# Mini-rant thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 31, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000 "2016-12-31T22:13:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2017, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/181 "2017-01-24T19:39:51Z")
> [@](#): > > their use is kind of intuitive Tell that to the guy I saw going the wrong direction in one so he could go left instead of going around counterclockwise. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/182 "2017-01-25T00:23:38Z")
There are sort-of roundabouts in Chicago that just confuse everyone. Little neighborhood intersections that basically have a round island in the middle. But with stop signs. No one knows what the hell to do. So we just stop and then some people go counter clockwise to make a left and others just go left while the other person stays stopped at the sign. It’s stuff like this that screws up proper roundabout use in other places. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/183 "2017-01-25T00:34:27Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > There are sort-of roundabouts in Chicago that just confuse everyone. Little neighborhood intersections that basically have a round island in the middle. But with stop signs. No one knows what the hell to do. So we just stop and then some people go counter clockwise to make a left and others just go left while the other person stays stopped at the sign. It’s stuff like this that screws up proper roundabout use in other places. Here’s a Google Streeview example: [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0015799,-87.6680556,3a,75y,7.26h,86.76t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sf-wTb7UvB24blPkyFfg0xA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1) ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/184 "2017-01-25T02:08:29Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > This is interesting. I was at HMV a couple weeks ago and they had these little stuffed animal Mickey & Minnie Mouse Christmas balls on sale for 75% off. They were retail $12.99 so $3.25 each, no big deal. Anyway when I picked off the price tags (they were a gift for my friend’s kid) I noticed another price tag that said $5.99. This tag was attached by perforations to the big tag and had “Hallmark” on it. So I went back to the store and looked at the ones that were left: all the others except for like 2 had the $5.99 tag torn off and the $12.99 tag stuck to it. > > I took photos of the tags but couldn’t post them publicly to HMV’s Facebook or Twitter, so I messaged them through Facebook (I don’t have Twitter anyway) and said “Wow HMV: $5.99 MSRP on a product and you’re selling it for $12.99. That’s hilarious!” But I just got their standard form reply to contact customer service. > > Wow eh. What is up with that. It may be that they actually were selling them for six dollars, but when they switched to clearance, they raised the “original” retail price to make the discount look better than it was ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/185 "2017-01-25T05:01:39Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > It may be that they actually were selling them for six dollars, but when they switched to clearance, they raised the “original” retail price to make the discount look better than it was “May” be? Are you kidding? That was the first place my mind went. There wasn’t a number two. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/186 "2017-01-25T05:42:15Z")
I just pulled a big, fat tick off of my dog. In January. In Wyoming. Weird thing is, it was embedded about an inch away from where he was shaved for surgery today, but the vet apparently didn’t notice it. The dog in question is a recent rescue, apparently made his way up here from a kill shelter in New Mexico. We decided to foster two of the rescues, which lasted all of about 12 hours… now we have adopted them. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/187 "2017-01-25T06:17:17Z")
Isn’t there a rule about providing pics of new pets? ---
**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:** [January 25, 2017, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/188 "2017-01-25T07:04:27Z")
And the tick. You adopted it too. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/189 "2017-01-25T08:12:23Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Here’s a Google Streeview example: [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/@42.0015799,-87.6680556,3a,75y,7.26h,86.76t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sf-wTb7UvB24blPkyFfg0xA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1) That’s not really a roundabout though, is it? It looks like a traffic calming device to slow traffic through this intersection. My guess is that residents complained about frequent stop sign running going on and the response was to create an obstacle that actually does slow traffic. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/190 "2017-01-25T08:22:02Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > That’s not really a roundabout though, is it? It looks like a traffic calming device to slow traffic through this intersection. My guess is that residents complained about frequent stop sign running going on and the response was to create an obstacle that actually does slow traffic. Nobody I’ve ever spoken to about them really knows. Some treat them as roundabouts and some don’t. They’re old, some still have cobblestone in them. Some are on streets that also have speedbumps. They make no sense, and if there’s a car to the left, going straight across where we’re positioned in the picture, how do we turn left? Go around the centerpiece, or left in front of it where we will pass too close to the car stopped there? There are a lot of drivers in Chicago, and these stupid things are why we can’t figure out roundabouts! ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/191 "2017-01-25T12:49:32Z")
Another advantage of roundabouts is safety. People going through red lights and stop signs often T-bone cars. In roundabouts you end up with sideswipes. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/192 "2017-01-25T15:48:07Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I just don’t get the point of them, sometimes. > > Like this one [here…](https://www.google.com/maps/@44.2699017,-105.4913431,159m/data=!3m1!1e3) There is zero reason to have it, and there will never be any kind of traffic that warrants it. As of now, it is just a very annoying intersection that serves no real purpose, but somebody felt that roundabouts are the BEST and included one. That looks exactly like the one I had to stop at. I was coming from the bottom when the car in front of me stopped for a car from the right.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/193 "2017-01-25T16:32:52Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Isn’t there a rule about providing pics of new pets? > [@panache45](#): > > And the tick. You adopted it too. I will get some pics posted later today… though not of the tick. It has already met its demise. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/194 "2017-01-25T17:08:44Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > It may be that they actually were selling them for six dollars, but when they switched to clearance, they raised the “original” retail price to make the discount look better than it was Sounds plausible but underneath the yellow “sale” sticker there was a white regular HMV retail sticker with the $12.99 price on it. Most of the $5.99 tabs on the other ones had been torn off, you could totally tell. I guess they missed these few. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2017, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/195 "2017-01-25T19:11:14Z")
> [@Kron](#): > > I just pulled a big, fat tick off of my dog. In January. In Wyoming. > > Weird thing is, it was embedded about an inch away from where he was shaved for surgery today, but the vet apparently didn’t notice it. > > The dog in question is a recent rescue, apparently made his way up here from a kill shelter in New Mexico. We decided to foster two of the rescues, which lasted all of about 12 hours… now we have adopted them. First, it’s likely that the tick was still tiny when the vet did the surgery because it hadn’t fed yet. Second, this is an example of why many people don’t like the importing of shelter and street dogs from place to place. In your case, you only “imported” the dogs from New Mexico (which could mean actually Mexico) and hopefully only brought in ticks, but in many many other cases the result has been far worse. I wish there was more oversight on this. ---
**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:** [January 25, 2017, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/196 "2017-01-25T21:30:30Z")
I have a two-pronged rant: First, all of my jobs for the last decade or so have had the really annoying policy of making everyone work on 5 - 8 different projects simultaneously. But not everyone works on the same projects. Each project manager seems to act like (meaning, assigning tasks and deliverables) you are only working on his project, which means that they all add up to too much work and everyone dropping balls on various projects. It also means that in order to collaborate, we waste a lot of time waiting for coworkers to have some bandwidth outside of the other projects they’re assigned to. Why can’t we work on a more sane workload, like only 2 or 3 simultaneous projects? The second rant is against myself. I work very quickly. About twice as fast as all my coworkers. I just seem to have a talent for prioritizing tasks and staying organized. So this combined with the above - especially the part about waiting for coworkers to be free to collaborate or answer questions - means that I sit around a lot websurfing or reading The Dope. So my rant is why-oh-why do I get all angsty and annoyed when the managers saddle me with Yet Another Project? I fuss about the possibility of me dropping balls, but really. I never have yet in many years of working. Why can’t I just chill out, learn to get comfy having 10 or 12 projects assigned to me and looking like a rock star? ---
**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:** [January 26, 2017, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/197 "2017-01-26T00:38:32Z")
Mom, I know you adore your cousin, but those “highly valuable figures” she gave me for Christmas are Burger King toys from roughly 10 years ago. I mean, they are cute, but if she bought them from the store where the bag came from, then she paid an outrageous amount for them. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/198 "2017-01-26T01:05:03Z")
> [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Sounds plausible but underneath the yellow “sale” sticker there was a white regular HMV retail sticker with the $12.99 price on it. Most of the $5.99 tabs on the other ones had been torn off, you could totally tell. I guess they missed these few. We do not have HMV down here, so I would have no clue about their business practices. They are a chain, so some amount of chicanery is to be expected _ipso facto_. Just learned that the name stands for “His Master’s Voice”. That is even before my time. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2017, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/199 "2017-01-26T17:20:26Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Just learned that the name stands for “His Master’s Voice”. That is even before my time. I didn’t know that. Interesting. Thank you. ---
**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 26, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000/200 "2017-01-26T23:06:44Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Just learned that the name stands for “His Master’s Voice”. That is even before my time. Does no one remember the [dog listening to the gramophone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Master's_Voice)? Does the name[Nipper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipper)mean nothing to you young’uns? The dog recognizing his master’s voice, [used by RCA](http://americacomesalive.com/2013/07/14/the-rca-dog-an-american-icon/), HMV and even Deutsche Grammophon? See, Nipper the dog would get confused when the record player started up, and stare into the horn… Sigh… never mind… carry on with tweeting your Spotify playlists while I spin some vintage vinyl. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-rant-thread/776000.md?page=11)