# March Minirant Madness **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 1, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063 "2011-03-01T15:03:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/421 "2011-03-21T10:23:27Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Trying to find an apartment in this city can suck a dick. > > Been trying to find a place with a friend of mine, but way too many places are all either too expensive (obviously what I consider too expensive others would consider cheap, so I’ll refrain from posting numbers,) are tiny, all-around shitty, in terrible locations, or some combination of the above. And of the few remaining places that are decent, none of those seem to allow dogs. > > Both of us need out of our living situations, but it’s been over two months of solid looking and nothing has panned out. Gah. Unless it is a service dog, you may have to rehome the dog, or find out how to pay more for an apartment. Sucks ass, but if you need to move, the dog may need to go elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/422 "2011-03-21T11:09:58Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > According to a news story a few days ago, pharmacies in my town have run out of pottasium iodine (iodide?) pills. Iodide, iodine is the element. You can use “sodium chloride” as a memory trick. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/423 "2011-03-21T11:20:23Z")
Hey! I got almost five hours of sleep this morning before the pain kicked into high gear! Woot! Why is it that pain medications are always on a flat-line “this amount period” basis, with no potential adjustment for weight? Why would a 100 pound person be subject to the same dosage and limitations as a 240 poung person? I got this Diclofenac Sodium stuff and it is very clear on a 150mg daily limit. Then the pharmacist gives me the Acetominaphine plus Codeine (300/30) and tells me to take it when the pain is too much, but they only give me 10 pills because it is a controlled substance. Argh. Then I ask about just taking Acetominapine by itself when I need something extra above the Diclofenac, and he tells me that I shouldn’t need ANYTHING more than the Diclofenac, period. Nope, nothing. Just that. Ok pal. I’ll just assume that since I can take ACETOMINAPHINE plus codeine for extra pain, I can take just plain old acetominaphine too. :rolleyes: Can you tell I’m strung out on pain right now? ---
**Author:** ![thursday\_next](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@thursday\_next](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thursday_next)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/424 "2011-03-21T14:39:11Z")
My sweetpea was a at conference/training/re-certifying thingy for his job (its like the biggest event of the year in his industry). It was on the other side of the country and he was taking personal time to do it. The first day he was there his office called because there was a problem with the plumbing and they wanted him to fix it. Hell, I missed him too but was hoping he was learning and having fun. I kept wondering how long of a snake they expected him to get. It was the first of many, many calls and they knew that he was crazy busy and they shouldn’t be calling. **Nava** I’ll have to suggest your Dad’s vacation day idea to my sweetpea, its a good one! ---
**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:** [March 21, 2011, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/425 "2011-03-21T14:52:42Z")
My head-holes are not enjoying the pollen/mold/somethingorother. I sleep with earplugs - Mr. Horseshoe snores, the birds are noisy at dawn, and I’m such a light sleeper that I don’t need to be additionally woken up just cuz a cat knocked something over. Anyway, I took out my earplugs this morning, and it was like I … didn’t. All I can hear is the sound of my blood in my own skull. wooooshwoooooshwooooshwooooosh I discovered in desperation that if I pull on the tops of my outer ears until it hurts, I can hear normally! Unfortunately, it doesn’t last after I let go, and I look like I’m trying to make myself into an elf. Gah! Also, this weekend was way too fucking short. I took a nap, ran a couple errands, mopped the floor, and suddenly it was Sunday night! WTF? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/426 "2011-03-21T15:21:04Z")
Dear person who wants to buy my house: You are aware that if you don’t get with the formal offers to buy my house I will go to market soon. That means I will have a realtor and will need to pay commission and will be charging more for the house. You told me you were working on an offer two weeks ago. I called you today to tell you I had found a new house that I want to buy as soon as possible. Please send me that offer soon, or I will go to market and price you out of buying our house. Neither of us want that. Dear coworker: Enough with the repetitive noise you’ve been making all day. I don’t know what you are doing, but I hate it. Knock it off. Dear client: You sent me an email this weekend asking if I had made any progress on the changes you sent at 4:00 on Friday. Then you called again this morning to ask the same question. Fuck you. Dear Fetus: Seriously, can I eat today? Dear Mom: You have been a serious Debbie Downer since I got pregnant, second guessing and questioning my every decision that is different than what you would have done. Yes, we will figure out the sex. Yes we are going to buy an older house instead of a new one, we can’t afford new and we prefer older. No we won’t be putting 20% down, we just can’t afford to do that and also have new curtains or whatever. No, I won’t eat all my dessert, I feel like crap. Yes I know I’m losing weight, but my midwife says it’s ok. JUST BE HAPPY FOR ME, IS THAT SO HARD? ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/427 "2011-03-21T15:22:03Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Anyway, I took out my earplugs this morning, and it was like I … didn’t. All I can hear is the sound of my blood in my own skull. > > wooooshwoooooshwooooshwooooosh > > I discovered in desperation that if I pull on the tops of my outer ears until it hurts, I can hear normally! Unfortunately, it doesn’t last after I let go, and I look like I’m trying to make myself into an elf. Gah! If you can at all go see a doctor now and insist you be seen by an ENT (ears nose throat specialist. I assume you are already on allegy medication, which will help unplug but slowly. I have spent most of the last month like that, had my right drum rupture, then when it cleared my left has done the same. In the last week I now am recovered to “moderately severe” hearing loss. It is annoying and frightening as hell. Even worse my EENT does not want to do myringotomies on my ears because they are as fragile as tissue paper. Good news? no surgery. bad news… because even though it would help there is a high chance it would leave me with permanent holes in my ear drums. Don’t let anyone tell you this is not serious. It is. FML ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/428 "2011-03-21T15:31:31Z")
horseshoe, thank you, thank you, thank you. Your post had me in stitches… I’ve got both allergies and, currently, a sore throat and feverish head - my ears have so much cotton in them it ain’t funny, but you made it so. The allergies have been getting worse, bad enough that my completely self-centered Dear Mother has realized they “might be serious” (you think? I just can’t breathe, izzat bad?) I’ve already told my coworkers not to freak out if I’m in late tomorrow: I’m going to the health center to get an appointment (need to see a GP so he can send me to either an allergologist or ENT, preferably the first one), and if I’m in for the same day I’ll be late. I can’t call for an appointment because the moron I got when I tried said that since I’m from out of town I can only go to the ER, which I know is not true but arguing with morons over the phone is even worse than doing it in person (it’s a phone number from the regional goverment, they cover the health centers for eight provinces). ---
**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:** [March 21, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/429 "2011-03-21T17:18:03Z")
Pointy elf ears and stuffed sinuses all around! Whoo! ---
**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:** [March 21, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/430 "2011-03-21T17:20:23Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Unless it is a service dog, you may have to rehome the dog, or find out how to pay more for an apartment. Sucks ass, but if you need to move, the dog may need to go elsewhere. It does indeed suck ass, but if it’s a choice between being homeless and having a pet, I have to go with pets are a luxury. > [@Chimera](#): > > Hey! I got almost five hours of sleep this morning before the pain kicked into high gear! Woot! > > Why is it that pain medications are always on a flat-line “this amount period” basis, with no potential adjustment for weight? Why would a 100 pound person be subject to the same dosage and limitations as a 240 poung person? I got this Diclofenac Sodium stuff and it is very clear on a 150mg daily limit. > > Then the pharmacist gives me the Acetominaphine plus Codeine (300/30) and tells me to take it when the pain is too much, but they only give me 10 pills because it is a controlled substance. Argh. Then I ask about just taking Acetominapine by itself when I need something extra above the Diclofenac, and he tells me that I shouldn’t need ANYTHING more than the Diclofenac, period. Nope, nothing. Just that. Ok pal. I’ll just assume that since I can take ACETOMINAPHINE plus codeine for extra pain, I can take just plain old acetominaphine too. :rolleyes: > > Can you tell I’m strung out on pain right now? You reminded me of another little rant from yesterday - over-the-counter ibuprofen is on the shelves everywhere else in this city except at the superstore we were at to buy some yesterday - it was behind a locked gate at the pharmacy counter (with large holes in the gate so we could stick our hand through and pull out the bottle we wanted). When did OTC ibuprofen become a controlled substance? > [@Little\_Bird](#): > > \ > > Dear client: > You sent me an email this weekend asking if I had made any progress on the changes you sent at 4:00 on Friday. Then you called again this morning to ask the same question. Fuck you.\ This made me snort out loud at the sheer idiocy of some people - hey, guess what, I didn’t work on your CRISIS over the weekend since I wasn’t at work! Imagine that! I seem to recall having this kind of discussion with people in the past, and my reaction was the same; “How much progress did you really think I made since I haven’t been at work since you last bothered me?” (Well, that’s what I said in my head; out loud I gave them the professional response of, “It’s coming along; I’ll be working on it this morning.”) My rant du jour - I have to dye my hair again since my grey roots are getting all too noticeable, but my hair dye (I’ve tried a bunch of different brands and types) is making my scalp very itchy. I’m growing out the permanent dye so I can go back to using temporary dyes which I don’t have to use as often, but damn! We were getting along so nicely, me and my hair dye - why do you have to be like this, scalp? ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/431 "2011-03-21T17:25:00Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > RE my post #361: I really know nothing about student loans, even less about those for culinary school, and am curious to know what happens now that the niece owes $53K. Does she get years to pay it back or what? Most likely she has the same repayment terms whether or not she dropped out. I had a similar pile of loans, and it basically works out to $500/month for ten years, and $300/month for the next five years after that. Not a trivial amount of money, especially without a good job. I’ve got a decently paying entry level job and that’s basically a quarter of my take-home pay. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/432 "2011-03-21T20:48:17Z")
> [@curlcoat](#): > > (And of course they want to reproduce but I’ve give up anyone seeing how that is definitely not “green”.) I once heard a statistic something along the lines of “For every child born in the U.S., seven third-world children will die because of the resources that child will consume over the course of its life.” Never saw a source on it, so I don’t know how accurate it is, but I’d be interested to see some data. > [@Wile\_E](#): > > So she should have gone to a nice school that would teach her how to properly pronounce words. “Impordant” is proper. “Important” is also proper. “Irdorpent” is improper. But it’s nice to see that you passed up an opportunity to learn something and maybe examine how you inadvertantly help prop up racism and classism in exchange for insisting that you’re right even though almost every single linguist in the world would disagree with you. Fighting ignorance! > [@vivalostwages](#): > > I wish my younger niece would stop being so lazy or manipulative or whatever the hell her problem is. She had virtually no friends in high school because she was judgmental and picky. Then she had no friends at her wedding for the same reason. Wait, what? Manipulative bitches always have tons of friends! > [@olivesmarch4th](#): > > Turns out my husband’s colleague was [murdered](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/16/pamela-schmidt-dead_n_836536.html). Sorry **olives**. ☹ And never, ever read article comments. No good will ever come of it. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/433 "2011-03-21T21:19:29Z")
I am so completely underwhelmed and sick to death of hearing about Amy Chua, who wrote _Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother_. Now she’s written some sort of bullshit column referring to her children as “Tiger cubs” and discussing the relative merits of some quesiton that appeared in the SAT about reality TV. I wonder how long it’ll take before she has a parenting book under her belt to accompany her memoir. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/434 "2011-03-21T21:20:02Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Iodide, iodine is the element. You can use “sodium chloride” as a memory trick. Yeah, I wasn’t 100% sure which it was. And I also misspelled potassium. :smack: Stupid people are making me stupid! ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/435 "2011-03-21T21:23:15Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > I am so completely underwhelmed and sick to death of hearing about Amy Chua, who wrote _Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother_. I read this as “I am so completely underwhelmed and sick of hearing about the death of Amy Chua.” My thought was, “Oh man, I really hope her kids finally flipped out and beat her to death.” ---
**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:** [March 21, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/436 "2011-03-21T21:45:08Z")
Amy Chua - oh yes, [I have heard of her {article on why Chinese mothers are superior}](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html). I guess you’d have to make a lot of money to pay for all the therapy and maalox that these kids are going to need as adults. Hey, my scalp hasn’t started itching! Mind you, my grey isn’t very well-covered, either. Everything in life is a frikkin’ trade-off, man. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/437 "2011-03-21T22:18:09Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Amy Chua - oh yes, [I have heard of her {article on why Chinese mothers are superior}](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html). I guess you’d have to make a lot of money to pay for all the therapy and maalox that these kids are going to need as adults. > snip. And I wonder if they ever suffered any kidney damage from being denied bathroom breaks, not to mention food and water, during their six-hour marathon practice sessions for music. Stupid bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/438 "2011-03-21T23:37:06Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I read this as “I am so completely underwhelmed and sick of hearing about the death of Amy Chua.” My thought was, “Oh man, I really hope her kids finally flipped out and beat her to death.” I have a feeling she will never see her grandchildren. Or if she does, it will only be once. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/439 "2011-03-22T01:14:48Z")
What kills me is that they’ve for some reason solicited her opinion on the applicability of one question in the SAT due to her “credentials” as the Tiger Mom. Seriously? She’s not exactly some sort of test-taking, parenting maven. Or I suppose she is now, but the last thing we need is another “expert” spouting parenting advice that people will take as gospel. The only reason I give parenting advice on an anonymous message board is because I know no one listens to me anyway. 😃 ---
**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:** [March 22, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063/440 "2011-03-22T01:57:14Z")
I wonder if she and Charlie Sheen correspond, and share tips on how to deal with a world that doesn’t show the appropriate level of respect for the _Panthera tigris_oid-enhanced. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/march-minirant-madness/573063.md?page=23)