Things that baffle you? (2 Viewers)

[cinemiracle]

I think here it has to be labeled as "chocolate flavored" if it doesn't meet the definition of actual chocolate.

Similar labeling is also used for "frozen dairy dessert" vs. real ice cream.

Most fake chocolate items also are listed as COMPOUND chocolate -but you have to read the small print on the back.

 

[Johnny Angell]

It always baffles me that Americans use the term 'shipping' when sending mail. This term dates back to a bygone era when mail was indeed sent by ship.To-day,with rare exceptions all mail goes by air. When you go to a post office you 'post' not ship items.You never call the Post Office a Shipping Office do you?

Other things that annoy me: crayfish being sold as lobsters; ice confections being wrongly labelled as Ice Cream; white chocolate items sold as chocolate when chocolate cannot be 'white'; imitation chocolate items (biscuits especially) being sold as 'chocolate'-you have to read the small print on the back to realise that the item is not real chocolate.

I think it's important to remember the words acquire new meaning over time based on usage. Shipping is valid, IMHO, for mailing a package. I find it quaint, but adorable, that Amazon UK "dispatches" my blu rays.

 

[Malcolm R]

North Carolina. Check today's headlines.

Keep on thumping that hornet's nest.

 

[Paul D G]

i live 30 miles from work. My drive in usually takes between 45m to an hour. This morning it took an hour twenty. Traffic was heavy almost the entire way on the freeway. Why? Because there was a semi truck driving 30 mph in the center lane for no apparent reason. When I finally got up to said truck the road was wide open in front of it. We all shot up to 70mph. Unfortunately this happened about a mile before my exit.

I see this pretty often - traffic is heavy due to someone driving in the center lane well below the speed limit and the road is wide open in front of them. Why do people do this? Don't they realize they're backing traffic up for miles behind them as people brake and slow down to change lanes causing the traffic behind them to slow to allow them in, etc.

 

[Clinton McClure]

i live 30 miles from work. My drive in usually takes between 45m to an hour. This morning it took an hour twenty. Traffic was heavy almost the entire way on the freeway. Why? Because there was a semi truck driving 30 mph in the center lane for no apparent reason. When I finally got up to said truck the road was wide open in front of it. We all shot up to 70mph. Unfortunately this happened about a mile before my exit.

I see this pretty often - traffic is heavy due to someone driving in the center lane well below the speed limit and the road is wide open in front of them. Why do people do this? Don't they realize they're backing traffic up for miles behind them as people brake and slow down to change lanes causing the traffic behind them to slow to allow them in, etc.

I see this every day on my way home. Infuriating but nothing I can do about it.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

If I saw a semi driving 30 down the middle lane of the freeway, I would call 911. That is dangerous and (in many places) illegal.

 

[Tony Bensley]

This from an Amazon Canada preorder: Delivery estimate: We need a little more time to provide you with a good estimate. We'll notify you via e-mail as soon as we have an estimated delivery date.

This is despite my pre-ordered items (Which make up my entire order!) bearing a May 16, 2017 release date! I don't get it!

CHEERS!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Don't they realize they're backing traffic up for miles behind them as people brake and slow down to change lanes causing the traffic behind them to slow to allow them in, etc.

I don't believe they do realize. The trouble they're causing is all behind them so they don't see it. Not sure it would make a difference it they were aware.

 

[cinemiracle]

It annoys me that companies put the prices ending at 95 or 99 cents. Are they that naïve that they think that consumers will not buy an item for $20 but will buy it if it is $19.99 .If I see an item for this price I automatically read $20.It is happening world wide. If it reads $19.99 then you must pay $20 not $19.99.Even some restaurants have their prices ending in 95 cents. It is time that companies used their brains when listing prices.Take it to the nearest dollar or ten cents.One local clothing shop has all prices ending in 99 cents, I like to embarrass them by asking why do they do this.I never get a straight answer.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Are they that naïve that they think that consumers will not buy an item for $20 but will buy it if it is $19.99 .

Yeah, Peter. I honestly think that's exactly the reason why.

I don't think it's the case...but I guess they must think so. Defies logic, but maybe there's some kind of psychological reason to it.

It's always done that way for the price of gasoline. And it's even the case for big ticket items. How many TVs have we seen for $1999.99?

 

[TonyD]

Yeah that one drives me nuts too.

I see people discuss prices of movies and say, "It's 14.99 at Target this week."

When I do that I always just say it's $15 at the store.

 

[Clinton McClure]

I believe studies were done years ago which revealed people are more inclined to buy an item if you don't advertise it for an even dollar amount. At $14.99, people think they're getting a better deal as opposed to an even $15. That's the same logic retailers use when advertising canned veggies at 3 for $1.50 and so on and so forth. The normal retail price on those items is most likely 50 cents each but the signage stating 3 for $1.50 gives the illusion you are getting a better deal so you are more likely to buy three as opposed to just one or two. There is a science behind retail pricing which is mostly psychology.

 

[dvdclon]

I thought I read once that it originated with the advent of cash registers. Sales of less than an even dollar amount would require the clerk to use the register to make change. Otherwise, it apparently would be easy to pocket bills paid on a sale and not rung up.

 

[Tony Bensley]

The following could also be a "What Annoys You?" post:

Last night, instead of a scheduled new episode of THE MIDDLE, the ABC affiliate WXYZ Detroit chose to broadcast one of their 30 minute Public Service "Taking Action" segments! (WTF?!!?)

Where the baffling component really comes in, is they had plenty of repeat episode prime time slots available for tonight and tomorrow night, but no, they had to pick on Tuesday night's prime time lead-in, which was a brand new episode! What a dumb*ss move, on their part! SHEESH!!!!

Another slightly baffling component that actually helps me a bit, is that although we don't get CITY-TV, which also airs THE MIDDLE, they are nevertheless, included in our On Demand channel listings, so at least I'm not totally screwed, but will have to wait until at least tomorrow for the latest episode to drop! Thanks WXYZ!

EDIT: To top it off, the Taking Action segment appears to be a repeat special that originally aired in December, 2013!: http://www.wxyz.com/community/wxyz-tv-channel-7-special-taking-action-for-detroit

Who's running the bloody show at WXYZ, anyway? Cheese Louise!!

CHEERS!

 

[Malcolm R]

The following could also be a "What Annoys You?" post:

Last night, instead of a scheduled new episode of THE MIDDLE, the ABC affiliate WXYZ Detroit chose to broadcast one of their 30 minute Public Service "Taking Action" segments! (WTF?!!?)

I would think that's a major no-no for a network affiliate. I think they're required to carry all of the network's shows as they're broadcast. They can play around with some time before and after, but I'd think they're contractually required to carry prime time programming. I would complain directly to ABC.

We have an NBC affiliate who sometimes thinks they have to broadcast special programming, but it's always in the 7PM hour, before prime time. Somewhat less egregious, but I'd still rather watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune than the crap they try and force on us occasionally.

 

[TJPC]

We were all primed to see the season finale of Dowton Abbey and gathered around to actually watch the show live. We live in the Toronto area. Just as the concluding sequences were being reached a notice for a missing child called "an amber alert" took over. This blocks the sound, makes an annoying noise and basically takes over your TV. By the time things are back to normal, key sequences were missed.
I might conclude that this was worth it if the missing child was found, but she went missing 1000s of miles away in another province! It was also long after dark when people were in front of their TV, not out driving around.

 

[Johnny Angell]

The following could also be a "What Annoys You?" post:

Last night, instead of a scheduled new episode of THE MIDDLE, the ABC affiliate WXYZ Detroit chose to broadcast one of their 30 minute Public Service "Taking Action" segments! (WTF?!!?)

Where the baffling component really comes in, is they had plenty of repeat episode prime time slots available for tonight and tomorrow night, but no, they had to pick on Tuesday night's prime time lead-in, which was a brand new episode! What a dumb*ss move, on their part! SHEESH!!!!

Another slightly baffling component that actually helps me a bit, is that although we don't get CITY-TV, which also airs THE MIDDLE, they are nevertheless, included in our On Demand channel listings, so at least I'm not totally screwed, but will have to wait until at least tomorrow for the latest episode to drop! Thanks WXYZ!

EDIT: To top it off, the Taking Action segment appears to be a repeat special that originally aired in December, 2013!: http://www.wxyz.com/community/wxyz-tv-channel-7-special-taking-action-for-detroit

Who's running the bloody show at WXYZ, anyway? Cheese Louise!!

CHEERS!

I'll see that telecasting idiocy and raise you this. Here in central Arkansas we have extreme weather sometimes. Dangerous thunderstorms and worse, tornadoes. When this occurs, it is not uncommon for the local affiliates to break into network programming, not for a couple of minutes but extended periods of time. When weather is really bad, they can wipe out an entire evening of network programming.

I am not saying they shouldn't do this. They are tracking the weather and telling people to seek shelter. This is lifesaving information.

So now with the age of streaming, you can stream network shows that got pre-empted, right? Not quite. You stream that network broadcast of the Black List and you get exactly what the local affiliate broadcast: the weather coverage and not the network show.

This not only baffles me, it PISSES me off!

 

[Tony Bensley]

I would think that's a major no-no for a network affiliate. I think they're required to carry all of the network's shows as they're broadcast. They can play around with some time before and after, but I'd think they're contractually required to carry prime time programming. I would complain directly to ABC.

We have an NBC affiliate who sometimes thinks they have to broadcast special programming, but it's always in the 7PM hour, before prime time. Somewhat less egregious, but I'd still rather watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune than the crap they try and force on us occasionally.

Yes, one WOULD think that - at least one who thinks logically!

When I was in my teens, I actually sent a letter of complaint to the very same affiliate in regards to their cancelling a scheduled airing of The Marx Brothers 1940 Feature, GO WEST*. While time has erased the precise nature of the replaced programming, I do recall it was locally (In Detroit!) based. It would seem that is one aspect of WXYZ's programming tendencies that remains annoyingly unchanged to this day! At any rate, I highly doubt that going over the local affiliate's head would be of any benefit, and any potential effect might be of more harm than good.

We were all primed to see the season finale of Dowton Abbey and gathered around to actually watch the show live. We live in the Toronto area. Just as the concluding sequences were being reached a notice for a missing child called "an amber alert" took over. This blocks the sound, makes an annoying noise and basically takes over your TV. By the time things are back to normal, key sequences were missed.
I might conclude that this was worth it if the missing child was found, but she went missing 1000s of miles away in another province! It was also long after dark when people were in front of their TV, not out driving around.

If I recall correctly, it was the DOWNTON ABBEY Series Finale! In my case, all video and audio was blocked! Boy, I was F**KING ROYALLY PISSED OFF!!!!

I'll see that telecasting idiocy and raise you this. Here in central Arkansas we have extreme weather sometimes. Dangerous thunderstorms and worse, tornadoes. When this occurs, it is not uncommon for the local affiliates to break into network programming, not for a couple of minutes but extended periods of time. When weather is really bad, they can wipe out an entire evening of network programming.

I am not saying they shouldn't do this. They are tracking the weather and telling people to seek shelter. This is lifesaving information.

So now with the age of streaming, you can stream network shows that got pre-empted, right? Not quite. You stream that network broadcast of the Black List and you get exactly what the local affiliate broadcast: the weather coverage and not the network show.

This not only baffles me, it PISSES me off!

That is one area in which WXYZ Detroit is somewhat less invasive. Usually, they'll simply stick a large warning near the top of the screen, and run a bottom ticker where the severe weather details are outlined. This is usually preceded by a beeping sound alert. Lately, I've noticed that these only run for a couple of minutes, whereas years ago, the weather alerts seemed to run on an endless loop! Very annoying, indeed!

Regarding the streaming, I agree that would be beyond freaking annoying! Who wants to stream bloody severe weather coverage? SHEESH!

First world problems.

CHEERS!

EDIT: * I also always found it a bit ironic that the now retired news anchor for WXYZ, Diana Lewis shared the name of the leading lady for GO WEST.

 

[BobO'Link]

I would think that's a major no-no for a network affiliate. I think they're required to carry all of the network's shows as they're broadcast. They can play around with some time before and after, but I'd think they're contractually required to carry prime time programming. I would complain directly to ABC.

We have an NBC affiliate who sometimes thinks they have to broadcast special programming, but it's always in the 7PM hour, before prime time. Somewhat less egregious, but I'd still rather watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune than the crap they try and force on us occasionally.

Oddly enough, they are allowed to preempt a certain number of programs before it becomes an issue. They generally must air the preempted program within a certain time frame and include all the national commercials. Depending on the program they *may* receive less compensation for the preemption but even that's not necessarily written in stone. The networks pay the affiliates to air programs so the affiliate has full control over what to air. Sure they are an affiliate and must maintain a certain percentage of network programming to keep the contract but they absolutely do not have to air everything. It's not uncommon for certain programs to not be carried at all by a local affiliate, especially if said program doesn't fit within "local morals/ethics." Of course they receive less compensation on nights this occurs but there's not much the network can do to stop this. When Billy Graham was still doing his annual "Crusade" telecast there were two stations here that would completely preempt network programming for the week's worth of programs. One ABC, the other CBS. They aired the same nights at exactly the same time.

I'll see that telecasting idiocy and raise you this. Here in central Arkansas we have extreme weather sometimes. Dangerous thunderstorms and worse, tornadoes. When this occurs, it is not uncommon for the local affiliates to break into network programming, not for a couple of minutes but extended periods of time. When weather is really bad, they can wipe out an entire evening of network programming.

I am not saying they shouldn't do this. They are tracking the weather and telling people to seek shelter. This is lifesaving information.

So now with the age of streaming, you can stream network shows that got pre-empted, right? Not quite. You stream that network broadcast of the Black List and you get exactly what the local affiliate broadcast: the weather coverage and not the network show.

This not only baffles me, it PISSES me off!

I absolutely hate severe weather coverage. They drone on and on repeating Ad Infinitum the exact same 30 seconds of information. All under the guise of "helping inform the public" the stations take over the airwaves to get as many viewers as possible for their specific weather coverage. It's a ratings game (See how well we covered the last weather disaster? You need to watch us all the time just in case it happens again!) I've never understood why they don't "pool" such efforts and rotate through the local market with each "qualified" station taking turns.

I spent so much time in radio and television that I can interpret a National Weather Service report as well as any of those local weather jokers/personalities (OK... some may be true meteorologists but they're not much better). I simply put in a disc and bring up NOAA radar on the computer. Oh... wait... I've already been watching a disc due to the generally crappy programming and stupidly insane amount of commercial interruption that's been on broadcast/cable TV for the past 10 years or so.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Billy Graham is still alive, actually. Perhaps that in of itself is a bit baffling?

In a more general sense, as I get older, there are more and more instances in which I think or assume that someone of note has passed on, only to discover they are still in the realm of the living, or in some cases, were just a bit before I read their online obituary!

CHEERS!