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

Appleseed said:

Hazzard Fraught hitch cargo carrier .

Steel one is 30lbs.

Aluminum one is...31lbs.

Dafuq?

Well, the aluminum one is 1,111 sq-in of space versus 1,034 for the steel one?  And it has an extra 4" of side rail?

I got called down to Georgia to "help gain alignment" on a project I am working on. The project was started by the person I was called down here to gain alignment with. It also hasn't changed direction since he put me on it. He won't return calls texts or emails. Why should an executive do any of those things? I drove an hour, flew 2 hours drove 2 more hours got here in time for the meeting he moved up 2 hours. Then he showed up 25 minutes late, said almost nothing. What the berkeley? If you want the project or me to go away just say it and I'll scuttle it or go find a new job. Don't just berkeley with me for sport. 

NY Nick said:

I got called down to Georgia to "help gain alignment" on a project I am working on. The project was started by the person I was called down here to gain alignment with. It also hasn't changed direction since he put me on it. He won't return calls texts or emails. Why should an executive do any of those things? I drove an hour, flew 2 hours drove 2 more hours got here in time for the meeting he moved up 2 hours. Then he showed up 25 minutes late, said almost nothing. What the berkeley? If you want the project or me to go away just say it and I'll scuttle it or go find a new job. Don't just berkeley with me for sport. 

If a guy that is responsible for P&L is acting that way I would be suspecting he is in deep trouble with something and can't focus.   If he is directly responsible for your continued employment I would seriously be thinking about changing jobs.

Just think how irresponsible is it to pay you to do all that traveling, airline tickets, rental car, probably hotel room,etc.,  and not even speak to you about the project.   

The production date for my Bronco has once again been pushed to the right. Its a no options, manual base, so its not like it has production constraints. Between the zero communication from the dealer despite a half dozen emails to the salesman and sales manager, to the continuous production delays, my patience is nearly gone. I'm almost at the point of abandoning my order and getting something else. It sucks because I've had a reservation since Oct 2020 and I've wanted a Bronco ever since Ford teased the 2005 Bronco Concept.

The initial production date was supposed to be June 27th, then it got pushed to August 1st. The latest email states its now August 7th. From what I understand, if it doesn't get produced in August, it will probably get pushed to the 2023 model year. If that happens I'm definitely out.

First world problems, for sure.

Dog #2 loves rolling in stinky stuff. Dog #2 also hates baths.

Wish I could teach him that one doesn't happen without the other.

In reply to jharry3 :

That's a good point. I find people start acting different when they are under pressure. 

Being the perennial 11th wheel amongst my friends is really wearing on me. And it looks like it isn't changing anytime soon. I start talking to someone, we converse for 3-5 days, then they vanish, rinse, wash, repeat. 

In reply to NickD :

Dude, even allowing for the standards of this place, you seem like a smart, normal guy. It'll happen.

Who the hell calls someone for an unscheduled job interview at 8:45 in the evening?!?

In reply to NickD :

So here's my experience, after years of trial and error.

Making well thought out, poignant, fairly ok profiles on dating sites will find you hookups.

Being blunt and saying you're just looking for a hookup will result in nothing.

Stopping caring and searching, and accepting you will just be alone and deal with it, will most likely drop a relationship on your lap.

That's been my experience through the years anyway. 

In about a month it'll be 9 years since me and Dana got together. On a random app, from a random post. She got pregnant early on, which I DO NOT recommend following that step, then we coparented and hooked up occasionally for about 5 years before realizing we were actually in a relationship, and worked well together. Last August we got married. 

I never planned to be married, or a dad, or in a long term relationship, and I wasn't looking for any of those things. I'd given up entirely in my 20s, made peace with being single and just rolled with it. But it happened. If it can happen to my fat, bald, grey ass, it can happen to anyone. 

In reply to Beer Baron :

Someone you don’t want to work for!

Wife got a lead on a job and decided to send in her resume.  As part of their process, this company first has you do some stupid online test which is, apparently, not particularly easy to pass.  She found a place that offered test-prep courses specifically for these but it could have cost us up to a hundred bucks.  She didn't want to spend the money.  Last night she took their test and this morning got the notification that she failed and can try again in a year. 

I'm smart enough to keep my mouth shut here, but I need to get this out of my system:  I told you so.

11GTCS said:

In reply to Beer Baron :

Someone you don’t want to work for!

Exactly. If they hire you, you'll be working until 8:45 and their new stop time will be 4:30. 

You want an unconditional lien waiver before you pay the $33k invoice?

How about a no. I might have been born at night, but it wasn't last night.

Here is a conditional version. You can have an unconditional version after your check clears my bank.

Scotty Con Queso said:

11GTCS said:

In reply to Beer Baron :

Someone you don’t want to work for!

Exactly. If they hire you, you'll be working until 8:45 and their new stop time will be 4:30. 

Maybe. As a general rule, I don't make phone calls in the evenings but I frequently remember something I forgot during the day and will send out emails at 8pm or even later. I don't expect an answer. Just because I'm working doesn't mean I expect everyone else to be. I also don't expect my guys to work one second past quitting time unless they are getting paid OT for it.

There are a lot of business owners who think about business 24/7. That's all they live for. They are frequently people that don't like to leave things undone. The caller may not have even realized what time it was when he called. 

slefain said:

In reply to Mr_Asa :

Our city is doing a zoning rewrite. When we got the draft document it was missing stuff that the public had asked for, and somehow included stuff that nobody asked for. Including some stuff that was snuck in as a favor for someone well connected. I asked for the communications showing where the input came from (or died in transit). I'm pretty sure the city buried the public input they didn't like regardless of popularity, and put in stuff they wanted themselves.

And I have receipts.

(update)

Got a phone call and an apology from the Mayor. Guess I hit a nerve with my public comment.

(update update)

They just doubled down claiming they can't find any records. I replied by sending them a sample of a record I already have. At this point I'm just going to turn it over to the state attorney general's office who is already on the case.

Rant: after sending a sample (including search terms to use) of what they should already have I was supplied with a deluge of 1,000+ pages of emails.

The email dump won't call off the state attorney general's office though. That is already in motion.

Toyman! said:

There are a lot of business owners who think about business 24/7. That's all they live for. They are frequently people that don't like to leave things undone. The caller may not have even realized what time it was when he called. 

This guy is an older farmer who I gather runs a couple other businesses, so... I suspect he mostly doesn't have a sense of what "normal business hours" are for other people and the evenings are his downtime when he doesn't have to worry about being interrupted.

It's a strong data point in evaluating whether I'd want to work for this company.

And just off my win about FedEx delivering to the shop...  USPS has my seal kit for my lift.  It was supposed to be delivered today.  I was standing right by the door when the mail came - there was no knock and the guy didn't get out of the truck.  He left a note behind saying that they're sorry that they missed us, but they couldn't deliver the package because it requires a payment of $5.45 for postage due.  Motherberkeleyers.  First of all, that's a E36 M3 way to send warranty parts and secondly maybe the reason I couldn't give you the money is because you didn't come to the berkeleying door and berkeleying ask me for the berkeleying money you dipE36 M3 berkeleybag.

Asked someone for something pretty minor last week.  They said hey thanks for supporting us over the years and we can do this on Tuesday (holiday weekend).  I replied, cool thanks really appreciate it.  So Wednesday, I reply hey I no it's not a big priority, but I'd really appreciate the assist.  And as of today crickets.

In reply to wae :

I feel you there... last night The Dancer and I got into a slight row because I mentioned that I had been looking into some of the online places that diagnose and prescribe meds for ADD/ADHD. I had done so because a week ago when she dropped something I wasn't expecting on me to do in the rush to get out of the door and take care of it, I left the door to the house unlocked and not latched closed (I was going in and out of multiple doors because I needed the QX4 to pick something up and the BMW was behind it) and she not surprisingly was really pissed about that. She mostly let it slide since she didn't want to be pissed the whole holiday weekend, but I decided that I needed to look back more seriously at whether the meds would help- but bringing it up got her mad again and then pissed me off because she essentially said that she didn't believe I had ADD and was just really airheaded and if I didn't try and do so much more and focussed more it wouldn't be a problem.

Anyway... fast forward to midday today- we needed to run the foal her nonprofit's kids had painted in to drop off to be clearcoated and put on display and while we were there, get a few checks signed by our board pres who works nearby that she needs by tomorrow afternoon. We get the foal dropped off and I text the board pres to meet up... and she realizes that she has forgotten to bring the checks for him to sign. 

She was like, "You can feel smug about this..." and I said, "No I'm not, but it is definitely ironic." 

I wasn't feeling smug about it, but I was definitely glad that -I- hadn't forgotten them, and hopefully the next time something slips my mind she'll be a bit more understanding...

You know what I love? Spending all day making, cooking, and smelling a meal to only take one bite and throw all of it in the trash because the taste != the smell at all. 

I don't know what these seals are supposed to be for, but they surely do not go into my lift's hydraulic cylinder.

EDIT: For posterity's sake, Titan sent me the right seals.  I am just ignorant about how hydraulics work.  But they were quite patient with me and set me straight.

I don't particularly enjoy hiking but my wife does and I like spending time with her so I do it occasionally.  We pick easy trails and I bring my camera and take pictures to keep from getting bored.  We're in Salt Lake City for a little vacation.  I wanted to drive into the mountains and she wanted a little hike while we were there so we picked a 1 mile trail that leads to a lake as a destination.

I couldn't do it.  Between the elevation (9k Ft) and the pain in my knees and back I was hurting and out of breath at about the 1/3 mile point.  It was almost straight up a ski slope so it was a tough walk but still.  

I've been planning on trying to get the QX4's AC compressor swapped tomorrow afternoon after I swim & get my back cracked (assuming the weather would behave). And if not, I desperately need to clean and organize the garage- not only is it difficult to find anything but getting around in there requires feats of acrobatic balance I no longer possess. 

And then I get a text from The Dancer that they broke one of the inserts that I printed out to use better wheels on the bed she's using in the show in 2 weeks. Per her, "We're essentially flipping people and body slamming them onto the bed, I'm not surprised it broke. Teehee."

*sigh* So I guess I'm spending my afternoon trying to engineer a way to mount the wheels that will hold up to what I would call 'unreasonable abuse.' I'm just waiting for the call that they actually broke the -bed- itself (either the box spring or the frame). 

COVID 2.0

I don't have time for this.