Rant for the Day (keep it clean)

[Pearl]

How does USPS LOSE a 22 lb bag of cat food? At least Amazon is easy to get a refund.

Somebody fed their cats instead of delivering it!!

 

[Wingnut]

Perhaps the UPS barn cat got its claws on the bag...

 

[Peanut]

I hate yellow jackets, a long list of painful encounters. It brings me great joy to eradicate a nest. This is august on the farm, lots of bush hogging, fencing. The time of year when contact with them is likely. I know this, was looking out for them.

They got me anyway, I was sweating like a mule, some how stings are worse with sweat. 2 up the sleeve of my tshirt, stung me 4 times. Then there was my ear, at least 5 stings on and around my ear.

I still have no idea where the nest is located. I had just stopped the tractor at the shop when the stings started. 50yrds from where I’d been working. I went back and searched the area, didn’t find them.

I also saw a Cow Killer ant, didn’t get me. They are called ants, they are actually wasps. The females have no wings, crawl around like a giant ant, and inch long. As a kid I was taught to fear them the same as black widow spiders. I know of only 1 person who was stung by a cow killer. A grown man, had to be taken to the ER because of the pain.

Southern Yellowjacket (Vespula squamosa)

Notorious for its aggressive nature and tendency to sting, Southern Yellowjackets are best given wide berth and left alone. They guard nests with ferocity. They can, and do, sting multiple times without dying. Because nests are in or near the ground, stinging incidents commonly result from unknowingly stepping on or near nests. Alarm pheromones are sent through the air and nests are emptied in response to a perceived threat outside of it.

Cow Killer (Dasymutilla occidentalis)

The Eastern Velvet Ant - also known as the Cow Killer - is not an ant at all, though the female looks and walks like one. The Cow Killer is actually a type of wasp and the wingless female has a ferocious sting that is rumored to be strong enough to kill cattle. For humans, the sting is extremely painful and this insect should not be handled. Males do have wings and look more like a typical wasp despite some hairs on their body. The Cow Killer is a solitary wasp, more likely to be seen alone than in nests with hundreds of others.

 

[Peanut]

Almost forgot, must the the day for stings... I have to move a hive of bees tonight. Always get a couple stings. Honey bees aren't even in the same league as yellow jackets though.

 

[zannej]

I hate when UPS and Fedex lose stuff. They are still misdelivering my neighbor's packages to my house. I had to move the "fragile" package for my neighbors out of the way so Mom could go down the steps. Then I decided to take the package and leave it on their porch because I didn't want it getting broken and didn't want them to have an excuse to come into our yard.

Peanut, I think I've seen the velvet ants before. They are pretty but I always avoided touching them.

I can't find where I put my damn wasp spray and there are ones congregating on Mom's window in the day. They seem to have scared off the cardinals that had been flying into the window repeatedly. Mom likes those dumb cardinals.

Angie, getting new phones always sucks. I miss my Razer V3 flipphone. Aside from saying "Kirk to Enterprise" almost every time I opened it, I liked how compact it was. I had it in a case with a keychain loop and I attached that to a belt clip with retractable chain. My next phone that I got 6 years later had a belt clip holder and it would click in to the holder and stay on my waistband. I suppose its possible to rig something with a retractrable chain or even a wallet chain these days to attach to the phone case to keep it from getting lost. I also hate how they always change the type of cord. You have micro usb, mini usb, all sorts of connections. Newer phones are using USB C. I got the magnetic kind of cords that use different heads. You put the one that fits in your phone and then the cord connects magnetically to charge. Not good for data transfer but great for charging. I use the same cord to charge my mouse and my phone.

 

[INresponse]

Cow Killer (Dasymutilla occidentalis)

The Eastern Velvet Ant - also known as the Cow Killer - is not an ant at all, though the female looks and walks like one. The Cow Killer is actually a type of wasp and the wingless female has a ferocious sting that is rumored to be strong enough to kill cattle. For humans, the sting is extremely painful and this insect should not be handled. Males do have wings and look more like a typical wasp despite some hairs on their body. The Cow Killer is a solitary wasp, more likely to be seen alone than in nests with hundreds of others.

View attachment 92805

We have Cow Killers here in Utah. I have seen them many times and gave them plenty of room to roam. The first time I saw one I was impressed but the red color told me to leave it alone.

 

[Magus]

I know about "velvet ants" I wasn't aware they were dangerous however. 0_0
We have fire ants here...at least until I get the sugar and borax mixed up. LOL

 

[Morgan101]

We had velvet ants in Arizona, and were told to give them a wide birth. I never saw any good reason to challenge that advice. I have seen Cow Killers but very seldom. They look like those zombie Killer Wasps from Japan or wherever. I think if I saw one I would have to readicate it, and make the world a safer place.

I really do hate bugs. If it flies it dies.

 

[ABR]

We have a few cow ants around here. Growing up we always used sticks to play with them and then squashed them when we were through to prevent any of us from stepping on it at a later date.

My rant is about how unprofessional professors have gotten in recent years. So many tell you to contact them with questions or issues and then NEVER respond or take forever to give you an unhelpful response. For example, this summer I had 4 online classes and noticed well before the end of the semester in one class that an assignment that I completed was missing from my gradebook. Well I emailed him about it and never got a response. He procceded to email the class about if we had any issues with our grades to email him to discuss. I emailed him AGAIN and still got no response. He then sent a message saying he got through all the emails and was putting grades in. I emailed him a THIRD time regarding it and finally got a "I'll look at it this week". Well it's been a week with no contact and I'm pretty annoyed because I believe that the grade for that assignment will bump me from a B to an A into that class. It's that close. Unfortunately this was not the first, nor will it be the last, class that I have to take with him And each semester there have been issues with his lack of communication and ever-changing due dates and assignments.

 

[Peanut]

I got the little yellow suckers. One of the tree cutting guys saw them swam the pup... And saw where they came from.

I gave them a half hour to settle down then poured a gallon of gasoline down their hole (under ground nest).

I'm worried there might be a 2nd nest beside the driveway. Time will tell.

 

[Wingnut]

I don't like using chemicals or poison on my property, mainly because of the cats, but there are times when such use is inevitable... here, the big ants cause more trouble than any other pest, and ya gotta pour poison directly down the hole. That'll slow 'em down for a while, but it seems like one can never really kill 'em all... they'll be back in a few weeks to carry on their operations.

 

[zannej]

Glad you got them, Peanut.

My frustration today is trying to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. I can't find the right software and Microsoft wants what will be over $200 with tax for a software that used to be free. I downloaded the software from online (from microsoft's page) and the installation keeps failing. I have tried all of the steps they mentioned to do it but it still isn't working for some reason-- and a lot of new software (including Microsoft's Word program) won't run on Windows 7 anymore.

All the stuff I'm seeing is either bootleg or fresh install without upgrade options. I do NOT want to do that.

 

[VThillman]

All the stuff I'm seeing is either bootleg or fresh install without upgrade options. I do NOT want to do that.

I think Windows 11 is out now.

 

[Magus]

Windows ten was a freaking security/accessibility nightmare, how bad is 11 going to be? I wish I still hung out wit l33t haxxors, some of them are propping up XP still yet.

 

[Peanut]

I go to extremes to avoid the use of chemicals. I use plants for insect control where I can, use DE, buy it in 50lb bags. But, there are exceptions. Nasty insects capable of harming people, livestock etc. are at the top of my list. They have to go, period! Fire ants, wasps are a constant battle, never winning, just holding them at bay. Fire ants once killed some of my rabbits the night they were born. Some wasps are beneficial, I don't go looking for trouble but if they pose a serious threat the war is on!

These are fire ant mounds, the brown spots. 100K to 250K ants per mound, looking across about 70yds of my pasture. They are even a threat to new born calves.

 

[Wingnut]

Ants are the worst offenders here, the bees and wasps don't bother me too much as long as they don't get out of hand. We have big ants and we have tiny ants, and everything in between, and one can never exterminate them all. A real pest in the Southwest... and dangerous too, the Apaches used to stake prisoners out over ant holes, that must have been an ugly death. Gimme a nice clean bullet any day of the week...

 

[VThillman]

Windows ten was a freaking security/accessibility nightmare, how bad is 11 going to be? I wish I still hung out wit l33t haxxors, some of them are propping up XP still yet.

Ah yes, XP. When my job changed from field service, living out in the hinterlands, to writing manuals at the home factory (1990), XP was the thing. Microsoft intended it to Do Everything.

 

[VThillman]

XP was a fine example of do everything sort of.

 

[SheepDog]

Folks who look for secure performance don't use Windows.
I left Windows a long time ago and I have never looked back.
You can download LibreOffice to run on windows and do about 95% of what MS office will do. It is Open Source software and does a decent job of importing and exporting MS formats.
You might enjoy downloading the MS fonts at the same time as the LibreOffice software or import your Word fonts to the new software.
You could also start using one of the many Linux operating software like Mint or Ubuntu.

 

[Magus]

If I did anything online other than game, troll, and try to help people out, I'd be running red hat Linux myself. not many games for Linux. fewer I actually like. My son AMC, genius terrorist he is, tried to break a copy of Ubuntu, he ripped out random files all day. until it finally said there was a problem, then it fixed itself!

But yeah, if I did any banking or buying online, I'd be all over some form of Linux and be running zonelabs and an IP spoofer/changer in the background.

 

[zannej]

I liked XP. I stuck with it as long as I could. Got Windows 7 Ultimate so I could run an XP emulator. Windows ME sucked bigtime.

I don't like Windows 11. Mom got it on her laptop and it is annoying. But, the problem is that even if I wanted to go from 7 to 11, I can't. I'd have to upgrade from 7 to 10 and then to 11. The only reason I want to upgrade is that I can't install software I want to run because it won't run on 7. My mother had Windows 8 on her desktop but it forced an "upgrade" to 10 without her knowledge or permission and now claims it isn't a valid version of Windows so it runs slower.

I had to go into Command prompt to get my windows 7 to stop pulling that on me. I had to find what the registration code was for my OS and then manually enter it in command prompt (which is basically a windowed version of DOS). My first computer only had DOS so I would have to type in everything. Learned to program in BASIC on it.

I hate that they said "This will be the last OS" and "It will always be free" and now they want $200 for the "free" software. Ugh.

 

[VThillman]

If I did anything online other than game, troll, and try to help people out, I'd be running red hat Linux myself. not many games for Linux. fewer I actually like. My son AMC, genius terrorist he is, tried to break a copy of Ubuntu, he ripped out random files all day. until it finally said there was a problem, then it fixed itself!

But yeah, if I did any banking or buying online, I'd be all over some form of Linux and be running zonelabs and an IP spoofer/changer in the background.

I have 2 computers side-by-side. One has Windows 10, the other Linux Mint. I run one for 2-3 months, then the other. For what I do, there is no significant advantage to either.

 

[Supervisor42]

I liked XP. I stuck with it as long as I could. Got Windows 7 Ultimate so I could run an XP emulator. Windows ME sucked bigtime.

I don't like Windows 11.

You missed out on Vista® (that I still use today) which was made from Windows NT (the server software).

Wikipedia said: Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows desktop operating systems. Development was completed on November 8, 2006, and over the following three months, it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released internationally and was made available for purchase and download from the Windows Marketplace; it is the first release of Windows to be made available through a digital distribution platform.

Like NT, it had the ability to 'heal itself' if it became damaged and you could assign network users.
Guys like me soon found out that you could install one copy of expensive software on it as a server, and multiple networked generic PCs could run that one copy of software.
MS realized what a tremendous blunder this was and "fixed" it in the following versions.
It's been downhill ever since.

 

[VThillman]

You missed out on Vista® (that I still use today) which was made from Windows NT (the server software).

Like NT, it had the ability to 'heal itself' if it became damaged and you could assign network users.
Guys like me soon found out that you could install one copy of expensive software on it as a server, and multiple networked PCs could run that one copy of software.
MS realized what a tremendous blunder this was and "fixed" it in the following versions.
It's been downhill since.

It's been downhill since.

Hmm. Well, if satisfaction were the measure, it's been going downhill since 5.1.

 

[Supervisor42]

Hmm. Well, if satisfaction were the measure, it's been going downhill since 5.1.

I kinda liked DOS 6.22 the most (the last one before Windoz 95 taught us what 'crashes' really were ).
6.22 offered reliable compression when HD space was big bux.
If you wanted a 120mb HD, you paid $120 in 1980 dollars. (half a week's wages for me).
When you ran 6.22 on one that had 6.0 on it before, you had twice as much room.

Ah, we digress...
On topic, micro-rant: Rained all damday today. We've only had 4 days without rain for the last 2-1/2 weeks. Everything is a sloppy, muddy, mess.
You'd swear it was those "April-showers" that everybody talks about .

Edit: Sorry, I just couldn't help myself .
....Ahhh, remembering the 'good old days':

 

[zannej]

We used Windows 95 in college. I think one of our computers had Vista. Our second computer had Windows NT. Although, our very first computer was an Apple II E with monochrome screen, hardwired keyboard, and no mouse. Programming graphics on it sucked bc it was all green. I liked Windows NT. I think we had Win98 on one PC. Oh yeah, BSOD (blue screen of death) was pretty common on WinME.

I'm still struggling to get some energy. I have to nap after eating every single time and have to nap after any activity. Not as bad as when I was on euthyrox but its still not fun.

 

[Magus]

You missed out on Vista® (that I still use today) which was made from Windows NT (the server software).

Like NT, it had the ability to 'heal itself' if it became damaged and you could assign network users.
Guys like me soon found out that you could install one copy of expensive software on it as a server, and multiple networked generic PCs could run that one copy of software.
MS realized what a tremendous blunder this was and "fixed" it in the following versions.
It's been downhill ever since.

You need a built version with the offensive code lines removed. sometimes you'll find these online advertised as "gamer versions" I ran a theoretically legal version of home XP that was hybridized with a trial copy of XP corporate. all the BS apps and programs simply were not there and since it was built into a legal copy, it updated perfectly and continued to work until dual core processors became the norm around 2010.

 

[VThillman]

What I remember about Windows 5.1 (vaguely remember - most of my memory is like that) is that it worked the way it was supposed to most of the time. There was something called DOS 6.0 that I thought was good - but I don't remember why.

 

[Magus]

DOS is still available IF you know how to access it.

Some of the most commonly used ones are,

• Press Windows+X and then click "Command Prompt".
• Press Windows+R and then enter "cmd", and click to open the command prompt.
• You can also search for the command prompt in the start menu search to open it. In the file explorer, click the address bar or press Alt+D. Then type "cmd" into the address bar and hit enter to open the command prompt from that directory.

 

[VThillman]

DOS is still available IF you know how to access it.

Some of the most commonly used ones are,

• Press Windows+X and then click "Command Prompt".
• Press Windows+R and then enter "cmd", and click to open the command prompt.
• You can also search for the command prompt in the start menu search to open it. In the file explorer, click the address bar or press Alt+D. Then type "cmd" into the address bar and hit enter to open the command prompt from that directory.

I know about the command prompt. DOS 6.0 had programs. Some of them for system maintenance. There were two versions of DOS 6, written by different teams who didn't like each other much.