Bob

That post got moved because it was to do with immigration, not a lounge or lifestyle question, as for the I-94, anyone else could have moved that, I'm not around to read every post made.

And rude posts are for the take it outside forum, not the lounge, which although isn't disney, is still for the general public and family members could be reading it to. As for deleting threads, they get deleted because they are either requested by the poster, there spam, or there just plain out of order like the bigley beheadings. I'm not imposing my moral standards on anyone.

Ash UK/US

I am not just talking about kids... I work with the public so talk to a lot of people and I am talking about old people as well as young.

Also I don't remember it happening nearly as much in the UK and I only left 2 years ago.

Ash

Ash UK/US

I am with ya on that one... I thought it was really weird when I went into labour with my daughter (I did not know what I was having) after I arrived at the hospital they asked me if its a boy did I want him done I said no and they gave me a form to sign to say I didn't want it done... it seemed really strange like they automatically do boys.

Ash

snowbunny

The only reason I wish they had them in the US is so that I could've learnt to drive them!

I'm an American with close ties to the UK (but forced to live in the US for a while). Hard to find a category to slot me in, but I have some of the same yearnings for things UK (especially English). I have nightmares with roundabouts though. I tense up when I see one coming. Any sense of direction I once possessed gets lost once I go in a circle! that and remembering the rules: look right first, yield to them, get on roundabout assuming no traffic/light green, the cars on MY left are supposed to yield to me but mostly do not, THEN look for my exit.

PBC_1966

As a cat lover, I agree fully on that one. Claws are the natural defensive mechanism for a cat, and to deprive them of their defenses is a terrible crime in my opinion. Anyone who is more concerned about whether they might get a few scratches on their furniture than with the welfare of their pet has no business to have animals in the first place. Besides, it's really not difficult to train a cat to not scratch the furniture. O.K., there may be an occasional lapse, but if you can't live with that, you should not keep pets.

Cats are also creatures who need to be free to roam. I believe that to keep them permanently shut up within the house when they can see the big wide world outside is extremely unfair.

I always seem to be the lone voice when I point out that I hate roundabouts. They're totally unnecessary, and especially where they have multiple lanes they're nothing but a nuisance as cars try to switch lanes and avoid each other. So for me, a lack of roundabouts is actually a plus point. But they seem to be creeping in gradually around America. When I was in Nebraska there was no mention of roundabouts in the state driver's manual, but I notice that a section has been inserted for them now.

As for llights on roundabouts, I wonder what the designers must be thinking. There are several like this in Norwich now, and they're a nightmare. I can't understand the light phasing either. There are several where you get a green light as you enter the roundabout, think you have right-of-way, but then find cars still speeding toward you from the right.

Mini-roundabouts are nothing but a menace. Putting two or more of the things right next to each other is plain crazy. There's a double-mini-roundabout like this in a nearby town, and even people who like normal roundabouts complain about its diabolical layout and preferred the intersection as it used to be.

PBC_1966

A lot of that on cable systems is to do with FCC regulations. Licensing agreements may not allow certain commercials to be shown outside the station's normal broadcast area, so the satellite feed is often switched to alternate commercials at breaks so that cable networks in distant cities don't show the "wrong" commercials.

Even on the major ABC/CBS/NBC/Fox etc. networks there can be regional variations in which commercials can be shown, and if the switching isn't as precise as it should be, you can see a brief clip of the wrong commercial.

A similar thing can happen on BBC and ITV in Britain as well when it comes to regional news feeds. Here in BBC-East and Anglia-TV land, it's not uncommon to see a brief couple of seconds of the local London news feed before the program is cut to the regional studios in Norwich. I remember one evening (I forget whether it was BBC or ITV) in which we saw nearly 10 minutes of the local London news before somebody realized and cut across to the local studio feed.

Lothianlad

Is there a high birth rate there? Hee hee!

snowbunny

Roundabouts and articulated lorries: I laugh when I think of an 18-wheeler trying to negotiate a roundabout of any size less than those near the motorways. They'd wipe out the entire beautifully landscaped centre, I think! And then there are the European truck drivers.... we had one stop in front of us on a busy A road -- with one lane in each direction. We were stuck. He was from Italy, and I had to explain to him in very broken Italian and in desperation, fluent Spanish, how to get his lorry to a particular village because some of the roads couldn't accommodate the weight limits.

As to going to bed early -- I couldn't believe how early the shops closed up in the UK. I think this is going to depend on which part of each country you live in, but in general, for better or for worse, the US is a 24x7x365 country where the UK is definitely not. In Austin, we have a busy live music scene, and most gigs don't start until 11 pm.

Bob

Actually, yeah, there does seem to be a large rise in birth rate around 9 months after particular bad storms *l*

Taffyles

A few pet peeves of mine that I don't think have been mentioned yet.

Being expected to eat your salad, butter your bread and eat your main course with the same cutlery in restaurants...ewwww.

Paying for checkbooks and bank charges in general.

All the taxes on utility bills.

The mobile phone rip off.

NC Penguin

Sounds you're going to the wrong dining establishments!




NC Penguin

AdobePinon

...and banking at all the wrong places too...

Taffyles

I bank with Wachovia. Which bank gives free check books?

AdobePinon

Check the smaller local banks and credit unions. Most of the national banks are rips. (Although I've heard good stuff about Washington Mutual.) You should also ask if direct depositing your paycheck qualifies you for free stuff.

For reference, I don't pay monthly charges, don't pay for checkbooks, don't have a per check fee, don't have a minimum balance, don't pay for wire transfers. In fact, I don't pay for anything and you should have it that way too. DEMAND IT!

Taffyles

That's why we are with Wachovia- our paychecks are deposited there and we get so called "free" banking...actually starting this month we get free online banking- which used to cost $6.95 monthly and they stopped charging us for having debit cards about a year ago. Still have to pay for check books and some other miscellaneous charges like wire transfers etc though. Credit unions are too inconvenient and smaller banks in Florida too risky (they often get taken over anyway). We did try a small local bank years ago and they made so many mistakes it was a joke.