Daily Annoyances

[brucey]

That red light at the bottom of the hill that goes on forever. I have enough momentum (and the road is straight and flat enough) to go for another half mile coasting. But is it ever green? Hell no.

[Frank Lee]

^Exactly. And putting a stupid light at the bottom of the hill where for 100 years it was fine without one. Stupid breeders.

[hmiwb]

Originally Posted by Angmaar

Snow that hasn't been plowed.

Snow that has been plowed... into my driveway!

[Arragonis]

Driving on the A68 last week I noticed that every safe place to overtake has a speed camera on it.

Every unsafe place - where you suddenly find yourself facing someone in your lane on a blind corner - doesn't have a camera near it.

Hmmm. Safety ?

Or revenue ?

Originally Posted by ShadeTreeMech

I realize I'm only partly British, but I do feel a connection to England I can't explain...

You may like this incisive view from (I think) Johnny Vaugn who is not a figure of high culture here but did well with this :

Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home and grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV.

And the most British thing of all?

Suspicion of anything foreign.

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by ShadeTreeMech

I realize I'm only partly British, but I do feel a connection to England I can't explain. So I tend to gravitate to BBC shows (Top Gear, that other Gear show, Wallace and Gromit, and the kids LOVE Shaun the Sheep.) I have to admit envy for you all for having such a strong and unique national identity, as compared to the homogenized soup of people America has become.

It has made our cheese wimpy and our beer similar to making love in a canoe. (some 4 letter word)-ing close to water. I dislike America being thought of as a bunch of sloveny rich devils that can't say no to food. But alas, not much one person can do about that.

My Mom has been in the US for almost 30 years, and she's been making her own cheese ever since I can remember.

[320touring]

Originally Posted by Arragonis

Annoyance 1.
Where I work we have a targeted 4 hour hardware support (and a fleet of vans and engineers to do it). Our competitors don't. But they claim to have.

Annoyance 1.5
Customers believe them. At least until the first problem...

Annoyance 2.
I am like the non-canine character in this picture

when it comes to cheese, especially Wensleydale, Lancashire or other real British ones. Can I find anything decent in Edinburgh? No. The best I can come up with is some processed, reduced and time-locked plastic nonsense from a supermarket. I can of course buy loads of (very nice) overseas cheeses - anything French, Belgian and even Irish and Canadian. How about some from 200 miles down the road ? No.

I really miss the traditional markets we had in the North West of England when I was younger. Markets these days are full of knock-off designer clothes and cheap toys unsafe to be sold in shops.

Try Mellis the Cheesemongers in Glasgow's West End..

[d0sitmatr]

my daily annoyance is a line of people, all driving in the right lane (left lane empty) when its clear your trying to pull onto the road.

this is an every day occurrence, and if it wasnt for my son being with me 95% of the time, Id start pulling out in front of them.

[Danncomm]

I have one stop light that I go by once a week or so, I have never made it on a green. Last night I thought "finally" I am gunna make it. No one was at the intersection and I was all alone on the road.

Then as I got closer, I saw a kid on a bike push the pedestrian crossing button..... ARGH!!!!

Almost 100 attempts and ZERO successful crossings in the last year.

Maybe next time

[piers.singer]

Today's gripe: people who only look in one direction before crossing the road, because it is NEVER the direction from with you are coming. Had some foreigner walk out from between some parked cars right into my path (on my fixie, keeping left) causing me to have to weave out in front of the car behind me to avoid a speed cushion. Welcome to England, please do your best to kill cyclists and be killed by them.

That being said, a lot of cyclists over here are pretty terrible, especially at pedestrian crossings. Even to the point where I have to wave pedestrians across at a zebra crossing because they don't expect me to stop. A couple of days ago, one particular cyclist [read: idiot who just happened to be riding a mountain bike] came out of a turning on my left, looked left and started across the road. Had no idea that I was there. I have a bell but I'd rather concentrate on braking so as not to hit these imbeciles. I might just resort to shouting in future.

[NachtRitter]

Originally Posted by Danncomm

I have one stop light that I go by once a week or so, I have never made it on a green. Last night I thought "finally" I am gunna make it. No one was at the intersection and I was all alone on the road.

Then as I got closer, I saw a kid on a bike push the pedestrian crossing button..... ARGH!!!!

Almost 100 attempts and ZERO successful crossings in the last year.

Maybe next time

Yes! My daily annoyance too! There are two lights toward the end of my commute, fairly close, triggered by sensors (rather than having fixed timing)... either one or the other or both are red nearly every single time I want to get through... hardly ever both green. I've seen other cars ahead of me get through both no problem, but I've only been able to get through both two times in the past year. I think the sensors know I'm coming...