# 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:** 7
**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 10, 2026, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/121 "2026-01-10T23:24:07Z")
Elevators are on the emergency generators. As are the fire alarms. Absent that, the entire building must be evacuated. Also elevator free fall prevention mechanisms are mechanical, not electrical. For that reason. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2026, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/122 "2026-01-10T23:30:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Elevators are on the emergency generators. How common is that? Maybe in upscale luxury condos and office buildings, but I cannot imagine all high-rise buildings being so equipped, and the stories about people trapped in elevators during power outages seem to bear out the fact that it’s far from universal. I admit to an irrational fear of elevators, mostly due to a touch of claustrophobia. I mean, I’ll use one if necessary, but if stairs are an option, I’d much prefer to take the stairs. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/123 "2026-01-11T00:07:43Z")
Power outages of just a few hours usually are not a problem. I have plenty of flashlights, and can haul out a camping lantern if needed. Plus I have a small 2000 watt inverter generator that can run my TV and router (and charge phones) if I really need it, though it’s usually used for running the refrigerator and freezer if the outage is over an hour. We have natural gas, so cooking isn’t an issue. Water outages, however, are always a pain. I’ll take a power outage over a water outage every time. ---
**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 11, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/124 "2026-01-11T00:33:49Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Being a conjunction astrophotographer in the US northeast is doing it the hard way. Triply so in winter. The shot in question was a sunset shot thru the big Ferris wheel on the pier. Sunset is not only at a very kid-friendly time of about 4:30pm (need to shoot it a little before sunset so as to get it thru the Ferris wheel); however, every day after Dec 21 it moves a little more westward over the land which means the camera needs to be further East, which means either shooting from a boat (don’t have) or using a drone (do have) but then the background is more buildings & not as nice. Gotta wait 'til next winter to try it again. As for Astro, winter is the _best_ time to do it. The shore towns are (relatively) _very_ dark with up to 2/3 less residents (most of those residents either working normal jobs or being retired, which means no lights on at night) & even the 24-hr convenience stores closing at 11pm (ask me how I know _that_ one). If you go to one of the towns that, by geography juts out a bit further east then you have nothing but ocean (& dark skies in front of you) & the light pollution from the land is at your 4 / 8 o’clock slightly behind you which ends up being very good conditions for shooting early season Milky Way core. Montauk, NY, Avalon ([before](https://www.flickr.com/photos/74663312@N08/47177380961/) going onto the beach) or Barnegat Light, NJ are all good places that I’ve shot from. The only downside is it’s **cold** on the beach on a Jan or Feb overnight, but I do have the clothes for it & the early season Milky Way is more horizontal than vertical that you see in the best photos of it from the summer. Also, Cherry Springs State Park (the top of the T in Pennsyltucky) is one of the best dark skies locations on the East Coast & can be hard to get camping space in in the summer just for that reason. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Maybe come down south for a couple weeks where blue skies are sorta guaranteed? Is that an invite? 😊 > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Why was the governor knocking on your door? Needed a cup of sugar??? > [@wolfpup](#): > > How common is that? Maybe in upscale luxury condos and office buildings, but I cannot imagine all high-rise buildings being so equipped, and the stories about people trapped in elevators during power outages seem to bear out the fact that it’s far from universal. If only we had someone here ~~certifiable~~ certified in elevator rescue; of course it would take a bit for me to get to you in our 51st state…& **LSLGuy** is right, there are multiple safeguards to keep the elevator where it is instead of freefalling to the basement, including the counterweight is heavier than the car & people should be so that would go down, which means the car & people would ‘fall’ upwards. > [@wolfpup](#): > > I mean, I’ll use one if necessary, but if stairs are an option, I’d much prefer to take the stairs. This! Most definitely this. I’ve never heard of someone getting trapped in the stairs, & there’s no such thing as elevator races (that I know of) ---
**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 11, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/125 "2026-01-11T00:44:20Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > Elevators are on the emergency generators. > > How common is that Matter of law here in lawless Florida. Not necessarily _all_ elevators, but some. So firefighters can get up to a fire despite a power outage. ---
**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 11, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/126 "2026-01-11T00:45:14Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > Is that an invite? 😊 I’d be honored to host your southern expedition. Seriously. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2026, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/127 "2026-01-11T00:45:28Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > If only we had someone here ~~certifiable~~ certified in elevator rescue; of course it would take a bit for me to get to you in our 51st state…& **LSLGuy** is right, there are multiple safeguards to keep the elevator where it is instead of freefalling to the basement This isn’t the cause of my paranoia. I don’t fear that the elevator is suspended by some fragile cable that might snap and send it careening down into the basement. I get it that there are many safeguards against that. My claustrophobia-driven fears are over a power failure (or some other mechanical failure) where an elevator is stuck between floors. It may be a relatively rare occurrence, but it does happen much too frequently for my comfort. Some years ago I got into a creaky old elevator to go up to the second floor of a medical building to get some blood tests done. The elevator was already pretty crowded but I got in anyway. Then more people pushed in. That was it! I just got the hell out of there and took the stairs. ---
**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 11, 2026, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/128 "2026-01-11T01:14:40Z")
For a non-infirm person elevators stuck between floors are an irritant, not a crisis. I’ve watched firefighters assist people out of my condo’s elevators at the X-and-a-halfth floor many times. Easy for the FD to open the inner & outer doors and easy for the able-bodied to clamber out. The wheelchair or walker users have a more difficult problem. Being stuck is boring as shit. It’s lots worse if your cellmate brought their Pekinese. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/129 "2026-01-11T02:30:17Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Why was the governor knocking on your door? I need to retract something, which I’m not happy about. Evidently it was not Mikie Sherrill… stumping for a favored candidate. It was one of the many candidates stumping to take her congressional spot. My wife was angry that I didn’t get the door and told me something that wasn’t true. The flyers left favored that one candidate… which made me question her further… which finally made her confess that she was pissed that I didn’t get the door. Sorry. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/130 "2026-01-11T02:53:04Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > Sorry. **You** weren’t the one being untruthful… ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/131 "2026-01-11T03:09:24Z")
And here I was thinking 20 different accounts were going to say I was drinking early for St. Patrick’s Day. > **[Imgflip](https://imgflip.com/i/ah1t7m)** ---
**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 11, 2026, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/132 "2026-01-11T03:11:16Z")
Nice! ---
**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:** [January 11, 2026, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/133 "2026-01-11T03:17:41Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > And here I was thinking 20 different accounts were going to say I was drinking early for St. Patrick’s Day. Holy shit I love that shirt. .👍 Thank you for sharing that. ---
**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 11, 2026, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/134 "2026-01-11T03:19:32Z")
> [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](#): > > which finally made her confess that she was pissed that I didn’t get the door. And she didn’t call for you to come down? IMO that’s all on her, not you. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/135 "2026-01-11T07:51:43Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I’ve never heard of someone getting trapped in the stairs, & there’s no such thing as elevator races (that I know of) My neighbor fell on the stairs in our building and shattered her ankle. 6 weeks of bed rest, followed by months of physical therapy, plus she was so traumatized she still doesn’t want to talk about it, and it’s been 8 years. Stairs are dangerous. There is elevator surfing. Don’t recommend. ---
**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 11, 2026, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/136 "2026-01-11T12:58:06Z")
Back in my in-shape slender late 30s and mostly pre-cellphone I lived on the 16th floor of a much taller highrise. The building had two emergency escape stairways. One time for the heck of it I decided to walk / trot up the stairs from the ground to my apartment. I was sort of surveying that as a possible exercise regimen. Along about the 10th floor my heart was hammering enough I began to question the wisdom of being in a concrete-walled windowless room that nobody ever entered while exercising vigorously enough to scare myself. I exited the stairs on the next floor, sat on the bench by the elevators a few minutes until breathing and heart rate were normal, then rode up to home. In that building none of the stairwell doors had locks. So one could enter and exit the stairwells on any floor. I suppose a few people may have occasionally used the stairs to visit their neighbors on a nearby floor. But had I heart attacked or stroked out in there I expect it’d have been days before somebody thought to look in there to locate my desiccated corpse. Once was plenty for that exercise idea. My current highrise isn’t as tall, but the stairwells have locks on most floors so although you can enter on any level, you can’t exit on most of them without a key residents don’t have. There are a couple of intermediate floors where your apartment keyfob will let you out (if you’re carrying it), but mostly it’s a one-way trip to nearly the ground floor before you can exit. Nobody is ever in those stairwells. Bad place to have a medical emergency of any nature. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2026, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/137 "2026-01-11T15:21:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Along about the 10th floor my heart was hammering enough I began to question the wisdom of being in a concrete-walled windowless room that nobody ever entered while exercising vigorously enough to scare myself. > [@Spiderman](#): > > I’ve never heard of someone getting trapped in the stairs I know a guy, a physician, who was walking down a largely unused stairwell in a hospital while reading a chart. He missed a step and fell three or four steps, breaking his femur. He was laying on the landing yelling for help for quite a while before someone heard him. Yeah, you can get stuck in a stairway. mmm ---
**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 11, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/138 "2026-01-11T16:24:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Once was plenty for that exercise idea. Then I guess you’re not signing up for [this race](https://action.lung.org/site/TR?fr_id=28308&pg=entry)? ---
**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:** [January 12, 2026, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/139 "2026-01-12T12:34:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My current highrise isn’t as tall, but the stairwells have locks on most floors so although you can enter on any level, you can’t exit on most of them without a key residents don’t have. There are a couple of intermediate floors where your apartment keyfob will let you out (if you’re carrying it), but mostly it’s a one-way trip to nearly the ground floor before you can exit. Nobody is ever in those stairwells. Bad place to have a medical emergency of any nature. Wow, that doesn’t sound safe! Due to my elevator phobia I’ve taken the stairs in many commercial buildings (though not condos) and the stairway doors at any floor can always be opened from outside or inside. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231/140 "2026-01-12T12:40:28Z")
I love the beautiful and mostly quiet fireworks. Why people want to set off the equivalent of small bombs as a form of entertainment is beyond my understanding. “BOOOOOMB”!! That’s it, my windows rattle, and it’s done. Nothing pretty and nothing that lasts more than a couple of seconds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/welcome-to-twenty-twenty-sucks-january-mini-rants/1026231.md?page=8)