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

[Zola]

So.... GDPR has kicked in today (25th), and already I am getting messages from North American websites telling me I am being "blocked" from further access due to problems with them being GDPR compliant.  For example, when I tried to visit this site via a post from another thread on this forum, I get the following .....

Quote

 

Welcome to our website.

We are a local media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. We have detected that you are in one of the member countries of the European Union, which is now subject to the General Data Protection Regulation.

We are currently assessing methods for complying with the detailed requirements of GDPR. Currently, only about 2 percent of our website traffic originates from EU countries.

Until we are able to ensure our full compliance with the rigorous GDPR requirements, we are blocking access from EU countries to our websites, which include wral.com, wralsportsfan.com, highschoolot.com and wraltechwire.com. We take the GDPR seriously. Penalties for GDPR violations are as high as 4 percent of a publisher's annual revenue.

We hope to restore access soon as we work through the administrative, legal and technical requirements involved with GDPR compliance. We apologize for the temporary inconvenience.

If you believe you have received this message in error, please send your IP address to support@wral.com. You can retrieve your IP address by going to whatismyipaddress.com.

wral.com

 

.... am really quite surprised by this given that web hosts have had 2 years to become compliant. 

However, I can access this site via my own proxy server and VPN, so its not a huge big deal. But I know tech forums here in the UK, and in Germany and France, have been buzzing with similar issues accessing some US sites. Hope this gets resolved soon.

[Mindthinkr]

1 hour ago, Zola said:

So.... GDPR has kicked in today (25th), and already I am getting messages from North American websites telling me I am being "blocked" from further access due to problems with them being GDPR compliant.  For example, when I tried to visit this site via a post from another thread on this forum, I get the following .....

.... am really quite surprised by this given that web hosts have had 2 years to become compliant. 

However, I can access this site via my own proxy server and VPN, so its not a huge big deal. But I know tech forums here in the UK, and in Germany and France, have been buzzing with similar issues accessing some US sites. Hope this gets resolved soon.

Gee, I’m glad that you know how to get around it. Trouble is that the people it should be protecting from *whatever* won’t  be protected because they also probably know how to circumvent the system. Not that I really understand any of it. I’m just glad you are here because you add some good introspection and comments. 

[Moose135]

2 hours ago, Zola said:

GDPR has kicked in today (25th)

I've gotten e-mails from about twenty different sites this week (some I don't even remember registering at) updating their terms and conditions to conform to GDPR.

[Zola]

1 hour ago, Mindthinkr said:

Gee, I’m glad that you know how to get around it. Trouble is that the people it should be protecting from *whatever* won’t  be protected because they also probably know how to circumvent the system. Not that I really understand any of it. I’m just glad you are here because you add some good introspection and comments. 

That's true, but it all revolves around how your personal data is used (and sometimes abused) by website companies and how your personal data is sold to other companies without your explicit consent.  The good thing about GDPR is that all that abuse should come to an end and we (European citizens) have more rights over how our data is used. 

This site (PTV) is not technically compliant. If you check their privacy page (http://previously.tv/privacy-policy/) it makes no reference to GDPR; whereas other US hosted sites like Facebook & Instagram do 

But anyway, GDPR is incredibly dull, so I won't bore you all with it any further :)

 

33 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

I've gotten e-mails from about twenty different sites this week (some I don't even remember registering at) updating their terms and conditions to conform to GDPR.

 

You've got off lightly; I have a special folder in my email inbox especially for GDPR privacy notices; and to date I have a total of 348; the majority of which I don't recognize, or as far as I know ever subscribed too!

Edited May 25, 2018 by Zola

[riley702]

33 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

I've gotten e-mails from about twenty different sites this week (some I don't even remember registering at) updating their terms and conditions to conform to GDPR.

OH! That's what they're from! I only had a half-dozen, didn't remember any of them and couldn't figure out how to cancel my accounts. I just deleted them and they'll eventually leave me alone.

[Sun-Bun]

So I’m currently on the job search and going through the tiring contact/interview/wait to hear back game. I haven’t done this in 7 years and now I know why—-I absolutely *loathe* the job searching routine. Fortunately my job search is going well for the most part and I even just got several offers, but what always gets me are the supposed professionals who completely ghost you, either before or after an interview. 

 I literally just contacted a place, then the supervisor emailed me saying he’d like to talk to me and schedule an interview, so what time could I talk. I thanked him and told him the time to call the next day. He confirmed and I waited for his call. NO CALL. So I emailed him back to politely inquire if all was well and that I still would like to talk. NO RESPONSE. So I’m assuming this guy either suddenly died or is just a rude asshole; I’m naturally assuming the latter.

 

If you found someone else to hire or suddenly don’t want to interview me, that’s fine, but at least have the respect and courtesy as a professional to inform a candidate of the job’s status. Don’t leave me hanging and quit wasting my precious time—-a simple, “Thank you for your time but we’re going with another candidate” email would suffice!

Actually, I’d never work for a place that would have the nerve to treat its job candidates so rudely, therefore the silence actually speaks volumes to me. But still, be a professional and treat job candidates with respect; you should be honored that people actually want to work for your company.

 

Ghosting in general is so pathetic and rude, but it bugs me on a totally different level in the professional world—-it’s just inexcusable to me.

 

You know what else I find equally inexcusable to me in the professional world? People who don’t return work emails. I’ve had that happen numerous times, even with higher up workers in major organizations that I’m connecting with on an equally professional level—-since when is that remotely appropriate?!

Edited May 26, 2018 by Sun-Bun

[theredhead77]

People who have drama that impacts my life. I'm going to a concert tonight.

 

Edited for privacy - just in case. Said drama is very real with the potential to turn dangerous.

Edited May 27, 2018 by theredhead77

[theredhead77]

Edited for privacy just in case.  Turns out said drama is very real with the potential to turn dangerous.

Edited May 27, 2018 by theredhead77

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 5/23/2018 at 1:54 PM, Katy M said:

Anyway, to get to the insurance part, I called my insurance company so they could deal with the other insurance company, because believe it or not idiot drunk driver actually at least had insurance.  They told me that I should make a collision claim and then when the other insurance company reiumbursed me, I could send that check to my insurance company.  They thought that the other insurance company would drag their feet.  They actually did not.  I got their check first and just returned my insurance company's check uncashed. However, when it was time for renewal, my rate went way up and I ended up switching insurance companies.  We figure it was because I made the claim even though they told me to and I was obviously not at fault at all.  My car was parked off the road on private property, for crying out loud.

For crying out loud indeed!

I've had my car hit a couple of times in ways that it was 100% clear that it was completely not my fault (in addition to this current one)--once it was legally parallel parked and a driver overshot the right turn and ran into my parked car, and once I was sitting in a right turn chute when some mayhem under the traffic light caused a car to carom into mine.  Each time the other driver had insurance, so I didn't tell my insurance company, and handled it myself. 

In fact, in the one in the right-turn chute, it wasn't clear who was responsible (other than it wasn't me), and State Farm and one other company were the two possibilities, and it seemed to me it should be State Farm because of the circumstances, but I wasn't going to be picky.  My car was brand new (still had paper license plates on it), and the damage wasn't huge--a dent in the left rear area.  But this dragged on forever and I wasn't getting anywhere with anyone (and it wasn't my fault!!!) so I had a bumper sticker made up (it took some work--this was in the days before a mouse click would have a personalized bumper sticker delivered to your door) that said, "State Farm Won't Pay For This" and put it right next to the dent.

I got so many people in other cars waving and pointing and thumbs-upping.

Eventually, someone called and told me to make an appointment with an adjuster, and when I showed up, he went around to the back of the car and saw the bumper sticker and said, "That's not funny," and I said, "When the bumper comes off, so does that."  I got my check shortly afterward.

The really sad part is that I have USAA, which is considered one of the best auto insurance companies there is, and they've always treated me what I consider fairly, but I've never reported anything to them that I didn't absolutely have to.  I dealt with the State Farm nonsense myself, and I'm dealing with this uninsured motorist myself because I'm not sure whether USAA will punish me for something that wasn't my fault (or worse, in your case @Katy M), a claim they don't even have to pay out.

And speaking of, I just happened across a truly dispiriting article about how health insurance companies don't actually have an incentive to negotiate the best rate for their insureds, and it matters because the insured has to pay his part of that negotiated rate, and is completely left out of the negotiations between the insurance company and the provider--he just has to accept it and pay up.  Coinsurance and deductibles are going up dramatically, which puts the insured at even more exposure. 

It has to do with the requirement that insurance companies spend at least 80% of the premiums for medical care.  Sounds great, but you're dealing with insurance companies so probably not so  much.  And sure enough, it's complicated (no surprise there) and involves something called "perverse incentive," but it was illustrated by this:  "It's as if a mom told her son he could have 3 percent of a bowl of ice cream. A clever child would say, 'Make it a bigger bowl.'"  

And insurance companies are nothing if not clever. 

 

On 5/25/2018 at 10:17 AM, ebk57 said:

This came up in my inbox this morning, so I thought I'd share...  Drive safely over this long weekend everyone!

https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2018/05/in-heavy-traffic-the-preferred-way-to-merge-is-to-wait-until-late/

Yay!

Actually, it was in the D.C. area (where WTOP is) where I saw my first example of similar cooperation many many years ago.  It was during the morning commute from Maryland into DC, and I think it was on Beach Drive or Rock Creek Parkway--a curvy street that ran through woods.  It merged with another curvy street at one point.  One street had a yield sign, but both streets were bumper-to-bumper traffic.  If the yield sign were obeyed, then nobody on that street would ever get onto the other street.  But there was some sort of "agreement" that the drivers would take turns, and it was expected, so there was none of this hostile "You have a yield sign--you're not cutting in front of me" or "I'm going to choose this person to pull in front of."  It was a sight to behold.

The problem with the zipper merge is that not everybody knows it's the best way to do it, so you still have that hostility by those who don't know any better.  I've seen signs that say "Use both lanes to merge point" but even a simple directive BY THE AUTHORITIES isn't enough to keep people from merging early.  And then probably fuming about those who don't.

Maybe they should have Burma-Shave-type signs in constructions areas that give facts on zipper merges.
 

[Sun-Bun]

1 hour ago, theredhead77 said:

So she found a sitter but now isn't even going to be at my house until close to 4. The show starts at 5 which means traffic around the venue is going to be a cluster. I told her I'd meet her there but she is insistent that she is going to pick me up which is going to delay us further and eliminate any tailgating we were going to do. The cooler full of beer has been downgraded to a bag with 2 beers and some ice. I'm seriously pissed at the situation.

Sorry to hear that, @theredhead77; what a shitty excuse of a concert buddy! That’s just goddamned rude. No offense to parents and I understand the dilemmas you guys often face, but it’s tough to have truly dependable friends when they’ve got a child or more to raise and attend to first.

I sorta feel your pain though—-back in my single days, I made a point to buy two concert tickets strictly because I was sure that *someone* would be willing and able to join me for the fun. After three different concerts where supposed friends flaked on their tickets I’d nabbed for us both at the last minute, I learned to just be content going to concerts alone.

So hey, at least she made an effort to join you, despite her super annoying lateness. 

[BooksRule]

Quote

I learned to just be content going to concerts alone.

I haven't been to a concert in years, but I usually go to the movies by myself for most of the same reasons as stated for concert-going with others.  I can pick the movie I really want to see, I can pick the time that's good for me (I usually go on a weekday that I have off from work, to insure that there won't be a lot of people there, which helps limit any surrounding chatter and possible cell phone rings), can get snacks without people wanting to share, can sit where I want (aisle seat about halfway back), and can enjoy the movie without people wanting to discuss it during the film.  I'm not totally anti-social.  I love to watch movies that I've seen before with others who have also seen the same film (generally a DVD watch).  We can then watch the movie while we talk about it.  But if I'm seeing a movie for the first time at a theater, I want to make sure that my time and money are well spent. 

[Moose135]

4 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

The really sad part is that I have USAA, which is considered one of the best auto insurance companies there is, and they've always treated me what I consider fairly, but I've never reported anything to them that I didn't absolutely have to.  I dealt with the State Farm nonsense myself, and I'm dealing with this uninsured motorist myself because I'm not sure whether USAA will punish me for something that wasn't my fault (or worse, in your case @Katy M), a claim they don't even have to pay out.

I've had USAA for almost 35 years, and whenever I've been involved in an accident, even when I'm not at fault, the first thing I do is call them.  I would never want the other driver's insurance company contacting them without hearing from me first, and they can help deal with the other company - that's part of what you pay them for.  Couple of years ago, when I hit a deer with my 8-month-old Durango, doing $6K in damage, it didn't effect my rates.  A few years before that, when I had a rental car and someone clipped the mirror while it was parked and drove off, I reported it to them.  They paid the portion of the repair I was responsible for, and again, it didn't effect my rates.

As their commercials say "I'm a customer for life!"

Edited May 27, 2018 by Moose135

[Mindthinkr]

Where do I find USAA? I just changed cars and my rates went up 1k (tho on my old car I didn’t carry collision). I have no points or anything else on my record. 

[bilgistic]

You have to be current or former military or (immediate?) family of a current/former military member to get USAA insurance. My parents have it; my dad was in the Army and served in Vietnam.

My sister and I have gotten quotes from USAA and they were too high for us. My folks have three vehicles and their house, so the volume discount might be good. My sister and I are each single with one car/residence each.

I change insurers every few years. I have been with Allstate and State Farm, and am back with Geico now. I go wherever I find the best deal. I really negotiated with the agent this time to get a good rate. She worked several angles to get the price down. I have the state minimum coverage in only liability on my 2004 Honda and have to carry $100K in coverage in renter's insurance per my lease agreement. When I am driving to work daily, I raise my vehicle coverage. I just can't afford it right now with my medical bills.

Edited May 27, 2018 by bilgistic

[SunnyBeBe]

19 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

So she found a sitter but now isn't even going to be at my house until close to 4. The show starts at 5 which means traffic around the venue is going to be a cluster. I told her I'd meet her there but she is insistent that she is going to pick me up which is going to delay us further and eliminate any tailgating we were going to do. The cooler full of beer has been downgraded to a bag with 2 beers and some ice. I'm seriously pissed at the situation.

That would really irritate me.  Maybe, not her fault, but, to me, when it's a big deal like a concert where money has been invested and drive time is crucial, she needed to have a backup plan. Childcare can fall through and she knew that.  I have attended MANY concerts over the years, and I learned that there are only certain people that I will trust to attend with me or to drive, because they may not have a backup plan and they don't have a real sense of time.  I found that a lot of other people, don't take the thing that seriously.  I found that there are casual concert attendants and then those like me who are hardcore.  I'd try to find some who are similarly motivated. 

[theredhead77]

18 hours ago, Sun-Bun said:

Sorry to hear that, @theredhead77; what a shitty excuse of a concert buddy! That’s just goddamned rude. No offense to parents and I understand the dilemmas you guys often face, but it’s tough to have truly dependable friends when they’ve got a child or more to raise and attend to first.

I sorta feel your pain though—-back in my single days, I made a point to buy two concert tickets strictly because I was sure that *someone* would be willing and able to join me for the fun. After three different concerts where supposed friends flaked on their tickets I’d nabbed for us both at the last minute, I learned to just be content going to concerts alone.

So hey, at least she made an effort to join you, despite her super annoying lateness. 

 

36 minutes ago, SunnyBeBe said:

That would really irritate me.  Maybe, not her fault, but, to me, when it's a big deal like a concert where money has been invested and drive time is crucial, she needed to have a backup plan. Childcare can fall through and she knew that.  I have attended MANY concerts over the years, and I learned that there are only certain people that I will trust to attend with me or to drive, because they may not have a backup plan and they don't have a real sense of time.  I found that a lot of other people, don't take the thing that seriously.  I found that there are casual concert attendants and then those like me who are hardcore.  I'd try to find some who are similarly motivated. 

She got to my house right at 4 and we made it, albeit it much later than intended. No time to tailgate but got in the venue with plenty of time to spare.

We had a blast and that's what matters for last night.

Edited May 27, 2018 by theredhead77
Decided to remove details for privacy

[SunnyBeBe]

Theredhead77, SO GLAD that your plans weren't ruined.  Who did you see by the way?

It's a relief to know that you did get to the concert on time. Still, to have to worry over last minute hiccups.  Not good.  Sorry for your friend's issues, but, I agree about steering clear. Those kind of situations can get messy and dangerous. 

[theredhead77]

We saw Kenny Chesney who didn't go on until 9. And I stripped out details from my last post due to privacy, just in case. KWIM?

[SunnyBeBe]

Pet Peeve:  Dealing with issues getting to a concert.  I understand about the info privacy thing.  You can delete it from your post if you want.  I get it. 

Edited May 27, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[SuprSuprElevated]

Pet Peeve - watching thousands of balloons being released for the Indy 500.  In 2018.

C'mon organizers.  Grab a newspaper, an iPad, a clue.  Balloons really do eventually fall back to earth, and to the sea, where they end up polluting everything they touch, and harm flora, fauna, and wildlife.

Stop the madness ffs!

[SunnyBeBe]

6 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Pet Peeve - watching thousands of balloons being released for the Indy 500.  In 2018.

C'mon organizers.  Grab a newspaper, an iPad, a clue.  Balloons really do eventually fall back to earth, and to the sea, where they end up polluting everything they touch, and harm flora, fauna, and wildlife.

Stop the madness ffs!

I wonder about that too.  Aren't there environment friendly versions of the balloons?  Maybe, they used those?  Whenever, I see these touching memorials about tributes to loved ones, and then they release the balloons, I just get this uneasy feeling that they don't know. 

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

Where do I find USAA? I just changed cars and my rates went up 1k (tho on my old car I didn’t carry collision). I have no points or anything else on my record. 

You can only go with USAA if you have had military service or a direct descendant or spouse of someone with military service who also has/had a USAA policy.

[StatisticalOutlier]

16 hours ago, Moose135 said:

I've had USAA for almost 35 years, and whenever I've been involved in an accident, even when I'm not at fault, the first thing I do is call them.  I would never want the other driver's insurance company contacting them without hearing from me first, and they can help deal with the other company - that's part of what you pay them for.  Couple of years ago, when I hit a deer with my 8-month-old Durango, doing $6K in damage, it didn't effect my rates.  A few years before that, when I had a rental car and someone clipped the mirror while it was parked and drove off, I reported it to them.  They paid the portion of the repair I was responsible for, and again, it didn't effect my rates.

As their commercials say "I'm a customer for life!"

Hitting a deer is covered by comprehensive coverage, and comprehensive claims don't affect your rates.  I've filed several hail damage claims over the decades (comprehensive coverage), with no increase in premium.  That's industry standard.

Not sure about the rear-view mirror.  Collision coverage is used when another vehicle is involved, but if it's not certain it was another vehicle (like someone scraped it with a piece of lumber sticking out of a shopping cart), then it could have been a comprehensive claim.  I encountered this when a big dent appeared on the hood--if it had been another vehicle that caused it, it would have been covered under collision, but if it was anything else, it was covered under comprehensive.  USAA's adjuster was the one who decided.

In my current case, since it's an uninsured driver on the other side, I don't think there's anything for USAA to do on my behalf, except pay the claim under my uninsured motorist coverage (less my deductible) and possibly raise my premium.  If it was thousands of dollars, I'd file the claim.  But since it's low enough for me to absorb without too much pain, and since I don't know if this minor incident would use up my "accident forgiveness,"  I'm liking the certainty I get by not involving my insurance company.

What I don't like is the uninsured driver not getting punished.  If I'd called the cops at the time, he would have gotten a ticket, but it probably would have delayed us forever--responding to a bump in a parking lot isn't a high-priority item (or at least I hope it's not), and I had a friend waiting on me to pick her up for a Kenny Chesney concert.  (Just kidding.)

[SuprSuprElevated]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I wonder about that too.  Aren't there environment friendly versions of the balloons?  Maybe, they used those?  Whenever, I see these touching memorials about tributes to loved ones, and then they release the balloons, I just get this uneasy feeling that they don't know. 

I've not heard or read about any sort of "greener" version, but I suppose that's possible.  As for people not knowing?  It's possible that the Amish community is unaware, but that'd be it I think.

[PRgal]

I always find it annoying that people feign ignorance (or at least give off the vibe of doing so).  I was at an event last night and at least one individual found it surprising that people (including millennials) from my heritage can be culturally ignorant and even a decade or so "behind" when it comes to having "progressive" views on, say, same-sex marriage or mental health.  Somehow, they think "oh, you're an ethnic minority, so you're definitely going to be 'progressive.'"  Ummmm, NOOOOOOOOO.....

[walnutqueen]

The balloon industry would have you believe they provide "eco-friendly fully biodegradable" balloons.  This is misleading at best.  They still harm wildlife and our ecosystems.  Check out http://oceancrusaders.org/latex-balloons-are-not-biodegradable/

[StatisticalOutlier]

9 minutes ago, PRgal said:

I always find it annoying that people feign ignorance

I wish the people I encounter everywhere were feigning ignorance. 

[PRgal]

1 minute ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I wish the people I encounter everywhere were feigning ignorance. 

Maybe they WEREN'T feigning ignorance, but they certainly looked like they were surprised.  Just because one lives in Toronto doesn't mean they're open-minded.  Especially in certain cultural communities - even if you're only 35 years old.

[Quof]

I went to Costco today to refill my BBQ propane tank.   There were almost 20 people in line at the tank.  The practice, when I last refilled there, was to go inside to a separate counter and pay for the propane, then go outside and show the receipt to the guy filling the tank.   I went inside. The counter is no longer there, and the sign said "Propane refills - Tire Service" and listed the prices.  So I went to the Tire Service counter, and waited at least 10 minutes.   The employee said "Yeah, you fill your tank, then you come inside to pay."   I said "When did you start doing it that way? It always used to be the opposite."  "No," he said, "It's always been like this."   I couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

There was a hardware store 2 minutes down the street selling propane. There was one person in line.  I suggested that they send someone down to Costco with a sign "We have propane too".  And the tank was $17.   I can't imagine how much cheaper it was at Costco, but I'm sure it wasn't enough for the pain in the ass of filling it there. 

[bilgistic]

30 minutes ago, Quof said:

I went to Costco today to refill my BBQ propane tank.   There were almost 20 people in line at the tank.  The practice, when I last refilled there, was to go inside to a separate counter and pay for the propane, then go outside and show the receipt to the guy filling the tank.   I went inside. The counter is no longer there, and the sign said "Propane refills - Tire Service" and listed the prices.  So I went to the Tire Service counter, and waited at least 10 minutes.   The employee said "Yeah, you fill your tank, then you come inside to pay."   I said "When did you start doing it that way? It always used to be the opposite."  "No," he said, "It's always been like this."   I couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

It seems like Costco has set up an optimal system for thieves to steal propane (and propane accessories) if they fill their tanks outside at the auto bays and then "go inside to pay".

[bubbls]

Pet peeve: companies that refuse to acknowledge an issue. All we customers want is a little respect. We understand issues happen, but don’t pretend everything is fine when it’s not. Hire enough people to freaking deal with us. 

A few months ago I ordered a dresser to be delivered from Ikea. The info page said it’d be about three weeks, and I’d get a call the day before to set up delivery. This annoyed me. Who in 2018 requires THREE weeks? 

*At the three-week mark I began checking my phone and email.

*At four weeks I got an email saying I’d get a call.

*At five weeks I got an email saying it had been delayed but to check my email for updates.

*At six weeks I got on the phone. Hours. On hold. I literally spent HOURS on hold. After I yelled at the last human I got he admitted they had a high call volume due to their delivery issues. I thanked him profusely for being honest. I looked on Consumer Affairs to find THOUSANDS of complaints about this very thing. More hours on hold, several days, and I gave up. I was going to contest it at my bank.

*At the seventh week I get The Call. It would be delivered the next day. Woohoo. I ended up with an extra dresser frame I didn’t order, a fraction of the drawers I needed, and several piles of hardware. I had my dad build the additional needed drawers using the hardware. The other frame will be turned into a bookshelf.

 

I didn’t bother calling Ikea, and I feel so sorry for whoever waited their two months for a mountain of drawers but no dresser frames or hardware!

[Blergh]

OK, here's one- folks who blame 'society' for individuals' negative actions and/or choices but, of course, don't credit society for any positive actions/choices. The major fail of blaming society for stuff rather than holding  individual humans accountable is what do folks think comprises society anyway? Ants?

[SunnyBeBe]

I have found that I have a better day if I don't set my expectations too high or allow my Pet Peeves to get the better of me. lol  What I discovered is to not ask questions from people who work in a store, sales reps, clerks, operators, pedestrians, other customers, etc.  BECAUSE THEY WILL NOT KNOW the answer, no matter what the question is.  And if they do give an answer, it's likely WRONG.  lol  I've come to this conclusion from experience.  Now, I test my theory at times, just for sport and it makes me laugh to myself.  If I'm pleasantly surprised, I thank the person profusely and recommend the place to all my friends and family. 

Examples: if you go into a store and just ask the clerk if there is a library near by.  He/She will say they don't know, so, I'll google it and it's across the street. Or, ask the person who works in the bank where the nearest post office is....okay. They don't know. Or they know, but, could NOT give directions.  Just can't do it. (Do you know how many people CANNOT give directions?  It's scary.  NO idea of north/south/east/west. NONE.  Don't know road names either.)   So, I google it.  I get it. 

  In the discount store, I ask the clerk where the wreath hangers are located. They say, we don't have it now. That's only a Christmas item.  So, I keep looking and find them over near floral dept.  I asked Walmart rep. where are the children's plastic stools are located.  They escort me to plastic wares dept and say they are out.  I keep looking and find them in nursery dept.  In clothing dept store, I ask where a certain label is located and they say, there are all mixed in. No certain sections.  I keep looking and find the section I'm looking for.   The list is endless....lol.  It does boggle the mind. 

I will make one exception.  Usually, Best Buy staff know something about their inventory and how it works. 

Edited May 28, 2018 by SunnyBeBe

[PRgal]

Not everyone likes salad dressing/sauce.  I frequently order from a local poke/salad joint using a third party app.  Guess what?  That app doesn't offer the option of picking no sauce/dressing.  So what do I do?  I need to pick SOMETHING and then leave a note indicating that I actually don't want it.  WHY??!!!  It's a waste of time.  I just want to pick my options, pay and then head over to wait for my lunch.  Yes, I realize this is a #firstworldproblem, but STILL!

[riley702]

I don't, either, because I hate onions and garlic. I'll splash some vinaigrette I've made myself with raspberry juice or balsamic splashed in. I'm pretty anti-salad, actually and would rather get some baby spinach from the store when I'm in the mood. At a salad bar situation, I'll base my salad on cottage cheese, because I fucking love all forms of dairy and am happy I'm not intolerant. Cottage cheese, bacon bits, cheese bits, sunflower seeds and a few crackers - yum!

Edited May 28, 2018 by riley702

[PRgal]

3 minutes ago, riley702 said:

I don't, either, because I hate onions and garlic. I'll splash some vinaigrette I've made myself with raspberry juice or balsamic splashed in. I'm pretty anti-salad, actually and would rather get some baby spinach from the store when I'm in the mood. At a salad bar situation, I'll base my salad on cottage cheese, because I fucking love all forms of dairy and am happy I'm not intolerant. Cottage cheese, bacon bits, cheese bits, sunflower seeds and a few crackers - yum!

So you like to make your own dip!! :)  YUM!  I make my own dressing as well - usually apple cider vinegar and a bit of EVOO.  I LOVE onion and garlic though.  And ginger - especially the pickled kind. 

[riley702]

Oh yeah, ginger!

[Bastet]

I make all my own dressings other than ranch - then I use the Hidden Valley dry mix, combined with mayo, sour cream, and milk.  But never something out of a bottle; all I've ever tried tasted too sweet to me at best, and an odd, synthetic taste/aftertaste at worst.  I love salads, and make some sort of mixed greens side salad with almost every dinner meal - I cannot have them ruined by crappy dressing.

That's puzzling about not having "none" as an option when selecting a sauce or dressing, though.  I guess if they actually read and abide by the notes section and don't give you any (or, if they do, it's on the side rather than mixed into the salad, and you can just hand it back to them when you pick it up [of course, if delivered, you're forced to waste it, and that sucks]), it's a moot point, and I do understand that probably a good 95% of people ordering want a dressing, but it's a website/app -- when listing the options, how hard is it to add a checkbox for "none"?

[SuprSuprElevated]

Pet Peeve - when the nearby asshats neighbors confuse Memorial Day, a day to remember the sacrifices of the war dead, with Independence Day, a day clearly designed to allow them to literally blow up their money with fireworks.

Grrrrrr

[AgentRXS]

Ugh. Woke up to do my usual Tuesday laundry routine at 6am and instead of walking into an empty laundromat as usual, there is two people taking up half the machines (seriously huge loads), including the ones I normally use. My peeve? People who stand in front of the machines during the whole wash cycle. Why do you have to stand in the already-small aisle and be in the way? Its not going to wash faster by you watching it and you are in the way of whomever else needs to get by to use another machine. 

[DeLurker]

For some random reason I remembered a pair of sunglasses I used to have - probably from 1990 or so.  They were Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses, but leather wrapped.  I loved them to a degree that is not healthy.  The case was a thing of beauty too.

This is what they looked like - I found a vintage pair on ebay that can be mine if I want to pay $500ish dollars.

 

I checked the Ray Ban site and they've reintroduced a pair, but I don't like the styling over the bridge/brow  bar.  So that is my peeve.

The new ones are about $200.  Considering I paid about $100 for the original pair I had about 30 years ago, the price increase seems reasonable to me.  My parents thought I was insane for paying $100 for sunglasses, even though they knew Ray Ban were quality products and they had bought many pair of Ray Ban Aviators over the years just for the frames.  They would have my brothers' prescription lenses made to fit them since they were incredibly durable (3 of my brothers wore glasses and 2 of them were rough as hell on them).

[Moose135]

I've been wearing Ray Ban sunglasses for a hundred years...well, maybe 35 years.  I've never seen those with the leather wrapped frame.  I like the Outdoorsman frames, with the thin frames that wrap around your ears.

[AgentRXS]

Sigh. Twitter. Tweets. Instagram, FB, and Snapchat have never gotten as much notoriety as Twitter. I am SO glad that I grew up without social media.Maybe it was better not knowing the man behind the curtain.

[TattleTeeny]

On 5/28/2018 at 2:28 PM, PRgal said:

Not everyone likes salad dressing/sauce.  I frequently order from a local poke/salad joint using a third party app.  Guess what?  That app doesn't offer the option of picking no sauce/dressing.  So what do I do?  I need to pick SOMETHING and then leave a note indicating that I actually don't want it.  WHY??!!!  It's a waste of time.  I just want to pick my options, pay and then head over to wait for my lunch.  Yes, I realize this is a #firstworldproblem, but STILL!

And these apps always seem to be set up almost backwards! Just put a "none" option in the list instead of making us get to the end and making a note, like you had to, or having the last page be "what would you like removed?" Because dumb! Reminds me of my friend, who told me a story of how he got in trouble in kindergarten for not listening to instructions for a drawing assignment. Instruction 1 was draw a box, which he did in red. Instruction 2 was "Make it blue"!

* Technically, I actually do want cheese; I just don't eat it.

Quote

The balloon industry would have you believe they provide "eco-friendly fully biodegradable" balloons.  This is misleading at best.  They still harm wildlife and our ecosystems.  Check out http://oceancrusaders.org/latex-balloons-are-not-biodegradable/

It's maddening! Let's just say that the balloons are biodegradable. Does that mean that they can't harm animals in the interim between falling to earth and degrading? No, it does not. 

Edited May 30, 2018 by TattleTeeny

[theredhead77]

On 5/29/2018 at 5:43 PM, DeLurker said:

For some random reason I remembered a pair of sunglasses I used to have - probably from 1990 or so.  They were Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses, but leather wrapped.  I loved them to a degree that is not healthy.  The case was a thing of beauty too.

This is what they looked like - I found a vintage pair on ebay that can be mine if I want to pay $500ish dollars.

 

I checked the Ray Ban site and they've reintroduced a pair, but I don't like the styling over the bridge/brow  bar.  So that is my peeve.

The new ones are about $200.  Considering I paid about $100 for the original pair I had about 30 years ago, the price increase seems reasonable to me.  My parents thought I was insane for paying $100 for sunglasses, even though they knew Ray Ban were quality products and they had bought many pair of Ray Ban Aviators over the years just for the frames.  They would have my brothers' prescription lenses made to fit them since they were incredibly durable (3 of my brothers wore glasses and 2 of them were rough as hell on them).

 

On 5/29/2018 at 6:26 PM, Moose135 said:

I've been wearing Ray Ban sunglasses for a hundred years...well, maybe 35 years.  I've never seen those with the leather wrapped frame.  I like the Outdoorsman frames, with the thin frames that wrap around your ears.

After nearly 2 decades of brand loyalty I just made the move from Oakley to Ray Ban. Oakley lenses peel, numerous pairs. They blamed oils from my eye makeup transferring. No. 

I bought a pair of Ray Ban aviators that I had been lusting after. Watch for sales at Sunglass Hut, or stop in to see if a nice slales person will give you a bounce back coupon and save yourself some $$

[bilgistic]

I haven't bitched about my neighbors lately. The dogs aren't barking/howling all the time anymore, thank Christ. I think the couple (they appear to be late 20s/early 30s) "solved" the problem by having one of them home at almost all times. As soon as they both leave, the barking/howling starts up, but it doesn't go on for hours like it used to.

There are three dogs in their apartment, which is 800 square feet, like mine. One of the dogs looks like a husky; another is the same size but looks like a mutt, and the third looks like a poodle. The husband takes them out to use the bathroom and NEVER brings a baggie with him for the poop. That's the only time the dogs ever go outside.

Every freaking night from 9pm-ish to 2am-ish, the wife intermittently laugh-squeals at the top of her lungs. I want to go downstairs and punch her in the larynx.

All of this is still preferable to my place smelling like skunkweed from the previous downstairs tenant.

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

There are three dogs in their apartment, which is 800 square feet, like mine. One of the dogs looks like a husky; another is the same size but looks like a mutt, and the third looks like a poodle. The husband takes them out to use the bathroom and NEVER brings a baggie with him for the poop. That's the only time the dogs ever go outside.

That's messed up.  I am not one of those people who thinks people in apartments shouldn't have dogs, that all dogs need yards, but I am one of those people who thinks most (not all, but most) dogs need more outside time than the "go do your business" out and right back in time.  And that any dog taken to a communal area - or someone else's yard altogether - to poop better have an owner with a baggie on the other end of the leash!

At least they seem to be somewhat dealing with the noise problem (can all three dogs have separation anxiety?) by increasing their time at home and thus decreasing the dogs' barking/howling time.  Now if she would just cut down on her own noises.  (Every night?  I don't care if you're newly coupled, extremely ticklish, criminally perky, AND have a DVR full of fabulous comedies, how are you laughing and squealing every night?)

[bilgistic]

I guess her husband must be hilarious. I don't get it.

[AgentRXS]

@bilgistic Your post kind of gave me PTSD because I responded to a call today about 3 dogs that were kenneled in small quarters all their life and one of them (spoilered for the faint of heart)

Spoiler

killed their owner's 8-month old baby. I had to remove the dog while stepping over the poor child's pool of blood. The body had thankfully been removed before we entered.I'm pretty shell-shocked

Please people. Make sure your dog(s) are socialized and get plenty of exercise daily, especially if living in close quarters.  So tired of the rest of us being victims due to  irresponsible pet owners.

Also, today's media is just vile. Sticking  microphones in the face of a

Spoiler

mourning, dazed mother (who was separated from the dog owner/father

and ripping her apart for her less than eloquent response made me want to vomit.

Edited May 31, 2018 by AgentRXS

[riley702]

How horrible for you!