# It's a new year - time for fresh new mini-rants! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 4, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629 "2010-01-04T16:26:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/241 "2010-01-21T11:38:59Z")
> [@](#): > > I also hate that there are comic strips almost as old as my grandfather doing the same jokes over and over. Unless your grandpa is older than 75, there’s at least one current comic (Blondie) that’s older than he is…and still running the same jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/242 "2010-01-21T15:32:32Z")
HAH HAH THAT MARMADUKE JUMPED ON THE FURNITURE AGAIN stupid capslock prevention script ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/243 "2010-01-21T15:55:26Z")
Just so you have some idea of how it is on the other end… My paper dropped Snuffy Smith last week, and ever since, we’ve gotten nothing but complaints from readers. I sit near the features editor and have had to listen to her take these calls. I’m sure most newspaper editors think they have bigger problems to deal with and really don’t feel like stirring up a hornet’s nest because they got rid of a comic about hillbilly moonshiners. On to my own rant… My van got broken into a couple of days ago while it was _in the underground parking garage!_ They busted the window and took the GPS. Apparently there’s been a string of break-ins in parking garages around here in the last couple of weeks. So that’s $200 to fix the window, another $150 to replace the GPS… Fuck me. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/244 "2010-01-21T16:18:53Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > So that’s $200 to fix the window, another $150 to replace the GPS… Fuck me. Now that you’re broke? No thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/245 "2010-01-21T17:00:05Z")
Gold-digger. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/246 "2010-01-21T17:53:37Z")
Please. I prefer the term prostitute. Gold-digger just sounds so… _gauche_. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/247 "2010-01-21T18:19:07Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > Just so you have some idea of how it is on the other end… My paper dropped Snuffy Smith last week, and ever since, we’ve gotten nothing but complaints from readers. I sit near the features editor and have had to listen to her take these calls. I’m sure most newspaper editors think they have bigger problems to deal with and really don’t feel like stirring up a hornet’s nest because they got rid of a comic about hillbilly moonshiners. Hah! I used to have to do an independent verification of the answers to the [Word Game](http://www.knightfeatures.com/KFWeb/content/features/nonkffeatures/UM/wordgame/wordgame.html) a week in advance to make sure that every word could, in fact, be found. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/248 "2010-01-21T18:25:39Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I used to have to do an independent verification of the answers to the [Word Game](http://www.knightfeatures.com/KFWeb/content/features/nonkffeatures/UM/wordgame/wordgame.html) a week in advance to make sure that every word could, in fact, be found. Do you have any idea how they actually come up with the “average” word count for that thing? It seems like some days, you blow right past it in two minutes without using anything particularly hard, and other days it’ll take you forever, and only if you pull out things like “etui” or “tiro.” [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/249 "2010-01-21T20:08:57Z")
No, I never asked that one. I had to call them once in a while, though, when they’d send the wrong week’s copy or duplicate art. They never would respond to e-mails, but they always responded right away to phone calls. You were supposed to be able to download the art electronically, but we never had good results with that so I always had to make it up by hand (maybe it’s better now) unless it was an emergency. I did have calls a couple times a month from oldsters who claimed they couldn’t find words that were supposed to be in there, or who couldn’t solve the crossword, or who didn’t understand the Jumble answer. The worst were the production errors, when it was our fault and the damn thing wasn’t in there at all or we’d run tomorrow’s answers in today’s puzzle. Holy crap, you’d think we’d libeled Mother Teresa. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/250 "2010-01-21T20:42:46Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > HAH HAH THAT MARMADUKE JUMPED ON THE FURNITURE AGAIN > > stupid capslock prevention script Tune in tomorrow when he drags his owner down the block. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/251 "2010-01-21T21:36:51Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Unless your grandpa is older than 75, there’s at least one current comic (Blondie) that’s older than he is…and still running the same jokes. [Blondie will be 80 on September 8 of this year.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blondie_%28comic_strip%29) ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/252 "2010-01-21T22:08:58Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > Just so you have some idea of how it is on the other end… My paper dropped Snuffy Smith last week, and ever since, we’ve gotten nothing but complaints from readers. I sit near the features editor and have had to listen to her take these calls. I’m sure most newspaper editors think they have bigger problems to deal with and really don’t feel like stirring up a hornet’s nest because they got rid of a comic about hillbilly moonshiners. I’d actually _like_ to be the person taking those calls, because I’d be fascinated to discover who likes Snuffy Smith, and why. Are they all 100 years old? Are they hip young people enjoying it ironically, like the Comics Curmudgeon? I mean, Snuffy Smith hasn’t been funny for 40 years, if it ever was funny. It isn’t even clear if it’s set in the past or in some weird Brigadoon-style time warp. How many times can it be funny that Elviney has some bodacious gossip about a flatlands tourister? ---
**Author:** ![RoniaBorkason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9dc877/32.png) [@RoniaBorkason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RoniaBorkason)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/253 "2010-01-21T23:18:35Z")
Discreet! Discreet! Yes, the person you are talking about probably was discrete, but their behavior was not! The difference matters! Get it right! ---
**Author:** ![SanibelMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@SanibelMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanibelMan)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/254 "2010-01-21T23:22:08Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > I’d actually _like_ to be the person taking those calls, because I’d be fascinated to discover who likes Snuffy Smith, and why. Are they all 100 years old? Well, this was the phone call I overheard yesterday… “Hi, I’m from the paper, I’m returning your call about Snuffy Smith…? Snuffy Smith? SNUFFY SMITH? Yes, I’m returning your call… YOU CALLED ABOUT SNUFFY SMITH…?” ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/255 "2010-01-21T23:49:26Z")
Goddammit landlord - look, you’re a nice guy, I love this place, we pay the rent on time every month, we don’t bitch about the hot tub-style bathtub not working since we’ve got another bathtub (even though it would be nice to use the hot-tub style one). So, when the SO calls you to say that the temperature in the house this morning when we woke up was 53 degrees, don’t just say you’ll “run by and take a look at it,” especially since it’s now 4:45 p.m. and the house is STILL 53 degrees and the goddamn furnace IS NOT WORKING. I am not a moron, I know how to use the programmable thermostat and have been using it correctly and without problem for almost a year. I changed nothing, switched nothing, updated nothing. The furnace REALLY ISN’T WORKING RIGHT, so don’t just “run by and take a look at it,” tell us you’re going to call someone to FIX IT. If I have to sleep in a ski hat and gloves tonight, I’ll be the one to call you next, and you really do not want that. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/256 "2010-01-22T00:14:37Z")
> [@SanibelMan](#): > > Well, this was the phone call I overheard yesterday… > > “Hi, I’m from the paper, I’m returning your call about Snuffy Smith…? Snuffy Smith? SNUFFY SMITH? Yes, I’m returning your call… YOU CALLED ABOUT SNUFFY SMITH…?” “Snuffy Smith’s not here. Who is this?” Oh God, you’ve got me remembering a conversation I had with one of my husband’s grandfather’s friends. My husband and his grandfather have the same name; my husband’s name comes before his grandfather’s name in the phonebook, so occasionally we get calls from people looking for Gramps. Gramps is 80 something, and so are his friends - I don’t have any problem giving out Gramps’ number to his friends, but it can be hard to get across to them that yes, you have reached John Smith, but it’s John Smith the Younger, and you want John Smith the Elder. “Eh? Just put John on the phone.” ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/257 "2010-01-22T07:58:55Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Unless your grandpa is older than 75, there’s at least one current comic (Blondie) that’s older than he is…and still running the same jokes. Grandpa is 84, fwiw, and there’s a bunch of strips i’m just so over : Beetle Bailey, Cathy, Garfield, The Lockhorns, Born loser, Mary Worth, and that’s just from one Indiana newspaper. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/258 "2010-01-22T16:01:02Z")
When did whining become a stylistic choice for male pop singers? I’m listening to The Fray, and they’re not bad, but I’ve bounced one song off my iTunes already for excessive whining. They’re not the only band doing this, either. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/259 "2010-01-22T16:29:05Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Oh God, you’ve got me remembering a conversation I had with one of my husband’s grandfather’s friends. My husband and his grandfather have the same name; my husband’s name comes before his grandfather’s name in the phonebook, so occasionally we get calls from people looking for Gramps. Gramps is 80 something, and so are his friends - I don’t have any problem giving out Gramps’ number to his friends, but it can be hard to get across to them that yes, you have reached John Smith, but it’s John Smith the Younger, and you want John Smith the Elder. “Eh? Just put John on the phone.” Sounds like time for call forwarding. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/260 "2010-01-22T17:01:41Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > When did whining become a stylistic choice for male pop singers? I’m listening to The Fray, and they’re not bad, but I’ve bounced one song off my iTunes already for excessive whining. They’re not the only band doing this, either. When “angsty pseudohipster upper-middle-class suburban white teenager” became a marketable demographic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629.md?page=14)