# First Rants Thread of 2015 - January Minirants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681 "2015-01-01T15:55:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/81 "2015-01-07T05:29:34Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > It’s -40 outside. Celsius or Fahrenheit? Rant the first: One of the cats knocked the laptop off and apparently broke one of the battery connections so now it thinks there’s no battery installed. Rant the second: It’s time to get a haircut when my cell phone no longer recognizes me for facial recognition unlock. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/82 "2015-01-07T13:44:16Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Celsius or Fahrenheit? Ha ha, I see what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/83 "2015-01-07T14:25:57Z")
Thanks for the kind words, y’all. I knew we’d come to no good end, worshiping that dog the way we do. Anyway, we still have a little time left together. Trying to make the most of it. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/84 "2015-01-07T14:52:40Z")
Goddamnit, everyone is coming to work sick. WTF is wrong with people. We have an enormous amount of sick days and our boss is super lenient, plus things haven’t really picked up just yet. STAY THE FUCK HOME. Why do you come to work to infect me? I hate you with the fire of a thousand suns. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/85 "2015-01-07T16:21:13Z")
I hate two rants, both related to school (my son’s, not mine): 1. Why the hell are they haven’t a late start for professional development the week _after_ kids just got done with a two week break? Why does that make any sense? If I were working hourly, it would be a fucking pain in the ass or possibly deal breaker to explain to work, that I needed to take yet more time off because school decided that they were going to start two hours late despite the fact that there is no snow day and I just took X amount of time off for Christmas and New Year’s (assuming I got time off). That pisses me off, perhaps unreasonably. 2. I have a meeting with my son’s teacher tomorrow. Not because of his behavior, but because before the aforementioned break, she tested all the kids on a unit for which she sent no homework and provided no prior notification of a test. I can see doing that just to see where they are to determine whether they needed further study, but it turns out that informs the rest of his grade for the year. He’s 8 for fuck’s sake. And this wasn’t standardized testing or a simple assessment. And the failure to provide homework or prior notification and the fact that it was given the day before another test for which we had two weeks’ notice resulted in my son receiving a C on the test. I’m not arguing the grade - he did a shitty job and made some obvious mistakes - but it seems inappropriate and inconsistent to provide at least one to two weeks’ notice for all other exams, including homework, then spring a random test on kids that will affect their grade the rest of the year, most of whom received a B grade or less (at least 5 of his friends did - their moms apparently felt the same way I did). I’m going to try not to be bitchy about it, but how the hell is that appropriate?? Anyway, I’m generally pissy today. I hate the cold, I hate my child’s school and his teacher and everything else right now. And my poor fucking credit card is on fire from signing kids of for spring and summer activities and paying for random required home repairs. So there. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/86 "2015-01-07T16:52:37Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Celsius or Fahrenheit? _Kelvin._ ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/87 "2015-01-07T17:47:24Z")
I have chips on several of my fingernails that keep chipping further back, like runs in a pair of pantyhose. I’ve dabbed the ends with nail polish to try to glue the nail layers together, and doubled down on biotin supplements, all to no avail. Minor, but damn annoying. Also, I have a cold. Minor, but damn annoying as well. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/88 "2015-01-07T17:49:56Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Goddamnit, everyone is coming to work sick. WTF is wrong with people. We have an enormous amount of sick days and our boss is super lenient, plus things haven’t really picked up just yet. STAY THE FUCK HOME. Why do you come to work to infect me? I hate you with the fire of a thousand suns. I blame the fucking OTC drug industry, where they suggest taking something that somewhat suppresses _symptoms_, then going off to infect more suckers… err customers.:mad: STAY THE FUCK HOME. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/89 "2015-01-07T18:08:24Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > So, I started a perfectly mindless thread in the proper place about my cat attacking the wall…and now am worried about termites. Great, just great. I really want strangers wandering around our home spraying even more poison around. Your cat it a termite detector!?! (I should look for the thread before I ask, but could it be a mouse in the wall?) Good thoughts to **Dung Beetle**. So sorry to hear about your puppy. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/90 "2015-01-08T02:56:54Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Goddamnit, everyone is coming to work sick. WTF is wrong with people. We have an enormous amount of sick days and our boss is super lenient, plus things haven’t really picked up just yet. STAY THE FUCK HOME. Why do you come to work to infect me? I hate you with the fire of a thousand suns. Here’s an idea: You say your boss is super lenient, and you have an enormous amount of sick days. STAY HOME YOURSELF until the cootie-infected people are all better. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/91 "2015-01-08T03:08:16Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Here’s an idea: You say your boss is super lenient, and you have an enormous amount of sick days. > > STAY HOME YOURSELF until the cootie-infected people are all better. 😃 There you go! ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/92 "2015-01-08T04:14:50Z")
OK, I have a happy! Taking home a new kitty tomorrow. It’s taken me over a year to find another cat after my dearest Noodle died in November 2013. And I work and live with cats 24/7 - he was a big space to fill and it’s taken me this long to realize I’ll never find another kitty to replace him. Still, I have an “open” spot in my home and finally found a little dude I’m feeling very positive will fit right in with the other personalities. His shelter name is Blott and I can’t possibly keep that name. Over the last couple weeks of considering and spending time with him, his name will be Rockitt. He came to the shelter as an emergency case, he had been in some sort of terrible accident (probably hit by car) and needed a leg amputated as well as part of his tail (and, he’s cross-eyed!). This was in November and he’s been recuperating nicely. I thought he would have been adopted weeks ago, but he’s still here. After I realized I had been toying with new names for him for a couple of weeks, I knew that meant I should take him home and fill that spot that’s been empty for over a year. Here are a couple of [pics from the shelter](https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10857739_835923436454372_2148620678617531685_n.jpg?oh=44868228d5ef59276087e27d500d4e7b&oe=552786B7& __gda__ =1428227134_5d1d8326d5d220f5d06afd7a0a488b9b) - with [stupid reindeer antlers on his head](https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10341875_836752193038163_3540343210321091148_n.jpg?oh=0b6ce5235791b5cdda7ad20f7887ccc0&oe=552D6C0D& __gda__ =1429251253_7b333920220c32d4ebacfb7f18d3553f) - and the person is NOT me, she’s one of our adoptions counselors. He’s really freaking cute, and also just a really nice cat. I’m picking him up in the afternoon Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/93 "2015-01-08T04:23:41Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Your cat it a termite detector!?! (I should look for the thread before I ask, but could it be a mouse in the wall?) > > I’m sorry, [here it is.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=745388) I don’t really think its a mouse, I think there is a hell rift opening and only my cat will save me. Or maybe she is just being a cat. We all know that cats are teh weird. > > Good thoughts to **Dung Beetle**. So sorry to hear about your puppy. > [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > OK, I have a happy! > > Taking home a new kitty tomorrow. It’s taken me over a year to find another cat after my dearest Noodle died in November 2013. And I work and live with cats 24/7 - he was a big space to fill and it’s taken me this long to realize I’ll never find another kitty to replace him. Still, I have an “open” spot in my home and finally found a little dude I’m feeling very positive will fit right in with the other personalities. His shelter name is Blott and I can’t possibly keep that name. > > Over the last couple weeks of considering and spending time with him, his name will be Rockitt. He came to the shelter as an emergency case, he had been in some sort of terrible accident (probably hit by car) and needed a leg amputated as well as part of his tail (and, he’s cross-eyed!). This was in November and he’s been recuperating nicely. I thought he would have been adopted weeks ago, but he’s still here. After I realized I had been toying with new names for him for a couple of weeks, I knew that meant I should take him home and fill that spot that’s been empty for over a year. > > Here are a couple of [pics from the shelter](https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xfp1/v/t1.0-9/10857739_835923436454372_2148620678617531685_n.jpg?oh=44868228d5ef59276087e27d500d4e7b&oe=552786B7& __gda__ =1428227134_5d1d8326d5d220f5d06afd7a0a488b9b) - with [stupid reindeer antlers on his head](https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10341875_836752193038163_3540343210321091148_n.jpg?oh=0b6ce5235791b5cdda7ad20f7887ccc0&oe=552D6C0D& __gda__ =1429251253_7b333920220c32d4ebacfb7f18d3553f) - and the person is NOT me, she’s one of our adoptions counselors. He’s really freaking cute, and also just a really nice cat. I’m picking him up in the afternoon Thursday. Happy Dances all over the place. What a lucky cat, his life will be wonderful thanks to you. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/94 "2015-01-08T07:45:45Z")
I’m in Home Office this week, and the Bossman is interviewing people. One of the two people who came in yesterday was a lady with a firstname that could be from about anywhere (apparently she has an Indian-sounding lastname) and subcontinent looks. British accent (at least to my foreign ears), nice suit. A coworker was introducing her around; another one came in halfway and jumped over the candidate’s name with “hi, where are you from?” _blink_ _restores smile_ “I currently live in [nearby town].” I’m not sure whether to wish that she gets the job (it is a nice job if you can get ‘not my circus, not my monkeys’ tattoed inside your forehead and having quick reflexes and the ability to deal nicely with rude morons are definite pluses) or that she gets one not including coworkers like that guy… and he’s not the least-socialized member of the team. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/95 "2015-01-08T15:43:39Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Here’s an idea: You say your boss is super lenient, and you have an enormous amount of sick days. > > STAY HOME YOURSELF until the cootie-infected people are all better. 😃 I want to, but even my boss isn’t _that_ lenient. No, instead, we got at least one of the sickies to go home. ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/96 "2015-01-08T15:44:43Z")
Roommate just informed me that, if our rent increases in the new term, he’ll need to move. He says he’s struggling as is (despite the fact that he bar-hops 3-4 nights / week). I don’t want to move, but it doesn’t make sense to stay in a two-bedroom by myself, and I don’t know where I’d find a new roommate on such short notice. He knows the manager of our building (they went to high school together) and I’m trying to see if he can use that connection to pull some strings, but his heart doesn’t seem “in it.” He said he knows a place that’s about a mile from where we live, and it seems nice,but his biggest selling point was that we could live next-door to one of our friends (he’s closer to the guy than I am), and it would be incentive for that guy not to move from his current place. Thing is, at our current apartment, the appliances are very energy efficient and our utility bills are very low. I don’t think the other place offers the same, and the minimal price decrease in rent might be off-set by other bills. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/97 "2015-01-08T16:02:37Z")
My darling wonderful niece got dumped by her boyfriend (of three years) 10 days before Christmas. See, he’s Mormon and is preparing to go on his Mission as soon as he graduates from high school in May. He had a talk with the bishop about what he needed to do to be ready, and one of those things was dump the girl friend. And if that’s not bad enough, someone sent her an anonymous letter detailing all the reasons why the LDS church isn’t the One True Religion and how if she stayed with that boy that she would Surely Burn in Hell for being an unbeliever (or some bullshit like that). We are assuming it’s some nosy old biddie from her grandma’s church. But who the hell does that?? ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/98 "2015-01-08T16:12:34Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > My darling wonderful niece got dumped by her boyfriend (of three years) 10 days before Christmas. See, he’s Mormon and is preparing to go on his Mission as soon as he graduates from high school in May. He had a talk with the bishop about what he needed to do to be ready, and one of those things was dump the girl friend. And if that’s not bad enough, someone sent her an anonymous letter detailing all the reasons why the LDS church isn’t the One True Religion and how if she stayed with that boy that she would Surely Burn in Hell for being an unbeliever (or some bullshit like that). We are assuming it’s some nosy old biddie from her grandma’s church. But who the hell does that?? Sorry for your niece, but IIRC, LDS missions last for two years, and it might be for the best that she isn’t in a long-distance relationship while she is (presumably) entering college. Not saying she should immediately jump back into the dating pool, but I know more than a few people who tried to do the long-distance thing during their Freshman year and it caused them to miss out on a lot of socializing. They looked back with regret, especially since most broke up by Christmas of the Freshman year. Now, as for the letter? The only possible rationalization would be that someone was trying to soften the blow of the break-up, but still, that’s a horrible thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![TheFaerie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@TheFaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFaerie)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/99 "2015-01-08T16:14:10Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > You knit while you’re on the toilet? :eek: Shh… don’t tell the recipients. But seriously, you should see the craft room and you’d know why it was called that. So I suppose I need to pit myself for letting it get that way. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681/100 "2015-01-08T16:34:01Z")
… in which case, Roommate won’t be able to keep up with the bills after the move, either. It’s a long shot, but I’d start looking around for a new rooomie now and see if you can turn somebody up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-rants-thread-of-2015-january-minirants/708681.md?page=6)