# A-gust of fresh mini rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 1, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582 "2014-08-01T16:26:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/341 "2014-08-28T02:30:02Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > Thanks. > Wow, I want a clarinet case like that! Back before the era of modern make it fast and cheap crap they had _artists_ making stuff. It is lined with actual velvet, not that funky plush. The case is covered in oxblood red dyed alligator hide. I probably couldn’t afford the damned thing if it were brand new. [URL=“[http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)”] ---
**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:** [August 28, 2014, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/342 "2014-08-28T04:15:11Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > Stupid application. Why the hell do you want to know the exact day I started high school? It was twenty fucking years ago! I’m doing good to remember what \*month \*I started! > > Also, holy shit I started high school exactly twenty fucking years ago. :eek: Pretend that the first day of class was the day after Labor Day, and make it September 6, 1994. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/343 "2014-08-28T04:17:40Z")
> [@Mrs\_Ducky](#): > > Let me preface this by saying that my husband and I do not access the internet or text message from our mobile phones. As far as we are concerned they are strictly for TALKING! My account has pay per use text messaging at the rate of 20 cents per text and data usage at $2.00 per MB. Last night, a friend of my husband’s sent out a group text message inviting a bunch of people to a party this weekend which resulted in 77 texts being billed to his phone as well as a $2.00 data charge. I called and blocked internet and data from the account this afternoon and posted it on Facebook. One of his friends said he should get a better plan; that his is $55 for unlimited everything. I replied “How about $50.00 for two lines. Phones are for talking!” I guarantee that is not going to happen again! Wait, your husband let someone else use his phone to send a text? ---
**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:** [August 28, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/344 "2014-08-28T04:38:57Z")
Mass texts tend to lead to mass replies. The SMS equivalent of Reply All. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/345 "2014-08-28T05:28:17Z")
😮 I’ve never had a text messaging plan on any of my phones – including my current smart phone. I had no idea there was such a thing as “reply to all” for texts. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/346 "2014-08-28T08:13:06Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > Stupid application. Why the hell do you want to know the exact day I started high school? It was twenty fucking years ago! I’m doing good to remember what \*month \*I started! > > Also, holy shit I started high school exactly twenty fucking years ago. :eek: I ended high school 25 years ago, so I win. Wait a minute… damn. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/347 "2014-08-28T10:06:13Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Pretend that the first day of class was the day after Labor Day, and make it September 6, 1994. Never in my life has school started after Labor Day. We always started in the August Doldrums, just to make sure we were extra miserable. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/348 "2014-08-28T12:48:20Z")
My home state changed the law to require starting after Labor Day [because of tourism concerns](http://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2011/08/30/singing-a-september-school-start-song/). Really. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/349 "2014-08-28T13:23:12Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > Never in my life has school started after Labor Day. We always started in the August Doldrums, just to make sure we were extra miserable. Okay, then pick a Monday before Labor Day. August 2, 9, 16, 23, or 30. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs\_Ducky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrs_ducky/32/6227_2.png) [@Mrs\_Ducky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs_Ducky)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/350 "2014-08-28T14:48:48Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Mass texts tend to lead to mass replies. The SMS equivalent of Reply All. And that is exactly what happened! ---
**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:** [August 28, 2014, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/351 "2014-08-28T18:41:03Z")
That’s pretty messed up, for a plan to exist which allows others to add charges to your bill, without you being able to do anything to prevent it. Yes, I’d DEFINITELY switch to a carrier with a different texting plan available (even if the only thing you’re interested in doing is disabling the feature). ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/352 "2014-08-28T19:31:55Z")
Gaaaah! Again! Again, the idiot dog pushes her way into the crawlspace under the house, and breaks the water line! This time, at least she broke it above the main cut-off valve, so we could have power while I fixed the pipe, but it couldn’t have been at a more awkward spot to repair. Silver lining: that fiberglass pipe repair tape works pretty well. It really doesn’t seem like it should - it’s no more complicated to use than an Ace bandage, and it costs about $10 at Lowe’s. I highly recommend keeping some around for plumbing emergencies. Anyone want a dog? Free? 120 pounds of sweet, lovable, fuzzy, affectionate stupidity! I’ll throw in a free roll of pipe repair tape! ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/353 "2014-08-28T20:57:51Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Okay, then pick a Monday before Labor Day. August 2, 9, 16, 23, or 30. NC starts school on Wednesday, so I picked one that looked right. It used to start way earlier in August, around the beginning of the month, but as they did in **Ferret** ’s state, the General Assembly in Its Infinite Wisdom decreed that school must start in the middle to end of the month because tourist concerns are the most important. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/354 "2014-08-28T21:31:53Z")
(I should note that I meant the state where I was born and attended school. I currently live in Illinois, which generally starts in August.) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/355 "2014-08-29T00:02:37Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Wait, your husband let someone else use his phone to send a text? He probably gets charged for incoming texts as well as outgoing ones. So 77 x 20¢ = $15.40 + $2.00 data charge = $17.40. I’d be pissed, too. I can turn off group texts on my phone, but I don’t know if it works for incoming texts, too. The only way to totally turn off texting is to put it in Airplane Mode, but then you can’t make calls, either. ---
**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:** [August 29, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/356 "2014-08-29T06:34:38Z")
When I was with Virgin Mobile, I got around the problem by buying minute packs. Everything pre-paid, can’t get a text because there’s no balance to pay for it. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/357 "2014-08-29T14:04:48Z")
My self-published, self-edited novel got its first negative review on Amazon. The review came just as I had hit “publish” on my second novel. I’m having a lot of mixed feelings. I’m really glad that a complete stranger got so worked up about my book that she took the time to write a REALLY long, REALLY emotional review of it. Any attention is good attention and only apathy is a bad sign, right? Her negative review also lends credence to the good ones I’ve gotten (a couple of which have come from complete strangers, too, hooray). Still, the review was so unfair. And unreasonable. She read about a third of the book, she apparently doesn’t want to read fiction/adventure/romance/fantasy/sci-fi, and she disbelieves a lot of crap that I took the time to research and verify. She is, in short, bonkers. And she decided to pick on _me_. She must think I’m getting a lot more money and attention than I am. Fact is, I’ve only just broken even on the copyright and ISBN fees for that book, in four months. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/358 "2014-08-29T14:34:19Z")
My daughter’s school district is batshit crazy. Eldest scored in the 97th percentile on math and reading tests. She has a report card full of straight A’s. And I still had to file an appeal because she wasn’t initially selected for the gifted and talented program. On the plus side, even her school principal agrees that it was a dumb decision. Half my problem is she won’t do the work because she’s bored. She was in the program last year and it was the only part she found interesting. I don’t want to be one of those parents. The sort who think precious pwincess is all specially wescially. But really. Her grades are stellar and so are her test scores. Every last teacher put a nice comment about her work on her report card. What the fuck do they want from her? ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/359 "2014-08-29T15:46:29Z")
Wordpad is annoying me. It apparently can’t decide whether the word “Colonel” should take up one tab stop or two, because each time I open the file, the next column has been shifted out of position. I can resolve this problem, but I shouldn’t have to. ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/360 "2014-08-29T22:25:08Z")
It has been a long day. It has been a long fucking week, for that matter. And if I have to hear or read one more drooling idiot saying, “nom-nom-nom” again (or read it on a message board), I’m going to go postal. Seriously? How fucking OLD ARE YOU? Twelve? It’s not cute, it’s not funny, and I am now not going to McDonald’s thanks to their Eco-nom-nom-nomics commercial. It’s stupid, it makes you sound stupid, and yeah - get your motherfucking Hello Kitty covered cell phone out of your ear for ten freaking seconds and LISTEN TO HOW YOU SOUND to the rest of the world. Like a motherfucking MORON. Yeah. I’m in a bad mood. And fuck Hello Kitty too for that matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582.md?page=19)