# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/121 "2014-08-11T16:47:04Z")
If I were you, **LavenderBlue** , I’d make sure that the hotel you DID stay in was warned about a possible bedbug and flea infestation carried in by your clothing. [And I’d also make sure that all your clothes are thoroughly de-bedbugged before taking them into your house, or at least well-bagged before being tossed into a washing machine.](http://www.bedbugs.umn.edu/bed-bug-control-in-residences/laundering-bedbug-control/) (That being said, sorry for your experience. It sounds like the woman takes no pride in her property or her service and is just looking to make a quick buck. Plus, she’s crazy, and so are her employees. Sheesh!) ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/122 "2014-08-11T22:41:57Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > Are you near to FSD? I think she needs lots of help if she and her children are going to be the ones who break the cycle. Even someone to watch the baby while she gets counseling. I’m several states away. Luckily her mom and stepfather are nearby, as is her brother and his wife, and she has a good church support group. And of course she has her husband, even though he works nights. Apparently she’s been going to therapy since her dad died, so she already has that in place. But I told her to reach out if she needs anything that I can provide. In other news, my mom- who is batshit crazy on a good day, but who COMPLETELY loses her shit when someone dies- sent FSD a PM on Facebook, telling her " that all (FFIL) ever needed was love and respect and to be made to feel like he wasn’t a burden to (FSD and family) and that (my mom) wished she lived closer so she could have helped him feel those things." Yeeeeaaaahhhh. Way to make things better, mom. :smack: ---
**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 12, 2014, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/123 "2014-08-12T00:29:41Z")
**Lavender** , might I suggest three little words to you? Board of Health. I suspect chaining the doors will ensue. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/124 "2014-08-12T01:47:42Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > This is my review of the Twilight Motel, a motel in the Wildwoods, NJ that we stayed in last week. Jesus. Sounds like the Twilight _Zone_ Motel. That being said, you write an excellent scathing review. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/125 "2014-08-12T02:06:55Z")
Gracious. [booking.com](http://booking.com) shows the Twilight Motel with a 4.6 rating! ETA: Although maybe that’s out of 10? (BTW, **LavenderBlue** , they’ve responded to your review.) ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/126 "2014-08-12T02:39:02Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > If I were you, **LavenderBlue** , I’d make sure that the hotel you DID stay in was warned about a possible bedbug and flea infestation carried in by your clothing. [And I’d also make sure that all your clothes are thoroughly de-bedbugged before taking them into your house, or at least well-bagged before being tossed into a washing machine.](http://www.bedbugs.umn.edu/bed-bug-control-in-residences/laundering-bedbug-control/) > > (That being said, sorry for your experience. It sounds like the woman takes no pride in her property or her service and is just looking to make a quick buck. Plus, she’s crazy, and so are her employees. Sheesh!) We have washed our clothing but thankfully found no additional signs of infestation. > [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > **Lavender** , might I suggest three little words to you? > Board of Health. > > I suspect chaining the doors will ensue. I am so on board with those three words! > [@Morgyn](#): > > Gracious. [booking.com](http://booking.com) shows the Twilight Motel with a 4.6 rating! > ETA: Although maybe that’s out of 10? > > (BTW, **LavenderBlue** , they’ve responded to your review.) OMG, she’s even dumber than I thought. That’s not my review. She’s also lying. I only left a single pizza box under the bed because there was no place else to put it as the garbage pail was overflowing about two feet from the door to my room. And that thing she calls a couch should be banned under the Geneva Convention. We had to put about five blankets on top of it before my eleven year old could get to sleep. Ha. > [@lorene](#): > > That being said, you write an excellent scathing review. Thank you. If you read her responses on [Booking.com](http://Booking.com), you can see how defensive and unpleasant she is. There’s no attempt to apologize. She’s her own worst enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/127 "2014-08-12T02:46:03Z")
I pit this damned variety of plastic that food manufacturers are using so much these days. I speak both as a home consumer, and as a professional cook. Frankly, I’m getting tired of plastic bags that split down the middle as soon as I open them. Believe it or not, manufacturers, I don’t always want to use the entire contents of the bag! I want to open it, use what I need, and then seal the bag and put the rest away. I just bought a gigantic, 6-pound bag of pretzels at Costco, and in trying to get it open it split down the middle. Six pounds of pretzels will last me more than a month. And now I have to worry about them going stale before I can eat them. And I don’t have sealable containers to put that amount of pretzels into. What the fuck kind of plastic is this, and why do food makers insist on using this crap? ---
**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 12, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/128 "2014-08-12T03:13:23Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Thank you. If you read her responses on [Booking.com](http://Booking.com), you can see how defensive and unpleasant she is. There’s no attempt to apologize. She’s her own worst enemy. I especially love that multiple reviews complain about the ants, but that single pizza box? Weeks later? That’s what caused the infestation! > [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I pit this damned variety of plastic that food manufacturers are using so much these days. I speak both as a home consumer, and as a professional cook… [_snippity snip!_] > > What the fuck kind of plastic is this, and why do food makers insist on using this crap? My solution? The items that are in “resealable” bags should be packaged in the type labeled “easy open.” Because if it says “easy open,” I’ll invariably need a pair of scissors, a hacksaw, and some thermite to breach it. Whereas “resealable” seems to be some manufacturer’s practical joke: “Why yes, the consumer can reseal it, assuming that he has access to a facility to recycle this plastic and create an entirely new and different container made of this plastic!” ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/129 "2014-08-12T07:38:48Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Gracious. [booking.com](http://booking.com) shows the Twilight Motel with a 4.6 rating! > ETA: Although maybe that’s out of 10? Yes, it’s out of 10, and values below 6 are quite rare. A 4.6 means Satan would be interested in subcontracting their services. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/130 "2014-08-12T12:10:37Z")
**Rik** , dude, baggies. And I just use scissors for chip bags and such these days. Cut down the bag as I go. Makes it easier and quieter to eat from the bag, too, if I don’t just put the contents into baggies, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/131 "2014-08-12T14:54:09Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Yes, it’s out of 10, and values below 6 are quite rare. A 4.6 means Satan would be interested in subcontracting their services. Hubby clearly made a mistake picking out that place. Oops. ---
**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 12, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/132 "2014-08-12T16:16:48Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > I just bought a gigantic, 6-pound bag of pretzels at Costco, and in trying to get it open it split down the middle. Six pounds of pretzels will last me more than a month. And now I have to worry about them going stale before I can eat them. And I don’t have sealable containers to put that amount of pretzels into. > > What the fuck kind of plastic is this, and why do food makers insist on using this crap? > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > **Rik** , dude, baggies. And I just use scissors for chip bags and such these days. Cut down the bag as I go. Makes it easier and quieter to eat from the bag, too, if I don’t just put the contents into baggies, anyway. I usually use scissors to open bags. My roomie likes the large sourdough pretzels and she just refills the huge pretzel [barrel](http://www.utzsnacks.com/store/images/PRODUCT/medium/473.jpg) that a batch came in. We popped 3 or 4 of the[silicon packets](http://www.millenniumwasteinc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/silica-gel-packets.jpg) in and it works like a charm. [URL=“[http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)”] ---
**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:** [August 12, 2014, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/133 "2014-08-12T16:37:07Z")
Welcome back, **flatlined**! I was wondering where you and your kittehs/BB/ferals/Buttercup all went. > [@LavenderBlue](#): > > Hubby clearly made a mistake picking out that place. Oops. So. How’re you gonna make him pay for it? 😃 > [@aruvqan](#): > > … We popped 3 or 4 of the[silicon packets](http://www.millenniumwasteinc.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/silica-gel-packets.jpg) in and it works like a charm. > [URL=“[http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)”] I started hoarding those packets like a crazy person. They are amaze-balls … the fancy-pantsy wooden box where I keep the fancy-pantsy steak knives? No more tarnish! Oh, whoops, need a rant: why, sweet soft affectionate kitty who has even charmed Mr. “I’m a Dog Person Not a Cat Person” New Guy\*\* why, WHY do you run from the easy-clean kitchen floor straight to the wall-to-wall carpet to hork up a hairball? Why? \*\* He doesn’t hate cats or anything; he’s just a dog person, which is fine. That said, I’ve walked into the apt. to find him rolling her around and playing with her (both looked sheepishly up at me when I walked in the door, which made it 1,000% cuter) and she’ll follow him into the bathroom to supervise, and I knew he was part of the household the 1st night I got up to go nap on the couch (ah, Insomnia Fairy, how I hate you!) and she was snoozing by my feet but flat-out refused to follow me, opting instead to keep sleeping by HIS feet instead of mine! ---
**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 12, 2014, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/134 "2014-08-12T20:10:09Z")
Oh, **purple** , we took every bit of carpet out of our house and put in tile. I have one area rug in the living room. Guess where my cats heave up hairballs? Honestly it must be deliberate. But why? Why would they hate me? I’m the bringer of food and scritches and treats, for og’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/135 "2014-08-12T20:16:50Z")
Because carpet is the memory of grass and they want to hork up in the tall grass, not on bare ground. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/136 "2014-08-13T17:17:00Z")
So I had a great interview last week (first one since I lost my job in November). At least, I thought it was great. I met all the qualifications necessary, am familiar with their software and lab equipment, and don’t have to put in 2 weeks’ notice anywhere. The interviewer and I seemed to have a good rapport as well. I sent a thank you letter on fancy paper the very next day (made sure I spelled her name correctly, since it’s a little odd). And I have heard back nothing. My phone was wonky all weekend but it could still receive calls (I even made my husband call me to make sure). I’ve checked my spam folder for my email. And not a peep. I know this may seem like no big deal to most of you, but in my very limited job search experience, I have never had an interviewer that didn’t call me back for a working interview. And thanks to my melange of mental health issues, I’m ready to curl up into a ball and sob about the unfairness of the world and how I must be a horrible person and I need to just get a job shoveling shit somewhere because we are on very thin ice financially right now and … CALL ME DAMMIT!!! ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/137 "2014-08-13T17:26:54Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > So I had a great interview last week (first one since I lost my job in November). At least, I thought it was great. I met all the qualifications necessary, am familiar with their software and lab equipment, and don’t have to put in 2 weeks’ notice anywhere. The interviewer and I seemed to have a good rapport as well. I sent a thank you letter on fancy paper the very next day (made sure I spelled her name correctly, since it’s a little odd). And I have heard back nothing. My phone was wonky all weekend but it could still receive calls (I even made my husband call me to make sure). I’ve checked my spam folder for my email. And not a peep. > > I know this may seem like no big deal to most of you, but in my very limited job search experience, I have never had an interviewer that didn’t call me back for a working interview. And thanks to my melange of mental health issues, I’m ready to curl up into a ball and sob about the unfairness of the world and how I must be a horrible person and I need to just get a job shoveling shit somewhere because we are on very thin ice financially right now and … > > CALL ME DAMMIT!!! First, give it **at least** a couple of weeks before you give up hope. Remember that they are likely interviewing a bunch of people and they will want to narrow the possibilities down before contacting you again (assuming they do). Second, if you have typically had an interviewer call you back after an interview when you have been job hunting in the past, you have been incredibly lucky. That’s not normally the case. If they like you enough they’ll be in touch; if they don’t they won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/138 "2014-08-13T19:56:26Z")
I was looking forward for months to Shake Shack’s opening in Tysons Corner, just 20 minutes’ walk from my office. I had eaten at the Dupont Circle location and loved it, especially their shoestring-style french fries which tasted just right. Well, I ate at the new location today and the fries they gave me had no resemblance to the ones I liked. They were, instead, more or less [identical\*](http://ny.eater.com/archives/2014/08/shake_shack_ditches_freshcut_fries_that_no_one_liked.php) to the tasteless lumps of starch out of a bag from the frozen-food aisle that went with countless childhood dinners. Son of a bitch! :mad: I ate two or three and dumped the rest. I’d rather go hungry than eat bland food. I can’t believe people actually PREFERRED those things??!? - Be sure to scroll down and read the comments; lots of people there share my view. (And why does the music in the restaurant have to be so god-damned **loud?** ) ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/139 "2014-08-13T20:08:05Z")
> [@Neidhart](#): > > …(And why does the music in the restaurant have to be so god-damned **loud?** ) I also don’t understand the appeal of really loud music in restaurants and bars. What’s the point of playing the music so loud if people have to scream over it to be heard? ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582/140 "2014-08-13T20:52:12Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > First, give it **at least** a couple of weeks before you give up hope. Remember that they are likely interviewing a bunch of people and they will want to narrow the possibilities down before contacting you again (assuming they do). > > Second, if you have typically had an interviewer call you back after an interview when you have been job hunting in the past, you have been incredibly lucky. That’s not normally the case. If they like you enough they’ll be in touch; if they don’t they won’t. They are so short-staffed we had to cut the interview short so she could go help out with clients. I neeeeeed this job, dammit!! At least they took down the job posting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-gust-of-fresh-mini-rants/694582.md?page=8)