# Winter's a-coming! Season of Death Mini-Rants **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 18, 2010, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833 "2010-09-18T09:03:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![otternell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecc23a/32.png) [@otternell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otternell)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/201 "2010-09-28T18:55:33Z")
They’re back again dammit. Those millipedes are on my ceiling again. Exterminators already been in and “sprayed” and I am constantly killing the damn things on my floor, the floor of the hallway and they are back on the ceiling. And based on the one I just watched, my husband was right - they’re in the duct work. Makes my skin crawl. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/202 "2010-09-28T19:22:53Z")
> [@hermette](#): > > Guess I’ll be writing his siblings off, thankfully his parents aren’t as petty, lovely card through from them! The rules within my family state that once someone is seperated, you do not associate with them (except to pick up or drop off offspring) unless that association is initiated by the person that you are related to from the union. They may not be dicks, they may have decided that family is more important (even if they are in the wrong) and to cut ties for the time being. In other words, you wouldn’t have heard from me either. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/203 "2010-09-28T19:32:44Z")
Please, coworker, test your Javascript in more browsers than Chrome. Chrome is practically the best case scenario. You said the coding was done, but the page is broked in Firefox and IE7+8. And, um, I haven’t bothered to look at 6. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/204 "2010-09-28T19:42:30Z")
> [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > > [@rockle](#): > > > > Not even one of those cute little ones that look like naked chickens? > > The humans or the dinos? Either/or. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/205 "2010-09-28T20:01:10Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > When we moved into our new (to me) house last summer, with the new (to me) stove, it took me forever to stop burning things that I’d cooked hundreds of times. Man, that was frustrating. > > . I just exploded a poached egg in my new more powerful microwave – on low. Guess I’ll have to be careful to put more water in the poacher from now on. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2010, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/206 "2010-09-28T20:03:45Z")
> [@hermette](#): > > > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > > > Sorry your ex is a dick, but what obligation do these people have to you, exactly? Their brother got you pregnant. Big fucking deal. They clearly chose him over you; put them in the same “asshole” basket and move the fuck on instead of whining because you didn’t get a fucking \*Facebook post \*on your birthday. (What are you, a high school student?) > > So you’ve never heard of friendships? Extended family is a foreign concept to you? > (my aunt is still my aunt and always will be, regardless of whether my mother’s brother divorced her or not) > > I’m glad to see you see your relationships as so disposable but thankfully, not everyone out there is so shallow 🙂 Well, she doesn’t sound like much of a friend, or, she doesn’t consider you much of one, judging by what you’ve said here. However, in my book, “shallow” consists of 1) grown-ass adults expecting the world to give a shit about their birthdays, and 1a) any Facebook-related drama of any kind, and that includes who did or didn’t post a piddly Facebook note for a grown-ass adult’s birthday. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/207 "2010-09-28T20:14:45Z")
Very mild: I am so tired of cleaning my husband’s gaping ass wound. Luckily, I can still make fun of him about it, so it’s still somewhat funny, but I now clean everyone’s butt in the house at some time or other (my four-year old sometimes forgets). That makes me weary and annoyed. Not so mild: Our fridge broke the same day the gaping ass wound developed (Wednesday). It’s still broken because a part needs to be ordered. It will still be broken until at least a week from Friday. I’m sick of living out of a damn cooler. We’d been meaning to get an extra fridge anyway since we entertain fairly often. Said fridge is being delivered tomorrow, but dammit - I had to spend several hundred on a new fridge unexpectedly, throw away a couple of hundred dollars worth of food and shell out another couple hundred on takeout and daily trips to the store. Oh, yeah, and some bitch at work keeps giving people on her team projects that a) she has no business meteing out since she’s not the manager; b) I’ve already completed and released to the public and c) are factually inaccurate when completed. And, having seen the thread here about the colossal waste of time and money that is the teambuilding exercise…my company rented out an entire ballpark, closed all offices for the day and fed us all lunch, then required our attendance to…stand around and do nothing. All damn day. But we were required to be there. Seriously. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2010, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/208 "2010-09-28T20:47:17Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Moral of the story: If you have a minirant, you better goddamn well be sure it’s justified first or **SFG** will come for you in the night. I choose to use these minirant threads as a way to rant about other people’s ranting. Have to get my kicks where I can. > [@hermette](#): > > So you’ve never heard of friendships? Extended family is a foreign concept to you? Some people aren’t close to their in-laws even when they’re married to the person who’s the blood relation. Since you’re separated from the guy who’s their brother, unless they’re actually friends with you, too, there’s no reason they need to keep in touch. And clearly, they’re not friends with you. Were they ever? Did you ever interact with them on your own, without your SO there? If so, did they ever initiate any of those activities? I’ve had exboyfriends whose families liked me quite a bit, but sure as hell I didn’t keep hanging out with them after we broke up. If there’s a kid in the picture, it’s one thing to expect them to be involved in the kid’s life–it’s another entirely to think that they should still pay attention to your birthdays and the like. That’s what, you know, \*your \*friends and family are for. > [@](#): > > but thankfully, not everyone out there is so shallow Says the woman whinging to a bunch of webbernets strangers that some people she’s not related to didn’t post on her Facebook. > [@hermette](#): > > If we end up reconciling (it’s only been 3 months) He dumped you while you were pregnant and brought a new girlfriend in while denying that the kid was his, and you’re thinking about getting back together with him? What are you, fucking retarded? > [@overlyverbose](#): > > but I now clean everyone’s butt in the house at some time or other (my four-year old sometimes forgets). That makes me weary and annoyed Does husband have some sort of terrible hand injury that prevents him from cleaning the kid’s butt at least half the time? ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/209 "2010-09-28T20:57:32Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > Does husband have some sort of terrible hand injury that prevents him from cleaning the kid’s butt at least half the time? Nope - fortunately he’s been doing more of the butt cleaning lately. I gave him a pass for a couple of days because he was absolutely miserable from his butt wound, but he’s feeling better now, so he’s taking care of most of it. I’m just sick of dirty asses. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/210 "2010-09-28T21:45:12Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > > [@Ninja\_Lauren](#): > > > > Listen, it takes nine months to make a baby. If the last time you slept with someone was a year before, they aren’t your baby daddy. Simple math. So quit effing bugging us! If you were that convinced he was the father, I should think you would have got a DNA test by this point, since the kid is now three. Do everyone, including your poor kids a favor, and jump off a very high cliff. Thanks. > > I thought for a few seconds that this was a response to \*\*hermette’s \*\* post right above yours. “Wow, that’s a bit harsh, dude!” :eek: > > Sorry, **hermette** , I can’t sympathize too much either - your ex got his family in the divorce, naturally enough. Since there’s a kid, I’m sure they keep in some contact, but I wouldn’t be expecting birthday cards from my ex-sister-in-law. Ha, me too. Even thought I got caught in a time warp with the kid being three and all now–I blame the zombie threads for messing with my sense of message board time. But one of the things I think is really lovely and gracious about my own sister-in-law is that when she made up one of those photo calendars for gifts for the holidays, she put in people’s birthdays and included her ex-husband’s birthday in there. He is, after all, the father of her two kids, even if he was a bit of a self-absorbed depressive workaholic philanderer. However, I didn’t know him very well, so I don’t beat myself up over us not sending cards for his birthday. > [@rockle](#): > > It gave me a particular kind of satisfaction when my 3-year-old overheard some of this crazytalk one day and asked my sister, “But what if [the baby] doesn’t _want_ to be a princess? What if she wants to be a pirate? Or a dinosaur?” That is so awesome. And it’s probably premature brain-shrinkage from my pregnancy hormones, but I think giving birth to a dinosaur would be really exciting. Of course, since we can’t even form a preference between boy/girl, I’m kind of overwhelmed by the all the choices of what kind of dinosaur we’d best like to have. Probably not a plesiosaur as we don’t even have a pool. Plus, our insurance would call shenanigans and child services/animal rescue would probably get involved. Still, I find the idea amusing. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/211 "2010-09-28T21:46:18Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > > > When we moved into our new (to me) house last summer, with the new (to me) stove, it took me forever to stop burning things that I’d cooked hundreds of times. Man, that was frustrating. > > > > . > > I just exploded a poached egg in my new more powerful microwave – on low. Guess I’ll have to be careful to put more water in the poacher from now on. I inherited a used microwave from my sister a few years ago, and it was much more powerful than my old one, too - ruined quite a few things in there until I realized that it would take approximately 3 seconds to cook ANYTHING. Damn, I love that microwave - I have no idea why she gave it up. > [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > \ > He dumped you while you were pregnant and brought a new girlfriend in while denying that the kid was his, and you’re thinking about getting back together with him? What are you, fucking retarded?\ You do have a way of getting to the heart of a matter - I’m afraid I’m going to have to go ahead and agree with that, too. This guy is the best you can do? If I thought that, I’d spend the rest of my life alone (but it’s probably not even close to true - there are tons of guys out there who wouldn’t do any of these nasty things). ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/212 "2010-09-28T21:51:44Z")
I lost my werewolf staff. ---
**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:** [September 28, 2010, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/213 "2010-09-28T21:57:37Z")
Well, times are tight, and the company needs to make cutbacks somewhere. The undead are easy to lay off–when you are supposed to exist, you don’t really have rights as such. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/214 "2010-09-28T22:08:06Z")
Heh. Actually, it was a talisman. Which I’ve worn since 1993. And planned to wear until I died. It’s gone. If it was in this building, I’d feel it calling to me. And I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/215 "2010-09-28T23:25:45Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > > [@SpazCat](#): > > > > I got you a pre-sent! > > > > That Robot Chicken episode ruined the video for “Last Dance with Mary Jane” for me. Now I see the an acorn for the head of the dead girl Tom Petty’s dancing with. > > Robot Chicken has ruined EVERYTHING for me. Especially the Snuggle softener bear. ☹ That Snuggles sketch was the wrongest thing on television ever. ---
**Author:** ![BayouHazard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BayouHazard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BayouHazard)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/216 "2010-09-29T02:21:14Z")
2 SECOND DISTANCE, DAMMIT! Where I live people will tailgate me, not matter what lane on the freeway I drive in, pretty much no matter how fast I go, no matter what time of day or night. Mind you, I usually drive somewhat over the speed limit. That’s pretty normal for here-if you don’t you’ll cause disruption in traffic flow, because you’ll be going at least 5 mph slower than everyone else. If I’m poking along in the fast lane-which I generally don’t do, or in a middle-left lane, well, I do see them coming up, and I move to the right, provided I can, and if I can’t I accelerate and then get out of their way… But I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about the people who, with plenty of room for them to pass on the left will come up and tailgate me. The thing is, they will do it when they’ve got a clear shot on the left to go around. I mean really clear, like 500 feet. Still, they will come up and act like a giant magnet is pulling them into my bumper. This is dangerous, bullying behavior. I move out of their way-because that’s the safe thing to do- but it feels like I’m rewarding them for being an asshole. When I had my stick-shift hoopty, I used to love popping it into third for tailgaters. No brakelights, but all of a sudden I’m RIGHT THERE. And it was a piece o’ crap, so I actively wanted them to nail it, because their insurance would have bought a better car. I love the smell of ambulance-chasing attorneys in the morning. Smells like victory. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/217 "2010-09-29T02:26:03Z")
The correct (that is to say _effective_) way to deal with a tailgater is to slow down, and make it more attractive to go around you than to follow at an unsafe distance. Piece o’ crap car or not, actively inviting a collision is just dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/218 "2010-09-29T03:19:46Z")
Agree. Really stupid people, but the best response is to simply take your foot off your gas pedal and slow at a natural rate until they get the clue and go around you. Stomping on the brakes is stupid and can potentially be grounds for YOU to be cited for intentionally causing an accident. That being said, on my way to the DMV to renew my plates the other day; 1\> Temporarily going 55 in the right lane of a 45, because I wasn’t paying attention. No one in the left lane. Only other car on the road about 10 feet behind me. 2\> Two miles later, different road, 48 in the right lane of 45, different car 10 feet behind me. The ones that really make me wish for the handy shotgun are, for example; All alone crossing the Cedar Avenue Bridge in the middle of the afternoon. 3 lanes wide, 70 mph. One other car within a half mile either direction of me on my side of the road. Where the fuck is it? So close I can’t see the front plate in my rear view mirror. I was down to 50 before the stupid cunt got off my ass, and then she screamed obscenities as she passed. ---
**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:** [September 29, 2010, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/219 "2010-09-29T04:52:47Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > \ > > All alone crossing the Cedar Avenue Bridge in the middle of the afternoon. 3 lanes wide, 70 mph. One other car within a half mile either direction of me on my side of the road. Where the fuck is it? So close I can’t see the front plate in my rear view mirror. I was down to 50 before the stupid cunt got off my ass, and then she screamed obscenities as she passed. That’s some kind of weird law of driving - you can be driving home at 3:00 in the morning, with no one else on the road, and you’ll come to a four-way stop at exactly the same time as the one other car that’s out at that time. Except hopefully they won’t tailgate you unnecessarily and yell at you. ---
**Author:** ![rockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@rockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rockle)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/220 "2010-09-29T12:58:49Z")
> [@Tortuga](#): > > > [@rockle](#): > > > > It gave me a particular kind of satisfaction when my 3-year-old overheard some of this crazytalk one day and asked my sister, “But what if [the baby] doesn’t _want_ to be a princess? What if she wants to be a pirate? Or a dinosaur?” > > That is so awesome. > And it’s probably premature brain-shrinkage from my pregnancy hormones, but I think giving birth to a dinosaur would be really exciting. Of course, since we can’t even form a preference between boy/girl, I’m kind of overwhelmed by the all the choices of what kind of dinosaur we’d best like to have. Probably not a plesiosaur as we don’t even have a pool. Plus, our insurance would call shenanigans and child services/animal rescue would probably get involved. Still, I find the idea amusing. I am partial to diplodocuses myself, but I bet there are not enough epidurals in the world to get you through that particular childbirth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833.md?page=12)