# How's February shorting you? ~ 28 days of mini-rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 1, 2019, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815 "2019-02-01T23:08:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/101 "2019-02-13T18:02:58Z")
So I went to the ER and ended up having my gall bladder removed at about 11:00 p.m. (It was being a very bad organ). I’m in the recovery room at 1:00 a.m., tired as hell from several days without sleep and high as a kite on dilaudid and someone decided that was the ideal time to come in a take a medical history. I don’t understand people sometimes. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2019, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/102 "2019-02-13T21:47:14Z")
My son just got a really big and lame tattoo. He doesn’t have time or money to do adulty things that would improve his life, but he can manage to work this kind of shit in. “LOVE” and the O is a frowny face. That’s…that’s great, son. ---
**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:** [February 13, 2019, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/103 "2019-02-13T22:10:39Z")
That sucks, Chefguy. But I bet it was outright stolen not lost. Because the credit cards were used immediately. In my experience, most people that find lost wallets ( or important papers, checks or credit cards ) not only don’t take advantage, they make a serious effort to return the stuff. Maybe I’m giving humanity too much credit, but I think most of us can relate to the horrible experience of what it’s like to lose something important. And it makes us want to help. I know that I lost a wallet once, a drivers license once and important papers a couple of times, and each time someone went out of their way to find me and return the items. There was even the time someone stole my nice leather shoulder bag at a food court. They kept the bag, kept the physical wallet, kept the small amount of cash that was in the wallet. But they put all my ID’s and credit/banks cards and a plane ticket ( this was in the days of paper tickets) into an envelope and dropped it off at the front desk of a nearby office building. Their security people called me and I came and got it … this happened about 2 hours after the bag was stolen. I did check on the credit cards to make sure they hadn’t been used. I didn’t know whether to be mad at these people for stealing my bag or glad that at least they were considerate. Even the thieves had empathy for how horrible losing important stuff is. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/104 "2019-02-13T23:21:52Z")
Raining so hard and so long the dogs won’t even go out. I’ve got about an acre of standing water out in front of the house, and almost as much in back. Lot is pretty completely impassable. What a mess! > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > So, I went to the Doctor. He said they were indeed infected… I thought “Cat Scratch Fever” was just something Ted Nugent made up. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/105 "2019-02-13T23:26:03Z")
^^^ Apparently it’s a real thing. Ted Nugent is haunting my life. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/106 "2019-02-13T23:30:55Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > That sucks, Chefguy. But I bet it was outright stolen not lost. Because the credit cards were used immediately. In my experience, most people that find lost wallets ( or important papers, checks or credit cards ) not only don’t take advantage, they make a serious effort to return the stuff. Maybe I’m giving humanity too much credit, but I think most of us can relate to the horrible experience of what it’s like to lose something important. And it makes us want to help. > > I know that I lost a wallet once, a drivers license once and important papers a couple of times, and each time someone went out of their way to find me and return the items. > > There was even the time someone stole my nice leather shoulder bag at a food court. They kept the bag, kept the physical wallet, kept the small amount of cash that was in the wallet. But they put all my ID’s and credit/banks cards and a plane ticket ( this was in the days of paper tickets) into an envelope and dropped it off at the front desk of a nearby office building. Their security people called me and I came and got it … this happened about 2 hours after the bag was stolen. I did check on the credit cards to make sure they hadn’t been used. > > I didn’t know whether to be mad at these people for stealing my bag or glad that at least they were considerate. Even the thieves had empathy for how horrible losing important stuff is. Well, she swiped her metro card on Saturday and stuck it back into her coat pocket, which she usually religiously zips shut. When we were going out on Monday, she noticed that the wallet was gone: reasonable conclusion is that she didn’t zip the pocket and it fell out on the seat of the train. The bogus charges weren’t made until Monday (at 3 AM), and they were for piddling amounts, one being for $15 at a Walgreen’s. Haven’t heard back from the other company yet. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/107 "2019-02-13T23:33:29Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, she swiped her metro card on Saturday and stuck it back into her coat pocket, which she usually religiously zips shut. When we were going out on Monday, she noticed that the wallet was gone: reasonable conclusion is that she didn’t zip the pocket and it fell out on the seat of the train. Or that someone unzipped the pocket and helped himself. How crowded was the train? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/108 "2019-02-14T01:29:52Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I thought “Cat Scratch Fever” was just something Ted Nugent made up. 😕 > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > ^^^ Apparently it’s a real thing. Ted Nugent is haunting my life. 🙂 It sucks. I had it back in my mid-20’s. I had the fatigue, headaches and low grade fever, but I thought I was just “fighting something off” until the lymph nodes in my right arm began to swell and become painful. Then I went to the doctor. She diagnosed it right away and got me on antibiotics. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/109 "2019-02-14T02:51:34Z")
Yeah, I’m on Cipro. My lymph nodes are swollen all under my arm and in my neck. I’m feeling better though. I was flu-like and fever-y for a couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/110 "2019-02-14T04:14:36Z")
> [@pohjonen](#): > > So I went to the ER and ended up having my gall bladder removed at about 11:00 p.m. (It was being a very bad organ). I’m in the recovery room at 1:00 a.m., tired as hell from several days without sleep and high as a kite on dilaudid and someone decided that was the ideal time to come in a take a medical history. > > I don’t understand people sometimes. My favorite is, as I am choking down the end of my wonderful repast (insert puking smilie) the clueless CNA strides in to take my blood sugar. And she wonders why I am channeling the house talking to Eddie Murphy: GET OUT! ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/111 "2019-02-14T04:25:22Z")
So, this week I made an offer on a place that had been sitting on the market for over six months because it was listed way too high. It’s been sitting empty all this time costing him a fortune to carry it, and we got to a point in the negotiations where I thought we were close enough that this would happen. This, he just stuck on a price that’s $10K more than an identical unit sold for a couple of months ago. Their realtor finally explained: > [@](#): > > he says his client is really set on at least that [price] and feels he will eventually get a better price if he waits ( unfortunately doesn’t need the money) Why is he so particular about the price if he doesn’t care about the money he’s spending to carry this thing? (I know, I know, it’s an ego thing. But very annoying to run into) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/112 "2019-02-14T04:29:46Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My son just got a really big and lame tattoo. He doesn’t have time or money to do adulty things that would improve his life, but he can manage to work this kind of shit in. > > “LOVE” and the O is a frowny face. That’s…that’s great, son. Wow. That’s bad. Can you slap him around a little? I kid. My son came home with a bad skull tattoo on his first boot-leave from the Marines. He’s since had it tattooed over. Sometimes they do come around to your way of thinking. And sometimes they don’t. I had a pink hair freak out with the lil’wrekker right after she started college. She’s had several colors since. We are now back to boring old blond. I pretend not to notice. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/113 "2019-02-14T04:57:29Z")
> [@ENugent](#): > > Or that someone unzipped the pocket and helped himself. How crowded was the train? She was sitting next to the window and the pocket was on the window side. Those trains are never crowded on weekends. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/114 "2019-02-14T05:22:16Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > She was sitting next to the window and the pocket was on the window side. Those trains are never crowded on weekends. A professional pickpocket could unzip the pocket, retrieve the wallet, and zip the pocket back, all without notice and all in an instant. It did not necessarily happen while she was sitting at the window. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2019, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/115 "2019-02-14T12:25:21Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > So, I got a spam email last week about Shari’s Berries for Valentines Day. The thing is, I knew I had to buy something for VD, and the email included a 25% discount, blah, blah, blah. > > So, I placed the order. Strawberries dipped in chocolate looked and sounded great. I initially was going to order 6, but the full dozen was just a bit more, so I chose that. > > I went to pay. I claimed my 25% discount, entered my cc info, and expected it to be a little under $20. NOPE! There are all kinds of ancillary fees for shipping, etc. Total was around $50. And I’d just spent 15 minutes entering all the info. Damn. Well, although their marketing techniques are misleading, the gift was a huge hit. My gf had two with her coffee this morning and she’s taking the rest to work for sharing. > [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > My son just got a really big and lame tattoo. He doesn’t have time or money to do adulty things that would improve his life, but he can manage to work this kind of shit in. > > “LOVE” and the O is a frowny face. That’s…that’s great, son. Ouch. I’ve been lucky. I have many hours of tattoo work, and it kind of turned my kids off to the idea early on. A few of my friends were tattoo artists, so my kids got to hear some of their horror stories, which also helped. My daughter talks about getting something on her ankle from time to time, but remains unadorned. My son emailed me original artwork a few years ago for my opinion. It was very nice work and I told him it would work well on a shoulder/upper arm. He got it done in two sessions a few weeks later. It is a winner. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2019, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/116 "2019-02-14T14:31:44Z")
Yeah, if the kid must get a tattoo it’d be nice if he put a bit more thought into it. Or maybe waited until he’s feeling less sorry for himself. You know what I bet would help? If he had his very own bank account and could pay his own rent. How’s that going, kiddo? ---
**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:** [February 14, 2019, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/117 "2019-02-14T15:12:33Z")
Look at the bright side, the ink isn’t on his face. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/118 "2019-02-14T18:24:23Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > A professional pickpocket could unzip the pocket, retrieve the wallet, and zip the pocket back, all without notice and all in an instant. It did not necessarily happen while she was sitting at the window. You could be right, of course. Her cellphone was in the same pocket and that didn’t disappear, however. The cell has one of those grippy protectors on it and it could have snagged the wallet when she took it out to call me to tell me she was on the way. She called the company where the charges were made and they won’t give us the shipping address. Makes sense, as I’m sure their legal department wouldn’t want to be liable for someone taking a shotgun and going hunting for wabbits. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/119 "2019-02-14T19:59:30Z")
I appreciate that you are concerned about a government decision that may very well affect you. I encourage you to participate and help keep people honest. I applaud the passion of environmental activists and recognize they play an important role as industry has a lot of money to hire very slick experts. However, if you are going to give public comment on an issue, please don’t tell me about your vacations as a child. I don’t care. ---
**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:** [February 14, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815/120 "2019-02-14T21:01:34Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > My cat scratch protocol: > [ol] > [li]Soap and water[/li][li]Witch Hazel[/li][li]Rubbing Alcohol[/li][li]Tea Tree Oil[/li][li]Neosporin (with the topical anesthetic[/li][/ol] > > Usually the scratches aren’t too bad, so I’ll skip steps 2, 3, and 5. The longer and deeper they are, the more steps I add. My doctor told me to stop using Neosporin and switch to Bacitracin. She doesn’t have much regard for Neosporin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hows-february-shorting-you-28-days-of-mini-rants/828815.md?page=7)