[QUOTE=Anne Neville]
It’s from Spock’s World by Diane Duane.
[/quote]
Yes. I’m going to point that out to her. Doing would be very wise.
Actually I think she ripped the idea out of SW, but I think she actually did it. In the sense that she manipulated the conversation so that she’d have the opportunity to use the line.
[QUOTE=tdn]
“Basic guitar. Do you play basic guitar?”
[/QUOTE]
Next time you’re in this situation, answer as follows:
And then refuse to elaborate until they explain themselves first.
[QUOTE=D_Odds]
My aunt (by marriage - I have some stupid people in my family, but not quite this bad) believed that left-handed people where inherently evil and the devil’s wards. She was a school teacher. She was dumb as a brick in many other ways and also a tyrant, but she was older so she was always right.
A school teacher…
[/QUOTE]
looks about
Well, I’m about as lefthanded as they come, and I’m wearing a set of devil horns today at work.
…
WHO TOLD?
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow]
Next time you’re in this situation, answer as follows:
And then refuse to elaborate until they explain themselves first.
[/QUOTE]
Basic guitar? Well it’s obvious. Status Quo have been using the program for years.
10 FOR n = 1 TO 3
20 CHORD n
30 NEXT n
Brilliant.
I can actually hear “Rockin’ All Over the World.”
[QUOTE=D_Odds]
My aunt (by marriage - I have some stupid people in my family, but not quite this bad) believed that left-handed people where inherently evil and the devil’s wards. She was a school teacher. She was dumb as a brick in many other ways and also a tyrant, but she was older so she was always right.
A school teacher…
[/QUOTE]
Lefty here - it’s not an uncommon belief, or at least, it wasn’t. Just to bring it full circle back to The Thorn Birds, there’s a passage about how Meggie’s handwriting was never good because her teachers forced her to use her right hand when she showed lefty tendancies. I think I remember the quote going something along the lines of “left-handed children were thought to be children of the devil, especially if they were red-haired.” I was bright red until I was about 10, and then it turned brown with reddish highlights. And come to think about it, my mom has never disputed my status as Satan’s spawn…
[QUOTE=Solfy]
No amount of reason would convince her that a company with a proven cure for cancer could name any price they wanted for the drug and people would flock to them regardless.
[/QUOTE]
The checkout guy at the grocery store told me that vitamin B cures cancer, but it wasn’t on the market because you can’t make any money selling it. When I pointed out that it was for sale in his store, he said “You know what I mean.”
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer]
Don’t worry about that. That sick bastard **Fabulous Creature ** was one of the hijackers.
[/QUOTE]
I did notice that you succumbed to it eventually! 
You win this round. :rolleyes:
[QUOTE=pool]
You win this round. :rolleyes:
[/QUOTE]
Oh, dear.
pool, it was a joke.
Let me try it again, with the appropriate correction(s):
[QUOTE=Li’l Pluck]
So THAT’S my problem…despite my being Black?! Damn that Jewishness! ::shakes fists::
(And in case pool flies by: Hey, man, I didn’t mention gay this time!) 
[/QUOTE]
Sorry for the slight hijack, folks.
[QUOTE=fetus]
And NOBODY IS SAYING ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
[/QUOTE]
Including you, apparently.
Inappropriate behavior by rude people will continue as long as the rest of us allow it. If we don’t want to be overwhelmed by it, we need to do something to stop it.
I’ve dealt with this in a Library in the past, as follows:
Step 1: look at the person, and quietly put your finger to your lips.
Step 2: look at the person, and go “Sshush” quietly at first, then louder if they continue.
Step 3: go up to the person, and say “Ma’m, you’re not allowed to talk on a cell phone here in the Library. You’ll have to go outside to do that”. Repeat as necessary.
And I’ve never gotten as far as the end of step 2 without some other library patrons joining in. Two or three people gathered around you, all saying “sshush” impress even the rudest person.
Is it jump me or have you all noticed that the majority of these statements are made by woman?
Here, let me help you.
I’ve told this story before, started a thread on this very topic in fact, based on this story.
My former step-uncle, who took one look at the Sanskrit tattoo on my arm and referred to it as ‘‘Taliban bullshit.’’ When I explained to him that there is a tremendous difference between a middle-eastern terrorist faction and an ancient sacred Indian classical language, he said, ‘‘I don’t give it a shit. It’s not American, so it’s all the same to me.’’
He is also saving up his hard-earned money to proudly fly the ‘‘rebel’’ flag (Confederate Flag–yes, I had to ask too) outside his house. I presume he just wants to show pride in his roots, as he has a long history and heritage living here in the South…of Michigan.
[QUOTE=tdn]
Colophon, I’ve never heard of a dominant eye. Both of them should work equally. It sounds to me like you have one that just doesn’t function very well. Have you seen an optomitrist about it? (“Not with my right eye!” rimshot)
If I focus on the picture, I see a finger on each side of it. If I focus on my finger, the concept of “in between” doesn’t really come up. But I’ll see the picture on either side of it.
[/QUOTE]
Most everyone has a dominant eye. Try doing this: take both your hand, stick them straight in front of you, and make a small circle with them. Now, look at an object through that circle. Then, close your right eye. If it’s still in view, you are left eye dominant. If it looks like your hands moved to the right, well, you’re right eye dominant.
I’m left eye dominant, enough so that if I’m looking through the scope on my gun or looking through a telescope, I don’t close my right eye. This is especially helpful when I’m hunting; I can see the surrounding woods with my right eye while looking through the scope with my left.
[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th]
My former step-uncle, who took one look at the Sanskrit tattoo on my arm and referred to it as ‘‘Taliban bullshit.’’ When I explained to him that there is a tremendous difference between a middle-eastern terrorist faction and an ancient sacred Indian classical language, he said, ‘‘I don’t give it a shit. It’s not American, so it’s all the same to me.’’
He is also saving up his hard-earned money to proudly fly the ‘‘rebel’’ flag (Confederate Flag–yes, I had to ask too) outside his house. I presume he just wants to show pride in his roots, as he has a long history and heritage living here in the South…of Michigan.
[/QUOTE]
I love that story. ( But aren’t all Americans like that? )
There was an amusing article on Fark about how some enterpising japanese decided to sell women’s panties via vending machines. used women’s panties.
This, naturally, is awesome conversational starter and I shared it with my Evangelical BIL.
His response, " That’s the best argument I’ve ever seen for converting them all to Christianity."
I’m pretty sure that Christians have their own fetishishes/fetishii and I haven’t started a conversation with such an awesome opening remark like that since. I mean, what.is.the.point?
Brilliant. Just Brilliant.
[QUOTE=tonedef]
Is it jump me or have you all noticed that the majority of these statements are made by woman?
[/QUOTE]
Well, I don’t want to jump you, but I could share the bit about the (male) coworker who believes that HIV is divine punishment for gays because “some things just don’t belong there.”
But that isn’t as funny to me.
My FIL, a normally bright man, a retired electrical engineer, buys in far too much about all the crap going on about how drug companies have cures for stuff but won’t release them.
And then there are the times he’s deliberately obtuse (or at least my hubby says he’s doing it deliberately). Like this conversation we had about milk prices not long ago:
FIL: When I was a boy, milk was a nickel a quart. Now it’s over $3.00 a gallon!
Me: Yeah, but how much money did your father earn when milk was a nickel a quart? Meaning, of course, it was 20C a gallon?
FIL: Twenty dollars a week.
Me: Okay, so he had to work approximately 20 minutes to buy a gallon of milk?
FIL: Something like that
Me: Okay, (hubby) has to work approximately 6 minutes to earn enough to buy a gallon of milk; so, essentially, it’s cheaper now, at least for us.
FIL: It was a nickel a quart! Now it’s more than $3.00 a gallon! That’s a big price jump!
Me: Okay, let’s stop talking about professional salaries and just talk about minimum wage. Someone making minimum wage can work about 20 minutes and make enough money to buy a gallon of milk. So at the very least, the relative cost has stayed the same.
FIL: No! It used to be a nickel a quart. . .
ad infinitum.
This is not a stupid man, but sometimes, oy.
Then there was the time I was pregnant, getting something off the top shelf of the pantry, and my mom told me not to do that because raising my arms like that would cause the cord to wrap around the baby’s neck. But then I explained to her that if that were true, I wouldn’t be able to put my pullover shirts on. She conceded the point, so I consider that ignorance fought.
[QUOTE=FourPaws]
Most everyone has a dominant eye. Try doing this: take both your hand, stick them straight in front of you, and make a small circle with them. Now, look at an object through that circle. Then, close your right eye. If it’s still in view, you are left eye dominant. If it looks like your hands moved to the right, well, you’re right eye dominant.
[/QUOTE]
I tried it last night, and I stand by what I’ve said. With both eyes, the object moved off center. But with the left eye, it moved just a little, and with the right, it jumped clear out of frame.
Yep, I get it now. I’m right handed and left eyed.
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest]
I’m pretty sure that Christians have their own fetishishes/fetishii and I haven’t started a conversation with such an awesome opening remark like that since. I mean, what.is.the.point?
[/QUOTE]
Do they ever.
There are definitely as many male conspiracy theorists and all out idjits, but I’ve got to admit I’ve had way more women prattle on about astrology (unless the guy was trying to get into my pants) and urban legends. I blame the horoscopes in women’s magazines. And the urban legends about dead babysitters, prom queens, women driving alone with a killer in the back seat, etc.