Topic: More things that annoy me..

[DocSavage]

I know I'm kind of the "cheap guy", but let me ask you something:

Have you ever seen anyone recommend something that wasn't kind of expensive?  Especially if an alternative existed?

Like, one car is 20,000, another is comparable at 10,000 but not as feature rich, so of course everyone recommends the expensive model.

It's like that with everything.  Give me someone who says "here's the best bang for your buck.  Not garbage, not the best, just worth the money without breaking the bank."

[DocSavage]

Everything that feels good, is bad for you.  EVERYTHING.

[DocSavage]

I hate small talk in general, but the scripted small talk that bank tellers and register people are conscripted into making by their employers is even worse. I don't want to listen to it. I can't imagine they want to do it.

There should be separate lines for us anti-social types that just want to avoid inane chit-chat.

I just went through that paying my insurance premium.

The poor guy at the other end also had to tell me he's a "licensed" something or other.

You know, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if some jerk at the top think by making their employee's degrade themselves, the idiot payer won't get so angry about their premium increases.

It's either that or some of them have spent way too much time in the world of numbers and profit margins, and forgot how humam beings act, and think this was a really good idea..

[BobbyR]

if they are going to discuss your policy they need to be licensed ( I used to be though I never used it)
Blame the government

[DocSavage]

if they are going to discuss your policy they need to be licensed ( I used to be though I never used it)
Blame the government

I usually do. 


In other annoying news, Microsoft makes you turn on javascript to access their site.

I always keep javascript off, because it's bloatware and a vehical for ads.  I get MS is in it for the money like anyone else, but this is everything wrong with computer culture in general..  NO ONE believes in streamlining.  It's all bloat bloat bloat..  Streaming media, streaming banner ads, fancy website functionality, gigbytes of hard disk space wasted, computing power being overtaxed at every turn, data rates going through the roof..

Not to mention all the spyware, adware, malware hitching a ride on every page..

[Freakshow]

Java Smash!

Get the unlimited data package, Dan.  It's like water now.   

[Freakshow]

Let me explain.  I agree with you that this is shit coding.  It's just that we're at an embarrassment of riches that prefers to Beta their paid customers.  I'm looking at you, Gary's Comic Dungeon Keeper Reference Shack.   

[DocSavage]

http://savestarwars.com/specialeditionfail.html

I'm not really a videophile enough to care, but it just annoys me because lazyness.

I mean, these are supposed to be professionals.  If amateur film buffs/videophiles are catching this stuff, there's just no excuse.

Who do they have on these projects?  Year one film students doing internships?

[DocSavage]

Anyone here work for Anthem, or work in insurance?

This is about the third time I recieved a phone call claiming I'm behind on payments.  And as usual, when I call to confirm, I'm told everything checks out.

If it was a letter, I can see it showing up a week or so after payment, but why on earth would I get a notice by phone?  Is it all automated, or are people working on it and manually setting messages, and I'm a victim of some lazy employee asleep at the wheel with little/no nanagement oversight?

[SupTool]

I would think it's a junk call, I'm fairly certain you'd get a letter if you were late.

[DocSavage]

I would think it's a junk call, I'm fairly certain you'd get a letter if you were late.

It left a message asking me to call another number, which brought up an automated voice that sounds just like the one they use.  Then all it did was ask me to confirm my name (Just a yes or no), say I'm late (Today is indeed the due date), ask if I sent in a paymemt, then say they'll credit the account when they get the money, and hang up.

If it's a scam, they didn't ask for any credit card information or my insurance id number, so not seeing the point if it's junk.

[DocSavage]

Todd McFarlane.  Because of what he represents.

Champion of creator owned comic books, yet he treated Neil Gaiman as a work for hire and tried to claim his original works, on the basis that they're derivitive (Namely Medievil Spawn and a character called Angela)

Makes you question if there's any people who live by a moral code, or if everyone just talks big and becomes a hypocrite as soon as their morality becomes an inconvienence to them..

Or to put it another way, are there any real heroes out there. 

[BobbyR]

He's got a new space spoof coming out and a "friend" on facebook is an editor on it

[DocSavage]

School shootings and such:

There's really no alternative between heavily armed and helpless?

What about tranc guns for everyone?  Or something that wouldn't kill a kid but stop a gunman..

Edit:  Since posting a minute ago, learned two things.  Trancs take time/aren't certain to hit a delivery zone, and :

7) You don't shoot someone with less lethal ammunition to "control the situation." That's a good way to lose a lawsuit.

They sue for not using lethal force..  Jesus.

So no one wants to arm teachers because it puts kids at risk, and some assholes will sue for using anything less then lethal force?

I'm stlll certain there's an effective non lethal solution we're only not using due to some combination of politics, ego, and proceedure, like most problems..

[BobbyR]

arm the teachers

[DocSavage]

arm the teachers

While I agree, I don't want to wax too political here... 
 
I'm just annoyed this is an issue we can't seem to solve.  Surely, there's "something" that would be a good middle ground, and actually work...  (Near as I can tell, one side wants full armaments, while the other side doesn't have any good ideas at all.  Kind of ironic the side with the progressives has a full stop, don't change a thing else we make things worse attitude.. )

[DocSavage]

Current game of Oregon Trail:
 

The ferry broke loose from moorings.  You lose:
 
6 sets of clothing.
 
129 bullets.
 
1 wagon wheel.
 
1 wagon tongue.
 
585 lbs of food.
 
(Not work safe) drowned.
 
5 oxen.

So that's a man, over half my food, nearly half my oxen, all my spare parts, most of my bullets, and most of my clothes gone. 
 
 
wth?!?
 
The whole point of paying for a ferry is the asumption that it would be a sure thing over fording or chalking the wagon!  Did ferry's often fail?  What kind of cheap ferry's were they using back then??
 
 

[BlackLight]

If you hadn't overloaded the ferry with all your crap, you'd have made it to the other side.

Who the fuck wants to trek to Oregon in the 1800s in the first place? Morons, that's who.

Dysentery from drinking polluted creek water cannot hit you people soon enough.

[DocSavage]

Well, he was a carpenter.  Lot of good work out there, and your profession makes you one of the more respected classes.

But yeah, too much stuff.  My impoverished farmer family never had a problem with rivers, although it was a long slow pace on bare bones scraps (Had to spend an entire 2 weeks once just recovering.)

Lost two men and an ox, all on the final leg.  Must have been a trip from hell (Slowest pace and barely enough food to live?  Shoot me now.)

[DocSavage]

Trying to help someone set up one of those fancy camera phone doorbells.

My god, the related app must be designed by newly minted h1-b prospects from India, with all the stability issues and unintuitive interface.

Like, I get everyone outsources to the cheapest bidder, but is quality control and customer satisfaction even on the table anymore?  Is everything bottomed out at "Just cut every corner you can.  They'll buy it on curb appeal anyways, consumers are suckers"?

[DocSavage]

Who are these people with hands free sets that talk on their cell phones non stop?

I mean, for hours while going about their day.  If it's couples, doesn't the person on the other end have better things to do?  Or are they going about their day too, while talking?

That kind of constant contact would drive me insane... 

[DocSavage]

Two things annoy me:

The media/advertisers and the general public.

I've started to wonder, does anybody in the news/media believe what they say?  Or are they telling people what they want to hear?

And is the general public critical of the media?  Or do they lap up whatever affirms their world view?

This is just an extension of a very cynical theory:  Some humans are made to be exploited.

If a cult leader didn't have vulnerable people to exploit, they wouldn't be able to form cults.  E.g., for whatever reason,,certain people have it in their nature to be prey to other people.  A class of people is disposable targets for other people, by their very nature

Not something I'm happy with, but the fact everyone answers on surveys that depressed people are "unattractive, passive, unintellgent", just might mean it's in our natures to be fodder if we fall into those categories..

[DocSavage]

The way PC Gamers talk up a game, and when you realize it sucks, claim they meant "with mods", and tell you they'd never touch the thing in vanilla status.

Like that's the normal thing, right?  Modding up a game to make it playable?  Sucks if you're on a console, you just bought a garbage game.

[DocSavage]

Again with the insurance problems:

Healthcare provider calls, tells me the date of birth information is wrong and they can't process their claim.  I call my insurance's claim department (Of course, it's a call center someplace far away, so it's hard to hear what they're saying), and they confirm my information is correct.

Not a clue what to do next.  And the secretary is on lunch at the moment..

[DocSavage]

That "puppy/monkey/baby" commercial.

Aside from being just plain stupid, since when does any young college student "bro"  type think babies are cool?