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

[walnutqueen]

3 hours ago, Anela said:

One of my pet peeves comes to people who make assumptions about others' lives, or intentions. I actually have quite a few peeves today. 

I don't know how I missed this, and other threads. I only found it, because I looked up @walnutqueen - we talk in other threads occasionally, and I haven't seen you around. :) Every so often, I remember there's a book forum here. I post my vents in a thread on a private board, where I have close friends. 

@Anela - we must keep missing each other, but I am ever so glad to see your posts, and even more thankful that you remember me.  I'm hanging in there, same as you, I suppose.  Still trying to adjust to not having a Mum to talk to every day ...  :-)

[Anela]

10 minutes ago, walnutqueen said:

@Anela - we must keep missing each other, but I am ever so glad to see your posts, and even more thankful that you remember me.  I'm hanging in there, same as you, I suppose.  Still trying to adjust to not having a Mum to talk to every day ...  :-)

Yeah, I understand. :) I've been really depressed, and finally got up today, around 3pm. Life worries, and missing mum. I get to where I'll feel okay for a while, but the next day, I'll wake up and the feelings are back all over again. 

I've just realized that I could have just sent you a message, instead of stalking you into a new thread. :)

Edited May 2, 2017 by Anela

[walnutqueen]

1 minute ago, Anela said:

Yeah, I understand. :) I've been really depressed, and finally got up today, around 3pm. Life worries, and missing mum. I get to where I'll feel okay for a while, but the next day, I'll wake up and the feelings are back all over again. 

I've just realized that I could have just sent you a message, instead of stalking you into a new thread. 

Message me anytime you want, kindred spirit.  But if "stalking" me leads you to some new forums that distract you from real life for a while, I'm OK with that.  :-D

[harrie]

22 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

I also googled Joanne B. Freeman, and I think I am going to put her on the back burner for a bit. She seems a little bit too political about her history versus just teaching history. But in reading about her, I did come across this site: http://oyc.yale.edu/ . I just started listening to this professor: http://oyc.yale.edu/philosophy/phil-181/lecture-1 and I think it is going to be very interesting. So far I am just getting the overview of what she will be teaching and I am excited! Hopefully if she suggests books that go with the lessons, they will be available at the library or my kindle. 

 

@stewedsquash, glad you found something you might like. Re Freeman, I did her American Revolution course and just really enjoyed the way she presents - no monotone droning, and keeps things moving.  Anyway, enjoy your philosophy!

There's a lot of stuff on YouTube, but you kind of have to fish around - like pick a school or subject and search "history lectures" or "UGA (or another school's) lectures."

[AgentRXS]

Quote

The Humane Society here makes people pay to surrender animals even if it's kittens or a stray that's people have found. My pet peeve with them is how many rude people they have working there

That's terrible about the payment. And yeah, a LOT of people in the shelter environment come across as rude, because they are usually burnt out on people. Its incredibly tedious to hear the same things over and over  day after day (Where are all your puppies/small dogs? Do you have any Siamese/Ragdoll/other expensive cat breed)? And a lot of them are wary of adopters due to the high volume of returns.

Not excusing their rudeness, because everyone deserves good customer service. Just explaining how people fall into that rude behavior.

Edited May 3, 2017 by AgentRXS

[DeLurker]

Someone must have put a sign on my car that said "Cut Me Off" today and all the other drivers complied.

[Bastet]

12 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

Someone must have put a sign on my car that said "Cut Me Off" today and all the other drivers complied.

There was a day last week where I was almost convinced my car had acquired some sort of invisibility shield for the number of drivers who pulled out in front of me from side streets, alleys, etc. and forced me to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them. 

[theredhead77]

59 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

Someone must have put a sign on my car that said "Cut Me Off" today and all the other drivers complied.

 

43 minutes ago, Bastet said:

There was a day last week where I was almost convinced my car had acquired some sort of invisibility shield for the number of drivers who pulled out in front of me from side streets, alleys, etc. and forced me to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them. 

Last week, through last weekend it seemed that everyone was driving drunk. I figured it was me, in an allergy haze and tried to be a lot more careful. Then my BFF, who was visiting from out of state, commented on how idiotic everyone was driving, as if they were drunk. Yay, it wasn't me! Hopefully the idiots don't hit you and disburse quickly!

[Hanahope]

So I take public transportation to work.  I have a couple of pet peeves on that.  

Of course, there are the people who sit in the aisle seat and put their purse or backpack on the window seat, and make you stand there and say a couple of times, "may I please sit down", before they sigh and either scoot over or stand up to let you sit at the window.  Or the people that decide to sleep, or pretend to sleep, on the bus, so they sit next to the window and sprawl over the aisle seat with their legs.

And the people who absolutely must be the first ones off the bus/subway, so they stand at the door, leaving you little room to get by them so you can move in to sit down.

[Frisson]

My pet peeve is about people who cannot whisper when appropriate. I walked into a coworker's room and whispered something to her because the rest of the room was quiet and didn't need to know the content of our conversation, and she answered me at full volume about private information. I pointed out I whispered for a reason, and she just laughed. Be a professional!

[MargeGunderson]

4 hours ago, Hanahope said:

So I take public transportation to work.  I have a couple of pet peeves on that.  

Of course, there are the people who sit in the aisle seat and put their purse or backpack on the window seat, and make you stand there and say a couple of times, "may I please sit down", before they sigh and either scoot over or stand up to let you sit at the window.  Or the people that decide to sleep, or pretend to sleep, on the bus, so they sit next to the window and sprawl over the aisle seat with their legs.

And the people who absolutely must be the first ones off the bus/subway, so they stand at the door, leaving you little room to get by them so you can move in to sit down.

I just got off a train with a passenger sleeping across 5 seats during rush hour. WTF? I'm surprised no one told him off. 

People who stand in the doorway of the train get a sharp elbow or bag from me and no apology. Especially when the train isn't crowded. 

[BooksRule]

I'm going to chime in on the Great Courses conversation, and then move on to peeves.  Many libraries have some of the Great Courses DVDs available for checkout.   I just checked, and my university library has over a hundred of the series available (and I know I ordered the ones that we have in my university branch library).  So if you have access to a university or can get a guest/Friends of the Library card), you might could get some there.  I think that some of the larger public libraries might have some too.  Unfortunately, none of our campus libraries has the Black Death one.  I might have to order it the next time my book/DVD budget rolls around.

Peeve:  Co-workers who create messy spreadsheets.  I know that few people are as nit-picky about them as I am, and people can certainly organize spreadsheets however they want to when they are the only ones dealing with them, but I hate it when I get a spreadsheet from people and it's all over the place.  They have text that runs off 'under' the next column (but if you adjust the column it then creates a column that's a foot wide), or they wrap the text so that each cell in the column is four inches high on one line, small on the next, etc.  Or they make everything so small that the entire worksheet kind of huddles in one corner when you print it out.  And don't get me started on those who don't set up their pages in a good way (use gridlines when you need them and use headers so I know what I'm looking at when I print it out.   I'm not good at Excel formulas, but I can create a nice clean readable spreadsheet when I have to (and I love to use color-coding when I can to make it better).  

[auntlada]

Why do so many house plans arrange laundry rooms so that the dryer backs up to an interior wall? I'm guessing it's because people usually put the washer and dryer right next to each other, and putting the washer on an interior wall helps protect the pipes if you live somewhere that gets cold. But it means the dryer has a longer exhaust and usually one with bends in it. I would prefer a dryer on an exterior wall so the exhaust can go right outside. It makes it much easier to keep it clean of lint. I would rather have that even if the washer and dryer were a few feet apart.

[ParadoxLost]

3 hours ago, auntlada said:

Why do so many house plans arrange laundry rooms so that the dryer backs up to an interior wall? I'm guessing it's because people usually put the washer and dryer right next to each other, and putting the washer on an interior wall helps protect the pipes if you live somewhere that gets cold. But it means the dryer has a longer exhaust and usually one with bends in it. I would prefer a dryer on an exterior wall so the exhaust can go right outside. It makes it much easier to keep it clean of lint. I would rather have that even if the washer and dryer were a few feet apart.

I'm assuming it has more to do with where the plumbing comes in for the washer.  Every house I've ever lived in is configured to have the  water heater, kitchen, and laundry all in a small area off a garage that houses the water heater/furnace.  That limits where the laundry room can go without increasing building costs.

Also the reason so many houses were built with the dumb laundry closet in the kitchen footprint which is nearly unavoidable unless you really upgrade your housing.

[ratgirlagogo]

4 hours ago, BooksRule said:

I'm going to chime in on the Great Courses conversation, and then move on to peeves.  Many libraries have some of the Great Courses DVDs available for checkout.

I was going to point this out as well.  The problem in my library is that DVDs in particular are even more easily damaged than VHS tapes and you may have problems if the course you want is not available as a circulating e-title.   But, don't forget about interlibrary loan - not all libraries participate in it but an awful lot of libraries do, even small-town libraries.  If your own library system doesn't have the title you want you can always ask the librarian to request it from another library system - and as long as there are circulating copies available in one of the US libraries that participate in the service you can get it.

Edited May 4, 2017 by ratgirlagogo

[bilgistic]

My apparently new downstairs neighbor is "serenading" me with John Denver songs. It could be (and has been) worse..."shooter" video games so loud they shook the walls. But I might add that it's after midnight.

That would be the fourth tenant in that apartment since I moved in here in January 2014, but what were you were saying about it not being a revolving door, management?

Four different tenants downstairs. Two upstairs. Three across the hall. But keep raising my rent.

[JTMacc99]

My laundry closet is dead smack in the middle of the second floor. Very convenient, but I need to have the vent cleaned every 2-3 years. I think I went 5 last time and that wasn't a good move. 

[auntlada]

I keep seeing that in house plans, too, @JTMacc99, and I am definitely against washing machines on the second floor. I've had too many develop leaks, and a leaking washer on the second floor sounds like a disaster.

I want my utility room on the first floor, with the dryer on an exterior wall so the vent doesn't have to go in the crawl space or through the attic. And I want a guest room, preferably with its own bathroom, on the first floor, but not next to the kids' rooms if the master is on the other side of the house. My mother and my in-laws are getting older (well, they are already old), and I wouldn't want to make them climb stairs too much. Also, who wants to put their guests right next to the kids at night?

Basically, I'm demanding, and what I like is never what is in fashion. It's possible that I am the worst kind. I'm high-maintenance, but I think I'm low-maintenance. I do just want it the way I want it.

[JTMacc99]

7 minutes ago, auntlada said:

Basically, I'm demanding, and what I like is never what is in fashion. It's possible that I am the worst kind. I'm high-maintenance, but I think I'm low-maintenance. I do just want it the way I want it.

Heh. It's okay to know what you want, and to not settle for less. I think that behavior is fine, definitely doesn't make you high maintenance by my definition, but does eliminate you from the easy-going category.  

My definition of high maintenance has to do with the emotional side of things. Somebody who needs a LOT of contact, support, and reassurance. The demands may come in the form of time and attention, or it may come in the form of more material things (which is still a form of prove to me that you care about me.) That's high maintenance to me, which is not what you're describing.

[StatisticalOutlier]

This drives me crazy.  A mentally ill student at the University of Texas stabbed some other students, and one of them died.  There is a gofundme appeal for the dead student's family, and it's at $150,000 after two days.  I guess I'm just jealous that of all the people in my life who have died, none have done so in a way that makes people want to throw money at me. 

And the money just goes to the family, and they can do whatever they want with it.  I just wonder if the thousands of people giving the money (not "donating"--this is not a charity and their contributions are not tax deductible) are the same people who resent their taxes going to people who are verifiably living in poverty.

In that same vein is these roadside "memorials" that people erect on land that they don't own.  For one, I certainly wouldn't want a reminder that my loved one died right there every time I went by, but even if I did, that's not my property!  And other people, who also don't own that property, might not want to look at your stupid cross with plastic flowers all over it every day on their commute.

In fact, one day Mr. Outlier and I were driving on our 35 mph street and a guy on a scooter passed us going way over the speed limit and darting in and out of traffic.  I actually said, "That's dangerous.  I wonder if he knows about that dip coming up."  We slowed down for the dip and he didn't, and he went airborne...right into the back corner of a bus that was stopped.  Killed the guy, right in front of me.

Somebody put up one of those memorials there, right across from my driveway, so I had to see it every time I went in or out.  It had plastic flowers and some other crap, and solar-powered LED lights so it lit up at night.

[Qoass]

I have one of those memorials near my home.  The death was a truly tragic accident but the plastic flowers strike me as sad in their own way.  Then again, it's not my loss.  That said, I hope that if I die in an accident, nobody does that for me.

[auntlada]

1 hour ago, JTMacc99 said:

Heh. It's okay to know what you want, and to not settle for less. I think that behavior is fine, definitely doesn't make you high maintenance by my definition, but does eliminate you from the easy-going category.  

My definition of high maintenance has to do with the emotional side of things. Somebody who needs a LOT of contact, support, and reassurance. The demands may come in the form of time and attention, or it may come in the form of more material things (which is still a form of prove to me that you care about me.) That's high maintenance to me, which is not what you're describing.

That's from "When Harry Met Sally" (in case you did not recognize it). (I can quote something from practically any scene in that movie.) My husband says I am Sally. I tell him he knew it when he married me.

[JTMacc99]

I recognized the line, but didn't place it until you told me. I can quote most of Airplane! and at least 7 full seasons of The Simpsons. We were talking about When Harry Met Sally at work recently. The next time it pops up on TV, I'm going to watch it again. Such a good movie.

[ennui]

My interpretation of roadside memorials is simply to be reminded to be careful. When I see a memorial near a stop sign in the country, it's a warning that other people may not see the sign and stop. Watch out for the other guy, etc. Or, dangerous curves. Roadside memorials don't bother me, it's usually just a cross and some plastic flowers. 

However, mounds of teddy bears and flowers at disaster sites bother me. Someone has to clean that up, and it all goes in the garbage.  

[HoboClayton]

Fuck you fuck you fuck you! You spineless, greedy, pieces of utter dog shit. I wish nothing but the worst for you. You heartless bastards. Me- At what just happened. And, that's all I will say about it. 

[DeLurker]

12 hours ago, auntlada said:

It's possible that I am the worst kind. I'm high-maintenance, but I think I'm low-maintenance. I do just want it the way

You merged dialogue but I knew it was from that movie.

Question: In 2 story houses, where is the water heater normally located?

I never lived in a 2 story house until I moved to Texas 10 years ago.  I was renting his house and the water heater was in the attic.  Seemed nutty to me, especially when there was some problem of sorts and fleeing water came out of the ceiling.  The house I ended up buying has the water heater sensibly placed on the first floor.  

[JTMacc99]

8 hours ago, DeLurker said:

Seemed nutty to me,

Me too. Hot water heaters are known to pour water out when they break. Mine is in the basement. No basement would then mean first floor. 

[ennui]

15 hours ago, DeLurker said:

 I was renting his house and the water heater was in the attic.

For water pressure purposes. That's why they have all those huge water towers in Texas. Use gravity for water pressure.

[JTMacc99]

36 minutes ago, ennui said:

For water pressure purposes. That's why they have all those huge water towers in Texas. Use gravity for water pressure.

@DeLurker, did that house have baseboard hot water heat?  And if so, was the boiler also in the attic? 

I'm just curious because it's super unusual to find a non-pressurized hot water heater, but I was thinking that maybe that house used the boiler to heat the water, and then you could set it up with a simple storage tank which I guess could use gravity.  

I don't know. To me even stranger than putting a hot water heater in the attic would be a non-pressurized hot water heater.

[auntlada]

7 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Me too. Hot water heaters are known to pour water out when they break. Mine is in the basement. No basement would then mean first floor. 

I rented a house with the hot water heater in the basement. It was great until it died, and the maintenance guy had to drag it up the narrow stairs that had a turn in the middle, but no landing.

[ennui]

28 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

I don't know. To me even stranger than putting a hot water heater in the attic would be a non-pressurized hot water heater.

I'm sure it had pressure, but gravity would add to that.

Another explanation (per Google): So many homes are being built on a slab, which can make it more difficult to run plumbing lines through the first floor of your house. Usually in homes that have a slab foundation, the water heater is found in the attic. 

Edited May 5, 2017 by ennui

[JTMacc99]

2 minutes ago, ennui said:

Usually in homes that have a slab foundation, the water heater is found in the attic. 

Which is really interesting to me. I'm in the northeast, most of my experience is with homes with basements, and that's where you'll find our hot water heaters.

The houses I've been in along the Jersey Shore, which do not have basements, always had the hot water heater on the first floor. Frequently the first floor was eight feet off the ground, but still, the first floor.  

So... like I said, this practice is really interesting to me, since it sounds crazy.  I'm hunting around the internet right now to see what I can find. Here's a quote from a plumber based in Dallas TX on the topic:

The real reason they are put up there is that the 9 square feet of floor space that it takes up is not in the garage or home. 
It is a VERY common practice here and a VERY stupid one. 
I enjoy heater work as well and the attic ones do get charges more.

Heh.  

Different professional:

FWIW, 90% pf Texas HWH's are in the attic. Mine is in the attic. On any given summer day the attic temp is commonly 120º or more, providing free hot water. In Houston summer lasts only 11 months a year. We do have to pay for hot water between Christmas and President's Day.

That thought did cross my mind. 

So what I can gather is that it's pretty much common practice in Texas. As long as you have a proper pan and automatic shut off valves installed, you shouldn't have to worry about damage should it break down and start leaking. It could possibly be a good thing because you won't lose much heat out of it in the summer. It saves floor space in your home or garage. And the cost for maintaining it and/or replacing it will be materially more than one in an easier to access location.

[auntlada]

I've never seen one in the attic, but I've never lived anywhere where the attic was much more than a crawl space -- the kind where you have to crawl around and be sure to step only on beams (I don't think that's the word I want, but I can't think of the right word) and that has a ladder entrance that opens from a pull-down door.

The house I grew up in had a slab foundation with plumbing and hvac ducts built in it. It was built in the 1960s.

Edited May 5, 2017 by auntlada

[walnutqueen]

On 5/3/2017 at 4:06 PM, BooksRule said:

I'm going to chime in on the Great Courses conversation, and then move on to peeves.  Many libraries have some of the Great Courses DVDs available for checkout.   I just checked, and my university library has over a hundred of the series available (and I know I ordered the ones that we have in my university branch library).  So if you have access to a university or can get a guest/Friends of the Library card), you might could get some there.  I think that some of the larger public libraries might have some too.  Unfortunately, none of our campus libraries has the Black Death one.  I might have to order it the next time my book/DVD budget rolls around.

Peeve:  Co-workers who create messy spreadsheets.  I know that few people are as nit-picky about them as I am, and people can certainly organize spreadsheets however they want to when they are the only ones dealing with them, but I hate it when I get a spreadsheet from people and it's all over the place.  They have text that runs off 'under' the next column (but if you adjust the column it then creates a column that's a foot wide), or they wrap the text so that each cell in the column is four inches high on one line, small on the next, etc.  Or they make everything so small that the entire worksheet kind of huddles in one corner when you print it out.  And don't get me started on those who don't set up their pages in a good way (use gridlines when you need them and use headers so I know what I'm looking at when I print it out.   I'm not good at Excel formulas, but I can create a nice clean readable spreadsheet when I have to (and I love to use color-coding when I can to make it better).  

Ooh - I'll admit to being a wee bit anal about spreadsheets.  Mine were specfuckingtacular, always.  And since I was also the Queen of Excel, back in my day, they also contained AMAZING formulas (including @IF statements and @LOOKUP tables), as well as legible color coded headers and footnotes, suitable for printing (and binding, if not framing!!!).  Even management idiots could decipher them.  I still reminisce upon them fondly, because they were a great source of pride and were coveted by all who saw them.  :-D

So, yeah, ineffectual spreadsheets itch my arse.   :-)

Edited May 5, 2017 by walnutqueen

[ennui]

29 minutes ago, auntlada said:

The house I grew up in had a slab foundation with plumbing and hvac ducts built in it.

That's a problem if something needs repair and they have to break up the slab to get to it.

walnutqueen, I'm also pretty darn good with Excel. I'm finding that younger generations don't know Excel and they don't know Word, which is crazy. How can they compete for jobs?

Edited May 5, 2017 by ennui

[walnutqueen]

9 minutes ago, ennui said:

That's a problem if something needs repair and they have to break up the slab to get to it.

walnutqueen, I'm also pretty darn good with Excel. I'm finding that younger generations don't know Excel and they don't know Word, which is crazy. How can they compete for jobs?

I dunno - they know Facebook & Twitter & Intagram & B.S. - do you think that shit gets them through the front door, and then they just fake it till they make it?  Apparently, these days you need to speak in text not exceeding 140 characters ...

Edited May 5, 2017 by walnutqueen

[ennui]

Quote

 I have y'all to lift my spirits when I can't even afford the 2 buck Chuck.  :-)

Lifted from Chit-Chat. My pet peeve is that 2 Buck Chuck is no longer $2! It's $3!!

[walnutqueen]

4 minutes ago, ennui said:

Lifted from Chit-Chat. My pet peeve is that 2 Buck Chuck is no longer $2! It's $3!!

Just goes to show how long it's been since I could afford a trip to Trader Joes!!! :-)  I DO have a Grocery Outlet just down the way, and they have great deals on wine sometimes.  I indulged a wee bit during their last mega-sale - my liver may suffer but the anti-aging resveratrol I consumed probably cancels it out (OK, that's my version of fuzzy math, or quantum physics, or something like justification).  heh

[ennui]

Red wine consumption could fight dementia.  (And it's Friday.)

[emma675]

I'm in TX and it's a crapshoot where the hot water heaters are located. 99% of homes here don't have basements because the soil here shifts around so easily that it requires a lot more shoring up (read, money) to put them in. My house was built in 1941 and is a pier and beam foundation, which is essentially a 2.5 foot high crawl space underneath the entire house. This makes it great for electrical and plumbing repairs but sucks because the house shifts around a lot more (I've had to have foundation repairs three times now and I've lived in the house for 10 years).

My hot water heater is actually located in a closet in the kitchen but my neighbors have theirs in their garages, laundry rooms or attics. In newer homes you find them in attics a lot to conserve space.

[bubbls]

Quote

In fact, one day Mr. Outlier and I were driving on our 35 mph street and a guy on a scooter passed us going way over the speed limit and darting in and out of traffic.  I actually said, "That's dangerous.  I wonder if he knows about that dip coming up."  We slowed down for the dip and he didn't, and he went airborne...right into the back corner of a bus that was stopped.  Killed the guy, right in front of me.

Being as I am a hater and despiser of motorcycles or scooters breaking the laws and endangering ME far more than I've ever endangered them and then having to read all those infuriating "Watch Out For Motorcylists" bumper stickers I will admit I got a kick out of this. Yes, I'm on the hell train, but dayum, I think I would've stopped and applauded. 

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, ennui said:

walnutqueen, I'm also pretty darn good with Excel. I'm finding that younger generations don't know Excel and they don't know Word, which is crazy. How can they compete for jobs?

If someone can't properly format a Word document, give it to someone who can! Formatted tabs, not space bar spaces! Page breaks, not hard returns until you get to the next page!

At work, we have to use "standard" brokerage forms that are listed on our intranet. A poorly trained monkey could format the documents better than they are currently set up. It bothers the hell out of me how no one cares anymore. Just slap everything together. I'm the bitch for wanting it done correctly.

[ParadoxLost]

I've decided to re-do my kitchen and with it set off a chain reaction of peeves.  A peeve reaction.

Peeve 1 - Too many choices.  How can their be 60 door styles and 60 120 180 paints and stains and six woods.  At one cabinet maker.  That's 64,800 choices at one cabinet maker.  And I haven't even gotten to the part where there are door inserts and frames and accent paints and hardware. and molding and drawer accessories.

Peeve 2- Why can't I find a stain I like at the builder grade manufacturer with fewer choices?  Fewer choices seem better.  I blame design shows.

Peeve- 3.  Stupid website designer,  I narrowed down to one stain and one wood.  Can I filter on that stain?  No, of course I can't.  I have to filter by color family and look at each door six times with five stains I rejected. And is there a next, button?  No of course not. Click, zoom. close. back.  Click, zoom. close. back.  Click, zoom. close. back. That is my life now.

Peeve 4- I've narrowed the teeny tiny pictures down to six doors and I'd like to see pictures of them in kitchens in the photo gallery.  Can I search for photos by door style.  See Peeve 3.  Of course I can't.  Click, zoom. close. back. Click, zoom. close. back. Click, zoom. close. back. WTF?  None of these pictures name the door style.  Why name the stain and not the door style?  Aren't you trying to sell cabinets and wouldn't knowing the cabinet you are trying to buy be important?  Why did you bother with pictures of kitchens then?  Idiots.

Peeve 5- Wait, I have a catalog from the store.  WTF?  Peeve 4.  No door names on those photos either.

Peeve 6 - But wait, nifty door style pull out in catalog.  Maybe I can see them better on paper than the computer.  Yes, I can.  But wait,  none of the doors I selected are the same names.  129,600 choices?  Discontinued?  All of them?   %&$#?@!

Peeve 7 -  %&$#?@! That door is the same.  The name is different.   %&$#?@! Big Box Home Improvement stores.  Catalog from one and web search on the other..  All the names are different .  %&$#?@! all of them. 

Peeve 8 - Peeves 4-7 brought to you by stores that like to advertise price matching but have enough clout to force manufacturers to change a product name or SKU number so there is no ability to comparison shop.

Now I need to go get the other catalog from the other store and hope its laid out the same to cross reference the doors names.

[StatisticalOutlier]

5 hours ago, bubbls said:

Being as I am a hater and despiser of motorcycles or scooters breaking the laws and endangering ME far more than I've ever endangered them and then having to read all those infuriating "Watch Out For Motorcylists" bumper stickers I will admit I got a kick out of this. Yes, I'm on the hell train, but dayum, I think I would've stopped and applauded. 

Huge peeve--lane splitting motorcycles.  That shit's dangerous, and I nearly jump out of my skin every time one zooms past me.

I like the idea of a bumper sticker that says, "Loud pipes cause road rage." 

 

On 5/4/2017 at 1:39 PM, ennui said:

My interpretation of roadside memorials is simply to be reminded to be careful.

I prefer to leave such reminders to official pronouncements like highway signs that say to buckle up, or don't drink and drive.  If someone feels very strongly about something, they can pay for a billboard to display their message.

[walnutqueen]

9 hours ago, auntlada said:

I rented a house with the hot water heater in the basement. It was great until it died, and the maintenance guy had to drag it up the narrow stairs that had a turn in the middle, but no landing.

 

2 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

I have spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure the stairs out. 

All I can think of now is the Friends episode with the couch & stairs - and Ross yelling "PIVOT!  PIVOT!".  :-)

[BookWoman56]

8 hours ago, ennui said:

 I'm finding that younger generations don't know Excel and they don't know Word, which is crazy. How can they compete for jobs?

I'm wondering what schools these younger generations that you have encountered attended, because those schools should have taught them how to use both of those. I live in TX; my daughter is 22, and I've met many of her friends and fellow students. They all were taught to use Word and PowerPoint while they were in middle school, and Excel when in high school. I am fairly sure my daughter had keyboarding classes starting in elementary school. They don't necessarily know advanced functions, but they know as much as many employees I've worked with. In my daughter's college classes, for example, they have to submit their essays for English, history, and so forth electronically, as Word documents; they're also required to submit presentations as PPT files, again submitted electronically.  Even when she was in high school, she had to submit many assignments electronically as Word docs.

Where I find those kinds of skills lacking most often is in some of the students I teach online, who are typically people already in the workforce who realized they need a college degree to advance in their career. Most of them are accustomed to using Word, but almost every class I encounter someone in the 30-50 age bracket who is completely clueless about basic Word functions. For example, they put a hard return at the end of every line, making it so that Word then underlines the first word on the next sentence as wrong because it isn't capitalized. They use spaces instead of tabs, and hard returns instead of page breaks. They think everything is supposed to be set to full justification. We have an early alert system for students who are struggling, and one of the options we can select is that the student doesn't have the necessary skills in Word and so forth; if that's the case, then the student gets sent to a class in software basics.

However, while we're on the subject of Word, I encountered a pet peeve yet again at work this week. Why on earth would someone create a freaking template on which multiple documents will be based, and create it with spell check and grammar check disabled? What is the thinking there? You want employees to have to find spelling mistakes the old-fashioned way? If so, it's not working. People are so used to having spell check that they generally won't notice spelling mistakes unless there is the squiggly line or whatever under the word. Some corporate department just mandated a new template for procedures, and the template has spell check and grammar check disabled. So for my area, instead of doing what we should and always downloading the template from the corporate site, I'm saving a local copy into our Templates folder on our SharePoint site, and my local copy will have spell check enabled. I am having to resist the temptation to fire off an email to the department that created the template and ask them WTF they were thinking. (I did politely escalate my concerns a couple of levels up the corporate food chain, though.)

[riley702]

6 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I prefer to leave such reminders to official pronouncements like highway signs that say to buckle up, or don't drink and drive.  If someone feels very strongly about something, they can pay for a billboard to display their message.

I remember years ago on a driving vacation out west, there were official signs saying X marks the spot, with x's representing fatalities. And in really dangerous spots, there might be 3 or 4 signs jammed in together.

[MargeGunderson]

@BookWoman56, I will add to your Word frustration: 2 spaces after punctuation. My former manager who learned typing could not stop putting 2 spaces after all punctuation. I had to correct it on all of her documents, along with the other issues you mentioned. I'm still reformatting documents that she wrote 2 years after she left.

[TattleTeeny]

On 5/2/2017 at 9:10 AM, Qoass said:

I wish there was some kind of hand signal for "I'm sorry."  This morning I almost hit a car changing lanes.  My bad.  Waving or giving a peace sign looks cavalier and obviously a raised fist or single finger salute is out.

My go-to in that situation (which, thank goodness, isn't too often) is a frantic waving of both hands (I KNOW--it just happens!) and head-shake. From what I can tell, they usually get it. I think the hands are that kind of universal "no, no--forget that!" flapping gesture that's sometimes almost involuntary.

[ParadoxLost]

1 hour ago, MargeGunderson said:

@BookWoman56, I will add to your Word frustration: 2 spaces after punctuation. My former manager who learned typing could not stop putting 2 spaces after all punctuation. I had to correct it on all of her documents, along with the other issues you mentioned. I'm still reformatting documents that she wrote 2 years after she left.

I have never in my life heard this. End of sentence punctuation requires two spaces. I'm in that generation where we had computers at home but typing was taught at school.  Papers were completed with computers in school and no one ever corrected this two spaces for punctuation, but I suppose they were all older than I was.

I googled it and with computers one space is required because computers space proportionally automatically. I have never encountered anyone who imparted this knowledge to me.

Your manager probably didn't know or was too afraid of letting a few curse words slip at work. Here is what my one space experiment in this post was like for me: 

Quote

I have never in my life heard this. {space.   argh. backspace.} End of sentence punctuation requires two spaces. {space.   #@$%!.  backspace.} I'm in that generation where we had computers at home but typing was taught at school.   {space.   what stupid software designer decided they were the one to decide that generations of people should be forced to change.. backspace.} Papers were completed with computers in school and no one ever corrected this two spaces for punctuation, but I suppose they were all older than I was.

@MARGEGUNDERSON you are just going to have to live with two spaces after punctuation in my posts. I'm too old to change. But if I can't stop this damn . space space backspace nonsense I'm going to come back and post two peeves.

MS Word, if you have deemed that one space after punctuation is correct then why don't you highlight it in grammar checks or auto correct for it. 

Kids get off my lawn:)

Edited May 6, 2017 by ParadoxLost