Here are some of my pet peeves, some SDMB-related, some general, some major, some minor
SDMB-related pet peeves
(1) I hate hate hate hate hate it when I post something, usually something long winded and a bit pompous with little lists in it, as is my wont, and I get basically no response. C’mon, you wrote several paragraphs, I spent several paragraphs specifically responding to your paragraphs and making what seemed to me to be interesting points, and raised some interesting questions… throw me a bone here!
(2) I hate the frequently used comment that pops up in political threads all the time (on both sides) of the form “…and these same people are usually the same ones who believe/say X”. For instance “…and these same conservatives who are so concerned about the life of the unborn are in favor the death penalty”. Now there might, MIGHT, be a place for such a comment in a general discussion of the conservative movement as a whole… I guess it might be worth reflecting on the fact that the party that supports the “culture of life” also supports the death penalty. What does that imply? But bringing it up in a thread specifically about abortion is pointless and idiotic. First of all, unless you specifically know that the specific person you’re arguing with is also pro-death penalty then you’re just making groundless assumptions. After all, Catholics tend to be anti-abortion and anti-death penalty. Secondly, so what if someone is anti-abortion and pro-death-penalty? Is that an inherently self-contradictory position? Not that I hold this position, but I see nothing hypocritical about believing that (a) a fetus is a human life, and (b) innocent human life should be protected extremely highly, and (c) once someoen commits a serious crime, we don’t extend that protection to them any more
(3) I’m sick of people saying “oh, and there are some hard-line atheists who are just as bad as the hard-line religious folks.” That’s utter and total bullshit, cut from the same cloth as all the complaints about how “anti-Christian” the US is. Sure, some atheists can be condescending and obnoxious. But if the only bad things that ultra-religious folks did was be condescending and obnoxious, the world would be a pretty fucking much better place than it is.
(4) I’m also sick of people who mention that they’ve never watched reality television, as if (a) that makes them special, and (b) the entire genre is automatically and permanently stupid. Look, I personally don’t watch any reality TV, but I’ve seen a few episodes of a few shows from time to time, and I see nothing wrong with the theoretical possibilities of the genre. After all, aren’t sporting events and game shows reality TV? And as for things like Survivor, isn’t that something which, at its best, would be INCREDIBLY fascinating? Competition is fun to watch, and people reacting in stressful and unusual situations are fun to watch. Why the hate?
Non-SDMB-related pet peeves
(1) I hate it when a movie poster consists of nothing but a big picture of the face of the star. I remember this being done with Hugh Grant for (I think) The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain and with Ben Affleck and maybe Gwyneth Paltrow (two separate posters) for Bounce. The message is “you are such conditioned sheep that all you need to know is who stars in this movie and you will flock to it”. Sure, that maybe true, but please, be subtle about it. (Although I think someone clever should make a Being John Malkovich-esque movie called You should see this movie. Julia Roberts is in it).
(2) I hate having a losing session at poker. I particularly hate when someone caps pre-flop with 25 offsuit against my AQ suited and someone else’s pocket kings, then rivers their inside straight.
(3) I like it when women on match.com respond positively when I send them email. But I like it a lot less when that response is a “wink”. Where does that leave me? Should I email again? Clearly, she’s interested. But what’s the next step?
(4) I hate it when I like something which is popular, and then a sequel or follow up or similar item is produced, and apparently the things that I liked about it were not what everyone else liked about it, as they are absent (and not just because the people making it tried and failed, but because they clearly consciously chose not to go in that direction). In particular, every time there’s a video game that I like, its sequel goes out of the way to emphasize that it’s darker and grittier and more 3D and has more combat and less puzzle solving. Which is 100% not what I want or why I liked it in the first place.
(5) I hate it when the soda and candy machines at work aren’t taking dollar bills
(6) I hate it when I’m using Windows and the focus switches without my consciously switching it… ie, you launch an application then go start typing something, and then the application pops up and suddenly you’re typing into it accidentally
(7) I hate insomnia
