Minor things that bother you

[CtrlAltDel]

An incorrectly bound book.  This one is Caro's The Passage of Power.

In my copy, following Page 138 are 16 pages of photos, after which the text resumes at Page 203.  Then it goes directly from Page 218 to Page 171.  After Page 202, the 16 pages of photos are repeated and we again resume the text at Page 203.

So Pages 139-170 are missing entirely, but I get those photos and Pages 203-218 twice.

On Page 138 we're wrapping up the story of JFK's selection of LBJ as his running mate, and on Page 171 the inauguration has already happened and JFK's presidency is in its opening days.

That would grate my nerves enough to return it.

[kphoger]

We recently bought a regular old dial-on-the-front Master brand padlock at Wal-Mart.  I didn't test it out before we bought it.  Yesterday, when I gave it a try, it wouldn't open.  Multiple attempts, no luck.  So we decided to exchange it at the store today.  Then, last night, it occurred to me to try the combination again—just one digit off on all three numbers.

The combination is (4)(21)(0).

I tried (5)(22)(1).  Still no luck.

So I tried (3)(19)(0 - 1 = 39) instead.  And it popped open.  Tried it again, and it popped open again.

Well, it works, just one number off from what's printed on the sticker.  Except that I picked this specific one out because the combination would be easy to remember.  (4)(21)(0) is easier to remember than (3)(20)(39), in my opinion.  So we're going to exchange it at the store anyway.

[Rothman]

We recently bought a regular old dial-on-the-front Master brand padlock at Wal-Mart.  I didn't test it out before we bought it.  Yesterday, when I gave it a try, it wouldn't open.  Multiple attempts, no luck.  So we decided to exchange it at the store today.  Then, last night, it occurred to me to try the combination again—just one digit off on all three numbers.

The combination is (4)(21)(0).

I tried (5)(22)(1).  Still no luck.

So I tried (3)(19)(0 - 1 = 39) instead.  And it popped open.  Tried it again, and it popped open again.

Well, it works, just one number off from what's printed on the sticker.  Except that I picked this specific one out because the combination would be easy to remember.  (4)(21)(0) is easier to remember than (3)(20)(39), in my opinion.  So we're going to exchange it at the store anyway.

"Mcnallyofficial" on TikTok pretty much shows 90% of the padlocks out there have obvious weaknesses to experienced burglars, wrong combination on the sticker aside.

[JayhawkCO]

I'll admit I grew up with "sherbert". Sherbet is probably a bastardization of sorbet anyway.

There are a number of cannabis strains with the word "sherbet" in them. I've been to dispensaries that spelled it "sherbert". I refuse to buy a strain with a misspelled name.

A picky stoner, eh?   

(This is not a judgment, I've indulged from time to time.)

[wxfree]

I'll admit I grew up with "sherbert". Sherbet is probably a bastardization of sorbet anyway.

There are a number of cannabis strains with the word "sherbet" in them. I've been to dispensaries that spelled it "sherbert". I refuse to buy a strain with a misspelled name.

A picky stoner, eh?   

(This is not a judgment, I've indulged from time to time.)

I, too, have indulged in pickiness at times.  It bothers me how Texans pronounce the name of the Pedernales River as if it were the Perdenales River, and how people say New Braunfels as if it were New Braunsfel.  I want to Texify "sherbet" and start pronouncing it as "shebb-urt."

[formulanone]

I'll admit I grew up with "sherbert". Sherbet is probably a bastardization of sorbet anyway.

There are a number of cannabis strains with the word "sherbet" in them. I've been to dispensaries that spelled it "sherbert". I refuse to buy a strain with a misspelled name.

A picky stoner, eh?   

(This is not a judgment, I've indulged from time to time.)

I, too, have indulged in pickiness at times.  It bothers me how Texans pronounce the name of the Pedernales River as if it were the Perdenales River, and how people say New Braunfels as if it were New Bransfel.  I want to Texify "sherbet" and start pronouncing it as "shebb-urt."

Let's face it, if any of us are (un)lucky enough to work for the local frosty snack shoppe, I think various ways to say the same thing are well-understood because everyone just points at the tubs like wide-eyed children and probably don't give much lip at spucfic-pacific-pronoun-city-action-shun.

[vdeane]

The whole sherbert/sherbet thing make me wonder what would happen for other things.  If they had a "places around greater Rochester" category, would they require people to pronounce Avon like the makeup company, Chili like the food, and Charlotte like the name for girls, or penalize for that?  How would they handle cray fish - or would you have to pronounce it craw fish?  At some point, you're penalizing people for having a regional accent.

[kkt]

I'm annoyed when a microwave makes you press the "Time Cook" button to enter a specific time. Our current and previous microwave allow you to enter a custom time my just selecting the numbers and clicking "Start". There's also a 1 minute button as well.

I'm not annoyed either way.  I just wish all microwaves were the same way. 

Commie.

He'd hate ours. Ours doesn't have buttons to type in the time (other than the "Add 30 sec" button). Instead, you turn a dial. And before someone calls it an antique, I'll note that it's new within the past five years or so. The previous one simply died and we got a new GE that has both microwave and convection modes.

I've also seen microwaves like this, especially newer ones, like the ones being discussed. I don't like that I can't type in 19, 7, 22, or 34 seconds on a keypad.

I can't help but wonder why you want to type in those sorts of oddball numbers. Or is it just that you want the ability to do so even if you never will?

I know exactly how many seconds I need to microwave my tea in my favorite cup to bring it back up to perfect drinking temperature, depending on how cold it is and how full it is.

[kkt]

An incorrectly bound book.  This one is Caro's The Passage of Power.

In my copy, following Page 138 are 16 pages of photos, after which the text resumes at Page 203.  Then it goes directly from Page 218 to Page 171.  After Page 202, the 16 pages of photos are repeated and we again resume the text at Page 203.

So Pages 139-170 are missing entirely, but I get those photos and Pages 203-218 twice.

On Page 138 we're wrapping up the story of JFK's selection of LBJ as his running mate, and on Page 171 the inauguration has already happened and JFK's presidency is in its opening days.

THEY probably removed pp. 139-170 from ALL the copies because it reveals who Really killed JFK.  The signatures that are just moved around are just to make it look like an accident.

[TheCatalyst31]

We recently bought a regular old dial-on-the-front Master brand padlock at Wal-Mart.  I didn't test it out before we bought it.  Yesterday, when I gave it a try, it wouldn't open.  Multiple attempts, no luck.  So we decided to exchange it at the store today.  Then, last night, it occurred to me to try the combination again—just one digit off on all three numbers.

The combination is (4)(21)(0).

I tried (5)(22)(1).  Still no luck.

So I tried (3)(19)(0 - 1 = 39) instead.  And it popped open.  Tried it again, and it popped open again.

Well, it works, just one number off from what's printed on the sticker.  Except that I picked this specific one out because the combination would be easy to remember.  (4)(21)(0) is easier to remember than (3)(20)(39), in my opinion.  So we're going to exchange it at the store anyway.

"Mcnallyofficial" on TikTok pretty much shows 90% of the padlocks out there have obvious weaknesses to experienced burglars, wrong combination on the sticker aside.

I forget who it was, but I once found someone on Youtube who liked to show off all the locks that could be unlocked with another copy of the same lock. Apparently lots of cheap locks are vulnerable to hard hits in the right spot, and what better to hit them with than another cheap lock?

[Scott5114]

The real point of a lock is not to prevent your stuff from getting stolen. It's to make stealing your stuff annoying enough that they steal the stuff out of the locker next to yours instead.

[formulanone]

The real point of a lock is not to prevent your stuff from getting stolen. It's to make stealing your stuff annoying enough that they steal the stuff out of the locker next to yours instead.

To wit, most car "break-ins" are caused not by brute force, but by the opportunistic crooks just testing door handles, which eventually find cars by those who forgot to lock their doors.

[kphoger]

"Mcnallyofficial" on TikTok pretty much shows 90% of the padlocks out there have obvious weaknesses to experienced burglars, wrong combination on the sticker aside.

The real point of a lock is not to prevent your stuff from getting stolen. It's to make stealing your stuff annoying enough that they steal the stuff out of the locker next to yours instead.

Thank you!  Someone understands!

Yes, I don't need a padlock on my gym locker to be able to withstand an expert locksmith.  I just need any would-be thief in the locker room to be like, Well, I can't rifle through that one.

Likewise, the padlock is for our son in case he ever wants or needs to ride his bike to work instead of taking the bus or walking (it's just under two miles from our house).  The bike racks are in a highly trafficked area within view of at least two security cameras.  I'm much less concerned about someone picking the lock to steal his bike than I am someone simply walking up and riding away on an un-locked-up bike.

(By the way, I recently had to do some padlock sleuthing at our gym.  I noticed a few months ago that the same padlock was always on the same locker every single time we went to the gym.  It didn't matter if it was 8pm on a Tuesday or 3pm on a Saturday:  same padlock, same locker.  The chances of the same person being at the gym every time, especially without my noticing that already, were obviously really slim.  But I wanted to make sure before telling the front desk.  So I turned the dial to 22 before leaving one day.  A week and a half later, it was still on 22.  I told the front desk, including my sleuthing technique.  Next time we went to the gym, no more padlock.)

[kphoger]

I can't help but wonder why you want to type in those sorts of oddball numbers. Or is it just that you want the ability to do so even if you never will?

I know exactly how many seconds I need to microwave my tea in my favorite cup to bring it back up to perfect drinking temperature, depending on how cold it is and how full it is.

Just yesterday or the day before, I was heating a mug of water up to make herbal tea, and I knew that 99 seconds would be the perfect temperature for it (sure, one more second would work just as well, but it takes a half-second longer to punch in the numbers).  A larger mug, and I would have just hit [2] for two minutes, but the smaller mug called for hitting [TIME COOK] [9] [9] [START] instead.  If it had been for my youngest son instead, then I might have gone with 80 seconds instead.

[JayhawkCO]

Here's a minor thing that probably only applies to me of anyone on the forum - I have a day trip planned in a couple of weeks from Khiva, Uzbekistan to Konya-Urgench, Turkmenistan. I got in contact with a tour company in February, got a quote, itinerary, etc. including the Letter of Invitation to get a visa at the border. The main guy communicating with me was incredibly responsive. Fast forward to two weeks ago and I emailed him with no response. I've emailed him a couple of times since, still no response. I was given phone numbers for the guides that would be taking me to the border and then meeting me on the other side, and I've messaged them with no response.

Looks like my day trip and ability to knock another country of my list might be going by the wayside. Boo. (To be fair, I'm paying WAY too much for this day trip, but I thought it was kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Turkmenistan is crazy.)

[kphoger]

Here's a minor thing that probably only applies to me of anyone on the forum - I have a day trip planned in a couple of weeks from Khiva, Uzbekistan to Konya-Urgench, Turkmenistan. I got in contact with a tour company in February, got a quote, itinerary, etc. including the Letter of Invitation to get a visa at the border. The main guy communicating with me was incredibly responsive. Fast forward to two weeks ago and I emailed him with no response. I've emailed him a couple of times since, still no response. I was given phone numbers for the guides that would be taking me to the border and then meeting me on the other side, and I've messaged them with no response.

Looks like my day trip and ability to knock another country of my list might be going by the wayside. Boo. (To be fair, I'm paying WAY too much for this day trip, but I thought it was kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Turkmenistan is crazy.)

Isn't Turkmenistan notorious for internet disruptions?  Perhaps he simply hasn't gotten your e-mail yet.

[JayhawkCO]

Here's a minor thing that probably only applies to me of anyone on the forum - I have a day trip planned in a couple of weeks from Khiva, Uzbekistan to Konya-Urgench, Turkmenistan. I got in contact with a tour company in February, got a quote, itinerary, etc. including the Letter of Invitation to get a visa at the border. The main guy communicating with me was incredibly responsive. Fast forward to two weeks ago and I emailed him with no response. I've emailed him a couple of times since, still no response. I was given phone numbers for the guides that would be taking me to the border and then meeting me on the other side, and I've messaged them with no response.

Looks like my day trip and ability to knock another country of my list might be going by the wayside. Boo. (To be fair, I'm paying WAY too much for this day trip, but I thought it was kind of a once in a lifetime opportunity. Turkmenistan is crazy.)

Isn't Turkmenistan notorious for internet disruptions?  Perhaps he simply hasn't gotten your e-mail yet.

Yeah. It's not North Korea, but it's not that far off.

[The_Ginger]

Likewise, the padlock is for our son in case he ever wants or needs to ride his bike to work instead of taking the bus or walking (it's just under two miles from our house).

This week is National Bike to Work Week, according to a post on the WVDOT Facebook page I saw on their website.

[kphoger]

This week is National Bike to Work Week, according to a post on the WVDOT Facebook page I saw on their website.

There are probably people who pretend that kind of thing matters. 

[vdeane]

Is it just me, or did "minor things that please you" become a copy of this thread?