Minor things that bother you

[vdeane]

This is too stupid a thing to bring up, but it reminds me of something else that matters even less because it's fictional.  On Star Trek: The Next Generation, when the captain says "on screen," whoever's in control of the screen seems to think that means "put the image on the screen, but so small that we can't actually see anything."  Everyone squints for a second, and then the captain gives the order to embiggen the image.  The ship has a giant screen designed to display big, beautiful images, but its default setting is some kind of power saving mode that displays a small and dim image, with the option to switch to big and beautiful if that's what you want.  And for some reason, that default setting can't be changed.

Not directly related, but the umpteen instances of dialogue like this:
    "Engineering to Bridge."
    "What's going on down there?"
    "I wish I could tell you."
Then why the hell did you call the bridge?

Variation:
     "(Department) to Bridge.  Captain, there's something here I think you should see."
You can't even give him a hint?

Rule of drama.  Reminds me of an online serial where the author's tendency towards shocking cliffhangers and reveals led to a character to actually comment in-universe on the way people talk: "Would you stop doing that?! You're all like, 'oooh, I've got this dramatic revelation. Let me reveal it in as shocking a way as possible so they all stare at me like big gaping fish because of how positively stupefying my news is."

[LilianaUwU]

Rule of drama.  Reminds me of an online serial where the author's tendency towards shocking cliffhangers and reveals led to a character to actually comment in-universe on the way people talk: "Would you stop doing that?! You're all like, 'oooh, I've got this dramatic revelation. Let me reveal it in as shocking a way as possible so they all stare at me like big gaping fish because of how positively stupefying my news is."

I never read Homestuck, but this sounds like something that would happen in Homestuck.

[vdeane]

Rule of drama.  Reminds me of an online serial where the author's tendency towards shocking cliffhangers and reveals led to a character to actually comment in-universe on the way people talk: "Would you stop doing that?! You're all like, 'oooh, I've got this dramatic revelation. Let me reveal it in as shocking a way as possible so they all stare at me like big gaping fish because of how positively stupefying my news is."

I never read Homestuck, but this sounds like something that would happen in Homestuck.

It's actually from Heretical Edge, but there might be some inspiration, since Heretical Edge does draw inspiration from many, many different works, both mainstream and obscure.

[kurumi]

East Windsor, CT, has North Main Street and South Main Street at Warehouse Point.

Main Street, in the Broad Brook section, is about 4 miles away. Route 140 intersects both.

It's really minor, and once I figured out which "Main St" that old docs might refer to, it's kind of an interesting wrinkle.

[LilianaUwU]

Why is every cardboard replacement for plastic packaging inferior in every way? I brought strawberries from the store tonight and they were in a cardboard package with nothing to cover the top, which could've very well resulted in a giant mess in the grocery bag.

[thenetwork]

Defective &/or dying LED lights:

When a larger LED light used in a sign, street light or security light stats to go, it goes into a flashing "strobe" mode -- the speed of the strobing varies. 

It's a novel way to let the owner know it's time to replace the bulb(s), but depending on what it is or where you see it, it's damn annoying!  At least dying flourescent bulbs have a softer glow and aren't as pronounced.

[JayhawkCO]

Why is every cardboard replacement for plastic packaging inferior in every way? I brought strawberries from the store tonight and they were in a cardboard package with nothing to cover the top, which could've very well resulted in a giant mess in the grocery bag.

I wouldn't say inferior in every way. Cardboard much better for the environment.

[wxfree]

Something that bothers me is how often people think of pursuing environmental good as opposed to the interests of humans, as if we don't live in the environment.  Environmentalism can be carried to absurds and extremes, like anything else, but it isn't inherently against our interests.  I don't like the idea of "saving the world."  The world is going to be fine.  What we need to save is ourselves.  Being a good steward of the world is good, but we're at a point at which we have to be self-centered and save the environment in order to save ourselves.  Reducing plastic pollution is good for the environment, and it's also good for us.  I read a news article recently about plastic particles being found in the human penis.  This is good news, because if there's anything that will motivate action and change, it's that.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/19/health/microplastics-human-penises-study-scli-intl-scn-wellness/index.html

[vdeane]

The virtual channel numbers used by digital TV to disguise the fact that pretty much all of the channels use different frequencies now than when they were analog.  As a result, scanning for channels is now required, but if you have some channels that are mutually exclusive for a given antenna position, you can't easily switch between them just by changing the channel and then moving the antenna.  No, instead you have to move the antenna, initiate a re-scan, wait a few minutes for it to finish, and then change the channel, and repeat the process all over again when you want to change the channel back because the TV deleted the other channels when it re-scanned, since it couldn't receive them.

[LilianaUwU]

Why is every cardboard replacement for plastic packaging inferior in every way? I brought strawberries from the store tonight and they were in a cardboard package with nothing to cover the top, which could've very well resulted in a giant mess in the grocery bag.

I wouldn't say inferior in every way. Cardboard much better for the environment.

Being better for the environment as we cut so many trees to produce cardboard?

[Max Rockatansky]

When the more passive version of the plastic bag law was coming into effect in California a couple years ago my wife was a huge supporter of it.  My objection was that I use the older style plastic bags for dog waste and for bathroom trash cans.  She got on my case about me not using reusable bags much to my annoyance.  Around the time she was on a recycling kick and had me visit actual collection centers to get refunds on stuff like cans/bottles.

Being a worker on a military base I would continue to bring home pliable plastic bags much to my wife's objection.  Ultimately, I ended up going out to a Florida a week in advance of her to visit my family in the Tampa area.  During that week I went to Publix several times and asked for quadruple plastic bags.  These requests were met with no objection from the store cashiers. 

I compiled the plastic bags into the trunk of the rental car and probably had about sixty by the time my wife arrived at the airport in Tampa.  I ended picking her up at the arrival curb at the airport, unlocked the trunk but didn't open it for her.  She took minor offense to me not opening the trunk and I retorted that I was tired from working out. 

When my wife opened the trunk of the rental car to put her luggage in, she was met with the plastic bag collection that I had gathered.  I was expecting her to be angry, but she looked at me and said, "really you had time for this?"  On the way back to my sister's she conveyed that I was going to put all the plastic bags in my luggage and not to throw them out.  I want to say that I got about a year of use for all the bags?

[JayhawkCO]

Why is every cardboard replacement for plastic packaging inferior in every way? I brought strawberries from the store tonight and they were in a cardboard package with nothing to cover the top, which could've very well resulted in a giant mess in the grocery bag.

I wouldn't say inferior in every way. Cardboard much better for the environment.

Being better for the environment as we cut so many trees to produce cardboard?

Yes. One biodegrades and one doesn't. One is made from a renewable resource and one isn't.

[CtrlAltDel]

I, and the rest of the state of Texas, was awakened at 4:52 this morning for an unnecessary and useless blue alert referring to a county 350 miles away. Well, the whole state wasn't 350 miles away, but most of it is.

This is why people turn the alerts off. Except the person they were looking for, I guess, who would know to change out of the clothes he had been wearing.

[Plutonic Panda]

Speaking of rest stops it seems like the best start for the electrification of trucks would be an RV type hook up where you could plug a truck in to an outlet so it wouldn't need to idle. Just like truckers get free points to use showers. They could get points to use electricity for free. It doesn't seem like it would take much to set this up. Retrofitting the trucks themselves I don't know much about how semi's work or how much room it would take to add some sort of a battery or something that will allow this to work. How feasible is that?

Again, that is not electrification to actually drive. The trucks just allow them to hook up while the idle at truck stops.

[vdeane]

Speaking of rest stops it seems like the best start for the electrification of trucks would be an RV type hook up where you could plug a truck in to an outlet so it wouldn't need to idle. Just like truckers get free points to use showers. They could get points to use electricity for free. It doesn't seem like it would take much to set this up. Retrofitting the trucks themselves I don't know much about how semi's work or how much room it would take to add some sort of a battery or something that will allow this to work. How feasible is that?

Again, that is not electrification to actually drive. The trucks just allow them to hook up while the idle at truck stops.

I actually have heard of such a thing.  I believe there's a picture of one such facility (it's hard to see) at the top of page 20 from the meetting notes of the last Freight Advisory Committee meeting at the local metropolitan planning organization.

[Plutonic Panda]

Speaking of rest stops it seems like the best start for the electrification of trucks would be an RV type hook up where you could plug a truck in to an outlet so it wouldn't need to idle. Just like truckers get free points to use showers. They could get points to use electricity for free. It doesn't seem like it would take much to set this up. Retrofitting the trucks themselves I don't know much about how semi's work or how much room it would take to add some sort of a battery or something that will allow this to work. How feasible is that?

Again, that is not electrification to actually drive. The trucks just allow them to hook up while the idle at truck stops.

I actually have heard of such a thing.  I believe there's a picture of one such facility (it's hard to see) at the top of page 20 from the meetting notes of the last Freight Advisory Committee meeting at the local metropolitan planning organization.

That would be awesome. I've always wondered why we didn't have this. This seems like something that could've been done decades ago.

[webny99]

I, and the rest of the state of Texas, was awakened at 4:52 this morning for an unnecessary and useless blue alert referring to a county 350 miles away. Well, the whole state wasn't 350 miles away, but most of it is.

This is why people turn the alerts off. Except the person they were looking for, I guess, who would know to change out of the clothes he had been wearing.

It does seem unnecessary for a whole state the size of Texas to get the alert. In Rhode Island or Delaware it's one thing, but in Texas that type of thing should be regionalized.

[CtrlAltDel]

I, and the rest of the state of Texas, was awakened at 4:52 this morning for an unnecessary and useless blue alert referring to a county 350 miles away. Well, the whole state wasn't 350 miles away, but most of it is.

This is why people turn the alerts off. Except the person they were looking for, I guess, who would know to change out of the clothes he had been wearing.

It does seem unnecessary for a whole state the size of Texas to get the alert. In Rhode Island or Delaware it's one thing, but in Texas that type of thing should be regionalized.

Definitely. Moreover, blue alerts, specifically, don't really need to exist at all.

[jeffandnicole]

I, and the rest of the state of Texas, was awakened at 4:52 this morning for an unnecessary and useless blue alert referring to a county 350 miles away. Well, the whole state wasn't 350 miles away, but most of it is.

This is why people turn the alerts off. Except the person they were looking for, I guess, who would know to change out of the clothes he had been wearing.

It does seem unnecessary for a whole state the size of Texas to get the alert. In Rhode Island or Delaware it's one thing, but in Texas that type of thing should be regionalized.

And not even there.  If an alert is sent for Delaware stating the incident occurred in Wilmington, New Castle County and the driver is headed north on 95, it's very unlikely they will make a u-turn to remain in the state and suddenly head south towards Sussex County.  An alert would be more beneficial to those in Southeast PA.

Oh, and definitely not during normal sleeping hours unless it's a life threatening emergency to the people themselves.

[algorerhythms]

I, and the rest of the state of Texas, was awakened at 4:52 this morning for an unnecessary and useless blue alert referring to a county 350 miles away. Well, the whole state wasn't 350 miles away, but most of it is.

This is why people turn the alerts off. Except the person they were looking for, I guess, who would know to change out of the clothes he had been wearing.

What is a blue alert? I'm assuming it's something like an Amber Alert? Incidentally, in Canada they send all alerts at the highest priority level so you can't turn them off. I adore receiving an Amber Alert at 2 am for a kid in Quebec, when I live on the other side of Ontario...

[JayhawkCO]

I, and the rest of the state of Texas, was awakened at 4:52 this morning for an unnecessary and useless blue alert referring to a county 350 miles away. Well, the whole state wasn't 350 miles away, but most of it is.

This is why people turn the alerts off. Except the person they were looking for, I guess, who would know to change out of the clothes he had been wearing.

What is a blue alert? I'm assuming it's something like an Amber Alert? Incidentally, in Canada they send all alerts at the highest priority level so you can't turn them off. I adore receiving an Amber Alert at 2 am for a kid in Quebec, when I live on the other side of Ontario...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Blue_Alert_Act_of_2013

[ZLoth]

I, and the rest of the state of Texas, was awakened at 4:52 this morning for an unnecessary and useless blue alert referring to a county 350 miles away. Well, the whole state wasn't 350 miles away, but most of it is.

This is why people turn the alerts off. Except the person they were looking for, I guess, who would know to change out of the clothes he had been wearing.

• This public safety alert woke Texans up, and the internet was not happy about it
  Blue Alert issued for a wanted suspect out of Hall County in Texas' Panhandle
• Blue alert issued in Hall County, Texas for man suspected of injuring police officer

And, yes, I did check. Memphis, TX which is the major town in Hall County is 277 miles away from me., or 4½ hours away.

What is a blue alert? I'm assuming it's something like an Amber Alert? Incidentally, in Canada they send all alerts at the highest priority level so you can't turn them off. I adore receiving an Amber Alert at 2 am for a kid in Quebec, when I live on the other side of Ontario...

Here are the Current Alerts. Amber alerts are for child abductions, Blue Alerts relate to the blue men also known as Law Enforcement Officers, and Silver alerts relate to silver-haired people aka the elderly. Here is a complete list.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Blue Alerts relate to the blue men also known as Law Enforcement Officers

[Big John]

[JayhawkCO]