Thread: If you had to do without.... Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Real ale or real coffee

which would it be?

Naturally, the person who answers sets up a new similar conundrum.
 

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Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
If you're a coffee-drinker who dislikes alcohol, can you still answer? Because the "hates booze" thing kind of removes the element of dilemna for me.

Anyway, if it's okay, I'll answer Real Ale, obviously.

Sports or politics? (As things that you follow for enjoyment)
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Too easy. My life would be almost entirely unchanged were competitive sports to disappear from the universe tomorrow.

Cheese or Chocolate
 

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Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
Chocolate, easily - I love cheese.
Salt or pepper?
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
Surprisingly, cheese. I really enjoy chocolate but a lack of cheese would punch a big hole in my menu.

TV or internet (for recreation)?

ETA: rats! Pepper.

[ 25. February 2013, 14:57: Message edited by: Lyda*Rose ]
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Telly. I can watch telly on tintertubes anyway so I wouldn't lose out.

Within telly,

Comedy or Drama
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
I could do without comedy, it's often too 'in your face'. I prefer the subtle humour which is in many dramas eg. Shakespeare, Alan Bennett plays. But, should I be only confined to serious drama, I'm able to find humour in many things myself without needing someone to do it for me. And you can get entirely caught up in the story with drama, taken out of yourself and everyday worries.
 

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Posted by Imaginary Friend (# 186) on :
 
Ummmm.... Chorister, would you like to set a new question?
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
Oh, whoopsie

Radio 4 or Radio 2
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Difficult choice ....

I listen to both pretty equally, but I will go for Radio 2.

jumper or cardigan?
 

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Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
I have loads of jumpers but no cardigans.

The only prob with jumpers is that they mess up my hair when removing said clothing.


sugar or sweeteners
 

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Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by pjl:

sugar or sweeteners

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No contest - artificial sweeteners are creatures of the sixth circle.

Mozart or Bach?
 

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Posted by Imaginary Friend (# 186) on :
 
I've never really been able to appreciate Bach, so I'm afraid I'd have to give him the push. Mozart, by contrast, is wonderful.

Christmas day or Easter day
 

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Posted by Hart (# 4991) on :
 
Easter day. Not the mystery of the resurrection, but the day itself: we've been up all night doing an awesome* Vigil, and then we have to get up and do a gazillion packed masses for people that only go to church twice year?

staples or paperclips?

--
*In the proper sense of the word. (And the popular sense...)
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
I could easily do without paperclips, or paper-thieves as my first ever boss called them.

hot drinks or cold drinks
 

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Posted by Lyda*Rose (# 4544) on :
 
hot drinks

I have to cool my coffee down almost to ice coffee to gulp it down; I'm a champion tongue burner.

Holidays: abroad or domestic?
 

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Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 
Got to keep abroad - that's where all the family is.


Pillow or Duvet?
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Duvet - a pillow can't keep you warm.

Diary or smartphone?
 

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Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
I can do without a smartphone - I don't have a mobile
Apples or pears?
 

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Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
Apples are to acidic for me so it has to be pears.

Anyway you can't beat a fine pear.


skimmed milk or full cream milk
 

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Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
I've already ditched the full cream as I'm dieting.
Tomatoes or olives?
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Olives are made of candle wax impregnated with salt, so are very very easy to give up. It's eating the revolting little bogeys that's difficult.

Purgatory or Hell?
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Hell please, so long as you don't call me there!

Digital camera or film?
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
I think 99% of us are already doing without film. We need to be careful this doesn't just become a list of preferences or the hosts'll kick it into touch.

Crisps or peanuts?
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Peanuts pleas - they are full of protein.

Conundrum or preference?


 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Ack, I'll manage without the conundrums because preferences are so much easier on the old brain.

(It's so hard not to get obscene on this game, isn't it....)

recorders or accordians?

("both" is not allowed)
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
The recorders can go. Those high notes puncture my brain somehow. And zydeco cant do without accordians.

"Amazing Grace" or "Kumbayyah"
 

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Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 
Do without accordians. Recorders are so much easier to play.

Rice or pasta?
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
Cross-post question: Pearlie, or Ken

 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Methinks P4BS got there first.

And since Kumbayyah or however you spell it is so God-awful it makes Amazing Grace seem like Bach's Mass in B Minor, this is an easy conundrum, and into the pit that wretched little childrhood ditty goes. It can have Away in a Sodding Manger for company.

Telephone or Email
 

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Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 
Telephone without a doubt. Emails are easier to ignore!

Socks or underwear?
 

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Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
The socks have to go - you only need them for half the year anyway (unless you're one of those English people who wears them with your sandals I suppose ) but you need knickers all year round

Dogs or cats
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
Cats can go - they're just users, whereas dogs offer love.

Peanut butter or marmite?
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
1. Isn't that really just asking "American" or "British?" We don't have Marmite, except in imports shops or the British foods sections of supermarkets, and peanut butter's pretty durn hard to find anywhere but the States (and possibly Canada).
2. But, to the point, have you ever tasted marmite? Second worst thing I've ever eaten—and number one was multi-legged, alive, and trying to bite my tongue before I bit it in half and unleashed the Yuk. You do weird things working at science museums.

Cake or pie?
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
Believe me, there is no problem finding peanut butter anywhere in the UK. I hadn't realised marmite was in quite such a UK niche, but agree that it certainly ought to be segregated from anyone with working taste buds.
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The pie can go - pastry is too filling, I'd rather have what's inside, on its own. But cake, especially ginger or lemon drizzle is D.I.VINE.

red wine or white wine?
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
Red (white is insipid and doesn't give such a nice hangover).

Frozen pizza or fresh pizza?
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
I'd do without frozen pizza. I would have to order in fresh more often, then.......

Books or Magazines
 

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Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
I could do without magazines. Even if academic journals went with them (which would really be bad) - books are too important to toss!


mp3s/mp4s or jpegs
 

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Posted by Leorning Cniht (# 17564) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by churchgeek:

mp3s/mp4s or jpegs

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The mpegs can go. A picture is worth a thousand words, but video takes too long.

While we're at it, we can consign people who think "podcasts" or videocasts are a useful way of transmitting information to oblivion. I don't find a five minute video of you reading a paragraph of text at all helpful.

Lunch or Dinner?

[ 26. February 2013, 21:20: Message edited by: Leorning Cniht ]
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Lunch. Much as I like it, I like dinner more, and there's usually more time to enjoy it.

Jagger or Lennon?
 

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Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
I'll have to go with Lennon, if only because I'm a bigger Stones fan now than I am a Beatles fan. And I'm not all that enamoured of Lennon's solo work, which I find tends toward the didactic(yes, I'm looking at YOU, Imagine).

Andy Warhol or Jackson Pollock?
 

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Posted by Lymasa (# 11397) on :
 
Tough one for me since I'm not mad about either of them. Of the two, I'd keep Pollock and bid Warhol adieu.

For takeaway food: Chinese or Indian?
 

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Posted by Stick Monitor (# 17253) on :
 
I'd order Chinese for the huge range of flavours and textures. It's also dairy-free so Stick Monitrix can eat it too.

Black Ink or Blue Ink?
 

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Posted by Ariston (# 10894) on :
 
See, that's a toughie, since I use a very nice blue-black (Organics Studio Magnetite V, made locally (!), for all you other fountain pen nuts out there)—but, since I've such a soft spot for Visconti Blue (think Yves Klein blue), I'm going to go with black.

GIN, or Real Ale?
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Gin (makes me maudlin- and you wouldn't want me maudlin' all over your guests...).

France or Italy?
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
Italy - far superior wines

mug or teacup?
 

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Posted by Desert Daughter (# 13635) on :
 
teacup... for the simple reason that granny might come 'round any minute for a cuppa and she frowns upon mugs.

beach or mountains (for holidays) ?
 

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Posted by comet (# 10353) on :
 
Mountains. because I have them the rest of the time, so beaches are a treat!

hmm...

silk or cashmere?
 

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Posted by Smudgie (# 2716) on :
 
I do love the mountains but as I'm getting older and the knees are getting weaker, it'd need to be one with a cablecar and I'm a bit scared of heights. Besides which, mountain holidays generally mean Scotland or abroad, whereas you can get to the beach so much more easily. So I could do without mountains, but I really miss living by the beach.

Driving or walking
 

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Posted by pjl (# 16929) on :
 
As I spend a lot of my time in a car so it good to walk. Strange but we have blue sky and some sun, so I will walk to the gym this morn.


Mondays or Fridays
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Mondays. Absofeckinglutely Mondays.

No Monday, no start of working week. No start of working week, happy KLB.

No Fridays, no feeling of "thank God/Allah/Vishnu/FSM for that; weekend at last!"

No contest.

Scorpions or snakes?
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Scorpions. Some snakes are OK but sciorpions are just horrible.

Winnie the Pooh or Paddington Bear?
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
"Hush, hush - nobody cares
Christopher Robin has fallen downstairs"

"Blood on the carpet, gore on the mat:-
Christopher Robin's castrated the cat."

You can keep Winnie the bloody Pooh.

Steak or Bacon
 

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Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
Steak is okay, but I rarely eat it. Whereas bacon and eggs I could eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if possible. So steak.

Ethnic jokes or dirty jokes?
 

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Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
Definitely do without the ethnic jokes. Way too often racist. Dirty jokes are fine in the right company.

phone or email
 

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Posted by Chorister (# 473) on :
 
The phone can go, it keeps interrupting me at inconvenient times. But emails sit there silently until you have spare time to answer.

milk chocolate or dark chocolate
 

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Posted by Stick Monitor (# 17253) on :
 
Keep the dark chocolate - you can eat more of it before feeling sick.

Imperial or metric?
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I can deal with inches, feet, yards, etc., much more easily; I'd be happy to let the metric go.
(because of my upbringing, I'm sure)

J.S. Bach "St Matthew Passion", or J.S. Bach "St. John Passion"
 

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Posted by leo (# 1458) on :
 
The Matthew one moves me more than the John.

Stainer's Crucifixion or Maunder's Olivet to Calvary?
 

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Posted by Stick Monitor (# 17253) on :
 
A "meh" on both their houses but Henry is 1 minute shorter to have to sit through, so Stainer goes.

High-brow or low-brow?
 

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Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
I would gladly live without high-brow anywhere near me. I'm low-brow and proud of it.

Poetry or chocolate?
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Poetry. I can live without Poetry, although I accept that my life would be reduced.

Chocolate is a more difficult challenge.

Shoes or Coats?
 

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Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
Shoes . I could cope with wet feet -- just.

Rugby or Football ?
 

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Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
I don't care about either, but if football(I assume you mean soccer) were to disappear, I wouldn't have to hear my students and friends go on completely uninteresting tangents about the sport and its players. Whereas rugby has little following in Korea.

So, football.

cynicism or naivety?
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Naivety. Can be just as harmful in practice as cynicism, but I think marginally less likely to be spiritually harmful.

St John's Gospel or the synoptic Gospels?
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 
The synoptic gospels I do not prefer to John.

St. Patrick's Day or St. Swithin's Day?
 

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Posted by Bob Two-Owls (# 9680) on :
 
St Patrick's day, I don't get on with the Irish part of my family at all but I rather look forward to 40 days of good weather.

Pancakes or Easter Eggs?
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
Commercial candy or chocolate eggs are terrible; but I cant go without bready food- pancakes, waffles, cake, wheat bread, rye bread, white bread, etc. I do like hard-boiled eggs, but not those sitting around outside, or in-house for days & days.

AWAY with the easter eggs.
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I forgot.

Manual shift, or automatic trannies?
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
*cough* you need to set up a new conundrum... *cough*
 

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Posted by mdijon (# 8520) on :
 
Trannies are definitely way more fun than anything to do with cars, even if they are automatic.

(Or do I misunderstand?)

Lions or tigers.
 

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Posted by Stetson (# 9597) on :
 
That song about what the lion is doing tonight is way less cheesy than the one about the tiger's ocular organ. So, the tigers.

Flappers or bobby-soxers?
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Gosh, I think they're pretty much all dead by now, aren't they? Some bobby-soxers left, no doubt. But I think flappers could be more outrageous, so I'll do without the bobby-soxers.

On a similar theme (might be a bit UK-specific):

Mods or Rockers?
 

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Posted by mdijon (# 8520) on :
 
Do without the rockers on musical taste. The violence, tribe-mentality and, more importantly, dress sense was lacking in both.

Apples or oranges?

[ 13. March 2013, 18:01: Message edited by: mdijon ]
 

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Posted by Gwai (# 11076) on :
 
Do without oranges. Even though I actually prefer them to apples, my daughter's love of apples is too deep for me to deprive her. Every time we go to the grocery store, she requests and eats an apple. If we run out for some quick item and fail to also purchase an apple, she always regrets it.

Refrigerator or freezer?
 

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Posted by mdijon (# 8520) on :
 
Do without the fridge. I can cope without milk for coffee or porridge (in fact prefer it), fruit and veg and cheese/yogurt keep long enough outside the fridge... but life without ice-cream? Impossible.

Hat or gloves on a cold morning.
 

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Posted by Russ (# 120) on :
 
Keep the gloves, lose the hat, because fingers freeze before ears do.

Or is that only the poor circulation of couch potatoes like me ?

With that thought,

Potatoes or pasta ?
 

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Posted by ArachnidinElmet (# 17346) on :
 
Keep the potatoes, dump the pasta. Why? Sausage and mashed pasta is just not right.

bath or shower
 

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Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
Ditch the shower, I love long hot baths of bubbles.
Cardigan or sweater (hope that translates well, I purposely avoided saying jumper).
 

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Posted by Heavenly Anarchist (# 13313) on :
 
Oops, that was a repeat
Sofa or chair?
 

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Posted by mdijon (# 8520) on :
 
Dump the sofa. I mistrust the things. They are big, fill up the room, you sink into them, can't clean them, cost a fortune, and are impossible to deliver.

Chairs are trustworthy, wooden objects that can be cleaned, carried, and don't wrap you up.

The Quiet American or Lord of the Flies.
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Oh, keep the Quiet American, every time.

Graham Greene or Evelyn Waugh?
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Albertus:
Oh, keep The Quiet American, every time. Give me wartorn Saigon, opium and a mistress in white silk trousers over a desert island, a pig's head, and homicidal schoolboys any day.
So,
Graham Greene or Evelyn Waugh?

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quote:

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Originally posted by roybart:
Very cold weather or very hot weather.

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The hot weather goes - you can always put on more clothes, but there's a limit to what you can take off.

Paracetamol (that'd be acetaminophen for left-ponders) or Ibruprofen?
 

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Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
Ibuprofen can get back to the pit of hell where it belongs. It gives me horrible side-effects that make me feel worse than whatever it was I was taking it to cure. ( vertigo and nausea and we don't have a "blinding headache" smily)

Spoons or forks
 

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Posted by Pearl B4 Swine (# 11451) on :
 
I would do without the fork. Soup is too important to try to fork into your mouth.

Hand-written note, or E--mail?
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
To receive - handwritten

To send - email

So I will ditch handwritten as I'm lazy about sending them

Brush or roller? (for painting walls).
 

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Posted by Albertus (# 13356) on :
 
Keep the brush. You can't use a roller as a comedy sporran.
On the subject of paint, Matt or Silk?
 

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Posted by Sir Kevin (# 3492) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Bob Two-Owls:
St Patrick's day, I don't get on with the Irish part of my family at all but I rather look forward to 40 days of good weather.

Pancakes or Easter Eggs?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Albertus:
Keep the brush. You can't use a roller as a comedy sporran.
On the subject of paint, Matt or Silk?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Pearl B4 Swine:


Manual shift, or automatic trannies?

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quote:

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Originally posted by HenryT:
MP3 or DVD

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Can do easily without DVD, but not without my MP3 player onto which I load hours and hours of podcasts and audiobooks.

Map & Compass or GPS ?

[ 21. March 2013, 16:16: Message edited by: Desert Daughter ]
 

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Posted by mdijon (# 8520) on :
 
I'd do without the GPS. Knowing I'm at 51.5171° N, 0.1062° W isn't going to help me without a map.

(If I can have a GPS with a map on it then I'd have ditch the map and compass).

A Voyager satellite outside the solar system or a rover on Mars?
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Hmmm...is that as a penpal of either, having them as pets, or just about their general existance?

I'd do without the satellite and keep the rover. Rovers are cute!

 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
And the next conundrum is.....?
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
OK - I'll pose it.

Poverty stricken with a loving partner, or well-off solitary splendour?
 

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Posted by Doublethink (# 1984) on :
 
Is that loving partner guaranteed for the rest of my life, no divorce, no premature death, no falling out of love ?
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Does the well off splendour endure, or do stocks crash, thieves rob,and the Cypriot government annex 40% of your off-shore savings? Why not just answer the question?
 

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Posted by Deputy Verger (# 15876) on :
 
That's a very good conundrum. Half a lifetime ago I would have gone for the former. Indeed I did. Nowadays, my solitude is so precious that even in the absence of great wealth I think I take the latter.
 

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Posted by Deputy Verger (# 15876) on :
 
I think I got that backwards if I was supposed to eliminate the non-choice. Anyway. My question is about clocks/watches.

Analogue or Digital
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
It's the lovely deep slow tick of a grandfathr clock that I like, or the perky ring on the quarter and half hour of a mantel clock. But I suppose these could be replicated. I'll go for digital works with the added visual/aural attractions of the old fashioned kind of clock. Hell, you can even get clocks which give bird calls on the hour...


a long haired cat who loves you and sheds its coat profusely, or a short haired, beautiful but standoffish.
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Stuff the long haired animal that's not behaving like a cat; I'll take the catlike (i.e. tolerates you as long as you feed it) short hair, because it's being a cat. If you want an animal that loves you then there are these things called dogs, I understand, that will assume that you created God.

Jethro Tull or Fairport Convention?
 

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Posted by jacobsen (# 14998) on :
 
Fairport every time. There used to be a joke current in Northern UK folk circles to the effect that within the next ten years, 75% of this/any audience will have been members of Fairport Convention. Think of the number of musicians this choice includes! It's a seriously good deal.


standard pub eatery question: Ice-cream or cream with your apple crumble?

In fact, it should offer custard as a third choice, but let's not complicate matters.
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Point of order - that's more of a "which do you prefer" question, to which the answer is of course ice cream.

Incidently, it similarly used to be joked in folk clubs in the 1970s: "Al Stewart's broken up with his girlfriend. Oh shit, that means another album!"

Back to "If you had to do without..."

Beer or cheese
 

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Posted by la vie en rouge (# 10688) on :
 
Given that (a) I've gone pretty much my entire life without beer (never have learned to like it) and (b) that I live in the country that has more and yummier cheese than practically all the others put together... not a difficult choice.

Trains or aeroplanes
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by la vie en rouge:
Given that (a) I've gone pretty much my entire life without beer (never have learned to like it) and (b) that I live in the country that has more and yummier cheese than practically all the others put together... not a difficult choice.

Trains or aeroplanes

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