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

[Luci45]

In big city and small town I've lived in, we just go to the Dead Letter offce at the post office and grab some Santa letters and give to the needy we sort out if there is enough information.

Now with so many USPS offices closing and automatically sending all mail to central station, I don't know of that will work.

(Outgoing mail is just bagged, sent 2 hours away, sorted, and local mail sent back to our post office. So when I send my card or invitation to my next door neightbor, it takes a 4 hour trip and has a good time scializing with the other mail. Then the mail carrier accidentally puts the item in our box, so we end up walking it next door anyway!  )

[lollylegs]

Is there any etiquette regarding disposing of flags?

We've got a small Australian flag on our back door and I just noticed that it's starting to rip so I pulled it down, but (this is the 'stupid question' part) it seems disrespectful to just chuck it in the bin. But what else would you do?

[mandycorn]

Is there any etiquette regarding disposing of flags?

We've got a small Australian flag on our back door and I just noticed that it's starting to rip so I pulled it down, but (this is the 'stupid question' part) it seems disrespectful to just chuck it in the bin. But what else would you do?

I know in the United States the flag code details how to dispose of a flag properly and it's more than most people want to take on themselves (I think it involves burning it in a "dignified" way), so some of the veterans associations and scout groups will collect them and do away with several at once. You might check with local associations like that and see if they have any suggestions for you.

[lollylegs]

Is there any etiquette regarding disposing of flags?

We've got a small Australian flag on our back door and I just noticed that it's starting to rip so I pulled it down, but (this is the 'stupid question' part) it seems disrespectful to just chuck it in the bin. But what else would you do?

I know in the United States the flag code details how to dispose of a flag properly and it's more than most people want to take on themselves (I think it involves burning it in a "dignified" way), so some of the veterans associations and scout groups will collect them and do away with several at once. You might check with local associations like that and see if they have any suggestions for you.

Great suggestion, thanks!

[sevenday]

Re: the questions earlier about gift cards and magnets.  It's a Michael's gift card.  I don't know if those are the scratch off kind or the magnetic, I think magnetic.  What about using a small manila envelope, putting them on opposite corners...?  It'd still be cheaper than mailing separately. I don't know. At this rate I'm thinking it might be better to just throw a $20 in there ><

[ladyknight1]

Is there any etiquette regarding disposing of flags?

We've got a small Australian flag on our back door and I just noticed that it's starting to rip so I pulled it down, but (this is the 'stupid question' part) it seems disrespectful to just chuck it in the bin. But what else would you do?

I know in the United States the flag code details how to dispose of a flag properly and it's more than most people want to take on themselves (I think it involves burning it in a "dignified" way), so some of the veterans associations and scout groups will collect them and do away with several at once. You might check with local associations like that and see if they have any suggestions for you.

Great suggestion, thanks!

Just checked with my Eagle Scout and military veteran DH. We would dispose of it in a flag retirement ceremony (same as we do with the US flags), and then give you the brass grommets to keep or send to the Australian Embassy.

[Mental Magpie]

Eagle (BF) and I disagree about the correct answer to this.

If you thaw frozen chicken (purchased that way), can you put it in the fridge to use the next evening?

If it isn't clear, we purchased a bag of frozen chicken from Wal-Mart.  We defrosted some of the chicken whilst our new stove was being installed in anticipation of using it (and because we're hungry).  The installer then told us we had to wait until the stove reached room temperature.  Remember that part where we're hungry?  Now we don't want to wait, but we don't want to waste the chicken either.  One of us thinks that it is not OK to put the chicken in the fridge for tomorrow night, one of us thinks it will be absolutely fine for dinner tomorrow.  Someone make the decision for us?

[mmswm]

I would think that if it's been properly refrigerated as it's thawed, it would be fine to use tomorrow.

[ladyknight1]

I agree with mmswm. It will be perfectly safe.

[Dazi]

I would think that if it's been properly refrigerated as it's thawed, it would be fine to use tomorrow.

As long as it has not been sitting out at room temperature, it will be fine tomorrow or even the next day.  Fresh/not previously frozen usually has  a 3-7 day window of when to use or freeze by so previously frozen should have at least a 3 day window after it is thawed if properly refridgerated (IMO).  And ftr, I have some very high food handling safety personal guidelines (I've had ecoli poisoning and I NEVER EVER want a repeat of that experience.  I've also had a nasty bout of dysentery after a nightmare vacation, ecoli was still the worse of the two though).

[Dindrane]

If you thawed the chicken in the fridge, then it's fine for a few days at least. If you thawed the chicken by leaving it in cold water on the counter or some method that didn't involve continuous refrigeration, I wouldn't trust it at all unless you cooked it right away and then refrigerated it.

My DH managed to give himself campylobacter by eating improperly cooked chicken once. It was pretty miserable, and not an experience either of us would like to repeat.

[Elfmama]

Why do some cell phone calls sound like the caller is in the bottom of a barrel?  DH can call me on his cell and the sound is crystal-clear.  When DD#2 calls, there is so much reverb that I have to ask her to repeat the bits that I can't make a reasonable guess at.  She can hear me just fine.

DH and I have two older bottom-of-the-line Motorola flip-phones.  DD has a new top-of-the-line Android.  All of us are on Verizon.  So what gives?  Why does the "better" phone have the worst sound?

It might be her.
Myself, my DH, my best friend and her DH all have the exact same phone, and same carrier.  I can understand my DH and her DH just fine, and everyone can understand me and the husbands.  But my BFF?  Just like with every previous cell phone, sounds muffled and garbled and awful.  Its her - she just has a bad cell phone voice somehow.

I don't think it's DD -- she works as a police dispatcher/911.  She wouldn't have a job if it was something about her voice.

[Outdoor Girl]

Mental Magpie, it should be fine as long as it is thoroughly cooked, if it wasn't thawed in the refrigerator.  For future reference, though, it probably would have been safest to cook it last night once your oven equilabrated to room temperature and then refrigerated it to use tonight.

(I wouldn't have bothered cooking it - as far as I know, I've never had food poisoning and I'm not as careful as I should be, for sure.)

[Virg]

Elfmama wrote:

"I don't think it's DD -- she works as a police dispatcher/911.  She wouldn't have a job if it was something about her voice."

It wouldn't be the timbre of her voice that causes that, but it might be due to her particular anatomy.  Cell phones vary in sound quality due to a lot of factors, and shape/size/microphone positioning can be a big part of it.  In her job, she's likely wearing a headset so positioning isn't an issue due to the mic being on a boom.  But if her phone is shaped such that on her particular shape of head/face/cheek/hands, she blocks the mic or feedback sensors while holding it, it'll sound bad.  The test I usually suggest to see if it's positional is to have her put the phone on a stand or lay it on a table about four inches away from her face, directly in front of her, and speak normally.  See if it sounds different from when she's holding it to the side of her head.  Also, have her remove any covers or protectors, or try holding it in her other hand in case she's blocking the ports with her fingers.  Also, have her call you from a different cell phone (like from your DH's phone) and see if it's any different.

If the sound quality changes due to position, the only real fix is for her to change how she holds the phone, get a headset (a Bluetooth earbud can often fix this sort of problem) or switch to a different phone.  If positioning doesn't help, then a chat with her service provider is in order to discuss possible issues with sound quality, since one of the other issues phones can have is related to antenna positioning and broadcast strength.

Virg

[Elfmama]

Thanks, Virg!