That's actually exactly the rationale that the Lego spokesmen use, though of course they don't frame it as wanting to extract as much cash from you as possible. They say they want to prevent boys from just swapping out the heads because they don't want to play with girls; they're trying to force boys to be inclusive…

I'm sorry we all slammed you about this, but you presented your story as if this was a standard example of your parenting style, not as a special indulgence because he never gets anything new.

The sriracha obsession originated with The Oatmeal's very popular comic, and it grew in internet popularity from there. That's kind of what makes it seem so bland on a dating profile - you can tell that the guy gets his opinions from a very particular type of internet media, rather than thinking for himself.

That is effective as a management strategy as well. Employees hate doing things if they don't understand why.

I know a couple men in their late twenties / early thirties who still eat like that. Of course, they're skinny anyway, because they're men, and metabolisms are unfair.

My mom (now in her sixties) still complains bitterly about being made to eat lima beans as a child. Those resentments seem to stick.

Sorry. Mothers-in-law cannot be reasoned with.

It's fine that you're painting the bike. It's bizarre that you bought him a second bike. Why would you have to take him to a child psychologist just because he threw a tantrum? Can you not handle talking through basic problems with your 4-year-old yourself? He may need some expensive therapy later on to handle his…

I think the standard should be, "If an adult made this request or stated this preference, would you honor it?" For instance, most adults have a few foods that they don't like to eat, and that is reasonable. If I were cooking for someone who hated mushrooms, I would be happy to avoid mushrooms to please them. …

That brings up a good point, that rural people seem to be much more relaxed about raising their kids than suburban and urban parents. I grew up in a once-rural area that was rapidly becoming suburbanized, and I was astonished at the difference between visiting the homes of my farm friends versus my suburban friends.…

I have no feeling that this guy deserves to live, but I still can't support the death penalty as a policy. There could always be a risk of executing an innocent person, and the cost of executing someone, with the lengthy appeals process, is far more expensive than simply housing them for life.

That's kind of how I feel about some of this stuff too. If when I was 11 years old, my mother had acted like I couldn't be trusted to be alone for five minutes, I would have deeply resented her, and yet that seems to be the new normal. How do kids learn to do anything on their own if they're so coddled for so long?

Sure, I get that health isn't the only thing to consider in making life choices - or at least that's what I go with every time I feel like a few nice craft beers. But Mercurial wasn't saying that EVERYONE MUST exercise; she just said that the benefits of exercise extend beyond just losing weight. So that even if you…

What is up with these "here we go" comments in response to Mercurial? Is there something weirdly controversial around here about pointing out that exercise has a wide range of proven health benefits? I'm honestly asking.

I'm sure you're being sarcastic, but I just don't really understand your hostility to this term. Nobody using it is trying to imply that you wouldn't know that pudding is unhealthy without the term. It's just a way to classify a wide range of different types of food that should be avoided, which might otherwise…

Well, apparently the effect only applied to dessert. I'm sure there's no harm in eating more healthy food if you actually exercise enough to offset the calories, but lots of extra sugar and flour probably doesn't do your health any favors.

It's not some kind of crazy dogma. Empty calories are just calories that come from food that has no other discernible nutritional value. "Full" calories come from protein, healthy fats, and foods that are otherwise rich in vitamins and minerals.

I'm not a big fan of inspirational movies as a genre either, but that's usually because I feel like their over-the-top sentiments are unearned, like those vapid Upworthy videos that always fancy themselves to be so very important. I don't see Zamperini's story that way, though obviously I'm mostly basing my opinion…

What's so wrong with being earnest though? Does everything have to be "ironic" all the time? Can't we have some things that are really, truly inspirational when it's been earned?

Apparently the screenplay was written by the Coen brothers, so I have high hopes.