# Schlep Timbre (September Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 1, 2024, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553 "2024-09-01T08:08:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/321 "2024-09-24T18:34:29Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > For an accreditation I’m chasing, I need to take a particular government course. I taught at a polytechnic (like a Community College, but more practical; aka a “Technical College”). Had an acquaintance call me up with a situation like yours. We found a class slightly related, and rewrote the syllabus to sound as much like the necessary class as possible. Sent that off to the ‘credentialors’ and they said yes, if she took that class it’d count. Maybe you could try that…? epilog: She ended up loving the class and instead of doing the bare minimum as planned, she had better attendance and more complete homework than almost all of the young’uns. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/322 "2024-09-24T18:42:36Z")
This is why when I was house hunting I tried to restrict my searches to single-story houses. Which was difficult because the standard house model in this area was putting all the bedrooms on the second floor. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/323 "2024-09-24T19:01:44Z")
It may be something I have to do. Here’s the kicker; I co-developed and _taught_ part of a similar course at my previous employer, but it “doesn’t count because reasons”. My boss and I are brainstorming ideas because we thought the question was settled, only suddenly it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/324 "2024-09-24T20:04:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > There was just considerable spillage of a few ounces of the Caesar, which as we all know contains tomato juice, the ideal thing to stain carpets with. Hmmm. > [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > What’s needed is a bar setup in the computer room. Or a dumbwaiter that goes to the computer room. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/325 "2024-09-24T20:12:15Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Or a dumbwaiter that goes to the computer room. I have no need for such a thing but might try to make something like this work just because I think dumbwaiters are so awesome. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/326 "2024-09-24T20:56:00Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > or get a mug with a lid so it won’t spill when dropped Actually, I’ve been in the habit of tightly covering wine glasses with plastic wrap when I take them upstairs, but that’s because wine is usually going up with something else – dinner or a snack – and the journey is more precarious! > [@Spiderman](#): > > or even better, give up the Ceasers. Yeech! Your poor taste is my gain – more Caesar mix and seasoning in the world for me! > [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > What’s needed is a bar setup in the computer room. Not a bad idea, but it would need to be wet bar with a fridge. Quite a significant project! > [@LurkMeister](#): > > This is why when I was house hunting I tried to restrict my searches to single-story houses. Which was difficult because the standard house model in this area was putting all the bedrooms on the second floor. Ironically, I moved from a single-story house to this two-story about 12 years ago (wasn’t looking specifically for a two-story, but didn’t rule it out). It’s here that I’ve truly aged. In the old place I still did all my own gardening and snow shoveling. One good thing about this two-story design: the laundry room is very conveniently on the second floor. > [@Atamasama](#): > > > [@Yllaria](#): > > > > Or a dumbwaiter that goes to the computer room. > > I have no need for such a thing but might try to make something like this work just because I think dumbwaiters are so awesome. That would be awesome (but also a big project!). I wouldn’t seriously do it but just toying with the idea, it’s probably feasible with the house layout. My ideal fantasy, however, is an elevator! How many people have one of those in their homes? Major bragging rights! 😃 ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/327 "2024-09-24T20:58:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > My ideal fantasy, however, is an elevator! How many people have one of those in their homes? Major bragging rights! 😃 I know they exist because my agency has elevator inspectors and they sometimes grumble about having to go deal with elevators people build in their homes. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/328 "2024-09-24T21:47:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Ironically, I moved from a single-story house to this two-story about 12 years ago (wasn’t looking specifically for a two-story, but didn’t rule it out). It’s here that I’ve truly aged. In the old place I still did all my own gardening and snow shoveling. One good thing about this two-story design: the laundry room is very conveniently on the second floor. One of the houses I looked at had a second floor laundry room, which I thought was very convenient. Much better than the house I had in Chicago, which had a second floor bedroom and the laundry in the basement. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/329 "2024-09-24T22:00:07Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Speaking of schlepping, I’ve been schlepping food and drink upstairs to my computer room for years, and I’ve lately been starting to fear some horrific accident where something is dropped on the carpeted stairs. This is a reasonable fear inasmuch as I am an Old Fart who really needs to hold one hand to the railing. This is my great fear as well. Until 6 months ago, no biggie. The stairs had 28 year old carpet on them, that, well, was no longer ivory-colored. Stains were no great fear. Then we had hardwood installed, with a berber carpet runner down the middle. It’s far less slip-prone (the old carpeted stairs made numerous attempts to murder me). But spilling something would be bad. I bought plastic covers for my drinking cups, to reduce spill risk - and lately I don’t carry ANYTHING up the stairs, for similar reasons to yours. > [@wolfpup](#): > > One good thing about this two-story design: the laundry room is very conveniently on the second floor. We are seriously debating moving, as we age, to something with one story only. As noted, stairs are my enemy, and I’ve developed some health issues lately that make stair climbing really difficult. To age in place, I think we’d seriously need to install a chair lift. We recently stayed at an AirBnB which was fantastic - all one level, attached garage… but the laundry was in the basement. Nope. My husband did the laundry when we were there. Neighbors of ours have a closet on the bedroom level that is designed for a washer / dryer - but they put theirs in the basement (of a 2-story house). Nope, nope, nope. Ours at least is on the same level as the family room / kitchen, so while we do have to haul stuff up and down, it’s just one level, and we can hang out and be productive while doing the laundry. A friend just moved to a condo in another city. Her building was 4 stories, had an elevator, and underground parking. Her new place… second floor, no elevator, a tall staircase to get to her place, and outdoor parking. I love the place but could not live there. ---
**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:** [September 24, 2024, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/330 "2024-09-24T22:07:58Z")
I will say I hate carpeted stairs. We have carpeted stairs in our house that we’ve been in for 12 years now. (We are the first and only owners, we bought the house before it was built.) I’ve said these stairs will kill me someday. If you walk downstairs with socks on and aren’t careful to put your foot on a stair properly, it becomes a bumpy ramp. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve slipped and I even broke my toe once when I slid and twisted my big toe under my foot as I went. Not fun. My dream is to rip out that damn carpet and replace it with textured rubber pads. It will probably be a dream for a long time. We will see if I survive long enough to make it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2024, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/331 "2024-09-24T22:19:30Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’ve said these stairs will kill me someday. If you walk downstairs with socks on and aren’t careful to put your foot on a stair properly, it becomes a bumpy ramp. The flooring people suggested we go with a berber carpet, versus traditional pile carpet. Because of the texture, it’s MUCH less slippery and I feel much safer. Having broken bones on our old stairs, TWICE, I appreciate this a great deal. I told the carpeting guy “WHEN, not IF, I fall, there needs to be some padding”. Hilariously enough, the only time I’ve fallen was while they were working on the stairs. I was in the family room, working while seated on the couch. I got up too fast, tripped over my own damn feet, and fell, bruising several bones. I still blame the stairs even though I was nowhere near them. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/332 "2024-09-25T01:20:09Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I would really like some sort of pendulum tray, where there’s a handle on the top and the tray hangs beneath it. That way the tray and the drink swing as a unit, which would prevent sloshing. All you (and @wolfpup) need is one of those adult sippy cups that are for drinking coffee in the car (I think those are what @Spiderman was referring to). You can take the lid off when you get where you are going. Keep another glass in your destination if you are too highfalutin’ to drink your beverage of choice out of it. There’s a theater we go to that’s wall-to-wall carpeted with plush red carpet. They serve their wine in clear plastic sippy cups with black lids. I save them because they’re great for using outside - keeps the gnats out! > [@LurkMeister](#): > > This is why when I was house hunting I tried to restrict my searches to single-story houses. Which was difficult because the standard house model in this area was putting all the bedrooms on the second floor. We told our realtor we wanted a single story house because we had large dogs who were both old and always wanted to be near us. Carrying a 70+ lb. dog up and down the stairs was not happening. We found one we like very much and while I don’t think we’ll be living here in 10 years (there’s a lot of property that needs to be cared for), it’s served us very well. The closer you are to the main part of town, though, the harder houses like ours are to find. Land gets more expensive, so they build up rather than out. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/333 "2024-09-25T01:22:58Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > All you (and @wolfpup) need is one of those adult sippy cups that are for drinking coffee in the car (I think those are what @Spiderman was referring to). I was more thinking of a Yeti / Stanley / whatever brand insulated cup, but I like your description of it better. 😄 ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/334 "2024-09-25T01:26:04Z")
Yeah, I think the official term for those is insulated travel mugs, but they’re for adults, so … ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/335 "2024-09-25T04:47:50Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Only this time I was trying to hold the glass, a USB stick, and a couple of bills I just got in the mail, all in one hand. And tragedy struck! Here you go! [![](https://www.usherettetrays.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/image6.jpeg) ](https://www.usherettetrays.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/image6.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2024, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/336 "2024-09-25T11:30:40Z")
Excellent idea - get yourself an usherette ! ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/337 "2024-09-25T12:04:13Z")
A young usherette able to nimbly navigate the stairs with no spillage of beverages, bringing me food and drink and catering to my every need sounds like just the ticket. Even better than a home elevator! ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/338 "2024-09-25T13:46:55Z")
Our run club is putting together a clothing order. Everything will be embroidered or printed with our logo on it; therefore, we are a bit limited in choices because everything is being customized for us - eg. this Nike top is only available in one (club) color because we’re using a third party to customize them. No issues there. One of the items is a pair of Under Armor joggers sweatpants. I even looked on UAs website; it seems the pants come in various waist sizes but only one length (well, two if you order ‘long’ but those are not available to us). Standard is 31’ inseam. They’ll look like a pair of clamdiggers on me. Seriously, that short, you’d see some leg above my sock. I’m not a prude, you’d see a lot more leg when I’m in shorts but I’m not going to buy something that makes it look like I’m wearing my kid brother’s clothing & that is the only option available. I could go anywhere else & buy pants that are long enough but then they won’t have the logo on them, not that I _need_ another pair of pants Yes, the person who put it together is on the shorter side; probably never even crossed his mind that the inseam is the same on large pants as it is on small ones. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/339 "2024-09-25T13:46:55Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > A young usherette able to nimbly navigate the stairs with no spillage of beverages, bringing me food and drink and catering to my every need sounds like just the ticket. Careful! That’s kinda how Sean Combs started out… ---
**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:** [September 25, 2024, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553/340 "2024-09-25T14:09:32Z")
They sell something called a “[dura-tote](https://www.farmvet.com/Dura-Tote?location=&quantity=1&stable-and-supplies-color=15&CAWELAID=120037530000030785&gclid=CjwKCAjw6c63BhAiEiwAF0EH1ENTmo-MZE7JWIs4Ucao8LBvshpjY55lMGkT_3ZVa9BdjADUqqR3_BoCuhUQAvD_BwE)” for about $16.00 plus shipping. They say it’s for farm use, but no one will ever know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/schlep-timbre-september-mini-rants/1006553.md?page=18)