# A Cornucopia of MiniRants! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 15, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788 "2010-11-15T21:57:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/81 "2010-11-23T16:22:50Z")
My car’s valve cover gasket is leaking. There might be other leaks too, but it’ll cost extra to clean the engine, then we have to keep a look-out for other oil leaks. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/82 "2010-11-23T17:46:19Z")
Do some research and find out if your car has a reputation for seals going - we replaced a seal on my husband’s Neon, then found out later that you don’t replace one seal on a Neon, you replace all of them, because the company knew the seals they were using were crap and didn’t bother fixing the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/83 "2010-11-23T17:54:03Z")
Well, I’m off to shovel my sidewalks in the -29ºC cold, for the fifth fucking time in a week. Then I get to slip and slide on off to the grocery store on roads covered with nice, shiny ice. Winter’s fun! And anyone who wants to be pedantic and tell me winter doesn’t start for another month can bite my cold blue ass. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/84 "2010-11-23T18:37:11Z")
I’ll just keep it short and sweet. MY MOTHER IS DRIVING ME FUCKING INSANE. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/85 "2010-11-23T20:24:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > A week ago my arachnophobic wife calls me into the bathroom to swat a spider that is out of her reach. A cortisone shot to my shoulder, some oxycodone, a week of rest and lots of Aleve later, I can finally comb my hair and dress myself without excruciating pain in my right deltoid. Fuckin’ spiders. If I ever saw a spider so big that swatting it would do that much damage to _me_, I think I’d just move out and deed the house to him. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/86 "2010-11-23T20:27:55Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I was idly scrolling through my cell phone this past weekend, when I ran into the phone number of my now-dead [cousin](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12781029&postcount=776). I thought about it for a moment - hesitated, really - and then, I deleted her contact information from my phone. She’s been gone for months, might as well not pocket-dial some random person in Warsaw. > > A small gesture, crazier not to do so then to keep a dead woman’s defunct cell number. Still. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much. I’m sorry abut your pain. If you still have the info, I’d suggest you restore it to your phone, but edit the number so it’s not valid to pocket-dial any number at all. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/87 "2010-11-23T21:13:21Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I was idly scrolling through my cell phone this past weekend, when I ran into the phone number of my now-dead [cousin](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12781029&postcount=776). I thought about it for a moment - hesitated, really - and then, I deleted her contact information from my phone. She’s been gone for months, might as well not pocket-dial some random person in Warsaw. > > A small gesture, crazier not to do so then to keep a dead woman’s defunct cell number. Still. I didn’t expect it to hurt so much. Six months after my dad died, my mom bought a new phone. However, she did not toss the old one - dad had recorded the voicemail. It’s kept in the laundry room, on a shelf, still plugged in to an outlet. Every once in a while she still listens to it. January will be 4 years since he died. So, yeah. I understand your hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/88 "2010-11-23T21:45:24Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > If I ever saw a spider so big that swatting it would do that much damage to _me_, I think I’d just move out and deed the house to him. Funny. Just a case of hyperextension, however. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/89 "2010-11-23T22:10:44Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > Six months after my dad died, my mom bought a new phone. However, she did not toss the old one - dad had recorded the voicemail. It’s kept in the laundry room, on a shelf, still plugged in to an outlet. Every once in a while she still listens to it. January will be 4 years since he died. > > So, yeah. I understand your hurt. My understanding is that most phone companies will take any recorded voicemail message (either the inbox thing or an actual message) and as a courtesy to customers in cases like this, record it to a CD or MP3 for you, free of charge. Your mom might want to look into that. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/90 "2010-11-23T23:11:15Z")
Dear Frito-Lay, if you are going to introduce new Doritos flavors, don’t fucking yank them off the market after just one month, 3rd Degree Burn Habanero Doritos taste great, but all the stores stopped carrying them. Who the hell cares about boring-ass Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch? You can’t even order Doritos at Frito-Lay’s website, FFS! (from which website I also see that there are lots of interesting-looking flavors that have never even been _sold_ in the DC area). The only new snack worth eating in years, and it’s gone! Sub-rant: Every single new variety of potato chips that hit the market in the past few years is that damned “Kettle Chips” crap. I like my chips thin and crispy, not thick, hard and crunchy. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/91 "2010-11-24T04:51:01Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > My understanding is that most phone companies will take any recorded voicemail message (either the inbox thing or an actual message) and as a courtesy to customers in cases like this, record it to a CD or MP3 for you, free of charge. Your mom might want to look into that. Just a thought. Sorry, I mistyped. He recorded the message - the “You’ve called blahblah” intro. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/92 "2010-11-24T04:57:58Z")
So this is what the furnace repair guy calls “fixed.” Interesting. Apparently his fixed is my can’t-turn-the-damn-thing-off-we’re-fucking-roasting. It’s 35 degrees outside, but 80 in here. Luckily we were able to turn the thing off by shutting off power to the unit, but dammit, we’re supposed to leave town tomorrow. What a fucking pain in the ass. At least we’re not flying and we’re not going more than 4 hours, so we can fix this first. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/93 "2010-11-24T07:53:09Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > Sorry, I mistyped. He recorded the message - the “You’ve called blahblah” intro. That’s “the inbox thing” **Diosa** was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/94 "2010-11-24T11:28:52Z")
Mini rant against my boss who sent an email request for a meeting with 3 of us to “get on the same page” about some things. I haven’t done anything wrong to my knowledge, but dropping this little bomb has kicked my anxiety in full force and now I’ve had the shits and can’t sleep wondering what is going on. And I don’t even know when we’re meeting, ACK! HATE. Fucking anxiety. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/95 "2010-11-24T16:13:29Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I’ll just keep it short and sweet. > > MY MOTHER IS DRIVING ME FUCKING INSANE. Awww, c’mon. Give us a story. Please? ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/96 "2010-11-24T16:22:09Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > That’s “the inbox thing” **Diosa** was talking about. I believe that **MissTake** is talking about a landline phone rather than a cell phone and the message is on the local answering machine, probably in electronic storage rather than on a tape. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788/97 "2010-11-24T17:04:40Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > I believe that **MissTake** is talking about a landline phone rather than a cell phone and the message is on the local answering machine, probably in electronic storage rather than on a tape. Ah, well if that is the case, there are still services who will happily transfer that to a more secure form of media for her, though it’s certainly not free. That might be a nice Christmas gift for mom, just a thought! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-cornucopia-of-minirants/560788.md?page=4)