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

[peacheslatour]

43 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Go to your subscriptions. And if you still can't find it, just email them and tell them. That's what I did--when I learned that it BARELY has anything/lack of varieties. And even though I was within the free trial period, they canceled it.

Thank you! I emailed them. You are a friend indeed!

[peacheslatour]

GHScorpiosRule: Amazon just contacted me, Fresh is cancelled and I'm getting a refund for the last three months. My DH pays that bill and he just noticed it. Again thank you. I love this board.

[GHScorpiosRule]

58 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Thank you! I emailed them. You are a friend indeed!

Most welcome!

39 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

GHScorpiosRule: Amazon just contacted me, Fresh is cancelled and I'm getting a refund for the last three months. My DH pays that bill and he just noticed it. Again thank you. I love this board.

That is AWESOME. Another reason to love Amazon is how I was "guaranteed" I'd receive something in two days, by last Monday, but it wasn't even shipped until the day before I was supposed to receive it...they gave me a credit balance for the amount. And whaddya know? The durned thing came the next day.  But before all that, I got the whole song and dance how it depends if the item is in stock, blah, blah. And I said if that's the case, then there should be a disclaimer that the specific DATE of delivery they give is contingent upon availability.

[peacheslatour]

I have been flat on my back with the flu for the last week. Why can't they make cough syrup that doesn't make you gag?

[Hanahope]

Amazon is pretty good with their Prime products.  But I've made a New Years resolution to be extra careful and not just order anything and everything from Amazon.  They have a lot of Chinese vendors that use them and stuff takes forever to arrive and probably 2/3 of the time I either receive the item broken or it never shows up.  Now the vendors are good about replacing the item and sometimes (but not always) airmail it, and won't ask me to mail back the defective item, but that doesn't really help when I'm trying to get something for a birthday and need it by a specific date.

Also, even though Amazon may ship something free via Prime, that doesn't mean you get to return it for free.  I have a duplicate item as a Christmas gift that cost me $16 and to return it, Amazon wants me to pay $6 shipping.  I'm trying to find someone local that might be interested in the item and split the difference on price.  I'd donate it, but its an expansion pack for a game, not much use by itself.  

It also pays to shop around.  I found somethings being sold by Amazon that were cheaper from other websites, even with shipping costs (or I still got free shipping because my order was over a certain amount).

[StatisticalOutlier]

30 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I have been flat on my back with the flu for the last week. Why can't they make cough syrup that doesn't make you gag?

They can, and do!  But if it's over-the-counter, they make it taste bad on purpose, the bastards.

I had some prescription cough medicine years ago that was delicious--Tussionex, and it tasted like a pina colada.  Yummm.  Last year, I took some of a friend's Tussionex, and it wasn't quite as good as I remembered, but still vastly better than any non-prescription cough syrup. 

I've made a mental note that if I ever get prescription cough medicine again, I'm going to insist on Tussionex.  I got some different prescription last year (when I took the friend's Tussionex), and it wasn't anywhere near as good.  I will accept no substitutes in the future. 

[BookWoman56]

I enjoy being able to sign up for utilities, subscriptions, and so forth online. What I don't enjoy is the almost invariable inability to cancel the same item online. That is, I was able to sign up online for a digital subscription to a newspaper, yet if I want to cancel the subscription, I have to call them and talk to a customer service rep. I signed up for my current cable/internet/landline service online, yet having decided that since I'm not actually watching TV any more other than via Netflix, I don't need to be paying close to $100/month for cable, I could not cancel that service online and had to call them to get them to make the change. Yes, the rep pointed out that if they changed me to basic cable, it would save me $5/month because I would keep my package discounts, compared to if I cancelled TV service completely. But that should have shown up as a caution when doing it myself. Bottom line for me is: If you offer the ability to sign up for/order something online, then you need to offer the ability to cancel the item/service online as well. I know perfectly well that making customers go through a call instead is designed to discourage people from cancelling their service, and I seriously resent the manipulation. My local electric company does it the right way; you can sign up online for service; you can transfer service to a new location online; and you can terminate your service completely online. All options are straightforward and give you the opportunity to specify the exact date to start/transfer/end service.  Why can't more companies do business like that? When I am ready to cancel my service for something, I want to cancel it. I do NOT want to have to talk to a customer service rep, who then transfers me to a retention specialist who is hellbent on getting me to change my mind.

[Zola]

@BookWoman56. Agree with you 100%.

I have had similar hassles when I want to cancel subscriptions/contracts. The banks, utilities & ISP companies here in the UK are just as belligerent and anally-retentive as those in the States no doubt. You cannot simply cancel at the click of an online button or two; no, you have to go through to their "Customer Services (ha!)" team and speak to "one of our support operatives!"

But even that isn't straightforward, because I have to ring a number (hopefully a free one), go through all that "if you want this press that" and then wait 10 minutes horse-shit until you finally end up with "Customer Retentions".

You then have to hope you get to speak to someone with a good grasp of English, but even if they do they will still come out with the usual bogus corporate bullshit about "how valued you are as a loyal customer", and "we don't want to lose you!" (well you could start by not hiking up my monthly or annual fees, while giving new customers cheap deals for the same thing, you bastards!).

And then they will bend over backwards trying to convince you to stay, even if it means reducing your future bills by almost half, despite me saying "can I just cancel please?"

When they realise they're onto a no-win situation, I get passed to the "Cancellations Support Team", and have to go through the same spiel again. But more annoyingly they may charge me a cancellation admin fee for my pains, until eventually they cancel. (And even then I still have to check my bank statements just to make sure they don't continue taking direct debits out of my account!)

I can now understand where Dante got his inspiration for his "Seven Circles of Hell" from now, lol

 

 

<deep breath, and relax> 

Edited January 11, 2018 by Zola

[GHScorpiosRule]

17 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I have been flat on my back with the flu for the last week. Why can't they make cough syrup that doesn't make you gag?

TheraFlu! Or Robitussin.

17 hours ago, Hanahope said:

Amazon is pretty good with their Prime products.  But I've made a New Years resolution to be extra careful and not just order anything and everything from Amazon.  They have a lot of Chinese vendors that use them and stuff takes forever to arrive and probably 2/3 of the time I either receive the item broken or it never shows up.  Now the vendors are good about replacing the item and sometimes (but not always) airmail it, and won't ask me to mail back the defective item, but that doesn't really help when I'm trying to get something for a birthday and need it by a specific date.

Also, even though Amazon may ship something free via Prime, that doesn't mean you get to return it for free.  I have a duplicate item as a Christmas gift that cost me $16 and to return it, Amazon wants me to pay $6 shipping.  I'm trying to find someone local that might be interested in the item and split the difference on price.  I'd donate it, but its an expansion pack for a game, not much use by itself.  

It also pays to shop around.  I found somethings being sold by Amazon that were cheaper from other websites, even with shipping costs (or I still got free shipping because my order was over a certain amount).

I have never had to pay for shipping when returning something. Amazon has always emailed me a UPS label that I could print out. And I tend to order things within the U.S. So 99% of the time, they're prime items. It's the third party vendors when an item isn't available "on" Amazon where I think a customer ends up having to pay for returning items? 

[Hanahope]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I have never had to pay for shipping when returning something. Amazon has always emailed me a UPS label that I could print out. And I tend to order things within the U.S. So 99% of the time, they're prime items. It's the third party vendors when an item isn't available "on" Amazon where I think a customer ends up having to pay for returning items?

The item was initially shipped via prime, so I don't know why I was required to pay for shipping.  Actually, I could ship for free, but I would have to drive to a local college and find the amazon lockers somewhere on the campus to place the item.  Other lockers (more convenient to me) still required the fee.  I wrote to Amazon's customer service about this issue and they agreed to an exception to let me ship it back free by printing a label myself.  So kudos to Amazon in this response.

[Katy M]

I am so sick of getting things delivered to me that aren't mine.  Right now there is a huge carpet on my front steps.  It's my neighbor's, and I'm hoping she just takes it on her own, because the thing is way too heavy for me to lug around to the back side of the building.  If it's still there when I get home from work tonight, I'll knock on her door and offer to help her, but I'm not carrying it on my own.  I feel like I get more packages that aren't mine than ones that are.  Ugh.

[theredhead77]

58 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I am so sick of getting things delivered to me that aren't mine.  Right now there is a huge carpet on my front steps.  It's my neighbor's, and I'm hoping she just takes it on her own, because the thing is way too heavy for me to lug around to the back side of the building.  If it's still there when I get home from work tonight, I'll knock on her door and offer to help her, but I'm not carrying it on my own.  I feel like I get more packages that aren't mine than ones that are.  Ugh.

That is a pain!

I frequently receive misdirected mail. It was awful in my old place, I would constantly get mail for the people upstairs. We all called the post office, we spoke with the letter carriers, we went to the local post office but nothing ever changed. Our building had three slots - one was a direct drop into my unit, the middle was a drop for both units upstairs and the third was a direct drop for the other downstairs unit. 

When I moved the letter carrier for the complex was an ass. He would frequently leave nastygrams in mailboxes about names not matching the name inside the mailbox. He's gone and now I receive letters and packages for people who must have lived in my unit previously. I would write "return to sender, not at this address" and drop them in the outgoing mail slot but they kept ending up in my mailbox so I've taken to crossing out the street number so they can't put it back in my mailbox.

[backformore]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

I have never had to pay for shipping when returning something. Amazon has always emailed me a UPS label that I could print out. And I tend to order things within the U.S. So 99% of the time, they're prime items. It's the third party vendors when an item isn't available "on" Amazon where I think a customer ends up having to pay for returning items? 

I have Amazon Prime. I returned something recently.  I printed a return label from Amazon, put the item back in original box and dropped it at the UPS store.  TWO HOURS later, I got an email saying the amount was refunded to my account!   I guess all it took was for them to scan the label! 

[theredhead77]

2 hours ago, backformore said:

I have Amazon Prime. I returned something recently.  I printed a return label from Amazon, put the item back in original box and dropped it at the UPS store.  TWO HOURS later, I got an email saying the amount was refunded to my account!   I guess all it took was for them to scan the label! 

That's the norm for me. And one I returned something, item scanned, refund immediately processed, then 2 months later I get an email from Amazon that they never received the package, they're charging me for it. I popped on to chat, the person looked at whatever they looked at and refunded my money, no problem. That happened once before with the same result. It's most likely caused by the return not being scanned at the warehouse.

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

I am so sick of getting things delivered to me that aren't mine.  Right now there is a huge carpet on my front steps.  It's my neighbor's, and I'm hoping she just takes it on her own, because the thing is way too heavy for me to lug around to the back side of the building.  If it's still there when I get home from work tonight, I'll knock on her door and offer to help her, but I'm not carrying it on my own.  I feel like I get more packages that aren't mine than ones that are.  Ugh.

I am dealing with something similar--I actually posted about it before Xmas! That same dumb damn fool who owns a business one town over but on the same street as me and with the same number seems to believe she also has my zip code. So I get all of her stupid deliveries. And while I want to say fuck it and, like, throw it away out of spite or something, I don't, as that would require more work than doing what I actually do...which is find this fool--or rather, this fool's business--on Facebook and let someone there know that I have her shit. AGAIN. Haha, I hope one of my neighbors catches them absconding with the stuff from the porch and gives them hell, hahahahah! Seriously, enter the correct zip code already, dumb dope!

Regardless, there's no way that I get more packages for her than I do for me. I not only am far too impulsive a buyer for that to be true, but am also armed with a nice post-Xmas Amazon gift-card balance in my account! 

Edited January 11, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[StatisticalOutlier]

An employee at a TCBY in North Carolina opened three packages that were delivered, and they contained $220,000 worth of marijuana.  Turns out they were intended for the postal store next door.  If I weren't signing for packages, I'd probably open them, "just like I automatically do whenever I get a package, officer" because you never know.

[Zola]

I love cooking, There is something hugely therapeutic and satisfying about preparing, cooking and serving a good meal, either for myself or for guests.

However, during the cooking process the recipe might say "add a couple of shakes of hot pepper sauce", just to give a curry or chilli con carne a bit of spice. So I grab a bottle from my cupboard, remove the lid and give my dish a "shake", only to find one big dollop pour out because there is no sprinkle cap in the bottle!

I realise that's my own fault for not looking before pouring, but nevertheless I would have thought the manufacturers of these things (especially those sauces that are hot or very spicy), should consider including sprinkler caps in their bottles so that cooks can judge for themselves how much "shake" to add to a dish (Tabasco Sauce, has such a sprinkler, and its great!)

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of ingredients: the "sell by dates" are never in a clear and/or easy-to-read place on a jar or packet.

And if you're on a diet calorie-counting, the nutritional information - although very useful - can be confusing when it says something like "134 calories/100 grams"; but the yogurt itself (for example), is 175 grams. So now you have to the sums on how many calories go into 175 grams! 

 

Moan over. lol

[PRgal]

3 hours ago, Zola said:

I love cooking, There is something hugely therapeutic and satisfying about preparing, cooking and serving a good meal, either for myself or for guests.

However, during the cooking process the recipe might say "add a couple of shakes of hot pepper sauce", just to give a curry or chilli con carne a bit of spice. So I grab a bottle from my cupboard, remove the lid and give my dish a "shake", only to find one big dollop pour out because there is no sprinkle cap in the bottle!

I realise that's my own fault for not looking before pouring, but nevertheless I would have thought the manufacturers of these things (especially those sauces that are hot or very spicy), should consider including sprinkler caps in their bottles so that cooks can judge for themselves how much "shake" to add to a dish (Tabasco Sauce, has such a sprinkler, and its great!)

Oh, and while I'm on the subject of ingredients: the "sell by dates" are never in a clear and/or easy-to-read place on a jar or packet.

And if you're on a diet calorie-counting, the nutritional information - although very useful - can be confusing when it says something like "134 calories/100 grams"; but the yogurt itself (for example), is 175 grams. So now you have to the sums on how many calories go into 175 grams! 

 

Moan over. lol

 

Yeah, what on earth does that mean, anyway? Speaking of cooking, I looked through my old food photos on Instagram - I used to be so much more experimental with dinner.  I probably stopped doing that a couple of years ago - maybe it's because my husband was complaining too much about my (mostly) vegetarian meals... :( 

[BookWoman56]

@forumfish, I have to believe that type of entitled behavior comes directly from the parent(s) and in this case was condoned by the parent. Because if the parent didn't condone what the daughter was doing, the parent should have gotten out of the SUV and apologized to you for her kid being a bitch. That's what I would have done, not that my kid would have ever been that fucking rude. My guess is that mom was taking the kids to some event and decided that getting drive-through for the kids was obviously much more important than being a decent human being.  

Not sure if you have a cell phone or use social media, but in your situation, I am petty enough that I would have taken a few photos with my cell phone, including the license plate of the SUV, and then posted on FB and elsewhere calling out both the daughter and the parent for their obnoxious behavior.  I would also have been tempted to go inside and inform the manager that this teenager was blocking traffic in the drive-thru lane. I know this probably wouldn't have been the result, but it would have been some serious karma if the manager had walked out to the SUV and told them not only were they not going to get what they wanted today, but they were banned for life. If you or another driver had accidentally hit the girl while she was blocking you, the store no doubt would have been caught up in the various lawsuits. 

[Katy M]

14 hours ago, forumfish said:

I came in the back entrance. There was a hatchback that had come in the front entrance ahead of me, so I waited. Before I could veer to take my place in the lane, an SUV who had since come in the front entrance decided it wanted to get in front of me. Um, no, that's not how it works. Hatchback inched forward, I inched forward, SUV tried to get in front of me. Lather, rinse, repeat. It was a very busy drive-thru.

Now, I'm a relatively patient person, so if the driver of the SUV had motioned that she wanted to cut in front of me, and she had done so in a nice, "please let me in" way, I most likely would have let her in front of me. But she didn't. Instead, her teenaged passenger (a daughter, maybe, there were 3 or 4 younger kids in the vehicle) got out of the SUV and knocked on my window. (Who does that?) I didn't roll down my window, but I could see her make a circular gesture and mouth "pull around." Yeah, this little smart aleck actually told me to go to the back of the now very long line.

That reminds me of this one time where they were doing construction on the interstate and we had to merge into one lane.  They gave us a mile warning and most of us merged well back of when the right lane was closed.  I should mention I live in a fairly rural area, not a big city, so there was plenty of time to merge.  Anyway, this one guy went speeding up past all the cars in line and waited until almost the end to merge when he tried to pull in front of me.  I was like "Nope, you had a mile to merge.  You were clearly way behind me at one point, you don't get to speed in here and pull ahead."  So, anyway, I kept going forward, he kept nosing his car in front of mine.  Finally, I just let him in because it wasn't worth getting into an accident or road rage incident, but I was in a bad mood the rest of the day.

[Sun-Bun]

5 hours ago, Katy M said:

So, anyway, I kept going forward, he kept nosing his car in front of mine.  Finally, I just let him in because it wasn't worth getting into an accident or road rage incident, but I was in a bad mood the rest of the day.

I totally feel your pain on this one---those entitled assholes who speed ahead of all the other cars and don't bother merge until the very last possible moment are the WORST. They mess up the traffic flow and cause potential accidents. And yes, you were smart to let him in because those guys are usually hardcore road ragers.

Speaking of which, I've had two incidents with road raging assholes in the distant past((I was in my early 20's and not the greatest driver)) that still haunt me to this day. 

The first one was when I was trying to find a certain shop during my lunch hour. I was driving quickly and was in the left lane trying to find the place---I had several false starts and there wasn't a turning lane, so I was admittedly being horribly inconsiderate to the folks behind me and even waved back at them several times in apology. I finally found the place and turned left into their parking area, only to see this car behind me turn to park right beside me as I opened my car door to go inside. The guy driving came right up to me, pinned me against my car, and was shouting and cursing at me for literally two or three minutes before he finally stomped back to his car muttering to himself. I remember just shaking in shock, wondering if he was off to go beat up his wife or something.

The other time was several years later, when I accidentally cut a guy off on my way to the movie theater. I was running late to meet a friend at a movie and was speeding, but this guy literally sped up and tailgated me all the way into the parking garage; I just couldn't shake the weirdo! Every time I'd try to park, he'd park right beside me and start yelling at me. He finally drove off when I grabbed my cellphone and yelled back, "I'm calling 911, you psycho!"

So yeah, just be careful out there and drive kindly. Driving seems to turn some folks((particularly men)) into wild animals.

[MargeGunderson]

This reminds me of my very specific driving pet peeve. A few highways/interstates that I use allow driving in the breakdown lane (ie the shoulder) during certain times of the day, basically at rush hour. The idea is that you use them if you are getting off at the next exit, so you don’t have to wait just to get off. But that’s not how people use them. A lot of people treat them like the fast lane, going 90 miles an hour. I don’t think I will I ever get used to it.

[StatisticalOutlier]

8 hours ago, Katy M said:

That reminds me of this one time where they were doing construction on the interstate and we had to merge into one lane.  They gave us a mile warning and most of us merged well back of when the right lane was closed.  I should mention I live in a fairly rural area, not a big city, so there was plenty of time to merge.  Anyway, this one guy went speeding up past all the cars in line and waited until almost the end to merge when he tried to pull in front of me.  I was like "Nope, you had a mile to merge.  You were clearly way behind me at one point, you don't get to speed in here and pull ahead."  So, anyway, I kept going forward, he kept nosing his car in front of mine.  Finally, I just let him in because it wasn't worth getting into an accident or road rage incident, but I was in a bad mood the rest of the day.

It sounds like the traffic was slow, if y'all were nosing in front of each other.  The zipper merge, where people use both lanes until the merge point and then take turns, is the most efficient way to handle closed lanes in that situation.  The problem is that nobody believes it and they think it's rude for people to get ahead.  But I've seen signs in Colorado that say, "Use both lanes until merge point." 

Where this guy was wrong was trying to get in the continuing lane if he wasn't actually at the merge point  yet--in which case he's not helping traffic flow any more than people who merged way back.

Aah, here's an article that explains it:

https://www.cars.com/articles/2014/05/the-zipper-merge-convincing-motorists-isnt-a-snap/

[Katy M]

29 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

It sounds like the traffic was slow, if y'all were nosing in front of each other. 

We weren't all nosing in front of each other.  It was just that one car.  The traffic slowed down right when you got towards where they were actually working, because they were actually working.  So, this guy was trying to get in right at the merge point.  And, I guess maybe that may be more efficient. but, when you are literally the only one doing it, you're going to look like a jerk.

[Moose135]

In Pennsylvania, in an area with long-term construction closing a lane, they had large signs that said "Use Both Lanes Until Merge" and "Merge Here - Take Turns" because people see "Lane Closed 2 Miles Ahead" and will run you onto the shoulder to merge immediately.  USE ALL THE OPEN LANES, PEOPLE!  Yes, I'm the guy who looks like a jerk because I use the open lane until it's time to merge.  It is more efficient that way. The other thing I hate is the truck driver who plays "Lane Police" and drives at 2 mph in the open lane you can't use pass anyone.

[ABay]

It might be more efficient but it looks a lot like cutting in line at a store.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, Moose135 said:

USE ALL THE OPEN LANES, PEOPLE!  Yes, I'm the guy who looks like a jerk because I use the open lane until it's time to merge.  It is more efficient that way.

Amen!

[theredhead77]

Serious pet peeve that UPS and FedEx inconsistently leave things at my door. My complex installed a 'package room' which is annoying to get to (it's FOB access, just is annoying to get to). So now when I order heavy things (cat litter, cat food) it's a crap shoot if it's going to be left in the package room or left at my door. I want to order an ottoman from Wayfair but if they don't deliver that to my door I'll never get it upstairs by myself.

Edited January 15, 2018 by theredhead77

[Zola]

On a more lighter note, I really hate it when I can't remember my good dreams; or, when I'm coming up to a really good part in my dream I am woken up by my alarm clock, phone, or someone poking at my shoulder!

On the flip-side I can always remember my really bad dreams/nightmares. And in fact it takes a huge effort to wake up from a nightmare (in those instances I would be grateful for my clock going off, or someone nudging me awake)

[Angeltoes]

Quote

I want to order an ottoman from Wayfair

You might want to research them first.  They have tons of bad reviews.  https://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/wayfair.html

[theredhead77]

54 minutes ago, Angeltoes said:

You might want to research them first.  They have tons of bad reviews.  https://www.consumeraffairs.com/online/wayfair.html

That consumer affairs site has been accused of bias against companies that don't pay for their services. 

 

[ratgirlagogo]

7 minutes ago, theredhead77 said:

That consumer affairs site has been accused of bias against companies that don't pay for their services. 

They don't come off much better on the Better Business Bureau website:

https://www.bbb.org/boston/business-reviews/furniture-stores/wayfair-in-boston-ma-90233/reviews-and-complaints

Out of 484 customer reviews, 424 are negative.  I've never ordered from them myself and one reason is that one of my co-workers had a terrible experience with them - only half the order delivered with a long delay, credit card charged twice, very difficult to reach customer service, etc.

[theredhead77]

I have friends who have had great experiences. Regardless, I can't order anything that isn't being delivered by delivery people since I can't risk not getting it up the stairs.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 1/14/2018 at 3:29 PM, Moose135 said:

Yes, I'm the guy who looks like a jerk because I use the open lane until it's time to merge. 

It's a dilemma:  Do I look like a jerk even though I'm doing the more efficient thing, or do I fall in with the people who are doing it wrong because I don't want to look like a jerk but then other people whiz past because they're doing it right?  It's not unlike pronouncing the word forte:  Do I pronounce it correctly as "fort" and sound wrong to most people, or do I pronounce it incorrectly as "fortay" and sound right but know I'm wrong?  At least in that case I can just use a different word, which is what I do except when I'm talking to smarty pants friends.  But I can't punt when it comes to when to merge in with the traffic. 

And those truckers who play lane police are the worst.  I've seen them split the lane and the shoulder.

[JTMacc99]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Do I look like a jerk even though I'm doing the more efficient thing, or do I fall in with the people who are doing it wrong because I don't want to look like a jerk but then other people whiz past because they're doing it right? 

Drive to the cones, merge there, lead by example. Don’t go too fast, and maybe you can pull a whole line with you all the way and create the efficient merge it should be. 

Edited January 16, 2018 by JTMacc99

[bilgistic]

Merging lanes is supposed to look like a zipper closing. Cars are represented by the teeth in the zipper. One of the problems in that scenario acted out in traffic is that some drivers won't let in other drivers needing to merge.

[JTMacc99]

22 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Merging lanes is supposed to look like a zipper closing. Cars are represented by the teeth in the zipper. One of the problems in that scenario acted out in traffic is that some drivers won't let in other drivers needing to merge.

Totally true. There is absolutely nothing we can do to change the fact that some people are just jerks. 

So I think the best I can do is follow rules in public, not be a jerk, and hope that most of the people around me do the same. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

6 hours ago, JTMacc99 said:

Drive to the cones, merge there, lead by example. Don’t go too fast, and maybe you can pull a whole line with you all the way and create the efficient merge it should be. 

I actually had "lead by example" in my post, but deleted it because it just seemed too outrageous a proposition.  Assuming people even look up from their phones to see anything other than the bumper in front of them, I doubt they'll see anything other than a jerk cutting in line. 

And the efficiency depends on the zipper happening at the end.  Even I have to force myself to ignore big, easily insertable-into gaps on my way to the cones.  If you pass cars only to get into line closer to the end than you would otherwise be, as opposed to waiting until the end, you are being a jerk.  It takes nerves of steel to wait until the very end and force someone into taking turns, but its the right thing to do.

 

56 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Merging lanes is supposed to look like a zipper closing. Cars are represented by the teeth in the zipper. One of the problems in that scenario acted out in traffic is that some drivers won't let in other drivers needing to merge.

The zipper is necessary only when there's a choke point at which cars need to be taking turns, as opposed to approaching a lane closure for construction when traffic is light enough for people to get into the continuing lane without making other people alter their speed.  In that case, everybody's just minding their own business and nobody needs to "merge" or "let someone in"--they just change lanes.

In a regular on-ramp on the freeway, the traffic on the ramp has to yield to the traffic on the freeway.  If it's stop-and-go, then the zipper is appropriate out of practicality--take turns because otherwise the merging traffic will be yielding forever.  And it's fairer to take turns than for the merging traffic to wait for the kindness of a random stranger to let them in.

But when traffic is moving, it's the responsibility of the car merging onto the freeway to get in there on his own.  In fact, it's better for the drivers on the freeway to not change their speed, so the merger can assess a more-or-less fixed situation, speed-wise.  A merger may have planned a merge, but had it foiled because one of the cars slowed down.

I know a guy who said his brother is a traffic engineer.  That would be a fascinating job, but I'd last about 10 minutes before human behavior made me shoot myself.  As it is, I'm sometimes driving a 40-foot motorhome, towing a car behind me, in traffic.  Since I'm so high, I see everything going on right around me, as well as the big picture out in front of me.  And since I can't change lanes, I'm generally stuck in a lane and don't have any "driving" to do other than poke along with traffic, so I have a lot of opportunity to just watch. 

It's actually entertaining.  Like watching a particular car try to maneuver its way ahead by constantly changing lanes.  I can tell if they actually have a net gain. 

[Katy M]

I don't think I described what was happening properly.  Traffic was flowing fine.  Traffic slowed down once you got to where the construction actually took place and then sped up again when you were past.  I know, duh, but I'm painting a picture.  There were openings all along the passing lane, with at least 2 to 3 car lengths between each car.  It wasn't until you got to 3 to 4 cars close to where the actual construction began, traffic temporarily slowed and there was only 1 to 1/2 car length between cars.  So, this car, flew down the road, passed up plenty of chances to merge in and waited until he was the second car back with me about 1 car length behind the car in front of me and that's when he decided, "oh yeah, time to merge."  The zipper function makes sense in heavy traffic.  In light traffic, it simply isn't necessary.  

[SaySay24]

“Let it Go” from Frozen. 

And, it gets on my nerves that Frozen gets so much fanfare compared to Tangled. I like Frozen, but beyond the nice message of sisterly love, I think Tangled is all the way around better- prettier animation and voices and songs, cuter animal sidekicks, and all around more engaging. Frozen is dark, Anna and Elza sound 45 years old, Elza’s voice is like an icicle piercing through my eardrum, and those rock trolls? That snowman Olaf? The scene where he’s imagining summer? Creepy. Don’t get me started. I do like Frozen;I’m watching it right now with my toddlers. But, those beautiful lanterns and the touching ending of Tangled? Makes me tear up and cry like a baby. The cute chameleon? I want him! 

Edited January 16, 2018 by SaySay24

[DeLurker]

My 17 YO daughter and I watched Tangled the other night.  We both enjoy it!

[Bastet]

12 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

It's not unlike pronouncing the word forte:  Do I pronounce it correctly as "fort" and sound wrong to most people, or do I pronounce it incorrectly as "fortay" and sound right but know I'm wrong? 

I use it in writing but generally avoid it when speaking, because I will not join the masses and pronounce it incorrectly, but I can't deal with 99% of listeners thinking I've said it wrong.

The zipper merge, though?  I don't care if nearby drivers think I'm rude, I'm doing it the right way.

[StatisticalOutlier]

Y'all are a clever group.  Can somebody figure out how to get a Kardashian to tweet a youtube video on the zipper merge?  Aah, I know...no money involved so it would never happen, but maybe the FCC should require professional shills to include a certain number of PSAs.

[Mountainair]

Today's peeve: Snow Days! 

We live in the mountains, it snows, it melts, it re freezes- I get it. My kids go to a year- round school so they had the week before Thanksgiving off all the way through the first of the year. In January they have gone to school on average about two days per week (this week was one day). It's not that I mind the kids being home- I try to keep a schedule as best I can and we implement home learning blocks through out the day but I also have a one year old and it's a struggle to find balance. I've been in a holiday funk since Christmas and couldn't wait to get everyone back in their routines but these snow days make it impossible! 

[ParadoxLost]

2 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Y'all are a clever group.  Can somebody figure out how to get a Kardashian to tweet a youtube video on the zipper merge?  Aah, I know...no money involved so it would never happen, but maybe the FCC should require professional shills to include a certain number of PSAs.

I can't imagine this could be that hard.  Just ask them to do suggestive stuff with zippers while explaining traffic.

[Zola]

I may have posted this whinge before on here, but I'll repeat it again because the same thing repeated itself earlier this morning. 

Why do some drivers take great delight in driving through puddles on the side of a road next to the curb where people are standing (or in my case, running) along the pavement?

I know sometimes it can be difficult to drive round a biggish puddle, especially in rush hour; but sometimes I just think drivers have a sadistic streak and do it deliberately.

This morning I went out for my usual run, but had to stop on a street corner to give way to some traffic.  I could see one car speeding up towards me. He had plenty of room to drive round the puddle, but instead chose to go through it. Fortunately I could see it happening, so took some evasive action by stepping back. But I still got splashed in cold muddy water.

 

Grrr

[Mindthinkr]

4 hours ago, Zola said:

I may have posted this whinge before on here, but I'll repeat it again because the same thing repeated itself earlier this morning. 

Why do some drivers take great delight in driving through puddles on the side of a road next to the curb where people are standing (or in my case, running) along the pavement?

I know sometimes it can be difficult to drive round a biggish puddle, especially in rush hour; but sometimes I just think drivers have a sadistic streak and do it deliberately.

This morning I went out for my usual run, but had to stop on a street corner to give way to some traffic.  I could see one car speeding up towards me. He had plenty of room to drive round the puddle, but instead chose to go through it. Fortunately I could see it happening, so took some evasive action by stepping back. But I still got splashed in cold muddy water.

 

Grrr

I'm picturing you as Carrie Bradshaw from Sex in the City when during the opening credits a bus goes by and splashes all over her tutu etc. With all the cold these days the last thing you need to be is wet! I actually do think some have that sadistic streak you mentioned,and some others may just be oblivious to what they're doing (other than driving and trying not to run over someone). It's a good Pet Peeve. 

[DeLurker]

I just installed a firefox update and now this site is being weird.  Don't know if it is the update or PTV, but I am assuming the update.

[Mindthinkr]

I hate "updates". They always change things and takes me awhile to figure out the new way to get to places and do things. 

[Moose135]

9 hours ago, Zola said:

Why do some drivers take great delight in driving through puddles on the side of a road next to the curb where people are standing (or in my case, running) along the pavement?

Because they are assholes and can't help themselves.