Things That Annoy You

[jazmunda]

These prices

I guess it depends on the serving size. Monster meals then fair enough. Waif sized meal then forgedaboudit.

[Nucky Nolan]

         My moods are so dark they are eligible to win an Image Award.

I have those dark moods at times. It's likely no coincidence that we're about the same age. By the way, where did you go? I miss your biting humor and obscure references.

[UnscreenedCaller]

These prices

Manhattan? Automatically add $10 - 20 to every item if the executive chef's and pastry chef's names are on the menu which is how a $9 burger becomes a $29 burger.

My pet peeve: we have sidewalks, plenty of them, but you still get idiots walking in the street because, you know, the road is a power trip. And then, some poor slob accidentally hits one of these people, or the people who try to dart against the light across 6 lanes of traffic in a busy area, and his life is ruined. This may be a NY thing, I don't know.

[Sardondi]

My moods are so dark they are eligible to win an Image Award.

I have those dark moods at times. It's likely no coincidence that we're about the same age. By the way, where did you go? I miss your biting humor and obscure references.

Every - I mean every - act I have ever committed which is monumentally stupid, self-destructive or profoundly hurtful to those I love, has been committed between the months of February and June-July. It's bad. By March I'm so bad that when I was younger I was a tripwire just looking for fights. Even in my 40's, just before I really started figuring out what was going on, I did really stupid things like get out of my car to be, uh, "accessible". One time was mostly my fault, and I reached into a guy's car and throttled him with one hand to make him stop blowing his damn car horn. It lasted about 10 seconds, and it scared me to death, but it scared him worse, as I figured out as I released him and he croaked, "You're crazy!!!!" at me. The other time you've sort of heard about, and it was not my fault, except that I uttered a greeting which I suspected would be unhelpful to the situation - and it wasn't.

After that one I started putting the pieces together and realized the calendar was controlling me. It's the weirdest thing, since it's not what I understand classic Seasonal Affective Disorder to be, which is supposedly due to the limited sunlight of the winter months. Or maybe it takes me a few months to get going and a few months to pull out. Or maybe the seasons I hate are Spring and Summer? I think that's it, since I loathe Summer these days, and so look forward to the coming of October. I watch programs called "Mountain Men" and "Life Below Zero", about these people living in cold and snowy climes and I long for what they have. I feel my craziness is about hating to see Spring with all its allergy-activating pollens and Summer with its plain damned unpleasantness.

I still associate Summer with discomfort and feeling miserable. From the time I was 12 yo starting every June - back in the days when we went to school from Labor Day to Memorial Day - I began doing man's work for my grandfather at his Livestock Feed and General Store, whether hauling 2 100-lb. sacks of feed or fertilizer at a time, or bucking terribly dusty, 80-pound bales of hay in 100° temps, when I could hardly breathe for the allergies the dust would cause. Memories of misery. But I got paid $35 for working from 6:00-5:00, 6 days a week, so that made it....suck even worse.

But anyway, I'm aware now of the seasonal problem, whatever it is. I don't know what to do about it and certainly can't fix it, but being aware is part of the battle anyway. And since I figured the deal out, I haven't committed any felonies or had any committed upon me...to my knowledge.

Heh. There might be no one in the universe reading this, but it allows me to vent; which makes this, and you guys, better than seeing a shrink.

[Nucky Nolan]

Sardondi, I hope that I stay on your good side. It sounds like you just associate spring and summer with bad times, and that combines with your disdain for the weather of those seasons. Like you, I prefer cooler temperatures. I love October. It's not too cold or too hot, and there aren't many storms of any kind. That's how it is in the Midwest, in any event. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate and enjoy the change of seasons. I'm just not suited for extreme climates. That's one of the reasons that we won't move to the northern or southern sections of the country. Our ancestries might play a role here too. We have mostly northern European blood, but I have some southern genes as well.

I'm a pacifist. Battery was not a viable consideration, with one notable exception. I hospitalized a guy when I was in college. Think flash mobs and the knock-out game. I didn't appreciate being the target of his buddies' fun. No guns or knives were involved on my end. My dad got us involved in martial arts at a young age. These poor urban slobs shot craps that night and rolled snake eyes. In their defense (hee), I wasn't built like a Klitschko. That was my one and only street fight in my adult life. I'll go out of my way to avoid situations that could lead to altercations and confrontations even close to violence. I usually let aggressive, hot-headed individuals have their personal victories. Maybe they're having a bad day, if not a bad life. I'm more likely to damage or destroy something that I own, or I'm more likely to direct anger at myself. I almost always control my temper these days, though. I don't even kill spiders, which is just one of my dozens of quirks.

[Juan]

I was well into my 40s before I found doctors who diagnosed my allergies and began treating them.  After 5-years of allergy shots and adjustment of antihistamines,
I found my anger and dark moods much reduced.  I, too, had thought I had SAD.  Perhaps my allergies were inflaming my brain as much as they inflamed my skin and lungs.

[CampsieNP]

In case you're on the fence about whether or not law enforcement is completely out of control in this country:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2013/08/12/130812fa_fact_stillman?currentPage=all

Thank you for bringing this outragious story to my attention Stevesh. Yes, completely out of control.

[Eddie Coyle]

After that one I started putting the pieces together and realized the calendar was controlling me. It's the weirdest thing, since it's not what I understand classic Seasonal Affective Disorder to be, which is supposedly due to the limited sunlight of the winter months. Or maybe it takes me a few months to get going and a few months to pull out. Or maybe the seasons I hate are Spring and Summer? I think that's it, since I loathe Summer these days, and so look forward to the coming of October. I watch programs called "Mountain Men" and "Life Below Zero", about these people living in cold and snowy climes and I long for what they have. I feel my craziness is about hating to see Spring with all its allergy-activating pollens and Summer with its plain damned unpleasantness.

I still associate Summer with discomfort and feeling miserable. From the time I was 12 yo starting every June - back in the days when we went to school from Labor Day to Memorial Day - I began doing man's work for my grandfather at his Livestock Feed and General Store, whether hauling 2 100-lb. sacks of feed or fertilizer at a time, or bucking terribly dusty, 80-pound bales of hay in 100° temps, when I could hardly breathe for the allergies the dust would cause. Memories of misery. But I got paid $35 for working from 6:00-5:00, 6 days a week, so that made it....suck even worse.

But anyway, I'm aware now of the seasonal problem, whatever it is. I don't know what to do about it and certainly can't fix it, but being aware is part of the battle anyway. And since I figured the deal out, I haven't committed any felonies or had any committed upon me...to my knowledge.

         My mind is a hornet's nest year round, but summer is a SAD time for me. The summer I turned 13, my weight dropped from 145 lbs in May to 100 by Labor Day. As I was growing!

       I basically had heat prostration/dyspepsia from early June until late September. I spent that summer like the albino in The Eiger Sanction, basically sitting in darkness. The darkness was common in Boston that hot humid summer of '88 as my neighborhood had over a dozen lengthy blackouts.

         Due to my masochistic instincts, that summer where I was basically the foundation for Stephen King's Thinner, I still managed to play over 60 games in multiple baseball leagues. Didn't miss one, literally throwing up in the outfield, behind the backstop..etc...while consuming a six pack(or more) of Mountain Dew to get me through the games. And I won't even mention the car sickness issues for road games.

        Those 100 stygian days made me dread and despise summer ever since.

[bateman]

Manhattan? Automatically add $10 - 20 to every item if the executive chef's and pastry chef's names are on the menu which is how a $9 burger becomes a $29 burger.

My pet peeve: we have sidewalks, plenty of them, but you still get idiots walking in the street because, you know, the road is a power trip. And then, some poor slob accidentally hits one of these people, or the people who try to dart against the light across 6 lanes of traffic in a busy area, and his life is ruined. This may be a NY thing, I don't know.

Crazy prices even for Manhattan. They also have a $22 bloody mary.

Oh, I deal with that every day. Pedestrians are some of the dumbest animals there are.

[Usagi]

The FedEx guy that comes almost everyday to my office smells HORRIBLE and he stinks up the joint for 20 minutes afterward.  My windows don't open... I have to go out into the hallway and breath out the door if I want relief.  *shakes a fist*

[Sardondi]

The FedEx guy that comes almost everyday to my office smells HORRIBLE and he stinks up the joint for 20 minutes afterward.  My windows don't open... I have to go out into the hallway and breath out the door if I want relief.  *shakes a fist*

I imagine it has something to so with the fact he is in a un-airconditioned panel truck, and that he literally runs to make his deliveries in the summer heat. I watch FedEx guys running up my hill to my front door to make their delivery and then sprinting back down, hurtling over hedges and shrubbery, and I am amazed. It's an impressive performance. So I suspect he comes by his smell honestly, having broken a sweat in the blowtorch heat only to be chilled dry in an office building maybe two dozen times before he hits your office.

But if you really object to the sweating of FedEx deliverymen, just make sure the US Post Office handles your deliveries. Those guys probably smell wonderful, because the last time they broke a sweat was your local PO's Employee-Management Softball Game in 1987. Of course you might get your delivery a little later than with FedEx, but what's timely delivery compared to a sweet-smelling office?

[Usagi]

No, no, you don't understand...

I see 2 UPS, 2 FedEx, and 2 USPS guys everyday (and sometimes an odd On Trac guy once in a while).  They all smell more or less inoffensively (besides my chain smoking Vietnamese letter carrier, who gets a pass because he's cool).  It's THIS particular guy.  Bleh.

[lonevoice]

I have those dark moods at times. It's likely no coincidence that we're about the same age. By the way, where did you go? I miss your biting humor and obscure references.

I haven't had dark moods for the past many years, but I echo your sentiment of missing Eddie Coyle's posts when he's feeling a bit less dark and a bit more engaged.  There have been times on CoastGab when he and Sardoni would get a late-night pas de deux going in nearly real time and I'd stay up later than intended just to eavesdrop; even though I'd have to keep wikipedia open in one tab to follow some of it.   Hold on tight, Eddie Coyle, October is coming. 

[Sardondi]

         My mind is a hornet's nest year round, but summer is a SAD time for me. The summer I turned 13, my weight dropped from 145 lbs in May to 100 by Labor Day. As I was growing!

       I basically had heat prostration/dyspepsia from early June until late September. I spent that summer like the albino in The Eiger Sanction, basically sitting in darkness. The darkness was common in Boston that hot humid summer of '88 as my neighborhood had over a dozen lengthy blackouts.

         Due to my masochistic instincts, that summer where I was basically the foundation for Stephen King's Thinner, I still managed to play over 60 games in multiple baseball leagues. Didn't miss one, literally throwing up in the outfield, behind the backstop..etc...while consuming a six pack(or more) of Mountain Dew to get me through the games. And I won't even mention the car sickness issues for road games.

        Those 100 stygian days made me dread and despise summer ever since.

I think you win.

[coaster]

"shark week"

[b_dubb]

holy shit Eddie. I'm glad you're still here.

[stevesh]

But if you really object to the sweating of FedEx deliverymen, just make sure the US Post Office handles your deliveries. Those guys probably smell wonderful, because the last time they broke a sweat was your local PO's Employee-Management Softball Game in 1987.

Another keyboard into the dishwasher. Damn you, Sardondi.

[Nucky Nolan]

"shark week"

I feel your pain. I don't get the obsession and preoccupation with sharks. Like the chum in "Jaws", we can't get away from them! Don't get me wrong. I understand why folks think that they're intriguing. I just don't want to encounter them each time I look at the TV or web. They're everywhere 24/7, and these "Sharknado" promotions may make me lose my mind. Give equal time to dolphins.

[Cynnie]

         My moods are so dark they are eligible to win an Image Award.

Im disgustingly cheery . , i make myself sick with my good mood

[bateman]

I feel your pain. I don't get the obsession and preoccupation with sharks. Like the chum in "Jaws", we can't get away from them! Don't get me wrong. I understand why folks think that they're intriguing. I just don't want to encounter them each time I look at the TV or web. They're everywhere 24/7, and these "Sharknado" promotions may make me lose my mind. Give equal time to dolphins.

Have you seen this?

http://youtu.be/4KRD8e20fBo

Not a fun watch, but certainly worthwhile.

[b_dubb]

Have you seen this?

http://youtu.be/4KRD8e20fBo

Not a fun watch, but certainly worthwhile.

the Japanese are a fucked up people

[Usagi]

the Japanese are a fucked up people

Well, there goes your invitation to the next Frenchy Fry Party.

[Nucky Nolan]

(Not) Dr. Drew: "Kelly, what have you got for us?"
Female Caller: "I have a comment about this crazy trial."
(Not) Dr. Drew: "You were abused by your father, and you're hooked on meth and oxycontin. Am I right?"
Female Caller: "No, I had a great childhood. I don't even drink or smoke."
(Not) Dr. Drew: "Come on, Kelly. You're holding out on us. I can hear the abused addict in your high-pitched voice. Let's talk to our relationship and substance abuse expert, Miss Shahrazad Ali of the Nation of Islam."
(Not) Miss Ali (sounds like Wanda Sykes): "Well, you know, these White devils do all kinds of evil things, but you cave people don't even care about Black girls hooked on crack. You just care about these pretty little White girls with their blonde hair and blue eyes. Why didn't y'all do any shows on Whitney Houston?"
(Not) Dr. Drew: "Thank you, Miss Ali. We appreciate your wise counsel and observations. Have we helped you, Kelly?"
(Sound Of Phone Hanging Up)

This is close to a real transcript in that he really does make diagnoses from afar as if he's omniscient. Miss Ali, a Black supremacist from the Nation of Islam, really appears on his daily panel. He really does treat her like a mainstream celebrity or expert. He might as well add David Duke for equal time.

[Nucky Nolan]

Have you seen this?

http://youtu.be/4KRD8e20fBo

Not a fun watch, but certainly worthwhile.

I feel at peace. I love those critters.

ETA: That's borderline cannibalism and genocide. Where's Aquaman when you need him?

[Yorkshire pud]

the Japanese are a fucked up people

That's a bit lot of a sweeping generalisation isn't it?

[Nucky Nolan]

I imagine it has something to so with the fact he is in a un-airconditioned panel truck, and that he literally runs to make his deliveries in the summer heat. I watch FedEx guys running up my hill to my front door to make their delivery and then sprinting back down, hurtling over hedges and shrubbery, and I am amazed. It's an impressive performance. So I suspect he comes by his smell honestly, having broken a sweat in the blowtorch heat only to be chilled dry in an office building maybe two dozen times before he hits your office.

But if you really object to the sweating of FedEx deliverymen, just make sure the US Post Office handles your deliveries. Those guys probably smell wonderful, because the last time they broke a sweat was your local PO's Employee-Management Softball Game in 1987. Of course you might get your delivery a little later than with FedEx, but what's timely delivery compared to a sweet-smelling office?

I can attest to that. I unloaded trucks at a UPS hub. It was like a combination of lifting weights and sprinting. It took a lot out of you, mostly sweat. I drank a gallon of water during each break. That's no exaggeration. Dehydration was a concern because the trailers were like hot ovens in July and August. The gun parts were the worst. Each tiny box was as heavy as lead. A colleague said that the job was tougher than his experience at boot camp and college football training camp. I wore sweats to work, which was embarrassing in public. That was especially true when you looked like you just fell into a swimming pool.

[b_dubb]

That's a bit lot of a sweeping generalisation isn't it?

Most definitely. But if you've heard stories of how women are groped to the point of bruising on public transit in Japan maybe you'd agree. And their insistence on eating whale and dolphin.

[Yorkshire pud]

Most definitely. But if you've heard stories of how women are groped to the point of bruising on public transit in Japan maybe you'd agree. And their insistence on eating whale and dolphin.

I think then you should be taking a shot at every country on the planet if you're picking out unsavory 'customs'. They eat whale and dolphin, which you and I may not agree with (Norway eats whale too). Then you and I (I'm guessing you do) eat pork and beef, where in certain parts of the world either would be seen as deeply abhorrent. In Japan, amongst the more refined and respectful would share our disgust at the unwelcome groping of anyone; but then equally they wouldn't dream of being bombastic and boorish in ways that perhaps we both have witnessed and see as normal behaviour and not seen out of place. 

[Eddie Coyle]

        That my sister married a guy who starts conversations with "That black guy on Shark Tank   is doing a seminar..."

       Instead of coming out and saying "can I borrow 100 bucks?" I get the 20 minute preamble, and 19:58 of it has no cogent point or persuasive argument.

     I sit there staring out the window and finally respond with "I'll give you 100 bucks, only if you dive into an actual shark tank".

[Sardondi]

Here's the Major League baseball suspension list, naming those players who were afraid their own testicles didn't produce enough Magic Man Substance, so instead they used chemical/medical substitutes which turned them into freaks capable of performing at superhuman levels*. Well, at least they've learned to better control the amount they take, so that today when juicing players turn in superhuman performances which they could never match if they competed fairly, at least they don't look like the Charolais bull that Mark McGwire resembled - or in the case of Barry Bonds, a Black Angus bull.

I'm annoyed that this list of suspensions:
a) isn't a lifetime ban, and;
b) isn't about 5x this size.

    Alex Rodriguez
    Nelson Cruz (Texas Rangers)
    Jhonny Peralta (Detroit Tigers
    Everth Cabrera (San Diego Padres)
    Jesus Montero (Seattle Mariners)
    Francisco Cervelli (New York Yankees)
    Fernando Martinez (New York Yankees)
    Cesar Puello (New York Mets)
    Jordan Norberto (free agent)
    Fautino de los Santos (free agent)
    Antonio Bastardo (Philadelphia Phillies)
    Jordany Valdespin (New York Mets)
    Sergio Escalona (Houston Astros)

Uh, does anyone else notice something about the names on this list? (What I can't figure out is why some group calling itself something like "Justicia Por La Raza" hasn't been marching at the MLB headquarters demanding "justice" for the players, and a corporate luxury box for the group's president and VP. Could it be Hispanics in the US just don't operate on the Black Race Huckster Principle?...)


* And in a downside that the steroid dealers never seem to discuss with the ballplayers, turn their testicles into useless, shriveled-up marbles. Hey, when you start pouring all this man hormone into your body you in effect have fired your balls from the jobs they were promised for a lifetime. They don't have anything to do. They quit working; they quit working out; they don't go anywhere; they don't see anybody; and in the final stages, they wear nothing but sweatpants and tee shirts. And from a nice healthy plump, plum size ball, they shrink to the size of a big peanut M&M. It's just sad: all that pink (in the case of white guys) bulk, usually shaved clean, surrounding those sad little shrunken man orbs. It is to cry....