# Febrantary (February Minirants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 1, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286 "2014-02-01T17:24:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/421 "2014-02-21T22:17:12Z")
I vote “we just moved, Mom, we don’t have a spare key or a usual spot. See you later!” ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/422 "2014-02-21T22:20:33Z")
Yeah, this “inviting themselves” stuff isn’t gonna work. You gotta nip that in the bud! :eek: ---
**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:** [February 21, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/423 "2014-02-21T22:33:44Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > …is still waiting for the guy from craigslist I hired to plow us out to show up. If he doesn’t, TheKid will not be going to work as there is no way for us to shovel the 3’ plow berm at the end of the driveway. I will then have to plead to my dislike BIL to come plow us out, which will put me in debt to him, which I so do not want. BIL is here. Craigslist dude can go jump into a snow pile. TheKid got a ride from a coworker. This helplessness sucks. I tried shovelling, but I am just not healthy enough to get through it. Fuck winter. Fuck kidney disease. Just fuck it all. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/424 "2014-02-21T22:34:24Z")
Estate agents. FFS. I know it’s a cliche, but really, do you actually want to sell the house? I hung up on you back in November when you were weird and obstructive. The same house is still for sale in Feb, so I email, and not only do you fail to answer the “can I view this house” question at all, you decide to randomly call me “Miss”. Hello, its not the 1950s anymore, Ms if you’re unsure, and fucking Mrs if you’d bothered to ask me at all, you dicks. I’m sorely tempted to wait until another estate agent takes over the handling of this particular house… ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/425 "2014-02-21T22:46:23Z")
It’s been a stressful week for me, midterm and my boss is away on vacation so I got a request from higher up to do something for even higher up and I worked late and from home to get it done. That’s not the rant, shit is done so it’s over with. What is NOT over is the migraine that started with a lively aura in the last ten minutes of what I was doing and has progressed to I can see but my head hurts and I want to puke. I’m leaving early, I don’t care what people think and I’m done with this week. ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/426 "2014-02-21T23:07:53Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Estate agents. FFS. I know it’s a cliche, but really, do you actually want to sell the house? I hung up on you back in November when you were weird and obstructive. The same house is still for sale in Feb, so I email, and not only do you fail to answer the “can I view this house” question at all, you decide to randomly call me “Miss”. Hello, its not the 1950s anymore, Ms if you’re unsure, and fucking Mrs if you’d bothered to ask me at all, you dicks. > > I’m sorely tempted to wait until another estate agent takes over the handling of this particular house… Or I could post on the local FB group asking who knows the sellers, and have about 50 immediate replies saying they’ll be in touch with the family tomorrow. Ha 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/427 "2014-02-22T01:07:23Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Estate agents. FFS. I know it’s a cliche, but really, do you actually want to sell the house? I hung up on you back in November when you were weird and obstructive. The same house is still for sale in Feb, so I email, and not only do you fail to answer the “can I view this house” question at all, you decide to randomly call me “Miss”. Hello, its not the 1950s anymore, Ms if you’re unsure, and fucking Mrs if you’d bothered to ask me at all, you dicks. > > I’m sorely tempted to wait until another estate agent takes over the handling of this particular house… Are the owners living there? If so, mail them a letter telling them you’d love to look at the place, but their Estate Agent is an ass and you refuse to deal with that person. Edit: Or I can read down to where you did your own run around! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/428 "2014-02-22T02:00:44Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > She’s not there, she’s here in Arizona helping me with Laura’s pets. She had to take a bus because of the tight money problems, but she left before the murder. > > Does anyone know where to get a small handheld food grinder that is easy to clean? Smooshing chunky cat food through a sieve to make pate is getting really old already. I use a mortar an pestle ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/429 "2014-02-22T02:37:18Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > I use a mortar an pestle I honestly never would have thought of that. In my world, mortar and pestles are cute kitchen accents. I’m getting very grumpy at Laura’s daughter. I understand that she lives in Phx and that she is a divorced woman with 2 small children. It would be a real hardship for her to come up to Prescott and care for her mother’s pets. That’s why I’m here. However, it shouldn’t be that hard for her to drive up here to visit her mother on the weekends. Laura is bored to tears and wants and needs to see them, but something always seems to come up. I’m also having problems biting my tongue with Laura. I so want to tell her to tell her daughter that Laura gave her the car, Laura bought the car seats and that Laura gives her gas money, so spoiled daughter can just get her butt in the car or the subsidized lifestyle will stop. I’m so ready to go home. I miss our bed, even if its empty because my husband is in happening Oklahoma. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/430 "2014-02-22T07:35:29Z")
Anybody else affected by the massive data breach at University of Maryland this week? Thanks, guys! A year of free credit monitoring is nice, but it seems like the hackers won’t just magically go away after a year, and from what I can tell, the service just alerts you that somebody has committed fraud on your account, rather than actually stopping them from doing so. And we can’t activate it until next week anyway. I wound up putting a freeze on my credit reports at all 3 bureaus, which is now going to make applying for loans a bit more of a PITA but less of a PITA than having a thief destroy my credit score. I’d also bet that a bunch of affected people (I’m not one of them) had already had their info stolen at Target, meaning the free credit service is meaningless for them as it’s the same as what Target is already giving. What a pain. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/431 "2014-02-22T08:55:19Z")
I finally have my computer back from the shop and am posting from the comfort of the couch and flatscreen instead of my phone or work. Whee! I didn’t catch any viruses or anything, and the hard drive didn’t go all fried green tomatoes exactly, the tech said it was a clocking problem. But - put in a different hard drive and all’s well. While that’s all happy and shit, somehow my bookmark backup didn’t work, so I have to recreate all my damn bookmarks. What I did do - took a picture of the list at the same time I thought I was backing them up. So I at least have the list of them and can just add them back as I visit websites. Ho hum. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/432 "2014-02-22T09:49:21Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > I honestly never would have thought of that. In my world, mortar and pestles are cute kitchen accents. Well to tell you the truth that’s what mine are most of the time - except for when I need to smoosh something up for an animal. In fact I dont think I have ever used one for human purposes - and I have two. sending you calm compassionate don’t kill your friends daughter vibes. Please feel free to send some back… My temper is not good, I feel like crap for various health reasons etc… Now I have delusional \*\*former \*\*friend causing havok, oh and can we add manipulative too. She is good at that I did not realise what she was doing. Bitch is accusing me of stuff like stealing etc… Harassing me over a dog that she manipulated me into taking to the vet for vaccination - I can go myself because of special circumstances…oh no you have to tell them its your dog or bad people will get me (I managed with - dog is in my care for short period of time till owner picks her up -20 minutes later;))…omg all my neighbours dogs have parvo…I love this dog and I dont know what would happen if she died…etc and anon. I was really uncomfortable with the whole thing but i didn’t want her to get parvo and she was my friend :(. Thing is here they don’t do vaccination certificates they just do a receipt. I told her this at the time. She made me go back to the vets and ask an I got another receipt for her. 12 months later she is demanding I hand over the certificate. I have had enough:mad::mad::mad: ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/433 "2014-02-22T15:51:31Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > I honestly never would have thought of that. In my world, mortar and pestles are cute kitchen accents. There are a bunch of baby food grinders on Amazon. I’ve never used one because I never thought of it until I saw the idea in a thread here! When I had several sick kitties at once, I had a dedicated stick blender. You can get a crappy one that still does the job for under ten dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/434 "2014-02-22T20:28:52Z")
> [@slalexan](#): > > We owe on our taxes this year. This makes me very sad. I’m pregnant and due April 1st. I feel a little like the world is conspiring against me, but that may just be the hormones. Now I am not mad to pay taxes but I feel stupid for not compensating last September when Husband got a much better job. I should have realized at that point that we would need to adjust our withholdings but I was, admittedly, a bit preoccupied. I wish it didn’t feel like I had to guess and pray during the year and hope I come out ahead. Oh yeah … we had a similar issue last year! It was the first year I hadn’t been in college for a while, and I had the best-paying job I’d ever had, and instead of getting a refund we owed. We were planning on using the refund to pay bills while I was on maternity leave. Yeeeeeeeeeah … I’m not looking forward to doing taxes this year. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2014, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/435 "2014-02-22T22:50:35Z")
Why did everyone in front of me at the car wash insist on getting the super-mega-awesome option that takes so damn long??? There’s a much faster car wash across town, but its undercarriage wash isn’t very good. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/436 "2014-02-22T22:52:24Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Why did everyone in front of me at the car wash insist on getting the super-mega-awesome option that takes so damn long??? There’s a much faster car wash across town, but its undercarriage wash isn’t very good. Can’t you just use a bidet instead of going all the way to the car wash? ---
**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:** [February 23, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/437 "2014-02-23T00:57:19Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > Can’t you just use a bidet instead of going all the way to the car wash? Tried it…couldn’t get the vehicle through any of the doors, and I know it wouldn’t fit up the stairs. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/438 "2014-02-23T02:58:52Z")
Dammit, NBC, you’ve only managed to show approximately 1% of the Olympic action during your prime time coverage over the past week. I’m sure lots of interesting things happened today. So why are we spending 20 minutes on the not very interesting story of how a summer Olympian tracked down her Russian adoptive parents during what what supposed to be sports programming? I wasn’t aware that climbing family trees was an Olympic sport. ---
**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:** [February 23, 2014, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/439 "2014-02-23T05:14:28Z")
Botheration. What is wrong with this computer. I thought replacing the motherboard would fix all the problems (yes, it was necessary, there were shorts that visibly marred the board), but no, it’s still just … killing the video signal for some reason. The screen just goes blank, although the computer remains on. Prior to the last episode, I would try to turn it off and it wouldn’t turn off unless I held the power button down for a long, long time. This last time I just left it for a couple of hours and when I pressed and released the power button, the video signal returned as if the thing had simply gone to sleep. Power settings are to never turn off when it’s plugged in (which it is), so what is going on? \ The shop I take it to is a good one, but they’re only open weekdays from 8-5. I can take it in on the day I work from home, but this week I have a big project that’s supposed to get finished by Friday, so leaving the house for any length of time on Thursday is just not on. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286/440 "2014-02-23T20:31:52Z")
Here we go with another round of this never-ending winter. We got two nice-ish days where the temperatures were actually above freezing and some of the two feet of snow on the ground has started to melt. And then it’s right back into the deep freeze again this week. The long range forecast is saying another two weeks before it “warms up” again. Sigh. Oh, and I have a large and painful zit in my eyebrow. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/febrantary-february-minirants/680286.md?page=23)