In which I dictate on the concept of "extra"

In this era of plus-ca change, I very much hope that a long-ignored societal discrepancy/disconnect is at last put right. To (half-)wit: when one orders "extra" anything on a sandwich (thinking particularly here of pickles), who decides how much exactly constitutes "extra?" That is to say, suppose some cretin who "hates" pickles is preparing your lunch. You remember at the last second to say "OH! And extra pickles!" Now, to a person who dislikes pickles, "extra" could mean as few as one, or a mere tiny shard of green edge floating on the top of the pickle bucket. The preparer finds pickles abhorrent, so he/she (and it probably is a he/she) instinctively shudders inwardly and adds as few pickles or as small a quantity of diced onion,etc, as can be gotten away with.

I propose that as a nation we stop all this money talk, bailout blather, Blagojevich prattle, and the like, and set about having a committee that will set standards for exactly how much "extra" really amounts to. And, if, on inspecting the standardized Fed guidelines and finding them wanting, one wants to then order "half-extra pizza sauce"(an additional quantity equal to .50 times the amount deemed extra) or "double-extra banana peppers," one can feel reasonably assured of what they will find on opening their food packaging.

If there are guidelines for medicine purity, of all things, and for parts of plutonium per zillion acceptable in tap water, let's really get down to brass tacks in '09 and make a difference that matters a whit. It's too late in the day not to be truly happy, for once.