Random Rantings, or "whassup w'dat?", aka "don't get me started"

Sometimes I get off on a rant and I just can't stop. You too, huh? I figure it's worth collecting them because one day I can look back and laugh. I mean, some of these are silly. Why did I even waste the energy? See, I'm already laughing. But a few are serious. I don't think I'm a big complainer, so please don't take me for the queen of kvetch after reading these.

24 Hour Nautilus
I was very surprised to find out that many 24 Hour Nautiluses are not open 24 hours! Huh? I don't get it! Isn't that the point? Why did they name it that if they weren't going to do it? Isn't that false advertising? I absolutely adore it when a place never closes. I hate worrying about when something opens and closes (more often, I worry about when it closes!). Safeway has me completely spoiled now because I know I don't need to rush to get there. And the 24 hour atmosphere is the quality that makes Las Vegas at all interesting for me (that and the over the top, uh, architecture). So why can't 24 Hour Nautilus stay true to their name?
Let me reiterate:
24 Hour Nautilus decides to close at 11pm but doesn't change their name - Not Cool
7-11 decides to never close but doesn't change their name - Very Cool

The Matrix Screen Saver for Windows
Augh! Talk about annoying. First of all, it won't run full-screen in higher resolution my monitor is set in. So I can't get a full effect of the falling letters - it's just centered in the middle of my screen with a hugoid black border around it! Second, it has NO OPTIONS. Come on!! Even the Matrix clock for the Palm OS has options!! Fast, slow, lots or less characters. Third, the glowing letters are always THE SAME LETTER! Look closely, it's always the same one that is glowing. That means they didn't even bother to glow anything, they just made a graphic of one glowy character. Fourth, it does this annoying boxy effect (I can't describe it) which doesn't belong on a matrix screen, at least as I saw it in the movie. What the heck is that? I can just see it, some guy wrote this thing, then the "creative director" or someone like that came along and said "uh, that's boring. can't you make it DO something?", and they added the silly boxy swooshy thing. Meanwhile, over in Unix-land, Jamie Zawinski has written a decent one. Don't laugh -- for a few minutes I seriously considered the benefits of switching operating systems just so that I could use his version. But for once, this is Not Bill Gates' fault. Or at least I hope it's not.

The X-10 Web Ads
You may have seen these. They advertise the X-10 system for controlling your home appliances and whatnot. Since they have the letter "X" and since sex sells, the ads feature seemingly naked women with enticing captions like "Dim your bedroom lights with a remote control" or "Turn me on". Ugh. The worst part is that they advertise heavily on ZDNet, which I hit many times a day at work, and sometimes there's an X-10 ad on the top AND side of the page, flashing away, making it look like I am hitting a porn site. I got so fed up that I wrote them an email, but I didn't get a response. Since going public with my annoyance (I kept quiet about this for a while because I didn't want to appear prudish, and part of me thought "oh well, maybe it's meant as a parody"), I have found out that I am not the only one annoyed by this, and some men, some who have even wired up X-10 at home, also find it annoying.

People Who Don't Use Turn Signals
This was my number one pet peeve until I caught myself not signaling a few times. Hypocrite.

People Who Don't Pull Over for Emergency Vehicles
Hello?!! Someone could be DYING and you can't stop your car for a minute to help save a LIFE?? What if you found out later that it was your wife? What if next time it's YOU? Every second counts in emergency response. I get so pissed when people don't pull over immediately that one day I may create the need for another call to 911. Hopefully my reaction is the one suitable excuse for Road Rage.

Micromanagers
I've experienced micromanagement a few times, and each time I thought I had seen the worst and was wrong. It got even worse. If your style of management leans at all in this direction, do not, I repeat, DO NOT work in a computer related startup. The engineers will chew you up and spit you out in no time. It may happen behind your back, but it will happen. You may not even realize it has happened until your project comes in late and you wonder how on earth that could have happened when you had specifically called and visited each team member ten times a day to make sure everything was on schedule. Now, there are certain times when someone may need closer attention, but in most cases, the road to productive, creative employees is to empower them, not shackle them. Micromanagement check: do you tell people HOW to do things when you should just be telling them WHAT to do? Best way to find out if you're managing someone properly? ASK them!! Communication ... the key to every good relationship.

Shopping for Bras
It seems that bras are marketed for only two purposes: to minimize or to maximize. So when you go bra shopping you are made to feel like your boobs are either too big or too small. You either shop in the "regular" section where it's all padding, pushups, miracle-this and wonder-that or you shop in the "full figure" section where everything is labeled "minimizer". It's another insidious way that companies make women feel inadequate in order to make them buy more products. Big Sigh.