#103 Key Chains

Pretty much every adult these days keeps a minimum of two keys on a key ring: a key for their vehicle and a key for their residence. Some people also have just a few more or even many, many more keys on a key ring. Unless someone requires all of these keys on a daily basis, there really isn't much point to carrying around all of these keys all time, especially because they can get heavy and they tend make a lot of noise. In my opinion (in this case), simple is better.

However, if you (as an adult) have more key chains than keys, that's when I start to get annoyed.

First of all: what are you, 9 years old? Do you need to have a myriad of key chains so that you won't lose your house key to let yourself in after elementary school lets out for the day? Are you proud of your overly-abundant pile of metal and glitter and fuzz that you compare with your friends to show off how cool you are based on the number of obnoxious items on your key ring?

Second: if the sound of your key chains precedes you while walking through any area where people are located, you definitely have too many key chains. I can actually tell who is walking through my office area at work just by the sound of their key chains jangling away as they walk behind/past me. For fuck's sake, put that shit in your pocket or your purse! I don't want to hear that crap! If you MUST carry several keys and several key chains, at least silence them while you’re walking.

Third: what is the purpose of having so many key chains? According to Wikipedia, there are a multitude of uses and purposes for a single key chain. Mainly though, they are used for identification, advertising, souvenir, popular characters and nostalgia-related items. Do I think it's necessary to have a key ring with a key chain of the Eiffel Tower AND Stewie from Family Guy AND a tiny stuffed teddy bear AND a bottle opener AND a skateboard? No. Choose one and call it good. If you really need all of those key chains because you lose your keys often, you have bigger problems than all of the pressure and stress of selecting only one key chain for your key ring.

#102 Temperature Control (Air Conditioning)

Currently, I'm pregnant. The fact that I'm pregnant means that I'm warm pretty much all the time. Also, the fact that my area of the country has seen record-high temperatures for the past month or so means that I am extra warm. Take those things and add the fact that even when I'm NOT pregnant, I'm usually warm... and that's sort of a temperature disaster (for me, anyways).

There are literally only 8 people that sit in my area of the office (the rest of the building's occupants are split up into 2 more large office areas and multiple laboratories), so most of the guys I sit with are willing to deal with the temperature set slightly lower in my area of the building than the others. And when I say "slightly lower" I mean that while the rest of the building is set at 73F in the summer, I sometimes bump the thermostat down to 72F or (GASP!) 71F.

I don't know about you, but I feel like 73F via air conditioning in the summer is still pretty warm for an office building. It is especially warm if you're out in the lab moving around and doing work and when you return to your desk to cool off, you can't really do that because 73F is really not that cool. Of the 8 people in my office area, there's my pregnant self and a menopausal woman, and neither of us mind the cooler temperatures. In fact, she welcomes it! Of the other 6 males, 4 don't really say anything, one guy minds but doesn't really speak up about it (or wears a lab coat or a thicker shirt), and the other guy constantly complains about it being "SO COLD in here".

The complainer sort of has no room to complain, in my opinion. He exercises like it's going out of style, has about 5% body fat, and is older and bald - bald, as in, has absolutely NO HAIR on top of his head. If he had some hair, he'd have something to keep the heat in! I also find it interesting that some guys are complaining about the temperature being too cold. Generally it's the womenfolk who don't hardly get up and move around that are the main complainers... and they're ALWAYS cold in the winter (and I never hear the end of THAT, either, but that's another post for another time).

Now when I turn it down to 71F, that feels really nice and cool to me. I will really only do that if we have some 90F+ days outside because the air conditioning can't keep up in the office that well when it's that hot outside. Today, for example, it didn't even reach 80F outside - I didn't touch the thermostat, but I was a bit warm. To combat the effects of the complainer voicing his opinion, I have even gone as far as to install a small fan on my desk to blow on me to keep me cool. This also serves as a bit of white noise, which helps me stay focused and drowns out the other annoyances of the office.

I think what irritates me most is that everyone has to comment about it. "Ohhhh, it's so cold in here!" or, "Geez, I forgot to bring my coat today" or some other sarcastic comment about the temperature. Suck it up, bitches. It IS NOT that cold! If you live in a part of the country that experiences all four seasons, you should be prepared for anything.

When it comes to office temperature, don't you think the temperature should be a little colder as opposed to warm? When it is cooler in the office, you can always layer up. When it is warmer in the office, you can't really remove too many layers. Plus, when it is too warm, people start to sweat and then it starts to stink. I don't know about you, but I would prefer NOT to bask in the scent of my coworkers.

#101 Lunching In or Out

I don't enjoy cooking. I like eating good food, I just don't particularly like preparing or making it. The only other adult in my household – my husband – takes a very passive role when it comes to preparing meals for us. He pretty much won't make a meal unless he's absolutely starving and I am nowhere to be found – and even then he won't actually make a "meal". So, meals are generally left up to me and he has no room to complain except to maybe provide suggestions on how I could do it differently next time.

Over the past few years I have started buying extra food to prepare a much larger meal than what we would normally eat in one sitting. That way, I can make approximately 4 meals-worth of food at one time (2 meals x 2 people), then package half of it up for lunch for the next day while we're at work. This seems to work out pretty well most of the time... except when my husband decides he wants to eat fast food instead.

As I mentioned, I don't enjoy cooking. So when I go through the trouble of making extra food and then even go one step further to package it up nicely in smallish containers so it's portable, won't leak, and will be easy to reheat and eat... AND THEN HE DOESN'T EAT IT... that's when I get pissed off. Yes, the food will probably get eaten either the next day or the following, but it's the principle of the matter. I went through the trouble of taking up my own precious time to prepare a meal, so don't waste money on fast food that's no good for you anyways. Yes, there are healthy fast-food options these days, but he would never choose them. His excuse is that he's already out on his lunch hour running an errand (spending more of our money!) and he wouldn't have time to eat when he got back, so the best option for him would be to just drive-thru somewhere for something to eat.

Let's review the main reasons for bringing a lunch to work instead of eating out:
a) Saves money on food (and tips if you go somewhere that isn't self-serve).
b) Eliminates the need to leave the building for lunch (saving money on fuel).
c) Get to leave work on time or early to run errands after work on the way home (when we're already in the car anyways).

Upon discussing with others of my annoyance regarding this topic, it has been suggested to me that I just make my own lunch and let him worry about what he's going to do for lunch on his own. In my opinion (and probably his) it would be rude of me to just make a lunch for myself and not for him... If I eat my lunch and he has fast food one day, the next day there's still only one lunch to be eaten and one of us still has to go out for food (unless more food is made which, let's face it, probably won't happen). That would be a waste of money yet again!

Perhaps if we shared the responsibility of making meals, I would be less likely to be so annoyed by this situation.

#100 Hand-Dryer Height

I have previously blogged about handwashing, but I have not yet blogged about hand drying. It's not the act of hand drying (or lack of hand drying) that bothers me, but rather the location of the hand dryers in some public restrooms.

It is my opinion that a hand dryer of any sort, whether it be an electric warm-air dryer, or even a paper towel dispenser (either touch-free or manual, like the one pictured here), be located at or below the height of the sink. I recently had to use the restroom featured in this photo over the course of three days, and it annoyed me every time I used the restroom.

In this restroom, the paper towel dispenser is a good two to two and a half feet above the sink. When this situation occurs, after someone washes their hands they actually have to reach up to pull down the paper towel... which (let's not forget about gravity here) means that the excess water from their hands will run down the length of their forearm until the water can be removed via the paper towel. Also consider manually operating this dispenser: one has to pull the lever down several times in order to get their desired length of paper towel to dry their hands. The act of pulling the lever downward several times also exacerbates this problem. This problem can be avoided by operating the paper towel dispenser before handwashing begins, if it is thought of initially.

Why install these hand dryers so high on the wall? I suspect the person who installed this particular hand dryer was a tall male who found it much easier to install at eye-level instead of bending over or crouching down to install it at a lower height. Installing the dispenser at a lower height would also make replenshing the paper towel much easier as well!

#099 Road Killings (Turtles)

In the late spring and early summer months, the area in which I live sees a lot of painted turtles crossing the roads. Since there are plenty of marshy areas and slow-moving bodies of water nearby, the turtles seem to thrive in such an environment. However, with an overabundance of people not paying attention (and the few drivers who are such sick bastards that they actually attempt to run them over), many turtles don't get to make it across the road and are killed by vehicles every day.

I don't get it. I mean, it's not like the turtle just ran out into the road and you couldn't avoid running it over. It's not like it just popped up at the last second and you're like "Oh, SHIT!" and you suddenly have to try to swerve out of the way...... NO. Turtles move slowly. VERY slowly. There is absolutely NO REASON that anyone should run over a turtle on any roadway. Period.

Say you're on a dirt road and you spot a turtle: drive around it.
Say you're on a two-lane rural road or highway: drive around it.
Say you're on any type of road with or without traffic: drive around it, or slow down so that you CAN drive around it if traffic does not permit you to drive around it at that time. And if you can't slow down enough to do this, you're probably driving too fast (so slow the fuck down already).

See? How hard was that?!

I don't claim to be a turtle-rights advocate or anything, but don't run over turtles! They didn't do anything to you. They're probably just trying to procreate..... would you want someone trying to kill you every time you tried to have sex? I didn't think so.

#098 Interjecting Confirmations

Vocal Emissions-guy strikes again.

He's still exhibiting the same behavior all the time, but now he's gotten even more annoying. He constantly interjects, saying such things as "uh-huh" and "yes, sir" and "gotcha" and "got it" and "excellent" and "sure" and a whole bunch of other terms or phrases to confirm his understanding or agreement with a conversation.

The only problem is that if someone is trying to explain something, he doesn't even wait until that person has finished speaking *an entire sentence* before interjecting. Generally people pause after explaining something to allow the other person in the conversation to ask a question or confirm whether they agree or disagree, but apparently this guy doesn't even have the social aptitude to determine when exactly that is. Either that, or he doesn't care.

I just listened to a conversation this guy had with another guy that sits near me, and he averaged about 3-4 seconds between interjections within a 5-minute conversation. That is OBSCENE. Luckily this guy doesn't spend much time in the office area because he doesn't manage his time well and ends up working 56 hours (or more) a week. However, I don't even have to SEE him to know when he's in the office because I can always HEAR him.

#097 Inappropriate Professional Networking

Searching for a new job can be somewhat difficult depending on the field of work. For example, engineering: when I started college over a decade ago, they were pushing really hard to get people into engineering school. "We don't have enough engineers! The industry NEEDS more engineers!" they told us. So, I'd say about 75% of us stuck it out and ended up with engineering degrees. Fast forward about 8 years and then there was the whole economic downturn and subsequent loss of engineering jobs, and therefore the industry ended up with more engineers than there were jobs for them.

Now, in the present time, it seems to have shifted the other way (at least for engineering). Companies have more money because the economy is doing better, and I'm seeing a lot more postings for job opportunities than I've seen in a long time. However, I do NOT feel it is appropriate for a headhunter / recruiter to call your current place of employment to ask if you're interested in any new job opportunities.

I was getting ready to leave work the other day, and the phone at my desk rang literally as I was packing up my things to leave. I already had my laptop put away, and when I looked at the call display (which does not contain a true "caller ID", just whether it is an internal or external call), it showed that the call had been directed through the main line instead of a direct call to my phone number (different last 4 digits). So that means whoever was calling me did NOT have the direct line to my desk, but instead had to search for my number through the digital phone directory... which also indicates that I probably didn't want to talk to that person. I didn't answer the phone.

When I came in the next morning, I had a voicemail. Upon retrieving my voicemail, I discovered that it was an engineering recruiter who stated she "saw my profile on (a professional networking site) and wanted to speak to me about available job opportunities". That's great! I love hearing what other job opportunities are out there, either for myself or other friends and/or colleagues in the industry, but NOT at my current place of employment! Even when I receive calls on my mobile phone during the day, I usually let it go to voicemail and then call back on my lunch or, more typically, after work.

I checked the professional networking site (for short, I will refer to this site as LI), and sure enough: she had viewed my profile. However, on my LI profile, there is a link to contact me through the site and also my personal mobile number, but NOWHERE on there is a phone number to my place of business. This woman went completely out of her way to look up the phone number to my business, dial that number, then find my name through the phone directory to call me. I will give her this: she had some balls doing that, but this was completely inappropriate.

She's also not the first headhunter / recruiter to call me at work. I've had a couple people in the past year or so try to contact me, and then when I declined further interaction with that person they actually called the main line again and looked up the guy sitting next to me that has a similar role in the company! Ballsy, but inappropriate.

#096 Disregarding Privacy (Childbirth)

Having a baby for the first time is perhaps the single most exciting time in someone's life. However, with the uprising of social networking these days, some of the privacy that is required (and often cherished) during this time seems to have gotten lost.

A good friend of mine recently delivered a baby. All of her friends (including me) were really excited for her and giving her lots of words of encouragement on her page of the social networking site to which she belongs.

She alerted everyone (via her page) that she was going into the hospital overnight and they would begin the process of having the baby the next day. Then she updated everyone that labor had begun. Several hours went by and there were no updates from her, and her friends started to get really anxious and nosy. One person posted (after several other comments), "She hasn't answered yet... is that a sign?", and another person posted later, "Anything yet????". Finally, someone posted, "The suspense is killing me." YES, the suspense is killing EVERYONE! The fact that the new mother didn't find out the gender of the baby (during her pregnancy) added to the suspense, but did all of these people need to constantly hound her to find out what's going on? The answer to that question is NO.

People, where are your manners? Give the woman some privacy! When she's ready to tell the world, she will do so. And she did (imagine that!). She posted a picture with the full name, length and weight of the baby once she was ready to snap a photo with her smartphone and update her social networking page. I can only imagine that she was completely exhausted after being in labor for what seemed to be about 6 or 7 hours, and once the baby was out I'm sure all she wanted to do was hold the baby and cuddle and get some private family time with her husband and her new baby. I can't even fathom the amount of text messages she probably received, in addition to the dozens of comments left on her page.

Encouraging comments (before) and exclamations of congratulations (after) are completely acceptable. Constantly trying to find out what's going on and insisting on finding out the status of the birth is unacceptable. NO ONE is entitled to this information until the family has decided that they are.

#095 Interrupting (Prior Engagements)

Time away from family or social obligations is pretty rare for me these days; I quite enjoy having time to myself on occasion. So when I'm in the middle of doing something on my To-Do List and the people closest to me know that I'm busy doing something, I get extremely irritated when someone calls me "just to talk". It is even more annoying when I remind that person that I'm busy and they continue with the conversation regardless of my subtle indication of having something more important to do at the moment.

Don't get me wrong, occasionally I get the urge to call someone "just to talk", but I always ask them ahead of time whether or not it is convenient to proceed with leisurely conversation. If at any point someone indicates that the conversation must end, I will immediately wrap up the call regardless of whether or not my point was made – this conversation can always be completed at a later time. When others call me "just to talk" I expect them to treat me the same way, but unfortunately this is NEVER the case with one particular individual in my life.

Very often I am in the middle of doing something and this person will call, and I will remind them that I'm busy and I need to finish what I'm doing and that I will call them back later. They say they understand but that they "just wanted to tell me" whatever it was they called me about, but they continue to talk about their topic that has little value to me while I'm right in the middle of doing something.

It's not that I don't care what this person has to say: quite the contrary. What they have to tell me is probably relatively important, but if it can wait an hour or two or six, then it should. I end up having to be stern with this person, and they always end up being offended that I pushed them away from the call... but what else can I do? I politely tell this person that I'm busy, yet they continue to talk. If being rude or stern with this person is the only way to get my point across, then that's what I have to do.

Generally I won't even answer the phone if I'm in the middle of something, but this person will call a few times within a few minutes... that would indicate to me that the purpose for the call is important. So when I call this person back to find out why such frequent calls were placed in such a short amount of time, only to find out that they "just wanted to talk", I get PISSED OFF.

#094 Enunciation (Phrases)

Radio stations are supposed to have skilled speakers providing information to the listener in a clear, concise manner where the listener should not have to struggle to understand what the speaker is saying. This is especially the case for news radio stations and weather and traffic reports (information critical to the listeners).

On a local radio station, a particular meteorologist always combines the words in the phrases "this morning" and "this afternoon". He combines the words such that the s is almost completely left off the word "this" and then connected to the front of "afternoon" or "evening": it turns into "thi-safternoon" or "thi-sevening". He's not speaking particularly fast and it doesn't seem like he's pressed for time, so I don't understand why he can't just slow down when he says these phrases so that he can clearly enunciate each word individually. He actually does the same thing to "this morning" but it's not noticed as much because the second word starts with a consonant and not a vowel.

Every time he says this, I literally want to reach through the radio and just smack him in the face. If I didn't want to hear the traffic report and weather forecast so badly, I would just change the station altogether and not listen to it at all!

#093 Touching (Pregnant Bellies)

I have previously written about touching before, and how much it bothers me when people touch me. I'm not a germaphobe or anything, I just feel that if I'm not close to you, you shouldn't touch me.

To further rant about the topic of touching, I don't understand how people are so drawn to touch a stranger's pregnant belly. I have to believe that everyone, at some point in their life, has been related to or very close friends with someone who has been pregnant, and that woman has allowed them to come in contact with her pregnant belly. The fact that a complete stranger can see a pregnant woman walking through the mall or in a grocery store and will approach that woman and touch her belly, with OR without asking, is beyond my comprehension. I just don't see how it's AT ALL appropriate!

If you see a pregnant woman, and you're tempted to touch her belly, do yourself a favor and compliment her on her outfit or her hairstyle instead, or even tell her that she looks great (even if she doesn't). She will be very thankful that yet another stranger didn't attempt to touch her belly.

#092 Pronunciation (The Number 0)

People in the United States have slightly different ways of writing certain numbers on paper than do people elsewhere in the world, namely Europe. However, no matter how it is physically written on paper, the number 1 is still pronounced one in the United States.

Apparently this is not the case for the number 0.

A popular news radio station in my metropolitan area has been recently running an advertisement where the announcer clearly states (and repeats!) the last four digits of the telephone number for the business: double-oh eleven. The fact that he states the last two digits as eleven instead of one one is annoying enough (that will have to be a future blog post), but is it really too much to ask to throw in the first extra syllable for the number zero? The announcer is dictating the phone number to the listener, and should the listener want to take note of the phone number, it would be easier for the listener to follow zero zero one one instead of double-oh eleven.

Take, for example, a vehicle license plate. If you witnessed a crime, and a vehicle was involved, you would need to tell the police the identification of the license plate. If you tell them that the identification number consisted of "one oh zee", they would likely ask you if you could tell whether or not it was the letter O or the number 0. There is a difference!

"Oh" is not a number; "zero" is a number.

#091 Airline Seating (Getting In and Out)

Airline seating is cramped as it is. There is a serious lack of legroom (in economy, of course), and getting out of a window or middle seat by climbing over the person lucky enough to score the aisle seat is just a pain in the ass... but what really irritates the crap out of me is when people grab onto the seatbacks of the seats in front of them to steady themselves while getting out of their row.

I understand it's somewhat difficult and often tricky to get out of the window or middle seat when the person on the aisle is somewhat large... but, when possible, DO NOT grab on to the back of the seat in front of you. The person sitting in that seat, with their seatback completely upright, is trying to be mindful of others and not encroach on anyone else's space... and you should do the same. When you grab onto that person's seat, you disturb them in the process. It only takes one instance of this to happen to make a person go completely apeshit on your ass.

Perhaps you could ask the person sitting on the end to politely get up so that you can more easily access the aisle? I would think most people would be inclined to oblige (unless they’re sleeping, I suppose).

#090 Slamming Doors (Hotel Rooms)

Hotel rooms are generally very basic, but one safety feature most of them seem to have is the heavy, self-closing door. This is especially helpful if your hands are full of luggage or if you simply forget to push your door closed all the way. Unfortunately this feature can also be very annoying if you're trying to sleep and people down the hall from you are going in and out of their rooms with the doors slamming behind them.

On a recent business trip I stayed in an older hotel that had modern accommodations. The hotel was located in a pretty nice area that seemed to attract mostly middle-to-upper class patrons. All of the doors in this particular hotel were of the heavy, self-closing variety and every time someone used their door (and it slammed) the wall seemed to shake each and every time. This is particularly aggravating when you have changed 6 time zones and your schedule has not yet acclimated to the new time zone. Taking a nap is next to impossible unless you're a very heavy sleeper, and since I'm a light-to-medium sleeper... needless to say, I didn't get much sleep on this trip. Luckily most of the people seemed to be my age and older, so most of them went to sleep around the same time I did, but it was still something that I could have done without.

When I am in this situation and I am aware of things that bother others, I will always do my best to make sure I don't become one of "those people" when it comes to these things. The majority of people won't even realize these things are bothering others. I, however, will make it a point to hold my door as it is closing to make sure it doesn't slam upon latching. I wish others would do the same.

#089 Massive Flight Attendants

Traditionally, flight attendants have been younger, good-looking females. Lately I've been seeing more and more male flight attendants, and I think that's great. On a recent domestic flight I had a flight attendant that was neither female nor good-looking, but he was funny and that definitely made the experience better.

What I DON'T think is great, however, are 300-pound flight attendants that can't fit their fat asses down the aisle without brushing their massive thighs against every passenger along the way.

I am by no means slim, so I am not really one to judge someone based on their size. But if it's your job to provide service to people and you are supposed to provide the best service possible, I feel like providing the best service possible is NOT rubbing up against every passenger as you waddle down the aisle while serving food or beverages.

When I must fly on an airplane I generally take the aisle seat when possible so I do not have to climb over others when I get up frequently to either urinate or simply stretch my legs. On average, I get up about once per hour, so a middle seat wouldn't really work either (unless I was seated next to someone that I was travelling with, which I wouldn't mind asking them to move... but a complete stranger – no). I don't choose the window for the same reason, but also because leg room is restricted on the window seat – the wall comes down on an angle and leg room is limited.

I recently took an international flight that was about 7 hours long, and on this flight there was a blonde female flight attendant, maybe early-to-mid-40s, about 5"5' and she had to weigh every ounce of 300 pounds or more. Since this flight was an overnight flight, I was desperately trying to get some sleep because I had to go straight to work once we landed at 7:30 am local time. I had my neck pillow, a pillow behind my back, and a blanket over me to try to be as comfortable as possible... and I swear she must have bumped me 23 times throughout the entire flight, and every time she walked past me from the rear her thigh brushed against my arm and dragged the blanket down off of me. I was SO CLOSE to saying something to her but I didn't want to be "that guy" and cause a scene on the airplane and godforbid have an air marshall have to restrain me for the rest of the flight or something.

I feel like this is borderline unacceptable. I'm all for equal opportunity and not discriminating, but seriously? Her uniform was literally bursting at the seams! I doubt she was always that large, but I feel like perhaps I should complain to the airline or something.

#088 Conversation Fillers

People who know exactly what they want will generally be able to get what they want because they are direct about it. Example: "Hey, I have this piece of hardware with this specific kind of fastener. Do you have the tool that can open it up?"

People who don't really know what they're talking about will face harsher criticism and will often end up irritating the people around them, making it increasingly difficult for those that can help to actually do it. Example: "So, I have this Thing-A that attaches to Thing-B, but then this other guy came and replaced Thing-A with Thing-C and now it's different, blah blah blah, aaaanywaaaaaays...." (and so on).

I have a theory about people that can't effectively communicate what they want or that try "to make a long story short": they have no idea what they're talking about.

I work with a guy that says "blah blah blah" in the middle of virtually every conversation he has. He just goes ON AND ON about what he's trying to explain, and the only thing I can figure out about him is either (or both) of the following:

1. He really doesn't have a clue what he's talking about.
2. He likes to hear himself talk to make himself seem important and an asset to the company so he doesn't get fired.

Figure out what you're asking for and get as much information as you can so you don't look like an idiot. Do research if necessary. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut!

#087 Conference Calls

When you are an integral member of a team within a company that conducts business globally, you will eventually have to participate in your fair share of conference calls.

Conference calls themselves really don't bother me. Sure, they're often boring and stereotypical, and people tend to just regurgitate the same information just in a different way that makes them sound unique and profound (like they actually know what they're talking about).

What really bothers me is other people's lack of respect while people are on a conference call. It's difficult enough to try to understand people with certain types of foreign accents, so it's really distracting and irritating when people are walking by my desk and having loud and/or casual conversations while I'm trying to focus. I wish I had my own office, because that would really solve this issue... but I don't and I can't do anything about that. When possible, I try to book a conference room to have some privacy but those aren't always available, either.

For some reason, people seem to forget what an appropriate "office voice" is and how loudly they should speak to one another while in the presence of others.

#086 Snowy Parking

Snow is a fact of life when one lives in the region of the country where I call home. Very often there is snow that arrives overnight causing a layer of snow to cover parking lots of workplaces and places of business. When people arrive in the morning and it's still dark outside, they apparently have no idea where they're parking (with respect to the parking spaces) unless they park in a corner of the lot. So when people leave for lunch (or even the end of the day), they return to their vehicles after the snow has melted and find that they parked across two spaces because they couldn't see the lines.

However... if they were smart, they would realize that if you drive your vehicle across where the parking spaces are, the tire tracks will reveal the lines (GASP! What a concept!) and they will therefore not look like a complete moron for not being able to figure out how to park in a designated parking space when there's only about an inch of snow on the ground.

#085 Squeaky Toddler Shoes

On a recent vacation I flew on an airplane to a much warmer climate. While waiting in the TSA security checkpoint prior to my departure, I was forced to listen to a toddler (accompanied by her parents) walk through the line with squeakers inside of her shoes. Every single time she took a step, a "squeak" was emitted from her shoes. This sounded like the same type of squeaker commonly found in dog and cat toys.

Upon further investigation, there are several sites and several manufacturers of similar types of shoes in existence! Quite honestly, I am thankful I have never heard of these shoes before (because I would have blogged about it then), and I hope I never have to hear them again. Think about it: children have shorter legs and therefore have to take many more steps than adults. Each time the child takes a step you hear a squeak. How awful!

I mean, I get it: you're travelling with your young child and you want to keep tabs on them without having to literally put one of those baby-leashes on them, and the squeaky shoes will help you do just that (I guess). But, there's GOT to be a better way to keep track of your child than to put shoes with squeakers on them!

#084 Financial Institutions (Transaction Clearing)

With all of the advancements made in the past 5-10 years, I would like to think that financial institutions would be able to make transactions clear faster than they are currently occurring.

I have a checking account with a debit card and I belong to a bank with branches located nationwide. If I used my card as a credit card (say, at a restaurant, where the debit option is usually not available), it typically takes about 3 days but it can take UP TO 5 BUSINESS DAYS for the transaction to clear my account. When I use my card as a debit card, however, it still takes about a day for it to clear, sometimes two days.

The same is true for deposits made into my account. My paycheck gets direct-deposited into my account every two weeks on the same day of the week. The transaction shows as "pending" until the next business day after it has cleared.

Places like fuel stations irritate me that it sometimes shows up as a $1.00 charge and then another charge for either the remainder or the full amount of the transaction - that's right, TWO pending transactions until it clears! Another example is when restaurants run the card before the tip and the charge shows as "pending" for the original amount (prior to the tip) until it clears, then it shows up as the full amount.

Why do we have to wait a day for the transaction to clear? Why can't the transactions clear instantaneously, or even within a few hours? I feel like these things should take much less time to "clear" than what goes on right now. Pardon me, but I want to know exactly what I have in my account at all times, and not just an approximation of what might be in there.

#083 Product Sales (Social Networking)

I happen to like social networking to an extent. I belong to one popular site, but not any others. I like browsing through people's statuses, but I get so irritated and practically irate when I see people posting about the CRAP they are selling. I'm not talking about someone selling a couch they no longer want or an mp3 player or even a vehicle, I'm talking about companies that involve multi-level marketing and things of that nature.

Founded in 1886 and trademarked in 1932, Avon Products was an extremely popular multi-level marketing company that offered many skin care products, makeup, perfume, etc. It used to be that many women sold Avon...in fact, one of my grandmothers was one of them. Nowadays there is much more offered by Avon, but I still wouldn't buy anything from them because I'm really not into that sort of thing. The big difference between then and now was that most of these women would go door-to-door or call their friends on the phone to attempt to sell their products. Now it's all over the internet which makes it waaaaaaaay too easy to spread the word.

Lately it seems there has been an explosion of trendy business ventures out there offering women to become "consultants" to market and sell their products, while the promise of certain profit is looming over their heads. Companies such as Scentsy (2003), Mona Vie (2005), and more recently Thirty-One (which, incidentally, plays the "Christian" card: the name refers to the Bible's Proverbs 31) have sprung up what seems like overnight and women can't wait to get their hands on the products and sell them as quickly as possible.

The fact that these companies exist (whether I agree with their message or not is not up for discussion here) is not what bothers me. What bothers me is the fact that I am completely inundated with my "friends" promoting their products right in my face all day long. These "consultants" don't bother to create a separate group or page to promote their products, but rather take photos and post them and other updates to the social networking site for me to waste my time looking at their posts when I seriously couldn't care less about what they have to "offer" me. It is my preference that they create a separate page so that if I wanted to (even though personally I never would) I could add myself to that page so I could receive the updates that way instead of forcibly by way of my news feed.

One of my "friends" actually created a separate page to peddle her shit but then added every single female acquaintance on her existing page.... THEN told each of them if they added new women to the page they would be entered into a drawing to win some of her stupid shit! Without asking!! Unbelievable!!!

#082 Fax Machines

Fax machines are actually quite complex by design, but not so complex to use (in fact, they're quite easy to use). According to this Wikipedia page, fax machines have been around since the mid 1850's (who knew!), and were actually around prior to the invention of telephones... which seems a bit backwards to me.

So I have to ask: WHY are we still using technology that is so outdated? Just about everyone has access to a scanner these days (whether at home or work), and for small things (one or two pages) you could literally take a photo with your smartphone and email it that way instead of finding a scanner or fax machine to send it somewhere. Also, the quality is so much better when you can scan a document as opposed to using a fax machine. Fax machines typically come out very grainy and often are difficult to read once they’re printed... not to mention it's a waste of paper on the receiving end.

I recently had to fax several documents to a banking institution, and they required me to send it over a "secure fax line". I asked if I could just email it directly to the agent instead, and I was told that they must receive the documents via the "secure fax", not via email due to security reasons.

So, naturally I inquired as to how the agent receives the documents once they're faxed. “Is someone sitting by the fax machine waiting for the document to come in? Do they wait for it to finish printing then physically walk the printouts over to the person to which it is addressed? I find it hard to believe there is a separate fax number for each individual agent – so how is it 'secure'?" Their response: they come in as an electronic document to their email. What the f^@&?!??! So WHYYYYYYY can't I scan and email it?!??

I compare using fax machines over scanning/emailing to using dial-up over cable internet: it's there to use if that's your only option, but the newer, faster technology is always more preferred.

#081 Touching (Me)

Hi, do I know you? No?? Then DON'T TOUCH ME.

I have worked with some people in the past that think just because you have casual (non-work-related) conversations with someone from time to time, that gives them the right to put their arm around your shoulders and give a "buddy hug", lightly shove or poke or rub your arm, bump shoulders, or otherwise touch or grab you on your person. Well, I am here to tell you that these actions are completely unacceptable. If we don't get together outside of work, you have no business coming into contact with any part of my body other than my hands or forearms (sometimes this is required when working in confined spaces).

I am by no means a prude in any way, and I am aware that in other cultures it is totally acceptable and even expected to kiss each other on one or more cheeks as a formal greeting (and I'm sure there are others that require intimate touching but none are really coming to mind right now), but where I'm from it just doesn't happen like that. A bow, a nod, a handshake... these are all acceptable. Touching me in any way other than that is not.

#080 Vehicle Accessories (Christmas)

When it comes to personalizing something like a car, I would like to tell you that I'm pretty open-minded but that would probably be a lie. I have already blogged about my feelings on memorial stickers and raunchy decals, but this post is dedicated to the stupid holiday-themed kits that people put on their vehicles.

Recently I have been seeing a ton of people with these "Rudolph" kits... you know, the ones where people place a fuzzy red "nose" on the front of their vehicle and affix "antlers" to the side windows (I have included a photo in case you have been lucky enough to never experience this atrocity). I'm guessing that most of these people have children and only decorate their vehicles for the sake of the kids. Someone I work with had the kit on their vehicle today and it took everything within me to not give this person all kinds of crap about it... and I know for a fact this person has younger kids so that is how I arrived at my aforementioned assumption.

I have also seen small wreaths attached to the front of vehicles, as well as roof racks decorated with garland and ribbons. These seem to be less common than the Rudolph kits, but I still don't understand what is the desire to decorate like this. They are on the outside of the vehicle: 1. you cannot see it (to enjoy it) while you’re driving, 2. (in this part of the country) they are just going to get really dirty and brown from being exposed to the elements (snow, salt, etc.), 3. everyone gets to see how much of a tool you are while you just cruise along pretending you are awesome. Make no mistake, people: decorating your vehicle for Christmas is a waste of money. Use the money you would have spent on decorating your vehicle and donate it to a charitable organization instead.

#079 Replenishment - Hygiene Products

I have previously blogged about a similar situation regarding printer paper, but this time I have directed my topic to hygiene products.

Living with anyone can be challenging, whether it be a spouse or children or parents, but when any of those people are not "on the same page" as you when it comes to keeping the house stocked of the things you use frequently, it can be rather frustrating.

Take, for example, deodorant. You (hopefully!) wear it every day. You (hopefully!) want to wear it every day. So, when it starts to run out, perhaps you should either a) put it on a list to get at a later, but soon-upcoming date, or b) go out at your earliest convenient opportunity and get some more. The key is to NOT WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE COMPLETELY OUT. Personally I prefer option A because then you can do the shopping more efficiently (getting other things you need instead of making a special trip for one thing). Let's face it: you can't really "improvise" when it comes to deodorant.

Other examples of this irritating behavior can include the replenishment of toilet paper, contact solution, diapers, baby wipes, soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste, and the list goes on.

I suppose waiting until you're completely out of something to buy more of it works for some people, and those people apparently can live without being presentable to the general public.

#078 Mobile Phone (Roaming)

Pretty much everyone has a smartphone these days, and one seemingly simple concept still can not be sorted out for me: roaming.

I live in Michigan, and the location where I live in the state happens to border Ontario, Canada. Very frequently my mobile phone picks up a cell tower in Canada as opposed to one in Michigan (United States).

I am aware of settings on my phone that will make it impossible to pick up these towers, but sometimes I need to use my phone and if I happen to be roaming so be it: sometimes you need to use your phone no matter what! Therefore, I keep the mode such that it will automatically pick up any network, and not just my "home" network.

My problem is this: with such technology out there available to the masses, why can't my smartphone, enabled with GPS, pick up only towers in the state/province/country that I am ACTUALLY, PHYSICALLY located? Perhaps I live close to Canada, but I never set foot in the country: should my smartphone pick up towers in Canada that may be closer than the ones in the U.S.? I think NO.

Furthermore, why can't every mobile company provide at least 3G service everywhere in the country? If I go on a trip that lands me in the middle of nowhere or somewhere in a mountain range, it's extremely inconvenient to have the GPS/Navigation on my phone (which I happen to be using, thank-you-very-much) cut out and then I have absolutely no idea where I am or where I'm going... and I can't call someone to assist me because there is no service whatsoever.

The saying goes, "You get what you pay for", but I definitely don't feel like I'm getting enough for my money.

#077 Pocket Change

Women carry purses so they have all of their daily-needed belongings in one location, to be with them at all times. Men, on the other hand, are expected to carry all of their daily-needed belongings in a wallet that goes in their pocket, and whatever else they need goes in whatever other pockets happen to be on their clothing that particular day. While this is more inefficient than what women do, men are not and should not be expected to carry a purse or anything of the like (at least not where I'm from!).

So if you use cash, as fewer and fewer of us are doing these days, you are likely to end up with some change in coins. While women have change purses to store loose change, men typically do not. And for some reason unbeknownst to me, men tend to accumulate massive more amounts of change than women.

I've noticed that men tend to collect this change in their pockets, and once it's in there it's for some reason irresistible to them: they can't stop jingling the coins together in their pocket! Is it a nervous habit? Are they just generally fidgety? Whatever the reason they do it, it absolutely drives me crazy.

#076 Suds in the Sink

Have you ever gone to grab something out of the cabinet above the sink, only to accidentally drop it into the sink? That happens to me from time to time. What irritates me, however, is when there are suds in the sink that get all over whatever it is I dropped.

It occurs to me that if you are washing your hands and when you finish there are still suds in the sink, you either a) used entirely too much soap, and/or b) you didn't adequately finish rinsing the soap from your hands. Whichever the case, I think you should make sure all the suds are gone from the sink before you leave the area, and leave the sink as you found it: clean and neat.

Although, I suppose I should just be satisfied that people are actually washing their hands...

#075 Doctor Appointments

No matter what they tell you, doctors are in the business of making money. Yes, their job is to help rid you of pain, illness and the like, but the more patients they see the more money they make... whether it be from the insurance companies or people paying out-of-pocket (I won't even go into the kickbacks doctors get from drug companies, etc.), they will get their money somehow.

For me, visiting my physician is always a (figurative) pain in the ass. I usually get there a few minutes ahead of time because I typically have to drive a long distance to get there and I don't want to be late, so I give myself some extra time in case I hit traffic or whatever. I don't ever actually get placed into an exam room until about 15-20 minutes after my appointment was supposed to begin, and then I wait another 40 or 50 minutes until the doctor arrives. Then, it's a 7 minute assesment of what's going on and suddenly I find myself walking up to the counter to settle the bill.

Now, my dentist, dermatologist and other specialists really don't seem to follow this trend (generally - there are few instances where they have fallen significantly behind schedule). Is it that these doctors are a better judge of the actual time it will take to perform the appointment? Have they included a "buffer" amount of time to compensate for the unexpected? I think my doctor just tries to cram in as many appointments as possible because hey, you have to see the doctor, right? You wouldn't be there if you didn't have to see the doctor, so basically they (figuratively) have you by the balls.

In a lot of cases, if a patient misses an appointment or doesn't call to cancel within 24 hours, the patient either gets charged a fee or has to reschedule for a much later (and much less desirable) appointment (or both). And if I'm going to be late for an appointment, I have to call and let them know. So why can't they call ME and let me know that they're running behind, or even tell me when I sign in? In most cases I will have to leave work to go to my appointment anyways, so I would prefer to minimize the amount of time I need to be away from work so I don't have too much more to make up at a later time.

I have even taken it into consideration that as the day goes on, the doctor will be running later and later due to compounding delays of patient upon patient. Therefore, I try to schedule my appointments for being the first or within the first few of the day. However, I start work much earlier than most doctor's offices, so even their first appointment of the day is practically in the middle of the first half of my day. Also, I can't go see them on my lunch hour because they, too, have a lunch hour... most of which is taken up by trying to get caught up on morning patients before starting afternoon patients.

I don't have a very complicated medical history, so it should be easy to just switch doctors, right? Well I have tried to do this on a few different occasions but I seem to run into the same problem, or I just don't seem to like the doctor. I also feel like I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO deal with this crap.

So basically it's like I can't win.

#074 Shopping Carts (Proper Disposition)

I have been bothered by shopping carts before, but that time it was about not having enough carts on the lot when you need them. In this case, I am irritated with people that don't return the shopping carts to a safe and secure place.

There are some really good reasons that cart corrals exist: they serve to protect vehicles from being struck by stray carts, and they help keep them collected in one central location so returning them to the store (by store employees) is easier.

I used to work at a grocery store, and on several occassions I have witnessed carts being blown across the parking lot and strike vehicles from many different angles. Another thing that is annoying is when I pull up to park in a spot that appears empty from down the row of parked cars, but when I pull up to park in the spot, the spot is littered with shopping carts instead. It's even worse when this cart-occupied-parking-spot is only a few spots down from the cart corral!

I have also seen the majority of people just leave their carts on the lines in between parking spaces, or, if they parked near a curb, actually lift the front end of the cart up and park the wheels in the grass on the other side of the curb. I suspect they do this so that the cart doesn't roll away... but seriously: don't be lazy! Put the carts in the cart corrals!

#073 Shouting Conversations

It is unbelievable how lazy we have become these days. I am so annoyed when someone sitting over 20 feet from me strikes up a conversation but refuses to pick their (able-bodied) lazy ass up out of the chair and come talk to me.

I was sitting at a dinner table at someone's house the other day while (go figure) eating dinner, when another person decided to start a conversation with me... while seated in a completely different room. This person was either on the computer or watching television... basically doing something that required little attention. At the same time I was eating, they were literally shouting to me in order for me to hear them, and I had to shout back. Had I not been eating I would have gladly gotten up and relocated myself to their location to have a normal conversation at a normal volume. Instead, they proceeded to shout back and forth to me, waiting for me to respond in between mouthfuls of food. How incredibly rude!

Currently I am fortunate enough to sit in a relatively small office space, but there have been other occasions where I have not been so lucky. I have been in several situations where people would literally shout to me over the tops of cubicles to ask me a question. Let me put it to you this way: if you need to shout, you're too far away. If you're that far away, pick up the phone and call me, or even write me an email if you're THAT lazy to get up and come talk to me. In just about every case, that other person could probably have benefited from getting what little physical effort it took to actually pick themselves up and walk over to me. If it is impossible for you to comply with my request for you to be physically near me when engaging in conversation, I honestly would rather not speak to you at all.

#072 Touch Screens

Newer technologies are pretty amazing. Ten years ago, if you would have told me I would soon have a "smartphone" or own anything with a touch screen I'd probably think you were out of your mind. But these days a lot of things have touch screens, from smartphones to tablets to grocery store check-outs.

I'm not sure if it's a generational thing or what, but I find it hard to believe that adults still struggle with touch screens. I recently witnessed a child as young as 3 operating a smartphone, so children are being exposed to these new technologies very early and are adapting quickly... as they tend to do with everything in life.

A 50-year-old person I know got an iPod Touch and they kept pressing on it rather than tapping the screen lightly. I had to remind them that it was an iTouch not an iPress. Tap it lightly, that's all you need to do. Yes, there are some features that will activate when you press and hold an icon, but I was trying to show them the basic functionality of it and it took them some time but they finally got used to it.

I was travelling this past weekend, and I flew on a plane that had a "media system" integrated into the back of the seats. Some programs were available for free, and

some you could swipe your credit card through the back of the screen to pay for additional programming. A mid-to-late-40s couple was sitting behind me on the plane, and the woman was sitting directly behind me. For some reason, on this flight the programming would time out after 30 minutes, so it was necessary to re-load the program you were viewing. I happen to be watching a movie on one channel, and each time it timed out I would have to re-select the movie through a series of menus. The woman behind me was apparently having a tough time deciding what to watch, because she proceeded to press (not touch or tap) the back of my seat incessantly until she finally decided on something... which felt like an eternity. Then, every 30 minutes of our three-hour flight she had re-load her program so she did the same thing each time. Each time she pressed the screen my seatback would move forward with every press, and it was highly irritating.

My travel partner almost did the same thing as that woman, but I quickly reminded them: "Don't forget, someone is sitting in the seat in front of you, so make sure to tap lightly.". I said it rather loudly just in case anyone else was listening, because it really applies to everyone.

#071 Solid White Traffic Lines

There are many rules to follow while driving, but something that has been particularly bothering me lately is the fact the people seem to forget them. Take for example the solid white lines dividing lanes of traffic:

When these solid white lines are on the side of the road they imply "do not cross over". And (wouldn't you know it!) when they divide lanes of traffic they ALSO indicate "do not cross over". Generally you see solid white lines dividing lanes of traffic in a construction zone, or when several lanes traveling in the same direction narrow going through a particularly narrow roadway or crossing over a bridge.

There are a few interstates in my area that come to mind where I see this happening all the time. Tens of thousands of motorists travel these interstates daily and each day I see the same thing happening: people switching lanes (also without signaling) and crossing over a solid white line. The lines are there for a reason! The department of transportation has deemed that stretch of roadway unsafe for lane changes, hence the solid white lines on the ground.

If I am driving in the lane next to another driver, I am NOT going to attempt to switch lanes by crossing over a solid white line, and I shouldn't have to worry about someone trying to get into my lane, either. Unfortunately people are stupid and will do whatever they want whenever they want, and there are never any police officers around when you need them to ticket law-breakers.

#070 Hall/Aisle Clogging

I was recently on an outing with a good friend of mine, and we were walking through a breezeway between buildings. A group of four people (2 male, 2 female) were walking towards us, and not a single one of them decided to hang back to allow pedestrian traffic to flow by them. Basically the four of them walked side by side leaving room for only 1 person to walk past them going the opposite way (since the breezeway was only about 5 "people" wide).

How incredibly RUDE was that?! If you're walking 4-wide in a space for only about that many, at least half of your party should hang back so that you're only walking 2-wide. Don't clog the hall or aisle. I don't care if you were engaging in the most wonderful and articulate of conversations... you can continue talking while you're walking behind/in front of that person!

I can only assume the people who don't abide by this unspoken rule were not raised properly or simply don't care to be polite. Didn't your mother ever teach you to mind your manners and let other people through? Perhaps not. Perhaps your mother was the kind to let you talk with food in your mouth or the kind to allow you to talk during a movie.

I imagine this phenomenon started in grade school, when the super-cool kids walked in a big group and forced the less-cool kids to either step aside or step into a doorway while they passed. While the successful kids likely outgrew this habit, the lowlife kids retained it and continue to do it to this day.

Whatever the case may be, don't be an asshole: step aside and let other people through.

#069 Alarm Clock (Internal & External)

There is very little that I actually like about waking up in the morning (when I have to be somewhere), but one thing that really irritates me is when my body somehow awakens just minutes or even seconds prior to my actual alarm clock.

There is an element of satisfaction that I am presented with when my alarm clock chimes that I definitely don't get when I wake up prior to my alarm clock. I guess it's not so much satisfaction as it is disappointment when I don't sleep until the alarm sounds... it's as if I am missing out on just a tiny bit more sleep – but in reality it probably wouldn't even make me less tired had I slept that little bit longer. Either way, waking up just prior to my alarm clock sounding will definitely ruin my day.

#068 Auto Ferry (Smoking)

I live on an island, and I have to drive my car onto a ferry every day (I have mentioned this before). I leave for work very early in the morning, and most of the time it's kind of dark outside and the sun is just starting to rise. It's pretty peaceful most of the time, so for the most part I just want to sit there with my windows down and enjoy the fresh air and the quiet until the boat is ready to leave.

With three rows of four vehicles, everyone is in pretty close quarters; if someone has a strong air freshener and the windows are down, pretty much everyone can smell it. Apparently there is a US Coast Guard regulation against smoking on the deck of the ferry (even though I've even seen the ferry deckhands do it), so they ask that if you must smoke to do it in your vehicle. The problem with smoking in your vehicle is that a) you will likely NOT have all of your windows rolled up completely, so b) everyone can smell your smoke anyways.

This morning, I was sitting on the ferry waiting for it to fill up before we took off at 6am, when a guy (approximately 20-22 years old) pulled up next to me with his death metal music blaring out of his older model Buick sedan. It was about 5 minutes before the ferry was going to leave, and only a couple minutes later he decided to smoke a cigarette. I didn't even see him light it, but I could definitely smell it.

If such a USCG regulation exists, I wish it would apply to ANYWHERE on the boat. Because let's face it: if there's a fire on deck, and even though you're on the water, the chances of putting out a gasoline or diesel fire is pretty slim. If the boat burns down, everyone's going in the water and if they don't die of smoke inhalation, there's a pretty good chance they will drown anyways. Why risk it? Yet another reason I think smoking is disgusting.

#067 Homonyms (4th)

I recently visited a popular county park used for camping where there were 4 streets, each named in sequential order: 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. However, the words were spelled out and not abbreviated as I put them in my previous sentence. Can you spot the mistake?

I find it humorous that the last photo shows the sign "NO ALCOHOL BEYOND THIS POINT" right next to the street sign. Perhaps there was alcohol involved when the street signs were created? (just kidding)

... and just in case you couldn’t figure it out, it should be Fourth, not Forth.

I actually went into the park office and mentioned it to the nice ladies running the place, and they have been aware of it apparently for a few years now. Since it is a county park, they can't change the sign themselves but rather need the county to come out and change it for them. Since it is not a huge priority, it just keeps getting pushed off. I commended the ladies for actually noticing and acknowledging the error; it seemed to be a pretty sore subject. I guess I wasn't the only one to point out the error!

Aren't there checks in place to prevent these mistakes from happening? I mean, doesn't someone have to approve the production of a sign before they are installed? If that was the case, perhaps this would not have happened.

#066 Feet on the Dashboard

'Tis the season for long road trips, whether it be for visiting friends and/or family, or to enjoy outdoor activities such as camping.

These road trips can be somewhat monotonous, and most passengers struggle to find comfort sitting in a vehicle's seat in the "normal" seating position. Seeking a more comfortable seating position, a lot of first-row passengers resort to putting their feet up on the dashboard (also known as an instrument panel).

In my opinion, the act of putting one's feet on the dashboard is a major problem for the following reasons:

1. Obstructs the driver's view of the side mirror
2. Places that person at risk of serious bodily injury in the event of a collision
3. Places that person at risk of serious bodily injury in the event of airbag deployment

So, basically the safety of all occupants is put into jeopardy due to a passenger's desire to rest their legs in the elevated position. Not only are all of that vehicle's occupants put in danger, but the safety of other motorists is compromised as well!

I personally took a road trip this past weekend and I saw countless individuals exhibiting this behavior, and it is completely inappropriate. But you know what? DO IT. Go ahead, keep at it. Why? Natural selection, that's why. If you're stupid enough to put your and other people's lives in danger for something so stupid, you go ahead and do that... just make sure it's NOWHERE NEAR ME.

#065 Replenishment - Printer Paper

It's not a difficult task... if the printer runs out of paper, put more in.

The people in my office astonish me sometimes. Some people print out the most ridiculous crap, without any regard for the content, and then leave it on the printer for days. There's a bin for unclaimed documents, and each time I go to pick up something that I printed I just grab the whole stack below mine and place it in the bin. Get your crap off the printer and eliminate clutter!

What really gets me is when I walk over to claim my document, but then I notice it didn't print because it's out of paper. So I fill it back up with paper and, wouldn't you know, about 15 other documents come out before mine. Soooo... none of you lazy asses could walk over to the printer to retrieve your document and notice it's out of freaking paper? Why did you print it, then, if you didn’t want to go pick it up?

#064 Pronunciation (English + other languages)

There are several words used regularly in the English language that have been borrowed from other languages. Below are a few random examples.

bagel: a Yiddish word defined as a ring-shaped bread roll made by boiling then baking the dough
vodka: a Russian word defined as an alcoholic liquor distilled from fermented mash of wheat, rye, corn, or potatoes
tofu: a Japanese word defined as a bean curd
graffiti: an Italian word defined as "scratched"

A good friend of mine was at a grocery store (in the United States) the other day and witnessed a child (around age 8) and his mother selecting a package of thin, flat cornmeal pancakes... also known as tortillas. The child said something about getting tortillas [tawr-tee-uhs], but his mother (in)corrected him by pronouncing the Ls [tawr-till-uhs].

My friend did what was likely the "right" thing by keeping her mouth shut and not say anything to the mother or the child, but had I been there I would not have been so nice. I would have spoken up and told her that she was wrong and her child was right! I'm not saying that they or anyone else for that matter has to pronounce a "foreign" word with that country's indigenous accent, but at least pronounce the word with the same fundamentals.

As a parent, you are your child's first teacher. If you're stupid, then you're going to teach your kids to do the same stupid things that you do. Not sure how to spell something? Look it up! Don't go through life thinking that you're spelling "independance" correctly because that's how you saw someone else spell it. Do the rest of the world a favor (making it a better place for the rest of us) by NOT passing on your ignorance to the future generations of this country.