# A-gust of fresh mini rants

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582>\
**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:** 6

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**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 9, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/101 "2014-08-09T14:57:01Z")

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> [@StarvingButStrong](#):
>
> What can the manager do? “Service dogs” are not just permitted, but I think it’s even illegal to question their owner over what disability they supposedly help with and/or ask for documentation of any sort.

Per the ADA, you can [kick out a service animal if it fights](http://www.ada.gov/qasrvc.htm) or acts threatening toward others, so the manager should have the employees watch out for that sort of thing in the future.

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**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/102 "2014-08-09T17:10:22Z")

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Welcome back, **flatlined**!

I hate this class, I hate this professor. I’m beginning to wonder why I’m putting myself through all of this crap.

This week the professor changed the grading guidelines midweek. After I had already submitted my assignment with no way to take it back and make it compliant with the new guidelines instead of the old ones. So I’m fucked for trying to not do things at the last minute.

Today I took this week’s quiz. Five vaguely worded questions, and if you miss even one you fail. Again with no way to re-do it. I missed one, I failed.

I have a year to go before I get my degree and right now I’m seriously considering saying “screw it” and chucking the whole thing. Especially if I get any more classes with this bitch of a professor. If I don’t pass this class I’ll have to take it over again and pay for it again. So mad right now…

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**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/103 "2014-08-09T17:25:24Z")

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> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#):
>
> Welcome back, **flatlined**!
> 
> I hate this class, I hate this professor. I’m beginning to wonder why I’m putting myself through all of this crap.
> 
> This week the professor changed the grading guidelines midweek. After I had already submitted my assignment with no way to take it back and make it compliant with the new guidelines instead of the old ones. So I’m fucked for trying to not do things at the last minute.
> 
> Today I took this week’s quiz. Five vaguely worded questions, and if you miss even one you fail. Again with no way to re-do it. I missed one, I failed.
> 
> I have a year to go before I get my degree and right now I’m seriously considering saying “screw it” and chucking the whole thing. Especially if I get any more classes with this bitch of a professor. If I don’t pass this class I’ll have to take it over again and pay for it again. So mad right now…

I would be in some Dean’s face Monday morning. The phrase is ‘unacceptable’. Changing the rules mid game is a big no-no. I would be pushing for a drop and refund at this point.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/104 "2014-08-09T18:17:29Z")

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What **The Vorlon** said, Doc. The quiz is bad enough but the “changing the rules midway” is on the fuck this shit level.

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**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/105 "2014-08-09T18:28:45Z")

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> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#):
>
> This week the professor changed the grading guidelines midweek. After I had already submitted my assignment with no way to take it back and make it compliant with the new guidelines instead of the old ones. So I’m fucked for trying to not do things at the last minute.

This is unacceptable, and i say that as someone who teaches at a university.

There are times when it is necessary, or at least beneficial, to change the guidelines or the requirements for an assignment, but this should _always_ be done with plenty of notice, and should _never_ be done in such a way that it penalizes students who might have already begun the work.

You should not, however, run straight to the Dean, as suggested by **The Vorlon**. The first person you should talk to is the professor. He or she might simply have had a brain fart or a moment of cluelessness, and might not realize how adversely the change in guidelines affected you. Give the person who screwed up the chance to make things right before you go running to the Dean.

If you get no satisfaction from the professor, you should talk to the chair of the relevant department. So, if your class is in the History Department, find out who the History Department Chair is, and go to see him or her and explain the problem. This is one of the things that Department Chairs are there for. The Chair will most likely then talk to your professor and ask what the story is.

When you make your case to your professor, and then (if necessary) to the Department Chair, be prepared. Explain when you started working on the assignment, when you submitted it, when the changes were made to the guidelines, and how this affected your performance. If there is any evidence about timing (e.g., emails, changes to the class website, etc.), have that handy.

Only if you get no help at the department level do you need to go to the Dean.

> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#):
>
> Today I took this week’s quiz. Five vaguely worded questions, and if you miss even one you fail. Again with no way to re-do it. I missed one, I failed.

Can’t really assess this complaint without seeing the questions.

I’ve had students complain about quiz and exam questions before, and in many cases complaints like “This question was vaguely worded,” or “That question was unfair,” can be translated as, “I didn’t do all the reading, and you asked questions about the stuff i didn’t get to,” or “I missed lecture that day and never bothered to get the notes from anyone.”

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**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/106 "2014-08-09T23:31:37Z")

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> [@kayT](#):
>
> I’ll bet the Dope could do a fund-raiser for the 13-year-old…anyone have any ideas?

I’m up for that, maybe [http://www.gofundme.com/](http://www.gofundme.com/) would be a good place to start?

> [@curlcoat](#):
>
> Ah good. Glad to hear that you are not here because you are covered in kittens! Well, maybe not glad - homeless kittens are not good, but on the other hand, having many kittens in the home must be good! How is the Beloved Butthead?

Thanks 🙂 Kittens don’t stay homeless for long, everyone wants kittens. Its the poor adult cats that get overlooked. I don’t get it, kittens are a serious PITA. I know they grow up to be wonderful cats, but you still have to deal with training them to not climb the drapes and to not jump on the counters or claw the carpets or furniture. Most adult cats already know that. Kittens are as bad as puppies or toddlers when it comes to needing constant supervision.

My Beloved Butthead is now using a cane. Actually, he’s using my cane which is fine, I don’t need it anymore and its a cool looking dragon head cane so he looks very dashing with it, but its also a sword cane and he doesn’t have a CCW permit. I worry about him flying with it, and I really want him to just suck it up and get his knee replaced.

> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#):
>
> Yes! Merial has had them for quite a while, but they were prohibitively expensive. Now Zoetis has thrown their hat in the ring and beats Boehringer’s (still adjuvanted) pricing. We haven’t jumped on the change quite yet - they take a tad longer to take effect and haven’t decided whether it’s a risk factor or not, and if it is whether it’s worth it. This reminded me, though, to bring it up again with Dr. It’s been a couple months since we talked about it.

Thanks for the info! I didn’t know about the delay in effectiveness. I’ve not had a cat with VAS and I’ve not known anyone how had that problem, but that’s just a small sample pool of cats. I understand that it really is a serious concern, though.

And for all of those anti-vax idiots…cats are not human. While many of the drugs that people take were tested on cats, this doesn’t mean that getting shots could cause tumors in humans. It means that its a danger to cats and cats only…although dogs do sometimes get it. Humans? Never, mostly because they don’t get the same sort of shots.

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**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\
**Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/107 "2014-08-09T23:40:05Z")

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> [@eenerms](#):
>
> At the local Costco, not one but three little dogs with those bought over the internet ‘service’ dog vests. They were walking about or in the child part of the cart. The best part was at a sample table where there was a dust up between two of them. You are going to tell me 'service ’ dogs snap at people and other dogs…😕:dubious:
> 
> I left a comment for the manager.

Some service dogs are medical alert dogs, and don’t have (or really need) the training that “real” service dogs do. And, unless one gets their dog from a service dog training school, all vests are purchased online.

> [@StarvingButStrong](#):
>
> What can the manager do? “Service dogs” are not just permitted, but I think it’s even illegal to question their owner over what disability they supposedly help with and/or ask for documentation of any sort.

He can ask what they do to mitigate the disability, and for a demonstration if possible. He can also boot them if they are causing trouble.

> [@flatlined](#):
>
> Thanks 🙂 Kittens don’t stay homeless for long, everyone wants kittens. Its the poor adult cats that get overlooked. I don’t get it, kittens are a serious PITA. I know they grow up to be wonderful cats, but you still have to deal with training them to not climb the drapes and to not jump on the counters or claw the carpets or furniture. Most adult cats already know that. Kittens are as bad as puppies or toddlers when it comes to needing constant supervision.

I have to get kittens so they can grow up with the herd of dogs. The one time I got an adult cat, she moved next door … 😉

> [@](#):
>
> My Beloved Butthead is now using a cane. Actually, he’s using my cane which is fine, I don’t need it anymore and its a cool looking dragon head cane so he looks very dashing with it, but its also a sword cane and he doesn’t have a CCW permit. I worry about him flying with it, and I really want him to just suck it up and get his knee replaced.

Real Men don’t get surgery! They just whine at their wives …

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**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/108 "2014-08-10T01:42:42Z")

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Say, **flatlined** , I had my knee replaced on April 25 of this year. I am mostly back to normal and extremely glad I had it done. My doc is a big deal in the knee business (I’m in Austin). I’d be glad to talk to you or Butthead about the whole thing. PM me if you like.

Oh yeah, welcome back!

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**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/109 "2014-08-10T02:14:02Z")

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> [@curlcoat](#):
>
> I have to get kittens so they can grow up with the herd of dogs. The one time I got an adult cat, she moved next door … 😉
> 
> Real Men don’t get surgery! They just whine at their wives …

I get that for you, about the needing a kitten…but so many people don’t understand that. They want kittens because they are cute, which they are, but then they are upset about behavior problems.

And boy are you right about Real Men not getting surgery. Bill hasn’t been cut off from blow jobs yet, but that just because I haven’t found out that he’s fallen. I’m sure he has, he probably wouldn’t have started using a cane otherwise. There is a very good reason that I call him BB. In happier news, he’s given up on riding a motorcycle.

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**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/110 "2014-08-10T02:22:19Z")

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> [@kayT](#):
>
> Say, **flatlined** , I had my knee replaced on April 25 of this year. I am mostly back to normal and extremely glad I had it done. My doc is a big deal in the knee business (I’m in Austin). I’d be glad to talk to you or Butthead about the whole thing. PM me if you like.
> 
> Oh yeah, welcome back!

Thank you so much! I know that knee surgery is as about as routine as heart surgery and that the recovery is not bad at all. Everyone I know who have had joints replaced say that they are happy they did it.

My MIL had her knee replaced last year and isn’t back to 100% yet, but I think its because she is in her 80’s and people that old don’t heal as fast as they used to. BB is only looking at her progress and not listening to people his age.

If I can ask personal stuff…tell me about the surgery and recovery process, please. Did you have to have someone get you up and force you to walk, or was it self-motivated?

I really need some ammo for this battle, so all info is good.

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**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/111 "2014-08-10T02:40:19Z")

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I had in-home physical therapy for about two hours a day four days a week for three weeks. They showed me exercises and pushed me a little but not a lot; no one hurt me. Actually I can say I have only rarely had what I would call pain. I have stiffness, sometimes even now, and sometimes my leg aches, but the pain I had in my knee before surgery was far worse. (My knee was bone on bone; cartilage was gone.) I think partly that’s why I got better so quickly, because the pain was so much less. Also, I was in pretty good shape. I’ve been walking for about an hour five days a week for the past five years and I never quit, even though I had a lot (LOT!!) of pain. Toward the end I was walking pretty slowly, but I was walking. I think that’s another reason I recouperated relatively easily.

I took some pain meds for about three weeks but they screwed up my sleep cycles so badly (which are poor at best) and upset my tummy so I quit.

BB should also know that I was up walking (slowly and with a walker) at around 3 pm the same day as the 8 am surgery, and I went home the next day. My doc is famous for his patients going home early and doing very well; all the hospital and rehab people commented about that. I used a walker for two weeks and graduated to a cane which I got rid of by about week 5. I saw the doc six weeks after surgery and he said I didn’t have to come back until the one year anniversary if all was ok. I know other people had a lot more after care from the doctor and PT people so I expect it depends on how well one is doing. I asked him if there was anything I should not do and he thought a minute then said “don’t fall.” Of course that made me paranoid of falling but then I realized I haven’t exactly been going around falling down before surgery so why should I now?

As of now I am back to walking my hour five times a week with NO PAIN. I can go up and down stairs although down is kinda slow. I’m riding a recumbent bike a couple of miles a few times a week. All in all, it’s been so much easier than I expected.

Sorry for the TL/DR. The thing you need to stress to your honey is that the rehab is made much, much easier if you get the procedure done before you are totally out of shape and all your muscles are weak. I got where I could not go up or down stairs and I knew it was time. So tell him do it while he’s still strong. If he’s already using a cane, then it’s time.

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/112 "2014-08-10T02:55:53Z")

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> [@flatlined](#):
>
> My Beloved Butthead is now using a cane. Actually, he’s using my cane which is fine, I don’t need it anymore and its a cool looking dragon head cane so he looks very dashing with it, but its also a sword cane and he doesn’t have a CCW permit.

My uncle sometimes uses canes, having had a stiff leg since that time back in the 60s he checked whether the road was tougher than his knee (the road won). He once saw a bunch of very cool-looking canes in a store and wanted to buy one. He was extremely surprised when he was asked whether he had a “weapons permit” and told where to get one and that no, he could not buy the cane first. Everybody to whom he’s ever told the story or shown the cane has had the same reaction: “good for the salesman!” Little kids are the only ones who try to touch it and they’re told “no, you can’t, do _you_ have a weapons permit?” “Nu-hu” “Well then, you’ll be allowed to handle this cane when you have a permit.” His other canes are in the umbrella stand, that one goes on top of the closet.  
And I don’t know what would be the cost for a knee replacement, but if those had been available when Uncle fucked up his knee, he would have been saved some 50 years of needing to get his cars adapted. The replacement is likely to be a lesser pain in the… knee.

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**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/113 "2014-08-10T13:31:37Z")

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Fuck Wii Fit’s shitty advice. “You gained 1.5lbs since yesterday. Now try and think about the causes of your weight gain.” Then it gives me a nice menu with things like “eating too much” or “not exercising.” Piss off, you moron, my weight is trending downwards, I did not eat the 4 billion calories required to gain a pound and a half last night and you know I exercised. You were there.

The stupidest thing is, if you don’t weigh yourself at the same time every day, it will give you a spiel about how your weight can fluctuate up to 5 pounds in one day, so they **know** that variations in weight can happen. And yet they still shame you for gaining a fucking pound and a half in one day which is almost certainly not real weight.

I mean, c’mon Wii, I have body image issues as it is. I understand if you see that I’ve gained 10 pounds since two weeks ago, or whatever, but 1.5lbs since yesterday should not prompt stupid “you’re a bad person” messages.

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**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/114 "2014-08-10T18:11:22Z")

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I’ve sent a calmly worded email to the professor basically stating “I posted my assignment on Wednesday, you changed the rules on Thursday, may I please have my points back?” So we’ll see what happens. The class is online, so I never see the professor in person. Professor is also the person in charge of the department that my degree program is in, there isn’t anyone above her except the guy in charge of the whole school. And this class is required for my degree, there’s no dropping it.

I’m more upset about the changing of the rules than I am about the vagueness of the test. I did do the reading and the assignments and listened to the lectures. I’d be interested to find out how the other students did on the test. The test wasn’t worth a whole lot of points in the overall points total for the class, it’s just the idea that the questions were true/false questions worded in a way that the answer could go either way.

It might be a few days but I’ll report back.

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**Author:** ![Samantha\_Leigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Samantha\_Leigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Samantha_Leigh)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/115 "2014-08-11T00:36:49Z")

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There is nothing like getting back from a family get-together and realizing no one has washed a single dish, cup, plate, pot or pan for nine freaking days! Thanks, loving family. Best birthday surprise EVAR!!!

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**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/116 "2014-08-11T11:20:33Z")

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Gaah…

Over a month ago, I was supposed to have allergy skin testing done at the local hospital. They couldn’t do it when I first went in, as I was having such a bad eczema flare up. Half a pharmacy and some time later, my skin’s a load better, and I need to get the test done… Can I book an appointment? Can I hell.

I’ve so far tried to book it in person twice- the first time no-one put it in the system, for some reason, the second time the person who books the appointments was away, so I was told they would call me back the following day, before I went on holiday. Hah.

Since I go back from my trip I estimate I’ve called about 20 times; I’ve been transferred to an answering machine for a doctor on maternity leave with a message of ‘please don’t leave a message’ about 5 times, a recorded message saying to call the the reception desk that just transferred me about 10 times and last but not least a simple ‘beep…click’ for the remainder.

I know I’ve had ezcema since birth, it’s not an urgent condition, and I’m understandably quite low on the priority order, but dammit, I’ve been trying to get this test done since _November_; they initially referred me to the wrong allergy clinic (food sensitivity), and the waiting list is several months anyway. If I just go back and call the NHS appointment number rather than the clinic direct, I’ll be back to the end of the list, and then I’ll probably have another flare up by the time I make it to the appointment, which will need treating…

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**Author:** ![slalexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@slalexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slalexan)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/117 "2014-08-11T12:10:29Z")

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> [@curlcoat](#):
>
> Real Men don’t get surgery! They just whine at their wives …

Or their children. My dad ruptured a couple of disks in his back when I was in high school. I was in a lot of pain on a daily basis and he is allergic to most of the OTC pain medication so he couldn’t take much without a doctor. Every time he saw his doctor, his doctor would recommend surgery and my dad would refuse . After a year of pain, my dad got gout (unrelated but also very painful) and finally decided to get surgery. He said he felt better instantly, even after the pain medication wore off. We were nice to not tell him that we all told him so.

Today, I put teething. Yesterday, we became those parents with a screaming child in the grocery store. She is only just short of five months old so there was no easy fix. We tried very hard to hurry and get the things we need while also nursing her in hopes of keeping her comfortable. I cannot wait until these teeth finally cut and she gets some relief.

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**Author:** ![Boggette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@Boggette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boggette)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/118 "2014-08-11T14:22:39Z")

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> [@Jragon](#):
>
> Fuck Wii Fit’s shitty advice. “You gained 1.5lbs since yesterday. Now try and think about the causes of your weight gain.” …

This annoyed the hell outta me, too. And picking “I don’t know” is even worse.

Don’t let your annoyance at that bring you down, though. I lost 40lbs using Wii Fit and Wii Active, so it does work.

Good luck!

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/119 "2014-08-11T14:57:18Z")

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> [@slalexan](#):
>
> Today, I put teething. Yesterday, we became those parents with a screaming child in the grocery store. She is only just short of five months old so there was no easy fix. We tried very hard to hurry and get the things we need while also nursing her in hopes of keeping her comfortable. I cannot wait until these teeth finally cut and she gets some relief.

Eh, at least with a kid that size anybody who’s had or taken care of any will know that sometimes Crying Baby Happens (and boy, does teething crying sound desperate). And you were the couple looking all harried about the crying kid, not the ones moving slowly along as if the soundtrack was a nice one…

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**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/120 "2014-08-11T15:41:02Z")

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This is my review of the Twilight Motel, a motel in the Wildwoods, NJ that we stayed in last week.

> [@](#):
>
> Possibly the worst hotel or motel in the entire world. I don’t know as I have not stayed in every hotel in the entire world. But this is definitely a contender. It is certainly the worst hotel/motel in the Wildwoods. If you have a choice between this motel and a park bench, take the park bench. If you have a choice between this motel and someone’s ratty couch, take the couch. If you have a choice between this motel and a prison cell you may still want to consider the prison cell.
> 
> But avoid this motel. It’s a disgusting place.
> 
> A few days ago we were ushered into our room. I didn’t especially mind that it resembled a particularly unattractive prison cell. I mean most people would not compound the problem of a space about the size of the average Mini Cooper parking space with walls painted baby poop brown. I did mind that the advertised second bed was a fold up futon with all the comfort of sleeping on top of a rock garden.
> 
> But I figured that one gets what one pays for.
> 
> I did not anticipate that we were paying for ants, bedbugs or a leaking bathroom ceiling. I was minding my own business yesterday eating breakfast outside the door to my room when I noticed the bedbug bites on my arm and the ants crawling all over my breakfast and my clothing. The leaking bathroom ceiling had been noticed earlier.
> 
> So I found the owner. This turned out to be a big mistake. When I voiced the suggestion to the owner that even a fleabag motel should not in fact be full of fleas I was screamed at by her. I don’t mean metaphorically. I mean literally. I was informed that she has cancer and ants are not worse than cancer.
> 
> I think we can agree that cancer is worse than ants but I don’t expect to find either one in my hotel room.
> 
> The owner did not offer any sort of apology for the state of the room nor the state of my clothing. Instead, she launched into a barrage of startling and unpleasant insults. I think most people would expect some sort of apology and perhaps even an offer of another room – but the owner did not. She immediately barged into my room and continued to scream. I was then informed that the source of all problems in the room was the empty pizza box on the floor, a box that had been placed on the floor as the nearby garbage pail was full.
> 
> Apparently empty pizza boxes can magically cause ants. They can also cause bedbugs and leaking bathroom ceilings.
> 
> Her inexcusable verbal abuse continued for roughly ten minutes. I was then told I needed to vacate the room immediately. I decided to wait for my husband to return from a walk with our children. The verbal abuse continued until my husband returned.
> 
> The owner was joined in by members of her equally crazy staff who continued to malign my character to those unfortunately souls who had chosen to stay in her domain. I was told that if dared write up what was going on, I would be threatening her livelihood and that was unacceptable.
> 
> I would like to suggest to her that she might want to consider another profession. Perhaps funeral embalmer or prison warden as she clearly far more suited for such occupations than one where she is required to interact with the innocent public in any capacity. When my husband demanded a refund for the remaining days on our stay, we were informed that the empty pizza box rendered any potential refund impossible.
> 
> It took multiple attempts by my husband to convince Crazy Empty Pizza Box lady that any refusal to grant us a refund would be met by both yards of unflattering copy on the net and multiple lawsuits. After spending about ten minutes informing fellow guests that my husband and I are evil, we were finally granted our request for a refund. During this time, she and her lazy, lunatic staff members continued to insult us.
> 
> Fortunately, we found a flea-less, uncrazy hotel around the corner. So to anyone pondering staying here: DON’T. The hotel is disgusting. It is run by a scary person clearly in need of both anger management counseling and another profession. For five bucks extra each day, you will find at least twenty far better hotel/motel options in the immediate area.

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