Annoyances

There have been a few pretty heavy discussions around lately, which have made for some interesting reading, but for a Friday I felt like something a bit lighter, so just for fun I’m starting one.Annoyances, inconveniences, irritations, pet peeves, whatever you may call them they are those little things that simply piss us off. Everybody has them, whether they are big significant things or silly little things. So, let’s hear ‘em! I want to hear the things that really get on your nerves.I’ll start with a few of mine. When answering a phone, and I’m not the person the caller intended to call (eg. when it’s a wrong number, or if I’ve answered someone else’s phone in the office), so they hang up without saying a word after I’ve answered. Utterly rude! How difficult is it to say something like Sorry, I have a wrong number, or I was looking for Bob, I’ll call back later Bald men that do the comb-over thing. How could they possibly think it is a good look?? I am bald and proud of it, so I find it particularly distasteful. The common practice of tv chefs, recipes and restaurant menus using the term ‘caramelised’. It sounds pretentious. Doesn’t it just mean ‘browned’? Australian Idol (local version of American Idol, oddly enough). I recently saw about 15 minutes of it when there was nothing else on tv, and I was amazed at how awful it was. I swear I could feel my jaw slackening and brain cells committing suicide as I watched it. Big Brother (refer above description for Idol). Telemarketing. I was under the impression it was universally hated, so why does it still exist? Unimaginative, mass-produced, mainstream pop music.So let's hear some of yours...

I thought caramelisation meant specifically burning sugar(s) rather than just general browning.

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Oops! Wrong Planet

I work in a grocery store. Some of my pet peeves:
1) Customers on cell phone..disdainfully ignoring me as if i am a machine or their own hired help. How utterly rude that they assume their little world to be all that counts!
2) Customers who do not even look at you yet expect you to take the stuff to their car. Hey...if you wanna be served, you best recognize the help as a social equal...not an inferior servant!3) Bill Maher. What an arrogant liberal ass! And we thought that only conservatives were idiots!

...but I'll give it a go, with the caveat that I honestly don't know what I'm talking about.When you carmelize sugar, you brown it to the point that you actually change it from one form to another. Oxidation occurs, so that it actually amounts to a chemical change. So my guess is that when the word 'carmelized' appears on a menu, it means 'browned to the point of a complete, substantive change'.

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"I think younger workers first of all, younger workers have been promised benefits the government promises that have been promised, benefits that we can't keep. That's just the way it is." George W. Bush, May 4, 2005

That could be correct, I've often seen caramelised onions in recipes and menus. There's no sugar involved, just onions done in a pan until they are softened and browned. It still annoys me, why not just say 'browned'Now i'm hungry

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On the 7th day, God was arrested.

Many recipes for caramelised onions do require the addition of sugar but there are naturally occurring sugars in onions as well. So it isn't really incorrect to describe onions cooked without additional sugar as caramelised provided they are cooked in such a way that the natural sugars do caramelise.TTFN,WKThis message has been edited by Wounded King, 08-05-2005 04:22 AM

Mobile phones (cell phones for the Americans) - or rather their usage.People seem to regard them as the highest priority interrupt. I've lost track of the number of times someone has cut me off in the middle of a conversation just 'cos their mobile is ringing. It even happens in meetings at work.The other thing is how moronically they are used. I used to go into town for a few beers on Friday nights a few years ago and it always amused me as we approached the city centre folks would call up their mates to basically say "I'll be where we said we'd meet at the time we said we'd meet" - what is the point???

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Oops! Wrong Planet

I work in IT. Beware the warth of the network administrator, for he is quick to anger, and delights in disabling your network account!I have a large group of people here who can't seem to hit the power button on anything electronic without me. At least ten times over the past month I have been called down to a meeting, and pushed the power button on the projector.People who can't spit out what they're talking about. You don't have to use the technical terms. You don't even know what they are. You'll only confuse me if you call your network drive your hard drive. Just say it the way you understand it, and I'll get it, too.I am here because I get paid to be here. I am not your home computer tech, and I won't come to your house on my own time for $10 to get rid of the virus you downloaded while watching pr0n. Don't bug me with your home PC problems.If I tell you not to install something, don't install it. I know more than you do about computers. Just because you can use it for 30 days doesn;t mean we have a license for the software. Yes, I know you need it. Take it up with your manager and make them BUY it. Until then, if you keep reinstalling the software so you can use it for another 30 days without paying, you're just breaking license agreements and will get us sued.Please do not write your password down on a post-it attached to your monitor, plainly labelled "password" with your username written above it. Post-its like this actually say "Look, an idiot sits here!"If your computer is infested with roaches because you're a filthy bastard, I'm not touching it. (Yes, this actually happened several times when I worked retail computer repair)If you spill water into the power supply, we aren't paying for the repair. We WILL watch the pretty sparks and laugh at you. (Again, actually happened) Yes, we know it was "only water." I'm sure you know what happens if you drop an electric device into the bathtub.But my biggest pet peeve is people who think they know what they are talking about with computers when they haven't the faintest clue. Honestly, if you knew how to fix it, why did you call me over? I could've stayed in the computer room, browsing EvC! Obviously you don't know what to do, or you wouldn't have called me! Now shut up and let me fix the problem!

Has anyone ever noticed the time dilation effect occurring by standing in lines? This unexplored law of physics has not been documented. To test the hypothesis, simply stand in a line of people and watch other lines moving forward, yet your line will always remain motionless. Happens every time.

rahvin: you've read this site before, right? Computer Stupiditiessounds like you're not alone.

Preach on, Rahvin...Client: My PC froze.Me: Did you get an error message?Client: Yes.Me: What did it say?Client: I dunno...I didn't read it.Me: Can you read it to me now?Client: No, I turned it off.Me: I thought it was frozen.Client: Yeah, I had to unplug it to make it go off.Me: %#*&^@(!)That annoys me. And squirrels. Especially tulip-eating squirrels.Thor: I would "brown" onions at high temp in a high-temp tolerant oil like canola or corn. I would carmelize onions at low heat in butter or olive oil. Then I would pile them on top of a nice fillet of orange roughy, squeeze on some fresh lemon juice, add just a tad of crushed garlic and fresh ground pepper, and broil briefly.I hope that doesn't annoy you Oh yeah: and Windows. That bloated, crusted, redundant, shambling coral reef of code we call Windows...

Thor I have a similar one dealing with federal government agencies where you get a recorded message listing the various options and taking your choice as a well trained rodent should you proceed to run through the several levels to finally arrive back at ???!!! the original message that greeted you listing your options yet again.Arrrggh!!! I get so angry I could tear chunks off a cement wall.It is a good thing I live in the prairies and not in,say,Ottawa.This message has been edited by sidelined, Fri, 2005-08-05 11:16 PM

Biggest pet peeve: littering, especially cigarette butts. The people who do this don't give it a thought that they are littering. I could understand it if they discard lit cigarettes on their carpeting at home, but I doubt they do this.How about some word pet peeves:Quote unquote (with the quotation afterwards so you sometimes never know when the actual quotation ends!)Dropping the second "i" in poinsettia.Unthaw???Orientate - this shouldn't even be a word. Orient will always do just fine.Cheesy as a negative descriptor. I love cheese! It should be a compliment.IrregardlessAnd how about flashing over to another call? To me, that is like telling me the other caller might be more important than me. I hate it.Verzem

Ah, you've found one of my pet peeves. Here is my company's password policy:

• Passwords must be changed every 70 days. Notification is sent via email 10 days before your password expires. If you fail to change your password on time your account will be disabled.
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• You cannot reuse old passwords (they keep a history).
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• Passwords must be 7 or 8 characters.
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• Passwords must not be a word in the English language (they check).
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• Passwords must not be a name (they check common names).
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• Passwords must not be the name of a person within the company (they check).
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• Passwords must not be your username (they check).
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• Passwords must not be your username backwards (they check).
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• Passwords must not be your username rearranged (they check).
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• Passwords must have 3 characters not in your previous password (they check).
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• Passwords must not contain repeating characters.
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• Passwords must contain both upper and lower case letters.
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• Passwords must not begin or end with a non-alphanumeric character.
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• Passwords must not contain the @ or # character.
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• Never under any circumstances write your password down. Commit it to memory. Have a nice day.

I've been working for this company for 14 years, suggestions for my next password appreciated.--Percy

Similar peeve with mobile phones. I am amazed by a few people at work who will answer their mobile phone while they are already an a call on their landline!