This time he took the panini maker.
I swear, I think Safety Guy's purpose in life is to confiscate any electronic appliance that makes people comfortable and/or happy. I'll never forgive him for taking my crappy old heater. Unless he brings me a new one. Then all is forgiven. Not holding my breath.
Showing posts with label annoying things. Show all posts
Showing posts with label annoying things. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Not a Fan
Any hopes of this sports fan branching out into soccer (I refuse to call it "football" because I am southern and American) have been dashed this weekend, and not just because the greatly hyped USA vs. England game ended in a 1-1 tie. No, anyone who has watched even one minute of the World Cup can guess what has me so put off by the experience. Need a hint? Ok.
BbzzzzzzzzzzHHHHMMMMMMMMMMbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBZZBBZZZZZZ...
Those damn plastic trumpets blew it for me! (Howdya like that pun?) I am not alone in this opinion. The noise from these vuvuzelas is a constant, annoying, irritating din that JUST. NEVER. STOPS. It goes on and on and on during the entire game without any breaks and hardly a change in tone. The din makes me CRAZY. It sounds like an angry hive of giant bees. Can't stand it. And I won't be watching any more games thankyouverymuch. Unless the networks invent a vuvuzela noise filter that cancels it out on their broadcasts. Then... maybe. But then there is that whole "1-1" thing. So maybe not.
BbzzzzzzzzzzHHHHMMMMMMMMMMbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzBZZBBZZZZZZ...
Those damn plastic trumpets blew it for me! (Howdya like that pun?) I am not alone in this opinion. The noise from these vuvuzelas is a constant, annoying, irritating din that JUST. NEVER. STOPS. It goes on and on and on during the entire game without any breaks and hardly a change in tone. The din makes me CRAZY. It sounds like an angry hive of giant bees. Can't stand it. And I won't be watching any more games thankyouverymuch. Unless the networks invent a vuvuzela noise filter that cancels it out on their broadcasts. Then... maybe. But then there is that whole "1-1" thing. So maybe not.
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Worst. Invention. Ever.
The "panic button" on my car remote. I trigger that damn thing by simply looking at it the wrong way. Startling. Embarrassing. Irritating. I hate it.
It happens a LOT.
Is there a way to disable it? Seriously. Does anybody know?
If there isn't an official way, I am sure I can devise a duct tape solution that might even allow me to trigger it on purpose if there was an actual emergency, but would prevent the accidental discharge (so to speak). Not a very elegant fix, but whatever shuts it up.
It happens a LOT.
Is there a way to disable it? Seriously. Does anybody know?
If there isn't an official way, I am sure I can devise a duct tape solution that might even allow me to trigger it on purpose if there was an actual emergency, but would prevent the accidental discharge (so to speak). Not a very elegant fix, but whatever shuts it up.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Plastic Parts
Cheap, yes. And light. But not always the best idea. Two examples spring to mind.
Case #1 - the hated vacuum cleaner
We have 100% wood floors in our house, with a few area rugs. We also have an upright vacuum cleaner that got good reviews on Consumer Reports. It works great on the area rugs we have (all three of them) and would be excellent on wall-to-wall, since it is self propelled on carpets. But since we have lots of wood surface to clean, and it is big and bulky and hard to maneuver, and quite possibly a danger for scratching the floors, I end up using the attachments quite often to clean the wood floors. The wand attaches via a plastic nub on the nozzle that interlocks into a slot on the accessory. A soft plastic nub. Which wore down to nothing approximately six months after the warranty ran out. So I end up having to bend over to hold the floor cleaning attachment at the midpoint junction so that it stays attached to the hose (sort of) and get a huge cramp in my hand and it still falls out every few minutes. And did I mention that all those plastic parts somehow did not prevent that vacuum from weighing about twenty five pounds? Fail, and Fail.
Case #2 - the rolling cooler that no longer rolls
The rolling cooler is, in theory, a great idea. We have a definite need for such a device. Our football parking area is a long way from where our friends host the tailgate party (they donate lots more dough than we do, thus the premium parking for them). We used to carry our big assed cooler in by PDM carrying it in his arms. It doesn't really have handles so you have to make do. Not fun. So for Christmas, I got us a large capacity rolling cooler. And it worked great, for about a quarter of a mile, on the first day we used it. Until one of the wheels fell off. Upon closer inspection, the problem was that the metal axle got very hot from friction and melted right through the fracking plastic housing that attached it to the bottom of the cooler. Bad design, fellas. It is not rocket science to figure out that the axle would heat up. So why use a plastic with a low melting point?!? Maybe they should have used whatever the suitcase companies use, because those rollers work fairly well. Probably because they aren't PLASTIC. What kind of rolling distance did they use in their design calculations? Ten feet? You don't need a rolling cooler if you park right next to the picnic table. I would have designed it for at least a mile.
Buyer beware. Look out for plastic. Because it is NOT looking out for you.
Case #1 - the hated vacuum cleaner
We have 100% wood floors in our house, with a few area rugs. We also have an upright vacuum cleaner that got good reviews on Consumer Reports. It works great on the area rugs we have (all three of them) and would be excellent on wall-to-wall, since it is self propelled on carpets. But since we have lots of wood surface to clean, and it is big and bulky and hard to maneuver, and quite possibly a danger for scratching the floors, I end up using the attachments quite often to clean the wood floors. The wand attaches via a plastic nub on the nozzle that interlocks into a slot on the accessory. A soft plastic nub. Which wore down to nothing approximately six months after the warranty ran out. So I end up having to bend over to hold the floor cleaning attachment at the midpoint junction so that it stays attached to the hose (sort of) and get a huge cramp in my hand and it still falls out every few minutes. And did I mention that all those plastic parts somehow did not prevent that vacuum from weighing about twenty five pounds? Fail, and Fail.
Case #2 - the rolling cooler that no longer rolls
The rolling cooler is, in theory, a great idea. We have a definite need for such a device. Our football parking area is a long way from where our friends host the tailgate party (they donate lots more dough than we do, thus the premium parking for them). We used to carry our big assed cooler in by PDM carrying it in his arms. It doesn't really have handles so you have to make do. Not fun. So for Christmas, I got us a large capacity rolling cooler. And it worked great, for about a quarter of a mile, on the first day we used it. Until one of the wheels fell off. Upon closer inspection, the problem was that the metal axle got very hot from friction and melted right through the fracking plastic housing that attached it to the bottom of the cooler. Bad design, fellas. It is not rocket science to figure out that the axle would heat up. So why use a plastic with a low melting point?!? Maybe they should have used whatever the suitcase companies use, because those rollers work fairly well. Probably because they aren't PLASTIC. What kind of rolling distance did they use in their design calculations? Ten feet? You don't need a rolling cooler if you park right next to the picnic table. I would have designed it for at least a mile.
Buyer beware. Look out for plastic. Because it is NOT looking out for you.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
"Would you like to save 10% on today's purchase?"
No, I would like for you to STOP ASKING ME THAT QUESTION every time I come in here.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Big Receipts
No, I don't mean the dollar amount. I mean the actual physical size. Receipts have grown in recent years. Especially grocery store receipts. Good gawd! There are several linear feet of extras in those stupid things. Coupons, surveys, and all manner of unwanted crap.
I save all receipts, at least temporarily. I enter them into Quicken, and keep 'em until statements arrive and everything matches. Durable goods receipts get put into a file, in case we need to take things back or prove when we purchased an item. Everything else gets binned for eventual shredding in a month or two. The smaller receipts are the easiest the deal with. Size, not dollar value. Just give me the basics. Gas station receipts are the best. Tiny size. No extras. Grocery stores are the worst. Way too much stuff, nothing terribly important. *sigh*
And why is it so hard to find the DATE and TOTAL? Those two bits of data are the only things I care about on most receipts. Would it kill companies to make them bold, or larger font? It takes far too long to find these amidst all the clutter. Inefficient! FAIL.
I save all receipts, at least temporarily. I enter them into Quicken, and keep 'em until statements arrive and everything matches. Durable goods receipts get put into a file, in case we need to take things back or prove when we purchased an item. Everything else gets binned for eventual shredding in a month or two. The smaller receipts are the easiest the deal with. Size, not dollar value. Just give me the basics. Gas station receipts are the best. Tiny size. No extras. Grocery stores are the worst. Way too much stuff, nothing terribly important. *sigh*
And why is it so hard to find the DATE and TOTAL? Those two bits of data are the only things I care about on most receipts. Would it kill companies to make them bold, or larger font? It takes far too long to find these amidst all the clutter. Inefficient! FAIL.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Bad Vibrations
I'm talking intermittent-throughout-the-work-day, long lasting, very low frequency, drives-you-crazy-with-the-deep-humming-sound, rattles-everything-on-your-desk (and your desk too), feeling-it-through-your-feet-and-legs, can't-get-away-from-it-anywhere vibrations that have been occurring at work due to a major construction project across the street. I'm quite certain that this treatment would be an effective means of torture, because it drives. me. crazy. And it has been happening over and over for weeks.
Not sure why, exactly. I drive by that construction site every morning, and it just looks like a big pit with a pickup truck or two, a few construction workers milling around, and a line of port-o-potties. The building that used to be there is long gone, and the blasting stopped months ago. I don't see anything there that looks even remotely rumble inducing. Maybe the Psychology Department is doing an experiment on people cracking up in the workplace due to unexplained, loud rumbly noises that shake the foundation.
I'm not sure which is worse - the low frequency insanity-inducing rumbling or the far-more-frequent-than-is-reasonable testing of the extremely loud and startling fire alarm system. It's a close call. I'll have to go with the fire alarm on safety grounds. (It also scares the shit out of me every single time.) The high frequency of testing is very likely to lead to a "crying wolf" sort of result, where all I would do in the event of a real fire is slam my office door shut in annoyance as I try to reduce the eardrum piercing volume down to something that won't make me cry. It never occurs to me that it could be a real fire. I'm well trained.
Not sure why, exactly. I drive by that construction site every morning, and it just looks like a big pit with a pickup truck or two, a few construction workers milling around, and a line of port-o-potties. The building that used to be there is long gone, and the blasting stopped months ago. I don't see anything there that looks even remotely rumble inducing. Maybe the Psychology Department is doing an experiment on people cracking up in the workplace due to unexplained, loud rumbly noises that shake the foundation.
I'm not sure which is worse - the low frequency insanity-inducing rumbling or the far-more-frequent-than-is-reasonable testing of the extremely loud and startling fire alarm system. It's a close call. I'll have to go with the fire alarm on safety grounds. (It also scares the shit out of me every single time.) The high frequency of testing is very likely to lead to a "crying wolf" sort of result, where all I would do in the event of a real fire is slam my office door shut in annoyance as I try to reduce the eardrum piercing volume down to something that won't make me cry. It never occurs to me that it could be a real fire. I'm well trained.
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