Miscellaneous Rant Thread

[Sock Puppet]

Come rant with me. Got a rant that you need to rant, but don't have a suitable ranting place for it? Post it here.

My rant for today:

Just buy my fucking house already, somebody. Double mortgages suck sweaty, diseased donkey balls. There's nothing wrong with the fucking house. It's priced properly, and well located (for the town it's in, anyway). So just buy the fucking house and like it, assholes. :rant:

Who're you talking to, Homer?
:bart:

Uh, the guy who doesn't live there.
:homer:

[Legs]

No offers yet, Sock? Did you have an openhouse?

[The Jesus Lawyer]

(edited cuz it was too long to be posting across...)

just go here:

http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8496

that's my rant :)

[Sock Puppet]

No offers yet, Sock? Did you have an openhouse?
Three of them. No offers. The freaking market seemed to dry up right when we listed.

Rant 1.1: The double mortgage is bad enough; I also have to keep maintaining the fucking yard, especially the front, where the Bermuda grass has just gotten horny. Best I can do there is just fertilize the heck out of it (to promote the good grass growth, which makes the Bermuda crap less noticeable) and mow 2-3 times a week, which I don't have time for. It's 35 minutes' drive away from the new house -- without traffic -- and I don't have a pickup truck to keep hauling the mower back & forth.

[Crumb]

Could you hire a neighbor kid?

[Sock Puppet]

I had a guy maintaining the lawn back when I had money. I cut him loose because he got sloppy, and charged too much. I'll have to see if I can find somebody else, but it's tough to find a neighbor kid to do it when I don't live in town anymore.

[Legs]

That sucks Sock. Are you selling privately or do you have an agent?

[Sock Puppet]

An agent. I could understand the delay better if I were trying to do a sale-by-owner.

[Legs]

What is the agent saying about the market drying up? Are you getting many people coming through to view?

[Sock Puppet]

Actually, the bit about drying up is mainly just my biased, frustrated perception. The market in the Bay Area is still technically a seller's market, but it doesn't feel that way from my perspective. We're getting trickles of viewers, just no solid bites. The open houses have all had disappointing turnouts -- mostly nosy neighbors not looking to buy. The agent has reassured me that we don't need to drop the asking price, which I don't really want to do anyway, but I'm starting to get desperate.

[Legs]

Tip, if you know someone is coming to view - bake something that smells good - like spice cookies, or put on a pot of coffee. Have some nice music on too, also fresh flowers out are helpful, in the kitchen & living room

Good Luck Sock :hug: I know this has to be stressful

[Sock Puppet]

Thankee. :hug: ya back.

BTW, I know this current woe is my own doing. I treated a gamble like it was a sure thing, and now I'm paying the price. Of course, it just makes it worse that I have no one to :blame:, so that's why I'm ranting at the nonexistent person who was supposed to buy my house.

[Legs]

They are not nonexistant... they are out there and will probably make an offer tomorrow :vibes:

[Sock Puppet]

Thanks Legsy. :glomp:

Doesn't anybody else have a rant? Here's mine for the day:

Get the FUCK away from my office window. You have your own office, you can go blather about whatever you're blathering about there. Or elsewhere. Don't go away mad, just go away. I will never figure out why people need to conduct their inane conversations in the hallway when their offices are a few steps away.

[SharonDee]

Doesn't anybody else have a rant?I do.

When I have waited three weeks for an acknowledgement of my project status email--while you gallivanted around the country being all music-bizzy when you're really just a glorified data entry clerk--I am not happy when I finally get an email reponse: "What do you have to do to have this ready? Are we on schedule?"

Argh!

First draft of my reply: Did you read the email I sent you on April 26th? How about the one I sent you on May 5th? Or the spreadsheet I sent you on June 2nd? Don't ask me anything until you have read and understood prior communications! :rant:

After-I-calmed-down draft: The process is as ready as I can make it without your looking at my work to let me know otherwise. [repeat in condensed version what I wrote in the earlier three emails] Let me know how I can help. :wave:

[Dingfod]

Rant#1:thisgoddamnkeyboardsucksrottenballparkweiners.Thespacebarishosedupandrequiresabout40poundsofthumbpressuretooperate.Iwouldspacemywordsnow,butmythumbsaretired.

[Legs]

So get a new keyboard, Silly sausage.

[Dingfod]

Ihadone,adandywirelessjobby,butinlandwaveabscondedwithitforhercomputeranddugthesixyearoldGatewaykeyboardout.

[Legs]

Goodforinlandwave :yup:

[inland wave]

Yes, I did.....that wonderful wireless keyboard is sweet I tell you! I guess a keyboard awaits you for fathers day...or that ipod you want ...or damn it....the other item escapes me now. Oh yes, I remember, that cannon camera you've had your eye on for sometime now.

[Crumb]

at-least-use-hyphens-or-something-Dingfod. Otherwise-you-will-drive-me-nuts!

[Legs]

cannon camera

:cannon:

Oh yeah, get him that. :yup:

[Crumb]

:ciao: inland wave! You don't post enough! :tsktsk:

[inland wave]

yeah, canon, cannon....spellcheck doesn't tell the difference. I'm tired ready to go home, but I still have to finish things up here at the office. Crumbles...I miss you too!

[Legs]

Crumbles...I miss you too!

:aww:

[Crumb]

:huggle:

[The Lone Ranger]

So, I've been working in a nearby factory for the past several months, to earn traveling money. It makes for long days, since I work there all day, then come in to the school for several more hours -- then go home, go to sleep, get up, and do it all over again.

Anyway.


It's a factory, which means it isn't exactly the most enjoyable job imaginable, but a job is a job, so who am I to complain? So long as they're paying me, I'll do my best.

A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting next to a guy -- a decent-enough sort -- who started off on a rant about how religious belief is the source of all morality, and how unbelievers are, more or less by definition, immoral people. Goodness knows what inspired him to start such a conversation. So, I politely disagreed with him and pointed out that there's no evidence to support such a conclusion. I don't get the impression he was convinced, but at least he backed off. The last thing I wanted, in any event, was to get into a serious discussion of the matter, because we were at work. In my view, that meant we were supposed to be doing our jobs, not discussing such matters.


Then, tonight, I found myself seated next to another guy. Again, he's someone I've spoken with on a few occasions, but don't really know. He seems like a perfectly decent fellow.

Just making conversation, or so I thought, he asked me what brought me there. I told him that I was there to earn a bit of money while I finished up my degree, so that I could then afford to move on. So far, so good.

Then he asked me, "So, are you a spiritual person?" Uh oh. Without thinking, and definitely not wanting to get into a religious discussion, I replied, "No, not really," while fervently hoping he'd take the hint and drop the matter.

He didn't.

He went on a sustained lecture about how important it is that I should "find Jesus," because he knows Heaven and Hell are real places and that I'll inevitably end up in one or the other of them.

I sat there, doing my assigned tasks and giving only the barest minimum in replies -- just enough to avoid being outright rude while (hopefully) making it plain that I wasn't interested in discussing the matter.


He gave all the standards. He insisted that if only I'd "open my heart to Jesus," I'd instantly know of his existence and his love. He insisted that no amount of learning could lead you to "The Truth" and that the truly important thing was to forget all about that and simply "ask Jesus into your heart."

He insisted that there's no way one can be a "truly" moral person without Jesus -- "even though you seem like a really nice person; just remember, that won't get you into Heaven."

He told me of how he knows Hell exists, and how I'll surely wind up there if I don't accept Jesus into my heart -- and it'll be my own fault, because Jesus has been doing his best to get through to me all along, but I obviously wasn't listening.

He even trotted out Pascal's wager.


The thing that struck me as so bizaare about the experience was that he truly didn't seem capable of understanding that I had thought about such things. Apparently, it was self-evident to him that anyone who would simply give the matter 5 minutes' thought would recognize "The Truth" -- that Jesus exists and loves me and wants to save me from Hell if only I'll let him. I don't doubt for a moment that he truly believed he was doing me a tremendous favor by telling me this wonderful news.



And there's the thing. All I wanted was to be left alone, and I did my very best to convey that message without being outright rude about it.

But he just wouldn't take the hint.


I could certainly have explained to him in great detail why Pascal's wager is utterly invalid. I did explain to him that he was invoking what's called "Pascal's wager," and briefly explained why it wasn't going to convince me -- hoping that he'd get the message that I had thought about such things, and that what he was trying to convince me of was nothing that I hadn't heard and considered before. He didn't get the message though, apparently.


I find it fascinating that he seemed to just assume that because I didn't share his religious beliefs that I must be ignorant of the matter. At one point, I told him that I had been raised as a Baptist, hoping he'd take the hint that I wasn't unfamiliar with his claims and leave off. His reaction was interesting. He expressed his surprise -- apparently, it was all but inconceivable to him that I could have been raised by a church-going family and yet not be a lifelong believer.

Heck, chances are excellent that I know the Bible better than he does. (Indeed, I find it highly improbable that anyone could torture logic enough to convince me that the Bible -- with its numerous contradictions, absurdities, and factual errors -- could be a.) the work of an infallible being, b.) a useful moral guide, or c.) a reliable guide to historical or scientific matters.)



Anyway, I was ultimately saved by the end of the work-day. He's a decent-enough fellow, and I don't doubt for a moment that he sincerely believes he's telling me something that I've never before heard (or at least, never before seriously considered) and that I truly need to know.

I'm sure he truly and honestly believes he's doing me a tremendous favor by telling me all of this, so I smiled politely and thanked him for his "kindness," even as I did my best to make it clear that I wasn't interested in discussing the matter.

Oh goodness gracious me, I hope I don't get seated next to him again anytime soon. I don't want to hurt his feelings by bluntly telling him I'm not interested, but I may have to.

If he were to persist even after that, I might possibly find it necessary to explain to him in detail why I find the existence of a god or gods slightly less probable than the existence of vampires, elves, and werewolves. Worse yet, I might eventually find it necessary to tell him exactly what I think of the supposed "morality" of any being monstrous-enough to torture an honest unbeliever for all eternity for the "sin" of unbelief.

Hopefully, it'll never come to that, though. I'm sure it won't, actually, because I'm sure he honestly thinks he's doing me a favor, so I'll do whatever possible -- short of sacrificing my own integrity -- to avoid insulting him or hurting his feelings. (I'm sure he'd take a candid expression of my assessment of his god's alleged morality as a personal insult, even though that's not the intention; I've noticed that "True Believers" tend to take such things rather personally.) Since I don't think there's a chance in ... hell ... of having a rational debate with him on the matter (nor do I think the workplace is an appropriate place for such a debate in any event), nor do I think there's any way I could tell him what I think of his barbaric god without hurting his feelings, I'd simply put my foot down and say "No more" before it came to that.

Cheers,

Michael

[BracesForImpact]

I've been in similar situations Michael. I think you handled yourself well, for what it's worth.

[Dingfod]

Or, you could lay waste to him with a kendo stick.

[BracesForImpact]

Or, you could lay waste to him with a kendo stick.

Now that's a good idea. :appl:

[Legs]

Michael, what a story :shudder: How torturous it must have been to be stuck with someone trying to 'save' you. Sometimes you just can't be the nice guy, you just need to tell them to shut up. :hand:

:snuggles:

[ms_ann_thrope]

Today's rant is brought to you courtesy of Blue Nile (http://www.bluenile.com) and FedEx (http://www.fedex.com).

My wedding is this coming Saturday (July 1st). Wedding rings arrived Friday morning. Groom's ring is lovely; bride's ring is also lovely, but: (a) it is not the ring the bride ordered, and (b) it is not even close to being the right size. Frantic phone call to Blue Nile, they can have a replacement ring to me by next Thursday; I tell them that will be too late, as I will already be on my way to the wedding destination. They check with some other department and find that there is a right ring in the right size currently in QA that they can rush through the system and send to me FedEx overnight to arrive Saturday. Great!, I say.

Saturday, 12:30 p.m., knock at door. Yay, I think, it's FedEx! I've been waiting at home all morning because I know that a signature will be required. When I open the door, I am surprised to see the FedEx driver sprinting down the street and my package tucked under the front doormat. I pick it up and notice that the box is pretty jacked up: crushed and torn in one corner, and the bottom seems to have been compromised. I quickly stuff my hand through the compromised bottom and am horrified to discover that there is no ring in the box. I go running down the street in my bare feet yelling for the FedEx man to stop but he doesn't hear me.

I call FedEx in panic and talk to the slowest. speaking. customer. service. representative. ever. Made me think of Slingblade. I totally get the impression that he is on some sort of work-release program, but never mind that, the important thing is that he just finish taking down my information so that I can hang up and get into my car to drive over to the big FedEx hub to see if they can find the driver (I'm praying that it just fell out of the box or something). While on the drive, I call Blue Nile and start a claim with them. The guy offers to FedEx a replacement ring to my hotel at the wedding destination but at this point, why should I trust that they will get it right on the next attempt? He says he understands my point and that maybe I can get a refund. MAYBE?!?!?!? I'll have to wait until Monday when the customer service and security people are back in the office. In the meantime, I can only sit and seethe. :fuming:

Over at FedEx, the driver has already gone home for the day. They do a search of the truck but find nothing. The manager guy takes some pictures of the box and tells me that it's between Blue Nile and FedEx to solve now and that I should merge my FedEx claim with the one that Blue Nile will be making against them.

I am very cross now. A nap may be required before I can resume my chores (i.e., cleaning and decorating the house in anticipation of the arrival of the in-laws on Tuesday night). Depending on what happens when I talk to Blue Nile on Monday, I might have to go to the mall to find a ring. Wonder what the chances are that I'll find something that I like, is in my size (6.5), and is in stock. :cry:

ETA: I forgot to mention the pain in the ass involved in returning the wrong ring! Per Blue Nile, I needed to send it registered, insured, and with return receipt. Apparently both they and the Post Office expect people to have read the Post Office's Domestic Mail Manual to *know* that you can only use paper tape on boxes being sent registered mail. AAAAAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

[Petra]

I don't have any rants. Everything is going swimmingly over here. :(


Michael - I hear so many stories of inyerface religious nuts in the US. Over here, religion is a more private and personal thing, and pretty much EVERYONE thinks it's rude to assail someone with their evangelism. Especially in the workplace! Over here, that guy would get a grilling for bringing his religion to work with him and harassing other staff with it. Perhaps you could speak to a supervisor about how inappropriate this behaviour is in the workplace, and how it can potentially cause unnecessary conflict among colleagues, on their dime? Good luck, either way!


Sock, good luck selling your house! Legs' advice about fresh, homely smells, etc, is a good one. :yup:

ms_ann - whatever happens, I hope your wedding is fabulous and joyful anyway! I'll spill some champagne for you, poolside! (Ok, it won't be champagne; probably be some yummy rum based cocktail or something, but in my heart it'll be champers, babe! :D)

Damn, I wish my mum would hurry up - I wanna get on that damned plane NOW - it's too cold over heah! :shiver: Take me to the islands now, mummy! I can't wait no longer!

[godfry n. glad]

Stinkin' self-important neurologist types. They wait until the last fucking moment to do the research necessary for a grant application, then, when the electronic database they're using goes down because every other brain science dipshit in the country is using it at the same time, he calls and expects a non-librarian to fix it for him...when I have no way to do so. He proceeds to lecture me about how important his research is and how many millions the institution might lose because he doesn't have a reference librarian at his beck and call on the weekend. His poor planning was supposed to be my emergency. :doh: Dipshit.

[pescifish]

ms_ann, congrats on the upcoming nuptials!
That's a frightening story about your poor ring. I've come to rely so much on mail-order shopping, it's easy to forget how frustrating it can be when the process breaks down. Really weird about the driver/delivery guy not hanging around; I hope they do something about that.

I call FedEx in panic and talk to the slowest. speaking. customer. service. representative. ever. Made me think of Slingblade. I totally get the impression that he is on some sort of work-release program, but never mind that,Heh. I can so picture this... :giggle: (I know, it's not funny, but...)

If you do end up shopping for another at the last minute, if you have a membership and see something you like in the store itself, Costco sells excellent quality diamonds at a great price. Their on-floor rings are sized at 7. A bit big, but might work, last minute.

[Petra]

Or, if push comes to shove, she could always use those tear tabs from a can of coke or something. :D


/me ducks and runs

[Plant Woman]

Oh man, what a mess ms ann. I hope they take care of you and soon. Fed Ex guy should of made a note about the shape the package was in when he delivered it.

[inland wave]

It makes you wonder if the Fed-x man has the ring....woundn't suprise me in the least. Sorry for your problem Ms Ann. Hope your wedding day is wonderful!!

[Annie]

Have you talked with your Supervisor, about this situation?

When a religious person, or fundamentalist christians, come to our door, or ... with or without Bible in hand:
1. I agree to brief 'small talk', before
2. Inviting them to find lost-souls, wishing them a sincere "Fare thee well" .
3. What usually does the trick quite well, is asking him/her questions --I know they lack awareness, of beneficial/successful resources for...

Annie
~~~


So, I've been working in a nearby factory for the past several months, to earn traveling money.
Anyway.
A few weeks ago, I found myself sitting next to a guy -- a decent-enough sort -- who started off on a rant about how religious belief is the source of all morality, and how unbelievers are, more or less by definition, immoral people. Goodness knows what inspired him to start such a conversation. So, I politely disagreed with him and pointed out that there's no evidence to support such a conclusion. I don't get the impression he was convinced, but at least he backed off. The last thing I wanted, in any event, was to get into a serious discussion of the matter, because we were at work. In my view, that meant we were supposed to be doing our jobs, not discussing such matters.

Then, tonight, I found myself seated next to another guy. Again, he seems like a perfectly decent fellow.

Just making conversation, or so I thought, he asked me what brought me there. I told him that I was there to earn a bit of money while I finished up my degree, so that I could then afford to move on. So far, so good.

Then he asked me, "So, are you a spiritual person?" Uh oh. Without thinking, and definitely not wanting to get into a religious discussion, I replied, "No, not really,".

He went on a sustained lecture about how important it is that I should "find Jesus," because he knows Heaven and Hell are real places and that I'll inevitably end up in one or the other of them.

I sat there, doing my assigned tasks and giving only the barest minimum in replies -- just enough to avoid being outright rude while (hopefully) making it plain that I wasn't interested in discussing the matter.

He gave all the standards. He insisted that if only I'd "open my heart to Jesus," I'd instantly know of his existence and his love. He insisted that no amount of learning could lead you to "The Truth" and that the truly important thing was to forget all about that and simply "ask Jesus into your heart."

He insisted that there's no way one can be a "truly" moral person without Jesus -- "even though you seem like a really nice person; just remember, that won't get you into Heaven."

He told me of how he knows Hell exists, and how I'll surely wind up there if I don't accept Jesus into my heart -- and it'll be my own fault, because Jesus has been doing his best to get through to me all along, but I obviously wasn't listening.

I find it fascinating that he seemed to just assume that because I didn't share his religious beliefs that I must be ignorant of the matter. At one point, I told him that I had been raised as a Baptist, hoping he'd take the hint that I wasn't unfamiliar with his claims and leave off. His reaction was interesting. He expressed his surprise -- apparently, it was all but inconceivable to him that I could have been raised by a church-going family and yet not be a lifelong believer.

Anyway, I was ultimately saved by the end of the work-day. He's a decent-enough fellow..

I'm sure he truly and honestly believes he's doing me a tremendous favor by telling me all of this, so I smiled politely and thanked him for his "kindness," even as I did my best to make it clear that I wasn't interested in discussing the matter.

Oh goodness gracious me, I hope I don't get seated next to him again anytime soon. I don't want to hurt his feelings by bluntly telling him I'm not interested, but I may have to.
(nor do I think the workplace is an appropriate place for such a debate in any event), nor do I think there's any way I could tell him what I think of his barbaric god without hurting his feelings, I'd simply put my foot down and say "No more" before it came to that.

Cheers,

Michael

[Petra]

Rightio. I now have a motherfuckin' rant. :fuming:


We arrived at the airport in plenty of time, all properly prepared and what have you. Boarding at 1610. Yeah, right. The ####### plane is a lemon, it appears. We were informed at 1650 that there was a problem with the craft, and an engineer is on the case. We would be delayed an hour. Confidence inspiring, eh? Great. So, we wait an hour and after an hour and a half, we were further informed that the plane was still not feeling well, and that the plane would be delayed at least a further 2 hours. They gave us a $10 voucher for food and drinks each, but mum's lucky enough to be a Koru club gold elite member with Air NZ, so we made our way up to the very, very comfortable VIP lounge, where the bar is open and it's all really good quality booze, and you don't have to wait to be served or pay anyone, because everyone just helps themselves and it's all free. Same with food and nibbles. But every silver lining has a cloud, and WE'RE STUCK IN AUCK AIRPORT FOREVER NOW, like that guy in that movie. You know the one. There's no smoking lounge in the whole airport, and under such hellish circumstances I'm ready to ... I'm ready to....oh, ####, I dunno - I'm ready to go pour myself another 42 Below feijoa vodka, with fresh squeezed orange juice, that's what! Seriously, this is how bad things are. :fuming:

So, instead of arriving at Nadi airport and making our way to the resort by about 10pm or so tonight, we'll get there maybe around 4 or 5 am or something. IF AT ALL! Damned plane might fall outta the damned sky! And then where will we be, eh?! Aresholes. Just get us another frikkin' plane, ya bastards. I wanna be on the beach in Fiji already! I wanna fall out of coconut trees like the rock stars do! No fair! :whine:

:hissyfit:


Oooh...I must say, the cheese board looks good, though. Bastards.

Anyway. I'm going to stomp off and grab a drink now. Mum, Lyn and Zoe look like they might need top ups, too.

Bah humbug. :rant:


Bye, dahlingks! :kiss: :wave: :hug:

[pescifish]

So ...
what you are saying is that not only are you being forced to endure the free gourmet cheese plates, premium quality booze and cushy chairs in an airline VIP lounge you will soon be submitted to the horrors of leisure time in gorgeous resort locales?

Jeebus holy crap, pepperchick! That really does suck the ultimate. :wink:

(Seriously, the "getting there" part of traveling is tedious and I hope you get on your way soon!)

[Petra]

So ...
what you are saying is that not only are you being forced to endure the free gourmet cheese plates, premium quality booze and cushy chairs in an airline VIP lounge you will soon be submitted to the horrors of leisure time in gorgeous resort locales?

Jeebus holy crap, pepperchick! That really does suck the ultimate. :wink:

(Seriously, the "getting there" part of traveling is tedious and I hope you get on your way soon!)


Thank you, pesci. I knew you'd understand. :hug:

We just got an update. It's 7.30pm, and they said they will give us another update at 8.30pm. These hourly updates don't say much, just that we're not going anywhere yet.

When you only have a week to lap up the tropical, oceanic lusciousness you don't want to spend any more time than you have to in transit! We should be coming in to land at Nadi already! We should be being greeted with warm polynesian smiles, long shell necklaces, hibiscus flowers, and the welcoming sound of "Bula bula!" :sunbathe: :palmtree:

And now I'd better go see if their Pinot Gris is any good. The buggers owe me, so it'd better be a good drop.


Damn, I wish I could have a cigarette! :sadcheer:

[Petra]

Well! I'm horrified! We got our update 10 mins early, and departure has been rescheduled for 11pm. :argh:

[fragment]

My commiserations, pepper. I spent the hottest two hours of yesterday in some nonentity Moroccan town waiting for the bus to be repaired. All part of the joys of travelling! Have a good trip, I'm sure a few hours on the beach and some luscious tropical fruits will melt the memory of airport frustration clean away.

[livius drusus]

Awww... Poor, poor globe-trotting vacationers. :glare:

[JoeP]

Good sig line, frag.

And liv ... pepper's posting from an airport. Isn't that cool enough to turn your :glare: upside down? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/SecretCode/smilies/glareflipt.gif

[livius drusus]

No, but http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v437/SecretCode/smilies/glareflipt.gif sure is. :aww:

[quiet bear]

I am not one to raise my voice, and I am very slow to anger, but I heard something yesterday that I had to bite my lip to keep quiet about. These two women were standing in line in front of me, talking about this Betsy Ramsey (I think that's her name), and how she'd recently died. They went on and on about "That poor woman, how such a good person had to suffer, blah blah blah". So, it finally registered with me who they were talking about.

She was the mother of that little girl who was murdered, Jon Benet Ramsey. I'm thinking "That poor woman? What?"

Here was a woman who dressed her 5 year old daughter up like a streetwalker and paraded her across stages for people to 'judge' her. What kind of slimy weasel does that to their own child?

It really made me angry that these women were praising her for what a 'good person' she was. No, she was not a good person. Not at all.

[pescifish]

And that's not even counting the suspicion that she and her husband were involved in the death of their daughter.