Whew it's hot out here! Summer Mini-Rants

The BBQ Pit
261

Hoses – I hate them. It’s been a dry, dry couple of weeks so even though my newly seeded grass is dead, i still have to water the garden. And the damned hoses are always getting tangled in something (requiring me to walk back and untangle them) or getting kinked and cutting off the water flow (requiring me to walk back and unkink them). And not a single connection or fitting manages to be leak free no matter how many times I change the gaskets and clean the rims. So I’ve spent most of the spring and early summer standing out in the yard while water drips down my arm or sprays unexpectedly over my shorts, shoes and shirt.

And this rant wouldn’t be complete without a call out to my expensive metal oscillating sprinkler that fails to oscillate and my cheaper plastic sprinklers that just disintegrate after a season’s use.

262

How is it that you know my boss?

Mine has one for “Sigmagirl is broiling turkey burgers again.”

263

Have you run some vinegar into it? They build up mineral crud, just like coffee pots.

264

My smoke alarm’s sensitivity level is set to alert to a single chicken breast nicely browning in a pan on top of the stove. :smack:

265

The HVAC is out in my office’s building today. They sent around an email - y’know, I didn’t need to be told that it’s hot and stuffy. I knew the moment I walked in the main door: “WTF? I can’t breathe!”

266

In my first residence at university, the smoke detector was in the kitchen, almost exactly over the stove. Boiling water was enough to set it off. :rolleyes:

We took to wrapping a dish towel around it and holding it in place with an elastic. The people running the residence really bitched about it if they caught you doing that, but boiling water still stood a good chance of setting off that smoke detector. Plus, there were another five smoke detectors in our unit that we didn’t mess with at all.

267

I hate heat; I hate summer; I hate sweating; I hate feeling hot; I hate.

268

Dear mom and husband,

You are both acting like children. Mom, I will no longer visit you unless my brother-in-law and sister are there to be a buffer. We all get along wonderfully then; however, when it’s just me and my husband, you turn into a judgmental, weepy mess. I knew that visiting you right now was probably a mistake, but you seemed to need some support, so I came anyway. I wish I hadn’t, but you profess to be glad I did, even though your actions bely your words.

Husband, here’s a thought: not everything is a slight to your character or a threat to your authority with our son. If we’re in someone else’s house, their rules apply unless they’re threatening the safety of our children or the bounds of good sense. As such, if my mom says it’s okay for our son to have a lot of toys on the floor with the understanding that he’ll be responsible for picking them up later, there is absolutely no reason for you to threaten to take some away unless he cleans up now. And it’s rude to walk off in a huff because someone disagrees with you. Further, if you feel compelled to ask me if maybe you overreacted and perhaps you should apologize, you already have your answer and you know it.

Similarly, mom, there is no reason for you to burst into tears when my husband attempts to discipline our son. I don’t agree with him in this case, however, you often cry when my husband disciplines our son, especially when our son goes into screaming mode. It may not have occurred to you, but having a sympathetic, sobbing audience makes things worse, not better. And my husband isn’t some monster who abuses his child. Yes, he sometimes has a too-short fuse. He’s working on it, but it makes it all the more difficult to do when you’re crying. Kids are smart and he’s milking your sympathy for all it’s worth. So knock it off. Please.

Oh, yeah, and did I mention that your hand-wringing is driving me nuts? Who the hell takes a very stressful weekend, then decides to have a cookout with 15 family members? Furthermore, who the hell has a cookout with linen napkins, fine china and all the “proper” utensils, including a damn dessert fork and wine goblets at every setting?! Honestly! We’re eating fucking hot dogs and burgers, for God’s sake. And you flipping out because everything wasn’t ready, necessitating my intervention to get everything done while managing a clingy baby and kid didn’t help. Luckily things worked out. However, I will not be repeating this.

Now, this has been a difficult weekend for everyone. I, for one, could use a stiff drink and some alone time to work out. I’ve been surrounded, sometimes covered, by children all weekend to keep them out of the fray. Oh, and there’s the not-so-little matter of my sister who has had a much more difficult weekend than we could imagine. You know, forced contractions to clean a uterus of a miscarriage will do that to you, I’m sure. The only saving grace is that you blubbered to me, mom, instead of my sister. At least she was spared the effort of comforting you. Now, if you could both go to your respective corners and find something else to do while I call her to make sure she and her husband are well, I’d really, really appreciate it. Thanks.

Cheers (where is my fucking drink when I need it?),

Overly

269

The good news is my HVAC is still working.

The bad news is I’m lazy about maintenance unless there’s an emergency, so the condensation line is completely clogged and backed up. The indoor HVAC unit is ceiling-mounted, so the access panel has been dripping water onto the stairwell for a couple weeks now. I think it’s poured more water out than we’ve gotten in rainfall all year. It’ll still be some time before someone can get out here to look at it.

270

Soaker hoses, dude. Then you just get soaked trying to adjust them to the right place. :slight_smile:

Techy types, I have a question for you - I like to keep two browser windows open on my Mac side-by side. Most websites come up properly sized for this, but the odd one (like one I’m trying to look at right now) comes up with stuff all cut off on the sides until I make my browser window larger, thereby negating my ability to look at two at the same time. Any idea why this happens?

271

Depends on how the website is created. The proper practice is to set up web pages to automatically resize to accomodate the window size. Some websites, however, are set up assuming a minimum window size and won’t resize below that. Very annoying.

272

Jeebus, overly–have a drink on me.

I am going to take a nap. Although I am not quite 48, apparently working in the yard in 90+ heat for the past 2 days has done me in. I am tired, crabby and so emotionally exhausted due to Other Things that I am only good for a nap.

273

Rabbit cage seller: I know it’s a minor complaint, but I really hope you are shipping the new cage for my rabbits today, like your E-mail from last week Wednesday said. Your website’s shipping info page stated there was 7-days-a-week order processing and that orders placed on the weekend were put together for shipping on Mondays, but the need to query me about a replacement of a different color item - and I replied ASAP - delayed things until finally Wednesday you said, “great, but shipping will be delayed until the 6th because of the holiday.” I appreciate the apology and that you’re adding a small bonus gift to the shipment, but right now I really just want the cage, quickly. Sadly, your website doesn’t have a “check my order status” tracking option, and I’m worried to pick up the phone and call to check on it, lest I be dragging someone who’s packing up my box to the phone, and you miss the UPS guy picking up the other orders! :eek:

Also, please consider adding a news page to your website, a status line on your main page, or updating your Twitter feed. You Tweeted maybe three times early this year then nothing at all, and there’s nothing on your website to even let people know you’re a still-active web store (much less that you might have a shortage of labor the week prior to the holiday weekend). You’re not Amazon where everyone would know if you had gone under or something, and I had to take it somewhat on faith that you were still in operation at all when I put in an order.

I know, it’s minor, but this cage will be more than “some assembly required” and I’m making some modifications to the design already to fit my unusual space limitations, not to mention adding additional support to the platforms. I also will have to get some plywood cut to make a base (with casters I’ll be screwing in) so that the cage can be rolled out for cleaning, and I’ll need to make measurements off the finished cage. I had a teeny hope that with fast shipping I’d get to work on it over the long weekend. Right now I just want to know when it’ll be delivered!

274

Dear media: the U.S. consists of other parts of the country besides the east coast. Really! Okay, you’re aware that L.A. exists, but there is a lot of country in here in the middle.

It’s hot this week on the east coast. Unusually hot. That doesn’t have to dominate the headlines quite so thoroughly. There are a lot of us in the middle who are having our own weather events and don’t want to keep hearing about yours.

275

I am really fucking sick right now. Not sleeping so well last night, finally fell asleep on the couch this morning, and was immediately disappointed upon waking up, because damn, this ‘‘being awake’’ thing sucks right now. I would rather just be unconscious 'til it’s over.

It’s also apparently 100 degrees outside. Which, while not immediately affecting me and my sickness, just sucks on a general level for everyone concerned.

ETA- sorry, Palo Verde. It’s just weird, that’s all.

276

If you’re going to sell your fucking CDs at a blues festival, then they should contain, you know, BLUES MUSIC. Unrecognizable C&W tunes are not blues, but perhaps being Australian you didn’t know that. Or perhaps you were just pushing crap that wouldn’t sell anywhere else. Bitch.

277

Stupid fucking Baltimore 800 fucking miles away mumble mumble. Stupid fucking government job making it impossible for Dave to work remotely. Stupid fucking *my *job making it impossible for *me *to work remotely. Mumble grumble.

Is there any way you or someone else in the department can kick it up back up the chain so this idiot hears how many shades of retarded he is from one of *his *bosses?

Have you ever actually *done *a mail merge in email? I can tell you *for a fact *that Lotus Notes does not have a native mail merge utility–at least not the version of it that my company uses. (And this is a global company with tens of thousands of employees.) So, yes, replying to each of the hundreds or thousands of applicants to tell them, “Thanks, but no thanks,” could well require more time than they have available.

IME, it behooves *the applicant *to follow up if they haven’t heard back from the potential employer within a reasonable timespan (I’d say about a week, unless whatever ad you’re replying to specifies another timeframe).

No, but you did need to be told *that they knew *about the problem. Even *with *the mass email, I’m sure they got at least a dozen calls/emails about the problem.

Hrm, it was always my impression that it should be a mutual-respect thing, such that if the parent thinks it’s important that the child do X, even in other people’s homes, then the host should respect that.

C’mon over and I’ll buy you one.

278

True - both parties do have to respect one another. And that is lacking in my mom and husband’s relationship, and it’s mutual. My mom doesn’t understand parental boundaries, as in, she attempts to provide us unwanted advice on childrearing in an obnoxious manner, though she doesn’t realize she’s annoying us. My husband doesn’t know how to pick his battles and Saturday was an example. In this case, the mess was relatively minor but my husband didn’t even give my son a chance to correct it - he just went straight for the ultimatum, which wasn’t fair.

Anyway, I think I’ll take you up on that drink.

279

If STLMO is St. Louis, if you start driving around 10 or 11 a.m. tomorrow, you should get here right about the time I get off work. :smiley:

280

Stupid insurance company! Why is it that, when you’re mailing us stuff saying “nope, we are denying these benefits/charges/whatevers,” the envelope arrives at my house 1.5 to 2 business days after posting; but when you (allegedly) cut us a check for my husband’s short-term disability (which you screwed up to start with, and is already two weeks behind,) it takes anywhere from one week to 10 days for it to arrive? (I love the fact that all of your mailing envelopes are pre-printed with “Stop Insurance Fraud” logos, too. Makes me want to report y’all for fraud!) Seriously - we’ve jumped through every hoop, gotten every pre-approval, submitted every report (usually in triplicate,) stood on our heads and whistled the Star Spangled Banner, and you still won’t stop fucking around with us. We’re not trying to claim frivolous stuff - my prenatal care, labor, & delivery; well-baby visits and immunizations; and my husband’s knee surgeries (which he’d gladly have done without, judging by the fact that his physical therapy made him cry and throw up today :frowning: ) We are only asking that you guys honor your end of the contract, dammit!

Can I have a drink, too?