#273: Too much in system tray

I was working with a guy via screenshare at work today and saw his desktop and it reminded me of an annoyance I have with people that allow so much crap to accumulate in their system tray. At a minimum, you should get rid of the icon, but also, a lot of the crap shouldn't even be running in the background all the time, wasting resources. People need to take control of their PC and not let stuff invade their system tray. Severity: 3

#272: Parents Defending Criminal Kids

Once, I want some parent to admit that their kid is a terrible person. We are advanced life forms and don't have to blindly protect children even when they are obviously bad and old enough so that we know they will not change. Example is seen all the time in interviews with parents, such as this one today from the mother of a son who was an escaped convict that died in a police shootout where he also killed the police office. Keep in mind that this guy escaped from prison and the facts of the case or not in dispute. Severity: 4

Ruff was imprisoned for a September 2003 robbery in Daly City, in which he hit an armored car guard and stole $4,600. He was on parole from a gun conviction at the time. He had been a fugitive since February 2005, when he walked away from a state prison firefighting camp in Redway

Mother: "He was a wonderful man. He was brilliant. He was a very good man,'' she said. Asked for more detail, she said, "Why bother? It's too late now. People who didn't know him won't care.''

#271: American Car Turn Signals

Why are American car manufacturers so cheap as to have the break light server double-duty as the turn signal? It's confusing because you sometimes don't know if the person is breaking or the signally a turn. In addition, the color is the same further making it harder to notice the signal, versus foreign cars' turn signals which are usually yellow. Severity: 1

#270: Ridiculous Presidential Pardons

I can't stand how some presidents can have the audacity to grant pardons for no good reason to people, usually their friends. It's morally reprehensible and I don't feel there's enough outrage at the practice by the public. I think for every pardon they grant, they need to provide a written justification as to why this person is getting this benefit. Severity: 4

#269: Lead Singer Instrumental Behavior

During concerts, when they get to the instrumental part of a song, lead singers that don't play an instrument tend to make all sorts of crazy movements or do lame things like air-guitaring to make up for not singing. Why can't they just step back and let the others have the limelight for a bit? Worst offender is Robert Plant during Led Zeppelin drum, guitar or bass solos. Severity: 2

#268: Lazy Rhyming

When lyrics in a song use the same word as the rhyme. Example is Black Sabbath's War Pigs which has the line "Generals gathered in their masses/Just like witches at black masses." In this case, though the word mass is used in two different ways, it's still a rhyme of the same word which I think is cheating. Severity: 1

#267: Chasers

I don't like when people take shots in a bar and follow with chasers of beer. I feel it takes away from the shot. If you can't or don't like the shot without the chaser, don't do the shot. Severity: 1

#266: Bond Price Quotes in Wall Street Journal

If you go to the front page of the WSJ, they list the 10 Year treasury note's current yield, then the change in price, and the percentage change in price. Well, what they don't list, and what I'm most interested in, is the change in yield. I'm not interested in the change in price. While it is possible to calculate the change in yield from the information given, I find it annoying that they are out of sync in the bases they are using. The change-in figure should reflect the first number, so either the change-in value should reflect the change in the yield or the first value should be the price of the bond, not the yield. They are mixing apples and oranges, which maybe makes sense to bond professionals, but to regular people interested in how interest rates have moved during the day, it is confusing and not communicating the desired information to the reader. Severity: 2

#265: Smart-aleck online poll choices

On sfgate.com, they have a daily poll related to the current news and I find it interesting to see what people think, but they always have some smart-aleck choice(s) that I feel skews the results because some people are more apt to pick the snide choice rather than a normal one, especially for politically-charged topics. Take today's poll, which reflects the latest news of Ford offering buyouts to 38,000 employees (I'm jealous). The question is "How much of a buyout would you need to leave your job?" The choices are: a) 10-99k b) more than 100k c) wouldn't take one d) if I worked for Ford, just about anything would do. I don't like that "d" is non-responsive to the question and yet they offer it as a choice. It cheapens the poll. Not that it's scientific or anything, but people took the time to answer honestly and these "d" answerers are screwing up the results. But I blame sfgate.com for allowing them to pick the snide answer in the first place. In this case, only 12% picked the non-responsive answer, but that's just because the issue wasn't really a hot-button one. BTW, I didn't even pick a choice for this poll since my selection wasn't there. I'd be pretty cheap to get rid of; free checking for life is all I ask (no direct deposit required) Severity: 2

#264: Faux-booing

The common sports fan practice of faking a "boo" by yelling a guy's name that has the "oo" sound in it. For instance, when Isaac Bruce makes a good catch for the St. Louis Rams, when the fans go "Bruuuuuuuuuuuce" which sounds like boos but isn't. People think they are so cool because they are tricking others into thinking they are booing when in fact they are doing the opposite, lauding the good play. However, this practice has become so cliche that it's annoying, like waving towels at a sporting event (which I've already expounded upon in a previous post.) Severity: 1

#263: Going to the "gym"

I don't like how people call places like 24 Hour Fitness "The Gym." Unless your place has a basketball court or a boxing ring included, you can't use that term. Gym is short of Gymnasium which, as you can see if you click the link, does not describe the place where you go on a treadmill while you watch the Food Network. Does you place have Yoga classes? Not a gym. Smoothie bar? Not a gym. In other words, your place of exercise has to have either some kind of court for playing a game or running AND not have any froufrou stuff like a day spa or pilates to get the moniker "gym." Please stop misusing this name to imply you doing some gritty Rocky-type workouts when you aren't. Severity: 2

Note, I do realize that this brings up a problem of what to call you new non-gym where you workout. I don't have a good answer.

#262: Voting For/Against Judges

In my sample ballot for this election, there's a bunch of state supreme court and appeals court judges that I'm supposed to be for or against. But there is absolutely no information on these guys in the voter pamphlet. I even went online to try to find some information and couldn't so how can anyone make an informed decision that is not a lawyer or another judge familiar with the guys (which is about 99% of the state?) I'm voting against all of them just in case one is a wacko. Severity: 3

#261: Hockey Cheerleaders

I think it's wrong for there to be cheerleaders for an NHL team. It's just not part of the tradition and the nature of the game makes it lame since they can't be on the ice except. Severity: 1

#260: Daylight Savings Wimps

People that complain when DST begins or ends. It's really not that big a deal and it happens every year so people should have been able to deal with it by now. Severity: 1

#259: Bike Helmet Police

When mountain biking in a new location, some guy yelled at me as I was going down "Hey guy, you need a helmet here." What's it to him? My lack of wearing a helmet in no way affects his use of the trails. And there's no law that requires helmet usage for bikers, regardless of what the open space preserves claims the regulations are. Severity: 2

#258: Carl's Jr. Combo Size Question

At CJ, when asking for the Famous Star combo, they ask what size I want. Well, I don't even know what the sizes are. I just want to pay the $4.79 that is on the menu. So, I think it's a scam that they ask you the size and then increase the price if you say anything but "small." It makes more sense to have the standard price and then ask if you want to "upgrade" it to a bigger size for an additional charge. If they have different prices for different size combos, they should list them all to avoid confusion. Severity: 2

#257: RISP Statistics

When watching baseball and they have a statistic such as "The A's are 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position". The problem I have with this statistic is that the failure itself increases the chances without a corresponding chance for success. For instance, given this example, it most likely would be impossible for a team to go 11 for 11 because had they knocked in the runs on the first chance, there would be no more RISP. Therfore, I feel the better statistic is number of times a runner was in scoring position that the runner scored. So, with zero out and a runner on second, 2 guys strike out and the third guy knocks him in, it would be considered 1 for 1, not 1 for 3. You shouldn't have a denominator for which it's impossible to have and equal numerator for a statistic like this, but the TV guys just want to shock the viewers with the numbers. Severity: 3

#256: Automatic Transmission Driving Style

People that drive an automatic transmission car and hold one hand on the gear shifter for Park, Neutral, etc. It's unnecessary. Severity: 2

#255: Seinfeld Song

I find it annoying that I'm the only one that seems to see the similarity between Bobby Brown's My Prerogative and the Seinfeld theme song. Listen closely to that background synthesizer at the :18 mark in Seinfeld and then envision a sped-up chorus of BB without the words. I'm telling you, it's there. Now, BB doesn't really deserve any lawsuit money what with that gumby haircut he sported at one time along with the various beatings he metted out on people, but I think he's entitled to some restitution if his lawyers discover my findings. Oh, and by the way, My Prerogative hit #1 and came out in 1988, just 1 year before the Seinfeld Chronicles special was released in 1989. Everyone I tell this too doesn't see it and it's frustrating. Severity: 2

#254: Saving Parking Spots

I hate it when I see people standing in the street trying to save a spot for their friend. It's morally bankrupt to do this since only a car can save a spot, otherwise, any bum could sit in a chair and charge people to make him move. This story reminded me of the annoyance and I guess others take the same, albeit much more violent, offense to the practice as I do. Severity: 3 (equates to a mean glare, NOT knifing)

#253: Inefficient Scanning

When in the checkout line and either I or the person in front of me has several of the same item and the clerk scans each one instead of using the QTY button on the cash register and only having to scan the item once. The lack of efficiency is annoying, especially considering how little creativity this job allows the worker. They should be excited to be able to use the QTY button. Severity: 2

#252: Too Many Limper Spaces

In certain types of business, like ski areas, there should not be a requirement for the same ratio of handicap spots as regular businesses have because it's reasonable to assume that handicap people will not be going to places like this. Severity: 2

#251: Siu Maai/Har Gao

The top item that most everyone loves at a dim sum restaurant is Siu Maai and Har Gao, which are always brought out together. However, every time I go out for dim sum, it seems that we have to wait for an inordinately long time for the smhg cart/tray to come by. Why, if so many people want this item do the dim sum places not make more of it? I suspect it's to sell the higher margin items to the impatient people, but it's annoying since I hate the feeling of waiting and not knowing whether or not these items will come out before I have to leave to return to work. Severity: 2

#250: Murder-Suicide

I am annoyed by the insane action of killing someone then yourself. Obviously killing at all is bad, but when you actually plan to kill yourself after your murder, it's either the most selfish act possible (you are depressed and want to take others down if you're going down), or the killer in advance of his actions knows he can't live with the guilt so just plans to immediately kill himself after his murderous act. How someone can consciously do an act that they know they will not be able to live with is annoying to me. It defeats the whole purpose of shame when someone tries to skirt this emotional check on improper actions by taking their own life. This is not to say that regular murder does not annoy me as well, but that's fairly obvious and this annoys me more and I only put specific annoyances to me personally here. Severity: 4

#249: Recap Spoilers

This annoyance is similar to a previous one regarding my dislike of previews of future episodes, but is different enough to warrants its own entry. And it really only happens on this one show I watch, The 4400. What happens is that lately they will have a small recap of things from past episodes, some of which occurred a long time ago, and I've realized that their choice of what they recap hints at what is going to be the focus of the current show. Like if they show footage from some character who's disappeared several episodes ago, you know they are coming back in this one. I hate that. In my quest to no nothing of what might happen in the current show, it annoys me that they give away what the show will be about with this recap. Severity: 1

#248: Internet Failure

With so many crazy things I've found on the internet, such as full length version of every song they have every played on Price is Right to a nutty news segment about people in Mobile, AL looking for a Leprechaun in their neighborhood, the internet has failed me in finding something I really want. And that is either video or audio of Billy Dee Williams' Colt 45 commercial where he says "It works EVery time". How can it be that this is not floating around somewhere? Every couple of months I look for it but come up empty. Severity: 2

#247: Bad Sushi Protocol

Dining with some people who I shall not name (except to say they are NOT from California), several ordered California Rolls but requested to HOLD THE AVOCADO. Appalling. It's like ordering a pizza with no cheese. Severity: 1

#246: Office Phone

Our phones at work have caller ID and roll-over lines. However, when you are on the phone on one line and getting a second incoming call, the incoming phone number does not display until and unless you answer it. This defeats one of the main purposes that a caller ID has, in that I want to know if the call coming in is worth leaving the current caller or putting them on hold for. How the phone system could be designed so stupidly is beyond me. Severity: 3

#245: TV Credits

I find it disrespectful to the cast and crew and annoying to me when they run TV credits in some tiny 1/4 of the screen that you could only read if you had a 52" TV. On TNT, I just saw them actually running the credits to the previous show in this little 1/10th part of the bottom of the screen as the opening theme was running for the next show. I don't have a magnifying glass with me and I don't think most other do either, so what's the point? I'd be pissed if I was in the show and didn't get the recognition because the channel was trying to squeeze in more commercials or promos. Severity: 2

#244: Phone Customer Service

I find it inconsiderate of companies when you call their customer service number with automated prompts and one of the prompts says to press some number to speak to a representative, but when you do, it says they aren't there, try back this other time. They should not tease you with the prospect of speaking with a real person when it's outside their business hours. Severity: 2

#243: Joannie's hat on Deadwood

I just think it's so lame with that thing hanging down the back.

#242: finger licking

That old-fashioned thing some people do when turning flipping through pieces of paper or turning the page in a book of licking their fingers to get a better grip on the page is both unnecessary and unsanitary. Severity: 2

#241: Road Signs not numbered

On maps, when a road has a number, but when there is a sign on the road, it lists some nickname instead. I don't mind having both, but if I'm looking for route 1A and it's also known as the Bow Valley Parkway, why can't the sign say both since they can't expect every map to have all the nicknames listed as well. Severity: 2

#240: RVs in Campgrounds

Does nobody camp using a normal car and tent anymore? When I was in campgrounds on a recent trip, it seemed like 80% of the people had some form of RV or camper shell they were sleeping in. I really don't see the point in taking up space in a campground when you are sleeping in a car and could do the same on the side of the road rather than invade my space of tranquility where I don't care to see the glow of TVs coming from the windows everywhere. Severity: 1

#239: Hiking Poles

I get annoyed when I see people with hiking poles on trails that are pretty easy. Unless there is a trail that is very steep and with loose rock, or you are backpacking, or you are old, hiking poles are for wimps and status seekers wanting to spend more money on equipment rather that doing the actual activity. Severity: 3

#238: Gas Pumping Laws

States such as Oregon and New Jersey where you can't pump your own gas annoy me for it's inefficiency and most likely increased cost passed on to the consumer. I had to forego going to the cheapest gas on a recent trip because the line was so long at an Arco because the attendant couldn't handle the crowd. Severity: 2

#237: Weird Liquor Laws

I hate going to a state or country with restrictive liquor laws of any kind. The low alcohol percentages of the beer in Utah. No hard liquor at supermarkets in Oregon or Idaho. No liquor of any kind except in special designated stores in Canada. It's annoying, especially when you are travelling through these small towns and looking for some and used to being able to get anything in the more normal juridictions. And I really don't think it helps the alcoholics, who probably stock up a year supply in their basement in one trip. Severity: 2

#236: Cash Gas Price Scam

I've started seeing this a couple times now. This latest time was in Twin Falls, ID where I stopped to get the cheapest gas I've seen in a while advertised at $2.72. When at the pump, the card reader said price was 5 cents higher for non-cash purchases but the sign said nothing about this. The electronic sign did, but the freestanding sign with the prices did not. Given the rarity of gas stations charging different prices for cash these days, I think it's borderline fraud for this gas stations to not boldly state that their cheaper price is for cash only. Severity: 3

#235: People Smoking on Trails

When hiking on my recent trip, mostly in Canada by mostly annoying European tourists, there was a good amount of people smoking while on hiking trails which I found offensive since I come to the outdoors to get some fresh air. If I'm in a bar, I don't mind, but people smoking in the woods is just wrong. Severity: 4

Vacation

Annoy Log is on vacation until June 19. I will be driving up the northwest into Canada in search of new sources of annoyance as the U.S. annoyance reserves have been nearly tapped out. Stay tuned for the flurry that is sure to build up over the next two weeks.

#234: Fortuneless Fortune Cookies

And by this I am not referring to when the machine or $1-an-hour worker missed putting one in, but when the actual piece of paper says something like "You are well-respected by all who know you". I want a fortune cookie, not a flattery cookie. The point of the fortune is to instruct you in what to do to improve your life or give you information to look forward to and this statement of fact about yourself serves no purpose. Severity: 1

#233: Viagra Expenses

I'm annoyed that people can get Viagra as part of their medical plans, which drives up insurance premiums for everyone. To me, it's like going to the doctor complaining that I can't appreciate the A-team like I used to and getting medicated so that I do. You either have it or you don't. Nature is the best one to determine if it's time to hang up the shoes. And if you don't want to accept that, it's fine if you want to buy the drug, but I don't believe it's a valid medical expense. Severity: 3

#232: Cheap Salad Bar Patron

Total, I ate at a salad bar by weight place and some lady after she paid went back got a cup of salad dressing instead of putting it on the salad, which I feel is cheating. I know they did it to lower the weight because they could have got the cup of dressing beforehand if it was simply a matter of wanting the dressing on the side. Plus, she had that sneaky look of getting away with something when she did it. I'm all for economizing, but that is too much. Severity: 1

#231: Work Bathroom Paper Towel Dispense

This new floor we moved to has a bathroom with the paper towel dispenser that has the towels in so tight that every time you grab one, they rip off. I don't know if it's the dispenser or the janitor stuffing it too tight every night, but it's pissing me off greatly to the point that I grabbed a bunch and put them out flat on the railing for people to grab. Severity: 3

#230: Contact Lense Prescriptions

Why do I need a prescription for contact lenses? Am I going to hawk my +1.00 right and +.75 left toric lens in the tenderloin to some vision addicts for money? What's the worst that can happen if someone has a wrong contact lens? It's a total scam that you can't reorder contact lenses after a certain amount of time without having another eye exam. Severity: 3

#229: Vigils

Stop the violence vigils, popular in cities with high homicide rates seem fairly stupid to me, in that the people doing the killing are really not concerned with the vigils not do they participate in them. And I don't think someone that would do a drive-by would be made to feel guilty for killing by these vigils. It's a waste of time. I have no solution, but the vigils are dumb. Severity: 1

#228: Parallel Parking Patent

A few years ago, I checked online to see if someone had already patented the idea I had about wheels on a car turning 90 degrees for easy parallel parking. Because this is a feature that I would be interested in and I think many other city dwellers as well since it would make such parking much easier and allow you to fit into spaces otherwise impossible to get into by conventional modes. The patent existed, though, so my dreams of early retirement were over, but my annoyance is in the fact that no carmakers has put this technology into a car. Not knowing much about car manufacturing, it still seems like it should be something that isn't that hard to do or adds too much to the cost of the vehicle. Maybe the market just isn't big enough, but I have to think that just New York alone would have enough people needing this feature to make it a worthwhile option to offer in cars. Severity: 1

#227: Well-Done Meat

It bothers me when I am out to restaurants with people and they get their meat well-done because I think this takes away the essence of the meat that our cavemen ancestors craved and also I suspect most people getting meat well-done do so for health-scare reasons that are irrational, rather than because they actually like the taste better well-done. Severity 3

#226: TV Previews

Not only do I despise these at the end of shows or during commercials (rarely watched with DVR), but what makes me even more upset is that most people like them and talk about them. How can someone want to know a clue of what's going to happen in the next show? I want to go in fresh and that fact that other people actually desire to see these previews (and talk about them around me) makes me annoyed with society. It's just plain impatient to not be able to wait a week to find out what's going to happen. Severity: 4

#225: Scooby Doo

I don't know why this entered into my head just now, but it annoyed me then and it annoys me now when in Scooby Doo, the kids do all this sleuthing gathering clues and then and the end of the show, they just devise some trap for the villain and unmask them. My beef is the fact that they could have just saved time catching the guy without having to do any investigation. I felt cheated that they hardly ever used the knowledge of the information-gathering in the solving of the mystery. Severity 1

#224: Crappy Online Savings Banks

Online savings accounts that don't allow you to electronically transfer money out for free. I've signed up for a couple for various bonus offers not knowing this was the case and I won't ever again because I find it ludirous that they don't have a mechanism to withrawing money as easy as they have for putting it in. Why would anyone use these banks like Netbank, when there are ones that pay higher interest and allow for easy free ACH withdrawals like ING and Virtual Bank? Severity 5

#213 to #223

213. When an ATM is out of money and the person in front of you doesn't say anything, even though they just got the message. Severity: 2 1/28/2006
     
214. City governments, mostly San Francisco and Berkeley, wasting time on passing meaningless resolutions like this one. And it's not for political reasons I don't like it. It's just plain stupid no matter what the topic to spend time when so much in the city is messed up proclaiming some statement. It's similar to the bumper sticker annoyance, but on a much grander scale. Severity: 5 2/8/2006
     
215. Anyone, especially a man, who carries around one of those little dogs in a purse or tote bag. Terrible! Severity: 3 2/15/06
     
216. When getting fast food to-go and they often throw in 10 ketchups without asking. It's wasteful since I don't want any ketchup and even if I did, they give way too much. Severity: 2 2/26/2006
     
217. Trying to find out the exact starting time of a big sporting even like the superbowl. I don't want to waste time watching all the pre-game crap and it's hard to find any information of when the actual game starts, except by going to sports betting sites which seem to be the only people that care. Severity: 3 4/8/06
     
218. When you are in the elevator with one other person of the same sex and you both pause to let the other person out. I think of myself as a pretty considerate person, yet I find that I always have to be the one to leave first or else there will be a stalemate and no one will ever make a move. Why can't the last person in or the closest to the door just be the one to go first? When it's a man and a woman, this is usually a non-issue due to the conventions of chivalry. Severity: 2 5/2/2006
     
219. Though it's in the past, I used to be annoyed at Dusty Baker, manager for the baseball Giants, when he would flip around a toothpick in his mouth all game and the cameras would show this as a close-up. Severity: 1 5/2/2006
     
220. I currently have had a 10% Safeway Card savings for some random reason for a couple months and every single time I use the card, the checker announces to me excitedly that I'm saving the 10% even though I know that since I've been told 15 times by now. I feel obligated to look all surprised and excited by the news because the register beeps to alert them to tell me and it must be sort of rare since they genuinely look excited themselves. The register should indicate that I know about the special savings and so they won't bug me about it repeatedly.Severity: 2 5/2/2006
     
221. Airlines allowing online check-in for flights. Even though it benefits me usually as an avid Internet user, especially on Southwest where getting that A boarding group is important to avoid a middle seat, I don't like this practice since the purpose of checking in is to prove that you are actually at the airport and will be on the flight. People checking in 24 hours before can miss the flight for a variety of reasons and then they have to call out the people's names wondering where they are before they allow standbys on the flight. Severity: 1 5/2/2006
     
222. In the show "Scrubs" when they have the obligatory emotional part and start playing some reject college band song to mark the moment. It's like they have to tell the viewer that it's now time to stop laughing and get serious which I find insulting. Severity: 2 5/4/2006
     
223. People taking Southwest who stand in line in the "A" boarding line. With an "A" boarding group, you are assured to get a nice aisle or window seat. Is it really that important to be in the 5th row instead of the 10th that one needs to create a traffic jam and stand up for an hour in line? Severity: 3 5/4/06

#202 to #212

202. Crazy cell phone rings; it ceased to be neat a long time ago and now is
     just annoying to hear everyone's favorite song every time they get a call.
     Ditto for crazy noises alerting that these a voice mail waiting. Severity: 3


203. People that refuse to use a knife when eating a meal and cut everything
     with the side of their fork, even when it's a struggle to do so. The knife
     is there for a reason. Use it! Severity: 4


204. Couples that share an email address. It's annoying to email someone when
     you don't know who is reading it when you sometimes only want to communicate
     with one of the people. Severity: 1 12/22/2005


205. The practice mainly associated with teen or early-20s punks in which they
     concur with something a second person says by saying "yeah it is"
     in a tone normally associated with what one would expect to hear if the punk
     actually disagreed with the second person's statement. In other words, if
     the second person said, "Dude, that was a sweet wave", the punk
     would say "yeah it was" in a way that sounds like the first guy
     said it was a bad wave. It's dumb. Severity: 2 12/28/2005


206. Hearing people use the tired phrase "Back in the day..." It's
     used up and now just annoying in it's overuse as it's ceased to be a novel
     term. Severity: 1 1/1/06


207. Hearing people use the tired phrase: "...quite the...", for instance,
     in "Wow, you're quite the chef tonight with gourmet meal you have made".
     The ironic high-society language has ceased to become a novelty me to the
     point of annoyance. Severity: 1 1/1/06


208. People twirling their pen or pencil with one hand by spinning it with their
     thumb and using the next finger as a base. I've grown weary of this feat,
     especially since I cannot do it. Mostly common among Asians, I've noticed
     through the years. Severity: 1 1/17/06


209. At work, when I want to discuss something with people in my building, but
     they always want to do it over the phone or instant messaging. It's rare to
     have the ability to meet in person and it's more productive, so I get upset
     that people are so used to isolating themselves do to most of our meetings
     being with people in different cities that they no longer can work face to
     face with someone when the opportunity is available. Severity: 3 1/17/06


210. This hotel on the way to work has some vent that blows this nasty garbage
     smell into the street that hits me on my bike or walking and is disgusting.
     I noticed it during the hotel worker strike and I think when it ended, the
     hotel decided to continue the garbage policy that let it build up whereever
     this nastiness is coming from. Severity: 3 1/17/06


211. On my DISH DVR, when I want to record a hockey game on the Center Ice package,
     I am unable to alter the default times of the recording. This is an annoying
     bug since, in addition, the recording stops early anyway (as mentioned in
     prior annoyance). This bug causes me to be unable to record the game and then
     record another show after it when I know the game will certainly be over.
     Severity: 3 1/17/06


212. When TV shows, like 24, spend nearly 2 minutes at the beginning doing a
     "Previously on ..." recap. It makes for less amount of time for
     the new stuff in the current episode and for people that missed the prior
     shows, tough luck. They should read a recap on the net or remember to set
     their DVR or VCR next time. Severity: 3 1/17/06

#190 to #201

190. When you call up some reservation or customer service number and it's an automated response system and they make the voice sound like it's a real person even though it's not by having it interject little nice things like "let me check my records" and then you hear paper shuffling or pausing or saying "um." Either they are trying to trick me that I'm talking to a real person, or they think making a computer talk like a person is somehow
     more comforting. Either way, it's stupid. Severity: 3


191. Audience participation at concerts. Whether at a live concert or watching or listening to a recorded live performance, I don't want to hear lame call and response or singing along by the crowd, I want to here the actual performers. Severity: 5
     
192. When highway driving and there is heavy traffic, but then the traffic starts to thin out, people often continue to drive slow like they are in a trance from the prior congestion; this lack of adjusting to the thinning traffic causes the backup to continue longer and upsets me since I want to go fast as soon as possible. Severity: 3


193. People that drive with only their parking lights on; if it's dark enough that you feel you need some lights on, why not spring for the juice and turn the full lights on? The life of the bulb is long enough that I don't think it's really a matter of saving money, rather people want to look cool with just the small lights on which I think is dumb. Severity: 5


194. That almost all orange juice now in the stores has calcium added. It affects the taste and I don't fear not getting enough so I am forced to accept it if I want my favorite blend, orange/tangerine. Severity: 4


195. People who write checks at stores that accept credit/debit cards. It holds up the line and is completely unnecessary in this day of electronic payments. I don't buy any excuse anyone gives me for the benefits of checkwriting, including the popular "it helps me budget" which is bull since you can do the same budgeting keeping track of debit card usage. Severity: 5


196. Political bumper stickers. Rather than trying to sway public opinion, these are used by people just to brag to people how cultured and enlightened they are about issues or to make other angry that are not of their opinion. What purpose did a "Kerry/Edwards" sticker have when it was a foregone conclusion they would win California? "Kill Your
     Television" is another example of people just bragging to others how cultured they are that they don't watch TV. Severity: 4


197. Web sites that require you to put the "www" before the domain name to reach their site. It's just shoddy design. Severity: 5


198. Pedestrians who stand in the street while waiting for the light to change. Is it really that important to get a 3 foot head start at the risk of getting sideswiped? And it messes me up on my bike sometimes when I'm riding in the slot between the car lane and the parked cars and curb and they get in my way. Severity: 5


199. Bike riders with toe clips that try to balance themselves for long periods at stop lights to avoid having to remove a foot from the clips; it's like they are trying to impress everyone and brag about their skill when it would be much more comfortable to just unclip and relax a bit. Severity: 5


200. Anyone who have used a computer for 5 years or more, yet still can't touch type; it's so inefficient to look at the keyboard when typing, it upsets me. Severity: 5
     
201. People using salt in a Chinese restaurant. The food is so salty already, plus, soy sauce is more appropriate if you need to spice something up. Severity: 5

#170 to #189

170. Related to below, anyone that doesn't wear sunglasses when it is sunny. The UV and visible rays of a bright sun are not good for one's eyes and it's obviously uncomfortable when you see these people squinting and shielding their face with a hand or a newspaper. Why can't they just buy some $5 sunglasses at Walgreens? Do they feel they aren't cool enough to wear shades? Annoyed people want to know. Severity: 4


171. People that ski without goggles. It's just crazy because the sun is so bright in the high elevations and the reflection off the snow adds to the glare. In addition, the cold wind in your eyes has to effect anyone going even with just a little speed. Very large sunglasses, I can accept, but the people with small glasses trying to be cool, or those with none at all, are fools that annoy me. Severity: 3


172. When person on a ski lift wants to put the safety bar down. There is no way someone is going to fall off one of these for any reason other than if the entire lift collapsed, in which case the bar won't be of much help. The only two exceptions I give is if there is a little kid on the lift or if there are the built in footrests which require the bar to be down to utilize. Severity: 4


173. People that are cold when I'm a comfortable temperature. I know it is illogical to be annoyed because a person's body temperature or temperature preference differs from my own, but still, it annoys me. Severity: 3


174. When an almost-popped kernel of hot-air-popped popcorn is in the bowl, then explodes and freaks me out. I hate that. Severity: 2


175. The fact that salt has such trouble sticking to hot-air-popped popcorn. Severity: 2
     
176. The smell of butter-flavored microwave popcorn. It's a disgusting smell that goes everywhere and lingers for hours. Severity: 5


177. People that don't use the revolving door when there is one to enter or exit a building. The regular door with the electric button is for handicapped people. The efficiency of the revolving door allows for more people to enter and exit the building at the same time, while keeping the heat/cold out of the building. Don't be lazy, use the revolving door if it's there unless you have a good excuse not to! Severity: 4


178. Women referring to a friend as "girlfriend." Just say "friend" and we shall assume it's a female. If it's a male friend, and it matters to the conversation (such as "I went to the football game with one of my guy friends") then specify it. If it's a romantic interest "boyfriend" is appropriate. But "girlfriend" is never appropriate, unless you
     are a lesbian. Severity: 2


179. The nasty skin that forms in my mug of milk after heating it up in the microwave for my morning hot cocoa. Severity: 2


180. Overuse and incorrect use of the word "pandemic" in newspaper articles. Whatever happened to the good old "epidemic?" "Pandemic" is a global epidemic, however it is used incorrectly when referring to concerns of some trouble within the US or single region because it's now the trendy term, or it's preceded by "global" which is redundant when actually referring to a global issue. Severity: 1


181. Tip jars at non-tipping places. I just find it a little sad that these people working jobs that historically are not tip-based put out a jar like some homeless person in an attempt to make me feel guilty for keeping my change. Severity: 2


182. In parking lots, people that go to great effort to get a close parking space when it's much faster to just park farther away and walk a little. Severity: 4


183. That boop-boop noise from people's stupid remote control lock/alarm gadgets. In addition, I think it's ridiculous people can just use a regular key to unlock their car. And alarms do no good since no one pays attention to them. So, that makes the noise even more annoying to me. Severity: 4


184. Wheeled luggage. What upsets me is how lazy people are that they can't carry a bag for 10 minutes or however long it takes to walk in the airport. I see people with tiny bags wheeling and I feel it indicates the laziness of society. Also, it's annoying even if the wheeler isn't lazy since they probably go work out at the gym, but why not get some free excercise carrying a bag? Only people who travel a lot and have a heavy bags do I excuse for being a luggage-wheeler. Severity: 5
     
185. The way my friend Tony sneezes. He stifles it and it makes me upset that he just doesn't let it out with abandon as that is what the sneeze is for, to expel crap out of your nasal passages. Stifling sneezes is only OK if you are in some place where it's embarrassing to sneeze loud, like a piano recital. Severity: 3
     
186. People brushing their teeth or clipping fingernails at work. I don't know why, but I just think this is personal hygiene that should not be done at work. Also, I have an aversion to the smell of toothpaste for some strange reason. Severity: 2


187. Similar to the annoyance below, I don't like the idea of wrapping presents when you are giving them to someone in-person. I understand the enjoyment of the surprise of opening a mystery gift, but it's just a waste of time and paper and causes unnecessary trash when you can just as easily surprise the person in some other way that doesn't involve wrapping paper. Plus, I stink at wrapping presents. Severity: 2


188. Giving a greeting card to someone in-person. A greeting card is appropriate for when you aren't in the presence of the person you are expressing your sentiments to and need to mail it, but if you are standing there, I don't see the point, unless it's a very funny card. But for serious cards, especially one written by the Hallmark writers, it's totally a waste of money, paper, and time. Severity: 3


189. Seeing people in a store buy large-sized bottled water for home use in locations where the tap water is fine. It's a waste of money and creates unnecessary trash. This is especially true in San Francisco, where the tap water comes from the Yosemite snow melt and is among the cleanest and clearest tap water in the world. Severity: 5

#150 to #169

150. Potato chips are too salty. And I cannot for the life of me find a low salt variety. Only no-salt which is too extreme. Severity: 4


151. People (usually men) that bring reading matter with them when they use the toilet. I don't understand this habit because when I'm on the toilet, unless I have a case of food poisoning there is no time for reading. I'm too busy doing my business and then getting out of the cramped and/or smelly area as quickly as possible. Why are people basking in the joy of taking a crap by prolonging the experience with reading matter? I can't imagine people need a lot of time to take a crap, so I know they are just sitting there reading for no reason. There's really got to some sick Freudian reason why people like to sit on a toilet with their pants down reading when there is no need to do so to perform the function of crapping. The only exception I give is if a guy has a real annoying wife or family or something and the bathroom is his only sanctuary. Severity: 3


152. People that buy their Xmas trees with 10 days or less to go before Xmas. I see people with trees on their car roofs with a week to go before Dec. 25th and it annoys me. Even though I don't celebrate the holiday, it bothers me that people waste a tree for only 10 or less days of usage before the big day. If you are going to have a tree, get it early so you can decorate it at a leisurely pace and celebrate the season for longer and get more money's worth out of it! Severity: 3


153. The continued existence of the penny. It's been devalued enough that we should be rounding everything to the nearest 5 cents like they do in New Zealand. Fortunately, a lot of stores already are nice enough to round your change or the price themselves, but it needs to be done by law so everyone will do it and the cash register automatically calculates the rounded price. Things can still sell for 1 cent, but the final bill will be rounded. I don't think many people buy 1 item at 1 cent these days. They might buy 101 paper clips at 3 cent each, but in that case, you wouldn't round till the end so the buyer
     would pay $3.05. Severity: 4


154. NASCAR on the radio. Now, I think auto racing is dumb to begin with, but I can see how some people might like watching it live or on TV. But when I heard a race being broadcast over the radio while driving in the South, I was astounded at the stupidity of how anyone could enjoy listening to announcers talk about cars going around in a circle and it annoys me to know that there are radio frequencies being wasted carrying this stuff. Severity: 1
     
155. People displaying rainbows in their window or some other way on their dwelling. I don't have a problem with someone being proud they are gay, but as with my political bumper sticker annoyance, I feel these rainbow people are just trying to brag about their lifestyle to others and think they are cool for being gay. It's ok to come out of the closet, but why the need to show your sexual preference to everyone that doesn't even care or know you? Maybe it's some signal to other gay's that your apartment is a safe haven in case of
     emergencies. Severity: 1


156. My mom's refusal to ever leave dirty dishes in the sink. When there are dirty dishes from guests or just from regular use, she has to do them before the night ends or before leaving the house or doing any other activity. It annoys me because there is no harm leaving them for later and relaxing a bit or doing something else that is more important at the moment. Severity: 5


157. Too many dogs in San Francisco. It's just incredible how many damn dogs there are being walked all the time around my place. First, I don't like dogs much. But it's really the fact that there's so many in an urban environment that bothers me. Because they piss and it stinks up the sidewalks since there's nowhere for it to go and I constantly am having to avoid fresh dog piss when I walk. I think the dog is the new status symbol of urban dwellers or something and people feel obligated to have one so they can show it off around the neighborhood. Severity: 5
     


158. The shoe companies discontinuing styles of sneakers too fast. Every time, I find a pair I like, it's never around when I need a new pair a few months later. Don't these companies realize that maybe someone likes a style and wants to get it again, especially given that they liked it the first time? I can't imagine most people feel they have to get a new style of shoe every time they are ready for a new pair. Severity: 3


159. The law that says you must curb your wheels when parking on a hill. It's got to be from a bygone era when cars had bad breaks in the 1920's. There is no way a car could become a runaway if the emergency break is up in this day and age. But they still ticket for it and I'm always worrying I forgot to do it. I also got a ticket for this when I first moved to San Francisco since I never knew about the law. In addition, if you park extremely close
     to the curb, you sometimes can't turn the wheels enough to curb them and that you have to adjust what otherwise would have been an outstanding parking job. Severity: 2
     
160. This giant 70's Cadillac that's always parked on the street by my apartment. It's right in front of the owner's apartment where I see him through the window smoking and drinking wine as he admires his beloved boat of a car that he never drives, yet takes up 2 valuable spaces on the street. The guy washes it a lot too. I curse that car and the guy every time I pass it. Severity: 5


161. Anyone not liking Seinfeld. Because I can't comprehend how. There's other shows I really like that I can understand how it might not be another person's cup of tea, but with Seinfeld, I just don't see how anyone can't find it brilliant. Severity: 5
     
162. Shorts are too long. I seriously cannot find shorts that are truly short. I'm not looking for tight 70s roller skater show-off-your-thigh shorts. I just ask that shorts end 3 or 4 inches above the knees. Is that too much to ask? The hommies have infiltrated fashion to the point where I get old navy shorts with a sticker saying "shorter length" yet they still go
     past my knees. It's a sad state of affairs. Severity: 5


163. At Safeway, when the checker tries to pronounce my name from looking at the receipt. First of all, even if they got it right, should I really feel like I'm getting the personal touch from someone that has never seen me before, but is just reading my name off a printout? Secondly, they always say it like a question, worried that they pronounced it wrong and I don't care so I always so "that's right" to make them feel good because it's so stupid.
     If they can't be sure of how to say it, they shouldn't say anything at all. I'd feel perfectly honored with a generic "Sir." Severity: 2


164. Related to below, other unnecessary uses of mayo/ranch dressing. Dipping stuff like fries and buffalo wings in mayo/dressing is just another indication of our society's penchant for excess. Severity: 3


165. Putting mayonnaise on a cheeseburger. You already have grease from the patty. Then you have the melted cheese for additional grease. Why do people feel a need for more grease from mayo? Without cheese, I accept that the mayo may be needed to make keep the burger from being too dry. Severity: 1


166. In movies or TV, when someone is using a computer and it makes all these fake electronic noises while typing or looking up fingerprints or a database. I guess the movie audience needs some noise stimulation to maintain their attention, but I find it annoying in that it's totally inaccurate and treats the audience like little kids. Only exception I'll make is for War Games. Severity: 1
     
167. Cheap toothpicks at restaurants. In addition to the fact that they break off in your teeth and are ineffective at removing food particles, it drives me crazy how stupid of a business decision it is for a restaurant to be so chintzy on such a cheap item to risk having the customer end his visit on a sour note and maybe never return again. Severity: 4


168. The pronunciation of "Greenwich", the street which I live on. It's commonly pronounced as "Gren-ich." However, I never realized this till I was fairly old. Therefore, I'm always worried when I'm giving my address to someone to visit or to mail me something, they won't understand the word if I pronounce it that way. So I usually err on the side of just
     saying it just like it looks (which is an acceptable variation in the dictionary) but then this makes me look sort of ignorant to the person if they do indeed know that the usually way of saying it is "Gren-ich." It's a real dilly of a dilemma and it annoys me having to deal with it. Severity: 4


169. Taking the Fifth. I can't stand when people do it, and I can't stand that guys don't have to testify at their own trial and I have yet to hear a good reason for why this protection from self-incrimination still exists today. (Note: Expect a musing on this matter coming shortly)
     Severity: 5

#130 to #149

130. San Quentin taking up valuable land. It's home of scumbags that don't deserve to even see the light of day, much less be occupying some of the most expensive real estate in the country. Move this prison to some forsaken place in the desert and use that land for some good use, like a ferry stop as proposed by many. I don't give a crap about the prison guards having to move and the prisoner's families having to move to visit the jailbirds. Severity: 5


131. The fact that it takes 20 years to execute someone. I'm all for making sure the right decision is made, but when you have appeals about how lethal injection is inhumane, this is something that has already been ruled upon a hundred times so why are lawyers allowed to keep arguing it? It should not take 20 years and millions of dollars to lawyers to make sure the guy deserves to die. It sort of defeats what I think is the main purpose of executions which is justice and a feeling of revenge that helps the grieving families of the
     murder victims and the public in general when the painful event is so far removed from the actual execution of the convict, if it ever happens at all (since many die of old age first). Severity: 5


132. During NFL games, when there is a commercial before a kickoff and then another one right after the kickoff. It makes me glad the TIVO is negating several millions of viewed commercials a day. Severity: 5


133. The loud sucking noise made by airplane toilets. It just never ceases to scare me that I'm going to get sucked down no matter how many times I use one. It is painful to the ears as well. Severity: 3


134. Automatic flushing toilets. I like the automatic flushing urinals, but the toilets make me nervous because I'm always afraid it will flush while I sitting on it still and scare me with the loud WHOOSH that only a public toilet can make and splashing me with water. Severity: 2


135. Men wearing scarves. I just don't like it. Severity: 1


136. Unnecessary use of tire chains. Sure, some people may be novices to driving in the mountains, but when it hasn't snowed for 3 days, it just is plain idiotic to get fooled by the chain installers charging $30 that you really need to put on chains. This isn't Siberia. It doesn't matter if there is 10 feet of snow in one day, the Caltrans snowplows can clear the roads in 3 days. Severity: 2


137. Unnecessary ski rack usage. People with giant SUVs and only 2 people in the car can easily fit skis or snowboards in the back of the car. But they insist on using a ski rack just so they can gloat to other drivers on the road that they are hitting the slopes or returning from them. Severity: 2


138. People that sit all day in a ski lodge without skiing. These people are taking up valuable chairs and tables that the real skiers need to rest and on busy days, there aren't enough. These people should be sitting at home reading rather than taking up space in the lodge. I had to eat my lunch in the snow on a crowded day due in part to these people. Severity: 3
     
139. Pickle juice running into my fries when pickles slices are served on the side as a garnish with a hamburger. Severity: 2


140. People talking with cell phone headsets while in a lift line skiing. This is just wrong. Of course, I've only seen it at Mammoth which caters to the LA crowd, as expected. Severity: 3


141. People the ask for pillows on planes. The purpose of a pillow is to elevate the head when lying down. On a plane, you are far from that position. There is no purpose for a pillow other than deluding oneself that they will somehow be able to simulate a bed in the painful position of a coach airplane seat. Severity: 4
     
142. Fanaticism over sweet tea in the South. When visiting there, I received the looks that a paroled child molester gets when I declined this drink or stated that I didn't care for it. It's tea with sugar. Whoopee. I don't get all excited if someone visiting me doesn't like sourdough bread. Severity: 1


143. People not appreciating the National Weather Service weather discussion. I often point out or e-mail people the detailed weather forecast discussion and it seems most are not interested, even though this is the raw information and thinking that goes behind the little "heavy snow" or "sunny" you see in the online weather. It bothers me that people don't care to know the detail of the weather and just want some simple brief summary rather than knowing the full picture like the forecaster's confidence in the weather models
     and the specific timing of events. Severity: 4


144. People that make a clicking noise with their mouth after pausing in speech while they are thinking of what to say next. It's like they feel a need to make some sound effect for their brain working in order to prove that that they really aren't just spacing out. Severity: 1


145. Casinos paying 6 to 5 for blackjack. It's the latest trend on the Las Vegas Strip to lower the payoff for a blackjack for low limit games, which I feel is both discriminatory and illegal and it pisses me off that these casinos feel a need to tilt an already favorable game to the house even more so with such a chintzy tactic. Severity: 5


146. People who lick their fingers before turning a page of a magazine or book. It's nasty and unnecessary. Only exception is for librarians older than 70 with glasses with chains on them. Severity: 2


147. Bankrupt airlines continuing to operate for so long after multiple bankruptcies. These companies are pathetic, yet they keep them running and continue to lose money for years. Pull the plug on these loser companies. Severity: 5


148. BofA ATMs not remembering that I speak English. Every time I use an ATM, it asks if I want English or Spanish. I can't imagine why they can't program it such that it asks the user this question only one time, then assigns a value to my ATM card and has the system remember my language preference each subsequent time. Severity: 3


149. When people say "PIN Number" regarding their secret code for their ATM card or something. The "Number" is redundant since the "N" in "PIN" already denotes that term. Severity: 1