My mind is boggling.
Yesterday I called TWC to find out some information about having my cable service transferred to my new address. Specifically, I wanted to confirm that I had to have the service cut off at my present address before I could have it start at the new address, and what they would charge to have cable jacks installed in several rooms. After I asked the first question, I was asked to hold on, and several minutes passed in silence. Then I was asked for my phone number, and then my current address. Then I had to repeat the question, and explain that I had not yet decided on a date for the transfer, and was trying to get information I needed to make that decision. Then I had another wait after I asked about the cost of having additional jacks installed, and had to repeat the question after I was told that they would activate up to three existing jacks free of charge.
40-odd miles twice a day five days a week. I did the math before I made a WAG.
On a different note, I just found pubes in my keyboard. It is clearly time to find the person who gave it to me to have a long discussion on the benefits of a can of compressed air.
I kid you not.
A sort of acquaintance/friend that I’v known for about 2 years from the gym and the public library, with whom I’ve shared some pretty intelligent discussions has seen me surfing the Dope quite often in the public library. Because we’ve had many conversations about life, conditions in New York, politics, etc. and I’ve come to see him as a very well-read guy, I’ve explained to him at length what the message board is, why I enjoy, why he might enjoy it, etc.
Lately he has been asking me when he sees me if I’m on the Dope again but with a snare, a tone of sarcasm, a definite expression of contempt. Now I now I surf the Dope a lot, but so what? What’s it to anybody else.
Yesterday evening I saw him and he did it again. I asked him why it seemed to bother him that i like this place so much. He dodge my questions but managed to also slip in the he thought “The Straight Dope” was a misnomer for the homepage here and also rejoined (albeit non sequitorially) with "Have you managed to met anybody yet? I asked him why he thiought we should change our name, to which he replied evasively that he thought “The Straight Dope” was too old school, from the 90s and should be changed becauase doesn’t apply here. (He’s admitted before he’s never visited the site.) I told him that it had been associated with Cecil, his column and ultimately the messae board since 1973. i asked him if he even knew what the general phrase “the straight dope” meant. He wouldn’t answer. I ended the conversation.
Late last night, it dawned on me. I have told him this is not a dating site.
He thinks “The Straight Dope” is a gay dating site and, as such, he has decided we don’t have the right to hide behind that name.
WTF!?
:dubious: :rolleyes: What?! I am continuously amazed at the sheer amount of insanity that can be packed into a single person. Why the heck would he assume…? Did you…? WHAT?