Received and answered, Polgara. Thanks, too.

I have to confess to sometimes about wondering about a woman's big breasts if she doesn't have a matching lower body

I've never thought of mine as big enough (or the rest of me as lean enough, I guess) to warrant the question.

I've known enough oddly disproportionate women with natural boobs that I only wonder when presented with snarkily captioned photographic evidence.

I think it's always on the wrong side of rude to ask someone if hers have been done. OTOH, I always wonder about very fit women with, well, racks. So I'm not surprised someone wondered about ita for that reason alone.

Definitely always rude to ask! ita, the rest of your body is pretty little, all things considered.

Not as little as my friend who does have fake boobs, but not large.

It's totally rude

and in no way a compliment.

friends - that's different

I think it's always on the wrong side of rude to ask someone if hers have been done

I'm thinking that it's generally rude to ask people about having artificially altered their appearances [eta: to something else "natural"]. Obviously, the extent of the alteration and your intimacy with them affect the rudeness, but I'd start with not asking a stranger if they dyed their hair, and count questions about surgical modification of secondary sexual characteristics as requiring the most intimacy.

I have to confess to sometimes about wondering about a woman's big breasts if she doesn't have a matching lower body

I might fall into that category if I weren't carrying so much extra weight. I'm not hippy, and I come from a long line of flatasses.

The Conspiracy Theorists are out!

Blackout New York: Let The Paranoia Begin

More than a few versions of the following e-mail have made their way to our inbox:

My friend's dad works for ConEd - he just called and told her not to ride the subways any more today, as we will likely have a blackout. ConEd is sending all non-essential employees home right now so they can shut down power to their building. From yesterday's heat, Manhattan has 4 feeders out, putting a big strain on the system. He said in his 30 years working there, he's never seen ConEd act like this, especially at 10:30 in the morning. He said not to panic, but not to take a chance if it can be helped - avoid riding the subway if at all possible.

Also, when the friend rode a cab on home? A kindly Arab driver took a liking to her and totally told her not to be near the Empire State Building next Wednesday, because "bad things will happen."

The Conspiracy Theorists are out!

It's the heat. It brings them out like rats.

Speaking of which...

WHOOT!!!! THE HEAT HAS BROKEN. In Downtown Boston at least, and I think it may depend on what part of town you're in.

I walked out the back of the building I work in (the side which faces southwest) into what felt like still mid-to-high-80s and a warm breeze (still better than it has been) walked up a few blocks, turned a corner so I was going more northeast, got into a more open area, and got hit with a breeze that was at least 5-10 degrees cooler. Wild!