Shoot the Wall (A.K.A. The Rant Thread)

[Pseudonym]

They track everything else, not a lot can be done about it, it sucks but there we go. So I shall continue to use my card. 

[Pseudonym]

I don't understand people (it's usually men), who drive along with their arm dangling out of the window. How can you be cool with driving along at 70 mph with your arm hanging down the outside of your car? It's like offering it as a sacrifice for a passing bike or an idiot changing lanes without checking their blindspot. Here's my arm, come and take it. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Just call him Lefty, I guess.  (Over there in the UK, anyhow.). Bad enough when they just hang their elbow over the edge.

[J.P.]

Maybe it's the most efficient way to cool down a little when your car has no AC?

[Pseudonym]

Ha, my car doesn't have proper AC but I don't cool down by hanging body parts outside! 

[J.P.]

Maybe you should try

[Arcadia]

I know I've probably mentioned this before, but: when I first moved to the Washington DC area, one of the first things I read in the Washington Post was (and I probably paraphrase): "Washington DC in the summertime is the only place where, when the sun goes down, it doesn't get cooler, it just gets darker."

We're having one of those nights right now. You can barely breathe out there. Tell me again why I still live here?

[T.o.b.y]

2 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I know I've probably mentioned this before, but: when I first moved to the Washington DC area, one of the first things I read in the Washington Post was (and I probably paraphrase): "Washington DC in the summertime is the only place where, when the sun goes down, it doesn't get cooler, it just gets darker."

We're having one of those nights right now. You can barely breathe out there. Tell me again why I still live here?

Um... Free museums perhaps? Beautiful parks? Rich history? 

I would love to visit DC again. Been there only twice so far and loved every minute. In spite of the heat that I am usually very sensitive to. 

[Artemis]

I look forward to seeing the fireworks every year, but it's so hot and humid, I'm not sure I want to go this year.  I'll already be fighting off mosquitoes, I don't know if I'm up to contending with the heat too.

I really wish people would not set off fireworks at all hours for weeks around the 4th.  My poor dogs are too scared to go potty, and it keeps waking them up.

 

[Pseudonym]

They do that here for weeks bracketing bonfire night.

Some kids fired a firework from down the street to under my car once. I wasn't very amused at the time, but once I knew there was no damage I couldn't help chuckling to myself - they were probably expecting the car to go up in some huge, epic, movie-style explosion but instead... nothing. 😆

[Arcadia]

7 hours ago, T.o.b.y said:

Um... Free museums perhaps? Beautiful parks? Rich history? 

I would love to visit DC again. Been there only twice so far and loved every minute. In spite of the heat that I am usually very sensitive to. 

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just don't visit in summer if you can avoid it. Although lately the weather has sucked year round. Even fall was a dud. Grrrr.

(Don't mind me, heat makes me grumpy.)

 

[J.P.]

14 hours ago, Arcadia said:

"Washington DC in the summertime is the only place where, when the sun goes down, it doesn't get cooler, it just gets darker."

They forgot the rain. It doesn't get cooler either when it's raining. It feels like taking a warm shower in a small airtight cubicle 
You see, one visit and I'm traumatised for life.

[Pseudonym]

My brother accidentally locked my keys in his house which meant I couldn't leave work. 😭 Luckily he did eventually reappear, just an hour later than I would have liked. 

[T.o.b.y]

8 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Just don't visit in summer if you can avoid it. Although lately the weather has sucked year round. Even fall was a dud. Grrrr.

(Don't mind me, heat makes me grumpy.)

 

You know what, both times I visited, it was summer. July the first time, August the second. We went to see the Lincoln memorial during a heat warning where theoretically, we shouldn't have been outside and our host said she had never seen so few tourists there before, certainly not that time of the year. Then we spent the rest of the day creeping from museum to museum. At the end of the day, some guys were selling bottled water for like 10 bucks on the streets. I certainly pity the people who live there but Washington is one of the nicest cities to visit as a tourist imo. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

20 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Tell me again why I still live here?

You're getting old and set in your ways? 

 

[Pseudonym]

Urgh stress, had to watch a DVD I rented from the library because it's due back tomorrow, played fine, went to eject it, the bloody thing is stuck in my PS4. Googled it, took the cover off and did the manual eject screw as instructed, still not coming out, someone said it turn it upside down when it was starting up and give it a thump, and hoorah! Only took half an hour of frustration. 😡

[Arcadia]

5 hours ago, J.P. said:

They forgot the rain. It doesn't get cooler either when it's raining. It feels like taking a warm shower in a small airtight cubicle 
You see, one visit and I'm traumatised for life.

And when it stops raining, you steam, gently, like a freshly made tamale. Lovely, isn't it?

2 hours ago, T.o.b.y said:

You know what, both times I visited, it was summer. July the first time, August the second. We went to see the Lincoln memorial during a heat warning where theoretically, we shouldn't have been outside and our host said she had never seen so few tourists there before, certainly not that time of the year. Then we spent the rest of the day creeping from museum to museum. At the end of the day, some guys were selling bottled water for like 10 bucks on the streets. I certainly pity the people who live there but Washington is one of the nicest cities to visit as a tourist imo. 

In all seriousness … I quite agree. But do try to visit in April some time, when the cherry trees are in bloom; it's extraordinary. Well, not this year, because it rained the whole month, but … yeah. It's a great place to visit.

12 minutes ago, Carol the Dabbler said:

You're getting old and set in your ways? 

I think I'll take Toby's explanation, thank you.

7 minutes ago, Pseudonym said:

Urgh stress, had to watch a DVD I rented from the library because it's due back tomorrow, played fine, went to eject it, the bloody thing is stuck in my PS4. Googled it, took the cover off and did the manual eject screw as instructed, still not coming out, someone said it turn it upside down when it was starting up and give it a thump, and hoorah! Only took half an hour of frustration. 😡

I love that the low tech solution is still the one that works. That's how I get my computer monitor to stop flickering.

[Pseudonym]

Yup, though giving equipment worth a few hundred quid a thump makes me cringe so badly.

I don't understand how hot countries cope, last week we had roads and roofs melting and swathes of the country on fire, the mountain I live on the side of has caught fire twice, but loads of places have much hotter summers than us. Perhaps it's just because it's so rare our infrastructure is not set up for it, the same reason we have difficulties with heavy snow. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

I love that the low tech solution is still the one that works. That's how I get my computer monitor to stop flickering. 

Back when monitors were CRTs (i.e., made with cathode-ray tubes, like old televisions), we (i.e., my employer) sold computer systems.  Whenever a monitor would act up at a customer site, I'd just lift the front edge about an inch off the table and let it drop.  Freaked out the customer, but hey, the flickering would stop. 

1 hour ago, Pseudonym said:

... loads of places have much hotter summers than us. Perhaps it's just because it's so rare our infrastructure is not set up for it, the same reason we have difficulties with heavy snow.

I think you're right.  Guess we're actually kinda lucky here in Indiana, with summer days in the 90s F (low-to-mid 30s C) and the occasional blizzard in the winter.  Keeps us on our toes year 'round.

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 7/3/2018 at 6:35 AM, Pseudonym said:

I don't understand people (it's usually men), who drive along with their arm dangling out of the window. How can you be cool with driving along at 70 mph with your arm hanging down the outside of your car? It's like offering it as a sacrifice for a passing bike or an idiot changing lanes without checking their blindspot. Here's my arm, come and take it. 

That is the fastest way to lose a watch in a town I stayed during my youth. They were even willing to cut limbs to get valuables, me and mom escaped once during their discussion on how to cut my mom's hand/finger when she forgot the take off her ring and bracelet after we attended a party. It wasn't even that valuable.

9 hours ago, Pseudonym said:

I don't understand how hot countries cope, last week we had roads and roofs melting and swathes of the country on fire, the mountain I live on the side of has caught fire twice, but loads of places have much hotter summers than us. Perhaps it's just because it's so rare our infrastructure is not set up for it, the same reason we have difficulties with heavy snow. 

Could it be more difficult for countries with many seasons to cope with the summer or winter? I imagine area with constant hot weather or cold weather would get the hang of it without the need to adapt every time the season change.

[J.P.]

1 hour ago, T.o.b.y said:

I certainly pity the people who live there but Washington is one of the nicest cities to visit as a tourist imo.

Yeah, even a ridden policemen called me Ma'am and posed for a photo. But you know what was the worst? People jogging along the Mall - in the lunch time!

I never knew what dehydration feels like. Before DC. One day, after a visit in the Zoo I really felt my brain is closing down. Back "home" I grabbed a 2 l bottle of diet/caffeine free Cola and drank almost all of it in one round. I mean DIET COKE!!!  I tried to drink more than 1 l before and never managed it, so I still wonder where all the Coke went to. It probably evaporated on its way down…

[Pseudonym]

LOL, you know we were talking about period euphemisms the other day (I think it was this thread) just came across a similar discussion in another forum and a guy's response made me laugh. 

Not to be insensitive, but I had no idea who this Aunt Flo was. Then I remembered Aunt Irma. [too… much… stress… must find… way… to insert… humor 😖 ]

 

 

[Pseudonym]

OMG, there's a series of Irma clips, I'm just laughing my way through them on Youtube.. 😂

 

[Pseudonym]

*shudder* It happened again; "Your brother? I thought he was your husband." *cringe*

[Carol the Dabbler]

5 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

Could it be more difficult for countries with many seasons to cope with the summer or winter? I imagine area with constant hot weather or cold weather would get the hang of it without the need to adapt every time the season change.

You're probably right about that.  Plus they could use all their resources for just heat or just cold, with no need to handle both.

But we do pretty well here too, because we nearly always have fairly hot summers and fairly cold winters.  I suspect it's most difficult for places that generally have mild weather, with no need to have provisions for either heat or cold -- until the rare occasion when they do need to deal with one or the other.  Places like SW Wales or coastal Oregon.