Displaying Vote Archives 120 to 130
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(Created on 22nd November 2009)
Vote #121
Question:
Well, I have a really burning question this week. I got a ticket this weekend for not having a front license plate on my car. There actually isn't anywhere to mount the plate, which would be a problem - I have a $100 ticket (reduced to $10 if I fix the issue). The car comes with a kit that can be installed by drilling into the front bumper (so you spend how much on a car for the design, then screw in a hideous $10 plastic thing that looks like a letter box on the front of the car).
Now, before any of you overseas think that I'm being some kind of rebel, there are only certain States that require a front license plate (California being one of them). Also, most cars don't have them once you get outside the major cities. The problem is that the Meter Maids will ticket you in the City and I park in the City quite often. What should I do?
Results:
Buy an electronic retractable one was the clear winner with 57% of the votes from the following selection:
- Drill the bumper and fit the standard one (14%)
- Buy an electronic retractable one (57%)
- Don't fit one and gable on not being ticketed again (0%)
- Buy an expensive bracket for a lower mounted one (29%)
Pre-Result Discussion
Analysis:
Well, most of you went with the retractable option. This was indeed my first choice, probably because it's gadgety. The problem is that further research revealed that you need to permanently display the license plate - the retractable option appears to be a favorite amongst the folks that show their cars. Makes sense - you can have the plate out on the road and then hide it away when you show your car.
The next vote was for the expensive permanent fix. Karen liked this one too, however, I read some article that questioned putting something in front of the air intake on the front of the car as it would play with the functional design of the car. I actually doubt this would have an impact unless you're driving the car flat out for a very long period of time.
So, this just left the standard $10 piece of plastic. After posting this vote I got back in touch with the dealer and they said they'd fit the standard one. I think they're supposed to anyway - something to do with it being law. Anyway, I figured that this made sense if it's the one that the manufacturer supplies with the car. I have to say, I'm not disappointed with my choice. Don't get me wrong, it looks a whole lot better without it, but if you have to put something on, this is about as good as it gets. I'll have to remember to take a photo sometime.
(Created on 29th November 2009)
Vote #122
Question:
The month of November seems to have been fun packed. There were several things I did this month that I've not done for a very long time. The question is, which of the following did I do that I haven't done in 10 years?
Results:
Go to the police station was the clear winner with 80% of the votes from the following selection:
- Have sex (0%)
- Wash my car (20%)
- Go to the police station (80%)
- Get drunk (0%)
- Eat at a posh restaurant (0%)
- Go to a concert (0%)
- Go on holiday (0%)
Analysis:
Interestingly most of these things are things that I haven't done for a very long time. The correct answer is the one that the voters selected - going to the police station. Probably a pretty easy one to guess particularly as it was linked to last week's question. I had to go to the police station to have an officer sign off on my parking ticket to attest to the fact that I've now got a front license plate on my car. Now, the missed opportunity is the fact that I didn't take a photo of my car being inspected and the car next to it ... yes, I mean the one in the parking spot adjacent to the one I was in, not having a front license plate on it. I did actually point this out to the law enforcement officials and they did find it amusing, but didn't seem too concerned about it. It really does seem that the front license plate enforcement only applies to certain major cities in California. Anyway, too late to worry about it as I now have mine firmly affixed to the front of my car.
As far as the other things - sex, well, you can never get enough of this, so that always seems like it's 10 years ago. Washing my car is an interesting one as technically, this has been long over 10 years if you consider the washing bit as being something that I have to perform myself. I did take my car to the car wash the other week which is something I haven't done for about 5 years rather than 10 years. Getting drunk really doesn't factor into it as this is fairly regular. Eating at a posh restaurant is something that I've been doing recently - not by design, but rather as a matter of course. I'm sort of looking at restaurants that have Michelin stars, which doesn't necessarily by definition mean they are posh, but they generally are. I have to say that I must be either getting old or more refined (or both) as I've found these experiences rather pleasant whereas once upon a time I'd have said you need to be a ponce to enjoy it. I've recently been to a few concerts - Alice Cooper and Kiss being the latest, but I tend to go fairly frequently. I could always do with more holidays - that work thing tends to get in the way of this, but it does help pay for it. That said, we do go on holiday sort of fairly regularly and just took a mini trip to Monterey over the Thanksgiving holiday.
(Created on 6th December 2009)
Vote #123
Question:
The festive season is upon us and it's time to be jolly and happy. So, have you put up your Christmas decorations?
Results:
Yes - all done and ready to go, No - have not got round to it yet and No - because I'm not putting any up tied with 33% of the votes each from the following:
- Yes - all done and ready to go (33%)
- No - have not got round to it yet (33%)
- No - because I'm not putting any up (33%)
Analysis:
Very even voting then. A few people are done with their decorations, a few are still in the process of doing them and a few are not going to bother. Not really sure there's a lot of analysis to do here. If you're putting up the decorations, hope you get done soon and they look good.
(Created on 13th December 2009)
Vote #124
Question:
As we get closer to the holiday season, it's time to start thinking of our families and of family values. So, what other question is there at the minute? How many mistresses do you think Tiger Woods had?
Results:
14+ was the clear winner with 50% of the votes from the following selection:
- 0 (0%)
- 1 (0%)
- 2 (0%)
- 3 (0%)
- 5 (0%)
- 7 (33%)
- 9 (0%)
- 10 (0%)
- 12 (17%)
- 14+ (50%)
Pre-Result Discussion
07:47:06
15th December 2009
Analysis:
Good old Tiger. Seems he's been playing a few holes he shouldn't have. And judging by some of the pictures I've seen of these girls, one could say that he's also been caught in the rough. Anyway, enough of the golf puns .... let's be festive for a minute - I heard this on the radio a few days back - “what's the difference between Tiger and Santa Claus”? Santa Claus has only got three Ho's.
(Created on 20th December 2009)
Vote #125
Question:
I guess there's only one thing that's been on everyone's mind these last few weeks and that's wondering about the fortunes of Mr O. He was over here in the good old US of A to watch the pool and take in a bit of gambling in Vegas. He emailed me to say that he'd won a couple of bucks in the first poker match, but I didn't receive an update after that. So, how did Mr O get on in Vegas (considering poker and slots)?
Results:
Down - all round big time loser was the clear winner with 67% of the votes from the following selection:
- Up - won on both poker and slots (0%)
- Mixed - up on poker but down on slots (33%)
- Mixed - up on slots but down on poker (0%)
- Down - all round big time loser (67%)
Pre-Result Discussion
04:33:18
21st December 2009
Analysis:
Well, the votes are in and so is the actual result. Mr O didn't win in Vegas and the voters think he's a big time loser. I believe he's protesting his fortunes as warranting the term “big time loser” given that he was only slightly down.
I guess we'll have to see in February whether he can atone for his losses. One thing's for sure and that's the fact that Mr O won't be the biggest loser in Vegas in February as I will be there too ..... and I don't even gamble :)
(Created on 26th December 2009)
Vote #126
Question:
Believe it or not, there was some method to the madness of last week's vote. Last week we asked you about the fortunes of Mr O. This week, we ask you how the O's have been for you. The O's being the years 2000 to 2010 - which brings up an interesting side question of what will the next decade be known as? It's pretty easy for the twenties through nineties and I can go with the beginning of the century being the O's, but what about 2010 through 2019? Do we have three years of nothing, then the teenage years or is there another name? Anyway, all irrelevant dribble as the question for this week and the last question we will be posing for this decade is - how was this decade for you?
Results:
Memorable was the clear winner with 50% of the votes from the following selection:
- Unbelievably memorable (17%)
- Memorable (50%)
- Average (17%)
- Poor (0%)
- So bad I'm glad it's over (17%)
Analysis:
Looks like most of the folks out there have gone for memorable. This is what I went for. One thing is that, the older you get, the shorter the time feels so it's natural to think that the earlier days of your life were longer and that you did more. There were certainly a number of very memorable events for myself - the birth of William being the most important, but I also think the decision to move to the US in 2001 was also a fairly significant and memorable event in the life of the Rag. The safari in 2007 was probably the best holiday I've been on, but then again the couple of trips to Ireland with the infamous “cheese wedge incident” in the soap box derby.
I'm not going to bore everyone to death with a list of things that happened during the O's, but suffice it to say that I could keep going on for quite some time.
Here's to the 10's or Teenage or whatever the next decade will be called, hoping it provides even more memorable events.
(Created on 30th December 2009)
Vote #127
Question:
By the time this vote posts I should hopefully be on vacation in Costa Rica, so it seems only fitting to have some sort of vacation question. One of the things I'm hoping to see and take pictures of are the four types of monkey that are resident in the country. The obvious question is therefore whether or not you think I'll get a picture of a jaguar?
Results:
Yes was the clear winner with 50% of the votes from the following selection:
- Yes (50%)
- No (25%)
- Spider Monkey (25%)
Analysis:
An emphatic no unfortunately. To be honest, most people laughed when I suggested it and most of the guides have never seen a jaguar. I think it's pretty similar to the fact that we live in an area with a fair amount of mountain lions, but have never seen one. I'm sure if you really set out to find one and had someone who could tell you what to look out for, you'd maybe see one, but the chances of happening on one are pretty rare.
We did, however, see a spider monkey!
(Created on 8th January 2010)
Vote #128
Question:
When I left the UK to come to the States back in 2001, TV in the UK kept advertising the “Trek Gate debate” trying to determine whether or not viewers preferred Star Trek to Star Gate. I feel it is time that EBR weighed in on this serious issue, but from a different perspective. On our recent trip to Costa Rica, we happened to be on a couple of bumpy flights that made me think that the inertial dampers/dampeners had gone offline. For the uneducated, inertial dampers/dampeners are used to defy the laws of physics and allow people to travel on-board star-ships and experience rapid acceleration/deceleration without being ripped apart, but they also stop the spacecraft from bouncing around. My problem is the name of the device - Star Trek refers to them as inertial dampers and Stargate calls them inertial dampeners, but which is correct?
Results:
Inertial Dampers (Star Trek) was the clear winner with 80% of the votes from the following selection:
- Inertial Dampers (Star Trek) (80%)
- Inertial Dampeners (Stargate) (20%)
Pre-Result Discussion
04:54:19
11th January 2010
Analysis:
Unfortunately I think this question is somewhat academic. I watched “the new” Star Trek last night and Spock definitely referred to this device as an inertial dampener (after Pike asks Sulu if he's left the parking brake on, Spock asks if he's disengaged the external inertial dampener). So, the term is not necessarily different between the shows.
That said, this would imply the that current term in use is inertial dampener rather than inertial damper (which I'm sure is used in at least the original Star Trek ... and by original I mean the Shatner one). This would go against the EBR voting public who seem to prefer the term inertial damper.
I'm sure I've read or heard somewhere that the inertial damper/dampener is the most implausible device that is featured on scifi shows. Even more so than a transporter. It has something to do with the fact that it breaches the laws of physics, but I'm not the expert in these matters.
Thanks to Mr. O for his comment and his pursuit of rising damp. I do agree that his interpretation is correct, but I'm not sure it's the only valid interpretation. It certainly appears to be a widely accepted term now in other contexts.
(Created on 17th January 2010)
Vote #129
Question:
Well, it appears that my parents extended stay in the US is at an end. I believe there is only one unanswered question that we will try to remedy now. Was it the chili cheese dog?
Results:
Yes was the clear winner with 67% of the votes from the following selection:
- Yes (67%)
- No (0%)
- Do you want fries with that? (33%)
Analysis:
Well, I have no idea whether or not it was the chili cheese dog, but something upset my stomach this Friday. I've had a weekend of feeling sorry for myself - funny how it seems to be that you fall ill on a Friday night and then get better again for Monday morning. Wouldn't want to have to take any time off work now would we.
Interestingly I didn't have fries with the chili cheese dog, but I do generally think the two go together quite well.
(Created on 24th January 2010)
Vote #130
Question:
Once again I find myself helpless and clueless on a Sunday night. With all the big questions that are out there, the best I can do is come up with the critical decision that William had to make this evening - key lime pie, strawberry cheesecake or orange créme?
Results:
strawberry cheesecake was the clear winner with 60% of the votes from the following selection:
- key lime pie (40%)
- strawberry cheesecake (60%)
- orange créme (0%)
- no yogurt for me thank you (0%)
Analysis:
Ooooh! This was a close one. Strawberry Cheesecake wins it by the slimest of margins with Key Lime Pie coming in a close second. It does seem rather odd to me that the flavors of yogurt have become more complex. It used to just be simple things like strawberry, raspberry, black cherry or something like that. Somebody must have decided that strawberry on its own is not good enough. No, we need strawberry cheesecake! Oh well, it's all good stuff.
18:28:25
22nd November 2009