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

[Nierman]

Fender ports are the new fins. Taurus, Kia Optima/Soul, BRZ, Rover, Dodge Nitro, Cooper - they are ing everywhere. They must be giving JC Whitney catalogs as reading requirement for first-year design schoolers. Stop it.

[jitahs]

I hate the Fab Five and their robotron-as-one-precociousness-in-a-jar interviews.

Give me the sturm und drang of the Russians or the perfection of the Romanians on the beam.

[zetroc]

Coffee cup is bigger than the one I normally use. Greater volume means an increased surface area leading to more rapid cooling resulting in a big cup of lukewarm coffee instead of a smaller cup of hot coffee.

Assuming you're talking about ceramic instead of paper, the key here is to fill your cup with hot water before filling it with coffee - hot water heats the mug so the coffee doesn't. It took me years to learn that one.

[bcm119]

Uppity Berkeley pedestrians who step right in front of you in a crosswalk when you are the LAST f*cking car in a long line of cars and there is a 1/4 mile of open road behind you. Also, uppity Berkeley pedestrians who step out from behind a bush or car into a crosswalk in front of you, causing you to brake suddenly, and then proceed to give you an arms raised WTF look. I've even seen these people pound on hoods of cars, and yell things like "you want to run me over?! Go ahead!" Perhaps these people have never driven cars and don't understand the basic physics of deceleration, or maybe they have become so paranoid about cars that they believe drivers are out to intentionally run people over.

In any case, I assume that these self righteous pedestrians who choose to step in front of cars to exercise their right-of-ways instead of waiting 5-10 seconds for a break in traffic are patriotic gas guzzling Republicans, since they apparently prefer 2-ton hunks of steel to come to complete stops every 2 blocks and then belch out clouds of CO into their fair city's air as they accelerate again. No one could possibly behave this way and be in favor of fuel efficiency, much less any sort of "green" energy policy.

[ChristianSLC]

The neighbors, who drive three spotless white vehicles, but haven't mowed their lawn in months.

[jitahs]

Uppity Berkeley pedestrians who step right in front of you in a crosswalk when you are the LAST f*cking car in a long line of cars and there is a 1/4 mile of open road behind you. Also, uppity Berkeley pedestrians who step out from behind a bush or car into a crosswalk in front of you, causing you to brake suddenly, and then proceed to give you an arms raised WTF look. I've even seen these people pound on hoods of cars, and yell things like "you want to run me over?! Go ahead!" Perhaps these people have never driven cars and don't understand the basic physics of deceleration, or maybe they have become so paranoid about cars that they believe drivers are out to intentionally run people over.

In any case, I assume that these self righteous pedestrians who choose to step in front of cars to exercise their right-of-ways instead of waiting 5-10 seconds for a break in traffic are patriotic gas guzzling Republicans, since they apparently prefer 2-ton hunks of steel to come to complete stops every 2 blocks and then belch out clouds of CO into their fair city's air as they accelerate again. No one could possibly behave this way and be in favor of fuel efficiency, much less any sort of "green" energy policy.

Berkeley, a Holiday in Cambodia.

[gearguywb]

Uppity Berkeley pedestrians who step right in front of you in a crosswalk when you are the LAST f*cking car in a long line of cars and there is a 1/4 mile of open road behind you. Also, uppity Berkeley pedestrians who step out from behind a bush or car into a crosswalk in front of you, causing you to brake suddenly, and then proceed to give you an arms raised WTF look. I've even seen these people pound on hoods of cars, and yell things like "you want to run me over?! Go ahead!" Perhaps these people have never driven cars and don't understand the basic physics of deceleration, or maybe they have become so paranoid about cars that they believe drivers are out to intentionally run people over.

In any case, I assume that these self righteous pedestrians who choose to step in front of cars to exercise their right-of-ways instead of waiting 5-10 seconds for a break in traffic are patriotic gas guzzling Republicans, since they apparently prefer 2-ton hunks of steel to come to complete stops every 2 blocks and then belch out clouds of CO into their fair city's air as they accelerate again. No one could possibly behave this way and be in favor of fuel efficiency, much less any sort of "green" energy policy.

Quite the leap from a pedestrian stepping in front of a car to "gas guzzling Republican"!

[doctor855]

Calling a bank and getting an automated service which refers to itself in the first person. As in, "Briefly, how can I help you today?" Me, "Get me a real human on the phone". It, "OK, Right away, but first I'll need some basic information in order to direct your call to the right person". And on and on it goes until I get a real person.

Automated call answering at companies pisses me off.

And then you get someone with an accent that you couldn't understand even if you didn't have a shit cell phone signal..But they have coverage of 99% of North America and I'm the only asshole that spends his entire life in that 1%

[zetroc]

Fun fact: Some of those automated phone trees are designed to direct you to a supervisor if you're angry and need that special touch. Swearing loudly and clearly can sometimes make it happen.

[bcm119]

Quite the leap from a pedestrian stepping in front of a car to "gas guzzling Republican"!

Just slinging the worst insult I could think at this particular strain of Berkeleyan....this is a self-help thread right?

[Too Tall]

I've never been one to sulk, but I'm feeling pretty low lately. Some of what's bothering me will get better. Some of what's bothering me won't. And there's a bit of dread inside me I can't really ascribe to anything. That's the part that bothers me most.

Billions of people have it worse. And when I was younger that may have been enough to set me right again. But the older I get the less life is a contest - and that is a beautiful, positive thing on most counts. But I can't take comfort in knowing I have no right to complain. In fact, knowing I should quit my bitchin' just makes me feel worse; I know that I should shake this off, and for the first time I just can't.

I expect it will get better. And then one day it will get worse. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Honey, that is angst and alot of words. Focus man, FOCUS.

[Too Tall]

Assuming you're talking about ceramic instead of paper, the key here is to fill your cup with hot water before filling it with coffee - hot water heats the mug so the coffee doesn't. It took me years to learn that one.

Again, I'm going to issue a infraction. Giving advice? Mon dieu, use active listening yo ;) Drop and give me 20 grumpy.

Only 4 1/2 more hrs. to purge the urge. Get er done.

[maunahaole]

Summilux is out riding and I'm stuck in a concrete box banging on a keyboard.

[Human Epic Jolt]

thursday is great.

[Matthew Strongin]

I know, it was a stretch. Man was I grumpy on Monday when I dropped it off at the shop for the 7th or 8th time in 3 months for just enough different issues to avoid recourse through the lemon law. I drive loaners more than my own car these days. Damn, now I'm actually pissed off again.

Recycling this one since the car is back at the shop. Again. Spent 2 hours on the phone with the car company trying to get them to understand that a 2 year old car shouldn't need service every 2 weeks. I'm not quite sure how much of the engine is even original at this point. I'm over that piece of junk.

[G-reg]

"I know, right?"

[maunahaole]

Recycling this one since the car is back at the shop. Again. Spent 2 hours on the phone with the car company trying to get them to understand that a 2 year old car shouldn't need service every 2 weeks. I'm not quite sure how much of the engine is even original at this point. I'm over that piece of junk.

What kind of POS car is this?

[kpomtb]

Temps this week have been from 104-107 all week.

My will to ride has melted.

[Matthew Strongin]

What kind of POS car is this?

Mini Cooper S. Fun to drive when i have it.

[soupless]

It's not even midnight in the city that (supposedly) never sleeps, but I can't buy a goddamn bottle of wine within a three mile radius.