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

[Carol the Dabbler]

12 hours ago, Fantasy Lover said:

... people who still ask for directions and not use google maps,

Although I mostly use Google maps, sometimes they're not adequate.  Not all businesses are shown, for example (presumably there's a fee), and what is shown may not be quite up to date.  Plus I came across one case where the map was wrong -- or at least very misleading, due to inadequate detail.  So I walked the short distance cross-country to our destination and asked how to get our car into their parking lot.

Then of course you need to have the correct address.  One time our insurance agency phoned us to make an appointment, but didn't bother to mention that their office had recently moved.  We had to phone them from their old parking lot to get their new address.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

I see. How annoying

[Fantasy Lover]

I hate going to the dentist, I don't feel my face due to the sedation! I have a terrible gag reflex so I don't like it when they put certain things in my mouth. My next time is in februari, so I'm glad I don't have to go till the end of the year

[Carol the Dabbler]

6 hours ago, Fantasy Lover said:

I hate going to the dentist  [....]  I have a terrible gag reflex so I don't like it when they put certain things in my mouth

Gah -- I know what you mean!  My "favorite" is when they're doing a full-mouth impression.  The lower half isn't so bad, but when the assistant puts the upper goo-filled tray against the roof of my mouth, I feel like I'm suffocating.  Fortunately for me, this is apparently a common reaction, because the assistant will gently remind me to breathe through my mouth -- which always comes as a bit of a surprise to me: Oh, right, I could do that!!!

 

[Fantasy Lover]

Really? I got the tip to breathe through my nose from the assistant. Which works wonders actually

[Fantasy Lover]

I hate my government, I hate the austerity they're implementing. Case in point: the fact that the unemployment benefits are being cut after two years.

 

And of course some keyboard warriors say that they just need to find a job, but some of those people are 60, it's harder for them to find a job. Some of them do not qualify for government benefits, they are not the people who are too lazy to work! People are going to get evicted and end up homeless!

 

And that is "the law" as an actor said in a play "the law is not human." And the law said during our history: owning slaves was legal, harbouring jews was illegal, homoseksuality was illegal. The law is not a good indicator of what is right and wrong!

[Fantasy Lover]

I'm soooo mad at my school, the school psychologist comes ONE day every two weeks!!! Tell me how you don't give a damn about the wellbeing of your students without telling me you don't give a damn about the wellbeing of your students.

How is that person hired? How is she the only one and not swamped by requests from students? This is sooo irresponsible, I'm going to file a complaint! This is such a bad idea to have someone as necessary as a school psychologist come so little. Like why? I don't understand

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 10/9/2025 at 3:51 AM, Carol the Dabbler said:

Although I mostly use Google maps, sometimes they're not adequate.  Not all businesses are shown, for example (presumably there's a fee), and what is shown may not be quite up to date.  Plus I came across one case where the map was wrong -- or at least very misleading, due to inadequate detail.  So I walked the short distance cross-country to our destination and asked how to get our car into their parking lot.

Then of course you need to have the correct address.  One time our insurance agency phoned us to make an appointment, but didn't bother to mention that their office had recently moved.  We had to phone them from their old parking lot to get their new address.

 

I had a few wild experiences with GPS. We have a lot of ‘non-proper’ roads and alley, sometimes we call it rat alleys. Even the roads can be inadequate at times. Serving two lanes but the lanes are tighter than Sherlock’s shirt. Two-way road that suddenly turns into one-way road half way with barely-there signs although everyone else seems to know about them! Roads that restricts cars without warning.

The thing about GPS is, it only calculates the closest and the smoothest (blue, no traffic) way from starting point to the destination. It doesn’t care whether the roads have gargantuan holes, humping goats, or death-defying open side drainages. As long as there is no traffic, it will pick that road for you.

I have experienced all above, it had led me to jungle, and no joke, water. Just like the episode in the office. It also had led me to a one meter (something something in imperial, sorry Carol) alley while I was driving. It’s common for them to mistake motorcycle’s alley for car. I know some places always have a wide enough road access but not here. Sometimes it led me to a neighborhood alley and the road ended just like that with barely enough space to turn back. (@%#@%

However, I am grateful for GPS. There are many impromptu road closures here, and it’s helpful to renavigate. I have a love and hate relationship with it though. I wouldn’t take its suggestion when the road looks suspicious, I have learned to spot them well enough. However, sometimes IT IS the only road and I’d be surprised to see a small alley with big truck skillfully navigates all its humping goats while I was sweating bullets.

[Van Buren Supernova]

On 10/16/2025 at 1:11 PM, Fantasy Lover said:

I'm soooo mad at my school, the school psychologist comes ONE day every two weeks!!! Tell me how you don't give a damn about the wellbeing of your students without telling me you don't give a damn about the wellbeing of your students.

How is that person hired? How is she the only one and not swamped by requests from students? This is sooo irresponsible, I'm going to file a complaint! This is such a bad idea to have someone as necessary as a school psychologist come so little. Like why? I don't understand

Is it personal absence or the school only asks them to come once?

I've only had this during high school, but she was an in-house teacher, which meant she was there daily, which should be the case.

[Fantasy Lover]

It's a combination between her being sick and not enough funding

[Van Buren Supernova]

3 minutes ago, Fantasy Lover said:

It's a combination between her being sick and not enough funding

Sigh. That would be hard to solve.

[Fantasy Lover]

Indeed

[Carol the Dabbler]

8 hours ago, Van Buren Supernova said:

I am grateful for GPS.  [....]  I have a love and hate relationship with it though.

I have far fewer reasons for the "hate" part than you do, but they can be a little slow on the uptake here.  We live on a fairly new road, and it took several years for the GPS to notice that it even existed.  It would give accurate directions till we were almost home, but then claim that we were "navigating off-road."  It can also take them several years to notice that a road is no longer a public road, it's become somebody's private driveway.

Pretty nifty invention overall, though.

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

On 10/5/2025 at 2:52 AM, Fantasy Lover said:

why is it acceptable for biological males and women like Fred Phelps and Usain Bolt to excel at their respective sports, but not transgenders?

On 10/5/2025 at 4:11 PM, Carol the Dabbler said:

For the same reason that there don't seem to be any transmales in male sports,.

Upon re-reading my reply there, I think the explanation may need an explanation.  First, though, does anybody happen to know of any trans-male athletes?  I haven't heard of any, so I'm guessing that if there are some, they aren't top contenders, whereas trans-female athletes often are.

My point is that, just as males have an innate advantage over females in any sports that require strength, male-to-female transitioners have a similar (albeit somewhat lesser) advantage over females.  (Though of course any transitioners who had been unusually weak men could be exceptions.)

This advantage differs from your examples in that Phelps and Bolt are exceptional individuals for their respective sexes, whereas transwomen as a category are going to be stronger than women.

 

[Fantasy Lover]

Okay, but Lia Thomas came fifth! And she was tied to a sore loser who's responsible for banning trans people in sports. Imagine your ego being so fragile that you ruin a whole demographic by banning their acces to sports, it's no excuse!