Out of Pod Experience

OOPE needs a rant thread. Feel free to rant here about whatever's getting under your skin.

I'll start with a rant about people who do things that are considered polite, but in such a way that it actually places inconvenience on you. They grin like morons as if they're doing you some kind of favor, but they're really just getting in your way.

Example 1: The obsessive door holders.
You're miles away from the door when some guy holds it open for you. You could have had a leisurely twenty seconds of walking but instead you have to jog over so that he can stop smiling at you and let go of the bloody door. Either that or they're holding a door open for you that isn't the correct door and which blocks your path when opened, necessitating an awkward exchange involving pointing at other doors and smiles and nods before you can get them to close the door and get out of your way.

Example 2: Stops when there's not a stop-sign.
I'm riding my bike to work along a nice side street. The side street crosses a busy multi-lane road. I have a stop sign. The multi-lane road does not. It usually takes less than thirty seconds to find an opening to cross. Along comes this one guy who decides to stop for me. Great. There are two cars behind you, and the other lanes are still moving. Now I'm forced to either play Frogger with the remaining lanes, or continue to wait while you make it look like I'm the one holding up traffic. Often times these exchanges take longer to resolve than it would have taken for that person to just drive by and leave a nice clear road for me to cross.

Example 3: Grabs your stuff while you're in the process of picking it up.
I drop some loose change. I bend down and begin picking it up. I have two of the three coins in my hand and am reaching out for the third. Along comes Mr. Helpful to race over as fast as he can, snatch the coin before I can get to it, and then waste my time with "thank-you"s and smiles and nods. If someone drops a stack of paper and they're all blowing in the wind, it's helpful to lend a hand in picking them up. If they've already picked up whatever it is, leave them the hell alone. You lost your chance to be helpful and now you're just getting in the way.

The "Oh look a motorbike in my mirror lets pull right over to let him pass". NO. Move over a bit sure but if you are pretty much digging up the verge you are slowing me down. Slowing everyone else down. Not only that but you are showering me in dirt!

I have a power to weight ratio more than ten times yours! I will pass when I am ready!

/rant

I'm gonna rant my head off. Look at my blog below \/

1. People Staring
I'm going rant about the incessant need for everyone to stare at you when you leave a car or get off a bus. Seriously? Is there not a more interesting item of convenience for you to stare at? Are these people inane? For some absurd reason they find it suitable to goggle at you like a pair of morons as you leave a bus or get out of a car, quite frankly if this is the highlight of your day I have some bad news for you.

2. Please and Thank you
This is the one thing in the world that fucks me off more than anything, especially with women, I have taken the time to move out of the way of your quad-baby push chair, move my hands in the according position signalling for you to pass, I expect the slightest bit of gratitude, "please" is always a nice thing, being polite is free and is usually a good deed and creates a positive opinion of you. I have bee constantly taught and reminded of politeness and common courtesy yet the UK is a failing nation and politeness is a failing courtesy.

3. People who walk around the street with their trousers round their ankles.
This is quite possibly, the most irritating, god damn thing, on the face of the Earth. What in gods good name drove someone to flash off their arse to the world every time they entered the public? It gets progressively worse every year, as if these inane, moronic, imbecilic half-human animals are not bad enough talking like a broken record machine with an attitude problem, but now they have to dress like they are going to be raped in a prison every time they leave their home of residence.

-- People who take 10 minutes to execute an ATM transaction. If the money is not in there, trying the transaction 7 times is not going to make it magically appear. Of course it's good for a laugh when they turn away, see you watching and say "I don't think it's working, mate." Then I proceed to make my withdrawal in about 12 seconds.

-- People at a store who don't seem to realize that they are going to have to actually pay for their items until they are prompted by the cashier. Regardless the amount of your purchase, you're likely going to need some method of payment by the time the cashier passes the last item over the scanner. But they choose to wait until told the total to start looking for their wallet, checkbook, changepurse.

-- People who let their children run amok in public places. I get it...they're kids...but if you're not going to teach them the proper way to behave in public, get a babysitter or stay home with them until they're out of the house. I don't mind well-behaved kids...they're cute (disclaimer: I have none of my own) but a three-strikes rule in a restaurant or movie theater is more than generous on my part. And if you're giving your child a hand-held video game as a substitute for proper parenting in such places, turn the volume off or give the little angel headphones so they can destroy their hearing.

--Speaking of theaters...bringing a 5-year old child to an R-rated movie, or an infant to ANY movie is just irresponsible.

-- Pajamas are NOT proper attire for being in public, if you're older than 4 years. If you're a teenager or an adult wearing pajamas in public, you're sending a message and it's not that you're stylish.

Ahhhh....I feel better already.

Let me add one question for our non-English speaking cousins...I've traveled to various foreign countries and often wondered if it's better to make a vain attempt at your language before we gravitate to English (or hand-signals) or should I just start the conversation with "Do you speak English?" I speak English and one other language (4/5 level) and have wondered if it irritates people when I demolish their language? It's easy in the States, since everyone assumes you speak English.

u know what really gets my ******* goat ! people who wait ten minuetes for the frigging bus ... then spend another ten mins getting their change out of their pockets to put it in the CORRECT CHANGE ONLY hopper ! .... then they fkn moan why the fkn buses never run on time ..... does my fkn crust pisses me off big time ...especialy when im trying to catch a frigging train