I can't count the number of times I've had this conversation with my fiance. He'll say something dumb/offensive/aggressive online, and mean it to be completely harmless or sarcastic. He jokes all the time; he expects everyone to know this. He doesn't get that everyone interprets things differently (especially in a mostly textual medium like the internet) and that what he thinks is a joke could be taken seriously by a lot of people who will then turn their perception of his words into a perception of him, get pissed off, and think he's a complete asshole.

This guy clearly wasn't thinking when he put this in his profile. "If you have the balls to get in my face, I'll kick your ass into submission. " is the kind of statement I'd take seriously, especially if I didn't know the guy. Short of sticking several "lol"s and smilies on the end of that statement, it's really hard to NOT make it sound aggressive, and aggression can signal anger management issues. A lot of people take what you say online at face value because they lack other social cues with which to interpret it.

If you want something you post to be taken as 'not serious', then you better start putting flashing lights and signs around it, or make it so over-the-top in comparison to everything else you present on your profile that most sensible people have no choice but to recognize it as flippant. As much as we are predisposed to ignore the perceptions of those around us in favor of our own, other peoples' perceptions do differ from ours, and one way they differ is that they aren't inside our heads and can't read "I will kick your ass!" in the silly voice with which you intended it to be read. If you don't like it, don't put anything up that you don't want to be taken seriously.

I occasionally get skips in video (but not audio) when it's opening/buffering (so really, all it skips is the ad at the start). During actual streaming of the video I've rarely had a problem. Quality is good, audio is synced, and while I'm not thrilled by the in-browser screen size, it -does- fit perfectly on my netbook screen!

I'm satisfied with Hulu, although I doubt I'd pay for the service. If I get more than 5 episodes behind on any given show, I probably don't care enough about it to catch up, especially if it costs me $10 to do so.

That's great, but I doubt people "all over the world" are all awake and active at the computer when you are; that or you spend way too much time online. When I'm actually awake and at home (right now), my friend in NZ is not. Neither are my cousin in China or my sister in Colorado (she's in class). I can't use IM because nobody I actually want to talk to is online at the same times I am. Instead, I check Facebook for updates and use email for conversations. It's far more convenient, and it means that both my friends and I can actually go outside instead of waiting for someone to log into a messenger service.

The only DSL subscriber I know (just north of us) pings out of IRC 60 times a day; and that's probably an understatement. Service around here is ridiculous in terms of both speed and uptime. It's not practical, at least in my experience with it. We are lucky and Verizon's run FIOS out here; as much as I dislike Verizon's termination fees and customer service, Comcast is worse and DSL isn't worth looking at.

Clearly, as I was able to avoid people, trees, benches and cracks in the sidewalk, I was paying more attention than some!

I'll admit I wasn't looking straight ahead but rather down at the book, and using my peripheral vision to catch obstacles. I did also look up every so often to double-check my intended course. However, I had a good record of not running into anything or anyone, and that's better than a lot of the kids who would step into traffic with their headphones on. At least I wasn't dumb enough to cross the street without looking first!

And if you ever doubt it, try listening to something in another language (especially one you've just started learning).

Makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised if this is why so many new parents feel overwhelmed with the first kid, but breeze through the next one. Trying to make breakfast while the dog's whining at the door and Timmy's refusing to get out of his pj's isn't something you can practice, but once you can do it, it seems rather mundane. I'd like them to do a long-term study on multitasking now. Once learned, is a series of tasks that we do frequently (like paying the bills while talking on the phone, or checking the news and eating breakfast) something we will never forget, or must it be continued in order to maintain adequate multitasking? I've been very good at various multitasking sets in the past but have since discontinued them; if I tried to do them again would I be able to pick up where I left off, or can the brain only manage a certain number of sets?

I can read books and walk at the same time! Used to do it on campus; got pretty good at dodging people with headphones on who weren't looking where they were going!

And if TFA is right and the yellows ARE too short the lines aren't going to make one whit of difference. I've known lights where the lines are completely irrelevant because they are either too far back for traffic flow (ie, I could make the yellow clear, and be out the other side by the time it went red, from the line, at the speed limit), or too far forward (even if I was doing the limit, I'd never hit my brakes in time before it went red). I tend to ignore them, except when approaching unknown lights.

It wouldn't surprise me if either the chemicals in cigarettes or the sheer amount of oxygen denied to your bloodstream by your blackened, tar-filled lungs actually kill off or otherwise damage your neural connections.

Purplemath.com will get you a review of everything algebra through trig and simple log functions. It includes full lessons, descriptions, examples and practice work with explanations. It's free and you can take it at your own pace and/or review only what you need.

You have sugar in bread? ...fermented wheat flour...

Doesn't fermentation of carbohydrates end with sugars? As far as I knew, all bread needed some kind of sugary addition in order to feed the yeast and encourage proper rising. I add either sugar or honey to my bread when I make it at home; small amounts which provide enough for the yeast to break down without sweetening the dough. The bread does not taste sugary (in fact, it tastes better and less sweet than the store-bought wheat breads).

This. I was perfectly capable of dressing myself, getting breakfast and walking to the bus stop several blocks away (in a small community) at 10 years old, without parental supervision or nagging once they'd dragged me out of bed. I wasn't pushed into maturity or neglected; it was simply expected that once I had learned to dress myself and pick out an outfit I'd continue to do it for myself. If a kid at 13 couldn't be trusted to get cereal, get dressed and walk out the front door to the bus I'd suspect he was developmentally delayed.

Now, I wouldn't trust a kid that young with more than an hour to himself (assuming parents don't leave the house till slightly before 8, it's no big deal to make sure your kid's still snoring and that his alarm is set), and I'd most certainly call the school and warn them that he was coming in on his own, and that unless they were warned prior to the bus pickup he would be expected to get on that bus, arrive at school, etc. Making sure that both you and the school have set expectations for a kid that young is helpful, but there's no need to hover.

I celebrate and enjoy almost every sex act I've been a part of in regards to the physical experience. Sex is fun, and enjoyable. I do however regret a few occasions where the decision to have sex, no matter how fun it was, led to complications with the people involved. It's not the sex I regret, it's the choice of partner, place and time. Unfortunately, unless you're masturbating the choice of partner is always going to be part of the sexual experience. Instead of simply encouraging sex, we should take a two-prong approach: sex is fun, but the who, when and where are just as important as the what when you look back at past engagements. I bet that most women who regret having sex don't regret the act itself as much as the interactions surrounding it, which they have associated with the sex.

Tl;dr. Can we get a /. summary?