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Your pet peeves welcome.


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I don't have a lot of pet peeves and I know it doesn't do any good posting about them in this corner of the internets, but that doesn't matter. We are talking pet peeves here, not well-reasoned arguments. And for some reason typing and seeing the words that describe my quirks is sort of therapeutic, especially should someone agree or have a similar pet peeve. This is what community about, is it not?#1 Honking horn. 99% of the time a driver honks their horn not to help avoid an accident, that is fine, but they honk to give sound to their frustration. Person 1- You did X and it made me mad so I am going to blast my horn to show you how mad I am. Person 2- I am aggravated that you are aggravated and have honked your horn at me. To show you how aggravated I am, I am going to blast my horn back at you. See this at least once a week.

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Since you mentioned driving, my pet peeve is what I'll call the "Impatient Sunday Drivers".
 
Unwritten rule: if someone else has to modify their driving to avoid crashing into you (slowing down, swerving, whatever), you are doing it wrong. If there isn't enough space for you to fully accelerate without making the other drivers slow down for you, don't go, there isn't enough space.
 
Ok, onto the I.S.D. This happens daily:
 
I'm the only person headed in my direction. There's nobody for a couple miles in front or behind me - plenty of room. An intersecting road crosses paths with the one I'm on, and they must stop because my road is a higher "level" (?). 
 
Guy pulls up to the stop sign, barely touches a full stop, and then goes because he sees me coming and wants to get in front of me. I have to slow down to about 50-70% of my speed or I'll hit him. Had he waited literally five seconds for me to pass, he would have had a clear shot to enter the road and ample time to accelerate up to speed at his own comfort rather than stomp on the gas because I was bearing down on him.
 
I typically drive about 4 miles or 10% over the posted speed if I have the option (49 in a 45, 59 in a 55, etc): I'm comfortable at that speed and I know the roads are designed to take that speed safely. That said, I don't mind getting stuck behind someone doing a few miles under the posted speed as long as they PICK a speed.
 
The "sunday driver" comes into play when they are finally on the road and going at their comfortable cruising speed. They always drive one or two miles below the speed limit, which as I said, fine, whatever. The slow driving doesn't quite mesh with the fact they just dove out in front of me rather than wait the five seconds, but anyway. They don't meet the second condition: they do not use cruise control. Their older model vehicle indicates they probably don't have it rather than someone just choosing not to use it. Their speed is all over the place because they use only their feet. Five below, one under, two above, six below...ugh! If their speed is all over the place, I'm in constant reactionary mode to compensate for their constant fluctuation. Pick. A. Speed!
 
Yes, the extent cruise control fluctuates varies from car to car when dealing with hills/vallies, but it nets out in the end and you hardly notice. And the variable range is only a couple mph/kph vs these I.S.D. which can have a range of 10+ mph/kph.
 
I usually just give myself enough distance from them that I can set my cruise to their average speed and they'll still get closer/farther but at least I can use the cruise. If they are really bad I'll just pass them on one of their really low speed dips.
 
The last part of the I.S.D. is when they reach their destination turn to finally leave my path. They begin their slowdown over a mile before the turn and of course their turn is a left with a lot of oncoming traffic to wait for. Or if it is a right with a dedicated turn lane, they slow down on the main road rather than utilize the invention of a turn lane. Hint: they give you plenty of time to slow down safely in these turn lanes; use them!
 
/endrantbaddrivers
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1) "loose" vs. "lose"

 

I can ignore most misspellings and not care, but when people write "loose" it always trips me up and I have to reread the sentence to understand that they meant "lose".

 

2) Crappy street musicians. In Chicago, there are some phenomenal musicians who might practice on the street just for the heck of it and earn a couple of bucks while their at it, but there are also some bums who have managed to get their hands on an instrument (or worse, a bucket and a couple of sticks) and use it as an advanced means of begging. There is a bum outside my office building right now who plays nothing but "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" very poorly on a loop for 5 hours about once per week. They do this because the dumb tourists will give money to the crappy bum musicians as if they were real musicians, thus subsidizing noise pollution.

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Since we are talking about driving, I'll mention what irks me when driving. There is a railroad track nearby that people always slow down to 20 MPH to go over. I'm always stuck in traffic as people go over it, so I have to go over it at 20 MPH too, but I have gone over this track at 45 - 50 MPH before when there has been no traffic and barely felt a thing. So I can't figure out for the life of me why everyone is going over this track so slow. Do they have their Faberge Egg collection unbuckled in the front seat?

 

Another pet peeve I have is when I am talking and people nod in agreement with me and say "Yeah." when I make a point about something. I know they have no idea what I am talking about and are just nodding and saying yeah because they don't want to feel like someone else knows something that they don't. It is very manipulative to me.

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When I am driving, the passenger complaining at other drivers who aren't competent. My goal is to not care about other drivers unless they are going to cause an accident. This complaining irks me because it makes me more likely to do it, it serves no purpose, and because I have to react to their complaints.

 

I work in fast food and I hate people who order a hot coffee at the drive thru, when at the window tell me I got it wrong because they ordered ice drive me crazy. I am very good at my job and repeat their order back to them about two or three times while emphasizing the "hot". I do this because people often mess up. Maybe this isn't a pet peeve, but I really dislike these people because I can't insist that they messed up. I don't have an issue remaking the coffee if they say "oh I am sorry, I said hot but I wanted ice", but the "you didn't listen to me and now you are wasting my time" vibe is rather frustrating.

 

To complete this rant, most customers do not know how to order coffee and require a stepping through of all of the options. "Hot or ice... What size... Cream and sugar... Is that all?".

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When people use the handicap door button for no reason. I remember getting out of a summer class, and every day there's be this girl who would hit the handicap door, wait for it to open all the way, then walk through. JUST OPEN THE FREAKING DOOR. It takes less time to physically open the door than to wait for it to open without sullying your nail polish. Ugh. It's probably the dumbest thing I've gotten annoyed about. Also, when people make dangerously shallow left hand turns into parking lots :P

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Songbirdo -  A very thorough and detailed description. It seems with the frequency with which you encounter these I.S.D.s and the time they steal from you, you have had plenty of time to analyze and diagnose their inconsiderate behavior. I love it.

 

Brentb - the bucket bangers. I am so with you on that one.

 

DaVinci - I am guessing you are like me (regards of others slowing down) and keep saying in your head "Why? why? It's only railroad tracks!"

 

Rainbow - BSNAPS - yeah that can be instant rage worthy.

 

Pepin - yeah, the instigating back seat driver pointing out the obvious. Gee, thanks. A self righteous customer is why you guys get paid the big bucks. :)

 

Diane Keaton? Now I have to go look her up. argh!

 

hannahbanana - sort of like DaVinci in that it somehow becomes more irritating because it's both silly and destined to occur.  

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When people talk about the media as if it's a singular entity, as in "The media has .. ".
Different media do not form one single entity, and to my knowledge it should be "The media have .."
If, while talking about "The Media has .. " it is clear that we are in fact talking about state propaganda then it kind of makes sense.
 
I guess it irks me when people who talk about how "The media has .. " are actually hanging on like crazy to the illusion that these media are independent.
You can't have it both ways.
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When people don't put effort into rebuttals. This is pretty common, but to criticize some of the posts I have seen on here, there have been some members who put a lot of effort and thought into an argument, which happens to be incorrect, and are only responded to by short replies which are not thought out nor convincing for those who aren't familiar with the ideas.

 

It is my opinion that if someone has taken the time to craft their position, that you ought to take some time in crafting a response. It does not feel good to spend a good half an hour to two hours writing up material which is very difficult to think about, let alone to convey, to only have people spend half a minute reading your creation and giving an unfulfilling off the cuff response that only addresses the surface of what you wrote.

 

I am not complaining about anything that happens to me, as I tend not to have negative responses to my arguments on the forum. If I reply to something where effort was put in, I take the time to ensure a quality response. It is what you would want.

 

To take this out of context of the forum, putting in similar effort as someone else in general is a good guideline. If someone spent a lot of time in helping you out with a problem, be willing to spend just as much time and effort in helping them out when they need it. If someone listens to an album you recommended and talked to you about it, listen to an album they recommended and talk to them about it.

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My biggest pet peeve on the road is the guy who likes to go 10 under in the passing lane.  Drives me batty.  Here in Southern California, this is the norm.  People who just want to cruise around mindlessly, and there are lots of those, like to do so in the lane that is normally used for passing.  Drivers who wish to pass these people are forced to pass on the right, which is unsafe due to blind spots, and the far right lane, the one used for merging, is usually the fastest moving in heavy traffic, heightening the danger.  

The other day the guy slowing up traffic in that lane a few cars ahead of me decided to spike his brakes as well because he missed his turn.  I was paying attention to him because my peevedness had been piqued, so I was easily able to stop, and even the fully loaded 1 ton dually flatbed behind me stopped fine (but not without some tire squealing), but someone crashed into the back of him, which is about the worst type of vehicle you can hit due to the risk of decapitation.  I continued driving on after that, but I hope no one was injured.  

Most law enforcement efforts focus on speeding, but these types of drivers are equally as dangerous or maybe more so.  This is pretty much another version of the impatient Sunday driver mentioned above by Songbirdo.  They're always in a hurry except when it's time to get out of the way of other drivers.  I love to drive, but I hate driving in traffic with incompetent people at the wheel.  I wish there was train I could ride instead.

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When people don't put effort into rebuttals. This is pretty common, but to criticize some of the posts I have seen on here, there have been some members who put a lot of effort and thought into an argument, which happens to be incorrect, and are only responded to by short replies which are not thought out nor convincing for those who aren't familiar with the ideas.

 

It is my opinion that if someone has taken the time to craft their position, that you ought to take some time in crafting a response. It does not feel good to spend a good half an hour to two hours writing up material which is very difficult to think about, let alone to convey, to only have people spend half a minute reading your creation and giving an unfulfilling off the cuff response that only addresses the surface of what you wrote.

 

I am not complaining about anything that happens to me, as I tend not to have negative responses to my arguments on the forum. If I reply to something where effort was put in, I take the time to ensure a quality response. It is what you would want.

 

To take this out of context of the forum, putting in similar effort as someone else in general is a good guideline. If someone spent a lot of time in helping you out with a problem, be willing to spend just as much time and effort in helping them out when they need it. If someone listens to an album you recommended and talked to you about it, listen to an album they recommended and talk to them about it.

 

Yay! A non driving peeve. And I agree with what you have so tenaciously spelled out there. Sorry to not have a more comprehensive response, but to quote the original anarchist, late great John Lennon, "In the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make." :)

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Earnest people who unconsciously say, "to be honest". What are they selling?

 

Typically it is said when the person wants to lie, but does not. I might want to tell my imaginary son that he is the best dancer ever, but instead I will tell him "to be honest, you don't exist".

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Earnest people who unconsciously say, "to be honest". What are they selling?

 

Getting laid off and someone thinking I need religion.

 

Getting downvoted for asking an honest question.

I'll upvote you for asking an earnestly honest question consciously....  :thumbsup:

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Typically it is said when the person wants to lie, but does not. I might want to tell my imaginary son that he is the best dancer ever, but instead I will tell him "to be honest, you don't exist".

 

Yeah. When I started a job a year ago (and I just got laid off from it Friday), the first week three different people used the phrase more than once in my first conversations with them. I had to decide if it was a verbal tic of the office or if it was something else. Surreal.

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#1 is always public address music, but since I cannot hear it 95% of the time at work (someone made the speaker level low enough), so I am at peace with it currrently.

 

The entire movement of people who whine about the Media showing beautiful people:

 

• Claiming that the existence of beautiful people lowers their self-esteem

• Complaining about Photoshop

• Believing that Photoshop is wholly responsible for creating images of beautiful people

• People that assume the existence of beautiful people has something to do with setting setting a standard for others (an unrealistic standard!)

So I can't like looking at Beyonce just because I cannot be Beyonce.  They don't do this with other media, though.  Nobody says Ansel Adams is lowering my self-esteem in my own photography, nobody says that Schindler's List is lowering the self-esteem I have for my movie, and nobody says that great singers are presenting an unrealistic standard for singers who don't have the same pipes.

 

Parts of the broader range of "Willful Ignorance":

 

A) People who claim that spelling and grammar does not matter because it's the internet.

B) People who claim that their misspellings are the result of typing too fast.

C) People who don't know the difference between a typo and a misspelling.

 

Cashiers who put the coins on TOP of the bills.

 

Coins in general, pennies being the worst.

 

Depositing paper checks  (bank has improved this though, to their credit, with an auto-scan feature)

 

Verbal tics: Like, You Know, Umms, Ahhs etc.

 

Driving peeve: People who refuse to weave when merging into traffic.

 

Junk mail newspapers (50% of my trash I suspect)

 

[insert First World Problems self-effacing text here]

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One of my biggest pet peeves is people complaining about the weather.  It rains quite frequently where I live and it's almost a given that if it's raining, I'm going to hear a complaint about it from someone that day.  Even the local newscasters give a negative connotation to rainy weather, like they are apologizing to viewers..."but it's going to get better toward the end of the week when the sun comes out!  Just a few more days people!"

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