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What word would Americans use to describe a snack like Arnott's Shapes or Kraft's "In A Biskit" range? Over here we just use the general term "biscuit" which describes all cookies, crackers and these things.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 09:05 |
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# ? May 16, 2024 17:17 |
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Like Chicken in a Biskit? Those are crackers.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 09:25 |
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DELETED posted:Like Chicken in a Biskit? Those are crackers. Yeah I need to work on my snack identification. It's like trying to teach foreigners the difference between in/on/at when they have one word that encompasses the three.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 09:27 |
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Why did America become so litigious and is there any chance that people will ever chill the gently caress out and not sue each other for the slightest of things?
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 10:00 |
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gwar3k1 posted:Why did America become so litigious and is there any chance that people will ever chill the gently caress out and not sue each other for the slightest of things? I don't think it has to do with chilling out or questions of national character. It has to do with incentives. The simple answer is that there are fewer disincentives for people in the USA to sue. Most Western countries have a "loser pays" system where the losers pays for the court costs and lawyers fees for both parties. This tends to put a brake on the more frivolous lawsuits. In the USA, people pay only for their own lawyers. Note that no one thinks there is a right or wrong way to set up a system. Loser pays systems are stacked against poorer people suing the rich -- a losing case for them would be disastrous in a way that it wouldn't be in a USA-style system. It's a balance.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 10:36 |
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Pucklynn posted:I'm an American student studying Korean and I'm trying to find Korean-language e-books and I'm having absolutely zero luck. Does anyone know any good websites to buy/creatively acquire such books? http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3197163 Korean lanaguage thread here at SA.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 11:49 |
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gwar3k1 posted:Why did America become so litigious and is there any chance that people will ever chill the gently caress out and not sue each other for the slightest of things? I think it's a side effect of the whole American idea of what being an American is. The idea of The American Dream seems to imply that no one has the right to get in the way of that goal. If you work hard you *will* be successful. The fact that accidents will happen that are out of your control go against this idea. A prefectly compentent doctor can make an honest mistake that will disable you for life. Someone might spread rumours about you that get you fired. You slip and fall in a store and miss six weeks of work. Having to accept that this is just the way things are and getting on with life goes against that idea. You would have to accept that some people will never be successful no matter how hard they try just out of sheer bad luck. If you can sue and get millions of dollars then the balance is restored. You're now (financially) successful despite the setback. The British seem to have this thinking exactly the other way around. Your lot in life is the class / status you're born into. Being successful in Britian is almost seen as a bad thing; like you're betraying who your are. Most British heroes almost seem embarassed to have succeeded. Susan Boyle is a great example. Even in TV shows, like The Office: The main character in The Office is a college drop out, lives with his parents and has a dead end job and never moves beyond this. Or Arthur Dent in Hitchhickers Guide who bumbles around and manages to succeed by just being there. A Brit who sued just because he happened to suffer some misfortune would be looked down on. "Hey, it happens. Chin up! March on!" Or, I might just be waaaay over analazying all this and American might just be greedy pricks who see other people making a buck and want in on the action.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 16:59 |
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A friend of mine swears up and down that her mom (in charge of hiring at her company) pays Facebook to view the private profiles of applicants. I'm 99% sure this is bullshit, and Google tells me it is too, but is there an official statement by Facebook denouncing this rumor or a better website than like "gawker.com" that Google gives to me? I was told this on a camping trip with no access to the internet and over the course of it was told other gems such as if a university bus hits you they will give you a 4.0 for the semester, and that the campus library is slowly sinking because they didn't account for the weight of the books.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 17:27 |
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drat Bananas posted:The campus library is slowly sinking because they didn't account for the weight of the books. Every university has this rumor.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 18:14 |
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JasonV posted:I think it's a side effect of the whole American idea of what being an American is. Seems like a good starting point. The UK seems to be adopting more American practices into its own, I'm waiting for us to lose our common sense and sue for every little thing that happens to us. It's already begun: "where there's a blame, there's a claim" but its not as high profile as it appears to be in the US. Converseley, congratulations America for not being a nanny state and over concerning yourselves with political correctness. Perhaps they're contributing factors to the difference in our approach to justice.
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# ? Oct 30, 2010 18:26 |
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How does amazon calculate tax? I just bought 50 dollars worth of books, and the tax only came out to 80 cents.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 02:18 |
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change my name posted:How does amazon calculate tax? I just bought 50 dollars worth of books, and the tax only came out to 80 cents. The same way the law calculates tax. Remember that you usually don't pay sales tax on items bought from other states, you probably only got taxed on one book that originated in your state.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 04:03 |
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Does anyone know where I can find this little indie film called Ninja Man? It's got British school kids in it, one of whom is 'ninja man' and he at one point tells a teacher to "shut up you wanker" also his girlfriend gets tied to a bed with an iron duct taped to her chest. Also can anyone suggest a better thread to ask this in?
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 05:22 |
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Immortal Wombat posted:Does anyone know where I can find this little indie film called Ninja Man? It's got British school kids in it, one of whom is 'ninja man' and he at one point tells a teacher to "shut up you wanker" also his girlfriend gets tied to a bed with an iron duct taped to her chest. IMDB says the official site is https://www.ninjamanmovie.co.uk but that's not available at the moment. I Googled Ninja Man Movie and got the director's site http://www.jacksonfilm.co.uk/ninjaman.htm fishmech posted:The same way the law calculates tax. Remember that you usually don't pay sales tax on items bought from other states, you probably only got taxed on one book that originated in your state. That sounds like a good deal. Is there a way for people in the US to search for products explicitly from other states to avoid paying tax?
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 10:32 |
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gwar3k1 posted:That sounds like a good deal. Is there a way for people in the US to search for products explicitly from other states to avoid paying tax? I've never heard of any specific service that lets you do that. But it's usually not hard to find out where your stuff will be shipping from if you really want to know.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 14:00 |
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(Well, this became kind of a 'big question', but it seems kind of stupid to give this issue its own thread. It is something that's been really bothering me, though.) So here's my dilemma. I'm trying to get my driver's license, and buy a car, in Massachusetts. I attended driver's ed and did a few hours of driving lessons (state minimum) in 2006, when I was 16. It's 2010 now and I'm 20, still no license. (I've renewed my permit.) It wasn't a big deal in the past because I had no reasonable means of getting a car anyways. Now I can afford one, and I need one. But I'm still not a great driver. The problem is, I don't really have a reasonable way to practice driving, and nobody to teach me. My parents won't teach me, and even if they wanted to, their cars have problems that could be dangerous with a new driver (brake failure, engine stalling, etc). So I hired a teacher. I've done a few lessons with him, and I'm a decent enough driver. He was surprised at how good I am at handling the car and obeying the road rules, for some who hadn't touched the wheel of a car in four years. But I'm still inexperienced, and do stupid things on the road sometimes when I meet something unexpected. On my previous lesson, he basically told me that he felt bad for me, and that I was wasting my money with him. (The lessons are expensive.) He told me that I wasn't benefiting from the lessons all that much, because I already basically know everything he can teach me- I just need practice, to get things down to muscle memory and reaction time. He said that I need to find someone that I can just drive around with, a few times a week, ideally for at least 25-30 more hours before I go for my license. Then I'd be set to be on the road by myself. Herein lies my problem. I don't really have anyone to teach me, or any car to use. If I went out today and took the road test, I don't really know if I would pass it or not. I drive passably, but I still make a lot of little mistakes. I can't drive with my parents. I've thought about driving with a friend (if they're over 21 it's legal) but none of them have seemed all that willing to do so- and if I ever got in any kind of accident while driving their car, I don't know what I'd do. If I continue to hire the instructor until I'm comfortable, I'm looking at hundreds and hundreds of dollars out the window, for what he sees as minimal gain. I could just say gently caress it and take the road test anyways, it's only fifty dollars, but I'd need a car to take the test in, and even if I pass, then I'm on the road by myself as an inexperienced driver that makes frequent mistakes. My friends say this is no big deal, and that's how they all did it anyways, so maybe I'm overthinking this part a bit.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 17:55 |
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Just take the test. I only went out 3 or 4 times driving before I took it and I did fine. 25 hours is way overkill. You're just as likely to do something stupid after 25 hours practice as after 5 hours. It took me more like a year to stop doing little boneheaded things but those are unlikely to happen in the 5 minutes it takes to do the test. Just drive slow when you take the test and be alert and careful and make sure you can parallel park and you'll be fine.
Schweinhund fucked around with this message at 18:22 on Oct 31, 2010 |
# ? Oct 31, 2010 18:20 |
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If your instructor says he can't teach you anything, you must be ready for the test. You're letting anxiety get in the way of signing up for the test - do you really think you're going to kill someone or cause an accident at your current ability? Take the test. If you fail, take some more lessons.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 18:46 |
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Ignorant question about genetics follows. If there are two men who are identical twins and they both bone the same woman and she gives birth, can some manner of DNA test determine which one is the father?
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 18:51 |
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Anjow posted:Ignorant question about genetics follows. Identical twins have the exact same DNA, but with different phenotypes. Thus, no, a simple DNA test can't determine who is who. Because of the phenotypes, they have different fingerprints and slightly different features. This does not help you when finding out who yo babby daddy be though.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 19:03 |
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Anjow posted:Ignorant question about genetics follows. Raoul is right and here is a fun real life example.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 19:16 |
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RaoulDuke12 posted:Identical twins have the exact same DNA, but with different phenotypes. Thus, no, a simple DNA test can't determine who is who. Because of the phenotypes, they have different fingerprints and slightly different features. This does not help you when finding out who yo babby daddy be though. Interesting. Again, not knowing much about these things, does this mean that there is any way at all of determining paternity? I just mentioned DNA because it was the first thing that springs to mind, the link posted and the complexity of that case suggests that there may not be.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 19:31 |
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gwar3k1 posted:Seems like a good starting point. The UK seems to be adopting more American practices into its own, I'm waiting for us to lose our common sense and sue for every little thing that happens to us. It's already begun: "where there's a blame, there's a claim" but its not as high profile as it appears to be in the US. I'd really say it's far more what dokmo said; it's not a factor of national character or anything, it's just a difference in how our respective countries' legal systems are set up. Also, the US isn't nearly as hyper-litigious as is commonly perceived. Most such frivolous lawsuits that you hear about in the news are either dismissed the instant they hit trial if not before, or they aren't really frivolous, they just get bad press due to either misinterpretation by the media and general public, or heavy media spin on the part of the defendant.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 19:39 |
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Anonymous Robot posted:I just need practice, to get things down to muscle memory and reaction time. He said that I need to find someone that I can just drive around with, a few times a week, ideally for at least 25-30 more hours before I go for my license. Then I'd be set to be on the road by myself. Note where he says you just need practice. Not teaching. So having a friend drive round with you shouldn't involve you asking them "can you teach me to drive" but "hey I need some practice driving, want to hang out in my car for a while?" Where they can give you a tip if you gently caress up, but otherwise just be there as a legal requirement. gwar3k1 posted:IMDB says the official site is https://www.ninjamanmovie.co.uk but that's not available at the moment. I Googled Ninja Man Movie and got the director's site http://www.jacksonfilm.co.uk/ninjaman.htm Sweet. Unfortunately I keep getting 'unexpected end of archive', but this is a step closer. I don't know why I couldn't find this when I googled, thanks though.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 21:49 |
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I am trying to find out the name of the australian cartoonist who drew australian politicians, prince charels, pope, etc. with small willies. I remember he also has a cartoon of indira gandhi naked on a cow. Does anyone know his name? Thank you.
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 21:54 |
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Immortal Wombat posted:Note where he says you just need practice. Not teaching. So having a friend drive round with you shouldn't involve you asking them "can you teach me to drive" but "hey I need some practice driving, want to hang out in my car for a while?" Where they can give you a tip if you gently caress up, but otherwise just be there as a legal requirement. Yeah, I get what you're saying here. The problem is, I don't yet have a car. And I'm worried that if I used one of theirs, and anything happened, they'd be hosed. And this is their concern as well, when I spoke with them about it. (This also applies to the roadtest. I need a "sponsor car". I think one of them might let me use their car just for that, though.)
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# ? Oct 31, 2010 22:23 |
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If I'm in the US with a greencard (marriage), can I join the armed forces?
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 02:08 |
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Jiriam posted:If I'm in the US with a greencard (marriage), can I join the armed forces? Seems so: quote:U.S. citizens or Permanent Resident Aliens (people who have an INS I-151/I-551 “Green Card”) may join the U.S. Military.
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 02:20 |
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Re: driving situation -- you can probably at least hire the driving teacher's car for the actual test. Often the teachers know where the examiners will take you (in case there's a tricky intersection or a hill to park on, for instance) and passing the test will probably help your confidence a lot. I can't help you with the driving anxiety, unfortunately, as I'm in a similar situation myself.
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 03:49 |
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I notice my e-mails sent from GMail lately have line breaks inserted so the text of my e-mails is "narrower." Any way to make this NOT happen?
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 04:01 |
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My work sells soda in biodegradable "eco" cups that are made from corn. Could I eat theoretically one of those?
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 05:31 |
What's up with this supposed SA Mart fraud cover up? Does anyone have the full story and how it is being resolved? http://www.theneweffort.com/post223890.html
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 05:34 |
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Idran posted:
Seconding this point. The case of the woman burned by coffee at the MacDonalds drive through is case in point. http://bit.ly/bd3J7x
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 05:35 |
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the posted:My work sells soda in biodegradable "eco" cups that are made from corn. Could I eat theoretically one of those? Yes but it wouldn't taste good or really feed you.
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 06:59 |
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the posted:My work sells soda in biodegradable "eco" cups that are made from corn. Could I eat theoretically one of those? They probably use the inedible parts of the corn plant, like the husk, cob and stalk. I doubt they would waste usable food creating food-related accessories. I wouldn't eat those cups. It would be like eating wood. You may not be able to digest them.
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 07:30 |
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Anonymous Robot posted:Yeah, I get what you're saying here. The problem is, I don't yet have a car. And I'm worried that if I used one of theirs, and anything happened, they'd be hosed. And this is their concern as well, when I spoke with them about it.
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 14:27 |
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heeebrew posted:What's up with this supposed SA Mart fraud cover up? Does anyone have the full story and how it is being resolved? holy poo poo, what the gently caress is that place? Looks like the MySpace of SA.
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 16:34 |
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My son has been talking about a dinosaur he saw in a book that is the "scariest dinosaur ever". From the description it's probably some kind of mosasaur and not actually a dinosaur, but I can't figure out what he's talking about because the name is not familiar to me. He says it is a "Facdanus", it lives in the sea, it has four flippers and a long body but does not have a long neck, and it has extremely scary teeth. Can anyone ID this sea monster?
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 16:48 |
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heeebrew posted:What's up with this supposed SA Mart fraud cover up? Does anyone have the full story and how it is being resolved? Haha, I love how their passive-agressive way to "get the word out" on this coverup is to make a reddit link. http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/dz9fg/hostgator_loses_customer_credit_card_details/ TL;DR quote:The investigation I've done so far: quote:yeah, at first this thread piqued my interest (being a former sa member and all) but then i saw the new effort and i rolled my eyes as i prepared to witness another manifestation of GOON DRAMA quote:***Excerpt from the thread: Sounds like much ado about nothing really.
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 17:01 |
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# ? May 16, 2024 17:17 |
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ClearAirTurbulence posted:My son has been talking about a dinosaur he saw in a book that is the "scariest dinosaur ever". From the description it's probably some kind of mosasaur and not actually a dinosaur, but I can't figure out what he's talking about because the name is not familiar to me. He says it is a "Facdanus", it lives in the sea, it has four flippers and a long body but does not have a long neck, and it has extremely scary teeth. Can anyone ID this sea monster? There's this thing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kronosaurus which sort of matches the description. And there's also this http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/02/080226-sea-monsters.html Don't know where he got 'Facdanus' though
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# ? Nov 1, 2010 17:18 |