The Vent and Rant Thread

[Deskisamess]

The neighbors I spoke of just didn't care about anything. The front storm door on their house didn't close correctly. It was a full glass door, they never put the screen in. On the hinge side there was still the original cast iron railing on the small porch. That storm door would swing back and forth, all day long. Hitting the door frame and banging into that railing. We were astonished it never broke, as hard as it would hit.

One of the older kids tied a rope to its handle, and would sometimes grab the rope to pinch it through the front door to keep the storm door closed, but the adults never did.

They had a small beat up car the oldest girl drove for a while. It stopped running, and had 2 flat tires, and sat on their front yard for about a year. It was also partly on the sidewalk, because there is no tree lawn on the street. (Everyone parks partly on the sidewalks because the street is a very narrow dead end street, the police never ticket because there isn't enough driveway space for those with multiple cars)

We finally called the township, it's not in the city, and they told them to move the car, or it would be towed at their expense and pay a fine. By that point the tags were expired as well, and it was obvious it couldn't be driven.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

The neighbors I spoke of just didn't care about anything. The front storm door on their house didn't close correctly. It was a full glass door, they never put the screen in. On the hinge side there was still the original cast iron railing on the small porch. That storm door would swing back and forth, all day long. Hitting the door frame and banging into that railing. We were astonished it never broke, as hard as it would hit.

One of the older kids tied a rope to its handle, and would sometimes grab the rope to pinch it through the front door to keep the storm door closed, but the adults never did.

They had a small beat up car the oldest girl drove for a while. It stopped running, and had 2 flat tires, and sat on their front yard for about a year. It was also partly on the sidewalk, because there is no tree lawn on the street. (Everyone parks partly on the sidewalks because the street is a very narrow dead end street, the police never ticket because there isn't enough driveway space for those with multiple cars)

We finally called the township, it's not in the city, and they told them to move the car, or it would be towed at their expense and pay a fine. By that point the tags were expired as well, and it was obvious it couldn't be driven.

See, this is the thing. The abandonment, by local governments, of any sort of code enforcement, etc. (they all seem to think that HOA's will take care of it, as if the entire country is blanketed with them, Gods forfend), leaves people utterly on their own. What can you do, other than sue them? And sue them for what? The right of quiet occupancy? I mean, who decides what's an eyesore (cars on blocks) or what's "tolerable" around barking dogs?

And how much does it cost you, to get to that point? In regular, civil law, when I was in RE Development, we used to tell people to assume that by the time they got through a normal discovery and got to the doors of the courtroom, assume $50K (yes, Fifty Thousand US Dollars) in legal fees--and that wouldn't cover the courtroom stuff, including expert witnesses and so on. (Granted, obviously, not for Small Claims or justice, but still.)

And you can't even get even. I mean, their dog can bark, non-stop, at you, for 10 hours in a row. if you record it and play it back, at exactly the same decibel level--it's YOU who will be breaking the law, because now a human is doing it, not an animal.

I would not be surprised, given what's happening in counties and municipalities around the country, to see this emerge as some new area of legal practice. I'm serious. Small Claims and Justice Court cases, so that you can try to have a life without being harassed by A-holes. Maybe some packets of state-specific forms, ready-to-go, "How to Sue Your Obnoxious neighbor in Small Claims/Justice Court" in 5 easy steps. LOL.

I know, all this makes me sound like a loon--but 8 very, very long years, living next to a dog that barked like that--it'll make you crazy. We had a new neighbor, down the road apiece, move in here and suddenly, something started happening with their dog, with barking and we had to have a talk with them. Happily, although the wife insisted it wasn't happening ("not my dog!"), the husband took steps and realized it damn sure was their dog and addressed it. I'm too damned cranky and burned by the last mess to put up with that s**t again.

Hitch

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Hitch

See, this is the thing. The abandonment, by local governments, of any sort of code enforcement, etc.

You bemoan the lack of government enforcement, I bemoan the loss of common courtesy, decency and neighborliness.


Oh, and DST needs to be abolished.


ApK

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by ApK

You bemoan the lack of government enforcement, I bemoan the loss of common courtesy, decency and neighborliness.


Oh, and DST needs to be abolished.


ApK

I'll second that emotion!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by ApK

You bemoan the lack of government enforcement, I bemoan the loss of common courtesy, decency and neighborliness.


Oh, and DST needs to be abolished.


ApK

Look, I freaking HATE government enforcement. I am the last person who wants more government. (Hell, I'd be thrilled if they'd just do what they were meant to do, in their own Statutes, etc.)

But given the lack of common courtesy, decency and neighborliness that I've seen, over the past 20-ish years, and the economic and brain-damaging reality that I've experienced, in terms of having to sue someone to make them do something about their cursed dog...honestly, it's a horror show. I mean, think about it--having to SUE someone, over their damned dog?

I would infinitely rather walk down to someone's house, knock on the door (which we tried, BTW, with the Evil Homeowner #1 and then with #2 guy, the latter of which was responsive, the former not remotely), than call some enforcement agency, but when they effectively flip you off...what are your choices? It's call some code enforcement dude or cop, or sue. That's about all you can do. Or suffer. (And once you're stuck in that situation, lotsa luck selling your place.)


H

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ApK

Oh, and DST needs to be abolished.

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I'll second that emotion!

The US Senate today passed, unanimously, a bill to establish permanent DST!

Now let’s hope the House shows similar wisdom. Or at least a majority of them do.

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by issybird

The US Senate today passed, unanimously, a bill to establish permanent DST!

Now let’s hope the House shows similar wisdom. Or at least a majority of them do.

I'm ok with permanent DST - it's the changes back & forth that damage my brain!

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I'm ok with permanent DST - it's the changes back & forth that damage my brain!

The rate of heart attacks and strokes is known to spike immediately following a DST time change.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by issybird

The US Senate today passed, unanimously, a bill to establish permanent DST!

Now let’s hope the House shows similar wisdom. Or at least a majority of them do.

The EU almost managed to do away with clock changes, with a vote in the EU Parliament in 2018, but it got bogged down in bureaucracy and didn't happen.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-time-ever-end

The UK could now end it unilaterally, but that also seems unlikely to happen.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The EU almost managed to do away with clock changes, with a vote in the EU Parliament in 2018, but it got bogged down in bureaucracy and didn't happen.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...-time-ever-end

The UK could now end it unilaterally, but that also seems unlikely to happen.

Yeah, here's the thing--where I reside, AZ, doesn't (in most parts) observe DST. We have enough Daylight in the summer--we have zero desire for more. However, if the US decides to do away with DST, and other countries don't, then you get to perform the mental gymnastics that I've done, for the last however-many decades, trying to remember exactly how many hours' difference you are from (Place X, say London UK), depending upon what time of year it is. Half the year, I'm in the same "time zone" as California (when they observe DST); half the year, I'm an hour ahead of them.

It's a PITA.

Hitch

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Hitch

However, if the US decides to do away with DST, and other countries don't, then you get to perform the mental gymnastics that I've done, for the last however-many decades, trying to remember exactly how many hours' difference you are from (Place X, say London UK), depending upon what time of year it is. Half the year, I'm in the same "time zone" as California (when they observe DST); half the year, I'm an hour ahead of them.

Technically, the US wouldn’t be doing away with DST; it would be doing away with Standard Time. Which begs the question of what exactly “Standard” means. As it’s used in current terminology, it means (roughly) that noon occurs when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. But an argument could be made (at least I like it) that “standard” should mean something more like regular or ordinary. And since we’re on daylight time twice as long as standard time, I’d say that daylight time actually is the standard, and standard time is the aberration. Which is essentially what you said.

I’m just tired of hearing about the poor kids waiting for buses in the dark. In most places, either it won’t happen anyway, or it already happens some of the time. In my neck of the woods, the elementary school students don’t wait for the bus in the dark in the winter, but they get home at sunset, which also seems less than ideal especially when you think the kids might like to get out and play for a while. When the day’s short, you don’t have a ton of wiggle room.

And given the state of helicoptering parents, I never see unaccompanied elementary school students waiting for the bus anyway. By the time a kid hits middle school, you’d like to think it was old enough to negotiate the crepuscular periods safely.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by issybird

which also seems less than ideal especially when you think the kids might like to get out and play for a while.

I didn't think kids did that anymore....

Anythewho, it's the changing back and forth that's ridiculous. It never even occurred to me that we could make DST permanent, I just assumed if we did away with the changing, we'd stay on Standard time, but I can see the appeal. I'm NOT a morning person anyway, so I have no personal stake in later sunrises.

BTW, as Rubio acknowledged, this is hardly the most important issue facing the country, but getting some bipartisan, widely popular* thing accomplished in Congress would feel nice. It's a tenet of consensus-building to get a string of small agreements to build toward the bigger ones.

ApK

*from what I read, there is broad popular support for doing away with changing the clocks, though less agreement on whether to stay on Daylight or Standard.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by issybird

Technically, the US wouldn’t be doing away with DST; it would be doing away with Standard Time. Which begs the question of what exactly “Standard” means. As it’s used in current terminology, it means (roughly) that noon occurs when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. But an argument could be made (at least I like it) that “standard” should mean something more like regular or ordinary. And since we’re on daylight time twice as long as standard time, I’d say that daylight time actually is the standard, and standard time is the aberration. Which is essentially what you said.

Yeah, what she said. :-)

I’m just tired of hearing about the poor kids waiting for buses in the dark. In most places, either it won’t happen anyway, or it already happens some of the time. In my neck of the woods, the elementary school students don’t wait for the bus in the dark in the winter, but they get home at sunset, which also seems less than ideal especially when you think the kids might like to get out and play for a while. When the day’s short, you don’t have a ton of wiggle room.

Ah, crap, I walked in the damn dark and I'm still alive to talk about it. Yeah, yeah, I walked 50miles (3) to school in 3' of snow (mostly not). (But seriously, I did do a ton of walking because I enjoyed it, even though a bus would pick me up, for that year I went to public school.) And I was never overweight, either, FWIW. I don't know how many 'steps' 3 miles is, but it certainly kept me healthier than sitting on a damn bus.

And given the state of helicoptering parents, I never see unaccompanied elementary school students waiting for the bus anyway. By the time a kid hits middle school, you’d like to think it was old enough to negotiate the crepuscular periods safely.

When I see those endless lines at schools, parents lined up at the school parking lot, it makes me wonder how we all survived. Hell, how our mothers (by and large) survived, acting as chauffeurs. I mean, in today's world, who the hell can just up and leave their office, drive to some school and schlep their kiddos? How does that even work?

(And the BUS STOP! We have bus stops, for kids, here in my very rural area, right? And the parents park at the bus stop, so the kiddos don't walk--wait for it--from the BUS STOP to the house!? What the holy hell? I mean, sure, if your kid is 4-5 y.o., maybe even 6, I can see that, but older than that? You think they can't walk that quarter- half-mile home???? I can't tell if that's Helicopter Mum or Anti-Health Mum.)

My mother would have laughed, I mean, seriously. "You want me to what?"

Hitch

[DiapDealer]

I'm not really worried about broad popular support for whichever version of time we stick with (if we make one permanent). What we have now is a "standard" (albeit fluctuating) system that a few places choose to ignore. If we pick DST and stick with it forever, we would probably still have a standard (though not fluctuating) system that a few states will choose to ignore.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm not really worried about broad popular support for whichever version of time we stick with (if we make one permanent). What we have now is a "standard" (albeit fluctuating) system that a few places choose to ignore. If we pick DST and stick with it forever, we would probably still have a standard (though not fluctuating) system that a few states will choose to ignore.

Going from an imperfect, annoying system with few perceivable benefits to an imperfect, less annoying system with a few more perceivable benefits is OK by me, especially if the only cost of doing so is a few minutes of Congress's time and signature.