The Musings & Ramblings of Mark Lilback
Pet Peeves
How can meteorologists get it this wrong?
Jan 24th
I can’t comprehend how someone can get it this wrong. Hell, since the system is computerized, I’d have it adjust the prediction based on the actual temperature so it doesn’t look like I failed out of meteorological school.
inane interfaces
Sep 9th
I bought a new microwave oven last night (we left my old one back in Texas ’cause it was in pretty bad shape) and I just used it for the first time — popcorn is popping right now. And as amazing as the features it offers are (it includes a toaster oven in it — Alex wouldn’t stop talking about how I was getting a much better microwave than he has), I already hate it. Why?
Because when I pressed the 1 button, it started cooking for a minute. I wanted to cook for 1:45, but it appears I have to tell the microwave that I want to cook for a specific amount of time, then enter the time. What is up with that?
My old microwave had a quick minute button that I never used. I figure out quickly how long something takes to cook and always cook it for that exact time. A hot dog? 32 seconds. A bun-length hot dog? 36 seconds. A plate of nachos? 33 seconds.
I never had a need for a single button like that. Now all the buttons work like that. Who makes inane design decisions like this?
(And yes, I know I’m anal about this kind of stuff. Hell, I take into account the meniscus, as I was taught in chemistry, when measuring cooking ingredients.)
Why would I want a unified anything?
Sep 9th
I was just reading the list of enhancements coming to the iPad with iOS 4.2 and ran across this gem: See messages from all your accounts in a unified inbox.
Why is this considered a feature or improvement, let alone one of the top features in a OS update? The only reason I have multiple accounts is to keep them separate. Only giving out 1 email address would be a piece of cake. I have multiple accounts so I can organize my mail. I don’t every want to search across accounts, let alone view them together. Hell, it offends me that it is even possible in Mail (on Mac OS X) to accidentally click on the wrong spot and have all my mail listed together. Does Apple want to give me an anxiety attack?
I’ve got 6 email accounts right now with unread counts of 0, 1092, 593, 113, 1850 and 801. That doesn’t include the 20,000+ unread junk messages. Seeing those all at once would scare me off of email forever.
The same thing goes for phone companies. I was signing up for local phone service and one of the top features they listed was unified billing. Really? That’s a top feature? Better than caller-id? Better than voicemail? Better than fast upload speeds? Better than no filters on my Internet content?
Getting one fucking bill instead of two? Really? Honestly? Someone gives a shit about this? Someone considers it one of the top five features for any product or service?
How, in this over-digitized age where even fast food restaurants at the mall want your email address and for you to follow them on facebook, can someone need their messages consolidated instead of separated?
Home v. Cell Phones
May 2nd
Cell phones have been around for a long time now (I’ve had one for over ten years), and they’ve always had really nice features like a call log (incoming and outgoing), custom ring tones, etc. So why the hell haven’t home phones added these features?
I really get frustrated when I can’t look at my home phone to see when I made a call (don’t want to bug them too often). Caller ID works fine for seeing incoming calls, but would it be that difficult to record the outgoing calls?
My current home phone has a phone book feature, but it doesn’t use the phone book name when someone calls. That’d be nice for numbers without caller ID information. And my system came with two handsets — but I have to enter the numbers in both. It gets frustrating to have to go find the other handset because I can’t remember a phone number. It shouldn’t be that hard to synchronize the phone books since they are both cordless and are transmitting data anyway.
This disparity is just another reason I’d love to get rid of my home phone for my cell phone.
Grocery Shopping
Apr 12th
I really can’t comprehend how someone can accidentally get in the express checkout lane with a full basket of groceries. And I really can’t understand why the store staff doesn’t say something.
When approaching the register, you have to look to see if the light is on. The light is normally on the Express Checkout sign. And it should be pretty obvious to everyone that the only lane that cells cigarettes is an express lane! (10 items or less versus the normal 20 items or less at Wal-Mart.)
I guess I was just raised differently. Hell, I question getting in the express lane when I have 21 items, even if it would save me 5-10 minutes. Heck, even when I’m in a regular line with even half a cart of stuff, I’ll always let anyone behind me with a couple items go ahead.
Another thing: why does stores still accept checks? What checking account doesn’t come with a debit card? Heck, Wal-Mart doesn’t even keep the checks anymore, they just run the routing and account number like a credit card number. But instead of entering a PIN or signing for the purchase, I’ve got to wait while someone writes out a check (that should have been written, except for the amount, while they waited in line), digs our their ID, etc.
Hell, they guy with 40+ items in the 10 item lane at Wal-Mart last week realized he forgot something after writing his check and was about to tear it up and write a new one!! With at least 6 customers behind him!
Not accepting checks would be a real win-win situation. No more waiting while people write out checks, get approval, etc. The stores don’t have to worry about hot checks. And we save a few trees!
