# UTIs and other crap - August Minirants! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 1, 2011, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020 "2011-08-01T09:10:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 17
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/321 "2011-08-17T16:01:56Z")
:smack: > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Some of those resealable bags are better than others. I’ve had certain varieties that work just fine. Others tear away from the bag before you can even get them open properly, and still others stubbornly refuse to reseal in one corner and let air/pests get in. I think it’s the make of the particular bag that matters, mixed with some bad luck and the chance of pure “operator error.” Oh, I know! I’ve had good bags and bad bags myself. And I wasn’t really commenting about anyone here in particular, but rather about a general tendency (and one which, as I noted, I’ve indulged in, also). ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/322 "2011-08-17T16:03:26Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > That’s actually how a lot of conservatives work, IME. They want to believe that the world is fair and that you can control your life; that through effort you can achieve success and prevent bad things from happening to you. So depressed people are selfish, the poor are lazy, rape victims are sluts, etc. Admitting that there are things beyond anyone’s control means admitting that these things could happen _to them_, and it means admitting that at least some of the good things in their lives are due as much to luck as to their own hard work. Also known in social psychology as the just-world hypothesis, and yes, it’s an attempt to feel that your life is completely under your control, and if you just do the right things, say the right things, wear the right things, hang out with the right people, nothing bad will ever ever happen to you or anyone you love. > [@Zeriel](#): > > I don’t even know that wishful beliefs that the world is fair is a conservative mindset. I see similar behaviors in “liberals” regarding things like “of COURSE we can get all our power from solar and wind with no issues whatsoever” and “of COURSE the government will never incorrectly disburse welfare to people who aren’t poor.” It’s not even on the same order of magnitude, but I don’t think it’s a difference in kind. These are not examples of the just-world hypothesis. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/323 "2011-08-17T16:09:39Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > I don’t even know that wishful beliefs that the world is fair is a conservative mindset. I see similar behaviors in “liberals” regarding things like “of COURSE we can get all our power from solar and wind with no issues whatsoever” and “of COURSE the government will never incorrectly disburse welfare to people who aren’t poor.” Like \*\*Kolga \*\*just said, these aren’t comparable. > [@jayjay](#): > > Heh. I have to admit (and this is with the caveat that I’ve done it myself here) that this place sometimes sounds like the Land of the People From Gadget Commercials, where no one can operate a colander correctly and every attempt to fry an egg ends in disaster. My brain just played a montage of hapless, clumsy hands attempting a variety of simple tasks, failing, and gesturing in frustration. Thank you for the laughs. \<3 ---
**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:** [August 17, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/324 "2011-08-17T16:12:16Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Oh, I know! I’ve had good bags and bad bags myself. And I wasn’t really commenting about anyone here in particular, but rather about a general tendency (and one which, as I noted, I’ve indulged in, also). I can see that - now that I’m thinking about it, those no-boil pasta maker commercials show people damned near killing themselves trying to make some spaghetti. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/325 "2011-08-17T16:28:34Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > These are not examples of the just-world hypothesis. That’s why I said “wishful beliefs that the world is fair”, and not “the just world hypothesis”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/326 "2011-08-17T16:34:41Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > There are also people who keep kosher. I was deprived of my lamb-burgers with ersatz cheese when I found out the “cheese” had dairy in it. I hadn’t checked the label when I bought it, because why on earth would anyone eat fake cheese unless they were avoiding dairy? Ah yes, I forgot about kosher! 0-for-3, cheese bastards! The local supermarket has started carrying vegan fake cheese, we found. It’s not cheap though; 6 bucks for an 8-ounce bag of a shredded mozzarella-like substance. We went for the 12 flat slices for $4 instead. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/327 "2011-08-17T16:44:45Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > That’s why I said “wishful beliefs that the world is fair”, and not “the just world hypothesis”. 😛 Yeah, but I was clearly talking about the just world hypothesis. I’d also say that there’s a huge world of difference between the examples of falacious thinking given for conservatives and liberals (not even including the fact that while I’ve known more than one conservative who thinks the things I reported–and, indeed, they are pretty much the central tenets of modern American conservativism–I’ve never known a liberal to make the assertions you’ve claimed, let along built an entire platform on them). ---
**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:** [August 17, 2011, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/328 "2011-08-17T16:46:19Z")
> [@](#): > > I want to slap him and I didn’t even talk to him. You know, this might just be the cure for depression…slapping someone who desperately, desperately needs it. Og knows that there are any number of valid targets out there. I’ve had good and bad results from package zipseal bags myself. Some of them are great, and do exactly what they’re supposed to do. One of my fridge staples is grated cheddar cheese, which comes in a zipseal bag. The zipper words fine. Other zipseals have been either misaligned (so using the zipper would result in gapes at both ends) or they just won’t engage at all. And then there’s the vacuum sealed packages, where it’s impossible to open the package without punching a hole in the plastic below the seal. For whatever reason, every now and then my computer decides that it doesn’t want keyboard input. Usually when I have several windows of text open. I don’t know if I’m hitting a special key or key combo accidentally, but this is quite aggravating. I can’t save those texts at all, because I can’t name them. And people wonder why I get all stabbity. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/329 "2011-08-17T16:52:38Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Yeah, but I was clearly talking about the just world hypothesis. I’d also say that there’s a huge world of difference between the examples of falacious thinking given for conservatives and liberals (not even including the fact that while I’ve known more than one conservative who thinks the things I reported–and, indeed, they are pretty much the central tenets of modern American conservativism–I’ve never known a liberal to make the assertions you’ve claimed, let along built an entire platform on them). You should join us in some of the more retarded clean energy threads sometime. I’m not sayin’ that I think both sides are equally bad, mind you, just that moonbattery transcends traditional political belief demarcations. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/330 "2011-08-17T16:52:53Z")
“I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be much worse if life _were_ fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?’ So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.” ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/331 "2011-08-17T17:09:44Z")
> [@Zeriel](#): > > I’m not sayin’ that I think both sides are equally bad, mind you, just that moonbattery transcends traditional political belief demarcations. Of course it does. I don’t think any reasonable person disputes that. I just never pegged you as the kind of person who feels an obsessive need to always point out some level of stupidity coming from the other side of a divide, just because someone happened to mention a negative trait from one group. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/332 "2011-08-17T17:24:20Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > I don’t know how you guys have all these problems with packages like that. I don’t think I ever have. Off the top of my head, I have resealable bags of quinoa and brown sugar at home right now that worked just fine, and some cheese curds in the fridge here at work that also worked fine.\ Like others have said, some are better than others. I don’t tend to trust resealable seals. Try picking up a full two pound bag of resealable rice upside down, and report back on the results. 🙂 (That’s how I got rice all over my kitchen - I don’t think I’ll ever get it all out.) > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > \ > > For whatever reason, every now and then my computer decides that it doesn’t want keyboard input. Usually when I have several windows of text open. I don’t know if I’m hitting a special key or key combo accidentally, but this is quite aggravating. I can’t save those texts at all, because I can’t name them. And people wonder why I get all stabbity. My computer does that when it’s starting up sometimes - if I unplug the keyboard and plug it in again, it seems to fix up the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/333 "2011-08-17T17:32:15Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I don’t tend to trust resealable seals. Try picking up a full two pound bag of resealable rice upside down, and report back on the results. Well, I’m not sure that’s exactly what they intended the seal to hold out against. More like, “keep out bugs and don’t spill if it falls over on its side.” I mean, I’m not gonna complain that my shower curtain rings tear out when I try to swing on the curtain. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/334 "2011-08-17T17:38:45Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Well, I’m not sure that’s exactly what they intended the seal to hold out against. More like, “keep out bugs and don’t spill if it falls over on its side.” I mean, I’m not gonna complain that my shower curtain rings tear out when I try to swing on the curtain. I dunno; it was pretty easy to do - I store the rice on its side in my fridge, and I just grabbed the wrong end when picking it up. I take your point, though. I also use a twist-tie to seal my rice now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/335 "2011-08-17T17:45:05Z")
Uncooked rice in the fridge? What’s up with that? ---
**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:** [August 17, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/336 "2011-08-17T17:50:01Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Uncooked rice in the fridge? What’s up with that? Keeps it fresh longer. I don’t know where I read about storing rice in the fridge; maybe here, even. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/337 "2011-08-17T18:00:06Z")
A quick Google suggests that it’s only \*brown \*rice you need to refrigerate (so the oil in the hulls doesn’t go rancid), while white rice can be simply shelved in a sealed container pretty much indefinitely. Although presumably also refrigerating white rice won’t \*hurt \*it. ---
**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:** [August 17, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/338 "2011-08-17T18:01:30Z")
Keeping it in the fridge helps with pantry pests, if your household is prone to that sort of thing. > [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > You know, this might just be the cure for depression…slapping someone who desperately, desperately needs it. . . Please post a sign-up sheet, and include a column so we can nominate people for the “desperately needs it” category. _grabs pen_ ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/339 "2011-08-17T18:11:39Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Of course it does. I don’t think any reasonable person disputes that. I just never pegged you as the kind of person who feels an obsessive need to always point out some level of stupidity coming from the other side of a divide, just because someone happened to mention a negative trait from one group. To be fair, I was more reacting to having read the idiocy I used as examples on Facebook earlier today. Most of my friends are some species of crazy liberal, and a few of them got into a fight with a nuclear engineer buddy. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020/340 "2011-08-17T18:22:53Z")
Wait, you have people you’d \*actually consider to be friends \*who are \*that \*retarded? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utis-and-other-crap-august-minirants/591020.md?page=18)