The Random Crap Thread 2: It Hits the Fan.

[Bubble181]

Emma has been the number one girl's name in Belgium for 12 out of the last 15 years and number 2 the other years.

I was named after Robin Hood, my brother after The Yearling, and my sister after James Joyce. All three are fairly "normal" names, certainly in the Anglo-Saxon world, but not all that common back then. Nowadays, Robin is common as muck, though. Pfuh.

 

[PatrThom]

Yes, but the popularity of Emma never came close the the rating behemoth that Friends was. You can see on the chart, Emma was already making a slow resurgence years before the movie came out, but when the Friends episode aired in 2002, there is a huge spike, and it stays up there.

My expectation is that one led to the other (since Paltrow was in both), but I'm with you in wondering what kicked off the original surge.

--Patrick

 

[Celt Z]

My expectation is that one led to the other (since Paltrow was in both), but I'm with you in wondering what kicked off the original surge.

The only thing I could think of (and it's a huge stretch) is in '92, Emma Thompson was in Howard's End, won an Oscar and became an A-lister, but otherwise I have no clue.

 

[figmentPez]

So every year or so, this video shows up on my Facebook feed - and it's a video of Utah names and making fun of the names people come up with here - which are bonkers, don't get me wrong. I wanna know though, is if Utah is this weird anomaly of naming. Don't other states have weird names? Or is it just us?

My friend, a teacher, has some wild names in her school. I'm trying to remember, but the only two coming to mind are Orangejello and Lemonjello.

 

[Tress]

My friend, a teacher, has some wild names in her school. I'm trying to remember, but the only two coming to mind are Orangejello and Lemonjello.

I had a student named "HisMajesty" this year, but he transferred after a couple of weeks.

 

[AshburnerX]

My friend, a teacher, has some wild names in her school. I'm trying to remember, but the only two coming to mind are Orangejello and Lemonjello.

As I have mentioned before, I knew a kid named Mars Millennium Falcon Starcruiser. Good guy, weird name. Had a bunch of sisters with similar names.

 

[Null]

Yes, but the popularity of Emma never came close the the rating behemoth that Friends was. You can see on the chart, Emma was already making a slow resurgence years before the movie came out, but when the Friends episode aired in 2002, there is a huge spike, and it stays up there.[DOUBLEPOST=1507929597,1507929307][/DOUBLEPOST]

Don't I know it! My grandfather's family used to keep one of those Sirius Black-like family trees on the wall to show of their bloodlines, and when he married my Hungarian grandmother, not to mention his sister married an Irishman, his aunt tore it off the wall and ripped it to pieces, saying it was worthless now.

So that's me! Generations of worthless! Woohoo!

(Also, Brofist for the Dutch and Scotch genes!)

German, English, Welsh, Irish, and Hungarian. Yeah, that's a stable mix.

 

[Celt Z]

German, English, Welsh, Irish, and Hungarian. Yeah, that's a stable mix.

Don't forget Dutch and Scottish!

No one said I was stable, but I'm fun at parties!

 

[HCGLNS]

It's Saturday!!!

 

[Null]

Don't forget Dutch and Scottish!

No one said I was stable, but I'm fun at parties!

Well, I was referring to myself, and I do not have Scots or Dutch ancestry that I'm aware of. I might - we have no idea who my maternal grandfather is. My maternal grandmother simply said "He was a man, but not much of one."

 

[Gruebeard]

I've also noticed amongst our Asian friends, who were either immigrants themselves or 1st generation, it was very common to pick well-established popular American names from the previous generation.

back in tbe 90s, I attended 2 different high schools (one in North Toronto, the other 20 minutes North of Toronto) where the majority of students were Asian. Like 70% of the students.

They all seemed to have such boring, ordinary names.

Even those who were there as foreign students took English names. (And as a side note, that is a fact I keep mind when I hear criticisms of Canada's education system - rich asians pay tens of thousands of dollars a year to give their kids a Canadian high school diploma. Of course, what they're also getting - and really paying for - is English fluency and North American contacts)

 

[Denbrought]

Was at a great wedding tonight, since the groom decided to pad his guest list with his D&D buddies Good booze, good BBQ, good cigars, good dancing... It was a good night.

 

[WasabiPoptart]

Don't other states have weird names? Or is it just us?

I have clients with Native Hawaiian names like Napuahanaikaueonani. They aren't weird, but they aren't Emma and Jacob either.


(and yes I can pronounce that name)

 

[Emrys]

Have y'all ever used, or know someone who has used, a weighted blanket to combat anxiety? If so, what did you/they think of it?

 

[PatrThom]

Have y'all ever used, or know someone who has used, a weighted blanket to combat anxiety? If so, what did you/they think of it?

We just got a 12# about a week or two ago, more for Kati's RLS. Reviews are mixed. The weight is satisfying, but it did take a few nights to get used to it. Also they are WARM so you can forget about using one when the weather is warmish.

--Patrick

 

[Cheesy1]

Also they are WARM so you can forget about using one when the weather is warmish.

--Patrick

Well, she's in Canada, so that'll be a rare day.

 

[Yoshimickster]

UGH-I was JUST at Retrocon yesterday and only JUST now realized I needed an Xbox memory unit! CURSE YOU DISTRACTING AND COLORFUL TRANSFORMERS TOYS!

 

[Bubble181]

Have y'all ever used, or know someone who has used, a weighted blanket to combat anxiety? If so, what did you/they think of it?

It also depends on the person. Many people with anxiety like heavier/weighted blankets for the feeling of security it can provide, but some people react negatively as they feel pushed down/suffocated/restrained.
While I don't personally use a weighted blanket, I do really like the security feel of something heavier on me (cue the jokes), one of the reasons I don't like sleeping in just a sheet even when it's hot.

 

[sixpackshaker]

My friend, a teacher, has some wild names in her school. I'm trying to remember, but the only two coming to mind are Orangejello and Lemonjello.

Orangejello was my brother's parolee.

 

[AshburnerX]

It also depends on the person. Many people with anxiety like heavier/weighted blankets for the feeling of security it can provide, but some people react negatively as they feel pushed down/suffocated/restrained.
While I don't personally use a weighted blanket, I do really like the security feel of something heavier on me (cue the jokes), one of the reasons I don't like sleeping in just a sheet even when it's hot.

I do the heavy blanket thing any time it's less than 70, due to my generalized anxiety disorder. I find having extra pillows to hold onto works pretty well too.

 

[Bubble181]

I do the heavy blanket thing any time it's less than 70, due to my generalized anxiety disorder. I find having extra pillows to hold onto works pretty well too.

I use stuffed animals to hold onto, but yes.

 

[Null]

It also depends on the person. Many people with anxiety like heavier/weighted blankets for the feeling of security it can provide, but some people react negatively as they feel pushed down/suffocated/restrained.
While I don't personally use a weighted blanket, I do really like the security feel of something heavier on me (cue the jokes), one of the reasons I don't like sleeping in just a sheet even when it's hot.

Yup. 93F and humid? Crank up that AC because I can't sleep without a comforter on.

 

[PatrThom]

I use stuffed animals to hold onto, but yes.

Body pillow (when I can steal it away from Kati). Also gives sweat somewhere else to go during the Summer.

--Patrick

 

[Tinwhistler]

strangely enough, I find I sleep best if I have one pillow between my knees, one pillow under my head, and one pillow grasped in front of me in a rear naked choke.

I'm sure Freud might have something to say about that.

 

[Null]

strangely enough, I find I sleep best if I have one pillow between my knees, one pillow under my head, and one pillow grasped in front of me in a rear naked choke.

I'm sure Freud might have something to say about that.

It means someone better not forget the safeword.

 

[fade]

Not me. I sleep best completely exposed to the elements.[DOUBLEPOST=1508174148,1508174086][/DOUBLEPOST]Wait that's not entirely true. I appreciate a thin swath of cloth across my crotch.

 

[Null]

Shelter. Fade doesn't like it.

 

[Gruebeard]

one of the reasons I don't like sleeping in just a sheet even when it's hot.

Oh man. I'm the exact opposite. I prefer to sleep without even a sheet even when it's cold.

And I sleep naked!

 

[Dave]

Talked to a nurse. My elevated numbers mean little to nothing without other markers that are inside the normal range. I found this out because I got sick of waiting for my doctor's office and called to schedule a meeting with a hematologist. So now I don't HAVE to go to a hematologist.

But why couldn't my doctor's office say anything? Is it so damned hard to just say, "Oh, it's nothing. You're fine."

 

[GasBandit]

Talked to a nurse. My elevated numbers mean little to nothing without other markers that are inside the normal range. I found this out because I got sick of waiting for my doctor's office and called to schedule a meeting with a hematologist. So now I don't HAVE to go to a hematologist.

But why couldn't my doctor's office say anything? Is it so damned hard to just say, "Oh, it's nothing. You're fine."

Because that doesn't get you in for another visit that they can bill for.

 

[AshburnerX]

Because that doesn't get you in for another visit that they can bill for.

No, the new trend is "membership medicine"; doctors want to charge you a flat, monthly fee for their services so they don't need to hire a full time staff of people to fill out insurance forms. Mind you, you have to pay that ON TOP of your insurance, as this only covers BASIC, every day treatment... you need an x-ray or something else? You best have insurance to cover it because your basic fee won't cut it.

It's just another scam.

 

[LordRendar]

Man, i love ikea. so glad we got the first ikea in the world that isnt located in the middle of nowhere but smackdab in our shopping district.

 

[sixpackshaker]

My feet look funny.

I bought a new pair of shoes to wear to work.

I have been wearing the same style of Doc Marten's for 30 years.

That style of shoe SUCKS now. They fell apart after only a few months. I think it got so bad that they quit making them.

I have searched for 6 months to replace them.

I settled on an expensive pair of New Balance walking shoe.

They look like a cross between casual shoe and hiking boot.

Now it looks like I have two round leather balls sticking out of my pants.

 

[PatrThom]

Too easy. Not gonna.

--Patrick

 

[mikerc]

Hey @bhamv3 what would you say is the best way to translate "hei laowai"?