Ask Grandstander

[phenweigh]

Originally Posted by Grandstander

I see no reason why the government needs to protect people against sex toys.

Let me rephrase ... Would you like to be a fly on the wall as Ruth Bader-Ginsberg and Clarence Thomas debated the constitutionality of being able to sell sex toys?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by phenweigh

Let me rephrase ... Would you like to be a fly on the wall as Ruth Bader-Ginsberg and Clarence Thomas debated the constitutionality of being able to sell sex toys?

Can't say that being an insect ever struck me as something to which I would want to aspire.

[Nighthawk]

We had the pleasure of spending the day at the Bronx Zoo yesterday. I was particularly struck at one point by a small bird which was named, very clearly, the Madagascar Bee-Eater. A quick glance at the card confirmed that, indeed, the bird was from that region and primarily dined on said insect. That said....is this the best scientists can come up with? How far off is the day that our species are named 'That bird I saw over by Pete's barn that had a sorta yellow patch on its wing'?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by Nighthawk

We had the pleasure of spending the day at the Bronx Zoo yesterday. I was particularly struck at one point by a small bird which was named, very clearly, the Madagascar Bee-Eater. A quick glance at the card confirmed that, indeed, the bird was from that region and primarily dined on said insect. That said....is this the best scientists can come up with? How far off is the day that our species are named 'That bird I saw over by Pete's barn that had a sorta yellow patch on its wing'?

That bird I saw over by Pete's barn that had a sorta yellow patch on its wing, by any other name, would still drop bird plop on a statue.

I get what you are saying here, but wonder if there isn't some value to functional names such as you describe. As long as it does not drift over the line into something unwieldy, such as your Pete's barn example, or some similar hyper descriptive like instead of sea cow it was "the really ugly looking black and brown, large, shapeless aquatic creature which doesn't seem to move around very much or do much of anything at all for that matter yet somehow survives"....then we learn a little something just from the name. For example, if the Madagascar Bee Eater had been called a spollet or wallywinger, then we would not know that it was found in Madagascar and it ate bees, unless we looked it up. Because of the informational name, we now know that if we were bees, we should avoid vacationing in Madagascar.

[jtur88]

What is the environmental cost of workers washing their hands before returning to work (in terms of using fuels to heat the water, running the water long enough to get it hot, releasing chemical soaps into the water table, etc.) compared with the health cost of them NOT washing their hands? Does it make a difference whether it is #1 or #2?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by jtur88

What is the environmental cost of workers washing their hands before returning to work (in terms of using fuels to heat the water, running the water long enough to get it hot, releasing chemical soaps into the water table, etc.) compared with the health cost of them NOT washing their hands? Does it make a difference whether it is #1 or #2?

Such a question could be applied to a gigantic number of scenarios. An example might be....what is the environmental cost of manufacturing, vending and disposing of plastic bandages vs the health costs of risking infections by leaving wounds exposed?

So, we have to draw the balance line somewhere, right? I've decided to draw mine at feces free food and employing anti-bacterial procedures, they justify whatever carnage I am inflicting upon the environment. If in the future, some vital need of mine is in conflict with other environmental concerns, I have every confidence that I will be able to produce the rationalizations for extending my line to whatever length is required.

[skrable]

Paul Simon, not the dead senator, received some sort of lifetime achievement award this week. if you had to rank Simon's achievements as a songwriter, etc., what would say is the most impressive? Most under-rated/ Most over-rated? And, would we ever have heard of him if he had been a solo act at the start of his career?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by skrable

Paul Simon, not the dead senator, received some sort of lifetime achievement award this week. if you had to rank Simon's achievements as a songwriter, etc., what would say is the most impressive? Most under-rated/ Most over-rated? And, would we ever have heard of him if he had been a solo act at the start of his career?

Most impressive...when he was writing songs about loners. "Poem On An Underground Wall", "I Am A Rock", "Sounds of Silence", "The Boxer" "Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall".....all songs about singular alienation.

Most underrated...."Poem On An Underground Wall."

Most overrated.....everything he wrote in the first few years of his solo career...."Kodachrome", "Mother and Child Reunion" , "Me and Julio".....all vague fluff.

Would he have made a splash without Garfunkle? Maybe, but it would have been a great deal tougher for him. The weirdness of the Garfunkle name helped make then stick in your memory and of course the harmonies and arrangements of the songs would have been different and perhaps less pleasing.

[phenweigh]

Should Bud Selig be there when Bonds breaks Aaron’s record?

[bigheadache]

What really happened to the Anasazi?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by phenweigh

Should Bud Selig be there when Bonds breaks Aaron’s record?

He's in a lose / lose situation with this. If he does not show up, that is an affirmative statement that he believes that the record is tainted and unworthy of honors. However, he also opens himself up to questioning why he has allowed Bonds to continue to play if he believes so strongly that he cheated. He also opens himself up to whatever charges of racism which will come his way, e.g...."If it was McGwire he would be there"...that sort of thing.

If he does show up, he is endorsing the record on behalf of MLB and he will be criticized by everyone who knows that Bonds used steroids. He is also indirectly spitting on Henry Aaron by supporting the cheater who is taking his record.

In a lose / lose situation, my thinking is that you may as well go ahead and do the right thing since doing the wrong thing isn't going to leave you in a better situation. The right thing in this case is......don't show up. Don't lend any legitimacy to this supposed achievement. Let Bonds pat himself on the back all he wants, but don't join in on behalf of MLB.

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by bigheadache

What really happened to the Anasazi?

I think that they are running the US printing office in Pueblo, Colorado.

[LongtimeBravesFan]

Josh Hancock is killed while driving drunk, smoking pot and talking on a cell phone. So who should his dad collect the most money from in his lawsuit?

[Grandstander]

Originally Posted by LongtimeBravesFan

Josh Hancock is killed while driving drunk, smoking pot and talking on a cell phone. So who should his dad collect the most money from in his lawsuit?

The lawsuit has named the restaurant which served the drinks, the tow truck company and the guy whose car was being towed. That leaves the cell phone company, the person to whom Hancock was speaking at the time of the crash, and the dealer who sold him the pot.

Once those folks are brought under the suit's umbrella, then some more defendants may be added, the manufacturer of Hancock's car, the dealership which sold him the car, the company which built the road where the accident took place, the parents of any and all of the above for bringing people into this world who might one day have children who contributed to Hancock's death

I hope that Hancock's father prevails, that will send a clear message to society that it isn't doing enough to protect the drunken, stoned, cell phone talker-drivers from themselves.

[heyterry]

Rosie O'Donnell referred to herself as a "Fat, loudmouth lesbian." Do you agree and would you add anything to her list?