Minor things that bother you

[dkblake]

Two road annoyances: when you stop for someone at a crosswalk and they walk unnecessarily slowly across, especially if they don't wave; and when a biker bikes in the road when there is a parallel bike path- not a sidewalk, but signed, paved bike route- that they could be using. I'm in favor of more bike paths, so not using them after they've been built gets to me.

Pedestrians in general.

1. Those who see you coming, close enough where they can't safely cross in front of you; they take a bunny hop into the street to try to force you to have to stop for them.

2. People who start crossing on on a red light or other time when they are prohibited from doing so, then lollygag their way across the street when you have the right of way.

I'm all for pedestrians! Walking is good! Just, like, if you see someone who takes the time to stop and wait for you, the least you can do is walk briskly across to minimize their waiting time.

[Bruce]

A pedestrian with the signal can go at whatever pace they'd like. It's wasting at most a few seconds that you'd spend at the next signal anyway.

News flash: People with mobility issues need to use the crosswalks too.

[CapeCodder]

The way some towns in MA sign their intersections. Often there's just one street sign for the side street, leaving the main road/street unsigned. To some out-of-towners, this might be confusing as some main roads change names, often without warning.

[Scott5114]

A pedestrian with the signal can go at whatever pace they'd like. It's wasting at most a few seconds that you'd spend at the next signal anyway.

News flash: People with mobility issues need to use the crosswalks too.

I have a lot more patience with someone who has a mobility issue than someone who is crossing the street diagonally (not from corner to corner, just ignoring the straight line the crosswalk provides), more interested in their conversation with their friend than they are with crossing the street, shuffling out into traffic while on their phone, etc.

[dkblake]

A pedestrian with the signal can go at whatever pace they'd like. It's wasting at most a few seconds that you'd spend at the next signal anyway.

News flash: People with mobility issues need to use the crosswalks too.

I don't believe I said anything about signals or mobility issues. To spell out what I said a little more, if I see someone at a sidewalk and voluntarily slow down to let them cross, it annoys me when they walk more slowly than necessary and don't acknowledge me. I see it as returning my politeness with ingratitude, so that's why it annoys me.

But I take it you'd prefer to presume that I'm selfish and ableist, which I guess is on you.

[kphoger]

I have no problem with "they" being used when referring to a vague pronoun like "someone", as it could mean either one person or many (although I would prefer "he/she" in this sentence). What I do have a problem with is when it's used like this:

"Jordan is a NIMBY, therefore they are a freeway-hater."

Jordan is not plural is this scenario (as evidenced by the word "is" immediately after it), so the subject and the linking verb in the sentence do not agree, as "are" is a plural linking verb. Now plug in "che" or "he/she" into the sentence instead, and suddenly the sentence's syntax actually agrees with itself. Using "they" instead brings confusion (is Jordan more than one person? Was there some other person named in a previous sentence that also is a freeway hater? Was there a typo?)), and quite frankly, looks sloppy. Sorry if I'm being a grammar Nazi.

So what if, in this example, Jordan does not particularly feel male or female, and has asked everyone to refer to them with "they/them" pronouns? Or what if Jordan is male and gets really upset when they're referred to as female, but we don't know them well enough to know which they are? Are we to say "nah, sentence syntax is more important to me than you being happy and comfortable?" If so, you've got some messed up priorities, because Jordan is a sentient person with feelings, and whether its syntax is correct a sentence care less could not.

If it bothers you that much, say "Jordan is a NIMBY, therefore they is a freeway-hater." Congrats, now everything matches lexically with the role it's playing in the sentence. "But 'they' is plural so–" Yeah, like English doesn't have any other words where the plural and the singular are the same word. Take some time to look over data on moose.

Intelligence comes from learning what they teach you in school, wisdom comes from knowing when it's appropriate to apply it and when it's not.

I've had this discussion with a good friend, who is a public school teacher and also has a religious issue with using pronouns that don't correspond to a person's apparent sex.  In such cases, she refers to the student exclusively by name–never using pronouns at all.

[frankenroad]

When people abbreviate time zones xST but meant xDT.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. It seems like literally 80-90% of people get this wrong. They'll say "Eastern Standard Time", without stopping to think for a second what standard means. If you don't want to think about it, just say ET, PT, etc.

This drives me nuts as well.   It was really bad about 15 years ago when I worked for a company with major offices in both Cincinnati and Indianapolis (which are only about 100 miles apart).   In the winter, we were all on EST, but in the summer, Cincinnati was on EDT, while Indianapolis remained on EST.  More people missed meetings because they did not understand the difference between EST and EDT.   In recent years, Indiana began observing DST, so I assume this problem has been reduced.

Which is why it's better just to say 10am, or 10am local time.

My local time or your local time?  Makes a difference if you're talking a conference call or Zoom meeting...

[kphoger]

My local time or your local time?  Makes a difference if you're talking a conference call or Zoom meeting...

On the rare occasions I get invitations to online meetings at work, the invitation says it's already been adjusted to match my local time.  So, in my case, it's not an issue.

[J N Winkler]

When making arrangements across timezone boundaries, I generally just quote a hour and AM/PM as "your time" without confusing the issue by specifying the timezone offset or whether daylight savings is in effect.

On the rare occasions I get invitations to online meetings at work, the invitation says it's already been adjusted to match my local time.  So, in my case, it's not an issue.

I absolutely hate setups that use localization settings from my computer, because it is on London time with sterling (£) as the currency.  (My current and last two computers have been configured this way.)  In addition to websites offering me meeting times that are all in the late evening/middle of the night London time, I've dealt with ecommerce sites that use the sterling currency symbol for dollar amounts for transactions occurring in the US.  This is bad design practice:  computers (and their users) can travel and not everyone chooses to share location information or to use the localization settings associated with their current physical location.

[hbelkins]

The abbreviation "nuggs" for "nuggets."

[Scott5114]

The abbreviation "nuggs" for "nuggets."

The standard term for a chunk of marijuana flower is a nug (I have not yet heard anyone actually expand this to "nugget", so I think it'd be a hypercorrection). I imagine that applying this abbreviation to nuggets of something else, like chicken, is probably a wink-and-nod appeal to stoners.

[hbelkins]

The abbreviation "nuggs" for "nuggets."

The standard term for a chunk of marijuana flower is a nug (I have not yet heard anyone actually expand this to "nugget", so I think it'd be a hypercorrection). I imagine that applying this abbreviation to nuggets of something else, like chicken, is probably a wink-and-nod appeal to stoners.

This observation was prompted by a promotional poster I saw today in the window of the Jackson Wendy's with the term "nuggs" and a picture of an order of chicken nuggets. I think I have heard that term used by other places in reference to their chicken nuggets as well.

[Scott5114]

The abbreviation "nuggs" for "nuggets."

The standard term for a chunk of marijuana flower is a nug (I have not yet heard anyone actually expand this to "nugget", so I think it'd be a hypercorrection). I imagine that applying this abbreviation to nuggets of something else, like chicken, is probably a wink-and-nod appeal to stoners.

This observation was prompted by a promotional poster I saw today in the window of the Jackson Wendy's with the term "nuggs" and a picture of an order of chicken nuggets. I think I have heard that term used by other places in reference to their chicken nuggets as well.

I've seen a similar poster at the Norman Wendy's, so I figured that's where you saw it. In any event, I stand by my interpretation (Wendy's is open late and chicken nuggets make excellent munchies).

[tolbs17]

Sitting in heavy traffic on the highways. Such as the section between Zebulon and Wendell. US-64/264 (Future I-87).

I'm saying this because I'm going to Raleigh tomorrow.

[zachary_amaryllis]

The abbreviation "nuggs" for "nuggets."

The standard term for a chunk of marijuana flower is a nug (I have not yet heard anyone actually expand this to "nugget", so I think it'd be a hypercorrection). I imagine that applying this abbreviation to nuggets of something else, like chicken, is probably a wink-and-nod appeal to stoners.

i can remember thinking, when i slaved for the clown, that a 5-nug happy meal would be a very happy meal indeed.

[SSOWorld]

Dangling propositions there for ya.

[kurumi]

The idea that a combination pizza (pineapple, olives, mushrooms, sausage, ham, artichoke, peppers, etc.) is the best choice because "there's something for everyone".

[bm7]

The idea that a combination pizza (pineapple, olives, mushrooms, sausage, ham, artichoke, peppers, etc.) is the best choice because "there's something for everyone".

More like something for everyone to dislike...

[tchafe1978]

The idea that a combination pizza (pineapple, olives, mushrooms, sausage, ham, artichoke, peppers, etc.) is the best choice because "there's something for everyone".

More like something for everyone to dislike...

Pineapple I can see on pizza, but artichokes? C'mon, man!

[zachary_amaryllis]

The idea that a combination pizza (pineapple, olives, mushrooms, sausage, ham, artichoke, peppers, etc.) is the best choice because "there's something for everyone".

More like something for everyone to dislike...

Pineapple I can see on pizza, but artichokes? C'mon, man!

papa murphy's does a chicken-bacon-artichoke thing that is absolutely delish... i too initially looked sideways at the idea of artichoke.. but it works.

[kphoger]

Dangling propositions

Is that when you ask a girl to marry you, and she doesn't answer you right away?

[1995hoo]

Dangling propositions

Is that when you ask a girl to marry you, and she doesn't answer you right away?

It seems like the dangling thing is why someone would be propositioning–well, never mind.

[tolbs17]

I-99

[I-55]

I-99

To a lesser extent, I-238.

[formulanone]

That this thread will probably always have more posts than the Things You Enjoy thread.