Minor things that bother you

[abefroman329]

Being unkind to service staff is never something one should be proud of.

It's also something one should never do.

[zachary_amaryllis]

People who reverse into parking spots and don't know what the hell they're doing, yeah.

People that pull into parking spots and don't know what the hell they're doing. 

If they pulled in crooked and the back-end is over the line, they're an idiot.

If they pulled in and need to back out once to readjust, ok.  If they need to do it 2 or more times, they're an idiot.

If they're purposely taking up 2 spots, that's fine.  They're being a dick, but at least they know what they're doing when they do it.

add 'people in big-honkin-ass trucks that do this. or park said truck in space that says 'compact only'. my camry goes there, not your ford f350.

[abefroman329]

I think I've seen "should/could/would have"  used genuinely more times than I've seen it used ironically, and I use it ironically all the time.

Heh, the forum corrected you there... 

And on that note, "might of" should probably be added to that word filter too.

It didn't correct his post on my screen. There's a setting you can turn on or off in your forum profile to determine whether the forum censors words. "Censor" is arguably an overinclusive term because in this case it simply corrects a spelling error that certain forum users seem determined to make.

I just looked at my profile and didn't see the option.

The auto-correct could also have been done by Safari for iOS, I didn't check the post again after posting.

[hotdogPi]

The auto-correct could also have been done by Safari for iOS, I didn't check the post again after posting.

It's done by this forum.

[JayhawkCO]

Minor thing that bothers me.  When people ask a question that could more easily just be Googled themselves.  It's one thing midstream in a conversation, because you want the input of whomever you're talking to.  But if you start an online conversation with "What time do the Giants play tonight?"... uh, in the age of the internet, and while using the internet, you choose not to use the most convenient part of the internet?

</rant>

Chris

[1995hoo]

I think I've seen "should/could/would have"  used genuinely more times than I've seen it used ironically, and I use it ironically all the time.

Heh, the forum corrected you there... 

And on that note, "might of" should probably be added to that word filter too.

It didn't correct his post on my screen. There's a setting you can turn on or off in your forum profile to determine whether the forum censors words. "Censor" is arguably an overinclusive term because in this case it simply corrects a spelling error that certain forum users seem determined to make.

I just looked at my profile and didn't see the option.

The auto-correct could also have been done by Safari for iOS, I didn't check the post again after posting.

Profile -> Look and Layout -> Leave Words Uncensored (and remember to click the button at the bottom to save the changes).

As "1" notes, the forum is what's changing the spelling.

[renegade]

Don't think I've mentioned this, but people who reverse into parking spots are annoying. Unless you're parallel parking on a street, there is no reason for you to take eons trying to get into the spot.

If it takes eons because the driver doesn't know how to handle the vehicle, I agree.  (For that matter, it takes some of them eons to back OUT of a parking spot.)  But I always back in, or pull through two spots so I am facing out in the second spot.  In a parking lot, you have a much better view of the aisle driving out forward than backing out.

It takes *some* people eons to back out of a parking space, because the process goes like this:

- Get in car.
- Start it up.
- Put in reverse, with foot on brake.
- Pull out cellphone.  Text.  Check Fakebook.  Tweet.  Text some more.  Fakebook again.

Seen it multiple times.

[kurumi]

Using the "all x are not y" structure in anything but the Shakespeare play where it originated. It's poetic but wrong.

Updating a bit, to say "All US routes are not even" when you mean to say "Not all US Routes are even".

"All US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are not even": wrong. 2 is even.

Not all US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are even: correct. 1 is odd.

I had an English class teach me about this as if it were correct, and it's a minor thing that bothered me.

[hotdogPi]

Using the "all x are not y" structure in anything but the Shakespeare play where it originated. It's poetic but wrong.

Updating a bit, to say "All US routes are not even" when you mean to say "Not all US Routes are even".

"All US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are not even": wrong. 2 is even.

Not all US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are even: correct. 1 is odd.

I had an English class teach me about this as if it were correct, and it's a minor thing that bothered me.

I've never heard the phrase. I agree with your logic, though.

[J N Winkler]

Don't think I've mentioned this, but people who reverse into parking spots are annoying. Unless you're parallel parking on a street, there is no reason for you to take eons trying to get into the spot.

My own feelings about this are a bit nuanced.  Yes, it can be irritating to see someone else take seemingly forever to screw up a simple maneuver.  On the other hand, even a low-speed collision with another vehicle--not to mention a pedestrian--takes far more time (at minimum) to resolve, so for that reason, I would prefer other drivers not to feel pushed to move faster than their respective skill levels will allow.

The safety benefits of parking nose-out are such that I think it is worth rehearsing backing into parking spaces in a largely empty lot.  Yes, it's safer and more convenient to park nose-out by driving through an adjacent space, but in many lots this is not possible, often as a result of design.  I prefer to drive past the space and then reverse through the appropriate angle in such a way that my steering wheel starts and finishes the maneuver in the straight-ahead position, as this minimizes wear on the tires and on hydraulically assisted power steering.  This is also easy to do quickly.  Many other drivers begin the reversing maneuver by cocking their vehicles at an angle in front of the space.  While this blocks a following driver from stealing the space, it also involves more tire scrub and, in my experience, is more likely to result in the vehicle being crooked and off-center with the steering wheel turned away from straight-ahead position.

Earlier in this thread, I think I mentioned vehicles (such as most recent GM products) that energize the backup lights as part of the courtesy lighting system.  I think this should be banned, as it makes it impossible for drivers negotiating a parking lot to differentiate vehicles that are loading or unloading passengers from those that are imminently about to back out.

And while I realize that a parked vehicle is often the only semiprivate space available for communicating on a smartphone, I think there is much to be said for being in a vehicle only to drive in it or ride in it.  It's not just a question of avoiding misleading other drivers into thinking you are about to start moving.  It's also about "getting off the X":  if you are by yourself in a parking lot and your attention is on your phone, you are vulnerable to opportunistic attacks.

[hbelkins]

If we're talking about improper word usage/spelling:

"Publically" for "publicly."

"Kindly" instead of "kind of."

Speaking of "kindly," the slogan of Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill (commonly called Shakertown) in Kentucky is "We bid you kindly welcome." That drives me up a wall. Shouldn't it be, " We kindly bid you welcome?"

Also, shouldn't Peloton change its name to "Peloton Plus" or something? A peloton is the main group of bicyclists in a race or rally. The original Peloton was an interactive bicycle. I just find it odd that Peloton is now selling an interactive treadmill.

[US 89]

People who reverse into parking spots and don't know what the hell they're doing, yeah.

People that pull into parking spots and don't know what the hell they're doing. 

If they pulled in crooked and the back-end is over the line, they're an idiot.

If they pulled in and need to back out once to readjust, ok.  If they need to do it 2 or more times, they're an idiot.

If they're purposely taking up 2 spots, that's fine.  They're being a dick, but at least they know what they're doing when they do it.

add 'people in big-honkin-ass trucks that do this. or park said truck in space that says 'compact only'. my camry goes there, not your ford f350.

See I disagree. If you can successfully fit your Ford F-350 into a "compact only" space and maneuver it in and out of the spot quickly, more power to you.

[Takumi]

"Kindly" instead of "kind of."

I've never seen or heard this. Is it a Kentucky thing?

People who reverse into parking spots and don't know what the hell they're doing, yeah.

People that pull into parking spots and don't know what the hell they're doing. 

If they pulled in crooked and the back-end is over the line, they're an idiot.

If they pulled in and need to back out once to readjust, ok.  If they need to do it 2 or more times, they're an idiot.

If they're purposely taking up 2 spots, that's fine.  They're being a dick, but at least they know what they're doing when they do it.

add 'people in big-honkin-ass trucks that do this. or park said truck in space that says 'compact only'. my camry goes there, not your ford f350.

See I disagree. If you can successfully fit your Ford F-350 into a "compact only" space and maneuver it in and out of the spot quickly, more power to you.

A Camry is a midsize anyway. Technically it doesn't belong in the "compact only"  spot either.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

It takes *some* people eons to back out of a parking space, because the process goes like this:

- Get in car.
- Start it up.
- Put in reverse, with foot on brake.
- Pull out cellphone.  Text.  Check Fakebook.  Tweet.  Text some more.  Fakebook again.

Seen it multiple times.

I'm guilty of this. Except I check Twitter (I don't have Fakebook) before starting up.

[hbelkins]

"Kindly" instead of "kind of."

I've never seen or heard this. Is it a Kentucky thing?

I know a few people who say it that way. And one who will write it that way in informal communications.

[1995hoo]

Regarding back-in parking, the people I don't understand are the ones who insist on doing that in a one-way drive aisle that has diagonal parking spaces and that is also configured with the concrete blocks to prevent pulling straight through. You really have to turn your vehicle big time and you wind up facing the wrong way relative to the proper direction of traffic.

[Scott5114]

And while I realize that a parked vehicle is often the only semiprivate space available for communicating on a smartphone, I think there is much to be said for being in a vehicle only to drive in it or ride in it.  It's not just a question of avoiding misleading other drivers into thinking you are about to start moving.  It's also about "getting off the X":  if you are by yourself in a parking lot and your attention is on your phone, you are vulnerable to opportunistic attacks.

While there is something to be said in favor of situational awareness, I tend to think of being accosted by a stranger in a large parking lot as a very 1980s—1990s phenomenon. There have been a few instances where someone approached me with a nuisance query (religious proselytizing or panhandling) but not in a way that I felt overtly threatened. Then again, I live in a suburb.

I would generally feel safe enough checking my phone inside a car, especially if the doors were locked and windows shut, such that if someone were to approach the vehicle maliciously, I could easily drop the phone, turn on the car, and leave. One is certainly better-placed to do that there, and also less of an obstruction to others, than if one were to stop in an indoor walkway or aisle to do so, which I've seen enough to qualify as a "minor thing that bothers me".

[jakeroot]

If you can successfully fit your Ford F-350 into a "compact only" space and maneuver it in and out of the spot quickly, more power to you.

Most vehicles can literally fit into a compact stall (most being 8 feet wide). The issue is actually ingress/egress, which is much harder to do when the neighboring vehicle is right on the line or very close to it.

When I was a valet, we were able to park most cars in compact stalls, even huge trucks. But we had to use a trick: we'd always park starting from the very edge of the end stalls, working our way in. When we got to a huge vehicle (really, huge doors -- coupes suck), we always had room to work with on at least one side; the next parked vehicle would be positioned slightly away from one edge as much as necessary to ensure the driver's door could be opened.

To this day, I always park on the very edge of end stalls, especially compact stalls, to give as much room as possible for the next car. Oh, and I always back-in. No camera, manual shift -- I can do it in about five seconds, tops.

[abefroman329]

I think I've seen "should/could/would have"  used genuinely more times than I've seen it used ironically, and I use it ironically all the time.

Heh, the forum corrected you there... 

And on that note, "might of" should probably be added to that word filter too.

It didn't correct his post on my screen. There's a setting you can turn on or off in your forum profile to determine whether the forum censors words. "Censor" is arguably an overinclusive term because in this case it simply corrects a spelling error that certain forum users seem determined to make.

I just looked at my profile and didn't see the option.

The auto-correct could also have been done by Safari for iOS, I didn't check the post again after posting.

Profile -> Look and Layout -> Leave Words Uncensored (and remember to click the button at the bottom to save the changes).

As "1" notes, the forum is what's changing the spelling.

Thanks - not really sure what the point of a word censor is if it can be deactivated by the user.

[CtrlAltDel]

Using the "all x are not y" structure in anything but the Shakespeare play where it originated. It's poetic but wrong.

Updating a bit, to say "All US routes are not even" when you mean to say "Not all US Routes are even".

"All US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are not even": wrong. 2 is even.

Not all US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are even: correct. 1 is odd.

I had an English class teach me about this as if it were correct, and it's a minor thing that bothered me.

I'm not sure about this. It seems to be mostly a matter of parsing, more or less revolving around whether you are considering things individually or collectively.

[Scott5114]

Using the "all x are not y" structure in anything but the Shakespeare play where it originated. It's poetic but wrong.

Updating a bit, to say "All US routes are not even" when you mean to say "Not all US Routes are even".

"All US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are not even": wrong. 2 is even.

Not all US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are even: correct. 1 is odd.

I had an English class teach me about this as if it were correct, and it's a minor thing that bothered me.

I'm not sure about this. It seems to be mostly a matter of parsing, more or less revolving around whether you are considering things individually or collectively.

But parsing it collectively does not make a whole lot of sense either–"all US routes" is a set and therefore attempting to do a modulo 2 on it is undefined behavior.

Or to put another way:

Code Select Expand


[scott@localhost ~]$ python
Python 3.9.7 (default, Aug 30 2021, 00:00:00)
[GCC 11.2.1 20210728 (Red Hat 11.2.1-1)] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

# Define route numbers.
>>> route1 = 1
>>> route2 = 2
>>> route3 = 3
>>> route730 = 730

# Define a set (array) of route numbers.
>>> usroutes = [1, 2, 3, 730]

# Divide each value by 2 and take the remainder (modulo).
# A remainder of 1 = odd and a remainder of 0 = even.
>>> route1 % 2
1
>>> route2 % 2
0
>>> route3 % 2
1
>>> route730 % 2
0
>>> usroutes % 2
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for %: 'list' and 'int'


[CtrlAltDel]

Using the "all x are not y" structure in anything but the Shakespeare play where it originated. It's poetic but wrong.

Updating a bit, to say "All US routes are not even" when you mean to say "Not all US Routes are even".

"All US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are not even": wrong. 2 is even.

Not all US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are even: correct. 1 is odd.

I had an English class teach me about this as if it were correct, and it's a minor thing that bothered me.

I'm not sure about this. It seems to be mostly a matter of parsing, more or less revolving around whether you are considering things individually or collectively.

But parsing it collectively does not make a whole lot of sense either—"all US routes" is a set and therefore attempting to do a modulo 2 on it is undefined behavior.

Maybe "collectively" isn't the word to use, but the idea is that if you put all the even routes in one pot, and all the odd ones in another pot, all of them are not going to end up in the same pot. Again, it seems to be a question of parsing.

I mean, I understand that the expression can be weird, but if it is wrong, it's not wrong in the same way "I could care less" is, which is more or less the claim that started all this.

[kurumi]

Using the "all x are not y" structure in anything but the Shakespeare play where it originated. It's poetic but wrong.

Updating a bit, to say "All US routes are not even" when you mean to say "Not all US Routes are even".

"All US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are not even": wrong. 2 is even.

Not all US Routes (1, 2, 3, ... 730) are even: correct. 1 is odd.

I had an English class teach me about this as if it were correct, and it's a minor thing that bothered me.

I'm not sure about this. It seems to be mostly a matter of parsing, more or less revolving around whether you are considering things individually or collectively.

But parsing it collectively does not make a whole lot of sense either–"all US routes" is a set and therefore attempting to do a modulo 2 on it is undefined behavior.

Or to put another way:

Code Select Expand


[scott@localhost ~]$ python
Python 3.9.7 (default, Aug 30 2021, 00:00:00)
[GCC 11.2.1 20210728 (Red Hat 11.2.1-1)] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.

# Define route numbers.
>>> route1 = 1
>>> route2 = 2
>>> route3 = 3
>>> route730 = 730

# Define a set (array) of route numbers.
>>> usroutes = [1, 2, 3, 730]

# Divide each value by 2 and take the remainder (modulo).
# A remainder of 1 = odd and a remainder of 0 = even.
>>> route1 % 2
1
>>> route2 % 2
0
>>> route3 % 2
1
>>> route730 % 2
0
>>> usroutes % 2
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for %: 'list' and 'int'


That's right. You'd want to map any() or all() over the list comprehension:

Code Select Expand


>>> all(x % 2 != 0 for x in usroutes) # all routes are not even
False
>>> any(x % 2 != 0 for x in usroutes) # not all routes are even
True


[noelbotevera]

If they're purposely taking up 2 spots, that's fine.  They're being a dick, but at least they know what they're doing when they do it.

This is a significantly bigger issue because usually these people take the closest spots to the store - which is handicap parking in most cases. So, (1) fuck you for inconveniencing at least two disabled people who could've used those spots and (2) why not just park far away and walk?

Don't think I've mentioned this, but people who reverse into parking spots are annoying. Unless you're parallel parking on a street, there is no reason for you to take eons trying to get into the spot.

My own feelings about this are a bit nuanced.  Yes, it can be irritating to see someone else take seemingly forever to screw up a simple maneuver.  On the other hand, even a low-speed collision with another vehicle--not to mention a pedestrian--takes far more time (at minimum) to resolve, so for that reason, I would prefer other drivers not to feel pushed to move faster than their respective skill levels will allow.

The safety benefits of parking nose-out are such that I think it is worth rehearsing backing into parking spaces in a largely empty lot.  Yes, it's safer and more convenient to park nose-out by driving through an adjacent space, but in many lots this is not possible, often as a result of design.  I prefer to drive past the space and then reverse through the appropriate angle in such a way that my steering wheel starts and finishes the maneuver in the straight-ahead position, as this minimizes wear on the tires and on hydraulically assisted power steering.  This is also easy to do quickly.  Many other drivers begin the reversing maneuver by cocking their vehicles at an angle in front of the space.  While this blocks a following driver from stealing the space, it also involves more tire scrub and, in my experience, is more likely to result in the vehicle being crooked and off-center with the steering wheel turned away from straight-ahead position.

Whenever I have to back out of a space, I simply wait until there's no cars (or people) in a decent distance from me. Sure, it may take a few minutes, but when I'm backing out I am POSITIVE that nobody will interfere with my backing out. Could I have avoided that if I backed in? Yes, but I'd still need to wait for people and/or cars to clear the area before I start moving, so at worst I lose a minute or two.

Granted, I don't deal with busy lots often and I've had sour experiences trying to back into a space (nearly hit the other - family - car in my own driveway when practicing, nearly clipped a mailbox...) so this is probably just clear-cut bias.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

(2) why not just park far away and walk?

This is one of those "two types of people" memes. I typically park far away unless it's obvious the store isn't busy, because I don't mind the walk and I don't have to deal with people walking around my car, other vehicles coming and going behind me, etc.

My ex-best friend on the other hand was the type who would circle the lot all night if he had to in order to get a spot near the store. I remember once at the house we rented in Superior, WI where we had street parking, one night there was a space in front of the house maybe a few inches larger than his bumpers on either end of his car. He insisted on trying to parallel park into it, steadily losing his notoriously short temper more and more with each failed attempt. He did get it eventually, but it was hardly worth the time lost.