# Blue June... (Monthly Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [June 1, 2026, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520 "2026-06-01T04:17:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/21 "2026-06-02T02:03:49Z")
Sure. A place called Red Hill, west of Ellenville. Up, up, and up, but not for all that long and not all that steep. I’ve been there once before. Maybe I won’t go again. And as for your last remark: I know, right? 🫢 ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/22 "2026-06-02T02:17:47Z")
Sorry to be nosy, but I’ve spent a chunk of pretty much every summer for the last 60 years in the Catskills. We’re up above Phoenicia and Big Indian, near Slide and Frost Valley. It’s my favorite place ever 😊 ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/23 "2026-06-02T02:25:16Z")
It’s fine. I’m familiar with all those places: One of my favorite Catskill memories is snowshoeing up Slide Mountain a few winters ago. The Catskills are really lovely, aren’t they? ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/24 "2026-06-02T02:59:00Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > I got the sign-in book out, flipped to the correct page, and– BUT DID YOU SIGN OUT?!?! ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/25 "2026-06-02T06:27:35Z")
That didn’t take long. The A/C quit working again. Dealing with shit like this is the only thing I hate about being a homeowner. I’ve got to make sure they send someone who can figure it out this time. God, I hate confrontation. Now I’m more stressed than ever. And I need to try to sleep. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/26 "2026-06-02T08:53:53Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@aurora\_maire](#): > > > > I was seriously pissed off but let him know I wasn’t pissed at him. I paid $12,000 for this system and I expect it to work every fucking time I turn it on. But I guess if it happens again I just have to wait some time (minutes, hours?) for it to reset. I’m thinking of calling the project manager who sold me the system but I’m too pissed off to think straight right now. > > We have an HVAC system (also pretty new; most of it was installed last year) and it has a voltage regulator that ensures that it stays working all of the time. They can be very sensitive to power fluctuations that might not be noticeable otherwise, and they tend to build up over time. If that happens, it _can_ require a reset. But the system we had installed makes sure that doesn’t happen, because it was a problem for us as well at one point. Is it possible to just do a manual reset every day (whether it’s working or not)? ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/27 "2026-06-02T10:28:24Z")
Until they fix it for good or replace it, maybe. For 12k that thing need to be set-it-and-forget-it until yearly maintenance time. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/28 "2026-06-02T11:18:53Z")
This morning I logged in to take care of some maintenance for one of my credit cards. Set up a payment, redeem some points, etc. And I see two mysterious charges that don’t appear to be anything me or anyone in my household would have charged…not a huge amount, but still it indicates that the card is compromised. So, I will have to get it cancelled, and update everywhere it is used…and then get some notices of places where it fails the next time they charge something because I can’t remember everywhere…and…bleah. Really the cost is not thing, since it will have minimal if any impact on my score, or anything else, but the hassle is a pain. `//i\\` ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/29 "2026-06-02T13:06:04Z")
> [@icon](#): > > and then get some notices of places where it fails the next time they charge something because I can’t remember everywhere… And then a few minutes after you finish updating everything you remember that those two mysterious charges were legit… ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/30 "2026-06-02T13:25:29Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > And then a few minutes after you finish updating everything you remember that those two mysterious charges were legit… This has never been the case for me. I have several credit cards and I am very much aware of what is being charged on them. I don’t auto-pay any of them, so I take a look at the charges at the very least monthly and sometimes as they occur. However, there are accounts where the charge is only quarterly, or triggered by a low balance event. Also, since I have to wait to get the new card to be able to update some of the accounts, I may not remember to update every account as soon as I have activated it and well…an email will come. On the positive side, I just received a notice that my google wallet has been updated with the new number, so at least I will be able to use right away without any fuss using my phone. `//i\\` ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/31 "2026-06-02T13:46:59Z")
As @Dag_Otto says, sometimes legit charges can confuse. I have an app I use to pay for street parking in lieu of the old fashioned parking meters that used to be universal. I bet most anyone who lives urban has at least one such app. I have to have several for the several municipalities around here who refuse to settle on just one app to rule them all. Regardless of which app, when you pay for parking they charge your CC on file the $3.75 or $8 or whatever. So far so ordinary. My cards are configured to notify me when they’re used. Which typically occurs a minute or so after I pay for parking, and the charge details includes what city the parking charge originated from. Anyhow, one evening I’m at home and I get the familiar sound of a CC charge. For a company I don’t immediately recognize for a $3.99 charge in Nashville. About 900 miles from me and my car just then. Oh, crap time to cancel the card, notify 100 vendors, etc. Just like @icon. A couple minutes’ hyperventilation later I remember: Oh yeah, that cryptic company name is actually one of my parking app companies. I’d recently signed up for their frequent parker program where instead of paying $0.70 “service charge” on each parking event above the city charge, they just hit my card for $3.99 every month and there’s no per-use charge. I pay to park with them way more than 6x / month so the deal is a no-brainer win for me. _If_ I remember what it is. 🤦‍♂️ That charge still surprises me just a bit every month. All my other subscription-type charges are big; this one is “just testing a stolen card” sized. > [@icon](#): > > On the positive side, I just received a notice that my google wallet has been updated with the new number, so at least I will be able to use right away without any fuss using my phone. I swear that’s the single most useful feature of e-wallets: instant replacement of compromised cards. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/32 "2026-06-02T13:55:28Z")
I used to get “test charges” every couple of years on my Amazon card, then go through the whole rigamarole of changing cards on everything. I then set up the card, so it can’t be used at gas stations, and I no longer see the test charges. I also get surprised every once in a while when I try to use my card at the gas station up the street that also has an ice cream shop. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/33 "2026-06-02T14:21:48Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > BUT DID YOU SIGN OUT?!?! More importantly > [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > I would have been toast Did you have butter in your backpack? 🙃 ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/34 "2026-06-02T15:01:05Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Did you have butter in your backpack? 🙃 Good call. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/35 "2026-06-02T15:15:30Z")
> [@icon](#): > > This morning I logged in to take care of some maintenance for one of my credit cards. Set up a payment, redeem some points, etc. And I see two mysterious charges that don’t appear to be anything me or anyone in my household would have charged… > [@LSLGuy](#): > > As @Dag_Otto says, sometimes legit charges can confuse. I typically use two credit cards, one of which is a premium card and the other just ordinary. The “ordinary” one is the only one I ever use for internet purchases. It’s on file with Amazon and with my cellular provider. FWIW, the “ordinary” card is the only one that’s ever had incorrect charges – never very much, but each time, the bank insisted on issuing a new card. Also FWIW, the premium card has never been compromised, though I did once sucessfully dispute a charge. It was listed as a charge to a major grocery chain, and I told the bank in all honesty that at that time I had never in my life used a credit card in a grocery store (in fact, until a few years earlier it wasn’t even allowed for fear that it would inflate the cost of food). The bank asked the merchant for proof that the charge was legit, and the merchant failing to provide proof, the charge was reversed. It was literally years later that it dawned on me what the charge was for. Many of those supermarkets have associated tobacco stores on the same premises, and I had bought a box of cigars that were billed as a grocery store charge. Oh well, too bad for the grocery emporium for not keeping good records – I guess my cigars were free! ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2026, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/36 "2026-06-02T15:23:29Z")
Since I use credit cards a lot, I am familiar with this type of thing occurring, and I actually take advantage of it at times. Some credit cards give you cash back at grocery stores, and if there is a Starbucks at the grocery store, it is billed as such on the credit card as opposed to a restaurant as it would be at a stand alone location. It’s the same drink, but if I buy it at the grocery store, I can get a small benefit. In this case, it wasn’t anything confusing because the charge was from spotify for which I do not, nor have ever had an account or subscription. `//i\\` ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/37 "2026-06-02T17:10:28Z")
Yes, I did! I suspect the checkmark looks a little…shaky, but I did remember to do it! ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/38 "2026-06-02T17:11:35Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > I suspect the checkmark looks a little…shaky, but I did remember to do it! You are a good person. 🙂 ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/39 "2026-06-02T17:13:32Z")
Let’s see…_rummages through backpack_ … emergency juice and cookies, some nuts, water bottles, a few slightly wilted carrot sticks… Nope! And no cinnamon either. Pity. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2026, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520/40 "2026-06-02T17:14:49Z")
Thank you. I try! If the tree had hit me, though, I wouldn’t have signed out, and then they would have had to call me to find out where I was, and… Hmm. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blue-june-monthly-mini-rants/1030520.md?page=3)