# January's New Mini Rants for a New Year **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 1, 2020, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708 "2020-01-01T06:02:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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 1, 2020, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/1 "2020-01-01T06:02:42Z")
Two skunks were fighting in the back yard. My eyes are burning. It’s so strong that if I try breathing though my mouth I can taste it. The back half of the house is untenable. Apologies for the mediocre title. I wasn’t really planning on starting this one. But damn! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/2 "2020-01-01T08:30:19Z")
> [@Projammer](#): > > Apologies for the mediocre title. My minirant is about your crummy title. Given the contentious political climate, you could at least have worked in a “2020 diVision” reference. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/3 "2020-01-01T09:17:21Z")
So next time you start it. I’ve just got the traditional “head colds suck” gripe. Or grippe. Either one. But in any case, it sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/4 "2020-01-01T11:01:19Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > So next time you start it. I’ve got a February title in mind. Anyway, now we’re in the '20s, and it’s more whine than roar. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/5 "2020-01-01T14:22:25Z")
Having to drag myself out of bed this morning was not fun. No, I am not hung over. I don’t drink. Just running very short on sleep and possibly starting to come down with something. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/6 "2020-01-01T16:17:20Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > My minirant is about your crummy title. Given the contentious political climate, you could at least have worked in a “2020 diVision” reference. You’re getting a month’s worth of entertainment (and in a mini-rant thread, it’s at others’ expense), and you’re complaining? But how can we stay mad at the guy who filled the Aborted Fetuses thread with bad jokes? Oh, [and one brilliant one](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=22055347&postcount=50) that I’m still chuckling at… ---
**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 1, 2020, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/7 "2020-01-01T16:58:03Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > My minirant is about your crummy title. Given the contentious political climate, you could at least have worked in a “2020 diVision” reference. > [@digs](#): > > You’re getting a month’s worth of entertainment (and in a mini-rant thread, it’s at others’ expense), and you’re complaining? I’ll take it. Like I said, I hadn’t even given a thought to starting the thread and was completely unprepared for dueling skunks. And I did complain about someone else’s generic title several months back, so Karma is definitely getting her kicks in. ---
**Author:** ![atimnie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atimnie/32/11_2.png) [@atimnie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/atimnie)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/8 "2020-01-01T20:25:19Z")
You want a mini rant? I’ll give you a mini rant. Brainless assholes shooting off their guns on New Years Eve. Half an hour before the hour, half an hour after. And then 15 minutes before and after the hour for the other time zones. Do you fuckers know what happens to the bullets you fire into the air? They fucking come down, sometimes smashing through windows and narrowly missing a sleeping baby. And sometimes not fucking missing. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/9 "2020-01-01T21:40:32Z")
The Rose Parade seems to want to decay bit by bit, year by year. This year, a lip-synced opening number, a lip-synced halftime number, and finally a lip-synced concluding number. If I want to watch dopey “live” performances, I’d record the Macy’s Parade. Give me floats, bands, and horses. That’s it. No dopey production numbers. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/10 "2020-01-02T02:01:44Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The Rose Parade seems to want to decay bit by bit, year by year. This year, a lip-synced opening number, a lip-synced halftime number, and finally a lip-synced concluding number. If I want to watch dopey “live” performances, I’d record the Macy’s Parade. Give me floats, bands, and horses. That’s it. No dopey production numbers. Those idiotic “dancers” with Los Lobos included ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/11 "2020-01-02T02:23:46Z")
The Rose Parade has a halftime? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/12 "2020-01-02T03:47:05Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > The Rose Parade has a halftime? Yes, they said as much on the Hallmark Channel broadcast (really just the KTLA broadcast). Something like “for the first time, we’re going to have a halftime show in the Rose Parade.” They claimed it was at the midpoint of the parade but I suspect it was slightly closer to the end. That being said, what makes the Rose Parade special is the amazing artistry of the floats, made even more difficult with the requirement that every inch must be covered with organics. The song and dance numbers were not particularly well done and are best reserved for the lesser Macy’s Parade. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/13 "2020-01-03T02:38:28Z")
Once of the reasons I finally ended up getting Amazon Prime a while back was to be able to watch the old Rick Merer Canadian TV show “The Industry.” But for various reasons, I never got around to finishing off the final season, so today I had some time and figured I’d start watching again. And of course it’s no longer available. I mean, I can kind of understand “Friends” or other high-profile shows having disputes over payment, but I first ran across this show slotted into late weekend-night timeslots on my local PBS station, how much can the streaming rights possibly cost! ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/14 "2020-01-03T02:40:46Z")
Those damn Badgers…idiots… ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/15 "2020-01-03T03:34:24Z")
> [@eenerms](#): > > Those damn Badgers…idiots… Context? It followed a post about a Canadian show, so my first reaction was “Did you confuse moose and badgers?” … But maybe it was a reference to something that happened over 24 hours ago? When the UW (Wisconsin) football team got beat (and, dare I say it, outplayed) by Oregon in the Rose Bowl? In which case I’ll say _Sorry!_ (And point out that I watched that in a sports pub just around the corner from the UW stadium, and everyone agreed the Badgers did a great job this season) ---
**Author:** ![Unreconstructed\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/76d3ee/32.png) [@Unreconstructed\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unreconstructed_Man)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/16 "2020-01-03T06:08:45Z")
Is there an iPhone app which will automatically tell new websites I visit that, yes, I, like literally every other user ever, consents to their goddamn fucking cookies? Because I haven’t had any nicotine for two weeks and clicking these pointless fucking cookie consent pop ups is really starting to boil my piss. Motherfucker, of _course_ you can put cookies on my computer! Why the fuck would I care? I’m a millennial. I live online. You could put your finger up my asshole if it’d improve my browsing experience. Now stop asking me. And gimme a cigarette :mad: ---
**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 3, 2020, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/17 "2020-01-03T09:42:17Z")
Not exactly pointless. Okay maybe they are for US citizens, but [What’s the Deal with Cookie Consent Notices?](https://premium.wpmudev.org/blog/cookie-consent-notices/) > [@](#): > > In May 2011, a European Union (EU) Directive was adopted by all EU member countries to protect consumer privacy online. This piece of privacy legislation requires that covered websites: > > ``` > Let users know if they are using cookies > Explain what data is gathered through the use of cookies and how that data is used, and > Gather user consent to the use of cookies > > ``` So while it really only allies to EU countries, most websites aren’t bothering to try to figure out who it applies to and just serve up the notice to everyone who visits their site. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/18 "2020-01-03T13:55:32Z")
I hereby pit assholes who can’t control their dogs OR put them on a leash. I take my dog for a walk most days of the week. On a leash. Twice in the past week we walk past (on the other side of the street) someone putzing around in their yard with their dogs loose, keeping them company. We walk by and their dog runs across the street, barking at my bewildered dog, and in both cases, start nipping at him. I have to go on defense, getting between them and my dog. Not fun. The first incident occurred with two dogs coming after us. I managed to get them to back off, but they followed us for two blocks, with the owner trailing them in his car. They followed us around a corner where they lost interest and wandered off into someone’s yard. I glanced back and didn’t see the car anymore. The other incident happened yesterday. Three legged dog runs across the street snapping, barking and growling. I do my get-the-fuck-away-from-us routine and he runs back across the street. In both cases, the owner is just standing there, yelling ineffectually at their dog. I keep my dog on a leash. I know he gets nervous around strange dogs, so I do something about it. I keep him on a fucking leash. People are such idiots when it comes to their pets (and children, but that’s a different rant). Makes my hair hurt. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/19 "2020-01-03T15:07:06Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Context? > > It followed a post about a Canadian show, so my first reaction was “Did you confuse moose and badgers?” > > … > But maybe it was a reference to something that happened over 24 hours ago? When the UW (Wisconsin) football team got beat (and, dare I say it, outplayed) by Oregon in the Rose Bowl? > > In which case I’ll say _Sorry!_ (And point out that I watched that in a sports pub just around the corner from the UW stadium, and everyone agreed the Badgers did a great job this season) That’s the case…they handed that Rose Bowl loss to the Ducks. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708/20 "2020-01-03T17:59:11Z")
Uggggggg freaking UGH!! I’m trying to work. There’s a web portal that I use for work. It’s administered by federal government administration. And it’s the worst piece of crap. Inaccessible daily, sometimes multiple times a day. I’ve been trying to log in with no response or errors or just a spinning progress indicator for at least 30 minutes now. I have 3 assignments I can knock out in an hour and turn in…IF ONLY I COULD ACCESS THIS ONE STUPID FREAKING WEB PORTAL! Honestly, it’s shameful how unstable the thing is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/januarys-new-mini-rants-for-a-new-year/845708.md?page=2)