Life's Pet Peeves

There are issues that everyone has in life and some of them annoy me more than others, here are some of the things peeve me the most:

1. Slowness

This is my hands down top pet peeve of all time. Nothing in life angers me more than someone else slowing me down, and it seems that slowing me down is society's master goal.  I personally believe that slowness is one of the rudest things that a person can do.

A few specific examples:

• Driving
• Not immediately going when a light turns from red to green
• Driving significantly under the speed limit and blocking me in when it’s clear I’m trying to pass
• Stopping in the middle of the road to turn around regardless of traffic situations
• Making unnecessary small talk with the cashier when a long line is behind you

2. The Telephone

I hate talking on the phone, part of it is that I have a hard time hearing after years of extremely loud rock concerts, the other part is that it is presumptuous and rude. If someone texts or e-mails me something I can send a reply at my convenience without interrupting any meeting, conversation or event that I may be at. A phone call, however, requires me to drop everything to speak with you at this given second. Phone calls should be used only in times where it is easier/more convenient than a text or e-mail. 

Telephone use is something that is very generational, in my workplace I have noticed that those over 40 are much more apt to communicate via phone, whereas those who are younger will use alternate methods. Under this umbrella are Voice-mails too, which are probably the most annoying thing on earth. They wouldn't bother me at all if people knew how to leave accurate, succinct messages. This however never happens and instead I have to listen to a minute or more of rambling, boring nonsense.

The next time you need to get ahold of someone and have the phone in your hand, THINK. Is this a message better suited for a text? Usually it is.

3. People Who Don't Google First

In 2012 it is unacceptable to ask me questions like "How do you spell this word?", "Give me directions to Warren from here" or "When is the Nine Inch Nails concert?"

This is another issue that is influenced highly by age, as those who grew up with the Internet generally know how to find information faster (although the Millennials are failing miserably at most aspects of Boolean Logic). If you want another reason that the young folks are bitter at older generations, it is that we are generally their personal library service, providing whatever information they request at the drop of a hat. This ability to do something they are too stubborn/lazy to do on their own usually results in no pay increase for us, instead just bitterness that the older generation can't figure out how to use Google.

4. Dress Codes

Another outdated custom that needs to go away for good. A good percentage of the population actually believes that there is a point to wearing a shirt and tie or "professional attire" to show professionalism. In reality all this attire does is mask incompetence.

Dress Codes are something enforced by old people who are bitter that our generation is changing a meaningless custom. It is important for us to break dress codes as often as possible to ensure future generations will not have this nonsense. It's important that young folks realize that these rules do not need to be respected and this can change if you FORCE these organizations to change.

5. Overhype

This is something that isn't going away and it has ruined many great things. There is nothing worse than people talking seemingly non-stop about something you love, because it will inevitably lead to disappointment and over-saturation. Ignoring all hype is the best first step to fixing this issue.

6. The Music/Media/Publishing/Film Industries

These industries HATE THEIR FANS. Filing lawsuits against fans, making it next to impossible to effectively use their digital products on the device of your choice because of DRM and of course there is the huge factor of being a complete rip off.

Record Labels love to waste money. They used to be able to waste as much as they wanted because of how much they gouged the end consumer who purchased their products. File sharing came along and then the record labels got angry that consumers were now able to say FUCK YOU to the greedy asshole labels. So now after failed legislation and an almost dead business model, the industry has ran out of good ideas.

Thankfully independent artists like The Weeknd, Odd Future, Danny Brown, Trent Reznor and Radiohead have realized that the economic value of pre-recorded music in 2012 is zero and it should be used as a tool for other revenue streams.