Little things that annoy the hell out of you

[Edmond Dantes]

Getting e-mails from Amazon about "Deals."

Half the time they do inform me of something I actually give a damn about, but other times its random stuff.

Also the stereotypes often applied to taste. No, Barnes and Noble, just because I like Tolkien does not mean I'll enjoy Robert Jordan's crap. And just because I like manga doesn't mean I'll be interested in some Marvel Comics storyline (seriously, you'd think they'd realize there's practically no overlap between manga fans and comic fans and the two actually tend to war with each other).

... Also feeling like the only person who doesn't understand why anyone still watches TV. Every show I see people praise, I try it out and wind up thinking "this is garbage."

[Ji-L87]

Getting e-mails from Amazon about "Deals."

Half the time they do inform me of something I actually give a damn about, but other times its random stuff.

I especially enjoy those "You already bought this thing, but why didn't you buy these other things like all the other guys did? Oh, and we're having a sale on that other thing you bought now so ha!"

[Vyxx]

Yep, dreaming about mundane things feels like you are wasting your imagination and your sleep time.
A few years ago I used to write down every strange dream I had.

What about a "What did you dream last night" thread?

Dreams; the best waste if time

[Edmond Dantes]

I just saw an Amazon.com review where someone... well, just see for yourself.

Anti-intellectuals are the worst.

[Ed Oscuro]

ALL SONS OF OLD DISCIPLINES, DIE!!

[KAI]

Dreams; the best waste if time

Exactly. I dreamed some weird shit last night and it was better than watching a movie.


Blackouts. I fucking hate blackouts.

[Edmond Dantes]

ALL SONS OF OLD DISCIPLINES, DIE!!

Unbelievable! You are going to send a toy into battle?

[trap15]

x86-64 assembly.

[KennyMan666]

While people smoking in general annoy me, especially in places like bus stops, that can often be solved by moving a little bit away.

However, as I experienced on Saturday, people who smoke while standing in long, slow-moving lines are the worst.

[mosey]

While people smoking in general annoy me, especially in places like bus stops, that can often be solved by moving a little bit away.

However, as I experienced on Saturday, people who smoke while standing in long, slow-moving lines are the worst.

Oh yes, inciting uncomfortable and pointed yet justified situations with strangers is so fun. Try getting right up in their comfort zone. Maybe a wink or two too.

Also, getting woken up at too early an hour to two sweet old ladies canvasing the neighborhood, and do I know the true meaning behind the upcoming Halloween season? Of course I know the meaning of my and many many children's favorite holiday you biddies! If you were not so old and innocent I'd be oh-so rude. . . (cunts).

Happy Halloween everybody!

[Ji-L87]

Just bought my first own smartphone.

And it turns out my old SIM card won't fit

Happiness.

[system11]

My laptop went bang. Even the BIOS boot screens are mis-spelled now, and if it tries to go into anything above 800x600 the machine just hangs. I suppose I'm lucky it functions enough for a bootable backups CD to work, so all the data is saved.

As a result I was unable to get some bids in on art I really wanted,

This is not an expense I needed right now, things always happen at the wrong times. At least I've got the tiny little X60 from my test bench to use for the moment.

[emphatic]

Trying to use Windows7 in an HTPC. I can't believe how fucking stupid this O/S is at times. Just because I turn my TV or AVR off, there's no fucking need in hell for Windows7 to de-activate my GFX card! Sometimes when I turn my TV on now, there's nothing but darkness, as there is no GFX or audio renderer "installed". Well you know what Microsoft, go suck a dick. Wow, this is such bullshit.

[SuperGrafx]

My biggest annoyance lately are these idiots on the road with their big pickup trucks (and moronic deep exhaust systems).
Yes, I get it. You're a construction worker who takes pride in your Ford 150. But stop racing that giant bathtub on wheels at every stoplight. This isn't Ridge Racer afterall.

[jpeg]

People drawing Annie Leonhardt with a straight nose.

[gabe]

Trying to use Windows7 in an HTPC. I can't believe how fucking stupid this O/S is at times. Just because I turn my TV or AVR off, there's no fucking need in hell for Windows7 to de-activate my GFX card! Sometimes when I turn my TV on now, there's nothing but darkness, as there is no GFX or audio renderer "installed". Well you know what Microsoft, go suck a dick. Wow, this is such bullshit.

Agreed x1,000,000. I'm pretty sure that issue is caused by HDCP, which (along with other video DRM schemes) might be my biggest annoyance of the past 5 years. To me, the whole point of building an HTPC over using an off-the-shelf alternative is to have a single solution for playing back ALL types of digital media. Because of the sorry state of DRM as it's implemented by many content providers, the best possible OS for achieving that goal is Windows, which comes with its own long list of annoyances.

[emphatic]

Trying to use Windows7 in an HTPC. I can't believe how fucking stupid this O/S is at times. Just because I turn my TV or AVR off, there's no fucking need in hell for Windows7 to de-activate my GFX card! Sometimes when I turn my TV on now, there's nothing but darkness, as there is no GFX or audio renderer "installed". Well you know what Microsoft, go suck a dick. Wow, this is such bullshit.

Agreed x1,000,000. I'm pretty sure that issue is caused by HDCP, which (along with other video DRM schemes) might be my biggest annoyance of the past 5 years. To me, the whole point of building an HTPC over using an off-the-shelf alternative is to have a single solution for playing back ALL types of digital media. Because of the sorry state of DRM as it's implemented by many content providers, the best possible OS for achieving that goal is Windows, which comes with its own long list of annoyances.

You can fix this by buying this (rather expensive) piece of equipment: http://www.hdfury.com/products/dr-hdmi-specs/

I'm gonna try a different approach though, by modding the pins 18+19 in the HDMI connector so Windows thinks that there's always a monitor connected no matter what.

[BIL]

Smallish spider runs out from under washing machine. Ok, fair enough I suppose. Much bigger spider runs out after it and drags it thrashing back into the gap. Get a fucking room. "They eat fliez lololol" these ones don't seem to. Actually there isn't shit for them to eat here anyway, I fastidiously defy the "messy bachelor pad" stereotype. I suppose they enjoy the free heating?

[Lord Satori]

Anime that abruptly ends before the goddamned story is finished. (no, coming up with a cheap half-assed alternate ending midseason doesn't count)

Anime "movies" that are really just shortened versions of the episodes. (Lyrical Nanoha and Madoka Magica did that)

[drauch]

I've got spiders all over this bitch. I kinda am the nazzty bachelor pad dude (no rotten food and shit laying around, just endless films, books, games, and tenga eggs), but there are spiders in corners, windows, sinks, and whatnot. The cats usually get the freethinkers who get a little too audacious in my perplexing hospitality and attempt to venture out somewhere besides the sink or window ledge. But yeah, I'll usually toss the roving hunting predator--if he survives the cat guards--like ground or wolf spiders, and especially brown recluses, although they're strangely quite sparse in this house. I'm down with synanthropic web dwellers, though, but I definitely can see why the arachnaphobe or general populace that doesn't share an inordinate fascination with arachnids wouldn't want some small, alien-like beast living in their sink. I've had some problems with clothes moths last year, little black ants (actual common name, believe it or not), and the occasional dreaded silverfish, but my legion of SINK AND LEDGE spiders have done great justice. Fuckin' husks and detritus all over. It's like the Vlad Tepes display for sinks against my enemies. "Want in my home? I DARE you. *webbed spiders welcome*"

[BIL]

Interesting point you mention, about silverfish... I was getting tons of them in my place earlier this year, they certainly have dropped off. Maybe I've dismissed spidey too soon? Though I keep all my valued cardboard firmly entombed in polypropylene storage containers when not in use, and I have the luxury of a dedicated Nerd Room with little but said boxes in it, so the ol' silverfishes are fairly simple to keep at bay.

I don't mind the spiders I get here too much, as long as they stay out of my way/sight while being creepy (IE, my cannibalistic lodger promptly disappeared back from whence it came, so no need to whack it with a broom or blindly nuke the area with bug spray). It helps that the absolute largest specimen I've seen here was maybe the span of a toddler's hand. The fucking things I get back home in the Caribbean at my old house were grown man hand-sized, at minimum. Pretty sure they're not poisonous or anything but a facehugger scuttling out from behind the calendar really ruins my evening calm. >_< I'm probably at least mildly arachnophobic, considering one of The Things I Like About Europe is those things not being around.

[Edmond Dantes]

For some reason, my ISP's home page will not load up.

But my dad brought down his laptop and the page worked for him. Just not for my laptop.... what the hell?

(my Laptop runs windows 7 if anyone wants to point me to a useful resource)

[BareKnuckleRoo]

This could be anything from a DNS server change your computer hasn't picked up yet to something involving your computer's own hosts files (unlikely). Try resetting the router, clearing browsing cache, etc, and worse comes to worse contact your ISP.

and the occasional dreaded silverfish

Fuck those things. I saw one in my bathroom for the first time months ago and was all "wtf are you OH SHIT YOU MOVE FAST C'MERE SO I CAN KILL YOU". Then I learned how much they can mess your shit up and I've got bug traps everywhere. Caught plenty of various things... I've seen only one other silverfish, so I think it was a fluke and not an infestation.

I do have an infestation of earwigs in the frame of my door, they keep falling down when I open the front door. They're harmless (and apparently quite interesting, they look after their eggs maternally which seems to be unusual for insects) but they're big and make a mess when you squish 'em.

Spiders I know are helpful, but I still squish them on sight... but same goes with any crawlies I see in the house. :/ The only time I really hate 'em is when they hide in the laundry pile and pop out when you're sorting clothes.

[Edmond Dantes]

Okay, now I've discovered that the webpages that won't load normally, WILL load if I go thru a proxy like hidemyass.com. What does that suggest?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

If you've gotten IP banned/blacklisted from a website (which is unlikely if it's your ISP home page) using a proxy obviously lets you access it. But it's probably a DNS issue, you could try changing your DNS settings to use one like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDNS instead of whatever it's set to. Try manually resetting your router's settings too. If it's just happening with your ISP's site, contact them, they may have changed IP addresses or something and your current DNS hasn't picked up on it?

[Edmond Dantes]

Well, changing my laptop's DNS didn't work, and I apparently can't change my router's DNS either. (Although my dad was plugged into that same router earlier and things went fine for him).

Incidentally, I've discovered its not just my ISP--Fimfiction.net and Digitpress also aren't loading.

This all started during a thunderstorm a few days back, I'm starting to think my laptop must've been damaged.

[gabe]

This all started during a thunderstorm a few days back, I'm starting to think my laptop must've been damaged.

Incredibly unlikely, given the symptoms.

Much more likely, you've been infected with some malware.

[Ruldra]

Okay, now I've discovered that the webpages that won't load normally, WILL load if I go thru a proxy like hidemyass.com. What does that suggest?

A while ago my PC couldn't access Google of all sites (but it was accessible via proxy). My brother had a look and turns out there were 3 different rootkits installed somehow.

[Edmond Dantes]

... Well, fortunately my laptop came with discs that restore the operating system to out-of-the-box, never-been-touched condition. After I did that, the internet started working again.

I've now got all my favorite software installed and up to date and have created a system restore point.

Hopefully this won't happen again...

[BareKnuckleRoo]

If it's malware that's fucking up your internet (possibly by fucking up its DNS use like this one), a system restore won't actually get rid of the malware. A lot of malware messes with your ability to do stuff like mess with the control panel, prevents CTRL ALT DEL from working, etc. You should have a decent antivirus/anti malware running and something like Spybot S&D to immunize and do regular checks, ideally to prevent malware from getting in and damaging anything in the first place.