# 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:** 48
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/941 "2010-11-12T05:58:07Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Our tv is working perfectly well except for this, and I have no inclination to buy a new tv just because there is new technology available now, but the rubbing our noses in what we’re missing is getting annoying. It’s not just new technology. It’s effectively the _only_ technology. You had plenty of warning it was coming, so the expectation and assumption all networks are working under now is that everyone has access to the new tech, because you can no longer buy the old tech. I would’ve thought, though, that there’s a setting in your digital box, or whatever you have, to tell it you have a 4:3 TV, so it will adjust appropriately on the fly. But I don’t know what kind of systems the US is using; perhaps that isn’t an option for everyone. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/942 "2010-11-12T06:15:12Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > It’s not just new technology. It’s effectively the _only_ technology. You had plenty of warning it was coming, so the expectation and assumption all networks are working under now is that everyone has access to the new tech, because you can no longer buy the old tech. I had plenty of warning that widescreen format was going to become the standard? I don’t recall that. (Not saying it didn’t happen - I just didn’t notice it.) ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/943 "2010-11-12T06:53:51Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I had plenty of warning that widescreen format was going to become the standard? I don’t recall that. (Not saying it didn’t happen - I just didn’t notice it.) I think we were supposed to assume that from the fact that we were going from analog to digital. Honestly, being a tech geek I sort of understand that position, but now that I think about it, I always remember the conversion being referenced in terms of digital conversion, not HDTV conversion. The two are synonymous in my mind, but I can certainly understand how others might not see it that way. Of course since I never actually paid attention I don’t really know what the official line was. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/944 "2010-11-12T07:04:44Z")
> [@dzero](#): > > Oh. Sorry. I guess the people creating new shows have decided to write off the part of the audience that still likes their 4:3 ratio CRT’s. I didn’t think they had the balls to that so soon. It’s only been a year since the change over after all and I’m sure there are plenty of people who don’t think upgrading their tv is a priority - especially if you happen to be out of work and/or behind on your mortgage. That’s a little callous I think under the circumstances. I wonder if the producers are getting “incentives” from the electronics industry (I mostly joking, but not completely). I was thinking, “but why are they using the whole heigth of the screen, instead of using the whole width and having black bars at the top and bottom?” Movies have been shown with those two bars for ages, so it’s not like they would need to invent how. The only reason I can come up with is “utter stupidity”, but I guess that’s reason enough, sadly. My mother’s TV and the one in my house are both 4:3 and they get the widescreen stuff with the bars; Spain went digital last year. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/945 "2010-11-12T16:53:51Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > There’s … not much to recommend about them as people, to be brutally honest. Well, shit. Just mail the obit, and I’ll dance on it and call us even. > [@dzero](#): > > I guess the people creating new shows have decided to write off the part of the audience that still likes their 4:3 ratio CRT’s. I have to wonder if there’s not a setting for how your set deals with aspect ratios other than native. Worth poking around in the menus, certainly. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/946 "2010-11-12T17:03:25Z")
My Samsung blue-ray player fills me with grrrr. I use it mostly to watch Netflix. Practically everytime I go to use it, it won’t work. If I select it from the Samsung tv remote, it will power up, begin to start up, then… nothing. I turn it off with the tv remote. Turn it back on with the blue-ray player remote. Sometimes this fixes the problem. (Uh, hello? The only reason I bought a Samsung BD is because I was told it would integrate seamlessly via one remote since I had a Samsung tv.) However, many times I have to physically turn it off and back on via the control panel on the actual player. Christ, I just want to turn it on and have it work! Then, when I do get it to power up correctly, I go to Netflix and am told that Netflix can’t start due to network interference. Fuck! Physically turn the player off. Turn it back on. Netflix works fine. So much for my kewl new wireless BD player. Grrr! ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/947 "2010-11-12T17:11:59Z")
Defective? Return it? ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/948 "2010-11-12T17:24:46Z")
Will find out. Will do if so and Samsung doesn’t make me happy. I’m so looking forward to calling Samsung. Snerk. I typed forwad the first time around… Snerk. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/949 "2010-11-12T17:26:24Z")
Somebody \*really \*likes customer complaints. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/950 "2010-11-12T17:53:53Z")
I’ve been making plans to remodel my bathrooms starting with the masterbath, which is actually smaller. I was going to skip retiling the shower because I was trying to save money and I thought it was beyond my skill at this point. I thought the shower actually looked pretty good in spite of the pale yellow tile. Well, I was wrong. I noticed a loose tile so I pulled it out and there is nothing left behind it, the drywall is completely rotted, and it’s drywall not cement board. So the whole shower is going to be on drywall and probably all rotten, since it was built in the 70’s. So I am going to have to get good at both drywall/cement board hanging and tiling. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/951 "2010-11-12T18:18:14Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I’ve been making plans to remodel my bathrooms starting with the masterbath, which is actually smaller. I was going to skip retiling the shower because I was trying to save money and I thought it was beyond my skill at this point. I thought the shower actually looked pretty good in spite of the pale yellow tile. Well, I was wrong. I noticed a loose tile so I pulled it out and there is nothing left behind it, the drywall is completely rotted, and it’s drywall not cement board. So the whole shower is going to be on drywall and probably all rotten, since it was built in the 70’s. > > So I am going to have to get good at both drywall/cement board hanging and tiling. That sound really familiar, like someone here had that exact same experience (or I saw it on a home reno show). Well, no time like the present to do it up right this time! 🙂 And, what did you learn about pulling on loose tiles? That’s like cleaning a spot on your wall - did you really want to make an obvious clean spot? ---
**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/952 "2010-11-12T18:21:21Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > going to a funeral for a baby tomorrow. > > This week has been horrible. I’m really sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/953 "2010-11-12T18:57:00Z")
The federal government may fund a national committee to oversee plans for events [to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War](http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-11-12-civilwar12_ST_N.htm). Apart from the issue of spending tax dollars on this, some are also worried that not everyone will bask in the rosy glow of history: _"Michael Givens, commander in chief_ of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, hopes the Civil War commissions will look at all sides and not play a “p.c. game” blaming only the Confederacy."\* Yeah, can’t have none of that p.c. stuff. Here’s language Mr. Givens might be willing to accept: “The [del]Civil War[/del] War of Northern Aggression was begun [del]when Confederates attacked Fort Sumter[/del] over Yankee provocations, with the central issue being [del]slavery[/del] oops [del]states’ rights[/del] nah, not p.c. enough self-determination.” \*and chief asshole. ---
**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:** [November 12, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/954 "2010-11-12T20:10:10Z")
Yeah, and what about all the \*good \*things Hitler did? You never hear about those. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/955 "2010-11-13T01:08:50Z")
Eh, when people like this issue statements, just read everything in the voice of Foghorn Leghorn. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/956 "2010-11-14T02:54:23Z")
The stink that stank is bringing me down. In the couple of miles between my house and work I pass through an area of stench. There’s no other way to describe it. I didn’t smell it last week, but on Monday, blam. A strong smell of sulfur. At first, I thought it was my car, then everyone at work complained about the same thing during their trips in. Now it’s sulfur with an overlay of sewage or rot and maybe burning. It got so bad the other day that as I was driving home I started gagging. And the interior of my car has a stuck stink. Just the faintest hint of stinkity stink. Bleah. ---
**Author:** ![AmunRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AmunRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmunRa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/957 "2010-11-14T06:29:54Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I didn’t think it would be happening so soon either, but when I say obvious, I do mean obvious - like two characters talking, and one of them so far off to the side that only their hand was showing (and it was clear that he was supposed to be in the shot, not just appearing as a hand and arm). We’re noticing it with titles and words on the screen as well. > > Our tv is working perfectly well except for this, and I have no inclination to buy a new tv just because there is new technology available now, but the rubbing our noses in what we’re missing is getting annoying. You could always not watch TV if it annoys you so much. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/958 "2010-11-14T14:19:49Z")
I realize times are tight, but putting your kids in shoes that are two sizes too big is just downright cruel. I know these boots are expensive and you’d like to get your money’s worth out of them, but I simply cannot agree with you that “it’ll be okay for now” when your child is having trouble walking because their feet are slipping all over the inside of those boots. Do you want him to live with constant blisters and even crappier balance than what growing kids are used to? No, he does not want to wear two pairs of thick socks with them. That’s why he’s telling you he doesn’t like them. Too big shoes are just as uncomfortable as too small shoes. Would _you_ wear your shoes two sizes too big, you tool? Yes, I realize they grow fast; I have two of my own. But seriously, I can already see that you’re willing to let him continue wearing shoes well past proper fit and it looks like you’re trying to skip three sizes so you can reduce the clothing budget for your kids. I hate to say this because I really do sell quality shoes, but you if price is your chief concern over quality, may I suggest Wal-Mart? You can buy three pairs of shoes for the cost of these sale boots that you’re looking at. Your child will be much better off in cheaper shoes that actually fit. Asshat. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2010, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/959 "2010-11-14T15:33:39Z")
How stupid do you have to be to fail at self checkout when there’s nothing wrong with the equipment? ---
**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:** [November 14, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833/960 "2010-11-14T19:20:37Z")
> [@AmunRa](#): > > You could always not watch TV if it annoys you so much. That’s just crazy talk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833.md?page=47) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/winters-a-coming-season-of-death-mini-rants/554833.md?page=49)