# July like a rug! This month's mini rants. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 1, 2017, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251 "2017-07-01T04:42:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/201 "2017-07-24T12:26:21Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > I don’t mind people talking, but geez, keep it down. I have no interest in others’ conversations. I only speak loud enough for the person I’m with to hear me. I’m not a loud person by any stretch. This is one reason I hate bars and those trendy bar-style restaurants with loud music. Something about alcohol just brings out the obnoxious in people. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/202 "2017-07-24T13:51:50Z")
So I had foot surgery this past Thursday and I’m _supposed_ to be on bed rest for the next two weeks (_supposed_ = only move to go potty/get dressed/other ADLs) while my surgically broken bones start healing. I’ve got my camp-out spot down here in the living room. My husband is playing nurse. Our dog hasn’t left my side except to take his walks. I’ve got the good drugs. I. AM. ALREADY. GOING. NUTS. I figure the only way to stop feeling like this is to take the painkillers which I’ve been taking sparingly because I’m deathly afraid of liking them too much. Doctor thinks I won’t be cleared for work until mid September. If that’s true I’m going to literally go nuts, ven though I’ve got everything someone in my position would want at their disposal. I don’t like watching TV/movies very much, which is part of the issue. Blargh. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/203 "2017-07-24T13:57:22Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > I could not believe my eyes when I saw (and heard) a gen-u-wine Texan with a beige leisure suit, cowboy boots, cowboy hat and LOUD BOOMING VOICE. My God. All of a sudden I understood the reputation Americans have and why others don’t like us. I was so embarrassed. I think that very same Texan was in my hotel during one of my trips to Paris. He was with his family at the hotel breakfast, and his booming voice drowned out all other sounds. When he wanted something, he boomed toward the waiter, “PARLAY VOO, BOY, PARLAY VOO!!!” ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/204 "2017-07-24T14:00:03Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > I don’t like watching TV/movies very much, which is part of the issue. > > Blargh. Kindle and the Dope. Hopefully that’ll see you though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/205 "2017-07-24T14:00:40Z")
It’s funny, since I moved to Texas a few years ago, I have not seen any of those types. On the other hand, we live in Austin, which isn’t really Texas, I’m told. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/206 "2017-07-24T14:21:37Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Kindle and the Dope. Hopefully that’ll see you though. 🙂 Already have downloaded a bunch of stuff onto my Kindle. And I’m already here 🙂 I ordered a knitting loom off Amazon along with some yarn. I’ve never been able to get the hang of knitting the usual way, so I’m hoping I can pick this up relatively quickly. I’ve always been a horrible patient. I think it stems from being in food service for almost 30 years. The only time I ever slow down is either because of something like this or if I fall into a deep sleep. My biggest fear is that I won’t be cleared to go back to work because, hey, this is my _foot_ I’m talking about. If that happens, then what? I know, I know, cart before horse and all that. That just goes to show how anxious I already am. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2017, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/207 "2017-07-24T20:28:59Z")
I once had an inexplicable illness that the fourth specialist I saw suggested was just my body telling me to take a break. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2017, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/208 "2017-07-24T23:34:11Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > For fuck’s sake, how hard is it to hold the silence for just a little bit? One of the ladies in my office thinks it’s just horrible that I eat lunch at my desk instead of in the break room. I told her that it was just too loud for me in there – I prefer to eat lunch while reading in a quiet area. “But it’s just _us_!” she boomed. Yes, you and a dozen other people trying to participate in everyone else’s conversations at the same time, while the TV is cranked up to 48 on some stupid game show, and all the microwaves are going full-blast. I’ll stay at my desk, thanks. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2017, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/209 "2017-07-24T23:57:58Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > One of the ladies in my office thinks it’s just horrible that I eat lunch at my desk instead of in the break room. I told her that it was just too loud for me in there – I prefer to eat lunch while reading in a quiet area. “But it’s just _us_!” she boomed… This is my favorite kind of irony. I mean, this is Arrested Development-level writing, where the target of ridicule is oblivious to how ironic their comment is. “Boomed”, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/210 "2017-07-24T23:59:29Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I once had an inexplicable illness that the fourth specialist I saw suggested was just my body telling me to take a break. I used to get horrible migraines, so I went to a headache clinic. I told the doctor that I was taking a lot of Excedrins, and he told me to go to a psychiatrist, because I had an addictive personality. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/211 "2017-07-25T13:06:32Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > One of the ladies in my office thinks it’s just horrible that I eat lunch at my desk instead of in the break room. I told her that it was just too loud for me in there – I prefer to eat lunch while reading in a quiet area. “But it’s just _us_!” she boomed. Yes, you and a dozen other people trying to participate in everyone else’s conversations at the same time, while the TV is cranked up to 48 on some stupid game show, and all the microwaves are going full-blast. I’ll stay at my desk, thanks. This is why I retreat to my car to eat lunch. Unfoirtunately it’s given the impression that I’m 1) unfriendly, and 2) disinterested in everyone’s business, so I tend to be clueless about whatever’s going on unless somebody tells me outright. For instance, I didn’t know that X people were leaving until their last day while everybody else had known for at least a month… ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/212 "2017-07-25T13:16:44Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Plus if you don’t say anything, then you have customers who bitch that you aren’t friendly enough. You can’t win. > > It sucks. I’m not a smiler by nature so I used to get the “unfriendly” talk from upper management every so often. I made up for it by being one of the fastest cashiers. They used to post me on the express lane where people didn’t necessarily _want_ to chat. It took me awhile to learn the “fake it till you make it” technique back when I worked department store retail. That is, every time a customer approaches you, flash them your biggest smile, be cheery, keep the chit chat general, tell them to have a great day. It’s much easier to do this if you’re a clerk because then you’ll have the time/wherewithal to escape out back and silently scream at some customer’s inanity. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/213 "2017-07-25T14:01:31Z")
This one is really annoying me. It’s the ridiculous habit of repetition when it comes to reporting what someone has tweeted. [Here’s a good example](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-renews-twitter-attacks-on-attorney-general-jeff-sessions/2017/07/25/003d15ca-7124-11e7-8839-ec48ec4cae25_story.html) from a story in the Washington Post about Trump attacking Sessions: > [@](#): > > In his first tweet Tuesday morning, Trump wrote about Hillary Clinton: “Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - ‘quietly working to boost Clinton.’ So where is the investigation A.G.” Then we get a shot of the actual tweet. > [@](#): > > Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump > Ukrainian efforts to sabotage Trump campaign - “quietly working to boost Clinton.” So where is the investigation A.G. @seanhannity > 11:03 AM - 25 Jul 2017 > 8,727 8,727 Retweets 28,542 28,542 likes Another report. > [@](#): > > At 6:21 a.m., Trump followed up with another tweet that took aim at the acting director of the FBI: “Problem is that the acting head of the FBI & the person in charge of the Hillary investigation, Andrew McCabe, got $700,000 from H for wife!” Another shot of a tweet. > [@](#): > > Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump > Problem is that the acting head of the FBI & the person in charge of the Hillary investigation, Andrew McCabe, got $700,000 from H for wife! > 11:21 AM - 25 Jul 2017 > 10,085 10,085 Retweets 31,754 31,754 likes And so on ad nauseam. Enough already. Either the report or the tweet will do, we don’t need to see both! ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/214 "2017-07-25T14:32:45Z")
I always find it annoying to discover that my preference in some nitty detail is the complete opposite from the rest of the world. For example: I’ve been using Excel for years and know it pretty well. Company recently “upgraded” me to Office 365, and I just discovered that after I copy some cells and paste them, then try to do other things, the clipboard is still active and ready for me to paste again. I’m used to being able to turn off the “let’s paste this stuff” by typing a space character into an empty cell or whatever. But now, no. I have to hit the escape key all the time to turn off the copied stuff. If I forget then I inadvertently paste that stuff in other places, like when I need to add rows or columns. Annoying, so I do some Googling to find out how to turn that crappy behavior off. Discover that it’s a feature and it’s called the “persistent clipboard”. Also discover that it’s a “fix” from the earlier behavior that apparently pissed off everybody in the world except for me. And there’s no way to turn off the new feature and revert back to the old behavior. Fuck me. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/215 "2017-07-25T15:07:22Z")
Family. The ones you don’t like but are too closely related to just ignore. My parents weren’t rich or anything, but over the years had bought several houses because he had one of those jobs that transferred you around. Instead of selling each time they’d rent them out for enough to cover mortgages and such. Anyway, they left each of their children a paid-off house and some money, split to adjust for the difference in the house valuations. Not enough money to make any of us well off or think about early retirement, but still a free house and some money is a decent inheritance and a great boost to the finances their children. Should have put us all on solid footings. Should have. Actually, there was one wrinkle: all but one of us was left their houses free and clear. The exception was one of my brothers, who to put it plainly, has always been an impulsive screwup. Brushes with the law starting from pre-teen years, continuing drinking problems, and bouts of drug use merging into bung him into rehab level addictions several times. _His_ house was put into some kind of trust. He got to live there and all, but couldn’t sell it or the like without the agreement of my eldest brother. Screwup brother resented this, naturally, but it worked okay for a couple of decades. As in, despite other troubles, through FOUR failed marriages and getting booted out of jobs for various utterly valid reasons, he always had a place to live at least. Then my eldest brother died and the trust was … somethinged … anyway, Screwup brother got full control. Within a year he’d sold the house because his latest wife didn’t like it. It’s two years later now. He and current wife have broken up, he’s lost his job (again), he’s broke, has nowhere to live because she’s kicked him out of the replacement house they’d bought – not that it really makes a difference because they haven’t paid that mortgage for nearly a year and the bank is taking action. What happened to the money from the sale of the first house? “I dunno. Stuff.” \ It’s probably vile of me to say, but damn, the wrong brother died. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/216 "2017-07-25T20:54:51Z")
Gee, “Heather from account services,” you sure do get around. Last week you were calling me from Minnesota; this week it’s Arizona. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/217 "2017-07-25T22:04:44Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > It’s probably vile of me to say, but damn, the wrong brother died. You can have an opinion, it’s ok. You can share it here. If you’d said that to your brother, yeah…that would be kind of a dick move. I’m sorry for your loss. ---
**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:** [July 25, 2017, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/218 "2017-07-25T23:28:07Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > This is why I retreat to my car to eat lunch. I do that on the rare occasions when I’m sharing my office…otherwise, I’ve found that staying at my desk gives some people the false impression that I’m actually working. This may be because one of the managers at my company expects his people to “make up time” for doctors appointments and such…they literally have to account for every missed minute by working through lunch, staying late, and so on. (My department’s manager only expects that you make up the work you had been expected to complete in that time.) ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2017, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/219 "2017-07-25T23:30:15Z")
So nice to see that Good Will is online now auctioning shipping and handling. I guess because that business model works so well for As Seen On TV. Yep, that five pound item weighs at least 100 pounds when you put it in a box (because physics), so charge for shipping accordingly. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251/220 "2017-07-26T16:10:42Z")
Why the hell do some places still have noon whistles/sirens? I am exiled to work in Hooterville this week, and the damn siren just went off, leading me to look apprehensively out the window in anticipation of seeing something like the nuclear attack scene from [_The Time Machine_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xEmDn6EDpY)\*. :smack: \*siren starts going off at around the :25 mark in the video. Goodbye London. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/july-like-a-rug-this-months-mini-rants/790251.md?page=12)