# April Annoyances (mini-rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 1, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516 "2015-04-01T16:57:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/301 "2015-04-17T21:07:19Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Not only that but there are tow truck drivers who hide near large, nearly empty parking lots and tow away cars of drivers who leave the property or are getting picked up by another driver to go somewhere else. Theres a big difference between that and towing someone in a handicapped space, for instance. These people are predators. If the lot is only for customers of the business, it’s perfectly legit to tow cars whose drivers have left the property, no matter how empty the lot is. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/302 "2015-04-17T21:09:37Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > If the lot is only for customers of the business, it’s perfectly legit to tow cars whose drivers have left the property, no matter how empty the lot is. It depends. Is the lot _only for customers while shopping at_? That’s rare. But how about if I park in the coffee shop lot, _buy a cup of coffee_ , then walk across the street to buy a book? ---
**Author:** ![tenacious\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tenacious\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tenacious_j)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/303 "2015-04-17T21:14:54Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Nobody (here) is bitching about cars being towed by legit companies for legit reason, **aruvqan**. > > Holy shit, **Chefguy**. That’s a lotta suck. ☹ I know there’s a lot of conflicting emotions for you, since sometimes bad things happen to bad people, but you’ve overlooked one crucial detail: > > How’s the dog? 😃 Wow. As both of you have so many times before, you have now put my minor bullshit complaint to shame. No rant today, and here’s hoping things get better for Chefguy.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/304 "2015-04-17T21:23:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It depends. Is the lot _only for customers while shopping at_? That’s rare. But how about if I park in the coffee shop lot, _buy a cup of coffee_ , then walk across the street to buy a book? That’s not my call or yours. It’s up to the owner of the lot. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/305 "2015-04-17T22:15:48Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > That’s not my call or yours. It’s up to the owner of the lot. The Tow company doesnt consult the owners first on every tow. And, it’s up to the signage they put up. If they just say “Parking for customers only, two hour limit” and you buy a coffee @ 1Pm and are towed @ 1:30, there are legal issues involved. In fact I sued in Smalls claims over a similar issue. And won. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/306 "2015-04-17T22:58:54Z")
“X number of posts and no has mentioned _X_??? :eek:” Fuck off. Maybe X isn’t nearly as obvious as you would like to think. maybe it’s too fucking obvious and we can’t be bothered by it. Either way, just post your thought, then shut up. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/307 "2015-04-17T23:04:22Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > “X number of posts and no has mentioned _X_??? :eek:” > > Fuck off. Maybe X isn’t nearly as obvious as you would like to think. maybe it’s too fucking obvious and we can’t be bothered by it. Either way, just post your thought, then shut up. Especially as that poster is very likely wrong and someone has mentioned it! 😛 ---
**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:** [April 17, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/308 "2015-04-17T23:37:28Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Has his daughter considered a career in country songwriting? Sounds like she’s got the material for it. She needs to figure out how to incorporate trains and prison…that would be perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2015, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/309 "2015-04-17T23:56:58Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > If you read the reviews and BBB complaints, they didn’t always wait until the car was actually parked illegally. > > In other words, they were \*stealing cars and holding them for ransom. \* So the complainants claim. Over on Customers Suck, one of the regulars is a tow truck driver, and he has epic stories of the mental gymnastics, denial, and willful lies told by those who do not wish to admit to wrong-doing. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/310 "2015-04-18T00:41:17Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > If the lot is only for customers of the business, it’s perfectly legit to tow cars whose drivers have left the property, no matter how empty the lot is. Legit or legal doesn’t make right. This is a parking lot that is always 95% empty, and where I parked was so out of the way from the store it hardly was an inconvenience to that store. The property owner is just doing it to be a dick, and is most likely getting a kick back from the tow company. Fortunately, it looks like the shopping plaza is going out of business soon so karma is a bitch. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2015, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/311 "2015-04-18T01:11:32Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Not only that but there are tow truck drivers who hide near large, nearly empty parking lots and tow away cars of drivers who leave the property or are getting picked up by another driver to go somewhere else. Theres a big difference between that and towing someone in a handicapped space, for instance. These people are predators. Um. Let me see. Parking in a lot and NOT shopping there? Unless it is a pay to park lot [like some random city lot, or an airport] it better be one of those free commuter lots or they _are_ parking illegally. Still, suck it up. Park legally and stop whining. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/312 "2015-04-18T01:27:50Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Still, suck it up. Park legally and stop whining. Parking in Chicago can be a real PITA. Still, I have difficulty being sympathetic when the whining often includes, “but I was only parking there for a minute!” Yeah. Well. Paying the street parking would have been cheaper, no? And ignoring a sign that says the lot is monitored by Lincoln Towing is simply extra stupid. Anyway, as to the incident that started all this parking stuff- ESPN was light on that bitch. I’m sure there’s language in her contract that requires a certain level of personal conduct in public at all times, as she’s an on-air personality. Whether she wants to or not, she’s a representative of the company she works for whenever she’s recognizable in public. I had a similar contract when I worked for a bank, and I wasn’t even a public-facing person. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/313 "2015-04-18T03:20:37Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > So the complainants claim. Over on Customers Suck, one of the regulars is a tow truck driver, and he has epic stories of the mental gymnastics, denial, and willful lies told by those who do not wish to admit to wrong-doing. I’ll see your tow truck driver on Customers Suck and raise you real criminal indictments: [http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/02/towing-company-owner-accused-of-shaking-down-drivers-111388.html](http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/02/towing-company-owner-accused-of-shaking-down-drivers-111388.html) \*Police seized what was left of the property after FFC Towing owner Frederick Cooper was arrested and indicted on 99 counts of illegally towing cars in Prince George’s County from January through October of 2014. \* [http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/01/15/da-man-used-fake-tow-companies-to-steal-cars/21833115/](http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/01/15/da-man-used-fake-tow-companies-to-steal-cars/21833115/) _A grand jury indicted 44-year-old Ostell Shawn Miles on multiple counts involving towing vehicles and not returning them to their owners._ > **[Tow truck drivers, PSAs arrested in bribery/kickback case](https://www.local10.com/news/2015/03/20/tow-truck-drivers-psas-arrested-in-briberykickback-case/)** > > Two former city of Miami public service aides and four tow trunk drivers were arrested Friday for allegedly participating in a kickback/bribery scheme. _Two former city of Miami public service aides and four tow trunk drivers were arrested Friday for allegedly participating in a kickback/bribery scheme._ > **[34 people indicted in Portland car theft investigation: Business owners, tow...](https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2014/10/34_people_indicted_in_portland.html)** > > In all, 34 people face indictment in the alleged ring, with charges ranging from illegal towing, theft, unauthorized use of motor vehicles to possession of stolen vehicles > **[News 4 WIVB Buffalo](https://www.facebook.com/news4buffalo/posts/10151934719840505)** > > Indictment alleging tow truck company bribed police officers says some officers involved are known to grand jury: http://owl.li/prmYZ [http://www.fbi.gov/philadelphia/press-releases/2014/city-dispatcher-and-three-tow-truck-operators-charged-in-bribery-conspiracy](http://www.fbi.gov/philadelphia/press-releases/2014/city-dispatcher-and-three-tow-truck-operators-charged-in-bribery-conspiracy) I could go on. They are crooks and low life scamsters. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/314 "2015-04-18T04:17:56Z")
Your insistence that every single member of a given group fits your hate-filled stereotype IMO disqualifies you from the status of “rational person to have a conversation with”. I do tend to feel that way about knee-jerk blanket indictment of ALL members of ANY given group. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/315 "2015-04-18T04:44:27Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Your insistence that every single member of a given group fits your hate-filled stereotype IMO disqualifies you from the status of “rational person to have a conversation with”. I do tend to feel that way about knee-jerk blanket indictment of ALL members of ANY given group. Aren’t you the one who was indicting customers as a group just a little while ago? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2015, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/316 "2015-04-18T05:09:06Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Your insistence that every single member of a given group fits your hate-filled stereotype IMO disqualifies you from the status of “rational person to have a conversation with”. I do tend to feel that way about knee-jerk blanket indictment of ALL members of ANY given group. Not group- _occupation._ Something you choose. I am not fond of telemarketers, either, they tend to be scum scamsters that prey on the elderly. Same with “buy here pay here” used car salesmen. There’s a lot of unsavory but marginally legal professions out there. And it’s not AAA Emergency Tow Truck driver, it’s the special two companies that compete and bribe to get the tow contracts to tow away peoples cars that dont want to get towed. This attracts a certain type of person- the type of person who likes to abuse their power and do things in a underhanded way. I have worked with the police, and this type of Tow company is looked upon as one half step above crooks- when they are not actually crooks. It’s not a honest occupation- it does not attract decent folk as employees. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/317 "2015-04-18T10:23:43Z")
Having been on the receiving end of the Emperor/ess of the World’s screaming tantrums before, I just can’t find any damns to give about someone getting suspended for having their tantrum captured on film. I don’t care what the other party did to you, there’s no excuse to act like a spoiled, napless three-year-old in public once you’re above the age of four. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/318 "2015-04-18T17:16:03Z")
Local public transit company, this is the second week in a row that not all of your weekend bus schedules are working on your website. I want to go out to an event tonight and I need to find out when my bus is going, dammit! And yes, I know that the schedules are available on your mobile app that my very simple cellphone doesn’t support, and that’s of no help to me. And by the way, those who think that since I can drive, I can get enough money for the gas I need and then combat my driving anxiety to drive all the way downtown and then actually find a parking space, and get to my event that way, you are wrong. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2015, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/319 "2015-04-18T21:29:18Z")
Oh, how I long for the days when I stood in line for hours to buy concert tickets. Hell, I remember standing in line for five hours to get a wristband to get in line the following morning for tickets. Tickets went on sale this morning for a concert. I logged into TicketBastard, loaded my payment info, was ready to go early. Noticed there were many ways to buy tickets before they went on sale -well, that sucks. But, I should be able to get decent tickets. 10:00am: BOOM! Enter capcha, site not working. Enter capcha, no tickets available. Enter capcha, site not working. For fifteenfuckingminutes, until I gave up. By the time I quit, tickets were all over StubHub and the like for almost 2x face price. Legalized scalping. Fuckers. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516/320 "2015-04-19T00:29:43Z")
Oh gosh. There was an animal shelter near a party my little one was attending. So naturally I had a peek and saw the most beautiful [Himalayan](https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/31898531) kitty with pretty blue eyes who was purring at me for a good five minutes. She was lovely and sweet and then when I went to ask to bring her out of her cage so I could have a good look at her, she let me pet her belly and continued the purring. And of course the almost four year old promptly pulled her poor tail making it clear that a third cat was not in our future despite the fact that I really wanted to bring her home. I swear when the little one just a little bit older I am going for crazy cat lady. Really damn it. I mean isn’t the purpose of having a house so that you can fill it with books, girls and cats? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/april-annoyances-mini-rants/716516.md?page=17)