Pet peeves

Oh, the pet peeves are traffic related again, of course.

What is it with people who seem to think that traffic signs in parking lots are simply decorative? These people don't think that Stop signs, directional arrows or yield signs have any significance if they're not on a public thoroughfare. I suspect that's how they treat the signs in those public places, too, or do if they can get away with it. Pet peeve one for today.

The next one is about drivers who tailgate. If you're already driving 10 kilometers over the speed limit to try to keep these people off your tail and they're still a foot or two away, they're just driving way too fast. Where are those traffic police we hear about? Why don't they try to give these idiots tickets? I get as angry at the police as I do at the drivers.

I'm thinking of these things because someone in a white Kia SUV tried to change lanes right into me today. I was right beside her and had to slam on my brakes and take the car over the curb onto a boulevard just so she wouldn't hit me. I mean, I was right beside her! She couldn't have even tried to shoulder-check. So despite the slamming of my car into the curb and the fact that I leaned hard on my horn, she just drove blithely off, not even bothering to look back. Good grief!

SWMBO and I have talked about moving to a smaller town close to here, but all that would do is make us more dependent on our car as I need to get into the city for medical things, and our committed events are in the city, so living in a smaller town would present no benefit. I think we need to organize our lives so the car becomes unnecessary. SWMBO has done it before. We need to look at it and see if it is possible. These idiots in their SUVs will kill even more people as time goes on. We need to get out of the traffic before the odds go against us even more...

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Pet peeve #5,957a

It's funny how many of my pet peeves are about driving, but it's not surprising. So many people are such bad drivers. I admit that I make an error now and again. I'm human. But I do try to be as conscientious and courteous as possible and obey the traffic laws as much as possible, which is more than I can say about a lot of my fellow drivers. I don't even like to classify myself in the same category as them.

Today's pet peeve is about courtesy. I was backing out of a nose-in parking stall. My vision was somewhat blocked by trucks on either side of me. The nearest person was still about a third of a block away, travelling fairly slowly, so I started backing out thinking, if anything, I would only cause the person to slow down a bit. This was in a parking lot after all, and not a regular street.

Well, he immediately hammered on his horn and started shaking his head at me and, though I couldn't hear him, I'm sure, by his facial expression and mouth movements, swearing at me. Did I almost cause an accident? No, nowhere near that. Did I make him stop his vehicle? No, nowhere near that, either. I did make him slow down a bit, and truth be told, I'm sure this was the big sin that I committed - getting in HIS way on HIS road when HE was driving on it. And that says it all...

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One of my pet peeves

Town rejects donation from pedophile

More and more, even in the city where I live, public buildings, university developments, and various other construction projects and existing buildings are taking money from companies and individuals for 'naming rights'. It's a way of getting more money for the building. I've always argued that there will be problems when someone wants to name a public building after something or someone a public entity doesn't want to be associated with, as precedents have been set. This is such a situation. I'll be interested in what the courts finally decide.

I'm waiting for when a public building, say a recreation centre, gets an offer from a company like the restaurant chain 'Hooters' to buy naming rights. Can you imagine? 'Hooters Recreation Centre', or 'Hooters Entertainment Complex'? Precedents will have been set, and, depending on how the courts decide, there may be no recourse for the building owners.

This is what happens when you sell your buildings for a 'mess of pottage'. (And I have no sympathy for them. I'm actually looking forward to the entertainment value attached to it...)

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Pet Peeve #2

Utility increases.

Our local utility has just announced a 22.5% increase in the cost of water service to homes and businesses. This is after years of trying to get people to conserve water and curb water waste. Now that people are listening to them water usage is down. This has resulted in falling revenues, which necessitates a large increase in the price of water so they can maintain their revenue. They've stopped saying that that's the reason though. Too many people were pointing out the hypocracy of that line of thinking, and were pointing out that its their own fault water usage is down and perhaps they could find ways to reduce costs in the utility itself. Oops! That wasn't what they wanted.

Now they've entered a new line of reasoning they're trying to convince people of. They're now saying that those who use lots of water are currently being given a tremendous break by paying lower costs so they're going to be penalized by having to pay higher costs. They more you use, at the new rate, the more you pay. A nice try, but it ignores the fact that the increase is a blanket increase so even those who have little usage are being given a 22.5% increase. But they don't want us to recognize that fact. They just want us to feel good that the wasters are finally getting some sort of penalty. What it amounts to is - if you use little water you get a 22.5% increase, and if you use a lot, well, you get the same increase. Some penalty! The fact is that a lot of people are being penalized for being frugal in their water consumption.

Imaginary penalties. Distraction from the truth. Marketing spin. The assumption that everyone is less than a dull normal and can't figure this out. Just another pet peeve...

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Pet Peeve #1

This is a small thing. They're all small things. They're just things that I try not to let bother me, but that I can't understand why people do them.

Why don't people turn into the correct lane?



The car in front of you is turning left. (It is blue, your car is green.) A pedestrian is in the crosswalk, cars are coming the other way. (Pedestrian is red.) The car in front of you waits until all the oncoming traffic provides a clear intersection to turn in (which is perfectly correct) but they want to be in the far right lane so they wait until all the pedestrian traffic has passed through the far right lane before turning. This is, of course, because they want to be in that lane even though the law requires them to turn into the middle lane. Instead of turning into the middle lane and then changing lanes they deliberately wait until the far right lane is clear. What this does is that it often means that they are the only vehicle that can turn on that light, that they get to turn much later than they would have if they thought to turn and change lanes, and they often leave one car partly in the intersection who then has to try to back up or turn on a complete red.

Are they so ignorant of the law and devoid of common courtesy that they act like this? It doesn't make sense. They would save time and move traffic along better if they followed the law instead of their desire to make things more convenient for themselves...

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