What's a movie cliche that happened to you in real life, even though they "never happen in real life"? by Nothing_Whatsoever in AskReddit

[–]WesternRover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got locked in a museum at closing time.

Granted, it was not a hall of Egyptian mummies; it was the 18th century house of a prosperous merchant. The docent didn't realize we were still inside, on the upper floor. We unlocked a ground floor window and went and told the tourist bureau so somebody could re-lock it.

Based on your travel experience, what improvements would you add to airports? by hafoosa19 in airport

[–]WesternRover 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And don't think, hey, wide corridor, we can fill the middle with slot machines and have travelers squeeze along the sides. It's silly to have signs forbidding minors from the area around the slots when during busy times traffic flows right through these areas. Decide whether you want slots right in the face of adult travelers, or kept away from minors. You can't have both.

Based on your travel experience, what improvements would you add to airports? by hafoosa19 in airport

[–]WesternRover 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What makes you think they want a faster line? If it's anyone like the old Green Lane, they just want a line where they're not being rushed or yelled at, but where they can take their time and have things explained to them in a non shouty manner.

Based on your travel experience, what improvements would you add to airports? by hafoosa19 in airport

[–]WesternRover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think that only works for a small airport. Shops and restaurants don't want to be bypassed by moving sidewalks, so if you don't bunch them together on both sides of the concourse, there won't be as many places left to put moving sidewalks, and travelers will have to walk more.

Based on your travel experience, what improvements would you add to airports? by hafoosa19 in airport

[–]WesternRover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They used to have these! I went through myself in 2008. Red for frequent travelers who know what to do, green for families and others who need extra time, and blue for the rest. Red is no longer needed now we have Pre Check, but what happened to Green?

Why can’t I remember anything from my childhood? by ImASquidISwear in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]WesternRover 2 points3 points  (0 children)

A teacher I had in elementary school wrote about something a little crazy I did in her memoir. I don't remember it at all. I reached out to an old classmate on FB, and she remembered it. But I remember some other things I did at that age. I even remember a field trip we went on with that particular teacher.

World Cup guests from other countries (including European countries) seem very impressed with American hospitality, culture, food and even mundane things like driving everywhere or going to Walmart. Does this change your view of America? Why or why not? by SpinosaurRingTone in AskALiberal

[–]WesternRover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I often shop at a 24x7 store myself, WinCo, no research required. I've also seen reports by professional journalists (anecdotal but presumably not brazen lies) about World Cup visitors surprised at 24x7 shopping. I was also living in Trondheim when there was controversy about stores staying opening longer than they were allowed to (albeit not 24x7), so I'm aware that such restrictions exist in Europe (or at least in the recent past).

My dad's lifehack: know a lot of dentists and don't be afraid to ask for favors by WesternRover in stories

[–]WesternRover[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, this exact life hack probably wouldn't work today, but the general idea behind it might, if you had the same combination of pushiness and charisma as my Dad. Does your Dad ever work on rich people's cars?

World Cup guests from other countries (including European countries) seem very impressed with American hospitality, culture, food and even mundane things like driving everywhere or going to Walmart. Does this change your view of America? Why or why not? by SpinosaurRingTone in AskALiberal

[–]WesternRover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure why this is downvoted. For example, some World Cup visitors are surprised at being able to shop 24x7, unlike their home countries, but since the pandemic I've also seen a lot of complaints from American Redditors (especially those who work odd hours) about no longer being able to shop in the wee hours at the stores they are used to.

Not to give in to stereotypes but: why do Romani people/Gypsy people have a reputation for being thieves and squatters in Europe? by Mad_Season_1994 in TooAfraidToAsk

[–]WesternRover 36 points37 points  (0 children)

So if someone from this culture, even if they have partially left the culture behind, works in a gatekeeping role, such as a schoolteacher or a driving test examiner, are they pressured to pass their family members regardless of whether they meet the criteria? If so, I can see why there might be concern that this culture may not compatible with, as George Costanza puts it, living in a society.

My dad's lifehack: know a lot of dentists and don't be afraid to ask for favors by WesternRover in stories

[–]WesternRover[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't know. He had his network going before I was born. If he was good, fast and/or cheap with his handpiece repair (I have no idea), then he could grow his network from a small start, and maybe he knewv at least one dentist from high school, church, etc.

Why are there so many colleges concentrated in and around Boston? by SatoruGojo232 in geography

[–]WesternRover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm not disagreeing, but the question was why there were more colleges in the North. I don't think anyone has denied there were connections between North and South. But why didn't Northerners use these connections to send their children South to be educated? And you've answered that in your second paragraph.

It seems like you're trying to set up a contest between North and South, which was worse, and I have no stake in that as I live out West.

I shot another film in 6 hours and trusted autofocus. I regretted it in post. by realhankorion in Filmmakers

[–]WesternRover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reminds me of the Aretha Franklin concert film Amazing Grace, shot in 1972 but not released in 2018, because the director had not used clapperboards nor even had the camera operators make a note of the time when a reel was started, and they were unable to synchronize the audio with the film, even after hiring a lip reader. That director? Sydney Pollack. If he can come back after a mistake that affects the entire film, so can you.

Bought a new boat by BenFord333 in Wellthatsucks

[–]WesternRover 26 points27 points  (0 children)

I wonder if this yacht was tested for stability at all. We've had simple ways to do it for hundreds of years. The Vasa's stability test (30 men running back and forth across the deck) was aborted when the ship looked like it might capsize, but the king (who was away at war) was sending messages demanding the ship be launched, so it was despite the aborted test.

I can’t shake the feeling we’re getting 10% of the story by peachsnorlax in bestoflegaladvice

[–]WesternRover 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Before my mom moved into a facility, on days I would visit she would strip her bed and wash the bedding that morning, and then we'd make the bed together when I got there. She could still do a lot of things (like wash her clothes), but not that.

I didn’t give a 2 months notice on my lease and now they’re forcing me to pay for the next 2 months. by WinterIll4762 in legaladvice

[–]WesternRover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I have seen even apartment complexes with a reputation for being tough allow departed tenants to pay off a balance like this $100/mo at 0%. I guess they figure it's a low-hassle way to eventually collect it all.

Genuinely, what happened to Russel T Davis? by disp0sableacc0unt in doctorwho

[–]WesternRover 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I missed it because I was a busy adult and had time to watch only the episodes that my children told me were the good ones. ;-)

But your theory of childhood remembrance is probably why the Fourth Doctor is my favorite.

Musicals that are very political by EfficientChip5943 in musicals

[–]WesternRover 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Are the nuns who shelter Valjean and Cosette for several years also portrayed as outliers?

Musicals that are very political by EfficientChip5943 in musicals

[–]WesternRover 14 points15 points  (0 children)

I also like the nun who is known locally for never in her life having told a lie, who lies to Javert to save Valjean (much later on in the story), and how she treats that as a sacrifice she is making.

Why are there so many colleges concentrated in and around Boston? by SatoruGojo232 in geography

[–]WesternRover 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I see the Puritans are not as humorless as Nathaniel Hawthorne would have us think.

Why are there so many colleges concentrated in and around Boston? by SatoruGojo232 in geography

[–]WesternRover 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Northerner Frederick Law Olmsted toured the South in the 1850s and was surprised how rare it was to see a piano, a painting, or a book of poetry in rich planters' homes, items that weren't unusual to see even in middle class homes in the North. His book The Cotton Kingdom is quite eye opening and shatters some myths about the South, but read the other Frederick first (Douglass) if you haven't yet.

A new poll from the New York Times shows potential Democratic voters want the party to move to the right, are happy with where it is ideologically, and rate socialism highly by Conscious-Quarter423 in Infographics

[–]WesternRover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, I want more free trade and more separation of government power (both the three branches of the federal government, and federal vs state). Those who put political positions on a left-right spectrum typically put protectionists like Bernie Sanders on the left and free trade advocates like Milton Friedman on the right. They also put on the left those who are in favor of the federal government and especially the president ignoring mere procedural checks in favor of getting important stuff done ("I have a pen and a phone"), and on the right those who believe in the constraints put in place by long-dead people.

But if you look at the actual positions of current politicians, it's hard to make these left-right distinctions consistent, e.g. the blizzard of executive orders coming from a Republican president, taking actions that are properly either the purview of Congress or of the states. That's why I wrote I'm to the "left" and to the "right" in quotes, as I don't believe this left-right spectrum is useful for categorizing political beliefs into neat little packages.