Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

My dearest smug, self-assured 20-something girl in the new Scion Tc. Had you been paying attention to the very small red car doing a U turn immediately ahead of you prior to it's turning on it's 4-way flashers immediately behind a car pulling out of a space on H St. N.E. -

Then after you had done a U turn and raced to stuff your car nose first into the space, only to find that this annoying very small red car w/ 4-way flashers on...

• First persisted in trying to back into the space!

• Then this ~really old~ dude got out and said that he'd done a U turn and was already behind the car pulling out before You'd even done your U-turn..

• And he just didn't understand when you explained that ~YOU~ had done a U turn so it was your space!

Yes. I saw the car door shut, I'm a racer so I have good situational awarenes and I'm not on the phone, it was clear, and I immediately did a U-turn and pulled up behind the light green Camry, with my 4-ways on. As soon as the Camry was out I pulled forward to back in, and the precious 22 year old in the new Tc stuffed the car diagonally into the space, nose first.

Seeing as I was 3' into the space, reverse lights and 4-ways on - and - had she been looking at all - had clearly waited for the car to leave the space and pulled forward to back in - she was either delusional, incredibly unaware, distracted by her phone - or just used to getting her way by simply stating flatly that things are hers.

So I got out, and as unthreateningly as possible walked back. My Miata containing my wife is still 3' into the space.

(Me) "Hi - I think you may not have noticed, but you were behind me when I saw the leaving car, did my U-turn, waited for the green Camry to leave, then pulled forward to back into my space"

(Her) "I did a u turn to get this space"

(Me) "I know. You did your U-turn at the end of the block. I saw it in my mirrors as I was positioned behind the car that was pulling out. Did you notice my red car - right in front of you - signal left and do the U-turn?"

(Her) "I did a U-turn to get this space"

(Me) "I know you did, but that doesn't alter the fact that I did too, first, and that I was already here waiting for the car to pull out ~BEFORE YOU EVEN INITIATED YOUR U-TURN~...(Taking a breath) Do you understand now?"

(Her) ~I DID A U-TURN TO GET THIS SPACE!~

(Me) "Ok. I hope this makes sense to you some day. Clearly it won't today, or any time in the immediate future. What I would advise, is that you keep a very close eye on your new Tc if you do decide to leave it here, in my space this evening. Good night"

I parked around the block, and my wife managed to convince me not to pop into the Auto Zone across the street for a valve core tool - the tiny instrument of revenge I carry in every other car...

We could see her sitting in the car, afraid to leave it but unwilling to troll for another space, for some time.

/rant.

^^^ I hate people.

Air bubble in one printer and a stupid amount of ink buildup in the other. Printers being down for BS like this is frustrating. Why can't it be a real problem like a broken gear drive of small fire.

kazoospec wrote: Mine is the "New" unvented gas cans. I'm sure this is somehow a government idea, because no one who has ever used a real gas can to, say, fill their lawn mower (as opposed to having their undocumented help do it) would ever require the removal of vents from gas cans. I'm just guessing, but its probably the same moron who decided we need light bulbs that have to be handled by a hazmat team and take 20 minutes to "warm up" before actually putting out light. So now, just so a few vapors don't escape while I'm pouring my gas, I have a ventless gas can that chugs and spews gas all over me, the mower and the ground. This, by federal regs, probably requires that the entire lawn I'm trying to mow be removed by, you guessed it, a hazmat team. You know, the guy who designed gas cans way back whenever put a vent on them for a reason. I'm smart enough to close that vent when I'm done filling. After all, since our lack of a sensible energy policy has jacked up gas prices to almost $4.00 per gallon, I'm not letting any liquid gold evaporate. But no, now I've got a buck fifty worth of gas all over me, the mower and my lawn. And what's more, my only real option is to let all that liquid gold (you guessed it) evaporate. And I still run the risk I'll immolate myself when I pull the start cord. Idiots.

Now that I'm in yard care season again, this is, once again, my rant.

When it rains it pours. Three weeks ago my wife had a stroke. It was minor and she should be fine but in the meantime I am very busy. I also found out that my Dad's doctor found something he didn't like in a blood test and needs to get checked for prostate cancer. Coming home from a doctor's appointment the power steering pump in the Malibu started to sound like it was full of rocks and when I finally got around to mowing the lawn my POS mower decide to drop the bracket that holds the pto clutch in place and tear out the wires so now I need to figure out how to piece it together or drop $200 on a new clutch.

Curmudgeon wrote: I know the feeling, the little finger on my left hand goes numb all the time. If I hold a phone up to my left ear for a long time (like over 10 min) the whole hand goes numb. It's a PITA, but I have to get insurance again first before having docs look at it.

Ulnar nerve entrapment. I have that. Makes the pinky and the ring finger fall asleep and go numb. Need surgery to correct.

Another driving rant.

I was on a stretch of I75 that had 3 lanes. I had the cruise control set at 65 mph (the speed limit) and all the way over in the right lane. I look in the rearview and see some teenage thugs in a car behind me all over the back of my bumper. I see the kid in the passenger seat reach over and hit the horn on the steering wheel. So I decide to click the CC off and coast. As they(skinny little teenagers that I could crush) pass me, I just point and laugh at them. The kid on the passenger side rolls down his window and yells "berkeley you" and flicks me off. Man, I wish I could afford to beat the ever living E36 M3 out of some teenagers. Some of them need a "come to jesus" reality beating.

Wally wrote: When it rains it pours. Three weeks ago my wife had a stroke. It was minor and she should be fine but in the meantime I am very busy. I also found out that my Dad's doctor found something he didn't like in a blood test and needs to get checked for prostate cancer. Coming home from a doctor's appointment the power steering pump in the Malibu started to sound like it was full of rocks and when I finally got around to mowing the lawn my POS mower decide to drop the bracket that holds the pto clutch in place and tear out the wires so now I need to figure out how to piece it together or drop $200 on a new clutch.

Oh, wow. Wally, best of luck with the wife and the dad. The PS pump and lawnmower are just metal.

People that ask you a question and interrupt you in the middle of responding. Go berkeley yourself.

I've mentioned on here before how my extended family believes the only place you should ever buy a car is at a dealership, right?

I had them pretty well on the ropes a few weeks back when I was showing them the P71 I bought. I even upstaged my aunt's boyfriend who had brought his new Mustang GT.

So this week, when asked how the car's doing, I told them about how it needs new rear pads to pass inspection, and the blower motor cut out, so now I gotta replace that.

It was like they smelled the blood in the water.

"OH MY GOD, THIS IS WHY I NEVER BUY ANYTHING OFF CRAIGSLIST, YOU GOT RIPPED OFF, IT'S GONNA BE ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER..."

Never mind that you know, cars need maintenance (even dealership trade-ins with their 4 billion point inspections) and parts fail occasionally.

And they wonder why I don't come around all that often.

To my mother-in-law, who is completely, batE36 M3 insane:

Do you actually listen to what's coming out of your noise hole?

You won't paint your house anything but neutral colors to "preserve the resale value" of the house you've occupied for thirty years and will probably continue to until you die. Yet, you tell my wife (your daughter) and I that we're "ruining" our house by using bright colors inside the house (Charger orange in the bedroom) even though paint is only about $100 to change a room back.

Then, tonight, you complain that the city has changed the bylaws in your neighbourhood and will not allow lots to be subdivided.

You spend you life trying to preserve the value of your house. Then you get mad when it is no longer an automatic teardown when the new property owner gets it.

W T F ?

Dear Business I got a membership with (not this magazine or anyone affiliated with them),

Stop sending me so many berkeleying mass e-mails. You do NOT need to send me a newsletter every day. Hell, you don't even need to send them every week. If you send one per month, that will be fine. Honestly.

You really really really do not need to send me a "Joke of the week". I don't appreciate my friends sending e-mails like that. Having a business send one is just obnoxious.

I'm bringing this to your attention because I'm sure I'm not the only one of your customers who feels this way. I want to like you guys. But if the only options are "way too much contact" or "no contact at all"... I guess you won't be able to market any new services or products to me, and I will let friends thinking of patronizing you know just how obnoxious you will become.

Dear (rhymes with Grimmel):

I generally like your products. I have a corded and a cordless multi tool plus a lot of the little hickeydoos you sell for them, which typically last quite well unless I do something really stupid.

Based on that experience, I spent $129.00 for a GnawWax. It's a nice tool, solid, has a lot of power for its size, came with a nice blow molded case, a cutting guide and 4 wheels (keep this number in mind), including a 'flush cut multi purpose carbide' wheel. I did that because I was fixing a small area of roof sheathing (4x2 feet) and putting down hardwood in my house, I had 8 doorways to undercut and some holes for floor registers, plus trim the underside of my kitchen cabinet for a refrigerator. I also needed to trim a friend's kitchen cabinet for the same reason. I figured the small size/light weight would really help with this project.

I fixed the roof sheathing (plywood and OSB) and cut the kitchen cabinets, by the end of that it seemed the saw wasn't cutting all that great and the blade was getting pretty hot. I thought maybe I R just stoopid and expect too much. By the time I undercut 3 doors, the blade would get really hot and start smoking. I thought ok, it clogged with wood particles so I tried a brass brush to clean the carbide. Nope, no improvement. So I buy another flush cut carbide blade, at $24.95. That one lasts through undercutting 2 doors and the floor registers, byt he time I am done with the last floor register the damn blade is smoking. Okay, there's aluminum oxide in the wear surface of the hardwood and that's hard on any type of cutting tool.

Off to Gnome Despot for another $24.95 blade. (OBTW: the local Rowe's carries the complete tool but not the replacement blades. WTF? But that's another rant.) By this time I have 3 doorways to finish and I decide not to use the GnawWax on the hardwood any more.

By the end of the last doorway undercut, the second replacement blade is hot and smoking, it's late at night so I can't just run get another blade so I had to finish with that one. It set off the damn smoke alarm. If you are following along at home, that's $49.90 worth of blades (not including the first one that came WITH the tool) or 39% of the cost of the tool to cut maybe 100 linear feet. If you figure the cost of the original blade, that's $74.85 (plus tax) in blades or about 75 cents a foot.

By comparison, the low budget carbide tipped blades I bought for my table saw and mither saw went through probably 500 board feet of aluminum oxide coated hardwood and are still cutting like new. Not to mention the Larbor Gneight $69 wet saw and $19 diamond wheel went through probably 400 linear feet of ceramic tile and still works well, even if the table on the wet saw got scratched really bad and rusted. For that kind of money and a no name brand I can sorta forgive that.

It appears you at (rhymes with Grimmel) have carefully studied the inkjet printer cartridge marketing model of the $79 printer that can only use your $50 cartridges which hold a miniscule amount of ink: sell the printer (saw) to the unsuspecting schmuck and fix it so that only your cartridge (blade) will fit the printer (saw), make the cartridge (blade) out of rock candy so it won't last, then charge the snot out of the schmuck for the cartridge (blade).

Based on this experience, I will likely never buy one of your products ever again. That goes for your new parent company, Smosch, as well.

Dear Maintenance Warehouse Supervisor,

I don't care if you're joking or not. I don't like you and I don't want to deal with you. My job is not your business. I deal with safety and security. You do not. Lets keep it strictly to necessary communication. If its not necessary, I don't want to hear E36 M3.

Have a good day,
The Human Shield WHO PROTECTS YOU

I know that feel. The only thing worse is having the Maintenance manager put in charge of your department.

Monthly meetings were basically comprised of him telling us how much we sucked, his employees getting to bitch about us, and of course, were mandatory. (And about 2 hours after my night shift, you fat worthless putz!)

Everyone knows exactly what security should be doing! Too bad none of them ever wanna help out with it.

In reply to Racer1ab:

I work for HR and they only care that the job gets done. Next time, me and the gentleman in question will have words straightening things out. I will still have a job. Perks of having bosses that like me. I'm a hard worker.

I still keep seeing this thread title and reading "Minor Threat rant"...

Carry on....

Duke wrote: People who accelerate slowly, but to a high cruising speed, on typical multi-lane streets need to be shot. They are ALWAYS in the way. At every light you are stuck behind them as they putt away, but by the time the right lane clears and you get a shot at going around, they are moving fast enough that you can't make it before encountering slower traffic or another red light. Lather, rinse, repeat until you want to throttle them.

+1

Hello, Mr. Camry driver. My truck has 86 horses under the hood. Yes, the freeway on-ramp curves, but not much. Please don't do 20 in front of me all the way to the end, then floor your appliance. Some of us need to build up to freeway speed. By the way, thanks for merging while not up to speed, so I have to get into the traffic clot building up behind you.

My moving truck showed up over an HOUR early this morning. Why do I even bother giving these people concrete times? Fortunately I WAS ready, but the friend who was going to come by and give me a hand couldn't get here until the time we'd already arranged so I ended up doing 90% of the box-loading on my own.

I'd booked the truck for three hours loading time, which was enough, but ONLY since I'd gotten everything done yesterday night. This is 99.875% of the time NOT the case with me. I'd rather he'd been an hour late!

What would would I have been supposed to do if he'd gotten here and I'd still been packing boxes or mad scrambling around like I usually am? When I wrote 10:00 on the contract I didn't mean 8:45! But no, early = moar gooder, late = inexcusable horribly evil person bad. So goes the mantra.

Jay wrote: My moving truck showed up over an HOUR early this morning. Why do I even bother giving these people concrete times? Fortunately I WAS ready, but the friend who was going to come by and give me a hand couldn't get here until the time we'd already arranged so I ended up doing 90% of the box-loading on my own. I'd booked the truck for three hours loading time, which was enough, but ONLY since I'd gotten everything done yesterday night. This is 99.875% of the time NOT the case with me. I'd rather he'd been an hour late! What would would I have been supposed to do if he'd gotten here and I'd still been packing boxes or mad scrambling around like I usually am? When I wrote 10:00 on the contract I didn't mean 8:45! But no, early = moar gooder, late = inexcusable horribly evil person bad. So goes the mantra.

Have them sit and wait. Stipulate the contract said 10:00am. The driver's won't care, they get paid either way.

I think that one of my coworkers is "special."

He will walk up, say my job title and just look at me. I could be on the phone or typing up something, it does not matter to him. He is just very bothersome.

In reply to Jay:

Germany, where service people show up early and anger the customer. You will never have that problem here in the states.

Seriously people, out of all the people on the list of nominiees Rusty berkeleying Wallace was in the top five? I wouldn't let him in the place if he bought a ticket

http://www.nascar.com/news/120523/hof-class-of-2013/index.html

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR announced Wednesday the 2013 class of inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The five-person class, which will be officially inducted in a ceremony on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., consists of Buck Baker, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood.

Banks.

I initiated a rollover for my 401k from a previous employer at the end of March. I got a statement in the mail saying the check had been mailed on April 5.

It is now May 23rd and the check is still somewhere other than my new account.

I want my money back even if I can't spend it for 25 more years without paying half to uncle Sam.

Supposedly on vacation and currently signed in on the work laptop doing training for people that fail to keep training materials handy . . . that I update and send out every month . . . and talk about at every weekly meeting . . . and do demos of every month . . .

And this special person that forgot to send an email to approve me to attend a class for FREE after I've done all the leg work for find a project, secure a sponsor, create the scope, built tools, charts and define metrics . . . for no credit in the class

Whiskey Tango Sierra . . .