Letters to the Editor
KitchenGirl
Published Letters: 592 Editor's Choice: 38
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Closed, my friend
[Read the article: The K Chronicles]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I think this past weekend was the last hurrah. That's for the original, the *actual* Filene's Basement. There are "chain" versions of it, basically upmarket Marshall's, that have their own retail space, but Filene's and it's beloved Basement are gone baby gone (bought out by Macy's -- which now inhabits the old Jordan Marsh building -- and which has the worst possible floor service in the world. Horrible!)
I don't know what they're going to do with the Filene's building but I've heard everything from Wal-Mart (barf!) to a luxury hotel (also barf, but for different reasons).
I think a Marks & Spencer's, complete with their "food floor" would be a perfect fit. If anyone from Marks & Sparks' financial-decision-making branch is reading this, come to Boston!
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Tangential pet peeve
[Read the article: Miss dumb blond USA?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The original survey which spat out that statistic asked students to find "the United States" on a map. When students found the *continental* US, but forgot to also point to Alaska and Hawaii, they were counted as "not being able to find the US on a map". Does anyone really think that's a fair assessment of those student's answers? How many students from the UK were dinged for not being able to find their home country on a map because they forgot to also point out the Isle of Man?
That said, it sounds to me like this girl had a set answer in mind already, and was bound and determined to shoehorn it into whatever question was asked of her.
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Large land masses are easier to identify than small ones far far away
[Read the article: Miss dumb blond USA?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]if someone can't understand the basic meaning of the two words put together, then their answer shouldn't count
I think its an easy mistake to make.
In any case, they were 96% correct, not 100% wrong.
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Here's the geography survey
[Read the article: Miss dumb blond USA?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]From 2006, sponsored by National Geographic (it's a PDF file):
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/roper2006/pdf/FINALReport2006GeogLitsurvey.pdf
I take back what I said about Alaska and Hawaii, at least based on this survey. The overall score had 94% of people being able to find the US on a map, but the map that they have in this survey only shows the continental US as a potential answer (from what I can see.)
I think it was the one from 1998 that had the AK/HI conundrum, I'll see if I can find that one.
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The continental states were the only ones displayed on the most recent survey
[Read the article: Miss dumb blond USA?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]They didn't say point out only the 48 contiguous states. The question was to point out all the United States of America.
No, it wasn't. The question was (I paraphrase, but I linked to the study in an earlier post) which of these land masses as indicated by a number constitutes the United States of America? Identifying each of the 50 states was not included in the question.
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Shrugging off timidity
[Read the article: Older women leave young'uns in the dust]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm with JRS also. Maybe it's that people start losing their timidity after life-changing events. The older you are, the more likely you are to have these events: births, deaths, illness, near-death experiences, extended job loss, things that all can make a person say "fuck it, life is short, I'm doing what I want and I don't give a shit if someone thinks I look silly."
I'm only 33 (Ha! "Only!") but I got really, really sick a month ago (as in "nearly dropped dead suddenly and unexpectedly") and in the month since I've gone back to the gym with a vengeance and have already shaved a minute off my average running time and increased my daily run by two miles. I feel a thousand times better than I did before I got sick, and that was only in mid-July!
This universe throws some pretty nasty curve balls, so you might as well push your own limits while you're able. You're not going to get a do-over.
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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
[Read the article: I Like to Watch]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I've said it before and I'll say it again: this is the funniest fucking show on television.
Also, Mac is white-hot. Smoking. But that's got no bearing on my appreciation for the show. None at all.
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Icky, or live-saving necessity?
[Read the article: Mice studies show RFID tags cause cancer]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The process sounds icky -- rather than hand you a clipboard to divulge your details, a doctor scans your implanted chip and instantly has all your info at hand.
You can't fill out an intake form if you're unconsicous. These aren't useful for the average person, but for people with chronic, life-threatening conditions that are likely to lead to them becoming completely incapacitated in a short timeframe (allergies causing anaphylaxis, blood clots, Type I diabetes, etc.), a chip detailing their diagnosis, med list, physician contacts, most recent labwork, medical proxy, DNR information, and family contact information could easily save their lives. Medical bracelets have very limited space on them, and can't realistically fit more than a name, one or two meds, and a diagnosis.
I'd rather they didn't cause cancer, of course. That part really is icky.
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Interesting timing
[Read the article: That little itch could be telling you something]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I saw an ad on tv last night for a little gadget that allows you to test yourself at home for a yeast infection. It looked like a pH strip to me, so you basically just swab yourself and are able to rule a yeast infection in or out.
If you rule it in, then you can treat it without paying a $20 office visit copay on top of the $15 medication. If you rule it out you know that you might have something you can't treat OTC and actually *do* need to burn a sick day going heels-up in a cold exam room to your pink bits gawked at.