# Bad Ju-July (monthly mini-rants) \[Old\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 1, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411 "2023-07-01T16:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/361 "2023-08-01T16:44:31Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Do it! Okay, message received! Added to the list. I’m slowly getting out from under my pile. I missed an application deadline, which never happens, but it’s a small grant and I don’t think it’s going to be noticed. It was really a case where I had to prioritize and it was low priority. I still get my day off Friday to play Baldur’s Gate and also get weeds pulled from my yard. I’ve got a weed in my front yard the size of a small tree. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/362 "2023-08-01T18:34:05Z")
Repeat after me: you are more important to them than they are to you. Their failure to plan is not your emergency. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/363 "2023-08-02T02:52:39Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I always need to sleep in and I often feel tired anyway. When I injured my back, I suddenly needed loads more sleep than before. Depression also causes me to need more sleep, especially when it mixes with anxiety and sleep apnea. For years, I took trazadone because if I could get enough sleep, I wouldn’t be depressed. But trazadone leaves me sleepy every morning. So I decided to take a break from it. I back to feeling fully awake in the morning, but I’m going to crash and burn if I don’t start getting 8-1/2 hours each night. So here I am at the computer instead of getting ready for bed. Alarm goes off in just under 9 hours… In other words {{{@Spice_Weasel }}}, you are not alone. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2023, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/364 "2023-08-02T14:42:48Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > In other words {{{@Spice_Weasel }}}, you are not alone. Thank you. I know fatigue is like the most common medical symptom in existence, so I have to systematically rule out every thing and hopefully that will get to the bottom of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/365 "2023-08-04T17:05:38Z")
Hang in there, @Spice_Weasel. Wish it were all easier. \ ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/366 "2023-08-06T22:20:30Z")
I’m going to be an A-hole ( big surprise ) about your sleeping issues and maybe CPAP. My Dr told me that I couldn’t breathe well through my nose because my neck was not elevated enough and that my head was not far enough back. He wanted me to do a ‘sleep study’ ( the kiss of death ). Instead, I found a fairly large tootsie-roll shaped pillow, which I sleep with behind my neck every night. My result is that I can breathe when I sleep, I don’t need to have (probably badly needed) deviated septum surgery, and I don’t need a massively expensive CPAP machine as well as it’s weekly maintenance & supplies ( as if I had Shatner’s or DeVito’s money to throw at the moon). Honestly? I’m tempted to have that design and filler modified, market it, and to throw that “My Pillow Guy” right out of business… ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/367 "2023-08-06T23:29:39Z")
It’s worth checking out! Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/368 "2023-08-09T04:06:53Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I probably have sleep apnea. No matter how much sleep I get, I always need to sleep in and I often feel tired anyway. I swear, you and I are twins separated at birth. Oh, and by a decade or two of life. Must have been a hell of a pregnancy! If you can find the time to follow up with a sleep specialist, definitely do so - though I absolutely understand the insane demands on your time (which certainly are not helping your fatigue). I’ve heard of people saying that when they got treated for apnea, it was life-changing. Not so for me, unfortunately; I didn’t feel that much better when I started CPAP. Annoyingly, I now feel worse when I miss using it (dozing off on the couch is pretty unpleasant; I have trouble breathing, but I’m so sleepy I cannot stir myself to move or roll over). Other things have helped also - most notably, a wakefulness medication (Nuvigil). When I had Covid last year, the PA at urgent care asked the usual questions, including whether I was feeling fatigued. I said “how can I tell?”. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2023, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/369 "2023-08-09T15:58:37Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > If you can find the time to follow up with a sleep specialist, definitely do so - though I absolutely understand the insane demands on your time (which certainly are not helping your fatigue). I think I have something a bit more urgent, medically, but I’ll add it to my list. On the medical accomplishments side, I just started a new BC for managing PMDD and so far, so good. I feel like I’m on one plane of existence and staying there rather than being tossed to and fro by the hormonal swings. One thing I tried is I bought one of those Phillips wake-up lights hoping to come out of sleep gradually. Would love to see if it works! My son keeps bursting in 30 minutes before it turns on. This morning he changed the time while I was sleeping, so it didn’t go off. That kid can’t resist pushing buttons. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/370 "2023-08-19T01:47:58Z")
I’m replying to my own posting to update. I sent a complaint (certified letter as well as email) to the bank that issued the credit card I used for my tickets. After calling me to confirm my letter – I referred to details from various emails I has received, and the bank didn’t ask to be forwarded copies – the bank credited me for half the charge I paid back in the spring. As American has issued me tickets for half the trip based on the credit from March, that sounds right. I’ll check in a few days that my American tickets haven’t been canceled on the basis that payment was reversed. But if that doesn’t happen, I’ll be happy with this solution. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/371 "2023-08-19T03:21:29Z")
Back to sleep apnea. My brain does not like my CPAP, and finds sneaky ways to avoid it. For instance, I’ve never fallen asleep quickly, but a couple of times I’ve sat down on the edge of the bed, fully clothed, reached for the CPAP, and woken up hours later right there. Sorry, brain… I usually wake up 2-ish, get my clothes off and the CPAP on. . Nice side effect: since I’ve started using a CPAP, I save an hour a day because I don’t have to take a nap. And I don’t have to plan around it: “Okay, I’ll skip my Pop-Up Book Club meeting, 'cause if I can get home from the spatula store by 3:30, I can grab a nap before meeting Pico and Alvarez for Happy Hour…” ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/372 "2023-08-19T07:16:09Z")
Remember this is last month’s thread, we’re already most of the way through the following month. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2023, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/373 "2023-08-19T14:55:17Z")
Thank you! People posting in last month’s mini-rants is one of my pet peeves… and here I did it. Aaaargh! Sorry, maybe I should’ve had a nap yesterday… ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/374 "2023-08-20T03:53:18Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I realize you go months without bothering to call and check up on your children or even tell them what country you’re in, From the rest of your post, I’d have to say this is probably for the good. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/375 "2023-08-20T04:48:49Z")
Some of us are fighting to make summer last as long as possible. Really, does January need to be 31 days long? Or February 28? I say we steal two weeks from each of them and make July and August 45 days each. Who’s with me? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2023, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/376 "2023-08-20T11:59:01Z")
I’d be in for that. But it’d probably be easier to just move 600ish miles equator-ward from wherever you live now. Same result, less confusion for the rest of humanity. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2023, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411/377 "2023-08-23T08:58:04Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Some of us are fighting to make summer last as long as possible. Really, does January need to be 31 days long? Or February 28? I say we steal two weeks from each of them and make July and August 45 days each. Who’s with me? The ship-board society in Alexei Panshin’s [_Rite of Passage_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rite_of_Passage_(novel)) has an interesting calendar. Quoting the main character, Mia, > Year’s End is a five or six day bash— five days in 2198, which wasn’t a Leap > Year. In one of the old novels I read, I discovered that before the calendar was > reformed, the extra day of Leap Year was tacked onto February. (This was as part > of a mnemonic that was supposed to help you remember how many days there were in each month. My adaptation of it for our calendar would go: “Thirty days hath January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.” I have a pack rat memory— I even know what a “pack rat” was.) Under our system, the extra day gets tacked onto Year’s End. There’s no real reason to divide the year into 30 days for each month, and certainly not to have a much shorter month among the others. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-ju-july-monthly-mini-rants-old/986411.md?page=18)