@earlyre@mbersiam Rule of thumb used to just be “hey, how long should this thing be? Oh, I dunno, about three thumbs.” The guy would place his thumb 1, 2, 3. And then rule of thumb became a thing. Later: Rule of thumb says it’s [so many inches/mm].
Not necessarily new to me, but here are some rules I live by:
Any e-mail that starts with “Congratulations!” goes directly to the Spam folder without further reading.
Any organization with “Freedom” or “Patriot” or “Truth” in the title is to be avoided at all costs. Any correspondence from such an entity is to be deleted, burned, and then exorcised immediately.
If required to attend any “teambuilding” exercise, it is better to fake an illness than to go and end up hating everyone in my “team”.
If something is purchased and the seller pushes an optional extended warranty, it doesn’t need one. Anything purchased with no warranty probably does need one.
Anything advertised as “something I can’t live without” is something I can live without.
The best way to stay sane when facing all of the ills of the world is to sit quietly and repeat: “It’s not my problem to solve.”
@Kyeh I hate that too. Occasionally, though, it gets a chuckle, when they address me as “Dear Rock” - or more formally as “Mr. Blossom” - because I used those instead of my real name on a couple of e-mail signups. I’m not sure why they assume it is “Mr.” though. I think Rock is a perfectly good female pseudonym. Their AI is both dumb and sexist. I’m also amused when they state my location based on my IP address. My IP is actually masked by my service provider, so the IP they see is a public one that is in another town. I do so love the: “Final Notice! Mr R. Blossom at IP address location. You must pay this bill now or risk arrest!”
If you think you can go either way on a question, decide on heads and tails. If you are thinking that you would like heads (Or tails) you really do have a preference.
better than the actual rule of thumb…
which allowed a man to beat his wife with any object, as long as it was smaller around than his thumb…
@earlyre That’s not actual rule of thumb.
@earlyre @zhicks1987 I guess their proportions were different back then.
@earlyre @zhicks1987 Yeah, this is a false etymology that really took off.
@earlyre ah yes, I’ve watched Boondock Saints as well.
@mbersiam …good for you…never saw it
@earlyre @mbersiam Rule of thumb used to just be “hey, how long should this thing be? Oh, I dunno, about three thumbs.” The guy would place his thumb 1, 2, 3. And then rule of thumb became a thing. Later: Rule of thumb says it’s [so many inches/mm].
@earlyre @mbersiam @zhicks1987
Fun fact… the word pouce in French means thumb and also translates to “inch”…
I’m gonna need a banana for scale on this “rule of thumb”.
@mike808
@mike808
I was thinking summer sausage, myself.
@mike808![](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==)
Never buy a machine that is smarter than you are.
@romellex
Never buy anything at all from somebody who thinks their machine is smarter than you are.
@romellex What if it has better reflexes?
Not necessarily new to me, but here are some rules I live by:
Any e-mail that starts with “Congratulations!” goes directly to the Spam folder without further reading.
Any organization with “Freedom” or “Patriot” or “Truth” in the title is to be avoided at all costs. Any correspondence from such an entity is to be deleted, burned, and then exorcised immediately.
If required to attend any “teambuilding” exercise, it is better to fake an illness than to go and end up hating everyone in my “team”.
If something is purchased and the seller pushes an optional extended warranty, it doesn’t need one. Anything purchased with no warranty probably does need one.
Anything advertised as “something I can’t live without” is something I can live without.
The best way to stay sane when facing all of the ills of the world is to sit quietly and repeat: “It’s not my problem to solve.”
@rockblossom I really hate emails from companies and businesses that address me by my first name. It’s just too damn presumptuous.
@Kyeh I hate that too. Occasionally, though, it gets a chuckle, when they address me as “Dear Rock” - or more formally as “Mr. Blossom” - because I used those instead of my real name on a couple of e-mail signups. I’m not sure why they assume it is “Mr.” though. I think Rock is a perfectly good female pseudonym. Their AI is both dumb and sexist. I’m also amused when they state my location based on my IP address. My IP is actually masked by my service provider, so the IP they see is a public one that is in another town. I do so love the: “Final Notice! Mr R. Blossom at IP address location. You must pay this bill now or risk arrest!”
@rockblossom I love that. I’m going to have to come up with a name to use that way!
If you think you can go either way on a question, decide on heads and tails. If you are thinking that you would like heads (Or tails) you really do have a preference.