college kids might want to try binge thinking for a change

1. With Oct. 20 being "Shampoo Day," I'm curious...: do you actually "rinse and repeat" or just rinse without repeating?
   I shampoo twice, every time. OK, maybe 95% of the time. Why? Because I like the way it feels.
2. The 2011 World Series kicked off with the St. Louis Cardinals beating the Texas Rangers. If you went a baseball game today, what would you buy from the concession stands?
   hot dog, a soft pretzel with spicy brown mustard, the most expensive beer they've got, and - in the home state only - a chocolate sundae in the little cup shaped like a batting helmet. I LOVE those little batting helmet cups!
3. October is National Squirrel Awareness Month. Do you find squirrels to be cute animals, annoying pests, or something in between?
   if you know me well, this won't surprise you: I've got a squirrel story. My former spouse was nearly killed...well, OK, just sort of maimed...when he swerved to avoid a squirrel while riding a bike (it was him riding the bike, not the squirrel). (Though, now's I think about it, I've never had that aspect of the story verified.) He went ass-over-tea kettle and landed on his $800 bike. And then he lay there, in pain, until an elderly couple came along and helped him up. The urgent care doctor said he sprained his back and one knee, and he had road rash all long one side. But, yes, the squirrel survived.
   Does this adequately answer the question?
4. Recently, some tigers, lions and bears were let loose in Zanesville, Ohio, by their owner before he committed suicide, leading to a hunt in which 49 of the animals, including 18 endangered Bengal tigers, were killed. How would you react if you saw "Caution exotic animals. Stay in your vehicle" being displayed on a road sign?
   I would not be surprised at all. I've driven through Hell and Climax and innumerable spots in between. I've driven with the flu, a sprained right ankle, and a sprained wrist (though, thank God, not at the same time). I've driven drunk off my ass. I've driven through swarms of moths. I've driven through pouring rain, a blizzard, fog with zero visibility, on ice-covered roads, and on a (frozen, obviously) lake. I've seen deer (thousands), cows, horses, sheep, pigs, turkeys, peacocks, fox, snakes, and a moose in the road. I've run over two mailboxes. (The home kind, not the regulation postal kind - and they were already in the road when I hit them.) (And yeah, I realize that that's absolutely no excuse.) I've hit a gallon of milk and a cement block. I've [been] hit [by] what was left of a deer after a semi hit it. So, really? A sign that advised to stay in a vehicle? No big deal.
   
   (Besides, I've driven [alone] though some of the sketchier parts of this state, and the one to the East that seems to be there only for driving through, and the parts of Michigan where there are LARGE signs reading prison area - do not pick up hitchhikers. The last thing I'd do is get out of the car while on the road if I didn't have to.)
5. Researchers from University College London have published the results of a study on Facebook's effect on the brain. They say the size of some parts of the brain correlate to how many friends people have on Facebook. How do you feel about the effect of today's social media on your brain?
   I am happier with fewer friends who I really know than I ever was with more friends who were there because I gave in to the desire to accumulate. I've recently parted with a couple more - it's hard but right when you know they're not truly friends. Besides, the size of the brain does not necessarily correlate either to intelligence or to happiness.
6. The authors of that study also said that the people studied with the biggest Facebook friends list tended to have the most "real world" friends. How does the amount of your "real world" friends compare to the friends you have solely over the Internet?
   Apart from some nostalgic FB friendships along the we-knew-each-other-in-high-school realm, my online friends are my real friends. Would I invite all of those people to my house, let them eat from my fridge, let them sleep on my couch? Not hardly. But I wouldn't do that for a decent chunk of my "real" friends, either. It's the fact that they don't know that that maintains the glossy sheen of friendship.
7. For her Fall 2012 clothing line, Vera Wang has created a bunch of black wedding dresses. What would you think if you went to a wedding and the bride surprised everyone by wearing a fully black dress?
   if I went to a wedding where the bride wore black, it would not be a "surprised everyone" sort of event. There are classy, appropriate ways to do it. Lots of women - probably the majority of women - would look better in a nice black dress or suit than they will in some overdone white (or white-shade) confection designed for someone half their age and size, anyway. And if someone really doesn't like it? Fuck 'em. I'm SO far beyond giving a shit about someone who would dare to have an attitude about what I wear to my own celebration, to which I've graciously invited them.
8. My fiance and I had to remove two dead mice from behind my couch this week. Talk about a disgusting stench. What has been the worst odor you remember smelling recently?
   the hallway near the copier at the money-earning place. No clue why the ventilation systems don't work, but the restroom odor is often beyond horrific.

[from The Cat, who got it here; the title quotation is by Jim Mullen]