Minor things that bother you

[kernals12]

I was a very young child when I first saw this commercial and I thought that this was what would actually happen if you ate an Airheads, making me terrified of that candy.

[kphoger]

Then there's the old children's bedtime prayer:
"Now I lay me down to sleep ..."

I am laying something down. What am I laying? Myself.

Yeah, well, 17th Century poetry gets a pass for artistic language.

[Scott5114]

the only reason we don't still use our old mechanical keyboard is that we no longer have a working PC with a PS/2 port.

It is well worth it to get a cheap PS/2 to USB converter to use a classic mechanical keyboard. I use an IBM Model M keyboard from 1987. The tactile feedback is so much better than any modern keyboard, and the damn thing is built like a tank so I expect I'll get another 40 years out of it, barring Las Vegas getting nuked (and even then it would probably still work, it'd just be too radioactive to type on).

*types on his Cherry MX Blue switches*

Clicky clicky clicky...

I've had enough problems with Cherry switches in slot machines that I would feel a little leery of a keyboard with them. But who knows, maybe their keyboard switches are better than their M-door switches.

The Model M uses buckling spring switches, which are loud enough that they carry over my headset mic (which has the satisfactory side-effect of making D&D players nervous when they hear it in response to their actions, the same way they do when they hear dice rolling behind the screen in an in-person game).

[Roadgeekteen]

I believe that lying was correct for me, as I was currently lying in bed when I typed the message. I am not right now, so if I were to talk about it I would say laying. Am I correct?

[Rothman]

the only reason we don't still use our old mechanical keyboard is that we no longer have a working PC with a PS/2 port.

It is well worth it to get a cheap PS/2 to USB converter to use a classic mechanical keyboard. I use an IBM Model M keyboard from 1987. The tactile feedback is so much better than any modern keyboard, and the damn thing is built like a tank so I expect I'll get another 40 years out of it, barring Las Vegas getting nuked (and even then it would probably still work, it'd just be too radioactive to type on).

*types on his Cherry MX Blue switches*

Clicky clicky clicky...

I've had enough problems with Cherry switches in slot machines that I would feel a little leery of a keyboard with them. But who knows, maybe their keyboard switches are better than their M-door switches.

The Model M uses buckling spring switches, which are loud enough that they carry over my headset mic (which has the satisfactory side-effect of making D&D players nervous when they hear it in response to their actions, the same way they do when they hear dice rolling behind the screen in an in-person game).

Oh, I've typed many a paper on Model M keyboards.

My keyboard's over five years old; the switches are still going strong.

[kphoger]

I believe that lying was correct for me, as I was currently lying in bed when I typed the message. I am not right now, so if I were to talk about it I would say laying. Am I correct?

If you're in bed asleep under the covers, then you are lying in bed.

If you're in bed and telling untruths, then you are lying in bed.

If you're in bed engaged in extracurricular activities with a naked lady, then you are laying in bed.

If you're in bed and expelling an ovum from your cloaca, then you are laying in bed.

[1995hoo]

Here's another explanation from the Common Errors in English Usage website, which can be a nice resource for easy explanations:

lay / lie

You lay down the book you've been reading, but you lie down when you go to bed. In the present tense, if the subject is acting on some other object, it's "lay." If the subject is lying down, then it's "lie." This distinction is often not made in informal speech, partly because in the past tense the words sound much more alike: "He lay down for a nap," but "He laid down the law."

If the subject is already at rest, you might "let it lie." If a helping verb is involved, you need the past participle forms. "Lie" becomes "lain" and "lay" becomes "laid": "He had just lain down for a nap," and "His daughter had laid the gerbil on his nose."

So think about it this way: When you yourself take to your bed to sleep, you are not "acting on some other object." You're acting on yourself, so you "lie down." When you set the TV remote down on the nightstand after turning off the TV before going to sleep, you are "acting on some other object," so you "lay the remote down."

The reason why "Now I lay me down to sleep" is not necessarily grammatically incorrect is that it is using "I" as the subject and "me" as the object as if "me" were someone or something else. Most English teachers would tell you the usage is nonstandard or uneducated in proper speech, but they'd also probably refer to the principle of "poetic license" whereby certain nonstandard usage is considered acceptable in poetry for purposes of adhering to the meter or ensuring a good rhyme. With that said, there are some things that just remain wrong, like in "Homeward Bound" when Paul Simon sings the line "I wish I was" (should be "were" because of the condition contrary to fact, and it wouldn't affect the meter at all)—compare to the song "If I Were a Rich Man" from Fiddler on the Roof.

[Rothman]

https://youtu.be/gq-4vIIJO30?si=A_YuZv_9I-g4KB9_

[kphoger]

The reason why "Now I lay me down to sleep" is not necessarily grammatically incorrect is that it is using "I" as the subject and "me" as the object as if "me" were someone or something else. Most English teachers would tell you the usage is nonstandard or uneducated in proper speech, but they'd also probably refer to the principle of "poetic license" whereby certain nonstandard usage is considered acceptable in poetry for purposes of adhering to the meter or ensuring a good rhyme.

And it's poetic license that keeps us from bristling at its not being "now I lay myself down to sleep", which would be more technically correct for a reflexive verb.

However, such reflexive constructions were actually correct back when the prayer was first written.  For example, in Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote "Get thee to a nunnery", which today would properly be "Get yourself to a nunnery".  The King James version of the Bible has "Get thee out of thy country", which today would properly be "Get yourself out of your country".  Today, we still use that form with get, but only in casual speech:  "I need to get me one of those" or "You need to get you one of those" or whatever.

[1995hoo]

The funny thing regarding that use of the word "me" is that these days, I think a lot of people are afraid of that word. They wrongly use "I" when the construction is objective—for example, a former colleague once sent me an e-mail with a subject line like "Voicemail from John Smith and I" (should have been "me"). Or they use "myself" because they know "I" isn't right but they're afraid of using "me." I don't know whether they wrongly think it's too casual or they're confused because they know it's wrong to say, for example, "Me and kphoger are discussing grammar."

[JayhawkCO]

Today, we still use that form with get, but only in casual speech:  "I need to get me one of those" or "You need to get you one of those" or whatever.

Also with love. "I love me a good Philly cheesesteak."

[kphoger]

I don't know whether they wrongly think it's too casual or they're confused because they know it's wrong to say, for example, "Me and kphoger are discussing grammar."

I'm certain it's the latter.

[kphoger]

Also with love. "I love me a good Philly cheesesteak."

Which is extra weird because "I love myself a good Philly cheesesteak" doesn't even make any sense.

[JayhawkCO]

Also with love. "I love me a good Philly cheesesteak."

Which is extra weird because "I love myself a good Philly cheesesteak" doesn't even make any sense.

"I love myself -- a good Philly cheesesteak," said the self-assured sandwich.

[thenetwork]

This more for those whonuse smartphones, though it may happen on some computers as well:

When using a random app, you are interrupted by an AD.

(This is where the 'fun' begins -- especially on your smartphone...)

1) Can you kill it from the get go, or do yoy have to wait for at least a minimum amount of time before you can?

2) When you can FINALLY kill the ad to go back to what you were doing, where is the damn X or CLOSE Buton hiding to click onto?  And does it show up right away, or does it appear many seconds after the ad?

3) And after finally finding and clicking the elusive X icon, does it go back to what you were doing or does it take you to yet ANOTHER screen where you have to repeat Steps 1 and 2? And, God forbid do you have to repeat Step 3 a SECOND or THIRD TIME?

4) Was the ad even fractionally, remotely related to the app you were originally using or any interests algorhythm of yours.  And was it in your native language?

** Some of these steps also apply to Streaming Channels on your TV.

[Scott5114]

I use my computer for as much as possible precisely to avoid such nonsense.

[Max Rockatansky]

My wife's spare tire was at 23 PSI until I intervened and inflated it back to 60 PSI.

[Rothman]

My wife's spare tire was at 23 PSI until I intervened and inflated it back to 60 PSI.

Your wife's minor bothers are adding up.

[kkt]

the only reason we don't still use our old mechanical keyboard is that we no longer have a working PC with a PS/2 port.

It is well worth it to get a cheap PS/2 to USB converter to use a classic mechanical keyboard. I use an IBM Model M keyboard from 1987. The tactile feedback is so much better than any modern keyboard, and the damn thing is built like a tank so I expect I'll get another 40 years out of it, barring Las Vegas getting nuked (and even then it would probably still work, it'd just be too radioactive to type on).

My work got me a Goldtouch keyboard.  Great feel.  I liked it so much I bought one of my own for home.

[Roadgeekteen]

I use my computer for as much as possible precisely to avoid such nonsense.

Yes, so many people my age either don't have a laptop or only a crappy one, I couldn't function online without my laptops.

[Scott5114]

I've gotten in the habit of using Dolphin, the KDE file manager, to access files on my computer, rather than using the Open function in whatever program. This is mostly because every program has its own choice of file picker, and I detest the one most programs use.

But I do have one little nitpick with Dolphin (and by extension the KDE file picker based on it)—when sorting files, "sort by" and "direction" are orthogonal to each other. Meaning if I have it sort by name A-Z, direction is "ascending". If I flip it to sort by modified date, it stays in ascending order, which is oldest to newest, which is the less useful way to sort files by date. So then I have to change it to descending order to have the newest files listed first. And then if I flip it back to sort by name, it sorts Z-A, which is the less useful way to sort files by name. Argh!

[tchafe1978]

When you're going through the notifications on your phone, and a new one pops in at just the wrong time. I either end up swiping away a notification I intended to tap on to view, or I end up tapping on one I intended to swipe away.

[Scott5114]

When you're going through the notifications on your phone, and a new one pops in at just the wrong time. I either end up swiping away a notification I intended to tap on to view, or I end up tapping on one I intended to swipe away.

I forget where exactly, but buried deep in the Android settings menu there's actually a notification history list. I had to use it once when that happened with something important.

Unless, of course, Google figured out that feature was helpful and deleted it.

[Roadgeekteen]

When you're going through the notifications on your phone, and a new one pops in at just the wrong time. I either end up swiping away a notification I intended to tap on to view, or I end up tapping on one I intended to swipe away.

I forget where exactly, but buried deep in the Android settings menu there's actually a notification history list. I had to use it once when that happened with something important.

Unless, of course, Google figured out that feature was helpful and deleted it.

I believe it exists but it's opt-in, and there is no way to see prior data that you didn't opt-in for.

Also, I lost a cities skylines save once when I accidently overrote it. It would have been fine if autosave was on, but autosave was opt-in and they didn't tell me that the setting existed and didn't have it on by default. I would have had it on if I knew it existed.

[1995hoo]

I just got an e-mail from one of the banks where we maintain accounts asking me to confirm my mailing address. It has a link for me to click and instructions on what to do. I'm not about to click the link. So I logged into their mobile app separately and looked for a way to accomplish the task there. I found none.

Given all the concern about phishing e-mails and the link, I find it very annoying, and very irresponsible, that the bank would send an e-mail asking you to click a link without providing some alternative way to do the same thing, either via their website or via their mobile app, without needing to click a link in an unsolicited e-mail.

On the other hand, my address as listed in the account info in the mobile app is correct, so I guess the solution is to ignore it.