The "This Might Be A Stupid Question, But...." Thread

[Mental Magpie]

Here's an odd one:

What's with the mustaches lately?  Not actual facial hair, I mean the sudden rise in apparent popularity of wearing shirts with a mustache logo, mustache wall prints, mustache temp tattoos for your fingers (to hold over your upper lip), mustache key rings...

Now I haven't actually see anyone wearing or carrying these things, but I see them in stores all over the place.  Did I miss the hipster memo on this?

I saw the rise in this 3-4 hears ago when I worked at Hot Topic.  The junior high and senior high school kids were all doing it, and none of them could explain it to me further than, "Mustaches are cool!"  I wish I knew...

[wheeitsme]

Is it customary to tip housekeeping in U.S. hotels?

I'm getting all sorts of mixed messages. I was raised to tip, and I feel uncomfortable NOT tipping, but it seems that I'm a rarity among my friends and collegues.

I usually tip at least a dollar a day.

I once helped out in a hotel housekeeping department for 3 weeks.  I would not wish that job on anyone.  Some rooms were fairly easy, and some rooms were simply horrible. You had to work very fast to get all your rooms finished, and your reward for that was more rooms to clean. Tips were random. Some of the worst rooms never tipped. Pay at most hotels is minimum wage. 

For me, that $1 per day is my way of saying that I value the housekeeper's hard work, even if they didn't have to do much in my room.  YMMV.



(I still have no idea what was in that full tub full of weirdly green water left by the checked out guest  - I'm hoping some sort of bathing supplement)

[wheeitsme]

Did I miss the hipster memo on this?

By the time there was a memo, it was out of hipster fashion. 

[camlan]

Is it customary to tip housekeeping in U.S. hotels?

I'm getting all sorts of mixed messages. I was raised to tip, and I feel uncomfortable NOT tipping, but it seems that I'm a rarity among my friends and collegues.

I always tip, usually a dollar a day if all the person has had to do was regular cleaning and making the bed/bringing fresh towels.

While I am always finding out, usually here, places and people where I should be tipping and haven't been, I always thought tipping in hotels/motels was pretty standard. In my 1950 edition of Emily Post, she gives a long list of staff in hotels who should be tipped, including the elevator operator. She recommends 25 cents a day for the chambermaid. So tipping in hotels is not a new idea.

I guess I'm a bit startled that tipping in hotels isn't customary everywhere, since tipping is so expected in so many places these days.

[lilfox]

Did I miss the hipster memo on this?

By the time there was a memo, it was out of hipster fashion. 

D'oh!  I knew I should have written hipster meme!     Or tweet.  The kids still tweet these days, right?

[Iris]

Did I miss the hipster memo on this?

By the time there was a memo, it was out of hipster fashion. 

D'oh!  I knew I should have written hipster meme!     Or tweet.  The kids still tweet these days, right?

Tweet? That's too literate, they're all over on flickr last I heard. Probably moved on twice since then... (thank God, now I can be middle aged in peace )

[wheeitsme]

Did I miss the hipster memo on this?

By the time there was a memo, it was out of hipster fashion. 

D'oh!  I knew I should have written hipster meme!     Or tweet.  The kids still tweet these days, right?

Tweet? That's too literate, they're all over on flickr last I heard. Probably moved on twice since then... (thank God, now I can be middle aged in peace )

Last I heard it was Tumblr, but since folks know about it now, who knows...

[lady_disdain]

Pinterest, perhaps.

[Ereine]

It was Instagram a few months ago, I think. There may be some deeper meaning behind the moustaches (there are also different hipstery moustache and beard growing related events and at least here young hipster men often have both and maybe the girls want to take part too) but it may be that they're just cool and part of a collection of random things that are suddenly everywhere, like owls, deer, mushrooms and Russian nesting dolls.

[Slartibartfast]

Did I miss the hipster memo on this?

By the time there was a memo, it was out of hipster fashion. 

D'oh!  I knew I should have written hipster meme!     Or tweet.  The kids still tweet these days, right?

Tweet? That's too literate, they're all over on flickr last I heard. Probably moved on twice since then... (thank God, now I can be middle aged in peace )

Last I heard it was Tumblr, but since folks know about it now, who knows...

Was gonna say, the hipsters are all on this new site - you've probably never heard of it.

[Diane AKA Traska]

I have an officially stupid question.

I am considering using flavored liquid coffee creamers (like say, French Vanilla) to perk up iced coffee.  What would be the "proper" amount of creamer to put in for a 24 ounce travel cup?

[AustenFan]

Whatever tastes good to you. 

I find liquid creamer to be very sweet, so cut out the sugar when I use it.

[Seraphia]

It was Instagram a few months ago, I think. There may be some deeper meaning behind the moustaches (there are also different hipstery moustache and beard growing related events and at least here young hipster men often have both and maybe the girls want to take part too) but it may be that they're just cool and part of a collection of random things that are suddenly everywhere, like owls, deer, mushrooms and Russian nesting dolls.

Owls I've seen, but nesting dolls? Must be losing my (non-existent) edge.

[Gwywnnydd]

But, happy ending, I called the local plumber at 7:30am that morning and it was fixed a little after 8:00 am (I love small towns).  The problem was, as Virg and someone else mentioned, a leak.  The rubber seal at the bottom of the tank had warped a little, which they are apt to do after a long time.

They can also be degraded by contact with bleach. Something to think about if you are one who uses the 'in-tank' bleach-based cleaners...

[Onyx_TKD]

Stupid and rhetorical question: Why do women's clothing sizes have to be so confusing?!

Stupid non-rhetorical question, short form: Why do the manufacturer's measurements for my perfectly fitting dress indicate there is no way in heck it would fit me? What am I missing about the bust-waist-hip measurements system?

Long form:
I am looking on eBay for a cheap dress to as a base for a Halloween costume (a Dalek), but I'm having a hard time judging whether the dresses are likely to fit. Then I had a flash of inspiration: I have a dress bought in the last year or so that fits me perfectly and is from a well-known brand--I can look at the manufacturer's size chart and get a firmer idea of how those measurements translate to the real-life fit. When I actually checked the size chart, the bust measurement is slightly larger than what I measure and the hip measurement is a little small but not really relevant because the skirt flares starting above the hip. But the waist measurement is several inches smaller than the narrowest part of my torso (which is not my actual waist).  Unless my dress is a TARDIS, how is this possible? Anyone more experienced in buying dresses have any helpful guidance about the weird world of women's clothing sizes and how to guess from the measurements if a dress will fit?