# Welcome to Twenty-Twenty-Sucks (January Mini-Rants) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [January 1, 2026, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231 "2026-01-01T07:59:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [January 7, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/81 "2026-01-07T15:10:59Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > never buy a ticket locally If you don’t mind my asking, why? I don’t know how state income taxation works if you reside in state A but win on a ticket bought in state B. Which state(s) gets a cut? Other than a tax difference I’m not seeing a reason for caring about local vs not. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2026, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/82 "2026-01-07T16:17:31Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Some of my rules are never buy a ticket locally We buy when the prize is obscenely large ($1B+), and I only buy from the locally owned corner store. If lightening were to strike, then more money would stay in our community. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/83 "2026-01-07T16:31:10Z")
> [@Maus\_Magill](#): > > If lightening were to strike, then more money would stay in our community. How’s that? Does the selling store get some kind of spif for having sold the winning ticket? Do you think, or know, that people will flock to a store that sold a winner hoping the store will sell another winner soon? I’m just baffled how where you buy a winning ticket affects the community. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2026, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/84 "2026-01-07T16:41:09Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > > [@Spiderman](#): > > > > never buy a ticket locally > > If you don’t mind my asking, why? Privacy (& safety). I see all the time in the news stories that the winning ticket was sold in town. Although I would setup a trust to claim the prize I don’t want my town & my name associated with lots of riches so I don’t need to deal with every Tom, Dick, & Harry & their sob stories about why I need to give them money, or worse - robbery or kidnapping. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Does the selling store get some kind of spif for having sold the winning ticket? Yes, & it can be 5 or 6-figures on one of the really big wins. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2026, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/85 "2026-01-07T17:15:17Z")
It’s pretty much the only incentive to sell lottery tickets, because the time-consuming lottery ticket customer is a widespread phenomenon, annoying merchants, clerks, and fellow customers alike. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2026, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/86 "2026-01-07T17:25:26Z")
Because I suck at making doctor’s appointments in a timely manner, I’ve managed to get myself in a position where my annual physical is in early January, right after the holidays. The last few years my a1c had been slowly creeping up, and last year at this time it was 7.4. My doctor scheduled another check in six months, I worked my ass off to get it down, and six months later it was 6.7. I tried avoiding sweets as much as possible over the holidays but today it was back up 7.4. Shit shit shit. (I’m starting to wonder if that 6.7 was a fluke.) Time to knuckle down again! ---
**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:** [January 7, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/87 "2026-01-07T17:35:35Z")
Life with ADHD. I had to return some shoes. After weeks and weeks of putting it off, I finally made up my mind to do it, packed up the box, added the shipping label, and triumphantly drove to the UPS Store, realizing too late that I needed Fed Ex. Ever determined, later I had a prescription to pick up at a drug store that has FedEx in it, but when I went to pick up the prescription they said, “You already have it,” and after some back and forth I remembered I had decided to have it delivered. So embarrassing. I returned the shoes though! Now I just have to order another pair and hope they fit, else this starts all over again. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/88 "2026-01-07T18:43:42Z")
Reminds me of the joke about the doctor who pulls a (rectal) thermometer out of his pocket to write something down & is wondering where he left his pen. We’ve had some cold weather, below freezing, this allowed me to realize that the fire hydrant by her is leaking because of the ‘iceberg’ on the ground below it; there was so much ice that I knew it was at least partially frozen inside if not fully frozen, which becomes a safety issue if FD pulls up expecting to use a hydrant & determines it’s out of service. I called my buddy who’s a firefighter there to ask who to report it to (there is no universal party responsible) he said call the water company but of course that town has two & he wasn’t sure which one it was so I looked up the town’s water authority & called them & told them what the problem was & which water company do I want to report it to. He tells me & I call them water company Fri evening. Mon morning the same ice pile is sitting there so I told her to call the Fire Marshall. Turns out it’s _not_ the water company despite what _two_ people told me. They did send a tech out to work on it yesterday…& he ended up breaking something in the stem so now the whole hydrant needs to be replaced. At least now it is officially OOS & bagged, which is better than it being frozen & no one knowing until they go to hook up to it. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/89 "2026-01-07T23:14:32Z")
The twelve days of Christmas are over. Take those damn Christmas decorations down, already! Humbug! ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/90 "2026-01-08T01:02:45Z")
My workplace didn’t acquire poinsettias until mid-December. As always, nearly all of them were neglected, but some still look pretty nice. Doesn’t matter! VP wants them all tossed by the end of the week. So that’s how I got a free poinsettia today. Mom is thrilled (really!). ---
**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:** [January 8, 2026, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/91 "2026-01-08T13:57:58Z")
We’re working on it! ---
**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:** [January 8, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/92 "2026-01-08T17:28:22Z")
I wanted to go out on Sat evening & take a specific sunset photo. The forecast? Rain, tomorrow, Sat, & Sun, which means no sun for the next three days & therefore, no photo. Because of where it is I can only get there on the weekend & since the sun moves a bit every day I man need to wait until next December to have another shot at it. 😢 ---
**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:** [January 8, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/93 "2026-01-08T17:34:49Z")
I’m overwhelmed and I’m taking a personal day. My weird brain is tired. I have some non-work stuff that is stressing me the fuck out, so I’m going to just do those things today, and then try to squeeze in extra paid work over the weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/94 "2026-01-08T18:06:19Z")
This is the time of year where employees contact me with complaints they don’t have medical coverage. It’s because during open enrollment they waived coverage. We have an active enrollment period, which means employees need to enroll in the medical, dental, or vision plans they want because it’s defaulted to waived. My employer is generous, so we’re allowing employees to enroll now even though they should have done it in November, but it’s a pain in the butt for me because it involves a lot of extra administrative work. I just wish some of these employees would pay more attention when completing their benefits. A lot of them don’t read material sent to them or attend open enrollment sessions. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/95 "2026-01-08T18:23:58Z")
I feel your pain. But the large and small companies I’ve worked for always defaulted everything except the FSA amount designation to be “Silence means renew what I already have this year”. I expect at least some of your company’s deadline compliance issues stem from employees bringing that assumption with them from prior employers. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/96 "2026-01-08T18:29:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I expect at least some of your company’s deadline compliance issues stem from employees bringing that assumption with them from prior employers. For a small percentage, yes. Some of them are recent hires from the previous year, but many more of them have been with the company for a few years. When I asked one of them if they saw waived on medical and dental when they submitted their elections they responded in the affirmative. We did try passive enrollment a few years back, that’s when their benefits just rollover into the next year, but that ended up causing more confusion than expected. And then I have to combine that with the people who didn’t enroll in their health savings account. They thought they automatically got the HSA because they enrolled in the high deductible health plan or because they had it last year. Or worse yet, the folks who accidentally enrolled in the FSA when they meant to enroll in the HSA. If prior years are any indication, I’ll be dealing with these issues until March or April. The record for dealing with the previous year’s open enrollment is June. Let’s hope we don’t break the record this year. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2026, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/97 "2026-01-08T21:44:38Z")
Heh I feel like _i_ know your company’s enrollment period and default and I don’t work there. People truly are lazy. My former employer is now my customer. Today I had to interact with people who theoretically are doing the job I used to do. I kept trying to leave it to them to give the official position on the company’s format for something, but these people just kept asking questions that showed they clearly didn’t know. So I put together a document that summarizes everything I knew and had on hand and told them to just use this guide, and we’d schedule a meeting for me to force them to fill in the blanks later. They should still pay me! ---
**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:** [January 8, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/98 "2026-01-08T23:52:58Z")
Being a conjunction astrophotographer in the US northeast is doing it the hard way. Triply so in winter. Maybe come down south for a couple weeks where blue skies are sorta guaranteed? Or visit e.g. Phoenix or Vegas? ---
**Author:** ![Marine\_One](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marine_one/32/3461_2.png) [@Marine\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marine_One)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2026, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/99 "2026-01-09T00:58:29Z")
Football Department: - The college players wear their pants too short. They look like soccer players with helmets. At least make them wear socks. - The huge signs the players or coaches hold up in college games to call plays. It’s probably useful, but it still looks stupid. - Of course, the dumb NFL celebrations when there is an interception, fumble or whatever and the team runs 50 yards to the endzone for a dumb celebration. Why isn’t this taunting when the visiting team does it? - When the coach is interviewed by the sidelines reporter when I’m sure he would rather be preparing to cover the first half. Reporter: “What do you have to do in the second half to win?” Coach: “Score more points.” Happens in MLB baseball _ **during** _ the game. - The dumb looking NFL kickoff. Especially the onside kick rule. “OK, planet Earth, here comes an onside kick!!”. - When Peyton and Eli talk with anyone not remotely associated with football during a game. Yes, bring more country and western fans and comedians in. - How hard is it for the players to: 1) Line up _ **not** _ in the neutral zone. 2) Jump offsides. JUST WATCH THE BALL!! I’m done. I feel better now. ```auto ``` ---
**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:** [January 9, 2026, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/100 "2026-01-09T01:01:12Z")
Lol. Guess I’m lucky I don’t watch football. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231.md?page=6)