# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/21 "2013-10-01T17:27:50Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > The radio station that I usually listen to at this time of day isn’t coming in on my radio. Bummer. The radio station I listen to, WUMB, has a transmitter roughly equivalent in power to a mosquito’s bullhorn. Seriously, look at this [coverage map](http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WUMB&service=FM&status=L&hours=U). Even at the best of times, I have trouble getting static-free reception. But…my gripe is that every year, around the equinox, atmospheric conditions are such that some wretched bible-thumping radio station in Maine with a 6000 watt transmitter 160 miles away near Boothbay Maine completely wipes out reception. I don’t want to turn on my radio and hear some preacher coming in loud and clear, or some saccharine Christian music. I know the FCC would be on them like attack dogs if they were actually boosting their power, but that’s what it seems like to me when I can’t even receive a station fifteen miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/22 "2013-10-01T17:37:23Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > On the plus side, now with the furlough you might have a chance to catch him in the act. They did it yesterday, which means he’s probably done with trimming my tree. But I have now become the old guy who looks out the window, waiting. :eek: I’m only 40 damnit. ---
**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 1, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/23 "2013-10-01T17:46:43Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Being a government employee I still woke up at my normal time even though I’m on furlough. :mad: > > The thing that’s really pissing me off though is that some jackass has been trimming my tree, that’s fully in my yard. Not only are they trimming the tree, but they leave the branches in my yard and stuck in the branches. I’ve been here for 8 years now and it happens twice a year at least. I’ve told the HOA and they don’t even say anything. Who the fuck trims someone else’s tree? I trim the branches of the neighbour’s tree that overhangs my yard - are you saying that they do this, or are they coming right into your yard to trim? Because if it’s the latter, I’d be furious, too - stay offa my property! > [@Morgyn](#): > > \ > (Oh, yeah, Congress? The lot of you need to be taken behind the woodshed. Grow up and stop pitching a tantrum.) But they aren’t getting their way - what _else_ can they do?!? My minor rant - we had a perfectly good name lined up for this month’s rant, and SOMEbody just ignored it! :mad: 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/24 "2013-10-01T17:51:54Z")
My ear is still plugged up and ringing, and I have no idea if and when it will ever go away. It was diagnosed as eustachian tube dysfunction. ---
**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 1, 2013, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/25 "2013-10-01T18:05:38Z")
I keep forgetting my rant from yesterday - I have a very bad ninja kitty in the house, apparently. I put my cat’s dinner on the kitchen counter to warm up, and then proceeded to bake cookies and make supper and do dishes and all kinds of stuff in there. I must have left the kitchen for 30 seconds at some point, because when I looked at the cat’s bowl again, it was licked clean! Bad kitty who is not allowed on the kitchen counters! And who is apparently a ninja who can clean out a food bowl in seconds! ---
**Author:** ![Cinnamon\_Imp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/26 "2013-10-01T18:06:37Z")
Not really a \*mini \*rant - Dear whoever phoned the UK Benefit Fraud hotline and tried to give them my details: Fuck you. Fuck you very much. Thankfully I’m safe in the knowledge that I promptly disclosed my divorce settlement to the Income Support people within days of it hitting my bank account, signed all the forms, and got the relevant “Thank you for informing us of your change of circumstances” letter. I still now get the fun of taking copies of bank statements and all the lawyers letters into the office again next week to prove that the \*whole \*settlement is declared and in my account, and that I’ve not snuck it off to a Swiss bank account somewhere though to avoid losing benefits, so fuck you for that. Remind me to never fucking trust anyone again. I thought I’d followed up every utterance of “That’s the financial separation through from the ex” with “Don’t worry, I’ve declared it to the benefits people!” but maybe not. I should learn to keep my mouth shut. > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > My minor rant - we had a perfectly good name lined up for this month’s rant, and SOMEbody just ignored it! :mad: _again_?! ---
**Author:** ![Mattie\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@Mattie\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mattie_Blue)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/27 "2013-10-01T18:53:48Z")
Cap came off my roller pen and leaked all over my new shorts. Tried cleaning them with hairspray (just made it run) and washing in vinegar and dishwashing liquid. New shorts are now gardening shorts. Crap. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/28 "2013-10-01T18:58:47Z")
Which reminds me, I got a letter from a company holding my first Glasgow rental deposit. For a 2007 rental… do you think they will have had time to assess how much my leaving the place cleaner than I found it cost 'em? (No, I didn’t clean it by bringing the horrid sofa down to the dumpster). Way back when they said it would “take a while” for the return to get processed; eventually I just counted it as “lost money”. Every time I see the letter I’m left scratching my head, which at this rate is going to do a number on my fastabulous mane\*. (About 1cm long right now, I had a haircut last week; any shorter and it would stand on point) ---
**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 1, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/29 "2013-10-01T19:10:17Z")
You might actually see some real interest on that, if they ever get around to getting it back to you! ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/30 "2013-10-01T19:32:50Z")
My dog has taken to eating paper, especially paper from my desk, although she also pulls paper from the recycling bin. I have to remember that if I leave the room, all paper has to be back and covered or up on a shelf and my chair has to be away from the desk. It’s getting annoying. Anyone want a dog to eat their homework? ---
**Author:** ![eenerms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cdc98d/32.png) [@eenerms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eenerms)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/31 "2013-10-01T19:33:47Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Congress you piss me off to no ends. It’s not that you are stubbornly debating the budget that bothers me, but closing the government? There ought to be a law that anytime the government closes and employees are not getting paid, Congress does NOT get paid. That’s right, YOU don’t get paid either. You worthless assembly of motherless shit stains. Yeah, I’m pointing at both sides of the friggen isle. Plus one ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/32 "2013-10-01T19:37:47Z")
**Mattie Blue** , if you are in the US: [Carbona Stain Devils](http://www.amazon.com/Carbona-404-24-Devils-Remover/dp/B0040I78J4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1380656169&sr=8-8&keywords=carbona+stain+devils). ---
**Author:** ![Mattie\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71c47a/32.png) [@Mattie\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mattie_Blue)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/33 "2013-10-01T19:56:01Z")
> [@Cheez\_Whia](#): > > **Mattie Blue** , if you are in the US: [Carbona Stain Devils](http://www.amazon.com/Carbona-404-24-Devils-Remover/dp/B0040I78J4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1380656169&sr=8-8&keywords=carbona+stain+devils). Thank you Cheez\_Whia. I will give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/34 "2013-10-01T20:43:33Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > The thing that’s really pissing me off though is that some jackass has been trimming my tree, that’s fully in my yard. Not only are they trimming the tree, but they leave the branches in my yard and stuck in the branches. I’ve been here for 8 years now and it happens twice a year at least. I’ve told the HOA and they don’t even say anything. Who the fuck trims someone else’s tree? Were the branches blocking the sidewalk? Whether they were or not, that can be my [del]rant[/del] whine for this thread: tree branches that hit me in the face when I’m walking down the sidewalk minding my own business. ---
**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 1, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/35 "2013-10-01T20:52:50Z")
From last month’s thread: > [@September rants - sorry, no cute name](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/september-rants-sorry-no-cute-name/667706/543): > > Also, how \*do \*you figure out if it’s grey or gray? Grey is light and gray is dark. That’s how it works in my world. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/36 "2013-10-01T20:55:03Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > From last month’s thread: > > Grey is light and gray is dark. That’s how it works in my world. My understanding is that (generally) grey is British and gray is American. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2013, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/37 "2013-10-01T21:18:32Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > The radio station that I usually listen to at this time of day isn’t coming in on my radio. Bummer. I solved the problem. I’d accidentally set my radio to AM instead of the usual FM. D’oh! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/38 "2013-10-01T21:45:51Z")
NPR is on AM? Wow, no shit? ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/39 "2013-10-01T22:32:38Z")
Gr **A** y is how the **A** mericans write it. Gr **E** y is how the **E** nglish write it. ---
**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 1, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074/40 "2013-10-01T22:39:12Z")
Gr **E** y is how Canadians write it. Does that help? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twenty-days-has-october-rants-the-rest-are-on-furlough/670074.md?page=3)