Q: I was stuck in an airport last week due to the winter storms on the East Coast, and I witnessed some of the most appalling behavior I've ever seen. People were screaming obscenities at the gate agents because their flights were canceled. Can you please remind people that no matter what's going on with their flight, they still need to be civil to the gate agents?

A: I've heard several stories like yours this week, and all I can say is, come on, people. It's the holidays, for crying out loud. Do the gate agents control the weather? Breaking news: NO. And they aren't responsible for the decision to cancel your flight — they're just the poor souls stuck breaking the bad news to you. Do you also send hate mail to ESPN when they report your favorite team lost? Because that makes about as much sense as getting mad at the gate agents about bad weather.

Now, I'm not trying to persuade anyone to do a dance of joy upon hearing they'll be stuck in the Philly airport for the next 16 hours — a canceled flight is a perfectly legitimate reason to be upset. (Especially if you're stuck in PHL. My condolences.) But you should complain about it in a snarky Facebook status update or treat yourself to some Ben & Jerry's at the airport food court rather than berate the gate agents, who are, after all, just doing their job.

Q: Is it OK to complain about the quality of the free breakfast you get in a budget hotel?

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A: Sure, as long as you have realistic expectations. You can't knock a one-star motel for not offering homemade organic granola and fluffy, made-to-order omelets. However, if that motel has boxes of cereal that expired in 2006 and there are dead flies in the scrambled eggs, you should absolutely call them on it.

Q: Recently you tackled the subject of people who let their kids watch movies on planes without headphones. But what about adults who watch R-rated DVDs on planes? Maybe they're not inflicting the sound upon everyone, but it's still potentially offensive. I was flying with my 4-year-old, and the guy next to me was watching "Dexter" on his laptop. I like that show, but it was all I could do to keep her eyes off it!

A: What, you don't want your 4-year-old watching a vigilante serial killer chop people up and dump them off the coast of Miami? Just kidding. I'm with you — it's a great show, but unless you're watching it on a tiny screen you're sure no one else can see, it's not the right thing to watch on a plane. Giving other people's kids nightmares is rude.

Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.

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