#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