Stupid/Small Questions Megathread

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tarepanda: Mar 26, 2011; Living the Dream

I still think you sound a bit jaded and cranky. For me, there's a difference between a professional pat on the back and a personal gesture and I wouldn't confuse the two. Honestly, how many students -- especially at the busy, stressful college level -- would think that their letter would make a difference? When I was in college, it was still "me" and "the teachers," who hadn't really registered as actually being people with jobs. Granted, I was really, really immature for college, but still.

Wanting to get a present that you think the teacher will like doesn't diminish the feelings at all; you're making it sound like everyone who gets a present for a teacher they liked is just being cheap and blowing time by buying something instead of writing to their supervisors.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 04:13

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# ? May 16, 2024 15:39

CheerGrrl92: May 4, 2007; They call me the owner, because it's what I do

LasterTrain posted:

No just impatient with ineffectual lazy people who claim to be appreciative, but cannot be bothered to actually make a difference. The teacher made the effort; the supposedly appreciative student should to. The teacher did not scent the room with candles, she worked hard and put years of effort to arrive at the point where she made a difference to the student, and the student's response is to go to the store and buy a candle?

It takes far more work to find out the name and address of the department head, the name and address of the school dean, and the name and address of the president, and then write them all letters of specific praise.

Going to the store to buy a candle, or to buy a card containing some card writer's words is trifling, vapid and incommensurate to the work a professor/lecturer/teacher put into becoming a professor, and the time and effort she became to become good at it, and the ongoing effort of preparing lesson plans and delivering them.

Making sure the professor's chain of command, the people responsible for hiring her, and continuing to employ her, and the people determining whether she makes tenure, are aware of her impact as a teacher is important, and keeps her from being shuttled off to annual hire lecturer status like so many women in academia are, or worse yet, from not having her contract renewed for next year, because of budget cuts.

Buying her a candle is denigrating what she did to get where she is in general, and it is rather specifically denigrating in an unintentionally sexist way. Male professor don't get candles, they get letters of praise that benefit their careers. Moreover, 'girly' presents are completely missing the point. If the teacher matters to a student, the student should do what she can to make sure that teacher has the opportunity to continue to make a difference.

Buying a candle is trifling, might get the teacher in trouble, and might get tossed out the minute the silly nit who gives it leaves the room (so says the teacher above me). Writing letters of specific praise to the people in charge of staffing the classrooms makes a difference to the specific instructor, and to later students who are more likely to also benefit from that specific teacher's skill and effort.

Teachers will treasure letters of praise for the rest of their lives, especially if those letters of praise get their annual lecturer's contracts renewed, or contribute to earning tenure through teaching excellence.

I honestly think you are a radical for writing something this long over a really silly argument, but I still think your idea is the best so far. While some of you want small monetary gifts to remember students, some of you want handcrafted things that take time, and some of you want simple thank you notes.. I cannot go wrong with improving her stance with her employer.

I appreciate all the responses. Puts things in perspective.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 04:59

Elijya: May 11, 2005; Could you please continue the petty bickering? I find it most intriguing.

You're 100% right... but you still sound really jaded and cranky.

e:f,b

# ? Apr 14, 2011 05:43

Power of Pecota: Aug 4, 2007; Goodness no, now that wouldn't do at all!

Is there a technical term for a bias where someone rates the first thing they see too strongly (like if I went to a theater and saw Arthur, Hanna, and Meek's Cutoff back to back to back. If I gave Arthur an eight on a scale of ten directly after seeing it, but then thought the other movies were far better after seeing them, realizing I should have ranked Arthur as a 6)

I feel like this definitely exists, and I'm drawing a blank.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 06:46

stubblyhead: Sep 13, 2007; That is treason, Johnny!; Fun Shoe

I haven't flown in a few years, and I'm going on a trip tomorrow. Does everyone go through the wangoscope these days, or is it still just for some people?

# ? Apr 14, 2011 07:00

tarepanda: Mar 26, 2011; Living the Dream

stubblyhead posted:

I haven't flown in a few years, and I'm going on a trip tomorrow. Does everyone go through the wangoscope these days, or is it still just for some people?

Metal detectors? Yeah. The see-through machines? No. You can opt out of that and into a pat-down.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 07:01

stubblyhead: Sep 13, 2007; That is treason, Johnny!; Fun Shoe

tarepanda posted:

The see-through machines? No. You can opt out of that and into a pat-down.

But does everyone now have to do one or the other of these?

# ? Apr 14, 2011 07:18

tarepanda: Mar 26, 2011; Living the Dream

Yeah. It's an either-or situation.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 07:32

BonHair: Apr 28, 2007

Unless you set off the metal detector for whatever reason, then it's both. Protip: German airport security is rather thorough, avoid wearing your nitted pants when you're going to Germany.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 07:35

press for porn: Jan 6, 2008; by Pipski

I grew up with email and texting. The postal mail system is a scary, confusing apparatus.

Hypothetically: how important is a return address on an envelope w/r/t the likelihood of it being delivered? My roommates seem pretty sure that it will be delivered by postmen if the return address is simply left blank, but what about obviously fake addresses, like "Benjamen Franklin 55555 City, State-that-this-letter-is-clearly-not-being-sent-from". Also, what are the rules regarding the weight of an envelope? We have a friend who recently went through a trauma and we thought that it would be a nice gesture to send them letters and m&m's and such from historical figures and celebrities, but would really also like not to commit mail fraud in the process.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:09

kimbo305: Jun 9, 2007; actually, yeah, I am a little mad

Power of Pecota posted:

Is there a technical term for a bias where someone rates the first thing they see too strongly (like if I went to a theater and saw Arthur, Hanna, and Meek's Cutoff back to back to back. If I gave Arthur an eight on a scale of ten directly after seeing it, but then thought the other movies were far better after seeing them, realizing I should have ranked Arthur as a 6)

I feel like this definitely exists, and I'm drawing a blank.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primacy_effect#Primacy_effect

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:11

Gravity Pike: Feb 8, 2009; I find this discussion incredibly bland and disinteresting.

After a bit of googling:

First Class Mail Prices posted:

code:

Weight Not Over	  Price
1 ounce	          $0.44
2 ounces	  $0.61
3 ounces	  $0.78
3.5 ounces	  $0.95

I also found the USPS standard on return addresses. They are entirely optional on this type of mail, and I don't think you would get in any trouble for putting an "incorrect" return address on it; however, Wikipedia notes that the mail may be routed through the state who's return address is on the envelope, for ease-of-returning if the letter is undeliverable.

tl;dr: Don't send M&M's. You're probably cool to put fake return-addresses. (IANAL)

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:21

fishmech: Jul 16, 2006; by VideoGames; Salad Prong

REY DE LA PLAYA posted:

I grew up with email and texting. The postal mail system is a scary, confusing apparatus.

Hypothetically: how important is a return address on an envelope w/r/t the likelihood of it being delivered? My roommates seem pretty sure that it will be delivered by postmen if the return address is simply left blank, but what about obviously fake addresses, like "Benjamen Franklin 55555 City, State-that-this-letter-is-clearly-not-being-sent-from". Also, what are the rules regarding the weight of an envelope? We have a friend who recently went through a trauma and we thought that it would be a nice gesture to send them letters and m&m's and such from historical figures and celebrities, but would really also like not to commit mail fraud in the process.

You can put whatever you want in the return address but bear in mind that if the letter can't be delivered and the address is fake you'll never get it back.

For sending stuff with different weights, just do it at the post office itself, so you know the right postage to be paid and all.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:25

Gobbeldygook: May 13, 2009; Hates Native American people and tries to justify their genocides.

Put this racist on ignore immediately!

REY DE LA PLAYA posted:

I grew up with email and texting. The postal mail system is a scary, confusing apparatus.

Hypothetically: how important is a return address on an envelope w/r/t the likelihood of it being delivered?
...
Also, what are the rules regarding the weight of an envelope?

It'll get there just fine. All leaving off the return address does is make it slightly more likely the post office flags it for extra examination on suspicion of drugs. A fake address with a fake name or a name with no record at that address or a letter with a return address that indicates it should be delivered somewhere away from where it was put in the mail just flags it as a potential drug shipment and makes it more likely they will open it before delivery.

As for weight, maximum weight of a standard first-class letter (ie you slapped a stamp on an envelope) is 3.5 ounces.

Check out this classic article on how flexible the post office is about deliveries.

edit: I almost forgot, M&Ms substantially raise the possibility of it being opened as they will feel like pills through the envelope.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:26

press for porn: Jan 6, 2008; by Pipski

Alright, thanks guys. M&M's are out, fake address within the State are ok with the fascists. Got it.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:31

fishmech: Jul 16, 2006; by VideoGames; Salad Prong

REY DE LA PLAYA posted:

Alright, thanks guys. M&M's are out, fake address within the State are ok with the fascists. Got it.

You can send M&Ms all you want if you use something like a padded envelope and are cool with paying $4 or more to send.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:32

hooah: Feb 6, 2006; WTF?

Is there any way I can bring my own (empty) water bottle through airport security (departing from US) these days?

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:34

Rent-A-Cop: Oct 15, 2004; I posted my food for USPOL Thanksgiving!

hooah posted:

Is there any way I can bring my own (empty) water bottle through airport security (departing from US) these days?

I'm 99% sure an empty bottle is fine with the TSA.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 08:43

Perestroika: Apr 8, 2010

I'm not sure whether this is quite the right thread for this, but I guess it's worth a shot. I'm trying to remember the name of a french philosopher (not really one of the "serious" ones if my memory serves, quite possibly only a rich young dude who wrote stuff because he was bored) I've read about ages ago. The most distinctive thing I remember is that he used a pen name, which I think began with an S and and I thought "wow, that's rather pompous" when I first read it.

Whenever I try to remember him my mind always circles back to Voltaire, but I'm rather sure that it's not him.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 10:18

gwar3k1: Jan 10, 2005; Someday soon

kimbo305 posted:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primacy_effect#Primacy_effect

I don't think that describes what's going on here. Its more that Power of Pecota hasn't established a suitable metric and is grading Arthur prematurely having seen Hanna and Meek's Cut Off and valuing them higher than Arthur.

I'd like to think that a reviewer would know what a "10" film is from previous experience and they would score a film against the merits of the 10 to give a relative score. So assuming you give The Hangover a 10, you would then compare Arthur to The Hangover and give Arthur a 6 or whatever. If Hanna isn't as good as the hangover but better than Arthur, it gets a higher score but not a 10.

Its all relative though. A film you deem better than the metric 10 will come along and you will then use that as your current comparative film. Hangover is no longer a 10 in the present, but it was two years ago. This way you can look back on your reviews and say that such and such a film released the same year wasn't as good as this one.

So in response, I'd call it premature grading as a result of not establishing a suitable metric.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 11:22

Fists Up: Apr 9, 2007

Can anyone point me to a fairly decent place I can find info on book publishing advances and details on what a writers royalty is and all that stuff?

How often does a writer just get paid upfront and nothing in terms of sales as well. Basically anything thats writing and business related and that is decently legitimate.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 11:54

Sir Sidney Poitier: Aug 14, 2006; My favourite actor

This is a stupid question:

Why do we wash our clothes in warm or hot water? What benefit does it afford? I know I wash myself in hot water because it feels nicer, but I don't know what it does for clothes.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 17:50

TLG James: Jun 5, 2000; Questing ain't easy

Anjow posted:

This is a stupid question:

Why do we wash our clothes in warm or hot water? What benefit does it afford? I know I wash myself in hot water because it feels nicer, but I don't know what it does for clothes.

There really isn't much if any benefits. It might help with whites/stains, but that is about it.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 17:56

Mak0rz: Aug 2, 2008; 😎🐗🚬

Anjow posted:

This is a stupid question:

Why do we wash our clothes in warm or hot water? What benefit does it afford? I know I wash myself in hot water because it feels nicer, but I don't know what it does for clothes.

Things (such as dirt and stains) dissolve more efficiently in hot water. This includes soap. Washing your clothes in hot water cleans them more efficiently, but nowadays with soaps specially formulated for cold water it doesn't really make a notable difference in most casual cases. This is why washers with a "whites" setting use water that's pretty loving hot when that setting is on.

Hot water is probably harsher on your fabric in some way, but I'm not sure. Maybe it increases fade rate, because I would assume dyes wash out easier in hot water too. From what I understand, washing in cold water is A Thing mostly because it saves some money from your energy bill.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 18:00

Jedi Knight Luigi: Jul 13, 2009

Why is the Built to Spill promo CD "Sabonis Tracks" named so? Is it named after the Lithuanian basketball player Arvydas Sabonis?

# ? Apr 14, 2011 18:17

kimbo305: Jun 9, 2007; actually, yeah, I am a little mad

gwar3k1 posted:

Its more that Power of Pecota hasn't established a suitable metric and is grading Arthur prematurely having seen Hanna and Meek's Cut Off and valuing them higher than Arthur.
...
I'd like to think that a reviewer would know what a "10" film is from previous experience and they would score a film against the merits of the 10 to give a relative score.

These two statements are in contradiction. I mean, we all have gut sense of what we want to rate a movie. Following that, I don't think there's any reason that PoP would be at a loss to what he'd want to rate Arthur after seeing it. I think it can be argued that having scored Arthur at a certain level would persist in his evaluation of the other movies, which is the primacy effect. I think you're right that deciding it wasn't the right score after the fact is something else.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 18:18

the party god: Feb 23, 2011

My dad's work (a car dealership for one of the major auto companies) just got a new boss in a few weeks ago. He went extremely strict for no reason on the entirety of the store, especially the sector my dad works in (car parts management). Just before the new boss arrived they had to fire 3 people for being terrible workers in the parts department, so my dad is trying to catch up doing the work of 4 people in there while they try and find new staff. This guy will not stop telling my dad he gets nothing done, is a failure, and useless, and makes him do terrible ~productivity and motivation exercises~ where he has to take an hour of time out of his busy loving day to write down his goals for the day and how he plans to accomplish it. It's so absurd what this guy does and acts like that it looks like a stereotypical scene of a 'overreaching corporate boss' from a TV show.

Today, we got news that my dad is fired. But not just him; the entire department. The entire parts department is fired. He plans to bring in people he personally knows instead, hired straight after they're gone. :what:

This is not only a total dick move but he fired them for no reason. In fact, the parts department is the department in the dealership which brings in the most money, consistently. There was absolutely NO reason to do it.

How legal is this? How can you just up and fire an entire department who was the #1 best department in the dealership and bring in people you personally know the next day? It seems fishy to me but I'm not good with this poo poo.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 20:07

Zegnar: Mar 13, 2005

the party god posted:

total dick move

Whereabouts?

# ? Apr 14, 2011 20:46

Schweinhund: Oct 23, 2004

Anjow posted:

This is a stupid question:

Why do we wash our clothes in warm or hot water? What benefit does it afford? I know I wash myself in hot water because it feels nicer, but I don't know what it does for clothes.

Don't know about laundry, but I know using hot water to wash dishes is def better than cold water. It probably has to do with the molecules moving faster with hot water.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 21:04

haveblue: Aug 15, 2005; Toilet Rascal

Yes, it softens and weakens the substances you're trying to remove from the clothes/dishes.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 21:07

Mak0rz: Aug 2, 2008; 😎🐗🚬

the party god posted:

How legal is this? How can you just up and fire an entire department who was the #1 best department in the dealership and bring in people you personally know the next day? It seems fishy to me but I'm not good with this poo poo.

This is ridiculous. Your dad needs to contact HR. Pronto.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 21:34

gariig: Dec 31, 2004; Beaten into submission by my fiance; Pillbug

the party god posted:

How legal is this? How can you just up and fire an entire department who was the #1 best department in the dealership and bring in people you personally know the next day? It seems fishy to me but I'm not good with this poo poo.

It depends on your state but for most places pretty legal. Unless they said you are the wrong skin color/religion/sex/etc for this job (discrimination) they are fully in their right to fire you. Now your dad might want to try getting a few minutes with the new boss' boss and let them know what is going on. However, the company might think the parts department is being over paid or maybe they can hire a bunch of people part time so they can skip paying benefits.

Also talk to a labor lawyer if you think you really have a case.

EDIT: Talking to HR isn't going to get you anything. HR is not working for the employee it's working for the employer. Their job is make sure the company doesn't do anything illegal and to fire potential trouble makers.

gariig fucked around with this message at 21:54 on Apr 14, 2011

# ? Apr 14, 2011 21:51

cosmicjim: Mar 23, 2010; VISIT THE STICKIED GOON HOLIDAY CHARITY DRIVE THREAD IN GBS.

Goons are changing the way children get an education in Haiti.

Edit - Oops, no they aren't. They donated to doobie instead.

the party god posted:

My dad's work (a car dealership for one of the major auto companies) just got a new boss in a few weeks ago. He went extremely strict for no reason on the entirety of the store, especially the sector my dad works in (car parts management). Just before the new boss arrived they had to fire 3 people for being terrible workers in the parts department, so my dad is trying to catch up doing the work of 4 people in there while they try and find new staff. This guy will not stop telling my dad he gets nothing done, is a failure, and useless, and makes him do terrible ~productivity and motivation exercises~ where he has to take an hour of time out of his busy loving day to write down his goals for the day and how he plans to accomplish it. It's so absurd what this guy does and acts like that it looks like a stereotypical scene of a 'overreaching corporate boss' from a TV show.

Today, we got news that my dad is fired. But not just him; the entire department. The entire parts department is fired. He plans to bring in people he personally knows instead, hired straight after they're gone. This is not only a total dick move but he fired them for no reason. In fact, the parts department is the department in the dealership which brings in the most money, consistently. There was absolutely NO reason to do it.

How legal is this? How can you just up and fire an entire department who was the #1 best department in the dealership and bring in people you personally know the next day? It seems fishy to me but I'm not good with this poo poo.

Depends on the state.
Alabama is my state. In Alabama your dad is screwed.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 21:55

ChubbyEmoBabe: Sep 6, 2003; -=|NMN|=-

Honestly, 'the party god', it sounds like they brought in the new guy to specifically address an issue and it's not uncommon for the new person to "clean house" when/if the older staff don't comply to their wants and wishes.

It's lovely, but just another part of this great american life.

# ? Apr 14, 2011 21:57

the party god: Feb 23, 2011

Does it change the name of the game if I say I live in Canada? Sorry I omitted something that stupid the first time around, I know that the US can be much harsher when it comes to firing people for no reason. :doh:

# ? Apr 15, 2011 00:06

Zegnar: Mar 13, 2005

the party god posted:

Does it change the name of the game if I say I live in Canada? Sorry I omitted something that stupid the first time around, I know that the US can be much harsher when it comes to firing people for no reason.

Yes you do have a case, Canada has normal first world labour laws. Call your provincial labour office or citizens advice and ask.

# ? Apr 15, 2011 00:15

Very Strange Things: May 21, 2008

What is it called, musically, when there is a little variation -almost an improvisation- on a song?
Specifically, I'm thinking of a TV show theme, and there's a little riff of it that is barely recognizable as the theme when they change scenes, come back from commercial, or right before a cold opening.

I just heard one from the other room on "Family Guy" as I was writing this; the nine notes or so they usually play right after the opening theme song. They play a little jazzy riff that is basically the musical phrase that goes with "...lucky there's a family guuuuuuuy..." and a picture of the outside of the house right before the scene starts.

# ? Apr 15, 2011 01:01