$wpsc_version = 169; What Grinds My Gears » 2008 » October

10.22.08

Drivers Who Can’t Stop Behind The White Line

Posted in People at 1:56 pm by bsdman

You know what grinds my gears? It’s drivers who can’t stop behind the white line.

That little white line is there for a reason: to stop behind. The majority of traffic light sensors are located behind the white line. So when you pull up too far and pass that magical white line, you actually can miss the sensor and consequently look like the asshole you are for a longer period of time.

It also is super aggravating when someone not only pulls past the white line, but angles their car towards the future destination. That’s just plain ignorant.

Here’s a normal intersection with a normal person stopping:

Notice that the path of the car trying to turn left is open. The red car has no problem turning in this situation.

But now look at this intersection:

As you can plainly see, the blue car is being driven by a “fucking douche-bag”. The people that do this most often are women in SUVs, or guys who drive while talking on the phone. Those people are both still classified as “fucking douche-bags”.

Not only is that irresponsible of the driver, but it’s down-right dangerous for everyone. It just makes driving that much more difficult. I started going as slow as possible past these douche-bags, that way they can sit halfway into both lanes for longer. I like to spread their look of douche-baggery onto everyone that cares to look.

And that’s what grinds my gears.

10.08.08

Getting Work Projects Just Before Quitting Time

Posted in People at 3:06 pm by bsdman

You know what grinds my gears? It’s getting a new project (a priority one) right before quitting time. I work great hours – 9AM until 430PM. I can’t complain about the hours. However, I also have a blackberry, which means I really end up working another hour or two during my “off time”. Add to that the certification tests I have to study for.. and you have one fairly busy gear grinder.

My favorite one to date is the “there’s a new employee starting tomorrow”. I usually get this around 4:45PM.


Just an FYI, it takes me around an hour to setup the new user, add a mailbox, setup the purchasing/sales side of things, the vendor contact, add a voicemail box, add the user to 2 different purchasing websites, move the user in active directory, and email all the information to said user. That does not include the time it takes to move a new computer to a desk, and setup all the necessary hardware. We’ll just say that takes another 10 minutes. That means I get to leave much later than I wanted to leave. Traffic sucks when I leave late.

Actually, I thought of a new favorite – when I had to add TWO new users that were starting Monday (it was a Friday at 5:30 already). I was there late moving two other reps to new desks. I end up leaving after 7.

Some might tell me to quit bitching, but I figure I’m entitled to be lazy from time to time.

And that’s what grinds my gears.