Things that Annoy

[Ginger]

The modern practice of characterizing Holocaust victims as having been "murdered", apparently as a way of signalling moral outrage. Murder takes place outside of the law. If someone is trying to murder you, then a policeman will protect you. In many cases during the Holocaust, the police were the ones doing the killing.

*****

Double ordering screens at fast-food drive-throughs. With the sole exception of Rally's (which has a drive-through window on each side of the restaurant), these don't get you served any faster, or do any other good thing for the customer. It's basically a way of getting you to the commit point quicker, so you don't decide to go elsewhere.

*****

Fox News' insistence that 'G' is the abbreviation for thousands. They've apparently arrived at this through the use of 'grand' for thousands, which I've not heard anyone say in years anyway.

*****

The Weather Channel's insistence that winter storms have names, just like hurricanes. This is apparently a cynical calculation that naming blizzards will make them a Big Deal, so that people will watch the WC (and its advertisers) more. WC's already on my list anyway for the lobbying effort they made in the mid 90s to prohibit the NWS from issuing weather forecasts, because that meant that the government was competing against private enterprise, despite the fact that the WC depends totally on information that the government provides for free.

*****

Slideshows used to present lists. Has anyone ever looked at a site and said to themselves, "Gee, this would work so much better as a slideshow"?

[Sam Flynn]

The modern practice of characterizing Holocaust victims as having been "murdered", apparently as a way of signalling moral outrage.

The Holocaust itself was a moral outrage.

Murder takes place outside of the law. If someone is trying to murder you, then a policeman will protect you. In many cases during the Holocaust, the police were the ones doing the killing.

Apart from the fact that by far the greatest number of the killings were committed by Wehrmacht/SS/medical personnel, the wearing of a police uniform doesn't immunise someone from being a murderer.

[martin wilson]

Here in the U.K. we have adopted the annoying practice of giving storms names.
The British isles generally don't suffer from the kinds of extreme weather we see in other parts of the world, yet the main news outlets seem determined to frighten us with impending doom, or as my parents generation used to call it, a bit of snow, or a bit windy.
Satirised by Charlie Brooker as DEATH FROM THE SKIES!! it's utterly ridiculous.
Getting your house demolished by another house during a tornado is newsworthy. Interviewing people who live by a river complaining about ruined carpets seems pathetic, not to say tasteless.
It shouldn't really bother me that much I suppose, but it seems like yet another victory for dumbing down and stupidity.

All the best.

[Abby Normal]

Automated traffic cameras. I swear one of these times I will go to court, bring a copy of the constitution, and point to where it says the accused has a right to face his accuser in court.

The offended generation.

Lines.


Cold, snowy springs, especially after all my flowers have bloomed!

Daniel Snyder, the owner of the Washington redskins, and the underwhelming performance of our pro sports teams in general.

carpool lanes, special access lanes etc. just open up all the dam lanes for everyone!!!

[martin wilson]

People who walk down the middle of narrow city streets. Walk one side or the other you ignorant gits! There are other people in the world!
Through stupidity I never learn that they have no intention of moving, as a result I have developed a body swerve that would make Barry John envious.

All the best.

[Abby Normal]

Here in the U.K. we have adopted the annoying practice of giving storms names.
The British isles generally don't suffer from the kinds of extreme weather we see in other parts of the world, yet the main news outlets seem determined to frighten us with impending doom, or as my parents generation used to call it, a bit of snow, or a bit windy.
Satirised by Charlie Brooker as DEATH FROM THE SKIES!! it's utterly ridiculous.
Getting your house demolished by another house during a tornado is newsworthy. Interviewing people who live by a river complaining about ruined carpets seems pathetic, not to say tasteless.
It shouldn't really bother me that much I suppose, but it seems like yet another victory for dumbing down and stupidity.

All the best.

Lol Martin and ginger!!!! Not only that but the way they give scary scientific names for some of the weather. The latest was Polar Vortex! Hahahahaha
It was snow storm, not even a blizzzard. That really set people off here.

The news channels making something a bigger deal than it is, something controversial, even being the source of it.

Another example of fake news phenomenon. It’s a joke.

[Sam Flynn]

Two things that annoy me, increasingly often heard in coffee-shops or fast food outlets:

"Can I get an espresso?" (Correct response: "You can get an espresso, but would you like to buy one?")

"Small or regular Coke?" (Correct response: "That doesn't compute. Smallness is an aspect of size, but regularity is an aspect of time")

[barnflatwyngarde]

Brendan Rodgers' teeth.

[martin wilson]

The last cold snap was called The Beast From The East, along with novichock one of the less appealing Russian exports.
So it snowed for a bit. Then it cleared about a week later. Then it snowed for a bit and was clear a couple of days later.
This produced Amber warnings (no idea what they are) from the weather centre, the obligatory reporters in puffa jackets standing on motorway bridges telling us it's snowing and interviews with not particularly endangered motorists stuck on roads, the threat to their lives somewhat reduced by people walking across from their houses and offering them blankets, tea and sandwiches.
It also meant people in Scotland had their power off for a while. That always happens. We get a slight breeze and the power goes off up north. Less a result of weather than useless energy suppliers imho.
One reporter telling us we were all going to die was slightly undermined by a bunch of kids in the background sledding down a hill.
Silly, silly country.

All the best.

[Ginger]

This produced Amber warnings (no idea what they are) from the weather centre

Don't eat yellow snow?

[c.d.]

"Automated traffic cameras. I swear one of these times I will go to court, bring a copy of the constitution, and point to where it says the accused has a right to face his accuser in court."

There is a story of someone receiving a traffic ticket in the mail showing a photo of his license plate going through a red light with the demand that he pay a fine. He sent back a photo of a check. The police sent him back a photo of handcuffs and a jail cell.

c.d.

[Sam Flynn]

Automated traffic cameras. I swear one of these times I will go to court, bring a copy of the constitution, and point to where it says the accused has a right to face his accuser in court.

Reminds me of the story of a Cambridge undergraduate who turned up for an exam with a four-pack of beer. An invigilator said that he couldn't drink beer at an exam, and proceeded to confiscate the beers. However, the student stated that the college regulations, which dated back to mediaeval times, allowed a quart of ale for every student sitting an exam, and showed the invigilator a photocopy of the regulation as proof. Reluctantly, the official handed the beers back, which the student duly quaffed during the exam.

Two days later, the student arrived at his next exam with another four-pack of ale and settled smugly into his chair. No sooner had he done so than the same invigilator arrived with his own copy of the college statutes and pointed to a certain paragraph, on the strength of which the student was expelled from the room for not wearing his sword.

[barnflatwyngarde]

As an old rugby player there are two rugby related matters that annoy the life out of me.

1. Whoever thought that it was a good idea to allow the scrum half to put in crooked feeds at the scrum, is a genuine 100% copper plated idiot.

2. Referees no longer allow good old fashioned rucking to take place, resulting in forwards lining up across the park for opposing players to run into. The result is always stalemate, leading to a ridiculously slow trundling game.

[martin wilson]

Don't eat yellow snow?

[martin wilson]

I've watched rugby on the telly for many years.
I've given up trying to understand the rules. All I know is there's a massive pile on, sometimes the ref blows his whistle, sometimes he doesn't.
I do like the discipline in the game . One disgruntled player was told in no uncertain terms by the ref that he only talked to the captain. He skulked off.
At which point it's obligatory to point out the corresponding behaviour from the baby men who play football. Watching MOTD after an afternoon of six nations is an exercise in riling.

All the best.