Minor things that bother you

[kphoger]

I do find it slightly peculiar how the American way is to celebrate everything in advance and then bam, within 24 hours the holiday is to be forgotten and you're on to the next one.

That's capitalism for you; but also because Christmas is constantly pushed at everyone from around November 1st (or earlier), so I think a lot of people get weary of it all.

This is definitely something that bothers me. Personally, I have a policy of one holiday at a time: no Thanksgiving before Halloween, no Christmas before Thanksgiving, etc.

It's a little tricky with Christmas for me.  We keep the decorations up until Epiphany, and we leave one present to be opened then as well.  Yet, in between the first and last days of Christmastide, we have New Year's Day (8th day) and my eldest son's birthday (11th day).  The New Year is easier to think about as a quasi-Christmastide holiday, considering that the dates of both are historically based on or related to the winter solstice, but it's especially weird to have a birthday celebration while there's still a Christmas/Epiphany gift yet to be opened.

[MNHighwayMan]

See, for me and my family, Christmas is just a one-day holiday (or two, if you count Christmas Eve), so I don't have this problem. This thread has been educational on the much more traditional practices of Christmas, though. I didn't know about a lot of this.

[kphoger]

See, for me and my family, Christmas is just a one-day holiday (or two, if you count Christmas Eve), so I don't have this problem. This thread has been educational on the much more traditional practices of Christmas, though. I didn't know about a lot of this.

Neither my wife nor I grew up with this sort of tradition.  Epiphany was a church holiday for me growing up, but it wasn't a family affair.  I doubt my wife had even heard of Epiphany before marrying me.  No, rather, our Christmastide and Epiphany traditions are the result of conscious decisions on our part to start new family holiday traditions.

[J N Winkler]

In regard to windshield wipers, I too really would dislike automatic function.  I treat the windshield with Rain-X (I used to use washer fluid doped with Rain-X, but did not find it any more effective than the much cheaper regular kind), and typically don't have the wipers running steadily at any speed unless I am driving through a cloudburst so intense I have to slow down, turn on hazard flashers, and accept that the horizon will intermittently disappear.

[DaBigE]

In regard to windshield wipers, I too really would dislike automatic function.  I treat the windshield with Rain-X (I used to use washer fluid doped with Rain-X, but did not find it any more effective than the much cheaper regular kind), and typically don't have the wipers running steadily at any speed unless I am driving through a cloudburst so intense I have to slow down, turn on hazard flashers, and accept that the horizon will intermittently disappear.

Never did I think the term 'doped' would be used with something innocent like windshield washer fluid.

[kphoger]

pretty dope tho huh ?

[formulanone]

In regard to windshield wipers, I too really would dislike automatic function.  I treat the windshield with Rain-X (I used to use washer fluid doped with Rain-X, but did not find it any more effective than the much cheaper regular kind), and typically don't have the wipers running steadily at any speed unless I am driving through a cloudburst so intense I have to slow down, turn on hazard flashers, and accept that the horizon will intermittently disappear.

Never did I think the term 'doped' would be used with something innocent like windshield washer fluid.

Or you know, add lead shot to your water to keep the car from being underweight.

[1995hoo]

Depending on the car, they might be automatic wipers that ... often pick a faster speed or more frequent interval

WTF?  That's a thing?  I would hate that!

Do they only engage when you turn the wipers on, at least?  Or do they come on whenever water hits the car?

It depends on where the stalk is. If it's in the "auto" position, they'll come on if they sense "enough" water (which may not agree with what the driver considers "enough"). If the stalk is in the "off" position, they won't come on unless you turn them on. This is very important in car washes and it's why you see those signs about turning off automatic wipers, especially in car washes that are not touchless!

The thing that gets to me is that I have not figured out a way to put the wipers into intermittent mode without the automatic wiper feature activating.



Regarding Christmas, I find it interesting to see how many of you refer to January 6 as "Epiphany." I've always heard it called "the Epiphany." I wonder if that's a denominational thing.

[crt08]

Depending on the car, they might be automatic wipers that ... often pick a faster speed or more frequent interval

WTF?  That's a thing?  I would hate that!

Do they only engage when you turn the wipers on, at least?  Or do they come on whenever water hits the car?

They come on automatically!

But like auto headlights, usually there's a switch to deactivate it.  For the most part, you get used to it.  But as mentioned, I rarely if ever use my fastest setting.  The normal setting is good enough.

I have them on my current car, but I haven't noticed them to pick a random speed, they seem to activate at whatever setting I have them on. Although, most cars have speed sensitive wipers so it could be they are going faster in some cases because of the driving speed.

Overall the automatic wipers don't bother me, it's just sometimes they'll start coming on if there's just a very slight mist on the windshield and the wipers make a loud noise, so I just switch them off completely in that case. I think there's a camera at the top of the windshield that senses if there's water or not. Or maybe that's the highbeam sensor, not sure.

My last car had regular wipers with the lever style wiper switch (up low and up again was high) and I liked it better I think. Current one just uses a dial on the stalk instead.

[Scott5114]

I bought a few Kinder chocolate bars at Walmart the other day. They come two to a pack like Twix bars do, in a similar metallic-plastic wrapper. Except when you open that, each bar is in its own individual plastic wrapper. It's such a waste of plastic that it's bothered me every time I've eaten one.

[GaryV]

People who try to be "helpful" and it just causes a mess.

Example 1:  In a parking lot, I was at a stop sign.  The driver to my right motioned me to go ahead.  Except I couldn't because there was also a car coming from my left.  The driver telling me to go ahead was blocking another car.

Example 2:  Two young-teen girls were attempting to cross a 5-lane street.  A car in the first lane stopped for them just as I was passing, and motioned for them to cross - but they didn't see the car behind me in the 2nd lane - they scurried so I didn't have to see them being hit in my rear view mirror.

[1995hoo]

Depending on the car, they might be automatic wipers that ... often pick a faster speed or more frequent interval

WTF?  That's a thing?  I would hate that!

Do they only engage when you turn the wipers on, at least?  Or do they come on whenever water hits the car?

They come on automatically!

But like auto headlights, usually there's a switch to deactivate it.  For the most part, you get used to it.  But as mentioned, I rarely if ever use my fastest setting.  The normal setting is good enough.

I took a picture of the wiper stalk in my wife's TLX. The only "intermittent" setting is the "auto" position, which means the system will adjust the wipers regardless of where you set the interval.

[texaskdog]

Movie previews.  If you go to a movie at 3 pm it should start at 3 pm.  If they want to put previews on before the movie comes on, fine.  Our movie today started at 3:19, which is a lot earlier than a lot of movies would go on.  There is not one movie I've even seen based on the preview I saw 8 months earlier.  Though I do love assigned seats and recliners!!!

[Max Rockatansky]

Movie previews.  If you go to a movie at 3 pm it should start at 3 pm.  If they want to put previews on before the movie comes on, fine.  Our movie today started at 3:19, which is a lot earlier than a lot of movies would go on.  There is not one movie I've even seen based on the preview I saw 8 months earlier.  Though I do love assigned seats and recliners!!!

Personally I'm good with about 15 minutes of previews, but most theaters are going way overboard with them.  The last couple movies I saw had 30 minutes of previews before the movie actually started.  That's not fun when a 2 hour plus movie is about to start and you have to worry about drinking about too much soda.

[jakeroot]

Depending on the car, they might be automatic wipers that ... often pick a faster speed or more frequent interval

WTF?  That's a thing?  I would hate that!

Do they only engage when you turn the wipers on, at least?  Or do they come on whenever water hits the car?

They come on automatically!

But like auto headlights, usually there's a switch to deactivate it.  For the most part, you get used to it.  But as mentioned, I rarely if ever use my fastest setting.  The normal setting is good enough.

I took a picture of the wiper stalk in my wife's TLX. The only "intermittent" setting is the "auto" position, which means the system will adjust the wipers regardless of where you set the interval.

My first car, a 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada (GMT 360 platform), had automatic wipers. Basically, I could set the lower limit for the wipers (using a spinning wheel which went from "off" to "full speed") but it would decide the upper limit.

Despite the car having come out when it did, I never once had a qualm with the wipers. Always worked when it should. The moisture sensor was near the rearview mirror. The lights were also automatic, with no "off" setting (only a nearby button to temporarily disable the lights), which automatically enabled when the wipers came on. Truly an "automatic" car. Knowing how many people drive around without any lights on while it's raining (legal or otherwise), it's too bad more cars don't have moisture sensors.

[hbelkins]

Movie previews.  If you go to a movie at 3 pm it should start at 3 pm.  If they want to put previews on before the movie comes on, fine.  Our movie today started at 3:19, which is a lot earlier than a lot of movies would go on.  There is not one movie I've even seen based on the preview I saw 8 months earlier.  Though I do love assigned seats and recliners!!!

The fact that movie previews are called "trailers." They don't trail anything, they come before the movie you're there to watch.

[Beltway]

Movie previews.  If you go to a movie at 3 pm it should start at 3 pm.  If they want to put previews on before the movie comes on, fine.  Our movie today started at 3:19, which is a lot earlier than a lot of movies would go on.  There is not one movie I've even seen based on the preview I saw 8 months earlier.  Though I do love assigned seats and recliners!!!

The fact that movie previews are called "trailers." They don't trail anything, they come before the movie you're there to watch.

I saw Midway last week and there were 25 minutes of ads and previews between the posted starting time and the actual time the movie started.

Irritating...

[SSOWorld]

Interpret this!

(Florida)

So, I guess if I turn on my lights, I must turn on my wipers

Captain obvious to the rescue

[SSOWorld]

Movie previews.  If you go to a movie at 3 pm it should start at 3 pm.  If they want to put previews on before the movie comes on, fine.  Our movie today started at 3:19, which is a lot earlier than a lot of movies would go on.  There is not one movie I've even seen based on the preview I saw 8 months earlier.  Though I do love assigned seats and recliners!!!

The fact that movie previews are called "trailers." They don't trail anything, they come before the movie you're there to watch.

I saw Midway last week and there were 25 minutes of ads and previews between the posted starting time and the actual time the movie started.

Irritating...

The big franchises have put a long list of previews that are wrapped in their brand that it makes no sense anymore to be in the room when the starting time hits.  They also mix in various ads.  Not to mention that they run 3rd-party ads during the time prior to the start point.

[bulldog1979]

The fact that movie previews are called "trailers." They don't trail anything, they come before the movie you're there to watch.

They used to be shown after the movie, hence the name.

[texaskdog]

I will say though with assigned seats you could just come in 15 minutes late.  Sadly we live 5 minutes from the theatre and my wife insists on getting there for previews.  If I suggest driving separately I'm being "stupid"

[texaskdog]

Movie previews.  If you go to a movie at 3 pm it should start at 3 pm.  If they want to put previews on before the movie comes on, fine.  Our movie today started at 3:19, which is a lot earlier than a lot of movies would go on.  There is not one movie I've even seen based on the preview I saw 8 months earlier.  Though I do love assigned seats and recliners!!!

The fact that movie previews are called "trailers." They don't trail anything, they come before the movie you're there to watch.

I saw Midway last week and there were 25 minutes of ads and previews between the posted starting time and the actual time the movie started.

Irritating...

Used to be about 10 minutes worth.  Most of the problem is previews for movies coming out in 8 months.  Come on now, if it's over a month it's just a waste of time people forget.

[DaBigE]

I will say though with assigned seats you could just come in 15 minutes late.

Except if you're going to a theatre that has reclining seats, then you run the risk of pissing half a row of people off who were reclined and comfortable.

[texaskdog]

I will say though with assigned seats you could just come in 15 minutes late.

Except if you're going to a theatre that has reclining seats, then you run the risk of pissing half a row of people off who were reclined and comfortable.

She always buys end seats anyway. Though at our theatre there is just enough room to slide through when reclined.  There's another annoyance, people that get up multiple times at movies and concerts.  A movie is two hours long, no one needs to get up more than once.  If that's you, buy a ticket on the end or up front.

[Max Rockatansky]

I will say though with assigned seats you could just come in 15 minutes late.

Except if you're going to a theatre that has reclining seats, then you run the risk of pissing half a row of people off who were reclined and comfortable.

Moving around making noise isn't a faux pas IMO until the movie actually starts.