>I've seen this happen with parents mostly, especially when they don't like the advice of people with children, then it turns into well you don't know how it is with MY child, people respond with snark when they themselves really don't want to change what they are doing and prefer to complain or whine or think they are near models of perfection.<

Yup. And the killer of it is is that said parents are often in the process of learning themselves what to do--but God forbid they admit they aren't founts of all wisdom. That's typical of too many married-with-kids--they think getting married and having kids makes them instant experts. Good judgement about human relationships is good judgement--it doesn't depend on whether you have a ring on your finger or not.

How would you treat the women you (supposedly) love if they were "stupid" enough to go somewhere "low-class" at the "wrong" time and were raped? Would you blame them and make them feel the rape was what they deserve for making a mistake? Or is it only all those other, "less-worthy" women who "deserve" your hatred and scorn? Judging by your posts here and your refusal/inability to even try to be fair, I'm betting those poor women wouldn't have a day the rest of their lives when you weren't guilt-tripping them. You hate and deliberately misunderstand women--'fess up and quit trying to prove your opinions have any knowledge or objectivity.

>And their coffee does taste burnt, supposedly so people are encouraged to upbuy to the more expensive drinks<

The irony is is that their more expensive drinks taste burnt, too. :) The only Starbucks I've found decent is the bottled Dark Chocolate Peppermint Frappuccino, which has a nice smooth taste--and is cheaper than buying the equivalent at a SBs. As a rule, I stick to Seattle's Best over at Borders however--their marbled mochas are excellent...

>In Honolulu alone, between Ward Avenue and Ala Moana Center, there are at least 7 stores!!! And this is only a 1 1/2 mile radius!!<

Don't even get me started on mid-town NYC and the insane plethora of SBs there. I'm originally from mall-hell New Jersey, so if the number of SBs in NYC strike _me_ as overkill, well...:)

>And when I do go to a Starbucks, it is filled with people who have set up shop for hours, and entire days drinking just one cup of coffee/or beverage and at times, purchasing nothing at all, with their laptops, leaving absolutely not a seat to relax in. If one person does give up their spot, it is usually trashed, dirty and not a place to enjoy a cup of java.<

Yeah, what is with the number of kitty-corner-sized city SBs and the frickin' nightmare it is to get a seat at them at any time of the day? (I thought this was just a NYC peculiarity because real estate is so pricey there.) And, yeah, if you get a seat, it is invariably cluttered with leftover coffee cups and pastry debris. :P If Starbucks' head needs another place to make changes, he could certainly start addressing that problem.

Well, I can only conclude that the Seattle's Best posse is doing things right. :) I've never had a burnt-tasting drink there.

Thank _God_...

Being a pet owner is like anything else--for some folks, it's their thing; for others, it isn't. For the former, the responsibility is a fair trade-off for the fun and companionship a pet gives. (I'm a parrot owner, and I don't like cleaning cages, but I really enjoy listening to my parrots talk and display their most interesting personalities. :)) For the latter, the responsibility is something they don't feel ready for or want to take on even though they may like pets in general.

As well, what is a burden to one person may be no problem to another. I can deal with cleaning cages much easier than dumping litter boxes, for example.

...woman-wannabee serial killer Dick Dart in Peter Straub's THE HELLFIRE CLUB...

http://www.amazon.com/Hellfire-Club-Peter-Straub/dp/0345477278/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204248066&sr=1-4

Dart loathed women because he down deep 1) was jealous of them; 2) thought he could be a better (i.e. more "feminine" and proper) woman than those "parasitic shrews" he murdered. (Paradoxically, he had a eye for fashion/makeup and what would make a woman look good.) Brightstar hates women because he apparently also thinks he could be a better one--and resents the "male urges" that drive him. Well, glad we got that mystery solved. :)

kufie and Sinnard would rather the homeless be shot, y'see. That would serve those people right for being ill or weak or unemployed-not-by-choice or anything but rich-and-eternally-in-control. Neoconservative/libertarian idiots like these two dis solutions for problems because 1) they aren't smart enough to come up with anything on their own; 2) they are too short-sighted to realize that making sure people stay homeless will eventually impact their own quality-of-life, no matter how restricted their gated communities are or how many "free-market" morons they vote for.

>Cats rule; dogs drool.<

Funny--I'm not hearing about too many cats or dogs who use human language in its proper context and can communicate their wants rather effectively...:)

Hmpf. I used to work at a bird store, and the parrots that were boarded there not only would ask for everything from an "apple" to a "cannoli," some of them would say "Thank you" after they got their treat. Sorry--I still think avian-types have it all over feline-kind when it comes to manipulation/communication. :)