It's furniture-throwing time: New Angroyed thread

[jm]

Yeah, that was definitely a fine-print thing I wasn't aware of when the switchover happened.  I've probably dropped much more than $50 by now, due to my untactical ATM use.

[YojimboMonkey]

They really and truly fucking are. In selecting a new bank before moving to Chicago, I chose WaMu due to a) its relatively progressive policies re: fees and such, b) its relatively good customer reputation and, c) the fact that it was not Chase. And now here I am.

edited for my life

[Ignatius]

You're probably right about BoA. But Chase is very very bad. It's unreasonably difficult to keep track of debit card purchases to such a degree that I no longer use mine on weekends. I've had terminal transactions take a full week to show up even as pending. I've deposited checks, had x number of purchases mysteriously go through at the same time after depositing the check, and then gotten hit with multiple overdraft charges over the several days while the check cleared. The clearing process lengthened considerably by the fact that there are now negative dollars to cover the check.

It doesn't really happen any more because I've trained myself to assume there are x fewer dollars in the account than the teller/internet/ATM/phone would have me believe at any point in time. But when they first took over the Bank of NY, it was very frustrating to adjust to the inconsistencies and inaccuracies. And the fact that it takes forever to deposit checks.

I think Chase charges you a fee when you use other ATMs, as well as the bank whose ATM you're using.

[elpollodiablo]

Yeah, that was definitely a fine-print thing I wasn't aware of when the switchover happened.  I've probably dropped much more than $50 by now, due to my untactical ATM use.

Haha yeah, I'm kind of fanatical about it and I still manage to get fleeced. Like last weekend, it was a ten minute walk to that Chase branch from the beer garden and I passed probably half a dozen ATMs on the way, but it saved me five bones.

[Ignatius]

I also have an account with a pretty cool credit union up here though. Who reimburse $2 or so when you use other ATMs. And they're nice and don't do the overdraft feedback loop thing.

[Good Intentions]

Speaking of fans, my Vaio is starting to overheat really quickly. What's the first step in dealing with this?

It's full of dust. Get a can of compressed air, take off as much of the case as you can (laptops can be frustrating to take apart) and try to blast the dust out.

[diesel_powered]

I also have an account with a pretty cool credit union up here though. Who reimburse $2 or so when you use other ATMs. And they're nice and don't do the overdraft feedback loop thing.

I was going to say. Y'all need to find some credit unions. I'll never keep my money at a fucking bank again.

[dumbfish]

Yep.

[FreddyKnuckles]

I mean BoA isn't just the worst bank.  It is the worst thing. 

[Aglaya]

I had a terrible week.  I was super excited because today was the last day of this week, and next week would surely be better.  When I was leaving work tonight, my car wouldn't start.  So now I get to deal with whatever that is.  Yay.

[mixed cats]

I know that my pbook is going to die soon, but I have no idea how to deal with that

THIS APPEARS TO HAVE HAPPENED
poop

[mixed cats]

Fixed laptop temporarily by wiping it and reinstalling the OS, but am now certain that hard drive failure is imminent. Wah wah wah.

[Captain]

MOVING: it sucks. 

I'll be happy when it's all over... but it's just been nebulousness-to-nebulousness for me these past weeks.  And while I can move my stuff into my next place now, I can't actually live there 'till the 24th.  That leaves a good week-and-a-half of couch-surfing. 

It should feel freeing though, right?

[diesel_powered]

So apparently my body has decided to rebel against me. Raging heartburn all last night, splitting headache all day.

[clare]

Crap. Bodies suck. I'd like to do without mine a lot of the time, except when I'm having sex.

heartburn: try lowfat icecream before bed...I only ever get heartburn (reflux) when I'm pregnant, but having the coolness of the icecream going down the oesophagus, combined with its alkalinity seems to help...

[jess]

I've been told to avoid dairy for heartburn purposes—apparently it's actually a common cause of heartburn. I think that while it's not acidic, your stomach has to produce more acid in order to digest it. That's consistent with my experiences, but obviously ymmv.

Be sure to drink plenty of water (considering dehydration can also lead to headaches, I'd especially recommend that), avoid most non-water beverages (almost all of them are acidic and cause heartburn), and I'd just take an antacid if it's really bothering you.

[clare]

I'd heard about the 'avoiding dairy' thing, but it didn't seem to apply to icecream in my stomach somehow. Perhaps it's the separate dessert stomach doing its thing again...

I also used to take Gaviscon (before I found icecream worked as well), which puts the weird alginate layer that holds everything down, but my midwife was a bit down on me about it. Can't remember why though...

Gah, sinus headache. Head full of snot.

[jess]

I think the dessert stomach is a reasonable theory, heh. I definitely use some sort of rationalization to eat frozen dairy products when I've got a sore throat even though I know usually dairy should be avoided then. Instant comfort is far more reinforcing than later discomfort at any rate.

[Ashley]

I think I'd like to do without my body during sex.

[diesel_powered]

I've been told to avoid dairy for heartburn purposes—apparently it's actually a common cause of heartburn. I think that while it's not acidic, your stomach has to produce more acid in order to digest it. That's consistent with my experiences, but obviously ymmv.

Be sure to drink plenty of water (considering dehydration can also lead to headaches, I'd especially recommend that), avoid most non-water beverages (almost all of them are acidic and cause heartburn), and I'd just take an antacid if it's really bothering you.

Yeah, it's a known medical condition with me and I take medication for it, but sometimes said medication just doesn't work as well as it should. I pretty much avoid dairy with the exception of the occasional ice cream or bit of cheese, but I didn't really eat much yesterday and it tends to get worse when I don't eat. As far as the headache goes, who knows what that was. Possibly caffeine withdrawal. (Yes, I know coffee isn't the best thing for acid reflux, but life just isn't worth living without it.)

[RavingLunatic]

I once read a book called The Second Brain, which was all about the digestive system and stuff, and I remember the guy saying that one of the major prescription heartburn medications basically entirely shuts down acid production in the stomach (which, remarkably, does not much impede digestion as far as they can tell). I got the impression that it's basically a guaranteed cure against heartburn. Maybe that's the medication you're taking, but if not, maybe your doc could prescribe it? I should probably just keep quiet.

Irrelevant anecdote: I once had a pill get stuck in my throat before I went to bed (I didn't realize it at the time) and when I woke up, I could barely move because any slight movement of my neck made my chest hurt like hell. The pill had apparently burnt my esophagus all to hell. I had to take that purple pill actacid thingy for several days, and it seemed to almost completely inhibit my absorption of the other medication I was taking at the time, (an SSRI of sorts) which led to serious withdrawal symptoms. It was messed up.

[diesel_powered]

Yeah, due to my financial and insurance situations, I'm pretty well limited to OTC medication at the moment. But according to the last doctor I talked to, the OTC version of what I'm taking is identical to the prescription version and the only thing that would work better would be the purple pill, which I couldn't begin to afford if I had a prescription for it. Hooray for the American medical system! 

[YojimboMonkey]

I took ("the purple pill," why are we being all cagey, or will using its brand name release the bots?) for a month about 10 years ago and it worked very nicely yeah, but I take the generic OTC stuff now (not even the brand name stuff) and Nexium might be a little better but it's not 600+% better or whatever the cost differential is. 

[YojimboMonkey]

4. Bicycles.

Hey hipster, I know you’re in a rush to get to Whole Foods to pick up some tempeh for your girlfriend’s vegan potluck stich-and-bitch, but that fixed-gear ten-speed you’re riding counts as a VEHICLE.  That means you’re obligated to follow the same laws as every other vehicle.  Which means stopping at stop signs.  Which means not zooming in between cars which may well start moving on you unexpectedly.  Which means signalling when you intend to turn.  Oh, or does your zero-carbon-footprint entitle you to act like you’re the only person on the road? (Edit — this goes for you motorcycle jerks too.)

Top 5 reasons this paragraph sucks

1. fixed gear and ten speed are 2 different animals, sport (Hey, you're not a bike expert, I get it, but if you're trying to be a smartass and you get your shit wrong you're going to get called on it)
2. overused ad hom hipster vegan BORING BULLSHIT attack (I'm a big omnivorous dude, about as far from a hipster as it gets, and I ride a bike around this city like nobody's business)
3. "cyclists need to act like vehicles" here's the thing, there's a huge mass differential between even your very modest little 2-door hatchback and a bicycle. Sometimes we need to act like vehicles, sometimes we get to act like pedestrians, and sometimes we just do what we can to stay alive.
4. "signaling when you intend to turn" yeah I try to do this but since it means taking a hand off the handlebars I can't always.  Also if I'm trying to make my way left and I'm on the right side of a busy street, a left turn signal might mean getting my arm taken off at the elbow by a passing motorist (Am I supposed to get a three foot buffer zone by law in this city? I am.  Are my arms more than three feet long? They are not. yet still, I have close encounters every day that would take off, or at least severely mangle, an extended left arm)
5. "does your zero-carbon-footprint entitle you to act like you’re the only person on the road? (Edit — this goes for you motorcycle jerks too.)" No it doesn't.  (I mean, it doesn't go for "you motorcycle jerks too" as they do not have zero-carbon-footprint nor anything close to it.  They may use a lot less gas than your car but they use much more than they should if they were designed to be efficient. But they are not; they are designed to be conspicuous.)  But, does my zero-carbon-footprint entitle me to act like I'm the only person on the road?  If I acted like that, I'd be dead.  I sure as fuck know you're there and I try like hell to make sure you know I'm there too.

[donblood]

I think a lot of motorists are struggling to justify their annoyance at sharing the road, especially as more and more people are cycling.  Which is why they tend to get all nit-picky.  I'm all for cyclists following traffic laws and generally behaving responsibly, but please remember that my vehicle and yours operate under very different parameters.

Bike Snob quoted an editorial in the Boston Globe after a cyclist was killed on Commonwealth Ave, all "I don't know the cause of the accident, but he wasn't wearing a helmet, so he's arrogant, reckless and irresponsible."  Which, firstly, let's not chastise a guy who just died, because that's sorta tacky, and secondly, as it turns out he got his tire caught in the trolley tracks and was creamed by a bus as he tried to free himself.  Which, um, a helmet wouldn't have helped with.  But motorists like to harp on the helmet thing, since it gives them an out - "I'll change my behavior once every cyclist wears a helmet, since that will be never."