Number 10 on this list comes from recent experience with large snow drifts and a 2x4 equipped vehicle. My brand new Ford Escape came with traction control and tires fit for snow. Unfortunately my company decided not to spring for the 4 wheel drive which I thought came standard on most SUVs. I was wrong and I found out just how wrong I was when I tried to help my friend get his car up a steep hill near his home. The vehicle has good ground clearance and pretty big tires. I had no problem getting through some deep snow drifts near my house, so I figure I wouldn't have any trouble aiding my friend and his car. Well, turns out my Escape was just as bad as the Millenia I tried to save. I couldn't get my car to go up a plowed, clear hill. I actually had to turn around and go up the hill in reverse. (don't ask me why this worked, it just did). If it weren't for the assistance of a redneck and his 4x4 Chevrolet truck, we would have been screwed. So there you have it... A brand new vehicle can still be crappy. A 2x4 SUV is one to add to the crappy list.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/suvs/escape/
9. Internet downtime.
I am getting real sick and tired of the internet going down. I don't understand what is so hard about keeping the service going. The lines are underground, the equipment is fairly new and the people that designed the system seem relatively intelligent. So what's the problem? I called the 24x7 help line which is apparently put in place to "help people 24x7". The guy that picks up sounds like a zombie with his voice box removed. It was clear that I had woke the guy up from a deep sleep. I asked "Are there any problems you are aware of or a maintenance window I should know about?" he replied "not that I know of". I told him that I was working late and just got kicked off.... to which he had no response to. He had no clue what was going on. I don't even think he knew he was talking on the phone. I don't blame him... considering I just woke him up. Sooo... WHAT IS THE POINT OF A 24X7 LINE???!!! Obviously this guy is getting paid to be on call, so why can't they fix my internet or atleast give me a good reason for it to be down? I wouldn't make such a big deal out of the internet going down once or twice a month, but this seems like a regular occasion. Mind you, this is after I fought with them for three weeks to figure out why my modem would get knocked off the network every 15 minutes. I've had a pretty good experience with this ISP for the last 7 years, but their customer service and line quality have been going down fast over the last 3 years. I used to love recommending them but now, I'll just send people to Comcast.
http://www.sfcn.org
8. Rude, lazy or inconsiderate fast food workers.
I ate at the Wendy's in Spanish Fork tonight. I went inside looking forward to some of the ketchup they have in the pumps there. That's really the only reason I go to Wendy's is for the ketchup. It's real good. I haven't found ketchup that tastes quite like that. So I order a fry and a small frosty. My buddy orders a burger and some other things. While this acne infested teenager was taking our order, he was carrying out a nice conversation about cars and women with his friend who was working the drive through. He had to ask us several times what we wanted cause he wasn't paying attention. My friend and I hate fast food tomatoes, so he asked for them to be removed. I heard him say it... twice. He get's his food and there's tomatoes on it. Thanks. The last nail in the casket was when I went to get ketchup for my fries (the whole reason for the visit). And the sauce pumps were empty. I kindly asked if they would refill them. I waited 10 minutes, eating half my fries without sauce. Finally I got up and said "Are you going to refill the ketchup tonight?" To which acne boy responded "I can't do it right this second, sorry" and he threw a box of ketchup packets across the counter to me. I took the ketchup packets, emptied about 40 of them on my tray and finished my fries which were now cold.
It seems like when I go to this restaurant it's a crapshoot if I am going to get good food anyway. 50% of the time I get fries that are old and soggy. They overcharge on their menu, they now charge you for extra sauce, their workers are real asses and the food doesn't really taste that great anyway. There are too many good workers that are unemployed right now to bother wasting time with lazy, retarded people. If I had employees that treated my customers that way, they would be out on their asses faster than they could flip a burger. Of course, coming from Wendy's, that doesn't surprise me. Do yourself a favor and eat at Burger King, McDonalds or Carl's Jr. They still know what it means to compete for business and provide a pleasant experience.
http://www.wendys.com
7. Simple flash games with a monetary agenda.
There are a few flash games in my life that I have tried to enjoy. Bloons Tower Defense, Farmville and Ninja Warz. Most flash games are funded by ad revenue, but these flash games have gone rogue. Now that they have a loyal "customer" base, they are offering items, services and tactical advantage to the highest bidders. What is more lame than competing in a game with other people who have paid real money for better weapons and tactical advantage? I really can't think of anything. These people are seriously paying into nothing... thin air. You get nothing for your money other than a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that you defeated people who didn't buy the same weapons you did. Honestly, it just takes all the fun out of the game when you undermine this simple formula. So not only do they get cash from the idiots that choose to pay for skills instead of earn it themselves, they get ad revenue from the people they screwed by adopting the monetary strategy in the first place. All I have to say is "THANKS" to the developers that forgot where they came from. Once again, people have found a way to charge for something that should be free. Go join the ranks with Enron, AIG and GM. You will fit in well there. SCUMBAGS!!!!
6. Mactivists.
A mactivist is somebody who chooses only to associate with Apple made hardware. Such as the iphone, mac book, ipod, etc. These people have a superiority complex that is just staggering at times. You can plot down a piece of hardware in front of them that is superior in every way and they brush it off only because it doesn't bear the coveted half-eaten rotten apple on the front. They will defend their hardware tooth and nail and will even resort to physical violence, vandalism and other forms of petty crime to make their point. They have an endless source of verbal banter, which I believe they rehearse in their free time. I actually judge a device on what it does and how it can help me in my life. Apple, HP, Sony... whatever the brand. I know a good product when I see it and I don't let that kind of crap bother me. I will own a device if it's good, but these people will buy any crap apple puts on the shelf. It doesn't make sense. Somehow, apple has convinced these people to pay top dollar for poor quality Chinese made junk. Why in the world would you pay $2,500 for a laptop? Those are prices reminiscent of 1995. I'll take 2 high end HP laptops, a box of cool accessories, and a 2 year subscription to Netflix instead. Apple is the pinnacle proprietary products laced with planned obsolescence. Take your rotten apples and give them to someone who cares.
http://www.apple.com
5. Political radicals.
Glen Beck, Bill O'reilly, Keith Olbermann, Michel Moore and Sean Hannity. Need I say more? Really? Does it really make you feel better to listen to people that share your opinion? Why can't you go out, research the issues and make your own educated opinion? Do you need the media to do that for you? I sure as hell don't want the media making my opinions for me. The media feasts on turning people into sheep to become loyal sources of ad revenue. These people make some of the most insane, controversial and radical comments I have ever heard. To anybody with a gleam of intelligence in their brain, this crap obviously has little or no truth... But people still seem to soak it up cause they believe that becoming a loyal follower will somehow promote their political agenda in the world and give them a sense of belonging and importance. Can't you watch entertainment with at least a spec of quality to it? There are so many great shows, with deep and complex story lines and character development. Why do we insist on wasting our time with this political garbage? The dems will be dems. The repubs will be repubs. The libs complained about bush for 8 years and the repubs will complain about Obama for 4 or possibly 8 years. The best thing you can do is stick to your beliefs and opinions and quit letting political radicals make your decisions for you. It's ridiculous, accomplishes nothing and will only eat at your soul. GET THAT CRAP OUT OF YOUR BRAIN! You will be happier, trust me.
4. Passing lane offenders.
Most traffic violations I can deal with. No turn signal, speeding, equipment violations... etc. I don't mind that. It's not my job to patrol and enforce that, that's what paid law enforcement officers are supposed to do. I can't stand people who violate the passing lane laws. For instance. It's illegal for a vehicle over 10,000lb GVW to be in the car pool lane or the passing lane. Also, no vehicles towing trailers can be in those lanes. Empty trailer or full. It's illegal. Yet we see idiots with big, lifted, redneck trucks pulling their landscaping company equipment behind them with a line of traffic a mile long behind them. Not only is it illegal, but it's also inconsiderate. What happened to lane etiquette? Or hell... even common courtesy? It's not your job to enforce the speed laws. If there are people behind you, then you need to get out of their way and let them pass. That brings me to another law that is in effect on I-15 from Spanish Fork to Ogden. KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS. These nut jobs that hold up the passing lane should be taken out and stoned to death. And I am sick and tired of UHP not enforcing those laws. But even if they wanted to, there isn't enough man power in the universe to enforce these laws in Utah. I would estimate that a good 30-45% of Utah drivers disregard these laws on a daily basis. These people have no respect for other drivers. They don't care who's lives they effect or how big of an asshole they really are. These people are a chronic disease of the interstate transportation system. These people are the direct cause for expansion costs, traffic jams, delays and subsequent accidents that effect our lives every day. I hope you never encounter a driver like me on the road. I don't take that crap and it will become VERY clear to you VERY soon if you choose break those laws while I am around. Take your cracker jacks drivers license and run and hide now, cause I will get you.
3. ____________ is bad because of the economy.
Bad news about the economy is getting old. It's no news that nearly all aspects of our lives are effect by the economy. Please don't remind me on a hourly basis. I think companies (my employer included) use the bad economy as an excuse to treat employees like dirt bags. More millionaires are created in bad times than any other economic climate. It's no news, yet our thriving capitalist society feasts on that. Any reason people have to screw subordinates, they will take it. Too bad we live in that kind of society. What happened to quality of life and livelihood of your fellow human beings? Greed and disdain are rampant in the world. Oh well. Do me a favor and don't pass on bad news about the economy. Nobody cares anymore.
2. Misleading advertising.
I was in autozone the other day purchasing an air filter system to repair my friend's car. There was a sale sticker stuck over the price for the filter we wanted, so we decided to get it. When we get up to the counter, it rings up at a higher rate. I told him that there was a sale on the item. He said, no that is for the filter two rows below it. So I said, then why is it pasted on this item then? He ran to get the sign and showed me that it was for this UPC number, which did not match our product. So... in order for me to know it was for another product, I had to actually compare the bar codes on the product. What the hell? I asked why it was pasted over the product we wanted and he said "corporate says that's how they want it cause it works best". By this time, the manager had joined the argument. They made me feel like crap in front of all the other customers. Wow. Thanks for bending your customers over to make an extra 2 bucks. When I worked at Checker Auto, we never treated customers like that. Even if the planograms were wrong or a sale sign was stuck in the wrong place, we usually gave it to the customer to make them happy. That creates return business and loyal customers. I for one will NEVER go back to Autozone for anything. As a matter of fact, Checker/O'reilly will beat Autozone's price by 5%. Autozone will only match competitors price, but checker will beat any competitor's price. That means, no matter what I need, I can always get it cheaper at Checker. There's no need for me to go to Autozone anymore. I don't want to promote that kind of behavior in business. That's the beauty of competition... I don't have to buy from you. Do yourself a favor and avoid Autozone.
http://www.autozone.com
1. Jimmy Chunga
My number one most hated thing in the world is Jim Chunga. He runs 101.9 "The End" morning radio show. I used to love this guy... I can't believe I actually soaked up his crap. My wife always loved Radio From Hell on 96.3, but I was loyal to Chunga at the time. I was listening to a feature they run called "what's happening hot stuff?" and Chunga would actually hang up on people and make fun of them on the air for various reasons or sometime no reason at all. Why? I have no idea. These were loyal listeners of the station! Chunga has a superiority complex and he feels like he can boss people around because of the title he carries. He starred on dozens of 1 star movies and interview people as important as Nicholas Cage!!! This guy is a jerk to everyone he meets, including his own family. Jimmy has publicly denounced his family and friends. Chunga is one of the most awful people in the world and this company has actually given him a radio show to broadcast his crap to thousands of people. He can't act, he treats people like garbage, his radio show is boring and worst of all... he thinks all of this is ok! I can't stand this man. The world will be a better place when he is gone and I can only hope and pray for that day to come soon. Thanks Chunga... I hope you enjoy your position in the ratings, right below Radio From Hell. Right where you belong. #2. That's all you are is second best. Get used to it "Brett" you ignorant prick.
http://www.jimmychunga.com
http://www.x96.com/rfh
-Serrated
