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

[Petunia13]

The only time I've ever seen a double space after the end of a sentence is when I did legal documents for the state of IL and was copying someone (long gone or from the government when the projects 1st began) template for Negotiator Reports in Microsoft Word.

I had no idea what the hell that was or why. And it was explained to me by my trainer that it was from the typewriter era writers who first transitioned to computers. I did them for reports. Since I was replicating the old shit / style and so someone is doing off mine I assume. 

[JTMacc99]

I learned to type on a mechanical typewriter, and learned to double space as the rule. I still do it out of habit sometimes. I like that on my iPhone that when I double space after the end of the sentence it just adds the period and one space for me. Very helpful apple. I'll give them that one.

[Petunia13]

I learned typewriter at that same job I mentioned and got speedy. I used it for certain tax forms and all my certified letters the from but also the back return receipt in the corner I'd type the routes and file no. I think typewriter looks nice and is a lost art. I can't imagine how writers like Fitzgerald and Hemingway did it, especially considering how often they edited and revised. Imagine changing a plot point or striking a character and going back thumbing through pages in your hotel and striking with pencil and squeezing type in margins? Or re-typing chapters?

[TattleTeeny]

1 hour ago, Petunia13 said:

I think typewriter looks nice and is a lost art.

My favorite fonts are old typewriter-looking ones.

[DeLurker]

I'm guessing in anticipation of Mother's Day, my local grocery stores have amped up the flowering plants they are selling.  Unfortunately, there tends to be a lot of gardenias and geraniums clustered by each entrance.

I loathe the smell of both flowers and I get a giant sniffer full going in and going out of the stores.

[bmasters9]

1 hour ago, TattleTeeny said:

My favorite fonts are old typewriter-looking ones.

Mine, specifically, are Typist and ITC Serif Gothic-- the latter because it was the promo font of NBC Sports, and of NBC in general, back when I was a boy.

[TattleTeeny]

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!

[MrSmith]

1 minute ago, TattleTeeny said:

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!

My rule of thumb is to stick with only two fonts: one for headings and one for the body. To me, any more than that and your project starts to look like a first-year art student puked on your pages. But maybe that's just me since most of my projects are web sites, and maybe it's different for other projects.

[Lisin]

Loads of people still use the double space even though it isn't needed because of either justification or just, computers don't need it. But, anyone who learned how to type before that compulsively uses it in my experience. That's why find and replace is nice. You just take their double spaced doc and find the double spaces and replace them with single. Boom. Done. Of course I work at a law firm. Our rule of thumb is one font (times) one size (12) one margin size (1 inch all around) 2.0 line spacing no double spaces because that's what the court requires for filings and there's no point in getting flowery with any other doc. Other than correspondence is single spaced. 

[auntlada]

1 hour ago, Lisin said:

Loads of people still use the double space even though it isn't needed because of either justification or just, computers don't need it. But, anyone who learned how to type before that compulsively uses it in my experience. That's why find and replace is nice. You just take their double spaced doc and find the double spaces and replace them with single. Boom. Done. Of course I work at a law firm. Our rule of thumb is one font (times) one size (12) one margin size (1 inch all around) 2.0 line spacing no double spaces because that's what the court requires for filings and there's no point in getting flowery with any other doc. Other than correspondence is single spaced. 

I would love reading those documents (except possibly for the subject matter). The first thing I usually do with documents (before the search and replace for double spaces) is make the text 12 point Times just because it's easier for me to read. And most of the time it doesn't matter because it's going to go to a graphic designer for placement in an InDesign document. If it matters, I change it back to whatever it was before when I'm done. (Even when it's not going to a designer, I think it usually doesn't matter because it's almost always in the default Word font, which I hate.)

2 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

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!

Also don't use a bunch of colors scattered throughout your document, and be sparing with the bold. If you try to make everything stand out, nothing stands out. (This is where I usually start singing Gilbert and Sullivan in my head, even though I only know that bit from "Chariots of Fire.")

[TattleTeeny]

3 hours ago, MrSmith said:

My rule of thumb is to stick with only two fonts: one for headings and one for the body. To me, any more than that and your project starts to look like a first-year art student puked on your pages. But maybe that's just me since most of my projects are web sites, and maybe it's different for other projects.

I don't disagree, but in terms of visual layouts and design, I'm fine with more than two. It's actually fun and relaxing finding fonts that work together!

Edited May 9, 2017 by TattleTeeny

[Bastet]

Today's peeve is companies that change a product without noting "new formula" on the packaging.

I just updated my spreadsheet showing the protein, fat, carbohydrate, phosphorus, and calorie content of various cat foods, and found several changes from the last time (which was a couple of years ago now, as I slacked off on annual updating since there's a vet who posts an updated chart with much of the same data on the internet).  Nothing more than three or four percent, and usually just one or two, but come on; none of the cans ever sported any indication of change.  (Probably because manufacturers would have only wanted to spend the money on a label change if it said "new and improved," which would have been a lie, since the change almost always involves replacing a little bit of the protein with fat or carbs, to maximize profits.)

Nature's Variety will soon be coming out with all new packaging, and changes to many of its formulas.  Customers on the company's mailing list received an email advising of this, with an overview of the various changes, and I am in the process of getting updated data on the specific formulas I need to know about.  But even with that company, its venison formula got slightly tweaked somewhere along the way with no notification.  I'm on the Wellness mailing list, too, and never got anything about changes, but, lo and behold, the turkey and chicken formulas are both a little bit different now than they were the last time I updated. 

That kind of thing happens a lot with pet food.  And the numbers on the can are just guaranteed analysis, so when the actual numbers ("as-fed" or "typical nutrition" analysis) change a little bit, the guaranteed maximum/minimum doesn't, so one would never know from looking at the can that anything was different.  Most of the time, it doesn't matter, but people feeding diabetic cats, cats with chronic kidney disease, etc. may very well care about even a small change.

[Petunia13]

I have a peeve and I hope I explain it without sounding corny. I feel like in customer service things should be straightforward and simple.

This morning (after I worked overnight a a double) a customer came in at opening and wanted a balloon bouquet for her daughters birthday. Our floral shop wasn't open yet, we were short handed (even for opening),  and no one available knew how to work the helium machine. I was not in uniform since I had been working overnight and don't know how to use the machine either. So the customer was getting upset "I'm late, you're open, it's her birthday, someone should be able to help me!" The service desk lead said "yea but what does the sign in the floral dept say? It says 8 am right?" Then she and another cashier kinda whispered to each other smirking and kept counting change for the tills. 

This set the woman off. She started telling me how upset she was with them with feeling, that they were bullshit and rude, and it was gonna get ugly. I told her not to worry and I'll see what I can do. I asked the service desk employee if we could just sell her the foofy Mylar pre blown up balloons and do a price adjustment. She said no and she didn't care. Now does that make any sense to you? If a customer is super pissed and gonna call corporate with names and times due to our fuckups just give the lady the better products and eat the $6 difference! And she'd be happier and appreciative.

Because the lead said no and I didn't want to step on her toes I ran and ended up having to get this gritty produce man from stacking fruit to blow up the balloons she wanted. 

Sorry that took so long it just baffled me. And the irony is I'm in training to be a service operations manager. 

[Bastet]

2 minutes ago, Petunia13 said:

If a customer is super pissed and gonna call corporate with names and times due to our fuckups

Was it the employees' fuck-up, though?  I read it as the store opens at one time, and the floral department, where the balloons are sold, opens later, at 8:00, but I may have misinterpreted that.  If I have it right, she shouldn't have gotten so pissy, because she's the one who didn't pay attention to the service hours (any time you know you're going to a specialty department within a store - what springs to mind from my own experience is going to the Costco pharmacy or tire center [or eyeglass thing, or whatever other services they have within the store] - you should know you need to check when that department is open, not the store hours).  But, even assuming that's correct, yes, in the interest of not starting off my day with a mess at some unholy hour of the morning, I'd have offered to sell her the balloons that were already blown up - explaining that, since that department isn't open yet, there isn't anyone there to make her a customized arrangement, but I do understand she's already here and doesn't want to wait/come back, so if she'd like I can grab any of the ready-made balloons she'd like and have a cashier ring them up (at whatever the regular price is, though) in the regular check-out line.  If she settled down after that, I'd probably be nice and look for something to tie them all together into a bouquet if she wanted. 

[auntlada]

The least the service desk lead could have done was say, "I'm sorry, but that department isn't open yet," instead of what he/she did say. She'd probably still be mad because it sounds like she was running late and had forgotten to plan ahead or just forgotten to get what she had intended to get earlier and was in a crappy mood as a result. But I've always been amazed at how far an "I'm sorry" and a sympathetic look will go.

[riley702]

Yeah, smirking is guaranteed to set anyone off. And, "I don't care."? She needs to be reported to corporate, IMNSHO.

I mean, I totally get thinking that her lack of planning is not your emergency, but you don't outright say that and smirk. Not in customer service. That is not how to retain customers.

Edited May 10, 2017 by riley702

[MrSmith]

Smirking and copping an attitude with me like that is just a way to guarantee that I'm going to do everything in my power to get you fired. And that usually means I'll start with a letter to the CEO or President of your company, and while the USPS is taking its time delivering that I'll start publicizing the incident and giving the company a black eye over the whole thing. Usually, just as the letter is landing on the CEO's/President's desk, the local manager is becoming aware of the noise I'm making otherwise, which prompts them to contact me. At this point, I'll share with them exactly what happened, even taking ownership of my part in it (such as being there before the correct department opened and getting upset when the employees wouldn't try to help me; but if I got help from someone like @Petunia13, then I'll make sure to sing their praises loud and clear at every opportunity along the way, too), and then I'll let them know that I already wrote to the CEO/President so they know they're not going to get to keep and deal with this locally, and I'll wind it up with the request that the offender(s) be terminated and the helpful employee (if any) be at least given a bonus, if not outright promoted.

Yes, I have done this before. A few times. With varying levels of success, but always with some kind of negative repercussion for the offender, which results in their employment there being shorter than they otherwise planned.

[MrSmith]

My peeve for today, which is actually carried over from yesterday because I was so angry about it that I could've spit nails, and I'm finally calm enough to be able to share it with you all. (And because I need to tell someone about it!)

I changed my hours at work starting this week and am now going in to work a couple of hours later. Since I use an express bus to get to downtown Minneapolis, the spot in which I park at the Park & Ride has changed. Yesterday was the second day of these new hours. While I was driving home yesterday, I found my car making some noises that I couldn't explain - but they were so intermittent and impossible to reproduce at will that I thought "Just let me get home without my exhaust falling off or whatever, and I'll figure it out there." (I live 32 miles from the Park & Ride.) So, I get home and it turns out that some asshole backed into my front bumper, nearly tearing it off, cracked my passenger front quarter panel just above the turn indicator, and tore my mudflap off - and, of course, they didn't leave any kind of note or anything! (I drive a Saturn as my commuter car. So, the quarter panels are all plastic, too.)

My wife and I were able to zip-tie everything back together, but my fog lights are wrecked, I need a new headlamp housing for my passenger side, and the bumper and quarter panel will need to be replaced. Today I have to go back to the Park & Ride and see if I can figure out who hit me, as well as file a report with the local police. Fortunately, Metro Transit has the Park & Ride under surveillance. So, I'm hopeful the police can get the footage from yesterday and find the person who did this so I can make them pay. And I'll do everything in my power to make sure the police fine them for hitting me and not owning up to it. I'm pretty sure it was this black minivan that was parked on my passenger side yesterday. There's enough of a dirt transfer from their bumper to mine that I should be able to find them unless they washed their car overnight.

Edited to add: I know it happened yesterday because on Monday I was parked at the edge of the lot with my front bumper facing the curb. So, nobody could've damaged my front end without going off-road.

Edited May 10, 2017 by MrSmith

[Petunia13]

That sucks @MrSmith ! I wonder how some people sleep at night or justify their behavior. Does that area have cameras? 

I'm really glad for the replies and perspectives on my post. It's a department I'm transitioning into and need to learn obviously. 

[MrSmith]

3 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

That sucks @MrSmith ! I wonder how some people sleep at night or justify their behavior. Does that area have cameras? 

I'm really glad for the replies and perspectives on my post. It's a department I'm transitioning into and need to learn obviously. 

Metro Transit has security cameras there. Hopefully, they'll pull the footage and help me get some justice. 

[JTMacc99]

I'm annoyed with some stuff here at work, and all of my sounding boards are out of the office today. The source of annoyance? People. No surprise, people are the number one source of annoyance to other people for the 100,000th consecutive year.

[ennui]

18 hours ago, Petunia13 said:

This set the woman off. She started telling me how upset she was with them with feeling, that they were bullshit and rude, and it was gonna get ugly.

I work in CS, and frankly, I get tired of customers threatening me. We live in a world of entitlement, and "me first!" attitudes. The other day, we had to call the police because a customer was upset and started shoving an employee. When it comes to that, the customer should simply take their business elsewhere.

So, my guess is not that the employees were being rude, it's more that they were simply tired of attitude. The lower down the food chain, the more abuse you take from customers.  

[janestclair]

19 hours ago, Bastet said:

Was it the employees' fuck-up, though?  I read it as the store opens at one time, and the floral department, where the balloons are sold, opens later, at 8:00, but I may have misinterpreted that.  If I have it right, she shouldn't have gotten so pissy, because she's the one who didn't pay attention to the service hours (any time you know you're going to a specialty department within a store - what springs to mind from my own experience is going to the Costco pharmacy or tire center [or eyeglass thing, or whatever other services they have within the store] - you should know you need to check when that department is open, not the store hours).  But, even assuming that's correct, yes, in the interest of not starting off my day with a mess at some unholy hour of the morning, I'd have offered to sell her the balloons that were already blown up - explaining that, since that department isn't open yet, there isn't anyone there to make her a customized arrangement, but I do understand she's already here and doesn't want to wait/come back, so if she'd like I can grab any of the ready-made balloons she'd like and have a cashier ring them up (at whatever the regular price is, though) in the regular check-out line.  If she settled down after that, I'd probably be nice and look for something to tie them all together into a bouquet if she wanted. 

I also worked in a grocery store at one time.  We were 24 hours, but the various departments obviously were not.  I had a nice lady on my line one night that wanted a personalized cake from the bakery, but the bakery was closed.  So I asked the front end manager, and we were slow, so she told me to head back there and write on it for her. I pointed out that I'm a lefty and that my handwriting is atrocious and that she probably didn't want me writing on her cake, so I found someone else who had no line who would do it for her.    So she left happy, and I didn't create a Cake Wreck.  However, had she been nasty, I would've just told her the bakery was closed, and sorry, there's nothing we can do about it. 

[DeLurker]

I had to drop off a notebook for my daughter at school today.  Just needed to leave it at the office and she would pick it up on lunch so that took a minute or two (at best) to walk in, tell the receptionist what was up, confirm it was labeled with her name, go back out to car.

During the minute or two I was away from my car, someone else pulled up and parked directly behind me - I was in an actual parking space.  I figured it was the same thing as I needed to do, so a minute or two of waiting is no big deal. 

10 minutes of waiting was a big deal!  By that point I had gotten out and was standing against the back of my car so the dope wouldn't miss the fact that I couldn't move because they decided to park where they did.  A woman and her daughter come out of the office, but the woman has her ear glued to her phone and doesn't even appear to notice me.  The daughter does notice me, but quickly looks away.

They get into the car so I lean over to tell the daughter (in the passenger seat) that they had blocked me in and I had been waiting for about 10 minutes - I didn't snarl or yell, but did use a tone to say "not cool".  She says "sorry", but the mom hasn't stopped talking nor even looks at this stranger talking to her daughter.

So so irritated by this twit.

Edited May 10, 2017 by DeLurker

[Katy M]

12 minutes ago, DeLurker said:

They get into the car so I lean over to tell the daughter (in the passenger seat) that they had blocked me in and I had been waiting for about 10 minutes - I didn't snarl or yell, but did use a tone to say "not cool".  She says "sorry", but the mom hasn't stopped talking nor even looks at this stranger talking to her daughter.

I don't think you should have said anything to the daughter.  She didn't park the car.  And, in fact, I doubt she was even with her mom when the car was parked since it appears her mom was picking her up for some reason.  And I guess it was nice that she apologized to you, but she shouldn't have had to because she didn't do anything.  She's not responsible for mom's actions, especially when not with her.

I'm also hoping mom got off phone before driving off.

[MrSmith]

2 hours ago, ennui said:

I work in CS, and frankly, I get tired of customers threatening me. We live in a world of entitlement, and "me first!" attitudes. The other day, we had to call the police because a customer was upset and started shoving an employee. When it comes to that, the customer should simply take their business elsewhere.

So, my guess is not that the employees were being rude, it's more that they were simply tired of attitude. The lower down the food chain, the more abuse you take from customers.  

This is true. I try to be nice to the employees because they don't have any power and they're there just trying to do their job (generally to the best of their abilities). Besides, usually nothing is so egregious as to get upset about. The only times I've gone head-hunting is when employees talk smack to me and cock an attitude when I've been being nice and trying to work with them to solve my perceived problem.

55 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I don't think you should have said anything to the daughter.  She didn't park the car.  And, in fact, I doubt she was even with her mom when the car was parked since it appears her mom was picking her up for some reason.  And I guess it was nice that she apologized to you, but she shouldn't have had to because she didn't do anything.  She's not responsible for mom's actions, especially when not with her.

I'm also hoping mom got off phone before driving off.

I'll agree with this. Personally, if I were that upset by the fact the woman parked me in, then I would have stood behind her car to force her to get off her phone and deal with me. Most likely, I wouldn't have bothered even with that because people are terrible at gauging how long it's going to take to do things, and she clearly intended to take only a very short time to do whatever it is she was doing. Plus, it's dead-easy to get into a conversation with another parent or teacher and not realize how long you've been standing there talking.

[ennui]

1 hour ago, DeLurker said:

the woman has her ear glued to her phone and doesn't even appear to notice me. 

I suspect she did it to avoid confrontation. 

I remember reading back in the day, Paris Hilton would pretend to be on the phone when she didn't want to engage with someone. Faker.

[HoboClayton]

The internet needs to quit prematurely killing celebrities. Twitter killed Betty White again, and I almost had a heart attack. She could live to be 134 and I will still be shocked, and it will still be too soon. So, stop it Twitter people! If I have to come in there again, I'm crackin' skulls! 

[auntlada]

3 hours ago, janestclair said:

I also worked in a grocery store at one time.  We were 24 hours, but the various departments obviously were not.  I had a nice lady on my line one night that wanted a personalized cake from the bakery, but the bakery was closed.  So I asked the front end manager, and we were slow, so she told me to head back there and write on it for her. I pointed out that I'm a lefty and that my handwriting is atrocious and that she probably didn't want me writing on her cake, so I found someone else who had no line who would do it for her.    So she left happy, and I didn't create a Cake Wreck.  However, had she been nasty, I would've just told her the bakery was closed, and sorry, there's nothing we can do about it. 

That's the other side of what I was saying earlier. Being nice and sympathetic and apologetic helps you get stuff you have no real right to get (because stuff is closed or whatever).

We once went to an airshow at an Air Force Base and waited in line to get in for about an hour or so. We had to go through security to get in, and it was the first year they'd had the air show in several years, so the lines were awful, even though we got there well before it opened. Thirty or 40 minutes in, someone in an official vehicle told us there was another gate with a smaller line that some of us could go in. So we walked to that gate and waited. After a bus came up and let people off to go in that gate, the guards there told the line people that gate was only for bus people (from a parking lot farther away) because they went through security before getting on the bus. People were furious because we'd been told to go there. But there was no security check at that gate so they could not let us in.

We waited until everyone quit chewing out the officer and left. Then I politely asked him if he could just look through our bags and let us in. I showed all my ID, including the one thta showed I worked for the state. I mentioned my 2-year-old son, who was getting cranky waiting in line. But mostly I was polite and said I understood why they were doing what they were doing, and I apologized for the screaming woman whom I did not even know.

And he let us in, after going through our bags. My husband said it was because I had the sense to ask a colonel, although I am ignorant of ranks and had no idea he was a colonel. It helped, but I really think being extra nice helped the most.

@DeLurker, I would have been tempted to wait in front of her front door so she could not get in her car without acknowledging me. I wouldn't have done it probably because I have issues with confrontation, but I would have wanted to.

[bilgistic]

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.

An asshole in a Cadillac SUV did it today on my way home from work. He passed me later and ended up right in front of me by the next light. It took everything in me not to lay on my horn when the light turned green.

Statistically speaking, the beepers are luxury vehicles (like Cadillac, Lexus, BMW) 85% of the time, and 90% men.

[DeLurker]

I didn't intend to say anything to the girl, but the mom wasn't looking so I ended up doing it anyway.  

I know it wasn't the kids fault, but she was probably 15-16 so I figured she'd say something if her mom ever got off the phone.  

[MrSmith]

10 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

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.

An asshole in a Cadillac SUV did it today on my way home from work. He passed me later and ended up right in front of me by the next light. It took everything in me not to lay on my horn when the light turned green.

Statistically speaking, the beepers are luxury vehicles (like Cadillac, Lexus, BMW) 85% of the time, and 90% men.

LOL. Sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just that today, on the way back from the Park & Ride and dealing with both the Cottage Grove police and the Metro Transit Police, there was a woman I ended up behind at a stop light in Red Wing. When the light turned green she just sat there. And sat, and sat, and sat. In spite of my honking my horn at her insanely. She only went after traffic cleared enough for me to back up and go around her. So, at the next light, you know what happened...... Yes, I was in front of her. And when the light turned green, I sat there. And when she backed up, I backed up. Just as she was managing to start to go around me, I hit the accelerator and went home. And I felt thoroughly satisfied. (Normally, I wouldn't do something like that. I just couldn't resist my inner demon today.)

[ennui]

44 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Statistically speaking, the beepers are luxury vehicles (like Cadillac, Lexus, BMW) 85% of the time, and 90% men.

Statistically speaking, studies prove you are correct.

http://www.wsj.com/video/bmw-drivers-really-are-jerks-studies-find/29285015-BB1A-4E41-B0C0-0A41CB990F60.html

Text:

http://theweek.com/articles/461073/not-imagination-bmw-drivers-are-biggest-jerks

Edited May 11, 2017 by ennui
cartoon

[bilgistic]

23 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

LOL. Sorry. I don't mean to laugh. It's just that today, on the way back from the Park & Ride and dealing with both the Cottage Grove police and the Metro Transit Police, there was a woman I ended up behind at a stop light in Red Wing. When the light turned green she just sat there. And sat, and sat, and sat. In spite of my honking my horn at her insanely. She only went after traffic cleared enough for me to back up and go around her. So, at the next light, you know what happened...... Yes, I was in front of her. And when the light turned green, I sat there. And when she backed up, I backed up. Just as she was managing to start to go around me, I hit the accelerator and went home. And I felt thoroughly satisfied. (Normally, I wouldn't do something like that. I just couldn't resist my inner demon today.)

I get beeping if someone's sitting there, obviously reading texts or whatever while the light has been green for several seconds. Around here it's honks galore if you aren't jumping the light and tailgating.

And speaking of tailgating, there was a wreck on my way home yesterday evening. One vehicle was stopped at the light, and another vehicle hit it (presumably because the driver was taking off, not waiting for the car ahead to actually move), then another driver hit the second vehicle in line. The damage was barely visible from my POV in the left lane.

[bilgistic]

12 minutes ago, ennui said:

Statistically speaking, studies prove you are correct.

http://www.wsj.com/video/bmw-drivers-really-are-jerks-studies-find/29285015-BB1A-4E41-B0C0-0A41CB990F60.html

Text:

http://theweek.com/articles/461073/not-imagination-bmw-drivers-are-biggest-jerks

Ha! This is where I mention that until a few months ago, my boss drove a BMW. Unfortunately, he didn't trade in his personality with the old car.

[AgentRXS]

So there I was, on my lunch break, minding my own business and this happens. The white car pulls up almost in front of me and parks her car sideways. Why? They aren't driving a big truck/limo/etc. Plenty of spaces and you can't pull into one? Just had to park like this. This is in a retail complex with a plenty of stores and restaurants. Sure, the parking lot is half empty now but that can change in the a heartbeat. And why do it in front of me? Ugh.

People unnecessarily taking up more then one space just drives me up a wall, unless they are driving a limo/18 wheeler, etc. If I can back in my huge Animal Control vehicle that has no rearview mirror, then their is no reason why you can't just park in a space normally. Oh and by the way, this person first did this right next to my truck and then did a U-turn to park right there.

Never got out to speak to me but I felt like I was being watched while stuffing my face. Annoying.

[Quof]

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.

If you are the first car in a left turning lane, and you get an advance turning light, you had damned well better be paying attention. Only a handful of cars are going to get to make their turn before the oncoming traffic gets their light and if you are dozing, the vehicles behind you are left to sit through another light cycle. 

[bubbls]

On 5/8/2017 at 6:36 PM, 3pwood said:

My favorite example of the confusion that can result from omitting the serial (aka Oxford) comma is this dedication of a young author's book:  "I'd like to thank my parents, Ayn Rand and God".

Exactly! I've been trying to think of an example. 

Edited May 11, 2017 by bubbls

[MrSmith]

14 hours ago, bilgistic said:

I get beeping if someone's sitting there, obviously reading texts or whatever while the light has been green for several seconds. Around here it's honks galore if you aren't jumping the light and tailgating.

And speaking of tailgating, there was a wreck on my way home yesterday evening. One vehicle was stopped at the light, and another vehicle hit it (presumably because the driver was taking off, not waiting for the car ahead to actually move), then another driver hit the second vehicle in line. The damage was barely visible from my POV in the left lane.

I'm sorry to hear people spend that much time in their cars that they're that impatient. The lady at the green light yesterday is the first person I've honked at for not going in probably a decade. You've got to really sit at the green light pretty egregiously to elicit a honk from me. If it takes you five  or even 10 seconds to go, I'm actually ok with that. I figure if five or 10 seconds is  going to make or break my day, then I probably should be in an ambulance.

I try not to tailgate people either. It just adds to my stress level because I've trimmed my available reaction time. Even when I'm planning on passing you, I prefer to hang back a bit. That gives me some room to accelerate before changing lanes and makes it easier for me to get around  you. And I pretty much universally ignore people tailgating me. I use cruise control all the time. As long as I'm not hogging the left lane, I just go  the speed I set the cruise and let everyone else do what they're going to do. I only care what other people are doing when they hit me.

[AgentRXS]

Quote

If you are the first car in a left turning lane, and you get an advance turning light, you had damned well better be paying attention. Only a handful of cars are going to get to make their turn before the oncoming traffic gets their light and if you are dozing, the vehicles behind you are left to sit through another light cycle. 

There is usually one distracted driver in the lineup, and that person is usually the person in front of me. And they make sure that they are the last person to turn before the light changes/oncoming trafffic begins to proceed, and I'm usually that gets stuck sitting through another light cycle.

Edited May 11, 2017 by AgentRXS

[MrSmith]

9 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

So there I was, on my lunch break, minding my own business and this happens. The white car pulls up almost in front of me and parks her car sideways. Why? They aren't driving a big truck/limo/etc. Plenty of spaces and you can't pull into one? Just had to park like this. This is in a retail complex with a plenty of stores and restaurants. Sure, the parking lot is half empty now but that can change in the a heartbeat. And why do it in front of me? Ugh.

People unnecessarily taking up more then one space just drives me up a wall

I don't understand why one would want to park across multiple spaces like that. It leaves you very vulnerable to being parked in and nothing you're able to do about that. That said, when I had a nice sports car (seriously immaculate and stored winters), I parked across multiple spots. However, there are some caveats:

1. I never parked across parking spots like that.
2. I always parked across spots like you would normally park.
3. I always went to the back of the parking lot, including using the overflow lots at places like shopping malls.

The reason I parked like that was because I didn't want door dings and also because I'm a tall guy. Thus, getting out of my car was a little harder and I liked having the space to swing my doors open a little wider to make getting in and out easier. Since I didn't want anyone parking near me anyway, then I always parked as far from the entrance as possible. And since my wife has a bad knee, I would drop her off at the entrance first, then go park; when we were leaving, I would go get the car and pick her up.

During the last finals week of my college career, I drove that car to school and parked at the back of the lot across two spaces. Nobody ever parked back there and the lot never got full. However, two kids who also had nice sports cars decided they had to try to park me in and parked so close to my car that I couldn't open the doors. I could squeeze between the cars, though, and I had left the t-tops off the car and the windows down that day. So, I went in my trunk and got my needle-nosed pliers out. I then proceeded to remove the pins from the valve stems of all their tires. After that, I put my tools away, did a "Dukes of Hazzard" to get in my car, and proceeded to drive away. I wish I could've been watching hours later when they came out from class and discovered they had four flat tires on their cars. And I never drove that car to class the rest of the week, either.

14 minutes ago, AgentRXS said:

There is usually one distracted driver in the lineup, and that person is usually the person in front of me. And they make sure that they are the last person to turn before the light changes/oncoming trafffic begins to percede, and I'm usually that gets stuck sitting through another light cycle.

OK. This is the only time where I might be quick on my horn, and I still haven't had this happen in longer than I can remember.

[theredhead77]

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!

Edited May 11, 2017 by theredhead77

[Katy M]

38 minutes 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!

People are stupid and they don't respect nature.

[afterbite]

2 hours ago, MrSmith said:

I'm sorry to hear people spend that much time in their cars that they're that impatient. The lady at the green light yesterday is the first person I've honked at for not going in probably a decade. You've got to really sit at the green light pretty egregiously to elicit a honk from me. If it takes you five  or even 10 seconds to go, I'm actually ok with that. I figure if five or 10 seconds is  going to make or break my day, then I probably should be in an ambulance.

Drivers get 2 seconds from me. If there's no indication they're going to move, they get a short beep to alert them to the light. I drive in high volume traffic. Missing a light isn't just a 5-10 second delay. It could cause 5-10 minutes of delay for me, if not more, and I have no desire to be stuck in traffic for that long because of inattentiveness. I also don't mind if I'm honked at in that situation. I don't want to be the cause of traffic inactivity.

People get more leeway from me in low volume areas. Then you might get your 5-10 seconds. Eh, who am I kidding. 5, probably.

[MrSmith]

Just now, afterbite said:

Drivers get 2 seconds from me. If there's no indication they're going to move, they get a short beep to alert them to the light. I drive in high volume traffic. Missing a light isn't just a 5-10 second delay. It could cause 5-10 minutes of delay for me, if not more, and I have no desire to be stuck in traffic for that long because of inattentiveness. I also don't mind if I'm honked at in that situation. I don't want to be the cause of traffic inactivity.

People get more leeway from me in low volume areas. Then you might get your 5-10 seconds. Eh, who am I kidding. 5, probably.

Fair enough. I drive in relatively low volume places. (I live in Red Wing, MN, after all. Population 16k.) In places where there is a lot of traffic and the stoplight cycles are longer, it's a bigger deal. I've never been honked at before, and I've never needed it. I'm always watching the lights, the traffic (vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian), and keeping a mental inventory of what other people are going to do. I also tend to accelerate faster than most of the people I share the road with around here. I'm not sure how my acceleration would compare in other, more populated places. I try not to judge people, either for honking quickly or not. In the end, if you want to honk at the person in front of you, then that only affects me if you're honking at me - and if you're being unreasonably impatient, then it's probably going to cost you extra time.

[bilgistic]

5 hours ago, Quof said:

If you are the first car in a left turning lane, and you get an advance turning light, you had damned well better be paying attention. Only a handful of cars are going to get to make their turn before the oncoming traffic gets their light and if you are dozing, the vehicles behind you are left to sit through another light cycle. 

Thanks for the warning, but I'm usually talking about my drive home from work, which is, no lie, one single road save for the turn out from the deck and the turn into my neighborhood. No left-turn lights. The beeping culprits are all tailgating jackholes wanting everyone in front of them to magically move faster in gridlocked traffic.

[afterbite]

13 minutes ago, MrSmith said:

In places where there is a lot of traffic and the stoplight cycles are longer, it's a bigger deal.

This could lead into one of my current pet peeves. There's a light I often get stuck at on the way to work. The right hand turn light generally lasts for 15 - maybe 20 - seconds. (I try to count it, and it seems to fall somewhere in that range. Apparently, I am not good at the counting.) Often, there are several semis or other slow-starter vehicles waiting to turn, and by the time they get revved up, only maybe 1-2 cars make it through the light in addition to them. There's no right turn on red because there are railroad tracks situated between the stopping point for the light and the intersection proper.

Why in the world is that turn light only 15-20 seconds? The light running perpendicular to this road stays green for at least a couple of minutes each time, but the line of traffic coming from my direction only gets 20 seconds? We're turning right, so we're green alongside the people going straight, who likewise only have 20 seconds. True, the volume of traffic coming from my direction is a bit lighter, but not 'you only get 20 seconds' lighter. 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.

Edited May 11, 2017 by afterbite
spelling

[MrSmith]

@afterbite The timing of that right-turn light could have something to do with being able to sync correctly with whatever rail traffic there is through that corridor. I know I would be just as exasperated as you are by the way it's set up, but that's the only reason that comes to mind for it being set up that way.

On my drive home through Hastings, there are two sets of stoplights that are only a block apart ("the stoplight pair from hell"), which are the 2nd and 3rd lights out of five in Hastings. I hate them because it's so easy to get stopped at one of them (sometimes both if you're particularly unlucky). Makes getting through Hastings kind of tricky because while there are only five stoplights...

1. it's better to be in the left lane at the first one because the right lane is often traveling much slower, then
2. it's better to be in the right lane for the third one (the second light in the "stoplight pair from hell") because much of the traffic turns right at that light (and has a right turn lane), but
3. it's often still better to be in the left lane through the second light (first light in the "stoplight pair from hell") and getting to the right lane between the two lights is hard, and
4. it's better to get back in the left lane after the third light and no later than about half-way between that light and the fourth light in town because of the number of people turning right at businesses along the way, and finally
5. if traffic in the right lane is light after the Kwik Trip after the fourth light (about half-way between the fourth and fifth lights), then it's better to be in the right lane through the fifth light; but if traffic is even (or there are semis in the right lane), then it's better to be in the left lane.

Yes, I have this all timed very well. LOL

[Katy M]

My pet peeve is the misuse of the word ironic. 

My dad: "We went to Mexico and gas was the same price there as it is here."

My BIL: "That's ironic"

Me: "how is that ironic?"

No answer.

Guy on the radio: "They're doing a reboot of one of my favorite horror movies.  Ironically I recently met all people involved in the original production."

Ad for Stop Smoking Hotline: "When did you decide to quit?" "Ironically, after I heard one of these ads."

Aargh.  I could go on forever.

I also don't like it when people say someone is irrelevant.  You know, just in the broad sense.  Like "Donald Trump is irrelevant."  Um, no, disagreeing with someone does not make their entire existence irrelevant.

[ennui]

31 minutes ago, afterbite said:

Why in the world is that turn light only 15-20 seconds?

You could ask your local traffic management agency; it could be they need to go out and adjust the timing. However, I'm guessing that the railroad tracks have something to do with it. 

Sometimes honkers are simply frustrated. I was stuck in gridlocked traffic and the guy behind me honked. I lifted my hands to say "where would you like me to go?" Jerk.