I shouldn't leave out that that just goes to show we're all different. Targeting a number doesn't mean much if the number isn't taylored specifically to you.

Goodness, you're unlucky on the calorie front. I'm 5'6", 165, though I do walk 2.5 miles every day (but I'm also female, which should ding me on the metabolism front). All those calculators try to put me at 1600 a day, sustaining -- but I was losing significant weight at 1800. My own figures have me thinking that 1900 - 2000 will actually be my break-even point (I'm aiming for 155; I was thinner that that once and people thought I was ill; lots of muscle on me).

I second (third, fourth, whatever we're on) this.

I grew up in farm country; I'm now in one of the densest parts of the US in a tiny little studio apartment.

I'm growing strawberries, blueberries, peppers, and cucumbers indoors to get a shot at that taste. I don't get much, but what I do get is precious as gold. I can stand by my strawberry in complete bliss eating a single fruit. Farmers markets fill the rest of my cravings.

I wasn't the only one who thought this. I feel less alone.

I initially read your last sentence as "I still flash the lights in case the other guy is going faster than the speed OF LIGHT."

Which present a whole other problem...

Thugthrasher, you nailed it, just replace "Sales" with "Communications" (subtle, subtle difference).

This is a setup that's becoming a bit more common; the web dev acts as a translator between IT and their embedded office while strictly supporting their embedded office. It works well, but it does result in some interesting issues for t'boss.

This this this.

And what's the deal with scenting cat litter? First it reeks of that fake "scent", then it reeks of cat pee + the fake scent. This is not an improvement over straight cat pee.

If Cambridge has the same problem (and I assume it does, just as old, just as outdated, and they're always digging up the streets), you DO smell it all the time, a whiff here and there.

You learn to ignore it. Not that that's a good thing, but calling in because you got a sniff of something that might be gas or might be the neighbor's garbage isn't going to go over well and is eventually going to get you labeled as a kook so when you DO sniff a real problem your number has already been blocked.

You may have won the genetic lottery there -- everyone's a little different. Also, you will see changes throughout your life, get ready for the roller-coaster now. It's all especially variable for a few years at the beginning and a few years at the end, but everything from pregnancy to stress to nutrition can result in changes right smack in the middle of your life, too.

As a young woman* I had severe depression with my cycle, but hormone treatments basically smooth out all those bumps. Irritable wasn't the word, ready to leap of bridges was more like it. I also suspect part of it's psycho-social, as you said, because depending on how bad it is, you can do things to affect it and make it better.

And the fellow's post above (below, wherever the hell it is) was interesting, too, in bringing up that it's quite difficult to be in touch enough with yourself to notice subtle changes in behavior that someone else might be able to see.

Good luck! I do hope you never develop the emotional affects, they're no fun!

*Holy crap, did I just write that? I'm only 30? I think I feel the depression coming back.

" similar as to how US kids today address adults as "Sir", etc. "

I must not see too many kids... there are really people out there using "Sir?" I'm genuinely curious, as I've never heard this happen except possibly in an ironic sense.

Speaking as someone who helped run donation sites for non-profits, the reason a lot of places don't take AmEx is because their fees (both transaction and monthly/yearly) are insanely high compared to the other cards. It's generally just a matter of doing the math.

At one place we actually took AmEx for a while, then reviewed it and realized that we weren't covering the fees with the gifts coming in through AmEx so we dropped it. If it were a more common card (or if the donors using it were giving a ton extra on average) and were paying for itself we would have probably kept it.

Coming in late to this conversation, but check out comments on news stories for places that require people to log in through Facebook to post. Our local paper did this, and the hope was that it would calm the conversation some. Heh, yeah, right. If anything it got worse.

Unfortunately that screws over the women who don't want, and don't have kids. We're still stuck with the lower wage and we don't get the tax perk.

And there are plenty of us.

I swear I'm going to put your last sentence in huge letter on my wall. This, this, a million times this!