# 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:** 17
**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 28, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/321 "2010-01-28T16:35:42Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > I cannot believe licensed lawyers are going before a federal court to argue 1.) marriage is traditionally man-woman and 2.) marriage is about procreation. 1.) Marriage is traditionally between people of the same “race.” Out with miscegenation while we’re at it! 2.) Fertility tests for all couples applying for marriage licenses are now mandatory. Tada! > [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > It is not fair that on a person’s birthday, that person would both get a cold and start their period. Happy birthday. Here, have a kleenex and a tampon. … Don’t mix them up. ---
**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 28, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/322 "2010-01-28T16:43:06Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > Give me your fucking extension when you send your contact info! Dammit, I’m tired of people who handwrite their first name and phone number on a fax, and then I call and I need their extension or last name to get through to them. Especially when I **need** to reach you so that my client can go about his business. > > If you need something from me and that’s all the info you give me, I’m not even going to bother dialing zero and asking for you. My ongoing peeve is people who leave messages with their name and phone number given justasfastasyoucanpossiblysayit. I’m sure you’ve said it a million times and it’s old hat TO YOU, but I can’t call you back if I can’t understand your phone number. Ooh, I just thought of another addition to this - people who leave only their first name when they have multiple employees with that first name working at the company. “Hi, I’d like to speak to Ken, please.” “Which one? There are three Kens working here.” “Shit. Well, apparently I want to speak to the stupid one, please.” ---
**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 28, 2010, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/323 "2010-01-28T17:08:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Ooh, I just thought of another addition to this - people who leave only their first name when they have multiple employees with that first name working at the company. “Hi, I’d like to speak to Ken, please.” “Which one? There are three Kens working here.” “Shit. Well, apparently I want to speak to the stupid one, please.” Add to this people who repeatedly call and ask for a person only by their first name (when they know the surname), even though every time they call, they’re asked if it’s Firstname X or Firstname Y they’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/324 "2010-01-28T17:26:54Z")
Hi there, nice lady at work! You’re a great person, and one of the easiest to work with outside of my own department. I’ve got just one teeny, tiny request: **STOP LICKING YOUR FINGERS BEFORE YOU FLIP A PAGE OR A PIECE OF PAPER!!!** That’s freakin’ _nasty_, especially when I have to take the papers in question back to my desk. ---
**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 28, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/325 "2010-01-28T17:40:33Z")
Nevermind. I did post it elsewhere. Ahahaha. ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/326 "2010-01-28T18:13:28Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > My ongoing peeve is people who leave messages with their name and phone number given justasfastasyoucanpossiblysayit. I’m sure you’ve said it a million times and it’s old hat TO YOU, but I can’t call you back if I can’t understand your phone number. > > Ooh, I just thought of another addition to this - people who leave only their first name when they have multiple employees with that first name working at the company. “Hi, I’d like to speak to Ken, please.” “Which one? There are three Kens working here.” “Shit. Well, apparently I want to speak to the stupid one, please.” YES! The ones that really make me wig out are those who speak slowly and clearly when leaving most of the message, including enunciating their name carefully, then saythephonenumberasfastandmuffleblargle. Bonus points if the slow, well-enunciated bulk of the message is painfully long, so I have to sit through it eight times trying to hear the 1.2-second phone number at the end! ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/327 "2010-01-28T18:22:23Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Add to this people who repeatedly call and ask for a person only by their first name (when they know the surname), even though every time they call, they’re asked if it’s Firstname X or Firstname Y they’re looking for. Oh, you got that right. My boss and I have the same first name. I’ve been here for almost 10 years and it still happens at least three times a day. I should add that there are only 6 people in my office. ---
**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 28, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/328 "2010-01-28T19:55:33Z")
Every time I take a chance and not quote the person I’m responding to, some person comes in and posts in between us while I’m composing my post. Would you guys mind stopping that? Kthxbai. ---
**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 28, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/329 "2010-01-28T20:04:46Z")
Damn ants! I thought we left the problem of having ants get into the house in the winter behind when we left California. Are we going to start having earthquakes here next? ---
**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 28, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/330 "2010-01-28T22:13:03Z")
I don’t know why it seems so cold in this HOUSE when i know my parent got new SIDING and WINDOWS 2 fucking years ago! ---
**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 28, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/331 "2010-01-28T22:15:43Z")
Because they didn’t replace other areas of insulation, and you don’t have the thermostat turned high enough? Also, go put on a sweater. ---
**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 28, 2010, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/332 "2010-01-28T22:24:00Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Because they didn’t replace other areas of insulation, and you don’t have the thermostat turned high enough? > > Also, go put on a sweater. My sweater has a dragon on it. ---
**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 28, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/333 "2010-01-28T22:42:05Z")
Either you mean (a) a picture of a dragon, in which case that’s awesome and you should be wearing it already or (b) a literal dragon, in which case it can breathe fire on you, and then you’ll really be warm. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/334 "2010-01-28T22:43:55Z")
And if its B - could you please post pictures? That would be so cool. ---
**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 28, 2010, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/335 "2010-01-28T22:50:23Z")
Pictures for either would be nice, actually. 'Cause right now, for Option A, I’m picturing a sweater I had when I was maybe seven, with a horse on it, where one arm was the horse’s neck, so the arm of the sweater had a mane. So, like that. But with a dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/336 "2010-01-28T23:30:53Z")
Hey you medical professionals who take care of my mother-in-law, why do you guys have charts? Really, I want to know. You never read them prior to seeing a patient, even for a procedure. You freely confess to not having it nor having read it, so how do you know that what you’re about to prescribe/refer/perform on this patient isn’t going to cause harm? Yes, I know you have \<15 minutes to spend with a patient and that if you tried to read my 77-year old MIL’s chart it would take about an hour. So what’s the answer? If you read the chart, you haven’t the time to see the patient (several patients, actually). But if you don’t read the chart, how do you know that she has emphysema and that medication you’re about to prescribe for one of her many other complaints isn’t going to kill her? How do you know that she’s already had that very painful nerve conduction study 3 weeks ago and that this one was ordered by mistake and is not necessary? Hint: you probably should NOT rely entirely on the patient’s daughter-in-law, who on a good day might know the difference between HIPAA and Hippocrates. ---
**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 29, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/337 "2010-01-29T02:32:55Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Pictures for either would be nice, actually. 'Cause right now, for Option A, I’m picturing a sweater I had when I was maybe seven, with a horse on it, where one arm was the horse’s neck, so the arm of the sweater had a mane. So, like that. But with a dragon. Was the horse’s name Trogdor? Did it burninate the countryside? Why is my frigging head pounding? There is no chinook blowing in. ---
**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 29, 2010, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/338 "2010-01-29T08:51:14Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Pictures for either would be nice, actually. 'Cause right now, for Option A, I’m picturing a sweater I had when I was maybe seven, with a horse on it, where one arm was the horse’s neck, so the arm of the sweater had a mane. So, like that. But with a dragon. Not exactly… go here [http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cndV1UE2FbqXn4uuPURIpA?feat=directlink](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cndV1UE2FbqXn4uuPURIpA?feat=directlink) [http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/361J7EQGX-eq0rOBBTpKOQ?feat=directlink](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/361J7EQGX-eq0rOBBTpKOQ?feat=directlink) ---
**Author:** ![Lionne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Lionne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lionne)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/339 "2010-01-29T14:28:42Z")
I had a confirmed appointment with a new doctor this morning at 8.15. Since it’s new and I have paperwork to hand in, I get there at 8am. 8.15 comes and goes… At 8.30 I go up to reception and inquire as to how much longer it’ll be as I have to get to work. I’m told that my appointment was actually for 8.30 and they just told me 8.15 so I’d be there on time with my paperwork. This is irritating since I’m responsible enough to get there early, but understandable. They say it should be any minute now. 8.45, just as I’m getting up to approach reception again, she calls me over to say the doctor will be another half an hour, as he’s running late and not even in the office yet. Now I have to give up my lunch hour at work for nothing. Nothing. This happens all the time. Pick a time late in the day, and you’ve got buildup from all the people late earlier and you wait. Pick a time early in the day and the doctor’s late/missing/still asleep. ---
**Author:** ![Lunchy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Lunchy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunchy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/340 "2010-01-29T14:36:36Z")
Mad that Avatar and The Last Samurai were basically the same movie re clothed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629.md?page=18)