# Ghosts say “Boo!” and we do too! (October mini-rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2022, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531 "2022-10-01T02:58:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/121 "2022-10-08T22:01:56Z")
If that’s the case, then they should have explained to me why it was taking so long to get me rescheduled. Because they just lost any chance of ever getting my business as a regular customer. As has been pointed out, they are far from the only cleaning service out there. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/122 "2022-10-08T22:05:52Z")
I agree, that was seriously not professional. Of course, I probably wouldn’t have given them a second chance. I’m just not as patient as many folks are. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2022, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/123 "2022-10-08T22:15:19Z")
I have no intention of calling them again to ask when/if they’re likely to want to come over. I have a number of trips and other activities planned over the next few months, so it’s likely that if they do call to try to schedule something it won’t be at a convenient time for me. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/124 "2022-10-10T01:07:57Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > Did they have good pockets? My daughter searched way too long for the perfect wedding dress: silky, eggshell, air-conditioned, shiny… and with pockets, dammit. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/125 "2022-10-10T02:05:35Z")
I’m seriously impressed that she found a wedding dress with friggin’ pockets; that’s kinda amazing. I have two minor complaints against the universe that I would like to lodge: Firstly, I made a little “survival kit” for myself for work: snacks, throat lozenges, candy etc. and put it in a zip baggie. I have NO idea where the fucking thing went now. It’s not in my locker at work; it’s not in my car; it’s not under my coffee table. Where the hell did it go? Secondly, I … um … { _waves fist in air_ } d’you know, I completely forgot? Damn. It was something really trivial that was annoying the hell outta me. Well, I’m not gonna edit my post now. If/when I think of it, I shall return to kvetch. ETA OH YEAH, they no longer make a soup I really liked - Campbell’s with the crunchy topping, the “Slow Kettle” style, but specifically the black bean. They still make the other flavors, but discontinued that one specifically. Dammit! ---
**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:** [October 10, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/126 "2022-10-10T02:17:52Z")
Hello, all. If anybody’s interested, I am just back from very nearly killing myself. The main kitchen light, which is a 100-watt equivalent LED, decided – after getting dim for the past few weeks – to go completely kaput. Doesn’t seem like a big problem, but I’m old, with a sciatic leg, and a poor sense of balance, and the Fates that control my destiny probably picked late Sunday night for this happy occasion believing that I probably didn’t even have a 100-watt LED replacement, and all the stores are now closed. Turned out I had one, and plus I have a “safety” stepladder – one with wide steps, a holding tray at the top, and a grab handle. It was only a few years ago that I had no problem changing the bulb using a short mini stepladder, which I perched on top of like a parrot. Today, I came very, very close to falling off this one, while holding the glass globe that encloses the fixture. The problem being that removing and replacing the glass globe is a two-handed operation that’s a bit tricky when perched on a ladder, even a good big solid one. Me and and a big glass globe both crashing down on a hard tile floor, with the order of impact left to chance, would not have been a pleasant scene. I believe it’s been said before, but I’ll say it again: getting old sucks. And ETA: Why the fuck do LEDs fail so often? Not just in household bulbs, but on cars, too. I thought the whole thing about those fuckers was they were supposed to last practically forever! Henceforth, I will not be leaving the kitchen light on indiscriminately. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2022, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/127 "2022-10-10T02:27:29Z")
The Committee is efficient. note-The Committee is a fictional spy outfit that finds out what people like so they can stop selling 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:** [October 10, 2022, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/128 "2022-10-10T03:19:37Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > And ETA: Why the fuck do LEDs fail so often? Not just in household bulbs, but on cars, too. I thought the whole thing about those fuckers was they were supposed to last practically forever! Henceforth, I will not be leaving the kitchen light on indiscriminately. No shit. I have a bathroom upstairs that has incandescent bulbs that have lasted since we moved in ten years ago, except one bulb that I’ve replaced 3-4 times with LED bulbs. The idea that they last longer seems to be empirically false. I’m guessing that was a BS story concocted to convince people to get the new bulbs which consume less energy. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2022, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/129 "2022-10-10T07:34:22Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Henceforth, I will not be leaving the kitchen light on indiscriminately. I have two ceiling lights in the kitchen which also require two hands and a step ladder to change. I only use them when I need the kitchen to be really bright for some reason. Otherwise, I have three small lamps and two nightlights that illuminate the place quite nicely. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2022, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/130 "2022-10-10T11:42:23Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > And ETA: Why the fuck do LEDs fail so often? Not just in household bulbs, but on cars, too. I thought the whole thing about those fuckers was they were supposed to last practically forever! Henceforth, I will not be leaving the kitchen light on indiscriminately. > > No shit. I have a bathroom upstairs that has incandescent bulbs that have lasted since we moved in ten years ago, except one bulb that I’ve replaced 3-4 times with LED bulbs. The idea that they last longer seems to be empirically false. > > I’m guessing that was a BS story concocted to convince people to get the new bulbs which consume less energy. I don’t think it’s totally a BS story but I do think there are many factors at play. The “lasts forever” mythology probably comes from traditional little circuit LEDs used as indicator lights, which really do mostly last forever, but things get iffy when you get into high power and consequently heat issues. I’ve had some halogen bulbs, including my car headlights, seemingly last forever, and have experienced some surprising failures of LED household bulbs, as well as noticing quite a few one-eyed cars that obviously have LED headlights or running lights. I don’t know what causes car LED headlight failures, but I’m pretty sure that with household LED bulbs, some combination of design/manufacturing quality and environmental conditions are the culprit – namely conditions that allow excessive heat buildup, as in enclosed fixtures. Some LED bulbs are designed for it, others (especially older ones) warn against it. All the LED failures I’ve had have involved enclosed fixtures and older bulbs. Conversely, one of the first LED bulbs I ever bought was a Cree which is supposed to be a quality brand. The bulb is made of ventilated plastic, not glass, and it’s been on constantly in my stovetop ventilation hood, 24x7, for about a decade. Another one that I keep on 24x7 is a table lamp, obviously well ventilated since the bulb is not enclosed, and that’s been on constantly for years. ---
**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:** [October 10, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/131 "2022-10-10T14:00:40Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I don’t know what causes car LED headlight failures, but I’m pretty sure that with household LED bulbs, some combination of design/manufacturing quality and environmental conditions are the culprit – namely conditions that allow excessive heat buildup, as in enclosed fixtures. Some LED bulbs are designed for it, others (especially older ones) warn against it. Here’s an article that discusses it. > **[What Happened To The 100,000-Hour LED Bulbs?](https://hackaday.com/2019/02/05/what-happened-to-the-100000-hour-led-bulbs/)** > > Early adopters of LED lighting will remember 50,000 hour or even 100,000 hour lifetime ratings printed on the box. But during a recent trip to the hardware store the longest advertised lifetime I f… And there was once a real conspiracy to limit light bulb life, though it was quite a while ago. > **[The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy](https://spectrum.ieee.org/amp/the-great-lightbulb-conspiracy-2650271585)** > > The Phoebus cartel engineered a shorter-lived lightbulb and gave birth to planned obsolescence > **[Phoebus cartel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebus_cartel)** > > The Phoebus cartel was an international cartel that controlled the manufacture and sale of incandescent light bulbs in much of Europe and North America between 1925–1939. The cartel took over market territories and lowered the useful life of such bulbs. Corporations based in Europe and the United States, including Osram, General Electric, Associated Electrical Industries, and Philips, incorporated the cartel on January 15, 1925 in Geneva, as Phœbus S.A. Compagnie Industrielle pour le Dév Osram, P... There’s also this bulb that has been operating for over 120 years. > **[The "Centennial Lightbulb" and The Great Lightbulb Conspiracy](https://interestingengineering.com/science/everlasting-lightbulbs-exist-ed)** > > "How many people does it take to change a lightbulb?" With an everlasting one, none.  ---
**Author:** ![slalexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@slalexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slalexan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/132 "2022-10-11T14:37:29Z")
So today, I was scrolling Ziprecruiter. I am looking for a new job, you see, but I don’t necessarily want my current place of work to know. Anyway, I’m scrolling and scrolling and I accidently click on the “1 click apply” button on a random job. A random job I am not remotely qualified for. A random job that just happens to be at the company I work for now. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to take it back. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/133 "2022-10-11T15:17:21Z")
Update us next week, when you’ve been hired as your own boss. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/134 "2022-10-11T16:13:12Z")
How big is your current company? Unless it is fairly small, the odds of whatever person in HR who sees the application recognizing your name is hopefully small? (if it even passes whatever automated screening Ziprecruiter and your company do on job applications). ---
**Author:** ![slalexan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@slalexan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slalexan)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/135 "2022-10-11T16:30:02Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Update us next week, when you’ve been hired as your own boss. Hilarious. > [@Folacin](#): > > How big is your current company? Quite large. It was just embarrassing for me. Also, since I’m batting 1000 this week - I dropped my work laptop in the driveway last night and broke the screen. Just really firing on all cylinders here. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/136 "2022-10-11T18:11:14Z")
> [@slalexan](#): > > Anyway, I’m scrolling and scrolling and I accidently click on the “1 click apply” button on a random job. > > A random job I am not remotely qualified for. > > A random job that just happens to be at the company I work for now. > > As far as I can tell, there’s no way to take it back. I believe that in all likelihood your application will get screened out early, it might not even be seen by anyone at your company. That’s typically how large organizations work. They have a third party filtering out applications that clearly won’t fulfill minimum qualifications. I had to do a hire at my current agency when I was a temporary supervisor. One of my coworkers was interested in the job and I thought he was a good fit so I recommended that he apply. When he asked me later about his application, I had to ask him if he’d submitted it because nothing came through to me on the list of applicants. (It turns out he had submitted it and was quite upset that it was screened out before I even got a chance to review it.) ---
**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:** [October 11, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/137 "2022-10-11T18:14:20Z")
Fucking box elder bugs are swarming the side of my house right by the side door that I occasionally leave open for the cat. (And also use myself to, y’know, get in & out of my home.) They’re harmless - and quite colorfully dressed, I’ll admit! - but annoying in such huge numbers. > **[Boxelder bug](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxelder_bug)** > > Leptocoris trivittatus > The boxelder bug (Boisea trivittata) is a North American species of true bug. It is found primarily on boxelder trees, as well as maple and ash trees. The adults are about 13 millimetres (0.51 in) long with a dark brown or black coloration, relieved by red wing veins and markings on the abdomen; nymphs are bright red. In 2020, this species invaded Chile, thus becoming an invasive species. > Trivittata is from the Latin tri (three) + vittata (banded). ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/138 "2022-10-11T19:08:04Z")
Halloween is still a few weeks away, right? We were in a nice little pub/restaurant over the weekend having a great time. My jaw dropped when I saw a guy walk in and approach a table behind my gf. I leaned forward and told her not to turn around. A guy had walked in wearing multiple layers of old, torn, dirty clothes and _was in blackface_. She could see people behind me 👀 looking, so she believed me. Wanting to get a look without being obvious, she got up and went to the ladies room. When she returned, she walked past the table where the guy was still standing, chatting. My gf knew the couple and stopped to say hi. She sat back down and told me the guy had been duck hunting all day and stopped to update his friend. ---
**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:** [October 11, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/139 "2022-10-11T19:38:09Z")
So I got a letter from my medical insurance carrier. Apparently, they sent me a check in January that I never cashed (actually, I never got it). The letter tells me that I can respond online _ONLY_ if I’m requesting a replacement check. Well, that’s what I’m doing, so I head on over to [https://www.myhealthplan-financeresponse.com](https://www.myhealthplan-financeresponse.com) (go ahead and click it. It just takes you to the un-filled out form). When I fill out the form, before it will let me click “Submit,” the page directs me to add an electronic signature. Well, how do I do that? I mean, I’ve electronically signed documents before, but it has always been done with some tool or utility that’s included in the document (which is usually a PDF, which this isn’t. It’s just a page that came up when I entered a url). I spent about an hour looking up tutorials and such for creating an electronic signature, without much success. Everything I found was geared toward PDFs. Finally, in frustration, I just hit the “Submit” key, only to be prompted yet again, to affix my Electronic Signature. So I went to the Electronic Signature field and typed, as sarcastically as I could, “How?” Now I’m pretty good at typing things sarcastically. I could tell you stories about how my rapier wit has driven actual webpages to actual tears (they’ll pretty much all be made up, of course, but that’s another issue entirely). But I digress. No sooner had I finished typing “How?” than the page popped up a helpful instruction: “Only enter letters.” I typed my name into the field and clicked “Submit.” I was rewarded with a screen proclaiming “Success Thank you, we have received your information. Please call the number on the form you received in the mail if you have any questions.” Oh, I have questions, all right. The most pressing one is: _what’s the best way for me to call that number and be connected to the actual person I’m addressing the question to, instead of a voice mailbox that promises to get back to me within two days? I mean, I just want the question answered WHEN I ASK IT but I’m willing to be flexible and ask it within a time window that’s convenient for you._ Another question I have is: _why couldn’t you have put this information about the Electronic Signature somewhere on your online form, or at least addressed it in your FAQs?_ A third question is: _what security goal is being achieved by having the Electronic Signature field be satisfied by TYPING OUT MY NAME?_ ---
**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:** [October 11, 2022, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531/140 "2022-10-11T20:57:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I typed my name into the field and clicked “Submit.” I was rewarded with a screen proclaiming “Success Thank you, we have received your information. Please call the number on the form you received in the mail if you have any questions.” I have electronically “signed” documents that way. Typically they capture your IP address and a time stamp as you submit the request, and all of that combined adds up to a signature confirmation. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Another question I have is: _why couldn’t you have put this information about the Electronic Signature somewhere on your online form, or at least addressed it in your FAQs?_ Yes, typically they will include some kind of guidance for how to sign the form. Usually, “Type your full legal name and click Submit.” That’s all that’s needed. If they didn’t even do that much, it’s pretty bad design. No wonder you were confused! > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > A third question is: _what security goal is being achieved by having the Electronic Signature field be satisfied by TYPING OUT MY NAME?_ See above, but also, there is a lot of information on that page to verify against as well. It’s somewhat a legal CYA for them. But this sort of thing isn’t that unusual because I’ve done a nearly identical process before with other sites. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ghosts-say-boo-and-we-do-too-october-mini-rants/972531.md?page=8)