# 'Twere the Rants Before Christmas (December Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [December 1, 2025, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280 "2025-12-01T05:04:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/201 "2025-12-15T05:33:01Z")
Online location where baby trolls hang out and say things like “skibidi” and worse shit. 🙂 You know, foul-mouthed high school students. The one to which I refer, but won’t name here, seems to be an ongoing contest to see which one can come up with the most offensive meme image. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/202 "2025-12-15T05:57:19Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > The one to which I refer, but won’t name here, seems to be an ongoing contest to see which one can come up with the most offensive meme image. My mistake, that might be just their politically incorrect subforum. ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/203 "2025-12-15T06:45:55Z")
Update: my little Krampus finally got out of Spain and is navigating the Customs of the United States. I don’t know how close he is to St. Louis though. ---
**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/204 "2025-12-15T11:05:17Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Did you order the high-index lenses they offer, which reduce the thickness of the lenses? If not, add that to the order. I’d have coke bottle lenses if not for those It’s what I always order, but I’m not 100% sure that’s what I got. High index, rolled, scratch and glare coatings, the works. Unfortunately it could be that my vision just really IS that bad 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/205 "2025-12-15T12:17:12Z")
> [@jerseymule](#): > > Update: my little Krampus finally got out of Spain and is navigating the Customs of the United States. I don’t know how close he is to St. Louis though. Fly, Krampus, fly! Safely to St. Louis. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/206 "2025-12-15T14:48:48Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > But my recollection of this stuff is very old – I have not had new glasses made in literally about 40 years! But I vaguely recall a debate about plastic vs glass lenses. > > Yeah, the quality of plastics and their characteristics has improved vastly in the last 40 years. Agreed. My son has amazingly bad eyesight, but due to the advance of materials, his glasses do not weigh twenty-five pounds. Plus in the fifteen plus years he has only scratched his lenses once, and that was from a face-plant in daycare. My brane is acting up again. No intrusive thoughts, thank goodness, but waves of anxiety at the stupidest things. My wife and I were at Costco the other day, she pointed out some sweatpants and **BOOM**. I was like, “Really? _Really?_ Brane, I know we aren’t always on the best of terms, but is this our new thing?” I start counseling next month. I hope this can get nipped in the bud. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/207 "2025-12-15T20:12:14Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > so I’ll be wearing taped-together glasses ::wedgie the dork in the hallway:: I was at her place for the weekend but we had a party near my place on Sat so I was going to stop home & grab my snowshoes given the overnight forecast. That plan would have worked out much better had I put my housekeys in my pocket instead of hers. Then the snow didn’t end until later than forecast, with more accumulation so we didn’t go out to do what we wanted to in the morning as the roads were too dicey. Eventually got it in the afternoon but that just pushed the day’s schedule back so plenty of time to go snowshoeing in the park & no snowshoes to do such with. Late yesterday my baby gurl was curled up next to me on the sofa with her head on my lap, contentedly snoring away. I was a _very_ bad person as I got up, breaking one of those most important rules - Let sleeping dogs lie. Please forgive me, pupper! ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/208 "2025-12-15T20:24:17Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > It seems the rants in the mini rants thread are getting more harrowing every month. You are no doubt referring to my Code 1 Emergency running-out-of-liquor crisis. I agree that this was not a “mini” rant, but happily, it has been resolved! 😉 > [@Spiderman](#): > > Late yesterday my baby gurl was curled up next to me on the sofa with her head on my lap, contentedly snoring away. I was a _very_ bad person as I got up, breaking one of those most important rules - Let sleeping dogs lie. Please forgive me, pupper! At first I thought you were talking about a cat. But dislodging a devoted Dog sleeping with its head lovingly on your lap is unforgivable. What can I say except: may you be beset with fleas for your callousness! 🐶 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/209 "2025-12-15T20:44:17Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I agree that this was not a “mini” rant If you lay in a good supply of minis and reserve them for supply emergency use only, there’s less likely to be a crisis later. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/210 "2025-12-15T22:47:46Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I’m right on the line of the mandatory evacuation area for flooding. There are apartments flooded out within walking distance of our house. And it’s supposed to start raining again starting tomorrow. We are at level 2, which means be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. How’s it going today for you, flood-wise?? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/211 "2025-12-15T22:59:09Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > How’s it going today for you, flood-wise?? Oh it’s hairy. I wanted to go to the office but every freeway around here is shut down. As are the side streets. So we’re stuck. At least I can work remotely. A levee broke to the north of us, luckily it’s far enough away to not affect us, but it shows how tough things are. > **[GO NOW: Flash flood evacuation issued for Tukwila area after Green River...](https://komonews.com/news/local/flash-flood-warning-issued-for-tukwila-area-after-green-river-levee-failure-danger-evacuation-road-condition-update-safety-emergency-higher-ground-warning)** > > The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a flash flood warning for west central King County, Washington, following the failure of the Green River Leve And when I went to drop my kid off at school (because the buses won’t come out here anymore), I had to drive around a barrier that said the road to my neighborhood was closed, even though the part of the road leading here is fine (it’s just flooded past my neighborhood). Haven’t had to evacuate yet, but we’re just waiting. And it has been raining a lot today. I think today is supposed to be the worst of the rain, then it will taper off a bit, and by early afternoon Thursday it should stop. If we can get by until then, we should be good. Of course, we are supposed to start getting snow starting Friday, so we can deal with that shit now. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/212 "2025-12-15T23:16:01Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > Haven’t had to evacuate yet, but we’re just waiting. And it has been raining a lot today. Good luck! Keep us posted. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/213 "2025-12-16T15:02:50Z")
Weather service stated 9°, car stated 16°; either way I was _over_dressed for my walk home from dropping off the car as it really wasn’t that cold out. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/214 "2025-12-16T17:42:00Z")
I’ve been losing sleep over my job every night for the past month. I received an email from my CEO yesterday asking me to come in today to help with our Holiday giveaway program. She said from now on it will be mandatory but not until next year, but in the meantime, it was “strongly encouraged.” I think we all know what “strongly encouraged” means. So I came in early this morning. But nobody needs help. So I am not sure why I’m here. I try to avoid places with lots of people, as I find it highly stressful from a sensory perspective. However, this isn’t the madhouse I remember from years’ past. The email also said she wanted me to take more initiative with talking to program staff on a regular basis, which, fine, but it felt vaguely accusatory. This is where my social anxiety bites me in the ass. I want to introduce myself to people but I don’t know how. But also, it’s not like I don’t know anybody, like I’m not talking to people I see at meetings and shit. I’m not _that_ antisocial. I did talk to my boss about the weird tonal shift I’ve perceived lately. She said it’s not because of anything I did, just the board trying to rein things in across the agency because of our deficit, plus just trying to light a fire under development’s ass, I guess, since we’re the ones making the money. Encouragingly, she said she doesn’t think we’ll have to return to the office five days a week because our jobs were accepted based on the promise of remote work. So I get to work remotely at least in the foreseeable future. Which means I haven’t been wasting time setting up two monitors in my home office. My work setup at home is pretty sick now. I told her about how Always Late continually is, well, always late and she said she sees it all the time. She wants me to present to the committee about the process issues we’re having and my recommendations. She really wants me in charge. I’m just counting the days until my holiday break because I really think I could use a solid two weeks of not having to think about my job. 3.5 days… ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/215 "2025-12-16T22:12:23Z")
And now that work is sorted, I just got an earful from my son’s teacher. I don’t know what to do. If I knew what to do I promise you I would do it in a fucking heartbeat. I’m so tired. And scared. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/216 "2025-12-16T22:40:19Z")
Big picture. NOTHING that happens this year is indelible. He’s learning, you’re learning, the teacher will be someone else next year. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/217 "2025-12-17T01:53:32Z")
For some reason - I suspect an avowed ketamine user - my bookmark to go to my homepage on Twitter now goes directly to the For You section. For those not familiar, the For You section is the garbage dump where Musk’s algorithm decides that you’re not getting enough MAGA idiots and general racist stupidity in your Following feed and he doesn’t want you to miss out. It’s ridiculous. I use the Follow section to curate news and make some wise cracks and post pictures of my dog. There is nothing good in For You. It shouldn’t be the default - it should be disabled. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/218 "2025-12-17T02:01:06Z")
I’ve been getting a lot of Peta stuff. Not “for me” ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/219 "2025-12-17T02:15:13Z")
… for example, this is the ridiculous troll-bot content I was just greeted with when I clicked my Twitter bookmark: > “I guarantee you that Trump knows things about Rob Reiner that have not been made public yet, and when they are, Trump will come out smelling like a rose. You can bet on it.” I mean, WTF? Seriously? If Musk is trying to get me to finally ditch that shit site he’s doing a good job. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280/220 "2025-12-17T02:54:47Z")
X. Just say no. You’re only helping the enemy by using that service. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/twere-the-rants-before-christmas-december-mini-rants/1025280.md?page=12)