Things that annoy you beyond reason...(Vol. 7)

[Rich Boy Spanner]

21st Century Man said:

Nimby said:

Cloudy147 said:

"We are experiencing unusually high call volumes".

I suggested some time ago that any organisation claiming this must publish their call volumes and call staffing numbers for the previous 12 months.

With that message being the standard all year around message anyway, then they aren't experiencing unusually high call volumes, it's the usual call volumes. The message should be "We are experiencing unusually low staffing levels" but that wouldn't be the case either, it would be normal staffing levels that are simply inadequate.

This when calling the Halifax bank, because of the woman who does the automated voice. it speaks so ridiculously slowly and uses that 'I am talking to a 3 year old or a moron' way of speaking that it's like listening to a very young children's TV program.

[cuprabob]

Rich Boy Spanner said:

This when calling the Halifax bank, because of the woman who does the automated voice. it speaks so ridiculously slowly and uses that 'I am talking to a 3 year old or a moron' way of speaking that it's like listening to a very young children's TV program.

"Push 1 to look through the round window, push 2 to look through the square window..."

[bristolracer]

FiF said:

Turtle Shed said:

The BBC's obsession with Glastonbury.

I got annoyed by a picture of Glastonbury goers who were clearly, at least judging by various things with logos they were carrying, were of the set who have been sitting down blocking traffic, picketing buildings and various businesses in the name of the usuals, XR, Insulate whatever, stop oil etc.

All they needed was a scruffy dog on the end of length of hairy string and the pic could have been titled The Compleat Tossers. Grump.

You do know that before it became a legitimate licenced festival it was a huge fundraising gig for CND and Greenpeace?
The festival was mainly populated by the 'set' you are talking about plus assorted crusties, hells angels and other fringes.

It owes its heritage to them and not the white middle classes who populate it these days.

The BBC would never even mention it before it was legitimate, the only person who would acknowledge it was John Peel.

Still the garden could do with the rain this weekend.

[FiF]

bristolracer said:

FiF said:

Turtle Shed said:

The BBC's obsession with Glastonbury.

I got annoyed by a picture of Glastonbury goers who were clearly, at least judging by various things with logos they were carrying, were of the set who have been sitting down blocking traffic, picketing buildings and various businesses in the name of the usuals, XR, Insulate whatever, stop oil etc.

All they needed was a scruffy dog on the end of length of hairy string and the pic could have been titled The Compleat Tossers. Grump.

You do know that before it became a legitimate licenced festival it was a huge fundraising gig for CND and Greenpeace?
The festival was mainly populated by the 'set' you are talking about plus assorted crusties, hells angels and other fringes.

It owes its heritage to them and not the white middle classes who populate it these days.

The BBC would never even mention it before it was legitimate, the only person who would acknowledge it was John Peel.

Still the garden could do with the rain this weekend.

OK, to be fair the ones in the photo probably includes white middle class tossers who have been sitting down blocking traffic etc and not necessarily white crusties with dreadlocks. Though there were a few of those around too.

[anonymous-user]

thetapeworm said:

Just to continue the crossings thing I'm "annoyed beyond reason" that the puffin crossings installed locally seem to have been setup by people with absolutely no idea about how they should work. Surely the whole idea of them is to keep traffic flowing as much as possible while allowing pedestrians to cross as safely as possible before switching back to giving cars priority with minimal delay? Why have all those sensors and buttons if they're just going to operate like regular "dumb" phased lights?

Around here they change to red for no reason as you approach to allow the zero cars waiting in the closed office park to not come out and to give the zero pedestrians chance to not need to cross before letting you stop and then immediately turning to green.

The sensors for pedestrians and for cars should be working together in a way that makes everyone happy, in reality they're just really ineffective and seem to introduce unnecessary delays for everyone.

I also have to agree with the poster above who suggested some zebras should be swapped out to crossings with lights (again, ideally properly setup puffin crossings) - there's a pair of zebras next to a mini roundabout outside a local school (as below) and at peak school times they cause chaos with the traffic as a slow tickle of people cross at intervals that don't allow cars to move again but also create frustration which often leads to near misses as drivers try to avoid the potential delay. Having two close to the roundabout also leads to a gridlock situation at times as people leave the junction thinking the road is clear ahead only for the car in front to suddenly stop for someone about to cross that wasn't in view previously.

Puffin crossings and some hatchings on the road (with enforcements) would strike a much better balance and keep things moving in groups.

Road designer here.

Lots over the last few days to debunk and unpack.

Most modern crossings now have sensors on the posts that can detect if a pedestrian is waiting at the lights ready to cross. If the button has been pressed, but nobody is detected, then the request is cancelled.

Some standalone crossings (rural areas or away from town centres) show a green light/red man unless a ped presses the button, and won't change.
Eg: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.9083564,0.89682,...

Some standalone crossings (mainly in high-ped areas, High Streets etc) show a red light/green man, unless a vehicle is approaching and this triggers the change.
Eg. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.8896458,0.897170...

Some junctions have loops that detect traffic and trigger phases accordingly. Every few cycles, all phases will see a green light, because the loops may not pick up every vehicle (bikes, etc) and so carry out a full cycle to release anyone trapped.

It is possible to set up the signals, so that they are triggered by speeding traffic on approach. Doing 40mph approaching some green lights in a 30 zone? If it's a common problem then the lighting sequence can be (and often is) changed to show these people a red light.

If you have signals at/near a roundabout (mini or standard) then you run the significant risk of confusion, with drivers thinking a green light gives them priority at the roundabout. There are no simple approved signs taht convey this message (or otherwise), and so zebras are the preferred method of crossing peds at mini-roundabout situations. Zebras are unambiguous - person waiting? Then stop.

Don't forget, any moron can have a driving licence - the signs and rules have to be as simple as possible.

Have a read of this if you (or anyone else) is interested. It's quite clear and straightforward.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...

[bmwmike]

For some reason those "my family" graphics/decals on the back of cars, usually a transporter or SUV type thing, really grind my gears. tts.

[anonymous-user]

bmwmike said:

For some reason those "my family" graphics/decals on the back of cars, usually a transporter or SUV type thing, really grind my gears. tts.

[drmotorsport]

Currently house hunting, I want a proper detached house with an air gap between me and the potential freakish neighbours. So why must estate agents clutter my searches with "link detached" houses. What part of I don't want to share a wall with someone, don't they get!? As far as i'm concerned, link detached = semi-detached.

[bmwmike]

OnTheBreadline said:

bmwmike said:

For some reason those "my family" graphics/decals on the back of cars, usually a transporter or SUV type thing, really grind my gears. tts.

Love it!!

[21st Century Man]

bmwmike said:

OnTheBreadline said:

bmwmike said:

For some reason those "my family" graphics/decals on the back of cars, usually a transporter or SUV type thing, really grind my gears. tts.

Love it!!

Similarly "Show cats/dogs in transit". Why? Seriously, why? Who gives a st and what difference does it make to anything or anyone? Do they think other motorists are going to be extra careful? I've got my shopping on board, but I don't fking crow about it!

[captain_cynic]

drmotorsport said:

Currently house hunting, I want a proper detached house with an air gap between me and the potential freakish neighbours. So why must estate agents clutter my searches with "link detached" houses. What part of I don't want to share a wall with someone, don't they get!? As far as i'm concerned, link detached = semi-detached.

The sooner Google/Amazon automate that profession the better.

[thetapeworm]

21st Century Man said:

Similarly "Show cats/dogs in transit". Why? Seriously, why? Who gives a st and what difference does it make to anything or anyone? Do they think other motorists are going to be extra careful? I've got my shopping on board, but I don't fking crow about it!

Whoah! Hang on there a moment, are you telling me that I'm not supposed to hold tiddles out of the car window whenever I see one of those stickers?

I thought they just really liked to see what other people had

[Bluedot]

21st Century Man said:

Similarly "Show cats/dogs in transit". Why? Seriously, why? Who gives a st and what difference does it make to anything or anyone? Do they think other motorists are going to be extra careful? I've got my shopping on board, but I don't fking crow about it!

I thought it was the other way round and its to show that it's the reason that they're driving a bit more carefully and a bit slower round corners & roundabouts etc.
I could well be wrong though.

[21st Century Man]

Bluedot said:

21st Century Man said:

Similarly "Show cats/dogs in transit". Why? Seriously, why? Who gives a st and what difference does it make to anything or anyone? Do they think other motorists are going to be extra careful? I've got my shopping on board, but I don't fking crow about it!

I thought it was the other way round and its to show that it's the reason that they're driving a bit more carefully and a bit slower round corners & roundabouts etc.
I could well be wrong though.

Hmm, that's not occured to me. Not least because I can't say I've ever noticed them driving as if they were trying not to spill a dog bowl of water filled to the brim in the footwell and the sticker is there full time anyway, when there are no animals on board. Rant semi retracted.

[21st Century Man]

thetapeworm said:

Whoah! Hang on there a moment, are you telling me that I'm not supposed to hold tiddles out of the car window whenever I see one of those stickers?

I thought they just really liked to see what other people had

[V8mate]

21st Century Man said:

Bluedot said:

21st Century Man said:

Similarly "Show cats/dogs in transit". Why? Seriously, why? Who gives a st and what difference does it make to anything or anyone? Do they think other motorists are going to be extra careful? I've got my shopping on board, but I don't fking crow about it!

I thought it was the other way round and its to show that it's the reason that they're driving a bit more carefully and a bit slower round corners & roundabouts etc.
I could well be wrong though.

Hmm, that's not occured to me. Not least because I can't say I've ever noticed them driving as if they were trying not to spill a dog bowl of water filled to the brim in the footwell. Rant semi retracted.

People with those stickers are just a subset of the narcissistic, entitled, look-at-me-I'm-better-than-you cohort.

[popeyewhite]

Radio 1 playing lots of old Glastonbury Live music. Now they've had all year to play this crap if it was any good (which of course it isn't, that's why it's never played), but why on Earth play it now? Those interested are at Worthy Farm going through their whites only middle class rite of passage, and those not have had all year to listen/reminisce etc. Similarly the BBC wall to wall coverage. Why? Many many very average bands that normally wouldn't get radio airspace are somehow promoted to legendary status because they just turn up. It's as if the presenters decide en masse to take some drug that renders them delusional and just go with whatever's played and lionise it. Sad.

Yes, I've been. When it was Stonehenge Free anyway.

[Whats on Second]

popeyewhite said:

Radio 1 playing lots of old Glastonbury Live music. Now they've had all year to play this crap if it was any good (which of course it isn't, that's why it's never played), but why on Earth play it now? Those interested are at Worthy Farm going through their whites only middle class rite of passage, and those not have had all year to listen/reminisce etc. Similarly the BBC wall to wall coverage. Why? Many many very average bands that normally wouldn't get radio airspace are somehow promoted to legendary status because they just turn up. It's as if the presenters decide en masse to take some drug that renders them delusional and just go with whatever's played and lionise it. Sad.

Yes, I've been. When it was Stonehenge Free anyway.

the beeb regard it as an institution now, like wimbers and the cenotaph gig, but like these two events it's
mainly peopled and appreciated by whites, this troubles lenny henry. and thus, it troubles the bbc.

but what to do ?

[popeyewhite]

Whats on Second said:

the beeb regard it as an institution now, like wimbers and the cenotaph gig, but like these two events it's
mainly peopled and appreciated by whites, this troubles lenny henry. and thus, it troubles the bbc.

but what to do ?

If enough of us complain about the lack of diversity at Glasto the BBC might stop covering it. Incidentally - regarding L Henry's comments - of course it's mainly whites at the festival, it's mainly white acts and the UK is mainly white. Sometimes... .

[Zumbruk]

captain_cynic said:

drmotorsport said:

Currently house hunting, I want a proper detached house with an air gap between me and the potential freakish neighbours. So why must estate agents clutter my searches with "link detached" houses. What part of I don't want to share a wall with someone, don't they get!? As far as i'm concerned, link detached = semi-detached.

The sooner Google/Amazon automate that profession the better.

All too often, "link detached" = "terraced".