# Halloweenie Whines (Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054 "2014-10-01T04:37:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/321 "2014-10-26T21:16:39Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > [This is the pattern I’m working on right now](http://static.squarespace.com/static/50d72305e4b015296cccc984/t/51367ea3e4b06d40ae888e4c/1362525868928/2013-03-05%2017.17.28.jpg). (Not my work–I’m still working on the bottom half). It comes out of [this book](http://store.stoneycreek.com/book-125-mythical-moments-p1461.aspx). I’ve made three patterns from it and gave them all away. I very rarely do cross-stitch for myself. Oh, pretty! Shiny! Very nice 🙂 Needles resting in the canvas? HORROR!!! :eek: > [@Nava](#): > > That’s why I went from cross stitch to half cross stitch. Haven’t done any in ages, because what the heck am I supposed to do with the results? I wonder what would you need to be able to put those needles in a plane… I think you are talking about [needlepoint](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images;_ylt=AwrSbpzdYk1UC_sAEylXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0aG1zbG5oBHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDI4M18x?_adv_prop=image&fr=hp-avast-s&va=needlepoint). I used to do a lot of that. As to what to do with it? I, like **SpazCat** , give most of my work away. Currently, I’m working on bookmarks. Christmas is right around the corner and they are always very well received. Small needles on planes are OK. You of course want to keep them in a case, but that’s what you would do with them anyhow. I’ve never had a problem bringing a small piece to work on when flying. Now…knitting needles would need to go in your luggage…they don’t want you knitting an Afghan, afterall. (sorry, lame stitcher joke that made the rounds about 10 years ago.) > [@EmilyG](#): > > I am losing everything this year. I lost a beloved cat. Many of my friends have moved away. I sort of lost my job. And now I’ve lost one of my favourite radio show hosts too. > > I think the next thing I’ll lose will be my mind. (((( **EmilyG** )))) Things will get better. ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2014, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/322 "2014-10-26T23:19:49Z")
Actually you can take knitting needles on planes, of course depending if the personnel you run into decide to be a##holes. I have pointed out (heh: pointed) that I could do as much if not more damage with a pencil or ballpoint as with a knitting needle. I do use bamboo ones on the plane, though as they don’t look quite so vicious as the steel. ETA So sorry, **Emily** ; hope things improve soon. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/323 "2014-10-27T00:02:56Z")
Thanks,\*\* KayT.\*\* As for getting things on planes, I hope I won’t get myself in legal trouble in case the authorities see this, but: I once sneaked a knife on a plane! The story: (It was 2008.) I use a (fairly blunt and harmless) knife to adjust the reeds on my clarinet (the reed is a wooden part that helps produce the sound.) I was bringing my clarinet case on a plane. The security lady asked me if I was carrying a computer, and I said, “No, it’s a musical instrument,” and she just let me through and onto the plane. I did not realize until after the flight was long over, that I had had my reed knife with me all along. Now, I hope the authorities won’t catch me. In any case, I intended no harm. I’m safe. I promise. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/324 "2014-10-27T00:05:26Z")
I did the same thing with a reed knife in my bassoon in 1986, Emily. There were no repercussions. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/325 "2014-10-27T00:42:33Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > Not a big enough rant to start a thread about, but I hope I’m not about to do a [Broomstick](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=1949346&postcount=44): about a week ago I noticed an infected hair follicle on my thigh. I squeezed it, as you do. It didn’t pop, and got worse. For a week (ish) now, I’ve been keeping it clean, and covered with a plaster, and trying to ignore it as it got redder, angrier and spread. > > Today I finally admitted it’s A Problem, after removing the plaster showed it’s developing about three other “heads” from the underlying redness (none of which are poppable) and I’ll be phoning the doctors in the morning. I suspect this is going to scar. Were you also applying any antibiotic or anything? I’ve said in other threads, I swear by tea tree oil for this sort of thing, but YMMV. I hope they can get things cleared up without any pain for you! ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/326 "2014-10-27T01:30:16Z")
National Vaccine Information Center morons (anti-vax despite the deceptive title) plot to give kids Halloween candy with anti-vax stickers attached. [https://www.facebook.com/national.vaccine.information.center/photos/a.151705002930.117058.143745137930/10152751962822931/?type=1](https://www.facebook.com/national.vaccine.information.center/photos/a.151705002930.117058.143745137930/10152751962822931/?type=1) ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/327 "2014-10-27T02:20:53Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > National Vaccine Information Center morons (anti-vax despite the deceptive title) plot to give kids Halloween candy with anti-vax stickers attached. > > [Redirecting...](https://www.facebook.com/national.vaccine.information.center/photos/a.151705002930.117058.143745137930/10152751962822931/?type=1) Holy hell, those fucking cowards banned me and deleted all fucking posts I made there. Fuck you, Barbara Loe Fisher. Fuck you and merry band of morons. Fuck you and your smallpox loving brain. Fuck you for standing up for paranoia, scientific illiteracy, HPV caused cancers and every last germ on the planet. Fuck you, Ms. Fisher for calling the HPV vaccine the “slut vaccine.” Fuck you for suing Dr. Offit, one of the great heroes of our time. Fuck you for taking a million dollars from Dr. Mercola, a waste of a medical degree who peddles stupidity instead of science to morons. Fuck you for promoting the kind of ignorance that was last fashionable in the seventeenth century. Fuck you for scaring people. And fuck you for posting an article by an asshole that personally attacked me and called for harm to come to me and my children. I hope pertussis breaks your ribs. I hope measles fills your ears with fluid and punctures your eardrums. I hope mumps causes your gonads to swell up. I hope the flu makes you so sick you can’t get out of bed for a month. I hope chicken pox scars your face. You, madame, are nothing more than a modern day Typhoid Mary. You are a public health menace and should be treated the way we treat others who deliberately pee in the water supply and refuse to wash their hands. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/328 "2014-10-27T02:59:40Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > Shitty situation, but adorable cat. 🙂 > > Speaking of cats and shit, my cat’s been getting diarrhea sometimes. Not all the time, and we did check with the vet and she said it’s nothing to worry about. But when the cat has diarrhea, part of it tends to get onto the floor, and I have to clean it up. I’m not complaining too much - at least so far the cat does it in the vicinity of the litter boxes and not all over the house or anything. > I did give the cat some pumpkin yesterday, which is supposed to help. And he really likes it, too! My older cat gets diarrhea sometimes as well. I mix rice into his wet food – it helps a lot. I keep some rice already made (cooked in chicken broth to make it yummier to the wee beastie) and portioned in the freezer for Baxter. Labeled “Baxter’s rice”. WRT the pumpkin thing – do the spices cause a problem? ---
**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:** [October 27, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/329 "2014-10-27T03:12:16Z")
**LavenderBlue** , there are seriously people demanding that all vaccines be 100% safe? What world are they living in? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/330 "2014-10-27T04:26:06Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > Both of the overhead florescent kitchen lights are out. The husband thinks it’s a loose connection or something, rather than needing new bulbs. Problem is, he’s not allowed to climb on chairs or ladders to fix things, because he still has some balance issues from his (now removed) brain tumor, and I have a bad neck which makes working overhead painful, and know nothing about fixing lights. The dining area lights work, thank goodness, so I’m not cooking totally in the dark. Some contractor in their infinite wisdom decided that it would be a great idea to put a plastic panel over the fluorescent lights in the ceiling of our kitchen. Which melts when you turn the lights on. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/331 "2014-10-27T05:23:40Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > **LavenderBlue** , there are seriously people demanding that all vaccines be 100% safe? What world are they living in? Those tend to be the same people who regard anything from The Government as untrustworthy by definition. OK, so “someone” has to make the world perfectly safe, provide perfect medical services, six-lane roads in mountain areas, teach them foreigners to cook “as God intended”, get your children college degrees and great jobs without said children actually having the brains or the skills, but it shouldn’t be the Gummint cos them all thiefs. Gotcha. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2014, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/332 "2014-10-27T05:24:16Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > My older cat gets diarrhea sometimes as well. I mix rice into his wet food – it helps a lot. I keep some rice already made (cooked in chicken broth to make it yummier to the wee beastie) and portioned in the freezer for Baxter. Labeled “Baxter’s rice”. > > **WRT the pumpkin thing – do the spices cause a problem?** There’s pumpkin pie filling and plain canned pumpkin with nothing added. For feeding to animals you want the plain canned pumpkin. ---
**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 27, 2014, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/333 "2014-10-27T07:46:19Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > My older cat gets diarrhea sometimes as well. I mix rice into his wet food – it helps a lot. I keep some rice already made (cooked in chicken broth to make it yummier to the wee beastie) and portioned in the freezer for Baxter. Labeled “Baxter’s rice”. > > WRT the pumpkin thing – do the spices cause a problem? It’s been awhile since I bought pumpkin pie filling, so I’m not sure if it’s got sugar in it. If it’s not full of sugar, then the only concern about the spices would be that the critters might not like it. ---
**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:** [October 27, 2014, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/334 "2014-10-27T07:50:10Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > Were you also applying any antibiotic or anything? I’ve said in other threads, I swear by tea tree oil for this sort of thing, but YMMV. > > I hope they can get things cleared up without any pain for you! I’d put some tea tree on it yup, but that just seemed to aggravate it. I tried some leftover fusillic acid cream last night, and disappointingly it seems better already today, so no pimple-saga-thread for me. ☹ Umm, I mean yay, no septicemia for me! 😉 ---
**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:** [October 27, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/335 "2014-10-27T12:50:47Z")
> [@Cinnamon\_Imp](#): > > I’d put some tea tree on it yup, but that just seemed to aggravate it. I tried some leftover fusillic acid cream last night, and disappointingly it seems better already today, so no pimple-saga-thread for me. ☹ > > Umm, I mean yay, no septicemia for me! 😉 Yeah, straight tea tree oil can irritate the skin. I think it’s maybe a light chemical burn? I’ve been willing to put up with that, though, because a couple of applications in, the skin may be red and irritated but the infection is also in rapid retreat. I was rather fond of a product from Thursday Plantation that was an antiseptic combining tea tree oil with lavender and a couple of other things. The tea tree was the officially effective 10%, which worked well but didn’t irritate the skin. Annoyingly, Thursday Plantation discontinued the product. I’ll have to check out the fusillic acid. Not something I’ve heard about. Meantime, glad to hear the infection seems to be retreating! ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/336 "2014-10-27T13:04:00Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > My older cat gets diarrhea sometimes as well. I mix rice into his wet food – it helps a lot. I keep some rice already made (cooked in chicken broth to make it yummier to the wee beastie) and portioned in the freezer for Baxter. Labeled “Baxter’s rice”. > > WRT the pumpkin thing – do the spices cause a problem? > [@Helena330](#): > > There’s pumpkin pie filling and plain canned pumpkin with nothing added. For feeding to animals you want the plain canned pumpkin. Yeah, the pumpkin I have is plain with no spices. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/337 "2014-10-27T16:01:05Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > Shitty situation, but adorable cat. 🙂 > > Speaking of cats and shit, my cat’s been getting diarrhea sometimes. Not all the time, and we did check with the vet and she said it’s nothing to worry about. But when the cat has diarrhea, part of it tends to get onto the floor, and I have to clean it up. I’m not complaining too much - at least so far the cat does it in the vicinity of the litter boxes and not all over the house or anything. > I did give the cat some pumpkin yesterday, which is supposed to help. And he really likes it, too! Probiotics helps with this. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/338 "2014-10-27T16:03:49Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I stopped doing Arts and Sciences competitions in the SCA after my second contest … I joined originally in 1978, and made an italian renn gown out of linen with double sided embroidery around the entire edge… > > I figured that all the contests were effectively won through who you know, not the quality of ones actual work. I didn’t start doing A&S contests for about 8 years and an entirely different kingdom. In many Kingdoms, documentation is as important as the item itself. I have judged a couple, and bemoan the fact the the hands-down best entry had no documentation at all, thus lost to the second best, which had great docs. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/339 "2014-10-27T16:25:21Z")
I hate mice. [I use reusable gray traps.](http://mousetrapsthatwork.com/files/2011/01/better_mousetrap.jpg) I set them on the enclosed (except for mice) back porch. This morning I go out with the dog. I hear a strange clicking clopping sound. Guess what the mouse managed to get **only** it’s hind foot in the trap. It was exhausted attempting to drag the trap. What did I do? Get out my big mallet? No. I stepped the trap open and let it go.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054/340 "2014-10-27T16:29:40Z")
I encountered the as yet uncrowned Queen of the Universe yesterday and it ticked me off. I was heading into the local farm store (always packed on weekends, as it’s a bit of a tourist trap) and stopped to let a family leave. Mom and Dad came out and (I presume) their adult daughter stopped dead, blocking the door, eyes glued to her cell phone, completely oblivious to the outside world. A few seconds passed – long enough to make it clear that only the complete collapse of the wireless network was going to get her to obey the dictates of civilized society and move her ass out of the door. Her parents looked back and actually had to tell her “That gentleman wants to use the door” just about the time my disbelief generated a sort of involuntary _sotto voce_ “come on!” ``` Bitch gave me a "what the fuck's the problem with you?" look and swept past radiating outrage. Because that text message was *important* and your convenience means nothing to the as yet uncrowned Queen of the Universe. ``` Yes, I know it’s the most micro of micro rants, but my long-standing belief is that the minimum level of courtesy necessary to oil the friction of interactions with strangers is to pay attention and get the hell out of the way. You don’t chat on staircases, you don’t block sidewalks, you drive the speed limit on narrow roads, and you try not to make other people’s days just that little bit more miserable. Unless, of course, you are the as yet uncrowned Queen of the Universe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/halloweenie-whines-mini-rants/700054.md?page=18)