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

[jpcher]

Sort of an etiquette question along the lines of all you can eat for certain items.

My family just LOVES steamed crabs but it's a rare treat for us since they're rather pricey and there's 4 of us who can open them (5 when my friend was along with us).  Often these places have rules against sharing with those who have not ordered the AYCE crab feast. Which is understandable.   Last time we did this we went to Waterman's in Ocean City, MD and they have a kid's crab feast that's less expensive with about two crabs and a lot of sides so if they don't eat it all, no big deal.  Plus at the time I was pregnant with the babe so this didn't come up. 

But if we were to take the babe out for AYCE crabs, would a restaurant count us feeding him bits of crab meat as sharing? By the time we're able to do the AYCE at a restaurant, he'll probably be about 2 1/2 but won't have the dexterity to open a steamed crab himself.   So it's not like even ordering the children's crab meal would make sense.  And even if we could open it for him, I doubt he'd even eat a whole crab's worth of the meat, let alone the two that come with the children's meal.

I think it would be better to just ask each restaurant as it comes up. You could call ahead if you're really concerned or just ask before you order. It seems like something that would really depend on the restaurant and how strictly they interpret the policy. Technically you'd be sharing, which is against the rules, but I suspect most restaurants would consider getting several adult orders of a pricey seafood worth letting you share a very small amount with your toddler. Also, asking and being willing to accept "no" as an answer makes it clear that you're not just trying to cheat the restaurant on the all-you-can-eat deal, so they might be more willing to let you do it than if they caught you sharing with the kid without asking.

I'm puzzled, though: If the toddler is eating crab, why does it matter in terms of the meal purchasing whether or not he can open it himself? Don't parents have to assist their toddlers in eating a lot of foods? Or are you saying that having someone else open the kid's crabs would make it look like there was unapproved sharing going on?

Yes. Please ask the restaurants.

When the DDs were little we would frequent a certain restaurant quite often. I usually got the salad bar (AYCE -- no sharing allowed.) I did ask them if I could give the DDs a couple slices of cucumber or carrot sticks or even a spoonful of cottage cheese. They had no problem with this at all.

At another place, the waiter looked at me like I was trying to get away with something awful. The response was a stern "No sharing means no sharing."

Yet another place told me that there would be a slight charge ($2.00?) and brought me small saucer-type plates so that I could make the DDs their own mini-salad.

Different establishments handle things differently. It is best to ask.

[Diane AKA Traska]

I want crabs so bad now.

[Piratelvr1121]

You and me both, Traska.  I haven't had them in oh, about 17 months?  Yep, that's right, as we had them on Labor Day of 2011 and the babe was born in early November of that year.   

I will ask though when we go again, to be on the safe side.  Since we're going from Mother's Day to the following Thursday it will be in early May and I think that's when the season starts so I don't know how the crabs will be at that time of the year.  Plus DH won't be with us so he'll miss out.  Course Evil pirate figures it would be just rewards for the times he's had steamed crabs without me when his former job would treat them during conferences.

[Diane AKA Traska]

Because of finances (and broken pinky), I had to postpone my birthday dinner for a month or so... I think I'll make crabs.

Yes, I make my own birthday dinner.  But it's more of a "have something I never get to have" thing, because M can't cook. 

Of course, there's always seafood houses...

[jpcher]

New stupid question . . . RE: Internet signals.

I have a lap-top and my favorite place to use the internet is on my enclosed porch. The router/modem/whatever is in my basement.

I would say that 95% of the time my lap-top internet usage is zooomin. Works like a charm.

Then there are the times when I'm in my usual place, and internet access is so very slow, even though it still shows 3-4 bars on the internet icon. (It can take up to 5 minutes to call up an internet site.)

If I bring my laptop inside (maybe a difference of 7 feet) I can sign onto whatever site, then bring my laptop back outside and internet is, again, zooming. I can browse different sites with great speed.


Stupid question . . . why does this happen?

[Dindrane]

jpcher, I'm not sure why that happens (although I notice that sometimes my internet will just randomly struggle to open specific sites and then be fine if I refresh the page). One thing I do know, though, is that the little bars symbol generally refers to your connection with the wireless router. If your connection to the router is good, your internet will be faster than if your connection to the router is weak, but the speed of the internet itself would not be affected by that.

[Elfmama]

Is your wireless network properly secure?  Or could your neighbors be helping themselves to your bandwidth?

[hobish]

This is my stupid question and i wouldn't be able to ask this anywhere else. I work with a black guy in his mid 20's or who has a widow's peak kind of thing going on with his hair. In between the hair on the side of his head and the hair on his forehead is skin that is black - not African American black, not caramel, not brown, just black. It isn't a birthmark, the line is too straight. What is that?

[Dazi]

This is my stupid question and i wouldn't be able to ask this anywhere else. I work with a black guy in his mid 20's or who has a widow's peak kind of thing going on with his hair. In between the hair on the side of his head and the hair on his forehead is skin that is black - not African American black, not caramel, not brown, just black. It isn't a birthmark, the line is too straight. What is that?

As a girl....my first thoughts are...

Hair dye line? or little messy with using Grecian Formula?

[Anniissa]

Just a word to say that some lowcost airlines only let you have one carry-on, no purse/backpack if you already have something else. It's always a good idea to check the airline site for this kind of info.

And some airports have the same restrictions, regardless of the airline. Heathrow was still one item only, with no exceptions, at Christmas time. So you need to check both ends.

It may just have been a Christmas thing to shorten queues but usually there is no longer a specific restriction at Heathrow to limit you to one item but it is dependent on which airline. British Airways have certainly been allowing more than one item for at least the last year as I have flown multiple times with more than one bag without any issues. It may also differ within the same airline as I know BA have different allowances for different cabins/exec club membership etc. Still as you never know when things might change, it's probably worth being prepared to limit yourself to putting everything in one carry on.

[Thipu1]

It's good to know about the carry-on restrictions.  We each have a roll-aboard for the overhead bins or to be gate checked if necessary.  Mr. Thipu usually has a camera bag and I use a tote bag as my purse.  If we're limited to the roll-aboard bags, there'll be a problem with carrying reading matter. 

[WillyNilly]

This is my stupid question and i wouldn't be able to ask this anywhere else. I work with a black guy in his mid 20's or who has a widow's peak kind of thing going on with his hair. In between the hair on the side of his head and the hair on his forehead is skin that is black - not African American black, not caramel, not brown, just black. It isn't a birthmark, the line is too straight. What is that?

Scalp tattoo?  Maybe he used to shave his head, got it tattooed, and now that he grows hair you can only see part of it?

[jpcher]

Is your wireless network properly secure?  Or could your neighbors be helping themselves to your bandwidth?

I certainly hope it's secured. I do have it passworded.

If the problem was with the bandwidth, wouldn't it be the same slowness no matter where I had the laptop?

This is my stupid question and i wouldn't be able to ask this anywhere else. I work with a black guy in his mid 20's or who has a widow's peak kind of thing going on with his hair. In between the hair on the side of his head and the hair on his forehead is skin that is black - not African American black, not caramel, not brown, just black. It isn't a birthmark, the line is too straight. What is that?

As a girl....my first thoughts are...

Hair dye line? or little messy with using Grecian Formula?

This was my first thought, too.

[Slartibartfast]

Is your wireless network properly secure?  Or could your neighbors be helping themselves to your bandwidth?

I certainly hope it's secured. I do have it passworded.

If the problem was with the bandwidth, wouldn't it be the same slowness no matter where I had the laptop?

I have had the same problem and I know for sure there's no neighbor issues - sometimes moving the iPad two feet to the left makes all the difference and I don't know why.

[kherbert05]

You and me both, Traska.  I haven't had them in oh, about 17 months?  Yep, that's right, as we had them on Labor Day of 2011 and the babe was born in early November of that year.   

I will ask though when we go again, to be on the safe side.  Since we're going from Mother's Day to the following Thursday it will be in early May and I think that's when the season starts so I don't know how the crabs will be at that time of the year.  Plus DH won't be with us so he'll miss out.  Course Evil pirate figures it would be just rewards for the times he's had steamed crabs without me when his former job would treat them during conferences.

You might ask if you can get a "set up" for the toddler for a nominal fee. When we were little Mom and Dad would order their food and a "set up" for us - basically an empty plate and we would get some of their food. A little older they would order us 1 adult plate and a set up and split the food between us. That didn't work very long - because sis is more adventurous food wise than I am. (She ordered 1/2 dozen oysters on the half shell don't forget the horseradish at age 3 or 4 and ended up with a circle of adults from other tables watching her down them.)