Friday, September 17, 2010

Parlez-Vous?

Warning. Non-medical post.

I'm just hoping I get an "amen" from someone... I understand that under the current administration we, as Americans, are supposed to be content with being 'just like everyone else'. Cool concept. I dig. Pass me the bong.

I understand that China and India and other countries are ready to bypass us as the world's driving Superpower by employing policies that we used to hold near and dear, but really, at worst, I would say we are still tied for the number one position.

So, dear friends, why is it with some Internet sites, when I hit the drop down menu to select my country of origin, it does not default to "United States of America"? I mean, what are the odds that I'm from Afghanistan? Honestly, I can calculate the odds and they go like this... World population = about 7 billion. US population = 310 million. Afghanistan population = 30 million. Etc...

But, more importantly, if I live in Afghanistan, what are the odds I have Internet access? How about if I live in the US? Which country is the 'most-wired'? The PC police irritate me even when I'm just trying to buy a book. F-you politically correct douchebags. Smiley face and hugs (sucker punch loaded).

20 comments:

  1. Excuse me - but why should it default to "United States of America"? You seem to be implying that the internet is owned by the USA.
    www, remember?

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  2. I think what 911DOC is saying as the US is still the premiere world power it should default to that first. My two cents as a compsci student is that organizing alphabetically and having it start as Afghanistan is simply easier.

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  3. 9-11, I think your just bitter cause your Georgia Bulldogs already have about as much chance of winning the SEC as Ronald Reagan getting the Democratic Nomination in 2012.
    Actually, if Ronald Reagan WAS to rise from the Dead he probably WOULD run as a Democrat cause he wouldn't want to jump the line in his own Party.
    Anyway, If you ever go to Europe, you know, to see the Louv're, walk through St. Peters, Smoke some of the most Skull Splitting Von Vollenhoven in an Amsterdam Hash Bar, you'll notice the Ubiquitous-ness of American Culture. Somali-born-French-teens-boomin-Miley-Cyrus-wearin-Backwards-Colorado-Rockies-Caps just like there Somali-born-American-Teens-boomin-Miley-Cyrus-wearin-Backwards-Colorado-Rockies-Caps here in America.
    9/10 top primetime TV shows in Germany are just dubbed American Shows, even the few "Original" German Series are just cheap rip-offs of American Shows that were themselves rip offs of shitty British Shows.
    And Englands even more like America, same language, culture, intolerance for the darker races.
    So buckup, 9-11, Arkansas will put y'all outta your misery about 3pm today...

    Frank

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  4. Hey MDOD fans, I'll be makin a National TV appearance this am, "College Game Day" on ESPN, 10am, I'll be the guy wearin an Auburn Hat, with an unlit stogie just to piss off the militant anti-tobacco Nazis.

    Frank

    P.S. they confiscated my "Show us your Tits Erin!!" sign

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  5. dearest alexia,
    my point is, of course, that on drop down menu it would make sense to design it to default to the country with the most people using the internet, and that, is certainly NOT Afghanistan. alphabetical order is a PC copout.

    frank,
    you look fat on tv.

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  6. Amen!

    I'm also irritated by automated phone services that ask me to push 1 for English.

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  7. hmmm - then Emdee, it should default to China!

    http://www.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm

    x)

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  8. 911 is right.

    If one is in the business of selling goods, it makes more sense to default to the country that buys the most stuff: USA.

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  9. Georgia?! I thought 911 was from Tennesee and I could rag on him about my Gators, today!

    I think odds-makers for SEC championships should have drop-down menus that begin with UF. Making a case for an alphabetical listing would properly feature Alabama. However, having Arkansas and Auburn then appear would be just plain silly.

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  10. dear CJRun...
    i live right next to Smith college and do not follow that barbarian, colonialist-pig game that americans call 'football'. women's field-hockey, though... that's my sport.

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  11. like i said, oldfart... i'm a women's field-hockey fan now. besides, i didn't know you played or coached for tcu?

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  12. So, a bit off topic, but I'm OK with that...

    Anybody know if there are any other reality-based/documentary medical shows like Hopkins and Boston Med out there? Just looking for some motivational TV to get me through yet another night of studying Chem and Statistics and writing more crap essays for English so I can get to the good stuff.

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  13. Nightgod:

    Give "House M.D." a look for a reality show documentary its loaded with Drama.

    Frank

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  14. But....House gave me lupus (which then gave me MY fibro and CFS!)

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  15. AMEN!!!

    And AMEN to the press 1 for English!!!!!

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  16. Alphabetical is not so much a "PC copout" as easier than prioritizing the list.

    Especially if you have a company that does a lot of sales in multiple countries; say you have one that sells 3/4 of its stuff to France, Germany, and the UK, and the rest all over the Eurozone.

    What order should the countries be in?

    People can type the first letter to get 90% of the sorting done right there, in such a case - which is not too uncommon on that crazy international internet thing.

    (Now, sure, an almost-entirely-US company should default to US at the head, and many do.

    But I'm much more inclined to blame laziness than PC, to the people who don't.

    And don't forget, on the Afghanistan thing, that there are plenty of people in Kabul with internet access. Heck, a good number of 'em are American soldiers.)

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  17. ok,
    then put north korea first so they don't get mad, then iran.

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  18. I used to work for International Paper, a US company with foreign operations. The majority of the plants and mills, however, are in the US.

    On the internal company website, the country dropdown list was alphabetical. I called the webmaster and suggested that as the company was a US company and the majority of the employees and users were in the US, it might be appropriate to have the default be "US."

    He, very pissily, told me that he couldn't discriminate.

    Idiot.

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