The online bylaws, presumably the latest version, require board permission. The paper bylaws Jen got when she purchased the unit in the early 2000s don’t. That is the other half of the argument (other than the floors were there when she bought the unit) that her attorney was making to H. To no avail, which is part of the whole intransigence thing.
Sounds like the board is really stupid. I lived for years in an apartment I owned. The hardwood floors that were standard in the building caused a lot of noise problems, so we have a rule that requires rugs or carpeting over 80% of the flooring in all living spaces.
That’s all you need. When I first moved in my downstairs neighbor tried to gaslight me a little bit by trying to tell me carpeting was required. I laughed at him a little and told him I’d checked the rules. The hardwood floors were one of the reason I picked the apartment because I like the look of patterned area rugs over hardwood floors. Anyway, my neighbor soon found out I was quiet a.f. and we eventually became friends.
Anyway, I’ve never heard of noise abatement rules that required you to replace hardwood floors instead of just covering them.
Preach it, sister.
So what’s going on with a’holeBIL? Hope your parents are staying safe!
I don’t know any more about BIL since I posted, but today, we found out that FIL has multiple blockages in and around his heart and there’s nothing they can do for him because of all of his health issues. So he’s pretty much on a death watch. He may not even make it to Thanksgiving… 
I’m so sorry. Will hold all of you in the light. We’ll all be here for you to lean on.
I pit myself for being remiss! I forgot to appoint @needscoffee to Grand Vizier In Charge of Kitchen Implements in the last minirants thread. I ordered the jar opener you recommended and it works great! I can open a jar without breaking my fingers, hands, wrists, patience, and/or the jar! Plus I accidentally ordered a 2-pack so now I have a second one to bestow on those I deem worthy. Queen Catamount is well pleased!
Tiny mini-rant of the day. Those stupid toggle controls with a circle inside an oval where it highlights on one side and doesn’t on the other.
They don’t make sense. I have no idea which side is supposed to be “on” or “off”/“yes” or “no.” Is it on when it’s highlighted? What if it highlights in both directions, which one is the one to use? Does the highlight mean I have to click it to turn it on? JUST USE A FUCKING CHECKBOX.
Getting an electrician out here to do a relatively simple job is turning out to be more difficult than anticipated.
The first company I called wants $235 just to do an estimate (we’d be credited with that amount if we chose them). Yeah, right.
The next place I called, the phone was picked up and no one said anything. No hello, nothing. I could hear what sounded like impassioned talk radio dialogue in the background. After a while they disconnected.
Third joint: the first Angie’s List review started out: “Despite their somewhat informal names, Spanky and Shaggy were true professionals.” What - are they electricians, or golden retrievers?* (I actually called them but no one answered and their voice mailbox was full).
This does not bode well for a quick resolution.
*two of the other electrician outfits in the area are named Fox and Wolfe.
This is a sure warning sign that you’re trapped in a Scooby-Doo episode.
Crucial advice:
If the ghoul from the haunted amusement park starts chasing you, don’t try to run. Your feet will just rotate until they’re a blur with with a marimba sound effect. Instead, pull his fake head off and see if it’s Old Mr. Murgatroid, the caretaker.
Dogs are conscientious and do good work, but they can’t answer phones. Canine electricians have to be summoned by driving to their place of business, opening the car door, and calling their names in a pleasant sing-song voice.
But while I’m here, I’ll say that I have my own problems, and they seem related to creeping senility. Went grocery shopping today and on the way to the car with the cart I noticed that I had forgotten about the baguette that I had tucked away in a little basket at the back of the cart. So I had inadvertently “stolen” it, but I was almost at the car and wasn’t about to go back. But that’s not the worrisome part. The worrisome part is that in the ten seconds or so that it took to put the grocery bags in the trunk, I forgot the baguette again, and left it in the cart. I put the cart away in the designated spot and never noticed it. I guess technically it wasn’t “my” bread, it was still the store’s bread. So all I really succeeded in doing is moving the store’s baguette from inside the store to the parking lot outside. I think I’m getting to the point poetically expressed as “would forget his head if it wasn’t attached to the rest of him”.
Marcus Rashford, shut the fuck up! Stick to kicking a ball round a field, that’s what you’re good at; if you want £24 million to be spent on needless crap spend your own goddamn money, I’m sure you can afford it.
“needless crap”, you day?
He’s trying to get food to hungry children and you’re telling him to shut up. Businesses and restaurants offered to help without being asked, and you’re telling him to shut up.
How about you shut up? Feeding hungry children is not needless, and it shows a distinct lack of compassion on your part.
There are no hungry children, just a petulant whiner.
Linky?
Aaaand that earns you the killfile.
Plonk.
Here’s one. Searching for Marcus Rashford will turn up tons more.
The TL;DR version is that he tried to get the UK government to continue providing meals to school-age children in low-income families during the school break, and the House of Commons said no. Now he’s working with restaurants and local governments to provide meals anyway.
The shorter version is CardboardBoxx is apparently trying to be a cutrate Paul Ryan.
No, you’re a plonk.
Some neighbors let their black cat outside last night, and it hasn’t come back, in spite of heavy rain. Who the hell lets a black cat outside a week before Halloween?
Have you ever coughed so hard it feels like your muscles are contracting all over you body. Just happened to me. Scary and freaky. Damn allergies.