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Source: (consider it) Thread: Pointless
HCH
Shipmate
# 14313

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A discussion currently going on in Purgatory led me to think of this.

Can you name some pointless topics for arguments? I am thinking of something like these:

(a) If you are hanging a coat on a clothes hanger, should the coat face left or right?

(b) Likewise, should the hook on the clothes hanger point over the bar, away from you, or back over the bar, toward you?

(c) If you hang a roll of paper towels on a horizontal bar next to the wall, should the paper unroll next to the wall or away from the wall?

(d) If you are putting on socks and boots, do you put on both socks and then both boots, or a sock and a boot following by a sock and a boot? (This was found in an episode of "All in the Family.)

Posts: 1540 | From: Illinois, USA | Registered: Nov 2008  |  IP: Logged
Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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You can't have an argument unless one party sees a point to it. I can't imagine what the point would be in the instances you cite, so I'd work on the assumption that they were displacement activities for something else going on between the arguers.

So maybe the thread should be called - Pointless Arguments: What Are They Really About?

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Loquacious beachcomber
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# 8783

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For much longer than many posters here have been alive, an advice columnist from a Chicago newspaper, named Ann Landers, gave snappy answers to readers' questions.
One day, someone wrote in to ask which way a toilet roll should be placed on its holder, and it took months for the readers to stop arguing over that.
The only thing that even approached that argument for staying power was when a wife wrote in to ask if there was anything wrong with getting undressed for bed in her walk-in closet, instead of before the eyes of her sexually aggressive husband.
So maybe one of these topics would spark a 50-page discussion here!

[ 14. November 2012, 22:47: Message edited by: Loquacious beachcomber ]

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TODAY'S SPECIAL - AND SO ARE YOU (Sign on beachfront fish & chips shop)

Posts: 5954 | From: Southeast of Wawa, between the beach and the hiking trail.. | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged
Loquacious beachcomber
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# 8783

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At any rate, this thread should do well as a Famous Last Posts gag in the Circus.

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TODAY'S SPECIAL - AND SO ARE YOU (Sign on beachfront fish & chips shop)

Posts: 5954 | From: Southeast of Wawa, between the beach and the hiking trail.. | Registered: Nov 2004  |  IP: Logged
Og, King of Bashan

Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562

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The paper roll orientation question has its own surprisingly detailed wikipedia entry.

Some anecdotal correlation to gender and socioeconomic status exists, but overall, it is the ultimate example of a trivial matter that gets blown out of proportion.

Apparently there have been epic over / under fights in the Antarctic research bases.

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"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy

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Og, King of Bashan

Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562

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The Wiki article is actually worth a read, because it talks about how psychologists and sociologists use the toilet paper orientation debate to illustrate the difference between personal taste and values, attitudes, norms, and needs. Now as anyone who has read any of the "Crappy Choruses" thread knows, one man's personal taste issue is another man's values issue. But the distinction might help someone determine what might actually be a pointless argument.

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"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy

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Lyda*Rose

Ship's broken porthole
# 4544

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Og, King of Bashan:
quote:
Now as anyone who has read any of the "Crappy Choruses" thread knows, one man's personal taste issue is another man's values issue.
The whole concept of the "Crappy Choruses" thread seems so pointless to me that I've been on the Ship for close to a decade and I've never opened it. And to think that people would be so passionate about the subject that it would be a Dead Horse is mind-blowing to me. [Roll Eyes]

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"Dear God, whose name I do not know - thank you for my life. I forgot how BIG... thank you. Thank you for my life." ~from Joe Vs the Volcano

Posts: 21377 | From: CA | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged
cliffdweller
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# 13338

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quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
You can't have an argument unless one party sees a point to it. I can't imagine what the point would be in the instances you cite, so I'd work on the assumption that they were displacement activities for something else going on between the arguers.

You have obviously never lived with someone with OCD.

These issues are VERY important to my mildly OCD husband. There is just a "right" way each of those things need to be done.

The challenge for me was not so much doing things his way-- I couldn't care less which way the TP rolls as long as you don't use the last bit w/o replacing it! For me, the challenge was simply learning that it DOES matter, and so remembering to pay attn. to what way I'm replacing the TP/ hanging the coat/ buttering the toast etc.

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"Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don't be afraid." -Frederick Buechner

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Chorister

Completely Frocked
# 473

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The last letter on the Telegraph Letters page is often a good read if you enjoy pointless arguments. They publish the best, which are often subtle (or not so subtle) send-ups of the pointless arguments or those who get in a tizz over them.

Recent BigEnder / LittleEnder arguments include Which is the correct side to wear your poppy?, and the rather more fun What does one do with an empty napkin ring?

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Retired, sitting back and watching others for a change.

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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I think it all comes under a saying of my mother's: 'Now you're just being contrary.'
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Boogie

Boogie on down!
# 13538

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We don't have a toilet roll holder - it stands on the shelf.

[Big Grin]

The pointless thing I argue about is coats slung on chairs - I hate it! We have perfectly good coat hangers, why is it sooo difficult to use them?

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Garden. Room. Walk

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Mili

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# 3254

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I always hang towels with the folded side on the left and had assumed that's how everyone hung up towels. However now one of my housemates always changes the hand towel to the other way around. We don't actually argue about it but I always change it back as it just seems 'wrong' to dry my hands with it when the fold is on the right hand side.
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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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People fold towels?
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
Karl: Liberal Backslider
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# 76

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quote:
Originally posted by Lyda*Rose:
Og, King of Bashan:
quote:
Now as anyone who has read any of the "Crappy Choruses" thread knows, one man's personal taste issue is another man's values issue.
The whole concept of the "Crappy Choruses" thread seems so pointless to me that I've been on the Ship for close to a decade and I've never opened it. And to think that people would be so passionate about the subject that it would be a Dead Horse is mind-blowing to me. [Roll Eyes]
Perhaps you've never been forced to sing some of them.

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Might as well ask the bloody cat.

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Moo

Ship's tough old bird
# 107

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One of my grandmothers had a saying for this kind of thing.

"They surely are hard up!"

I think that covers it very well.

Moo

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Kerygmania host
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See you later, alligator.

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balaam

Making an ass of myself
# 4543

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quote:
Originally posted by HCH:
(a) If you are hanging a coat on a clothes hanger, should the coat face left or right?

If you are going to take the clothes out with the right hand the clothes should face left. Vice versa if you're left handed. Otherwise you have to turn them round to take the hangers out.

quote:
(b) Likewise, should the hook on the clothes hanger point over the bar, away from you, or back over the bar, toward you?
Again for ease of removal the hanger should point over the bar, just lift and it comes towards you.

You now have to thank me for all the valuable time I've saved you. [Biased]

quote:
(c) If you hang a roll of paper towels on a horizontal bar next to the wall, should the paper unroll next to the wall or away from the wall?
Hygiene. If the paper is away from the wall you only touch the paper with your hands when cleaning up, and not the wall.

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Last ever sig ...

blog

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HCH
Shipmate
# 14313

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Thank you, Baalam. I was sure someone would take the bait.
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churchgeek

Have candles, will pray
# 5557

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quote:
Originally posted by Mili:
I always hang towels with the folded side on the left and had assumed that's how everyone hung up towels. However now one of my housemates always changes the hand towel to the other way around. We don't actually argue about it but I always change it back as it just seems 'wrong' to dry my hands with it when the fold is on the right hand side.

Which brings to mind a good place to hold pointless arguments: in a Sacristy!

I've read instructions that say to fold all the linens the same way and lay them in the same direction in the drawers for storage.

I was also trained, when placing our vessels out on a work-table in the sacristy on a Saturday (to be taken to the credence tables the next morning - i.e., the Saturday set-up is only seen by the Sunday Altar Guild volunteer) to always set the chalices with the cross or equivalent forward. And the purificator should be laid on top of the chalice so that the final fold faces out. (What is the name for the different folded sides of a tri-fold? That's another possibly useless argument, but I want to know! By "final" I mean the last fold made when folding, so it contains the other fold.)

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I reserve the right to change my mind.

My article on the Virgin of Vladimir

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Scarlet

Mellon Collie
# 1738

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quote:
Originally posted by Mili:
I always hang towels with the folded side on the left and had assumed that's how everyone hung up towels. However now one of my housemates always changes the hand towel to the other way around. We don't actually argue about it but I always change it back as it just seems 'wrong' to dry my hands with it when the fold is on the right hand side.

Oh, either one of these would drive me crazy. Towels must be folded so only the center shows: the left and right edges are hidden behind the towel on the wall side.

For the toilet paper problem, I actually have a rational reason. My cat pulls it off the roll if it hangs over, but does not if it hangs under, next to the wall.

I have a partially deflated yellow balloon with exploding atomic bombs drawn on it in black magic marker. It is probably three years old. My twelve year old grandson drew it. I keep it because I'm concerned he is a bit too angry.

I have six 2012 wall calendars (but never would I hang them). They lie on my dining room table and each is used for different notations (including the type of food and times of feeding for my cat and incidents of hairballs).

I have no clothes folded in drawers, except socks and underwear. Everything must hang up. I am allergic to wrinkles. I also refuse to own an iron. [Razz]

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They took from their surroundings what was needed... and made of it something more.
—dialogue from Primer

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Og, King of Bashan

Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562

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quote:
Originally posted by churchgeek:
And the purificator should be laid on top of the chalice so that the final fold faces out.

It was explained to me that this is about ease of access for the celebrant- if the fold is lined up properly, you can easily slip your fingers into the purificator rather than having to pinch it.

Of course, the priest who explained that to me was the worst about confusing taste with values. He was the Curate at the time, and his ability to give long lectures on insignificant matters of taste was a source of amusement for the rest of the church staff. One day, the Rector called the organist into his office, and said that if he was going out, he should pick up some Bloody Mary mix for the Rector's cocktail party. The Organist suggested that it sounded like a job for the Curate. The Rector responded, "yes, but I want to avoid a ten minute lecture about the best brand of Bloody Mary mix."

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"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy

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Stercus Tauri
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# 16668

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I've never studied the vexed bog roll question from the scientific or philosophical standpoint - my opinion is purely pragmatic. When the children were small, they worked out pretty quickly that with the paper outwards, you could flick it with your hand and spin yards of it off at a time, which was very entertaining. For them. That was years ago, but now the cat has discovered the same trick. So the paper is always towards the wall in this house.

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Thay haif said. Quhat say thay, Lat thame say (George Keith, 5th Earl Marischal)

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anoesis
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# 14189

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quote:
Originally posted by Stercus Tauri:
I've never studied the vexed bog roll question from the scientific or philosophical standpoint - my opinion is purely pragmatic. When the children were small, they worked out pretty quickly that with the paper outwards, you could flick it with your hand and spin yards of it off at a time, which was very entertaining. For them. That was years ago, but now the cat has discovered the same trick. So the paper is always towards the wall in this house.

Bingo! That was my immediate thought re: toilet paper when I read the OP. I have no opinion on how it SHOULD go, but pragmatism dictates that for the next few years, we will use less of the stuff if it unrolls with paper toward the wall...

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The history of humanity give one little hope that strength left to its own devices won't be abused. Indeed, it gives one little ground to think that strength would continue to exist if it were not abused. -- Dafyd --

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glockenspiel
Shipmate
# 13645

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A tip for non-UK shipmates - here in the UK, one can still make a pretty accurate stab at any given person's social class/ standing, simply by knowing their approach towards a handful of the most piffling details of life!
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Zappa
Ship's Wake
# 8433

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There is a rumour that some people open a boiled egg at the large end. This is of course contrary to the rules of nature and civilization, and warrants capital punishment.

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shameless self promotion - because I think it's worth it
and mayhap this too: http://broken-moments.blogspot.co.nz/

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balaam

Making an ass of myself
# 4543

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True.

Unless the egg is hard boiled. Then the shell must be stripped from the centre towards the points.

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Last ever sig ...

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Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged
Pia
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# 17277

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I was reminded of this thread today, when Mr Pia reminded me of a classic row we once had about 'back chairs' - that is to say, those chairs that you kneel on that are supposed to be good for your posture or something (picture for the uninitiated).

Mr Pia insisted that such an item could not possibly be called a 'back' chair because it didn't have a back. This was, to him, a matter of the utmost obviousness. I insisted that that was indeed what it was called. We argued the toss. For quite some time. Names were called. Doors may even have been slammed. This was about 20 years ago now, and we still cannot agree on this point.

(However, it totally is called a 'back chair'; I am right and he is wrong, so nerr [Razz] )

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Ariel
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# 58

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It's called a back chair because it's specifically designed to help your back. I had a colleague once who had one of these after some severe back problems, and it did seem to help. Orthopaedic chair might be a bit more precise, but "back" is easier for marketing purposes and for people to spell.
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The5thMary
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# 12953

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This is so funny! I just read an article online yesterday that was talking about how to manage stress in your home. The author actually said, "Be sure that when hanging clothes on hangers, all the hangers point in the same direction." Oh, really? And this will eliminate a lot of stress? I suppose if you have O.C.D. as my wife does, making sure all the hangers are facing one direction is great. As for me, I think in order to cut down on unnecessary stress in MY life, I will make sure that all the hangers face any which way. But I can totally see my wife and I arguing endlessly about this. She told me she dreams of alphabetizing our little box of spices! Aaaaaaaaaaaaa! [Big Grin]

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God gave me my face but She let me pick my nose.

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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Alphabetising spices is mere practical sense. Particularly if you have six shelves of them in two locations. Nothing worse that lining up the ingredients for a curry and going coriander? Where's the coriander? WHERE'S THE SODDING CORIANDER?
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Pia
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# 17277

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quote:
Originally posted by Ariel:
It's called a back chair because it's specifically designed to help your back. I had a colleague once who had one of these after some severe back problems, and it did seem to help. Orthopaedic chair might be a bit more precise, but "back" is easier for marketing purposes and for people to spell.

Precisely, my dear Ariel. Precisely. That's what I told him.

Ooh, I feel my 20-year-old rage at his inability to understand this bubbling up again! [Deep breaths... Deep breaths!]

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Karl: Liberal Backslider
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# 76

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quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Alphabetising spices is mere practical sense. Particularly if you have six shelves of them in two locations. Nothing worse that lining up the ingredients for a curry and going coriander? Where's the coriander? WHERE'S THE SODDING CORIANDER?

This sort of thing makes me giggle:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3128012

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Might as well ask the bloody cat.

Posts: 17938 | From: Chesterfield | Registered: May 2001  |  IP: Logged
Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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quote:
Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
This sort of thing makes me giggle:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=3128012

Bit stymied by the lack of any herb or spice beginning in 'u'.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
balaam

Making an ass of myself
# 4543

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Even if there was you'd still end up going WHERE'S THE SODDING CORIANDER.

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blog

Posts: 9049 | From: Hen Ogledd | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged
Ariel
Shipmate
# 58

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Re herb and spice racks, mine were intended to be in alphabetical order originally but are now in a sort of Dvorak alphabetical order, i.e. the herbs and spices are now divided into a) spices and b) herbs, then whatever I use most frequently is at the front.

This isn't helped by a lifelong habit of rarely ever putting anything back in its place, so the coriander could well be on top of the fridge, next to the kettle, or under a tea towel. Cooking is a process that requires rapid action, I’m not going to stop to file the coriander jar carefully under C while stuff is bubbling away in pots.

In short, I'm not particularly organized, but meals still seem to happen.

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Og, King of Bashan

Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562

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My father is a big proponent of the theory that the kitchen will tend towards disorder if you don't put things away right away, to the point that you might as well look for a spoon in your sock drawer, because the odds of finding it there are about the same as finding one in the silver drawer.

Alphabetizing herbs and spices can be helpful, and if you have a kid around who just learned the rules of alphabetizing, you can let them do it and write it off as an educational activity- that's what my parents did with me.

They sell spice canisters with magnets on the back that stick to your refrigerator, which are a good solution for the frequently used spices- keep the red pepper flakes and whatever other dried herbs or spices you use frequently in the canisters, and everything else in the spice rack.

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"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy

Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged
jedijudy

Organist of the Jedi Temple
# 333

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quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Bit stymied by the lack of any herb or spice beginning in 'u'.

One could use Una de Gato (a/k/a Cat's Claw) in the 'U' position!

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Jasmine, little cat with a big heart.

Posts: 18017 | From: 'Twixt the 'Glades and the Gulf | Registered: Aug 2001  |  IP: Logged
Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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quote:
Originally posted by jedijudy:
quote:
Originally posted by Firenze:
Bit stymied by the lack of any herb or spice beginning in 'u'.

One could use Una de Gato (a/k/a Cat's Claw) in the 'U' position!
Fennel seed, cumin, kalonji, oregano and a couple of jars of fenugreek it is then.
Posts: 17302 | From: Edinburgh | Registered: Jun 2001  |  IP: Logged
comet

Snowball in Hell
# 10353

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My mother and I have a 30+ year argument over a certain color. I say it's green. She says it's blue. Whenever we see it, the argument starts over again. We've been known to recruit large numbers of people in public places to support our arguments. It's a familial dead horse.

I'm right, of course.

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Evil Dragon Lady, Breaker of Men's Constitutions

"It's hard to be religious when certain people are never incinerated by bolts of lightning.” -Calvin

Posts: 17024 | From: halfway between Seduction and Peril | Registered: Sep 2005  |  IP: Logged
BessLane
Shipmate
# 15176

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My husband and I have an on-going argument about how much toilet paper we should have as back-up. So just to prove him wrong, I have forced myself to let the supply run down to TWO extra rolls. I just got a text from him that we were having a toilet paper emergency at the house and could I bring some home with me.

Vindication!

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It's all on me and I won't tell it.
formerly BessHiggs

Posts: 1388 | From: Yorkville, TN | Registered: Sep 2009  |  IP: Logged
Mili

Shipmate
# 3254

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Early on in their marriage my parents had a massive argument over whether black was a colour (Dad's opinion) or a shade (Mum's opinion). Whenever the topic was brought up again they'd continue the argument, but in a humerous vein. Now they have finally agreed to disagree.
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Boogie

Boogie on down!
# 13538

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quote:
Originally posted by BessHiggs:
My husband and I have an on-going argument about how much toilet paper we should have as back-up. So just to prove him wrong, I have forced myself to let the supply run down to TWO extra rolls.

The same argument used to in our house - so now I hide the emergency stash.

[Big Grin]

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Garden. Room. Walk

Posts: 13030 | From: Boogie Wonderland | Registered: Mar 2008  |  IP: Logged
Drifting Star

Drifting against the wind
# 12799

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I have completely converted Starman re the need for a good stash of toilet paper. [Cool] It is possible that he's humouring me, but that really doesn't matter.

And black isn't a colour or a shade. It's a complete absence of colour and/or light. [Razz]

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The soul is dyed the color of its thoughts. Heraclitus

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Firenze

Ordinary decent pagan
# 619

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quote:
Originally posted by Drifting Star:

And black isn't a colour or a shade. It's a complete absence of colour and/or light. [Razz]

Not complete surely, or you wouldn't be able to see it? Not that I'd wish to argue the point of course.
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Nenya
Shipmate
# 16427

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quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
quote:
Originally posted by BessHiggs:
My husband and I have an on-going argument about how much toilet paper we should have as back-up. So just to prove him wrong, I have forced myself to let the supply run down to TWO extra rolls.

The same argument used to in our house - so now I hide the emergency stash.

[Big Grin]

I always have a good supply of extras and like them to be on show in the bathroom - on shelves in the downstairs cloakroom and a whole packet (of 9 or 12) on the floor of the main bathroom. I find it immensely reassuring to sit there surrounded by all these rolls that are available to me if I need them. [Smile] This is a reaction to how things were done when I was a kid - there was one loo roll kept in the bathroom, the rest were in a cupboard in the kitchen downstairs. If you ran out partway through the operation you had to yell and hope that another family member would take pity on you. Otherwise it was that uncomfortable walk with the underwear at half mast.

If I'm in someone else's bathroom and the spares aren't on show I always make sure I know where they are before I commit. Or that I have sufficient tissues on me.

Nen - off to check current supply levels.

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They told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn.

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Celtic Knotweed
Shipmate
# 13008

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quote:
Originally posted by Boogie:
The pointless thing I argue about is coats slung on chairs - I hate it! We have perfectly good coat hangers, why is it sooo difficult to use them?

Where else can I put a coat at work? OK, the end of the office I'm in right now has a few coat-hooks, so I use one, but the section I was in before has nowhere to hang a coat up except your chair. At home, it's another matter, coats there should be on the relevant hook/hanger unless the owner is using it again very soon or trying to pack!

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My little sister is riding 100k round London at night to raise money for cancer research donations here if you feel so inclined.

Posts: 664 | From: between keyboard and chair | Registered: Sep 2007  |  IP: Logged
Uncle Pete

Loyaute me lie
# 10422

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My coats are just dumped on the nearest flat raised surface. I'll need it tomorrow, right?

I don't give a monkey's about whether the clothes face left or right. But the hook should be at the back of the rod.

Whether the toilet paper is against the wall or hanging over is irrelevant. It depends on what way I was holding it when I slipped it on the roll holder.

I don't worry about folding stuff. My housekeeper will redo anything I do when she's tidying up.

I guess I am not obsessive about some things, especially housekeeping. My housekeeper is, and that means every time she comes, I have a tidy house. Sort of like a broken clock being right twice a day.

I like my current housekeeper - she's been around for 10 years, and I always make sure the coffee is on, and she gets treats at Christmas and her birthday. And half pay when I am away from home.

Oops, sorry about the tangent.

[ 20. November 2012, 12:49: Message edited by: PeteC ]

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Even more so than I was before

Posts: 20466 | From: No longer where I was | Registered: Sep 2005  |  IP: Logged
HCH
Shipmate
# 14313

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Another one that comes to mind has to do with pairs of socks: fold matching socks together in pairs, or roll them into balls? (I myself avoid the latter, as one ends up with baggy spots in the side of the sock.)
Posts: 1540 | From: Illinois, USA | Registered: Nov 2008  |  IP: Logged
Og, King of Bashan

Ship's giant Amorite
# 9562

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quote:
Originally posted by Nenya:
If I'm in someone else's bathroom and the spares aren't on show I always make sure I know where they are before I commit. Or that I have sufficient tissues on me.

The Queen of Bashan initially objected to my belief that every bathroom needs its own plunger, but didn't say anything when I went out and bought plungers for each bathroom anyway. Same issue- when you are a guest, you should never have to ask where the plunger is.

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"I like to eat crawfish and drink beer. That's despair?" ― Walker Percy

Posts: 3259 | From: Denver, Colorado, USA | Registered: May 2005  |  IP: Logged
verticordian
Apprentice
# 17428

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I get the impression that you are all far more disciplined people than myself. I let the toilet roll run completely out, my herbs and spices are all over the kitchen and my socks are rarely paired up at all and are lucky to even make it neatly to a drawer.
Posts: 8 | From: Canterbury | Registered: Nov 2012  |  IP: Logged
HCH
Shipmate
# 14313

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An irrelevant comment on plungers: you can buy plungers with handles of various lengths. I recommend a plunger's handle should be at least two feet long. A plunger with a short handle is an example of "too up-close-and-personal".
Posts: 1540 | From: Illinois, USA | Registered: Nov 2008  |  IP: Logged



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