BBO Discussion Forums: pet peeve thread - BBO Discussion Forums

Cyberyeti, on 2013-September-19, 10:24, said:

It always seemed to me that it is generally only German men who do this.

Quote

But I guess I was mistaken. I will make sure I avoid these swimming pools; I don't think I have a strong enough stomach.

I had a friend who used to say "you're entitled to your wrong opinion". I think he got his point across pretty well.

Old saying: Opinions are like assholes: everyone has one, and everyone thinks everyone else's stinks.

GreenMan, on 2013-September-19, 10:55, said:

Brilliant! I love the internet.

Something of a similar ilk is when people cry out that they are offended by something or other. I refer you to Stephen Fry to say it better than I could:


“It's now very common to hear people say, 'I'm rather offended by that.' As if that gives them certain rights. It's actually nothing more... than a whine. 'I find that offensive.' It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. 'I am offended by that.' Well, so ***** what.”

broze, on 2013-September-19, 14:51, said:

So I would appreciate if in the future you could avoid doing it again?

"That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." Hitchens

(Not a peeve, just a quote to add to the discussion above.)

edit: just found this in my Biophysics book!

The method of "postulating" what we want has many advantages; they are the same as the advantages of theft over honest toil.
Bertrand Russell

broze, on 2013-September-19, 09:22, said:

I at times employ a variant. There are matters on which it is inconceivable I will change my mind. I also don't much like the phrase "You have your opinions and I have mine" but there are times that I want to make it clear that I am not really open to further discussion.

A very old story along these lines. Often at Chinese restaurants several dishes are ordered and everyone takes some of each dish. I was eating with a group that liked to discuss at length each person's suggestion for a dish and carefully consider how it would fit in with the other choices. After catching on to this procedure, I announced that I was having a fish dish of my choice and I would be eating all of it. And nothing else. This worked fine, except that I could probably have ordered, been served, and eaten my choice before the discussion of the others actually reached a conclusion.

Sexy Feet

PassedOut, on 2013-September-20, 07:33, said:

A much needed putdown of these idiotic kid pageants.

Pet peeves, by their nature, are small items.
Recently our newspaper delivery has taken a turn for the worse, much worse. So you go to the site to report a non-delivered paper. The site tells you that they will re-deliver it as soon as possible.
Well, no. You cannot re-deliver something that has not been delivered. These semantic issues often, intentionally or not, have an edge to them. It's along the lines of "Of course we delivered your paper, but if you stuffed it in the incinerator and forgot, of course we will re-deliver a paper". There are no dogs running loose, and we get up around 6. I doubt a neighbor has suddenly decided to get up at 5:30 to swipe our paper between the time it is delivered and the time we get up. It has not been delivered, it should be delivered albeit late, it is not possible for it to be re-delivered.

While I am on this, it is disheartening to me that newspapers are now, often and currently here, delivered by adults. I did a morning/evening/Sunday route, it paid close to a hundred bucks a month in 1950s era dollars. It gave me independence. I think that this is an important part of growing up. About a year ago I had some issues and the doc told me to quit mowing the grass. These issues have largely cleared up and I could get back behind the mower, but I sort of like the idea of paying a neighborhood sixteen year old to do it. He likes it too. A good kid, he is.

kenberg, on 2013-September-20, 08:14, said:

Your point about independence is an important one, it seems to me. My paper route and the lawn mowing business I developed as a kid did the same for me, and made me confident that I could make my way in the world.

Our paper now is delivered by adults because it takes a drive to get here, but I do see youngsters delivering papers in the small towns around. Maybe the parents of youngsters in the cities don't feel as safe.

I'm pleased that we still have newspapers! Wonder how long that will continue...

You learn a lot delivering papers as a kid and collecting payment from your neighbors. I co-delivered morning, evening and Sunday papers with 3 siblings. My 16 year old brother taught me how to drive on Sunday mornings. That was worth getting up early for.

kenberg, on 2013-September-20, 08:14, said:

With subscription rates being what they are, the density of subscribers is such that delivering papers via anything but a car is untenable.

dwar0123, on 2013-September-24, 17:03, said:

Perhaps. Perhaps not. A kid would need to be paid more per subscription than I was for it to be attractive, but presumably the adult with the car is already paid more per subscription than I was.

No doubt what you say has some truth to it, since indeed the delivery is by an adult with a car. But I much, much preferred a job such as newspaper delivery to working in a grocery store with some fussbudget critiquing my every move. And my job cooking french fries? Awful. Walking and tossing papers? Great. Walking a longer route? OK by me if the alternative is to listen to some moron criticize my frying technique. Moving furniture was good. I moved it, they paid me. A good arrangement.

For that matter, I bought my first car with earnings from my paper route, but that was in 1954 when a fifteen year old could do that. The much derided 50s era had its good points. I used the car a bit in the delivery., taking bundled papers to various spots and then walking the route.

I really didn't like distributing newspapers which I did when I was 16. The other jobs I had as a pre-18 were: sorting books at a library and cleaning in a bank. In those jobs at least I had some interaction with (adult) colleagues.

An adult with a car can handle several routes at once, which makes it more attractive than for a carless kid who can only finish one before school.

Also, there used to be afternoon papers that could be delivered after school. Not anymore.

Vampyr, on 2013-September-19, 10:07, said:

Are English or other men with huge bellies and tiny bikini swimsuits not a peeve? Surely Germans don't have a monopoly on this behavior...

bd71, on 2013-September-25, 10:41, said:

Have you really found that to be the case?

When I was a kid, an adult with a car dropped my papers off in front of my house in the morning, and I got up, folded the papers, and delivered them around my route. The adult had several paperboys under his umbrella. I paid him once a week. The newspaper wouldn't allow me to keep my paper route past age 15, so I did it for four years (couldn't start earlier than age 12, either). Then I worked in a supermarket for a while. Ken is right, that sucked. Worked for my Dad one summer, in his cardiac catheterization lab. No, I didn't do the catheterizations, but I saw enough to know I didn't want to be a doctor.

When they make an announcement before a TV program is shown about things that people might find objectionable, and they say "mild language". Who could possibly object to "mild language"?