# The Rants Came Marching One By One (March minirants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 1, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588 "2014-03-01T13:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**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:** [March 12, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/201 "2014-03-12T16:49:23Z")
On the plus side, in a call to the Department of Revenue, no one is using TheKid’s SSN to work under. But it’s still confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/202 "2014-03-12T16:51:53Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > \*bonus points if there are screeching children or animals in the background. I don’t know, were you calling a combination daycare/veterinarian’s office? ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/203 "2014-03-12T18:46:01Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > Lots of snipping…but I’ve got some questions. > > Is it new carpeting? If so, he might be reacting to the smell of the under pad outgassing. If this is the case, leave the windows open as much as possible. It can’t be good for you or your kitties. > > If its old carpeting, some other cat might have been going there, so he’s trying to cover it up with his scent. > > Get some enzyme cleaner (you have carpets now, so buy it in the gallon bottle) and just hose the area. You can stop when you are the last one to have marked the area. > > You said he’s getting old, and didn’t you once say he was a Maine Coon, or some sort of **big** fluffy cat? > > Giant breeds tend to develop joint problems. Aging cats often develop joint problems. If it hurts him to get into the box, he will find another place. While you are getting the enzyme cleaner, look for a lower litter box, or look for ones with really low cutouts at the front of the box. > > When my big ol’ fluffy guy got old, I took him to the groomer for crew cuts just so I didn’t have to deal with poop stuck to fur. He couldn’t squat properly because of his sore hips and it would get suck to the long hair on the back of his legs. > > My rant: I was eating sticky candy and pulled a crown off. As if that wasn’t enough, I bit down on the crown and broke the tooth. Damnit, I HATE going to the dentist. New carpet, but I’ve been there since November so any off-gassing should be done by now. The litter box has a low opening, and I have clippers specially dedicated for cat fur and I’m not afraid to use them! However, my mom had a baby gate for her cat that she wasn’t using and I’ve borrowed that. So far, so good. Fingers crossed! Oh, yeah, and I do have enzyme cleaner but I realized it’s a couple of years old. Does that stuff lose potency? It has no expiration date, but still … Off to GQ to start a thread … ---
**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:** [March 12, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/204 "2014-03-12T19:10:20Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > For the love of all that is unholy - if you’re running a business, do not answer a call to your (alleged) business line with “hello?”.\* > > It also doesn’t add to an air of professionalism if you then explain that you’re a) driving, and b) thought it was your wife calling.\ > \*bonus points if there are screeching children or animals in the background. Oy vey. City hall didn’t go too badly - they sent us away and told us to talk to our survey company (we need to get our [Real Property Report](http://www.reca.ca/industry/content/legislation-bulletins/information-bulletins/real-property-reports.html)approved since we took ten feet of fence down). I reserve the right to rant about this whole process in the future, however. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/205 "2014-03-12T20:28:11Z")
Just a slight warning… If you’re looking for a slightly less highbrow discussion forum and find DCJunkies, just keep on looking. There’s lowbrow, then there’s “literally dumber than 4chan”. ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2014, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/206 "2014-03-12T23:26:51Z")
After another annual round of narcissistic “woe is me, my ex-wife was horrible and ruined my life” bout of emotional vomiting onto Facebook by my father in conjunction with what would have been their anniversary, I said fuck it and unfriended him. There was a long-winded conversation beforehand wherein I was put on trial for my mother’s sins (because he didn’t have any), like always. Feels good. I think. Ask me tomorrow. ---
**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:** [March 12, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/207 "2014-03-12T23:50:34Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Comcast has started calling me again about “Shannon”'s account. I’ve been over this ground too many times and told them repeatedly that I’ve had this number for a year, I don’t know her, and stop fucking calling me. > > Stupid motherfucker even asked me to get ahold of her and tell her they needed to talk to her. > > Gee, when I bought this phone from T-Mobile and they gave me this number, they neglected to introduce me to the previous number holder. Obviously their fault. > > What pisses me off even more is that while I am showing annoyance at their calls, I haven’t been swearing at them, and I’m still getting attitude from them about how _I_ need to keep the call professional when I’m only telling them that it’s been my number for over a year now, I’ve told this to more of them than I care to, and stop calling me now. I get collection calls about someone named Sparkle’s student loans. It’s been going on over a year now, I wasn’t even in school myself when the calls started. One collection place will call a few times, I finally am able to answer the phone and tell them that there’s no “Sparkle” at this number, they apologize and the calls stop for a while. But then a few weeks later a different company is calling. There’s no Sparkle here, morons! ---
**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:** [March 13, 2014, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/208 "2014-03-13T00:32:52Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > I get collection calls about someone named Sparkle’s student loans. It’s been going on over a year now, I wasn’t even in school myself when the calls started. One collection place will call a few times, I finally am able to answer the phone and tell them that there’s no “Sparkle” at this number, they apologize and the calls stop for a while. But then a few weeks later a different company is calling. There’s no Sparkle here, morons! [“Ain’t no fucking Thelma here, man!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHSoN8t6x3M) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/209 "2014-03-13T07:39:33Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > For the love of all that is unholy - if you’re running a business, do not answer a call to your (alleged) business line with “hello?”.\* I do that (well, it’s usually “good morning”), but it’s because answering with my name doesn’t help. Most of my calls are from foreign agents who have serious trouble pronouncing my name and wouldn’t recognize it from my pronunciation. We normally spend a couple of minutes just on “ch like chocolate,” then we have “the z is mute… it’s not pronounced…” and “no it’s not Mahrrrrrrrree-ah, it’s Mahreeah”. Not that I think it was the case with whomever you were calling, mind you, just my own minirant about “why the heck couldn’t my parents have called me Ana and my dad have been a Sánchez”. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/210 "2014-03-13T12:22:19Z")
I think his complaint was that if you’re expecting calls from the public, you should probably answer the phone as “Hello, this is (Business Name)” at minimum. Answering just “hello?” makes potential customers think they’ve called a wrong number. And yeah, I get the name issue. I stick with my first name - unless I’d really like to annoy whoever I’m dealing with. 😉 (I did once tell an ER doctor “just call me (first name)” when he struggled with my surname, and he responded with a very genuine, “well, call me (his first name) then!”) ---
**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:** [March 13, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/211 "2014-03-13T13:00:14Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > For the love of all that is unholy - if you’re running a business, do not answer a call to your (alleged) business line with “hello?”.\* I once misdialed a number and got a computer repair shop in Ohio. The guy who answered said, “X Computer Repair, weeeeee looove your business!” Awkward. One of my cousins took her kids to a store yesterday…she was absolutely shocked when a complete stranger woman told her kids to hush (she says the little snowflakes were just “singing joyfully”). The butthurt on Facebook has been delightful…lots of “if I wasn’t a good Christian woman, I would have done/said something!” from her and her friends. My favorite: “should have told her it’s a good thing there’s a commandment against murder!” (Disclaimer: As a child, I was never shushed by a stranger, but I did have some old guy tell me to quit poking the grapes in a grocery store. Mom didn’t flip out over it.) ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/212 "2014-03-13T14:01:36Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Comcast has started calling me again about “Shannon”'s account. I’ve been over this ground too many times and told them repeatedly that I’ve had this number for a year, I don’t know her, and stop fucking calling me. > > Stupid motherfucker even asked me to get ahold of her and tell her they needed to talk to her. > > Gee, when I bought this phone from T-Mobile and they gave me this number, they neglected to introduce me to the previous number holder. Obviously their fault. > > What pisses me off even more is that while I am showing annoyance at their calls, I haven’t been swearing at them, and I’m still getting attitude from them about how _I_ need to keep the call professional when I’m only telling them that it’s been my number for over a year now, I’ve told this to more of them than I care to, and stop calling me now. Ugh. I get calls for the County Senior Services. I never answer the home phone so they get the machine and hear “You’ve reached the Kelevra residence. Please leave a message.” And then I hear a message asking for bus service. _I have had my phone number for 14 years! Are you looking at a 15 year old phone book?._ ---
**Author:** ![Cheez\_Whia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d26b3c/32.png) [@Cheez\_Whia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheez_Whia)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/213 "2014-03-13T14:04:10Z")
Well, I have just been informed (not ASKED, mind you!) that both of my husband’s sisters will be coming for a visit in May. The good news is that both of them are bringing their travel trailers, so I don’t have to figure out sleeping arrangements. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/214 "2014-03-13T14:10:33Z")
> [@Avarie537](#): > > After another annual round of narcissistic “woe is me, my ex-wife was horrible and ruined my life” bout of emotional vomiting onto Facebook by my father in conjunction with what would have been their anniversary, I said fuck it and unfriended him. There was a long-winded conversation beforehand wherein I was put on trial for my mother’s sins (because he didn’t have any), like always. > > Feels good. I think. Ask me tomorrow. Still feel good? My ex is still bitter over our divorce 22 years later. He constantly runs me down to the kids and the absolute best part is that with my daughter he also tells her all the time how much like me she is (that part is at least true). She just received her reprinted birth certificate, she started talking about changing her name a year ago and it’s now official. He’s shocked of course. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/215 "2014-03-13T14:17:17Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > Well, I have just been informed (not ASKED, mind you!) that both of my husband’s sisters will be coming for a visit in May. The good news is that both of them are bringing their travel trailers, so I don’t have to figure out sleeping arrangements. But where are they going to park said travel trailers? On your lawn? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/216 "2014-03-13T14:42:08Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > I think his complaint was that if you’re expecting calls from the public, you should probably answer the phone as “Hello, this is (Business Name)” at minimum. Answering just “hello?” makes potential customers think they’ve called a wrong number. Yeah but when your name and the name of your business (changed to protect the guilty) is Marisol López de Guevara Ochagavía, answering foreigners with “hello, this is Marisol López de Guevara Ochagavía, how may I help you?” can get either “uhhhhh… can I speak with mah rrree sowl loh PES de we fa rrraaa o ka gay fee AH?” or “I am sorry, I was trying to reach mah rrree sowl loh PES de we fa rrraaa o ka gay fee AH, is he there?”; “I am trying to reach mah rrrrree sowl o ka ga fii AH” is also possible. Similar results are obtained for “this is Marisol López” and for “this is Marisol López de Guevara”. Saying “good morning!” avoids the second and third options, for some reason I don’t think I’ll ever understand. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/217 "2014-03-13T17:30:49Z")
I… have no idea why that helps, **Nava**. That’s so weird. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2014, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/218 "2014-03-13T23:57:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Ugh. I get calls for the County Senior Services. I never answer the home phone so they get the machine and hear “You’ve reached the Kelevra residence. Please leave a message.” And then I hear a message asking for bus service. I have had my phone number for 14 years! Are you looking at a 15 year old phone book?. I used to get collection agencies calling my number and asking me to go get a person who lived in an entirely different apartment in the same building. Not only were we and said neighbor not on speaking terms, but I was not being paid to be an agent for this company. I just said, “No.” ---
**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:** [March 14, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/219 "2014-03-14T00:38:09Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > \ > One of my cousins took her kids to a store yesterday…she was absolutely shocked when a complete stranger woman told her kids to hush (she says the little snowflakes were just “singing joyfully”). \ I bet they were - like the little troglodytes across the street from me just “sing joyfully” (at the top of their lungs) in their yard every day in summer. Well, no insurance for our roof - there isn’t any hail damage - just age damage. Oh well - we knew _that_ was up there. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2014, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588/220 "2014-03-14T01:54:41Z")
Darn. Crap. Just tried to order a concert ticket online, and they rejected my debit credit card. Second time it’s happened in the past little while too. I wish I had a real proper credit card that worked. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-rants-came-marching-one-by-one-march-minirants/682588.md?page=12)