Pet Peeves: Aka Things That Make You Go "Gah!"

[Katy M]

33 minutes ago, afterbite said:

And, heaven forfend you get caught by a train. It could take you 20-30 minutes to make it the equivalent of a block and a half because of that light.

In my town, for about a year, they had the lights set up so that all the lights on Main Street turned red when there was a train.  Now, this includes traffic going the opposite direction. And, pedestrians also still had a "don't walk sign."  Mind you, the train tracks are about a block away from Main Street.  There was zero chance of the train running over pedestrians.  So, the other thing you need to know about this crazy situation is that the train stops at a little train station or platform, or whatever it's called.  And it probably stops for about 5 minutes.  So, that is 5 minutes, that in theory (but not actual practice because we all ran the red lights like there was no tomorrow) all of Main Street would be at a dead standstill.

[afterbite]

@Katy M, that is indeed ridiculous.

I've yet to figure out any sort of schedule for this train. I've gotten caught by it in the morning at 7:15 and in the evening at 4:15, but it only happens once or twice a month. This is freight rail, not passenger rail. Sometimes the train will be short and fly through. Sometimes it will be long. Sometimes it will stop for no apparent reason for 5-7 minutes, blocking the road (when it could easily stop just a bit behind and not block the road), before starting up again. I know there's a rail yard close by because I can see it when I get caught by a train and backtrack to the alternate route that bypasses train-based traffic, but it generally looks deserted. Not that I'd expect a random freight train rail yard to be hopping, but the lack of bustle does make me wonder why in the world the train just stops sometimes. (And why it doesn't stop 50 feet back from where it chose to stop, so the road wouldn't be blocked.

Basically, it's an occasionally frustrating mystery that causes more frequent frustration because it necessitates the 'no right on red' that started this whole rant.

[ZaldamoWilder]

In the town where I sent my daughter to elementary school, honking was frowned upon.  It's this little bucolic upper crusty village with old fashioned gas lamps for street lights, you know the type of place.   Anyway ::hangshead:: I'm a honker, I'm trying to cut back but it came from years of being behind motorists paying attention to, well, everything, except the light.   The common sense solution would be:  well 'damo you know you could always have left the house earlier.  In theory that's right.  In practice though, school regulations stipulated that I couldn't drop her off before 7:00.  Back in those days, I had to be at my desk by 8:30.   We live in Jersey I work in NYC.  So the hustle involved dropping her off at 7:01, hauling ass to the closest nj transit park and ride and getting on an interstate bus that would leave the park and ride at 7:11 and arrive into Port Authority by 7:50.   The distance between school and the park and ride was 3.7 miles.  If everyone is paying attention, you should be able to get 4 miles away in 10 minutes.  But the most meander-y, starbucks-y, honey let me take my eyes off the road so I can get that poppy seed of your cheek-y, oh look was that a shiny red ball-y population of all time made that impossible on most days.    I say all that to say that I didn't have the extra 90 seconds to spare and couldn't build it in.  The bus that came after the 7:11 was a local.  So yes please, either drive or pull over so we can.

Going back to retail for a second, head nodding what one of you said above about courtesy going both ways.   I did a season stint this past winter at Target.  I worked on Christmas Eve, eve.  They had the nerve to have a fucking 40% off toy sale ok? on December 23rd.  Alright so I'm making small talk with this gentleman on my line, working the whole time and I'm almost done, I have his change in my hand.   The customer behind him says to me:  where can I find the holiday specific gift cards?   No hi, no excuse me, no sorry I see you're not done with him yet, so already I know.  I say the gift cards are strewn throughout each checkout endcap, there is one display in front of the center register which has all other retailers' gift cards.   She's getting more agitated and says I'm only talking about Target's card.  I said they're still at the top of each checkout lane.  I give the customer I was checking out his change but he's standing there listening to whatever this is about to turn into.   She says I've been down all of them, there aren't any with Christmas designs on them.  I say that means we're sold out ma'am.   She finally flips the rest of the way out with this:   WHAT THE HELL KIND OF PLACE DOESN'T HAVE CHRISTMAS GIFT CARDS AT CHRISTMAS??   Her tone and volume tells me this is rhetorical but she's actually waiting for an answer.  I say we had holiday designs until about a week ago when the gift cards themselves went on sale, but today is December 23rd, we're out of stock.  She opens her mouth to say another thing and the guy who'd been rubbernecking turns to her and says:  GTFOH with that already! what the hell are you making such a bid deal about you're not even Christian anyway!!  In case I hadn't mentioned it, the lady was olive/brown skinned.  Then he turns back to me as if to say you're welcome and I couldn't say a damn thing, I was gobsmacked.  Do you know how much of an absolute asshole you have to be to make me feel sorry for the asshole who was yelling at me?   The only thing I liked about it was how big a kick the kids got out of me letting them scan their own stuff.   

Judging by this airline thing these days I think we're just angry as a nation.  It'd probably be much easier if everybody responded the way they'd like to be spoken to. 

[ennui]

20 minutes ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

I think we're just angry as a nation.

I agree, and I don't know why. We're a wealthy nation. People have housing and food and entertainment. Why so mad all the time?

[Katy M]

20 minutes ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

She opens her mouth to say another thing and the guy who'd been rubbernecking turns to her and says:  GTFOH with that already! what the hell are you making such a bid deal about you're not even Christian anyway!! 

I don't think either one of them was acting particularly Christ-like at that moment, but wow!  I can't imagine accusing a complete stranger (if accusing is the right word) of not being a Christian.  Christmas has long since stopped being about Jesus's birthday, though.  It's just gimme, gimme, gimme.

5 minutes ago, ennui said:

I agree, and I don't know why. We're a wealthy nation. People have housing and food and entertainment. Why so mad all the time?

That's probably why.  We (as a country, not every individual) are just so used to having everything we need, that we've become entitled, , which of course means that you can yell at anybody who is even slightly at fault for you're not having exactly what you want and when you want it.

Then, of course, even the saintliest person has bad days.  It's perfectly possible that the screaming gifts card lady just found out that her daughter's chemo isn't working, this will be her last Christmas, she hasn't had time to do shopping for anybody, so she just wanted to grab some Target Gift Cards real quick, and she's been holding everything in and the lack of what she wanted, she just lost it.

[3pwood]

37 minutes ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

... It'd probably be much easier if everybody responded the way they'd like to be spoken to. 

You mean that Golden Rule thing?  Sounds so simple, yet so few people seem to practice it.

[ennui]

50 minutes ago, ZaldamoWilder said:

you're not even Christian anyway!!  In case I hadn't mentioned it, the lady was olive/brown skinned

Well, she was observing the Christmas holiday, so that comment was silly. Btw, I know some Persians who are Christian, so you can't judge. 

[ZaldamoWilder]

20 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Then, of course, even the saintliest person has bad days.  It's perfectly possible that the screaming gifts card lady just found out that her daughter's chemo isn't working, this will be her last Christmas, she hasn't had time to do shopping for anybody, so she just wanted to grab some Target Gift Cards real quick, and she's been holding everything in and the lack of what she wanted, she just lost it.

Girl the irony ;P was later of course I realized she wasn't this upset over a silly gift card.  Unfortunately or fortunately because it can also be a good thing my interaction m.o. is I give what I am given.

3 minutes ago, 3pwood said:

You mean that Golden Rule thing?  Sounds so simple, yet so few people seem to practice it.

Lol. That's the one.  See above.  I was way more concerned with my feelings than hers.

[ZaldamoWilder]

2 minutes ago, ennui said:

Well, she was observing the Christmas holiday, so that comment was silly. Btw, I know some Persians who are Christian, so you can't judge. 

Yeah my thing was no matter what, he was a shit for saying something like that. She was in there buying that card for someone else for one, and whatever she observes is something he had no business being comfortable commenting on nevermind assuming he was defending me with.  This sounds like I'm yelling at you LOL when I'm agreeing with you, sorry.

[MrSmith]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I don't think either one of them was acting particularly Christ-like at that moment, but wow!  I can't imagine accusing a complete stranger (if accusing is the right word) of not being a Christian.  Christmas has long since stopped being about Jesus's birthday, though.  It's just gimme, gimme, gimme.

My wife and I have opted out of the Christmas consumerism for at least 10 years now. We get one gift for each of our nieces and nephews, and that's it. We don't get involved in the adult gift exchange and we don't get gifts for each other. We just try to spend as much time with each other and with family as we can during that time of year and be thankful for what we have. When the opportunity presents, we'll do something for someone else instead of racing out and crashing into everyone else on Black Friday (in particular). Black Friday always feels to me like a frenzied, compressed version of Needful Things. And don't even get me started on the insanity of stores being open on Thanksgiving Day. That's a rant that'll never end!

[theredhead77]

4 hours ago, ennui said:

I agree, and I don't know why. We're a wealthy nation. People have housing and food and entertainment. Why so mad all the time?

https://www.vevo.com/watch/kenny-chesney/rich-and-miserable/US6XF1600018

[theredhead77]

6 hours ago, Katy M said:

People are stupid and they don't respect nature.

Seriously. I love Great Whites and my to-do list includes cage diving but there is not enough money on earth that could get me to go even shin keep in water with confused and lost shark pups. Not because I'm worried about mama shark, I know they don't socialize like that. Just don't need them taking a taste of my leg that ends up being my leg.

This was about 45 miles south. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-sharks-20170511-htmlstory.html

 

Sorry for the double post, I thought they would merge.

Edited May 12, 2017 by theredhead77

[bilgistic]

6 hours ago, ennui said:

I agree, and I don't know why. We're a wealthy nation. People have housing and food and entertainment. Why so mad all the time?

The gap between the wealthy and poor is greater than it has ever been. Furthering one's education is incredibly expensive. Housing prices have increased exponentially. Healthy food is obstructively expensive. Even with "Obamacare" still in place, if you don't make enough to afford it/are exempt, you have no health care.

The "lower" and "middle class" are being worked to death, expected each to do what used to be two or more jobs (which were cut), all in the name of a false "low unemployment rate."

Bigotry, class warfare and inequality are all as bad as they've ever been in my 42 years, and the perpetrators of such thinking/acting got a renewed license in November to continue to act that way.

We are forced to be available and "on" 24/7. "Social" media is a venue for people to be slobbering swamp demons, and it just keeps growing. We worship celebrities with nothing going more than pictures of themselves looking vapidly off into space.

Nothing ever calms or slows or waits. We've all created this place, and there's no going back now. I understand the anger, but it's simply unacceptable to treat each other like we do. So few are held accountable anymore, though, so who cares, right?

[walnutqueen]

9 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

There's a school of great white pups off the beach where I live. They are literally 20ft off shore, chillin out in the waves so of course a ton of people are at the beach (myself included). There was a family, a dad and two girls about 12 IN the water. The dad has a large stick he's holding above, trying to get one to breech. Fine, be an idiot, get bit and I'll be a witness for whoever you try and sue for your idiocy. The part that pissed me off is one of the girls was holding a puppy. HOLDING A PUPPY while IN THE WATER where there are sharks present. People have been bit in the depth of water they were standing in not even knee high but the idiot father went up to his waist.

This wasn't a maybe there are sharks thing, you could see the tips of their dorsal fins, the life guard boat was in the water, the media in choppers above the water. I said something to her hey there, you may not want to be in the water with your dog and the sharks and her dad just said "oh come on!" and rolled his eyes at me. 

Put yourself at risk, fine but take the poor puppy out of the range of the water!

The ONLY bad thing about sharks is that they rarely bite the assholes who really need biting.

 

6 hours ago, ennui said:

I agree, and I don't know why. We're a wealthy nation. People have housing and food and entertainment. Why so mad all the time?

Best I can come up with, after living here for over 35 years, is that America is an obstreperous nation.  ;-)

 

19 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

The gap between the wealthy and poor is greater than it has ever been. Furthering one's education is incredibly expensive. Housing prices have increased exponentially. Healthy food is obstructively expensive. Even with "Obamacare" still in place, if you don't make enough to afford it/are exempt, you have no health care.

The "lower" and "middle class" are being worked to death, expected each to do what used to be two or more jobs (which were cut), all in the name of a false "low unemployment rate."

Bigotry, class warfare and inequality are all as bad as they've ever been in my 42 years, and the perpetrators of such thinking/acting got a renewed license in November to continue to act that way.

We are forced to be available and "on" 24/7. "Social" media is a venue for people to be slobbering swamp demons, and it just keeps growing. We worship celebrities with nothing going more than pictures of themselves looking vapidly off into space.

Nothing ever calms or slows or waits. We've all created this place, and there's no going back now. I understand the anger, but it's simply unacceptable to treat each other like we do. So few are held accountable anymore, though, so who cares, right?

Brava, bilgistic.  I CARE.  (You can take the girl outta Canada, but you can't take the Canadian out of this girl).  ;-)

People need to drop a little tech and re-connect with animals, nature, their kids, their family, their friends, their neighbours - anything except their devices and their anonymous vitriol.

[theredhead77]

11 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

People need to drop a little tech and re-connect with animals, nature, their kids, their family, their friends, their neighbours - anything except their devices and their anonymous vitriol.

BRB, I gotta go the beach.

[walnutqueen]

Just now, theredhead77 said:

BRB, I gotta go the beach.

Yeah, the SoCal beaches just don't do it for me - I've barely dipped a toe into these dirty waters.  I LIVED at the beach and in the cool clear waters of beautiful B.C., and loved the oceans of Hawaii when I lived there (the Kahuna at my secluded nude beach told me a shark protected my daily swims!!!).  Now I see hysterical ads for the SoCal news about all the baby great whites and shark attack mania.  Le sigh.

[theredhead77]

14 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

Yeah, the SoCal beaches just don't do it for me - I've barely dipped a toe into these dirty waters.  I LIVED at the beach and in the cool clear waters of beautiful B.C., and loved the oceans of Hawaii when I lived there (the Kahuna at my secluded nude beach told me a shark protected my daily swims!!!).  Now I see hysterical ads for the SoCal news about all the baby great whites and shark attack mania.  Le sigh.

It was a joke. While I can't wait to go cage diving, I'm more concerned about the water than the sharks. If you're familiar with the area it's near Naples, behind the breakwater. 

http://www.wcvb.com/article/officials-youre-paddleboarding-next-to-approximately-15-great-white-sharks/9641435

Edited May 12, 2017 by theredhead77

[walnutqueen]

15 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

It was a joke. While I can't wait to go cage diving, I'm more concerned about the water than the sharks. If you're familiar with the area it's near Naples, behind the breakwater. 

http://www.wcvb.com/article/officials-youre-paddleboarding-next-to-approximately-15-great-white-sharks/9641435

Not really familiar with your area (it's been decades since I ventured that far afield), but YOU'RE concerned about the water?!  I live in San Diego County; blissfully far north of the sewage spewing Tijuana River that closes beaches all the time (and south of San Onofre sharkbite beach).  Every surfer I ever knew here had ailments ... the state of this ocean (and all others) makes me weep.

Edited May 12, 2017 by walnutqueen

[theredhead77]

2 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

Not really familiar with your area (it's been decades since I ventured that far afield), but YOU'RE concerned about the water?!  I live in San Diego County; blissfully far north of the sewage spewing Tijuana River that closes beaches all the time (and south of San Onofre sharkbite beach).  Every surfer I ever knew here had ailments ... the state of this ocean (and all others) makes me weep.

The water in the area I live in has been near stagnant since the 40s. There are no real waves (a few years ago when there were major storms the waves the storms produced were actual news), it's polluted, just gross. We should probably take this to chit-chat though the state of the ocean is a huge peeve of mine. 

[AgentRXS]

I really don't appreciate being parked across from someone in a parking lot, both of us sitting in our cars for whatever reason, and they still have their lights on, blaring into my car and blinding me. If you are sitting in your car and not planning to exit your vehicle, and see someone across from you doing the same, how hard is to be courteous and shut your lights off?! I'm so tired of people doing irritating shit because they are preoccupied.

If only people cared about ANYTHING as much as they cared about their stupid phones. Ugh.

[bmasters9]

On 5/9/2017 at 2:44 PM, TattleTeeny said:

There's one called Schmutz that I love and another actually called Broken Typewriter that's pretty fabulous too. I'm a bit of a font geek, in the fonts themselves and how the fonts are used. Which brings me to a peeve!

Don't use a million different fonts in your layouts/projects! Just stop that (even if all you are doing is simply making a description for an item you're selling on eBay)! Keep it to three, maybe four if you don't count the font of the running text of the main copy. And not all fonts are equal in terms of all caps!

Here's an example of that ITC Serif Gothic font that I mentioned as being one of my favorites, from a 1981 promo for Nero Wolfe on NBC. 

[Qoass]

Quote

If you are sitting in your car and not planning to exit your vehicle, and see someone across from you doing the same, how hard is to be courteous and shut your lights off?!

Even if there's not someone across from you, turn them off!  Those of us looking for a free space see somebody's headlights and think you're getting ready to leave.  Don't tease us this way.

[MrSmith]

11 hours ago, bilgistic said:

We worship celebrities with nothing going more than pictures of themselves looking vapidly off into space.

This seems to be particularly appropriate to share here:

 

Edited to add: This is probably the best Steampunk band around right now!

10 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

People need to drop a little tech and re-connect with animals, nature, their kids, their family, their friends, their neighbours - anything except their devices and their anonymous vitriol.

Oh, man. So. Much. THIS. I found I was spending too much time on the computer at home and felt like it was harming my marriage. So, I restrict myself to two hours on Friday nights, then Saturday and Sunday mornings from the time I wake up until my wife is ready for breakfast or until the dog howls and howls and howls for attention - whichever is first (and it's usually the dog). The rest of the time is spent off the computer doing things around the house and/or doing things with the wife and/or dog. It's made my life a lot better and, while I am a web developer, it has made me realize just how much I actually hate technology. If I can swing it in my schedule, I think I might go back to school to be a nutritionist. Yeah, I said that: a nutritionist.

Edited May 12, 2017 by MrSmith

[ennui]

11 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

how hard is to be courteous and shut your lights off?

The headlights are probably automatic. I've been told that certain makes will not allow you to turn them off.  Cars do all their own thinking, they don't need us any more.

Edited May 12, 2017 by ennui

[Qoass]

True but they do go off when you kill the engine and I am peeved by people who just let their cars idle while they're waiting for somebody because it's a waste of gas and a pollutant.  

[Katy M]

17 minutes ago, Qoass said:

True but they do go off when you kill the engine and I am peeved by people who just let their cars idle while they're waiting for somebody because it's a waste of gas and a pollutant.  

I know, but sorry, if it's 20 below out and I'm going to be waiting less than 5 minutes, I'm leaving the engine, and thus the heat on.  Otherwise, if I can, I'll go inside to wait.

[MrSmith]

1 hour ago, Qoass said:

True but they do go off when you kill the engine and I am peeved by people who just let their cars idle while they're waiting for somebody because it's a waste of gas and a pollutant.  

The way to fix this is for the government to stop subsidizing petroleum companies and let gasoline cost what it is supposed to cost. Of course, if that happened, our society would probably grind to a halt because it's predicated on being able to drive very long distances on a daily basis with relatively low mpg for very little money. I am to the point where I honestly hate cars, hate owning them, hate maintaining them, and just generally hate everything about them (except for driving fast with the top down).

[MargeGunderson]

I'm on jury duty this week (and next) and managed to find a peeve: witnesses who dress like they are going to the gym/grocery store/bar, not participating in a criminal trial. At the risk of reigniting the "are leggings pants?" debate, I'm going to state that they aren't suitable for court. 

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, MargeGunderson said:

I'm on jury duty this week (and next) and managed to find a peeve: witnesses who dress like they are going to the gym/grocery store/bar, not participating in a criminal trial. At the risk of reigniting the "are leggings pants?" debate, I'm going to state that they aren't suitable for court. 

Does this count as discussing the trial?  Do I need to report you to the judge?

[walnutqueen]

3 minutes ago, Katy M said:

Does this count as discussing the trial?  Do I need to report you to the judge?

That judge is probably wearing leggings or sweats under her robes.  ;-)

[MrSmith]

I've been on a jury once in my life. I'm anxious for the next opportunity! Especially a criminal trial! That would be fun. I'll even sign up to be sequestered as long as I can play games on my phone.

Just now, walnutqueen said:

That judge is probably wearing leggings or sweats under her robes.  ;-)

Would be more hilarious if the judge is a man.

[Qoass]

The first time I was called for jury duty, I took the dress code very seriously.  The judge made me foreperson.

[Moose135]

11 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

I'll even sign up to be sequestered as long as I can play games on my phone.

They would probably take away your phone so you couldn't receive any outside information about the trial... ;-)

[MrSmith]

Just now, Moose135 said:

They would probably take away your phone so you couldn't receive any outside information about the trial... ;-)

Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that. Well, I'll swap that request for a Playstation and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. I've long ago lost many countless hours to that game and I wouldn't mind losing a few more!

[auntlada]

22 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

I'm on jury duty this week (and next) and managed to find a peeve: witnesses who dress like they are going to the gym/grocery store/bar, not participating in a criminal trial. At the risk of reigniting the "are leggings pants?" debate, I'm going to state that they aren't suitable for court. 

I covered a trial once, filling in for the court reporter (newspaper, not the one who works for rhe court), and the jurors dressed that way. This was close to 10 years ago. It's probably worse now.

[walnutqueen]

24 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

Would be more hilarious if the judge is a man.

Then it would be frilly lingerie and a butt plug. (Yes, I DO have a twisted imagination.  Why do you ask?)  ;-)

[ganesh]

If that's an option, I applying to law school. 

[PradaKitty]

Is it just me, or do people seem meaner when it's windy?  We've had a couple of windy days here and it's the peak of allergy season (I've gone through 2 pairs of contact lenses over the past 10 days, and these are contacts meant to be worn for a month) so I can appreciate people dealing with seasonal allergies, but everyone just seems so MEAN! (Pushing, shoving, driving like idiots - and only when it's windy.)

[MargeGunderson]

Y'all are killing me! I don't know if I will be able to look at the judge on Monday without giggling.

I can say I'm on a jury for a criminal trial but that's about it. We got a lot of instructions (and daily reminders) about what we can do (a short list) and what we can't do (a much longer list). Before this I had never even been called for jury duty. Beginner's luck! 

[ennui]

1 hour ago, PradaKitty said:

Is it just me, or do people seem meaner when it's windy?

I think there's a correlation. Wind kicks up the positive ions and static electricity, and it's the negative ions (rain, pounding surf) that enhance well-being. I think crime rates in Los Angeles go up during the Santa Ana winds.

[3pwood]

Cats go crazy in the wind -- indoors, outdoors, pets, ferals -- all of them amok.  Fun to watch, from a distance.

[riley702]

I get positively giddy in "tornado weather" when there is a watch or warning. As a kid, I'd be out in the yard twirling and giggling as the wind kicked up. Is there something opposite about tornadoes and ions, or am I the exception that proves the rule?

Edited May 13, 2017 by riley702

[Moose135]

I like that kind of weather too.  It's also entertaining to hang out at the airport and see who needs more practice on cross-wind landings. ;-)

[Quof]

Quote

witnesses who dress like they are going to the gym/grocery store/bar, not participating in a criminal trial. 

A colleague was preparing a client for her hearing in Family Court.  She cursed like a sailor, so the lawyer told her she would have to clean up her language because Court "is a very formal occasion".   "No fuckin' problem," she said.  She arrived the next morning for her trial dressed in a strapless evening gown, suitable for "a very formal occasion." 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 5/11/2017 at 3:10 PM, ennui said:

I agree, and I don't know why. We're a wealthy nation. People have housing and food and entertainment. Why so mad all the time?

We're constantly told we should be angry, and some people just believe it.  While there are challenges for a lot of people, as bilgistic pointed out, probably nobody in the U.S. is having to carry water on their heads for 2 miles in order to cook or bathe.

 

2 hours ago, PradaKitty said:

Is it just me, or do people seem meaner when it's windy?  We've had a couple of windy days here and it's the peak of allergy season (I've gone through 2 pairs of contact lenses over the past 10 days, and these are contacts meant to be worn for a month) so I can appreciate people dealing with seasonal allergies, but everyone just seems so MEAN! (Pushing, shoving, driving like idiots - and only when it's windy.)

I posted somewhere on PTV the other day that I'm on an extended windsurfing trip, so it's not like I'm a wind hater, but context is everything.  Before I left, it was windy in town and it drove me insane.  My haircut requirement is only that if all my hair is being blown from behind, none of it can reach my eyes because I'm snarly enough trying to do errands in the wind without my hair whipping in my face, making everything exponentially more annoying.

And it's dangerous.  I lived in a really windy town for a while and one time a gust from behind actually pushed me off the curb into the street.

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

I swear the next time someone beeps their horn at me because I don't gun the accelerator the nanosecond the light turns from red to green, I'm going to get out of my car and have words with the beeper.

I am impatient as hell but I still think this is so obnoxious! 

I had the opposite yesterday. Two left-turning lanes waiting for the green arrow at a four-way stop that takes forever. And not one but both people at the front didn't move when the arrow came--even amid so much honking. And it was a lot of honking because, like I said, it takes forever; that green arrow is a nice long one. We all had to sit through the entire go-round again! Then, while I was waiting, I saw someone in the right lane do the same thing when that arrow showed up! WTF?

Edited May 13, 2017 by TattleTeeny

[ennui]

56 minutes ago, riley702 said:

I get positively giddy in "tornado weather" when there is a watch or warning. As a kid, I'd be out in the yard twirling and giggling as the wind kicked up. Is there something opposite about tornadoes and ions, or am I the exception that proves the rule?

I think tornadoes tend to be humid, so probably some negative ions there.

[Hanahope]

So I'm probably in the wrong , but this is still annoying.

i take a bus to work, but the bus stop is several blocks from my house, too far for me to walk comfortably, especially in inclement weather.  The bus stop I've used for 3 years is right in front of a big shopping center, including a grocery store, with boatloads of parking. It's a big rectangle with a grocery store at one end, a chain restaurant at the other, small stores along one long side, the street on the other long side.  There are small entrances on the sides and a big entrance, via a street T intersection in the middle.

 For 3 years I've parked there without problem.  Right in front of the bus stop near the big drive way entrance in the part of the lot near the restaurant (but furthest from the restaurant), I cross the street at that intersection to take the bus to the city.  Sometimes I buy stuff at the grocery store on the far side of the shopping center before or after work (there's another bus stop near the grocery store). 

so a few weeks ago, I get to my car after work and there's a note in my windshield saying I can't park here for the bus. It's not signed, just handwritten.  There are no signs in the parking lot.  I figured someone from the bagel store wrote the note since it was the only place open in the morning near the part of the lot where I was parking.  I will say that in the 10 years I've lived near this shopping center, I've seen that part of the parking lot filled up maybe 2-3 times, and only in the evening (probably for the restaurant).  It's never been full when I get back from work.

For a couple weeks I park elsewhere (parking lot near my daughter's karate dojo, the owner gave me permission), but it was a further walk to the bus stop near there.  It wouldn't be bad a couple years ago, but arthritis in my hip now makes a lot of walking painful. 

so I started parking back in the first lot, but in a different part, closer to the grocery store, away from the bagel shop, and in a part of the lot that is the furthest from the  grocery store, where hardly anyone parks. Today I get to my car after work and someone in a security uniform comes up and says I can't park here for the bus. This was in a part of the lot I've never seen full.

its just really annoying how difficult it is to take public transportation when one has some mobility problems and how pissy people are about parking for the bus.  There is plenty of space in the shopping center parking lot and I would go the the grocery store at least twice a week, so it's not like I was taking a spot from a customer. 

So I guess I'll park back in the karate lot and deal with the pain when it flares up.

i'd drive to work but there's no parking lot near my office that doesn't cost a huge amount, the cheaper lots are many blocks away, so id have to walk even further.

oh so I'm not going to patronize that grocery store any more, I'll go to another one that's only a few more blocks away.  Customer lost.

Edited May 13, 2017 by Hanahope

[auntlada]

Be sure to tell the grocery store owner/manager that.

[Moose135]

I don't want to say you are wrong, @Hanahope, but you're wrong.  Normally, a shopping center parking lot like that is private property, owned by the center, and for patrons of the stores in the center.  I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, just one car parked off away from the stores, but what if a crowd decided to do the same thing, making it tough for customers to find parking?  You'd probably hate it if you were going shopping there and couldn't find a spot because a number of commuters decided to park there?