# Mini-Month Mini-Rants (Feb 2026) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [February 1, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273 "2026-02-01T16:40:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**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:** [February 15, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/221 "2026-02-15T22:50:37Z")
I flew from Portland Oregon to OKC on Feb 2. After TSA, I noticed that I had forgotten to leave my keys with my apartment sitter. On the 5th, I sent them in a Priority box to my sister. They made it from Norman, OK to the OKC distribution facility to the OKC post office. Then the tracking showed the parcel as “in transit.” That’s a red flag because the parcel should be scanned out of the facility when it leaves. There was no tracking from 02/09 (09/02 for you furriners) until February 13, showing it in Honolulu. It’s in transit again (to who knows where because they didn’t scan it out again). So I asked my sister to have another set made before she picked me up at the airport (my couch surfer has a set). She gave them to me yesterday. And they made them with the wrong blanks. So I had to go to the hardware store with a scan of the receipt and get them to make me a new set. To their credit, they didn’t change me. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/222 "2026-02-16T03:50:32Z")
Glad they didn’t change you. I suspect you like yourself the way you are. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2026, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/223 "2026-02-16T08:36:18Z")
DH and I are coming to the conclusion that English lacks strong enough expletives for some situations, such as an accurate description of the staggering stupidity of “drivers” in the Sacramento region. They routinely seem to consider traveling at 10mph over the official speed limit to be dawdling and leaving more than a car length between their own vehicle and the one they’re doing an unsignaled lane change to get in front of to be unsporting at best. This applies even on clear, sunny days. This evening’s trip home from a temp gig in Marin County (ended at 9:30pm, so quite dark out) boasted intermittent pouring-down rain and plenty of stretches where the lane markings consisted of rather faded paint and few to no reflective dots. About the only effect this had on the driving behavior of those around us was that they actually had their lights on for once. I am truly amazed that we did not witness any accidents, let alone participate in one. We are considering branching to other languages to acquire an adequate vocabulary of profanity for these situations, since English expletives seem a bit inadequate. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/224 "2026-02-16T14:42:36Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > We are considering branching to other languages to acquire an adequate vocabulary of profanity for these situations, since English expletives seem a bit inadequate.. I can swear fluently in a number of different languages! Experiencing chaotic driving conditions is a good reason to branch out into other languages for expression. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/225 "2026-02-16T16:09:45Z")
Same here, it’s even common in not so exotic locations like our local Safeway or Home Depot where cell phone reception gets iffy. I once had to resolve a hospital billing situation by leaving the 8th floor and walking outside into the cold winter rain just to be able to get a text message code, even though my email was working perfectly fine on the hospital wifi. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/226 "2026-02-16T16:47:39Z")
Speaking of taxes, I downloaded all my salary statements for the year. I do download them during the year, but rather irregularly, as the place where they are stored is supposedly accessible until the end of time. The company who creates them, gives them lovely names, which sort of respect ISO. Except, instead of using numbers, which would be language neutral, they use the month names. Trying to figure out which month’s statement I have already downloaded is very easy when the file name is 2025-01, 2025-02, etc. Not so easy when it is 2025January, 2025February etc. And I can choose a bunch of different languages for the interface, but there seems to be no language where the files are language-neutral. Grr. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/227 "2026-02-16T17:01:51Z")
My first full week driving into the office. It’s kind of robbing the joy from life. I have no time to keep up with the house. Started the day with a cavity filling. I have such incredible anxiety about the dentist. I checked my HR and it was 133 bpm. That’s a light aerobic workout for me. It was a kind of stupid weekend, too. I slept without my CPAP for about a week (I had a cold) and boy did that run me down fast! I had no energy this weekend. I guess I need it. Back to the slog. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/228 "2026-02-16T18:38:31Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Trying to figure out which month’s statement I have already downloaded is very easy when the file name is 2025-01, 2025-02, etc. Not so easy when it is 2025January, 2025February etc. I must not be getting something, because if it says 2025January wouldn’t that be for January 2025? What’s the issue? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/229 "2026-02-16T19:20:15Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > since English expletives seem a bit inadequate. I urge you to study Afrikaans, which aside from the regular, has several charmingly poetic options: > [@](#): > > Jy is laer as die skaduwee van 'n slang se stront I.e, > [@](#): > > You are lower than a snake’s shit’s shadow. The vernacular is very, very inventive when it comes to insults, although all too often people go with “Fok jou” which is less elegant but probably does not require me to translate. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/230 "2026-02-16T19:38:18Z")
Mouth _still_ numb with Novacaine, 5.5 hours later. While I was trying to eat, chewing carefully, I noticed something kept getting stuck between my teeth. Realized, to my chagrin, that “something” is the inside of the flesh of my mouth, which I can’t currently feel myself chomping on, but I’m sure gonna regret it when the numbing wears off. Looking for alternative jobs but nothing as good as the one I applied to earlier this month. I’m going to try to remain choosy even though I want out of here yesterday. It’s not like the day to day is so miserable but I just don’t have the bandwidth for full time, especially not with a 40-60 minute commute. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/231 "2026-02-16T19:39:38Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > What’s the issue? There is only one date/time format, ISO 8601, and we should keep it holy. YYYY-MM-DD’T’HH-mm-SSZ There cannot be another way, aside from the last character which indicates time zone. ‘Z’ is ‘Zulu’ time, so based off Grenwhich Mean Time. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/232 "2026-02-16T19:41:23Z")
I should start doing that for work files. I usually put the date at the end of the file name. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/233 "2026-02-16T19:51:27Z")
You probably do not need the minutes and seconds, much less milliseconds and timezone, but one version of IS0 8601 is very suitable for sortable file names, the abbreviated YYYY-MM-DD So a folder might be named `2016-03-07-my holiday pics` and still be very easily sorted. (yes, all modern OS can sort by date, but doing this by habit eliminates the need to search) My usage is much more in logging database transactions and call logs from an API, where there are plenty on concurrent calls so knowing the milliseconds can become important, but that is not a really common use-case in the real world. (ETA, I chose a random date in this example, which turns out to be my birthday, although several years ago) ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/234 "2026-02-16T22:01:26Z")
Ok, but what is confusing about 2025January that makes it difficult to know it’s for January 2025? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/235 "2026-02-16T22:30:40Z")
A miserable last four days, including two in the hospital. Just got out this afternoon. Due to either a) a really nasty stomach bug or b) a change in medication I went into diabetic ketoacidosis, which sounds like something out of _Mary Poppins_ but is actually worse. All is well now and I am about to get some real rest, but _next time I am throwing everything up and keeping nothing down_ I am _not_ waiting until I am severely dehydrated till I head for the ER. There. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2026, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/236 "2026-02-16T22:42:16Z")
I suspect the issue is that she had a folder on her PC with e.g. 4 downloaded months and she needed to go download all the others from the website. At which point seeing e.g. April, December, January, and June listed in that order on her PC doesn’t make it especially easy to see which 8 other files she needs. Especially not if the website’s date picker uses month numbers to specify which to download. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2026, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/237 "2026-02-16T22:50:44Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Due to either a) a really nasty stomach bug or b) a change in medication I went into diabetic ketoacidosis, which sounds like something out of _Mary Poppins_ but is actually worse. Damn. I hope you feel better soon! And yes, intervention sooner rather than later. ---
**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:** [February 16, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/238 "2026-02-16T23:58:58Z")
Fucking numbing agent wore off. As predicted, hurts like hell. Feels like someone punched me in the jaw. Looks like I’m in for an early bedtime. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/239 "2026-02-17T06:14:36Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Ok, but what is confusing about 2025January that makes it difficult to know it’s for January 2025? It is not confusing to the human brain, but you can’t sort on date very easily. 2025Febuary would come before 2025January, for example. Using ISO 8601 solves that. I am a nerd, so this is just the method I prefer. It is not prescptive, and in fact, in my job I use a naming convention which, while easily sortable, is related to the various tasks I am assigned, not by date. But that is corporate mandate, not software engineer thinking… ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2026, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273/240 "2026-02-17T16:51:29Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > It is not confusing to the human brain, but you can’t sort on date very easily. This. By writing out the month, I need to know the months by their alphabetical order, which is not the normal sequence. Maybe I’ll send them a suggestion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-month-mini-rants-feb-2026/1027273.md?page=13)