Re: An Exhaustive List Of Things Some People Don't Seem To Understand Very Well

1

Whom/Who


Posted by: Criminally Bulgur | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:23 PM
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Lay/lie


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:25 PM
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I don't find that my failure to understand traffic circles has hampered my life in any way.

Also true of croquet, plate tectonics and pickup artistry.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:28 PM
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You think that, anyway.


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:30 PM
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I think what I find, and I find what I think.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:36 PM
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The merge point.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:41 PM
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Traffic circles with two lanes.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:50 PM
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The films of David Lynch


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:55 PM
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Two lane traffic circles with merge points.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:56 PM
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The umlaut/diaeresis distinction.


Posted by: Walt Someguy | Link to this comment | 09- 8-09 11:56 PM
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11

1. Traffic Circles

Then again, some people understand them very well.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:00 AM
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Two land traffic circles with merge points and roads covered in margarine.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:01 AM
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13

Seven sea traffic circles with merge points and sharks.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:03 AM
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14

One traffic circle, suspended in air, with six lanes, one of which is occupied by a helicopter flown by a lemur.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:06 AM
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15

Traffic circles shaped like umlauts.


Posted by: Walt Someguy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:10 AM
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14: Speak for yourself. Most of us figured that one out long ago.


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:13 AM
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lead/led


Posted by: ari | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:28 AM
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That works of non-fiction are not "novels". Or at least not often.


Posted by: ari | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:32 AM
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Yes, I'm feeling a bit cranky about my students. What makes you ask?


Posted by: ari | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:33 AM
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Wait, you mean confusing fiction with non-fiction? Hmm.


Posted by: paranoid android | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:04 AM
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11 See you and raise you:

Not understood: traffic circles surrounding a roundabout, comprising a rotary: Swindon Magic.


Other: It will be on you left.
Econolicious, modeling in NYC: Does it matter if I am coming from the north, or from the south before I deside to expect it on my left ?
Other: It's on your left.
Econolicious, still modeling: If I was hanging upside down from the back of a bus, would it be on my left ?



Posted by: Econolicious | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:20 AM
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22

There's a town in southern England that has a "traffic circle" (roundabout, as they are really called) which is made up of 6 (six) separate smaller ones surrounding a big one in the middle. Like this.

You guys don't know you're born.


Posted by: OFE | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:23 AM
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Dick punching.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:23 AM
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MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.


Posted by: Econolicious, as don Norman | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:24 AM
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re: 22

Yeah, there are similar almost as extreme versions all over the place.

This one, in Swindon, for example:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Swindon_Magic_Roundabout_eng.svg/565px-Swindon_Magic_Roundabout_eng.svg.png

There used to be a really huge one on the western edge of Edinburgh that used to give me the fear when I first started to drive. It was a single roundabout but it had six lanes and no lights. The roads that fed into it were dual carriageways and it made for a fairly scarily unpredictable experience: conceptually easy, but practically hard. They've added lights now, narrowed it and put an underpass underneath it, so it's not the same.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:32 AM
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The US aversion to roundabouts is one of the things that always baffles me when I visit. I understand they're more common in some states, though.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 3:15 AM
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26: They are, but even in those, most people never figure them out. I lived in Somerville (MA) near a roundabout for about five years, and the daily level of near-accidents and angry horn-blowing was something to behold. There just aren't enough roundabouts/rotaries to sustain a learning curve, I think.


Posted by: Forza | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:41 AM
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18: Heh. The one I used to get a lot was students referring to poems or theoretical articles as "stories."


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:43 AM
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One should use one's turn signal when one is turning.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:12 AM
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21.2, 22 et al: Was actually ooking for one of those when I found the drift in 11, but from 21.1 and related videos on YouTube, drifting a roundabout and taping it seems to be a thing to do.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:19 AM
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31

ooking = ineffective oogle searching.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:19 AM
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32

The biggest problem with those magic roundabouts is that everyone's driving on the wrong side of the road and going around the circles backwards.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:26 AM
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re: 22. I think that traffic circles and roundabouts are different things, though am not quite sure what the difference is - something like, a roundabout is a circular road whereas a traffic circle is a circular set of junctions.


Posted by: Abelard | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:35 AM
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34

You want a roundabout? (And no, I have no idea.)


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:36 AM
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32:I found driving in Australia that it was the frequent little mini-roundabouts (where there'd be 2 or 4-way stop signs in the states) that were actually the most disconcerting in practice. I'd go through them on semi-autopilot (unless I was making a right, which I had to think about), and then spend the next block suffering "Wait a minute, was that right OK?" unease. Do not recall seeing as many of them in England, but my driving/riding experience there is much more limited.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:02 AM
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re: 35

They are common. There's one at the end of my street. A lot of people don't realise which side has the right of way. It's less obvious than with full 'proper' roundabouts.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:04 AM
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37

The nature of the American presidency, as originally envisioned (and as actually created). That when the colonists were talking about 'the rights of Englishmen' it wasn't just, or even predominantly, about taxes. The comma.

Next to these, I would say the ordinary American understanding of the traffic circle is quite good.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:16 AM
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I don't understand why people call rotarys "roundabouts".

They have those little mini roundabout dudes in California. Good for traffic calming.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:29 AM
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39

Captured by the Sith Lord>/a>


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:30 AM
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40

Captured by the Sith Lord


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:31 AM
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41

Here in the heartland, roundabouts have become an issue of passionate debate. People have signs up in their yards proclaiming, "We're All About the Roundabout!" enclosed in a big heart.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:59 AM
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38: Good for traffic calming.

Or not. The ubiquity of these drifting videos is something.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:16 AM
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43

The nature of the American presidency, as originally envisioned (and as actually created).

Tangentially, this reminds me that I went off an a full-bore tirade over the weekend about whiny Constitutional originalists ignoring that, for all its innovations, the US Constitution was written by and for property-owning men of European descent. It annoys me when people elide this fact.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:22 AM
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44

"We're All About the Roundabout!" is a cute slogan, but it's much too direct, given the subject matter.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:25 AM
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45

43: Sure, but I bet you get all "That's unconstitutional!!!!" when someone wants to limit freedom of speech.

Well...that's what I do anyway.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:26 AM
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46

I gots questions:

42: I can't access youtube at work. Can you explain what "drifting videos" are so I don't have to wait all day in agony to find out?

45: What does saying "That's unconstitutional!!!!" have to do with whether or not one is an originalist?


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:33 AM
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47

what "drifting videos" are

Skidding donuts around the traffic circle.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:37 AM
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46.1: People doing extended four-wheel drifts around roundabouts, big and small. Some of them in the middle of traffic. And it appears that "drifting" is a hobby with a "legitimate" competition side. Who knew?

Driftworks is Europe's number 1 for Drifting. It's run for Drifters by Drifters and backed up with years of Drifting experience. Via our main website, Drifting Forum and online Drift Shop, we hope to bring the Drift community and anyone interested in getting involved in drifting all they could wish for, all from a name they know they can rely on.

Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:41 AM
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46, part 2 -- you know, that is true. I'm being silly.

But putting aside the logical and legal analysis, Stanley's point is that the Constitution is old and yucky. Given that, what's wrong with something being unconstitutional?


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:45 AM
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50

44 is a good point.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:46 AM
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51

Standards of review.


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:51 AM
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52

The Bluebook.


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:52 AM
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Basic collegiality.


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:54 AM
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54

If I ever encounter a roundabout, I will approach it as I do a normal intersection with stop signs.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:55 AM
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The word "no".


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:56 AM
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54: Cryptic Ned is ready to face anything!


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:57 AM
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57

Those zebra stripe pedestrian crosswalks.


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:57 AM
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55: I heard that "no means no". Is that true???


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:58 AM
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59

I will approach it as I do a normal intersection with stop signs

As long as you don't go stopping in the middle of the thing to yield to cars who are waiting to enter, we cool.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:58 AM
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60

58: No?


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:59 AM
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54: I will approach it as I do a normal intersection with stop signs--going 60, accelerating, with one hand on the horn and the other waving a bottle of Wild Turkey out the window.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:11 AM
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58: No.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:14 AM
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Back to the original topic: Things Scottish.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:17 AM
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The offside rule in soccer.


Posted by: bill | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:18 AM
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Cricket.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:19 AM
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Kids these days.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:20 AM
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67

That which surpasseth understanding.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:20 AM
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The proper limitations of ranch dressing.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:21 AM
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David Fucking Hume!


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:21 AM
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29: One should use one's turn signal when one is turning.

Incomplete. One should use one's turn signal before one is turning, so others know one is about to slow down. If you're already turning, your signal is giving me no information.


Posted by: DonBoy | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:22 AM
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Why I should be declared king.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:23 AM
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The general ickiness of pedantry.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:25 AM
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Why my brigade of light cavalry has been ordered to charge across that valley towards those cannon.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:34 AM
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How to properly beg a question.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:36 AM
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73: What part of "yours not to reason why" Mγtch fails to understand.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:37 AM
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Why LizardBreath put the quoted part of 75 in quotes, seeing as it's not actually a quote from the poem in question.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:38 AM
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76: The general ickiness of pedantry.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:41 AM
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78

The fact that general rules have necessary exceptions.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:45 AM
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Understanding when it is appropriate to apply an exception to a general rule.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:57 AM
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How exceptions prove rules.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:58 AM
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81

The pleasures of little bitchery.


Posted by: Bave Dee | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:03 AM
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82

1) How the Internet works.
2) Avoiding tailgating when behind me.
3) Getting the hell out of the way when in front of me.

My first driving experience in the UK was in a stick-shift Ford Ka I'd just rented for a week (I hadn't driven a stick in six or seven years) in Gourock or Greenok or Port Glasgow or somewhere. I stalled out five times trying to get through the four-lane roundabout that was the first thing I encountered after exiting their parking lot. After that I figured I could handle anything they could throw at me, and did.


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:08 AM
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82: The first time I drove in the UK, I found the cognitive load of having to drive on the left while sitting on the right (and thus shifting with the left hand) pretty taxing. Remembering that the car didn't end immediately to my right took a while to master. And I kept looking for the rearview mirror up and to my right, which was a point outside the car. Luckily, the pedals were the same. If I had had to clutch with the right foot I don't think I could have managed it.

Also helpful was having a co-pilot who could shout out "you're really close on this side! YOU'RE REALLY F&*KING CLOSE ON THIS SIDE!" as necessary. This likely prevented needless loss of the passenger side rearview mirror on several occasions.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:15 AM
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84

Erm, "immediately to my left".


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:16 AM
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85

"Kobe!"


Posted by: k-sky | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:22 AM
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86

83: The two I could not get past:
1) Turning on the wipers when I meant to signal.
2) Going to the passenger side door first. But then usually I'd have a bag or briefcase in hand that I could casually toss in before walking around to the other side calmly and naturally.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:23 AM
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re: 86.1

Really? It's been a while in the UK since I encountered a car with the indicator stalk on the other side, but I'm pretty sure that's not always been consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer and I've definitely driven right hand drive cars where the indicator stalk is on the right rather than the more common left. In fact, googling, it's not that uncommon for there to be variation between manufacturers. So it's not a national thing, I'm surprised you've not come across it in the US.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:27 AM
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88

Also, as a pedestrian, once I mastered which direction to look for cars as I crossed the street (helped, at least in London, by helpful instructions painted on the footpath), I still had trouble because I would attempt to make eye contact with drivers (to make sure they saw me) by looking at the passenger or the empty passenger seat.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:28 AM
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87: Yeah, I've had that problem in the US when driving an unfamiliar car. I dont' think it's a national issue.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:30 AM
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standpipe's jokes.


Posted by: Will | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:30 AM
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90: Easily solved, Will. Standpipe has a blog, you see.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:31 AM
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(helped, at least in London, by helpful instructions painted on the footpath),

"footpath" forsooth. Why pass up a chance to say "zebra crossings"?


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:32 AM
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93

The difference between footpaths and zebra crossings.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:33 AM
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94

What threw me off most, positionally, was having the individual gears in the same places even though I was on the other side of the shifter. It was very strange for 1st to be out-and-up rather than in-and-up, etc. (It wasn't what made me stall out five times - that was simply the result of having gotten extremely rusty at driving a stick.)

Driving on the other side of the road on the other side of the car never really bothered me much. Converting speeds on the fly didn't bother me much, either. When it was all over I wanted a Ka so bad my teeth ached, to be honest, because it was the perfect tiny car and it was a gorgeous color and yes I am that shallow. That first roundabout, though, was so harrowing that a dozen years later I still blush when I think about it.


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:36 AM
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95

That aside, I refuse to believe that the majority of cars in Europe are actually stick shifts. I think I've spent a total of maybe 24 hours in a stick-shift car in my entire life.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:37 AM
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re: 95

They really are. I've only ever known two people who owned an automatic, and one was partially disabled and had a modded Audi coupé with automatic gears and some other tweaks.


Posted by: nattarGcM ttaM | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:40 AM
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I think I've spent a total of maybe 24 hours in a stick-shift car in my entire life

Wow, really? I believe you, but wow.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:41 AM
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94.1: Yeah, I remember that being mentally taxing as well. And having to downshift while turning and looking for oncoming traffic in the traffic circle required all available RAM.

94.2: I didn't have any trouble remembering to drive on the left, but my sense of where the car began and ended was off a bit so it was hard to align the car in the lane properly, at least at first.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:42 AM
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Yeah, and not just Europe. I am a shitty shitty manual driver (learned to do it and then never needed to) and renting a car in South America was an enormous pain in the ass.


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:42 AM
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100

Kebo!


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:43 AM
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101

Frist!!


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:45 AM
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102

My dad actually had to spend a night in jail in England for getting into an accident in a roundabout (I think he went counterclockwise, but I'm not certain). The police were very apologetic, but apparently they had no choice (I guess because he had no fixed address?).

I was 18 at the time, with my own past run-in with the law, so I was positively delighted. My mom took it well, but I think my dad is still a bit uptight about it, 18 years later.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:50 AM
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103

The material they learned last semester in Cal 1.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:51 AM
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HOW HARD OUR LIVES ARE, MAN!!!!11!!


Posted by: OPINIONATED STUDENT | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:53 AM
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105

It may be that my dad's 1977 Buick was manual. I never noticed such things before the age of 12 or so.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:54 AM
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106

I never noticed such things before the age of 12 or so.

Is that when you started driving it?


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 9:58 AM
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107

Our 78 Buick was automatic.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:00 AM
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108

Forza, In the UK it's a roundabout, but in MA they're rotaries.


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:01 AM
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109

In what sense mountains come out of the sky.


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:06 AM
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110

109: Yes.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:07 AM
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111

That when the colonists were talking about 'the rights of Englishmen' it wasn't just, or even predominantly, about taxes.

Hmm. So what was more important, in your view?


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:08 AM
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112

In the US, (MA area specifically) are there any driving schools which teach you how to drive a stick? I've never done it. I don't want to get in arguments with a friend or family member, and I don't want to make one fear for his/her car.

I've heard that eventually automatics will be more fuel efficient than manuals.


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:10 AM
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113

112: I doubt there's any driving school that wouldn't be willing to teach you to drive a stick.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:13 AM
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114

My dad's '68 GTO is automatic, but he doesn't have a right hand, so I give him a pass.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:13 AM
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115

Things.


Posted by: rob helpy-chalk | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:13 AM
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116

Jury trials for people accused of smuggling.

.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:16 AM
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117

113: Actually, I couldn't find one back in the late eighties. My parents always drove stick (until the mid-90s, when their last stickshift car died), and I was learning to drive away from home at college, so I wanted stick lessons, and couldn't find them in Boston (ended up not getting driving lessons at all) or Chicago (where I got lessons on an automatic).

I drove my parents' stick a couple of times, and my sister's stick a few times as well, but I haven't driven stick since maybe 95, and I figure there'd be some horrible grinding of gears until I got the hang of it if I tried now.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:19 AM
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118

I've heard that eventually automatics will be more fuel efficient than manuals.

I thought that crossover had happened already for all but the most skillful drivers.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:21 AM
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119

117: well, I guess I shouldn't speculate when I don't know what I'm talking about. But that's surprising. I know that wasn't true in my home town (and still isn't today)--every driving school around asked if you wanted lessons on a manual or an automatic. I don't think the percentage of manuals there was higher than anywhere else, but maybe it was.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:22 AM
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120

The Massachusetts Government Act and the Administration of Justice Act were "intolerable" enough, I'd say, and not about taxes.

And on the dark side, I think that plenty of folks in the South were more interested in preventing the extension of Somersetts' Case to North America than in whether the had to pay some small extra amount for tea.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:23 AM
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116: Thanks. I thought that's what you were referring to, but I wasn't sure, and suddenly was worried that my entire conception of such rights was out of whack.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:24 AM
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120: Yeah, I think taxes were a decent rallying point but obviously not entirely what was concerning everyone; I've been relooking Woody Holton's Forced Founders recently and enjoyed the role that debt plays.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:26 AM
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When Mrs OFE wanted to buy an automatic last year (teno) she actually had to find a specialist dealer to be able to afford one.

(Rights of Englishmen: cops Hessians bothering decent people about trivialities instead of arresting real criminals.)


Posted by: OFE | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:27 AM
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Now I want a stick. They are more fun to drive, even if it'd take me a while to remember how.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:28 AM
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I would be somewhat surprised to learn that Buick had made any stick-shift cars at all in the last thirty or forty years. The last stick I owned was a 1987 Isuzu Trooper II and it got, I can assure you, unbelievably terrible gas mileage despite driving like its weight could best be measured in ounces. At least some significant portion of that was my own history of mostly having driven automatics; another was that it was about as aerodynamic as a brick. Hella fun car, though. I nearly bought a used Saturn sedan instead of the Prius purely because it was a stick and I do really enjoy driving a manual.


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:31 AM
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I learned on a stick-shift, because my parents wouldn't own anything else. I think my mom's current car is her very first automatic transmission. Between Roberta and me, we have one of each. Generally, I prefer the stick shift because I like real driving, but that breaks down whenever I go to DC and everything slows to a crawl around Manassas. By the time I hit the district proper, my clutch leg is usually cramping.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:35 AM
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I drive a Passat with a stick. Come visit, LB, and I'll let you drive it.


Posted by: CharleyCarp | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:35 AM
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Oooh, tempting. My big sister won't let me drive her current stick, so I'm deprived.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:38 AM
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My last car was a stickshift, which I much prefer. When my baby siblings were little, I always had the one in the passenger seat work the gear for me. I was delighted to hear my little sister say that she learned to drive a stick faster than all her friends, because she already knew how to listen to the engine.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:39 AM
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It is funny that making accurate vroom-vroom noises can be an important part of learning to drive.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:47 AM
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128: 'Cuz it's Pittsburgh and she doesn't want to turn over her clutch to you on the hills? There are a few intersections that still give me the willies in a stick even after years of it.

I get worse gas mileage with a clutch because it accentuates my tendency towards jackrabbit starts and other maneuvers involving sudden bursts of acceleration.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:50 AM
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I think it's consensus, then, that Stanley should add:

-- driving a car with a manual transmission.


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 10:52 AM
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Me.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:01 AM
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I thought that crossover had happened already for all but the most skillful drivers.

I think there are a handful of models for which this is true, but you have to design the auto tranny for max efficiency, not nec. smoothness or power. It's also true that, with these fancy 6-speed autos, the difference is usual nominal (maybe 1 MPG). But it's not the case that the typical manual is less efficient than the typical auto.

That said, I probably am a bit more aggressive with a stick than I might otherwise be (OTOH, to get an auto to really GO, you need to mash the pedal in a way that you don't when you can simply put it in the correct gear).

I will also let you drive my Passat when you come to my town. AB loves it because it has AWD, which means that it is impossible to squeal the tires (her personal fear about driving a stick), even on hills.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:01 AM
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113

I doubt there's any driving school that wouldn't be willing to teach you to drive a stick.

This is problematic if all their cars are automatics.


Posted by: James B. Shearer | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:01 AM
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||

Hey guys, act before it's too late. They probably want to get this in place before the G-20 comes to town, so I'd say you've got 2 weeks, tops.

|>


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:04 AM
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I'd also like to take one of the defensive driving classes. I had a classmate whose Dad worked for All State or State Farm, and he took one to get lower-priced insurance.

My BF's Dad has a company vehicle. The company self-insures, and they made everyone take a training course.


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:05 AM
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Finally, people in Pittsburgh will be able to void where prohibited!


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:05 AM
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I'd also like to take one of the defensive driving classes.

I'm nearly always playing offense when I'm driving.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:11 AM
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The secret ballot.


Posted by: k-sky | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:13 AM
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141

Wow, Pgh's really inviting everyone to take the piss there.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:16 AM
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Al Groh still being a head coach.


Posted by: Will | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:30 AM
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A Google search for "the auto tranny" returns results that are distressingly mundane.


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:31 AM
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The problem of evil.


Posted by: rob helpy-chalk | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:32 AM
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145

That overstanding is the key.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:34 AM
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That you can't squeeze blood from a stone.

Or a turnip for that matter.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:35 AM
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Why bad things happen to good people.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:35 AM
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That I'm okay, and you're okay too.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:37 AM
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That two wrongs don't make a right (but three lefts do).


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:37 AM
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Al Groh

His kids went to my GF's HS when he became a coordinator for the Giants. IIRC, his son instantly became the star QB for what was already a really good team.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:38 AM
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Why fools fall in love with fools like you.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:41 AM
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Images appear before my eyes of criminals in their dens, wallowing in sensual joys, the most abandoned of them plotting renewed false accusations, while good men are prostrate with fear as they survey my danger. I see evildoers, one and all roused by their impunity to venture on wicked deeds, and by rewards to see them through; I see innocent men deprived not only of safety, but also of their right to defend themselves. This is what stirs my cry of lament.


Posted by: Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:41 AM
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Neb's lengthier posts.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:42 AM
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154

That joke about vagendas.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:43 AM
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Gobisch munsha Shiva trapdoor 99 † r U dagger
‡ 8225 Dagger U double dagger
⇓ 859 dAouble arrow
↓ 8595 dardownwards arrow
° 176 deg 1 degre
Δ 916 Delta G greek capital letter delta
δ
♦he goal of this protocol is to lay a compatible foundation across different environments, no new power is provided beyond the capabilities of the CGI interface. Firewall software can watch for POSTs whose Content-Type is text/xml.

Qvfpbirenovyvgl. Jr jnagrq n pyrna, rkgrafvoyr sbezng gung'f irel fvzcyr. Vg fubhyq or cbffvoyr sbe na UGZY pbqre gb or noyr gb ybbx ng n svyr pbagnvavat na KZY-ECP cebprqher pnyy, haqrefgnaq jung vg'f qbvat, n


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:43 AM
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The Riemann Hypothesis.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:44 AM
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Those That Belong to the Emperor
Those Drawn with a Very Fine Camelhair Brush
Those Included in the Present Classification
Those That From a Long Way Off Look Like Flies
Fabulous Ones


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:47 AM
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The role of semantics in sheep-herding


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:54 AM
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The role of sheep-herding in semantics.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:56 AM
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160

That you don't have a right to have things the way you're used to.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:58 AM
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Why this sentence belongs in this list.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 11:58 AM
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155.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:01 PM
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The importance of being earnest.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:13 PM
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The categories in 157. (I love them, and refer to them moderately often, and usually encounter befuddlement.)


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:19 PM
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It's not a balloon! It's an airship!


Posted by: Ferdinand | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:21 PM
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enjoyed the role that debt plays

This may explain why Americans appear to be constitutionally (heh) unable not to rack up mountains of debt.


Posted by: Sir Kraab | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:26 PM
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166: I'm waiting for a really great book on debt to come out. (I should probably read Republic of Debtors: Bankruptcy in the Age of American Independence before I insist that it hasn't yet been written, though.)


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:33 PM
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Ironically, the proper usage of "ironically."


Posted by: Sir Kraab | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:37 PM
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168: Isn't that ironic? I really think it is.


Posted by: Alanis Fucking Morissette | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:40 PM
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Oh, just go look for a damn spoon, would you?


Posted by: Sir Kraab | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:45 PM
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What I'm going to do with all that junk (all that junk inside my trunk).


Posted by: Sexy Elephant | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:50 PM
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Why birds suddenly appear any time you are near.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:51 PM
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170: No, no, no. Alanis had *plenty* of spoons. It was a knife that was all she needed.


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:55 PM
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Why we don't do it in the road.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:57 PM
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Wouldn't it be ironic to do it in the road?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:58 PM
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173: I've often thought that all Alanis needs is a knife.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:58 PM
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That I like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 12:59 PM
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Why oh why oh why oh I ever left Ohio.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:00 PM
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179

How soon now is.


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:00 PM
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180

178: additionally, why oh why oh why oh we're so in denial.


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:01 PM
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There are shuttle buses that ferry people between the multiple campuses of my institution. One thing that people JUST DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND is that the destination of a given shuttle bus is written on the side of the bus, and as such, rather than asking the driver where he or she is going, you can find out whether a given bus will take you where you want to go by LOOKING AT THE TEXT AND GRAPHICS ON THE SIDE OF SAID BUS.

Similarly, people just don't seem to understand that the lights above each elevator indicate whether that elevator is going up or down.


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:01 PM
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182

Why, if physical relationships can be described with equations that are symmetric with respect to t, time can't run backwards.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:02 PM
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That Otto doesn't do it for the lulz.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:03 PM
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One thing that people JUST DON'T SEEM TO UNDERSTAND is that the destination of a given shuttle bus is written on the side of the bus, and as such, rather than asking the driver where he or she is going, you can find out whether a given bus will take you where you want to go by LOOKING AT THE TEXT AND GRAPHICS ON THE SIDE OF SAID BUS.

It may be that the words on the side of the bus only tell the final destination, but it makes multiple unlisted stops along the way.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:04 PM
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185

180: We're in denial, killing your crocodiles.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:05 PM
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186

How crazy it gets me when people in my building leave the faucet in our kitchen running on full blast, while they wait for it to heat up.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:05 PM
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187

179: YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!1!!


Posted by: OPINIONATED MORISSEY | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:06 PM
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188

Too obvious?


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:07 PM
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189

How I could just kill a man.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:09 PM
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190

With kindness.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:12 PM
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191

186: wait, what's wrong with that? Is there some easier/more efficient way to get hot water, that they're overlooking?


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:15 PM
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Wiles' proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:16 PM
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193

186: Microwaving it.

Which isn't very practical if they're planning on washing dishes, which occasionally they are. But we're in the worst drought on record, (although it appears to be ending), and it just drives me batty when there is no one in the kitchen and the water is going full force.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:17 PM
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194

I mean 191.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:18 PM
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195

compose/comprise


Posted by: piminnowcheez | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:24 PM
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196

confirmation bias


Posted by: piminnowcheez | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:28 PM
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fundamental attribution error


Posted by: piminnowcheez | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:28 PM
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the subjunctive mood


Posted by: piminnowcheez | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:29 PM
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199

That I'm occasionally wrong.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:29 PM
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200

That the bug jar needs air holes.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:29 PM
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201

just what in the hell is wrong with people


Posted by: piminnowcheez | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:30 PM
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202

That it's okay to sleep in past 5 am.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:30 PM
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203

Golf.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:31 PM
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basic notions of traffic flow that ought to effect decisions such as whether or not to sit on the subway stairs, and where to stand and talk once you've filled your plate at the buffet table


Posted by: piminnowcheez | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:34 PM
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205

Whether to use "affect" or "effect" in 204.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:36 PM
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Cars. Roundabouts. Humanity. The line "The words will make you out 'n' out."


Posted by: Populuxe | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:39 PM
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the extent to which a "fourfold increase" is insignificant if it is an increase from 0.03% to 0.12%.


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:41 PM
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Unless the interesting threshold occurs at .04%.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:42 PM
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209

Probably "affect", but a tortuous case could be made for "effect".


Posted by: nosflow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:43 PM
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210

199 is a paradox that could bring down the whole internet.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:43 PM
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211

Whether or not it is a good idea to write out the tortuous case of 209.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:43 PM
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What Willis is talkin' 'bout.


Posted by: Gary C. | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:49 PM
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Whether the "p" in "corpgress" is silent or not.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:51 PM
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214

It's a backwards q. Does that help?


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:53 PM
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215

That the opposite of Congress is Progress. BWAH-HA-HA!


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:54 PM
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216

That you don't have keep on writing comments after all of the good ideas are already used up.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:55 PM
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217

That one day getting sleeve tattoos will be out of style.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:55 PM
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218

Spanish.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:57 PM
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219

Why JP Stormcow is such a buzzkill.

Any why he keeps putting that extraneous "r" in his pseud.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:57 PM
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220

209 That such a case could only be made by someone who is WRONG.


Posted by: Molly | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 1:59 PM
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221

I am trying to make a comment about how 219 sounds like it's got a southern accent, because of the "anywhy", and then I remembered the euphemism "thick southern drawl" and it made me laugh all over again. But I couldn't figure out how to make a funny reference.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:00 PM
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222

That the opposite of Congress is Progress. BWAH-HA-HA!

I'm holding out hope that the Obgress will craft a better law.


Posted by: essear | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:01 PM
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223

Why the reason is because.

Why JP Stormcrw's mom wears combat boots.

Why you gotta be like that.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:03 PM
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224

Why all these homosexuals keep sucking my cock.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:04 PM
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225

Why people didn't find the cat erection trivet hilarious.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:04 PM
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226

Where Cala has gone.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:05 PM
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227

The crux of the biscuit.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:05 PM
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228

Or rather, why she would want to leave us. Or Ogged. Or others. But not certain others.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:05 PM
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229

Any of this, but particularly the pursed lips.


Posted by: Grumps | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:05 PM
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230

Why all these homosexuals keep sucking my cock.

Oh, I'm pretty sure everyone understands that pretty well, actually.


Posted by: Brock Landers | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:06 PM
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231

Where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours.


Posted by: JP Stomcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:06 PM
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232

Why God left me that time in the sand with the two pairs of footprints.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:07 PM
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233

That only God can make a tree.


Posted by: JP Stormcrowr | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:09 PM
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234

Why my mom laughed at M/tch's mighty sword.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:10 PM
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235

That there is no such thing as a free lunch.


Posted by: James B. Shearer | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:14 PM
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236

Why she ran away.


Posted by: Del Shannon | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:15 PM
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237

234: link


Posted by: Cryptic ned | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:15 PM
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238

Why you wouldn't want to watch the afternoon session of the California climate change research convention. This is the good stuff, researchers saying what they learned last year. I'll mostly be watching session B.

Here's the agenda. Here's the streaming video.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:19 PM
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239

235: SEZ YOU, SHEARER!


Posted by: OPINIONATED FREEGAN | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:27 PM
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240

That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:30 PM
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241

That all the gold in California is in a bank in the middle of Beverly Hills, in somebody else's name.


Posted by: M/tch M/lls | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:32 PM
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242

Why you have to keep on trucking.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:35 PM
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243

That you don't have keep on writing comments after all of the good ideas are already used up.

Hmm. Your commenter contract must include much more favorable terms than mine.


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:39 PM
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244

That everybody else commenting here is doing it for the money.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:43 PM
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245

The guy from the rice growers' association is on. From now on, if I quote research to make some opinionated point, and you can't dispute it, it is your own fault.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:53 PM
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246

245: No, it's your fault for being so knowledgable.

Also, your fault because the link to "agenda" in 238 doesn't work.


Posted by: peep | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:58 PM
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247

Yeah, only jerks know stuff.


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 2:59 PM
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248

Maybe this will get you close?

It has been boring so far, despite the cute speaker.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 3:00 PM
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249

That Jesus is not a Good Luck Cat.


Posted by: Flippanter | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 3:09 PM
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250

Why must I be like that? Why must I chase the cat?


Posted by: lw | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 3:19 PM
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251

Personal space.


Posted by: rob helpy-chalk | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 3:31 PM
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252

That Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute.


Posted by: Criminally Bulgur | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 3:37 PM
horizontal rule
253

Why it takes longer than 20 minutes to do well on a final exam.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:16 PM
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254

Following 252, that the immaculate conception didn't have much to do with the state of Mary's hymen.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:17 PM
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255

The game of love.


Posted by: Flippanter | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:20 PM
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256

That punching somebody in the face, like in the movies, is a good way to break several bones in one's hand.


Posted by: Flippanter | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:23 PM
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257

256 is just restating 255 with more detail.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:24 PM
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258

Speaking of learning to drive on the other side of the road, have you heard about what happened recently in Samoa? (Made the news in Oz, not sure about the rest of the world).


Posted by: Forza | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:29 PM
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259

What it is I do, exactly.


Posted by: Mo MacArbie | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 4:44 PM
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260

How that can possibly not be butter.


Posted by: Otto von Bisquick | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:03 PM
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261

How I could just kill a man.

My association with that phrase is the Charlotte Sometimes song, but I am guessing that is not the canonical reference.


Posted by: NickS | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:07 PM
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262

This is the talk I've been waiting for, the effect of climate change on energy infrastructure. Ever since I heard that the increase in heat days is going to force us to replace transmission towers, I've been super curious about this.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:12 PM
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263

This is the talk I've been waiting for, the effect of climate change on energy infrastructure. Ever since I heard that the increase in heat days is going to force us to replace transmission towers, I've been super curious about this.

So where should we look for your reporting about the talk? Here, rhubarbpie, or your other blog?


Posted by: NickS | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:20 PM
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I figured we would all watch the talk and chat about it in real time.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:22 PM
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If you're liveblogging, I'm reading. But I'm not going to be able to watch it myself.


Posted by: NickS | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:24 PM
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That's the only possible explanation for slow commenting this afternoon, right?


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:25 PM
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This is the talk I've been waiting for, the effect of climate change on energy infrastructure. Ever since I heard that the increase in heat days is going to force us to replace transmission towers, I've been super curious about this.

I'm interested in this too - I want more details! Live blog away. (Or, uh, could someone direct me to that other blog?)


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:30 PM
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Oh, there's no way I'm gonna summarize the talks on any blog. I don't know enough energy stuff to do that well. They just got done talking about efficiency losses in natural gas power plants from temperature and humidity rise (about 3-4% for a 2 degree Celsius rise, probably underestimated).

Now he's talking about the power plants that are in the way of sea level rise.

(My water blog where I talk about water stuff is www.onthepublicrecord.wordpress.com.)


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:36 PM
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Thanks, Megan. I forgot that you linked earlier to the site, as well.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:37 PM
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It is pretty insider-y stuff. I'm touched if you like it, but it is mostly for the junkies.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:42 PM
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Who wrote the book of love.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:46 PM
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A lot of my friends are junkies on water issues - I'm trying to catch up so that I may converse with them, so it's fantastic.


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 5:47 PM
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junkies on water

UR DOIN IT RONG


Posted by: Not Prince Hamlet | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 6:34 PM
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I missed a chance to talk history books with (). Oh well. I wasn't all that impressed with Forced Founders - though it does have one of my favorite footnotes. Lots of people really like Republic of Debtors, but my friends who read it for orals were sort of mixed. I haven't read it (as usual), but I keep meaning to (also as usual).


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:50 PM
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That when a bus is getting crowded, you should move as far towards the back of the bus as you can, not just in the general direction of the back of the bus until you feel like stopping in the middle of the aisle.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:55 PM
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258: Excellent. Somehow I doubt they were as organized about it as the Swedish. On the other hand, unless things have changed a lot in the last fifteen years, they have much less traffic.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:56 PM
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I'm always around, eb. (Ok, not entirely true, but a little too close for comfort).

I remember having some issues with Forced Founders but it was one of those books read early in grad school and I'm totally hazy on what they were. What I remember of the thesis seemed to square with the other things that I was looking at recently (in order to write a lecture), but I'm open to hearing a more critical take on it. Discuss away.

(And I liked Jill Lepore's use of Republic of Debtors in the New Yorker somewhat recently, part of why it's on my to-read list.)


Posted by: Parenthetical | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 7:57 PM
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It's been a long time since I read it, so I don't really have much to add. It was also an early read for me. I just remember it being a case where the evidence for the arguments didn't seem particularly strong at a number of points.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 09- 9-09 8:06 PM
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277, 278: I know nothing of this book, but the first Google hit is an unbearably smug review by an economic historian who looks down his nose at "social" historians and their obviously shit excuses for evidence.

I wish John were here.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 09-10-09 1:29 PM
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That looks like a sneer at all historians, social in particular of course.

By the way, do you check your e-mail, ()? (If you're still reading this thread.) I sent you something history-related.


Posted by: eb | Link to this comment | 09-10-09 1:43 PM
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