# NaNoRantMo (November Mini Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 1, 2015, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347 "2015-11-01T17:39:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/241 "2015-11-24T14:00:42Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I once had a cashier refuse an unsigned card, so I signed it and handed it back. I’ve done that a couple of times myself. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/242 "2015-11-24T19:34:29Z")
Yeah, it seems silly any more, with electronic signature panels. I swipe the card and put it back in my wallet. No one looks at it. I sign the electronic panel and no one looks at it. It’s rare any more and only at small businesses that take the card from me to swipe. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2015, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/243 "2015-11-24T23:46:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > That’s the price you pay for singing 7-11 Hymns… > > Seven words repeated eleven times. > > “ThankYouLordJustReallySooooMuch” might be easy-to-remember, but might not be “memorable words”… > > – (smug High Churcher, who just got home from a Schubert Mass with full orchestra, brass and tympani) I’m not a big fan of 7-11 hymns (and yes, I’ve heard that “joke” before). So if the choir isn’t singing, I usually go to the 8:30 service which sings classic hymns from the hymnbook (although they use the screens a lot these days, too.) And does a few other things that make the older, more traditional members of the congregation happy. But I like singing in the choir, especially when we sing a good variety of music-- you know, Handel (not just the Hallelujah, please), traditional hymns, the occasional contemporary . . . And so I put up with annoying praise songs, mostly. And our Worship leader has recently been persuaded to send links to the newish songs we sing on Sunday, plus the new more readable words, it’s better than it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/244 "2015-11-25T00:55:52Z")
Some knucklehead decided it was a great idea to let four kittens loose in my office. Not in the cage. Loose. Now they’re climbing up my legs, jumping on the keyboard and chewing on cords. This is my third attempt at posting this! I think I will have to switch offices for the night. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2015, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/245 "2015-11-25T01:18:14Z")
Cutest. Office. Distraction. EVER!!! Why are there no pictures? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/246 "2015-11-25T01:35:55Z")
Thank you credit card companies for looking out for me and making sure that my cards have not been stolen. The thing is, I am a little short on cash until payday and I needed to buy the cat’s medication (which came to about $500-don’t ask!). So I was at the local pharmacy and gave them my MasterCard which was declined. I asked them to check another register where it was declined again. I knew I had just paid off my bill in full so I had plenty of credit but that didn’t stop the pharmacy tech from telling me I had to be over my limit. I didn’t want to argue, so I tried the VISA, which was also declined. The manager came over to suggest various scenarios, the least objectionable of which was that my identity had been stolen (in the 2 hours since I had checked to make sure my check had cleared and that I had no pending charges). I decided to go for the AmEx, which was of course also denied. I had about $550 in the bank and people were tired of me holding them up so I went ahead and paid with my debit card. I then decided to see if it was just that drugstore. I tried buying something small at a convenience store and once again my card was declined. Now panicked that somebody had indeed stolen all of my card numbers, I called the credit card company who refused to talk to me until I had given multiple forms of verification including my mother’s date of birth. The representative finally informed me that there was a block on my card and I would need to talk to the fraud department. The fraud department demanded all the verification again including the amount of a charge that was at least $100 and at least 60 days ago (information that of course I keep right at hand) as well as the exact amount of a recurring charge on the card (which was difficult given that I don’t have recurring charges on my credit cards-I have them directly deducted from my bank account) before informing me that because I tried to charge $500 at a drugstore where one could presumably buy gift cards they will not authorize the payment and will automatically block your card. Finally, I got them to unblock my card in time to pay for the car repair that I could now not afford to pay by check because my bank account was empty. Then I got the pleasure of going through the entire process twice more to unblock the VISA and the AmEx. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when the little monster needs her meds refilled. I guess I’ll just have to bring cash. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/247 "2015-11-25T01:41:35Z")
All three cards immediately blocked transactions just due to the pharmacy charge? That’s, wow, crappy! PM me if you want me to see about any better pricing for your kitty’s meds. One of the things I do is buy meds for the shelter and shop around. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/248 "2015-11-25T01:44:48Z")
I’m sorry your kitteh is sick, **psychobunny**. I’m even more sorry her meds are so expensive. However, if you are buying them from a pharmacy, next time get them from a Costco or Sam’s Club. You don’t have to have a membership to just use the pharmacy and meds are much cheaper at them then at most other pharmacies. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/249 "2015-11-25T03:06:00Z")
Yeah-every credit/charge card I own was immediately blocked. Apparently the first thing thieves do is go to a local store and convert the card to a prepaid credit card so it won’t be traceable. One of them did actually email me today to let me know that they had blocked the card and why. Meanwhile, that store thinks I’m a deadbeat. The problem with the medication is that I’m buying the cat insulin. She uses so little that it’s cheaper to buy the pens and I’ve always gotten the pharmacist to break up a package and sell me one or two pens (which each last a month or two). This pharmacist is being mean, though and insisted I buy an entire package of 5 pens, which is a total of 1500 units of insulin. At about 10 units total daily (with what I have to waste drawing it up) that’s 150 days, or almost 6 months worth. I’ve already priced it at every local store and there is at best an $8 difference between where I got it and Costco/Sams’s in this area and I decided it was worth it for the 24-hour convenience and time savings. Usually I hit up my local drug reps for samples but since it’s going generic, the only insulin glargine they’re sampling is the new one that is triple concentrated that I don’t feel safe using on kitteh. Good Rx can save me on human insulin glargine but the pharmacies won’t give the discount for pets and the manufacturers’ coupons also aren’t valid for pets. Trust me I know every trick in the book (I’ve had enough human patients that I needed to get insulin for) and the only thing that will work is changing to NPH insulin which my vet doesn’t want to do. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2015, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/250 "2015-11-25T07:11:03Z")
Discover once put a block on my card without notifying me. I’m not sure what triggered it, but that card number was stolen at one point, so there may have been some kind of watch on the account. (When the number was stolen, several fraudulent transactions went through before they would take the issue seriously because the charges were so small.) My mom has a card with Citi; they immediately block transactions they deem to be suspicious – such as out-of-state purchases (if she forgets to alert them about her travel plans) or an unusual change in purchases (like the day she purchased a new TV). These blocks are always accompanied by a phone call, and – in the case of the electronics store – the sales associate immediately recognized the issue and was in the process of calling Citi as he was explaining why the transaction was being blocked. Poor Mom thought the card had been declined at first though. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/251 "2015-11-25T17:29:30Z")
Last year at Thanksgiving, after saying grace, my (80 next month) father decided to go on and on about how we should end welfare because some people are cheating. I nearly walked out, and I voiced my displeasure at this blatant hypocrisy later. Tomorrow if I get a load of this crap at the table, I’m walking out. Just a wee bit of stress over this bullshit. So very very “Modern American Christian” and yet so far from Christ. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/252 "2015-11-25T18:01:50Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > My mom has a card with Citi; they immediately block transactions they deem to be suspicious – such as out-of-state purchases (if she forgets to alert them about her travel plans) or an unusual change in purchases (like the day she purchased a new TV). These blocks are always accompanied by a phone call, and – in the case of the electronics store – the sales associate immediately recognized the issue and was in the process of calling Citi as he was explaining why the transaction was being blocked. Poor Mom thought the card had been declined at first though. Several years ago, I had a card blocked because I tried to buy gas out-of-state - in an adjoining state! I think I “politely” suggested they buy their computer a road map. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/253 "2015-11-25T18:14:12Z")
I must be lucky. When we travel outside of the US I use my credit cards without a hitch. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/254 "2015-11-25T18:34:27Z")
My coworker was asked if he “read a lot”. He answered “not if I can help it”, with a big guffaw. I turned to him and said “That’s not actually something to be proud of”. Now he’s all mad. Probably should have just minded my own business, but this is the same guy who needs me to hold his hand to do basic computer tasks, and I find his willful ignorance to be off-putting. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/255 "2015-11-25T18:47:48Z")
I can’t understand the species of people who don’t like to read. That’s like saying “I don’t like to breathe.” :smack: ---
**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:** [November 25, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/256 "2015-11-25T19:04:12Z")
My DH is normally a bright person. So WHY did he run a wood cutting board through the dishwasher? ---
**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:** [November 25, 2015, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/257 "2015-11-25T19:35:27Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > I can’t understand the species of people who don’t like to read. That’s like saying “I don’t like to breathe.” :smack: I feel that way about people who refuse to travel. There is an entire WORLD out there - how can you not want to experience it?! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/258 "2015-11-25T19:52:58Z")
On the one hand, lady, thank you very much for deciding that the small scrape on your bumper where I clipped you while backing out of a parking spot was no big deal and saying you probably would never have noticed it if it hadn’t been brought to your attention. I do appreciate that. On the other hand, please remember in future to PULL ALL THE WAY INTO YOUR SPOT. Leaving a good yard between your front bumper and the curb means your ass is out in the lane, and makes it all too easy for people to hit you, especially when the lot is crowded and there are other cars approaching. ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/259 "2015-11-25T23:38:11Z")
When I was going outside to shovel snow, two neighborhood kids came by and said they would do it for 10 bucks. Great! Ok. I call and tell my husband and he goes on and on how he would have done it, he’s not an invalid…blah blah blah…Well, the reason I let the kids do it was to give them some spending money and I thought it was entrepreneurial of them. These kids mother is a horder and I feel badly for them. Husband called me later and said he was wrong:) ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347/260 "2015-11-26T00:17:15Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > My coworker was asked if he “read a lot”. He answered “not if I can help it”, with a big guffaw. I turned to him and said “That’s not actually something to be proud of”. Now he’s all mad. > > Probably should have just minded my own business, but this is the same guy who needs me to hold his hand to do basic computer tasks, and I find his willful ignorance to be off-putting. I would have said the same and be equally peeved daily. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nanorantmo-november-mini-rants/736347.md?page=14)