StatisticalOutlier
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Posts posted by StatisticalOutlier
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On 9/9/2023 at 12:40 AM, Ancaster said:
Can you be a bit more specific about where whenever is used? (For some reason, even though I love points of grammatical minutiae, I feel little compulsion to listen to 12 minutes of news about a roller coaster in Oklahoma, only to realize I missed the relevant bit.)
I hear ya.
I didn't listen to it, either. But the typical irritant is when instead of saying something like "When I was in high school..." someone says "Whenever I was in high school." Or a widow who has been married once says, "Whenever I was married..."
It might be regional.
If examples didn't leap to your mind, consider yourself lucky.
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16 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:
Which to be fair, describes a lot of parents but when it’s taken to the extreme. I saw a Facebook friend bragging today about her kid got accepted into a college a week after that applying and talking about how it means her daughter’s hard work paid off and she’s so amazing and this and that.
When I was a freshman in college, I applied to transfer to a different college out of state. I still remember standing in a friend's dorm room opening the acceptance letter and saying, out loud, "Well that was fast." Like return mail fast.
My take, however, was that it must not be a very good school. 😀
(Then years later it was identified as one of the "elite" schools caught up in the admissions cheating scandal. 🤣 )
But aside from that, with all due respect, why do you read this person's posts? Or maybe it's completely out of character and she otherwise is a fantastic Facebook denizen and this was a complete surprise (in which case I'd file it under "good information" and quit looking at her posts--I don't need the annoyance (which is why I'm not on Facebook, now that I think about it)).
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17 hours ago, theredhead77 said:
This one always cracks me up.
Well, you laugh but they could use this at Popeye's. If you fill out a survey your reward is two pieces of chicken and a biscuit for free if you buy a large drink. Several times they charged me for a large drink but gave me a medium cup. It's hard for a customer to glance and tell what a large is vs. a medium, but they label the lids and that's how I started realizing they were getting it wrong.
But speaking of Wendy's, I have a plastic bag I've kept my spools of thread in forever. It started life as one of those trash bags places handed out that had a hole in the top so you could hang it from the window crank in your car door.
It has instructions on it on how to use the drive-thru. There's a diagram showing an overhead view of the building and a red dashed line going around it, indicating where to drive, ending at an overhead view of a car along the side of the building.
It instructs you:
- Drive up to the Menu Board and place your order in the speaker.
- Pull up to the Pick Up Window--and your order is ready in seconds.
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I re-watched the beginning of the Beacon, NY, episode. She's a "middle school science and music teacher by day and a photographer and actor by night." He's a "musical theater conductor and pianist."
12 hours ago, Grizzly said:#2 had interesting furniture choices. The blue velvet in the main bedroom and tiger print on the other beds.
I can't believe there aren't a million comments about that furniture! Because the blue velvet is the furniture, and not a textile on the furniture.
First seen in the living room, in the form of two very tufted very puffy very blue couches. Not what I'd go with, but a valid choice, I suppose. And couches are supposed to be made of fabric.
But that bedroom! All of this was completely, and I mean literally completely, covered with blue tufted fabric: two very large dressers, a bedside table, the mirror frame over the dresser, a gigantic headboard, and as if that's not enough some sort of blue tufted bed platform that turns the normal rectangular bed into a round bed, and you have to crawl over it to get into the bed.
I thought we'd been transported to Graceland. In fact, I've been to Graceland and I can still say I've never before seen anything like what they had in that bedroom.
Even the non-furniture in there was weird: on the dresser were an antique freestanding mirror that hangs on a hook (I had one when I was little, and Mary Tyler Moore has one in her apartment, over by the closet), and a safe. Sitting on the dresser. No other piece of personal property anywhere, other than the TV, and they're probably mad the show was taped before they figured out how to tuft that. (No, wait--I think that's a paper shredder on the floor by the window.)
And the bedspread! White, with some lacy inserts that revealed the purple blanket underneath it, I suppose to match the dark gray sheets??
This was right up there with that carpet in a house several years ago that somebody finally figured out is probably made for the arcade area in a bowling alley or movie theater.
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On 9/11/2023 at 1:42 PM, Browncoat said:
We just called it the Pig -- almost never the whole name.
Which leads to NLSTP, which I first encountered back in the days of Usenet.
It's short for "no longer shopping the Pig," which is long for "dead." So a thread would be titled "Jimmy Buffett NLSTP."
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On 8/28/2023 at 10:58 PM, magemaud said:
I’ll bet the Angela/Liz altercation was the F-bomb laced incident that other resort guests complained about on Trip Advisor.
It's bound to be, and that's the only reason I was watching this show at all. Now that they've shown it, I'm out.
How in the world is it acceptable for Angela to get that close to someone else's face while screaming at them? I actually wondered what I would do if somebody did that to me. I was thinking I'd walk away, because I'm very much a nonviolent person. But then if they followed me up onto my porch? I can actually see myself punching her in the face.
Liz is either performing for a paycheck, or she's a willing victim of the abuse Ed dishes out, and I'm not interested in watching either scenario. Angela is either performing for a paycheck, or she's a disgusting bully with annoying teeth, and I'm not interested in watching either scenario.
And I'm insulted, once again, by the people who make this show, with the teaser they showed over and over of Yara telling Jovi how wrong it was for him to bring someone else into her bed. Aaah, intrigue! But it was Angela he brought into Yara's bed--apparently Jovi and Angela got drunk together and came back to the room when Yara was already sleeping. That's very very very different from what they wanted us to believe in the teaser, and these shows are already fictional enough. There might be a reason I go along with that--boredom, interest in watching train wrecks, hate watching.
But I draw the line at teasers that make viewers believe Jovi had sex with somebody in Yara's bed while she was gone, when the reality is that Jovi brought Angela to their room when Yara was sleeping. Even if Angela slid her nicotine-stained corpus into the bed, it was with Yara, which is heinous, but not the type of heinous the teaser was designed to make us believe (although it might be arguable which one is actually worse).
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This discussion got me curious about how they come up with the jury wheel (the list from which names are randomly drawn to be called for jury duty).
The statute governing federal courts says names for the jury wheel come from either voter registration lists or lists of actual voters.
https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-28-judiciary-and-judicial-procedure/28-usc-sect-1863.html
However, the statute allows courts to use alternate sources in addition to voting lists, if necessary to achieve a fair cross section of the community where the court convenes. Some use alternate sources, and some don't. (See North Dakota, below.)
At the state level, I looked at just a few. In Texas, the jury wheel consists of people who are registered to vote, hold a Texas driver's license, or hold a Texas identification card.
https://www.txcourts.gov/about-texas-courts/juror-information/jury-service-in-texas/
California uses DMV and voter lists, and also the list of people who file state income tax returns (Texas doesn't have a state income tax).
https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/Court_and_Community.pdf
(I'll note, however, that Los Angeles County's website mentions only DMV and voter lists, and not state tax filers. https://www.lacourt.org/division/jury/JR0015.aspx )
New York state casts a wider net:
QuotePotential jurors are randomly selected from lists of registered voters, holders of drivers’ licenses or ID’s issued by the Division of Motor Vehicles, New York State income tax filers, recipients of unemployment insurance or family assistance, and from volunteers.
https://www.nyjuror.gov/juryQandA.shtml#Q2
North Dakota also casts a wide net. It draws its list from the usual DMV and voting lists, but also lists of utility customers, property taxpayers (but interestingly, not income taxpayers), motor vehicle registrations, and tribal registries.
https://www.ndlegis.gov/cencode/t27c09-1.pdf
As noted above, some federal courts use only voting lists. The District of North Dakota is one of them, even though state courts there go so far as to use lists of utility customers. Here's a law review article arguing that the federal courts in North Dakota should mirror the District of Minnesota's plan, which uses voter lists, DMV lists, and tribal enrollment lists (leaving out the lists of utility customers, property taxpayers, and motor vehicle registrations, that the state of North Dakota uses).
https://law.und.edu/_files/docs/ndlr/pdf/issues/95/3/95ndlr605.pdf
Finally, I noticed in the federal statute that the Massachusetts District can use something called a "resident list" instead of voter lists. Sure enough, every year, cities and towns in Massachusetts have to compile a list of all residents 17 years old or older. That list, instead of voter or DMV or tax filing lists, is used as the master list for juries in Massachusetts, and indeed, the federal courts there use it, too.
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIII/TitleII/Chapter234A/Section10
And then we have municipal courts, which I'm sure have methods of their own.
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My trial advocacy professor said he'd served on a jury, much to his surprise. Both sides thought the other side would use one of its limited peremptory (no-cause) challenges to strike him, but it turned out neither one did, so onto the jury he went.
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9 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:13 hours ago, Quof said:
God takes care of children, drunks and fools.
I've been all of these three. As a matter of fact, I'm frequently more than one of them at the same time.
A drunk child?
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On 8/30/2023 at 9:26 PM, rhofmovalley said:
Dallas tonight.
The furniture in that first lake house was, um, interesting. As in, a big old hell no. There's no need to take the theme that far.
Are you talking about that living room furniture that was logs with no padding except maybe a thin cushion on the seat? If so, I also gave it a big old hell no and couldn't imagine why anybody would think that's a comfy setting. Was it pursuant to a theme? (ETA: I only skimmed the episode.)
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18 hours ago, Sweedish Fish said:
My sister had a tattoo of a devils head on her stomach, next to the belly button.
She became pregnant and that tattoo became horrifying. !! It got huge and when the baby moved the expressions would change on the tattoo head.
I've never liked tattoos. The only one I've ever approved of (not that anyone needs my approval, obviously) is a meaningless hot air balloon that a friend had tattooed on the bottom of her foot while drunk in a Mexican border town. Classic story, and invisible to pretty much everyone, but there for her to enjoy if so desired.
That is, until now. I think a devil's head tattoo that changes expression when the baby inside moves is awesome.
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17 hours ago, Raja said:
In a way with the camera crew on him he is relatively safe and Filipinos, especially those working in customer service are fluent enough in English that his text communications shouldn't be much more difficult than in his hometown.
I read a story about David explaining why he can't set up a gofundme to fix Sheila's house, and it included a couple of his written instagram replies, and I think it would be challenging for a non-native English speaker to understand them:
Hello fans people. I know that lots people ask me about gofindme.and sorry I can’t do that because I can’t afford pay tax or irs . And can’t send money to house for sale . Yes I still send to money support Sheila and Sheila family too . And please wait see on tv 📺 show of end episode or season thank you 🙏.
and
Go fine me can’t send to sale of house money in Cebu City Philippines and too much cost irs
I have a general distaste for gofundme, but if it's going to exist, I have no problem with David getting on the gravy train to fix Sheila's house. If donors don't receive anything in return, and if it's not his employer TLC doing the donating, the money won't be taxable income to David--the donors are making gifts, which aren't taxable (and not deductible by the donor, btw). Somebody here who's on Instagram want to let him know?
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20 minutes ago, amarante said:
relatively expensive food plan which costs more than buying food at the store and cooking it in one's apartment.
That's true. Hot Pockets are quite economical.
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9 hours ago, amarante said:
And for what purpose - if the kids are launched as adults parents shouldn't want them to remain at home unless there are unusual circumstances.
She said she sees them coming home to live, for at least a little while. She didn't say whether that's what she wants, but I suspect it is.
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On 8/21/2023 at 5:34 PM, Trini said:
Wasn't sure where to put this:
I like to look at movie ticketing sites just to get a feel for how many people are seeing a particular movie, and people are massively taking advantage of this deal. It's not all that compelling for me because I go to weekday matinees because they're cheaper and more importantly to me, have much lower attendance.
But if you're willing to brave the crowds, or even want the crowds, today is your day. The $4 price even applies to Oppenheimer on 70mm at the AMC in downtown Chicago. That's a hell of a deal, and the two showings later today have seats available only in the front rows (about 200 tickets already sold for each).
Shoot--they're showing Greta Gerwig's Ladybird in two theaters at about 2:00, and they've sold about 175 tickets total, with availability only in the front rows. People are even buying tickets to Strays and Golda. It's insane.
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6 hours ago, cinsays said:
watched the one with the couple in Colorado who wanted to be close to the ski resort. ... that there was an ice storm that took out their stairway before they even moved in would have really scared me.
The were in Lake Tahoe. I watched it the first time around and remember that stairway collapsing before they even moved in. I guess you can look at it as pre-disastered or ominous.
3 hours ago, Crashcourse said:I loved the Indiana family. It was so refreshing not having anything for me to snark on.
The only thing I can come up with is the daughter, especially in the THs, wouldn't open her eyes--they were little slits. She reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite.
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53 minutes ago, Elizzikra said:
Is that where he lives? I couldn't remember.
Omaha. So, big city Nebraska.
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On 8/22/2023 at 10:24 PM, Elizzikra said:
but I don’t think being deaf prevents him from working full time.
Hell, it doesn't even prevent people from appearing on, and winning, Dancing with the Stars.
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On 8/24/2023 at 1:13 PM, Crashcourse said:
I think the Amelia Island woman patted herself on the back too much. ... So, I say, get over yourself. I also wonder if she can pay the mortgage by herself if she and the boyfriend break up.
At the end, she crowed about buying a house without being married. Which is also made a lot easier if you don't have to come up with a down payment.
She said they didn't decide to have her boyfriend move in until the house was under contract, but I do wonder. Or, well, maybe they decided to have her boyfriend move into that particular house once that particular house was under contract. Possibly the same decision they would have made with any other particular house.
She's 24 years old, which is just two years out of college. And she works for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, which doesn't strike me as one of those places that offers young inexperienced employees huge salaries, and yet she bought a $400,000 house.
But she got approved for the mortgage. Which now has me wondering just how much of a down payment her parents paid.
Basically, I didn't like her. And while I liked the drop-down window in the kitchen door, I thought Florida was notorious for mosquitoes and other bugs and that's why the pools all have those big ugly screened rooms around them. I wouldn't think people would leave unscreened windows open.
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On 1/5/2016 at 3:05 PM, stanleyk said:
But I have to say, watching the first season back-to-back, the re-ordering of episodes that happened during the initial air is very apparent and very jarring. I wish they had put them back in their original intended order, rather than in the order they were aired.
This was posted a looong time ago, but is really helpful in making me not think I'm losing my mind. I've been watching this on Roku, having never even heard of it before, and there were some things in early episodes that made me go, "Huh???" Like showing Dave moving in to Max's apartment even though I was sure they'd already shown him living there.
I'm really glad to hear about the re-ordering.
All three seasons are on Roku and they have only a short commercial break about 1/3 of the way in.
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11 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:
It was amazing that what Olive "needed" was exactly what her mother wanted.
OMG, that mother. I love how the dad was saying he could use this one room for a gym "when Olive isn't..." and the mother said it could be Olive's sanctuary place (not space!!) where she can learn and grow and read and play and dance. She left out "explore" that time.
Olive better like Cambodia, that's all I'll say.
On 8/18/2023 at 12:38 PM, Crashcourse said:That Aussie realtor got on my last nerve because he was trying too hard to be funny.
Agree, plus I don't like his buggy eyes.
QuoteLittle Sophia was adorable though.
That baby was good looking enough to be on Call the Midwife.
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46 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:
"Award winning Real Estate Agent whom has been featured on HGTV
He used the abominable possessive "your guys" at least three times during the episode. For one, they're not guys. For another, just say "your."
I can't put my finger on why, but I didn't like either of the HHs or the agent. The two girls showed a little bit of life at the end when talking about a pre-nup, but other than that everything was kind of a zero.
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3 hours ago, bravofan27 said:
the fact we don't know how many hours he works-- probably not many given his disability,
He's deaf, stocking shelves and doing janitorial work.
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28 minutes ago, bravofan27 said:
How Much Money Can a Deaf Person Get Through SSDI?
You didn't cite your source, but I found it: disabilitysecrets.org.
But the page you looked at was mainly about the minutia of how much hearing loss is enough to be considered disabled, what tests are administered, etc. Plus the little bit you quoted at the end about the amount of the benefit.
Other sections of that same website talk about the maximum earnings a person on SSDI or SSI can have and still receive payments from these programs, which is what I was talking about. It says this:
QuoteHow Much Can I Work While on SSDI?
You're allowed to work while receiving SSDI as long as you don't earn more money than what Social Security calls substantial gainful activity (SGA). SGA is the amount of money you can make that the administration considers to be full-time work. The exact amount changes each year, but in 2023, making more than $1,470 per month ($2,460 if you're blind) is considered SGA.
https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/page1-13.html
They even have a page specifically about "substantial gainful activity."
https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/sga.html
And here's the Social Security Administration's explanation.
https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/disability/qualify.html
It includes this:
QuoteIf you are working in 2023 and your earnings average more than $1,470 ($2,460 if you’re blind) a month, you generally cannot be considered to have a qualifying disability.
David's $3200/month is double the government's threshold, so I don't see how he could be receiving either SSDI or SSI because his ability to earn at least $1,470 a month means he doesn't meet Social Security's definition of having a qualifying disability.
What am I misunderstanding here?
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The Retirement Plan (2023)
in Movies
This is in theaters right now, but not a huge release.
Now, I don't see a lot of action movies, so I can't really judge this one by those standards, but I thought it was a hoot. Like in the trailer, where Ron Perelman says, "The old guy keeps killing everybody. Everybody."
I've always thought I didn't really like Nicolas Cage because I found him so very annoying in Peggy Sue Got Married, but I realized I've really enjoyed what I've seen the last few years: Renfield, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Pig. And now The Retirement Plan. I've found out he's fun, not annoying.