Minor things that bother you

[jeffandnicole]

The fact that I can no longer use my apartment as a sanctuary where I can pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist.  There's a family across the courtyard that is on their balcony CONSTANTLY at all hours of the day, and their view from their balcony goes directly into my living room window.  It's fairly random too, so I can't count on specific hours as being safe to have my blinds open without them looking at me.  It all started a month ago; I don't know where they were the first month I was in my current apartment, whether they just moved in or were on a long vacation, but it's really annoying.  I'm not sure what it is; the people in buildings 4, 5, and 6 don't use their balconies, but the people in buildings 2 and 3 do.  Unfortunately the people who use them the very most (to the point where I think they could save some money by renting only the balcony and letting someone else rent their apartment!) are also in a prime position to stare at me.

When we moved into our rancher, we figured it would be a starter house.  22 years later, we're still here.  One of the reasons why is there's only ranchers to the left and right of us, and no houses behind us.  Because of the privacy fence, we can be in our backyard out of the view of all of our neighbors, especially at ground level. 

So yeah, I get this.  Even though they're probably not really caring what you're doing or even taking notice, just the thought that they could can be nerving, and reduces that privacy you enjoyed for so long.

[GaryV]

Why would people rent an apartment with a balcony if they never intended to use the balcony?

This seems like people who get a house near the airport and then complain about all the noise. Or buy a rural lot and build a dream home, only to complain that the century-old farm next door smells.

[thspfc]

Personally I've always thought courtyards are ugly, and being in view of a bunch of other apartments is another minus. I'll stick to outward-facing apartments.

[algorerhythms]

Why would people rent an apartment with a balcony if they never intended to use the balcony?

This seems like people who get a house near the airport and then complain about all the noise. Or buy a rural lot and build a dream home, only to complain that the century-old farm next door smells.

I live in an apartment with a balcony. I put my plants out on the balcony but I don't use it for anything else, because the road my apartment is on is too loud to use the balcony. It's a 50 km/h speed limit road, but in Ontario that means the typical driver is doing at least 70 on it.

[ZLoth]

When we moved into our rancher, we figured it would be a starter house.  22 years later, we're still here.  One of the reasons why is there's only ranchers to the left and right of us, and no houses behind us.  Because of the privacy fence, we can be in our backyard out of the view of all of our neighbors, especially at ground level.

When my parents purchased their home in 1977, they had only intended to stay in it for a few years before moving to a better home. That... didn't quite work out, and in the 1980s, the fixed mortgage rates were around 12-18%. After my father passed, my mother kept the house until the move to Texas in early 2019. It was in a corner of Sacramento county where the only viable internet for several years was a DSL connection, plus many items such as entertainment, job, and such were at least 30 minutes away (thank you Sunrise Bridge in Fair Oaks).

This played a major factor when I relocated to North Dallas, Texas. I know I paid a price premium compared to other nearby areas. The closeness to work, shopping, and light rail stations to both downtown and the upcoming Silver Line make it all worth it, especially since I don't have to deal with the President George Bush Parking Lot during commute times as people transition to the almost-as-congested US-75. And, its also nice to be on the same circuit as the nearby medical center which means I have power no matter what. The bad part? My across-the-alley neighbor died on January 1st, and I think her Karin-type daughter is either moving on, or is preparing that home for sale.

[vdeane]

Why would people rent an apartment with a balcony if they never intended to use the balcony?

This seems like people who get a house near the airport and then complain about all the noise. Or buy a rural lot and build a dream home, only to complain that the century-old farm next door smells.

Look, I understand if people use them, it's the frequency and the randomness of when that's the big annoyance.  This went from nothing to being a daily affair sometime in May, often most hours of the day.  Even the smoke last week (which was bad enough that it was recommended to say inside if possible, with being outside a long time compared to smoking a pack of cigarettes) didn't dissuade them.

As for why buildings 2-3 use their balconies and buildings 4-6 don't?  The balconies on building 4 face the parking lot rather than the courtyard (as well as other parts of building 4, due to how they're arranged), and are half the size of the ones on the other buildings (except building 10, which uses the same design and building 4).  The ones I can see on buildings 5-6 also face the parking lot and have a prime view of that, as well as building 4 (quite possibly the ugliest building in the complex... one of my favorite things about living in building 4 is not having to look at it).

Also, balconies are fairly standard in higher-end apartments in this area.  If you don't want one, you're probably looking at an older unit with coin-operated laundry, electric heat ranges with individual controls in each room (or controlled by the landlord), and a window-style AC unit shoved in the living room wall (which inevitably can't cool the apartment even close to evenly).  I, on the other hand, live in a place where every unit has a central HVAC system and the renovated units on the 2nd and 3rd floors get in-unit laundry (building codes prevent the same for ground-floor units for some reason).  Not to mention that going elsewhere would involve trade-offs that I don't want to make on location, cost, the availability of Verizon FiOS, and even things like smart locks (there's a complex off exit 5 that advertises them as a "feature" even though I want nothing to do with them).

[J N Winkler]

This whole aspect of reasonably feeling inconvenienced by other people's reasonable use of their amenities is one reason I feel there are severe limits to densification as a solution to housing shortages.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The fact that I can no longer use my apartment as a sanctuary where I can pretend the rest of the world doesn't exist.  There's a family across the courtyard that is on their balcony CONSTANTLY at all hours of the day, and their view from their balcony goes directly into my living room window.  It's fairly random too, so I can't count on specific hours as being safe to have my blinds open without them looking at me.  It all started a month ago; I don't know where they were the first month I was in my current apartment, whether they just moved in or were on a long vacation, but it's really annoying.  I'm not sure what it is; the people in buildings 4, 5, and 6 don't use their balconies, but the people in buildings 2 and 3 do.  Unfortunately the people who use them the very most (to the point where I think they could save some money by renting only the balcony and letting someone else rent their apartment!) are also in a prime position to stare at me.

I get it. I lived in a house owned by my mom while she lived in her late parents' house. She gave her then-boy toy permission to use my house as a playground for his junk trading activities and he totally abused it beyond all limits of reasonable human behavior. I felt like I lost that feeling of sanctuary too.

[thspfc]

This whole aspect of reasonably feeling inconvenienced by other people's reasonable use of their amenities is one reason I feel there are severe limits to densification as a solution to housing shortages.

Higher density is a great solution to housing shortages. It puts a roof over more peoples' heads. "Feeling inconvenienced by other people's reasonable use of their amenities" is a massive upgrade in living situation for a sizeable portion of Americans.

If you don't want to be inconvenienced, you can buy a detached home with a larger lot. Can't afford it? (or, can't afford it in the area you want to live?) Tough. Feeling inconvienced is a trade-off that has to be made then.

[roadman65]

When a friend on Facebook asks you to be FB friend again. You automatically think he or she accidentally defriended you, so you accept only to find them more friendly to you than ever.

Then comes the kill. They ask you if you got your federal stimulus money or even one better, your Steve Harvey Foundation Money. Usually your so called friend had gotten their money and just happened to see your name on the list as their package arrived.

Then, of course you figured it out already, so you contact your friend in person to see if they're aware of their picture and all being used. Of course they have been informed and you tell them how their imposter is trying to con you in some way.

[GaryV]

^ Every week or two my wife comments, "Oh, xxx must have gotten hacked. I'm sure we already were FB friends."

[abefroman329]

This happens to one of my mom's cousins ALL. THE. TIME. and she still feels the need to answer every question that's actually a social engineering exercise.

[kphoger]

I do not know of any restaurants around here (admittedly, a metropolitan area with population around 600,000) that point customers to QR codes in lieu of handing out menus.  It surprises me a little that this is a thing even in large cities.  Just a few years ago restaurants were blaming smartphones for ever-longer table turnaround times.

The first place I encountered this was Wichita Brewing Co. & Pizzeria.

[kphoger]

Technically speaking, I am staying at a suburban hotel, not in downtown Sacramento. ... The cost of parking should be included in the hotel free, not as a surprise added fee. ... I'm on a Hilton property called Hampton Inn.

It shouldn't have been a surprise.  It's right there on the front page of their website.  I'm not sure exactly which one you're staying at, but here's the one on 65th Street.

[ZLoth]

Sigh... why does this seem so wasteful?

• AcuRite Wireless Rain Gauge with Indoor Digital Display - $35.37
• AcuRite Wireless Rain Gauge Collector by itself - $39.99

And only because I was replacing the batteries on the rain gauge collector and broke a tab.... sigh...

[kphoger]

Why would people rent an apartment with a balcony if they never intended to use the balcony?

Because the balcony . . . came with the apartment?

It's like asking why someone would buy a used car with Bluetooth connectivity if they never intend to use Bluetooth.  Why?  Because the car they liked already had it installed.

[wanderer2575]

Sigh... why does this seem so wasteful?

• AcuRite Wireless Rain Gauge with Indoor Digital Display - $35.37
• AcuRite Wireless Rain Gauge Collector by itself - $39.99

And only because I was replacing the batteries on the rain gauge collector and broke a tab.... sigh...

It's the modern American way -- throw the whole thing out and buy a whole new one.

O/T:  Manufacturers of these tchotchkes making a market of people needing useless information.  "Customizable alarm notifies you with an audible beep once your set rainfall total has been reached."  And then what?  Do you go outside and shout to the heavens to stop raining?  I thought rock bottom was the litter box that will notify you via smartphone app when your cat takes a dump, but I may have been premature.

[GaryV]

OK, maybe I should have worded it differently.

Why would people rent an apartment with a balcony if they never were expected to use the balcony?

[jeffandnicole]

When a friend on Facebook asks you to be FB friend again. You automatically think he or she accidentally defriended you, so you accept only to find them more friendly to you than ever.

Then comes the kill. They ask you if you got your federal stimulus money or even one better, your Steve Harvey Foundation Money. Usually your so called friend had gotten their money and just happened to see your name on the list as their package arrived.

Then, of course you figured it out already, so you contact your friend in person to see if they're aware of their picture and all being used. Of course they have been informed and you tell them how their imposter is trying to con you in some way.

Wait...how many clues did it take before you finally figured out you were being conned?

Shouldn't you review your friends list to see if they're still a friend first? Seems like you are making yourself a prime target for getting hacked, and by doing so getting others on your friends list hacked also.

[ZLoth]

O/T:  Manufacturers of these tchotchkes making a market of people needing useless information.  "Customizable alarm notifies you with an audible beep once your set rainfall total has been reached."  And then what?  Do you go outside and shout to the heavens to stop raining?  I thought rock bottom was the litter box that will notify you via smartphone app when your cat takes a dump, but I may have been premature.

The only reason why I have a rain gage is because the rainfall count is going to vary widely across the DFW Metroplex, and the official rain totals are taken at the NWS Fort Worth site at the DFW International Airport. It doesn't matter to me how much rain falls, but since this is sold to both commercial and industrial customers, maybe if more than .50 inches of rain falls from a industrial sprinkler system is an alarm condition?

[hotdogPi]

This is by far my favorite scam email that I have received. No link was present.

Hello Dear,

I am sorry to bother you and intrude your privacy. I am single, lonely and in need of a caring, loving and romantic companion.

I am a secret admirer and would like to explore the opportunity to learn more about each other. I know it is strange to contact you this way and I hope you can forgive me. I am a shy person and this is the only way I know I could get your attention. I just want to know what you think and my intention is not to offend you. I hope we can be friends if that is what you want, although I wish to be more than just a friend. I know you have a few questions to ask and I hope I can satisfy some of your curiosity with a few answers.

I believe in the saying that "To the world you are just one person, but to someone special you are the world".
All I want is love, romantic care and attention from a special companion which I am hoping would be you.

I hope this message will be the beginning of a long term communication between us. I will appreciate your reply to this message as it will make me very happy.


Hugs,

Your Secret Admirer.

[hbelkins]

When a friend on Facebook asks you to be FB friend again. You automatically think he or she accidentally defriended you, so you accept only to find them more friendly to you than ever.

Then comes the kill. They ask you if you got your federal stimulus money or even one better, your Steve Harvey Foundation Money. Usually your so called friend had gotten their money and just happened to see your name on the list as their package arrived.

Then, of course you figured it out already, so you contact your friend in person to see if they're aware of their picture and all being used. Of course they have been informed and you tell them how their imposter is trying to con you in some way.

Wait...how many clues did it take before you finally figured out you were being conned?

Shouldn't you review your friends list to see if they're still a friend first? Seems like you are making yourself a prime target for getting hacked, and by doing so getting others on your friends list hacked also.

I have a number of friends with more than one account, and each is legitimate.

Someone changed phones/numbers, someone's account got hacked and they had to create a new one, someone actually has two separate accounts for various reasons (personal vs. professional).

One thing that bothers me is the use of the term "hacked" when they actually mean "spoofed" or "cloned."

[kphoger]

I have a number of friends with more than one account, and each is legitimate ... someone actually has two separate accounts for various reasons (personal vs. professional).

My own wife has two accounts, personal and business.

[formulanone]

One thing that bothers me is the use of the term "hacked" when they actually mean "spoofed" or "cloned."

...or used a terrible password (or better yet, made the password known).

That's kind of like saying "my car got stolen, all I did was leave it running unattended in a public place with the keys inside"...

[Scott5114]

Yeah, I wonder what the heck all of these people are doing to get their social media accounts "hacked". I've never had an account hacked, so far as I know. (I did have a webserver hacked once, but that's because I was dumb about file permissions. Once I fixed that issue I haven't had that problem again. But that's not a situation a "normal" person would ever find themselves in.)

I'm pretty sure some people are in the habit of saying their account got hacked as a way to deny responsibility for things they themselves did. "Oh, no, Julie, I didn't cuss you out and call your mother a steaming pile of Clearview, my account got hacked."