# (OLD) Out and About in the MMP **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** mmp\ **Created:** [April 10, 2023, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448 "2023-04-10T08:49:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/201 "2023-04-13T19:56:18Z")
Nah. Discourse is like that annoying relative who keeps interrupting a good story with pointless crap: “I think you’ve told this story before, dear.” “No, Great-Aunt Winifred, I’m talking about getting phished. You’re thinking of Uncle Ed’s story about winning a goldfish at a carnival. So anyway, I called Apple, and–” “Oh, my. I think we’d all enjoy your little story more if you didn’t call people fruit.” This is why nobody ever invites Winifred to anything. Not that that stops her. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/202 "2023-04-13T21:32:59Z")
I give months worth of notice for planned days off. Day one of 4 days off, and I get a call. End up going into the office for 2 hours. Seriously, dude, you knew for weeks I would be away. On the upside, my boss can’t say “ I don’t know what that chair does all day”. Now you know. ---
**Author:** ![TruePisces](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/truepisces/32/13628_2.png) [@TruePisces](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruePisces)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/203 "2023-04-13T21:55:43Z")
Afternoon all! Had a good visit with Dad today. We’re still waiting to hear from the appeal board so we know what’s going on. I’m just worried that they’ll drag their feet. I keep checking their website for movement on it. Nothing since this morning. I spent part of the afternoon writing my role playing post, not writing my daily poem, and wishing I didn’t have to pick up BtY from school. The one advantage to having to get him was bring able to play Pokémon Go while I waited. Now Hubby and I are getting ready for CtE’s choral concert. They’re in a pretty good mood, from what I could tell. They did ask if we could get them dinner on our way home. They slept badly enough that instead of going for food, the wanted to rest. So we’ll make that stop on our way home. We also found out that there were problems with some of the ACTs this year, including CtE’s. So we’re getting a voucher for them to retake it for free at a national test site instead of at their school. Now we just have to convince them that this is the right thing to do… Have a good night, all! ---
**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:** [April 13, 2023, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/204 "2023-04-13T22:10:07Z")
> [@scareyfaerie](#): > > And sorry to hear about the coffee incident. The worst thing I’ve ever done is make a large cup of tea to take on my commute, and forgetting to put milk in it…fortunately the lady who ran the coffee cart at the station took pity on me and gave me some milk, she said it made up for all the people who wanted black coffee! Oh, I have several ways to foul that part up too. Though I never bring cream in the car; too stainy. I preheat my commuter cup w hot water. Of _course_ I do; you expected otherwise? Sometime I never get coffee into the go-cup before I leave, so I’m bringing a go-cup of warm water that vaguely tastes of old coffee from the years of deposits inside the cup. Sometimes I leave the warmed go-cup next to the sink untouched for my wife to find later. Sometimes I end up with a nice warm cup full of real coffee, but sitting on the little table next to the door where I set it to load my pockets, wrestle my luggage out the door, etc. _Le Sigh_. Fortunately airports sell fresh coffee. But the drive is so dreary without any. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > > [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](#): > > > > But batteries ain’t cheap, > > No kidding - Daughter just had to replace hers and it ran close to $250 I think. _Choke-gasp-wheeze…_ It’s very important to keep your battery receipt and buy the next one from the same place and the same brand. Batteries generally have a designated lifetime and a pro-rata warrantee. If you paid $250 (!) for a “5-year” battery and it quits after 3 years, they will give you $100 credit on the lifetime you didn’t use up. That eases the pain considerably. > [@peedin](#): > > Aaaaand, here comes the lawn mowing service. Right in front of my unit. That used to piss me off no end. It was a big complex with a large yard out back and between mowing & blowing, there was continuous racket for 3 hours once a week. Nothing wrecks a good nap like a leaf blower. > [@Wheelz](#): > > **Pilot** , your story makes me feel somewhat less stupid about yesterday’s incident. No offense, of course. I’m happy to help improve your morale. As I often say: > Everyone is good for something. Me? I’m either a Bad Example or Comic Relief. > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > And yes, I can verify that the catch tray under the Keurig brew spout can hold a mug full of brew wrongfully started before the mug is placed. Each hotel I stay in has a different type of coffee maker in the room. Who knew there were so many kinds of single-serve drip makers and Keurig knockoffs? Plus genuine Keurigs? Not I, but they _are_ multitudes. The cheaper hotels they put us in have only paper cups for coffee. How _gauche_. The nicer ones have crockery cups so your morning Joe at 3:25am can be taken like a civilized person at that decidedly uncivilized hour. Which raises the problem of how to get a hot, or at least warm cup for your coffee. Perhaps you’re sensing a pattern here. 🙂 I’ve learned that you can get the sink water running really hot, fill one crockery cup with it, then start the Keurig machine with the other cup under the spout to trigger the sensor that keeps it from brewing with no cup in place. Immediately start your stopwatch when you push the brew button and at exactly two minutes quickly pour the water out of the heated cup sitting by the bathroom sink, hurry to wherever the Keurig is (without tripping over your suitcase or boots), and swap cups. Just as your hand is out of the way, the Keurig will begin dribbling your hot coffee into the mostly warm cup. Success! At least with this method the worst thing that happens if you get distracted is your Keurig dispenses the hot coffee into the cold cup and you have barely warm coffee. Which is mightily disheartening at 3:25am when the nearest sunrise is 3 time zones away. 😩 😠 **Boo** : Professional driver on closed course. Don’t try this at home. 😉 > [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Next time somebody says that making a caffè latte by grinding the beans, making the espresso and then frothing the milk by hand, is too much work, I’m pointing them at this post. That’s just too complicated for me. Back in my prior residences it was much easier because I had an instant boiling water dispenser at my kitchen sink. Those things are awesome! Which also delivered filtered water, so no traipsing around the kitchen between fridge, microwave, and coffeemaker; everything was within arm’s reach of one spot. Now in a rented apartment I don’t and can’t have one. So tedious workarounds are necessary. If I was ever to go back to owning my own residence, it might well be due to the various frustrations around lacking my instant boiling water. > [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > > [@nelliebly](#): > > > > I’m relieved to hear beans ground the night before are just as fresh. My now-ex insisted on grinding them in the morning so they were fresh, which was fine M-F, as I was up and gone by then, but I was so sleep-deprived, I wanted to sleep in until 9 or so on weekends, and those grinders are loud enough to wake the dead, especially when the kitchen is next to the bedroom. Not that that was grounds for divorce. (Sorry. I can’t help it.) > > I’m with you~would have been grounds for divorce. My cats run to the farthest reach of the house when I use my grinder. > > Yeah, purists may have a point, using the freshly ground coffee beans within minutes is the ideal, but sitting ground & sealed for 12 hours overnight to spare me the sound in the morning _when I have not yet, by definition, had my coffee_ is worth it to me, whatever the infinitesimal drop in quality might be. I grind my beans about once a week into a small Ball latching jar that lives in the fridge. Yes, that grinder noise is noxious, and once a week midafternoon is way more than plenty. In a small sealed refrigerated jar the deterioration, if any, is imperceptible to me. I think I’d have killed any spouse who subjected me to that racket more than twice while I was trying to sleep. Divorce is far too good for 'em. Whew, having caught up on all the back and forth … Now approaching dinner time I did successfully skate through today’s shift, I did successfully retrieve my car, and I did a couple of minor errands along the way home. Good to be effortlessly mobile again. And, as NWS predicted, by late afternoon the intermittent light rain has returned and I’ve heard thunder though not seen any real downpour here. Dinner of probably leftover something beckons. Here’s hoping **wordy** ’s day goes well. And the various sickly critters last a few more weeks before sadly shuffling off to their rewards. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/205 "2023-04-13T22:13:43Z")
So Darci is a shy quiet puppy, who doesn’t quite know how to dog. She was however, laying down on my foot by the end of the visit, and seemed to not want to leave. 🙂 She has one other meet with someone tomorrow, so fingers crossed. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Not-coffee strikes again! One one the hotels where I stayed at had a sign next to the in room coffee maker “sometimes you need a cup of coffee, before you make your coffee” - **dogbutler** - who once made a perfect pot of coffee, except without the grounds. Thruster are looking good, \*_FCM_ ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/206 "2023-04-13T22:32:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > At least with that much cheese in your diet you won’t be making like these geese I don’t suppose anyone has ever considered feeding cheese to Canada geese? ---
**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:** [April 13, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/207 "2023-04-13T22:39:36Z")
The cheese suggestion was made in that thread. Along with several others. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/208 "2023-04-13T22:46:09Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I don’t suppose anyone has ever considered feeding cheese to Canada geese? Poutine? ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/209 "2023-04-13T23:12:23Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > She has one other meet with someone tomorrow, so fingers crossed. Ifin you find out who that jerk is, I will go to their house an let the air out of their tires for you. Darci needs you, you have the love and kindness that a timid pet needs. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/210 "2023-04-13T23:40:16Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > Ifin you find out who that jerk is, I will go to their house an let the air out of their tires for you. I told her to tell the other people that she wants to be here(Which is true) ---
**Author:** ![swampbear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampbear/32/467_2.png) [@swampbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampbear)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/211 "2023-04-14T00:20:31Z")
**doggio** appropriate/inappropriate appendages crossed for Darcy to adopt you. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/212 "2023-04-14T01:15:54Z")
Evening all. Soccer has been practiced, the rain never showed up and the girls got a good workout in (so did their coach). 60% chance of rain tonight and tomorrow, hoping it will miss us so soccer can be played on Saturday. Have finished off my Thorsday Cheeburger and sloth and internettin’ will occupy the rest of the day. Battery has been installed ($240), it’s interesting that it goes under the passenger seat, so the guy had a lot of work to do to install it, but at least the car starts when it’s supposed to now. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks since I got the fence repair estimate and a ‘4 to 5 weeks’ before they could do it, so I’ll give them a call tomorrow and see if I’m on the schedule yet. **doggio** , hope Darcy gets adopted by the best people…which of course is you. **Pilot** , this battery has a 5-year warranty, 3 with full-replacement and 2 with pro-rated costs. Not a problem, I’ll be trading it in within 3 years if all goes according to plan. **Real Fish** , glad the Dad visit was nice; hope the appeal works out. After reading all the above stories, kinda glad I never developed the coffee habit. **Nellie** , you forgot about the fence blowing down too…trouble comes in threes, they say, so I’ve hopefully hit my quota. **Niner** , enjoy Lego’ing. And the Batman and Superman: The Animated series were among the best cartoons ever, IMHO. OK, after 8pm so onward into the night. All y’all take care. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/213 "2023-04-14T01:21:09Z")
**JtC** , where I grew up, fizz water tended to be called soda or pop. my mom’s family always called it coke (the east Tennessee influence, I guess). When I moved to middle Tennessee, I found a fourth name for it: cold drink (if you ask for one, you ain’t gettin’ water). Given my mixed dialect, I usually go with coke or soda. **metal mouse** , glad that the second AAA guy was more attentive. One of the perks of my job during the first five or so years was roadside assistance. I actually used it twice within three weeks. The first time was when my clutch went out on me before I intended it to. The second was when the starter went out because the first truck towed it in gear. **pilot** , your job description was interesting. If you ever get too long winded, I’ll just scroll past or skim your posts. 😛 Conga rats on chemo completion **kitap**! Yay on a good interview **doggio**. The offer for having cousin Susie putting in a good word for you still stands. **Moooooom** , I think that you are taking quality of life seriously for Taz (we should all be so lucky to have someone like you looking out for us). It doesn’t seem like RoxStar is another year older! I do hope that you get to go to the rainbow playground. Irked, came home, walked the dog, then went grocery shopping, since I’ll have Nelson at the vet tomorrow when I usually do that and be gone most of Saturday. We have a lot of oak trees in my complex, along with some walnuts (and a whole mess of other trees), so, of course, we have squirrels. Most of them are the cute, fat little grey ones. It took a couple of years for the squirrels and Nelson to come to a truce. I think they all figured out that he had a fat old woman on the other end of the leash, so he quit lunging towards them and they quit teasing him. He still chases them at the dog park though, since he’s off leash. The ones there are Darwin squirrels though: only the strong ones survived to propagate their genes. Stay safe and healthy y’all! ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/214 "2023-04-14T01:28:29Z")
> [@missred](#): > > Yay on a good interview **doggio**. The offer for having cousin Susie putting in a good word for you still stands. I think Foster Dad is gonna put in a good word in for me: Foster Dad: “She didn’t eat, drink, or go to the bathroom for the first day I had her, she just hid in the bathroom.” Darci: \< falls asleep on my foot 90 minutes after meeting me \> ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/215 "2023-04-14T01:33:56Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > Darci: \< falls asleep on my foot 90 minutes after meeting me \> Darci ain’t no fool. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/216 "2023-04-14T02:05:53Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > Foster Dad: “She didn’t eat, drink, or go to the bathroom for the first day I had her, she just hid in the bathroom.” > Darci: \< falls asleep on my foot 90 minutes after meeting me \> Poor frightened little girl. She really needs you. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/217 "2023-04-14T02:22:41Z")
Oooookay … I hope this is appropriate for MMP but I’m pretty sure I’m living next to a serial killer. I can’t prove anything for sure, but these are the facts: I get into the elevator with neighbor and a young man. He hits the same floor as me, obviously, kid presses a floor above us. Creepy neighbor is yammering about, golly what a big dog, does he protect you? And then to the kid … “you should come up, I’ll pour you a glass of wine.” To which the kid replied, politely, “I’m underage.” “That’s okay. 18 is fine.” That’s when I stepped as far back into the wall as I could. They both get off on my floor and I head right to my door and go inside, but I can hear creepy neighbor and the kid at the door next to me. So I eavesdropped, naturally. Creepy neighbor started again with, “come on in and I’ll pour you a glass of wine. No. How about just a glass of water?” … and the piece-de-resistance … “You gotta take chances in life, am I right?” The kid finally said, “I gotta go,” and left while Uncle Touchy yelled after him, “ok, get out of here, be safe!” I’m going to have to keep an eye on this situation. The walls here are pretty sound-proof, but the door, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/218 "2023-04-14T02:32:27Z")
> [@dogbutler](#): > > Darci: \< falls asleep on my foot 90 minutes after meeting me \> She’s already adopted you. Hopefully that wasn’t lost on TPTB. > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I’m pretty sure I’m living next to a serial killer. Yikes. What a creeper. If you notice any bad smells coming from next door, you’ll know why. You and Bob stay safe now. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/219 "2023-04-14T05:23:38Z")
> [@It's Raining Rants (Hallelujah) - April mini-rants](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-raining-rants-hallelujah-april-mini-rants/981982/119): > > They have five different rules for how to form passwords, and a password must obey all of them. Here’s my secret and it has served me very well. Pick a two digit number…I use 67…Now pick a 5 character alpha word. Mine is Ralph because it has both upper case and lower case and also doesn’t have repeating letters. End it with a special character, I use $ because I like money. This works for almost all of those stoopid password requirements and is easy to remember. So easy that Very Bad Cat has been ordering treats from the jungle…but at least I can remember what my password is until she locks me out of my account and I have to reset it. Again. BTW, how are your windowsill scallions doing? When I suggested that you do that, I had forgotten that you live in cold country so you probably didn’t have any warm windowsills available. The bunch I showed the pic of are still producing lots of tasty veggies but the bulbs are starting to get big enough to make me think I need to start over with another bunch. ---
**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:** [April 14, 2023, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448/220 "2023-04-14T06:33:44Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > BTW, how are your windowsill scallions doing? When I suggested that you do that, I had forgotten that you live in cold country so you probably didn’t have any warm windowsills available. Funny you should ask. For some peculiar reason, they were thriving better in the cool garage than when I brought them in to room temperature. I put them on a shelf near a large window, in a jar of water exactly as always, exposed to health-giving sunlight, and they promptly started wilting! Maybe they’re Canadian scallions and only thrive in cold weather! 😉 Anyway, I’ll have to try it again since the season of a cool garage is rapidly fading. Maybe a bit of wilting is normal and then it perks up. If it positively doesn’t work at room temperature I’ll just have to keep a jar of water in the fridge. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-out-and-about-in-the-mmp/982448.md?page=12)