# What a turkey: November mini-rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** monthly-mini-rant\ **Created:** [November 2, 2026, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334 "2026-11-02T08:00:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/1 "2026-11-02T08:00:30Z")
Starting because I had a rant I just discovered, but no thread to put it in. A church friend of my uncle has been coming over to clean for me every three months for a couple of years now. I paid her in cash today as usual. She texted me back thanking me. I wondered if I’d accidentally given her more money than I intended, so I probed with a subtle question. Her reply convinced me that I hadn’t. Until I looked in my wallet hours later. See, I had to withdraw a $20 from the bank to make our usual amount. And that twenty is still in my wallet. So I gave her a hundred instead of a twenty—$80 more than I intended. No wonder she was so happy! And I texted her back just now to let her know I made a mistake, but I feel like a right bastard for doing it! Is my guilt and potential harm to the professional relationship worth $80? Hopefully my guess is correct… ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/2 "2026-11-02T11:28:44Z")
I would give her a nice bottle of wine for letting me know about the obvious mistake and tell her that she now owes you four free cleanings, letting her keep the $100, assuming I can afford to do 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:** [November 2, 2026, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/3 "2026-11-02T13:11:02Z")
So this woman took a 5x payment then either misunderstood your too-subtle probing or knowingly lied to you. You should communicate very explicitly that you intended to pay her $20, you actually gave her a $100 bill, and she needs to come by _today_ to return the extra 80 dollars she should not have. Depending on her reaction she’ll demonstrate whether she was confused by your too-subtle message or is a thief willing to capitalize on your mistakes. If the latter, after you’ve gotten your $80 back, or given up on doing so, tell her you cannot trust her in your residence. And it’s time to “count your silverware” as the saying goes. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/4 "2026-11-02T18:16:31Z")
I have no opinion on this, except to say I usually gave my cleaner (back when I had one) a bonus for the holidays. But whether or to what extent you can do that depends greatly on one’s financial situation. \*\*\* I’m having great times with asthma this week, as I’m getting over a cold which naturally has triggered all kinds of coughing. I missed out on Halloween festivities. The thing is, all that coughing takes so much energy out of me, I couldn’t do much but loaf. I’m currently at work, propped up on Sudafed, trying to complete an end of year report which has some insulting questions and which I was asked to complete at the last minute. I’m trying to take my planning and tracking offline as much as possible because nothing says productivity like putting a planning app inside the Distraction Box (cell phone.) I agreed to put my cellphone in the basement to charge when we’re at home, so the inevitable result is that my phone now sits on the kitchen counter where the charging station used to be and slowly runs out of battery. Great plan. Oh and I packed a beautiful lunch this morning. Fresh cut vegetables, healthy protein sources, nuts and fruit. Left it in the fridge at home, naturally. Okay and it’s nice someone donated Girl scout cookies to our office but did it have to be the peanut butter sandwich ones? No thin mints? No caramel delights? What the hell kind of place do you think we’re running? There’s a reason these are the ones you had leftover! ---
**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:** [November 2, 2026, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/5 "2026-11-02T22:02:58Z")
Oh yeah, and my son’s Halloween haul sucks! It’s mostly crappy chocolate bars. He’s not going to eat any of it, and my husband is allergic, so the disappointment largely goes to me. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/6 "2026-11-02T23:14:54Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Oh yeah, and my son’s Halloween haul sucks! It’s mostly crappy chocolate bars. I think everyone’s did. We went out Saturday night, and our neighborhood is usually really good. We have multiple families come to our house every year because it’s a great place to go trick-or-treating. We are a development with a lot of houses very close together (small yards) and usually many houses decorate and are happy to hand out candy. This year we went through the whole neighborhood and must have passed 50 houses, and only 7 of them gave out candy. I was shocked to see that while I decorated the outside of our house to a modest degree, it was extremely festive relative to just about everyone else. My WAG is that with prices skyrocketing, folks are just not feeling like buying a bunch of candy to give away to strangers. It’s extremely sad to see. And it wasn’t a lot better last year either, though we did walk around less because it was raining. (The weather was clear this year.) ---
**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:** [November 2, 2026, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/7 "2026-11-02T23:47:14Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Oh yeah, and my son’s Halloween haul sucks! I’ve seen several posts from friends implying that they bought loads of cheap candy this year. I think some of the leftovers may have shown up at work today; I noticed the department’s candy bin looking a little full. ---
**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:** [November 2, 2026, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/8 "2026-11-02T23:58:58Z")
@wolfpup how are you doing with your health problems? ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/9 "2026-11-03T02:20:57Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Oh yeah, and my son’s Halloween haul sucks! It’s mostly crappy chocolate bars. > > He’s not going to eat any of it, and my husband is allergic, so the disappointment largely goes to me. > [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I think some of the leftovers may have shown up at work today; I noticed the department’s candy bin looking a little full. Hey, that’s what co-workers are for - to eat all that leftover candy you don’t want! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/10 "2026-11-03T02:32:16Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > A church friend of my uncle has been coming over to clean for me every three months for a couple of years now. I paid her in cash today as usual. […] So I gave her a hundred instead of a twenty—$80 more than I intended. That is one heck of an efficient cleaner, if she can do three months’ worth of housecleaning in twenty bucks’ worth of time. That said, she should give back the accidental overpayment, of course. I do think it would be nice if you could tip her like five bucks in apology for the unintentional bait-and-switch, though. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2026, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/11 "2026-11-03T03:20:58Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > three months’ worth of housecleaning in twenty bucks’ worth of time Fuck, send her my way. I’d pay her what she’s worth. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2026, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/12 "2026-11-03T03:31:24Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Hey, that’s what co-workers are for - to eat all that leftover candy you don’t want! 😉 Unfortunately, **Mrs Magill** and I work from home, and we have a lot of leftover candy. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/13 "2026-11-03T03:56:56Z")
The November mini-rant is because it is November and NaNoWriMo is no more. Yes, this is the second year since it’s (from what I understand) messy dissolution. It was a great motivator for me to do writing, and well, I did not go in to it for the community really, but it did give me a goal, and a sense of many people around the world having it. The recent annoyance mini-rant is with credit companies. For some reason, almost invariably when I use a particular card in my electronic wallet at the grocery store, it gets refused and is flagged as fraud. Fortunately, I can log in to their app on my phone and say, yes, that is me and then I am able to complete the purchase while I hope that I am not causing a line to build behind me. It is a pain though, and I don’t quite understand why, since my other card from the same company, never has that issue. Oh and then I tried to make an online purchase with a different card, and it said, we think it is fraud follow this text to your phone to authorize. I did, then tried again, and it said, follow this text to your phone to authorize, and then failed again. I tried a few hours later and it worked. I am all for fraud detection and everything, but if you aren’t going to trust a wallet or app that you are verifying with a biometric + an app for reasons it is annoying. I check statements all the time, and have found the charges I did not authorize that were not flagged by these fraud alerts. I guess I should rant more against those whose fraud caused us so much inconvenience because of their misdeeds? `//i\\` ---
**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:** [November 3, 2026, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/14 "2026-11-03T04:16:18Z")
Hardly any trick-or-treaters came to the door this year. Maybe 20 or 30 all together? Usually there are close to 80. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/15 "2026-11-03T04:24:30Z")
I couldn’t get anybody to pick up the phone to talk about cleaning for $20 ---
**Author:** ![aurora\_maire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aurora_maire/32/328_2.png) [@aurora\_maire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aurora_maire)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/16 "2026-11-03T06:04:16Z")
One of my cats has diabetes so both cats are now on an every-12-hours schedule for wet food to make sure she eats 30 minutes before her insulin shot. This is the first time change since we started this. Did you know that cats can tell time? Now they are both whining for an hour twice a day because “it’s time to eat!!”. It’s driving me crazy. I had to put them out of the bedroom this morning because they would not stop. I guess I should have anticipated this and started making 15 minute adjustments last week. Lesson learned. Hopefully they will reset themselves soon. Damn time change. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/17 "2026-11-03T12:48:00Z")
Kinda like this? > **[Redirect Notice](https://www.google.com/share.google?q=aNa4Qh5rLAws7Lz3G)** ---
**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:** [November 3, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/18 "2026-11-03T14:15:58Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > @wolfpup how are you doing with your health problems? Thank you for asking. Long story for later. Will probably go to hospital later this week and meanwhile being housed and fed by the Lovely eX-Wife (LXW) in her lovely home. She ordered in-home blood draws the lab results of which were sent to my GP and cardiologist. More later. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/19 "2026-11-03T14:43:06Z")
> [@romansperson](#): > > Hey, that’s what co-workers are for - to eat all that leftover candy you don’t want! No kidding! They’ll eat anything. I still remember the time I brought in a block of cheese and some crackers from a gift basket; it was polished of before 9 AM. > [@icon](#): > > For some reason, almost invariably when I use a particular card in my electronic wallet at the grocery store, it gets refused and is flagged as fraud. Citi? I’ve found they can be a little overprotective sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334/20 "2026-11-03T14:58:20Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Citi? I’ve found they can be a little overprotective sometimes. Got it in one. The odd thing is it doesn’t happen with the other card of theirs I have 🤷‍♂️ `//i\\` [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-a-turkey-november-mini-rants/1034334.md?page=2)