# I really must apologize **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 24, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521 "2003-07-24T01:51:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/1 "2003-07-24T01:51:23Z")
To all Dopers in the Ohio River Valley, Pennsylvania, the northeastern U.S., and especially those in the Tri-State Metro New York area. I’m responsible for the really crappy weather we’ve been having this week. See, I bought a really nifty, extra large, professional-style charcoal grill on Saturday. I assembled it on Sunday. It started in with all this rain and thunderstorms and floods on Monday. I’m really sorry, guys. Honest. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/2 "2003-07-24T01:56:49Z")
Maybe if you washed your car, it would stop the rain. You know, like how two negatives equals a positive? Just be sure to multiply them. If you stick an addition sign in there, you might want to get typhoon insurance. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/3 "2003-07-24T02:05:19Z")
Nah, to stop rain you need to disconnect your sprinkler system and let your grass die. ---
**Author:** ![beerchick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71c47a/32.png) [@beerchick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beerchick)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/4 "2003-07-24T02:10:06Z")
It sounds beautiful(the grill sigh) she says with awe and a tinge of jealousy. That’s the thing I miss most about not having a backyard. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/5 "2003-07-24T02:18:45Z")
Take an umbrella with you everywhere you go. That’ll keep it from raining. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/6 "2003-07-24T02:23:24Z")
Well, it’s not in the backyard. It’s in the shed, since I didn’t want it rusting before I even got a chance to use it! ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/7 "2003-07-24T02:25:59Z")
In Australia you stop rain by planting crops. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/8 "2003-07-24T05:53:52Z")
Could you come visit us in the Southwest and bring your Magic Rainmaking Grill? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![typhoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ed8c4c/32.png) [@typhoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typhoon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/9 "2003-07-24T06:37:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Enderw24 \* > \*\*If you stick an addition sign in there, you might want to get typhoon insurance. \*\* Yes, some insurance would be nice. Very thoughtful of you. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/10 "2003-07-24T07:24:43Z")
I’m glad you posted this, **DaveWOO** , because **fizzy** ’s mother has been on me … er, no … she’s been getting cabin fever lately … no, not that … ok. She likes to do yardwork (I don’t think you can _reasonably_ skew that one…) on the weekends. Since I’ve been down here (in the South of Virginia), more often than not it’s rained on the weekend. Now that I know the actual source of this rain I can just direct her annoyed thoughts at you. So if you start hearing the voice of an annoyed Southern woman in your head, it isn’t all in your head. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/11 "2003-07-24T08:03:30Z")
Just send that grill to Amsterdam, Dave. It’s raining anyway, over here. Everybody always sends their rainmaking grills here. We can handle one extra. ---
**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/12 "2003-07-24T09:39:26Z")
Aww, I thought I was the only one with the mutant power of rainmaking. I once made it rain in Vegas, for a week! I thought for sure that this week’s weather was due to me having the week off. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2003, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/13 "2003-07-24T09:51:45Z")
No problemo, **Dave**. I caused the Nothridge quake in '94 by alphabetizing my CD collection. ---
**Author:** ![DAVEW0071](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e19b73/32.png) [@DAVEW0071](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DAVEW0071)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/14 "2003-07-26T13:15:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iampunha \* > \*\*I’m glad you posted this, **DaveWOO** , because **fizzy** ’s mother has been on me … er, no … she’s been getting cabin fever lately … no, not that … ok. She likes to do yardwork (I don’t think you can _reasonably_ skew that one…) on the weekends. Since I’ve been down here (in the South of Virginia), more often than not it’s rained on the weekend. > > Now that I know the actual source of this rain I can just direct her annoyed thoughts at you. So if you start hearing the voice of an annoyed Southern woman in your head, it isn’t all in your head. Or something. \*\* Gee, **'punha** , all this time I thought it was _my_ mother. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Norse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/big_norse/32/9954_2.png) [@Big\_Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Norse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/15 "2003-07-26T15:21:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > I caused the Nothridge quake in '94 by alphabetizing my CD collection. ah HA! I always **knew** that being too organized was a dangerous thing! ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/16 "2003-07-26T16:11:25Z")
**spooje**! IT WAS YOU! You scared the CRAP outta me! That wasn’t nice at all! You should have seen the mess in the kitchen…_shudder_… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/17 "2003-07-26T17:58:37Z")
Shame on you, **spooje**! It’s not NICE to scare innocent people like me with earthquakes just because you had a fit of organization! (I assume every CD ended up on the floor in an newly-unalphabetized pile?) [hijack] The funniest thing I saw after Northridge was the Book Star store on Wilshire in Santa Monica the next day – through what few windows remained, you could see _every book in the store_ piled about four feet deep in the aisles. Although I hear it took them two months to reshelve 650,000 books at the UCLA library… [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-really-must-apologize/190521/18 "2003-07-28T21:44:42Z")
Seems I have to take some of the blame for the rains in Ohio over the last month or so. My wife programmed our sprinklers to run every day while we were on vacation. Last summer we came back to burned out grass. This summer there are things growing in the yard that I can’t even identify. Many seem to be subtropical and perhaps carnivorous. Nothing starts a rainy spell like setting your sprinkler to autopilot and then leaving for an extended period. Unless perhaps it’s camping in a nearby area. That can cure the stubbornest drought.