Pet Peeves

[jtr1962]

And as for the streets being too busy to cycle in the street we actually have bike only lanes for them so they will keep off of forbidden side walks. But they only use them if they happen to be going on the right one way, otherwise they jump onto the sidewalk instead of going a block over like they are supposed to. :scowl:

OK, that's different. It seems they're just too plain lazy to go one block over then which I think is kind of funny. Isn't the whole purpose of cycling to get exercise? It's not like an extra block is all that hard to cycle or even to walk.

In general college students who ride just to classes and never ride otherwise seem to be among the worst cyclists going. I noticed that when I was in school. They are totally unaware of the environment around them, ride as slow as sh*t (not much over a fast walk in many cases), and are just a nuisance to everyone around them, including more experienced cyclists like ourselves.

 

[jch79]

Don't get me started on peeves about being a cyclist in Chicago - people on CPF will see a dark, angry side of me that only the drivers of cars parked or driving in bike lanes get to see as I so casually bike past them and voice my feelings toward their decisions. And cabs get extra special treatment.
john

 

[vtunderground]

Speaking of shopping carts...

My biggest pet peeve is people who are too lazy to push their empty carts down the parking lot to the cart return spot, instead leaving them in the empty parking space next to their car. I've definitely flipped out about this in the past... someone left their cart behind my car instead of pushing it across the row to the cart return spot, so I totally lost it and started (loudly enough for everyone in the Kroger parking lot to hear) informing them that they were quite possibly the laziest you-know-what on earth (what I actually said is far worse than what you're thinking). I know my response was uncalled for, but really, laziness like that just pisses me off.

 

[pathalogical]

Excellent thread !!! Many of the topics mentioned bug me too !!!

Watch people as they push their shopping carts down the isle. It's like driving, stay on the right hand side ! People that can't push their cart properly are the same fricking people that CAN'T drive down the road !

People that don't use turn signals are poor people that could not afford the "Turn Signal Option" when the bought the car.

The check out line...why oh why is the line you stand in, always the one that the person in front of you ends up needing a price check. The customer thinks they are smarter than the store by saying "It's $0.99", price checks ends up being $9.99. Also, Express Lane 1-8 items. Not 9, not 10, learn to friggin count.

Cell phones...when buddy standing next you lets their phone ring and ring and ring and ring and ring, I feel like saying "Did you want me to get that for you ?" Or, musical ringtones...they answer after it plays only two notes, I feel like saying "That's my favourite song ! Can I hear the whole thing !". Remeber Name that Tune, I can name that song in one note.

Urinals...I have never seen poop in one. However, I do remember seeing some bathroom graffitti, "Please do not throw your cigarette butts in the urinals, do we **** in the ashtrays ?"

 

[Diesel_Bomber]

OOh, I was thinking of starting one of these threads! Driving idiocy is my biggy. Hard to kill someone with a shopping cart or a mis-used urinal, but 5,000lbs of metal moving 60mph is gonna do some damage!

My biggest, numero uno, most enraging, big kahuna of all pet peeves is TAILGATING. And the worst thing is that people don't even seem to realize they're doing it. Automotive brakes are wonderful things, many improvements in recent years. But (in most cases) the idiot behind the wheel still has to have time to step on the pedal! Just today I got tailgated badly by some lady in an Accord. Five feet of room when we're doing 55 mph. Seriously. Lots of space, not a bunch of traffic, no reason to be anywhere near that close. I tapped my brakes lightly, no effect. I put on my blinker and got way over onto the shoulder and slowed way down. As she passed I layed on the horn. She looked over as she passed, but tailgated the van in front of me all the way into town. Blind militant stupidity. That woman epitomizes my view of why the end of the world is coming.

Next are people who don't use their turn signal. Is this thing an option? No, it's a safety issue.

Lastly are people who don't turn off their brights. When they're oncoming you can flash yours and get them to turn their brights off, but when they're BEHIND YOU you're pretty much screwed. Same response as for tailgating, pull over and let them pass. Also, people who use their fog lights when there's no fog. Or driving lights in town. Either auxiliary light is mostly pointless anyway, as most "fog" or "driving" lights are absolute garbage that do nothing to help the person see better. But man, they look cool, and that's what counts.

End rant. Thanks, I feel better. :buddies:

 

[jtr1962]

I just thought of a few more things which annoy the heck out of me. First is fluorescent ballasts humming or buzzing, especially electronic ballasts that aren't supposed to. Second are cell phones, walkmans, ipods, gameboys, PDAs, blackberries, basically anything that falls into the category of what I call adult pacifiers. These things annoy me because I'm tired of running into spaced out people totally unaware of their surroundings. The world is an interesting place. I don't understand why everyone is so hell-bent on drowning it out when they go out. These people should try taking in the varied sights and sounds of daily life instead of listening to music, playing video games, yapping on the phone about nothing, or worrying about work when they're out of the workplace. Who knows, they might actually see something or bump into someone interesting.

Another thing I always find annoying as a pedestrian or a cyclist is having to play second fiddle to automobiles. By that I mean having to wait at lights until they pass, having them get in my way when I ride, having neighborhoods cut in half by expressways. An ideal situation would be to have autos run underground in large cities so we wouldn't have to see them, hear them, smell them, or have valuable real estate taken up by parking lots or roads for them. Maybe if some ultra cheap tunneling technology is invented this might actually come to pass in my lifetime.

Don't even get me started on the infernal racket from jets flying overhead. A few million people near the airports, many of whom will never fly in their entire lives, have to endure a constant racket from a mode of transport that largely only benefits the wealthy and businesspeople.

 

[eebowler]

Ok, here's a good one. I typed up a long response with a list of annoyances,,, and closed the window before posting it.

All right. I HATE to see men/boys/idiots scratch their nuts in public. It's a stinking practice. :sick2:

 

[TENMMIKE]

cell phones ,and most of the people that use the damn things ALL the damn time.if your reading this, and that's you then you NEED to know the world will not stop rotating if your to be out of comms for 1 hr!!.
unless your a business man/contractor on the road and that of course requires you to talk to customers your just most probably shooting the sh*t about virtually worthless crap easily handled some where else other then the middle of the

road.i see it every day, its nothing to be completely surrounded by people on cells, without a clue in the world only their own selfish little one thinking the world awaits their every utterance

i can see blue tooth users will be next on my list..wondering around talking aloud to the world like they have lost their minds, as anybody in earshot give a damn what Tracy thought she saw you doing by the broom closet !!!.... i can see this relating to the cell phone twits as i peck this out,...........im done

 

[TigerhawkT3]

...
#1: When I'm in a shopping line and (usually) the little old lady ahead is counting out change, coin by coin, while my ice cream turns into liquid. Give me a .45.

Rich

Is it for her, or for you? :laughing:

...
The check out line...why oh why is the line you stand in, always the one that the person in front of you ends up needing a price check.
...

Murphy's Law, of course! If you're waiting for your teacher to show up to his own class, have a seat; get comfortable. As soon as you don't feel like getting up, you'll have to. If you want warm, dry weather, bring a coat and umbrella. Et cetera.

Once, during an exam in my junior college, my neighbor's cell phone rang at least four times. Each time, I was more sure that he would turn it off, but he didn't.

Spam: they know we don't want to read it, but they still think we'll buy from them?

Jaywalkers/bikers: Just because you're not behind a wheel doesn't mean you're allowed to be oblivious. Once, I was about to make a right turn on green, with cars ahead of me going straight and turning right. I slowed near the intersection and looked around, even though my light was green. It's a good thing I did, because a cyclist whizzed right between my car and those ahead of me. I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even give the guy a blast on the horn. He could have been killed.

Here's a peeve: those devilish "Skatestopper" monstrosities. Skating is a beautiful thing, and Skatestoppers aim to destroy it. (I myself can't even skate in a straight line, but I've spent way too much time on the Tony Hawk series to turn a blind eye to the wonder and power of skating.)

 

[Concept]

I hate being contactable 24/7. With my current job I am on call every second week and I hate having to carry around the mobile phone every where I go.

I also hate tailgaters and speedsters.

Oh and I hate missing out on the really good deals on B/S/T!

 

[rik]

In cars:

• People who tailgate me - haven't you ever heard of a safe braking distance, retard?
• People who pull in so close in front of me that I don't have a safe distance to their car.
• People who pull in very close in front of me, and continue into the next lane. They couldn't have seen whether it was clear or not.
• People who have a very large difference in speed to the rest of the traffic - are your reactions that good that you know no retard doing 20 under the limit is going to pull out in front of you while you're doing 40 over it? Who else are you going to collect in that wreck?
• People who tailgate lorries with their fog lights on in clear weather.
• People trailing massive quantities of blue smoke down a stretch of motorway (freeway to you 'murricans) who are obviously completely oblivious to it and have no idea what it means - YOUR ENGINE IS ABOUT TO TURN INTO A BRICK. STOP THE CAR NOW.
• People who don't LOOK when they're driving - THERE'S MORE AROUND THAN JUST WHAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU.
• Sunday drivers when it's not Sunday. On single lane roads. Doing 30. On a 60 mph road. When I'm in a hurry.
• Middle lane cruisers who are cruising slower than the inside lane.
• People who have spent more on making their car look and sound "good" than they spent on the original car - unless you spent a lot on the original car, chances are it's a turd-polishing excercise. HINT: NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU POLISH A TURD, ALL YOU END UP WITH IS A SHINY TURD.
• Aftermarket exhausts that you can fit your head in - why? It sounds like a crappy little engine in a cave, not like a big engine with the right size exhaust pipe for performance, also note that rather a lot of engines out there *cough*HONDA*cough* require the back pressure from the exhaust system to keep the engine running, and sticking a massive fart can on the back actually makes your car much easier to stall.

Shopping:

• People in a world of their own who step in front of me, or just put their trolley in front of me while staring at something on a shelf.
• People who abandon their shopping cart in the middle of the aisle. YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY PERSON IN THE STORE. I gave up on asking these people to do something about their behaviour a long time ago - I simply ram their carts with mine now. If I ram the same cart three times, then the next time, I just take hold of it and park it somewhere else instead.

In general:

• People who have no mechanical sympathy - stop doing that, it's a screw thread, stop trying to push it in a turn the thing.. NOOOO! that grinding sound is BAD! ARGH! Press the clutch pedal and you'll stop getting that metal on metal grinding sound. ARGH.
• People who can't think ahead.
• People who can't admit they're wrong - "Rik, why do you carry a flashlight?" "Because it comes in useful more often than you'd think" ... "I can't find anything in my handbag, it's too dark.. Now I can't see where the keyhole is.. What does that sign with the broken lighting say? Why do you carry that torch anyway, it's not like it's useful."
• Tax in America - STOP LYING TO ME. If I ask how much an item costs then what I actually want to know is how much the item will cost me. I don't want to know that it will cost AT LEAST some amount. If someone tells me an item costs 5 dollars then am I naive in thinking that I'm going to pay 5 dollars for this item? Aparently so. Don't tell me there's a good reason for it, like there's different taxes in different states - you know what the tax is on the item, and you know what the total will be. Price it that way. That way, customers all over the nation will be able to tell ahead of the checkout whether they should buy from you or someone else in another state. It saves an awful lot of shopping abandoned on your checkouts from people who are travelling state to state.

What else annoys me? Bad BB software?

Oh yes. Software. Let's just not get me started on that. It's what I do for a living.

• People who don't listen.
• People who like the sound of their own voice so much that they just keep talking, and slowing everything down.
• Meetings to discuss why projects are going slowly - HINT. IT'S ALL THE MEETINGS.
• Companies who make doing business with them difficult. Fine, you don't get my money.
• People who don't take advice. "If you turn that through another 90 degrees, it'll break." "I know what I'm doing. It won't!" *snap* "Why didn't you tell me this would happen" "I did."
• People who don't ask for advice in an area they know I know well, and then ending up with something broken.
• People who design something that's obviously broken in some major way, but can't see it because they're so damn proud of it. - Thermosoftening plastic for tea stirrers.

• The canteen at work. It's getting more expensive, but the food is getting worse.
• Not having real internet access at work. I know why they do it, but unfortunately, I want to be able to communicate with people on the intarwebnet to ask advice and the like, in a way that isn't using nothing but a website. Alas, I can't do that.

Can I think of anything else? You bet I can. Should I do some work instead of posting some more? Uh.. yeah. probably

Maybe I'll post more from home...

 

[Flying Turtle]

Just thought of a couple more driving related ones I sometimes encounter.

The driver who stops fifteen feet back from the line or the car in front of them at a red light. Doesn't really bother me, just wonder why.

The driver who stops at an intersection when they don't have to, and waves you to go ahead when you have the stop sign. Courtesy carried to extremes.

Geoff

 

[Cliffnopus]

OK, time for another one.......annoying cell phone usage and I think we all know what that means. I absolutely hate that theaters and the like have to post and/or broadcast "Please turn off your cell phone". Do folks have to trade in a large part of their brain when they purchase their 'phone ?? Have they lost all common sense ?

And who needs to be connected 24x7 anyway ? Really successful people don't even own cell phones, they have others that take their calls - so don't try to impress me with how important you are. If you were really that important, your assistant would be handling your calls.

And here's one that kind of dovetails with my first post. Ever been in the stall in the men's room and some clown sits in the next stall and starts a LOUD conversation over his cell phone ? WTF....... you can't even take time to crap without calling someone ??? I would pay $ 1000.00 for a hand-held device that would fry a cell phone within 30 ft of me.


Cliff

 

[Danbo]

I would pay $ 1000.00 for a hand-held device that would fry a cell phone within 30 ft of me.


Cliff

I have NO doubt that such a device exists, and it probably costs a lot less than $1000.

 

[AlphaTea]

Some of my peeves:

People who assume I want to hear how loud their car audio system is. They are usually the same ones that take up 4 parking spaces when 1 will do, just so they won't get their 86 Honda scratched.



People who don't return shopping carts. Especially on windy rainy days. Even worse is a place that doesn't bother to collect the carts from the cart corrals and you discover that you have to go back outside to get one.



Baby on board signs. What the heck are those for? Are their cars special?



Handicap parking spaces. OK, I will agree that they are necessary, but why do you need 100+ handicap spaces outside of the Mega-Mart that is bigger that 4 football fields inside. These people can't make it to the door, but they can go on a safari once they get inside? And how come most of the people I see parking in those spaces seem to have no visible handicap?



Personal Injury Lawyers. What a crock. 99+% of the lawsuits never get to trial. They are counting on an out of court settlement of which they get 30-50%. Even worse is the Class Action Suit. They sue the XYZ Toilet paper company for $150 million on behalf of 10 million persons who were wronged when the rolls were metric instead of standard sheets. In the settlement the "injured" get a coupon for 10cents off of their next purchase of 96 or more rolls and the lawyers get $60 million.



People who are obvious liars. "I didn't inhale" or "I did not have sex with that woman" or "I earned all 3 of those purple hearts" come to mind.



Political ads. I am especially turned off when they say how bad the opponent is but never say what they are standing for. "Vote for me 'cause the other candidate sux"?



I have more but I want others to have a chance at venting…

 

[carbine15]

Walking on wet bathroom floors with just your socks on; it's the worst feeling in the world. That and when your room mate puts the toilet paper roll on backwards (yes there is a right way and a wrong way)

 

[Arkayne]

-People who use a handsfree set and HOLD the microphone to their mouth when talking. Uhhh, it's a HANDSFREE set.

-The bluetooth sets that hang off your ear. Especially the motorola's that blink blue. I doubt anyone is THAT important to walk around all day with it. I think it's about guys trying to impress other guys.

 

[LifeNRA]

Stopping at a stop light with my 1 year old asleep in his car seat and the fool beside me thinks the whole world wants to hear his boom, boom music.
I have asked several people to turn it down and give the rest of us some relief. They have always done so but nobody should have to ask them to begin with.
If you like your music fine but many of us hate it. Keep it in your own car. Thanks for being an attention whore.
Loud pipes on motorcycles and cars are for attention whores too. If you crave attention that much and want the whole world to look at you then go to a therapist and get it worked out.

 

[nikon]

People who cruise around in their cars with the windows down playing loud music(?) with filthy lyrics.

@^%&* pigs who throw their trash in the street. Too much trouble to put that candy wrapper in their pocket till they get home.

People who fire their pistols in the air for fun. It happens quite often in this town.

Parents who don't parent.

 

[chmsam]

I'm gonna vent and even preach a little. Nope, it's gonna be a lot.

Regarding shopping:

- It is true that men are more polite than women. Hey, we should all be courteous. If employees are courteous to you, you might have the common decency to show them some respect, too.
- No, ladies, you do not have the right to hit employees with your shopping cart while they are working. Once is too many times, let alone twice or three times. If they did not work to restock the shelves 24/7, you would not be able to find the products you want. They are not just "getting in the way" and would move if you asked. Heck, they would be happy to hand you the product. Just don't assault them as they work and yes, hitting them with your cart is assault.
- If you ask an employee to check the backroom for your items, trust them when they tell you it is out of stock. You do not have to ask three other employees to check for the same item. It wastes your time, too.
- Employees will gladly bring in extra items for you if you call ahead, but there is no production facility in the backroom of the store. Your special request takes consideration on your part, too. The store did not cause the ruin your party because they did not know that you would not think to order your items a day or two (at least) in advance.
- Perhaps prices might be lower if customers did not change their minds and then leave ice cream and other perishable items around the store so they had to be thrown out. It really is OK to give them to an employee to be put back. That way they do not have to throw things away and lose money. Thye're happy to take things you have decided that you do not really want to buy.
- Mom, if you feed Junior grapes as you shop, not only should you pay for them, but you should pick up the ones that he drops so that no one slips on them (number one insurance claim for some grocery companies and it isn't often their fault). Not only is it rude, it is dangerous and it costs you money in higher prices.
- Please do not pick your nose while you shop. Really. No one wants to handle the things you pick up while you are doing it. No, really, we don't. Btw, I see more women doing this than men or even children. EEEeeewwwww!
- If there are two parents and some cranky, whining, and screaming children shopping, maybe Mom or Dad should stay home with the kids while the other grownup -- oops! Bad assumption on my part, I meant parent -- shops. That way, everyone in the family and in the store has a little less stress to deal with.
- Hold your family reunions at home and not while shopping. If you do stop to chat with people you meet for fifteen minutes, go to the cafe area and not in the middle of the busiest part of the store.
- Express lanes are not the place to write a check that you do not have filled out already. They are not the place to dig through your purse or pocket for the exact change, either. A cashier especially one on an express lane does not want to hear your life story.
- You cannot walk, shop, and talk on the cell phone at the same time. If you run into employees or other shoppers, they should have the right to beat you senseless because you are already. You are not that important and neither is that call.

Regarding driving:

- You cannot talk on the cell phone and drive at the same time. If you get into an accident, the other driver should have the right to beat you senseless because you are already. You are not that important and neither is that call.
- Spend the extra money and buy the car that comes with turn signals. They're worth it. Trust me.
- If a car is half way across the bridge or more already, you do not have time to pull off the exit ramp in front of it.
- If the light turns green, you do not have the right of way to turn in front of the car going through the intersection.
- If you choose to not wear a seatbelt when you drive or a helmet when you ride, do not expect anyone else to pay for your hospital bills.
- You cannot hold your child when they are riding in a car. In an accident at only about 30 to 35 miles per hour a 20 pound child requires enough strength to hold as much as 600 pounds to keep them from flying out of your grasp. It cannot be done. Put them in a child seat. The grief you save will be your own.
- Do not drive across parking spaces in a parking lot. Do not speed in a parking lot. There are people working and walking through the lot. There are children there, too. People get killed that way.
- Leave the reading for home or at the office and not at 70 on the highway. Likewise, put on the makeup and pantyhose at home. Shave at home. Pull off of the road to take care of the kids. You cannot drive and do all of these things, too.
- Your headlights not only let you see but they also let you be seen. They don't cost much of anything to have them turned on, especially when it is dark out (Gee, Ya think?) or the weather is bad. Give yourself a break.
- Slow down in a work zone. Give the people working there a break or a "brake." The workers have kids, spouses, and other friends and families. You might feel pretty bad if you had to face them after you ran someone down.

Regarding movies, restaurants, public places, and life in general:

- Drop an "F" bomb and other cussing at home if you want, but my family doesn't need to hear it.
- Shut off the cell phone unless you want to eat it with your dinner or your popcorn.
- Unless you want to pay me for the tickets I bought, shut up during the movie.
- You might not care if your clothes smell or that you didn't take a shower for the past few days, but the people around you do.
- The ritzy crowd around here that ride horses can probably afford to chage their clothes, and especially their boots, before going out to eat, shop, or go to a movie. That doesn't mean they will do so. Money and status do not necessarily add up to class.
- Your life will probably not get better by being a butthole all the time. There is no glory in making the life of those around you harder than it needs to be and it will not make you a better person.
- Praying for one hour does not give you the right you be nasty the rest of the time, no matter what religion you follow or how devout you are. Praying all the time still does not give you the right to be evil.
- Life does not suck all the time. As long as you wake up and see light and not dirt, the day is going to be better than it might have been. A smile goes a long way to making everyone have a better day. It is even more fun if you smile just to make some people wonder why you are smiling.