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

[oliviabenson]

I paid $20 for a year of peacock 

[Bastet]

4 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

They announced it in February 

Comcast ending free Peacock

Oh, you're talking specifically about a Comcast deal, where those customers got for free something non-Comcast folks would have to pay $4.99/month for. 

I'm talking about the free-to-everyone version of Peacock (which not only has ads, it doesn't have all the programming the paid versions do) that got closed to new subscribers at the end of January, but still exists for those of us who already had it.

Edited June 9, 2023 by Bastet

[PRgal]

21 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

Well, there’s Raul…

Isn't it usually spelled Raoul? 

[Kitty Redstone]

20 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

I paid $20 for a year of peacock 

Same, though tbh I've only logged in a few times since doing so. There's a lot of good content there so I'll renew it when the year is up.

[chitowngirl]

Sigh-besides losing free Peacock, Apple+ is going up about $20 a year and my Disney+ plan is going up $30 a year

[oliviabenson]

10 minutes ago, Kitty Redstone said:

Same, though tbh I've only logged in a few times since doing so. There's a lot of good content there so I'll renew it when the year is up.

I barely use it. $20 a year is still reasonable for me.

[roseha]

I still remember my older brother laughing at me for saying the word as "poLIT-ics".

In my defense I was maybe nine years old at the time.

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, chitowngirl said:

Sigh-besides losing free Peacock, Apple+ is going up about $20 a year and my Disney+ plan is going up $30 a year

Costco had an Apple Plus deal - $63/yr. Target also has a free Apple Plus deal through their red card (credit or debit) though it may only be for new subscribers.

[Leeds]

8 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

 

They announced a while ago that free Peacock was going to end at the end of June. They want to get their ducks in a row for Olympic coverage in 2024.

I'm confused?  How do you get free Peacock?  Don't you have to have basic cable?

As a tangent, back in 1984 after I'd been in the States for a couple of years I caved and bought my first TV purely to watch the Olympics.   The ABC coverage was an appalling mix of jingoism accompanied by sob stories and extended personal histories of the American athletes, while important events that didn't include American athletes were ignored.

[roseha]

4 minutes ago, Leeds said:

As a tangent, back in 1984 after I'd been in the States for a couple of years I caved and bought my first TV purely to watch the Olympics.   The ABC coverage was an appalling mix of jingoism accompanied by sob stories and extended personal histories of the American athletes, while important events that didn't include American athletes were ignored.

Some things never change.

[ABay]

Watching Olympics coverage in the 1990s you wouldn't have known other countries even existed unless they competed against an American. Same with coverage of military actions--according to American news only the US was involved. I was so glad we were close enough to the border to get CBC.

[EtheltoTillie]

7 hours ago, Leeds said:

I'm confused?  How do you get free Peacock?  Don't you have to have basic cable?

As a tangent, back in 1984 after I'd been in the States for a couple of years I caved and bought my first TV purely to watch the Olympics.   The ABC coverage was an appalling mix of jingoism accompanied by sob stories and extended personal histories of the American athletes, while important events that didn't include American athletes were ignored.

You have an interesting perspective coming from another country.  They don't do the same thing in the UK, I imagine.  What did the Brits do when Torvill and Dean were skating?

Back in those days the competition between the USSR and USA was huge, and most smaller countries didn't (and don't) make as big a deal about the whole thing anyway.  They didn't field as many athletes for so many events.

[SuprSuprElevated]

8 hours ago, Leeds said:

I'm confused?  How do you get free Peacock?  Don't you have to have basic cable?

We have been Comcast users for longer than I care to think about (as long as they've existed and bought out whichever bottom-feeding Co. before them), and one day it just became known that they were providing Peacock+ as a perk, maybe 2 years ago?, though I can't say for certain.

I didn't know about the bait and switch until we received the email (to my husbands email, which he never saw, I was on his phone...)

Anyhoo, we'll obviously pay the $3 bux (or find a better deal if I can), but I WILL be calling Comcast to severely downgrade our cable in the next week, as I know that our money will be going to streaming services, like it or not. (yes JT, I know THEY will be happier for it). 

Edited June 9, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[Leeds]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

You have an interesting perspective coming from another country.  They don't do the same thing in the UK, I imagine.  What did the Brits do when Torvill and Dean were skating?

Back in those days the competition between the USSR and USA was huge, and most smaller countries didn't (and don't) make as big a deal about the whole thing anyway.  They didn't field as many athletes for so many events.

Oh, believe me, the crowd went wild!

[EtheltoTillie]

3 minutes ago, Leeds said:

Oh, believe me, the crowd went wild!

Everyone went wild here too.  It was a big deal.  I used to watch skating very avidly.  I had a soft spot for Blumberg and Siebert, but Torvill and Dean were originals. 

[EtheltoTillie]

The internet is a wonderful thing, isn't it.  How remarkable to rewatch this.  It really is outstanding, choreography, execution, artistry.  Wow.

This is interesting, because it must be a BBC clip, as there is a British announcer.  There is no sports commenting during the routine:  "Look at the edges"  "Torvill and Dean are really known for their clean line."  Whatever, the babble you'd hear from Dick Button and Peggy Fleming. 

[Mindthinkr]

Every now and again I go on YouTube to watch them skate to Bolero. I’ve seldom seen an ice dancing routine that has moved me as much. Classic. 

[Leeds]

5 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

Every now and again I go on YouTube to watch them skate to Bolero. I’ve seldom seen an ice dancing routine that has moved me as much. Classic. 

Me too.  I still cry.

[annzeepark914]

They deserved the gold, but Dean hauling Torvill around the rink by the scruff of her neck in all of their programs bugged me. I was more intrigued by the Ponomorenkos (sp??) They won bronze that year, silver in '88 & gold at the '92 Olympics. Each time I saw them their programs got more & more dramatic. I saw them in two TOC shows back in the 90's, & even as pros, they truly put on a show of great drama and powerful skating. 

[Caoimhe]

18 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

The name Sean. I read it in the books and had no idea how to pronounce it. Yeahhhh. 

My husband’s name is Sean, his brother is Seamus. Irish names are particularly bad for spelling not having any relation to pronunciation. Case in point, look at my user name.  It’s pronounced “Keeva”. 

 

18 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Ugh. My parents liked to go to the drive in movies a lot when I was small. For years I pronounced it 'Seen' Connery.

That makes perfect sense, a sewing “seam” is pronounced “seem”.

[annzeepark914]

28 minutes ago, Caoimhe said:

My husband’s name is Sean, his brother is Seamus. Irish names are particularly bad for spelling not having any relation to pronunciation. Case in point, look at my user name.  It’s pronounced “Keeva”. 

Wow. So then letters must be pronounced differently there, right? I love Irish names (& desperately searched for any Irish DNA when my Ancestry and My Heritage results arrived...😒).

[Bethany]

40 minutes ago, Caoimhe said:

Case in point, look at my user name.  It’s pronounced “Keeva”. 

I am half Irish but obviously it's too far back because there is no way I would have gotten that pronunciation right.  So is it the "h" that makes it "va"? As in  Siobhán?  Or have I got that wrong? 

[Leeds]

I hate it when men have their cellphones in their front pockets (and no, that is not a euphemism).  British and American men need to embrace the man bag.

[annzeepark914]

7 minutes ago, Leeds said:

I hate it when men have their cellphones in their front pockets (and no, that is not a euphemism).  British and American men need to embrace the man bag.

I've never noticed this before. Uh-oh...now I'm gonna be that pervy broad checkin' out all the guy's front pockets 😖

[Caoimhe]

1 hour ago, Bethany said:

I am half Irish but obviously it's too far back because there is no way I would have gotten that pronunciation right.  So is it the "h" that makes it "va"? As in  Siobhán?  Or have I got that wrong? 

The mh and bh combinations typically make a “v” sound. I had an exemption from studying the language thanks to moving countries so I don’t know the rules!

[rcc]

8 hours ago, ABay said:

Watching Olympics coverage in the 1990s you wouldn't have known other countries even existed unless they competed against an American. Same with coverage of military actions--according to American news only the US was involved. I was so glad we were close enough to the border to get CBC.

I watched a lot of CBC coverage too. Close to border.

[Anela]

On 6/8/2023 at 8:02 PM, oliviabenson said:

I paid $20 for a year of peacock 

I'm paying less then $2 a month for it, for a year, thanks to a deal in November. Unfortunately, they have ads running throughout shows. I prefer the way Hulu only plays one ad at the beginning and end of shows that are currently airing on other networks. 

I remember Torvill and Dean, when I was a kid. I'm not an Olympics person, but remember the coverage all over the TV. I also felt like I knew more about what was going on in the world, when I watched English news, and used to watch PBS news, but I don't have cable anymore, so I just have to look things up now. I keep forgetting that Hulu has ABC news. 

[SoMuchTV]

Gah! indeed.  H & I finally got around to being responsible and getting our wills/estate planning set up - yay!  But now the attorney who handled it has sent out an email about his new website - addressed to hundreds of his clients!  I tried to send a polite response - um, I'm not comfortable with so many email addresses being sent to so many people, could you maybe bcc me?  He responded apologetically and said that wasn't meant to happen, but now it's out there.  Even if 99.9% of his clients are fine upstanding people who wouldn't take advantage, I guess I have to wonder who could misuse the email addresses and how...

Edited June 10, 2023 by SoMuchTV
Clarifying that I'm talking about email addresses not the email itself.

[Cloud9Shopper]

Slacktivism. I have a Reddit account and a bunch of the subs I subscribe to are joining a “blackout” for a day or two next week to protest Reddit hurting third party apps. Wow, such a worthy cause to take up. And you’ll be back on Reddit after you get bored anyway and forget all about your little protest within a day, and likely nothing will change. So, congratulations on your social media virtue signaling show, I guess. 

It’s no better or almost worse than when there used to be those “games” on Facebook that were claimed to be for the purpose of cancer awareness or something. I feel like telling those Redditors “this isn’t an airport; no need to announce your departure.” (Although in a way I wouldn’t mind if some of the bullies I’ve ran into in one of my fandom subs proclaimed themselves to be so virtuous that they would quit Reddit forever.) 

[Blergh]

My city has started inflicting 'parking scanner' spaces on our streets!  As best as I can tell, one is supposed to 'scan' in one's license plate on one's Smartphone, then take the image to automatic 'pay center' where one also is expected to provide one's credit card!

More often than not, no times or rates are listed so how will that keep patrons from finding their cards charged WAY more than they could have imagined?!

I never liked regular coin meters but at least one could put in exactly the amount of monies one wanted. Then they went to credit card meters which I liked less because I hate the idea of giving one's credit info to an unmanned entity  with questions about how (or if?) they'll protect it from scammers, hacks,etc.  I didn't think this could get worse but now these 'parking scanners' in which not just the credit card info but one's driver's license info has a good probability of getting compromised via the putting them  not just in the unmanned pay centers but also on one's Smartphone! 

Just NO- and BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bastet]

Unmanned is probably less vulnerable to any sort of misuse of your information than manned these days, so I don't have any issue with that; I'd only have a problem if there was no other option provided for those of who don't have smartphones (yes, we do exist).

Here there are many streets that still have the old coin meters (virtually all the lots have changed over, but not all the streets), so I keep change in my car in case I need to park where using a credit card isn't an option. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

I drove two hours to visit my dad for a family gathering today, so here are my observations watching fellow idiots:

A double yellow line is not a passing lane, people. Unless you are driving an emergency vehicle you can wait for me. (And even if you were I follow the law and pull over for ambulances, etc. when they have their sirens on.) Why is everyone in such a hurry these days on the road? People treat every road like it’s Daytona Speedway.

Also please flush the toilet in the restroom stall when you’re done.

 

 

 

[Annber03]

1 minute ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Also please flush the toilet in the restroom stall when you’re done.

I need to frame this and put this on the door to our bathroom at work. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

13 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I need to frame this and put this on the door to our bathroom at work. 

Makes you wonder why you have to do it in the first place. 

[Gramto6]

LOL!

Years ago I worked in a motel. They employed a lot of younger people and they would  always leave a mess in the microwave. I finally put up a sign "Your  mother doesn't work here, clean up after yourself!" Sort of worked... but at least I got to vent...

Edited June 12, 2023 by Gramto6

[Cloud9Shopper]

25 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

LOL!

Years ago I worked in a motel. They employed a lot of younger people and they would  always leave a mess in the microwave. I finally put up a sign "Your  mother doesn't work here, clean up after yourself!" Sort of worked... but at least I got to vent...

My high school chorus teacher had a sign like that in her room too. 😂One of the male students wrote “but I wish you were” underneath the part that said “I am not your mother.”

 

[Blergh]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

Unmanned is probably less vulnerable to any sort of misuse of your information than manned these days, so I don't have any issue with that; I'd only have a problem if there was no other option provided for those of who don't have smartphones (yes, we do exist).

Here there are many streets that still have the old coin meters (virtually all the lots have changed over, but not all the streets), so I keep change in my car in case I need to park where using a credit card isn't an option. 

I'm not sure I agree with those unmanned devices being less vulnerable but I appreciate your trying to help.  Thanks!

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:07 PM, Leeds said:

I hate it when men have their cellphones in their front pockets (and no, that is not a euphemism).  British and American men need to embrace the man bag.

I wonder if that might be his wallet.  It looks like it has softer edges than a phone and the proportions seem a little off for a phone.

But what do I know.  I carry my cell phone in my front pocket but maybe it's okay because I'm a girl.  It's a flip phone and it feels too lumpy in my back pocket so I keep it in the front.  That's one of the reasons I buy men's jeans--they have real front pockets.

(Although I'll note that smart phones don't really fit right in most girls' back pockets--it makes me nervous seeing 3/4 of the phone sticking out the top.)

[StatisticalOutlier]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

I'd only have a problem if there was no other option provided for those of who don't have smartphones (yes, we do exist).

In Miami Beach, where parking isn't plentiful, I found a spot on the street and went to the pay station to use my credit card, but the credit card function wasn't working and the only other option is using a smart phone which I don't have.  Great. 

And I recently encountered a parking lot in Atlanta that is smart phone only.  There's no kiosk or anything--just signs with a QR symbol that you scan.  So, no parking there for me, period. 

Avoiding paying for parking is kind of a hobby of mine--I like legally gaming the system.  There used to be a block in downtown Austin that had three or four spaces with meters, one handicapped space, and then an area with room for two cars that was signed as a loading zone until 7:00 p.m. 

I'd go to 7:15 movies at the Paramount and that loading zone never had anybody in it, when all other spaces were full.  It was like having a reserved space, and it stayed free even after they lengthened the hours for paying for parking meters because it didn't have a meter.  I guess people just didn't read the "loading zone" sign closely, but I was downtown during South by Southwest once and decided to swing by "my" spot, and sure enough, nobody was in it, at like 10:00 at night.

Then they put in those damn kiosks on that block, and that spot became part of paid parking after the loading zone hours.  Bleh.

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

Here there are many streets that still have the old coin meters (virtually all the lots have changed over, but not all the streets), so I keep change in my car in case I need to park where using a credit card isn't an option. 

My problem with meters is the new digital ones that don't say what parking costs if it's not currently required.  They have a message saying "free parking" or whatever if you're there on a Sunday, but I want to know what it will be and what hours it will be enforced if I come back on a weekday, and there's no way to find that out.

Old parking meters had to have that information permanently on there, and this is just another example of how nobody cares about anything other than what's right in front of their face at that exact moment in time.  Those of us who like the know the general landscape of anything these days are SOL.

And as much as I avoid paying for parking, I actually like doing it in downtown Sycamore, Illinois, where not only do they have old fashioned non-digital coin meters, with no option for credit card payment, they take pennies!  One cent will get you 12 minutes.  Twelve minutes is just the right amount of time for them to make my torta, but last time there were a couple of people in line in front of me so my order took a little longer and I had to go feed the meter another penny. 

[EtheltoTillie]

Does anyone appreciate the dry wit of New Yorker writer Calvin Trillin?  He once wrote a whole novel about parking in NYC.  It's called Tepper Isn't Going Out.  Since we have alternate side parking for street cleaning, it's always been a joke that people don't want to use their cars if they have a space that's good for a couple of days. 

Edited June 12, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[KittyMom4]

On 6/9/2023 at 12:57 PM, Bethany said:

am half Irish but obviously it's too far back because there is no way I would have gotten that pronunciation right.  So is it the "h" that makes it "va"? As in  Siobhán?  Or have I got that wrong? 

Thank you, I never knew how to pronounce that name!! 

Caveat and clandestine were words that I never knew how to pronounce until I heard someone say it. CaveAT was cavEET and clandestine was candle-stein.

 

On 6/11/2023 at 8:18 PM, Gramto6 said:

Years ago I worked in a motel. They employed a lot of younger people and they would  always leave a mess in the microwave. I finally put up a sign "Your  mother doesn't work here, clean up after yourself!" Sort of worked... but at least I got to vent...

It never ceases to amaze me how inconsiderate coworkers can be, and that basic manners like cleaning up after yourself are disregarded. Sheesh.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, KittyMom4 said:

Thank you, I never knew how to pronounce that name!! 

Caveat and clandestine were words that I never knew how to pronounce until I heard someone say it. CaveAT was cavEET and clandestine was candle-stein.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how inconsiderate coworkers can be, and that basic manners like cleaning up after yourself are disregarded. Sheesh.

I had a boss the was such a misogynist, he wouldn't even close the cabinet doors in the break room. "That's you girls' job" he would say. I pity his wife.

[oliviabenson]

People who talk to themselves/mumble in the library. Omg.

and people who cough and sneeze without covering their mouth. 

[Guest]

Geese migrating North by road instead of sky unbothered by car horns and barring your way home leading to a weird IRL game of frogger....but with geese.

 

 

[annzeepark914]

On 6/14/2023 at 5:07 PM, oliviabenson said:

People who talk to themselves/mumble in the library.

Be careful in the library. One day I was looking at books on a shelf and saw something moving on the other side of the shelves. Finally figured out it was a boy masterbating (didn't "see" anything but I knew). I started toward the main desk to notify them and saw him run out of the library (but he gave me a scared glance as he quickly passed by my aisle). He'd been with a group of people in the lounge area of the library when I came in. He didn't look quite right, nor did the people he was with. I think they were waiting for their van to pick them up. This was years ago, back in Raleigh. So...beware 👀

[Wiendish Fitch]

7 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Be careful in the library. One day I was looking at books on a shelf and saw something moving on the other side of the shelves. Finally figured out it was a boy masterbating (didn't "see" anything but I knew). I started toward the main desk to notify them and saw him run out of the library (but he gave me a scared glance as he quickly passed by my aisle). He'd been with a group of people in the lounge area of the library when I came in. He didn't look quite right, nor did the people he was with. I think they were waiting for their van to pick them up. This was years ago, back in Raleigh. So...beware 👀

I used to work in the public library, and this happened.

All. The. Time. 

What the fuck is wrong with these guys? Why can't they jerk themselves off in the bathroom or at home? Why must they do this in a public place? I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy and I refuse to understand. Some societal norms are there for a goddamned reason. 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Wiendish Fitch
I'm an idiot when it comes to editing.

[annzeepark914]

1 minute ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

I used to work in the public library, and this happened.

All. The. Time. 

What the fuck is wrong with these guys? Why can't they jerk themselves off in the bathroom or at home? Why must they do this in a public place? I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy and I refuse to understand. Some societal norms are there for a goddamned reason. 

Well...he really looked "challenged" as did the rest of his group. However...I just remembered an even earlier incident in my hometown library. I was standing at a book shelf alongside stairs to the upper area. Lots of people there that evening. A man walked behind me and brushed against me. I was wearing a raincoat (thank goodness). Didn't think anything of it (it was crowded) until he came around from behind the stairs again and brushed against me. I immediately left. Ya never know *what* you're going to encounter at the library!

[Wiendish Fitch]

1 minute ago, annzeepark914 said:

Well...he really looked "challenged" as did the rest of his group. However...I just remembered an even earlier incident in my hometown library. I was standing at a book shelf alongside stairs to the upper area. Lots of people there that evening. A man walked behind me and brushed against me. I was wearing a raincoat (thank goodness). Didn't think anything of it (it was crowded) until he came around from behind the stairs again and brushed against me. I immediately left. Ya never know *what* you're going to encounter at the library!

One of many reasons why I stopped working there.

I hope my comment didn't come off as ableist... my point was that lots of guys who aren't "challenged" do it, and they have no goddamned excuse.

In case anyone is wondering, no, I don't think masturbation is shameful... but neither is shitting, and you don't shit wherever you want like a fucking animal!! 

[annzeepark914]

4 minutes ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

One of many reasons why I stopped working there.

I hope my comment didn't come off as ableist... my point was that lots of guys who aren't "challenged" do it, and they have no goddamned excuse.

That's ok...I knew what you meant and you're right about so many men who think they can do whatever they want. This is why females should be born with eyes  in the back of our heads. We always need to be on guard.

[peacheslatour]

19 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

That's ok...I knew what you meant and you're right about so many men who think they can do whatever they want. This is why females should be born with eyes  in the back of our heads. We always need to be on guard.

Are you in the military? Law enforcement? Medicine? Why do people call women 'females'? It's unsettling.