What annoyed you today?

[bonanova]

A minor annoyance reading labels at the store. 72-point words of vague marketing schlock shout at you, while the product name itself is sized 8 or 10 points and hidden somewhere near the bottom. You go to buy products with names (nouns) and all you find is plastic bottles wrapped in adjectives.

I was actually going to do a puzzle to decipher the schlock. Take ten common products and match them with their labels. Summer Breeze - fabric softener or feminine flush?

Ok this is pretty minor.
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_{Vidi, vici, veni.}

[Jedo the Jedi]

The bug people are supposed to come tomorrow at an unspecified time, and we are supposed to be out of the house for at least two hours after they do their thing. And we pretty much have to move out in preparation: empty the kitchen and bathroom cabinets and shelves, move all the furniture away from the wall, and have nothing on the floor anywhere (including closets) other than the furniture.

Yeah, right. Here's hoping what we did is enough and that they come while we are at work.
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Paragon Tally: 19 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Quailman]

I had to get several stitches in my hand yesterday. I was on a step ladder in my wife's shop repairing a light fixture when a piece dropped about four feet and a sharp edge hit the back of my thumb causing a 3.5 cm laceration. It was pretty deep and separated as I moved my thumb, so I knew it needed stitches.

[The Great Crep'er]

I'm surprised you were able to get an exact measurement under all that pain.

Feel better!
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Potato. Belgium. Eight. Random Lynch # Mafia awaits.

[Buzzsaw]

Hope you heal quickly, Quailman!

[Mackay]

Creeps.

Well, the creeps were the catalyst. Then I got grumpy about how being a woman is apparently an invitation for strangers to touch me, ask personal questions, and discuss my appearance.

[rant incoming]

The appearance-discussing wasn't in a negative way - that would have been preferable. It's the societal assumption that verbal approval from men is something I should welcome and be grateful for that really gives me the shits. Fuck you, creepy men. Sorry if I'm an asshole for not being happy that you stopped me in the street, invaded my personal space, and tried to start a dialogue about my attractiveness. AND WHY WERE THERE TWO OF YOU IN THE SAME DAY? On two separate occasions today a man approached me, touched me without permission, and did not leave me alone when it was made clear that their attention was unwelcome. One of them blocked my path and asked questions about my marital status and my husband as though he was trying to catch me lying about him. Because sure. If I were lying about having a husband to make you get away from me, surely I'd fall into your arms once you got me to admit I wasn't married. That makes perfect goddamn sense.

God forbid I was conventionally attractive. This bullshit makes me want to stay fat.

I don't know why it's affecting me so much today. Maybe because I had a conversation the other day where I commented on what a sad state of affairs it is that women get hassled publicly on a frequent enough basis that a woman was abducted and killed in Melbourne by a guy who had been publicly harassing women in the same area for weeks without police intervention (due to a combination of the whole "hey, attractive women just have to expect that kind of thing" from the cops, and women simply not reporting it because they're used to that bullshit).

The response (in good faith, from a progressive feminist man) was "You're exaggerating, right? It's not commonplace."

Shit.

[/rant]

I hope your hand heals quickly, Q!

[Buzzsaw]

~resists chauvinist jokes and gives Mackay a big hug~

[Mackay]

Buzz

That actually made me feel real-life better. Who knew e-hugs worked?

(BTW, I am thrilled to see you posting again!)

[Buzzsaw]

Thanks!! ~gives Mackay another hug~

[Jedo the Jedi]

For the record, "rant incoming" made me want to duck.

Sorry about your pig infestation. I confess I'm a little relieved not to read that it was people at your new job. I was seriously worried about that when I first began your post.
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Paragon Tally: 19 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Mackay]

Work is AWESOME.

Thanks for cheering me up even further! =)

[Jack_Ian]

[The Potter]

Maybe this is why women want a big diamond ring. It shows they are married by leaving a big red mark on unwelcome foreheads.

[Jedo the Jedi]

I'm watching Season 2 of The Walking Dead in preparation for Season 3, and it is so distressing how each episode ends in this huge cliff hanger style. I guess I'm just glad I can start the next episode immediately instead of waiting a week.

Still...
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Paragon Tally: 19 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Trojan Horse]

I drove past a gas station on my way to work today. The price for a gallon of unleaded: $4.179.

About eight hours later, I drove past the gas station again on my way back home. The price for a gallon of unleaded: $4.379.

Did a refinery blow up today, or something?

[Buzzsaw]

Gas station owner is resentful that Romney won the debate.

[Mackay]

I would've thought the fossil fuel industry in general would be pulling for Romney. disclaimer: as someone who worked for the hideously predatory and incredibly distasteful poker machine industry for ever, I'm well aware that the political interests of the higher-ups are not necessarily reflected by front line personnel.

[Jedo the Jedi]

$195 to retrieve my towed vehicle. That's $125 for the tow, $35 for storage, and $35 "no key fee."

I'll be sure to leave my key in the car next time to save them the trouble and myself some money.
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Paragon Tally: 19 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Zag]

[Jedo the Jedi]

NOOOO! They just killed Dale on Walking Dead! I freaking hate those writers of Walking Dead.

[Edit] Well, now I'm looking forward to the Season 3 premier. It's gotta be good because that ending was such a cliffhanger.
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Paragon Tally: 19 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Death Mage]

Oh man, never read the comics then, Jedo. Nobody's safe there.
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* These senseless ramblings brought to you by Insanity™. If you just can't figure the dang thing out, it must be Insanity™.
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[Quailman]

There's a new Chinese restaurant getting built out near my home. Last week they installed a sign on the pylon with their name at the top, their phone number at the bottom and "WE DELIVERY ALL DAY" in between. That would have qualified for the what amused me thread, but today I noticed that they corrected it to read "ALL DAY DELIVERY".

[Buzzsaw]

ALL DAY DELIVERY YOU FIND HAPPINESS NOW

[The Ragin' South Asian]

Heh, last year my coworkers and I were waiting for a Japanese restaurant to finally open. While they were constructing/doing whatever, there was a big sign in the window that said "JOB APPLY", which became the name of the restaurant for us. Unfortunately it was not that good.

[Jedo the Jedi]

First day of Fall Break, and I wake up at the same early hour as I do during school. So much for sleeping in.
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Paragon Tally: 19 mafia, 3 SKs (1 twice), 1 cultist, numerous chat scum...and counting.

[Buzzsaw]

Was looking forward to this season's series of Boardwalk Empire (on HBO), is really disappointing and difficult to watch so far.

The writers seem to be relying more and more on the shock value of gore, blood and guts sensationalism. In episode before last a man was doused with gasoline and set ablaze (for no reason), and this last episode after a young man was shot, as they shamelessly showcased the blood pooling from the dead man's head wound, the camera then found its way under the planks of the floor boards so that the audience could enjoy a few seconds of blood dripping through. Good grief.

I finally quit watching their series True Blood due to excessive stupidity (not me! I am talking about the show!) and now I need to reconsider this series as well.
I don't want to see ANY copulating during the show, (finally had to make mom and dad leave the room, no just kidding) and I don't want to see EXCESSIVE VIOLENCE -- which in no way creates an interesting story but detracts from one. I don't want to give up just yet though.

A new episode will air tonight. Let's turn this bus around, HBO!

[itisally]

I agree. HBO makes me crazy that it can take a great story and ruin it with blood and sex. What irritates me even more about that it that it sells. The culture has been so desensitized that more people like it then don't and some don't think a show is good without it.

What happened to Plot, Character, and Setting as basic story elements. I would say that the writters might not be that good, but even Game of Thrones has gotten too graphic for my taste and they have a wonderful story to work from.
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I could agree with you, but then we would both be wrong.

[groza528]

Some of you may be familiar with Coffee News, which is a weekly? publication containing fun stories, jokes, quotes, trivia questions etc. The publication is quite widespread but it is often locally authored.
Whoever comes up with the trivia questions here is absolutely awful at it. The questions are often awkwardly worded, subjective, or ambiguous. Today there was a question that was so awkward that I would venture to say the answer is plain wrong.

The question was: How far below the earth's surface is it hot enough to boil water?

The intended reading of this question was "How deep do you have to go to get to 100C?" The first problem with the question is that this varies highly based on the actual region. I work in the oilfield, so I actually see this data firsthand and I can tell you I've been in some areas that hit 100C at 2500m, and others that were only 80C even past 3500m. So this is hardly a standard value. The intended answer was "about two miles" which confirms the reading of the question at least.

The second, and more important problem with the question is that "Where does it get to 100C" and "Where does it get hot enough to boil water" are *completely different questions.* Water only boils at 100C at sea level. It boils at lower temperatures at high altitudes and higher temperatures at low altitudes, based on air pressure. When you are talking about subsurface, the pressure difference is much greater and has a much more significant impact. At "about two miles" water is at "about 5000psi." The steam table I consulted online doesn't come close to those pressures, but at the table's max pressure of 220psi (roughly 15x atmospheric pressure), water boils much closer to 200C, so at 5000psi (340atm) you can be damned sure it's much higher.

Shoddy trivia. Pah.[/b]

[Dread Pirate Westley]

Well, the critical point of water is at about 3200 psi and 647K. Beyond that the issue gets fuzzy. Above that temperature, liquid water doesn't exist, regardless of how high the pressure is.

Actually, now that I think about it, water (or any other liquid) boils when its vapor pressure equals the atmospheric pressure. The wiki has graph of vapor pressure vs. temperature up to the critical point.

[Quailman]

Ever been to Yellowstone National Park? There's boiling water on the surface.

[Courk]

Then there's volcanoes with boiling rock. No, this doesn't add anything to the discussion, I just wanted to say "boiling rock."

[Thok]

[groza528]

Maybe, but how would you prevent the pressure from rising when you're trying to boil water in a sealed container? If the volume doesn't change, temperature is proportional to pressure (assuming ideal gas.) But even if you use mechanical systems like pumps etc, the question is at least underspecified because if you can control the pressure there is no reason to assume that it should be at 1atm.

[Death Mage]

To my knowledge, water does not boil well in a container with a stabilized pressure, since boiling water raises the pressure inside.
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* These senseless ramblings brought to you by Insanity™. If you just can't figure the dang thing out, it must be Insanity™.
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[Trojan Horse]

Lance Armstrong has now been officially stripped of his Tour de France titles.

Lance Armstrong is the self-proclaimed "most drug-tested athlete in history". So if HE was doping up, then I might as well assume EVERY athlete is doping up. I can never again assume that any athletic achievement is legitimate.

I'm done with sports.

(I had a rough night last night, so in my sleep-deprived state, I may be overreacting right now. But I don't think so.)

[Chuck]

What one committee can take away can be given back by some future committee and can be taken away again by some committee after that. We'll all die never knowing who ultimately won those races. All we'll ever have is current opinion.

[Jedo*]

It occurs to me that we might as well just let athletes juice if they want. I believe the reason they restrict it is more for equality of performance rather than health reasons. So, let there be doping, and let's see how super humans perform. (There should be restriction at lower levels because of health reasons, but the professional players should be able to make their own reckless decisions.) I mean, it's not like the basketball players of today are equal to the players of the early days anyway (what with the genetics of breeding taller and taller people). There's really no comparison between the two generations, so a person's stats today should generally be higher regardless of their steroid use.

My goodness though, this trend of "stripping titles" is ridiculous. Just because Paterno and Sandusky were involved in a sex scandal doesn't mean Notre Dame football didn't have significant achievements during that period. You can asterisk it all you want, but those wins still happened. It's not quite the same for instances of steroid use because there wasn't an "even playing field," but the field isn't really even to begin with. Some people are naturally better than others.[/rant]

[Chuck]

I can accept stripping someone of wins if it's found that he cheated during the competition, but in Paterno's case he's unpopular because of an unrelated event. Sometimes people escape justice by dying. He won't even know that people are trying to alter history to punish him.

If doping if allowed for professionals then doping might be the only way college students can become professionals and the only way high school students can get onto college teams.

[Jack_Ian]

Just installed Flash Player 11 and the bastards installed McAfee Security plus while they were at it.
No checkbox option, nothing. Grrr!

[Jedo the Jedi]