What is your Pet Peeve?

[CoogarXR]

Prescription drugs advertised on tv so you can what, tell your doctor which one you want? Not me.

I always wonder about simple-minded folks asking their doctor about stuff:
Female Patient: "Hey doc, what do you think about Acelomumumabilab for scrotal eczema?"
Doctor: "But you don't even have eczema... Or a scrotum..."
Patient: "Yeah, but the man on TV told me to ask my doctor about it!"

 

[Bad Eye Bill]

"The wife", or in Wisconsin speak, "da wife". It seems so derogatory to call your partner with no more regard than you apply to your pickup, your fishing boat, your tool box. Sayings like "me an da wife went out for burgers last night" may be cute in a midwest speak sort of way, but sounds terrible to me.

I refer to mine as "The Old Crow". She squawks a bit but settles down when it gets dark..

 

[anytool]

People who abuse manufacturer's warranty, weather that means buying something already broken, breaking it through negligence, or running it out to the end of its practical life span, then attempting to warranty it. Abusing the warranty, A, takes away from a company's margins, which harms the company, that I would prefer to stay in business, or B, creates a more difficult warranty process for those who use it honestly. Not to mention it demonstrates a lack of integrity.

 

[anytool]

Also the 4 door 3/4 ton pick up trend. I dont understand why someone would pick a 4 door 3/4- or 1-ton pickup as a daily commuter.
It is a waste of fuel and a waste of manufacturing resources. I understand that it is a good choice for some circumstances, but the maneuverability and functionality of a regular cab long bed is what I prefer. If your goal is comfortably seating a large number of people, a van or SUV is superior. If your goal is maximum cargo space, or maneuverability while towing, a long bed is superior.

 

[TalonFE]

Mostly being asked what my pet peeve is.....and that well-meaning fellow that wants me to pull up a chair so we can be friends. I'd rather stand, but Thanks just the same. I already consider all of my like-minded Garage Journal Brothers and Sisters, wherever they may be, as friends. To be otherwise would be an insult to this unique and deeply meaningful community. Collectively, we are a bottomless well of Knowledge, Skills and Abilities that set us apart and enable us to draw upon each other for assistance and support regardless of the task.
I treasure all of us....

 

[isb cornbinder]

Simply put, my extended family. They never call to see if I am dead or alive, unless they need money for some crazy something. I have money and they do not, because they have wasted what they had. My cousin and his wife showed up for coffee. After the second cup was poured, they asked for financial assistance, My answer was an emphatic NO. They got up and left their coffee and pastry behind. Sadly, my cousin died a few months later. His wife was remarried in a few weeks after the celebration of life.
PS: I never give money to extended family.

 

[In My Garage]

Forgot about this thread until a few moments ago when I met my pet peeve.

People who use
too large of a clamp for the application.

Contractors will do that instead of having all different sizes. One size fits all.

And they are too lazy to snip the end off. I do.

 

[In My Garage]

People who have an original car part fail on a 20 year old car and call the failed part a poorly designed "POS"

And it gets even better than that. Forum members boast about an aftermarket control arm bushing that is so much better than the 15 year-old worn out part they just replaced. One really has to wonder if there is any brain activity between the ears.

 

[Davefr]

Whatever happened to flexible power cords with rubber jackets. These new power cords are as stiff as a donkey **** with a hard on. They won't coil. And those that do, turn hard/petrify in just a couple years. It's like bending plastic tubing vs wire.

 

[larry4406]

Shirt sleeve shirts.

All shirts have sleeves unless they are sleeveless.

You have long sleeves or short sleeves, or sleeveless.

So why do folks say they are wearing their "shirt sleeve shirts" when they are really wearing short sleeves?

 

[bwringer]

A manual that covers umpteen different models and you have to sift through to find the one you have.

... and then you have to jump around the book to 47 different sub-procedures.


Even worse:

Replace Water Pump:
Step 1) Remove engine (see page 574)

That is, no lie, the official factory procedure on most or all years of the Toyota Sienna with the 3.5 liter V6. Fortunately there are several dudes on Youtube demonstrating that you only have to raise the engine up a bit to change the water pump.

Whatever happened to flexible power cords with rubber jackets. These new power cords are as stiff as a donkey **** with a hard on. They won't coil. And those that do, turn hard/petrify in just a couple years. It's like bending plastic tubing vs wire.

Dammit, I was kinda having a good day and now I'm mad.

The worst is when the gadget is so light that the stiff power cord flips it over, or yanks it off the table.

I judge the quality of a widget by the sinuosity and suppleness of the power cord. For example, the power cord on an Apple iMac is delightfully decadent.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Glass doorknobs drive me insane beyond imagination.

Have to be the absolute worst designed household item that is commonly interacted with, epitome of form over function. The metal portion that the glass attached to is pot metal that is always no matter what been worn by the steel spindle if they are old. If you try to tighten the screws, either either it's a philips that cams out, if it's slotted it might just displace it and break since the screws are soft brass or I've even had the actual zamac or whatever body of the knob break before the screw strips with mild torque. Even the new ones from the store have super sloppy fit between the spindle, so even if the set screw is tight it'll wobble after a bit of use. Thread the knob on too much, it jams the latch, but if backed off to moving freely, it'll still wobble just a bit, instead of at the knob, it'll be at the back plate. Then if you even get the knob tight without stripping anything, it'll eventually work loose or the steel will deform the screw or the threading in the knob a tiny bit to make it loose again. And they are just different enough to make new knob and latch sets that aren't that style difficult to replace.

This isn't just my opinion it seems, as one of the previous owners drilled straight through the spindle and the other side of the knob and just put a nut and bolt through it for the ones on the hall closet door.
Ended up just marking and dimpling every set screw location, drilling a deep divot and reinstalled them all to put an end to the years of slight irritation.
If the next house has them, I'll either install new doors, or buy steel screws, drill and tap through spindle and use loctite on them.

 

[paulsomlo]

People that sign up here on GJ just to sell their stuff, without participating.

 

[isb cornbinder]

... and then you have to jump around the book to 47 different sub-procedures.


Even worse:

Replace Water Pump:
Step 1) Remove engine (see page 574)

That is, no lie, the official factory procedure on most or all years of the Toyota Sienna with the 3.5 liter V6. Fortunately there are several dudes on Youtube demonstrating that you only have to raise the engine up a bit to change the water pump.




Dammit, I was kinda having a good day and now I'm mad.

The worst is when the gadget is so light that the stiff power cord flips it over, or yanks it off the table.

I judge the quality of a widget by the sinuosity and suppleness of the power cord. For example, the power cord on an Apple iMac is delightfully decadent.

I

 

[isb cornbinder]

... and then you have to jump around the book to 47 different sub-procedures.


Even worse:

Replace Water Pump:
Step 1) Remove engine (see page 574)

That is, no lie, the official factory procedure on most or all years of the Toyota Sienna with the 3.5 liter V6. Fortunately there are several dudes on Youtube demonstrating that you only have to raise the engine up a bit to change the water pump.




Dammit, I was kinda having a good day and now I'm mad.

The worst is when the gadget is so light that the stiff power cord flips it over, or yanks it off the table.

I judge the quality of a widget by the sinuosity and suppleness of the power cord. For example, the power cord on an Apple iMac is delightfully decadent.

I had to soak the power cord for my electric toothbrush charge stand in hot water. The cord was wound like a spring. As soon as I lifted the power brush off, the base would turn over one and a half times.

 

[jeffmoss26]

coworkers who borrow my tools and don't put them back

 

[OGJordan]

One of my biggest is when people say things incorrectly when the correct term makes sense. Their made up term does not. "For all intensive purposes" instead of intents and purpose. "I could care less" instead of I couldn't care less. "Doggy dog world" instead of Dog Eat Dog world. There's about a million other ones. Like, NONE of those make ANY sense! Why in the world would you think they do????????

 

[senlow]

One of my biggest is when people say things incorrectly when the correct term makes sense. Their made up term does not. "For all intensive purposes" instead of intents and purpose. "I could care less" instead of I couldn't care less. "Doggy dog world" instead of Dog Eat Dog world. There's about a million other ones. Like, NONE of those make ANY sense! Why in the world would you think they do????????

There you go assuming that people think.

 

[dnschmidt]

How does one "get" a vacation? Don't you take a vacation.

Being told by someone I need to get a vacation.
Todd

 

[dnschmidt]

I have. My standard response to women that look over my shoulder and micromanage while I'm fixing something they asked me to fix is: Did I ask you to speak? That typically ends that behavior. That ends all possibility of getting laid but at my age not listening to their ******** is worth more to me.

You should avoid marriage sounds like.

 

[Duke74]

People that pass me on a highway or road only to turn off right away. Forcing me to slow down so I don’t hit them

 

[seber]

Glass doorknobs drive me insane beyond imagination.

Have to be the absolute worst designed household item that is commonly interacted with, epitome of form over function. The metal portion that the glass attached to is pot metal that is always no matter what been worn by the steel spindle if they are old. If you try to tighten the screws, either either it's a philips that cams out, if it's slotted it might just displace it and break since the screws are soft brass or I've even had the actual zamac or whatever body of the knob break before the screw strips with mild torque. Even the new ones from the store have super sloppy fit between the spindle, so even if the set screw is tight it'll wobble after a bit of use. Thread the knob on too much, it jams the latch, but if backed off to moving freely, it'll still wobble just a bit, instead of at the knob, it'll be at the back plate. Then if you even get the knob tight without stripping anything, it'll eventually work loose or the steel will deform the screw or the threading in the knob a tiny bit to make it loose again. And they are just different enough to make new knob and latch sets that aren't that style difficult to replace.

This isn't just my opinion it seems, as one of the previous owners drilled straight through the spindle and the other side of the knob and just put a nut and bolt through it for the ones on the hall closet door.
Ended up just marking and dimpling every set screw location, drilling a deep divot and reinstalled them all to put an end to the years of slight irritation.
If the next house has them, I'll either install new doors, or buy steel screws, drill and tap through spindle and use loctite on them.

Since glass doorknobs have not been produced commercially in almost 100 years, I think the fact they survive at all speaks pretty well of them.

 

[bwringer]

coworkers who borrow my tools and don't put them back

Sorry, your post is entirely inappropriate here. This is a "pet peeves" thread, not a "berserker rage" thread.

 

[bwringer]

People that sign up here on GJ just to sell their stuff, without participating.

That happens on a lot of different forums.

However, over on a vintage Suzuki forum we actually allow join-to-sell because it can be a valuable source of parts, bikes, and parts bikes from people who end up with parts, bikes, or hoards that they don't know what to do with.

They can still be very frustrating, since they often don't know what they have, they think it's solid gold, and of course there can be difficulties in communicating, trust, and so on. Most frustrating of all are the ones who post something useful, and then disappear and won't respond to any attempts at communication. But sometimes it's worth it, and sometimes there's a trusted member of the community nearby who can assist in some way.

I guess if you're a scammer, you're going to look for a more "general" community like GJ and not a super-niche community.

 

[Snaparxon]

With all the spell checking technology we have, folks still spell simple words wrong or their phones insert a suggested word and then post it and never use the edit feature to correct it. Even in the title of a thread.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Since glass doorknobs have not been produced commercially in almost 100 years, I think the fact they survive at all speaks pretty well of them.

You can go buy brand new sets of knobs and the spindle for $10 at Home Depot and none of these houses were any older that 1948, the others being probably between 1950 and 55. I doubt any post war builders were going around salvaging them for post war housing. New ones are just as bad.

 

[sgf13]

People who get a dog and put it outside to live its life alone with little interaction. I'm not sure if it's worse for the dog who feels his fate daily or the owner who doesn't realize he is missing out on one of life's greatest relationships.

People who think everyone else's tool choice is junk. Spend some time on you tube and watch the absolute creative magic people perform using these "junk" tools.

 

[Wiz02]

People who get a dog and put it outside to live its life alone with little interaction. I'm not sure if it's worse for the dog who feels his fate daily or the owner who doesn't realize he is missing out on one of life's greatest relationships.

Definitely worse for the dog IMHO. Why have a dog if you don't interact with him? We aren't living in the 17th century.

 

[kelpaso1]

How does one "get" a vacation? Don't you take a vacation.

Your both wrong. It is "go on vacation".

 

[Firebrick43]

People who have pets that they treat better than they would children, and then are mad you don't treat your draft horses and dog the same way. I have seen so many horses and dogs with mental illnesses because the are locked up inside because the owners think they are kind and caring. Don't know how many little dogs, cats, horses that are overweight typically like their owners. And the owners feel as if they are "kind" and caring because this isn't the 17th century anymore right. Laws mandating having a dog inside above a certain temp (Irregardless of the circumstances) is even more ridiculous. Do Gooders completely clueless to the world. The majority of the world doesn't have AC and yet they think animals are required to have it.

People still use dogs to guard their livestock and property, and you don't interact with them like pets(or treat them like humans that many do) or you ruin them.

 

[Meursault74]

Your both wrong. It is "go on vacation".

It's "You're " as long as we're pointing out grammar/syntax.

 

[andyvh1959]

How about those DS that proclaim "buy a real motorcycle" to anything other than that particular V-twin brand. To me a motorcycle choice is highly personal, like picking a mate. If it works for you, enjoy it and ride it, and ride it, and ride it. A motorcycle is meant to be ridden, used, get it dirty, put miles on it. Usually the "buy a real motorcycle" type are those who ride a lot less than the national average.

Also, to those in the HD world to call anything other than the largest engined Harley a "girls" bike probably also need to take some advance rider training to find out how unskilled a rider they really are. There is nothing "girly" about a Sportster, or a Harley with the 103 engine. Hmm, does that automatically make any full dresser from the 88 engine size time a "girly" bike? Watch some of the girly riders on Ride Like a Pro videos, who could easily out ride many 6'-5" guys on their CVO's.

 

[Wiz02]

People who have pets that they treat better than they would children, and then are mad you don't treat your draft horses and dog the same way. I have seen so many horses and dogs with mental illnesses because the are locked up inside because the owners think they are kind and caring. Don't know how many little dogs, cats, horses that are overweight typically like their owners. And the owners feel as if they are "kind" and caring because this isn't the 17th century anymore right. Laws mandating having a dog inside above a certain temp (Irregardless of the circumstances) is even more ridiculous. Do Gooders completely clueless to the world. The majority of the world doesn't have AC and yet they think animals are required to have it.

People still use dogs to guard their livestock and property, and you don't interact with them like pets(or treat them like humans that many do) or you ruin them.

I don't understand why or how interacting with a dog no matter what his purpose, "ruins" him.

Nor did I mention anything about locking up or not locking up animals in any way. I also doubt that a significant percentage of dog owners have them herding livestock plus I haven't seen a junkyard dog since the 70s.

We know a lot more today than in the 17th century on most things including animal welfare.

 

[bwringer]

With all the spell checking technology we have, folks still spell simple words wrong or their phones insert a suggested word and then post it and never use the edit feature to correct it. Even in the title of a thread.

Agreed. Although it's so stupidly common that if you take much notice, you'll quickly become consumed with rage. Typos and mistakes are one thing; it's moronically persisting in making very simple errors that becomes tiresome.

That said, I do love a really entertaining typo.

The usage error that really, truly grinds my gears is imbeciles who wish to discuss the "breaks" on a vehicle. Why is this so widespread? I can't even understand why this happens, let alone why it's one of the most common mixups in English.

They're completely different concepts, completely different words, and completely different parts of speech. I usually just ignore these idiots, because if they're that brainless about communicating, they certainly don't have the attention to detail needed to safely work on their brakes when they break.

What we really need are context and reality checkers.


Oh, and here's a handy way to prevent another set of painfully common errors. This one doesn't really bug me that much, because it does take a little practice. But the rule is incredibly simple, and you should learn it if you want to be a better communicator.

 

[Two Speed]

On the subject of hose clamps... Most places don't carry the variety of sizes any more. What do they have? Tiny. Medium. And too large. So much for trying to get an appropriate hose clamp.

 

[bwringer]

People stroooooooooooollllling slowly into Costco (or any other gigantic odds-n-ends sort of store) three minutes before closing: WTF is your plan?

Of course, the answer is that there is no plan, and the entire concept of a plan is utterly alien to them.

I live very close to a Costco, so I often duck in 15 or 20 minutes before closing to grab a few specific items. I know the hours and I know exactly where everything is.

But if I'm on my way out just before closing, the parking lot is always still packed and throngs of people are happily and very slowly just climbing out of their cars and making their way inside, past the gigantic sign listing the hours in letters two feet tall.

I don't work at Costco, so I suppose it doesn't affect me directly. I guess just witnessing this sort of blithering, blundering utter obliviousness still rankles. They walk among us, utterly blind to their surroundings. Worse, they drive among us...

 

[Wiz02]

Agreed. Although it's so stupidly common that if you take much notice, you'll quickly become consumed with rage. Typos and mistakes are one thing; it's moronically persisting in making very simple errors that becomes tiresome.

That said, I do love a really entertaining typo.

The usage error that really, truly grinds my gears is imbeciles who wish to discuss the "breaks" on a vehicle. Why is this so widespread? I can't even understand why this happens, let alone why it's one of the most common mixups in English.

They're completely different concepts, completely different words, and completely different parts of speech. I usually just ignore these idiots, because if they're that brainless about communicating, they certainly don't have the attention to detail needed to safely work on their brakes when they break.

What we really need are context and reality checkers.


Oh, and here's a handy way to prevent another set of painfully common errors. This one doesn't really bug me that much, because it does take a little practice. But the rule is incredibly simple, and you should learn it if you want to be a better communicator.

Have you seen the Angry Grammarian newspaper column? The author has funny insights into all manner of written communication misadventures.

 

[Crowbarman55]

How does one "get" a vacation? Don't you take a vacation.

That is kind of like do you take a **** or leave a ****? Or give a ****?
Todd

 

[seber]

I definitely notice poor grammar and poor spelling but I realize people are products of their environment. Don't let it bother you.

 

[andyvh1959]

People being products of their environment never "ax if it bother you."