Author |
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Mameblanche
Member
04-13-2005
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 11:11 am
MY big question is this... I love love love getting and giving gift certificates but I think most people are offended by them. WHY? No shlepping to a store to return something and feeling bad about it. The only problem for me is figuring out when they expire. That's a waste if they expire. Otherwise I LOVE 'em to get 'em and it saves on guesswork for me when I give 'em. Dh loves to get them for music cds and McDonalds. I love to get them for my fave bookstore, and the movies, etc. What's so insulting about that? We get to pick what we want when we want. The only ones that might offend me are the grocery store ones. And if I was struggling making ends meet, I'd probably appreciate them then, too! And its malarky when people say that no thought or effort goes into them. I have to still go out to the movie-theatre, or wherever to BUY them as gifts, and I try to fit the certificate to the friend. If they love food, its a restaurant certificate, if they love to read, or go to the movies, or clothes, I get those certificates. And THEY get to choose what they really want. Everyone is happy. Okay... let the comments rip. Cuz I KNOW this is gonna tick some folks off. LOL. BUT its one of those things that I stand firm about. Although if I know someone hates them, I'd get a regular gift. But its never really been an issue for me. And FYI - I spent over $300.00 this year alone on a whole raft of actual gifts so I really don't need to be giving out gift certificates this year, after all. LOL.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 11:23 am
I don't have an answer to your question Mame--cuz a gift card is my FAVORITE gift!!!!
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 11:42 am
I agree. I think people tend to think you didn't put as much thought into a gift certificate than if you'd gone shopping and wandered the store looking for the perfect gift. For me though, when I buy a gift card I usually put more thought into it, where would so and so love to go shopping for themselves, is there something only they could pick out and I'd just make a mess trying to get it for them? The kids got gift cards to Barnes and Nobles, they love to walk through the store and find their own things, plus what they will buy and what I will are two different things. Darren's getting one for Best Buy so he can go pick out his own video game. Everytime I buy one for him it turns into something he doesn't really like for one reason or another, even if it's something similar to what he'd buy for himself. I know I'm getting one for the bookstore, I'm quite happy with that. On rare occassions I'll let Darren know theres a new book out I want, but most the time I want to go look for myself and see what they have. Same with the bead store (he slipped on that one and told me some new items they had the day he went shopping!) Especially for that I'd rather go in and pick out my own stuff, it's just easier to have a finished peice of jewelry in mind and go in and buy for that rather than trying to come up with something from materials that were picked out for me.
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Jimmer
Member
08-30-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 11:46 am
The nice thing about giving a gift certificate rather than giving money is that it shows that you took the time to think about a store that has items that the person will like and you went and got the certificate. It also encourages the person to actually go to the store and buy something for themselves with it rather than simply stuffing it in their wallet. I'm not offended by gift certificates in the least, but it may be partly dependent on how close you are to the recipient and your relationship with him or her.
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 11:52 am
well, i got this email from my husband's family, and the ONLY thing on them was gift cards. this has become a bone of contention between chuck and myself with all of his family. gift cards are available now at safeway (a big grocery store chain) for all of the major places. best buy, compUSA, restaurants, sears, home depot, etc. they have a huge rack of different ones. so i do NOT think that time and effort was put into the item. i could see the movie theater item having some thought brought into it, if you put together a basket with popcorn, and movie candies, etc. this is saying to me, get what you want, because i don't know you well enough to pick something out. you might as well give them cash. or it is saying (as in the case of his family), your present isn't enough and i want something more expensive. they plan on getting gift cards from people to pool them together to get something larger. personally, i'd rather have homemade cookies, or a plant, than a gift card.
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Max
Moderator
08-12-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 12:24 pm
I think there are lots of instances where gift cards/certificates are appropriate. For example, for friends/relatives who live a distance away and whom you rarely get to see, they're a good alternative. It's impossible to know what those folks already have or might truly need without outright asking them and I hate doing that (or when it's done to me). Another example, I give gift cards to my hairdresser, house cleaner, etc. I know generally what they like, but I would have no idea what to buy for them. Choice of store says a lot. My hairdresser loves to read, so she gets Barnes & Noble (there's one of those stores within walking distance of her salon and she goes there often). I have a friend who is moving into a new home next week and she'll get a certificate to The Container Store because she LOVES to organize stuff and with her new craft room, she'll be able to get exactly what she needs to do it right at The Container Store. So, I think sometimes gift cards are great. I also love wish lists on Amazon.com and other sites. I keep one all year long. For folks who are computer-savvy, they can simply check to see what I've got in my pipeline and for me, when I have some extra $$, I can easily pick from things that I've been meaning to get.
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Escapee
Member
06-15-2004
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 4:01 pm
These cracked me up, my favorite one is in bold: Can you cry under water? How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? If money doesn't grow on trees then why do banks have branches? Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round? Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? Once you're in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity? Why does a round pizza come in a square box? What disease did cured ham actually have? How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours? If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing? If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you? Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV? Why do people pay to go up tall buildings & then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America? Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway. If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call? Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural? Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer? When your driver's license photo is taken why do they tell you to smile? If a cop stops and asks for your license, are you going to be smiling? If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him? Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane? If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat? Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is? Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs! What do you call male ballerinas? Can blind people see their dreams? Do they dream? If Wyle E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME junk, why didn't he just buy dinner? If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from? If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons? Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune? Why did you just try singing the two songs above? Why do they call it an asteroid when it's outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it's in your rear? Did you notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?
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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 4:28 pm
Ok, now you have me thinking Escapee..LOL
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 4:43 pm
i can explain one of 'em. bread is square because of the bread pan it is baked in. lunch meats are round because they use casings from animal intestines to push the grinded meat through until it was smoked or cured.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 5:58 pm
Well, now, Landi has inspired me to actually answer these imponderables.
quote:Did you notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?
Two words: Tic Tac

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Twiggyish
Member
08-14-2000
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 6:02 pm
ROFL!!!!
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Mameblanche
Member
04-13-2005
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 6:10 pm
Landi I love your idea of putting a theme basket with the gift cards! I NEVER would have thought of that. It's brilliant and I think I will steal that idea from you if you don't mind. And Escapee, I'm nabbing your hilariously ponderous questions for my joke list! thanks. 
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Abby7
Member
07-17-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 6:42 pm
three words: Juju too funny!
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 8:03 pm
Q. What do you call male ballerinas? A. The "Ballerina" is defined as the featured lead female performer (soloist). The rest of the dancers in a ballet are referred to as "Corps de Ballet". The male partner of the ballerina is known as the "Cavalier".
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Landi
Member
07-29-2002
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 8:05 pm
Q. Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is? A. cuz they're too busy doing the jiggy dance with their legs crossed, and need their arms for balance.
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Mameblanche
Member
04-13-2005
| Monday, December 12, 2005 - 9:45 pm
Rofl Landi! 
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 9:59 am
Radios: I am looking for a (cheap) radio so I can get a certain fm station in my house. Does it make a difference in getting a certain station in by what brand you get or what type of radio you get? In other words, I want 97.9 in clearly. Is a "good" brand like Sony more likely to get this result than a no-name brand like Duraband? Don't really care about anything else feature wise-so does it matter if it is a weather radio or a clock radio or anything like that???
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Draheid
Board Administrator
09-09-2001
| Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 1:12 pm
Radios: The biggest differences are between analog and digital tuning. A digital tuner is more likely to be able to lock onto a signal and produce a better quality sound. More importantly would be the antenna connected to the radio. If the station you are attempting to tune is weak or far away, you may need a better antenna than what is built-in on the radio. If the station is strong, the digital will also help by better tuning the exact frequency and rejecting other stations adjacent to the one you want. I haven't ever noticed much difference between brands as far as the reception goes. The differences are mostly in the quality of sound produced, which is greatly affected by the type of speakers more than anything. If you already have a stereo but are not able to get the station you want, you might want to explore a better antenna. The standard 'T' style antenna (made of clear plastic with copper wire down either side then split into a 'T' shape) are usually fairly good, however, an amplified antenna might be a worthwhile investment in order to bring in a weaker station better. Of course, the height of the antenna can also affect reception with the higher you go producing better reception of the signal, too.
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Julieboo
Member
02-05-2002
| Sunday, December 18, 2005 - 6:35 pm
Thank you so much Draheid!!!
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Shashakaye
Member
05-19-2003
| Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 11:45 am
I have a frozen drain pipe in my kitchen, no basement, only a crawlspace under my house. Any suggestions on how to thaw it out without going under the house with a blow dryer? I have already poured a whole bottle of draino in it thinking it might melt the ice but nothing.
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Mameblanche
Member
04-13-2005
| Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 11:59 am
This place is amazing. I honestly believe that if I asked WHATEVER was on my mind, as a concern, no matter how trivial, somebody would have the answer. For instance... how to get my kettle clean. The bottom (inside) is positively icky with sediment. Vinegar has been repeatedly suggested, but I get nauseous from the smell, so I refuse to use it. (or have it in the house.) I've mentioned CLR to Vince, but he hasn't jumped with glee and run to get it. So was hoping for a home remedy, other than vinegar. (blech) I may end up having to get the CLR myself. But I gotta admit to being leery about putting those chemicals in our kettle... has anyone here done it and lived to tell the tale? LOL. Second dilema, re: our microwave, dh accidently broke the plastic round thingamajig that balances the glass turtable in our microwave. We can't find a replacement anywhere... he's tried kitchen item stores and hardware stores and ...no luck. The part is a round piece of plastic with 3 tiny wheels. About the circumference of my head. LOL. Shaped like a hoolahoop. I will probably phone Panasonic today and ask about it. BUT its an old one, got it around 1992. I LOVE my microwave, and can still use it but the spinning glass bobbles without the 'hoolahoop' to balance it. I may be able to jerri-rig the thing, if it comes to that. I just don't want the spinning glass to break. That would NOT be a good thing. ... I'm on hold to Panasonic right now, on the phone... hopefully they have this item. It's from an OLD microwave. If they do, I hope its not a gazzillion dollars for something that looks like it costs about 3 bucks. sigh.
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Jmm
Moderator
08-16-2002
| Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 12:01 pm
Mame, If this is it, it runs about $35.
You can order one from here.
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Mameblanche
Member
04-13-2005
| Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 12:05 pm
Shashakaye, what about pouring boiling hot water, or at least warm water down the drain... Now that might be the WORST idea in the world and might wreck things - I'm no plumber... but it might be worth considering.
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Mameblanche
Member
04-13-2005
| Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 12:07 pm
Jmm... I have Panasonic on hold... the gal says that she thinks it would only cost about 3 bucks... (that's the amount I was KIDDING about up above!) ... but just put me on hold to check if they still have it! But the pic you have is definately the right idea.
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Jmm
Moderator
08-16-2002
| Tuesday, December 20, 2005 - 12:23 pm
Mame, I found this info on cleaning a tea kettle. Now the first suggestion is vinegar (I understand that's a no-no) but it has a couple of others that might be worth trying. To remove lime deposits in metal kettles, fill with equal parts of vinegar and water. Bring to a boil and allow to stand overnight. Or you can fill the teakettle with water and refrigerate for about half a day. The lime is worked free by the cold and will come out when the kettle is emptied. For Corningware teapots, fill with water and drop in two denture-cleaning tablets. Let stand thirty minutes and rinse well. Another method is to pour one-quarter cup of vinegar or lemon juice in the pot and fill with hot water. Let stand a couple of hours and rinse.
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