Recent Comments:
Please Keep Your Stupid Dead People Off Jane Austen's Lawn {Lemondrop}
Dec 4th 2008 1:07PM Perhaps the answer is to set aside a small piece of ground, erect some sort of Regency-styled container about the size of a modern dumpster, and have monthly or even every-Sunday ceremonies/services where people could bring their loved ones' ashes to be deposited. They could even charge a moderate fee. Most UK historic sites and museums cost 5 to 10 pounds to visit (10 to 20 dollars), and I don't think a 15-to-25 pound fee (in addition to admissions) to handle remains would be prohibitively expensive. Granted, it is a violation of the law to just dispose of ashes that way, but people will continue to do it whether it's legal or not. Hence my suggestion that the Jane Austen Cottage people accept that this is going to happen and try to contain the damage and recoup their costs.
Target pushes aggressive price cuts {WalletPop}
Nov 18th 2008 9:18PM I shop at Target anyways. Sure, Wal-Mart is actually 0.3 miles closer to my apartment, but this brand new "Super Wal-Mart" is no more "super" than smaller Wal-Marts in the rural midwest. I was truly underwhelmed when I went there this weekend. Besides, Target is only about 0.2 miles away from my Friday classes at the local university, so I shop for sundries (I buy my food closer to home at a variety of ethnic markets because it's a lot more fun and the prices beat Wal-Mart AND Target) right after my last class on Friday (ends about noon). I prefer Target's clothing and home selections, too.
Just what would you pay an extra $10 for on an airplane? {Gadling}
Nov 15th 2008 12:13PM I have one word for parents flying with babies or small children: BENADRYL. I know there are some who are horrified that I'm suggesting medicating children to sedate them on a flight, but I'm not. My brother and I flew a lot as children, and we also suffered a lot due to pressure changes, especially at takeoff and landing. Benadryl helps to prevent ear pain in those situations, and it also has a slight anti-motion-sickness/anti-nausea effect. That it also makes you sleepy is an added benefit when flying. If I had kids, you bet I'd give them benadryl (or meclizine, my current personal choice) just before boarding. I remember the the pain in my ears, and I remember my little brother howling in agony because his ears hurt worse than mine.
Obama is a bad word at some Mississippi schools {ParentDish}
Nov 9th 2008 9:55PM Hmmm...MY professors all remained completely silent on their choice of candidate until AFTER the election. My courses are all in mathematics and sciences. After the election, some mentioned that they were relieved that Obama had won, and one prof with a huge number of grade-grubbers I mean premed students in his classes jokingly announced that every student who had voted for Obama was getting an "A" in his class. As soon as the excitement wore off, he grinned and said: Just joking. I can tell you that at least in the life sciences, the majority of people I encountered voted for Obama: students, professors, researchers, technicians.
But there wasn't any pressure to vote for any specific candidate, or I'd have been making formal complaints left and right. It wouldn't have mattered whether the pressure was to vote for Obama OR McCain--from the first time in the Army I was told who to vote for by someone who outranked me I felt the ornery rise up and voted for the other candidate, regardless of my own preferences.
Take Summers Off T-Sec Shortlist {Political Machine Blog}
Nov 8th 2008 6:44PM I agree. Summers' comments on why there aren't more women in science make him an unacceptable candidate. I'm not saying that science needs to be more "welcoming" to stereotypical feminine behaviors, but women haven't chosen science (or mathematics or engineering) in the past because they were socialized not to do so. When I entered college in 1976, I didn't have any idea that I would encounter a hostile environment because I wanted to study engineering. It didn't occur to me that I received a fraction of the scholarship money given to boys less qualified than me simply because I was female, and it was assumed that I'd just get married and drop out anyways. None of that stopped me from becoming a scientist, but it slowed my progress considerably. I prevailed because I am incredibly stubborn. Many other women just gave up in the face of such overwhelming social pressure.
Will Ferrell Inspires Trojans to Compete {Fanhouse NCAA Football Blog}
Nov 1st 2008 4:36PM Dumb. Really Dumb. But funny. Okay, USC football fan funny. If you aren't an SC fan, forget it. It only takes attendance at one game, but it's worse than crack. You get hooked for life.
Target ordered to pay woman $3.1 million {WalletPop}
Oct 26th 2008 4:19PM I can overlook Target's strict return policy, partly because I KNOW what goes on at stores in my area. There are some "regulars" who try to return used merchandise, stolen merchandise, merchandise from other stores--and they work as a group to distract loss prevention while they all steal, defraud and disrupt their way through stores. Even at the cost to my own convenience, I'm all for anything that stops these people.
That said, I've never had any trouble returning things at Target, because I keep my receipts, I abide by the rules, and ask nicely if something that might not be returnable according to policy could be returned. If and when the answer is "no", I accept that. Since I'm a regular shopper at that Target, the staff knows and remembers that I won't push a return, and always do what they can for me (even a little more).
The only major issue I have with my local Target (and others around the country) is an unwritten policy of not hiring older women as cashiers. The entire issue of the woman accused of trying to pass counterfeit bills could have been avoided had there been older, experienced staff available. There are more than a few of us who are old enough to remember the appearance and distinctive feel of the old bills. We handled stacks of currency and travelers checks in the days before debit cards, and could tell genuine documents from counterfeits by the way they felt when counted and the way they looked. We probably couldn't have spotted the new North Korean counterfeit bills, but it's my understanding that even machines and pens can't detect them either.
I think the award was fair, because it was an unjustified accusation and because it arose as a result of poor staff selection and training by Target.
Smart Kids Are More Likely to Become Drunks {Asylum}
Oct 24th 2008 7:10PM Oh, wait. I just looked at where the study was done. University of Glasgow. University students (who would tend to be more intelligent) are NOTORIOUS for binge drinking in the UK. They usually get over it by age 25 or so. Irish students are the same. It seems to be partly cultural--you go to university, you drink yourself into a stupor on a regular basis. You do so with all your friends at your favorite pub.
I wonder if the data would be similar in the United States.
Woman: The TSA broke my ankle {Gadling}
Oct 23rd 2008 1:44PM I look forward to the day TSA screeners want to take me aside, advising me that we could go to a more private place "at my option". Forget option. I don't have a modest bone in my body. I wanna just start happily pulling of my clothes right there in public not because it will gratify any kinky urges, but to watch some poor young male TSA worker just about have a stroke because I'm undressing in front of him. Believe me--I'm NOT pretty or shapely, and me in just undergarments is an unnerving sight. THAT's what makes the idea so funny to me.
Top 3 Most Hated Inventions {Shopping Articles Blog}
Oct 19th 2008 4:42PM I hate cell phones. I have one for when I travel, but when I'm not traveling, it lives on my kitchen counter, turned OFF. I don't mind my alarm clock, although I preferred having an Alarm Cat (my cat KNEW when it was time to get up and would purr, snuggle and nuzzle me awake). And TV? It's okay. I watch it sometimes. It's off most of the time.
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