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Friday, December 13, 2024 75° Today's Paper


Travel

Swearing on video has simple solution

Question: My friend did a really scary bungee jump-type ride at an amusement park, and he asked me to take a video. I did, but some people nearby were surprised when my friend suddenly swung by overhead on the bungee cord — and let out a few choice expletives. Now my friend can’t share the video with his kids. Can you ask people to watch their language when someone is shooting video?

Answer: Sure. But if your friend wants to show the video to his kids, couldn’t he do it with the sound off?

Q: How can you tell when a restaurant will give you unlimited free refills of soda? I don’t mind paying $3 if I can get several refills of Diet Coke, but I really hate it when the waiter just comes out with a can. Maybe I’m cheap, but if they’re only going to give me a single can for that price, I’d rather drink tap water.

A: It would be nice if restaurants just wrote “free refills” or “cans” on their menus, wouldn’t it? But there are a few surreptitious ways you can try to figure it out. First, if you’re outside the U.S., assume you will not get free refills. In the U.S. it sometimes seems tied to the swankiness level of the restaurant. If it’s in the middle — like a national family-friendly chain — you’ll usually get refills.

If, however, you’re somewhere super-fancy in New York, you might get your Diet Coke in a tiny glass bottle. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, if you’re in a hole-in-the-wall pizza place with one booth, you shouldn’t expect them to have a soda fountain — you’ll probably get a can.

Of course, the foolproof way to tell is simple:

Ask your server.

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