Jul 03 2007
What Exactly Is Regular?
Regular can mean so many things.
I remember ordering a cup of coffee in New Hampshire and being asked if I wanted a “regular” coffee – I thought this meant caffeinated. I said, yes, and was handed a milky cup of coffee.
I looked at it and said, “I thought I ordered regular.” and was told, “A regular coffee is coffee with milk and 2 sugars.”
Where I come from, there’s Regular and then there’s Decaf.
I used to watch commercials as a child and not know what “being regular” meant. Unfortunately, I now know what it means and why it’s so important.
If you have no clue, here’s one: Fiber.
Then there’s being a “regular guy” and what kind of guy is that? Some say dependable. Others make things more confusing by describing a regular guy as “all meat and potatoes.”
Meat and potatoes? What do they have to do with being regular? They aren’t know for keeping anyone, much less a man, regular.
Then there’s regular gasoline and regular expressions. If you drive, you probably know that regular gasoline has an octane rating of 87.
Unless you’re some form of geek (philosophical, mathematical, linguistic or computer) you probably have no idea what a regular expression is.
Just know that regular expressions are really important to whole lot of folks that aren’t regular.
How about the Regular cycle? Dunno? Then someone else is doing your laundry.
Then there’s regular meaning normal or typical. But normal or typical depends on how you look at something.
I’m a regular ABC – American Born Chinese: I finished school, I got a job and I have a retirement account.
I’m not a regular American: I don’t like shopping, I have no television and I’ve never eaten a Krispy Kreme donut. In fact, I would not purchase anything from a place that used a ‘K’ instead of a ‘C’ or a ‘Q’ because “Kwality Matters.”
Everything is regular within a well-defined group.
Everyone is regular if you label them the right way.
Whatever the right way is.
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Oh good one! I had to laugh at the Krispy Kreme. Those intentional misspellings always get me too. They make some yummy donuts though!!!!!!!!!!
Regular expressions are the key to my heart…
Jill: Yeah – like do we really wanna take our clothing to “Kwik Klean – Where You’re Clothes Come Out Just Rite!”
HMTKSteve: I figgered you’d know ALL about regular expressions! Key to your heart? What kinda key? PGP?
In terms of food at McDonald’s: I went in with a coupon for a free regular drink. I thought regular was medium. According to Mickey D’s its actually a small.
Regular is about perception like all things these days.
I probably use regular expressions at least once most weeks. If that doesn’t tag me as a geek, then i suppose actually liking ‘vi’ will.
but then, i’ve been using both off and on in the late ’80’s.
A couple of years ago, Papa Murphy’s made their pizzas compete with other chains by renaming everything. medium was gone. now, you’ve got large (what used to be a medium) and family (what used to be a large). Though I suppose my twisted sense of humor like going in to order a “family” size pizza for my family of one.
Krispy Kreme’s are nice, but must be fresh. Tim Horton’s though rock!
I don’t own a TV too! We can be irregular together!
… And seriously, as soon as I read this post title, I started thinking about poop.
Regular is such an ambiguous and confusing word.. almost as good as “normal.”
UT: Since when are you going to Mickey D’s??? Okay, I know, you got a salad and an ice tea?
I thought a regular drink would be small but I can see why you’d think it would be medium – I think most people would choose medium therefore it would be the “regular” thing to do!!
ack: You is a geek. regular usage of regular expressions + “VI” = Geek.
Hmm. I use regular expressions and VI. But not regularly.
Papa Murphy’s has no medium? Makes me think of Starbuck’s and “Venti”!
I think I’ve tried a Tim Horton’s donut. I’m not into donuts but I vaguely recall that TH donuts look like actual donuts while KK donuts look like sugar-coated pastry balloons. What DID look good at TH’s were the fritters. But when it comes to vices, I’d rather have a glass of wine and 75%+ dark chocolate than a fritter.
Irisi: Most of my friends don’t have a TV. Funny how that has worked out! I used to be one of the few people I knew without one but more and more people I know don’t. If out of any type of context, I would also associate “regular” with poop.
Irisi does not want to own a TV because she can’t stop watching Law and Order and never gets anything done. LOL!
Ricardo: Yeah, some shows can really suck you in! I don’t have a TV as a single person living alone, I think watching TV by myself is a bit depressing. I also have so many other things to do like read or write or pretty much anything!
The other reason for my lack of TV is they just take up so much space. Granted there are the flat-screen ones but still.
I also don’t feel like ante-up for the cable.
There’s also the fact that even when I have access to a TV, nothing really interests me. The side-effect to my lack of TV viewing is I have no idea what people are talking about. So they’ll reference some show or commercial’s catchphrase and I am totally out of the loop.
Which may actually be a good thing…
I have a TV. It has these two bumper stickers on the top: “Turn off TV & Turn on Life” and “Break free of TV”.
The kids use it maybe once every few months to see a DVD, or more if they’re sick. I tried watching a show a couple times, but I forgot to finish watching it.
Jill: Great bumper stickers! Do people even us TVs to watch DVDs anymore? Most people seem to use the portable players or view them on their PC or laptops. I don’t even watch DVDs. I could see watching TV or DVDs if I had a boyfriend. Hmm.
Nah. There are better things to do for entertainment…what’s that song? hehehehe
“Let me entertain you…let me, make you smile…”
Hey Ricardo, man, why ya gotta go talkin’ trash about me like that, homey.
I only Law and Order binge when I’m home to visit. I get my fill of criminal investigation shows, then go home to continue on with TV-less life… I do download every season of Grey’s Anatomy off of Itunes, though, I will admit. — Costs less than what cable would cost every month. And I secretly love Sex and the City…. Okay, okay, I’ll admit that I do enjoy some TV shows, we can’t all be purists, but I hate having a TV in my house because it just sits there, and every time you look at it you are reminded of the sedentary and depressing lives of most Americans.
I like my friend’s approach. She likes some TV shows, too, but doesn’t like having this big honkin’ TV in the middle of the room. So, she stuck it in the middle of some deep shelves, and on the shelf above it, put a beautiful tapestry that hangs down to hide it when not in use. It’s surrounded by books, and completely inconspiculous when hidden.
TV is evil if you let become so. I work in the industry and I know when enough is enough. It can be depressing or it can be rather fun depending on what you watch. But there are an array of other activities that be be just as depressing or more. I don’t understand why people insist on vilify an inanimate object when it is really we ourselves who should hold the blame. And personally, I wouldn’t be writing if not for TV and films. It’s what inspired me.
Irisi: Nuttin’ wrong with a little Law & Order OD!
If I’m on the road and the circumstances allow, I do like CSI (the one with Grissom – ooooh baby, a Forensic Geek with a bit of Freak), sometimes Grey’s Anatomy (the plot line has to grab me right away) and Sex and the City. However, once I started writing, the TV viewing pretty much disappeared.
I do like CSI with Gary Sinise but only because of Gary – the show is too freakin’ blue and dark.
I associated TV with depression which is why I avoid it. I know people who have it on all the time and it’s their “company.”
Ricardo: There are some great shows out there and there’s nothing wrong with entertainment! I can see having a TV if oh, I were married or living with someone and heck, it might be cozy to watch some shows together. I remember really looking forward to watching “X-Files” with a boyfriend.
Irisi – that’s what my brother used to do! He had the tv on a shelf in the closet. To watch TV, you had to move the living room couch from in front of the closet, turn it around & then open the closet door to watch. He must have a tv in his new place somewhere, but I can’t think of where it is…
Ricardo – I only have that strong a reaction because I spent 12 years married to a guy who spent every last waking moment watching…EVERY moment he was home & we had a small house where you couldn’t get away. I also think it has to be monitored very carefully for children under a certain age, bec. it actually changes the way their brain develops. ***THAT SAID THOUGH – I think it’s just like most other stuff – all okay in moderation.***
Jill: Your brother sounds very interesting! Sounds like he has a TV just to have one. I used to have this portable one that someone gave me but when I moved, I got rid of it.
I can understand your strong reaction. I was raised in a house with a TV in almost everyone room each one on and perhaps tuned into different channels. The TVs were on all the time and on celebrity-news or talk shows. Which is why I can’t stand celebrity “news” and the popular media.
I moved out and barely watched TV (had barely any reception). Mostly listened to music and now…silence. Or as much silence as one can get with shared walls.
KK’s doughnuts are all glazed, while i remember the Tim’s I had being cake.
As for TVs and DVDs and all that – yeah. people use TV’s to watch DVDs still. Why watch some little, puny laptop screen when i can watch it on the big screen?
Shows – you gotta have a DVR, or else it’s nuts. let’s you time shift your fave shows, and is a total must for sports fanatics for the live, do-it-yourself replays.
A great saturday for me is the quadruple header during hockey season. You start with the 10:00 am (pacific) start. Then, follow that with the 1:00 PM start. Now, you’re all good and warmed up for the first game of the hockey night in canada double header (featuring Don Cherry in the open and first intermission on coaches corner). then we follow that with the 7:00 PM start of the second game. after that game is over, i can jump over to another western conference tilt that started at 7:30 to catch the very end of it. so, it’s 12 to 12.5 hours of hockey.
But as for too much TV – yeah. It’s possible to watch too much. My father watches tons of TV. it might contribute to his insomina, but that’s just the way things are now. Here is it, i’m posting at 12:30 (waaaay past when i should be in bed for getting in to work tomorrow), and he’s still up watching TV.
I did survive for several years w/o cable or satalite TV reception. and i was in one of the many dead spots, so antenna reception was pretty much nothing. (a couple of independents that were showing the preaching, send us all your money, etc. shows.)
What did I do? I watched a lot of DVDs, and some stuff on tape. I had one show I went out of my way to watch – Babylon 5. (probably another Geek sign with my luck) I had someone tape it for me, and then I watched the tape.
Or, I read through this massive list of books. I still have a huge backlog of books, but i’m getting through them.
Jill I’m very sorry to hear that about your husband. I take it he’s a former one. He was clearly addicted and using it to ignore the more important things in life.
You should have taken those bumper stickers and stapled them to his head!
ack: re: donuts. Hmm. I think you’re right about KK = glazed, TH = cake. I’m just glad that donuts in general are off my radar. I just can’t see eating one.
I can understand really being into watching TV if you’re into a sport. It is a shared event and can be fun if you have friends and family watching with you. I mean, that’s what Super Bowl parties are all about, right?
Ricardo: yup, some people do have TV addictions. TV really flattens the ole brainwaves. If I’m on an intense project on the road, all this analytical thinking, I turn on the TV to relax – I can’t read because I know it requires more energy. TV is pure input, no thought. There are a lot of folks who like not thinking.
BTW I too hate celeb news and talk shows. I actually hate most of the shows that everyone else watches like American Idol. There is lot’s of really bad stuff on there.
Ricardo: Reality TV, celebrity “news” and all those contest shows (American Idol, Dance with the stars, something called what, “The Great Race?”…) I can’t take it.
If hear the opening music to those shows it gives me a bit of the same heebie-jeebies I get when I’m going through a casino and hear the slot machine music – it all seems a bit surreal.
I’m not sure what it is but these days I feel that everything is just TOO MUCH – send-send-send-sell-sell-sell. No interaction. Just images and sound coming at me. Another reason I can’t go to Malls.
Too funny Ricardo!!!!!
Ms. Q – You need a *reason* not to go to malls?!?!? :-0 :-0 :-0
Jill: I got lots of reasons not to go to malls. Although you’re right, I really don’ t need any.
Superbowl parties are to watch the ad’s, not the game. Usually, I don’t care about who’s in the game, and I mildly pull for two teams. But the ad’s rock.
Those perfect saturdays I described – just me and the TV. i wouldn’t have minded having someone else watching with me, but it was a pretty solitary thing.
The whole “sell-sell-sell” bit is because they want you to buy stuff. After all, this is America. We’re supposed to buy crap we don’t need with money we don’t have. (not sure where I stole that line from, but it sure seems to fit.)
So, these crazy shows like American Idol and such that let you text message stuff in. someone’s charging a fee in addition to the text message fee. so, folks are paying to participate in these shows. uh, why? i dunno. third base!
Malls – i’ve got to be in the right mood for a mall. I’ve been wanting to get something from a store that’s in the mall, but not badly enough. So, I haven’t gone looking yet. I might do that soon though. Vaca coming up, and I think i’d like to have what I want for that.
For me to brave the mall, I’ve got to be ready to project the aura that I’m not in the mood to be messed with. It keeps most of the leeches away. And ready to crowd slice. (dodging through the crowd, ready to cut whichever way i need to get elsewhere.)