The Front Porch

[wxmediafan]

Good luck with your classes, Christina!

I start August 22nd, but I head up to school in six days, and I am excited.  I will transferring as a junior, so it's a whole new experience for me, and I cannot wait.

Also, for you college students who have to buy books; ever heard of renting from chegg.com?  You can also sell books back.  I saved $115.00 on three books, and sold one back for a good chunk of dough.  I HIGHLY recommend it!  Shipping is paid for by chegg. 

[Anistorm]

I just bought my books today for my final semester. ^_^ I'm so excited... I start on Monday. So basically all summer long I've been in school, but it was totally woooooorth it.

If I haven't done it, I wouldn't be graduating in the Fall.

[toxictwister00]

Well it's about time! Proposed NOAA Website design
http://www.weather.gov/redesign/

You can submit comments as well on the website redesign.

[TWCToday]

Well it's about time! Proposed NOAA Website design
http://www.weather.gov/redesign/

You can submit comments as well on the website redesign.

Good, looks like they arent going with an interactive map for warnings. Now if they could just do something about the model page redesign. ITS HORRIBLE! Sometimes simple is good.

Old Page
http://www.nco.ncep.noaa.gov/pmb/nwprod/analysis/
New Page
http://mag.ncep.noaa.gov/NCOMAGWEB/appcontroller

[Mike M]

Good, looks like they arent going with an interactive map for warnings.

I was hoping not, I was never a fan of interactive maps.

[Jonathan]

Ha-ha, nice. Ana, that's the strikethrough Tyler seems to dislike.

I'm feeling a bit better now. After seeing my class schedule, having some therapy, and just spending more time outside despite this awful heat, I don't feel as stressed at the moment. However, here's something I would like to know: Do any of you wake up in the morning with nausea? I have some degree of nausea every morning, but it was really bad today. I have to skip breakfast often because just the sight and smell of food only make it worse. Any of you guys feel like this, too? I may have to see a doctor about this if it persists.

It's rare that I wake up with such a feeling (and rarely do I eat breakfast), but I know what it feels like. Every Sunday evening, I have dinner with some of my family at my grandparents' house. Even if I haven't eaten a bite since just after church (and thus should be hungry, knowing the bottomless pit of hunger I can be), just seeing or smelling the food makes me feel a bit sick. It's a weird feeling, and I've always wondered the same thing.

[Lightning]

From this point forward, anyone doing a political attack on another person will result in a warning or further consequences.  There have been several members who feel so strongly divided about their beliefs that it has caused a wide split at times in threads.  I think it's too much, especially since we all came together here to share in the same interests.  We're all friends here, so let's treat each other respectfully.  Thanks.

What happened?

[phw115wvwx]

What happened?

It's a long story, and I really don't want to repeat it.  Just please observe this new rule so we can prevent some arguments and fights around here on controversial topics.

[TWCToday]

What happened?

It's a long story, and I really don't want to repeat it.  Just please observe this new rule so we can prevent some arguments and fights around here on controversial topics.

I wouldn't say its a new rule really. Personal attacks are not allowed and we will be making sure that the rule is enforced.

[phw115wvwx]

I wouldn't say its a new rule really. Personal attacks are not allowed and we will be making sure that the rule is enforced.

Well, no one really knows what the rules are lately as the mod for them hasn't been installed yet.   I always put something out there even if it's not new to reemphasize and clarify things when it becomes an issue, but that's just my own way.

[Eric]

I wouldn't say its a new rule really. Personal attacks are not allowed and we will be making sure that the rule is enforced.

Well, no one really knows what the rules are lately as the mod for them hasn't been installed yet.   I always put something out there even if it's not new to reemphasize and clarify things when it becomes an issue, but that's just my own way.

At least there's some civility (or the expectation of it) somewhere in this world!  Years of working retail have taught me that manners just don't exist in this world anymore.  I've had some downright MISERABLE customers, many of whom are miserable just for the sake of being miserable, and especially because they know we sales associates just can't do a darn thing about it but stand there and take their abuse.  And some of that abuse gets ugly, let me tell you - to the point of having to go to court, even, to get it stopped.  And I've even seen with my own eyes how parents teach their kids how to be as rude to us as possible.  Now that's sad - teaching a child how to treat certain people much worse than they'd treat other people.  And why?  All because we work in a store?  Is that what "the customer is always right" means?  It's disgusting, but, sadly, there's not much I can do about it.  But the point of what I'm saying is that this happens not only in stores, but all throughout society, too.  People don't hold doors anymore, excuse themselves after burping or making other unfortunate biological noises, don't say "please" and "thank you," just bump past you on the sidewalk... the list can go on and on.  Do things REALLY have to be like this?  Really?  Why has society let itself get so rude, so lazy with manners, and, most importantly, so inconsiderate when it comes to other people?  At least my parents and my grandparents brought me up right.  I couldn't behave that way in public if my life depended on it.

 

[phw115wvwx]

Eric, nothing is off topic on the Porch or the Stove, so you have nothing to fear here.   Furthermore, I completely agree with you.  It's amazing what a little kindness will do for you in our current society.  If all of us were in other countries like Japan, none of these manners would be tolerated at all, and their rules of etiquette are even more strict than ours.

[Eric]

Eric, nothing is off topic on the Porch or the Stove, so you have nothing to fear here.   Furthermore, I completely agree with you.  It's amazing what a little kindness will do for you in our current society.  If all of us were in other countries like Japan, none of these manners would be tolerated at all, and their rules of etiquette are even more strict than ours.

Just yesterday I had a customer from France who was probably the nicest customer I've had in a long, long time.  It really does take just one nice customer to make up for many bad customers, and, after such a positive experience, I was literally elated for the rest of the evening.  In general, foreign customers tend to be enormously more polite than the average American customer.

[Mr. Rainman]

The closed-minded American won't admit it, but we are probably one of the more rude countries out there. Sure, we think that since we're the United States, that we're the greatest country in the world (and face it, statistically, we're not), that our attitude and our way of living is the best out there. For those of you who have the opportunity to travel, please do. For those of you who do, keep doing it. You'll realize how hospitable and pleasant foreigners are, and if you get them talking, how much they'll sometimes laugh at the smugness of the United States. I'm heading to Australia next semester for a few months, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have the same attitude towards the U.S. that some European folks have.

[Eric]

It's true.  I hope we won't get into trouble for saying this, but it really is true.  I won't go further, because then I KNOW I'll get into trouble, but...  I'll just close by saying that it's really not so hard to be polite to someone.  In fact, I think a person actually has to go out of his way to be rude, so I really can't understand why that's the way the overwhelming number of people I come into contact with each day are.

An extreme example: I once had a customer come dangerously close to threatening to cause me physical harm because the register rang an item at about 30¢ more than it should have been.  I don't control what the registers do, I don't control the prices, it's an easy fix (and for 30¢ we don't even have to call a manager to fix it for us), but this guy thought I personally was trying to rob him of 30¢ and he didn't waste any time in expressing his opinions about that.  Now, really... is that how he thinks it's appropriate to behave in public?  Really...