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

[Zola]

There's a certain paradox regarding keeping up with the news, in terms of being informed as to what is going on around you.

The trouble is, when I do read/listen to the news - either through TV,radio, online, or good old fashioned paper - I quickly become despondent, annoyed, angry, aggrieved and a whole bunch of other, usually negative, emotions. Purely because of what I read in the news.

Being informed is important of course; but sometimes living in intentional ignorance is somehow good for the soul and peace of mind.

[Cherry Bomb]

8 minutes ago, Zola said:

There's a certain paradox regarding keeping up with the news, in terms of being informed as to what is going on around you.

The trouble is, when I do read/listen to the news - either through TV,radio, online, or good old fashioned paper - I quickly become despondent, annoyed, angry, aggrieved and a whole bunch of other, usually negative, emotions. Purely because of what I read in the news.

Being informed is important of course; but sometimes living in intentional ignorance is somehow good for the soul and peace of mind.

@Zola I couldn't agree more. With all the shit that has been in the news lately I have chosen to selectively ignore the news as much as I possible can. I have found it to be almost impossible though to 100% ignore it with all the media outlets out there that it is so easy to stumble upon something you may not want to. 

[Qoass]

I couldn't sleep last night so I switched on the TV which was tuned to the news. Then I REALLY couldn't sleep.

Sadly, I've been avoiding certain family members because I'm afraid certain topics will come up.

[AgentRXS]

Times like these are when I wish that we hadn't lost the Current Events Forum. I totally understand how we lost it, but it would be nice to still post and share thoughts with like-minded folks, and work through what I'm feeling.

How timely that I'm reading "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis.....and that's all I'm gonna say.

[Mindthinkr]

9 minutes ago, Qoass said:

 

Sadly, I've been avoiding certain family members because I'm afraid certain topics will come up.

Truth because they always do and always at the worst possible moment. It's a version of the Murphy's Law type of thing. 

[Katy M]

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 8:08 AM, Katy M said:

So, I called back, and spoke to someone else who said they could send me the correct splitter for a shipping charge of  $6 something.  Are you serious?  This was all supposed to be free.  So after arguing with him for a couple of minutes, quite loudly at the end, I asked to speak to a supervisor. He told me a supervisor was just going to say the same thing, but I insisted.  Anyway, the supervisor was quite nice.  He told me he had to charge the shipping,but he would give me a $10 credit on my next bill.  OK, so I'm happy.  But, I now have to hook up my old modem so I have internet while waiting for new splitter.  And, this is when I realized I already had a splitter on my old set up.  AARGH. OK, I set everything up and I called back yet again to cancel the splitter.

I came home for lunch and there's a box from Xfinity on by porch.  Ugh.

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I came home for lunch and there's a box from Xfinity on by porch.  Ugh.

Resistance is futile.

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, Katy M said:

I came home for lunch and there's a box from Xfinity on by porch.  Ugh.

I left AT&T U-Verse because I returned a new modem I didn't need (I had the delivery confirmation) and after several months of fighting with them on a 45-minute call each month to remove the monthly charge (and being promised each month it would be removed and credited back), they still didn't remove it. ALL of the cable/internet companies suck. And because they all suck, none of them have any drive or desire to be or do any better.

[Cherry Bomb]

3 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

Times like these are when I wish that we hadn't lost the Current Events Forum. I totally understand how we lost it, but it would be nice to still post and share thoughts with like-minded folks, and work through what I'm feeling.

How timely that I'm reading "It Can't Happen Here" by Sinclair Lewis.....and that's all I'm gonna say.

I am new here so I never saw the Current Events Forum, but I think I know exactly why it was probably eliminated. Most likely for the same shit that goes on all over other Social Media sites. That is the sad thing about Current Events, Politics, Religion, and other topics that can be judgmental in any way. You can only seem to have constructive conversations with like-minded people as you stated above. People are welcomed to disagree for sure and there is nothing wrong with that at all, but especially on forums such as these and other Social Media types people seem to feel entitled to start attacking the other person personally and that is where it gets totally wrong. 

[millennium]

8 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

Wait--not that it's necessarily my business but who here is diagnosed as opposed to using the now-colloquial, adjectival "OCD"? Not judging, I swear, just legitimately curious and interested...though I confess that some days, the slang usage sometimes gives me a peeve, but pretty much only on Facebook from people who clearly do not know OCD from a can of paint (call me a hypocrite or whatever but I don't mind it from people who have an actual clue about what it really is and entails). 

 

I am diagnosed OCD.   I spent six years in therapy dealing with it and the associated anxiety/panic attacks it caused me.   Also several years on antidepressants.

My OCD symptom isn't handwashing or anything like that.   It's rumination, or obsession: constant, uncontrollable thinking about the same thing all day long.   The first thing you think of in the morning, the last thing you think of as you drift off to sleep at night.  The thing you think of when you wake in the middle of the night.  Think earworm, but replace the song with your worst worries/phobias.  And it never goes away (although it can be controlled).  

It began in my senior year of college.   Everything was fine and normal, and then one day a random thought threw open a door that I have never been entirely able to close.   I remember the day perfectly.   It was like being stricken.   Life as I knew it lay in pieces at my feet.   My friend looked at me and said, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

The panic attacks began almost immediately as I became terrified by my inability to stop the thoughts.  I felt that I had lost control of my mind.   The anxiety was so unpleasant that I soon fell prey to secondary anxiety as I began to fear having panic attacks -- which of course begat more panic attacks. 

The first wave lasted roughly from the age of 21-25.  I did not seek help that first time, just toughed it out, because where I was raised it was shameful to admit that something's wrong in your head.   The OCD symptoms and anxiety subsided as my life found a more solid footing.  I had relative peace for about five years, although it never entirely went away.

The next flare-up was at age 30 and it was so bad that I no longer cared about the taboos of my upbringing.  I found a therapist who worked with me for six years, during which time I learned to recognize that the OCD and anxiety were my mind's dysfunctional method of coping with stress.    However, the only way I could manage to learn and control the OCD/anxiety in the meantime was with the help of SSRI medication to alleviate the symptoms.

I stopped therapy and went off the medication about 15 years ago.   There have been a couple rough patches since but using what I learned about myself, the nature of this condition, and strategies on how to defuse the anxiety, I have been able to manage it so that today it's more of a memory than a problem.   Sometimes I still obsess over trivial things like I didn't turn off the stove or lock the door when I go out, but I've come far enough that I can now say, "Okay, my place burns to the ground.  So what?" and go on with my day. 

The only reason I have gone into such detail is because this condition can affect anyone.   I have seen it manifest in at least three other people I know, often at times of personal crisis or transition.  It was not coincidental that my first experience with it was in my senior year of college, a time when I was expected to go out and make my way in the world even though I still didn't know what I wanted to do with my life.   The second experience, at 30, came at a time of extreme career and personal dissatisfaction.

I just want people to know that if OCD/anxiety happens to you, it's not the end of the world.   It's unpleasant but there is help for it.   I would recommend a therapist who specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Edited August 16, 2017 by millennium

[Quof]

Quote

Thanks for bringing up ANOTHER of my Pet Peeves- the need to tag everyone who has a quirk, foible or just follows their own drumbeat with   trendy acronyms-

This.  

Not every adult who is a little different is "on the spectrum". Sometimes they're just weird.

Not every child who is poorly behaved has autism. Sometimes they're just brats. 

[bilgistic]

And not everyone who murders is mentally ill. Most of the time, they are just cold-blooded evil.

[Whimsy]

Remember- no politics. There's a couple of posts that are approaching the line of acceptability. 

[TattleTeeny]

millennium, I am at once sorry to hear about the beginnings of this piece of your life and the anguish you dealt with, and also happy to see that you got your shit figured out, if not magically disappeared. Thanks for spelling so much out about it all. 

While I don't have too many compulsive behaviors (that I really know of; the BF might notice more than I do  at this point), I've got the "intrusive thoughts" thing (the "what if?"s, and some kind of guilt issue, or an urge to "correct" things that mostly have nothing to do with me personally*), which definitely pops up more depending on what's happening in my day-to-day life. Then, like I alluded to earlier, I have a few things that, at least to me, seem at worst...overly cautious, maybe, but nothing that truly has disrupted me (not often, at least--it does happen here and there, but I think that's just "step two" of the thoughts as opposed to a compulsion). As of now, per my therapist, I am not in need of meds but I am supposed to do my best to keep track of myself. So far, so good, I guess. But ugh, some days are pretty sucky.

* Example: Say I read something horrible about animal abuse. The scenario stays in my head and I feel like I have to "make up for" it (I know, how stupid), I need to do an extra shift at the animal shelter where I volunteer. OK, doing that is fine and great and beneficial. But that doesn't change that the "have to" feeling of obligation is still a compulsion.

[millennium]

My pet peeve these days isn't political but often rears its ugly head in news about politics: media buzz words and phrases replacing everyday language.  It seems like there's a new one every week and it gets repeated so many times that you never ever want to hear it again.  This week it's "dog whistles," last week it was "nothingburger" and before that, "no there there."   Our society is dumbing down at a rate that is terrifying.   As if we're unable to understand basic language anymore and need to have language rendered down to trite visual images.   Reminds me of the picture menus they used to have at McDonalds for non-English speaking people.   I saw a reel on one of the news networks a few weeks ago showing something like twenty Congressmen all using the expression "nothingburger."  And this "dog whistles" thing ... why is it so hard to simply say "So and so is sending the unspoken message that ..."  Are these words supposed to make the news more fun?   Is it a game now?

[auntlada]

"There is no there there" was something Gertrude Stein said about the neighborhood she grew up in after it had been torn down. (At least that's the story I found.) I don't know how people are using it these days. I rarely listen to or read pundits.

[millennium]

1 hour ago, auntlada said:

"There is no there there" was something Gertrude Stein said about the neighborhood she grew up in after it had been torn down. (At least that's the story I found.) I don't know how people are using it these days. I rarely listen to or read pundits.

They've co-opted the phrase to suggest that a story or point of view is empty and without merit.

[AgentRXS]

Quote

Not every adult who is a little different is "on the spectrum". Sometimes they're just weird.

Not every child who is poorly behaved has autism. Sometimes they're just brats. 

Thank you. I was going to include this in in my earlier post, but I know that autism is a sensitive/hot-button issue, and didn't want to offend anyone.

I recently watched a doc on autism that said in the past 30 years, there has been a 3000% increase in diagnoses. 3000! Can you say over-diagnosed much?

I feel like any kid/adult that isn't extroverted gets diagnosed with some "social disorder".  That's not fair--kids especially should be allowed to be different without being labeled as having a disease/disorder. Being introverted isn't a disease.

[bilgistic]

1 hour ago, AgentRXS said:

Thank you. I was going to include this in in my earlier post, but I know that autism is a sensitive/hot-button issue, and didn't want to offend anyone.

I recently watched a doc on autism that said in the past 30 years, there has been a 3000% increase in diagnoses. 3000! Can you say over-diagnosed much?

I feel like any kid/adult that isn't extroverted gets diagnosed with some "social disorder".  That's not fair--kids especially should be allowed to be different without being labeled as having a disease/disorder. Being introverted isn't a disease.

Autism and spectrum disorders are being diagnosed more often now and more accurately instead of ignored. We know what the disease is and what its symptoms are.

[Zola]

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours at a client's office sorting out a couple of IT issues. During that time I had to carry a PC and a few cables between offices on separate floors. Despite the office I was in was fairly evenly populated with workers, no one bothered to open the door into the corridor for me, even though I was carry the machine in both hands (they had no trolley or sack truck). After some fumbling, I did manage to open the door and continued down the hall to the lift, where three people were waiting for it to arrive.

After a few seconds the lift doors opened, a couple of people got out, and the three people waiting got in. Unfortunately, there was no space for me, and one of the peeps in the lift pressed the button and down it went.

A minute or so later the lift arrives again, but by that time another couple of people have joined me, but rather than wait their turn and let me get into the lift first they just barge past (both checking their phones); and I then shuffle in (still carrying the PC!) They make no attempt to make a little more space for me; instead they just stand their in their own little bubbles. They don't even press the "G" button, expecting me to do so.

Get to the ground floor, and I'm first out of the lift. But then I have to negotiate another door. A person in front of me went through but chose not to leave the door open for me. So again I had to reach out blindly for the door handle, with the same two "zombies" from the lift standing behind me, still checking on their phones!

I then walk down the hall and reach the office in question. But I can't gain access because my visitor's pass won't scan me in. So I have to knock and wait until someone eventually lets me in, and I can carry on with my work.

I have to say how much I despair at the lack of common courtesy today. Good manners cost nothing, but it would seem it's totally lost on some people.

[Qoass]

So sorry, @Zola. It is my habit to look behind me as I open any door in case there's someone behind me and I am outraged by those who do not do the same.

I'm actually comforted by the giant tent "on the spectrum" covers. I find people are much more accommodating of a potential disorder than they are of "just weird".

I am hearing "to your point" and "on the nose" a lot lately and I wonder if turns of phrase are contagious. 

[Katy M]

36 minutes ago, Zola said:

Yesterday, I spent a couple of hours at a client's office sorting out a couple of IT issues. During that time I had to carry a PC and a few cables between offices on separate floors. Despite the office I was in was fairly evenly populated with workers, no one bothered to open the door into the corridor for me, even though I was carry the machine in both hands (they had no trolley or sack truck). After some fumbling, I did manage to open the door and continued down the hall to the lift, where three people were waiting for it to arrive.

After a few seconds the lift doors opened, a couple of people got out, and the three people waiting got in. Unfortunately, there was no space for me, and one of the peeps in the lift pressed the button and down it went.

A minute or so later the lift arrives again, but by that time another couple of people have joined me, but rather than wait their turn and let me get into the lift first they just barge past (both checking their phones); and I then shuffle in (still carrying the PC!) They make no attempt to make a little more space for me; instead they just stand their in their own little bubbles. They don't even press the "G" button, expecting me to do so.

Get to the ground floor, and I'm first out of the lift. But then I have to negotiate another door. A person in front of me went through but chose not to leave the door open for me. So again I had to reach out blindly for the door handle, with the same two "zombies" from the lift standing behind me, still checking on their phones!

I then walk down the hall and reach the office in question. But I can't gain access because my visitor's pass won't scan me in. So I have to knock and wait until someone eventually lets me in, and I can carry on with my work.

I have to say how much I despair at the lack of common courtesy today. Good manners cost nothing, but it would seem it's totally lost on some people.

That is pretty outrageous.  I could see one of those things happening, but for all of them to happen, I would assume I was on Candid Camera or something.

[auntlada]

10 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

 

I feel like any kid/adult that isn't extroverted gets diagnosed with some "social disorder".  That's not fair--kids especially should be allowed to be different without being labeled as having a disease/disorder. Being introverted isn't a disease.

And not every kid, especially younger ones, who won't or can't sit still or pay attention for 30 minutes has ADD or ADHD. Sometimes they're just being kids (and sometimes whatever is going on is actually boring, and many adults would have trouble paying attention).

[TattleTeeny]

I feel like there is also a flip slide to this: people who judge parents of a diagnosed kid with remarks like, "back in my time, that was just called being a disobedient child" or whatever (often conveyed via a super-stupid  meme!). It's as if some people cannot understand that new things have been researched and discovered since then! One in particular comes to mind--something about "when I was young, I didn't wear a seatbelt and I drank from a hose and I ate peanuts and got spanked and I am just fine now," as if every parent who tries to take a precaution here and there is being an asshole. Strangely, the people who say all this are often the first to yell, "WHERE WERE THE PARENTS?!" when something does happen.

Edited August 17, 2017 by TattleTeeny

[TurtlePower]

FB peeve--People who post cryptic messsges on fb and then don't explain what it is. "So and so needs prayers right now" or similar post: 

"omg what happened?" "???" "what's going on?"...................

"I'll message you." 

Well fuck, why didn't you do that in the first place? Or share the post only with certain people? 

[AgentRXS]

I understand that there are medical advances that account for higher diagnoses. I just feel that we are on a slippery slope as a society of saying "Everyone's personality has to be exactly the same...and if your personality varies from perfect, then your mind is diseased somehow".

Quote

FB peeve--People who post cryptic messsges on fb and then don't explain what it is. "So and so needs prayers right now" or similar post: 

"omg what happened?" "???" "what's going on?"...................

"I'll message you."

And when you call them out on it.....they say "It's personal and I can't share all the details on FB right now. Will update you all later." Its fishing for sympathy, and its annoying.

Edited August 17, 2017 by AgentRXS

[TurtlePower]

20 minutes ago, AgentRXS said:

 

And when you call them out on it.....they say "It's personal and I can't share all the details on FB right now. Will update you all later." Its fishing for sympathy, and its annoying.

Fishing for sympathy, exactly. And then by not reciprocating information, it's rude.

[TattleTeeny]

I still find myself peeved by rampant selfies that, I'm sorry, may as well be accompanied by a caption of "Please for the love of god, compliment me!" You're not fooling me with that neckline pulled down "just so"!

Edited August 17, 2017 by TattleTeeny

[Katy M]

23 minutes ago, AgentRXS said:

I understand that there are medical advances that account for higher diagnoses. I just feel that we are on a slippery slope as a society of saying "Everyone's personality has to be exactly the same...and if your personality varies from perfect, then your mind is diseased somehow".

And, if you're diseased, that means, of course, you have to be fixed, odrugged,, whether you want to be or not.

1 hour ago, TurtlePower said:

FB peeve--People who post cryptic messsges on fb and then don't explain what it is. "So and so needs prayers right now" or similar post: 

"omg what happened?" "???" "what's going on?"...................

"I'll message you." 

Well fuck, why didn't you do that in the first place? Or share the post only with certain people? 

I think if a person asks for an unspoken prayer request occasionally, that's fine.  If they're doing it all the time, that seems a bit odd.  Just because you have something you don't want to share, doesn't mean that you don't want/need some intercessionary prayer.  But, if everything in your life is a big secret that you need prayer for, well, I don't know, but that seems weird to me.

[Blergh]

2 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

I understand that there are medical advances that account for higher diagnoses. I just feel that we are on a slippery slope as a society of saying "Everyone's personality has to be exactly the same...and if your personality varies from perfect, then your mind is diseased somehow".

 

Thank you- and, of course, it ALSO seems to mean  that everyone who doesn't fit in the lockstep conformist mold  needs to be nagged,pressured, etc. to take bunches of pills they may not need (never mind that nonconformists managed to survive and even thrive for millenia without medications others now  seem to think are as vital as air)! I know our POVs aren't the most trendy or popular but I thank you for saying this!

[auntlada]

3 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

I feel like there is also a flip slide to this: people who judge parents of a diagnosed kid with remarks like, "back in my time, that was just called being a disobedient child" or whatever (often conveyed via a super-stupid  meme!). It's as if some people cannot understand that new things have been researched and discovered since then! One in particular comes to mind--something about "when I was young, I didn't wear a seatbelt and I drank from a hose and I ate peanuts and got spanked and I am just fine now," as if every parent who tries to take a precaution here and there is being an asshole. Strangely, the people who say all this are often the first to yell, "WHERE WERE THE PARENTS?!" when something does happen.

You are right, of course. I think, however, that a tendency to  overdiagnose conditions feeds into that attitude. The kids who do not legitimately have a condition make it much harder for those who do. It's like the gluten-free thing. There are people who really cannot have gluten without getting sick. And then there are those who had a little bit of an upset tummy once and decided they were sensitive to gluten, but they have never even seen a doctor, and despite making a fuss about getting gluten-free food, you still see them eating desserts you know are full of it. It makes it harder for the people who really do need gluten-free food to get it because people just think they are being trendy.

Whenever people give me the "we didn't wear seatbelts, use carseats, whatever" stuff, I always say, "And a lot of kids died. You just didn't hear about it because they were all local stories."

[TattleTeeny]

OH, totally agree! I just mean some people who seem to think they know everything about everything -- or have some very weird issue with something differing from their own experiences. It's just so confusing! 

[auntlada]

Basically, I think everyone here is right. I can always see multiple sides to every issue, however, and my husband says there is nothing I cannot make more complicated.

[bilgistic]

My latest peeve is about myself. I need to stop reading the news at night. Of course, I won't stop doing it.

[Moose135]

3 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

My latest peeve is about myself. I need to stop reading the news at night. Of course, I won't stop doing it.

You and me both!

[ennui]

The neighbors across the street are moving out, and today they were putting things in our garbage can. They know I saw them doing it, and didn't care.

I hate people.

[TattleTeeny]

Just last night, my BF busted some people from god knows where who drove into our condo's parking lot to throw out trash from home! Haha, he was all pissed, particularly because they tossed it into the recycling bin. He made them get it out.

[StatisticalOutlier]

20 hours ago, bilgistic said:

And not everyone who murders is mentally ill. Most of the time, they are just cold-blooded evil.

But what is evil?  Maybe a religious concept?  I'm not religious (or even spiritual--yes, I said it), and I think there has to be something off in a murderer's brain.  Mentally ill?  I don't know...depends on the definition, I guess.  But something's not right in there.

 

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

And, if you're diseased, that means, of course, you have to be fixed, odrugged,, whether you want to be or not.

I think people, particularly these days, just aren't satisfied with any uncertainty.  So they must have a diagnosis to explain whatever the problem is.  And once they have a diagnosis, then they feel compelled to fix it.  Kind of like antibiotics, where people just won't accept that whatever they have isn't an antibiotic-treatable condition--they want them anyway, especially if the alternative is leaving the doctor's office empty handed, with a prescription of, "It'll go away on its own.  Come back if it doesn't."

Which is kind of like a huge annoyance of mine, which is the demise of nuance. 

[JTMacc99]

23 hours ago, bilgistic said:

ALL of the cable/internet companies suck. And because they all suck, none of them have any drive or desire to be or do any better.

Heh heh heh.  I work for a cable TV company. My CEO was very animated in a meeting recently about us not doing a good enough job, about us not getting better. I very much like most of the people who were in that room, and just like me, they all try very hard to do a better job.

And let's be real, we strive to do better not only because it's the right thing to do. It's because if we do a better job, fewer customers drop our services, more customers buy more services from us, and we (and therefore I) make more money. 

But my industry has a really difficult time with reputation that is frequently well earned.  Nobody likes to call up and say my services aren't working and hear, "I see you have an outage; we will have a truck out there on Wednesday, thank you for paying me your $200!"

[Katy M]

17 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Heh heh heh.  I work for a cable TV company. My CEO was very animated in a meeting recently about us not doing a good enough job, about us not getting better. I very much like most of the people who were in that room, and just like me, they all try very hard to do a better job.

And let's be real, we strive to do better not only because it's the right thing to do. It's because if we do a better job, fewer customers drop our services, more customers buy more services from us, and we (and therefore I) make more money. 

But my industry has a really difficult time with reputation that is frequently well earned.  Nobody likes to call up and say my services aren't working and hear, "I see you have an outage; we will have a truck out there on Wednesday, thank you for paying me your $200!"

Actually, I usually don't have any trouble getting problems cleared up.  Actually once I called with internet connection problems and the guy on the other end said I was the happiest person he'd ever spoken with or something like that.  He ended up telling me I probably needed a new Ethernet cable, I went out, bought one, and boom problem gone. 

But, there are other times, they annoy me.  When I first got the cable box and everything, I got my first bill and it was fine. I got the second bill and there was an upcharge for an HD box and it was backdated to the month bfore also.  So, I called and she said I had to pay for it because they gave me an HD box.  I don't even have an HD TV.  So, she said I could take the HD box back to the Comcast office and they would give me a regular one and change my info.  But, she said she could only remove the charge for 30 days.  she couldn't remove the original month.  What?  I could totally see that had I ignored the charge the first month. But, they back charged it.  I went to the office with the equipment, the switched me out, and they were able to remove the whole charge, but it's ridiculous stuff like that, that gives cable companies a bad name.  You can add a charge back for the last 60 days, but you can't take it off?  That is some major BS right there.

[Bastet]

27 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Kind of like antibiotics, where people just won't accept that whatever they have isn't an antibiotic-treatable condition--they want them anyway, especially if the alternative is leaving the doctor's office empty handed, with a prescription of, "It'll go away on its own.  Come back if it doesn't."

Even worse than the willfully ignorant patients are the doctors who will write them a prescription for an antibiotic anyway, just to get them to shut up and leave, rather than saying, "Yes, facts are inconvenient sometimes, but facts they remain:  You do not have a bacterial infection.  Antibiotics will thus not treat what you have.  No, I will not just give you some anyway, because such improper use can lead to antibiotic resistance, which is harmful to you and those around you."

[JTMacc99]

@Katy M, yes, that sounds like a fairly typical Comcast story. I am hoping that for the rest of my life I neither have them as my provider or have to work for them.

Although if I told my story about being in a meeting with the CEO and I worked for Comcast, that would probably make me some sort of big shot.

Which I am not.

[ennui]

I have Comcast, no complaints other than the price. 

[Katy M]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

Even worse than the willfully ignorant patients are the doctors who will write them a prescription for an antibiotic anyway, just to get them to shut up and leave, rather than saying, "Yes, facts are inconvenient sometimes, but facts they remain:  You do not have a bacterial infection.  Antibiotics will thus not treat what you have.  No, I will not just give you some anyway, because such improper use can lead to antibiotic resistance, which is harmful to you and those around you."

I had the opposite experience, sort of.  I went to the doctor.  He had no idea what was wrong with me. He prescribe me antibiotics. I was like really?   he asked me how I wanted to treat it.  I shrugged and said you're the doctor. I went ahead and took them because I had only been on antibiotics 2 or 3 other times my whole life, and it turned out I probably did need them, because I felt better, but he had no idea what I had.  Probably should have taken a more wait and see approach or done some tests or something.

[TattleTeeny]

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But what is evil?  Maybe a religious concept?  I'm not religious (or even spiritual--yes, I said it), and I think there has to be something off in a murderer's brain.  Mentally ill?  I don't know...depends on the definition, I guess.  But something's not right in there.

 

I think what possibly gets confusing for some people is the "mental disease or defect" thing that determines who's not fit to stand trial, maybe? Because of course a crazed murderer is somehow very defective. But maybe upon hearing or reading the phrase, a person is interpreting that, if the accused is headed to court, someone out there must have determined the accused is not mentally defective, when what it really means is whether or not the person had the wherewithal to understand that what s/he was up to to wrong. I've run into this argument with my non-crime-buff friends more than once, actually. 

[ennui]

When I studied criminal justice, the biggest thing that stayed with me is that criminals do not believe they will get caught. Most of us fear prison because we assume we will be tried and convicted. So, is thinking you are outside or above the law or that you are smarter than the police a defect?

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Katy M said:

Actually, I usually don't have any trouble getting problems cleared up.  Actually once I called with internet connection problems and the guy on the other end said I was the happiest person he'd ever spoken with or something like that.  He ended up telling me I probably needed a new Ethernet cable, I went out, bought one, and boom problem gone. 

But, there are other times, they annoy me.  When I first got the cable box and everything, I got my first bill and it was fine. I got the second bill and there was an upcharge for an HD box and it was backdated to the month bfore also.  So, I called and she said I had to pay for it because they gave me an HD box.  I don't even have an HD TV.  So, she said I could take the HD box back to the Comcast office and they would give me a regular one and change my info.  But, she said she could only remove the charge for 30 days.  she couldn't remove the original month.  What?  I could totally see that had I ignored the charge the first month. But, they back charged it.  I went to the office with the equipment, the switched me out, and they were able to remove the whole charge, but it's ridiculous stuff like that, that gives cable companies a bad name.  You can add a charge back for the last 60 days, but you can't take it off?  That is some major BS right there.

Comcast and I have a long and horrific history.

This is what I have learned. Their customer service has been outsourced. Half the time I can tell that their English is not that great. 

I have figured out a method of contacting them that gets you to local US offices and that works better. I did ask that US rep once if Comcast had a "list" of customers they really dislike and screw with on purpose (Like on Seinfeld) when they call.  Because seriously, they are incompetent in every way you can imagine.  That rep said I wasn't on a list but admitted that they had one and knew how many times  I had resorted to their number.  So I use it sparingly.

If I wasn't just as leery of the creepy sales person that goes door to door selling their competitor I would have dropped them by now.  But I have no luck with any type of service so I figure it doesn't matter who abuses me.

I am currently trying to get my garbage company to actually come pick up my garbage for the 5th time in two weeks.  Its really starting to smell and attract flies now.

[TurtlePower]

8 hours ago, TattleTeeny said:

I still find myself peeved by rampant selfies that, I'm sorry, may as well be accompanied by a caption of "Please for the love of god, compliment me!" You're not fooling me with that neckline pulled down "just so"!

Or just the several times a day "look at me" posts. I know someone who's posted 6 times today and I'm not the only one who's stopped liking this persons posts. 

[Quof]

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So, is thinking you are outside or above the law or that you are smarter than the police a defect?

Prison is full of stupid people.  If you plan well enough, you can get away with any crime. 

[Cherry Bomb]

4 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

But what is evil?  Maybe a religious concept?  I'm not religious (or even spiritual--yes, I said it), and I think there has to be something off in a murderer's brain.  Mentally ill?  I don't know...depends on the definition, I guess.  But something's not right in there.

 

I think people, particularly these days, just aren't satisfied with any uncertainty.  So they must have a diagnosis to explain whatever the problem is.  And once they have a diagnosis, then they feel compelled to fix it.  Kind of like antibiotics, where people just won't accept that whatever they have isn't an antibiotic-treatable condition--they want them anyway, especially if the alternative is leaving the doctor's office empty handed, with a prescription of, "It'll go away on its own.  Come back if it doesn't."

Which is kind of like a huge annoyance of mine, which is the demise of nuance. 

Something definitely isn't right with the brain when someone is in the midst of committing the act of murder. There is also different sorts of murder in my opinion. Those who murder in a fit of rage on impulse through no control of their anger or those who just kill and have no remorse at all for what they did. Usually those who act out in a fit of rage will later have time to process what they did and see that it was an awful act. The others no matter what they don't see what they did as anything wrong. Most people would say the latter would be more inclined to be Mentally Ill, but maybe not in all cases I guess. Either way something in these peoples brain snaps and they do something awful.