Nine for Random Chatter, doomed to die

[thebigcheese]

Hmm...now you've got me thinking about all sorts of alien-related things. Like the alien stress ball that my sister made. Or the inflatable hammer with alien print that my husband just adores. And let's not forget the illegals down the street...

[Emiliana]

An alien exploded in my car today. Never a dull moment with me around.

Dragon Lady, please give us details on this ... surely this is too good a story to pass up?

[Dragon Lady]

I was gonna post a picture! But this forum hates me. Either the picture will be ginormous, or it doesn't work. No matter how I try. [sigh] And Yellow is ignoring me, so I can't get his nerdy help on the subject.

[Dragon Lady]

Here we go! Doesn't this look like an alien exploded?

[krebscout]

I've been working on potty-training our son for the past two days. We've been using the naked method. Tonight, while I was out of the house and Sauron was watching him, he "was acting really agitated. I asked him if he needed to go potty. He said no, then ran to the bathroom and peed all over the floor" (which is actually a step forward). Then, for the clean-up, one too many paper towels got flushed down the toilet, and it flooded. Our son wanted in on the action, slipped, and hit his head on the floor. I came home to a soggy toddler wrapped in a towel playing a video game and a soggy husband mopping up a bathroom.

It's been a frustrating and funny two days.

[Dragon Lady]

Turns out that it wasn't an alien. Oil got into my radiator somehow (no anti-freeze got into my oil, so it wasn't a bad head gasket or anything) and weakened my radiator tubes and two of them exploded. And the oil mixed with anti-freeze caused the thick texture. Typically it means someone poured oil into the radiator on accident. But the only people who have touched my engine in months is Jiffy Lube. So I had to call them and have them investigate. They watched the surveillance videos and none of them ever touched my radiator (which is stupid, because they're supposed to check those levels. Guess I'm going somewhere else for oil changes!) so I can't blame them. So no one has any clue yet as to why there was oil in my radiator.

Maybe the alien theory could still be valid?

[Rifka]

I think you should stick to the exploded alien story-- it sounds much more exciting!

Also, if you're in need of a new mechanic, I highly recommend Rick at Jim's Auto (on the south side of center street in Provo, just before you get to the freeway entrance). He's really good and reasonably priced, and he won't try to scalp you. My family has been going to him for years and we really like him.

[Laser Jock]

Also, if you're in need of a new mechanic, I highly recommend Rick at Jim's Auto (on the south side of center street in Provo, just before you get to the freeway entrance). He's really good and reasonably priced, and he won't try to scalp you. My family has been going to him for years and we really like him.

I've been to him for a new catalytic converter (and was pleased with the experience), but it sounded like there were plenty of things he didn't repair. For instance, he mentioned I'd need a new tensioner pulley for my serpentine belt, but he didn't handle that, and referred me to another shop.

[Dragon Lady]

We're going to SavMore auto for a couple of reasons. 1) It's been highly recommended to us as a place that does good work and doesn't try to rip you off and 2) Location. It was easy to get to while being towed with a rope that didn't want to stay on and is also really close to our house (so we were able to walk home after we dropped it off). But thanks for the recommendation! I like recommendations.

[Marduk]

Dragon Lady, the owner of SavMor auto is a long time friend of my Dad's. They do quality work, and they won't overcharge you, but everyone there has been there for a really long time, and so the labor is actually pretty expensive. You won't have any problems with repairs done there, but it won't come cheap.

[Whistler]

I've been working on potty-training our son for the past two days. We've been using the naked method. Tonight, while I was out of the house and Sauron was watching him, he "was acting really agitated. I asked him if he needed to go potty. He said no, then ran to the bathroom and peed all over the floor" (which is actually a step forward). Then, for the clean-up, one too many paper towels got flushed down the toilet, and it flooded. Our son wanted in on the action, slipped, and hit his head on the floor. I came home to a soggy toddler wrapped in a towel playing a video game and a soggy husband mopping up a bathroom.

It's been a frustrating and funny two days.

That does sound frustrating. My nephew used to poop right when he felt the urge, and it wasn't always in the toilet... no fun.

[Emiliana]

My roommate is driving me up the wall today. If I weren't moving in a week and a half, I think I would sit down with her and have a nice long chat about this, but it's really not worth it. Well, I say that, but she's been driving me crazy for the whole two years we've lived together and I have very rarely actually asked her to stop doing whatever she's doing, but now I have an excuse for being conflict-avoidant. But seriously. I can deal with her for another week and a half.

[Rifka]

I've been working on potty-training our son for the past two days. We've been using the naked method. Tonight, while I was out of the house and Sauron was watching him, he "was acting really agitated. I asked him if he needed to go potty. He said no, then ran to the bathroom and peed all over the floor" (which is actually a step forward). Then, for the clean-up, one too many paper towels got flushed down the toilet, and it flooded. Our son wanted in on the action, slipped, and hit his head on the floor. I came home to a soggy toddler wrapped in a towel playing a video game and a soggy husband mopping up a bathroom.

It's been a frustrating and funny two days.

That does sound frustrating. My nephew used to poop right when he felt the urge, and it wasn't always in the toilet... no fun.

Sounds like my nephew, too. My sister told him he gets a chocolate-raisin every time he goes on the potty. So guess where he went . . . right on TOP of the potty. The joys of potty-training!

[NerdGirl]

My sister told him he gets a chocolate-raisin every time he goes on the potty.

Once when my brother was little, he thought he found a chocolate-raisin in the bathroom, so he ate it. Turned out it wasn't a chocolate-raisin.

[Imogen]

My sister told him he gets a chocolate-raisin every time he goes on the potty.

Once when my brother was little, he thought he found a chocolate-raisin in the bathroom, so he ate it. Turned out it wasn't a chocolate-raisin.

ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Marduk]

Since when did the word "actress" fall out of favor?

[Katya]

Since when did the word "actress" fall out of favor?

A lot of -ess words (authoress, poetess) have fallen out of favor. "Actress" has stuck around longer, but it may be falling out of favor for the same reasons.

[krebscout]

Yeah- though industry parlance will use "actress" quite frequently, a lot of publications standardize "actor" in their style guides. For example, British newspaper The Guardian's style guide says this:

actor
for both male and female actors; do not use actress except when in name of award, eg Oscar for best actress.
One 27-year-old actor contacted the Guardian to say “actress” has acquired a faintly pejorative tinge and she wants people to call her actor (except for her agent, who should call her often). As Whoopi Goldberg put it in an interview with the paper: “An actress can only play a woman. I’m an actor – I can play anything."

There is normally no need to differentiate between the sexes – and if there is, the words male and female are perfectly adequate: Lady Gaga won a Brit in 2010 for best international female artist, not artiste, chanteuse, or songstress.

[Whistler]

my desktop won't boot. Well, I guess that means I get today off from working on my thesis!

[thebigcheese]

At work today, I decided to ask a bold question. They've been giving me a lot of gopher-esque work lately, so I asked my boss point-blank if there was any real work coming down the pipeline for me. I didn't get the answer I was hoping for. He pretty much said, "there's an outside chance that we'll be able to use you in like 6 months, so we're just giving you busywork until then"

But in a nice way.

Ugggh. Don't get me wrong, it's better than being unemployed and I recognize that they were kind to hire me at all. But I was really, really hoping to develop my skills at this job. Major buzz kill.