Rant for the Day (keep it clean)

[Double R]

I second what @Bacpacker said

 

[Double R]

My rant for the day and an update on my previous rant.

Update first: I have become an annoyance to the irrigation board and guess what! I finally got a response! While it’s not taken care of they’ve just sent me written proof that we aren’t supposed to be on the list and they will be removing it and that we are due a refund check for the paid fee’s. However they are claiming the county will have to issue the refund and they are “working” with them to get it “figure out”. I should get a refund in January and then the property will be taken off the “list” for future bills. At least now I have it all in writing if this goes further. That’s huge in my opinion.

Now for todays rant. I know at this point it’s just a dream again that we are going to leave this horrible state but I’m still trying like crazy to clear out the property. So I called for the first time for a trash pile pickup that were allowed 1 a year with our forced trash service. It used to be just a community day now it’s a call for one. So I called and the guy was very strict on the rules, times and fines for not following the directions for pile size, what’s in it, the time it’s out etc. Basically the only things we can put out is an old washer, 2 old air conditioners and a now dead printer. No metal, no engine block, no treated wood etc etc etc. Not super helpful but it’s a few big things so I’ll take it since it’s part of our forced paid service. Got everything out last night within their timeframe and they were to pick it up between 6am - 5pm today. Nope. No pickup but people are going through the stuff. So called 20 min before 5 because at that point they clearly weren’t coming and I’d like to have it not sitting out drawing druggies in. Nope. Have to call back in 20 min. Grrrrr So instead of the trash service we’re forced to have picking it up as we pay them for the county will now come and get it “tomorrow” and if they don’t call them back for a second “no pickup”flag. Seriously? And they wonder why people dump on the side of the road!?!? I guess worst case I’ll have to load it back up and drive it to the dump and pay to get rid of it but……. Grrrrrrrrrrr
Can’t anything be easy in this state!?
My friend did offer to dispose of the metal we have in their metal scrap bin which works great for both of us. They get a check for the scrap and we don’t have to pay to haul it off. Now to figure out where to get rid of the treated posts. So much stuff gone already it’s nice. Even if the hope of being out of this state soon isn’t what it was a few months ago. If the time comes we will be much closer to pack up and go.

 

[Weedygarden]

I just flip people off and move along.

I really don't engage with people on the road. We never know who the crazy people are or how crazy they are, but we do know that there are crazy people out there. There have been people killed over road rage. People can be jerks. When I encounter people who decide to be jerks, I just leave them alone and move on. I have had a few encounters with craziness and I just make a turn that I wasn't originally going to make, or I pull over.
Driving back to school in Kansas City from South Dakota, I had a couple scary encounters on the road. Man would pass me and then slow down. I later wondered if I encountered the same person, but many months, maybe a year apart. I would pretty much be forced to pass them again, but then they/he would pass me. After this happened a couple times, I decided to pass and to deliberately speed down the road. I wrote the car make and model and the license plate information on a piece of paper and put it under the seat cover. This was long before cell phones. If a patrolman would have stopped me, I would have shared this information, and it would have been worth getting a ticket over. I did outdrive the cars and didn't get stopped. Daughter and I had a truck driver harass us from Omaha east to Des Moines once, around dinner time. I do my best to be aware and to not engage. No eye contact, no acknowledgement of their existence, just maneuvering away from them.

 

[zannej]

Double R, that sounds incredibly frustrating. I hope they come to pick stuff up. The local dump here doesn't charge people to dump stuff, but they are hardly ever open. I think they are down to being open 1hr a week and not during the hours listed and you have to hope they are open when you get there. People end up dumping trash all over the place as a result. My sister has it much easier. She lives near a recycling dropoff area. Just a couple minutes from her house. She loads stuff up in her husband's truck, they drive over and put the plastics in the plastic bin, metal in the metal bin, glass in the glass bin, etc. I think the city picks up paper and cardboard from her recycling can though. Not sure how large appliances and such are handled in her area. I believe she has an HOA. That's not something I could ever deal with.

Havasu, I hope your hand/finger will be ok. The venom from spiders doesn't just infect the blood to try to kill the prey, it liquifies the tissues to break them down so they are easier to suck out. The venom itself isn't the main issue though, its the opportunistic secondary bacterial infections that cause more damage. Still remember one time we were at a gas station and some guy with his arm in a cast was very loudly explaining to another man how he'd been bitten on the nuts by a brown recluse and that he'd gone to the hospital and had to have one of his nuts removed and that when he was getting out of his vehicle, the leg on the side that the nut was removed on gave out and he fell & broke his arm. Every time I hear about spider bites, I remember that guy.

My vent is that I've been having to clean the air fryer every time my brother uses it now to keep stuff from getting baked in. I already can't get some of the crap out of it. It would only take him a few seconds to wipe it down after it cools off but he can't be bothered to do it. He was also being a colossal jerk to me today. So, he has this thing where if I ask him to do something, half the time he doesn't respond or give any indication that he heard me. He just sits or stands there with no reaction. So, I ask him if he heard me and he starts screaming and swearing at me saying I need to "calm the f*** down" and "have some f***ing patience". I told him that I didn't know if he heard me and that it doesn't take much effort to give a simple acknowledgement of whether or not he heard me. So he just kept screaming at me for several minutes after I asked. It's sort of funny to me that he accuses me of needing to calm down or "chill out" when he's the one losing it.

But I swear, I'm getting to the point that if I have to clean that air fryer one more time, I'm going to unplug it and hide it from him. I'll tell him he will get it back when he learns to clean up after himself.

 

[UrbanHunter]

This COVID thing is becoming a real PIA.... Son called yesterday, a number of the other doctors in the hospital that he works at have come down with the new COVID, he is feeling sick now...

The wife was planing on a big Christmas meal with our son and some of his friends from medical school who live in the area (within 100 miles) and we are getting word that in the cities where they work there has been emergencies declared due to spiking cases.... And now word of a spike in deaths in South Africa due to the "O" variant.... (originally the news was saying that it was just a mild variant no big deal, now news is getting out that it is much more contagious than the "D" variant and they are seeing (admitting to) spikes in hospitalizations and death)

This is really dragging down the wife... 2 years in lock down and it looks like we are just entering the second wave, not good... We talked about it last night, this thing is blowing past the vaccines (we know 6 Vaxed families that have gotten it in the last week) and they say that the unvaxed are 20 times more likely to get it and their cases are worse. The wife is unvaxed and has about 10% heart function, not a good mix.... We have been keeping her in a bubble, social distancing to the max, but this is really taking a toll on her emotions

I wish that the news would provide real information instead of pushing propaganda to shore up the administration and hide the truth.....

What really worries me is we have been baking breads and cookies, the leg of lamb is thawed, the veggies for the meal are all in the fridge, and the wife and I may be forced to eat it all ourselves, this is not going to help my diet one bit......

 

[zannej]

I hope your son doesn't have the new variant. I also hope that you and your wife remain safe. The first two versions of Covid already ravaged my town. A lot of deaths and no one who went to the local hospital with it survived (unless they transferred to another hospital out of town). Probably bc the quality of care and training of the staff at the local one sucks so much.

If this new variant hits here it's going to be very bad.

 

[Bacpacker]

This COVID thing is becoming a real PIA.... Son called yesterday, a number of the other doctors in the hospital that he works at have come down with the new COVID, he is feeling sick now...

The wife was planing on a big Christmas meal with our son and some of his friends from medical school who live in the area (within 100 miles) and we are getting word that in the cities where they work there has been emergencies declared due to spiking cases.... And now word of a spike in deaths in South Africa due to the "O" variant.... (originally the news was saying that it was just a mild variant no big deal, now news is getting out that it is much more contagious than the "D" variant and they are seeing (admitting to) spikes in hospitalizations and death)

This is really dragging down the wife... 2 years in lock down and it looks like we are just entering the second wave, not good... We talked about it last night, this thing is blowing past the vaccines (we know 6 Vaxed families that have gotten it in the last week) and they say that the unvaxed are 20 times more likely to get it and their cases are worse. The wife is unvaxed and has about 10% heart function, not a good mix.... We have been keeping her in a bubble, social distancing to the max, but this is really taking a toll on her emotions

I wish that the news would provide real information instead of pushing propaganda to shore up the administration and hide the truth.....

What really worries me is we have been baking breads and cookies, the leg of lamb is thawed, the veggies for the meal are all in the fridge, and the wife and I may be forced to eat it all ourselves, this is not going to help my diet one bit......

Sorry to hear about the spread up there. I'm praying your son don't get it and that you and your DW stay safe as well

 

[UrbanHunter]

Sorry to hear about the spread up there. I'm praying your son don't get it and that you and your DW stay safe as well

Thanks, our son and 4 of his college friends were here at Thanks Giving, as of yesterday 2 of the friends have it now... We were calling old friends to get updated e-mail addresses and were shocked to discover that 4 of the people we called had it. The people we know who have it right now are in CA, AZ, MN, TX, VA, and NY. That indicates to me that nation wide things are about to pop.......

I personally think that the press has tried to keep this low key as it looks bad for "Brandon" and his goonies.....

I also think that the health people (NIH/CDC) told him the truth about what was on the way and that's why he made his Season of Death statements trying push blame onto the unvaxed, the trouble is everyone we know that has is now was vaxed.....

 

[Weedygarden]

This COVID thing is becoming a real PIA.... Son called yesterday, a number of the other doctors in the hospital that he works at have come down with the new COVID, he is feeling sick now...

The wife was planing on a big Christmas meal with our son and some of his friends from medical school who live in the area (within 100 miles) and we are getting word that in the cities where they work there has been emergencies declared due to spiking cases.... And now word of a spike in deaths in South Africa due to the "O" variant.... (originally the news was saying that it was just a mild variant no big deal, now news is getting out that it is much more contagious than the "D" variant and they are seeing (admitting to) spikes in hospitalizations and death)

This is really dragging down the wife... 2 years in lock down and it looks like we are just entering the second wave, not good... We talked about it last night, this thing is blowing past the vaccines (we know 6 Vaxed families that have gotten it in the last week) and they say that the unvaxed are 20 times more likely to get it and their cases are worse. The wife is unvaxed and has about 10% heart function, not a good mix.... We have been keeping her in a bubble, social distancing to the max, but this is really taking a toll on her emotions

I wish that the news would provide real information instead of pushing propaganda to shore up the administration and hide the truth.....

What really worries me is we have been baking breads and cookies, the leg of lamb is thawed, the veggies for the meal are all in the fridge, and the wife and I may be forced to eat it all ourselves, this is not going to help my diet one bit......

I think we are all over it. A woman I know invited a bunch of friends over for Thanksgiving. She had one requirement for all of them, have a negative test. Many failed that requirement.

Not really a rant: One of my clients works in the music industry. Her company schedules concerts at various venues in the area, including the well know Red Rocks Ampitheatre, so well known musicians. The employees get free tickets and most of them go to the concerts. She has to make sure that the needs of the performers are met, such as food, etc. There was a concert recently and almost everyone in the office went. For some reason, she did not. The concert was a super spreader event and almost everyone in her office got COVID. I don't know the details of what variety, etc. Her office closed and everyone is working from home for a while now. We are over COVID, so done with it, but something like a concert is not that hard to not go to, knowing the possibilities now. Since I knew 3 people who died in less than 2 weeks in November, I am more aware, concerned, and cautious, again! Ugh! The introverts of the world are having a forced stay home time when they would have been given a hard time about it before. I'm also going to make a bet that there is going to be a surge after Christmas and New Years.

 

[Bacpacker]

Just heard last night first case of the O type hit the bigger city. I expect it to grow here too.

 

[zannej]

Apparently Russia is getting slammed so hard and either expects mass casualties from Covid or they are planning mass executions/murders because they introduced some law about how to handle mass body disposal-- complete with diagrams of heavy machinery digging pits and how to stack the bodies.

When people can't agree whether or not Covid is a threat, whether or not vaccines help, whether or not to wear masks, and the whole thing has become politicized, it isn't helping anyone. It's gotten beyond the control of the government. More shutdowns hurt the economy. Mask mandates result in protests & death threats. It's a colossal mess. I know the Spanish flu was also met with skepticism and people didn't trust masks and such. I think 20million people worldwide died from it before it finally petered out. While 20million deaths is not something I want to see, I hope Covid will eventually peter out.

My family never did much of the extended gatherings thing so I'm not missing it. Last reunion we had was sometime in the 90s. I'm not terribly close with my extended family. My mom's sisters and their kids are all pretty close but we're the outsiders. They don't even tell us when someone gets married, has a kid, etc. We're pretty much strangers because we moved around a lot.

I keep thinking about how sad my father would be if he could see how things are going right now.

 

[UrbanHunter]

We got word last night, our son does have COVID, so he will not be home for Christmas, wife's spirits are low....

I heard a guy talking of Fox news this morning about how we shouldn't pull back because the "O" variant is not that bad it is just more contagious. It pisses me off because I know the data he is using is from England (UK) and they have a 95% vaxed rated and they are still filling up their hospitals.... The "Special People" are more concerned about the "O" killing the economy or inconveniencing them, than they are about the general population.

Some of the data from South Africa is showing a sharp increase in deaths, so what happening? People are cherry-picking data to send the message they want to send... We will learn the truth next year, but I personally expect that March of 2022 will look a lot like March of 2020.

 

[Double R]

@UrbanHunter So sorry about your son getting Covid. Hope he recovers well quickly. How is he feeling?

 

[Double R]

Update on my trash rant.
The trash service’s trash truck showed up at 6:15am. The truck turned off and sat in front of our driveway until 8:10am. A trash service pickup truck showed up and they loaded the few things we told them multiple times we had into the back of the pickup then both drove off at 8:15am. No wonder that can’t make it for their scheduled pickups. Holy cow

 

[Bacpacker]

Sorry to hear about your son Urban. I pray he recovers quickly. For you and your wife as well. My wife had it last Christmas. Sitting home alone isn't the way holidays are meant to be spent

 

[UrbanHunter]

Talked with our son last night, he is sick like a bad head cold, but emotionally both he and his mother are spent... I may try to take her out for a drive this evening to see Christmas lights.

I got my booster shot today.... It was quick only took me about 2 hours including the 40 minute drive each way. While sitting waiting for my 15 minute observation period to complete I looked around the room.... 50 full chairs, each changed occupants 3 times while I was there. I did see a lot (25) of yoga pants... But what I didn't see was white people.... Well to be honest I did see 3 (I was counting people), but 3 out of 200 is not a large percentage...

Noticed that all the staff were wearing masks, face shields, and gloves.... even the receptionists behind the plastic wall.

The whole thing made me feel all warm and fuzzy on so many levels.....

 

[Amish Heart]

Warm and fuzzy yoga pants? See, I told you they are fun to count.
You can go to the next level and count yoga pants and yoga pants with muffin tops.
People really should not wear underwear as outerwear.
Hope Mrs Urban cheers up! Hope your son gets through this fast! Last Christmas for us was a blur. We got covid (both of us) on Dec 13th. It's amazing we had Christmas at all.

 

[zannej]

Urbanhunter, I hope your son will be OK. I missed my booster appointment bc I was busy trying to fix my computer and completely forgot about it. Now I have a sinus headache and my brother has a bad cold. I'm not sure if its a good idea to get the booster if I have a cold, but I'll consult the pharmacist. I may just go get my booster without my brother and take him to get his later.

Just heard from my best friend that one of his few remaining teeth broke in half. They all cracked in his wreck in 2015 and he's never been able to get them fixed or have them all pulled. He wants to get them all yanked and get dentures but his insurance doesn't cover tooth pulling. It's asinine because people literally die from dental infections and it should be treated as regular medical.

People in my area are riding the stupid train. You can debate masks and vaccines all day & that's fine, but the lack of social distancing or even common decency-- like not rubbing their noses or coughing on their hands and touching stuff or other people-- is nonexistent. I have to say, one upside of the masks is that they keep my face warm when I have to go out.

 

[havasu]

Got a spider bite last week. Since of course, my doctor is off, she recommended that I go to a 24 hour medical clinic. Took two hours, but saw a little girl, maybe 12 years old (at my age all young Asian girls look very young to me) , with a P.A. behind her name. She looked, said, take these pills and if it gets worse, come back.

The pills didn't do much. Since both of my daughters contracted MRSA, of course I am concerned about contracting MRSA. I studied and was advised the hospital is the only place they can test for MRSA. I went to the huge Level One Trauma Center hospital yesterday. They screened me about Covid, and once I told them I had it but now all better, they didn't care. They tossed me outside in the group of positive Vid patients. After an hour, the doctor came out and asked why I was sitting with the other covid patients, since I no longer have covid. She looked pissed then asked me to go sit inside. She asked why I was there. I told her I wanted to be tested to confirm I do not have MRSA. She laughed and says they don't do that there. I was shocked because hospitals are the only place I could be tested at. She backtracked and said if I was admitted, she would test me for MRSA. I said 'ADMIT ME THEN!" She said I wasn't sick enough, so they wouldn't test me. I said I wanted to test for MRSA so I can isolate from others, and she said I am not sick, so I can't admit you.

What is wrong with our healthcare providers? I go to get a test to protect infecting others, but said I am not sick enough to get tested. Basically, come back when you are at death's door, so we can test you, but it will be too late to help you?

Marry Christmas to those uncaring doctors and nurses, who probably get a prize after killing 5 patients, so they can save our money for illegals.

 

[backlash]

. Basically, come back when you are at death's door, so we can test you, but it will be too late to help you?

That's what happened to my cousin. He had Covid so they wouldn't let him in the hospital. Told him to come back if he got worse. Three days later he went back. Eight days later he was dead.

 

[zannej]

I've found that doctors at hospitals can be very uncaring and the clerks also can be. There are some nurses who are jerks too, but it's usually clerks and doctors. I've got several friends who are nurses and they would be infuriated at how you were treated. I think the problem is they are getting so many patients they aren't allowed to admit people who don't seem critical. It's stupid. I suppose they expect you to isolate and act as if you have MRSA just in case. Too bad there are no home kits for that. I'm so sorry they treated you like that. We don't even have illegal aliens in the area but they won't admit patients if they don't have insurance or if their insurance doesn't cover stuff. The urgent care clinic will charge people to get in and then refuse any treatment or testing. They did that to my friend's gf. She didn't have insurance at the time. Charged her $150 to fill out paperwork and be told they wouldn't do jack squat for her.

We did an experiment where we put all of our devices on airplane mode, shut down all of our computers, and then waited several hours. When we checked our usage remotely it claimed we downloaded 10gb in that time. No one is close enough to steal our internet and its password protected so I don't know what is going on with that. I sort of suspect they are deliberately miscalculating to force us to either buy more bandwidth or upgrade to one of the newer plans. The plan I have now costs $200/mo PLUS $13 equipment lease fee that is taxed. Part of the deal is if you continuously go over your monthly limit they can cancel your service. Which means if you want it back you have to agree one of their more expensive plans. I really need to find a new ISP but nothing else is available. Not even dialup.

 

[Pearl]

I have TWO lost packages, one with UPS, and one with the post office! If anyone sees them roaming the streets let me know! FYI, JCPenny's and Amazon's customer service...BLEEEP!

 

[zannej]

Pearl, that really sucks. :-(
I hope your packages turn up.

 

[Pearl]

Pearl, that really sucks. :-(
I hope your packages turn up.

Let's hope, thanks!

 

[Weedygarden]

I have TWO lost packages, one with UPS, and one with the post office! If anyone sees them roaming the streets let me know! FYI, JCPenny's and Amazon's customer service...BLEEEP!

I had a package that was missing last week. I thought I'd give it a couple of days, even though I had an email that said it had been delivered. One day I was out working in the yard and my neighbor came over and handed me the package. It had been delivered to his house.

 

[Terri9630]

That's what happened to my cousin. He had Covid so they wouldn't let him in the hospital. Told him to come back if he got worse. Three days later he went back. Eight days later he was dead.

Sounds like what happened to my husbands uncle.

 

[Supervisor42]

Sounds like what happened to my husbands uncle.

You gotta have that house number visible!
I can walk down our street and see 5 houses in a row with no numbers (none) in sight.
How they deliver to these, I have no clue.

 

[Peanut]

I’m finally pi#$% off. Been building a few years. Hunting is big in the south. City guys with no land of their own form clubs and pool their cash. Good for them, deer are almost a plague here.

So these guys search out deeds etc, find land owners and lease the hunting rights to hundreds of acres. Many times they get rights to set up a camper or club house. Again good for them!

But when the a #$% scum kill a deer they won’t dump the hides and entrails where they hunt. Nooo, they are afraid it’ll draw in coyotes. Instead they dump at any wide spot or logging road they can find. On other people's property, or next to it.

Like right across the road from my house, 100yrds from my door. 2 days later when it’s nice and ripe my dogs have to investigate… and they REEK! when they come home. Haven’t these morons ever heard of a shovel?

It’s not on my land, I can’t see where the vehicles stop. Unless it’s daylight and I’m outside I won’t see or hear the vehicle. Just wish I could get one license plate.

I had to get this deer out of my yard this morning, do this 4 or 5 times a winter. If my dogs can get it home they will... I have big dogs, they brought home a cow leg once.

 

[Terri9630]

You gotta have that house number visible!
I can walk down our street and see 5 houses in a row with no numbers (none) in sight.
How they deliver to these, I have no clue.

You must mean the missing packages.

 

[Terri9630]

I’m finally pi#$% off. Been building a few years. Hunting is big in the south. City guys with no land of their own form clubs and pool their cash. Good for them, deer are almost a plague here.

So these guys search out deeds etc, find land owners and lease the hunting rights to hundreds of acres. Many times they get rights to set up a camper or club house. Again good for them!

But when the a #$% scum kill a deer they won’t dump the hides and entrails where they hunt. Nooo, they are afraid it’ll draw in coyotes. Instead they dump at any wide spot or logging road they can find. On other people's property, or next to it.

Like right across the road from my house, 100yrds from my door. 2 days later when it’s nice and ripe my dogs have to investigate… and they REEK! when they come home. Haven’t these morons ever heard of a shovel?

It’s not on my land, I can’t see where the vehicles stop. Unless it’s daylight and I’m outside I won’t see or hear the vehicle. Just wish I could get one license plate.

I had to get this deer out of my yard this morning, do this 4 or 5 times a winter. If my dogs can get it home they will... I have big dogs, they brought home a cow leg once.


View attachment 77599

We used to live in an area like that. I had a truck tire that kept going low. When I finally got it into the shop to be fixed, there was a piece of bone in it!