Sorry, Ogged, I didn't mean to creep you out. . . .
Good thing you hung up when you did. It was about to turn ugly.
Now that story was disturbing. Also, totally classy of ABC to show the teenaged girl naked on her knees.
I wonder how many people will click through now.
Yeah, I don't think it's quite appropriate to have a "Click here to watch the video!" link for that story.
Whatever happened to "Is your refrigerator running?"
When you say [nickname], is that a nickname-nickname or a more American-sounding version of your name (which you've said in the past is distinctly Persian) that you use in some settings? Not that it really matters, but I've been pondering a lot lately about the practice of people born abroad adopting American-sounding names when they come to the U.S. and are trying to assimilate. My company recently switched to a new email system that requires that we use people's legal names instead of their nicknames, so I've had to call a number of coworkers to clarify their legal names so I can use their new addresses (like Bhaskar instead of Ron or Qian instead of Cathy). I think it's kind of a crappy thing to do to people – if they want to be known by an American version of their name to fit in more or reduce stupid American spelling errors and their Americanized name is on their business card, the company is calling attention to the fact that they changed their name and are in a way different. OTOH, the fact that they felt the need to adopt an Americanized nickname in the first place could be seen as an unfortunate societal pressure.
In college, I worked at a Greek fast food restaurant owned by three brothers, Nomikos, Sevastros, and Mikhail Lias, who used the Americanized versions Mike, Steve, and Mike, respectively. Very Larry, Darryl, and Darryl.
I loved that version of the Newhart show.
Given that Ogged's nickname is "Osama" ("Ayatollah" is so eighties) he's probbaly better off going by his real name.
Isn't it scary that the smartest person in this story is the maintenance man?
I don't know about scary, but it might tell us something about how much being educated has to do with being good.
Man, that ABC story freaks me out. I always want to believe that I, personally, would never behave that way no matter what orders I were given, but the fact that so many people fall for shit like this, time and time again, makes me wonder if I'm kidding myself.
Brrr.
Bradley the McDonald's employee was equally smart. Also, depending on whether the maintenance man was employed by McDonald's or by a contractor, it's totally possible that his job is better and better paying than anyone else's in the story. Not that this is all that relevant to anything.
When I was her age, I probably would have done exactly what she did. The benefit of age is that you learn not to respect implicitly those you've been taught to respect implicitly.
being educated
Do McD managers hold advanced degrees from Hamburger U?
OK, Tim, fess up.
Hey! I think IoT is now ogged's official frenemy.
Embarrassing but true – when I was in college, my roommate had this friend who would always call us and do weird, but funny, things over the phone. I picked up one night and the guy on the other end started asking me all kinds of pervy questions about my sex life and I thought it was her friend so I played along. I couldn't quite figure out where the joke was going to come in but figured the punchline had to be coming any minute. It took me about 5 minutes to realize that, no, it wasn't my roommate's friend but an obscene caller who was getting off on the other end of the line. Ewww.
(My biggest fear was that it was one of the students for whom I was a TA and that they would be sitting there looking at me in class for the rest of the semester knowing I'd had phone sex with them.)
Do McD managers hold advanced degrees from Hamburger U?
The answer to that is "yes, of course," but I was thinking of the fact that the story makes a point of mentioning that the maintenance guy was a high-school dropout.
Bradley the McDonald's employee was equally smart.
Kinda. He didn't do any of the abusive things to the girl himself, but she stayed naked in the back room for another two hours.
I remember learning sometime around high school - I don't remember from whom - that if you're suspicious of someone who claims to be a cop you should always ask to see their badge or at least get the badge number.
Of course this may not always work.
Hey! I think IoT is now ogged's official frenemy.
Woo-hoo!
The guy doing the ABC voice-over is way, way too cheerful. "And then she was sexually molested!" I mean, I realize this is the same cheesetastic delivery this guy's probably been using since he filed "Local Panda Wows Boat Show Attendees" for Action 5 Newswatch, but man, dial it down a bit.
Damn it, that was funny, Toads.
I have to do something inbetween all my ogged-hatin'.
The guy doing the ABC voice-over is way, way too cheerful.
OK now, should I turn my Flash blocker off for this?
ogged's official frenemy.
You misspelled frenulum.
For small enough θ, the period of a frenulum is proportional to the square root of its length. Size does matter.
me: OK, Tim, fess up.
SCMT: Hey! I think IoT is now ogged's official frenemy.
But frenemy != stalker, SCMT.
SCMTim is Andie MacDowell.
Y'know, I ran a whole bunch of very cool studies decades ago to try to show people how this stuff happens, and y'all still don't get it. Sigh.
Internet access in heaven! Sweet! But question: have they always had internet access in heaven? Kotsko?
Dead people have been commenting here for quite some time, why note it now? Or is it that Milgram is the first to be commenting from heaven?
eb, those other comments were by people pretending to be dead people.
So the site stats actually say "heaven"? Or "firmament"? Cool.
As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be wireless without end.
Most of my comments are by dead people, a number of whom work for me in sweatshop conditions for less than minimum wage.
But they don't care—they're dBRAINSead.
Standpipeish, do you use instant messeging?
Because if you were, I'd probably message you.
But 38 sorta makes me think you're a Republican.
Because if you [did], I'd probably message you.
Oh, I see. I don't often. Usually people just email me when they want to give me Top Secret information or suchlike.
Fresh outta Top Secret information, I'm afraid. But I am up late. I should start another book, but I'm still kinda in mourning over the finishing of the previous one, however.
One of these days I'll start using that "preview" button.
Good god, man. You start doing that, and I'll be the one in the barrel!