What's your pet peeve? Are you the kind of person who hates the sound of celophane? Do you want to go crazy on people who chew with their mouths open? What makes you nuts?

For me, it's people who can't spell. OK, I'm not a spelling genius. I didn't win all the spelling bees, and I had a really hard time learning to spell certain words in English, because I was in French Immersion all through elementary school. Words like "address" and "apartment" always stump me. But basic punctation? Was I the only one who learned this stuff?

Why is it that so many people pluralize with apostrophes? I learned in grade 1 that to pluralize a word, you put an "s" at the end, with a few exceptions. So why do so many grownups spell "cars" and "friends" and what not like "car's" and "friend's"? It's wrong. It's always been wrong, it will always be wrong. It drives me nuts. I saw this on a web page today: What Our Client's Think.

I also see misuses of "they're" "there" and "their", "your" and "you're" and "its" and "it's". Then there's "tomatoe" and "potatoe".

I try not to be too anal about this. Really. But I see it all over. Restaurants, stores, businesses. I figure if you're smart enough to have a business, aren't you smart enough to learn to spell?

Am I crazy?

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2000

Answers

well.. I listed most of my major peeve issues. This weekend I had one revisted several times. Driving to Charlotte and back over the weekend nearly threw me into a fit of roadrage. More than one time some ASSHOLE got in the passing lane and did about 60 MPH when the posted limit was 70 at that stretch and the rest of us wanted to do 75... NOTHING is more irritating than some jerk who thinks the left passing lane is his private road.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2000

Well, what burns me is when SUV drivers seem to think that merely because they are driving the largest vehicles on the road, they also have more rights than other drivers.

Case in point: This morning I was driving to work with Keith. We were in the high-occupancy-vehicle lane, which was furthest to the left. There was a little berm strip or whatever off to the left, but it wasn't a lane that you were supposed to drive in.

So we're cruising along in the HOV lane and suddenly traffic comes to a screeching halt because somebody up ahead in the HOV lane needed to merge into the regular traffic lane (this happens a lot in the HOV lane). So while I'm sitting there waiting for the guy to merge and for traffic to start up again, this guy in an SUV behind me decides that HE doesn't have to wait for traffic, because HE'S in a hurry, and swerves out into the little strip of asphalt to the left to try to pass everybody.

So naturally I swerved the Tercel out right in front of him to block his path. (Maybe her path. I couldn't see the driver.) Traffic picked up again a few seconds later, and we were on our merry way.

Jan 1, SUVs 0.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2000

What's your beef? Why shouldn't the person use the shoulder?

Me, I curse the idiot at the front that won't go around. There's no reason everybody has to come to a screeching halt.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2000

Well, it wasn't really a shoulder. It was a bit of pavement that wasn't quite wide enough for the SUV, meaning the SUV had two wheels on pavement and two wheels on gravel and dirt.

Notwithstanding the fact that I think that's unsafe anyway, it's also prohibited by Washington state law, which says you can't pass if it means going off the road.

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2000

Someone who was concerned with safety would not have "swerved the Tercel out right in front of him to block his path." Notwithstanding the chance of collision, don't people down there all carry guns? ;-)

As for it being against the law, so is speeding. Do you try to block people you see speeding as well?

I agree it is maddening when these people go on the shoulder like that, but it is probably best to leave the policing to the policemen.

A question for you, Jan. Do you ever speed or roll through a stop sign?

-- Anonymous, June 12, 2000

An answer for you, Dave: roll through stop signs, no; speed, yes. I don't know how that's relevant to this discussion, but, there it is.

On topic: Something else that pisses me off is when I start my period unexpectedly and all I have on me are the light-flow pads instead of the mega-heavy-flow pads that I need on Day One, and then by the time I get home it's a big mess, and that on top of having cramps and a headache. That pisses me off.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

It just so happens that about 6 months ago traffic came to a standstill one fine day. I needed to turn right onto an empty road about 6 cars ahead of us so I pulled onto the right shoulder, which had plenty of room and was exactly as you described, half pavement and half gravel. Technically this is against the law, but what harm could there be in crawling past six cars on the shoulder to avoid a lengthy wait? (Traffic was not moving due to a train crossing far down the road.) Just before I get to the cross road some idiot in an SUV pulls half onto the shoulder at the last second and almost forced us into the ditch. This is highly dangerous and what is the point?

I asked if you speed because these self-appointed traffic cops are often lawbreakers themselves. I just do not get what makes them think they have the right to pick and choose what traffic laws they are going to obey but nobody else has the same right.

I guess our pet peeves clash... these people absolutely drive me nuts, and the sad thing is, their behavior is far more dangerous than the behavior they are trying to prevent.

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000

I needed to turn right onto an empty road about 6 cars ahead of us so I pulled onto the right shoulder, which had plenty of room and was exactly as you described, half pavement and half gravel. Technically this is against the law, but what harm could there be in crawling past six cars on the shoulder to avoid a lengthy wait?

Techincally, the harm in crawling past six cars on the shoulder is exactly what you described -- someone could easily decide to move over/switch lanes/make the same turn you're doing, and sideswipe you. While I'll agree with you, Dave, that it's annoying to have someone cut you off like this, it's true that most likely, you're the one that's going to be hurt/damaged because of their actions. Like you said yourself, you almost ended up in a ditch! To me, that's *exactly* why I don't crawl along the shoulder -- I don't trust the other drivers out here one bit to look before they change lanes or move over.

There's a famous saying amongst us motorcyclists that covers this situation: " 'But I had the right-of-way!!' will look very nice engraved on your tombstone." ;)

-- Anonymous, June 13, 2000