Pet Peeves

[tomsteve]

Two reasons in this rural area for driving kids to school is that the bus doesn't go that far out. And that the kids sit on the bus for up to an hour.

when i was in high school i lived in rural northern michigan. 22 miles one way. first stop in the AM last after school. typically an hour on the bus.

i could get there and back quicker if i drove myself. a bonus to that- in the winter i could ride my snowmobile. drove my dirt bike a couple of times in the fall and spring,too.

if i lived 1 mile down the road i would have been in a different school district. it would have only been 18 miles to school.

 

[Hobie1dog]

running out of Astroglide

 

[lakeroadster]

Two reasons in this rural area for driving kids to school is that the bus doesn't go that far out. And that the kids sit on the bus for up to an hour.

Which brings another pet peeve: kids sit on the bus for a long time because the bus makes way too many stops, far too close together. I've watched the bus drop off kids at the apartments across the street from us...then drive literally 150 feet to drop off our next-door neighbor's kid.

Some helicopter parents, as well as the school itself, are responsible. Some parents can't have their little fragile darlings walk a hundred yards or so to a general pick-up/drop-off area, for fear that some stranger might kidnap the kids (which is actually so rare in most areas that it makes statewide news). And schools are justifiably afraid of a lawsuit that could result from a kid walking out into the street and getting hit by a stupid.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of riding on the bus with school mates. Got on the bus at 6:45 am, school started at 8:00 am. Kids (& parents) are just plain spoiled rotten today.

 

[boomtube-mk2]

Why do all of the exercise bikes, be they upright or recumbent, cheap crap from WalMart or multi-thousand-dollar gym quality items all use some non-standard pedal thread that doesn't allow you to install REAL PEDALS!!!
You know, the same kinds of pedals you have on your road bike, the pedals that allow you to use actual bicycling shoes and the snap-in cleats. Look for example.

Instead, the manufactures of these exercise bikes all seem to use an undersized thread that forces you to use their POS pedals with their plastic shoe straps.
This either demonstrates a stupidity on their part with regards to their potential market or it demonstrates a complete disdain and contempt for that same market.

 

[CalebJ]

They use different threads? Wow, I'd always assumed they were the same as regular bikes but never tested it. Figured if I ever bought a home exercise bike that I'd put a set of SL pedals on it so I could use my regular shoes. That would definitely make my pet peeve list.

 

[boomtube-mk2]

They use different threads? Wow, I'd always assumed they were the same as regular bikes but never tested it. Figured if I ever bought a home exercise bike that I'd put a set of SL pedals on it so I could use my regular shoes. That would definitely make my pet peeve list.

The real stinker is that most of the retailers don't even know this.
I went to a sporting goods store and tried installing a set of Look pedals onto their selection of ex-bikes with no luck. All the threads are undersized, and you can't drill out the crank-arm and re-tap them as that would leave them too thin around the new hole, not to mention it would void any warranty.

I've spoken with the owners of several gyms that have ex-bikes and all of them tell me that their members have asked why they don't install REAL PEDALS and the answer is always the same. They can't because of the non-standard threads being used.

 

[Antares JS]

The real stinker is that most of the retailers don't even know this.
I went to a sporting goods store and tried installing a set of Look pedals onto their selection of ex-bikes with no luck. All the threads are undersized, and you can't drill out the crank-arm and re-tap them as that would leave them too thin around the new hole, not to mention it would void any warranty.

I've spoken with the owners of several gyms that have ex-bikes and all of them tell me that their members have asked why they don't install REAL PEDALS and the answer is always the same. They can't because of the non-standard threads being used.

Don't some kind of stands exist that you can put an actual bike on and use it as a stationary bike? That might be a decent solution to your problem.

 

[boomtube-mk2]

The best way to use a bicycle as a "stationary exercise bike" is by using a set of "Rollers".


They take a bit of practice but once you get the hang of it, they are great.

 

[CalebJ]

Don't some kind of stands exist that you can put an actual bike on and use it as a stationary bike? That might be a decent solution to your problem.

You can also buy smart trainers now that interact with software to adjust resistance in real time to match the workout being done. I've got a Wahoo Kickr in the basement that let's me get good training rides in when life might otherwise be in the way.

 

[SecondRow]

Wahoo Kickr FTW. They’re pretty easy to set up.

 

[Hobie1dog]

Robo calls to my cell phone

 

[Lee]

Had my own office way back when. Had to buy my own chair because the one the university supplied was pretty much un-sit-able. And I had two visitors' chairs, one regular one for students, and a second one specifically for administrators and other PITAs. I sawed off about 2" from the front legs of the second chair. They laughed when they sat in it...but they usually didn't stay very long.

Years ago, I know of a personnel manager who shortened just one leg of the chair job applicants sat in during their interview. The intent was to see how well they handled adversity.

 

[Pem Tech]

Paper body tubes that arrive in the mail kinked, creased or crushed due to insufficient packing material.

Paper tubes that arrive at your vendor in a bent, disfigured and stomped box. FOR THE THIRD TIME! You can see the footprints.

*breathe*
*calm*
*Don't go postal*

 

[Pem Tech]

Put another way; I'd go broke buying ammunition.

Plus, it's illegal to shoot holes even when they well and truly deserve it.

Dang holes....
They are now .70 cents a pop out of my 1911.
All we can do is keep trying.

 

[Pem Tech]

arriving back home from a vacation only to find your A/C system isn't working.

Or it is 12 degrees F and water has been running from a broken joint for five days.

 

[Woody's Workshop]

Vendors that use Constant Contact. Once you open a link to that vendor in an Email you start getting 1000's of spam emails from all vendors that use constant contact.
I refuse to do business with vendors that use Constant Contact and I make sure I send them a very nice Email telling them so.
I am looking at changing my Email I've had for years now due to the 1000's of spam Emails I get daily.
Oh, and anything that use to be made in the USA but now is made over seas.
I'd boycott them too, but then I would be forced to live off the land. Not even sure that is possible today...

 

[boatgeek]

Customers who say they need X and then are very angry at you a few months later because they got X instead of Y.

 

[Alan15578]

Customers who say they need X and then are very angry at you a few months later because they got X instead of Y.

The RFP calls for A, your corporate intelligence says they really want B, corporate ops-analysis says they really need C.

 

[dhbarr]

The RFP calls for A, your corporate intelligence says they really want B, corporate ops-analysis says they really need C.

Supply Chain delivered materials for D at time T+X, where X was > all phases cumulative buffer.

 

[Hobie1dog]

nightmares

 

[Sooner Boomer]

nightmares

Try this: next time you're in a dream, having a nightmare, look at the palm of your hand. It's a distraction technique. You will either transition out of the nightmare, or (more likely) you'll wake up.

 

[Peartree]

Loose = not tight
vs.
Lose = not winning

seems= how things look, ie "life seems good"
vs.
seams= the lines where your clothing was sewn together.

 

[smstachwick]

Loose = not tight
vs.
Lose = not winning

I run into this one all the time. I’m not especially error-conscious in my reading and writing, but that’s one I always notice. I can’t ignore it and I immediately think less of whoever typed it.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

Cell phone autocorrect. Almost all the mistakes to see in my texts are the phone's fault. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

 

[Antares JS]

Cell phone autocorrect. Almost all the mistakes to see in my texts are the phone's fault. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

The one good thing about Windows Phones was that the autocorrect was actually *good* and almost always corrected to what I intended. When I got an android phone, I got so frustrated with it I turned autocorrect off.

 

[teepot]

The fact that people dress like slobs when they go out in public. Pajamas are not something you should wear to the store. People who wear shorts when they should cover as much of themselves as possible. Yuck. Shudder. Don't some of these people have a mirror in their house.

 

[jqavins]

Why do all of the exercise bikes, be they upright or recumbent, cheap crap from WalMart or multi-thousand-dollar gym quality items all use some non-standard pedal thread that doesn't allow you to install REAL PEDALS!!!... This either demonstrates a stupidity on their part with regards to their potential market or it demonstrates a complete disdain and contempt for that same market.

Or that these things are exercise equipment, not cycling equipment. Why should they bother with cycling equipment standards when that's not their target market?

Cell phone autocorrect. Almost all the mistakes to see in my texts are the phone's fault. At least that's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

There's an app somewhere on you phone called "Settings"; maybe you've heard of it.

The one good thing about Windows Phones was that the autocorrect was actually *good* and almost always corrected to what I intended. When I got an android phone, I got so frustrated with it I turned autocorrect off.

That's the first thing I do every time a new phone is in my hands.

Vendors that use Constant Contact.

My recent one is nice hotels with lousy TVs. Mind you, I have low standards in hotels (I'm usually alone and on business travel) and all I ask is a safe, clean place to sleep and just a few little niceties, but the nicer a place is, the more the shortcomings stand out. I wind up in a really nice place, almost everything done right or better, and the TV (by which I include channels available) is right out of the 90s but for being wide screen.

 

[Antares JS]

Vendors that use Constant Contact.

Constant Contact's annoying YouTube ads.

Also just YouTube ads in general. They always seem to cut speakers off in mid-sentence, and there will usually be two ad breaks in a 15-20 minute video. It's aggravating. Don't even get me started about the 15-second unskippable ads.

 

[dr wogz]

I feel, in general, that ads on the internet have gotten way too out-of-hand..

despite the technology, the 'targeting', and the amount of data "they" collect on us, I / we still get garbage upon garbage thrown at me / us...

 

[dhbarr]

I feel, in general, that ads on the internet have gotten way too out-of-hand..

despite the technology, the 'targeting', and the amount of data "they" collect on us, I / we still get garbage upon garbage thrown at me / us...

I want good ads. Like I want the bot to guess that I'm craving fried chicken, and let me know the chicken joint I'm about to drive by is having a sale.

Instead, after researching and buying a truck my ads are for trucks for a year or two.