# Everything's broken. Everything sucks. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 3, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721 "2005-06-03T14:31:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/81 "2005-06-04T21:56:20Z")
> [@Ink a dink a dink](#): > > So now I am paying $40,000 OUT OF POCKET to cap and crown every goddamned tooth in my head. Will he get the $40,000 in one check? Fuck no. Will e allow payments? Yes. > > Seems to make some logical sense, there, doesn’t it. Slight hijack, pardon. But, hey, **Inky** , if I were you, I’d just say “Fuck it!” and get dentures. Much cheaper. Carry on. What’s this about planes? Haines? Mains? Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Maxxxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@Maxxxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maxxxie)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/82 "2005-06-04T22:09:46Z")
Total Hijack: Is it just me or does it not seem awfully coincidental to others that people with a history of never needing dental work go to the dentist for something routine (eg tooth-cleaning) and walk out thousands of dollars in debt because the dentist noticed something majorly wrong? And that those people then end up going to the dentist every six months? To my cynical mind, it just seems waaaay too coincidental. Like the dentist is just ensuring a stream of regular income. “Find” a problem, then the patient/victim’s teeth suddenly change their life-long pattern of never needing attention and suddenly need hand-holding every six months?? Maybe I’m biased. I haven’t been to a dentist in over fifteen years, and my teeth still look like this: 😃 I hear too many stories of people like me who, after a long, happy, dentist-snubbing existence, finally decide their teeth need professional cleaning, or some other minor attention, and are told that their teeth, previously hard as marble, are suddenly full of holes, decaying, and ready to LEAP out of their owners’ heads just to escape the awful rotting happening therein. My theory is that the dentists, having been snubbed for far too long by a potential source of income, find _reasons_ for this person to _want_ to pay them money regularly. And hell, if the person seeks a second opinion, what’s to say the second dentist would be any more scrupulous? I know, I’m very cynical. But until my teeth stop looking like 😃 I’m keeping WELL away from those evil dentists! They can pry my teeth out of my cold, dead skull! Max 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/83 "2005-06-04T22:16:45Z")
I’ll be watching for your dental thread, **Maxxxie.** ---
**Author:** ![Tammi\_Terrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Tammi\_Terrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tammi_Terrell)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/84 "2005-06-04T23:04:22Z")
> [@Metacom](#): > > What you need to do in the future is double-check your story to make sure you include every possible detail. _THEN_ have everyone involved in the story (dentists, model railroad shops, etc.) sign notarized affadavits affirming your story as correct. Post those on the web, and be prepared to cite them. Also, you should post detailed financial information, including your monthly budget and yearly income so we can ensure that your budgeting according to our high standards. A _further_ word to the wise, **tdn** : we also will be reserving judgment as to the factual basis of the scenario you’ve described until one of those Mikkelsons gets around to writing a page about it. Tammi “pearly white lies” Terrell ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/85 "2005-06-05T01:20:19Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I’m not rich but I carefully and logically handle my finances to insure that I don’t jeopardize the welfare of my family. I have a hobby which could be quite expensive (audiophile - videophile). I would like to spend thousands of dollars on expensive theatre equipment and I have the means to do it if I ignore the need for emergency cash (a fund for health, large appliance breakdowns, auto repair etc). I don’t indulge the hobby. I keep the money saved for the rainy day issues. Hey, that’s like my hobby of flying military jet aircraft. Sure, I don’t piss my money away by actually engaging in my hobby but I derive endless hours of enjoyment from thinking about doing it one day. Ass. Something you like the idea of but don’t commit resources and or time to is called a dream, not a hobby. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/86 "2005-06-05T15:14:49Z")
> [@lokij](#): > > Hey, that’s like my hobby of flying military jet aircraft. Sure, I don’t piss my money away by actually engaging in my hobby but I derive endless hours of enjoyment from thinking about doing it one day. Ass. Something you like the idea of but don’t commit resources and or time to is called a dream, not a hobby. Gee **lokji** , you seemed to have pulled a **Bubbadog** in this thread too. Def - _ **Bubbadog** v._: to read more or less into the statement than is given. I’m actively involved in my hobby. I have money invested into my hobby. Have a nice little hi-def theater system set up in the finished basement. If I completely indulged the hobby I could put thousands more into it but my review of finances says that I can’t indulge the hobby to the fullest. If you take the time to think about it a little longer (maybe I’m the pot calling the kettle black here), you will realize that just about _all_ hobbies require degrees of commitment. So, just like model trains, audiophiles, and baseball cards you can invest a little or a lot. My point to **tdn** was that he let himself overindulge in his hobby. Your point is that you are a daydreamer who seems to have missed the point. Welcome to the club. ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/87 "2005-06-05T19:39:28Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I’m actively involved in my hobby. I have money invested into my hobby. Have a nice little hi-def theater system set up in the finished basement. If I completely indulged the hobby I could put thousands more into it but my review of finances says that I can’t indulge the hobby to the fullest. If you take the time to think about it a little longer (maybe I’m the pot calling the kettle black here), you will realize that just about _all_ hobbies require degrees of commitment. Then why didn’t you say you spend money on your hobby, if you had simply said that I wouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion I did. This was your fault for not expressly stating what moneys you have comitted to your hobby while only speaking of the money that you chose not to spend in spite of wishing to. I cannot be blamed for coming the the wrong conclusion when you say one thing then another, perhaps you should be more clear in the future. BTW I hate flying. And you’re still an ass for missing the entire point of my post. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/88 "2005-06-05T21:22:33Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > My computer is broken. It started with extreme slowdowns and lockups, in which mouse clicks would be delayed by up to as much as 20 minutes, while the hard drive grinds away. After defragging and checkdisking, now I can’t even boot up without the motherfucker crashing. This happened to my computer recently. The hard drive was physically fucked. I had to get rid of it. New hard drive, worked like a charm. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/89 "2005-06-05T21:33:09Z")
> [@lokij](#): > > …I cannot be blamed for coming the the wrong conclusion when you say one thing then another, perhaps you should be more clear in the future. > > BTW I hate flying. And you’re still an ass for missing the entire point of my post. This is either a whoosh or you are **very** stupid.:dubious: I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and enjoy the breeze. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/90 "2005-06-06T13:29:54Z")
I want to give a belated thanks to everyone for their support. Indeed there was a bit of hyperbole in the OP. Most Dopers are smart enough to get that, but there’s always someone who takes obviously hyperbolic statements at face value and cannot, under any circumstances, be convinced that anything else was meant. Back when I was a young conducting student, I was studying Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. There are a couple of ways to start the 1st movement, both of which involve some risk of a few musicians starting a measure early. (In football this is known as “offsides.”) When I asked my teacher how to prevent this, he said, in his thick French accent, “When I was the young student, I ask my master the same thing. I never forget what he tells me. He say, ‘Pascal, never forget. There is always an asshole.’” As it is with Beethoven’s 5th, it also hold with Pit threads. There is always an asshole. **World Eater** , you might want to try soft-boiled worlds for a while. > [@RickJay](#): > > This happened to my computer recently. The hard drive was physically fucked. I had to get rid of it. New hard drive, worked like a charm. I’m not ruling out hardware malfunction. These new troubles started more or less when I added a 2nd drive. I swear I did it correctly, but it’s worth checking out as a cause. Ad-Aware didn’t turn up anything. ---
**Author:** ![Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@Licentious\_Ectomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Licentious_Ectomorph)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/91 "2005-06-06T13:30:19Z")
**Maxxxie** , the possibility that I was being defrauded did occur to me, but if I had gotten another opinion I would have had to pay for it out of pocket, and like you said there’s no guarantee another dentist would be any more scrupulous. The only real proof I had that any of my problems were legit was an _obviously_ rotten tooth that my dentist pulled and showed to me. It had never bothered me, so who knew? **Nyctea Scandiaca** , sorry I didn’t see your post until today; I mostly cruise the Dope while I’m at work (don’t tell on me). I’ll email my dentist’s info to you. I should clarify that my current dentist is not the one who did all that work because I changed insurance plans. I should further clarify that it’s not the dentist who gives me Xanax - I get it from my SO’s mother. I would also like to reiterate for **UncleBeer** that it’s quite possible for dental problems to sneak up on you asymptomatically. I think **tdn** has made clear that he’s not asserting that the problems _developed_ in that short time, but that he _found out_ about them at a financially inconvenient time. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/92 "2005-06-06T14:14:56Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > And yet, I didn’t grasp it. > > Like I said, looks like deserve the heat I’m getting. Grrr, if you go around _apologizing_, how the hell am I supposed to be mad at you? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/93 "2005-06-06T14:25:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Grrr, if you go around _apologizing_, how the hell am I supposed to be mad at you? If he’s apologizing, then he’s a Class Act. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/94 "2005-06-06T14:27:43Z")
Oh, BTW, **BubbaDog** , I apologize for my two by for comment. That was way out of line. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/95 "2005-06-06T14:38:01Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > If he’s apologizing, then he’s a Class Act. I know. It was very nice of him. There’s people on this board who couldn’t apologize if their lives depended on it. Thaks, **BubbaDog**. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/96 "2005-06-06T14:49:22Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Oh, BTW, **BubbaDog** , I apologize for my two by for comment. That was way out of line. Apology accepted but not really - here’s why Its the pit and my opinion is that we get to scream at each other and then play nice the next time. Kinda like politicians only human. I aso offer my apology for my harsh words. You can accept but not really accept my apology too. And I’d like to retract my retraction and go back to my original position of wishing you the best.😃 If **mhendo** doesn’t mind, I’d like to kep my “Wanker” badge for a while. Never been called that one before. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/97 "2005-06-06T14:53:11Z")
Ah. In that case, fucko off. 😉 I retract my apology about your apology for the retraction of my retraction of your apology. And I’ll be in Scotland before ye. ---
**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:** [June 6, 2005, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/98 "2005-06-06T15:31:53Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > If **mhendo** doesn’t mind, I’d like to kep my “Wanker” badge for a while. Never been called that one before. Actually, while like using the term “wanker” i’ve never really considered it much of an insult. After all, who doesn’t wank? I certainly do. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2005, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/99 "2005-06-06T15:39:25Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > After all, who doesn’t wank? I certainly do. Bwa ha ha, **mhendo** wanks! **BubbaDog** referred to my computer as a toy. Actually, it’s a Porn Delivery Device. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2005, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721/100 "2005-06-07T12:52:46Z")
> [@Feydeau](#): > > Slight hijack, pardon. > But, hey, **Inky** , if I were you, I’d just say “Fuck it!” and get dentures. Much cheaper. Hijack: You do realize that dentures are fake teeth, right? And that they can slip mid-sentence? Imagine kissing a person wondering if you’re teeth will fall out. My dad has dentures because he was poor and stupid back in his youth. It is a great source of embarrassment for him. If he had a choice to do it again, he’d go on a lifetime payment plan to keep his real teeth before he’d get dentures. * * * As to the OP: TDN, I hope you take the advice to contact train professionals in your area. No sense investing $1000 in a hobby and then abandoning it. Do you have one of those little towns, with fake buildings and little bridges? So cool. Our gas and electric company has a train display at Xmas every year. It is worth the trip downtown to see it. About those teeth. My dentist wanted me to replace five fillings that she said were bad. I got a second opinion. He only agreed with the first dentist on one of the five fillings. The other were fine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everythings-broken-everything-sucks/306721.md?page=6)