Minor rant thread. Post your rants o' the day here!

barefootcyborg5000 said:

I always seem to forget how difficult it is to bury a pet. 
Heading home for lunch, wife calls in a panic. Kids left door open, dog had gotten out, and she was searching. Found her while I was on the phone Hit and run. I pull up and the apartment maintenance had covered her up. Drove her up to my parents place. That's where we got her, where she'd spent most of her life. Buried her close to the other rescue that came home at the same time. Under a nice tree. In 22 years here we've had to dig 6 dog graves. I berkeleying hate it. 
Now I get to drive home again and try to convince the kids that it isn't their fault. I tried before I left but they're still really upset. Wife worst of all. 
Kitty was older. We don't know exactly, but guess around 12. A superb fetcher. She always chose the softest spots to sleep. 

The world keeps turning. The rain is appropriate. 

Ah berkeley, I'm sorry to hear this man

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

Sorry for your loss. Digging a grave is one of the worst ways to spend time.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. 

My wife really likes to call me at work. I get called while she is driving and bored. And it's what I call being "fire hosed". I always answer because we have kids and it's my policy to always answer. I can't even get past hello and she's talking a million miles an hour at me and I can't even get a second in and let her know I'm busy. She unloads all her stress and chores and things I need to do when I get home from work. Im in an office setting and she expects me to be energetic, all lovey, and engaged. I can't do that. She gets angry if I say I'm busy and there's zero chance to get her off the phone without her getting mad. If I set and talk it's 15-20 minutes of me saying uh huh, yes, and ok until she gets mad that I'm not engaged. I'm about to change my policy and stop answering unless it's at lunch time. 

Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:

In reply to barefootcyborg5000 :

Sorry for your loss. Digging a grave is one of the worst ways to spend time.

Sorry about your loss.

The memory of digging a hole and burying my hamster in my dads garden back in 1968-1969-ish is clear as day to me.  Sounds odd but I'll never forget the event.   

Scotty Con Queso said:

My wife really likes to call me at work. I get called while she is driving and bored. And it's what I call being "fire hosed". I always answer because we have kids and it's my policy to always answer. I can't even get past hello and she's talking a million miles an hour at me and I can't even get a second in and let her know I'm busy. She unloads all her stress and chores and things I need to do when I get home from work. Im in an office setting and she expects me to be energetic, all lovey, and engaged. I can't do that. She gets angry if I say I'm busy and there's zero chance to get her off the phone without her getting mad. If I set and talk it's 15-20 minutes of me saying uh huh, yes, and ok until she gets mad that I'm not engaged. I'm about to change my policy and stop answering unless it's at lunch time. 

I stopped answering about 20 years ago. I have a one-track mind and am easily distracted. A phone call from her would bring everything I was doing to a complete halt. Then it would take me another 15 minutes to figure out where I was when the phone rang. I warned her that I would stop answering if she didn't stop calling for no reason other than to talk. Nothing else worked. She didn't stop so I did. Eventually, she figured it out.  

On the rare occasion that she calls now, I can be reasonably certain it's actually important and the call will be short and to the point. 

I'm 8 days after a vasectomy. One ball is not recovering as well as the other. Not sure at what point to be concerned about this.

Anxiety over, "Is this a problem? Should I be worried?" Even though I'm logically pretty sure this is fine.

Other general anxiety and doubts. I think mostly over how others would perceive me, not how I perceive myself.

Tack on heightening work frustrations. I'm the only person in production right now. I'm training up one guy to handle simple tasks to be able to fill in for emergencies, vacations, etc. But things like climbing into tanks - I'm not doing that for another week or two, and the trainee is just too large to fit through the manways. It's highlighting the lack of attention and support from the owner that these tasks just can't/won't get done if I have something going on.

In reply to Beer Baron :

I had some weird phantom pains on one side about 8-10 days post op as well. It was not fun and I called the doctors office and they told me it was normal. I'm no doctor so I suggest you call and have the same conversation. One to make sure it's normal and two to ease your mind. 

Last week I was convinced my heart was hurting and I was going to die. Then I remembered that I chopped a crap ton of firewood the week before and it was actually my peck hurting. 

Beer Baron said:

I'm 8 days after a vasectomy. One ball is not recovering as well as the other. Not sure at what point to be concerned about this.

Anxiety over, "Is this a problem? Should I be worried?" Even though I'm logically pretty sure this is fine.

Other general anxiety and doubts. I think mostly over how others would perceive me, not how I perceive myself.

Tack on heightening work frustrations. I'm the only person in production right now. I'm training up one guy to handle simple tasks to be able to fill in for emergencies, vacations, etc. But things like climbing into tanks - I'm not doing that for another week or two, and the trainee is just too large to fit through the manways. It's highlighting the lack of attention and support from the owner that these tasks just can't/won't get done if I have something going on.

Did they cut both or just do the whole thing from the middle? I had the latter.

Definitely call the guy. It's not worth the risks to let it slide.

In reply to Beer Baron :

It's worth a call to the surgeon's office, especially if there is still any noticeable swelling.

Good luck!

I always think "That's normal" from a healthcare professional actually "berk if I know. I'm a highly educated guess artist, but I'm not telling you that."

I've gotten the shoulder shrug from too many to think differently.

Beer Baron said:

I'm 8 days after a vasectomy. One ball is not recovering as well as the other. Not sure at what point to be concerned about this.

Anxiety over, "Is this a problem? Should I be worried?" Even though I'm logically pretty sure this is fine.

Other general anxiety and doubts. I think mostly over how others would perceive me, not how I perceive myself.

Tack on heightening work frustrations. I'm the only person in production right now. I'm training up one guy to handle simple tasks to be able to fill in for emergencies, vacations, etc. But things like climbing into tanks - I'm not doing that for another week or two, and the trainee is just too large to fit through the manways. It's highlighting the lack of attention and support from the owner that these tasks just can't/won't get done if I have something going on.

Protip #1: If you go to work and sit on a bag of frozen peas the next day, make sure to use a zip top bag, because the frozen pea bag will leak, and you will have to explain why you have pea juice on your pants to colleagues. 

Protip #2: Pay close attention when they give you instructions for the samples. They will likely give you two containers. They do not want them both on the same day.

Do not ask how I know these things.

Sent a message through an online portal. Got a response pretty quickly that was basically, "Yeah. Pretty normal. Take it easy and give it time."

They did the two sides separately.

The side that's troublesome isn't major pain. No noticeable swelling, discoloration, heat, etc. It's got some lumpiness that I'm not noticing on the other side, it's more sensitive and irritable, and feels sort of... heavy.

Google searches yesterday looked like this was pretty normal. Still wanted to hear from the Dr. At the very least, I like having a record of things to track if there is an issue.

My shop vac just caught fire. berkeley. This. Week. 

A 15 minute warning from the IT department that they are going to force my computer to reboot in the middle of the workday is way too short.  What is so important that it can't wait until the evening when they usually happen?  Makes me wonder if I need to be checking my home computer.

The mechanic still has not figured the clutch out in the Santa Fe. He texted me yesterday to ask if I can stop by his shop so "we can figure it out together". Uh, I'm paying you nearly $1300 for YOU to figure it out. I think I've helped him enough since he couldn't figure out how to get the bell housing and engine separated.

I'll give him until Monday to get it right, then I'm taking it to another shop. I'm berking done. A clutch change shouldn't take 15 berking days. 

In reply to stanger_mussle (Supported by GRM undergarments) :

Once I I had a transmission shop throw a clutch into my Nissan 200SX.  I pick it up in the front of the shop and it won't go into reverse or first gear.  How you'all get it to the parking lot?  They redid it the next day.  

I get underneath that night and the four bolts that hold in the crossmember were only half way in.  (Who lays under their car to check out trans work?)

My nose was stuffed up Monday, but I felt fine. It didn't stay that way and I've been gradually getting worse until I think I peaked last night, trying to do something  in the shop so I didn't feel completely useless. It was wasted energy because I was completely useless. Supposed to work tomorrow but I called this afternoon and booked a vacation day, which I now realize was prudent because I just woke up sitting at my desk.

Somebody posted something earlier in the week which reminded me of a song. I've been trying to think of the name that song all week because I had something funny to post about it. Not only have I not been able to remember the name of the song, but now I can't even remember what the original post was making it relevant. I think I'll go out to the shop and try to get something done so I don't feel completely useless.

eastsideTim said:

A 15 minute warning from the IT department that they are going to force my computer to reboot in the middle of the workday is way too short.  What is so important that it can't wait until the evening when they usually happen?  Makes me wonder if I need to be checking my home computer.

I lost about an hour's work yesterday because of an unannounced Windows update. Normally I pay attention to the little orange warning dot but this time I couldn't because my monitors just went dark and I had to force restart.

Peabody said:

My nose was stuffed up Monday, but I felt fine. It didn't stay that way and I've been gradually getting worse until I think I peaked last night, trying to do something  in the shop so I didn't feel completely useless. It was wasted energy because I was completely useless. Supposed to work tomorrow but I called this afternoon and booked a vacation day, which I now realize was prudent because I just woke up sitting at my desk.

Somebody posted something earlier in the week which reminded me of a song. I've been trying to think of the name that song all week because I had something funny to post about it. Not only have I not been able to remember the name of the song, but now I can't even remember what the original post was making it relevant. I think I'll go out to the shop and try to get something done so I don't feel completely useless.

Hmm hmm him.

Plantar fasciitis.


I've been dealing with heel pain for about two years. I just work through or around it because healthcare is prohibitively expensive, especially as the sole provider for a family of four. A couple of days ago I made the mistake of getting in an impromptu foot race with our quite athletic 15-year-old and my heel exploded in pain. I hobbled through work that night but had to call in last night and tonight and cancel working this weekend. I went to a doctor on the 15th and he referred me to a specialist who was supposed to call yesterday. No call. 


At work, I'm on my feet pretty much my entire shift. I have to get this fixed in order to do my job. I have to do my job in order to provide for my family. Hopefully, I get a call tomorrow... or later today. 

In reply to The_Jed :

BTDT. The specialist basically told me to buy better shoes and that he could sell them to me for $1500. I literally laughed in his face. Doctors pretty much suck. 

A little internet research and some reading saved me $1500. While shoes with decent arch support are important, what worked very well for me was rolling my foot back and forth on a frozen water bottle a couple of times a day and stretching the foot in the mornings before getting out of bed. 

I mentioned recently how bad my knee was getting and that I would likely have to have it replaced sooner than later, it's been a gradual decline. At the same time my right foot had something going on, a corn maybe, and the left one, some pain in one of the small toes. Since I am entitled to a new pair of safety boots/shoes every year and I blew it last year I grabbed a pair a few weeks back. Even though my boots are still in good shape I thought I'd try the new ones out last week at work. All the knee pain and most of the foot pain is gone.

In reply to Peabody :

Yep, shoes are important. They are the foundation your entire body is standing on. If they are E36 M3, they can cause all kinds of problems. My plantar fasciitis was caused by a pair of boat shoes. I loved those shoes but they were horrible from a support standpoint.

My father, who passed away over 10 years ago, had ALS.  One thing that he and I and the rest of the family were relieved about was that when tested, it was not genetics-related.  They still don't have a great handle on environmental causes, but there are several potential culprits.  I just found out last night that someone across the street from my childhood home (that my parents lived in for about 30 years) and someone just down a side street from the house were diagnosed.  I'm a little more concerned about myself and my immediate family now.