# \[OLD\] June Bugs (monthly mini-rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 1, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892 "2023-06-01T22:09:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/1 "2023-06-01T22:09:01Z")
Continuing the discussion from [There May be rants (monthly mini-rants)](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-may-be-rants-monthly-mini-rants/983429): Starting off the month with a rant that my allergies have been going berserk the last couple of weeks. I’ve seen more cottonwood flying around than I’ve ever seen in my life. There were days it looked like it has been snowing outside. Disgusting! 🤢 ---
**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:** [June 1, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/2 "2023-06-01T22:50:55Z")
My mini-rant is this stupid cold I picked up a couple days ago. And no, its not COVID. Stuffy head, extra lazy, & otherwise comfortable. Not really much to complain about. But a stuffy head means I can’t go to work and lazy means I don’t much want to go out & have fun at this ideal time of year. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2023, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/3 "2023-06-01T22:53:40Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But a stuffy head means I can’t go to work Because you’re potentially infectious, maybe not working up to par, or because of consequences to you and your sinuses from flying sick? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/4 "2023-06-01T23:00:05Z")
It hailed and snowed today. June 1st 39 degrees north latitude. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2023, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/5 "2023-06-01T23:01:12Z")
ETA: @kayaker two above. Can’t take any decongestants due to the drowsiness most of those cause. High likelihood of exploding a sinus or eardrums from pressure changes. Plus general FAA prohibition on operating unless at 100% peak condition. Being lazy or low-energy or slow-witted (or hung over 😉 ) just doesn’t meet FAA’s required performance standards. During the pre-vaccine stages of COVID there was an extra push to take zero chances about showing up even potentially ill due to contagion concerns. But that’s not the big focus either now or pre-COVID. ---
**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:** [June 1, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/6 "2023-06-01T23:09:29Z")
Thanks! Makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/7 "2023-06-01T23:49:09Z")
I had a coworker ranting about the cottonwood trees the other day. We have some in our neighborhood but they’re downwind from us so not really a bother. Now, if somebody could do something about those stupid maple tree helicopter thingies, that would be great. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/8 "2023-06-02T00:03:08Z")
So thats cottonwood! There was so much in a parking lot one morn, I thought it was soapsuds. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/9 "2023-06-02T12:47:02Z")
I take Simi for a walk on a local trail for exercise and training purposes. When bicycles approach I make him stop and sit until they’ve passed, that sorta thing. Yesterday I had some chores I had to do at home so I didn’t want to chat, I just wanted to walk. Unfortunately, Karen didn’t cooperate. Woman with three toddlers approached, and asked me if my dog liked kids. Sometimes I’ll answer yes and use the situation for training, but yesterday I said no. She glared and began lecturing me about that being bad and I should take my dog to a class, blah,blah,blah. I interrupted and told her I misunderstood. “Oh, I thought you asked if I liked kids”. Her jaw dropped and we walked away. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/10 "2023-06-02T13:31:43Z")
Nicely done! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/11 "2023-06-02T13:55:50Z")
Speaking of actual June bugs, are they still around? Seems like they used to be very numerous here in June in SE Michigan when I was a kid-- they’d freak my mom out. But I don’t recall seeing one for years now. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/12 "2023-06-02T14:06:47Z")
We get plenty down here in Texas! Usually in April and May, though. The grubs eat up our grass, and the skunks dig holes in our yard to get at the grubs. Nature, bah! ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/13 "2023-06-02T14:06:54Z")
We have them in spades here in NH ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/14 "2023-06-02T15:15:07Z")
Yes, we get tons of them every year. I can hear them pinging off the screens at night. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/15 "2023-06-02T16:07:41Z")
I feel out of place at my church that I’ve been attending for 2 years. The women, they seem so rich, and proper, and conservative. I’m not that way at all. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/16 "2023-06-02T17:30:36Z")
So today I takes me a swig of a nice cold Coke and … it tastes terrible! So I immediately proceed to investigate, and today, boys and girls, I present today’s lesson. It turns out that Coke Zero can and does go bad, and furthermore, its shelf life isn’t very long. The small-ish 300 ml plastic bottles have the expiry date near the top in very faint print, and this batch had expired last November. I read somewhere that artificial sweeteners can have a limited shelf life, and Coke Zero uses a balance of two different ones. I ended up throwing out two cases out of my stockpile and there are probably a couple more. The one now in the fridge expires in July, and the newest one I have is only good until September. A surprising lesson learned. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/17 "2023-06-02T17:48:24Z")
I pulled out the car to wash it early this morning, put some soap in the bucket, unrolled the hose, turned on the water, squeezed the handle…& it broke, won’t stop flowing full stream of water from the handle. Turned it off at the wall & figured I’d just take the nozzle off & wash it that way. Nope! Can’t get the nozzle off, it’s frozen. Trying to get some WD-40 to do it’s magic, but of course my time window before work closed. I went to the firehouse at lunch to wash it but of course that was in full sun instead of shade & now I won’t be able to wax it at lunch. I really wanted it looking extra purty in case I make it back in time for the car show tomorrow. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Starting off the month with a rant that my allergies have been going berserk the last couple of weeks. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > ETA: @kayaker two above. > Can’t take any decongestants due to the drowsiness most of those cause. High likelihood of exploding a sinus or eardrums from pressure changes. I get it for about two weeks at home, but then, of course, I go north for Memorial Day, which means just as they’re about ending I chase them to get more. They were so bad this year that they became a sinus infection; great I had to cxl the race I was planning on doing this Sun as I am not at 100% lung capacity yet & that race requires about 200% lungs. Howzabout Plan B & do the scuba class in the pool; nah _just_ too much congestion to want to do that. Speaking of Memorial Day, winds didn’t _quite_ cooperate. We couldn’t come back up over the overlook. Everyone else thought it was great but it didn’t quite match the vision in my head to be able to play it up for the crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/18 "2023-06-02T19:07:29Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > The women, they seem so rich, and proper, and conservative. I’m not that way at all. Maybe you’re just better. ---
**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:** [June 2, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/19 "2023-06-02T19:17:52Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I ended up throwing out two cases out of my stockpile and there are probably a couple more. The one now in the fridge expires in July, and the newest one I have is only good until September. > > A surprising lesson learned Surprising indeed. One of the advantages of apartment living is that my “stockpile” is at the store. Between He & She all of the ten (I just counted) flavors of soft beverages & beer we own fills the top shelf of the double-wide fridge and that’s it. Until there’s room for 6 or 8 more bottles / cans, nothing gets bought. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892/20 "2023-06-02T19:51:25Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Maybe you’re just better. Seems that way to me. 100% [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-june-bugs-monthly-mini-rants/984892.md?page=2)