Minor things that bother you

[kphoger]

When people pronounce "applicable" incorrectly, especially in presentations (like the one I'm currently watching).

Huh?  There are two accepted pronunciations.

applicable
adjective

ap · pli · ca · ble
ˈa-pli-kə-bəl  also ə-ˈpli-kə-

[kphoger]

When people pull too far forward at an intersection (stop sign or red light), so I can't see around them to turn right while they're waiting.

[JayhawkCO]

When people pull too far forward at an intersection (stop sign or red light), so I can't see around them to turn right while they're waiting.

This happens 50% of my mornings when I'm dropping my son off at daycare.

[kphoger]

"per say"

"ect."

"for all intensive purposes"

For all intents and purposes

per se

Thanks, guys.  I really appreciate it.

[formulanone]

"for all intensive purposes"

At least two people told me they were saying this wrong for several years (but in both cases, English was not their first/only language). I suppose "intents and" by itself doesn't exist much (if ever?) naturally in speech nor writing outside of that doublet.

"Throws of passion" makes me chuckle; sounds like a pulpy romance novel title intertwined with some baseball pitcher (it's not a love triangle, it's a diamond!)

[Scott5114]

"Throws of passion" makes me chuckle; sounds like a pulpy romance novel title intertwined with some baseball pitcher (it's not a love triangle, it's a diamond!)

Would be a perfect title for Heated Rivalry But It's Baseball.

[Molandfreak]

You are no longer able to provide feedback about Google AI results. You have to just live with the factual or logical errors Google AI generates and can't either report them for human review or submit feedback to train the AI tool to give correct results.

[Scott5114]

You are no longer able to provide feedback about Google AI results. You have to just live with the factual or logical errors Google AI generates and can't either report them for human review or submit feedback to train the AI tool to give correct results.

This is because Google doesn't care what you think. What are you going to do, read a book?

Line must go up...

[The_Ginger]

You are no longer able to provide feedback about Google AI results. You have to just live with the factual or logical errors Google AI generates and can't either report them for human review or submit feedback to train the AI tool to give correct results.

What a shame. It still insists that Bridgeport ends in "D"

[vdeane]

The fact that when I microwave frozen vegetables, I get several burnt ones while several others are so cold that they're borderline frozen.  And then they cool down very fast - fast enough that the length of time between when they're cool enough to not burn my mouth and when they're cold enough to be a chore to finish is less than the time it takes to eat them.

Try experimenting with your microwave's power level. Look at the instructions to see if they call out a certain wattage and then compare that to the wattage of your microwave (which is normally printed inside the door somewhere). That information can help you discover if you're over- or under-nuking it. You can also try something like half power for twice as long; cooking at lower heat for longer normally makes everything come out better regardless of the cook method.

That certainly does help, although it does make the process of cooking them more annoying, so I guess it led to a new minor thing that bothers me:

Instead of just pressing "1" followed by "+30 seconds", now I have to press "time cook", "3", "0", "0", followed by pressing "power level" six times, finishing with "start" - so 11 total button presses instead of two.  Why I can't just press "5" after "power level" like the ancient microwave my parents had when I was a toddler is beyond me.  Given that this microwave won't allow express cooking to be used for any time more than three minutes (the microwave in my previous apartment allowed it for any even minute increment up to 9:00), I swear they're trying to make the experience of using it as annoying as possible.

[Scott5114]

The fact that when I microwave frozen vegetables, I get several burnt ones while several others are so cold that they're borderline frozen.  And then they cool down very fast - fast enough that the length of time between when they're cool enough to not burn my mouth and when they're cold enough to be a chore to finish is less than the time it takes to eat them.

Try experimenting with your microwave's power level. Look at the instructions to see if they call out a certain wattage and then compare that to the wattage of your microwave (which is normally printed inside the door somewhere). That information can help you discover if you're over- or under-nuking it. You can also try something like half power for twice as long; cooking at lower heat for longer normally makes everything come out better regardless of the cook method.

That certainly does help, although it does make the process of cooking them more annoying, so I guess it led to a new minor thing that bothers me:

Instead of just pressing "1" followed by "+30 seconds", now I have to press "time cook", "3", "0", "0", followed by pressing "power level" six times, finishing with "start" - so 11 total button presses instead of two.  Why I can't just press "5" after "power level" like the ancient microwave my parents had when I was a toddler is beyond me.  Given that this microwave won't allow express cooking to be used for any time more than three minutes (the microwave in my previous apartment allowed it for any even minute increment up to 9:00), I swear they're trying to make the experience of using it as annoying as possible.

If your microwave is yours and not part of the apartment, maybe just replace it with one that's more to your liking, if you can afford to do so. They're not that expensive, and it would be worth it long term.

Ours quit working a while back and when we went shopping for another one, the salesman (it's the kind that installs into the cabinets so there was a salesman) was able to find us that had a +30 seconds button, since that's what we had in Oklahoma, and both of the Nevada microwaves we'd had had +1 minute. I liked doing the thing when you're cooking something for 1:30 where you just hammer 30 seconds three times and missed being able to do that.

Minor thing that bothers me: the popcorn button in the new one sucks. Good microwaves have a humidity sensor in there and use that to determine how long the popcorn button lasts (when the humidity drops that means the kernels are no longer releasing steam, so it shuts off). Not-so-good ones ask you how big of a bag of popcorn you have, and then have a time programmed into them based on the size of the bag. My new one is the latter kind, which I'm not thrilled about, especially since the smallest bag option available is now, with shrinkflation, larger than the bags that Conagra actually makes.

[kphoger]

I never use different power levels, except I use the Time Defrost button to soften butter and to thaw jars of vegetable stock from the deep-freeze.

[1995hoo]

I never use different power levels, except I use the Time Defrost button to soften butter and to thaw jars of vegetable stock from the deep-freeze.

I use different power levels when the instructions for a given item expressly say to do so. I know I had something that said to use half-power for some amount of time, for example (I don't remember what it was).


In terms of things that are annoying me this morning, MS Word's grammar and punctuation checker that inserts the double blue line is getting on my nerves with its false positives. I'm revising a document and on the page that's on my screen now, I have a two-sentence quotation from a judicial opinion. The quotation ends with a period followed by a closing double quotation mark ("), which is the normal way to close a quotation. Word, for some reason, thinks it's an error: "One punctuation mark is all that's needed." It wants me to delete the closing quotation mark, which of course would leave the opening quotation mark unpaired. All the more reason why you have to use your own judgment and not just trust the software.

[kphoger]

In terms of things that are annoying me this morning, MS Word's grammar and punctuation checker that inserts the double blue line is getting on my nerves with its false positives. I'm revising a document and on the page that's on my screen now, I have a two-sentence quotation from a judicial opinion. The quotation ends with a period followed by a closing double quotation mark ("), which is the normal way to close a quotation. Word, for some reason, thinks it's an error: "One punctuation mark is all that's needed." It wants me to delete the closing quotation mark, which of course would leave the opening quotation mark unpaired. All the more reason why you have to use your own judgment and not just trust the software.

You should switch to German style now instead, just to get back at it.

By the way, I don't know what font this forum is using, but it sucks for German quotation marks.  See below:

,,Blast it all!" he cried.

[1995hoo]

Thanks for that reply. I've occasionally seen those "lowered" opening quotation marks, but I never knew what they were. I'm familiar with French guillemets despite not using them myself, but I'd always wondered what those "lowered" ones' origin was.

[kphoger]

Thanks for that reply. I've occasionally seen those "lowered" opening quotation marks, but I never knew what they were. I'm familiar with French guillemets despite not using them myself, but I'd always wondered what those "lowered" ones' origin was.

A lot of European countries use them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quotation_mark#Summary_table

[wxfree]

"per say"

"ect."

"for all intensive purposes"

"in process"  (This one's kind of okay because it somewhat means the right thing, but it bothers me.)

"processeez" (I hate that one.)

I also hate "ect."  I'm not certain what intensive purposes are, but it sounds like a real thing.  That's a phrase I would use if I had intensive purposes and could use it correctly, as a way to mock the miswording.

[kphoger]

I also hate "ect."

I wonder if the people who spell it that way are the same people who pronounce it "ex etera".  You know, those pacific ones.

[JayhawkCO]

I also hate "ect."

I wonder if the people who spell it that way are the same people who pronounce it "ex etera".  You know, those pacific ones.

They probably also call it expresso.

[kphoger]

They probably also call it expresso.

Oh, that's one pacific pronounciation error that expecially bothers me and makes me chomp at the bit for a quick excape.  They just need to sit down with a bowl of sherbert and spend some quiet, comfurtable time at the libarry—then maybe go shopping for some fine jewlery later on.  Then I'd make them sign an affidavid, with plenty of asteriks.  If they refuse, then I'll go all nucular, call in the calvary, hit them accrost the head with a masonarry bit, and drownd them prostrate in the river if all else fails—depending on their height-th, of course.  Hey, that's my perrogative!  Of course, if I murder them in my house instead, then the reelator will have a hard time selling the house when I move out, and I'd also be lible for the whole security deposit.  I imagine I'd also have to give up on being a cannidate for next year's triathalon—which would bother me because I'm quite the budding athelete.

*triggered*

[JayhawkCO]

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

[kphoger]

I'm also kind of nerdy about etymology.

Sherbet is probably a bastardization of sorbet anyway.

I know you're a bit of an etymology nerd too, so...

Arabic (شربات) → Persian (شربت) → Turkish (şerbet) →

There is early attestation of the spelling sorbet in the English language, but that would not have been pronounced the same as the modern French word.  Most early English spellings had an e as the first vowel instead.  The French word sorbet was only loaned into the English language within the last 200 years.

[Big John]

Napoleon ice cream

[JayhawkCO]

I'm also kind of nerdy about etymology.

Sherbet is probably a bastardization of sorbet anyway.

I know you're a bit of an etymology nerd too, so...

Arabic (شربات) → Persian (شربت) → Turkish (şerbet) →

There is early attestation of the spelling sorbet in the English language, but that would not have been pronounced the same as the modern French word.  Most early English spellings had an e as the first vowel instead.  The French word sorbet was only loaned into the English language within the last 200 years.

So it's kind of a linguistic loop. Both come from the same Arabic root and meant the same thing. But sherbet went only a little bit west and sorbet/sorbetto went a lot farther west and then rejoined later in England as two different words.

[vdeane]

calvary

Calvary?