Things That Are Irritating

* :raving: Mini-rant alert :raving: *

Can computers make life any less convenient, despite the fact that their purpose for existence is to make life more convenient? I had a post with a new little mod all ready to go for the CMF thread in General Modification an hour ago, until fate, or Hal from 2001, or the cumulative effect of 10,000 people without a shred of common sense building a new technology over the course of 20 years, stepped in.

My .rar file for this mod was 300 KB in size, 7 KB over the limit for .rar attachments here at Co8 (which of course is set to the sensibly round figure of 293 KB :bored: ). So I fired up SmartFTP 2.0 to put it up on Co8's server instead. No problem. Well, for some reason SmartFTP, while free for personal use, always wants you to install new 'builds' every couple months (for your convenience and not theirs, no doubt). Of course this was the occasion that SmartFTP 2.0 decided it simply couldn't go on another day. It had to be updated to the new 'build' now.

Still no problem. I clicked on their link and downloaded the installer, then click-click and I'm on my way. Until SmartFTP encountered a problem: despite the fact that previous 'builds' had never objected before, the installation utility reported that it simply couldn't tolerate IE7 (and the accompanying Co8 tab, with my accompanying ready-to-go new CMF post) running in the background while it installed. Okay, this is a bit irritating now, but I'll just copy the text from my post to the clipboard, close IE7, and finish installing SmartFTP 2.whatever (because god knows I need it). Off I go.

Minutes later SmartFTP reports that it has successfully completed the emergency 'new build' installation! I upload my .rar (noticing no difference in the program whatsoever, despite the much needed update) and I'm ready to have another go at the CMF. I fire up IE7, head back to Co8, re-navigate to the CMF thread, click reply, hit CTRL-V to paste my old post, and of course nothing happens. Whatever was on that clipboard has apparently gone the way of Amelia Earhart.

So there I am, some half an hour after I was originally ready to go 'live' with this little mod, pondering how I have to start over from scratch, thanks to some bafflingly idiotic sequence of events that miraculously pulled together (much in the same way that the various elements so frequently come together in the same place at the same time to produce 'the perfect storm' like in the Marky Mark movie, that sort of thing) to arrange my downfall.

I swear one day I'm going to give it all up and content myself with tending a little tiny garden in an out-of-the-way corner of the world without electricity.

 

Buy a second HD. They're cheap & easy to install even if u have never tried before (2 things to plug in and some screws). My new PC (still in its box since Christmas) comes with Vista and I reckon I will get a new HD and put both XP and Win98 on it, maybe try my hand at Linux too.

 

Arguably the most irritating thing is when someone promises you to do something important or critical, you really rely on that person to do that (especially when you choose to rely on that person instead of doing the thing yourself), and then forgets or (worse) deliberately chooses not to live up to the promise... Had so much of that in my life that I could fill a whole wall with pieces of paper describing who didn't do what.. Well, that's life, I guess. But it's frustrating nonetheless. Last time it happened I was in the middle of a critical project that had a deadline, and the person I trusted to do a part of that project told me at the last moment that he doesn't have time to do it. ARRRGH!

- Agetian

 

[not thread necromany since it hasn't been a year yet ]


I was recently inspired to search this thread out again because of ... devices that come with little baggies to tote them (whatever they may be) around in.

Why?

I bought one of those little portable DVD players (the ones you can plug into your car's cigarette lighter to operate) a month or two ago. It came with a little baggie to tote it around town in.

The DVD player does not fit in the baggie.

I bought a beard trimmer a while back. It came with a little baggie to tote it around town in scratchhe).

The beard trimmer does not fit in the baggie.


Is it just me who thinks this phenomenon is among the single most baffling manifestations of human existence? No matter how hard I try, I cannot come to grips with it. A product manufacturer had to:

1. Design a product
2. Decide that it would be nice to package a carry baggie with it
3. Design the baggie so as not to meet the product specifications
4. Manufacture the baggie so as not to meet the product specifications
5. Get the baggie through quality control without it meeting the product specifications
6. Get the thumbs up from the corporate suits
7. Market the ill-fitting baggie
8. Doubtlessly receive complaints about the ill-fitting baggie
9. Continue to market the ill-fitting baggie

I just. Don't. Get it. :no:

 

reminds me of a comedy TV show frmo the late 80s out here that would show products like that, complete with customers going insane trying to use them, and the punchline would be...

ANOTHER FINE PRODUCT FROM BASTARDS INC!

EDIT: Also reminds me of a time I took a lady's dog for a walk, and she gave me a little baggie to go with it. Took me half an hour to squeeze the dog into it, but I persevered