# Twenty Days Has October Rants - The Rest Are On Furlough **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 1, 2013, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074 "2013-10-01T07:23:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/261 "2013-10-12T04:47:35Z")
Try the children’s sizes? I often find decently-thick socks there, and in the US it’s where I need to shop for shoes as well (size 3 feet). ---
**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 12, 2013, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/262 "2013-10-12T04:50:38Z")
My husband loves Wilson brand socks, because they are very comfortable and wear well. They come in [women’s sizes](http://www.wilsonsportsocks.com/products.cgi?categ=men2&page=1) as well. They are pricy, but at least some of the women’s styles are cushioned. Read the descriptions, and note that the price is for two, three, or six pairs. They have some boys’ socks in the Clearance section, too, which might work for you. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/263 "2013-10-12T11:17:46Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Men’s socks are larger than women’s socks, in both length and width. If she has feet that are longer and wider than the average woman, then buying men’s socks is a good solution. However, if men’s socks are too big for her, then wearing them could cause blisters. > > Same basic idea when it comes to buying men’s jeans or pants, if you’re a woman. The garment is cut differently…most men’s jeans don’t have as much room for the hips and butt as women’s jeans do, and women NEED that room, or else the waistband gapes terribly. Or you opt for the comfortable and well made mens jeans, and learn to tailor in the waist with a set of 2 or 4 neatly done darts. The other option is trying to set a diamond gusset in the crotch. Which is easier to you? I prefer to nip the waist. ---
**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 12, 2013, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/264 "2013-10-12T11:24:49Z")
I can put darts into ready to wear slacks, but I’ve never managed to make neat darts in jeans, because of the multiple thicknesses of denim (which is quite thick enough already). This is also a consideration when hemming up the jeans. I’m quite short. Instead, I opted to change my dressing style to skirts. I even have to hem the women’s pants that are labeled as short, and I am so VERY tired of buying clothes that have to be altered before I can wear them. If I’m going to spend time sewing, then I’ll make the entire garment, and I’ll do it right. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/265 "2013-10-12T11:37:21Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > At least she uses her blinkers so people know to try to dodge. Of course that is just reinforcing her way of driving, but I’ve seen this a lot. Blinkers go on and car tries to run me over, so I dodge. > > I’m sorry. I laughed, then wanted to point out that he’s not that dumb, he’s got a human slave to clean it up for him. > > Karen and I cooked up a plan where I gave her money to buy a mommy cam and she asked Bill to install it because she didn’t want cats in the kitchen garbage can. Now that Bill knows that its really something that she wants and all, he was happy to set it up. > > Tonight, I found Lucky stuck in the bay window bench again. Your gonna need more than one camera… ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/266 "2013-10-12T11:44:13Z")
Pet peeve: Why have laptop power cables always come in two pieces that you HAVE to connect together, or otherwise it’s useless – yet neither piece has any usefulness by itself? It’s ridiculous. After finding myself without a usable computer on several occasions (weekend trips and the like), now I ALWAYS permanently duct-tape the two segments together, the MOMENT I take a new laptop out of its box. It’s like if they sold you a car with two halves – chainsawed right down the middle – and every morning you had to put the two halves back together before you could drive the thing. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/267 "2013-10-12T18:02:07Z")
Because that way they can make the part with the transformer for the whole world and only change the other, much cheaper, part depending on where the laptop is being sent. And there’s no need for duct tape… mine have never lost a tail. Do you duct-tape your car’s tires as well? Nobody is expecting anyone to unplug the tail daily. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/268 "2013-10-12T18:08:42Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Or you opt for the comfortable and well made mens jeans, and learn to tailor in the waist with a set of 2 or 4 neatly done darts. The other option is trying to set a diamond gusset in the crotch. Which is easier to you? I prefer to nip the waist. I’m guessing you have a sewing machine. I move enough times to make that impractical. And in my case it has to be two darts (thanks for the word by the way), one is simply never enough. Men’s jeans would require fitting the leg too, rather than merely shortening it, unless I felt like doing a Bee Gees impersonation… ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/269 "2013-10-12T18:34:17Z")
So it turns out that FailEx lied to me and that they could in fact leave a ticket at my door for me to sign. How it is that they always manage to come when I’m taking a nap is beyond me. But it’s always nice to have confirmation that they’re lying sacks of shit lest at some future date I might be tempted to give them the benefit of the doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/270 "2013-10-12T20:24:28Z")
So Sears has decided to go all high-tech and shit just before the Christmas season. Big mistake. I was there yesterday to buy a nozzle for my air compressor, and the guy who checked me out had an iPad on the counter in front of him. “You’ll have to bear with me, as this will take a bit of time.”, says he. So he tippy-taps all over the iPad, asks me for my phone number for some reason, **physically types in the stock number** , hits a few more things, THEN goes to the cash register and starts going through all this bullshit again, including asking for my phone number again! The entire checkout took about five minutes _for one item_. WTF? This thing isn’t integrated? And why are you typing in the stock number instead of using a scanner for the bar code? This isn’t progress, folks. To his credit, the guy (who was about my age), was not at all happy with this process. “Can you believe they’re going to make us do this through Christmas?” I told him to expect a lot of pissed off customers initially, but that frustration levels would decline as more and more people avoided Sears like the plague during the month of December. I strongly advise you not to buy stock in the company during the next few months. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/271 "2013-10-12T21:09:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I strongly advise you not to buy stock in the company during the next few months. No, no, no. You should hurry and try to get some now while you still can. Oooo, that and some JC Penny toilet paper, err, I mean ‘stock’ too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/272 "2013-10-12T21:22:02Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > You know, come to think on it, there’s really no reason that stop signs have to be _only_ on corners… Yep thats the way they do it in East St Louis. Random stop signs can be midblock or not at all. Not that anyone pays attn anyway. ---
**Author:** ![AHarris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bcef8e/32.png) [@AHarris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHarris)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/273 "2013-10-12T21:24:47Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Because that way they can make the part with the transformer for the whole world and only change the other, much cheaper, part depending on where the laptop is being sent. And there’s no need for duct tape… mine have never lost a tail. Do you duct-tape your car’s tires as well? Nobody is expecting anyone to unplug the tail daily. That would make sense, but on some laptop models that I have seen, the connector where the transformer meets the cord is different for different regions. I suspect it’s more a case of ‘if this fails while it is still under warranty, we can save a few cents by just sending a replacement transformer and not the rest of the cord’. ---
**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 12, 2013, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/274 "2013-10-12T22:58:21Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So Sears has decided to go all high-tech and shit just before the Christmas season. Big mistake. I was there yesterday to buy a nozzle for my air compressor, and the guy who checked me out had an iPad on the counter in front of him. “You’ll have to bear with me, as this will take a bit of time.”, says he. So he tippy-taps all over the iPad, asks me for my phone number for some reason, **physically types in the stock number** , hits a few more things, THEN goes to the cash register and starts going through all this bullshit again, including asking for my phone number again! The entire checkout took about five minutes _for one item_. > > WTF? This thing isn’t integrated? And why are you typing in the stock number instead of using a scanner for the bar code? This isn’t progress, folks. To his credit, the guy (who was about my age), was not at all happy with this process. “Can you believe they’re going to make us do this through Christmas?” I told him to expect a lot of pissed off customers initially, but that frustration levels would decline as more and more people avoided Sears like the plague during the month of December. > > I strongly advise you not to buy stock in the company during the next few months. Sears makes some very, very strange decisions. We had a local Sears (within walking distance for me) that was a discount outlet store, and was busy and making all kinds of money (I assume, since it was always full of people buying stuff), so they decided to change it from a discount outlet to a regular store. I think it took about two years for the store to fail, and now there is no Sears there. Way to not be able to read your clientele, Sears. I could have told them that wouldn’t work, but they didn’t ask me. If I run into the same painful process as you, **Chefguy** , I won’t be shopping there any more, either. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/275 "2013-10-12T23:15:21Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Sears makes some very, very strange decisions. We had a local Sears (within walking distance for me) that was a discount outlet store, and was busy and making all kinds of money (I assume, since it was always full of people buying stuff), so they decided to change it from a discount outlet to a regular store. I think it took about two years for the store to fail, and now there is no Sears there. Way to not be able to read your clientele, Sears. I could have told them that wouldn’t work, but they didn’t ask me. > > If I run into the same painful process as you, **Chefguy** , I won’t be shopping there any more, either. It was weird, because downstairs in women’s clothing, there was no such setup. Interestingly enough, we left there to go to Penney’s for some towels that were on sale. The cashier desk had an iPad-type computer built right into the counter top. The cashier scanned the items over it, which apparently took care of all the necessary information, I swiped my card, and done in about 30 seconds. Re: your story. I remember about 20+ years ago I went to a Sears to buy some shoes. When I got to the counter and gave the woman my Visa card she told me “Sorry, we only take Sears credit cards.” They lost my business for about ten years after that. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/276 "2013-10-12T23:47:24Z")
> [@The\_Vorlon](#): > > Your gonna need more than one camera… You are so right. I just trimmed Bob’s claws, he doesn’t have opposible thumbs, but somehow he still manages to work locks. > [@deltasigma](#): > > So it turns out that FailEx lied to me and that they could in fact leave a ticket at my door for me to sign. How it is that they always manage to come when I’m taking a nap is beyond me. But it’s always nice to have confirmation that they’re lying sacks of shit lest at some future date I might be tempted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Back when I lived in BFE, the delivery guys were so good. They would POUND on the door if they saw my car in the driveway. If they didn’t think I was home, they would put my packages in the barn and leave a note on my door. Now that I live in a more populated area, deliveries suck. I’ve stopped having packages sent to our home, they all go to work. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/277 "2013-10-13T00:59:37Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I’m guessing you have a sewing machine. I move enough times to make that impractical. And in my case it has to be two darts (thanks for the word by the way), one is simply never enough. Men’s jeans would require fitting the leg too, rather than merely shortening it, unless I felt like doing a Bee Gees impersonation… It is at minimum 2 darts, evenly spaced on each side of the waist. If I add a third it goes in the back. And I generally do quick sewing jobs like putting in darts by hand, and I will remove the waistband and trim the excess fabric so it isn’t bulky. > [@Nava](#): > > Because that way they can make the part with the transformer for the whole world and only change the other, much cheaper, part depending on where the laptop is being sent. And there’s no need for duct tape… mine have never lost a tail. Do you duct-tape your car’s tires as well? Nobody is expecting anyone to unplug the tail daily. And if you accidentally pull the cord just wrong it will disconnect - I frequently will get mine trapped by the wheels of the hospital table I use in bed. Since I am using it without a battery, it tanks the computer and I have to plug it back in and boot it up all over again, and whatever I was working on may be lost. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/278 "2013-10-13T01:20:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So Sears has decided to go all high-tech and shit just before the Christmas season. Big mistake. I was there yesterday to buy a nozzle for my air compressor, and the guy who checked me out had an iPad on the counter in front of him. “You’ll have to bear with me, as this will take a bit of time.”, says he. So he tippy-taps all over the iPad, asks me for my phone number for some reason, **physically types in the stock number** , hits a few more things, THEN goes to the cash register and starts going through all this bullshit again, including asking for my phone number again! The entire checkout took about five minutes _for one item_. > > WTF? This thing isn’t integrated? And why are you typing in the stock number instead of using a scanner for the bar code? This isn’t progress, folks. To his credit, the guy (who was about my age), was not at all happy with this process. “Can you believe they’re going to make us do this through Christmas?” I told him to expect a lot of pissed off customers initially, but that frustration levels would decline as more and more people avoided Sears like the plague during the month of December. > > I strongly advise you not to buy stock in the company during the next few months. Kind of reminds me of a chain we HAD, known as Lechmere–it was a great place to get hi-tech stuff until Monkey Wards bought it–they changed the register system so that the clerk had to sign in FOR EACH TRANSACTION. This went well over the holidays, the lines went to the mattress department at the back of the store, which had almost never seen a customer since they brought the department in. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/279 "2013-10-13T01:28:27Z")
I have a new best friend. We met because he ran out of their house to pet Buttercup. He’s young 20’s, around 6’4" and very strong. And mentally disabled. I don’t know what to do about this. I’ve never had a Down’s Syndrom friend before. He seems to be very nice and happy. His caretaker seemed worried about him hugging me, but he didn’t hurt me or touch me wrong. I think I like him. I just wish I knew better how to be his friend. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/280 "2013-10-13T02:15:12Z")
People tend to be afraid of retarded people, esp. when that person is a grown man. Trust me, I have a retarded brother, and he’s 50+ now. When I was in high school, and he was home visiting (he’s mentally about 3 and uneducable except for the really basic things, and has been institutionalized his whole life), some of my pals mothers would not allow them to come over. Ignorant fear of god only knows what. Be friendly, listen, smile, look at him directly, if you want to continue the friendship bring little presents of things he may like, hold his hand if you’re comfortable with that, or he is, laugh with him, be patient–they can be so very loving, and IMHO, you’re very lucky. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074.md?page=15)