"Waiting on line" really didn't sound that weird until the internet hit. You just picture computers set up off to the side so that people can surf the 'net while they're bored in a queue.

 

And even this gets thrown out the door at say, an amusement park, where lines suddenly become queues.

I haven't been to a park in 20 years but I assume that now everyone is screwing around with their phones for the entire 90 minutes they're waiting to get on The Beast.  Waiting in those lines was where some of the best people watching was, plus you got to eavesdrop. 

"Waiting on line" really didn't sound that weird until the internet hit. You just picture computers set up off to the side so that people can surf the 'net while they're bored in a queue.

 

You had to make small talk with people. F__K that.

"Waiting on line" really didn't sound that weird until the internet hit. You just picture computers set up off to the side so that people can surf the 'net while they're bored in a queue.

 

You had to make small talk with people. F__K that.

 

Exactly.  One of the greatest things about the evolution of phones is getting rid of that.

 

This wasn't unintended or accidental either.  It's one of those "extraneous interaction" things that the first generation computer developers despised so much.

E Rocc, I think you wouldn't dislike these random human interactions so much if you didn't live north of US 30. People are so incredibly outgoing up there that it would probably get on my nerves as well. In Columbus and Cincinnati people are much more aloof. Even in Columbus though, if you're out on the street it seems like everybody wants to talk. It's very much a Midwestern and Southern thing to have to greet or at acknowledge everyone you see. It can get old sometimes, especially since you know it's shallow.

 

Another issue is being male between 25-50 or so. Seems like everybody wants to talk to our demo. I'm not sure what it is... people will avoid talking to old people, children, hot girls, teenagers and even middle-age women like the plague, but it seems like everybody has a compulsion to talk to us.

E Rocc, I think you wouldn't dislike these random human interactions so much if you didn't live north of US 30. People are so incredibly outgoing up there that it would probably get on my nerves as well. In Columbus and Cincinnati people are much more aloof. Even in Columbus though, if you're out on the street it seems like everybody wants to talk. It's very much a Midwestern and Southern thing to have to greet or at acknowledge everyone you see. It can get old sometimes, especially since you know it's shallow.

 

Another issue is being male between 25-50 or so. Seems like everybody wants to talk to our demo. I'm not sure what it is... people will avoid talking to old people, children, hot girls, teenagers and even middle-age women like the plague, but it seems like everybody has a compulsion to talk to us.

 

Oh, like the tech pioneers I am talking about I am almost certainly on the autism spectrum, so probably not.  More likely I would move somewhere like here.  Not too crowded, but aloof.  That’s why I keep saying changes that reduce extraneous interaction were not exactly unintended consequences of technical advancement.  And maybe there’s more of us than is generally believed, because I can’t think of any which have failed.

 

I’m a little older than that but don’t look it, and of course having a young daughter who is decidedly outgoing only adds to it.   

 

E Rocc, I think you wouldn't dislike these random human interactions so much if you didn't live north of US 30. People are so incredibly outgoing up there that it would probably get on my nerves as well. In Columbus and Cincinnati people are much more aloof. Even in Columbus though, if you're out on the street it seems like everybody wants to talk. It's very much a Midwestern and Southern thing to have to greet or at acknowledge everyone you see. It can get old sometimes, especially since you know it's shallow.

 

Another issue is being male between 25-50 or so. Seems like everybody wants to talk to our demo. I'm not sure what it is... people will avoid talking to old people, children, hot girls, teenagers and even middle-age women like the plague, but it seems like everybody has a compulsion to talk to us.

 

Oh, like the tech pioneers I am talking about I am almost certainly on the autism spectrum, so probably not.  More likely I would move somewhere like here.  Not too crowded, but aloof.  That’s why I keep saying changes that reduce extraneous interaction were not exactly unintended consequences of technical advancement.  And maybe there’s more of us than is generally believed, because I can’t think of any which have failed.

 

I’m a little older than that but don’t look it, and of course having a young daughter who is decidedly outgoing only adds to it.   

 

 

URRGHH. WHY E-ROCC!? I hate that stereotype!

 

Most programmers I know or have met are actually pretty social - including myself; hate social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn and prefer human interaction. Honestly, I think it's because when you stare at code for 8 hours a day (or 16 hours straight if you were an old-school tech pioneer before 'work-life balance' was a 'thing'), you just really crave those real-life interactions. It's almost an adrenaline rush to have a real, fun conversation after your brain has been fixated on solving an issue with one line of code that you've literally stared at and been working on all day long. Also, those superficial outlets of communication are no fun when you can easily notice bugs or bad UX / UI and knowing it's out of your control. The worst is LinkedIn! Holy Sh!t! It's particularly annoying knowing that LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft now. They have plenty of engineers in their arsenal to address bugs! It ALWAYS says you have more messages or notifications than you actually do and it drives me nuts because that's probably an easy fix. LinkedIn has many more bugs and UX issues than that though, that I've noticed.

 

Didn't you say you're a restaurant guy? At least part time? You probably know what I mean... I've had basically every position at a restaurant. From Dishwasher to Chef, Host to Server and Bartender and even moved up the ranks into store management. I'm ServSafe Certified and also received all this corporate training that went light-years beyond the standards of the health department (especially at Donatos Pizza which just has insanely high operations standards) so I got to a point where I "knew too much."  I walk into any restaurant now and immediately notice 20 things that are wrong and it just completely ruins the experience. Under-staffed - servers are taking too many tables at once, not greeted within a minute of when I enter, ice bucket isn't six inches from the floor. I can see into the kitchen and notice cooks aren't wearing gloves while touching food that I know isn't a product that is about to get cooked to kill off the bacteria/parasites/viruses. Oh! ..And they just cross-contaminated the food, to boot - by using the same knife that was used to cut meat as the raw veggies that they're prepping. The worst is when they blatantly have improper shelving on racks or in a cooler that's entirely visible to me, the customer. Meat or dairy stored above veggies. That sh!t drives me nuts. I can't ever enjoy eating out with my girlfriend, now. Ugh. Servers will try to bullsh!t me and don't realize I know every last one of their tricks and I can't help but call them out on it, haha. Programming can be very similar in terms of ruined experiences!

 

Anyway, back to my point. There's actually a LOT of groups on Meetup.com for Software Engineers. I just signed up for a couple of them. There's a Virtual / Augmented Reality group where they get together at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights and get get drunk and do demonstrations and show and tell stuff. They also make it a point to mention that EVERYONE is invited, whether they know anything about programming or not. It just p!sses me off, I guess, because people picture us as parents' basement dwelling, schizoid Personality Disorder having, awkward, fat white guys with glasses and obviously it's less true these days with computers being more accessible and popular but even the programmers I've met who are in their 50's now and were programming in the 80s, are some of the coolest people I've ever met. They're friendly, outgoing and have as much or more social intelligence than anyone else. Maybe it's just anecdotal but I think accountants fit the autism stereotype more than any other profession. It's funny, the CEO, "Mel," of WWCI - where I got my Cert. of Software Engineering, is in her late 40s. She started programming in the early late 70s when she was a kid. She's smoking hot, really funny and extremely outgoing! She looks like Sandra Bullock She's one of the most highly regarded and networked women in the city (she's even won awards from Craine's Cleveland.) She'll literally spark a funny conversation with anyone, anytime and always has a smile on her face! This woman is an old school programmer who wrote software for DeLorean Motor Co. and then pioneered Augmented Reality with wearable computers, in the early 90s!

 

Sorry, I just get a little defensive when I hear programmer stereotypes. Programmers are cool mother*ckers :)

E Rocc, I think you wouldn't dislike these random human interactions so much if you didn't live north of US 30. People are so incredibly outgoing up there that it would probably get on my nerves as well. In Columbus and Cincinnati people are much more aloof. Even in Columbus though, if you're out on the street it seems like everybody wants to talk. It's very much a Midwestern and Southern thing to have to greet or at acknowledge everyone you see. It can get old sometimes, especially since you know it's shallow.

 

Another issue is being male between 25-50 or so. Seems like everybody wants to talk to our demo. I'm not sure what it is... people will avoid talking to old people, children, hot girls, teenagers and even middle-age women like the plague, but it seems like everybody has a compulsion to talk to us.

 

Oh, like the tech pioneers I am talking about I am almost certainly on the autism spectrum, so probably not.  More likely I would move somewhere like here.  Not too crowded, but aloof.  That’s why I keep saying changes that reduce extraneous interaction were not exactly unintended consequences of technical advancement.  And maybe there’s more of us than is generally believed, because I can’t think of any which have failed.

 

I’m a little older than that but don’t look it, and of course having a young daughter who is decidedly outgoing only adds to it.   

 

 

URRGHH. WHY E-ROCC!? I hate that stereotype!

 

Most programmers I know or have met are actually pretty social - including myself; hate social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn and prefer human interaction. Honestly, I think it's because when you stare at code for 8 hours a day (or 16 hours straight if you were an old-school tech pioneer before 'work-life balance' was a 'thing'), you just really crave those real-life interactions. It's almost an adrenaline rush to have a real, fun conversation after your brain has been fixated on solving an issue with one line of code that you've literally stared at and been working on all day long. Also, those superficial outlets of communication are no fun when you can easily notice bugs or bad UX / UI and knowing it's out of your control. The worst is LinkedIn! Holy Sh!t! It's particularly annoying knowing that LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft now. They have plenty of engineers in their arsenal to address bugs! It ALWAYS says you have more messages or notifications than you actually do and it drives me nuts because that's probably an easy fix. LinkedIn has many more bugs and UX issues than that though, that I've noticed.

 

Didn't you say you're a restaurant guy? At least part time? You probably know what I mean... I've had basically every position at a restaurant. From Dishwasher to Chef, Host to Server and Bartender and even moved up the ranks into store management. I'm ServSafe Certified and also received all this corporate training that went light-years beyond the standards of the health department (especially at Donatos Pizza which just has insanely high operations standards) so I got to a point where I "knew too much."  I walk into any restaurant now and immediately notice 20 things that are wrong and it just completely ruins the experience. Under-staffed - servers are taking too many tables at once, not greeted within a minute of when I enter, ice bucket isn't six inches from the floor. I can see into the kitchen and notice cooks aren't wearing gloves while touching food that I know isn't a product that is about to get cooked to kill off the bacteria/parasites/viruses. Oh! ..And they just cross-contaminated the food, to boot - by using the same knife that was used to cut meat as the raw veggies that they're prepping. The worst is when they blatantly have improper shelving on racks or in a cooler that's entirely visible to me, the customer. Meat or dairy stored above veggies. That sh!t drives me nuts. I can't ever enjoy eating out with my girlfriend, now. Ugh. Servers will try to bullsh!t me and don't realize I know every last one of their tricks and I can't help but call them out on it, haha. Programming can be very similar in terms of ruined experiences!

 

Anyway, back to my point. There's actually a LOT of groups on Meetup.com for Software Engineers. I just signed up for a couple of them. There's a Virtual / Augmented Reality group where they get together at the Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights and get get drunk and do demonstrations and show and tell stuff. They also make it a point to mention that EVERYONE is invited, whether they know anything about programming or not. It just p!sses me off, I guess, because people picture us as parents' basement dwelling, schizoid Personality Disorder having, awkward, fat white guys with glasses and obviously it's less true these days with computers being more accessible and popular but even the programmers I've met who are in their 50's now and were programming in the 80s, are some of the coolest people I've ever met. They're friendly, outgoing and have as much or more social intelligence than anyone else. Maybe it's just anecdotal but I think accountants fit the autism stereotype more than any other profession. It's funny, the CEO, "Mel," of WWCI - where I got my Cert. of Software Engineering, is in her late 40s. She started programming in the early late 70s when she was a kid. She's smoking hot, really funny and extremely outgoing! She looks like Sandra Bullock with bigger boobs and ss[/member]. She's one of the most highly regarded and networked women in the city (she's even won awards from Craine's Cleveland.) She'll literally spark a funny conversation with anyone, anytime and always has a smile on her face! This woman is an old school programmer who wrote software for DeLorean Motor Co. and then pioneered Augmented Reality with wearable computers, in the early 90s!

 

Sorry, I just get a little defensive when I hear programmer stereotypes. Programmers are cool mother*ckers :)

 

I’m almost entirely security until the place closes, but I do know what you mean about spotting every little detail.  In fact, one of the few movie portrayals of “bouncers” I can stomach is Roadhouse.  Very few places have guys on staff actively looking to start trouble.  For one thing, it’s bad for business.  For another, it feeds on itself and you end up doing a lot of work instead of playing on your phone all night, except when being hit on.  But of course it’s more photogenic in a movie.  Sort of like convertibles becoming glamorous because Hollywood liked them because they preferred natural light.

 

On the other hand, I took out a young lady one night WBITD not knowing she had been a waitress, and the server dumped au jus all over my lap.  She was shocked I was cool about it because I know Rule One is “S**t happens”.    Not to say I minded the reward….after all we had to head back to my house to change, didn’t we?  ;)

 

Now, as far as the programmer stereotype, I think you may be falling a little bit into the “rain man” stereotype here.  Which is what kept a lot of us and our parents/teachers from figuring it out in the first place.  “Asperger’s” didn’t even officially exist until 1981 and wasn’t really considered part of the spectrum until later.  It’s a different manner of thinking, not a damaged one, it’s nothing to be remotely ashamed of and there’s really nothing that can be done about it as this time.  If there was a cure I’d take it to help me with Ardyn, but before she was around I am not sure I would have.  Unless her mom insisted of course lol, but I’m not sure she would have.

 

Anyway, here’s the real kicker as far as what you are seeing:  put an Aspie in a familiar place with familiar people and unless you know the signs you probably won’t know they are one.  To pick up on some of the very subtle signs (low key stimming or eye contact avoidance, dropping words in sentences, unawareness of their “turn” in a conversation, etc.) you almost have to be on the spectrum yourself or have studied it extensively.  There was a case a couple years ago where a kid got pranked, thinking he was doing the “ice bucket challenge” but the bucket was filled with nasties.  His parents turned it into the Internet Outrage Du Juor and I could have strangled them.  The other kids said they didn’t know he was autistic, and they probably didn’t.  He probably worked very hard to keep it that way and his parents effed that up for him.

 

It’s when you are in unfamiliar situations with random people that it becomes more noticeable.

 

So don’t be offended by the “stereotype”.  Many are based on fact and this one is no different.  Autism lets you focus very intensively on things like code and it lets you spot patterns much quicker than neurotypicals do.  It makes you very keenly aware of ambiguity and lets you think very literally, like computers do.  So there’s reasons beyond the social why a disproportionate number of the most successful early tech people were on the spectrum.  Bill Gates, for example, likely is.  And it should be no surprise that they used their new found power and influence to remake the world into a place more comfortable for people like themselves.  You were born during the 80s and might not get this, but the “cool kids” of that era would be horrified by today’s world and the geeks would love it.

 

Accountants perhaps fit it as well, but I would especially think auditors.  If you are up to something you do NOT want an auditor who is on the spectrum. 

 

I’m almost entirely security until the place closes, but I do know what you mean about spotting every little detail.  In fact, one of the few movie portrayals of “bouncers” I can stomach is Roadhouse. 

 

 

My optometrist is a moron. I finally got my eyes tested a few days ago after apparently barely being able to see - probably for most of my 30 years of existence. I told him I'm color blind and asked him if there are glasses that fix that, yet. He told me no. Yet I found out from the receptionist where I now work that they do in fact exist! Like many other great inventions, the technology behind the color blind correction was discovered by accident. Too bad they're so expensive. I think I might end up getting a pair though. It's also too bad that I would look like a douchebag wearing what looks like sun glasses when it's not even bright. Still, it would be nice to see the world the same way everyone else does. Being color blind can really suck sometimes and a lot of people don't even know how badly it effects them because it's something they've dealt with their whole life. 10% of men are actually color blind. If you think you might be color blind, you can take a test on their website and find out which kind of color blind you are. Enchroma.com I think all of their glasses correct every kind of color blindness though.

This is absolutely hilarious.  This is mildly NSFW. 

 

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_inexplicably_ubiquitous_phenomenon_of_woods_porn

yep dangerous minds is an often interesting, cleveland-based blog.

I always called it barn and ditch porn

This is absolutely hilarious.  This is mildly NSFW. 

 

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_inexplicably_ubiquitous_phenomenon_of_woods_porn

 

Haha! That's a really interesting article. It did seem like a strange phenomenon at the time! Interesting that it was so common.

 

"My theory is that it was stolen by other children from their parent’s stashes, or shoplifted. "

 

That makes perfect sense. Now that I think about it, the first several times that I was ever exposed to porn, was as a kid, maybe ages 9-11, just exploring through the woods with my friends. Of course we'd all check them out and probably stole them to hide in our rooms. Whether parents like it or not, realistically, kids are almost guaranteed to learn about the birds and the bees LONG before they ever sit down and have the famous "talk" because of exposure to porn at an extremely early age. There's no way to avoid that.

 

It's funny how porn is this insanely huge part of our pop culture, but not something most people are comfortable discussing publicly, even with their close friends. Everyone knows it's a multi-billion dollar industry but I have a feeling it might be a trillion dollar industry world-wide and that the numbers are just hard to keep track of and calculate, particularly with websites.

 

I remember when I was 13-14 and my mom went rummaging through my room because she suspected that I was on drugs. She went through my closet and eventually found my porn stash in a shoe box on the top shelf. It consisted of some really hardcore magazines and some Jenna Jameson vhs tapes that were clearly labeled. I thought "Oh God" and needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed and not to mention upset by her intrusiveness but she just stared at my collection, then turned around to look at me and said, "Well, at least I know you're not gay." I couldn't believe it.

 

My mom was crazy. Bi-polar and a drug addict / alcoholic. I ended up getting emancipated and moving out when I was 17; got a job and my own place and finished high school and enrolled in college all on my own. It was hard and it was a lonely life for a while but was worth it to finally get away from my crazy family. Over the years, she and a lot of my family have managed to drag me down and pull me back into their b.s. but I finally learned to not let myself get manipulated.

This is going to seem extremely random but does anyone happen to know if Financial POA (power of attorney) forms need to be notarized in Ohio? I'm really surprised that there isn't a clear answer, online.

I remember when I was 13-14 and my mom went rummaging through my room because she suspected that I was on drugs. She went through my closet and eventually found my porn stash in a shoe box on the top shelf. It consisted of some really hardcore magazines and some Jenna Jameson vhs tapes that were clearly labeled. I thought "Oh God" and needless to say, I was pretty embarrassed and not to mention upset by her intrusiveness but she just stared at my collection, then turned around to look at me and said, "Well, at least I know you're not gay." I couldn't believe it.

 

 

So did your mom throw them out?  If not, it sounds like you didn't actually have to fight for your right to party. 

 

 

^The best part of that video is where they point and yell at the dog. 

This is going to seem extremely random but does anyone happen to know if Financial POA (power of attorney) forms need to be notarized in Ohio? I'm really surprised that there isn't a clear answer, online.

 

I would say it's a "good idea" but in the absence of that, if you had two witnesses sign it would probably hold up in court. Not a lawyer.

Say a prayer for Hillbilly Golf and the rest of Gatlinburg, TN...hard to believe the whole over-commercialized place might be leveled by the forest fire by tomorrow morning. 

Say a prayer for Hillbilly Golf and the rest of Gatlinburg, TN...hard to believe the whole over-commercialized place might be leveled by the forest fire by tomorrow morning. 

 

Yeah, that's wild.  That place has been a tourist trap since we went there during the 70s.

 

On the other hand nearby Cades Cove was my mom's favorite place in the world and her ashes are buried there, so the fire can stay away....

Well it's 10:30am and no footage has appeared from any news channel.  Nothing on the ground and not even any helicopter footage.  So either these people are completely incompetent or the fire is still way too big to get anywhere close. 

 

 

Well it's 10:30am and no footage has appeared from any news channel.  Nothing on the ground and not even any helicopter footage.  So either these people are completely incompetent or the fire is still way too big to get anywhere close. 

 

 

^More Terrorism?

Well it appears that the immediate tourist strip is okay but a lot of stuff on its edges burnt down.

 

http://www.knoxnews.com/picture-gallery/news/local/tennessee/2016/11/28/photos-wildfires-wreak-havoc-on-gatlinburg/94572326/

 

Unfortunately I assume that they're going to find people who didn't get out of the cabins.  I don't know why people don't understand floods and fires but for whatever reason they don't. 

Is Gatlinburg that great? I'd imagine it could be. Americans for some reason tend to think that a great resort has to be on a coast and it's not true at all.  I've certainly had a lot of fun in this gated resort community where my grandparents have a house, also in the smokys, in Big Canoe, GA (I even had a close encounter with a momma bear and her cubs!) but I can't help but picture most of Gatlinburg being custom belt buckle shops and boutiques with all the charm of the standard gift shop at the Cracker Barrel.

Is Gatlinburg that great? I'd imagine it could be. Americans for some reason tend to think that a great resort has to be on a coast and it's not true at all.  I've certainly had a lot of fun in this gated resort community where my grandparents have a house, also in the smokys, in Big Canoe, GA (I even had a close encounter with a momma bear and her cubs!) but I can't help but picture most of Gatlinburg being custom belt buckle shops and boutiques with all the charm of the standard gift shop at the Cracker Barrel.

 

It's called "Redneck Vegas" lots of stereotypical touristy stuff there.  Even during the 70s it was like that and Asheville was more bohemian.

 

What I find odd is that, while most of my credit/debit cards now have the chip, most retailers still do not have the terminals to use the chip. Some chains like Target do have new machines that have a place to insert the chip cards, but they are not yet encouraging customers to use them like that. I actually haven't tried to use it yet, maybe I will do so next time I'm at Target.

 

I'm in Canada for work fairly often, and the chip readers are the only option some businesses have (they have eliminated the swipe readers altogether).  They are most convenient in bars and restaurants - the waiter brings the portable chip reader out to the table and the transaction and tip is completed at the table. It's a much better process than having a waiter disappear for 15 minutes with your credit card. There's also one accurate final transaction - there's no need for the credit card company to show one pending transaction and alter it when a tip is entered later.

 

Many stores I visit in Cincinnati have been switching over the new chip card readers over the past few months but there are still some kinks to be worked out. For example, with my American Express card, I noticed that if I start out by inserting the chip, the machine will tell me to remove and swipe the card, but when I do, the transaction will fail. If I start out by swiping the card, the reader will tell me to insert the chip; then when I do, it will tell me to swipe the card. So I have to swipe, insert, and then swipe again in order for it to go through.

 

Visa won't require gas stations to switch over to chip cards until 2020. This is a delay of 3 years; previously they had a 2017 deadline for this change.

Is Gatlinburg that great? I'd imagine it could be. Americans for some reason tend to think that a great resort has to be on a coast and it's not true at all.  I've certainly had a lot of fun in this gated resort community where my grandparents have a house, also in the smokys, in Big Canoe, GA (I even had a close encounter with a momma bear and her cubs!) but I can't help but picture most of Gatlinburg being custom belt buckle shops and boutiques with all the charm of the standard gift shop at the Cracker Barrel.

 

The thing about Gatlinburg was that at some point right when it started taking off in the 60s or 70s, they modeled it after a Swiss mountain town, and so some of the buildings and attractions are sort-of Swiss.  In the surrounding hills, many of the cabins were based after Swiss chalets but had all sorts of eccentric decorations, like stuffed bears, moose heads, etc.  The real loss is the loss of all of those modest but cozy chalets which were storehouses of 60s and 70s kitsch furniture and decor.  I was talking to my mom about it and she thinks the whole place is going to lose a lot of its charm when insurance pays for all of those cabins to be rebuilt with granite counter tops and Ikea-type furniture.   

 

Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are two different animals entirely.  Gatlinburg is actually in the mountains and has just one main road and all sorts of buildings jammed onto the strip and was walkable.  Pigeon Forge is an 1980s-onward state route strip that leads to the mountains and is completely car-oriented.  You literally can't walk anywhere. 

 

 

Just overheard this conversation:

 

1: "Where in Florida are you from?"

2: "Gainesville"

1: "Isn't that the capital?"

2: "No I think it's Miami."

1: "Really?"

2: "Oh no, I think it's Tennessee."

1: "Isn't Tennessee in Kentucky?"

Let me guess...you heard this in California?

Yep. I can't even start to parse that conversation but I would definitely like to visit the city of Tennessee, Florida some time.

Yep. I can't even start to parse that conversation but I would definitely like to visit the city of Tennessee, Florida some time.

 

 

I had a roommate from Paris, Tennessee. 

Lopez in Cleveland Heights has the best Mexican food I've ever had. You all should check it out if you're in the neighborhood. I'm not sure if the menu has changed or how much but Chef Rick Bayless helped open it back in 1980. Lopez currently has locations in Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, Mexico City, and... Cleveland Heights, lol. The fajitas are amazing.

Seventyfive years ago today, the #USSNimitz arrived in the North Pacific.  #TodayInScienceFiction

^^I used to go to Lopez on Thursdays for half off margaritas. Not shabby. Good memories there.

 

While Coffee Phix is by far my favorite coffee shop in Greater Cleveland (no exaggeration, my dad goes there every morning and gave some money to help them re-open), the most attractive clientele is at Rising Star on W.29th (in Hingetown). It's refreshing to see that many good looking people day in day out.

Just overheard this conversation:

 

1: "Where in Florida are you from?"

2: "Gainesville"

1: "Isn't that the capital?"

2: "No I think it's Miami."

1: "Really?"

2: "Oh no, I think it's Tennessee."

1: "Isn't Tennessee in Kentucky?"

 

I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had with people in California who are literally incapable of understanding that Cleveland and Cincinnati are different cities on different end of the state. I had a very frustrating conversation with this landlord I was considering renting from. He asked where I was from and I said Ohio.

He said, "oh I have some relatives from Cleveland."

Oh, that's cool. My sister lives there. I'm from Cincinnati, though. Opposite end of the state.

Yeah I bet you're happy to be leaving Cleveland. It's always so gray and cold when I go there.

Well I'm not from Cleveland, but yeah, the weather here definitely beats Ohio.

*fast forward some time*

So when are you headed back to Cleveland? Bet you're excited about the Indians huh?

....yeah it's great that they're in the WS but again, not where I'm from.

So what do you pay for your apartment in Cleveland?

 

This general patten went on for roughly 20 minutes. I got so annoyed.

To people from really far away (including internationally) Cleveland is the only city of note in Ohio. People remember Cleveland since it is a city on a sea. The Great Lakes are all seas rather than lakes. It is due to a historical linguistic anomaly that they were named lakes.

To people from really far away (including internationally) Cleveland is the only city of note in Ohio. People remember Cleveland since it is a city on a sea. The Great Lakes are all seas rather than lakes. It is due to a historical linguistic anomaly that they were named lakes.

 

 

Also, the Orchestra is a lot more renowned than we realize among the highbrow set, and at the other end there is LeBron and the Rock Hall.

^^ Speaking as someone from the UK, I can confirm this IME. Everyone knows Cleveland, Cincinnati is well-known, although to a lesser extent. Pretty much no-one knows Columbus.

To people from really far away (including internationally) Cleveland is the only city of note in Ohio. People remember Cleveland since it is a city on a sea. The Great Lakes are all seas rather than lakes. It is due to a historical linguistic anomaly that they were named lakes.

 

The Great Seas!!!  Sounds so much more regal.

Some Japanese textbooks teach the three Ohio cities to illustrate three of the ways in which the letter "C" can be pronounced and spelled in combination with other letters.  Cin, Cle, and Col have to confuse the hell out of foreign children.  Sucks to be them!

At the same time, I've met several Cincinnatians that cant pronounce Coshocton and Tuscarawas

At the same time, I've met several Cincinnatians that cant pronounce Coshocton and Tuscarawas

 

And no one in Cleveland can pronounce "Scioto."

I can't speak of Cleveland or Columbus, but in my experience living abroad, everyone I met in the Netherlands knew Cincinnati, and knew which state it was in. When people asked where I was from, I would state the city just to see how they responded.

 

Seemingly no one I meet from outside the Midwest knows the positioning of Cincinnati or Columbus. As far as they know, the entire state has a big cloud of lake effect snow 75% of the year. Living in Northern NJ, I'd frequently have people comment on how bad the winters/snow must be in Cincinnati. NNJ gets a lot more snow than SWOH.

^not surprisingly, you get these sort ignorant comments all the time from New Yorkers. To them Ohio, Iowa and Idaho are all the same thing. They're idiots.

I can't speak of Cleveland or Columbus, but in my experience living abroad, everyone I met in the Netherlands knew Cincinnati, and knew which state it was in. When people asked where I was from, I would state the city just to see how they responded.

 

 

Not sure if this is the reason, but it used to be that Cincinnati was a non-stop flight from Schipol Airport. A lot of people in Amsterdam probably used to transfer to other U.S. cities from there.

I can't speak of Cleveland or Columbus, but in my experience living abroad, everyone I met in the Netherlands knew Cincinnati, and knew which state it was in. When people asked where I was from, I would state the city just to see how they responded.

 

 

Not sure if this is the reason, but it used to be that Cincinnati was a non-stop flight from Schipol Airport. A lot of people in Amsterdam probably used to transfer to other U.S. cities from there.

 

Many if not a majority of the people I met there were from elsewhere in Europe (or other continents), but that could have been true for some Dutch people.

 

^not surprisingly, you get these sort ignorant comments all the time from New Yorkers. To them Ohio, Iowa and Idaho are all the same thing. They're idiots.

 

Good ol' Idawahio.

 

Edit: That reminds me of the time I was with a group of people from NJ, when the Miami Heat was playing against Oklahoma City in the NBA championship. (2012, I think?) I tried to explain that I was rooting for OKC because I was from Ohio and had a grudge against LeBron. But all they heard was that I was from Ohio, which in their mind was the same as Oklahoma! I just dropped it instead of trying to explain.

I heard on the radio within the past day or so some clip from a newscaster, possibly Dan Rather, who mispronounces Ashtabula in spectacular fashion.

 

ash - TAB - u - la

 

 

My mind's eye saw this:

Why are dress socks paper-thin when almost every pair of dress shoes on the planet are painfully uncomfortable? And why is it so hard to engineer a pair of dress shoes that don't kill your feet? There has to be a solution to this. I have to wear two pairs of socks, one over the other, any time I'm wearing them.

In a business interaction, if you notice that your companion is trying to give you a handshake with their palm facing downwards, you should immediately strategize on how to get out of this.

 

Why?

 

Because a handshake is supposed to be a greeting gesture that symbolizes both parties are on equal grounds, yet allowing your palm to face upward while your companion's palm is facing downward is basically allowing them to have the upper-hand, meaning they are now in control and you are not.

 

This is a bad move during negotiations.

 

The vibe between the two of you have already been established with that first handshake and everything you say from this moment forward will always have the "lower-hand" to their "upper-hand," especially if they were trying to intimidate you with this handshake.

 

"[it] is the most aggressive of all handshakes because it gives the receiver little chance of establishing an equal relationship," according to Westside Toastmasters, a non-profit organization aimed at helping people improve their public speaking and leadership skills.

 

Toastmasters shared three techniques on getting out of these overbearing handshakes:

 

1. The Step-to-the-Right Technique.

 

Basically, if you're right-footed ("The natural position for 90 percent of people when shaking with the right hand), you'll have more of an advantage when you step into the handshake with your left foot, and vice versa.

 

When someone extends their hand for a dominant handshake, you can prevent this interaction from happening by first stepping forward with your left foot.

 

 

Next, step forward with your right leg and into the other person's personal space. You can then cross your left leg across your right leg (Although, we've tried this and it's a little awkward).

 

"This tactic allows you to straighten the handshake or even turn it over into the submissive position. It feels as if you're walking across in front of him and is the equivalent of winning an arm-wrestling bout. It also allows you to take control by invading his personal space."

 

 

2. The Hand-on-Top Technique.

 

As you're going in for the dominating handshake, respond with your palms up at first; then, place your other hand — the left one — over your companion's hand to form a "Double-Hander" and simply straighten the handshake to a more equal position.

 

This technique is easier for women to use.

 

 

3. The Last Resort Technique.

 

If all else fails, and you feel as though your companion is trying to intimidate you, grab their hand from the top and shake it. But only do this as a last resort since it can shock the other person and is a very obvious maneuver.

 

 

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-out-of-a-dominating-handshake-2012-9

Why are dress socks paper-thin when almost every pair of dress shoes on the planet are painfully uncomfortable? And why is it so hard to engineer a pair of dress shoes that don't kill your feet? There has to be a solution to this. I have to wear two pairs of socks, one over the other, any time I'm wearing them.

 

There are men's dress socks available that aren't borderline pantyhose. It does take a little effort to find them though. Back in my yuppie days I was able to find them.