Get Your Grump on Thursdays - Was (What's chapping my @ss today?)

[joosttx]

Adult birthday parties. Not 'adult' in the porn sense, because that would be fine, adult as in old people having elaborate parties on their birthday. Great, you are turning 40. You're half dead yet you plan a "birthday weekend" in Vermont and expect all your friends to find someone to watch the kiddies (for a weekend, remember), drive 4 hours to go to some shitty brewery for a party with a bunch of other old dorks you barely know. Oh, and cuz this shit is expensive, you and the other "guests" will be expected to pay for the whole ordeal. But wait, cuz 40 is such a momentous occasion, why stop at one weekend? The following weekend your attendance will be required in Manhattan at some over priced tourist-trap shitbox restaurant (that you heard was so cool! someone FAMOUS might be there!!!). Naturally, a hissy will be thrown if a limo isn't provided (on the "guests" dime of course, cuz hubby is unemployed). My wife needs some new friends.

Part of throwing a party like an adult birthday party / weddings is to honor your guests. This means dont burden them, with a lost weekend, sucky food, or large babysitting expenses, etc., etc.

I have no problem with 40th birthday parties but I seriously would if I was invited to one like you described. I didnt have one but some of the of ones I attended were just great because we were celebrating friendship really. I mean, man, its super cool to take time out and celebrate the fact you have known someone for 20+ years. Very few things are as important as friendship, wife, kids, kin to some. ItS worth taking time out to celebrate such a fact even if its disguised a birthday. I just wanted to throw out this distinction.

[joosttx]

We have two kids under 2. One is 4 weeks old. Just celebrated the Holidays at our home. I took this week off from work and my plan was to entertain house guests and do some early morning riding in hopes it would turn into a habit, the early morning riding stuff, that is.

So this morning, I ride about 7 miles and stop at the coffee shop to get a coffee before embarking on a 60-ish mile loop. Needless to say I am mentally exhausted with kids, guests and holidays. So, I get off my bike reach up to undo my helmet strap. No strap, no helmet. I forgot to put on a helmet this morning and didnt realize it...... I need a nap.

[kpomtb]

1 Pneumonia.
2. Holiday family drama.

[jscott]

The garage troll who sneakily tightens my front QR so hard that I can't open it to change over to the studded tires I'm going to need to make my way to work tomorrow after four days off.

Also, run-on sentences.

[Human Epic Jolt]

I don't like it when others allow the water to well up around the Formica or porcelain at or near a sink. It's just plain sloppy atmo.

yeps. gravity rules.

It's not Thursday. Suicide fucking sucks. Bigger than any Thursday.
Fed up ticking boxes on that one. Talk to me. Not on here.

[Dorman]

It's not quite Thursday yet. I'm pissed.

[RickM]

"Well I try my best
To be just like I am
But everybody wants you
To be just like them..."

Dr. Bob.

[Too Tall]

Bicycling 25 miles into work. Feeling all perky, bundles of clothing, temps in low 20s and 1/2 way realize I forgot my thermos of coffee at home.
Oh DA PAIN THEEEE PAIN
My glorious perky morning deflated like a cheap clincher.
Somebody bring me a double espresso and make it better yo.

[Tom]

Very senior technicians that toss a question over the wall because to answer it would require actual work and investigation and not just ululating into a telephone to hear the sound of their own voice - which is weird because you'd think they'd just want to listen to the voice in their head that repeats "You're a genius! You're the smartest man I ever knew!"

[David Tollefson]

Aside from basically having to do EVERYTHING around the house, and then be told I'm not doing enough (by some one who's spent the last 6 weeks sitting on their ass and gaining weight), everything's pretty great. Rode in to work (all the way to my desk -- yep, rode in the building, into the elevator, then through the halls right to my desk) two of the days I worked over what would normally have had off for a holiday break, and yesterday and today as well. Getting in at 4:30am makes for some pretty deserted roads and dark halls. Sweet solitude. This morning, one other person in the office. "Hey, no bike riding in the building."

"Call Security." [you ass-hole]

[Matthew Strongin]

<snip>and not just ululating into a telephone to hear the sound of their own voice</snip>

Nicely done, sir.

My grump, work. There's change afoot and 3 days into the year my forecast went from busy to stupid busy to the point of impacting the things I love. When good jobs go bad...

[burgess1108]

When local gov'ts go unchecked. For the third year in a row, the toll has gone up on the main access road east/west. It's now $2.75 to go each way - about twelve miles. This, mind you, on a road that they promised to take the tolls down once it was paid for which happened years ago.

Oh, and they have approval to increase the toll again next year to $3.50. Highway robbery, indeed.

Yeah, I know. I should just bike commute.

[David Tollefson]

Fecking books on CD from the local public library... Nothing like getting to the last half of the last disk and find it's so scratched it won't even load. Feel like I wasted all that listening time.

[Matthew J]

On line casual wear sizing.

I am just under 6’ and weigh about 165 lbs. That puts me just over the U.S. male median height and slightly below the average weight. One would think this makes me about as standard a men’s medium as there is. No such luck it would seem.

Last month I bought a long sleeve merino shirt from Velobici, a down vest from Archival Clothing and a woolen Filson shirt.

The Velobici fits but is somewhat tight. Alright for using as a base layer, but I had hoped to wear it alone on rides when the temps go up. Maybe if I were riding on the Jersey Shore.

The Archival fits perfect.

The Filson was so oversized I figured it had to be mislabeled and sent it back. Yesterday I got an e-mail from Filson saying they measured the shirt and it is in fact a medium and they will gladly send me a small.

So out of three companies, one appears to think I am somewhat overweight, one normal, and one a shrimp.

[Saab2000]

Airports (this is mostly a US problem) which have an incessant need to fill silence with noise. In PHL they constantly have announcements tell me it's dangerous to run across the street in front of the terminal. No shit. They also tell us about shopping opportunities with 'Street Pricing'. At 110 decibels. In DTW we are reminded in at least three languages that Michigan (Michiganawa) is in the Eastern Time Zone. At DCA we get a time announcement ever half hour. "The current time is wait for it EIGHT THIRTY AM". All over the nation we are reminded, inside the secure zone, about the "Three in one" rule by the TSA and that airport curbside is for loading and unloading only and the unattended vehicles may be ticketed and towed. If I'm inside the secure zone why do I care about this? My car will have long since been towed and blown up.

And my fave is when two adjacent gates make their "Last and Final Call!" announcements half a dozen times and they speak at the same time. If people can't be at the gate on time, überloud announcements aren't going to get them there. Leave them.

The lack of serenity in any US Airport makes me rage. Anyone who's ever been to ZRH knows that they can be nice and actually relaxing places. They don't need to be worse than a cattle auction.


Carry on.

[robin3mj]

Those reindeer antlers that people put on their car windows.
Bonus points for the Rudolph red nose on the grill.
Stupid 2 weeks ago, and now even dumber.
Put them away, and don't take them out next year.

Also- my (Shimano 600) shifter has frozen the last 2 mornings on the way into work- will shift to a smaller cog, but not bigger. Nothing like pushing away from traffic lights in a 42x11.

[RickM]

Airports (this is mostly a US problem) which have an incessant need to fill silence with noise. In PHL they constantly have announcements tell me it's dangerous to run across the street in front of the terminal. No shit. They also tell us about shopping opportunities with 'Street Pricing'. At 110 decibels. In DTW we are reminded in at least three languages that Michigan (Michiganawa) is in the Eastern Time Zone. At DCA we get a time announcement ever half hour. "The current time is wait for it EIGHT THIRTY AM". All over the nation we are reminded, inside the secure zone, about the "Three in one" rule by the TSA and that airport curbside is for loading and unloading only and the unattended vehicles may be ticketed and towed. If I'm inside the secure zone why do I care about this? My car will have long since been towed and blown up.

And my fave is when two adjacent gates make their "Last and Final Call!" announcements half a dozen times and they speak at the same time. If people can't be at the gate on time, überloud announcements aren't going to get them there. Leave them.

The lack of serenity in any US Airport makes me rage. Anyone who's ever been to ZRH knows that they can be nice and actually relaxing places. They don't need to be worse than a cattle auction.


Carry on.

Additionally, why can't US airports..or any public US buildings, keep restrooms even marginally clean? Ever been in the bathrooms in, say, the Frankfurt airport? Clean as a whistle..with fucking public showers, even...that are as clean as a PineSol commercial.

Stateside, I hate my hometown airport; Logan. It's a fucking shithole that closes up shop at like 8pm, so if you get in late, you can't grab a coffee or anything. My fave east coast airport to have to spend time in; Pittsburgh.

[Saab2000]

Additionally, why can't US airports..or any public US buildings, keep restrooms even marginally clean? Ever been in the bathrooms in, say, the Frankfurt airport? Clean as a whistle..with fucking public showers, even...that are as clean as a PineSol commercial.

Stateside, I hate my hometown airport; Logan. It's a fucking shithole that closes up shop at like 8pm, so if you get in late, you can't grab a coffee or anything. My fave east coast airport to have to spend time in; Pittsburgh.

So true. Most airports are filthy. And CLT has creepy bathroom attendants who do things like greet you when you come in to take a leak and hand you paper towels. The management of CLT needs to recognize theirs is a redneck connection airport, not the Men's Lounge at a swanky club in Manhattan.

Oh, and PIT is midwest. I will swear to that up and down. Like a different planet from it's partner, PHL, on the east coast. PIT is the end of the midwest, not the beginning of the east. Sorry for being an elitist midwesterner.

But yeah, nasty restrooms suck. And ORD is a very bad experience for most passengers most of the time. Pilot's dream (best controllers ever) but the passenger facility is a disgrace.

One more thing while I'm on a roll. Then I have to catch my flight back to the civilized east coast: If you're lying on the floor in an airport you better be dead or almost dead. WTF is up with people sleeping on the floor of the gate area!?!??

[xjoex]

Kids these days! I teach CS in grad school, 40% of my students cheated on the mid term. Granted I turned them in, but I also gave them the opportunity to do extra credit. So I made sure no student got less than a B as a final grade, I was incredibly generous with my grading to make that happen. I also did not want to deal with the administrative headache of failing one of them.

Multiple cheaters have had the audacity to email me and ask to bump them up to an A-. Seriously, they cheated and I should have flunked them outright.

Lesson learned. I am too nice.

-Joe

[RickM]

Kids these days! I teach CS in grad school, 40% of my students cheated on the mid term. Granted I turned them in, but I also gave them the opportunity to do extra credit. So I made sure no student got less than a B, I was incredibly generous with my grading to make that happen. I also did not want to deal with the administrative headache of failing one of them.

Multiple cheaters have had the audacity to email me and ask to bump them up to an A-. Seriously, they cheated and I should have flunked them outright.

Lesson learned. I am too nice.

-Joe

No worries..when they come to me for a job interview and we quickly determine they have no better understanding of computer internals or systems programming then your average geeky 12-year old, we'll advise them to scoot on down to mikky-d's and get fitted out for a paper hat and a smock.