# Ranters Play in the Pit -- I think it's for the Month of July **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 1, 2014, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072 "2014-07-01T05:16:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/141 "2014-07-14T22:39:06Z")
> [@slalexan](#): > > 1. I want to lose weight. I was in the middle of losing weight when I got pregnant. I’ve already lost the small amount I gained while pregnant but I still have about 100lbs to go and I don’t know how to get started. All I can think about is how all my problems are because I’m fat. Trying to get exercise after working a full day, picking up Baby and driving and hour and a half to get home has been very challenging. I can’t talk to my doctor about it because my insurance very clearly does not cover weight loss treatments. I feel hopeless and then I see a post on the Internet about how it’s all my fault and definitely within my power to change. Yeah, great job Internet, I feel much more empowered to change my health for the better. Thanks. I don’t know if it will help you but I am trying to at least walk a little bit at work during those times when I need/get a break, I walk to the other end of our building and back, about a quarter mile round trip. It is not all your fault but you can do something about it if you want to badly enough. The small amount you say you have lost is amazing and you should be proud of your self. Even a small loss of 5% to 10% has lots of benefits. Do what you can as you can, and when you are able do a little more even walking 10 minutes a couple of times a day is benefical. One of the best pieces of advise I have heard was you didn’t get here overnight don’t try to fix it overnight. You are amazing and beautiful so keep your chin up. (good posture goes a loing way to looking better) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/142 "2014-07-15T00:20:18Z")
> [@adhemar](#): > > we don’t want those folks either, they complain about how humid it is. send them out west to like Death Valley. **hands on hips** Really. **Looking sideways at those people** Because when it’s in the 90’s here, it’s ass-crack humid, too. Always. To me, if they’re whining about where the 90’s are, they’re also whining about where the humidity is. How could they not be, those go hand-in-hand around here. So they just need to zip it, period. Good to know! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/143 "2014-07-15T01:10:32Z")
I am upset because I dinged the damned car. But I’m so damned happy at the same time. My husband didn’t yell. He didn’t get upset. He didn’t even make any snarky remarks. He just said that we would fix it and that it is okay. And he meant every single word of it. So yeah the car is broken. But it will be fixed. And I’ll still have this wonderful marriage to a man who has never been than kind to me as we celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary next week. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/144 "2014-07-15T02:54:42Z")
That’s great, **LB**. My husband reacted the same way when I backed into someone at the dry cleaners two summers ago. (Except that, did you know, cops get awfully suspicious when you call them up and ask “Honey, where’s the insurance card in your truck?”) Quoting myself from the December mini rant thread: > [@Decemberrants: Yule post'em here, plz](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decemberrants-yule-postem-here-plz/675207/787): > > Oh, my idiot cousin (late thirties, mother of four, never married, but currently engaged - to a guy who got out of prison on July 1, meth charges. Prior sentences were for car theft and burglary.) Anyway, D thinks that I’m her ally, because we both found ‘twue wuv’ a bit later in life. So she basically asked me whether I thought that she and her Boo are meant to be. As it turns out, I don’t know her Boo, but my husband has arrested him two or three times, and I mentioned that I really might overlook a single youthful theft, but meth? No. I wouldn’t have that person around my kids. > > But I sort of phrased it as “hell no. Et cetera.” Yep, my Cousin Rhon-duh managed to get herself arrested yesterday for driving on a suspended license, but she got very very lucky. Her Sweet Baboo got arrested during the same traffic stop - two misdemeanor and three felony counts of drug possession. From what I can tell, he’s still on parole, so he’s probably headed back to prison, and I think this is his third strike. Considering that they were both in the car, she could easily have been charged for possession also, but apparently the arresting officer was being nice. (Of course, she’s acting like the entire search was bogus, even though his parole status means that no warrant is required for the search.) I suspect she’ll be contacting me soon, because my husband and several of my friends work in the jurisdiction where there were arrested… Hooray! ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/145 "2014-07-15T03:05:00Z")
It’s also the knowledge that I would react the same way if he dinged the car. I wouldn’t get mad or insult him. I would shrug, hug him and tell him it’s okay and I know it was an accident. He’s not only a good man. He’s also, to borrow a movie phrase clique, made me a better person because I am married to him. ---
**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:** [July 15, 2014, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/146 "2014-07-15T12:07:39Z")
I think I’m climbing on board with the whole Windows 8 is the worst product since the Nike ZyklonB Trainer. I have been tearing my hair out over my computer’s performance for the last couple of weeks or so. Mostly I was noticing a severe lag and frequent “not-responding” issues in Firefox - more so with graphics-heavy sites like Facebook. I was going through all my start-up stuff, closing down functions in Task Manager that looked malicious (which is a fools game - I was Googling all these functions (while dealing with the ubiquitous “not-responding” issues)) to figure out which were normal Windows functions and which were not and I must have run a hundred virus scans on the goddamned thing. I finally figured out that it was a Windows function that was sucking up every last of drop memory for some reason, but I couldn’t figure out why. Fortunately Windows is so unstable that I’m not the only user to have run into this exact problem. Unfortunately, most users are just as in the dark as I was (judging by the message board questions begging for the same kind of help I needed all over the net). But I think (with the help of one of the message boards) I’ve figured out the problem. A couple of weeks ago I got an urge to play some _GTA IV_, so I plugged in my X-Box type controller to my USB port. Apparently the issue is that when it’s not powered, the fact that there’s \*something \*in the USB port but not supplying any data was throwing Windows into fits. I’ve unplugged the controller and rebooted and the problem seems to have disappeared (knock wood). So besides the whole “goddamn Bill Gates straight to hell” angle … anyone else every experience this bullshit with Windows 8? ---
**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:** [July 15, 2014, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/147 "2014-07-15T12:13:41Z")
Well, that was quick. Knocking wood didn’t seem to do shit - still experiencing the problem (to an extent that’s at least irritating). Little help? Anyone got a clue? ---
**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:** [July 15, 2014, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/148 "2014-07-15T12:37:53Z")
I’ve only experienced the lagging issue with iTunes… but I also had iTunes lag issue in Windows 7. I have read about an unusually large number of people having graphics card issues with Windows 8 though. 8.1 gripe: if I open any non-Metro app as soon as I log on, my live tiles stop updating, and none of the Metro (full screen) apps will open. Logging off, then logging back in seems to fix this issue though. Also, I hate having to type a password or PIN every time I switch users. It’s a tower, not a tablet or laptop in danger of being swiped from my bag! It’s also stupid as hell that accounts associated with a Microsoft login are listed by their email addresses, while non-connected accounts display the account owner’s name. I want them all listed by name, damn it! And what the fuck is the deal with splitting the computer’s settings between the Control Panel and PC Settings? Pick one already!!! ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/149 "2014-07-15T13:46:46Z")
Words I never thought I’d say “My husband dropped the Bar-b-que on my car” Our new house is incomplete - the deck is not yet built and the driveway is still gravel and so the Big Green Egg sits in the garage and when we need to cook on it a couple pieces of plywood get laid out on the driveway so it can be pushed out far enough to not smoke out the garage. Apparently my husband was cleaning too enthusiastically when the Egg rolled off the edge of the plywood and landed on my car. As it was about 500 degrees at that point there wasn’t really much he could do to stop it. I really thought he was joking when he came to tell me. Add to that my cute little headcold has turned into a sinus infection that wants to make me carve off part of my skull to release the pressure and this is starting to qualify as a not very good week. I need to get well soon because I’m entertaining 12 people this weekend as a 50th birthday celebration for my husband. Luckily most of the details are already taken care of because I have the brain power of a cabbage right now. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/150 "2014-07-15T15:08:48Z")
Note to people who draw blood: If the patient tells you NOT to draw from a certain arm due to fistula placement, don’t tell her “Oh, it should be fine”. It’s not fine, I cannot have my blood pressure taken or blood drawn from that arm. Period. Also, the idea is to find the vein, strike the vein, NOT pierce the skin and wiggle the needle around to find the vein. Ouch. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/151 "2014-07-15T15:22:13Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > Note to people who draw blood: If the patient tells you NOT to draw from a certain arm due to fistula placement, don’t tell her “Oh, it should be fine”. It’s not fine, I cannot have my blood pressure taken or blood drawn from that arm. Period. Also, the idea is to find the vein, strike the vein, NOT pierce the skin and wiggle the needle around to find the vein. Ouch. My phlebotomist friend hates co-workers like that. Her goal is get blood, not to torture people. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/152 "2014-07-15T18:04:59Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I’ve only experienced the lagging issue with iTunes… but I also had iTunes lag issue in Windows 7. I have read about an unusually large number of people having graphics card issues with Windows 8 though. 8.1 gripe: if I open any non-Metro app as soon as I log on, my live tiles stop updating, and none of the Metro (full screen) apps will open. Logging off, then logging back in seems to fix this issue though. > > Also, I hate having to type a password or PIN every time I switch users. It’s a tower, not a tablet or laptop in danger of being swiped from my bag! It’s also stupid as hell that accounts associated with a Microsoft login are listed by their email addresses, while non-connected accounts display the account owner’s name. I want them all listed by name, damn it! > > And what the fuck is the deal with splitting the computer’s settings between the Control Panel and PC Settings? Pick one already!!! I was in Office Depot the other day and the clerk started telling me about a contest they have to win a free PC. That’s as far as he got as I asked him Windows? Not interested. Not even for free. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/153 "2014-07-15T18:23:06Z")
> [@Seanette](#): > > Must be contagious, my washer started making weird noises in spin. Maintenance should be here tomorrow afternoon. Renting the machinery from the apartment complex does have advantages. 🙂 > > Hope yours turns out to be minor and quick to fix. Fortunately yes it was a quick fix. Just a switch that needed replaced, the maintenance guy said they have to replace the switch all the time. So since my washer was working again I decided today to take down my curtains and wash them. They’re really old but I hate shopping for curtains so I haven’t replaced them. I think they were being held together by cat hair, one of the bedroom panels shredded in the wash. _adds “go curtain shopping” to the list of things I need to do this week instead of relaxing and reading a book because I’m on vacation_ :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/154 "2014-07-15T18:53:42Z")
My favorite ongoing pet peeve. It probably rates a thread of it’s own because I’d bet there are enough folks here who share my annoyance to run it into a page or three. The disposable society. The batteries finally pitched in the towel on my favorite beard trimmer. No biggie, I’m a handy kind of guy with a screwdriver and soldering iron. Appliances fixed or confessions obtained in thirty minutes or less. New batteries, 23 dollars. New trimmer, 15 dollars with free shipping. Grmph. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/155 "2014-07-15T20:02:40Z")
I had to stand in line for about half an hour in front of a woman who kept snapping her gum loudly in my ear. How I didn’t lose patience and yell something rude at her, I don’t know. Maybe because she had a kid with her and there were other kids around, and I didn’t want to lose it in front of them. At least I enjoyed the thing that the line was for, so that’s good. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/156 "2014-07-15T20:26:11Z")
> [@MissTake](#): > > Note to people who draw blood: If the patient tells you NOT to draw from a certain arm due to fistula placement, don’t tell her “Oh, it should be fine”. It’s not fine, I cannot have my blood pressure taken or blood drawn from that arm. Period. Also, the idea is to find the vein, strike the vein, NOT pierce the skin and wiggle the needle around to find the vein. Ouch. I’m extremely needlephobic. Any phlebotomist who wiggles a needle inside my arm is going to get a sock to the jaw. It has happened before. Additional note: if a patient tells you “you’re not going to get any blood out of my arm, go for the hand,” then it behooves you to do that thing. No one’s been able to get blood out of my arm since autumn 1991. The veins have decided to hide out forever after the abuse they took back then. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/157 "2014-07-15T21:27:59Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > A couple of weeks ago I got an urge to play some _GTA IV_, so I plugged in my X-Box type controller to my USB port. Apparently the issue is that when it’s not powered, \*\*the fact that there’s \*something \*in the USB port but not supplying any data was throwing Windows into fits. \*\* > > I’ve unplugged the controller and rebooted and the problem seems to have disappeared (knock wood). > So besides the whole “goddamn Bill Gates straight to hell” angle … anyone else every experience this bullshit with Windows 8? > [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Well, that was quick. Knocking wood didn’t seem to do shit - still experiencing the problem (to an extent that’s at least irritating). > > Little help? Anyone got a clue? Just a WAG, based on the emphasized text above, but do you happen to have a printer installed in a USB port? Maybe one that’s gone into SLEEP mode? ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/158 "2014-07-15T21:29:01Z")
At first she was prodding around the side of my forearm. Uh, no? The usual phlebotomist corrected her, telling her to check the big, juicy vein in my elbow crease. Luckily, I’m not needlephobic, since I’ve been getting drawn every damn month. And I don’t mind newbies doing it, usually. I just hope I don’t end up with a huge bruise like the last time they played “Find The Vein” in the same area. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/159 "2014-07-16T00:19:57Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I had to stand in line for about half an hour in front of a woman who kept snapping her gum loudly in my ear. How I didn’t lose patience and yell something rude at her, I don’t know. Maybe because she had a kid with her and there were other kids around, and I didn’t want to lose it in front of them. > > At least I enjoyed the thing that the line was for, so that’s good. A few months back we brought a new contractor onto our project and I went to meet him at a site that was relatively close to both of us. I spent two days with him in a small conference room going over the design and so on. On day 1 he spent half of the day chomping on a mouthful of gum. I was really disturbed by it but felt awkward asking him not to. On day 2 he started chewing first thing in the morning. When he finished, at 10am or so, I breathed a sigh of relief…then he reached for another pack. I had had it. I very calmly and politely explained that the sound of the chewing was distracting and I wanted to be able to focus on our project work. The fact that every. single. squishy. chomp. was like fingernails on a blackboard was left unmentioned. ---
**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:** [July 16, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072/160 "2014-07-16T02:59:49Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > Fortunately yes it was a quick fix. Just a switch that needed replaced, the maintenance guy said they have to replace the switch all the time. > > So since my washer was working again I decided today to take down my curtains and wash them. They’re really old but I hate shopping for curtains so I haven’t replaced them. I think they were being held together by cat hair, one of the bedroom panels shredded in the wash. > > _adds “go curtain shopping” to the list of things I need to do this week instead of relaxing and reading a book because I’m on vacation_ :mad: My mother washed one of her blankets in the washer and it came out blanket soup. We had to bail the mushy bits of wool-like fabric out of the washer and run the rinse cycle about four times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ranters-play-in-the-pit-i-think-its-for-the-month-of-july/692072.md?page=9)