What Really Grinds My Gears

You know what really grinds my gears? Guys who use a straw brooms to deliver their shots in curling.  You don't need that archaic thing.  If you have to use a special broom that you can lay flat on the ice, at least use a synthetic one so you aren't leaving your crap all over the ice... Ice that's only moderately clean on the best of days.  Just because you've used it since 1978, doesn't mean you should keep using it.  No one thinks you look cool with it.  You look like a fool.

The opinions in the preceding post may have been magnified by a getting our ass handed to us tonight.  But I assure you that the principle of the matter would be the same on any given evening.

Thing That Frustrates Me

Why is it when a website has problems loading videos, it never seems to have trouble loading the advertisement beforehand?

Dear UPS

I don't mind that you leave my package with the superintendent of my building. But at least try to see if I'm home first. Thank You.

Dear Tim Hortons

Please stop serving your "Steeped Tea" so hot that I have to wait 15 minutes for it to cool down enough for it to not burn the inside of my mouth. When I get a beverage to go, I want to drink it now... that's why I got it. I understand the argument that you want to keep it at a drinkably warm temperature for longer. But if I have to wait for it to cool down, that wait time is not drinkable time.

Didn't McDonald's have a lawsuit about the temperature of their coffee a few years back? One of these days I'm going to bring a thermometer with me.

Why Are You Still Using Facebook?

If you have a Facebook account and are active and use it to post comments, status updates, photos, videos, links, etc... this isn't about you.

If you have a Facebook account but aren't active with comments or photos, but keep your page active as a way for people to find you and contact you... this isn't about you.

However, if you have a Facebook account and have, for all intents and purposes, abandoned it... if you don't check it regularly, don't post content, have email notifications turned off, and ignore friend requests and messages sent... what's the point? Why don't you delete the page? Because if someone is actually trying to get in contact with you, there is a reasonable expectation of some sort of response. To not respond, because you have long since stopped being active on the site is, for lack of a better word, rude. How is someone coming onto your page to know that you'll never see any message sent?

Please do everyone a favour and clean up your online presence.

What's the Trade-In Value on a Law Degree?

So I just started up a new video game I purchased: FIFA 11. I went through about 3 "Terms of Service" type documents that I had to agree to to be able to just start the game. Since when was it necessary to be a lawyer to just play a video game? The documents are so long (like so many others that come with software) that it would take an hour to read. So obviously, I didn't read it and just said "agree". Maybe I just gave all my earthly possessions to EA Sports, I don't know.

Seriously EA, it's just a video game, not a real estate transaction.

$200 Less Because I Don't Wear A Ring On My Left Hand

I got a letter in the mail from Dalton McGuinty himself today. In it, it explains how the changes to the Ontario tax system will create 591,000 jobs and all sorts of other great things. To help us transition into this new and improved system that makes everything better, Dalton is giving away money to everyone. Seems to me, if it was so great, we should be paying him! Oh, wait... Anyway, ragging on the HST isn't the point of this post. The point is about the amount that we get under this Tax Transition Benefit.

According to the official site, a single person will get $300, while a couple (regardless of children) and single parents will get $1000. Excuse me? So, you're telling me that because two people signed a piece of paper and now live together, they get $200 more each? Maybe the rationale is that seeing how I love being single so much, I don't need as much money. Yeah... that's it. Thanks for kicking me while I'm down, McGuinty.

Plus, I think it's funny that a letter from the Ontario government is return-addressed to Summerside, PEI.

What's In A (Country's) Name?

Here's something that's always bothered me. Maybe you can shed some light on the subject. Why is it that there are some countries that have completely different names for in English from their native language? I'm looking at you Deutschland. You too Nippon. Don't think I forgot about you Bhārat. Eire, Norge, Italia... you're all on notice.

Maybe the question should be, why don't we call them by their native name? And it's not just limited to English. French has Pays-Bas, Corée, Allemagne to name a few. I can understand, to an extent, when a name is made up of actual words (United States = États-Unis in French, Cote d'Ivoire = Ivory Coast in English), but a name should be a name. If I were to go to another country, they wouldn't start calling me Kodos instead of Matt because that's how they say it. That would be weird... and it's not my name.

I want to single out Germany, because it's case is especially weird. For example... the Olympics, ok? Usually, the countries will be identified onscreen by their 3 letter short form in their own language (NED for Netherlands, SUI for Switzerland) but not Germany... they're GER instead of DEU. What's up with that? Well, maybe what goes on TV screens is out of their control. But then why do they paint GER on their own bobsleds?

Matt Versus the Small-Nosed Sunglasses Designers

So, once again, I find myself looking for a new pair of sunglasses after my current ones broke. What I really need is to get a case to carry them in, but unless I start buying more expensive glasses, I'm not really inclined to bother. But that's not the point here. The point is that I figure that nearly 90% of sunglasses have nose pads that are completely inadequate for people with wide bridges, like me. I find this in regular glasses too. It severely limits the selection of styles available. Maybe I should start looking at more expensive models, but if I've learned anything about designer stuff... they'll probably be even smaller.