Terminalcoffee discussion

This is a thread where we ask each other: should I know?

For example, should I know who John Scalzi is? For some reason I've seen this name three times in the past three days, but I have not investigated this person any further.

Sally might ask, "Should I know who Paul Ryan is?" But she won't.

The subject can be anything, it doesn't have to be a person.

Oh, never mind about John Scalzi. It turns out I've met him. His name is so generic I didn't associate him with anything.

Should I know what's for dinner?

Charlotte wrote: "Should I know what's for dinner?"
Maybe, maybe not. Depends on who's making dinner.

Should I know a bit more about the whole economic meltdown thing/eurozone stuff?

Should I know why my neighbors of ten years are moving out of their house? I'd like to know, but I'm afraid to ask.

can you slowly rake your yard, over near their property? casually strike up a conversation.

Should I know what keeps happening to my neighbors' dogs? Two different neighbors had dogs....then suddenly the dogs were gone. Young dogs, so they didn't die of old age.

Jane wrote: "Should I know a bit more about the whole economic meltdown thing/eurozone stuff?"

Yes. Check out Planet Money on NPR. You can download podcast for free.

Thanks Cheri- I might well have a look at that. I've been making "mmm" noises for ages when my friends start talking about it all and not really knowing what's going on.

Should I know what an emu pit is?

Carol wrote: "can you slowly rake your yard, over near their property? casually strike up a conversation."

Darrell was back yesterday mowing the yard and moving the swing set. I'm afraid if I say anything, even that we're going to miss him and his family, he might feel he has to explain. What if they lost the house? They've moved out, and there's been no FOR SALE sign. I guess time will tell, but if they lost the house, it's a sad thing.

But if you've known him for 10 years, won't be weirder if you say nothing at all?

Lobstergirl wrote: "But if you've known him for 10 years, won't be weirder if you say nothing at all?"

I may have done the wrong thing by staying away.

Scout wrote: "Lobstergirl wrote: "But if you've known him for 10 years, won't be weirder if you say nothing at all?"

I may have done the wrong thing by staying away."

Not too late.

Should I know that Molly Ringwald writes fiction?

No.

Good.

Should I know when birds are done fledging?

Absolutely yes.

Is it late spring? Early summer? Don't they sometimes have several broods per season?

Early summer and yes. Some of the last brood don't make it.

Wait . . . what?

Lobstergirl wrote: "Should I know when birds are done fledging?"

yes. When the parents stop feeding it.
Are these birds in (caged) or out (wild)?

Meet me behind the ficus if you want to know too much about fledglings.

Is that code for something?

I watched some doves fledge one year from a window (I could see into the nest), I've just forgotten the timetable for it. It was so cute. They hopped, hopped, hopped along the branch, then hopped to the edge of my balcony.

Lobstergirl wrote: "Is that code for something?"

No. I raise birds and watch the wild ones. I know. I know but we are all crazy in our own way....
I don't know about midwestern city birds. Does the nest stay year to year? How many babies? Do you know what kind of dove? Can you tell what the babies eat?

You know that birds are the closest relatives to dinosaurs that we have.

The ones I watched were mourning doves. They had two babies, and the nest did not stay. I guess it disintegrated?

I also have two robins' nests under the eaves of my back porch. One of them was inhabited for a season. I couldn't see the babies, but I could see them being fed, and I watched them fledge. They hopped around the back porch. It was very cute, except that they shat like crazy and it got really messy. That nest is still there because it's protected from wind and rain. Then the next season more robins came and built another nest right next to it, but I wasn't keen on having my porch covered in shit again so I made myself a noisy presence and let the adults know I didn't want them around. They abandoned the nest before breeding. That nest is still there too. It's not just messy shit, robins are messy with their building materials. I would have little piles of garbage - organic garbage, disintegrating paper garbage, string, etc. on my porch as they built.

Lobstergirl wrote: "The ones I watched were mourning doves. They had two babies, and the nest did not stay. I guess it disintegrated?

I also have two robins' nests under the eaves of my back porch. One of them wa..."

The dove nest was probably recycled. I'm guessing that you don't have cats? In which case, I would encourage you to make a safe space for 'good' city birds (robins and song birds - not pigeons and blackbirds)to raise their youngsters. The mess is a small price to pay. Keep the dinosaurs alive!

Should I know why Mitt Romney is always called Governor Romney?

He isn't governor of anything. The governor of MA is Deval Patrick.

You always use the last (or highest ranking) title someone had, as an honorific. It's kind of ridiculous, it's very butt-kissing, but the people who have had long storied careers and then retired love it. They get to be called Governor, Ambassador, Senator, whatever, forever.

President Bill Clinton, for example. See his Facebook page.

Maybe you're just like my mother. She's never satisfied.

Should I know what Romney's statement about the height of trees in Michigan means?

No.

Lobstergirl wrote: "Should I know what Romney's statement about the height of trees in Michigan means?"

I live there and I have no clue what he's on about. Floundering attempt to kiss the collective ass of Michigan after coming out against the auto industry bailout? He also professes to love American cars.

Feh...

So California redwoods are the wrong height?

Maybe he has a grudge against bonsais.

I dunno, that is just a freaking weird thing to say. Maybe he was 100% joking, in which case that's fine. It seems like an absurdist joke. Fine, great. I've just never got the sense that he's an absurdist or a skilled jokester. The pole is too far up his butt.

Should I know/how do I found out - what are the accepted/unaccepted terms in LGBT? Someone asked if it's ok to say butch...I still don't know.

Should I know how long you have to be at a job to not be considered new?

Carol wrote: "Should I know/how do I found out - what are the accepted/unaccepted terms in LGBT? Someone asked if it's ok to say butch...I still don't know."

I won't say that I "know," but my guide would be, am I intending this usage to be derogatory, descriptive, or what? Or, is the person who just said that being derogatory, descriptive, etc. It is probably fairly context-dependent.

Carol wrote: "Should I know how long you have to be at a job to not be considered new?"

No. This seems very subjective. At a job where there is tons of turnover, it might be 6 weeks. At a job where everyone has been there for 15 years, maybe you'll still be considered new(ish) after 18 months on the job.

Oh! The someone was me! I asked someone...uh. yep.

And the second question, yes, lots of people at my place of work have been there for decades.

Should I know, or should I care? Are they the same thing? Different? Should I know if they're different?

Sometimes I know, but wonder if I should care...

Carol wrote: "Should I know/how do I found out - what are the accepted/unaccepted terms in LGBT? Someone asked if it's ok to say butch...I still don't know."

I'm happy to answer questions on this front.
LG's answer is pretty good. Carol, assuming you're straight, I'd probably not use it if I were you. I'm thinking of contexts under which you might use it, and not really coming up with a good one. Maybe if you're standing with a bunch of lesbian (or gay) friends and everyone was arguing over who should repair a busted tire, you might say "let me do it, I'm butcher than all y'all."

If you're saying to a third person that Susie at work is really butch, you might be describing her looks by evoking a set of (not necessarily deragatory) stereotypes. She may not actually identify as butch, though, so there's no guarantee of how she would take it if she heard you.
Some people still use butch as a self-identity, but the days where you had to be strictly butch or strictly femme are definitely gone.

Carol wrote: "Should I know how long you have to be at a job to not be considered new?"

Till they hire someone newer. ;)

Sarah Pi wrote:
I'm happy to answer questions on this ..."

Thanks, SP. I was asking the person I was describing if it was ok to use it to describe her. She said definitely. I guess I can't really discuss it without feeling I'm breaking a confidence out here on the internets. I just need more education.

Should I know who Lark Voorhies is?

Should you or do you?

::edited meanness towards Lark::

Should I. I.e., do most people know this person, and am I one of an excruciatingly tiny minority who does not?

I don't know who she is either.