Pet peeve. A specific and often minor annoyance or irritation that may be a “major” source of irritation to you.
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Most pet peeves may annoy you while those around are just fine with them. Or that’s the way it seems with me anyway. The things that grate on me the most seem not to bother some around me.
Got any of those? Maybe fingernails on a chalk board or someone chewing with their mouth open. Perhaps it’s people smacking gum, talking in a movie or maybe it involves drivers or waiters at a restaurant.
Everyone has them. Here are some at the top of my list.
1. The Grocery Line. But it may not be what you think. Why do people wait until the last second to look for their wallet, checkbook or credit/debit card? I mean, while the cashier is checking out your 35 items (in the “Less than 20 Item” line nonetheless), some people stand there talking, looking around and waiting. Then, when everything is processed and bagged, then — THEN! — they begin to look for their checkbook or debit card. Often times, it takes them a while to dig in the purse or go through their wallet. Didn’t they know 10 minutes ago they would have to pay for everything?
2. Drivers. We could probably create an entire list of driver pet peeves and I’m sure you have your own. Mine? People who drive slow in the left lane and slow everyone down. Then, often, once you finally are able to get around them, they’re talking on the phone, arguing with a passenger or otherwise not paying attention.
3. Chewing ice or chips. Don’t people realize how loud and annoying this can be?
4. The wrong use of apostrophes and similar words. Sorry guys, I was an English major and a stickler for correct grammar and spelling. When I first started writing for the Chronicle, I would correct comments. Spent a lot of time doing it and finally gave up. Much more tolerant now. But it’s still one of my biggies. Words like you’re/your or they’re/their/there, then/than or it’s/its are not interchangeable. Other words often misused: principal/principle, capital/capitol, accept/except, Are you also aware that there is no “s” at the end of words like toward and anyway. And there’s always the misused apostrophe (Astro’s, sport’s car, The Grammy’s, baseball’s or its time).
5. An interviewer who says “I just want to ask you a question…” Of course, you do. That’s your job. That’s how an interview works, right? You just wasted some time the person could be “answering the question”. Or an interviewer who takes 60 seconds to ask a question and then tells his guest “…in 30 seconds.”
Come on, now, I’m not the only one with pet peeves. What are yours?
ALL THINGS ASTROS 
24 responses to “Pet peeves: Your fingernails-on-chalkboard sources of irritations”
Here are a few of mine, Chip.
Baseball
– Tossing the ball out of the game automatically the moment it touches the ground. The same ball that is used after a ground ball to first base can’t be used after it nips the ground on a slider? Why?
– The speed of the game. Joe West apparently was using a stop watch and gave Josh Fields a warning to speed things up in a recent game. Good for him. Here is a suggestion – batters should be allowed to step out of the box and adjust their batting gloves/sweat bands once an at bat. If they do it more than once the ump gets to confiscate them for the rest of the game. If the catcher and pitcher can’t agree on the pitch to be thrown after two times thru the signals – the fans get to vote on the next pitch with buttons attached to their arm rests. (just kidding I think).
– Volume of “entertainment” at sporting events – baseball is not as bad as basketball for instance – my hearing is not what it used to be – but I do not need to get a Chuckie Cheese headache from sitting thru music played at head banging volume.
– Not putting controversial replays on the scoreboard – Yes, I know this is part of the agreement with the umpires – hey, next time out offer the umps a 20% raise to allow it up there. If they can’t take the heat – make better calls (and this could also push baseball to finally use replay to better affect)
– Not getting rid of bad umpires – I think every game I have ever watched Angel Hernadez ump, he has made a gross mistake in his calls. The man is a miracle that he can be this bad and last this long. MLB if a player was this bad – he would be long gone.
Driving
– People who rush to get in front of me and then immediately slow down or turn right like Arte Johnson’s old man on a tricycle. (if you don’t understand this – google Arte Johnson and tricycle).
– Use or non-use of turn signals – most people don’t use them or you can’t trust they actually know they are on as they drive for blocks with them on.
– “Special” people who see that a lane goes away, but races alongside a line of cars and cuts in rather than wait in line with their “inferiors”.
– The fact that people can buy 1 months worth of car insurance and then cancel it and not pay up when they total your car. In New Jersey, my wife’s aunt told us that you can’t cancel insurance until you show that you have new insurance set-up.
– Why 1 car out of a thousand is allowed to spew smoke ( which can’t be legal) while the other 999 pay to get tested here in the Houston area and we probably do not pollute all together as much as this one vehicle.
Hyperboles in reporting
– I’m sick of the ambulance chasing by reporters -it is sickening
– I’m sick of the “tragedy of the week” type reporting where 90% of a news cast is tied to one story for a week until the next one shows up.
– I know that plane crashes are fairly rare, but why did the plane crash in San Francisco totally dominate the airwaves for so long. There are car crashes all over the place with more fatalities than that one had.
– Cliches in reporting – even in a big market like Houston – some of the reporting can be almost laughable.
And Chip I apologize if my writing may some times annoy you grammatically (not sure). I was a very good student in high school, but plain old was bored and uninterested when we covered grammar. So I’m sure I goof up on apostrophes and other things – though I was a spelling bee champ, so my spelling should be right on.
Fun subject – I feel better now that I’ve vented.
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-Parents who allow their children to roam around stores and restaurants un-disciplined. Children playing with food at restaurants with buffets ( I don’t eat at buffets anymore)
– Drivers that don’t wait their turn at 4 way stops and Dan’s “special drivers” that expect to cut in.
-Folks at baseball games that do everything but pay attention to the game. Music and noise ccontinuously between innings.
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The left lane is not the fast lane. It is the passing lane.
Sorry Dan, but studies show that the most efficient way for traffic to flow is for drivers to continue to the point of the merge and then “zipper”.
So, my pet peeve is people who try to merge immediately as traffic backs up, blocking two lanes, and leaving a mile of perfectly usable concrete unutilized.
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Flash – maybe then I should argue with highway designers for not having double exit lanes?
I don’t like people who merge over early (but not completely) and block the second lane – but I also don’t like them blocking the second lane way up ahead either.
I guess we are at loggerheads on this one.
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Having my husband pass up exits, when he knows I have to pee.
Big rig trucks that slow down and keep BOTH lanes of traffic blocked.
Mothers that SPEED through 20 mph school zones, because THEY
are late picking up their OWN kids.Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
And last……..the Chronicle sports writers who could not say a
positive word about the Astros, if someone held a gun to their head.
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1. Grocery Line: When people pay and then spend 10 minutes putting their check book back in their purse, and getting out keys, and putting away the receipt, and then putting up their shopping list, and then….. before leaving the check stand. 2. Drivers that do not signal when approaching an intersection, then turning right or left, and when 1/2 way through the turn, then turning on their blinkers. 3. I am the guy making the noise. 4. Chip, I owe you multiple apologies for comma blunders, and terrible spelling. 5. Wanting to kill myself when a Congressional Committee guy makes a speech instead of asking a question. 6. TV announcers who think you are watching the game on radio – “He is into his windup” or “Smith leads off 2nd” or “He checks the runner at 1st.” 7. Umpires who wait for a hitter to take 3 steps toward first, and then calling the last pitch a strike. 8, Actors being called “a star” when you have never heard of them, nor the movie that made them a star. and finally at age 69, my biggest pet peeve is old guys that complain at lot.
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Bedard scratched from tonights game. Hmmmmmmmm
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A two for one deal – Norris and Bedard for a better package of prospects? Or Bedard instead of Norris for a worse package of prospects?
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Lots of solid ones there – Astro 45 – you are allowed to complain – you’ve put in your time.
– The congressional speeches especially make me mad when obvious questions never get asked (and rarely get answered) during hearings.
– Worse than TV announcers announcing like they are radio are radio announcers announcing like they are on TV (what the heck is going on).
– Or Milo at the end of his career – barely squeezing the game in between interviewing everyone in the world, self promoting and advertising. The guy had a wonderful voice and knew the game, but too much “other” stuff happening in the booth rather than on the field.
– I also do not like umps who call people out after spectacular fielding plays when they were not out – like they are trying to reward the defender for great effort.
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Norris to the O’s, and Maxwell to the Royals. Not impressed with the return………
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No kidding. Bros before hoes, as the kids say. Seriously though, L.J. Hoes doesn’t hit for average or power and has little speed. I know nothing about Hader. Maxwell going was addition by subtraction.
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Second time I’ve tried to post this…maxwell traded to the royals, Norris to the Orioles.
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Norris for Two Prospects + pick. Can’t complain. Hoes is lots of walks and good avg. OF, Hader jumped up to #5 Prospect as LHP this Summer. About all we could get. People in KC, think they got took on Maxwell trade. I think they did too. Although an “A” ball prospect.
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HOW MANY MORE PROSPECTS DOES THIS TEAM NEED??????????
Sorry, but this just seems to be a salary dump to me. Hoes has not done
ANYTHING to get noticed. Becky
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Becky, I wonder if “attitude” toward Porter had anything to do with Bud being gone. Harrell has been more vocal and animated on TV, but wonder if Norris went in one day and told Bo what he really thought about his managerial style. At the end of the day, what we got for Norris goes along with the value placed on Peavy, and Kennedy. (Or at least looks to be about the same).
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Hoes has a good average this year because of a .352 BABIP. He has been somewhat lucky. Expect him to be a .270ish avg/.350ish OBP. He doesn’t strikeout a lot. He has moderate speed. Haven’t seen the scouting report on fundamentals – is he a smart baserunner? Is he a good glove? Arm? These will determine the trade, along with the kid pitcher and the draft pick. I know this – with limited power and only moderate speed, he will NOT be helpful as a 500 at bat starter unless he suddenly morphs into Tony Gwynn.
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I think KC absolutely got taken. I’m not thrilled with the Norris trade as it feels like a salary dump right now, but I’ll likely have warmed up to it by spring training. Hader is intriguing. For his minor league career he’s at 10.1 K/9 and left handed. The Hoes acquisition has to be about his OBP. Ideally that compensation round pick will get turned into gold by Luhnow.
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1. Baggage claim at the airport – If you see someone standing five feet away from the conveyer belt while awaiting their baggage, do not go stand in front of them. Do people not understand simple mathematics to the point they would choose the most inefficient system possible if it saved them from taking two additional steps to reach moving bags?
2. People who ask, “how late will you be here tonight?” at work. They are only asking for one reason…they want to call / ambush you two minutes before you leave. If I’m planning to leave work at 5:00PM it’s probably for a specific reason. Having to field a call at 4:58PM that would last an undefined amount of time is the last thing I want to do.
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I know what you mean. I HATE when a customer comes in five minutes before we close and then try to stay forever.
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Did the league change the rules about not trading draft picks?
No pet peeves but I have a pet Chihuahua!
Seriously though…
Political bumper stickers. People wearing socks with sandals or with high heels for that matter. People who talk on phone while driving then proceed to drive like a moron. Bob Allen in general. Pop up ads. Customers coming into my job trying to pawn a DVD player from 2004 and expect to get the original full retail price.
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Billy C – I think the rules are different for these “special” compensation picks. Not the same as a regular pick.
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I *LOVE* grand slams……..don’t you!!!
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Man – Castro sure has a beautiful swing – I loved the slam also Becky. The team sure was playing loosely after all the turmoil today.
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And how many times does a team scre 11 runs when the first two guys in the lineup are 0 for 10?
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