# 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:** 18
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/341 "2013-10-16T01:20:02Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Wow. > > What had she been doing to piss HER off? lol I blame Snooki. The snowstorm hit us so badly my street was blocked off in three places from dangling power lines and downed trees. The hurricane was nearly as bad. A friend’s house had a tree dangling over their house at a literal ninety degree angle afterwards. We had to tell kids not go anywhere near the house and they had to move out for a week. Most of my neighborhood had no power for over nine days. We were scared to leave the house because many traffic lights weren’t working at all. I imagine this is nothing for Floridians but it sure scared us up here! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/342 "2013-10-16T03:12:42Z")
> [@](#): > > Are you sure he has Down Syndrome? That kind of height is rare in that population. I was gonna suggest that, FragileX, my brother’s syndrome, would be a thought, they (FragileX men) do grow quite tall. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/343 "2013-10-16T04:24:10Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I hate it when people do that to the poor trees - no, they won’t grow back, at least any time soon. > > People “skirt” pine/spruce trees like that around here for security reasons - they want to make the house more visible. I still don’t like it - I’d rather put in some security lights or something. > [@blondebear](#): > > “They” is the apartment manager, who really is one of the resident Nuns who took over when the “real” manager died. It’s not her fault; there were some broken/damaged branches that needed to be taken down, but the tree dudes didn’t stop with just those. I don’t know what the protocol is on trimming large Canary Island Pines, but I estimate they removed a good 70% of the foliage. > > They botched a trimming job on the tree in front of my place a couple of years ago and ended up having to cut it down. Now this…ugh. I guess it wouldn’t bother some people, but losing those trees is kind of a big deal to me. Ahh, OK. I’ve seen those poor trees. I always wonder what happens during windstorms with the trees so top heavy. The sway must be incredible. I’d mourn the trees as well, surely they will fall over or get cut down because they were swaying so much that people got scared. > [@EmilyG](#): > > {{ **Kalea** }} Best of luck to you. > > **flatlined** , I enjoy hearing about your and Buttercup’s new friend. 🙂 > [@Nava](#): > > Well, those who are a forever child are a real big one… when a 50yo, 90kg man throws a floor-stomping, windmilling, things-throwing tantrum because he doesn’t want his pacemaker checked, he’s as bad at reasoning as a 3yo but you can’t just sit him down in the corner until he calms down. > [@lorene](#): > > I know you mean well, but people with development disabilities are not just big toddlers. They can have adult thoughts and feelings, including sexual development in most cases, so just be aware of that. And as **Nava** pointed out, when that level of mental reasoning is combined with stubbornness and tantrums, it can be less sweet and cute and more frightening and frustrating. > > Are you sure he has Down Syndrome? That kind of height is [rare in that population](http://www.dsmig.org.uk/library/articles/guideline%20growth%20revision%202012.pdf). > [@DummyGladHands](#): > > I was gonna suggest that, FragileX, my brother’s syndrome, would be a thought, they (FragileX men) do grow quite tall. Thank you, **EmilyG**. Of course I don’t know what is wrong with the boy. That’s not something I’m going to ask and his Mom hasn’t volunteered it. I guess I just assumed, because I can tell that he’s a mental toddler. I have no experience or expertise in neurotypical kids, and even less with non-neurotypical kids. **Nava** , that sounded like you had personal experience and it sounds really scary. I have a lot of respect for caregivers who care for disabled people day after day and year after year. I am not this boy’s caretaker. I will never take that role on, I already have Tony. I’m just someone who is willing to take advantage of the boy’s strong ball throwing arm and walk him to the dog park. It makes our dog happy, it makes the boy happy and it makes his mom happy. I’m all about trying to add happiness to the world, so I’ll try to make this work. If the boy melts down because I have to cut the walk short, I will just call his mom and let her deal with it. We took our first solo walk today. We held hands while we crossed the street and the boy proudly opened and closed the gates to the dog park. Then I let them both off leash and JOY happened. My rant: Bob the cat is a space alien who is just learning our ways before we are invaded. He’s not a normal cat, he’s just acting like one and wearing a fur suit. I’m serious about this. Bob opens doors, he opens trash cans, holds up heavy bay window seats long enough to convince our idiot cat to jump in, and today I saw him messing around with the lock on one of the gun safes. I’ve looked at his feets, I trim his claws every month. He doesn’t have thumbs, but he’s a space alien afterall. They shape shift and stuff. ---
**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 16, 2013, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/344 "2013-10-16T04:33:36Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I don’t understand this as a punishment for not doing homework. I understand it as a punishment for privacy/trust related issues. I take away TV and video games because that is what my son is doing instead of his homework. I’m not sure how taking away privacy would combat that. Not doing homework IS a trust issue. And privacy is one of the things that teens value the most. While privacy is not directly related to homework, it’s an effective disciplinary tool for all sorts of behaviors. The equation was that if our daughter didn’t live up to the very reasonable standards we set forth for her, she would lose privileges. Privacy is a privilege. My husband grew up sharing a bedroom with several other boys. Incidentally, it was a teacher who suggested removing her door. It was one of his standard suggested punishments. It was fairly easy to implement, and it got very quick results. Plus the parents didn’t have to do a lot of monitoring. ---
**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:** [October 16, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/345 "2013-10-16T04:41:09Z")
More mindless, petty, inane bitching about my professors: I have my math class this semester at 8:00 AM on Tuesday and Thursday. If the professor did this intentionally, I feel obligated to call him satan and bring holy water to the next class, because this is the first time a class has had a schedule like this for me. Yes, I know most normal people have to be out of the house by 7:30 anyways, but dammit I’m still not happy about this. :mad: I mean, at least it’s just math… Which most people skip anyways, because the lectures are a waste of time and you get the most bang for your buck out of the tutor lessons. ---
**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 16, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/346 "2013-10-16T04:41:11Z")
> [@](#): > > My rant: Bob the cat is a space alien who is just learning our ways before we are invaded. He’s not a normal cat, he’s just acting like one and wearing a fur suit. I’m serious about this. Bob opens doors, he opens trash cans, holds up heavy bay window seats long enough to convince our idiot cat to jump in, and today I saw him messing around with the lock on one of the gun safes. > > I’ve looked at his feets, I trim his claws every month. He doesn’t have thumbs, but he’s a space alien afterall. They shape shift and stuff. Those are just the feets that he’s showing you. He has hands hidden away, possibly in that tummy apron, so it’s vital to search the tummy every chance you get. I have yet to find contraband in our cats’ tummy aprons, but I’m pretty sure that three of them are just ordinary terrestrial cats. The fourth one is scary smart…and rarely allows tummy rubs. Coincidence? I think not! ---
**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:** [October 16, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/347 "2013-10-16T05:55:53Z")
Yeah, big ol’ Al (referred to frequently by me around here simply as BigSmartCat cuz, really, that’s all you need to know about him) would occasionally absolutely creep me ‘n’ Other Shoe out sometimes. Just … A little TOO smart, yanno? Well balanced out by Nikki aka SmallDumbCat. My mom occasionally asks me why I call her dumb. “Do I not love her?” she asks me. (That’s a tiny but telling detail about her: dumb things aren’t necessarily as worthy of love, but I guess that’s for a different thread and a different time… ) I assure: I love that cat to pieces. She’s funny, sweet and affectionate to me, has a cute color pattern, and was blessed with fur like a chinchilla. Also 100% on the litter box, as opposed to Al who will pee on any bathmat he can find … (!). But trust me, I know: she was NOT blessed with a whole lotta extra brain cells to rub together. How do I know? How do I KNOW? I live with the creature, mom. KittehMENSA ain’t taking her in. ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/348 "2013-10-16T06:18:20Z")
I am fucking stupid. Whatever you do don’t have salt and sugar containers which are even slightly similar. gahhhh agahh gack. Dammit I was looking forward to those doughnuts ☹ ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/349 "2013-10-16T07:58:12Z")
The ones that are aliens can read your mind and know just how much to screw with you to keep you guessing. If you’re ever sure one way or the other, you’re wrong. Otherwise, you’ve nailed it. Yeah, think about that for a while - actually don’t. I’ve been alone with one of them too long and I think Stockholm syndrome is setting in. Sorry. ☹ ---
**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:** [October 16, 2013, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/350 "2013-10-16T10:41:06Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Not doing homework IS a trust issue. And privacy is one of the things that teens value the most. While privacy is not directly related to homework, it’s an effective disciplinary tool for all sorts of behaviors. > > The equation was that if our daughter didn’t live up to the very reasonable standards we set forth for her, she would lose privileges. Privacy is a privilege. My husband grew up sharing a bedroom with several other boys. > > Incidentally, it was a teacher who suggested removing her door. It was one of his standard suggested punishments. It was fairly easy to implement, and it got very quick results. Plus the parents didn’t have to do a lot of monitoring. There was a thread a while back about removing bedroom doors. I seem to recall people whose parents did that to them having more trust issues and resentment. It seems like something that can backfire in unexpected ways. Removing the implements of distraction would be more effective; at least it would have been for me. But, obviously, that’s just me. ---
**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 16, 2013, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/351 "2013-10-16T10:54:02Z")
> [@DummyGladHands](#): > > I was gonna suggest that, FragileX, my brother’s syndrome, would be a thought, they (FragileX men) do grow quite tall. Hm, I bet that is what was the issue with a man named Mark in a town we once lived in. Wonderful guy, mental age of probably 5-6 years old but he recognized people and their cars, and made a small living doing odd jobs for people and lived with a relative. He was in his 40s in the 1960s so he s probably dead now. Pity, he always had a smile and wave for people he recognized. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/352 "2013-10-16T14:22:31Z")
So there are enough scam threads going right now, so I’ll put this here: I have been searching for home rentals on Craigslist and I came upon one that looked like a possible scam. I say this because it had very little information and no phone number. Just out of morbid curiosity, I e-mailed and I got this reply: hello ivanpah yes it have refrigerator and washer/dryer,please do send me your emails so that i can send you the inside pictures thanks as i awaits your prompt response. best regards john Williams 1. Address was on Ivanpah Court. Scammer says “hello ivanpah.” red flag 2. Scammer does answer my question about appliances so I’ll give him that 3. Send me your e-mails? (s)??? 4. You already have my e-mail, dummy. Send the pics if you want. 5. “As I awaits your prompt response.” Classic spammer grammar. 6. john Williams. Yeah, one of the most American-sounding names ever and you can’t speak English? REDDD FLAGGG ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/353 "2013-10-16T15:06:00Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > I have my math class this semester at 8:00 AM on Tuesday and Thursday. If the professor did this intentionally, I feel obligated to call him satan and bring holy water to the next class, because this is the first time a class has had a schedule like this for me. Yes, I know most normal people have to be out of the house by 7:30 anyways, but dammit I’m still not happy about this. When I went to college, I had an environmental biology class at 8:00 am. This class was pretty much based on telling you how badly humans were screwing up the environment. Kind of made you want to crawl back into bed and not come out ever after that class. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/354 "2013-10-16T15:26:08Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > There was a thread a while back about removing bedroom doors. I seem to recall people whose parents did that to them having more trust issues and resentment. It seems like something that can backfire in unexpected ways. Removing the implements of distraction would be more effective; at least it would have been for me. But, obviously, that’s just me. This was my thought, as well. I suppose if the implements of distraction were in the child’s room, it would be easier to remove their bedroom door, than to remove the TV, computer, etc. especially if it were for only two weeks or other short amount of time. My son doesn’t have any of those things in his room (neither do we for that matter). In our (fairly small) house, removing his door would only result in poor night’s sleep for the kid from the other noises in the house, since he goes to bed before we do. (TV, us going down the hall to the bathroom, etc). Also the cats. I don’t think it’s a bad punishment and I’m sure it’s effective for some. I just don’t see it as a solution for this particular problem. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/355 "2013-10-16T16:45:29Z")
> [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](#): > > More mindless, petty, inane bitching about my professors: I have my math class this semester at 8:00 AM on Tuesday and Thursday. If the professor did this intentionally, I feel obligated to call him satan and bring holy water to the next class, because this is the first time a class has had a schedule like this for me. Yes, I know most normal people have to be out of the house by 7:30 anyways, but dammit I’m still not happy about this. :mad: I mean, at least it’s just math… Which most people skip anyways, because the lectures are a waste of time and you get the most bang for your buck out of the tutor lessons. I had a 7:40 am math (Calc III) class in college. Warning: do NOT skip classes near test dates! I skipped the class before the “review for test” class. Unfortunately, that was the class where the TA told us there would be _no_ review class – we’d just have the test, instead. So I walked in, unprepared, to a test worth about 20% of my grade. Fun times. (nb: I eked out a “C”. but since I’ve been an engineer for 24 years, apparently didn’t hurt me.) ---
**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 16, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/356 "2013-10-16T17:50:59Z")
Why don’t we have People Kibble yet? I need to eat in the day to do all the stuff I need to do, but I’m not hungry for any of the food in the house - I just want to nibble on kibble! ---
**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 16, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/357 "2013-10-16T17:54:14Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > There was a thread a while back about removing bedroom doors. I seem to recall people whose parents did that to them having more trust issues and resentment. It seems like something that can backfire in unexpected ways. Removing the implements of distraction would be more effective; at least it would have been for me. But, obviously, that’s just me. > [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > This was my thought, as well. I suppose if the implements of distraction were in the child’s room, it would be easier to remove their bedroom door, than to remove the TV, computer, etc. especially if it were for only two weeks or other short amount of time. My son doesn’t have any of those things in his room (neither do we for that matter). > > In our (fairly small) house, removing his door would only result in poor night’s sleep for the kid from the other noises in the house, since he goes to bed before we do. (TV, us going down the hall to the bathroom, etc). Also the cats. > > I don’t think it’s a bad punishment and I’m sure it’s effective for some. I just don’t see it as a solution for this particular problem. She doesn’t seem to have any trust issues. I mean, she will hand me her tablet AND her password today, on her own initiative, because she wants me to see a game or something on her tablet. And she’s mentioned that she hated having the door removed, but now that she’s an adult, she knows why we did it, and she agrees with the decision. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/358 "2013-10-16T18:20:25Z")
And just like that… We’re into highs in the low to mid 50’s, and lows from 30-37 at night. Plants came in last night, confusing the hell out of the cat, whose little play corner in front of the sliding glass doors is now wall-to-wall plants with her bed/tree in the middle of them. I expect by next spring she’ll be mad when the plants disappear back out onto the porch. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/359 "2013-10-16T18:42:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > And just like that… > > We’re into highs in the low to mid 50’s, and lows from 30-37 at night. And thank god for that, it’s about time it got back down to normal. It was too damn hot for September and October. I want my cool/cold weather dammit!! ---
**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 16, 2013, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/360 "2013-10-16T18:47:30Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Why don’t we have People Kibble yet? I need to eat in the day to do all the stuff I need to do, but I’m not hungry for any of the food in the house - I just want to nibble on kibble! Don’t blame me. I wrote to the people at Ralston Purina/Checkerboard Farms/Quaker Oats back in the 90s, and urged them to market a blackened Cajun Spice-flavored Chex Mix and call it “Purina Yuppie Chow.” _Still_ waiting to hear back from them… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074.md?page=19)