# It's May! It's May! The merry month of mini-rants! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 1, 2011, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336 "2011-05-01T00:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/221 "2011-05-13T01:42:53Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > \ > > And then there’s the CEO of Philip Morris, who at a shareholders meeting told a cancer nurse that while smoking cigarettes is harmful and addictive, “it is not that hard to quit”. :dubious:\ Well, death usually does the trick for most people. In the last two days I’ve seen: - Dogs running wild in the off-leash area (dogs are supposed to be under control by owners at all times in the off-leash areas). - An intact male pitbull-cross running wild in the street - there didn’t seem to be an owner anywhere in sight. - A woman letting her two full-sized border collies run off-leash in a park that was not a designated off-leash area (and yeah, there were people who wanted to use the park and weren’t able to - ME!). I don’t know what’s going on here - why so many dog owners here are such dildoes. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/222 "2011-05-13T02:01:55Z")
So I get a letter from my dentist in today’s mail. In which it is announced that as of early next month he will be going out-of-network on the only dental insurance my employer offers. \ I’m trying not to blow my top right now as I don’t know the circumstances. Planning to call his office tomorrow morning to ask for an explanation of why this is happening. If it’s because of how the insurance firm has been dealing with him, then I will give HR at work an earful. And no, going to another dentist is not an option, at least through next year. Open enrollment is not until December. And he and I have already arranged that early next year he will complete two implants, and I’m certainly not going to take in-process implants to another dentist. (I’m not going to get into the reasons for the delay.) Still, this is pretty upsetting, and I already have too many other things on my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/223 "2011-05-13T02:52:41Z")
I can change Doctors or Dentists in my network on a whim. Why does yours limit you so much? Or is he the ONLY dentist in your area that was in your network? He’s probably bowing out because they don’t allow him to charge enough. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/224 "2011-05-13T03:46:48Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > - A woman letting her two full-sized border collies run off-leash in a park that was not a designated off-leash area (and yeah, there were people who wanted to use the park and weren’t able to - ME!). Why couldn’t you use the park - was it too small? Also - full sized Border Collies? Wasn’t aware they came in more than one size? ---
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/225 "2011-05-13T03:53:39Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Why couldn’t you use the park - was it too small? It was, actually - the dogs were running over the whole of it. > [@](#): > > Also - full sized Border Collies? Wasn’t aware they came in more than one size? Okay, full sized dogs that were border collies (i.e. dogs that are too large for me to punt across the park). ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/226 "2011-05-13T03:56:51Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > It was, actually - the dogs were running over the whole of it. Ah. We don’t have too many pocket parks here, so I was having trouble visualizing the problem. > [@](#): > > Okay, full sized dogs that were border collies (i.e. dogs that are too large for me to punt across the park). Better to punt the owner! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/227 "2011-05-13T03:57:31Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > Why couldn’t you use the park - was it too small? > > Also - full sized Border Collies? Wasn’t aware they came in more than one size? You really are a clueless, one-trick twit, aren’t you? Energetic dogs off leash can run around a lot, making even a good-sized park unpleasant for non-dog people. Yes, yes, I’m sure your dogs would never do that. And that dogs never do anything wrong, and that people who object to dogs being around are just pussies (no pun intended). There, have I covered all your bases for you? No need to see you again in this thread? Good. Roddy ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/228 "2011-05-13T04:04:15Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > You really are a clueless, one-trick twit, aren’t you? > > Energetic dogs off leash can run around a lot, making even a good-sized park unpleasant for non-dog people. > > Yes, yes, I’m sure your dogs would never do that. And that dogs never do anything wrong, and that people who object to dogs being around are just pussies (no pun intended). There, have I covered all your bases for you? No need to see you again in this thread? Good. > Roddy Well, speaking of clueless twits. What I posted there? Those are called questions. They had nothing to do with whatever you problem is. We have a lot of dogs running about in parks off lead here, and they don’t seem to be an issue for the humans also in the park, so I \> gasp! \< asked about this situation! Oh the horror… :rolleyes: And just because you think I’m a one-trick pony, you can have this too - no one ever complains about off lead children running around in parks! 😃 ---
**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:** [May 13, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/229 "2011-05-13T05:01:36Z")
Parks (and every other public area) in Calgary are only off-leash if they are specifically designated and posted as off-leash areas - the woman was breaking the law by allowing her dogs off-leash there. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/230 "2011-05-13T05:33:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Parks (and every other public area) in Calgary are only off-leash if they are specifically designated and posted as off-leash areas - the woman was breaking the law by allowing her dogs off-leash there. Yes, unfortunately a lot of people do that - worse are the ones that just put the dog out on the street when they leave for work in the morning, so it’s on it’s own and at large all day. Fortunately for us, most of the people who let their dogs run in our parks are paying attention to them and don’t let them get into trouble. I suppose because California has lawyers under every rock! ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/231 "2011-05-13T10:30:23Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I can change Doctors or Dentists in my network on a whim. Why does yours limit you so much? Or is he the ONLY dentist in your area that was in your network? > > He’s probably bowing out because they don’t allow him to charge enough. Now that you mention it, I should double check about being able to change dentists. I’m starting to recall that I think there was no need to designate a dentist during last open enrollment. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/232 "2011-05-13T15:25:08Z")
Super-late to work this morning. Why? Here’s the sequence of events last night: large possum died under the back deck -\> Mr. Horseshoe worked late -\> upon arriving, a messy and incredibly stinky two-person job awaited -\> much dry-heaving ensued -\> immediate strip naked, and much laundry\* ensued -\> dinner was understandably delayed -\> sleepytime got delayed as well -\> I overslept. - Why? Well, because possums are flea-ridden critters. Do you know what happens when a flea-ridden animal dies? The fleas FLEE. They scatter, in an alarming little black wave, and latch desperately onto anything else warm and living. Including the schmucks trying to clean up their former host. Thank GOD the possum died the night before trash day. Mr. Horseshoe was sooooo not in the mood to deal with it when I told him, but putting it off meant a dead possum sitting for a _week_ in the outside bin. I insisted that this was Not How Things Ought To Be.\*\* \*\* Yeah, yeah, I’m a nagging harpy shrew. Fuck off. Ugh. Three years we’ve lived here, and this is our fourth dead-possum cleanup. Tiny, nearly tree-less lot, urban area. I’m starting to strongly suspect that a neighbor is putting out rat poison or something. ---
**Author:** ![redtail23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3e96dc/32.png) [@redtail23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/redtail23)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/233 "2011-05-13T15:36:51Z")
> [@Landshark](#): > > Now that you mention it, I should double check about being able to change dentists. I’m starting to recall that I think there was no need to designate a dentist during last open enrollment. Thanks Yes, you should. Even if you have to designate a dentist, many employer plans will let you change at least occasionally. (I’ve seen some that were at-will, some that were monthly, some that allowed say 6 per year, etc.) And generally, your dentist dropping his contract would be considered qualification to change, even if they didn’t normally allow such. They can’t require you to carry insurance and not be able to see anyone! Get a list of the in-network dentists from your HR office. Then check with your dentist, as you’d planned. I agree with **Chimera** , it’s probably due to low payments, but no knowing until you ask. That will give you the info to take back to HR. While you’re on the phone, explain to them your situation, and ask for a referral to an in-network dentist (this is why you need the list handy). They know they’re going to lose patients from this move, they’ve just decided that’s the best option for them. They should be understanding that you have to take the best option for you. Hopefully, that will reduce the pain of finding a new dentist, since you won’t just be picking blindly. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/234 "2011-05-13T18:36:37Z")
I know I’ll be reverse pitted for this, but… For fuck’s sake, it should be illegal for bicyclists to go 30km/h slower than traffic! Our ‘rush hour’ is really just a lot of cars going 45km/h in the 50km/h zone. But then you get a cyclist going 15km/h and you’re stuck behind him foreverrrrrrrrrr. If I was driving a car and doing that, a cop would stop me if the hordes didn’t crucify me first. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/235 "2011-05-13T23:24:13Z")
> [@Landshark](#): > > Now that you mention it, I should double check about being able to change dentists. I’m starting to recall that I think there was no need to designate a dentist during last open enrollment. Thanks There may have been, but, for example, my Dental insurance is though Aetna, and I can just go to their website and designate a new Primary Care Provider. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/236 "2011-05-13T23:32:54Z")
And the minute I posted that, some phony Eset warning came up, Nortons (which I have) started flashing that it was blocking an attack and I had to dump my browser. Fucking Straight Dope ads. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/237 "2011-05-14T00:08:37Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > There may have been, but, for example, my Dental insurance is though Aetna, and I can just go to their website and designate a new Primary Care Provider. Coincidentally, it’s Aetna my dentist is going out-of-network on. So, I called his office this morning, and was asked to leave a phone number and his insurance specialist would call me back. She didn’t. Grrrr. I called the office again before I left my job and was told by what must have been an answering service that the office was closed. They’ve always been closed on Mondays, so will have to pursue this with 'em again on Tuesday. Oh, and I’m not seeing switching to another dentist as an option at this time due to the implant situation I mentioned in my initial post on this. After that’s resolved early next year, then definitely I’ll be thinking otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/238 "2011-05-14T00:16:27Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > To my nut-job ex sister-in-law: … > > So go suck on your bible and quit sending me religious affirmations, bitch. That deserves it’s very own, full-size Pit thread, **Ann Hedonia**. Nothing “mini” about it! ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/239 "2011-05-14T01:33:15Z")
Is it just because I’ve been able to stream audio on my smart phone for a year that I’m noticing, or has the music in grocery stores gotten effing loud? It seems like they always have either Top 40 pop blasting, or else some oldies or classic rock station. I don’t expect them to play music that I like, but I’d like to at least be able to listen to something else. ---
**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:** [May 14, 2011, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336/240 "2011-05-14T06:43:17Z")
There is yet another stink bug flying around my house. I hate those damned things. Hate 'em. I wish my cat toy LASER were powerful enough to burn them dead, because dying in a fire is what they deserve. Mmmmmm, the smell of roasting stink bug. It smells like … oh, lord I’d probably have to leave the house. Better think of another plan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-may-its-may-the-merry-month-of-mini-rants/580336.md?page=13)