# Ook-tober Mini-rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [October 1, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511 "2026-10-01T14:18:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/21 "2026-10-02T15:25:49Z")
This really sucks, and I’m in way defending the business owner, but I’m guessing that > [@commasense](#): > > Our house is about 100 feet from the ocean on the North Shore of Boston has something to do with the bracket rusting so quickly. You may want to look into replacing them with something better able to handle a marine-adjacent environment. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/22 "2026-10-02T15:59:05Z")
More shopping aggravation. Apparently things have changed significantly in the shopping world since the 1990s. I ordered a comforter for my new bed. The one that needs a step stool to heave onto it and deep pocket sheets to fully cover its dimensions. Comforter arrived vacuum sealed into a package not much larger than a Healthy Choice frozen meal. Removed item from vacuum plastic. It is as wrinkled as one of those apple face people craft stores used to sell. Tried putting it in the dryer with some old fabric softener sheets I had on hand. Now it is wrinkled and stinks like bubble gum infused bicycle tires. At 7 PM I reluctantly head to the laundromat. On my way a fire truck pulls out from a side street with lights flashing and rumbles up the avenue. I hope the laundromat is not on fire. Fire truck pulls up to laundromat and I start to panic. 😱 I do not want to sleep with my smelly, wrinkly bedding. False alarm for laundromat but there was a three car fender bender at the intersection necessitating an hour’s worth of processing. Entire chunk of avenue was blocked off to facilitate investigation. All ended well and the response teams departed just as my comforter finished its tumble in the dryer. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/23 "2026-10-02T16:15:04Z")
Yes, we had it replaced with stainless steel. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/24 "2026-10-02T16:16:12Z")
> [@Ellecram](#): > > All ended well and the response teams departed just as my comforter finished its tumble in the dryer. I thought you were going to end this by saying that the laundromat dryer malfunctioned and caught on fire. The fire truck on the scene put it out, but the comforter was destroyed. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/25 "2026-10-02T16:18:09Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@Ellecram](#): > > > > All ended well and the response teams departed just as my comforter finished its tumble in the dryer. > > I thought you were going to end this by saying that the laundromat dryer malfunctioned and caught on fire. The fire truck on the scene put it out, but the comforter was destroyed.. Oh I was waiting for something to go awry as that seems to be my lot in life. Just a small annoyance thankfully! ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/26 "2026-10-02T16:25:54Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > A few months ago, my wife and I were traveling to an appointment and for the first time spotted someone going in an roundabout **the wrong direction**. That was fucking scary. The last thing I thought I had to worry about was a head-on collision in one. You’d think that when someone learns to drive, one of the basic things they’d understand is **the meaning of an arrow**! There’s a roundabout near me and all the entrances have yield signs and directional arrows. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/27 "2026-10-02T17:01:57Z")
My mother in law (J) just had open heart surgery. She needs a lot of care. Already Mrs. H has spent probably 30-35 hours at her house caring for her - bathing her, doing household chores she can’t do, etc. There are companies around here that will pay you to take care of a loved one. Something something Medicare. So I want to get Mrs. H enrolled in such a program so she can get paid for this. Already, at Missouri’s $15/hr minimum wage, she’s due about $500. Mrs. Homie will not hear of it. Somehow she has it in her head that getting paid to take care of her mother is immoral. “I’m not doing it for the money, I’m doing it for Mom,” she says, refusing to make the phone call. As Og is my witness, this woman’s [sanctimonious piety](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deviated-september-monthly-mini-rants/1032738/8) when it comes to money has given me a headache at least twice in the past year. J won’t make the phone call because I’m the social worker in the family and somehow won’t get it through her thick skull that no company is going to tell me a fucking thing because I am neither the patient nor the would-be caregiver. And Mrs. H’s brother, L, is fucking useless, as he claims that having to make a phone call and talk to a stranger gives him a panic attack. Three adults in this family, and not a one of them can make a simple, 20-minute phone call because of three ridiculous reasons. Meanwhile Mrs. H has run herself ragged and is on minimal sleep and about to have a big crash. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/28 "2026-10-02T17:08:28Z")
First off > **[Man at center of Philadelphia cheesesteak assault surrenders, police say](https://6abc.com/post/philadelphia-police-investigate-new-video-cheesesteak-throwing-incident-pats-king-steaks/19897943/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=6abf0ff5ccd9bf00010b8285&fbclid=IwY2xjawUswcdleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMU9SZVFoNXVXNTNGbkc4cWdzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEexADMuUs_0B7zTpV-a_Tsmmj-YRDKbGVX7j92LhZGbynGDH0JhMP7HBIZl2k_aem_V_jb-3xTtNS8ar9yljQrpQ)** > > Authorities say charges are still pending following the incident at Pat's King of Steaks in South Philadelphia on Wednesday evening. Besides my personal issues with a cheesesteak-based assault, I will draw your attention to the following from the article: > [@](#): > > The creator said he reviews restaurants and throws the food at employees if he doesn’t like it. Social media is a cancer on our society. We have nothing good that a “content creator” or “influencer” or “TikToker” can’t make worse. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/29 "2026-10-02T17:49:44Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > A few months ago, my wife and I were traveling to an appointment and for the first time spotted someone going in an roundabout **the wrong direction**. That was fucking scary. The last thing I thought I had to worry about was a head-on collision in one. Glad you got out OK. This kind of thing is why I look in BOTH directions when entering a roundabout. I do not trust other “drivers” to manage such skills as traveling counter-clockwise in a roundabout. IMO, there are only two possible excuses for driving the wrong way in this situation, and they’re both pretty thin: you are visiting from a country where you drive on the left (thus having muscle memory that says “go clockwise”) or you are operating an emergency vehicle and think you need to go contra-flow to reach your destination faster. Personally, if I were visiting a country where one drives on the left, I would not be driving. My muscle memory is set to “travel in the right lane, go counter-clockwise in roundabouts”. I’d be a hazard to myself and others. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/30 "2026-10-02T17:52:14Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Glad you got out OK. This kind of thing is why I look in BOTH directions when entering a roundabout. I do not trust other “drivers” to manage such skills as traveling counter-clockwise in a roundabout. This was a roundabout with landscaping in the middle of the circle which prevents you from seeing the entire thing at once; it’s a visual barrier to traffic on the opposite side of the circle from you. So there was no way to see them. Also, it was a situation where we had to go 3/4 of the way around the circle to get to the proper exit so they may have entered after we go into it. (No way of knowing when they got in due to the aforementioned landscaping.) You can easily see what traffic is to your left when entering, which in most situations is all you need to be safe. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/31 "2026-10-02T17:54:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > This was a roundabout with landscaping in the middle of the circle which prevents you from seeing the entire thing at once; it’s a visual barrier to traffic on the opposite side of the circle from you. So there was no way to see them. Also, it was a situation where we had to go 3/4 of the way around the circle to get to the proper exit so they may have entered after we go into it. (No way of knowing when they got in due to the aforementioned landscaping.) Fair points, but I still think looking BOTH directions even if traffic I’m entering is one-way makes sense. Certainly doesn’t hurt. Still very relieved that you’re OK. I think landscaping that intentionally impairs visibility like that should be banned on safety grounds. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/32 "2026-10-02T17:54:35Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Personally, if I were visiting a country where one drives on the left, I would not be driving. It’s not just driving. As a pedestrian during a recent visit to the U.K., I made myself get in the habit of looking both ways when crossing any street. mmm ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/33 "2026-10-02T18:00:02Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Fair points, but I still think looking BOTH directions even if traffic I’m entering is one-way makes sense. Certainly doesn’t hurt. Oh no, I agree, and I do that as a matter of routine, but it wouldn’t have helped in this particular situation. > [@Seanette](#): > > Still very relieved that you’re OK. I think landscaping that intentionally impairs visibility like that should be banned on safety grounds. Thanks; luckily they weren’t in the same lane as us (there were two in the roundabout) and we saw them just as we were leaving, so the timing was lucky, but when they came out of nowhere it was freaky. And this being western Washington, the complaint about greenery being a visual hazard probably applies to more than half of any sort of intersection you’ll see. 😆 ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/34 "2026-10-02T18:01:19Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > It’s not just driving. As a pedestrian during a recent visit to the U.K., I made myself get in the habit of looking both ways when crossing any street. Excellent point here, and one I’ll do my best to keep in mind if I’m ever in that situation (not really likely, both for financial reasons and my distaste for travel). Not a bad idea in the States, either, due to the possibility of wrong-way drivers. I live in a city where the “downtown” region has streets that switch from one-way to two-way (or vice-versa) seemingly pretty much on whim, and there does not seem to be any predictable pattern of which street does what, so confusion is not unusual. I admit I’ve gotten mixed up on that at least once myself (as soon as I realized my mistake, I got myself turned the correct direction ASAP, of course, and fortunately I was the only car moving in that block at that time, so my brain hiccup did not endanger anyone else). I do not claim to be a perfect driver, but I think I’m above-average for this region. The number of tickets I’ve gotten in my lifetime for non-parking reasons can be counted on one hand with fingers left, and the closest I’ve come to an at-fault accident was a surprise brake failure that sent me into the back of another car. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/35 "2026-10-02T18:03:41Z")
Finally got the roofer out here after two weeks. After the ceiling further fell apart. It rained last night. I had a wide bucket 4" deep from leaking water just overnight. He was like, “Oh, wow, that’s pretty bad.” Told you! He thinks it’s a pipe on the roof leaking. Good news is that it appears HOA will have to cover repairs. Lord only knows how long that will take. I miss my shower. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/36 "2026-10-02T18:14:42Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > One problem is that the majority of those pins have 5 mm inserts, and these are 3 mm. Man, I am just so stupidly careless! After paying a fortune for expedited shipping to get the shelf pins from a specialty furniture parts supplier, they arrived and are exactly as described and exactly what I ordered and are exactly the wrong fucking size!!! I do **NOT** have 3 mm pins, the IKEA ones are the common 5 mm. I somehow measured them wrong. Guess who has the correct pins? Home Depot a couple of blocks from me has them. I just got a bag of 100! They’re identical to the IKEA ones. There’s no point in returning the 3mm ones as 99% of the cost was the shipping and handling, not the product itself. What a fuckup! ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/37 "2026-10-02T18:19:34Z")
So sorry! 😐 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/38 "2026-10-02T18:19:56Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > I live in a city where the “downtown” region has streets that switch from one-way to two-way (or vice-versa) seemingly pretty much on whim, and there does not seem to be any predictable pattern of which street does what, so confusion is not unusual. Are you, by chance, referring to Springfield, Illinois? I grew up there so I know how to drive there, but Downtown Springfield’s maze of one-way, two-way, and dead-end streets has to be murder on tourists. ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/39 "2026-10-02T18:26:09Z")
That’s why they say, “Measure once, buy twice.” ---
**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:** [October 2, 2026, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511/40 "2026-10-02T18:26:23Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > Are you, by chance, referring to Springfield, Illinois? I grew up there so I know how to drive there, but Downtown Springfield’s maze of one-way, two-way, and dead-end streets has to be murder on tourists. Sacramento, California. I lived in the downtown area for about eight years (now live closer to the border of the next city over, and my current area has its own traffic annoyances) and never did fully master that maze, just managed to memorize the most common routes I took. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ook-tober-mini-rants/1033511.md?page=3)