Things that people say and do that annoy you

[Brad Russ]

One thing that has always annoyed me to no end is people who curse or mock God based on what His "followers" do. People use Religious wars, Christian hypocrits, etc as an excuse to curse and mock God, and that isn't right. That is called guilt by association. That's no different then a person having a relative who's a thief, a liar, a rapist, and a drug addict, and mocking, ridiculing, and blaming you for it. You are not responsible for the actions of those related to you, and you shouldn't be judged based on what they do. Guilt by association is bs, and has always annoyed the crap out of me.

[Waterston_Fan]

Two days ago my niece, her mom, and my great nephew came to my house to visit with my eldest sister who is visiting and my mom.

So somehow my niece's bf was mentioned and my eldest sister wanted to meet him. They were supposed to come yesterday but it didn't happen and turns out today was his birthday and now we are going to breakfast at my brother-in-law's house for breakfast.

Thing is, my eldest sister lives in North Carolina so I don't know why she feels she has to meet him if she will never see him and she is leaving tomorrow.

Ugh!!

[Brad Russ]

One thing that has always annoyed the crap out of me is incorrect directions on food. I can't even begin to venture to guess how many times it said to microwave on high for 3 minutes, and when you take it out, it is stone cold in the middle. In food talk, I'm guessing 3 minutes is actually code for four, or four and a half minutes. So freaking annoying!!

[Coffeecup]

Don't know if this has been mentioned. People who walk in the street when a sidewalk is available. You would think they would feel safer on the sidewalk instead of taking a risk of getting hit. I see a walker like this and I mumble "lady why aren't you on the sidewalk?"

[Family Ties Forever!]

I made the mistake of sending a card to one of my teacher friends. It's the same one who had a problem several years ago with gifts. I made what I thought was a nice card and she didn't like it. She was upset over the picture. It's not like I posted it all over the internet. I uploaded it to a card. She said it's a bad picture of her and that she doesn't like bad pictures. I didn't realize it was a bad picture. It was a picture of her, my other teacher friend and me from two years ago. I thought she would like it. Oh well, I won't make that mistake again.

[Brad Russ]

Another thing that annoys me is stupid laws, particularly traffic laws. I am not a driver, but a bike rider and walker. One law that I have never understood is the one that says you have to walk, or ride your bike with the traffic, with the traffic coming from behind you. I have had so many close calls as a biker and walker, and I like to ride or walk against the traffic, to where I see what is coming at me. When you drive with traffic, you have no idea what is coming at you. If a car drifts off into the bicycle lane, you're dead, and don't have a chance. When you are riding or walking against the traffic, you see what is coming at you, so that if a car drifts off into the bike lane, you will atleast have a chance to get out of the way, and save your life. This is a law I have never understood, and one that has always annoyed me.

[Tweety]

Originally Posted by Brad Russ

Another thing that annoys me is stupid laws, particularly traffic laws. I am not a driver, but a bike rider and walker. One law that I have never understood is the one that says you have to walk, or ride your bike with the traffic, with the traffic coming from behind you. I have had so many close calls as a biker and walker, and I like to ride or walk against the traffic, to where I see what is coming at me. When you drive with traffic, you have no idea what is coming at you. If a car drifts off into the bicycle lane, you're dead, and don't have a chance. When you are riding or walking against the traffic, you see what is coming at you, so that if a car drifts off into the bike lane, you will atleast have a chance to get out of the way, and save your life. This is a law I have never understood, and one that has always annoyed me.

There are a couple of reasons for riding with (i.e. in the direction of) traffic. Basically, if a bicyclist is riding with traffic, the driver has more time (not much more, but perhaps enough to make a difference) to react if they don't see you until the last second. The closing speed between a car and a bike increases exponentially if you ride against traffic and are coming directly to a car that doesn't see you and is heading right at you.

The key factor is the amount of time the driver has to react, not the amount of time you have to react.

Also (I hope I can explain this), traffic coming out of side streets and making a left turn will check to their left and their right to make sure it's safe to turn left on to the new road. If you are on the road that they're turning on to, there's a much better chance that they'll see you and your bike if you're in the right lane than if you're in the left lane. If they're turning left out of the side street and heading toward your bike (which hasn't reached their intersection yet), they might be looking the other way to monitor the traffic coming from that direction and might miss seeing you entirely. You don't want that.

I understand that it's a little counter intuitive because you (as a biker) would like to see the traffic that's approaching you rather than wondering what might be behind you. Rear view mirrors are a good idea if you ride on heavily traveled roads very much.

I know that one of the things that can be tough about riding with traffic is, when you hear a car coming behind you, you naturally ride carefully until you see the car pass you. But often, because of the car noise, you can't always tell when there might be another car right behind it. The noise from the first car can mask the noise of another car that's practically on top of you. That can be scary if you're not expecting it.

But decades of experience have shown that it's much safer to ride with traffic.

[Tweety]

I just googled some stuff about bike riding, and here's a diagram that illustrates what I was talking about:

In my example, I used a driver coming out of a side street and turning left...the diagram shows the driver turning right, but the principle is the same. If you're in the left lane (as you're riding), the driver making the turn might not see you in time.

What's worse is, if you were to get hit in this situation, you would most likely be considered at fault in the accident because you disobeyed the traffic laws by riding your bike in the wrong (left) lane.

But you can see in the diagram that the driver who's turning on to the street you're on has their attention focused away from you..

[Penny Lane]

What annoys me are people walking in the road (in your lane) and they assume that you will go around them . They don't move off to the shoulder to get out of the way. Not only is this presumptuous but totally stupid! I know a young girl who was driving home one evening (after dark) and hit and killed a teen walking in her lane whom she didn't see until she hit her. That poor girl is still haunted by that to this day! I feel so sorry for her as it was completely not her fault!

[Brad Russ]

Thanks for all that info Tweety, very interesting to see why that law is the way it is. Like I said, I have had so many close calls. The most recent was a few weeks ago. I was walking down to the river after midnight where I was going to sleep. I was walking in the bicycle lane, and something told me to walk over further in the gravel. Not thirty seconds later, a truck came roaring by atleast 20 miles past the speed limit, and was in half the bicycle lane. It was a Saturday, so I'm pretty sure the guy or gal was drunk, but had I not moved, I'd have been blindsided. Wouldn't have stood a chance.

Because of my current living situation (homeless) I'm out alot, and at whacky hours, and so I always have to be on my toes out there on the streets. I can understand the laws being like they are, but this is one I will continue to break. I'd rather have to deal with the hassle of the police from time to time then to be dead. Thanks again though for explaining that. Good to know why the law is as it is.

[JamesG]

People who talk a mile-a-minute and tend to dominate all conversations.

I went out to eat last night and my friend brought along one of his friends. Nice guy but he goes into long one-sided conversations and he goes on-and-on before I get to finish my reply.

[Dude111]

People who say "Never" all the time..

Many people just follow what others do/say and its sickening!!