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Thread: Mini-rants for a new era

  1. #101
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    As for the format itself, I think it's more the widespread and unnecessary use of it in favor of simpler, more elegant solutions that bothers me.
    Customer today: I want to save a web page as a Word document to send to someone.
    Me: (Short explanation of what they can and can't do in Safari, and saving a web page in Word format ain't one of them.)
    Customer: (lots of whining about saving the web page to send to someone.)
    Me: You can use the Print function and make it a pdf if you really want to, but seriously, why don't you just mail them a link to the page?
    Customer: D'oh!
    I reserve the right to be bothered by things that don't faze you,
    and to cheerfully ignore things that bug the shit out of you.
    I am not you.

  2. #102
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    As for the format itself, I think it's more the widespread and unnecessary use of it in favor of simpler, more elegant solutions that bothers me.
    Eh, that's a far cry from "I just think that the format itself sucks, and does not deserve its place as a standard." I'll chalk it up to blatant hyperbole. It's good at what it's designed for (ensuring a document looks right when the recipient opens it and doesn't have the source program or the right fonts). What other software would you use for that?

  3. #103
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by featherlou
    Serious question for pepper and kolga - is this a result of helicopter parenting, do you figure? These kids have never had responsibility for anything in their lives, and they seriously don't get the concept of being responsible for their own schedules?
    Honestly, I just don't know. Some of it I attribute to the fact that I teach at a community college, and some of my students are...how shall I put this delicately and with tact, grace, and diplomacy...dumber than a sack of hair. When I first started teaching, I honestly thought that everyone was capable of college-level academic work. They just needed the personal motivation. I no longer believe that.

    Some of them are extremely smart, but assuming that because it's community college, it's 13th grade (high school with ashtrays). So, they really haven't stepped it up in terms of taking personal responsibility. I have a handout from somewhere that details the difference between high school and college, and one of the differences listed is that in college, your teachers will often not remind you of upcoming due date whereas in high school the teachers tend to do that. I think they just haven't made the adjustment yet.

    Unfortunately (and certainly no offense is intended to any K-12 teachers here), many of them are graduating from high schools while still functionally illiterate. I have received papers that I would swear were written by people who'd immigrated into the country yesterday with English as their fourth language, but that were written from graduates from high schools in my catchment area (which consists of a couple of very well-off counties).

    I suppose some of it could be helicopter parenting, but honestly, in my 11 years of teaching I've only ever had a handful of attempted conversations with parents. I say attempted, because mentioning FERPA restrictions on my ability to discuss their children's grades with them ends those conversations quickly.

    So, I'm still struggling to explain much of the phenomenon. When I'm not writing stories to http://www.rateyourstudents.blogspot.com to vent.

    edited to fix spelling errors which would look foolish in a rant about students

  4. #104
    אני אוהב יהודים!
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    I hate being cold! I hate it, hate it, hate it. It seems like I'm always cold when everyone else is comfortable.

    Hate!

  5. #105
    A Football of Fate Jeff's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    It is currently -4C outside (26F for you obstinate Americans) when it should be something closer to 5C (41F) and above this time of year.

    This after getting an unprecedented 3 days of snow this weekend. I live on the west coast specifically so I don't have to deal with this. Give me raaaaaain, at least it has to be above freezing to rain.

  6. #106
    XJETGIRLX
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by McNutty
    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    As for the format itself, I think it's more the widespread and unnecessary use of it in favor of simpler, more elegant solutions that bothers me.
    Eh, that's a far cry from "I just think that the format itself sucks, and does not deserve its place as a standard." I'll chalk it up to blatant hyperbole. It's good at what it's designed for (ensuring a document looks right when the recipient opens it and doesn't have the source program or the right fonts). What other software would you use for that?
    Well, it depends on the content of the original document and its intended meaning/message. Just ensuring the document "looks right" isn't the only factor to consider. You've also got to take into account how that information can or should be used downstream. For example, in my job I do a lot of work with other people's data. Government data, industry reports, anything that someone has to send in to someone else for any reason - you name it, I've probably done some work with it in some way. I'll admit I have wasted a hell of a lot of taxpayer money hand-typing information and data from PDFs into a spreadsheet or database because someone decided that PDFs were the way to go so that everything "looked right" or so that the information wasn't altered. It's just ridiculous.

    Most authoring tools have ways of locking the security of a document to changes, or a "read only" state. There are tons of different ways to deliver content on the web. My point is that not everything needs to be a PDF, and the use of PDFs as a standard for sending things you don't want people to mess with is not as soundproof as people think. I get that there's a feeling of security, but anyone with a little time on their hands can re-create and alter the content of your PDF and then re-save it as a PDF. If they were really creative they could even alter the information to make it look like it came from you. If your information is that sensitive, it makes more sense to use other process-oriented controls for ensuring the validity of the source.

    It's a needless extra format. Why people seem to be ok with downloading an entire new program (like reader) but think that downloading Open Office to read a word document is too much of a hassle I'll never understand. And as for things looking right from one computer to the next, if you know how to use the formatting tools, select your fonts appropriately, and set up your document in the right way you can pretty much ensure it will look right no matter who is looking at it or what version of the software they are using.

  7. #107
    Indifferent to bacon Julie's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by Jeff
    Give me raaaaaain, at least it has to be above freezing to rain.
    Obviously, you don't live in Ohio.

  8. #108
    Elephant Claptree's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    More whining about the weather: the past two days have been great, sunny and beautiful. When walking the dog yesterday, I could really feel the sun warming me up which was a lovely feeling.

    Today started out nice; I woke up with the sun coming in through the windows and the sky looked clear. Now, some 6 hours later, it's snowing like a bitch. Enough to stay on the ground despite the temperature being just above freezing. So it'll keep falling for a while and then promptly turn into filthy slush. Yay.

  9. #109
    Oliphaunt featherlou's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by Jeff
    It is currently -4C outside (26F for you obstinate Americans) when it should be something closer to 5C (41F) and above this time of year.

    This after getting an unprecedented 3 days of snow this weekend. I live on the west coast specifically so I don't have to deal with this. Give me raaaaaain, at least it has to be above freezing to rain.
    Oh, man, spring can't come soon enough for me this year. I don't know if it was a particularly pesky winter, or I'm just getting older and tireder of winter, but this was a long one. We shouldn't be breaking low temperature records halfway through March.

  10. #110
    XJETGIRLX
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by Jeff
    It is currently -4C outside (26F for you obstinate Americans) when it should be something closer to 5C (41F) and above this time of year.

    This after getting an unprecedented 3 days of snow this weekend. I live on the west coast specifically so I don't have to deal with this. Give me raaaaaain, at least it has to be above freezing to rain.
    I suppose I shouldn't casually mention that it is 77 degrees and sunny here right now. I'm looking out my window and I see sunshine, birds chirping, and bees happily buzzing about.

  11. #111
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    Just ensuring the document "looks right" isn't the only factor to consider.
    Of course it isn't. But that is what PDF was invented for.

    I'll admit I have wasted a hell of a lot of taxpayer money hand-typing information and data from PDFs into a spreadsheet or database because someone decided that PDFs were the way to go so that everything "looked right" or so that the information wasn't altered. It's just ridiculous.
    Yes, in these cases, it was obviously a poor choice.

    Most authoring tools have ways of locking the security of a document to changes, or a "read only" state. There are tons of different ways to deliver content on the web. My point is that not everything needs to be a PDF, and the use of PDFs as a standard for sending things you don't want people to mess with is not as soundproof as people think. I get that there's a feeling of security, but anyone with a little time on their hands can re-create and alter the content of your PDF and then re-save it as a PDF. If they were really creative they could even alter the information to make it look like it came from you. If your information is that sensitive, it makes more sense to use other process-oriented controls for ensuring the validity of the source.
    Also yes: if people save things as PDF because they think that prevents them from being tampered with, that's pretty stupid. There are many Adobe products that allow you to open a PDF file, modify it, and save it back out. ETA: and many other ways of tampering with PDFs as well.

    It's a needless extra format. Why people seem to be ok with downloading an entire new program (like reader) but think that downloading Open Office to read a word document is too much of a hassle I'll never understand. And as for things looking right from one computer to the next, if you know how to use the formatting tools, select your fonts appropriately, and set up your document in the right way you can pretty much ensure it will look right no matter who is looking at it or what version of the software they are using.
    Well, this is the crux of your misunderstanding. A Word document is a monumentally shitty way to send a document to someone and ensure that it will be display and print correctly. I tried to open my last job offer letter in Open Office and the fucking salary was invisible. And this is exactly the problem PDF was designed to solve. You think the solution is to force people to limit the contents of their documents, but that's just ignoring the problem. Adobe decided to solve it. Which they've done, by creating a tool with a very specific use, and now many people misunderstand that tool and use it for lots of things they shouldn't. Your beef is with them, and railing about how the file format is "bloated, severely limited in its capabilities, and incredibly inefficient" just makes you look dumb.

  12. #112
    A Football of Fate Jeff's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    I suppose I shouldn't casually mention that it is 77 degrees and sunny here right now. I'm looking out my window and I see sunshine, birds chirping, and bees happily buzzing about.
    Once I convert that to celsius, I'm sure I will be outraged!

  13. #113
    Oliphaunt featherlou's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    Quote Originally posted by Jeff
    It is currently -4C outside (26F for you obstinate Americans) when it should be something closer to 5C (41F) and above this time of year.

    This after getting an unprecedented 3 days of snow this weekend. I live on the west coast specifically so I don't have to deal with this. Give me raaaaaain, at least it has to be above freezing to rain.
    I suppose I shouldn't casually mention that it is 77 degrees and sunny here right now. I'm looking out my window and I see sunshine, birds chirping, and bees happily buzzing about.
    Yes, but you're in Florida. We all know what happens in Florida.

  14. #114
    I've had better days, but I don't care! hatesfreedom's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by Sleeps w/Butterflies
    I hate being cold! I hate it, hate it, hate it. It seems like I'm always cold when everyone else is comfortable.

    Hate!
    Someday I know that you'll learn to dress properly and solve this life changing problem once and for all. Now lets hug it out pedo style.

  15. #115
    XJETGIRLX
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by McNutty
    Your beef is with them, and railing about how the file format is "bloated, severely limited in its capabilities, and incredibly inefficient" just makes you look dumb.
    No, again I said that the Adobe product was bloated, severely limited in its capabilities, and incredibly inefficient. The problem with the format is people's misuse of it.

  16. #116
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    No, again I said that the Adobe product was bloated, severely limited in its capabilities, and incredibly inefficient. The problem with the format is people's misuse of it.
    Again, no you didn't. You said:
    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    I just think that the format itself sucks, and does not deserve its place as a standard. It's bloated, severely limited in its capabilities, and incredibly inefficient.
    You were ranting and you said something dumb and got called on it. You'll get a lot more respect by saying "oops, I didn't mean that" than denying you ever said it when it's right there a few posts up.

  17. #117
    XJETGIRLX
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by McNutty
    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    No, again I said that the Adobe product was bloated, severely limited in its capabilities, and incredibly inefficient. The problem with the format is people's misuse of it.
    Again, no you didn't. You said:
    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    I just think that the format itself sucks, and does not deserve its place as a standard. It's bloated, severely limited in its capabilities, and incredibly inefficient.
    You were ranting and you said something dumb and got called on it. You'll get a lot more respect by saying "oops, I didn't mean that" than denying you ever said it when it's right there a few posts up.
    And you missed my reply to you on page 2 where I said:

    No, understand the purpose quite well. When I said "bloated, etc." I was referring specifically to Acrobat.
    I already clarified where I misspoke. Either you missed it or you're just being a dick.

  18. #118
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Maybe I missed it because it sounds more like a denial than an acknowledgment. Sorry.

  19. #119
    Elephant Claptree's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    I was wrong about my weather prediction in my previous post. Instead of promptly turning to slush, it's still snowing. Not too bad, just a few inches, but I'll be listening to the plows all night.

    Quote Originally posted by Chimera
    <snip>
    The entire reason they give you that big long on-ramp is so that you can get up to speed and merge smoothly with traffic at the current speed of that traffic. It is not so that you can dial your cell phone, talk to your kids, putter with your shit, all at 15mph, right up until you're next to the flow of traffic.
    Oh fuck yes. I get absolutely furious when I end up behind one of the utter morons that decide to break their way onto the freeway. "Oooohmygosh, there are other cars on the road! Best stand still and wait for them to go away."

    It's a common enough occurence, that on certain on-ramps, especially ones leading out to a 90kph or faster road, I'll just crawl along until they're off the ramp so I can safely merge at a proper speed.

  20. #120
    XJETGIRLX
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by McNutty
    Maybe I missed it because it sounds more like a denial than an acknowledgment. Sorry.
    Mea culpa! I never realized PDFs were SRS BSNS. I shall now go commit seppuku to cleanse me of my shame.

  21. #121
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by Claptree
    Oh fuck yes. I get absolutely furious when I end up behind one of the utter morons that decide to break their way onto the freeway. "Oooohmygosh, there are other cars on the road! Best stand still and wait for them to go away."
    This morning:

    45 mph up the ramp onto the 70mph freeway behind some chucklehead. We get to the control lights, which are rapidly alternating green/red on both sides.

    Chucklehead slams on his brakes. Didn't completely stop, but got down to about 30mph. Then tries to merge at 45mph.

    I zipped around him.

    Dude, if I'd have hit you from behind after that shit, they'd have needed the Jaws of Life to pry your head out of the hood of your car. :evil: :evil: :evil:
    I reserve the right to be bothered by things that don't faze you,
    and to cheerfully ignore things that bug the shit out of you.
    I am not you.

  22. #122
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by annehere
    In-laws: I LOVE seeing you—you're great. But look: you have GOT to keep an eye on your kid when you come over. That means:
    • don't let her continually terrorize the dog
    • don't let her climb all over our tables and other furniture that is not meant to be climbed on
    • don't ever call from the next room and ask me if I need you to "take over." I'm not watching your kid, I did not offer to watch your kid, I didn't sign anything that made me responsible for your kid when she's in the same room with me.

    !
    I pit annehere for stealing my pitting. How do you know my in-laws and their kid?

  23. #123
    Oliphaunt featherlou's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by Claptree
    I was wrong about my weather prediction in my previous post. Instead of promptly turning to slush, it's still snowing. Not too bad, just a few inches, but I'll be listening to the plows all night.
    <snip>
    You have plows? I WISH we had plows. We don't get tons of snow, but we get respectable dumps sometimes, and the City of Calgary's response is to wait for it to melt. There are entire neighbourhoods where, if you don't have a large, four wheel drive vehicle, you aren't getting your car out of your driveway for weeks at a time. I was talking with some people awhile ago who have a guy in the neighbourhood with a little bobcat and a snow-clearing business, and the city refused to let him take care of the local road because he's not licensed with the city. The consensus was, "Jeeze, dude, you don't ASK them if you can clear the road!"

  24. #124
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by XJETGIRLX
    Mea culpa! I never realized PDFs were SRS BSNS. I shall now go commit seppuku to cleanse me of my shame.
    My humblest apologies. I had no idea you couldn't stand to be corrected.

  25. #125
    Elephant Claptree's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by featherlou
    You have plows? I WISH we had plows. We don't get tons of snow, but we get respectable dumps sometimes, and the City of Calgary's response is to wait for it to melt. There are entire neighbourhoods where, if you don't have a large, four wheel drive vehicle, you aren't getting your car out of your driveway for weeks at a time. I was talking with some people awhile ago who have a guy in the neighbourhood with a little bobcat and a snow-clearing business, and the city refused to let him take care of the local road because he's not licensed with the city. The consensus was, "Jeeze, dude, you don't ASK them if you can clear the road!"
    Of course we get plows, this is communist Sweden.

    That is both a lie and an untruth. Not a year has gone by without the first decent snowfall causing utter chaos, even though it happens every November. They get it going properly around mid-January.

  26. #126
    Oliphaunt featherlou's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    The first snowfall chaos seems to be consistent for every area that gets snow regularly.

  27. #127
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Oh yeah, everyone needs to learn how to drive in snow all over again, like they've never seen it in your life.

    The solidly crazy part that bugs me is that everyone seems to need to learn this lesson again with every one of the first several snowfalls.
    I reserve the right to be bothered by things that don't faze you,
    and to cheerfully ignore things that bug the shit out of you.
    I am not you.

  28. #128
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Dear substitute aerobics instructor from this morning:

    You suck.

    It is not necessary to turn the music up to ear-crushing volume. It is not necessary to bellow into the microphone so that all the mirrors rattle. Did you not notice people leaving the class because of it?

    And another thing. Thanks for pretending to teach the yoga class which followed. I had no idea that doing only two poses (apparently that's all you know) could take up 30 minutes of time. Next time I'll stay home and do it.
    This message brought to you by NinetyWt, the Queen of Lubricants™.

  29. #129
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    So many mini-rants, so little time.

    To my overheated brain: fuck you. I have tried just about everything I can think of to deal with the migraines you keep handing me. OTC pain killers, cold packs, antihistamines, decongestants, cold water nasal irrigation, giving up chocolate, tomatoes, and white bread, and adding feverfew to my daily herbal supplements. The feverfew is the only thing that worked. For a week and a half. Now, thanks to the weather change and some ungodly combination of pollen, I've got the asymmetrical throbbing, the sinus pain, the eye pain, a little bit of the nausea, and the exhaustion that comes with it. I hate you.

    To my cat: you are not allowed to die, okay? I will happily feed you baby food, expensive prescription cat food, smear potassium supplement on your nose, swap out food flavors every day, warm your food, get the fresh flowing water fountain, ignore my mom squawking about money spent on you, cuddle you, kiss you, let you in, let you out, let you in, let you out, tempt you with raw fish, tempt you with raw chicken livers, clean up after the chicken liver you didn't eat, personally prepare meals for you twice a day and do your dishes so the parents don't see them. Any income I have, I will happily spent at the vet's to keep you going. I will even learn how to give you subcutaneous fluids, if it comes to that. Your part of the deal is that You Do NOT Get To Die. Got it?

    To my dad: I know that you hate being old, but it's better than the alternative. However, letting yourself remain uncomfortable and get more so because you don't want to do "old" stuff is fucking retarded. I know you're cold. You turn the heat up to 82 degrees and mutter about how it's freezing. It's the only place I've ever lived where I was too warm. I will knit you a sweater, a shawl, a hat, a scarf, mittens, and anything else you require. I've already shelled out $80 to get you a set of silk underwear, top and bottom. They are still in their original bags. If you'd just wear them under your regular clothes, you'd be a whole lot warmer. But you won't, because "only old men wear those things". Newsflash, Dad: you're 81 years old. You're old. You also refused the space heater, walk around in a thin cotton robe, and close your bedroom door, which keeps the heat out. If you could be just a little less self-defeating, I'd really appreciate it.

    To the economy: die in a fire. I knew it was getting bad when I moved to SoCal at the beginning of December. I had no idea it would get so bad that looking for a job was like a bad joke. Craigslist employment section dropped from 10-20 ads per day to maybe five to seven, per week. The school districts are laying off teachers, which means that there'll be no open positions next year without 2,000 teachers competing for one slot. Oh, and the other out of work teachers will be grabbing up all the substitute positions.

    To the CA state board on teacher credentialing: first of all, morons, it's "certified". Not "certificated". You see, there's a base word there - certify - that is handily transformed by the addition of the past tense suffix "-ed". A certificate is merely the piece of paper that gives evidence that you are certified. To be "certificated", you would either need to staple a certificate to my forehead, or press me flat, affix a shiny seal to my right bottom corner, and have the governor sign me.

    Second, I realize that you are understaffed and over worked, but surely two months is long enough to determine that I a) previously held teacher credentials in this state, b) allowed them to expire because I lived in another state, and c) have actually done all the necessary work to earn the next level of credential. Please get off your flat ass, review the tonnage of paperwork I've sent you, and sign off on the fucking thing! Also, a 30-Day Emergency Credential that lasts one full year is self-contradictory.

    To my mom: I love you with all my heart. You are practically my Best Friend Forever. But I need you to get a few things through your head. First, I am no longer a virgin. Yes, there has been a penis - more than one! but not at the same time - inside my vagina. I'm familiar with and quite fond of the whole concept of sex. While I do not intend to throw wild orgies at home (hard on the furniture, and you never get the stains out), I have not and will not be taking any sort of vows either. There could even be sex in my future. Neither of us will die from it. Please stop acting like the worst thing that could happen to me is a relationship.

    Also, you may have noticed that I'm fat. You were certainly the very first person in my life to point it out. In the face of health problems, emotional problems, work problems, and a whole lot of other shit, I've managed to keep my weight within a ten pound range. I count that as a form of success. I have, however, gotten to the point where I believe that my best chance for losing and keeping the weight off is weight loss surgery. I know you would prefer that I force my adipose tissue to melt away through sheer force of will. I know you feel that anything less shows a lack of character. I'm willing to live with that, but I would rather you chose to believe my accounts of my experience and back me up on what I say will work for me. Just a little daydream of mine.

    *sigh* Well, I feel a little better.
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  30. #130
    Indifferent to bacon Julie's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by phouka
    To my cat: you are not allowed to die, okay? I will happily feed you baby food, expensive prescription cat food, smear potassium supplement on your nose, swap out food flavors every day, warm your food, get the fresh flowing water fountain, ignore my mom squawking about money spent on you, cuddle you, kiss you, let you in, let you out, let you in, let you out, tempt you with raw fish, tempt you with raw chicken livers, clean up after the chicken liver you didn't eat, personally prepare meals for you twice a day and do your dishes so the parents don't see them. Any income I have, I will happily spent at the vet's to keep you going. I will even learn how to give you subcutaneous fluids, if it comes to that. Your part of the deal is that You Do NOT Get To Die. Got it?
    Sub-q fluids are easy-peasy. Is it kidneys?

  31. #131
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Yup. She was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure just a month ago. I had a housemate whose cat went through the same illness, eventually having to be put down. Giving sub-q fluids doesn't scare me. Asking my parents to help me foot the bill, since I'm unemployed, does. Watching kitty go downhill even with that scares the bejeezus out of me.
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  32. #132
    Indifferent to bacon Julie's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by phouka
    Yup. She was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure just a month ago. I had a housemate whose cat went through the same illness, eventually having to be put down. Giving sub-q fluids doesn't scare me. Asking my parents to help me foot the bill, since I'm unemployed, does. Watching kitty go downhill even with that scares the bejeezus out of me.
    That sucks. Do you have her on Pepcid? That seemed to help my fuzzers when it came to eating. 1/4 a 10 mg tablet once a day.

  33. #133
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Phouka

    As you may have seen me write in other threads here and on the dope;

    One of my great regrets in life is that I was too scared and selfish and, when the time came, I didn't help my Little Guy out of this world when he really needed me to. I allowed him to suffer terribly before the end, because I didn't want to let him go. Because I wasn't in a good place in my life, and he was by Bud, sometimes (in very dark days) my very reason for living.

    Don't walk down that road. When the time comes, be there, be strong, stay right there with him and let him go in peace and dignity, with your face being the last thing he sees and your hands the last thing he feels.

    Yeah, it's scary, and it's hard.

    But I assure you, the alternative is worse.
    I reserve the right to be bothered by things that don't faze you,
    and to cheerfully ignore things that bug the shit out of you.
    I am not you.

  34. #134
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    I will look into the Pepcid. Thank you, Julie.

    Chimera, I hear you. I've watched two close friends make the decision and was there for one of them when she had to put her cat down due to intestinal cancer. I'm told Raven should carry on for at least a year, but in the past month, she's become extremely clingy, and she's lost weight. I will be discussing with the vet how and when to make the decision, and what criteria to use. I do not look forward to it in any way, and I'm sure I'll be a wreck over it, but I won't let my kitty down.
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  35. #135
    Registered user
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by phouka
    I will look into the Pepcid. Thank you, Julie.

    Chimera, I hear you. I've watched two close friends make the decision and was there for one of them when she had to put her cat down due to intestinal cancer. I'm told Raven should carry on for at least a year, but in the past month, she's become extremely clingy, and she's lost weight. I will be discussing with the vet how and when to make the decision, and what criteria to use. I do not look forward to it in any way, and I'm sure I'll be a wreck over it, but I won't let my kitty down.
    It's a hard decision to make. I've had to do it twice now. Phouka, your avatar has a meaning to me. I had a white cat and a black cat who used to do the ying and yang bit. I regret that I never got a picture of them doing it.

    The white cat was the older of the pair. She suddenly became very ill and lost a lot of weight. I finally decided to put her down, but it wasn't easy. I sat in my office at work and bawled. I bawled while I took her into the vets, and bawled on the way out. The vet and her assistant were wonderful. They were crying too. They gave some time to say goodbye to her after.

    The black cat was my baby. I got her when she was four weeks old, and she thought I was her mother. She developed diabetes. We made it through three years after she was diagnosed, and then she developed a mass in her abdomen. The vet and I talked about the possibility of surgery, but at her age and with her condition I didn't want to put her through it. I took her home, and tried to make the rest of her life as comfortable as possible. A month later, I finally realized it was time to let her go. I was not looking forward to that last trip to the vets. That same night, she passed away. And now I'm crying again.

    The furballs really creep into our hearts. Another cat may come into your life, but it will never fill the hole the others have left. It will develop its own space.

  36. #136
    Indifferent to bacon Julie's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Bo damn it, why did I buy those onion rolls? WHY? They're awfully good, true, but WHY?! I didn't need more bread! I didn't need more snacky goodness!

    (The ingredients included "soybean onions." I assume it was an error, but it's a weird error.)

  37. #137
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Soybean onions? That's . . . that's against all laws of God and nature.

    *shudder*

    Could you feed them to the birds? Or would that create an undisciplined army of the soybean undead?
    The panther is like the leopard, except it hasn't been peppered.
    If you see a panther crouch, prepare to say "ouch!".
    Better yet, if called by a panther, don't anther.
    - Ogden Nash

  38. #138
    Confused Box Guy fachverwirrt's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    I'm applying for a teaching job. Every district seems to have a different application procedure. Many of them are simply "Send in a resume, cover letter, transcripts and letter of recommendation". That's easy. Some have an online application. That's a little frustrating, since they often want you to upload letters of recommendation, and mine are on file at my alma mater's career center, and they're confidential and I don't have access to them.

    But the worst are the written applications. They insist you send in a resume. On my resume is listed all of my work experience and education. The application asks me for my work experience and education, with a note admonishing me that "'See resume' is not sufficient". Why the hell do you want it, then?

    There is a website called REAP, which stands for something like "Regional Educational Application... something". You include on this site all of your work experience, education, and other things that you generally include on a resume. You also have to fill out a "style survey" where you have to briefly answer a bunch of education-type questions ("why do you want to teach?" "What do you want to know about your students?") The application I'm working on now includes these questions verbatim. The district also wants me to complete a REAP application. So, why on earth do I need to repeat the answers to all of these questions?

    Hoops, hoops, and more hoops.

  39. #139
    Indifferent to bacon Julie's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by phouka
    Soybean onions? That's . . . that's against all laws of God and nature.

    *shudder*

    Could you feed them to the birds? Or would that create an undisciplined army of the soybean undead?
    Those stinking birds can buy their own soybean onions!

    I assume it was supposed to be "soybean oil, onions," but someone got a little sloppy in their proofreading.

  40. #140
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    To my husband's entire family:

    Fuck off and mind your own goddamned business. :evil:

    That is all. I'm so angry I can't even type.
    This message brought to you by NinetyWt, the Queen of Lubricants™.

  41. #141
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    I'd ask, but I don't wanna fuck off.

  42. #142
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    His family is extremely judgemental. I do not like the way they treat my hubby. A bunch of authoritarian jerks, the lot of them. Grrrrrrr.
    This message brought to you by NinetyWt, the Queen of Lubricants™.

  43. #143
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Yikes, sorry to hear that. I'll send over some "associates" to deal with them.

  44. #144
    Indifferent to bacon Julie's avatar
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Quote Originally posted by Pixiesnix
    Yikes, sorry to hear that. I'll send over some "associates" to deal with them.
    Statler and Waldorf?

  45. #145
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Nope, Bunsen and Beeker. A well-timed explosion should do the trick.

  46. #146
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    The anger has almost passed. Now I'm just shaky and been crying some.

    One of my hubby's relatives was over here fishing in our pond. Our pond. At our house. This person observes one of my kids and the kids' friends talking in front of the house. Yes, they are smoking cigarettes. These are young adults, like 20 to 22 years of age.

    This person calls my hubby (who wasn't even here at the time) and makes some remarks as to the behavior of these kids. Who were about 500 feet away from this person at all times. Why don't you stay at your own cocksucking house? Fish in your own damn pond.

    I hate that. I hate that way of his family's. They call him and tell him how to run his own life. Shut up. Shut the hell up. If I want something out of one of you nosy bitches, I'll fucking squeeze it out of you.
    This message brought to you by NinetyWt, the Queen of Lubricants™.

  47. #147
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Not to be Dear Abby and all, but what does your husband say to this?

  48. #148
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    He vents to me about it, then we talk it out. He manages to stay on friendly terms with his family. They love him, and he them, but dang ! They get on my nerves. I think he's used to it. My family is much more diplomatic about things, and we don't tell each other what to do. It's very foreign to me.
    This message brought to you by NinetyWt, the Queen of Lubricants™.

  49. #149
    Stegodon
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    If it helps at all, I know where you're husband's coming from. My mom's side of the family is like that. It's a thin line to walk, having fealty to them and at the same time wanting to throttle them. You both have my sympathy. And an open offer for muppet retrobution.

  50. #150
    Elephant
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    Default Re: Mini-rants for a new era

    Thank you. I am about over my snit, now.
    This message brought to you by NinetyWt, the Queen of Lubricants™.

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