# Here come rants, blah-blah (December mini-rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 1, 2024, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012 "2024-12-01T05:38:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/221 "2024-12-13T14:59:07Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > > > I don’t mind if a place asks me to do one - I just decline. But some will KEEP NAGGING ME about it. > > The cashier asked if I was paying with my Penney’s charge. I held up a wad of cash and told her I was paying cash. She asked if I had a Penney’s charge. Again, I’m in a hurry so I curtly told her no, and I don’t want one. > > So then she just stopped what she was doing and told me how lucky I was. If I applied for and placed my purchase on my new Penney’s card, I would get 20% off my order. I told her no, I’d pay cash. > > She went on to argue, hard. She added up the total of my purchase, figured out 20% and told me I was walking away from a lot of money. By now I was boiling and I angrily told her I wanted to pay for my damn pants with cash. SHE STILL KEPT IT UP. > > Fück You Penney’s!!! When that happened to me at Macy’s, after the clerk got it through her head that I wasn’t biting, I turned to the people in line behind me and explained how store cards can fuck up your credit and how big of a mistake it would be to apply for one in exchange for a one time discount. I don’t think they liked it. I really try not to blame the clerk, though……they are under some intense pressure to push these things. I once bought a small computer, the first Toshiba Libretto. I was literally buying it as a toy because it was so small and cute, I intended on using it mostly for games and SDMB. I had several other computers I used for work and other important stuff. And I declined the extended warranty. The guy pushed and pushed and even tried telling me that he wasn’t going to sell it to me without the warranty. Then the manager came in, and we had the same conversation. I ended up buying it, no warranty - and I think the clerk dodged a bullet……he would’ve gotten in trouble for not pushing hard enough if the manager managed to push me into the damn warranty. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/222 "2024-12-13T15:41:52Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > I am sad and confused (more than usual). She did it. She says it was a very unpleasant experience\*. She plans to not only repeat the experience, but increasing the number by 900? I must agree that something is wrong with this woman. Assuming an 8-hour “workday”, that’s 480 minutes. 100 men each get ~4 minutes allowing a few seconds between each to swap them out and in. 8 hours is also 28,800 seconds. For 1000 men, that’s one every 28 seconds before we consider the time taken to swap them in and out. Even a full 24 hour “workday” only gets 3x that much time, or barely a minute and half per man. Other ways to increase the “productivity” of this wacky stunt are left as an exercise for the reader. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/223 "2024-12-13T16:45:48Z")
My confusion was not abot the How. It was about the Why- If it was such a negative experience, why didn’t she say stop? If it was such a negative experience, why is she planning not just to repeat it but to exceed it by 900 men? Please Note- I am NOT contesting that it was a very negative experience. I read the linked article. I was wrong. I admit it. What I genuinely do not understand is what I asked above. OTTOMH Annie Sprinkle liked having sex on camera. The details below are not explicit. I have blurred them just in case. I have never bothered to Google her and watch one of her performances, but by all reports she was enthusiastic and cheerful. After she aged out of performing on camera, she founded a company to make pornography. She went on the lecture circuit talking, positively about her time in the porn industry. She made HBO specials. She went on the lecture circuit again as a ‘sexologist’. Her presentations included a speculum and a flashlight. My point is, Annie Sprinkle had a very positive experience having sex on camera. Since she enjoyed and got paid, it makes perfect sense that she would repeat it many many times. If an experience is that bad and traumatising, and she had the power to stop it why didn’t she? Was she thinking only of getting a bad reputation in the industry? Was she concerned, as she says, with disappointing all the men who showed up? And why in the nine hells is she planning on repeating such a horrible experience but with nine hundred more men??? ---
**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:** [December 13, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/224 "2024-12-13T17:13:18Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > And why in the nine hells is she planning on repeating such a horrible experience but with nine hundred more men??? Money. That’s the reason why the current record-holder did it as well. People put themselves in harm’s way for money all the time in the entertainment industry. Pro athletes, daredevils, etc. Think of the popular show _Jackass_ and its spin-offs. It’s a powerful motivator. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/225 "2024-12-13T17:27:11Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Hell, I’m still stuck on the chafing. That’s got to be painful and _physically_ damaging, to say the least. Given each ‘encounter’ can involve only 86,4 seconds, is it even possible to, um, get one partner into a useable juxtaposition, insert, withdraw, and then get out of the way fast enough for the next guy? Or are we using a definite of ‘having sex’ that includes any contact between one partner and a sex organ of the other? In which case line the men up in ranks like a military array and she can be wheeled down each row (say, in a wheelchair) while running a hand across each body. In which case, she might as well set her goal at ten thousand. Or a hundred thousand. The only ones who will have to break a sweat are the teams of wheelchair pushers. or ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/226 "2024-12-13T19:42:27Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > My confusion was not abot the How. It was about the Why- If it was such a negative experience, why didn’t she say stop? If it was such a negative experience, why is she planning not just to repeat it but to exceed it by 900 men? Sorry to be unclear. I wasn’t trying to give an answer to your post. I was just using it to set the context of the situation I was going to talk about. Which was just the dry logistics of engineering 100 or 1000 sex encounters. I quite agree that the poor woman made / is making some hard-to-explain decisions probably not in her best mental / physical interest. But I also agree w @Atamasama that the sole motivating factor is money. Being a porn star is difficult work, and careers are not long. But are pretty lucrative while they last. So folks in the biz tend to ride that horse as long as they can as hard as they can. Many have rather spectacular burn-outs at the end. Each of those hundred men may well have paid a hefty price for the opportunity to be part of a record breaking “team”. Or just to appear (briefly) in the vid. And if she was to quit early, a lot of refunds would need to be given. And there’s a promoter middleman in there who probably doesn’t want their share refunded. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/227 "2024-12-13T20:06:05Z")
I wish to announce that I’m officially Wired for Sound™. Having had the somewhat uncomfortable experience of a cardiac ultrasound, I’ve now been wired with a Holter monitor and have more electrodes coming out of my chest than Frankenstein. I have to wear the stupid thing until Sunday morning and then get up at the crack of down on Monday to return the device so it can be inflicted on somebody else. The only good news is that this one doesn’t include a blood pressure monitor like the last one. Those things are **super** annoying. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/228 "2024-12-13T22:14:47Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Which was just the dry logistics of engineering 100 or 1000 sex encounters. ISWYDT. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/229 "2024-12-13T22:15:14Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > So folks in the biz tend to ride that horse as long as they can as hard as they can There too. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/230 "2024-12-13T22:17:01Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Given each ‘encounter’ can involve only 86,4 seconds, is it even possible to, um, get one partner into a useable juxtaposition, insert, withdraw, and then get out of the way fast enough for the next guy? > > Or are we using a definite of ‘having sex’ that includes any contact between one partner and a sex organ of the other? In which case line the men up in ranks like a military array and she can be wheeled down each row (say, in a wheelchair) while running a hand across each body. > > In which case, she might as well set her goal at ten thousand. Or a hundred thousand. The only ones who will have to break a sweat are the teams of wheelchair pushers. You may want to look up the porn term “fluffer” (but not at work). ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/231 "2024-12-13T22:38:29Z")
Just saw a drone up in the sky. They’re real. It’s so cold out my fingers ache. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/232 "2024-12-13T22:56:47Z")
I have to go grocery shopping. I am a tiny bit worried about the walk to and from the trolley stop. Whatever I did to my right heel in my sleep is still hurting. I am VERY VERY worried that during the time I am in Target, they will once again play I Got My Stretchy Pants On. It really is that awful. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/233 "2024-12-13T23:06:39Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > As long as you are alive, there is always the possibilty things can get better. Do not give up hope. Thanks for that good “report card” on your life! I only remember all the frustrated rants from you, and I’m SO glad there’s SERIOUSLY GREAT progress despite the therapist problems. Un-hoarding! Excellent. That might be close to the pinnacle of good mental health… ('Scuse me, gotta go toss something in solidarity)! ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2024, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/234 "2024-12-13T23:31:16Z")
Thanks, a while ago I bought a doodad (that being the technical name) and software for turning old media (audio and video tapes, records etc) into digital files. I used it a lot to convert old home movies to files I could share with Mom and my sister. I really regret just donating my working Beta player to Goodwill. While I was definitely not up to the hassle of selling and shipping it, a number of friends would have wanted it. Plus, I later found more home movies- on Beta. I am in the process of getting rid of my Dad’s Northstar Horizon computer in real wood case with two 5.25" floppy drives and dumb terminal. I estimated the whole thing was worth between 2 and 3 thousand. I was correct. Rather than deal with the hassle of selling and shipping (both units are from roughly the year I was born.They are big and heavy) I am trading them to a friend who is an electronics wizard. I get a musical lightning gun. That will be significantly lighter, harder to damage and take up much less space. An assembled musical lightning gun is worth between two hundred and fifty to five hundred, I don’t care. The computer will be in the hands of some one who can maintain it properly. I will have the instrument I have dreamed of since I first met the inventor. My friend Howard will be coming over sometime soon to help me assemble a desk with attached book shelves. I will repay him by giving him a bunch of Dungeons & Dragons stuff. I know he’ll want it. Some of it may be worth real money. I don’t care anymore. It will be out of my house and I will have a real desk instead of a stack of cardboard boxes. Plus, I have a place to put my TV (currently on the floor), my powered antenna (currenty on top of my laser printer) and shelves to house books or display things from my collection. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/235 "2024-12-13T23:57:17Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Un-hoarding! Excellent. That might be close to the pinnacle of good mental health… ('Scuse me, gotta go toss something in solidarity)! I will echo this sentiment. My mom has a seriously awful hoarding problem and I can’t even talk to her about it. It’s a big deal, and a really big deal if you can get past it and make improvements. > [@DocCathode](#): > > I will repay him by giving him a bunch of Dungeons & Dragons stuff. I know he’ll want it. Some of it may be worth real money. I don’t care anymore. It will be out of my house and I will have a real desk instead of a stack of cardboard boxes. That is such an extremely healthy attitude to have. And your friend benefits too. This is a win all around. You deserve kudos. ---
**Author:** ![MagicEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@MagicEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicEyes)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/236 "2024-12-14T00:12:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Based on last week’s posts, from my own go-to outfit I ordered the basic 1#14oz cake for $42.40 with tax & shipping from: **[Collin Street Bakery](https://collinstreet.com/products/deluxe-fruitcake)**. I didn’t think this was going to happen, but I went to Wegman’s today, and they had Collin Street fruitcakes! I might not try it right away because I’m in the middle of a panforte from a local bakery, so I should finish that before I start on the fruitcake. I’m trying to be budget-conscious this year, so I haven’t gotten my traditional bourbon pecan stollen, but it’s good to do something different sometimes. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2024, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/237 "2024-12-14T00:15:59Z")
> [@MagicEyes](#): > > bourbon pecan stollen Shut up, what the fuck is that. That sounds delicious. I just looked it up, and if it’s anything like this… > Bourbon-soaked cranberries?! ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/238 "2024-12-14T02:32:43Z")
Weaver Street has a seriously good bakery. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2024, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/239 "2024-12-14T12:34:25Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > musical lightning gun. What’s one of them ? Sounds interesting ! ---
**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:** [December 14, 2024, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012/240 "2024-12-14T13:07:17Z")
Eight years ago, I had bilateral Deep Brain Stimulation probes inserted in order to control my essential tremor in my hands. Two and a half years ago I had the pulse generators replaced with ones that have rechargeable batteries. Three days ago I was advised to turn off the therapy when I go to bed and turn them back on again when I arise. This is to combat “habituation,” which causes my brain to become less responsive to the pulse generators. So now, when I get up, it’s a _nightmare_ for me to turn on my controller and get therapy restored. My hands are so shaky I have trouble manipulating the devices. There is an intense tingling sensation in my face and upper extremities whenever the pulse generators change state, which is not entirely unpleasant, though, so I’ve got that going for me. Which is nice. I have another appointment with my neurologist in six months. I hope the habituation has been at least partially reversed by then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-come-rants-blah-blah-december-mini-rants/1011012.md?page=13)