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

[Kiki777]

Whew glad it’s just not me.

So they’re taking robocalls to a new level - I ignore them, of course.  But today I got one that left a voice mail, a (literally!) robotic voice telling me to call this number immediately or there will be ‘legal consequences’. Suck my butt, jerks, your number came up as ‘spam call’!!

[SoMuchTV]

2 minutes ago, Kiki777 said:

Whew glad it’s just not me.

So they’re taking robocalls to a new level - I ignore them, of course.  But today I got one that left a voice mail, a (literally!) robotic voice telling me to call this number immediately or there will be ‘legal consequences’. Suck my butt, jerks, your number came up as ‘spam call’!!

I used to get one on a fairly regular basis where the robotic voice would leave a message letting me know that the “local cops” might become involved.  Yeah, that sounds legit. 

[peacheslatour]

7 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

I used to get one on a fairly regular basis where the robotic voice would leave a message letting me know that the “local cops” might become involved.  Yeah, that sounds legit. 

I used to get the IRS one. Guy was clearly in a call center in India. "Steve" informs me that we owe $50,000. in unpaid taxes. I ask when the audit will be and "Steve" says they have already completed it. Now, my dad was the owner of a very lucrative business and he was audited more than once. Plus the company I worked for was once audited by the state. You are always present during an audit. So I just started having fun giving him massive amounts of shit until he gave up.

[Katy M]

33 minutes ago, Kiki777 said:

Whew glad it’s just not me.

So they’re taking robocalls to a new level - I ignore them, of course.  But today I got one that left a voice mail, a (literally!) robotic voice telling me to call this number immediately or there will be ‘legal consequences’. Suck my butt, jerks, your number came up as ‘spam call’!!

And the calls that say you're going to be arrested if you don't call.  Yeah, cops totally call and leave you a message to warn you of imminent arrest first.  What on earth do I think I'm going to arrested for that a simple phone call is going to clear up? If I'm really worried about it, I'll just hop a plane to Brazil.

[emma675]

bilgistic, I thought of you yesterday when my internet went out. AT&T can't get out to my house to fix it until Tuesday morning. They've been sending me emails and letters for months offering to upgrade me to faster service for no charge and I finally decided to take them up on their offer. In a completely wild coincidence, I'm sure, my internet connection dropped less than an hour after I talked with them. Almost two hours on the phone later, they can't send someone for 4 days and once it's fixed I have to call them back to get a credit on my account. Because they are apparently unable to do that themselves now since I have two accounts in their system (internet and DirecTV). I was so mad. 

[peacheslatour]

We need a WTF button.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Whenever I click on a notification (liked/quoted) or to a thread, it doesn’t take me to the first unread post or the post that was liked or quoted. Instead, it takes me to the top of that page, so I have scroooooollllll all the way until I find the newest. I’ve reported it so hopefully it will get resolved.

Oh wow!I thought it was just me -- maybe something with my system/internet!  It's kinda pissing me off, too.

The mods are asking us to report it here: 

 

[GHScorpiosRule]

16 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

We need a WTF button.

Until we do...

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The mods are asking us to report it here: 

 

Well as I posted up thread-I had already reported it and hoped for a quick resolution.

Edited July 18, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule

[Anela]

It's too hot in here, even with two air conditioning units in windows (one upstairs, one downstairs). I was just flaked in front of a large fan, but needed to come back downstairs for something.

I feel for the people who don't have any air conditioning units at all, in this weather. This kind of heat makes me feel sick. 

[ebk57]

Peeve, or bad luck...  our air conditioner quit yesterday.  The guy came out pretty quickly, but he says we need a new compressor (?) and the sales guy can't get here till Monday.  Then they have to order it and bring it out to install.  So, who knows how long this will take.  Fortunately, we have fans.  And I like to sit still and not move... 🙂 

 

ETA:  I include this as peeve because the last time the A/C went out was also on the hottest weekend of the year 20-something years ago.  Or, that could also be bad luck.

Edited July 18, 2020 by ebk57

[Anela]

5 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I just saw a TV spot featuring gorgeous tigers in their natural habitat. And then it switched to showing them in a taxidermy shop. I think it was a Peta ad but I was no longer watching (but was  cursing the subhumans who kill or abuse animals).  I'd donate to Peta but I can't handle the info' materials I know they'd be sending me. And those ads for the SPCA, showing the emaciated dogs shivering, chained, in a yard? I hit the mute & grab a magazine. These ads have been running during Deadline: White House a lot. Can one donate & stipulate that no materials be sent in response to the donation?  And does that work?

 

I can't remember if I mentioned this before. When I was a teenager, I received an envelope from Save the Children, I think it was, asking for me to sign up and send them money. I can't remember if I called requesting it, or if they just sent it to me. I was sixteen, and couldn't afford to send them anything, so I sent them a note apologizing (they wanted money every month). They sent me another letter, featuring a long list of deaths comparable to the number of children dying in a certain period of time, the same kids who needed the money - the list featured things like a plane full of people. I'm STILL pissed over that. I want to help kids, but that organization can fuck right off.

Edited July 18, 2020 by Anela

[MargeGunderson]

I ordered an air conditioner in June and am still waiting for it to be delivered. At least it is on a truck now! It was hard for me to find one that was powerful enough to cool my first floor (700 sq feet) but small enough to fit in the window. The one I bought was the only one that I could find, and it was sold out everywhere but Home Depot. My peeve is that Home Depot didn’t let me know about the 3 week delay until the delivery date had already passed. You can’t tell me that they didn’t know well I advance it wasn’t going to be delivered on time; they just didn’t want me to try to find it somewhere else.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

I ordered an air conditioner in June and am still waiting for it to be delivered. At least it is on a truck now! It was hard for me to find one that was powerful enough to cool my first floor (700 sq feet) but small enough to fit in the window. The one I bought was the only one that I could find, and it was sold out everywhere but Home Depot. My peeve is that Home Depot didn’t let me know about the 3 week delay until the delivery date had already passed. You can’t tell me that they didn’t know well I advance it wasn’t going to be delivered on time; they just didn’t want me to try to find it somewhere else.

And now I *really* feel guilty. The day before yesterday I ordered some cute coffee mugs to be sent to my daughter and her husband for their first anniversary, which is still 3 weeks away. They arrived yesterday. I asked if they had arrived via the Star Trek Transporter. 

Edited July 19, 2020 by shapeshifter
Scottie: It's a "Transporter!" not a "Transponder!"

[MargeGunderson]

Hey, having an appropriate vessel to get caffeine into your body is very important!

[annzeepark914]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

We need a WTF button.

Yeah!! With a scowling red face 😠

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Transponder

Cue Monica Geller: "That's not even a word!"

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Quote

Transponder

Cue Monica Geller: "That's not even a word!"

Oops! Transporter!

Thanks!

[shapeshifter]

13 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

13 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

The mods are asking us to report it here: 

 

Read more  

Well as I posted up thread-I had already reported it and hoped for a quick resolution

I posted my update yesterday but for whatever reason it’s still not showing. 
There’s only so much we earthlings can do. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[SuprSuprElevated]

14 hours ago, Anela said:

It's too hot in here, even with two air conditioning units in windows (one upstairs, one downstairs). I was just flaked in front of a large fan, but needed to come back downstairs for something.

I feel for the people who don't have any air conditioning units at all, in this weather. This kind of heat makes me feel sick. 

I mowed the lawn in it yesterday, and about halfway through, began wondering if I should reconsider.  I soldiered through, and was a limp dishrag for the remainder of the afternoon.  ~first world problems~

[GHScorpiosRule]

6 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I posted my update yesterday but for whatever reason it’s still not showing. 
There’s only so much we earthlings can do. 🤷🏼‍♀️

There are two different threads-one that you linked to above, and another one started by another poster yesterday morning.

[Brookside]

Here's a recipe for disaster: Fiftyish person who lives alone, broken glasses, super glue.  How do I know, you ask.

Edited July 19, 2020 by Brookside

[Sun-Bun]

On 7/17/2020 at 12:26 AM, RealHousewife said:

I won't eat cake if someone licks the frosting off of their fingers after cutting each piece.

Arghh, public finger-licking is up there in my Top 3 Pet Peeves EVER!!!
I don’t care if you’re licking cake off your fingers at a party, tending to a papercut at work or licking your fingertip to turn book pages(although who really does that anymore besides boomers?): licking your fingers in public is disgusting and makes you look like an animal. And if there’s one rare bright spot of Covid-19, it’s at least reminded people to keep their fingers out of their mouths while out among others in public!

Which reminds me of how I once taught at a school that actually banned students from eating Cheetos and Taquis there because kids licking their fingers/leaving orange and red fingerprints/dust everywhere became such an issue. I never understood why so many parents seemed unable to teach their kids how germy and gross it is to lick their fingers like that...so you can imagine how thrilled I am to be headed right back into the classroom next week...((shudder))

[SuprSuprElevated]

In line with the licking of the fingers, can we just render obsolete, all of these candy/gumball/toy crane machines?  I actually watched parents, this was maybe a month ago, smack in the height of the COVID outbreak, send their two small kids to a candy machine, filled with unwrapped candy, armed with quarters, hope, and bad decisions.  Now you might be thinking that these things could be relatively untouched by human hands;  au contraire!  I personally witnessed a man (with what seemed to be filthy hands) enter an establishment to check/fill a peanut dispensing machine once.  He removed the top, stuck in his arm up to the elbow, swish around the contents (you know, loosen things up), then proceed to fill same.  Now I'm not a germaphobe as a rule (things will be different now I suspect), but I couldn't even form a sentence for an hour after I saw that, lol.

 

[bilgistic]

OK, folks, I need help with a highly annoying problem. We have a fruit fly invasion. I've tried the vinegar-in-a-bowl trick--which worked perfectly for me at my old apartment--and the flies are laughing at me. I'm currently marinating an overripe piece of watermelon in a bit of vinegar in a little container and they aren't interested in that, either. I swear we had no issues until several weeks ago when my boyfriend bought a couple of bananas and all of the sudden we had the flies and now I can't get rid of them. No products I'm seeing online have consistently good reviews. What foolproof methods have you used to get rid of them? I'm going crazy!

[peacheslatour]

32 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

OK, folks, I need help with a highly annoying problem. We have a fruit fly invasion. I've tried the vinegar-in-a-bowl trick--which worked perfectly for me at my old apartment--and the flies are laughing at me. I'm currently marinating an overripe piece of watermelon in a bit of vinegar in a little container and they aren't interested in that, either. I swear we had no issues until several weeks ago when my boyfriend bought a couple of bananas and all of the sudden we had the flies and now I can't get rid of them. No products I'm seeing online have consistently good reviews. What foolproof methods have you used to get rid of them? I'm going crazy!

Try white wine. It works for me.

[SoMuchTV]

5 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Try white wine. It works for me.

I dunno.  I tried quite a bit of white wine, but when I woke up, the fruit flies were still there.  Oh, that's not what you meant...?

Okay, more seriously... @bilgistic - did you put a drop of Dawn in the vinegar solution?  And/or put a sheet of plastic wrap over the top and punch a few holes in it?  (Bugs check in, but they can't check out!)

Edited July 21, 2020 by SoMuchTV

[bilgistic]

Yes and yes. We don't have any wine and I'm loath to buy a whole bottle just to use a tiny bit for catching flies. I guess I could keep it for future flies. There is beer in the fridge that predates my boyfriend's and my relationship. I don't know why my boyfriend won't throw it out. Would it work?

Obviously, neither of us drinks.

[peacheslatour]

28 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

Yes and yes. We don't have any wine and I'm loath to buy a whole bottle just to use a tiny bit for catching flies. I guess I could keep it for future flies. There is beer in the fridge that predates my boyfriend's and my relationship. I don't know why my boyfriend won't throw it out. Would it work?

Obviously, neither of us drinks.

Wouldn't hurt to try it.

[MargeGunderson]

@bilgistic, I think I might have recommended this and this previously. I know that the reviews aren’t stellar (the flypunch) but they both worked for me when I had fruit flies (I’m pretty sure they came from bananas too). I took great pleasure in seeing their little drowned bodies.

[GaT]

2 hours ago, bilgistic said:

OK, folks, I need help with a highly annoying problem. We have a fruit fly invasion. I've tried the vinegar-in-a-bowl trick--which worked perfectly for me at my old apartment--and the flies are laughing at me. I'm currently marinating an overripe piece of watermelon in a bit of vinegar in a little container and they aren't interested in that, either. I swear we had no issues until several weeks ago when my boyfriend bought a couple of bananas and all of the sudden we had the flies and now I can't get rid of them. No products I'm seeing online have consistently good reviews. What foolproof methods have you used to get rid of them? I'm going crazy!

Get some frogs, they love flies 😁

[ABay]

We have periodic invasions at work and the custodians put out little traps. The vinegar thing never worked for me either but it's possible the pests were not actual fruit flies but tiny flies that show up in overwatered plants.

[bilgistic]

I've looked at the flypunch and I'm indeed wary because of the extremely mixed reviews.

[ABay]

3 minutes ago, GaT said:

Get some frogs, they love flies 😁

And the girls would love to play with it!

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

Yes and yes. We don't have any wine and I'm loath to buy a whole bottle just to use a tiny bit for catching flies. I guess I could keep it for future flies. There is beer in the fridge that predates my boyfriend's and my relationship. I don't know why my boyfriend won't throw it out. Would it work?

Obviously, neither of us drinks.

 

35 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Wouldn't hurt to try it.

I notice when I'm in Rite Aid, they have single-serving wine bottles near the counter for maybe $1.50.  Or red wine vinegar might have the same effect, if you think you might use the rest up for cooking/salad dressing.

[bilgistic]

28 minutes ago, ABay said:

And the girls would love to play with it!

Little Girl has been doing her best to try to catch the flies, but I'm pretty sure I've caught more by clapping my hands together when one flies by. I look pretty crazy randomly clapping several times a day.

Edited July 21, 2020 by bilgistic

[SuprSuprElevated]

The fruit fly thing is a chronic problem for restaurants too.  Maybe you could ask one near you to give you some advice.  It's possible they use chemicals, which you may not want to use, dunno.

[RealHousewife]

Over the top romanticism. I find it so cringeworthy. 

[AgentRXS]

I'm highly annoyed to find out that the new "The Stand" mini-series will only be available via CBS All-Access. I will not pay for another streaming service for one mini-series. 

I miss the days when having regular cable was sufficient enough.

[ABay]

@AgentRXS, if you have Amazon Prime, you can sign up for CBS Access a month and then cancel. There's usually a free trial the first time you try it. After that it's the monthly fee which is under $10.

[Cobb Salad]

Also if you can wait it’ll probably come out on DVD/rental before you know it and maybe available through your local library.  
 

Seems like anything worth watching on CBS is being aired on All-Access.  I don’t like being nickled and dimed to death with all of these streaming services.  I bought into cable a while back so now I’m supposed to subscribe to these other services too?

Also I checked out Peacock the other day.  The limited free stuff is okay but there’s other content that I’m interested in that you have to pay for 😡..   when will it end?

[rcc]

31 minutes ago, Cobb Salad said:

Also if you can wait it’ll probably come out on DVD/rental before you know it and maybe available through your local library.  
 

Seems like anything worth watching on CBS is being aired on All-Access.  I don’t like being nickled and dimed to death with all of these streaming services.  I bought into cable a while back so now I’m supposed to subscribe to these other services too?

Also I checked out Peacock the other day.  The limited free stuff is okay but there’s other content that I’m interested in that you have to pay for 😡..   when will it end?

True. Greedy networks will never end.

[JTMacc99]

26 minutes ago, rcc said:

True. Greedy networks will never end.

You guys want to read an article on this very topic?

To sum up what this says: 

• The cable networks (meaning A&E, FX, ESPN and so on) had been collecting monthly fees from a population of 105 million homes ten years ago, and that's down to 83 million and dropping fast.
• They struggled to keep that revenue by jacking up the rates per subscriber during that time. That is why you would occasionally have blackouts, because cable and satellite companies tried to fight those increases, since they're the ones who have to send the bill to us.
• The networks have come to accept this decline in that revenue stream, and are now working on making up for it with their own streaming services, but at the same time still collecting the old style cable money.
• It doesn't really dive into the distributor side (cable and satellite companies) side of things. 

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

I'm highly annoyed to find out that the new "The Stand" mini-series will only be available via CBS All-Access. I will not pay for another streaming service for one mini-series. 

I miss the days when having regular cable was sufficient enough.

I did a trial of CBS All Access to watch the new Twilight Zone. The app is HORRIBLE. I can't imagine paying $6 a month for it. It was seriously one of the worst apps I've ever used. It would hardly ever display captions despite the setting being on and it would autoplay the next episode despite the setting for that being OFF!

I initially signed up for the free week and went to cancel it a day before the trial ended. I never wait to the last day b/c the charge will have already gone through. Anyway, when I cancelled, they offered me a free month. I took it and we watched the rest of the series. It was just OK.

I stream a lot of content and cast it to my TV using Chromecast. I only pay for internet, Amazon Prime (which I get at a discounted rate) and HBO Max, which I got an intro discount on because I signed up pre-release. My family and I share our logins for all of the services we have, which besides mine include Hulu, Netflix, Mom's DirecTV cable...

I'm cheap!

Edited July 22, 2020 by bilgistic

[MissFeatherbottom]

20 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Getting away from electronic gadgets and doing other things I think is probably healthier on a variety of levels.  When I see people walking around the block, they (for whatever reason) can't put their damn cell phones down.  It is as if they can't function without constant stimulation.   A pacifier.  Sad.

Some of us do this to avoid "friendly" interactions with neighbors. If I look busy they won't try to talk to me. Yes I'm an introvert! 😁

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

My family and I share our logins for all of the services we have, which besides mine include Hulu, Netflix, Mom's DirecTV cable...

I have Dish (satellite) as my TV provider, and it wasn't until quarantine started that I finally dug out the old Fire stick my parents had handed down to me and added streaming - but I'm not paying for any of that streaming.  I use my parents' Netflix account and my friend's Prime account, and Tubi is free. 

I do watch things on Netflix and Prime, especially Netflix, but I wouldn't pay for either of them on top of Dish (nor would I replace Dish with some combination of them).  I used to just watch Netflix while cat-sitting at my parents' house.

I'd like to see the Hamilton broadcast, since I saw it performed by the touring company not the original Broadway cast (I think we had two OBC actors), but that's the only thing on Disney that interests me, so I don't even want to mess with a free trial; I figure it will be released on DVD at some point.  I might do a free trial of Hulu in order to watch Taste the Nation and maybe Palm Springs, but I've yet to muster up the motivation to sign up.

[JTMacc99]

2 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

I'm cheap

Nope! You're navigating a very expensive entertainment space wisely.

Interesting you brought up HBO Max.

So... I'm an HBO subscriber as part of the bundle Spectrum has me in. I could take or leave HBO, but I like the bundle because it has all of the miscellaneous cable channels I like. (I watch some seriously obscure crap.)

With the cable HBO subscription, you automatically get access to an HBO streaming app, which I did occasionally use on my Roku. Well, it turns out, I have access to the new HBO Max app with my HBO subscription, which is cool because they've got a partnership with DC and will be putting out new content only on Max that I'll want to watch.  

Turns out, HBO Max isn't available on Roku at the moment. Or Fire TV. I can watch it on my phone, but I can't get it on my TV. Why? Same as always, fighting over who gets how much money. The deals these companies cut now will set the precedent for wherever TV is heading.  We're all living right smack in the middle of a huge evolution of the pay TV industry. 

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

Arghh, public finger-licking is up there in my Top 3 Pet Peeves EVER!!!

Especially if the person does that little "pop" mouth sound at the end. NO!

Quote

Back in the 80s, I went into a clothing store with a friend.  She was a bit on the heavy side, and the salesperson was so unbelievably rude.  She told my friend that we have nothing in this store that will fit you.  She was really snotty about it too.

What a bitch. OK, first, has she never heard of someone shopping for a gift for someone else -- not that it matters one damn bit for what or for whom she was shopping, of course!

Edited July 22, 2020 by TattleTeeny

[Cobb Salad]

I can usually take walks around my neighborhood without incident.  There are a couple of “regulars” that I exchange a nod or a wave with from time to time and that’s it.  
Then there have been a couple of incidents with dog owners.  I was passing one who was off to the side when he said the dog is friendly.  I made the mistake of saying I don’t care.  This guy proceeded to follow me down the street matching my quick pace while muttering some insults which made me stop which I guess was his goal.  He didn’t let me say a word while he went on some rant that ended with “and that’s sad because you’ll be dead soon”.  That prompted me to hurl some insults at him that got him riled and that was the end of that.  I had never seen this guy and this dog before and over 2 years later I still haven’t run into him.  It was the end of a holiday weekend and I suspect he was visiting someone in the neighborhood.  My attitude is if I don’t know who you are and where you live I’m sure not going to engage in anything to do with your dog.  Then there’s the woman across the street who let her little dog run around off a leash - I was passing by when the dog saw me and started barking and running toward me.  I was enough of a distance away and walking fast enough that the dog was never able to catch up with me.  When I got to the spot where I cross the street, it was clear so I crossed.  I think the dog followed me across the street then stopped.  All the time the owner is yelling for the dog and trying to retrieve it.  I never said a word to her about this.  After these incidents and a couple of others I try to have tunnel vision while I encounter these types.  They’re not going to change their ways.  

[Katy M]

3 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I am about as introverted as it gets, "life experiences" pushed me in that direction.   I usually walk with my head down and move on through.  People don't usually start a conversation with someone who is just walking along with their head down and their mouth shut.   When a person is raised to avoid or ignore people who make their lives difficult, it shouldn't be a shock that I would take that approach.   It is done in effort to not draw attention to one's self, and as a result try to avoid people who "get off" on making another person's life difficult.  It has become a habit for me, and because I have done it since my grade school years, it would be very uncomfortable for me if I tried to change now.

Given how volatile some adults can be, I see no reason to attempt to change now.   It wasn't all that many years ago, when I was walking around the block and for days upon days, weeks upon weeks, a woman would let her dog out unleashed to go to the bathroom, and the dog would immediately bolt into the road and go after me.  I wouldn't have said anything if that dog hadn't gone after me multiple times.  I kept asking her to tie the dog up or get control of the dog,  and she wouldn't do it.  She thought it was big joke and laughed it off.  The woman wasn't working anyway, how hard could it be to put a leash on a dog and take one off?   A few times after that, she did apologize, but I got so fed up that I just ignored her.  If a person is going to apologize for something and then continue that behavior, the apology isn't a sincere one.

In any case, several weeks later when she let out the dog, the dog bolted after me again.  Her husband bolted after the dog and then he said to me, "I dare you to tell me to tie up my dog."   I didn't say anything, I never said anything that day.  I  have never said two words to her husband.  Her husband was looking for a reason to start something.  I wasn't interested in that at all.  The dog made him look like a damn fool with that jerk chasing the dog into the road.  Instead of owning his stupidity, he tried to take out his anger on me.  A retired dude with the mind set of a petulant child.  I don't know what his wife told him, but I suspect she made herself out to be a victim.  Those are the type of people to avoid.  They won't admit that they are wrong, and if I had complained to the dog catcher, all that would have done is escalate things.

I won't pretend to use a cell phone, I will just keep my head down and keep on moving.

 

I like dogs, but when in public (and the definition of that means any time they are off their own property, or visiting someone who have given permission) they should be on a leash AND under control.  I understand that sometimes a dog may take an owner by surprise and bolt when they're not expecting it and thus pull the leash out of their hand, but if it's a regular thing, the owner needs to adjust their behavior and have a tighter hold.  Most places have laws concerning this for a reason.

[peacheslatour]

This is why I have cats.