# 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:** 22
**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:** [February 9, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/421 "2010-02-09T16:31:57Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > That would be the point at which I’d say fuck it and just eat the dough. The dough was goooooood, too. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/422 "2010-02-09T16:33:54Z")
Apparently, I also have to pay a full $50 copay for a med-check with my psychiatrist. I was under the impression that there was a new Federal law that mental health had to be treated on a par with physical health. But, my provider conveniently changes the providers into primary and non-primary, with a $30 and $50 co-pay respectively. There are no primary mental health providers. They are all considered specialists. So, they all have a $50 copay. Really? You think my GP should be providing me therapy? ---
**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:** [February 9, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/423 "2010-02-09T17:24:28Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > You’re an online clothes site - your whole business is shipping clothes that people have purchased over the internet. Do you think you could expand your minds and consider that maybe people outside of the United States would like to purchase your clothes, too? There’s this really awesome thing called a “credit card” that takes care of all the foreign currency exchanges, and this other really cool thing called a “postal service” that will mail the stuff right to my door, if you put my address on it. You’d be amazed at how many people in the world actually _use_ the internet! Obviously, you don’t understand that the US is the only REAL country in the world. And New Mexico isn’t part of it. > [@niblet\_head](#): > > I’ve posted about the Most Entitled Woman in the World, a gal I work with. I may have even posted before about how she “disappears” our silverware. (In the beginning, I bought a cheap set of silverware because I eat my breakfast here, sometimes my lunch. And, frankly, I just think it’s classier to have real silverware.) Anyhoo, she uses a piece here, a piece there and they disappear. We are now down to one fork, one spoon, one knife. > > I think she uses them, and leaves a dirty spoon or fork in her office for days and days. Because she’s too lazy to walk to the kitchen and clean it. Then, after a week or so, she just throws the dirty spoon away. > > Or, she’s taking them to her other office or home or something. I’ve never seen anything like her. > [@niblet\_head](#): > > Don’t even get me started on my stuff. Can’t tell you the number of times she walked into my office (next door to hers), taken my scissors, and then not brought it back. Just puts it in her desk organizer with all her pens. Like it’s hers. > > Grrrrrr. > > Some days? It’s life Office Space is my life. You need a locking desk and a spork, or possibly one of those sets of camping utensils that lock together. But you definitely need at least one drawer on your desk that locks. And a labelmaker, to label your scissors. Or hell, keep a wooden ruler on your desk, and each time she grabs something of yours, smack her wrist a good one. Just make sure that I’m on the jury. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/424 "2010-02-09T17:28:03Z")
God, I wish. She put her dirty glasses in the sink. As if fairies? were going to wash them. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/425 "2010-02-09T18:07:18Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > God, I wish. > > She put her dirty glasses in the sink. As if fairies? were going to wash them. Time for a little passive-aggressive therapy. Move the glasses to the counter with notes taped to them, “Most Entitled Woman in the World. Your mother doesn’t work here. Wash your own damn glasses.” ---
**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 9, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/426 "2010-02-09T19:00:44Z")
Can I stick two tiny irks together and count it as one mini-rant? Irk the first: Every time we do a pot roast in the slow cooker, it turns out bland as hell, no one wants to eat it, and we throw most of it away. So I decided to make some changes to the recipe, see if I can do better this time. Only my husband got to it first. He put it in the pot with onions, white potatoes, no seasoning…and there it is turning into a giant pot of blah. Well, I know he was trying to help. ☹ Irk the second: There is a TV commercial for a local lawyer which displays these words in large letters: “Motivation - the stuff that permeates your entire being when you have a clear vivid picture in your mind of what you want to do and an intense burning all-consuming desire in your heart to fight for it.” The lawyer reads it for you slowly so you can absorb the deep meaning and truthiness of this statement. Gah! You would think a lawyer, of all people, would give a shit about the precise definition of a word. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/427 "2010-02-09T19:06:16Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Can I stick two tiny irks together and count it as one mini-rant? > > Irk the first: Every time we do a pot roast in the slow cooker, it turns out bland as hell, no one wants to eat it, and we throw most of it away. So I decided to make some changes to the recipe, see if I can do better this time. Only my husband got to it first. He put it in the pot with onions, white potatoes, no seasoning…and there it is turning into a giant pot of blah. Well, I know he was trying to help. ☹ Not that you’re asking for advice, but I just can’t help but give some (sorry!) I have found that cooking the roast with the spuds is the biggest problem. I got a “tip sheet” emailed that said something along the lines of “if you’re soup is too salty, throw in a potato, it will absorb the salt and your dish is saved”. I took that thought and applied it to my crock pot pot roast, and I finally had one that turned out awesome. The damn spuds are soaking up all the flavor! ---
**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 9, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/428 "2010-02-09T19:17:19Z")
Sounds right, **otternell** , if I can just get to the darn thing before anyone else. 🙂 ---
**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:** [February 9, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/429 "2010-02-09T20:02:35Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > God, I wish. > > She put her dirty glasses in the sink. As if fairies? were going to wash them. OK. I have identified your problem, and can offer a solution. Might not be legal, but… Follow this woman around for a few days. Make it an office project, I’m sure the others would like to join in. Apply a wooden ruler or wooden spoon to her every time she tries to pull shit like this. Her mother or father didn’t do it, so now you have to step in. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/430 "2010-02-09T20:24:20Z")
I soooo wanna leave a note for her. But she’s willing to be more vicious than I in retaliation. Or, I’ll get feigned shock (I can’t believe I did that!) and false apologies, but she’ll just keep on doing what she’s doing. See the Great Label Maker controversy of 2009. My label maker now lives in my car. ---
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/431 "2010-02-09T20:39:21Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Sounds right, **otternell** , if I can just get to the darn thing before anyone else. 🙂 I hear ya - my husband has touched a few dishes better left untouched! 😉 ---
**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:** [February 9, 2010, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/432 "2010-02-09T21:20:46Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Obviously, you don’t understand that the US is the only REAL country in the world. And New Mexico isn’t part of it. > \ Well, it does have “Mexico” right there in the name. Heh - I have this picture of you at work now, **niblet\_head** , with all your supplies in a portable tray like cleaning ladies and lab techs use, carting it around with you every time you have to leave your desk. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/433 "2010-02-09T21:22:28Z")
It’s all in my utility belt. Maybe I should put a lock on it, like a chastity belt. ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2010, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/434 "2010-02-09T21:43:04Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > It’s all in my utility belt. Maybe I should put a lock on it, like a chastity belt. Well, there’s an interesting mental picture. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/435 "2010-02-10T01:31:08Z")
> [@niblet\_head](#): > > That would be the point at which I’d say fuck it and just eat the dough. \ Mmmm, cookie dough \ ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/436 "2010-02-10T01:40:29Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Irk the first: Every time we do a pot roast in the slow cooker, it turns out bland as hell, no one wants to eat it, and we throw most of it away. So I decided to make some changes to the recipe, see if I can do better this time. Only my husband got to it first. He put it in the pot with onions, white potatoes, no seasoning…and there it is turning into a giant pot of blah. Well, I know he was trying to help. ☹ \ Kick-ass Pot Roast in a crock pot: Sear room temperature roast on all sides Put into crock pot with red wine and a package of Lipton Onion Soup mix. Wine should go up about a third of the way of the roast. I add a load of minced garlic, but that’s personal choice. Cover. Cook on low for several hours. Roast will be fall-apart tender and flavourful. Use sauce to make gravy. Do vegetables separately. \ ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/437 "2010-02-10T02:19:55Z")
> [@Sparklo](#): > > Had to do some more research - finally discovered that the bastards at [tynt.com](http://tynt.com) are behind this copy-and-paste nonsense. It’s a JavaScript thing that sends all the text you’ve selected to their servers for processing. No idea why it doesn’t work on Firefox for Mac (I’m sure tynt’s developers will manage to “fix” that before too long). Holy &^$%! I just tried this and it ‘worked’. I had to unblock ‘[tynt.com](http://tynt.com)’ to get it to add the advertising to the cut. And I’m using FireFox on a Mac. Man, that’s the weaselliest thing I’ve heard of in a least… a couple of weeks. Tha National Post. Odd that the most self-professedly ‘Christian’ newspaper of all the big English-language dailies in Canada is the first to do this. But I’ve heard that they’re in deep financial doodoo these days. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/438 "2010-02-10T03:16:37Z")
There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll be seeing more of that weaselly crap in the future - our modern world just can’t stop marketing us for a second. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/439 "2010-02-10T03:21:57Z")
Dell. I ordered a very nice, custom computer. It arrived today, and proceeded to shut itself down when I tried to setup my email and printer. Oh, and the fan sounds like a small leaf blower. Nice. I was on the phone with Dell’s sorry excuse for tech support for well over an hour, during which time I repeated my story to at least five technicians. The last one activiated a system exchange, and said the replacement machine would be here in three to four weeks. :mad: :mad: :mad: Fuck that shit, and fuck Dell. Why in the hell would I wait that long? Why do I have to wait that long, when I ordered the original on January 27? Nice going, Dell. I had been a customer since 1998. Think I’ll ever say another good word about your computers? Needless to say, the piece of shit machine is going back for a refund. Anyone want to suggest a decent computer manufacturer? (Building it myself isn’t an option – I’m mechanical, not electrical, and I don’t trust myself.) Incidently, Windows 7 isn’t that bad, for the short amount of time I got to use it. Everything is shiny, and the themes are nice. And my big complaint about Office 2007 (based on use at work): you can’t edit button images. Did Microsoft really think that button image editing was a big problem, or did they think no one used it? Either way, that was a dumb move on their part. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629/440 "2010-02-10T15:03:29Z")
Thank you! I’m annoyed by the button image thing, too! Huh… four little green blobs all in a row. That’s helpful… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-a-new-year-time-for-fresh-new-mini-rants/523629.md?page=23)