some clarifications

I thought I would clear up a few things from some previous posts here, since I have had several in the last month where I may have not given a complete or clear enough description of what I was thinking.

Merger
I kind of wanted to say more, but this is one of those situations where I haven't completely thought through how this all should work. I don't know that either of the systems I speculated about is perfect, but I am surprised at the certainty with which people defend their preferred driving style.

What Do You Want?
I am genuinely constantly open to both good and bad feedback about the site and what can make it better. Really. If something occurs to you, don't hesitate to let me know.

Medicine Head
I had a few questions about why I hid the words in this post. The point of the hidden text was to illustrate how I couldn't think after taking the Benadryl. I couldn't even process words. In this case, I wanted my audience to have trouble processing the words as well.

Buhhh Dee
I did not emphasize that the key isn't necessarily the words, but how they are said. This is kind of like when a bilingual person who is still learning English is in a conversation. Since a lack of English skills and any apparent lack of confidence can provide a subconscious cue that this person is not intelligent, I have seen people talk to others who lacked English skills like they were children. I don't think it was on purpose, though.

Under Construction
The main problem with the parking lot construction was that the work was timed almost exactly at the same time as people were leaving. It didn't impact me, so it wasn't really a complaint on my part. It just seemed improperly scheduled.

Fractured Fairy Tales
I probably dwelt on appearance too much. I was questioned whether this had anything to do with appearance issues growing up. Sure, I didn't like being among the smallest kids my age, but it was not that big of a deal (pun intended). I do not remember ever feeling ugly, so this is probably not something I am incredibly sensitive about. If anything, I am now probably overconfident about my looks.

Whether kids make value judgments based on attractiveness was questioned as well. In my cursory searching I didn't find any study that focused on kids, but I found a lot that tested adults. Some of what I found is nicely summarized by this article by Dr. Judith Langlois at the University of Texas at Austin.

Finally, I actually think The Pied Piper from Hamelin has a good message. I just thought my one observation on it could add a little humor to the piece.