The Vent and Rant Thread

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

Your friend will have influence over when, where and how they travel. Whereas DST changes are imposed by sovereign states under legislation often enacted over a century ago, no one who elected those legislators is alive today.

It's the ignominy of being controlled by an overly weaning state that screws up your friend's sleep.

Sadly, while one may be a voluntary action while the other is imposed, the effect should be the same. If I fly from Vancouver to Calgary or Calgary to Vancouver, I get the same one hour time difference and so should suffer the same symptoms if the time difference is responsible.

And to be honest, I'm not even sure the person is question knows who the Prime Minister of Canada, Premier of British Columbia or POTUS is. If they were any more ignorant of politics, they would be being put to bed with a shovel.

[ekbell]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Had fun on Sunday chatting with a friend of ours who whines every time DST starts/ends. It takes them weeks to adjust, their sleep patterns are screwed, etc. Oddly, they travel quite a bit and, according to them, never suffer from jet lag. A bit hard to comprehend why changing from PST to NST (Newfoundland Standard Time, a 3.5 hour difference) or the return trip is not an issue but a 1 hour change takes weeks to recover from. They and their spouse are DINKs with no pets.

Perhaps they are abnormally sensitive to environmental cues so that changing time without a corresponding change in sunrise/sunset is what is doing them in

More likely the excitement of travelling is a better cover for the fatigue of changing time zones then just staying in one place with nothing but the clock changing.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by ekbell

Perhaps they are abnormally sensitive to environmental cues so that changing time without a corresponding change in sunrise/sunset is what is doing them in

More likely the excitement of travelling is a better cover for the fatigue of changing time zones then just staying in one place with nothing but the clock changing.

Those both sound reasonable. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder, or whatever it's called) has more to do with changes in exposure to sunlight than with what time zone you live in, so I get that.


I'm reminded of the person I knew who complained of jet-lag when he flew from Florida to NJ. I suspect he thought "jet-lagged" meant "tired of flying."

[Renate]

I just figure that 8 timezones will kick my butt and try as hard as I can to jump to the new one by sheer will.

[Sirtel]

I've never had a fixed daily schedule (among other things, I totally lack any circadian rhythm - not even sure if there is an official diagnosis for that), so I don't feel any different due to DST. No idea about jet lag, as I don't travel.

[cromag]

Last night I was down in the basement using the gym and I noticed a puddle of water on the floor near the washing machine. Maybe 10 years ago the laundry drain clogged and, after I unclogged it, I tied a rag around the drain pipe. Sure enough, the rag was soaked -- so, at least it wasn't a problem with the washing machine. Just a clogged drain overflowing.

I got my big adjustable wrench and removed the clean-out plug with great difficulty (the plumbers' putty had hardened around the threads), and got my old drain snake. I reamed it out pretty well (I thought) but when I ran a test with the empty washing machine, water splashed out of the drain pipe and onto the floor. Hopefully, I just need to open it back up and snake it through a few more times.

Just like my Dad before me, I hate plumbing jobs.

And suddenly my Wednesday is all booked up.

[Renate]

Originally Posted by cromag

I hate plumbing jobs.

Ah, the thrill of completing a nice plumbing task, turning on the water and trying to convince yourself that the tiny beads of water forming at the joint are merely condensation.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by issybird

As of now, the owner of the pit bull mix has dug in and is getting all the support and sympathy. Only one neighbor, whose border collie was once attacked by a neighborhood dog, has liked my post. As I typed, I knew it was probably a bad idea....

The Beaverton posted this article a few days ago: “Oh, he’s never done that before,” says owner as dog kills seventh victim

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by cromag

Last night I was down in the basement using the gym and I noticed a puddle of water on the floor near the washing machine. Maybe 10 years ago the laundry drain clogged and, after I unclogged it, I tied a rag around the drain pipe. Sure enough, the rag was soaked -- so, at least it wasn't a problem with the washing machine. Just a clogged drain overflowing.

I got my big adjustable wrench and removed the clean-out plug with great difficulty (the plumbers' putty had hardened around the threads), and got my old drain snake. I reamed it out pretty well (I thought) but when I ran a test with the empty washing machine, water splashed out of the drain pipe and onto the floor. Hopefully, I just need to open it back up and snake it through a few more times.

Just like my Dad before me, I hate plumbing jobs.

And suddenly my Wednesday is all booked up.

There's two jobs in the home I don't mess with, electrics and plumbing.

I remember years ago we had a leaking kitchen tap and my Dad was going to change it (a mixer tap) I kept saying I think this is one of those jobs for the professionals, but no we could do it, you can see where this is going. Turned off the stopcock, started to remove the tap, water started pouring out. Evidently the stop cock wasn't working right, couldn't get the tap back on, it ended up my dad rushing to the hardware store while I kept my thumb over the pipe, he managed to get a blanking plug which we could fit. And yep we ended up getting the professional in to fit a new tap and sort out the stopcock

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Graham44

There's two jobs in the home I don't mess with, electrics and plumbing.

I remember years ago we had a leaking kitchen tap and my Dad was going to change it (a mixer tap) I kept saying I think this is one of those jobs for the professionals, but no we could do it, you can see where this is going. Turned off the stopcock, started to remove the tap, water started pouring out. Evidently the stop cock wasn't working right, couldn't get the tap back on, it ended up my dad rushing to the hardware store while I kept my thumb over the pipe, he managed to get a blanking plug which we could fit. And yep we ended up getting the professional in to fit a new tap and sort out the stopcock

I'm OK with simple plumbing/electric work. The rule is to ALWAYS check that the stop cock/circuit breaker actually has turned off the water/electricity before taking tools to anything....

[Renate]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The rule is to ALWAYS check that the stop cock/circuit breaker actually has turned off the water/electricity before taking tools to anything....

I especially hate it when, like with The Three Stooges, water comes out of electrical lighting fixtures.

[Sirtel]

I have zero technical/mechanical talent and I'm very, very bad with my hands (clumsy even with the simplest jobs), so the most complex task I do myself is changing the light bulb. To attempt anything more complex invariably ends in catastrophe. I'm pretty hopeless in this regard.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Graham44

There's two jobs in the home I don't mess with, electrics and plumbing.

I remember years ago we had a leaking kitchen tap and my Dad was going to change it (a mixer tap) I kept saying I think this is one of those jobs for the professionals, but no we could do it, you can see where this is going. Turned off the stopcock, started to remove the tap, water started pouring out. Evidently the stop cock wasn't working right, couldn't get the tap back on, it ended up my dad rushing to the hardware store while I kept my thumb over the pipe, he managed to get a blanking plug which we could fit. And yep we ended up getting the professional in to fit a new tap and sort out the stopcock

We had a dishwasher that stopped working and we needed to replace it. But where we lived, we needed to get both an electrician and a plumber to do the job. My wife looked up online how to install the dishwasher and we did it ourselves. I think the hardest part was getting down on the floor and adjusting the feet to level it out.

[Renate]

I've only been three weeks in my new apartment so I've only fixed the kitchen drain (that was never installed correctly) and rehung the bedroom door (which couldn't latch).

Some people think that slip-joint drain pipes will seal (without a gasket) if you only apply enough torque with a wrench. This is wrong thinking.

I also cleaned the gutters right outside my windows which were full of cigarette butts. I didn't like looking at them.

[Renate]

Actually, this is an anti-rant.

Have you ever called a service number where your tendency would be to rant, but you held yourself in, gone over the top with good humor -and- been responded to with good humor?

Edit: Unrelated. I bought a $1 pack of cookies and discovered that somebody had opened them already and had filched a cookie off the top.