Things That Annoy Me, But Shouldn't

Not to mention for indoors smokers who not only ruin their (and others) lungs and clothes but who also ruins wallpapers and blinds. I don't think I've ever been in an rented apartment without nicotine stains on the blinds. It's absolutely disgusting (and hard/impossible to get rid of).

It's always lovely to step inside a store (or worse, a restaurant) where the person helping/serving you smell like old cigarette. You can chew minty gum all you want, but when it sticks to your clothing/hair... it's gonna tell.

 

No offense taken

 

I've got one too, but the ten minute setup and extreme non-portability tends to keeps it on my balcony at home.

Where I also smoke turkeys from time to time

 

The hardest part of smoking a turkey is rolling it.

 

And keeping it lit.

 

I'd rather smell cigarettes or cigars than vape smoke, but I'd rather smell clean air than any of it. That's one reason I'm quitting cigarettes tomorrow.

 

We have those too but the regulations dictate you can't build roads, junctions or buildings, or plant bushes in a way that'd obscure visibility so I've never had any problems seeing the pedestrians coming to cross the road from either direction. Those junctions are relatively common in urban areas over here.

Now don't get me started on tram lanes though...!

 

But it just doesn't make sense - to have a green light and be allowed to cross/drive but actually, you still have to pay attention to see if anyone/any car was coming your way.

And what about tram lanes?

 

I don't mind trams. At least with trams you don't have to worry about them cutting across three lanes of traffic without using their indicator because they weren't paying attention to what lane they were in.

 

Yeah, the green light only appears for pedestrians here if it's a "round light". If it's an arrow light (turn light), then the pedestrians have a red light. I think the latter might even be more common, come to think of it.

The traffic in downtown Helsinki is so busy and confusing, I already struggle to catch all the signs. Some lanes are for trams only, some are for both cars and trams, so, let's say, unfortunate lane choices have happened.

 

I would've thought the hardest part was getting it to hold still. Aren't turkeys like squirrels?

Squirrels, like cigarettes, are perfectly safe until you try to put one in your mouth and light it on fire.

 

"Failed experiment".

An experiment didn't fail because it didn't return the results you wanted. The only "failed" experiment is one that didn't return useful or consistent results.

 

Even then I wouldn't consider it a 'failure'. All results are useful, even if their use is in refining the methodology to get more applicable results next time.

 

This. It bothers me when people claim failure simply because the results weren't as intended. This applies to almost anything. Lack of success is not a failure. To me, a failure is something without benefit, irreversible, and/or detracts from the entirety of a thing.
Going into an experiment, especially, one should always keep in mind the prospect that they won't achieve the desired results. That's why most theories that are tested must be retested multiple times.
If someone attempts an experiment, doesn't get the results intended, and gains nothing else from it, that is a failure, but one a the fault of the experimenter, not the experiment itself.

 

Good point. It just infuriates me when people say things like "His experiment in flying failed when he hit the ground at 73 miles per hour." Nope, he was testing to see if the "special" sugarcube he'd used in his absinthe had really given him to ability to fly, and the experiment succeeded with a resounding "No, it didn't."

Perhaps adding some... mushrooms... to the pasta?

After he gets out of the morgue, of course.

 

I completely agree. The research I did for my masters thesis was a disaster in that it failed to demonstrate the effect I had hypothesised. But it has led to a refined methodology which could be used if the research were replicated (I’m thinking possible PhD...)

Exactly. Saying an experiment failed because it didn’t demonstrate precisely the effect the researcher wanted it to smacks of biased research.

On a similar note, I hate it when people use the phrase “scientifically proven” - or worse, “scientifically disproven”. Both of these show a complete lack of understanding both of science and of proof.

 

So, I got into a discussion with someone who is a fan of Tolkien, on par with, "Tolkien could do no wrong." I get why people are defensive about what they like, but it irks me when people try to say the creator(s) of their interests (or the products thereof) are perfect.

I like "Firefly," but it's not perfect, and neither is Joss Whedon. Actually I'm not a big fan of Whedon as a person. I don't see why I should get defensive over criticisms of him or his work.

 

It's the same in Prague. There're actually certain bends where tram tracks merge with a car lane (like one exclusively for cars, until now!), but trams have right of way, and you're turning a corner as you do so - plenty of accidents have occurred on those corners I think.

 

Curiousity towards other people's private lives. It's pretty innocent and generally shows we care, and yet it annoys me.

Uh, and you know when people don't accept that we have different personalities, opinions and tastes and that's okay.

 

Just last week I bought the Collectors Editions of Firefly and Serenity... such nostalgic bliss~
And they're both absolutely perfect and flawless! I have no idea what you're trying to say!

Now....

It annoys me when I see someone staring at me from across the lobby in the hotel where I work, but then look away when I notice them. I get I'm that gorgeous and godlike *cue sitcom laughter*, but at least let me acknowledge you with my own equally disconcerting stares! I guess this is my reckoning for all the girls I glared down in my awkward and testosterone riddled teen years of high-school. How embarrassing...

It's also annoying when the accounting numbers I'm putting into the system after applying taxes amount to $.01 or -$. 01...like really? Just one penny? Is that last zero so hard to give? One is such a cruel number.

 

I went to... I forget where, someplace that sold food and/or drink, and I ordered a single item. Whatever it was, it cost 928 yen (1 yen equals roughly 1 US cent, and irrelevant for this discussion anyway). But Japan has 8% consumption tax, so I figured the odd price would round out to a nice even 1000 yen or something.

Nope, 928*1.08=1002 yen. So one bill.... and two coins.

I mean, I get it when you start out with a round number that the tax makes all goony-goo-goo, and I get putting an odd-looking base price on it to make it come out nice and even, but what the hell is with having a screwed-up number at both ends of the tax calculation?

 

Exactly what I wonder to myself. I'll be balancing an account, apply going tax rate, and get the .01 result. So you'd think, well, just adding the one cent to the base value, and you'll be balanced! Nope, then it becomes -.01... How does one cent turn into two cents!? The real kicker is when I get the out-of-the-blue .01 to -.02 result... mind boggling.

 

Passive-aggression annoys me because I am unable to tell when people who engage in it are or aren't doing it. If you're angry at me, show it. You aren't doing either of us any favors by acting that way, because you aren't getting anything across and I'm too socially retarded to deal with it. Being passive-aggressive with me will have both of us tilting at windmills; it just doesn't work.

 

I agree with this, though I think we've every right to be pissed about it.

If I'm upset with you and expect you to do something about it, I will tell you. Passive aggression doesn't do shit to resolve the problem. I'd rather people just took me aside and said, "I have a problem with you. Here it is."