First Rants Thread of 2015 - January Minirants

[StarvingButStrong]

I did the opposite: Trash out, no pick up. Dang.

[DrDeth]

@cochrane

This is the mini-est of rants compared to others, but FML:

Today was Martin Luther King Day, so I didn’t take my garbage out to the curb, figuring the trashmen would have the day off. Well, guess who works on MLK Day? Yup, the trashmen. I can never figure out their holiday schedule. Either I take it out and they don’t pick it up that day, or I leave it in the garage and they’re out making pickups. I never guess right. :mad:

Well, if you do set out, and they dont pick up, dont they pick up the next day? Thus the winning strategy would be to set out.

[purplehorseshoe]

If your city has a municipal website, the waste management schedule should be posted there somewhere.

[aruvqan]

@EmilyG

My skin is so fragile these days. This afternoon some rough fabric brushed against the back of my thumb, and normally I’d just get a scrape, but this time I got a cut. At least this time it was on the back of my thumb, whereas the last cut I got (which still hasn’t completely healed) was on the pad of one of my fingers.

sigh and now I have somehow rubbed the skin raw on the back of my knee [the crook of the elbow part, whatever the fuck it is called] with a new pair of pants. I thought they were not too rough, but I was wrong. I may have to start wearing ultra soft microfiber tights under clothing unless I can find stuff that is soft enough.

[EmilyG]

You know what I hate? When online videos automatically start playing at the highest volume. You know what else I hate? Autoplay videos. And autoplay videos that start playing at the highest volume can go do themselves.

Also, I’m tired of various people hating specific generations. Guess what? Every generation has bad things about it. But every generation also has good things. So just stop the hate, it’s getting old.

[cochrane]

@DrDeth

Well, if you do set out, and they dont pick up, dont they pick up the next day? Thus the winning strategy would be to set out.

We don’t leave garbage out overnight so that coyotes and javelinas don’t get into it. So, your “winning” strategy is actually stupid strategy. But then again, that’s nothing new coming from you. :rolleyes:

[cochrane]

@purplehorseshoe

If your city has a municipal website, the waste management schedule should be posted there somewhere.

Yeah, I should have looked. Waste Management picks up our trash and their site does say today is a normal pickup day.

[kayT]

never mind; ninja’d by the fact that there were two pages to this thread.

[LavenderBlue]

When the local police force literally calls to tell you to stay off the road, stay off the road. We had an ice storm the other day. I went out to our local street to pick up one of our garbage cans that had been pushed there by high winds for thirty seconds. Some idiot nearly hit me with his car and then yelled at ME. Fucking idiot. When police call you and tell you to keep your car off the road. KEEP YOUR CAR OFF THE ROAD, MORONS. Don’t go to mass. Don’t go food shopping. Don’t fucking leave the house unless you’re dying. They had dozens of accidents that day because people just don’t listen.

[russian_heel]

I pit the one douchebag in the restaurant who still insists on applauding and cheering when a worker drops a tray of dishes.

[kayaker]

@russian_heel

I pit the one douchebag in the restaurant who still insists on applauding and cheering when a worker drops a tray of dishes.

If you’ve got lightening fast reflexes and a good throwing arm, you can hit the cheering dude with the lemon wedge out of your ice water and not get caught. I’ve heard.

[russian_heel]

Dude maybe. This time it was a female, not so gentlemanly to do so.

[eulalia]

@russian_heel

Dude maybe. This time it was a female, not so gentlemanly to do so.

She’s no lady; why should you be “gentlemanly”? I actually think that’s a little sexist. If what a person is doing rates being hit with citrus projectiles, their gender shouldn’t matter.

[kayaker]

@eulalia

If what a person is doing rates being hit with citrus projectiles, their gender shouldn’t matter.

Nor their age. I’m looking at you, crying baby!

[Dung_Beetle]

@Missy2U

Thursday afternoon at 2 pm we had to put our beloved dog down. He was a huge wonderful loving smart and the best ever German Shepherd dog that we adopted almost 10 yeats ago when he was only 2. We are wrecked. It was completely out of the blue - the evening before he was fine - next day was hell on earth. I still can’t process it. And I keep hearing his tags jingling - my husband swears he felt him lick his face Friday morning. The house just ain’t right anymore. My son is devasted - he couldn’t even say goodbye. My lap is so empty…

I’m so sorry, Missy. We have to lose our dog soon also, and we’re already shattered. It’s like going around under a big black cloud. Last night we were sitting at home doing nothing in particular, I glanced at my husband and he was quietly crying. Dog wasn’t even in the room.

I hope your Shepherd went quickly and easily.

[purplehorseshoe]

@EmilyG

… Also, I’m tired of various people hating specific generations. Guess what? Every generation has bad things about it. But every generation also has good things. So just stop the hate, it’s getting old.

Every generation seems to enjoy bad-mouthing other generations, both in the “kids these days, with their impolite manners and weird clothes/music/slang!” and the “man, I can’t wait till those old farts die off and take their antiquated values with them!” ways.

[curlcoat]

@kayaker

Nor their age. I’m looking at you, crying baby!

Citrus projectiles should be aimed at the parent(s) ignoring the crying baby. Those striking the baby just tend to make it louder…

[LavenderBlue]

Dr. Bob Sears, a quack who’s gone to the dogs.

From his Facebook page:

DR. BOB’S DAILY:

JUST HOW DEADLY IS MEASLES?
What makes measles so scary? What is it about measles that spreads fear and dread through our population? Three things, in my opinion, set it apart from most infectious diseases that make us afraid: 1. It’s untreatable, and it has a high rate of complications, so we are at it’s mercy, 2. It’s been virtually eliminated from the U.S., so we aren’t used to it anymore, and 3. It’s potentially fatal.

Now, let’s play two truths and a lie. Two of these statements are true, and one is not. Well, the one that is not is technically true, but it’s not true in all practical terms.

1. Untreatable? Correct. There is no anti-viral medication that will help, so we just have to stand by as the disease runs its course. We are powerless, and that creates fear. We don’t want to take a risk with something which we have no way to mitigate or control. The only thing that may make measles less severe is high dose Vitamin A therapy (which is approved by the WHO). But that’s not an anti-viral med; it just helps us fight it off a little better.

Complications? Ear infection is the most likely complication - treatable. Pneumonia is next - also treatable. Ya, you don’t want those things to happen, but they are treatable. Encephalitis? That’s much worse. Fortunately it’s extremely rare in well-nourished people (see below).

So, the lie is that measles has a high rate of serious complications. It doesn’t. It CAN, but it rarely does.

2. Eliminated? Virtually. Over the past 20 years we’ve sometimes only had 50 cases a year. Sometimes 150. Nobody knows measles anymore, and when we are ignorant of something unfamiliar, we fear it until we understand it.

Ask any Grandma or Grandpa (well, older ones anyway), and they’ll say “Measles? So what? We all had it. It’s like Chicken pox.” Ask a twenty-five-year-old mom with two young kids, and she’ll scoop up her kids and run away from you for even mentioning the M word.

If you understand measles, you wouldn’t fear it. Respect it.

I do acknowledge that it’s a public health nightmare in that it takes a lot of effort and money to contain these outbreaks. And it causes a lot of people to get tested, quarantined, or treated with preventive immune globulin shots. It’s no joke. But, those efforts are largely because we are trying to contain it, not because it’s going to kill everybody. So, not fear - respect.

3. Potentially fatal? Technically true, but herein lies the lie. It’s been publicized as “the deadliest of all childhood fever/rash illness with a high rate of complications.” Deadly? Not in the U.S., or any other developed country with a well-nourished population. The risk of fatality here isn’t zero, but it’s as close to zero as you can get without actually being zero. It’s 1 in many thousands. Will someone pass away in the U.S. from measles one of these years? Tragically yes. That will likely happen to one person. It hasn’t happened here in at least ten years (or more - I don’t even know how many years we have to go back to find one). When that happens, it will be extremely tragic.

But will it spread through the U.S. and kill people left and right? No. Does measles do that in underdeveloped countries? Sadly, yes. It kills countless people worldwide every year. So, that’s how health officials can accurately say it’s so deadly. They don’t have to tell you the whole truth, just the part of the truth that they want you to believe.

Measles can also be serious for young infants, just as many diseases can. It can also be serious for immunocompromised people, just as all illnesses. It can also cause pregnancy complications, just like many infections can. Measles isn’t unique in these risks. But they are risks nonetheless.

So, fear measles? No. Not in the U.S… Respect measles? Yes. Take appropriate precautions with it. But don’t let anyone tell you you should live in fear of it. Let’s handle it calmly and without fear or blame.

I will keep you up to date in the weeks to come.
Dr. Bob

Note the part where he fails to mention the best way to prevent this fucking disease is by getting vaccinated. He followed it up with a stupid whiny temper tantrum today.

Again from his Facebook page:

DR. BOB’S DAILY:
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: GET YOUR VACCINE

So, I broke one of the cardinal rules of infectious disease journalism, a rule that I didn’t know existed, but in hindsight is now as obvious as the nose on my face (ya, I was teased a lot about that as a kid). Apparently, the rule is this: When one writes anything about a vaccine-preventable disease, one MUST, without fail, include a statement reminding people to get that vaccine; failure to do so will be interpreted as a declaration against said (or NOT said, I guess) vaccine. People are generally stupid, so one must remind them frequently about vaccines.

So, when I posted a very brief discussion of the disease measles on Friday, which, in no way, claimed to be a complete discussion of all the issues, but failed to remind people there’s a vaccine (because everyone probably forgot about the vaccine, I know), what I was really saying in secret, if you read between the lines, is “don’t get the vaccine.” At least, that’s how stupid people took it.

I know I know. My mom taught me never to use the “S” word. But isn’t it ok to use when people really are stupid? I don’t know. You decide. Oh, and since I did mention the “M” word in this post, let me also remind everyone that there is a vaccine against measles. Get it.

Oh, and just to be complete, since I mentioned the “S” disease as well, let me remind you that there is a vaccine to prevent stupid. If you haven’t gotten it already, you should.

Dr. Bob

He literally told me personally that he was just too busy to correct the enormous misconceptions in his posts. But he has the time to write this petulant nonsense.

[curlcoat]

@LavenderBlue

He literally told me personally that he was just too busy to correct the enormous misconceptions in his posts.

What were those?

[Avarie537]

GRR. Can someone please tell me why providers have up to a YEAR to file claims with insurance?? I was in intensive outpatient therapy last year and was really really worried about paying the bills because my husband changed jobs in the middle of my treatment and we lost our insurance while I was still attending group sessions three times a week. I made sure that I filled out the paperwork for financial assistance at the hospital and never heard another word. I called twice in the following months and it was still “in-process.” NOW I start getting EOBs from the insurance company because they are finally processing the claim. WTF?