Live Q&As

Yes and yes -- unless you have set your Facebook privacy on a setting equivalent to the US missile codes, then people who might know you (old classmates, etc) are likely seeing your name pop up as a person they might like to add.

And it's perfectly okay to request friendship from someone you haven't spoken to in awhile. If you're uncomfortable about it feeling too abrupt, you can always add on a brief note. Nothing too elaborate, just something like, "Nice to see you on here. I'd love to hear what you're up to. I'm living in Charlotte with my husband and working at a bank." (A phrasing that will work best if you are actually living in Charlotte and working at a bank).

What kind of books are you after? I'm frequently impressed by Google books' options. And lots of university libraries have a fairly wide selection of free books online. I'm linking to UPenn's here. I'm sure a lot of it is subject specific, but with 1 million free books, there's got to be something you're interested in, especially if you like reading classics.

Give us a little more specificity, though, and we'll see what we can do.

Marvelous! And now that you have explained what the Likert scale is, I feel even more assured of our advice, since, as you say, there is no need to fancy up a relatively simple term.

Porcupines. Obviously.

I love everything you've written here, really. Thanks for chiming in with your own experiences.

Who would have ever guessed that the subject of freezing pants would have a longer life than almost any other subject on this chat?

Now that we have heard from an official microbiologist, I hope we can all put this nonsense behind us and begin doing the proper thing of washing and drying our clothes, then putting them on while they're warm and snuggly, not frozen.

Ah, I see. I hope this works out for you, and I'm glad you managed to be your own solution.

Almost every single word in the dictionary has a unique and special purporse, and most synonyms are absolutely necessary. Silly is different than wacky is different than zany, etc.

However, utilize is never, ever a better selection. Not unless you are writing a poem and you need something to rhyme with "brutalize."

Right -- sorry, when I said "university libraries," I meant to say, "and public."

I had only heard that joke with "dead journalist." I'm glad to see that I belong to two classes of people that Mississippians would not brake for.

Wait, did we ever say it didn't exist? I am confused. As I am much of the time. But glad you are here!

Thanks. I believe -- though could be misremembering -- that Rifftrax was founded by half of the alums of Mystery Science Theater 3000. (There was a dispute over who owned the copyright, and the other half have gone on to do something else in the film-mocking industry).

Amanda used to write for the City Paper in DC. I never met her, but would email her sometimes just to congratulate my name-almost-double on a job well done. I also have another friend with the last name Hess who is a writer in the area -- and of course, there was the writer Hermann Hesse, the biggest lifestyle writer of them all if, by "lifestyle" you mean "meaning of life."

The largest go-to place for selling stuff online is going to be a site like eBay. But I'm gathering that you're new at this (maybe a bit new to the Internet?) and so you might prefer a site that did more of the transactional work for you. What kind of set-up are you looking for?

Also, depending on what kind of stuff -- and how much of it -- you have to sell, I have never used anything but Craigslist. The benefit of Craiglist.com is that you can target your geographical area specifically, and rather than having to pack up stuff and take it to the post office, you can arrange a drop-off or pick up. And it works for everything from a pile of books to a sofa.

True.

Interesting thought. Anyone else? I believe I've read stories about Netflix's algorithm, and how they decide who gets what disc next. In short, it's not entirely based on who requested the item first. It's also based on who has the best track record for returning things quickly. So, if you regularly watch your DVDs the night you receive them and then send them back, you'll be prioritized over the user who is prone to hanging on to the same disc for 30 days.

Zillow.com is a site pretty similar to Trulia - you might compare, just to see if you get anything different. I'm also not sure what state you live in, but I'm a fan of LongandFoster's site. They have a map feature that's pretty user-friendly, and often seems to have more hits for me than the other sites you've mentioned.

(We'll also take advice from someone who actually owns property. Unlike me.)

Sigh. People. It is Hesse. The last "e" is not only present, but actually pronounced in my family. Hesseeeee.

I know that you asked me for help, and I usually take that responsibility very seriously, but before I do that, I must say the following.

Are you sending out invitations to a party? If so, I will offer some suggestions for sites.

If you are not, please don't. Please do not send an e-card for any other reason. They are less personal than emails. They do not display themselves correctly on many screens. Do not send them. Do not.

Skype is a lovely tool, and you should avail yourself of it immediately! You do not have to enable the video funtion, if you do not like. In fact, since it sounds like you're awkward around cameras, I would opt for ignoring them entirely, at least during the first few weeks of your courtship. Nobody looks good on video chats, and nobody needs the pressure of being reminded that they probably look weird. Good luck!

The fact that is is used (USED) in business contexts is even more of an argument to abolish this word. "Business context" is also where people start talking about "problematizing" and a whole manner of other ridiculousness.

Well, yes. If you're going to pay $10 to get the DVD to your door faster, you might as well pay $1 an episode to get it on your computer immediately.

If you are trying to sell something huge, like a couch. If your "stuff" is more like a lamp and some books and a microwave, you could arrange to meet in a neutral location, like a library parking lot, or McDonalds or what have you.

Oh, obviously all Monicas are related. Lewinsky and Seles and I were just talking about this the other day, as we planned the annual reunion.

Saw it, reblogged it, sang its praises to the heavens. Thank heavens for that brother.

Thanks! And congrats!

Hahahaha

It would probably be a poem about "Jane Eyre." That Mr. Rochester. Tres brutal.

I need to find this clip. Immediately, post-chat.

We need to figure out who invented this word and how it came to plague the nation. It sounds like an excellent time-wasting project, in fact.

Glad you're happy!

Awesome possum.

You were utilized, then brutalized.

Yes! A name I should have remembered considering that I wrote about it when they came to town. Oh dear.

You should pay. Journalists are people, too, and we need to eat. You should pay. Not to go all Sally Struthers on you, but $15 a month could easily be less than your coffee budget for a week. You should pay.

I...don't know what I think about this.

I don't know. Season 3 was pretty good. Wasn't that Rob Lowe's last?

I would. I have faith in the diversity of you chatters.

Oh-my-eyes.

I think that's a bit of an overstatement. I think we can say with relative certainty that it is easier to keep in touch with people now that we have telephones, computers, the postal system, etc -- all of which are examples of technology. Without those, they wouldn't be relationships at all. They would just be two people living in different cities.

Granted, there's no substitute for face time, but.

I'm sorry. I've had only good luck, both buying and selling.

This link won't work for me. Given the words in it, however, I can only imagine.

You are good parents.

The minute that any of you ever has cause to utter a sentence like that, I give you permission to use "utilize." But I don't think that will apply to very many of you. Except, maybe, the microbiologist.

These are the philosophical questions of today.

Oddly, however, both of these shows rhyme.

Did you notice that I included the postal system in "technological innovations?"

Truth.

Posting. For all of us.

 Next time, try to impact them into mutually beneficial upstartedness.

Thankee.

Third Jetsons reference I have heard this week. Something is in the air. Something besides the Jetsons flying cars.

We need a guy/gal like you on the Hill. Keep at it, Word Hero.

Correct.

It was sad for all of us. Especially since he originally left, I believe, to go do some cockamamie show called "K Street" that died after a few episodes.

Since I've already overstayed my welcome, I'll have to go with a brief "yes." Yes, this is a sign of the apocalypse.

Thank you for your Hostess condolences. Don't tell the mothership that I was always more of a Little Debbie fan.

Can anyone else top this, in terms of bringing together chat threads? I can't. Let's call it a day, folks.

GSTQ.