Anastasia's So-Called Dating Rules
Path taken: Adam's blogroll 
Instapundit Eric Anastasia's Dating Rules, which are: 1) no more than 4 dates before a long-term relationship, 2) call if you get a number, 3) pay for the date if you're the one asking out, and 4) be honest.
Let's see, the first one is not an issue for me, never having gone on two dates with a girl (much less four), and never having been in a long-term relationship. (There is no need to tell me the reasons for this: I know them quite well.) The second—asking for a number—is hard enough to do on its own, and actually calling feels like interrupting. There's much to be said for specifying a general time that's good to call, but I usually give up after two calls, and rarely leave a message (I prefer talking to, y'know, actual people and not a machine), assuming, of course, that I get a phone number, much less get the urge to call. The third, paying for the date has never been an issue: that's what traditional guys do. And number four, being honest about yourself is actually easy, and has come a lot easier lately. But as if being honest about yourself and "dating" are compatible, for dating is based on deception.
This comment strikes me as the funniest and therefore most true: in the end, "advice" and "rules" are just other words for telling somebody what to do.
