Random strangers on Facebook are not exactly known for impressive displays of intellect, but with several of my friends in the hospital recently, I've been annoyed by one particular bad habit that their friends seem to have:

1) Someone posts that s/he is experiencing a certain medical problem and is going into the hospital. Friends reply with supportive words.
2) A few hours later, the OP posts an update describing what the doctors are doing. Other friends reply with questions like, "omg what happened?"
3) A day or two later, the OP posts that s/he is being discharged from the hospital and is recovering. Other friends reply with questions like, "omg what happened?"

The same goes for someone posting a series of updates about any serious crisis, such as the death of a close family member. People, if you want to know "omg what happened," then go to the OP's timeline or profile or whatever Facebook calls it these days, and scroll down for the original post describing the problem in the first place, because the subsequent posts are clearly intended as follow-ups due to their lack of inherent context. By asking "omg what happened," you demonstrate that you are too lazy and/or stupid to bother with this very quick research, and possibly too lousy of a friend to notice when your friends have been in crisis for a while already.

Not coincidentally: Evie, I'm glad you're recovering. Chris, get well soon. Lisa, I'm so sorry for your loss. Becky and Becky's family, I hope for the best.


Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

Love, Scott

Today is my mother Joan's 70th birthday. I wish her all the happiness in the world, but the occasion brings me feelings of guilt, for I have nothing to give her. Partly that because of bad timing, since she's on a cruise with her boyfriend Andy at the moment. Go »

Members of an Elite Squad

When I started watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit a year ago (!!), I predicted that I would never write about its good episodes because it was a mediocre series. Along the way, it turned out to have plenty of mediocre hours and some lousy ones, but it had a lot more good or even great hours than I expected. Go »

Goodbye, Kai

I've been trying to save up for a new computer for the last few years, but bigger purchases like a wedding and medical emergencies kept consuming the funds. This past weekend, I finally broke down and bought a cheap but still quite powerful Windows 7 machine on Newegg, because I could no longer stand my old Windows XP machine. How old was it? Go »

Kissingerian

Another of Fareed Zakaria's perfectly lucid articles today, suggesting the only way out of Iraq: (link) Go »

5 Horror Board Game Recommendations

Someone asked me recently to suggest a few good horror-themed board games. With Halloween coming up, I decided to write out a list in case it gives anyone else ideas for something fun to get and play. These are in order from most kid-friendly to least. Go »

At Least It's Better Than Bra

You know what sucks, bro? Reading this article a couple of times and later discovering that "bro" has leaked into your everyday speech. Go »