Random Questions Mega Thread v1.1

[Wormius]

So after drop off fat school this morning I was following behind another parent and they absolutely never signal. Wonder if I should mention it or just let it be? I was considering leading with a comment like, “Hey, I think you might have something going on with your signal lights” to not sound good too accusatory or confrontational about it, but maybe that’s still too on the nose?

[Makarov]

So after drop off fat school this morning I was following behind another parent and they absolutely never signal. Wonder if I should mention it or just let it be? I was considering leading with a comment like, “Hey, I think you might have something going on with your signal lights” to not sound good too accusatory or confrontational about it, but maybe that’s still too on the nose?

I think you should just leave it alone. They have to send their chubby kid (probably covered in sticky maple syrup) to fat school. They already have a lot on their plate.

[timun]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

Anyone have any suggestions for reasonable parking downtown for the lunch hour? My go-to was always Eau Claire's lunch hour deal, but that's gone now obviously. Most of the deals I've seen advertised are early bird special "in-by-8am" type stuff, whereas I want like 11:45 to 1:15 or something.

Where exactly are you going?

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by timun

Where exactly are you going?

I go downtown to meet people for lunch approximately 2x per month, so the specific locations vary a bit depending on the restaurant. General CBD locations - say 9th Ave to the River and Centre Street to 8th Street SW or something like that.

Historically I parked at Eau Claire and walked wherever I was meeting from there, because:
1) It was cheap, and I like saving money
2) For a guy who works from home in a desk chair and is driving downtown for eating/socializing purposes, a few extra steps is probably a good idea.

I'd love a new easy go-to spot that I don't have to think about. Yesterday I booked a spot in an Impark in Chinatown on Spot Hero for 2.5 hours for $8, which met the price criteria although I don't prefer to pre-book (inconvenient if it ends up being full and I have to find somewhere else plus call for a refund).

The ideal for me would be centrally located downtown, cheap, and always immediately available. Obviously nothing is going to be perfect on all of those...

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by Makarov

I think you should just leave it alone. They have to send their chubby kid (probably covered in sticky maple syrup) to fat school. They already have a lot on their plate.

<chef's kiss>

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Wormius

So after drop off fat school this morning I was following behind another parent and they absolutely never signal. Wonder if I should mention it or just let it be? I was considering leading with a comment like, “Hey, I think you might have something going on with your signal lights” to not sound good too accusatory or confrontational about it, but maybe that’s still too on the nose?

You already know which direction I'm going. We do this every day.

[timun]

Originally Posted by bizaro86

I go downtown to meet people for lunch approximately 2x per month, so the specific locations vary a bit depending on the restaurant. General CBD locations - say 9th Ave to the River and Centre Street to 8th Street SW or something like that.

Historically I parked at Eau Claire and walked wherever I was meeting from there, because:
1) It was cheap, and I like saving money
2) For a guy who works from home in a desk chair and is driving downtown for eating/socializing purposes, a few extra steps is probably a good idea.

I'd love a new easy go-to spot that I don't have to think about. Yesterday I booked a spot in an Impark in Chinatown on Spot Hero for 2.5 hours for $8, which met the price criteria although I don't prefer to pre-book (inconvenient if it ends up being full and I have to find somewhere else plus call for a refund).

The ideal for me would be centrally located downtown, cheap, and always immediately available. Obviously nothing is going to be perfect on all of those...

Fair enough. "Downtown" is just too broad to make any particular recommendations.

In your case of just occasionally popping down for lunch, as others have said, I'd just park on the street. Generally it's $4.00-4.50/hr, whereas parking in most surface lots will be upwards of $5.00/hr, and in parkades can be upwards of $8.00/hr. If you're okay with the "go-to" part of this being flexible—which seems like the case, in that you don't really care how far you have to walk to get to your destination—street parking is the ultimate in "immediately available": just park wherever it's open and don't worry about it!

Just gotta be mindful of the signs. If you plan to stay past 3:30 pm most avenues south of 3rd have no parking from 3:30-6:00 for rush-hour; streets generally don't have such restrictions. If you're only there for lunch it's typically not an issue. Otherwise watch out you don't park in front of driveways, fire hydrants or in loading zones.

[fotze2]

Originally Posted by Makarov

I think you should just leave it alone. They have to send their chubby kid (probably covered in sticky maple syrup) to fat school. They already have a lot on their plate.

Exactly what I thought. Little Üter Wormius with chocolate on his face.

[Wormius]

Originally Posted by fotze2

Exactly what I thought. Little Üter Wormius with chocolate on his face.

You may call me “Augustus Gloop”.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Makarov

I think you should just leave it alone. They have to send their chubby kid (probably covered in sticky maple syrup) to fat school. They already have a lot on their plate.

"You gotta chase the car kid. Work it!"

[Minnie]

Random question for random question thread:

Do you consider yourself a vengeful person? Are you the type to mostly let things go but if pushed far enough/hard enough, are you the type to burn things to the ground? Just watching a situation unfold IRL and it got me thinking.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Random question for random question thread:

Do you consider yourself a vengeful person? Are you the type to mostly let things go but if pushed far enough/hard enough, are you the type to burn things to the ground? Just watching a situation unfold IRL and it got me thinking.

I'd kind of like to be, but it seems like more hassle than it's worth. Plus it often makes you look like a tit.

[Jacks]

Originally Posted by Dion

I was clearing out a closet and found a box way in the back that had a bottle of Crown Royal. Okay I said until looked closer and saw the ALCB date stamp of 1973. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is any extra to this 50 year old bottle whisky.

A buddy of mine inherited 2 bottles just like that when his dad died. He kept one sealed but brought one to a poker game. Tried it, tasted like Crown, pretty smooth. Liquor doesn't age in the bottle and doesn't go bad really unless it's exposed to air, heat or light I think.

[Lubicon]

Was there a thread to specifically discuss health care in Alberta (or Canada) or were we just rolling it in with the politics threads?

[Geraldsh]

Free health care is a political football so…yeah.

[photon]

How would one go about setting up a for fun betting pool? Say you had a family reunion with some competitive games, and you wanted to set up betting so people could bet on outcomes.

Where I get stuck is don't real betting places also take into account how many people will bet either side into their odds calculations to make sure they get enough money to cover all the payouts?

If I had something that was 50/50, and there was 10 people betting $10 on each side, the winners would get $20 each (their original $10 and the won $10). Because the bets were equal it pays for itself.

But what if everyone bet one side? The payout should be $20 each but there's only enough money in the pot for $10 each.

The only way I could think to set it up to account for this is not having any odds at all. Then everyone who wins gets their stake back and the stakes of the losers gets divided evenly among the winners. I mean there'll be intuitive odds (that team has Cheryl, they'll obviously lose), but it seems like it wouldn't be much fun.

Am I missing something?

[Fuzz]

Ya, without the risk of "being the house" I don't think you can do what you want. Your last option seems like the easiest/fairest at that scale.


It can also be strategic, because if you think most people will bet on Uncle Buck running naked at some point, you can bet counter to that. The odds of UB not running naked are low, but if he gets drunk and passes out rapidly, you win bigger. Which then provides the fun of a second game under the surface, bending the odds. Make sure UB always has a strong drink on the go.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by photon

How would one go about setting up a for fun betting pool? Say you had a family reunion with some competitive games, and you wanted to set up betting so people could bet on outcomes.

Where I get stuck is don't real betting places also take into account how many people will bet either side into their odds calculations to make sure they get enough money to cover all the payouts?

If I had something that was 50/50, and there was 10 people betting $10 on each side, the winners would get $20 each (their original $10 and the won $10). Because the bets were equal it pays for itself.

But what if everyone bet one side? The payout should be $20 each but there's only enough money in the pot for $10 each.

The only way I could think to set it up to account for this is not having any odds at all. Then everyone who wins gets their stake back and the stakes of the losers gets divided evenly among the winners. I mean there'll be intuitive odds (that team has Cheryl, they'll obviously lose), but it seems like it wouldn't be much fun.

Am I missing something?

You are forgetting the vig.