Tristan Thinks

What is weird about DST is it isn't necessary. If the purpose is to prevent accidents during rush hour (and now, save energy too) then why not simply change the times that people go to and from work by one hour for those that need it? So instead of the entire population having to alter clocks and upset their body's natural rhythms, you'd have some people going to work for 08:00 instead of 09:00 and finishing an hour earlier - could lead to some interesting incidents. If you can do it there's nothing better than waking and going to bed by the sun rather than the clock. Early mornings have such a magical feel especially when the sun is just rising over the horizon. I found keeping track of all the time zones I operate in too mind-numbing at times so now I operate on UTC where-ever I am, even when in the U.S., and although it confuses others I feel like I know where I am. It might help though that since I was 20 I have not worn a watch or carried the time with me out of habit - I got fed up of always feeling like I was beholden to someone else's schedule. It's a nice liberating feeling when you lose the fear of upsetting people over being a few minutes later, too. Strangely, I found I got better at being punctual as a result but without the anxiety of constantly checking the time. I rather like the overview at Wikipedia: And:

I'd take it without thinking twice - not for the money either, but for the adventure. Sounds fantastic, so go for it!

Let's not forget that other military classic: "friendly fire" :wacko: With friends like that, who needs enemies?

This is the real problem. This creates economic pressures on the supply chain that ends up with the farmers making so little profit that they have to continually look for cheaper ways to rear their livestock; doing it faster and with less human intervention or capital costs. That leads to cheap low quality feeds, stress in the animals due to forced growth, less time to notice ill health, and less room for the animals. Good quality meat comes from animals allowed to grow at their own rate in natural surroundings with little stress. It is possible to taste the difference, too. Having grown up around chemical-based and intensive agricultural and seen what damage it does to the land and animals I'm a big proponent of natural farming, organic methods, and increased prices. It's ironic that it's the so-called civilised economically affluent people that force prices down and don't value food. In places where food isn't seen as a low-value commodity it is highly valued and people are prepared to allocate a much larger percentage of their per-capita income to it.

Being a farmboy myself I agree totally with Razor. I think it might do people some good if at some point in their early life they had to be intensively involved in rearing and slaughtering their own animals, and growing and harvesting their own vegatables and fruits. They might learn to value food a lot more highly than they do - after all, alongside water it's something they can't live without. I get very annoyed seeing the dire economic struggles of farmers and food valued so low compared to other non-essential items. As at present with wheat, it only needs a poor harvest season or two and rising demand from places like China, and suddenly the price doubles and many areas of the world are going to see famine conditions because supplies are too expensive or just not available. I remember once a friend (girl) of mine was visiting for a few days and I asked her if she wanted chips (fries) for dinner. She said yes so I fetched a bag of potatoes and began peeling them. She was mystified and wanted to know what I was doing. I said, "making chips". It turns out she didn't know chips were made from potatoes - she thought they somehow grew fully-formed It's not a surprise to me that a bunch of Gay men prefer eating 'meat'

Kevin, fantastic topic - over the years it's been a real annoyance to me so it's great to find someone that thinks and acts the same way I do! I had begun to think I was unusual in showing respect by paying attention to the person no matter what the topic of conversation. When I'm on instant messenger I always pay exclusive attention to the person and I get very annoyed when I know from the pauses they aren't doing the same to me - I just treat it like if I were stood in front of them, in which case, it would be seen as extremely rude if they kept interrrupting our conversation to have simultaneous conversations with other people at the same time. I rarely have more than one conversation going at once, and if I do get several I warn them and try to close out all but the most involved. For me, it's a simple issue of respect, or lack thereof. It's ironic that the people who do the most ignoring/multitasking are usually very self-centered and would get upset if they were being ignored or not treated seriously when they wanted to talk. If the topic is something I'm not interested in, or don't want to talk about, I simply say so. I don't let the person believe I'm interested and paying attention unless I really am - again, that's simply a lack of respect. As you said you look out for clues that inconsequential things have been noted. I pay particular attention to that myself, both in demonstrating to others by things I say, ask, or do and by looking out for the same signs from them. In fact, I use this as a basis for deciding if someone is worth becoming close friends with.

Humane euthanasia of animals is nothing of the sort - if they were treated like a human they'd be left to drag on until they died in discomfort and pain. It should be the other way around, we should treat people animalely.

Choking the Chicken Spanking the Monkey :wacko:

inhale instead of eat. This is becoming much more common recently and sounds just plain silly. If someone is ravenous or is devouring their food, say so!

/me high-fives Gary! My usual response to "I lost my boyfriend" is "That was bloody careless!" I forgot those but yes, they annoy me no end. Closely followed by the expectation that I should somehow feel sad that someone I never knew has popped their clogs Thinking of death reminded me of some old relations at my Gran's 95th death party (she was 95 when she died ). At various family weddings and so on they'd nudge me and say something along the lines of, "You'll be next", and wink at me. Having seen someone comment on this and the great retaliation they'd come up with, I tried it. At the funeral I went up to a couple of the aunts, nudged them with my elbow, winked and said "You'll be next!". The reaction was *so* worth it - shock, outrage, thoughfulness and finally laughter in the space of about 5 seconds

I like George Carlin's attitude That made me think of the euphemisms around disability, both mental and physical, so I went in search of some examples and found this delightful expos

There's a business maxim that applies equally to personal communications: reprimand in person - congratulate in writing. Telephone calls for something negative, like telling someone off or being angry. Email or text or (gasp!) letter for something positive like congratulations or encouragement or admiration. VoIP/telephone (especially video-phone) is better for real-time interactive discussions where tone of voice, inflections and facial expressions are as valuable as the words. I prefer email for saying something meaningful and memorable. IRC/instant messenger (IM) for interactive and brain-storming where participants don't need to pay 100% attention to the communication itself. SMS for short statements like confirming ETAs when meeting friends - I don't like SMS for holding ongoing conversations. I prefer voice and video for talking to friends since all the focus is on the conversation, unlike with IM or other forms where people are likely chatting to several others as well as doing other things. Waiting for the other person to reply is so annoying and, I think, often shows a lack of respect. Kevin: for someone who spends so much time writing in forums I'm surprised you don't like email.

I think "slept with" gets to me since me and my friends frequently sleep together and it annoys me the assumptions others instantly jump to if it comes out in conversation. There are others: "I'll just be a moment." - Still tapping my foot 10 minutes later! "You can't miss it." - Bound to get horrendously lost even with sat-nav. "He has a nice personality." - He's ugly but you're desperate! "Can I buy you a drink?" - "I want to shag you as cheaply as possible."

Okay, another thread brought this on, but it's one of my pet peeves. Euphemisms that annoy you. "Slept with" instead of made love, had sex, f**ked, etc. <rant> Don't pollute the innocence of the word "sleep" by inbuing it with a meaning that makes people snigger or raise an unbelieving eyebrow, or makes people feel they have to give an innocent explanation! </rant>

When you're on a marathon it's not always possible or convenient