Read that again?

[Tobin Dax]

Would that I . . . .

Ooh, somebody else uses would that way. I got to wondering about that last week. It doesn't surprise that you do, Gillian, but it's just nice to see.

(I think I may have negated any educated look I might have had with my second sentence.)

[NEOWatcher]

Bedbugs Becoming Nuisance In Cuyahoga County

A published report said the number of bedbug cases in Cuyahoga County are up.
[...]
Cuyahoga County reported zero cases last year.

Exactly how many cases does it take to be a nuisance?
I'm sure it depends on if they are in your own bed or not.

[Tog]

Bedbugs Becoming Nuisance In Cuyahoga County


Exactly how many cases does it take to be a nuisance?
I'm sure it depends on if they are in your own bed or not.

As one who works in a hotel... One. One case of bedbugs is a nuisance. The rooms have to be stripped down completely and everything gone over with a steam cleaner. Then you wait 10 days and do it again. then 10 more and do it again, then 10 more and do it again. Then you wait a week and make sure nothing hatches. Then, if you're lucky, you can put the room back together. Usually though, by the time you find one room, you have three or four others.

[NEOWatcher]

As one who works in a hotel... One...

I understand what you're saying, but I'm not sure how that applies on a countywide basis.
That's one of the reasons I commented on "who's bed".

[SeanF]

The National Weather Service warned that people not heeding evacuation orders in low-lying parts of the coast "may face certain death" and that many homes on the coast will be destroyed.

Just to clarify: they may face certain death.

[NEOWatcher]

Just to clarify: they may face certain death.

Thank goodness. I thought they certainly faced a possible death.

[NEOWatcher]

I read this article only because the headline made me go hmmm ().

Sons of infertile men may be next
An article about infertile men passing on the bad genes? How does that work?

At least the article answered it.

[NEOWatcher]

Scientists to Count...Kangaroo Rats from outer space
Oh, you mean, Scientists to count Kangaroo Rats...from outer space.

[tdvance]

But don't Kangaroo Rats live on Dune, which according to something I read somewhere, is around Canopus?

[sarongsong]

Headline: Chef dies after eating 'superhot' chilli for bet

Story body: well, an "amateur chef"...then he was described as a "fork lift truck driver"...

[Neverfly]

They are trying to say the chili killed him?

I'm sure a lot of people die after eating things and doing things.

When I was 3, I wet the bed. When I die- it will be after when I was three. Therefore, I died after wetting the bed. Maybe it killed me.

[tdvance]

The cause of death is "heart attack" according to a report I read earlier (I didn't read this one--perhaps it said the same thing). I'd be surprised if chili peppers did that. There was talk of an "itch" before he died--makes me think--1. allergy (can that cause heart attack?), 2. circulation problem

[Neverfly]

The cause of death is "heart attack" according to a report I read earlier (I didn't read this one--perhaps it said the same thing). I'd be surprised if chili peppers did that. There was talk of an "itch" before he died--makes me think--1. allergy (can that cause heart attack?), 2. circulation problem

This one listed it as a heart attack as well (Cardiac Arrest).
What gets me about it is that they keep saying he was Healthy before the Heart Attack.

Well, gee. I'm perfectly healthy today but if I have a heart attack tomorrow, I'll still be just as dead.

I can see how it may be possible that he had some (must be rare) allergy. But for the most part, I would think that it's either coincidence or the chili was spiked with strychnine.

[NEOWatcher]

Headline: Chef dies after eating 'superhot' chilli for bet

Story body: well, an "amateur chef"...then he was described as a "fork lift truck driver"...

Heh... I was going to post the version I read (Over here). Not for the situation, but for the following:

Andrew just ate the chillies with a plate of Dolmio sauce,” she added. “It was not a proper meal because he had already eaten lamb chops and potato mash after work.

Would it be a proper meal if he hadn't eaten lamb chops or potato mash?

I'm sure the comment had something to do with either food interactions, or not on an empty stomach or something along those lines. But; why quote it if you have no clue why it was said?

And again:

“He loved cooking for his friends. He always said he wanted to be a chef but didn’t want to start at the bottom.”

Who wants to start at the bottom. Why was this said. Is there an additional reference unwritten about him not getting a job?

[Fazor]

I'm sure the comment had something to do with either food interactions, or not on an empty stomach or something along those lines. But; why quote it if you have no clue why it was said?

I think it meant he did not eat it as a full meal, because he had already eaten. Basically that it was more of a "snack".

And I didn't think about allergy; I suppose that could put stress on the heart. But they said he didn't die until the morning after...that's a heck of a long time for an alergy to kick in.

"He as healthy before hand, he even just passed a physical!". A lot of "healthy" people die from heart problems. Not all heart problems show up on a normal physical. I don't think the chili had anything to do with it.

[NEOWatcher]

I think it meant he did not eat it as a full meal, because he had already eaten. Basically that it was more of a "snack".

Do you think that it was an indication of amount eaten?

I suppose that could put stress on the heart...

It's hard to tell between the two stories. The OP one says:
Andrew Lee, 33, suffered heart failure the morning after he ate the chilli.
The Fox story says:
The following morning he was found dead, possibly after suffering a heart attack.
and...
The postmortem showed no heart problems.

One last comment (from the Fox story)
An inquest was opened and adjourned in Doncaster last week.
Inquest into what? and adjourned why? (possibly a UK/US translation issue)

[tdvance]

yeah, maybe the inquest was "tabled"!

[Fazor]

Do you think that it was an indication of amount eaten?

Based on how those silly English talk on the few UK shows I watch, not necessarilly and indication of how much was eaten, just a statement that it was not his dinner. The point of the statement? That I couldn't tell you.

But, we all know the butler did it. Case closed.

[sarongsong]

..."Andrew just ate the chillies with a plate of Dolmio sauce”...

Not familiar with this sauce, but it sounds like a type of tomato sauce, if this is any measure:

Dolmio [Bolognese] Sauce
...ingredients:
Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Lemon Juice, Onion, Sugar, Olive Oil, Salt, Basil, Garlic, Herbs, Parsley, Spices...no nasty additives lurking in this sauce...
dooyou.co.uk

Capsaicin is the active component of chili peppers...In large quantities, capsaicin can cause death.
Symptoms of overdose include difficulty breathing, blue skin, and convulsions. The large amount needed to kill an adult human and the low concentration of capsaicin in chilies make the risk of accidental poisoning by chili consumption negligible...
wiki

[Jens]

The postmortem showed no heart problems.

No heart problems. Except for the obvious one that IT WASN'T BEATING!

Well, I know what they meant. No blocked arteries or cardiomegaly, for example. But still, it reads kind of funny.

[NEOWatcher]

Another case of a car doing something.
This article seems to go out of the way to avoid saying this car had a driver especially after the clumsy opening.
Person Injured After Car Drives Into Deep Sinkhole; Road Closed

One person was injured early Wednesday morning after a vehicle for which that person was a passenger drove into a deep, wide sinkhole

Ok; the driver may not have seen the hole, but jeez... there's another person that was in that situation. Sure; we can assume they are ok, but what went through thier mind? Were there only 2 people?

Maybe a candidate for bad reporting instead...

Edit: I vote bad reporting.
This one reports the injury.
This other station reports the hole and infers the water department didn't know the sinkhole was there. (They don't say why they were there, or that an accident and/or injury was involved)
While this one barely mentions the water department.
Nothing to get a clue on the sequence of events.

[Fazor]

"after a vehicle for which that person was a passenger"?

Just more proof that most places feel editors for online articles aren't necessary.

[SeanF]

Here's one that's, shall we say, questionable. Maybe Gillianren can offer an opinion.

NASA is extending the Phoenix mission as much as possible before the sun drops below the horizon for winter, rendering Phoenix's solar-powered batteries useless.

Says Mr. Goldstein, "We are literally trying to make hay as the sun shines."

Oviously, they're not literally "trying to make hay." They are, however, literally constrained "as the sun shines."

So is it a misuse of the word "literally," or not? Would it've been better to say something more unwieldy, like, "We're trying to make hay, as - literally - the sun shines"?

[Fazor]

Here's one that's, shall we say, questionable. Maybe Gillianren can offer an opinion.

NASA is extending the Phoenix mission as much as possible before the sun drops below the horizon for winter, rendering Phoenix's solar-powered batteries useless.

Says Mr. Goldstein, "We are literally trying to make hay as the sun shines."

Oviously, they're not literally "trying to make hay." They are, however, literally constrained "as the sun shines."

So is it a misuse of the word "literally," or not? Would it've been better to say something more unwieldy, like, "We're trying to make hay, as - literally - the sun shines"?

I would say yes, it is a miuse. Not that my opinion is founded on anything other than, well, my opinion. But I take the word 'literally' literally. If it's not taken literally, then it's not literal now is it?

Of course, "We're metaphorically trying to make hay as the sun shines." seems more correct, but sounds just as dumb. I don't know why they couldn't have left the [whatever part of speech 'literally' is in that sentance *hides from Gillian's wrath] out completely.

[Donnie B.]

I'm more concerned that he botched the idiom -- it's usually "make hay while the sun shines". Or at least it was in my family.

[tdvance]

It's funny, my use of the idiom is a bit counter-factual--I say "make hay while the sun shines" to mean, go out and observe while it's nice and clear and dark.

[Gillianren]

Yes, it's wrong. Yes, I've always heard it as "while." And "literally" is an adverb.

[Donnie B.]

You know, maybe Mr. Goldstein really did mean they were trying to make hay aboard Phoenix. Plenty of open land, and there's no problem of the hay getting wet and rotting.

Was Phoenix designed by International Harvester, by any chance?

[Jens]

Says Mr. Goldstein, "We are literally trying to make hay as the sun shines."

Oviously, they're not literally "trying to make hay." They are, however, literally constrained "as the sun shines."

So is it a misuse of the word "literally," or not? Would it've been better to say something more unwieldy, like, "We're trying to make hay, as - literally - the sun shines"?

There's actually a note about that in my dictionary. It says basically that the use of "literally" as an intensifier has been common since the early 20th century, but is frowned upon. It notes that it is "in common usage in all but the most carefully edited work." In this case, I would say it's acceptable because (1) the person was speaking, and (2) the reporter quoted it, and it's not good to change quotes unless it's absolutely necessary.

[NEOWatcher]

...(1) the person was speaking, and (2) the reporter quoted it, and it's not good to change quotes unless it's absolutely necessary.

I don't think anyone actually faulted the reporter for this one, just that it was an inappropriate thing to say.

Just like this one... It's a quote, but I don't like the use of the word 'poor'.
Assasin game is dangerous

[Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran]"They cut in front of a poor unsuspecting motorist and two people were taken to the hospital, including a student. At least one of those accidents they drove in front of a poor unsuspecting woman and two people were taken to the hospital, including the woman," he said.

Poor needs a lack of something (from how I interpret the multiple definitions) While I can extend the statement to mean a lack of suspicion, I still think it's only there for meaningless emphasis.

While I can understand "kids will be kids" going on here, and they need to be warned of the dangers, I don't think that should apply to the ones involved in accidents. The results of that kind of behavior should be stressed before getting a license.