# The Hunt for Rant October---minirant time! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2012, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386 "2012-10-01T10:51:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/441 "2012-10-22T13:58:59Z")
Last time we were having elections, there were two ladies from one of the lists handing out postcards: a pretty picture on one side, without even their logo, and a bullet-point extract of their program on the other side, with the logo. We took some; one of the women told my mother “you know, I don’t think you look like our target voters”. “Oh, I’m not, but I do think you’re a better choice than most and I do love the pictures. It’s the first time I see a political handout that’s not junk!” ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/442 "2012-10-22T14:31:15Z")
I get political e-mail! From Newt Gingrich! \ How the hell did I get on THEIR list \ ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/443 "2012-10-22T15:25:09Z")
For a while there, I was getting political email from Republican candidates…from Arizona and New Mexico. I don’t know how I got onto their lists. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/444 "2012-10-22T15:46:34Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Are they removing them by chopping them down? If so, that’s where their mistake is. What they need to do is pull them up by the roots; then if anyone gets all up in their grille about it, they can just say that they’re transporting the trees to be replanted on a farm “upstate.” > > If you catch my drift. Heh heh. I’ll suggest it to them, including the farm upstate bit. > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > For a while there, I was getting political email from Republican candidates…from Arizona and New Mexico. I don’t know how I got onto their lists. By breathing, being alive, being a member of the phylum chordata… ---
**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 22, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/445 "2012-10-22T16:50:56Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Between the political ads and Walmart’s layaway commercials, I think I’m going to start TiVoing EVERYTHING, even the morning news. I DVR everything because I hate commercials in general. Bonus hatred for seeing the same commercial blip by at least 3 times in an hour program. Another benefit to DVRing: I can watch an hour program in 40-45 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![Baracus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@Baracus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baracus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/446 "2012-10-22T18:30:44Z")
Go to dentist. Need a filling. Cha-ching! Come out of dentist. What’s that noise? The radiator fan running for no reason other than to drain the battery to the point the car won’t start. Whippee! Get home. Dog has crapped in the middle of the family room. Can the day be over yet? ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/447 "2012-10-22T23:01:03Z")
I’m not sure how “mini” this rant is, but it doesn’t warrant its own thread. I am a fan of Spider Robinson’s _Callahan_ series. Over the years, I have hung out in various online incarnations: first a MUSH, then Usenet (alt.callahans), LiveJournal, now Facebook. Of course, in all those years, I have gotten to know certainpeople reasonably well; some of them I friended on LJ and Facebook and got to know them more. Last Friday, the wife of a fellow Callahanian (whom I have known online for probably 10+ years) died suddenly. They were married for ~40 years, and were still utterly devoted to each other. I was very sad to learn of her death, and have been thinking about it since. Not obsessively, but I’ve been melancholy. And I can’t really tell anyone or explain it to people. You would think it wouldn’t be the case anymore, but most people still don’t understand how a “merely” online relationship can be meaningful, and touch your emotions in a real way. Just because I’ve never met these people in person doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care, or be touched by the sudden loss. But somehow, I get the feeling that if I try to talk to people about it, I’m a geeky freak who isn’t in touch with reality or something. Anyway, I’m ranting here, because I figure if anyone would understand how meaningful an online community can be, it would Dopers. I’m sad for my friend. And I wish I could talk about it in a way that people would understand. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/448 "2012-10-22T23:24:00Z")
{{ **Indyellen** }} It’s weird how people sometimes just go ‘Ohh, someone online’, like that means they’re not a real person- but if you said someone was your penpal for the last 10 years, that would be fine, you’re allowed to admit that they’re a friend, even a good friend. My rant really is mini- the flat fire alarm has gone funny, and claims a ‘general fault’, unfortunately, this means it’s beeping loudly and irregularly. I can hear it in my bedroom. Someone’s coming to fix it tomorrow, at least according to the agency, but until then there’s nothing I can do- it’s hardwired in so we can’t turn it off. It’s a piece of crap, and cries wolf at random, so everyone just ignores it anyway. Ugh, I’m probably going to have to sleep with earplugs in tonight, if I can find them. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/449 "2012-10-23T03:19:28Z")
Yesterday I made a batch of spiced pumpkin soup. Today, even though I’ve washed my hands SEVERAL times since last night, my hands STILL smell like curry powder. What the hell do I need to do, soak my hands in vanilla extract? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/450 "2012-10-23T03:24:44Z")
Chop up some garlic and fish. THAT should cover up any lingering curry smell. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/451 "2012-10-23T03:54:23Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Yesterday I made a batch of spiced pumpkin soup. Today, even though I’ve washed my hands SEVERAL times since last night, my hands STILL smell like curry powder. What the hell do I need to do, soak my hands in vanilla extract? Run them over the stainless steel faucet in your sink - stainless steel kills odours on skin for some arcane reason. My mini-rant - I got home from work (half hour drive) and went to grab my backpack (which has my purse in it) off the passenger seat, and oh no - where is it? Oh, I guess I left it on the desk at work. :smack: By this time it’s full on rush hour, so my half hour drive home would be probably 3/4 of an hour now to get back there, and they’ll probably be closed by the time I get there (not to mention fighting rush hour traffic there and back again, which I don’t want to do in the best of circumstances). So I call my husband’s cellphone because his company’s head office is close to my work, but his stupid phone doesn’t ring as usual (he wasn’t in the area anyway, so I guess that was moot). Stupid forgetting something as important as my purse! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/452 "2012-10-23T03:54:45Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Yesterday I made a batch of spiced pumpkin soup. Today, even though I’ve washed my hands SEVERAL times since last night, my hands STILL smell like curry powder. What the hell do I need to do, soak my hands in vanilla extract? Baking soda or stainless steel. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2012, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/453 "2012-10-23T04:12:32Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > I’m not sure how “mini” this rant is, but it doesn’t warrant its own thread. > > I am a fan of Spider Robinson’s _Callahan_ series. Over the years, I have hung out in various online incarnations: first a MUSH, then Usenet (alt.callahans), LiveJournal, now Facebook. Of course, in all those years, I have gotten to know certainpeople reasonably well; some of them I friended on LJ and Facebook and got to know them more. > > Last Friday, the wife of a fellow Callahanian (whom I have known online for probably 10+ years) died suddenly. They were married for ~40 years, and were still utterly devoted to each other. I was very sad to learn of her death, and have been thinking about it since. Not obsessively, but I’ve been melancholy. > > And I can’t really tell anyone or explain it to people. You would think it wouldn’t be the case anymore, but most people still don’t understand how a “merely” online relationship can be meaningful, and touch your emotions in a real way. Just because I’ve never met these people in person doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care, or be touched by the sudden loss. But somehow, I get the feeling that if I try to talk to people about it, I’m a geeky freak who isn’t in touch with reality or something. > > Anyway, I’m ranting here, because I figure if anyone would understand how meaningful an online community can be, it would Dopers. > > I’m sad for my friend. And I wish I could talk about it in a way that people would understand. ☹ Drink a shot in her memory, then smash the glass into the nearest fireplace. And have another shot for yourself, if you feel you need it. Be well. Grieve. Heal. Take your time. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/454 "2012-10-23T04:43:40Z")
What he said. We understand. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/455 "2012-10-23T05:32:34Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > And I can’t really tell anyone or explain it to people. You would think it wouldn’t be the case anymore, but most people still don’t understand how a “merely” online relationship can be meaningful, and touch your emotions in a real way. Just because I’ve never met these people in person doesn’t mean I shouldn’t care, or be touched by the sudden loss. But somehow, I get the feeling that if I try to talk to people about it, I’m a geeky freak who isn’t in touch with reality or something. When I explain something like that to most people, I just skip the O word. My family knows that “the husband of a friend from the forums” has been in the hospital for way too long due to West Nile Virus; other people know that “the husband of an American friend” has been in the hospital for way too long due to West Nile Virus. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/456 "2012-10-23T12:42:56Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Run them over the stainless steel faucet in your sink - stainless steel kills odours on skin for some arcane reason. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Baking soda or stainless steel. My kitchen sink is porcelain-clad cast iron, but I’ll try the baking soda. Actually, I may just let it go - the smell is very faint now and it’s not like my fingers smell like ASS. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/457 "2012-10-23T14:22:08Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I was reading an article recently on Canada Post, that they are set to focus the majority of their business on parcel delivery rather than personal mail. I can only imagine that the USPS will do the same. People got all huffy when the USPS suggested dropping Saturday delivery and only going to five days a week, I can’t imagine the bruhaha that would ensue if they did what you are suggesting. People get very entitled down here. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/458 "2012-10-23T14:52:27Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > My kitchen sink is porcelain-clad cast iron, but I’ll try the baking soda. > > Actually, I may just let it go - the smell is very faint now and it’s not like my fingers smell like ASS. Your _faucet_ is porcelain-clad cast iron? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/459 "2012-10-23T14:53:55Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > My kitchen sink is porcelain-clad cast iron, but I’ll try the baking soda. Not to belabor the point, but your faucet isn’t stainless steel? I just run my hands over the faucet occasionally when I have onion hands or something. > [@](#): > > Actually, I may just let it go - the smell is very faint now and it’s not like my fingers smell like ASS. You sound so disappointed - you know they can, right. 😃 > [@Kimballkid](#): > > People got all huffy when the USPS suggested dropping Saturday delivery and only going to five days a week, I can’t imagine the bruhaha that would ensue if they did what you are suggesting. People get very entitled down here. You guys have Saturday delivery? I did not know that. If you move into a new area in Calgary, you get NO home mail delivery - it’s all neighbourhood superboxes now. I’ve lived with that, and it really isn’t so bad - so you walk 15 feet to pick up your mail instead of going to the front door. ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386/460 "2012-10-23T15:17:04Z")
Stupid Calgary drivers, and stupid Calgary weather. The rest of my poor family is STILL on the road - it has taken 2 hours to do a drive that normally takes 10 minutes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-hunt-for-rant-october-minirant-time/636386.md?page=24)