# A Day Late But Not A Rant Short (March Mini-Rants)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [March 2, 2024, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343 "2024-03-02T03:41:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 11
### Author:  [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/201 "2024-03-22T17:46:51Z")
> [@Monty](#):
>
> Can’t you use one of the non-dairy substitutes for the milk?
Nope - those are also explicitly contraindicated during colonoscopy prep. Clear liquids only.
If you’re someone who likes coffee or tea only with milk, this means your morning brew is NOT gonna taste right.
---
### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/202 "2024-03-22T17:56:20Z")
> [@slalexan](#):
>
> And then I criticized my choice of words in front of the interviewer.
I would love that. I interviewed a lot of candidates, and I looked for honesty above all else. Someone saying “Arrgh, I didn’t say that right!” would be top of my list, way above a person that was so slick that they would never make a mistake (maybe because they rehearsed “Top 100 Interview Answers”).
The big boss used to say “You’re not hiring one new person, you’re hiring dozens of new relationships.” He wanted to hire people who’d get along with existing employees, and hated “salesman types”.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/203 "2024-03-22T18:11:38Z")
> [@carnut](#):
>
> Mainly because I was being stupid this morning.
I have a story about that. Last year I was on a trip to Vegas with my wife and we were having a great time, eating at some good restaurants, drinking alcohol which I normally don’t do (just maybe a couple of drinks each day), relaxing, visiting shops, and so on. Halfway through the second full day there I had developed a _massive_ headache that wouldn’t go away and I couldn’t figure it out; I wasn’t sick, I didn’t have allergies or sinus issues (which is normally where my headaches come from). It didn’t make sense. Then I realized that completely by accident I hadn’t had **any** caffeine since arriving in Vegas. I’d only had alcohol or water at restaurants and maybe root beer or some other non-caffeinated soda. It wasn’t intentional, just a total accident. It was awful.
That was the first (and so far last) time I ever had caffeine withdrawal. I don’t drink coffee, my caffeine is mostly through diet sodas or caffeinated flavored water (like you get from Cirkul) and I don’t generally drink a lot of it at once. But I drink it enough that I’m apparently addicted to it. Oh well.
> [@slalexan](#):
>
> I am still job hunting. This is a hard and demoralizing task. I’ve had a lot of interviews and a LOT of "no"s. I am losing hope that I’ll ever find a job, though I realize that I am barely 6 weeks into the process.
I was once looking for work for 8 months. That was really difficult. I barely survived on unemployment, only through spending money on the basics. And it seemed like I wasn’t getting any opportunities despite trying my best and applying everywhere. Then all of a sudden I had multiple opportunities at once (none of them great but none of them bad either) and I had a hard choice to make. That job then led to a better job then to a better job and so on, and now I have a fantastic job that I have been at for 10 years and plan to be at for maybe 15-20 more. It really can get better even when it seems impossible.
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/204 "2024-03-22T18:27:00Z")
Yeah, in the week after I accepted my only real job offer, I heard back from a number of places that’d “back burnered” me for months. I wanted to yell “NOW you want to hire me? Where were you a month ago?”
That’s another thing that sucks: you need a job _now_, they need to hire someone _eventually…_
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### Author:  [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/205 "2024-03-22T19:08:34Z")
Well, I hope a lot of people are happy. Not just the ones calling out the Princess of Wales for a bad Photoshop job, but the ones accusing her husband of abusing her, cheating on her, **murdering her** , and calling his alleged affair parter’s husband’s sexuality into question, and probably some other stuff I’ve forgotten. That’s what bugs so much about conspiracy theorists: these “truths” they believe in are always the worst possible scenarios.
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### Author:  [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/206 "2024-03-22T22:56:47Z")
I pit myself for being a dingbat. I thought my American Express card expired at the end of the month and I should have gotten a new card by now. I called AMEX yesterday to ask if they had sent the card yet. The rep told me that my card was sent to me in 2021 and did not expire until 2026. I said no, the date was 2024 and he said if that was true, then I was using the wrong card. I insisted that I was not. I was bemused but not angry or anything. He seemed a bit frustrated with me. He said he could send me a new card if I wanted one. It ended with me saying I quite confused at that point and would wait a few more days to see if a card showed up.
This is the only credit card I use. Since Covid I use it online a lot so I have the number memorized. I never look at the card when I use it in person. So I looked at the card. It expires in 2026. I’ve been putting in the wrong expiration date for three years. I’m not sure how I started doing that but I guess the wrong date doesn’t matter as long as it’s in the future? I would think that the card wouldn’t be accepted with the wrong date. Anyway, I wish I could let the rep know that I now know he was right and I was a dingbat. But maybe he got to tell the story about a crazy lady he had to deal with and got some laughs out of it.
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### Author:  [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/207 "2024-03-22T23:13:20Z")
I just had some cream cheese on bread, then my stomach sortof felt hurt. Now I am rumbling. Drat.
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### Author:  [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/208 "2024-03-22T23:23:10Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#):
>
> This is the only credit card I use. Since Covid I use it online a lot so I have the number memorized. I never look at the card when I use it in person. So I looked at the card. It expires in 2026. I’ve been putting in the wrong expiration date for three years. I’m not sure how I started doing that but I guess the wrong date doesn’t matter as long as it’s in the future?
Just a personal observation, but I hate American Express with a passion, for reasons I need not go into here. And furthermore, the correct expiration date is a normal part of the authentication process, so they really screwed up on that, too. You might as well say, when using a credit card and asked for the expiration date, “Oh, it’s not going to expire for years – don’t worry about it”!
Anyway, I despise those guys. I recommend a VISA card with rewards like airline miles or cash back. And many places don’t even accept AMEX, I believe because their merchant fees are too high.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [March 22, 2024, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/209 "2024-03-22T23:30:13Z")
> [@aurora\_maire](#):
>
> This is the only credit card I use. Since Covid I use it online a lot so I have the number memorized. I never look at the card when I use it in person. So I looked at the card. It expires in 2026. I’ve been putting in the wrong expiration date for three years. I’m not sure how I started doing that but I guess the wrong date doesn’t matter as long as it’s in the future? I would think that the card wouldn’t be accepted with the wrong date. Anyway, I wish I could let the rep know that I now know he was right and I was a dingbat. But maybe he got to tell the story about a crazy lady he had to deal with and got some laughs out of it.
I’ve put in a typo for an expiration date (still in the future) for my card and had it rejected. But then again, I don’t have American Express, and I know those credit cards work differently from, say, Visa or Mastercard, because AMEX issues cards directly to customers, while other card networks partner with other financial institutions. For example, I have a couple of Visa cards through my bank (debit and credit) and I have another Visa credit card through Chase and Amazon Prime (I get 5% cash back with everything I buy on Amazon). Every American Express card is American Express, period. So that might make a difference.
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### Author:  [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/210 "2024-03-23T00:17:41Z")
Aww, thanks!
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### Author:  [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)
#### Post date: [March 23, 2024, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/211 "2024-03-23T17:12:17Z")
We’re starting to get things underway for selling our home and moving. I counted up all the large framed pictures in our house that will need special “picture boxes”, and then shopped online. Criminy, up to $45 for one large heavy-duty box? And we have 18 pictures. Sheesh. Maybe I can just wrap them in used moving blankets and packing tape or something.
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### Author:  [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/212 "2024-03-24T05:04:10Z")
Turned on an online game (because SNL was a repeat) and I went into player chat. The current discussion was how to hurt cats. One Psycho was thrilled about the prospect of throwing a cat against a wall. He was convinced it wouldn’t get hurt ( of Couse it will! And hurting small animals Makes You A Psycho) .
Another was bragging about how they used to love tossing their cat off of a 25-ft high deck into the tall grass and how ‘it never got hurt’. (!)
Its one of those games with just about zero moderation… and there literally is no way for me to track those Aholes down… but I Swear to Og those Aholes need to be in prison or committed to an institution for the violently insane.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/213 "2024-03-24T08:50:19Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#):
>
> Its one of those games with just about zero moderation…
And that’s why it is a toxic cesspool.
An MMO without moderation is identical to a public toilet without a person to clean it.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/214 "2024-03-24T09:24:33Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#):
>
> I went into player chat.
And [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWwOJlOI1nU) is the soundtrack for that.
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### Author:  [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/215 "2024-03-24T15:25:20Z")
> [@slalexan](#):
>
> I am still job hunting. This is a hard and demoralizing task. I’ve had a lot of interviews and a LOT of "no"s
just a heads-up … and a way to deal mentally with it …
let go of the “No’s” … you only need **ONE** “yes” to be good…
having lots of interviews is a good thing
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### Author:  [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/216 "2024-03-24T15:43:05Z")
> [@slalexan](#):
>
> I am still job hunting. This is a hard and demoralizing task.
And the scammers are as thick as mosquitoes on the Tundra in May.
I try limiting my applications to LinkedIn, but they are rife with scammers. I received two scam emails today from two completely different companies that I applied to. They were both identical cut/pastes from “Samantha Grayson”.
Evidently, ‘Bats Girl’ wants my personal information now…
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### Author:  [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/217 "2024-03-24T21:54:02Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#):
>
> I try limiting my applications to LinkedIn, but they are rife with scammers.
At work, I _never_ use LinkedIn to find applicants because it’s so overrun with spammers. [Indeed.com](http://Indeed.com) is much better.
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### Author:  [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/218 "2024-03-24T23:32:37Z")
> [@Monty](#):
>
> Can’t you use one of the non-dairy substitutes for the milk?
Nope. I’m picky. Almond milk for oatmeal, sure. But not for my tea.
> [@Atamasama](#):
>
> I don’t drink coffee, my caffeine is mostly through diet sodas or caffeinated flavored water (like you get from Cirkul) and I don’t generally drink a lot of it at once.
Consider that your withdrawal headache may have been from the sugar substitute in addition to the caffeine. I had an absolutely crazy headache going through withdrawal from diet soda and I was getting caffeine at the time. Just with sugar instead of aspartame. I don’t ever want that headache again.
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### Author:  [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)
#### Post date: [March 24, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/219 "2024-03-24T23:52:25Z")
More because I missed the edit window:
Doc wants me to have another check in 6 months. Long story. I have other rant-able items on my plate, not putting this one back on there.
I did managed to wrangle the name of the tablet you can take instead of the prep. It is called **Sutab** in the U.S. Take two and drink lots and lots of water.
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### Author:  [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2024, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-day-late-but-not-a-rant-short-march-mini-rants/998343/220 "2024-03-25T06:43:28Z")
> [@carnut](#):
>
> Consider that your withdrawal headache may have been from the sugar substitute in addition to the caffeine.
I would if I hadn’t had a couple of diet lemon lime sodas over that time period; I had that and (non-diet) root beer, as well as water and alcoholic drinks. The only thing missing was the caffeine.
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