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

[Katy M]

39 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

And more on badly behaving owners of innocent pets: Driving to a no-pets-allowed-posted beach with their pets in the car on hot days and then, if the police happen to be parked there, leaving their pets barking in the hot car

I'm not sure how leaving the pets in the car helps.  Isn't that illegal also?  You're likely only going to be told to leave if you take your dog on the beach.  Perhaps a small fine.  You'll more likely get a large fine or even jail time for leaving the dog in the car.

[Quof]

1 hour ago, icemiser69 said:

This exercise proves my point.   This is what happened in one of my grade school classes.  There were twenty-five people in one of my classes.  The teacher whispered something to one student.

That's a game called Telephone Out of Order, which we all played in childhood.

[Browncoat]

21 minutes ago, Quof said:

That's a game called Telephone Out of Order, which we all played in childhood.

We called it Gossip, or just Telephone.

Edited August 16, 2020 by Browncoat

[Quof]

We played it in Brownies; one of the girls had hearing loss (but didn't wear a hearing aid?), so we got to go into another room to yell the information to her.  

[shapeshifter]

27 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I'm not sure how leaving the pets in the car helps.  Isn't that illegal also?  You're likely only going to be told to leave if you take your dog on the beach.  Perhaps a small fine.  You'll more likely get a large fine or even jail time for leaving the dog in the car.

There's a posted sign about the ordinance not permitting pets on the beach --or runners or cyclists on the narrow twisting road to the beach- but the police rarely issue tickets or even talk to offenders, and there's no official city ordinance against leaving pets in cars on hot or cold days --just advisories sent in the mail and on local stations. There may be county ordinances regarding animal abuse, but only city police ever come to the beach. 
This is a small town with just enough multi-million-dollar beach-front mansions whose property taxes mean that the police don't have any monetary reasons to give out tickets, and the crime rates are so low that the police are self-selecting to be non-confrontational. 

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

Yes, and maybe even worse when it is people who you know see eye-to-eye with you and are posting some factual looking meme because others of like mind have posted it, but it is total fiction and undermines what they (we, in this case) believe in. Argh.

Oh my god, I know. And as of this week (not sure I can mention the particular issue that the memes and shared posts are about--but they're also fraught with false equivalencies), the amount of "but the media hasn't said a word about it!!!" posts are off the rails. How the fuck do YOU know about it at all then if no one has covered the story?! 

[Angeltoes]

Today was my work Monday.  I have off Fridays and Saturdays.  Why do two weekend days fly by so fast and two work days drag?

[TattleTeeny]

Lately (or, you know, since MARCH!), it has felt to me like time is simultaneously dragging and flying. Like the days are dragging (especially the 3 with no power due to that storm*)...but somehow months are going by too fast. I was still wearing a coat when I was last in my office, but now, suddenly, the summer's almost done.

*Read a Stephen King book in less than a day during that time!

Edited August 17, 2020 by TattleTeeny

[JTMacc99]

On 8/15/2020 at 10:48 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Well, you could keep the name Pet Peeves but add a very grouchy looking little face...a curmudgeon face.

Hee! 

The sentiment is clearly to leave it alone, and so we shall. 

[bilgistic]

Well, that was a rollercoaster ride.

[Brookside]

On 8/16/2020 at 7:26 AM, shapeshifter said:

 

And more on badly behaving owners of innocent pets: Driving to a no-pets-allowed-posted beach with their pets in the car on hot days and then, if the police happen to be parked there, leaving their pets barking in the hot car in the sun while the owners go for a swim. Or, if the police are not there, the pet owners approaching swimmers and "warning" them that they are letting their dogs off of their leashes now and then the friendly dogs jump on the bare-skin of the swimmers with their unclipped claws. 

And crap in the water.

On 8/16/2020 at 8:37 AM, Quof said:

We played it in Brownies; one of the girls had hearing loss (but didn't wear a hearing aid?), so we got to go into another room to yell the information to her.  

No paper and pencils in the Brownies?  Or am I just too old-fashioned? 🙂

[Quof]

The point of the game was to whisper in some one's ear, then see how the information was mangled when they repeated it to some one else.  

[Katy M]

2 minutes ago, Brookside said:

No paper and pencils in the Brownies?  Or am I just too old-fashioned?

I think that would defeat the purpose of the game.  

[Brookside]

12 minutes ago, Katy M said:

I think that would defeat the purpose of the game.  

 

13 minutes ago, Quof said:

The point of the game was to whisper in some one's ear, then see how the information was mangled when they repeated it to some one else.  

I'm sorry I wasn't clearer - my point was that rather than draw excessive attention to one child because of a disability, maybe she could have been accommodated more subtly. 

[Katy M]

1 minute ago, Brookside said:

 

I'm sorry I wasn't clearer - my point was that rather than draw excessive attention to one child because of a disability, maybe she could have been accommodated more subtly. 

I know that's what you meant, but it would still defeat the purpose of the game.  Although, IMO, I guess so does shouting.

[shapeshifter]

5 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

He always expected the worst out of life, and if something good happened, he thought something bad happening was just around the corner.  He was never happy.   That is very much my personality type.   I don't know how Eeyore came to be that way, but I know why I am the way I am.

The interesting thing about all of the Winnie the Pooh characters is that they all have very different personalities.

Back in the day when I was a kid, my neighbor was mental health professional.  An awesome human being who had died a couple of decades ago.  His son back in the early 80s bought him the book, The Tao of Pooh.

I have a bush that I planted earlier this Spring.  It was only supposed to grow four feet tall at maximum height.  So, I put in four "u" fence posts and netted it on all open sides.  Now it is five feet tall and I am ticked, because If I cut the netting off the top to open it up, I am afraid the deer will eat it.

I’m like that too (probably mostly biochemistry). 
Hence I probably would’ve made the netting posts higher. 😉

[shapeshifter]

6 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

It was only supposed to grow four feet tall at maximum height.

57 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Hence I probably would’ve made the netting posts higher

45 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

The posts are five feet tall and the bush wants to bust through it.

So we do think alike!
Can it be pruned? Maybe into a shape like Eeyore's droopy ears?

 

[KittyMom4]

7 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

I have a bush that I planted earlier this Spring.  It was only supposed to grow four feet tall at maximum height.  So, I put in four "u" fence posts and netted it on all open sides.  Now it is five feet tall and I am ticked, because If I cut the netting off the top to open it up, I am afraid the deer will eat it.

I highly recommend pray by Liquid Fence. I had to use it on my hostas after the deer ate it to the nubs, thankfully they have started to come back. It stinks at first but the smell dissipates to us humans and remains on the plants for several weeks. I spray them once a month now and haven't had a problem. 

 

17 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

It just ticks me off when I go to the garden center and pick out a plant, and then the plant grows much larger than the tag on the plant says it will.

 Or larger than the plant description says! I planted what i thought was a low growing plant to fill int between some hostas, well some of it stayed low but some of it towers over them. Always a mystery when I plant stuff! 

 

[SuprSuprElevated]

In line with ^ this topic, I can't even guess the $$ wasted when we built this house, paid extra for dwarf trees/bushes, only to have them grow 4x their size in 2-3 years.  Most have been removed.  Maddening.

[GaT]

58 minutes ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

In line with ^ this topic, I can't even guess the $$ wasted when we built this house, paid extra for dwarf trees/bushes, only to have them grow 4x their size in 2-3 years.  Most have been removed.  Maddening.

I think a lot of people over plant & then when the plants/trees start getting to full size, they're too big & either die or kill neighboring plants. The people across the street from us planted a tree between 2 existing trees & I don't understand how they can't see that when it actually grows there won't be enough room for all 3 trees. It was a really stupid idea.

[shapeshifter]

I have whined more than once about the window/wall air conditioner that is installed in my duplex neighbor's smaller bedroom wall so that it hangs outside my only/small bedroom window, roaring like an idling semi truck engine.
Last summer the neighbor's nearly 30-year-old son had moved out, so it was quiet, but then she moved out this winter and arranged to have a woman with 2 twenty-something sons move in before I had any knowledge about her move (or had a chance to have a friend/librarian/single woman move in). 
This summer of pandemic, both of the sons are living there, and the one in that room has been running the air conditioner 24/7, even when the temperatures are in the low 60s (except when he goes out once a week). 
I was back to imagining sabotage, but again decided against it for various reasons ("it could always be worse").
But last night a skunk sprayed right under the cursed air conditioner.
Hah! 
Hallelujah!
The air conditioner from hell is still off.
 

[ParadoxLost]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

I think a lot of people over plant & then when the plants/trees start getting to full size, they're too big & either die or kill neighboring plants. The people across the street from us planted a tree between 2 existing trees & I don't understand how they can't see that when it actually grows there won't be enough room for all 3 trees. It was a really stupid idea.

I once had a landscape plan drawn up by a major nursery that all of you know of.

He gave me a plan that if you followed the guidelines on how to plant would have need about ten times the square feet than was in that space.  I actually called them and and asked if he somehow counted off eight feet as eighty feet.  He was a crook that only cared about jacking up the price as much as possible no matter what the consequence 5 years down the road would be.

[Gramto6]

2 hours ago, GaT said:

I think a lot of people over plant & then when the plants/trees start getting to full size, they're too big & either die or kill neighboring plants. The people across the street from us planted a tree between 2 existing trees & I don't understand how they can't see that when it actually grows there won't be enough room for all 3 trees. It was a really stupid idea.

I agree. I moved here to MT in 2004. The people I bought my double wide from planted about 10 supposedly cottonless (not) Cottonwoods across the back of the property, within feet of the home in some places. Within a year I had to have 2 cut down as they were on a bank of the irrigation ditch and you could push them and they would sway. By 2015 the trees were huge! I mean 60-70 ft tall. We had a huge wind storm that Summer and one came down on my home. I was in the other end of the house... The insurance adjuster said trees fall 2 ways, they either crash down and smash everything or they come down slowly as they break away. I was extremely fortunate that it came down slowly. I heard a swish and thud. I went into the kitchen and the window and deck on the other side of the house was covered by tree! It could have been so different and I might not even be here today. Huge expensive repair to the roof/house which thankfully insurance covered. That fall I had all the trees save 3 at the far corners of the property which I had topped removed. People just don't think ahead when planting big things like trees.

And there is yet another pet peeve..."cottonless" Cottonwoods...really

 

Edited August 19, 2020 by Gramto6
messed uo

[shapeshifter]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I have whined more than once about the window/wall air conditioner that is installed in my duplex neighbor's smaller bedroom wall so that it hangs outside my only/small bedroom window, roaring like an idling semi truck engine.
Last summer the neighbor's nearly 30-year-old son had moved out, so it was quiet, but then she moved out this winter and arranged to have a woman with 2 twenty-something sons move in before I had any knowledge about her move (or had a chance to have a friend/librarian/single woman move in). 
This summer of pandemic, both of the sons are living there, and the one in that room has been running the air conditioner 24/7, even when the temperatures are in the low 60s (except when he goes out once a week). 
I was back to imagining sabotage, but again decided against it for various reasons ("it could always be worse").
But last night a skunk sprayed right under the cursed air conditioner.
Hah! 
Hallelujah!
The air conditioner from hell is still off.
 

*Sigh* 
Almost 24 hours of quiet.
It's 66°F outside. The only air conditioner in the neighborhood running is a just a few feet from my bedroom window. 
Skunks like cat food, right? But then there's the risk that the skunk might wander down the stairs to the basement and get stuck (they can't climb), where it will spray until the animal control people come and destroy my erstwhile ally for $125.

[graybrown bird]

I'm so sorry, Shapeshifter.  It is horrible to feel trapped where you live.  Home should be a refuge.

[emma675]

Is there such a thing as skunk spray you could buy? And every so often, spray it right by the AC unit so you can get some peace and quiet?

[peacheslatour]

11 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

*Sigh* 
Almost 24 hours of quiet.
It's 66°F outside. The only air conditioner in the neighborhood running is a just a few feet from my bedroom window. 
Skunks like cat food, right? But then there's the risk that the skunk might wander down the stairs to the basement and get stuck (they can't climb), where it will spray until the animal control people come and destroy my erstwhile ally for $125.

I got curious, this is what the Googles say:

The answer is that skunks, in fact, can climb, and they do it very well. While residing in their natural habitats, they will often climb and move around trees. ... Other than climbing trees, skunks are also capable of climbing fences and short walls.

[peacheslatour]

Those hibiscus are gorgeous. I grow Rose Of Sharon bushes. My favorite is the blue bird variety. They are blue with a red center. They look like hibiscus but they're not as large and are more forgiving of cold weather.

Cosign on not hurting a skunk. They are sweet animals and they kill millions of nasty bugs.

 

[peacheslatour]

Quote

My lawnmower will only start if I start it with the gas cap off.  Once it starts I can screw it back on, but my hands smell like gas after that, and it takes forever to get gas smell off of my hands.

I used to think I liked the smell of gas because my dad was a car guy. He used to restore and race classic British cars so I guess it reminded me of him. Years later I was working for a mortgage broker who was a force of nature. One day she called me at work. Her car had run out of gas. So I went to the nearest gas station and borrowed a gas can and put gas in her car. I stupidly put the gas can in my back seat. My poor Camry smelled like gas for months after that. Ugh, it was nauseating.

[Sweedish Fish]

My sister had a skunk as a pet while growing up.   They are not like cats.😬

Cosign on not harming the skunk.

[Sweeneyswt]

If you feel like sharing more...

Was he/she/it? de-skunked?

[KittyMom4]

@Gramto6 we had 5 trees in our yard taken down because they were planted too close to the house & driveway and were never properly managed (pruned so the branches grow up instead of over). One of my neighbors commented that I was probably going to regret it with no shade during summer, I told him I wouldn't miss worrying that a big branch was going to come through my roof or fall on my car during any windy day.  And this summer has been a scorcher, still haven't missed those trees. 

 

[SuprSuprElevated]

On 8/18/2020 at 7:03 PM, GaT said:

I think a lot of people over plant & then when the plants/trees start getting to full size, they're too big & either die or kill neighboring plants. The people across the street from us planted a tree between 2 existing trees & I don't understand how they can't see that when it actually grows there won't be enough room for all 3 trees. It was a really stupid idea.

We didn't over plant, we planted things that were supposed to be dwarf, paid the extra for that, only to have them not be dwarf, rendering them inappropriate for the location in short order, or making them too difficult to maintain.  There's a difference.

[shapeshifter]

On 8/19/2020 at 8:55 AM, graybrown bird said:

I'm so sorry, Shapeshifter.  It is horrible to feel trapped where you live.  Home should be a refuge.

Thanks, @graybrown bird.
I suppose if the axiom of "Misery loves company" is relevant for today, I have more than enough company to love.
Literally.
Too. Much. Company. (even though there's nobody but me here)
We're all trapped for now. 

[peacheslatour]

8 hours ago, Sweedish Fish said:

My sister had a skunk as a pet while growing up.   They are not like cats.😬

Cosign on not harming the skunk.

We had one in a cage in out first grade classroom. He was de-stanked but he still smelled to high heaven. More of a musky smell like a ferret. He was very sweet. We called him Flower, of course.

[shapeshifter]

On 8/19/2020 at 10:32 AM, emma675 said:

Is there such a thing as skunk spray you could buy? And every so often, spray it right by the AC unit so you can get some peace and quiet?

Just Googled. It's a skunk liquid and apparently is so strong that it is impossible to contain the odor even in multiple nesting containers. 
I can't determine if skunks are harmed in its manufacture, but based on words like "pure," I would guess so. 
So, I won't be buying it any time soon, but if I'm going nuts some night, it might help to think that there is a possible solution. Maybe something else similar.
But likely I will first move to be near one of my daughters instead. 
And I suspect the mom of the 2 adult sons isn't too thrilled with them running the air conditioner 24/7 or leaving the side door open as I happened to walk by the door just after she slammed it and shortly after the air conditioner was shut off.
They are really very quiet, but I am glad I'm not living with them in the same apartment. 

And here is a great reading of a favorite book I read infinite times to my kids, It Could Always Be Worse:

 

[Sweedish Fish]

On 8/20/2020 at 7:57 AM, Sweeneyswt said:

If you feel like sharing more...

Was he/she/it? de-skunked?

Yes, de-skunked.  She(?) just hung around like a cat, let you pet her and such. But not one of my sister's best ideas.  I was walking the skunk one day (little harness) and for no apparent reason tore into my hand, oh my latched on and would not let go. It was a nasty bite.

I wouldn't recommend having one domesticated or not.  ouch.  😣

[AgentRXS]

I hate Facebook's new desktop layout. HAAAAATE it.

[Jaded]

1 hour ago, AgentRXS said:

I hate Facebook's new desktop layout. HAAAAATE it.

It's like they stretched out a mobile theme and forced it on desktop users without making any changes.

[auntlada]

9 hours ago, Jaded said:

It's like they stretched out a mobile theme and forced it on desktop users without making any changes.

I wrote them a note that said that exact thing in their comments box (I forget what I had to click to get it) before I went back to the old design. I'm keeping it for as long as I can. Of course, I'm still unhappy that even when I make my feed "most recent," it doesn't show me everything (apparently) since the last time I logged on. I don't want Facebook curating my feed based on what its algorithms (or whatever the right word is) thinks I want to see. I want it to show me everything and let me decide what I don't want to see.

[Sweedish Fish]

I am always getting the message that 'Something went wrong' on facebook and it only lets me see a few posts.

[TattleTeeny]

There's an option to go back to the old FB view. It asks you why before switching it. I said "Because this looks like a video game designed to teach preschoolers about colors and shapes."

[peacheslatour]

7 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Loud Talkers.

Whether they are talking on the phone or just having an in person conversation, they have to be among the most obnoxious people in the world.

My neighbor is having guests over right now and they are sitting on her back porch and they are talking so friggin' loud, it is driving me nuts.  

When I was younger when my mom used the phone, she would talk so friggin' loud everyone in the house could hear her no matter what room they were in.

When I was a child, I used to be a loud talker.  When it was pointed out to me that I was loud, I started talking so softly so I wouldn't disturb anyone, then people started asking me to speak louder.  I still speak softly, no I don't carry a big stick.

My DH and his whole family are loud talkers. I was raised an only child whose parents both worked and were rarely home, never fought and were very reserved. Being around my hubby's family makes me long for silence.  Of course we became estranged from them right after my FIL died because he was the only one we liked. I can't tell you what a relief it's been to only have one loud talker in my life. I tell my DH "hey, I'm sitting right here, you don't need to yell." He does apologize, I'll give him that.

[Cobb Salad]

30 minutes ago, icemiser69 said:

Loud Talkers.

Whether they are talking on the phone or just having an in person conversation, they have to be among the most obnoxious people in the world.

I used to have a neighbor who would stand outside and talk on his cell phone loudly.  I’d hear him when I was sitting inside my home when I’d have my window open.  Why he’d do that so everyone would hear his business is a mystery.  
A number of years ago I visited the Empire State Building - we're on the long line inside waiting to get on the elevator to the top and this one woman was finishing up her rather loud conversation on her cell phone - this guy mocked her and people laughed.   Yes she was annoying but the rest of us got some entertainment from this guy (unrelated to the woman) from it.  

[Sweeneyswt]

I’m not a fan of loud talking either. My ex and son are SO loud. It hurts my brain, especially since my son is 4, so he still cries sometimes or can’t control himself playing. I love him dearly, but he makes my blood pressure go up sometimes when he’s so loud. He can just force out so many high-pitched decibels. 
 

I dislike mass emails from companies that have the subject line say, “Re:” No, I haven’t written you. Quit acting like you’re replying when I guess you mean, “regarding.” Groupon sent one today that said, “Re: Your Question.” Ugh. Aggravates. I try to unsubscribe but that can also be annoying to attempt!

[annzeepark914]

20 hours ago, AgentRXS said:

I hate Facebook's new desktop layout. HAAAAATE it.

Is this what they're sending notices about? I keep hitting "remind me later" cause I don't trust Facebook to make a change that I'll like. Can't we opt out? All I use Facebook for is to see family and friends' photos, my hometown's photos & info, and that's it. I wanna be left alone, FB 🤬!

[auntlada]

41 minutes ago, Sweeneyswt said:

I dislike mass emails from companies that have the subject line say, “Re:” No, I haven’t written you. Quit acting like you’re replying when I guess you mean, “regarding.” Groupon sent one today that said, “Re: Your Question.” Ugh. Aggravates. I try to unsubscribe but that can also be annoying to attempt!

Any email that arrives in my inbox that says "Re:" and is not in response to something I actually sent goes immediately into the trash. I generally regard those as spam and don't even open them.

Just now, annzeepark914 said:

Is this what they're sending notices about? I keep hitting "remind me later" cause I don't trust Facebook to make a change that I'll like. Can't we opt out? All I use Facebook for is to see family and friends' photos, my hometown's photos & info, and that's it. I wanna be left alone, FB 🤬!

You can opt out for a time, but eventually everyone will get it, I think.

[AgentRXS]

3 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Is this what they're sending notices about? I keep hitting "remind me later" cause I don't trust Facebook to make a change that I'll like. Can't we opt out? All I use Facebook for is to see family and friends' photos, my hometown's photos & info, and that's it. I wanna be left alone, FB 🤬!

It is going to switch over permanently in September. 

[TattleTeeny]

My neighbor has a loud and gravelly voice and is often outside on the phone while he takes his dog out. I personally don't care, but I can see why it would bug someone (random fun fact: if you watched season 12 of Hell's Kitchen, you may know the voice I mean).

[Nordly Beaumont]

47 minutes ago, TattleTeeny said:

My neighbor has a loud and gravelly voice and is often outside on the phone while he takes his dog out. I personally don't care, but I can see why it would bug someone

Back in the days of going into the office, there was a woman with what I think you might call a gravelly voice. It always seemed like she needed to clear her throat. She was so loud, she drove everyone crazy - but honestly, listening to her conversations cracked me up! She is 70, has a roommate, owns several rental properties in Florida, yet for some reason is still working a 9-5 job (insurance?). She was always on the phone ripping into plumbers and contractors working on her properties. Man, I wish I had her confidence to just call these people and say "THIS is what you're going to do, and THIS is when you'll be done."

I don't mind loud talking, or even chewing, as much as I mind the sound of typing on a keyboard. For some reason my typing doesn't bother me, but hearing someone else type makes me irrationally angry ("How DARE they do their job!") Working at home is niiiiice...