We're all with you here. Have you considered studying books on human interaction, like books on body language and psychology? It doesn't always *help* to know why people do things but sometimes it makes it easier not to be hurt. And some of it can be really, really useful. You'll never be as good at social stuff as a…

..and his middle name is Leroy.

Every time I hear "Newt" I think "aye-firmative"....

Holy TLDR... all I'm going to comment on is the first statement about corporations. The government can impose transparency rules on the corporations, and assign government overseers. And if the corporation doesn't do what the government wants they can be fired a lot easier than a government agency can be overhauled or…

Drove past a place once up in New Hampshire. Burnt out house right next to the fire station. Asked around, turns out the house was on one side of a town line and the fire department was on the other. The firemen could not legally use their equipment to help her, so they hauled buckets of water from a nearby pond, and…

That's an impressive list. :) They *are* cute, though. There's something about bugs that get massive - if they're fuzzy, like spiders, they creep me out; but if they're hard and shiny, like little knights wearing armor, they're not scary anymore. It's the ones that are too small to really see the details on that scare…

Now that would be interesting. Also Willow/Evil Willow would be fun. And Giles and Mrs. Summers would... be far too much like watching your parents, I'm afraid. That's a relationship I've always shipped but never wanted to actually see.

That's the one - and wikipedia to the rescue: both our explanations are wrong. [en.wikipedia.org]

Ahhh, sorry! I knew it was a serial killer thing.

10. Do not bring your husband unless you want some strange, scary-looking guy to grab his ass.

I was thinking the same thing Ian Somerhalder was thinking, except then I thought: what if going shopping as a group at some Black Friday store *is* their family time? What f they've teamed up to swarm an area and get the best deals so they have a Happy Christmas? What if they're moving as a team, like a squad moving…

Just one wafer-thin mint?

I dunno, we've got much more targeted, devastating methods of wiping ourselves off the planet these days. VX is only good in a conventional war or where you want high civilian casualties. We can't be bothered with those messy things anymore. Besides, keeping them around is *expensive*.

Ground roasted wattleseed is a good substitute for coffee...

NBC was for Nuclear, Biological, Radiological. I think it might have been for memory's sake, which might have something to do with the tv studio indeed - but maybe just for giggles. The military does not always make sense.

Aw, take video!

We learned all about VX gas in NBC class in the Army. The end of the week we trained up on the chemical side of things, "The Rock" came out in the theatre and showcased VX as the agent of fear... I was amused.

That's so awesome! You actually sourced out all his discussions on food. The man was a foodie! I never knew that. Thank you!

That's awesome. Someday it will sit on a plinth in a museum, but that they keep it working is fantastic.

Lydia pressed her lips together in silent annoyance, and reached up to arrest her colleague's third attempt at self-immolation. "Lance, no. Stop. If you put the goldenrod in with the fuschia it will go boom, remember?" She spoke gently, trying not to bruise his fragile ego. He stared at the pretty colors in…