Minor things that bother you

[Dirt Roads]

No amount of traffic light caution is going to save anyone from 103 MPH Challenger guy running a red light active for 29 seconds.

I saw one of these coming through on a fourlane road the other day.  I brazenly pulled through the so-called "protected left turn" (properly) into the left lane before he got through the light in the right lane.  Probably scared the living daylights out of him, but we both got through without any problems.

[Molandfreak]

Microwave dinners that have more steps than "put in microwave and set to X". If I'm putting it in the microwave for a while, taking it out, uncovering it, putting it back in for a while, stirring, putting it back in for a while—well, at this point I'm cooking, and if I'm doing that I might as well make something on the stove that's actually good.

That's only a possibility if you're eating it at home.  If you brought it for lunch at work, and all they have is a sink and a microwave, then real stovetop cooking is out of the equation.

Induction cooktops are your friend.

[kphoger]

Induction cooktops are your friend.

Only if the office has one.

[Scott5114]

Induction cooktops are your friend.

Only if the office has one.

And even if they do (or you bring one from home, which is possible since they're not that big) there's still the matter of bringing a pot or skillet and a plate to eat off of, and then washing them when you're done. Even if you're lucky enough to have a sink in your break room, there's still the issue that it's pretty hard to get cooking, eating, and washing done in 30 minutes.

[1995hoo]

My brother has turned into one of those people who spends all his time whining about his imagined political grievances and trying to turn everything anyone says into an excuse to complain about politics. It's tiresome and annoying. Our mother sent an e-mail last night about the fellow down the end of her block who does a big fireworks display every year and my brother responded by saying he didn't bike down to Jackson Square to watch the fireworks over the Mississippi River because he, quote, "[c]an't stomach the idea of celebrating independence from a monarchy when the country has decided to install another one. What a disgusting place the U.S. has become." None of that has anything to do with what our mom said, of course. I'm just going to ignore his message, but it sort of makes me want to respond, "If you hate it so much, then leave. I'm sure there are much better places like North Korea that would be happy to have you." Neither my wife nor I voted for the current guy either, but the election is over and we have our lives to live. Spending four years doing nothing but complaining about politics is not my idea of how to live your life.

He's coming up here on a business trip next week. Meanwhile, our mom just came back from a trip to New England. I picked her up at the train station on Thursday and she said maybe she can show us the pictures when my brother visits next weekend. I think we may tell her we will only come over if she makes him agree not to talk about politics.

[hotdogPi]

I kind of have a problem with July 4, but it has nothing to do with current politics. My issue is that you can't pinpoint an exact date of independence unless you use the day everyone else recognized us (September 3, 1783, when the war ended). The Declaration of Independence was signed over the process of about a month, but even it had no legal significance; the war was both before and after the signing of that document. There is nothing special about the date of July 4, 1776.

[Max Rockatansky]

The only person in my immediate family who is big into politics is my brother.  The last time I saw my him in person was in 2021.  Much of the trip included him going on his usual right wing political rants and getting on me for not being serious about religion.  He got the way he is around 2007 when he was trying to kick a coke (not the soda) habit and reconcile his marriage. 

I'm not someone who is into drugs and hard core nights out drinking.  All the same I would hang out to the my brother and go to bars with him somewhat often.  He got drunk a lot of made a scene but usually it was just a minor annoyance.  He would often just end up paying for my drinks when he saw I was getting irritated.  I'd be lying if I didn't say that is the version of him I have more fond memories of. 

[1995hoo]

Something I maybe ought to add to my prior comment: It's not like my wife and I are apathetic or have no opinions. I don't generally express mine because of where I work and the particular position I hold there (I won't specify either here). My wife, in turn, cares quite a bit about the latest turn of current events because she is a naturalized citizen. She was three years old when she, her parents, and her sister immigrated legally and she became a U.S. citizen when she reached 18 years old. So the talk about trying to revoke naturalization has her a bit on edge even if it doesn't seem like she should need to worry about it. But she feels—rightly in my view—that it's still not a reason for her to spend every waking moment raising her blood pressure through the roof griping about politics. It's just plain unhealthy to do that.

[LilianaUwU]

But she feels—rightly in my view—that it's still not a reason for her to spend every waking moment raising her blood pressure through the roof griping about politics. It's just plain unhealthy to do that.

I also think constant doomposting is unhealthy. And don't get me started on social media shoving it in my face... I'm trying to watch YouTube or scroll Reddit and I get constantly reminded of it because people won't shut the fuck up about it.

[Max Rockatansky]

My own life has improved significantly once I mostly stopped caring what goes on outside of my immediate circle of family and friends.  It is getting harder to tune out background noise thanks to social media, but it isn't impossible.

[Amaury]

So, I upload clips of my drives for people to see on Facebook. I'm not sure on the actual length—perhaps a week or a month—but after a while, they lose their high definition for some reason. They don't even say something like 240p or 360p when clicking the gear icon, both of which are SD, they just say SD. If I share clips where it's been a while since uploading them, even if it's been a couple years, after a while, they go back to normal, and high definition is available again until it disappears again at some point down the road. I don't get it, but this has been going on forever ever since I started recording my drives. The only place to consistently watch my drives in high definition, as they should be, is on my computer or YouTube, the latter of which I also upload my drives to after editing, and there they never lose high definition.

Something else that has been happening recently on Facebook for about a month or so now is that when I first upload clips, even though high definition is available and I have high definition set in my Facebook video settings, my videos are playing in standard definition (360p), and I have to click on the gear icon and manually change it from auto to 720p or 1080p, depending on what's available. This only started recently, but again, I don't get it.

These are super minor annoyances, though.

[kphoger]

And even if they do (or you bring one from home, which is possible since they're not that big) there's still the matter of bringing a pot or skillet and a plate to eat off of, and then washing them when you're done. Even if you're lucky enough to have a sink in your break room, there's still the issue that it's pretty hard to get cooking, eating, and washing done in 30 minutes.

I keep a plate, bowl, fork, knife, and spoon at work.  Microwaving, eating, and washing up within 30 minutes is easy enough, but it certainly wouldn't be if I had to cook first.  If they'd even allow me to cook on the countertop in the breakroom.  And I wouldn't want to have to clean up any splatter, either.

it sort of makes me want to respond, "If you hate it so much, then leave. I'm sure there are much better places like North Korea that would be happy to have you."

If he thinks living in the USA is like being under a monarchy, then I can't imagine he'd have much of a different impression of the Kim dynasty.

I also think constant doomposting is unhealthy. And don't get me started on social media shoving it in my face... I'm trying to watch YouTube or scroll Reddit and I get constantly reminded of it because people won't shut the fuck up about it.

YouTube (which I otherwise love) is awful about that.  It sees what you like watching, and then it feeds you ever more far-right or far-left videos—depending on which side you started out leaning toward.  So, the videos you enjoyed watching in the beginning may have been somewhat moderate, but they become less and less so over time.  And, with that, you have two possibilities:  (a) your political ideologies fall in lock-step with the radical progression of video content, in which case you become more and more angry with the state of affairs in the word;  (b) you don't, in which case you get more and more angry with the content you're watching.

It's half the reason I ditched my smartphone shortly after the pandemic started.

The only person in my immediate family who is big into politics is my brother.  The last time I saw my him in person was in 2021.  Much of the trip included him going on his usual right wing political rants and getting on me for not being serious about religion.  He got the way he is around 2007 when he was trying to kick a coke (not the soda) habit and reconcile his marriage. 

I'm not someone who is into drugs and hard core nights out drinking.  All the same I would hang out to the my brother and go to bars with him somewhat often.  He got drunk a lot of made a scene but usually it was just a minor annoyance.  He would often just end up paying for my drinks when he saw I was getting irritated.  I'd be lying if I didn't say that is the version of him I have more fond memories of. 

Have you asked him to simply not talk about religion or politics when he's around you?  Especially if you make it clear that you understand everything he's been saying, and that there's therefore no need to repeat himself, that should make a dent, shouldn't it?  As a religious person myself, I imagine that would be a welcome signal to quit trying to push on that pull-door.

My own life has improved significantly once I mostly stopped caring what goes on outside of my immediate circle of family and friends.

I feel a tug-of-war inside me between wanting to ignore the dumpster-fire and wanting to actually be informed about the society I live in.

[hotdogPi]

YouTube (which I otherwise love) is awful about that.  It sees what you like watching, and then it feeds you ever more far-right or far-left videos—depending on which side you started out leaning toward.  So, the videos you enjoyed watching in the beginning may have been somewhat moderate, but they become less and less so over time.  And, with that, you have two possibilities:  (a) your political ideologies fall in lock-step with the radical progression of video content, in which case you become more and more angry with the state of affairs in the word;  (b) you don't, in which case you get more and more angry with the content you're watching.

You can turn watch history off as long as you have a Google account (Gmail counts).

[kphoger]

You can turn watch history off as long as you have a Google account (Gmail counts).

But then wouldn't the suggested videos not be tailored to your interests at all?

[Max Rockatansky]

Regarding my brother.  Yes, I have asked him not to talk about religion and politics.

Regarding world news, this forum members is where I get most of it.  I know many of you off forum where there is less filters regarding politics and world events.  Given how miserable the worlds tends to make people I know just affirms my stance on just doing my own thing is optimal (for me).   That isn't to say I'm fully unaware of world events since my job isn't conducive for that.

[hotdogPi]

You can turn watch history off as long as you have a Google account (Gmail counts).

But then wouldn't the suggested videos not be tailored to your interests at all?

That is correct, although they're still often related to the current video.

[kkt]

I kind of have a problem with July 4, but it has nothing to do with current politics. My issue is that you can't pinpoint an exact date of independence unless you use the day everyone else recognized us (September 3, 1783, when the war ended). The Declaration of Independence was signed over the process of about a month, but even it had no legal significance; the war was both before and after the signing of that document. There is nothing special about the date of July 4, 1776.

I agree.  We weren't independent because We Say So.  Anybody can say anything.  We were independent when the mother country and superpower of the day agreed that we were.

[Rothman]

I kind of have a problem with July 4, but it has nothing to do with current politics. My issue is that you can't pinpoint an exact date of independence unless you use the day everyone else recognized us (September 3, 1783, when the war ended). The Declaration of Independence was signed over the process of about a month, but even it had no legal significance; the war was both before and after the signing of that document. There is nothing special about the date of July 4, 1776.

That's certainly an opinion.  But, I suspect the vast majority of people would simply raise an eyebrow at the idea that there was nothing special about the date.

[Max Rockatansky]

Geeze, I wonder what some of you would think of celebrating The Cry of Dolores?

[mgk920]

It was just the date that the Powers that Be chose to send the message to George III telling him to pound sand.

Mike

[kphoger]

Geeze, I wonder what some of you would think of celebrating The Cry of Dolores?

Seriously.  All that happened on 16-SEP-1810 is that a priest called his townspeople to arms, and they started marching.  They didn't even get to Guanajuato till twelve days later.  And the Treaty of Córdoba wasn't signed by Spain till 24-AUG-1821.  But nobody complains that the Mexicans celebrate their independence on the wrong date every year

[LilianaUwU]

I also think constant doomposting is unhealthy. And don't get me started on social media shoving it in my face... I'm trying to watch YouTube or scroll Reddit and I get constantly reminded of it because people won't shut the fuck up about it.

YouTube (which I otherwise love) is awful about that.  It sees what you like watching, and then it feeds you ever more far-right or far-left videos—depending on which side you started out leaning toward.  So, the videos you enjoyed watching in the beginning may have been somewhat moderate, but they become less and less so over time.  And, with that, you have two possibilities:  (a) your political ideologies fall in lock-step with the radical progression of video content, in which case you become more and more angry with the state of affairs in the word;  (b) you don't, in which case you get more and more angry with the content you're watching.

It's half the reason I ditched my smartphone shortly after the pandemic started.

The thing is, I don't even watch anything by political content creators. I watch gaming content, and yet YouTube STILL wants to shove politics down my throat.

[Scott5114]

but it sort of makes me want to respond, "If you hate it so much, then leave. I'm sure there are much better places like North Korea that would be happy to have you."

The problem is...you know the people in the United States who don't want people from other countries coming there? They exist in every country.

I hate it so much here, and I would leave, but I cannot, because there aren't other countries that would be happy to have me. (I know because I've checked.)

Best I could do was find a state that I liked better.

[vdeane]

but it sort of makes me want to respond, "If you hate it so much, then leave. I'm sure there are much better places like North Korea that would be happy to have you."

The problem is...you know the people in the United States who don't want people from other countries coming there? They exist in every country.

I hate it so much here, and I would leave, but I cannot, because there aren't other countries that would be happy to have me. (I know because I've checked.)

Best I could do was find a state that I liked better.

And even when a path is available, it can take a LONG time.  I'm pursuing citizenship by descent in an EU country, and I don't expect that I'd be in a position to move (should I choose to do so) until sometime next year at the very earliest, and more likely 2027.  And that even assumes I could find a job that my skills from NYSDOT (I'm not an engineer and don't have a Planning degree, so finding the connections to anything outside of government isn't obvious) transfer to.  The world of quick migration is sadly limited to those with lots of money (as in, multi-millionaire, minimum) and/or specialized skills.

[kkt]

The descent can work.  I have a relative by marriage who is only 2nd generation in the United States from Ireland so she's already got her Irish passport in addition to her American one.  For me, alas, my Irish ancestery is older and I don't qualify that way.

A friend in her 20s moved to a European county with a student visa and is working on a PhD in biotech there.  She has no plans to return to the United States to live, and they'll be glad to naturalize her in a few years.  She's also taking language classes.  I'm a little old to be taking on advanced degrees though.

Many places don't require a couple of million $.  If you're seriously interested, make inquiries.

However, I'm also kind of picky.  Not too tropical, please, I like to be outdoors but not when it's hot and the sun is too bright.  Good medical care.