Bug List!

This is a post listing 20 things that bug me in daily life, the reasons why they bug me, and my reflection on the creation of this list.

1. I live in a college town and most of the traffic lights (even on campus) don't recognize when scooters are waiting at a light and therefore won't turn green. This happens because there is no sensor to detect if a scooter is waiting at the light. This bugs me because I am forced to run a red light or make a right turn and then a u-turn to get to where I am going. This could be fixed to include a sensor for lightweight vehicles.

2. I pay for wireless internet and do not constantly receive the download speed that I am paying for. This could be due to many things, such as the modem, the wiring throughout the apartment, the wiring to the apartment, the internet provider not providing the full amount, and other wireless customers hogging the internet. This bug me because it is expensive and I should receive better service for the cost.

3. There is no quick and easy way to transfer a single file from my iPhone to a storage device or computer. Sending a picture, video, or other type of file can be a pain to transfer to another device but could be as simple as a couple of button presses on the phone. This bothers me because sometimes I'd like to transfer some kind of file quickly and there is no quick and easy process that I am aware of. This could be fixed by a memory stick made for my phone.

4. Some parts of my refrigerator are colder than others and if you put certain foods in the wrong spot they will freeze. This is because the area the cooling is provided from is localized and to fix this it could be redirected to come from multiple locations and not just one point. This bothers me because sometimes foods that I want thawed will freeze. To fix this I could buy a new fridge or try to modify mine, maybe turn the temperature up.

5. There is not enough parking on or near campus for cars and scooters. This is because either there is not enough space to build parking lots or in some cases because the person(s) in control of the planning did not do so strategically and did not create more parking where there could have been if planned better. This bothers me because sometimes I cant find a spot when I need to study or get to class. To fix this I could try another means of transportation or join the committee that is responsible for the crappy parking.

6. Traffic really bugs me. Wasting away ones life in a car is not fun at all, especially when you are stuck sitting still. This is because the lights do not coordinate with one another. There is a way to write a program along with sensors at each light to detect volumes of traffic which can be communicated to a light further down the road to warm it of the large volume of incoming traffic or the lack there of. Such a system would decrease traffic. This bother me because I am trying to get somewhere quickly and I cannot.

7. Paying a tax and/or tip at a store/restaurant is annoying and not many people care for spare change these days. This is a problem because some jobs depend on part of the income coming from tips and nearly every store prices items before tax. A place where everything is all inclusive for a reasonable price would be great. This bugs me because you don't see the full price until you are required to pay. It would be nice to know the total you will be spending ahead of time and not be judged on how much you tip.

8. Gun ammo can be too expensive at certain stores (maybe the ones close to your house!). This is because sometimes there's not a lot of places nearby that sell ammo or because the customers are unaware they are being overcharged. A store that buys used casings and sells affordable reloaded casings for target ammo could be a hit! This bugs me because places that sell reasonably priced ammo are not always convenient to go to.

9. Lots of water bottles that I have used grow mold and are hard to clean. This is due to the water bottles having tight spaces that are inaccessible to cleaning and being made of materials that mold can grow on. This bugs me because I like to drink out of clean reusable water bottles.

10. On the third floor of library west there is a certain kind of chair that has a design flaw where the fabric wears and rips, therefore the seat is uncomfortable and in need of replacement. A new design would be more comfortable for students and more cost efficient for the university. This bugs me because it is uncomfortable to sit in crappy chairs and might deter me from sitting at a nice table.

11. Have you ever noticed how every humus brand's humus looks the same? They all seem to have a majority humus with a small amount of topping in the center of the container. The topping may be peppers, nuts, etc... This bugs me because I find myself running out of the topping before I finish the humus. I do enjoy the taste of humus, but you have to admit it's somewhat bland and is way better with the topping mixed in. Why don't they mix the toppings in with the humus? maybe it doesn't look as appealing? That's still no excuse for such a small portion of the topping. There definitely needs to be a humus that includes more topping, at least, and premixing the humus with the topping might be an even better idea.

12. Waterproof iPhone... Why hasn't this been created yet? Sure, they have cases and sprays to make your phone water resistant, but why not come that way from the factory? The only reason I can imagine there isn't one is because of money. I'm sure people wouldn't break their phones nearly as much if the phone was water resistant/proof leading to less sales of new phones or phone components. This bothers me because accidents happen and one less thing that can break my phone is a good thing.

13. Why aren't bathroom trashcans always next to the exit? Many people don't wash their hands and then proceed to use the door handle to exit, so people like me use the paper towel I used to dry my hands with to also open the door. This bugs me because when there is no trashcan in reach I am forced to "shoot the J" and with a shot that looks more like Shaq's than Kobe's I'm sure to miss the trashcan most of the time. This could be fixed by locating the trashcan by the exit. I recently saw someone created a trashcan that will calculate the trajectory of your trash and move to catch the trash.

14. Customer service can be aggravating sometimes, like when I was told the other day, "we can definitely probably have you computer looked at by the end of the day" This is aggravating enough by itself because I am a college student who has everything important on that computer, but is amplified by the fact that I was told it would be done the previous night. I understand things don't always work out as planned but things going wrong should be a rare occurrence if you are good at your job. There are many reasons my computer may not have been looked at in a timely manner but in this case I suspect the technicians were screwing around when they should have been diagnosing my computer. This bothers me because I need my computer for school and it seems the people at the computer store are wasting my time. This can be fixed by a better training program for the employees and maybe a new manager who will hire competent employees.

15. This ties in to the previous bug on my list. When I finally hear back about the condition of my computer I am told that they are not sure the extent of the damage to my computer but that they suspect the logic board is bad. Being handy with electronics and mechanics I decided to see what the cost would be to fix the computer myself, expecting the cost to be less that if I have someone else fix it. Boy was I wrong. The replacement part is $1,000... One thousand dollars??? "You've got to be kidding me" I tell the lady on the phone. This is insane considering the computer cost me less than that brand new. Shocked, I ask what else I can do. The lady on the phone tells me I can send my computer in to apple and they will fix any and everything wrong with the computer for four hundred dollars. This sounds like a good deal considering the part is one thousand, but this is barely less than half of the new price of the computer. At this point I feel defeated and Helpless. Giving in to the four hundred dollar deal is the best that I can do.
This is very common with electronics - replacement parts costing half or more than the original product. In many cases it's more cost efficient to throw your electronics in the trash and buy a new one than to fix them. What causes this? corporate greed, lack of resources, manufacturing costs? There is something that can be done to improve this system of buy, break, and buy again. This bugs me because I am forced to spend more money than is reasonable. A fix may be to find a way to make aftermarket replacement parts at a fraction of the cost.

16. Since I am on the topic of repairs being overpriced, here's another one. Scooter repairs are definitely overpriced. One day I drove my scooter to library west to study. When I returned to my scooter it appeared that someone ran into the rear of my scooter, breaking my turn signal and brake signal lenses. I went to New Scooter For Less to pick up what should have been a couple of cheap parts for my scooter. I ask the man at the register how much it was for just the left turn signal lens. BAM! "$42.99 for the whole kit", he says. "I can't buy them separate?", I replied. Of course not, I have to buy all of them because "they come together". That might have been alright with me if they weren't approximately $15 each for three pieces, two of which I did not need. This is on the cheap side of a scooter repair. This is another example of repairs not being worth it because they are more expensive than the item being repaired is worth. These items are "totaled" and there has to be a better way to deal with it. This bugs me because, once again, I am being overpriced. This problem has the same solution as the previous bug on the list.

17. A reoccurring annoyance is paying for a service you I am not receiving. This time it's not the internet provider, instead its a landlord. When I am renting and sign a lease that states both the landlords obligations and mine, I abide by them. It is not always the case however that the landlord does the same. I have been having a problem with the dryer for months now. I have brought this to the landlords attention multiple times and someone actually came out to look at it, but nothing has been done. The person who examined it claimed that it is working fine, but I disagree, having to run the clothes through two full dry cycles to dry them is not "working fine". I assume the reason this is a problem is a combination of the landlord being cheap and figuring that because it dries the clothes eventually, that it does not need to be fixed. This bugs me because it takes forever to do laundry and it probably increases my electric bill. This can be fixed by moving somewhere new, buying a dryer myself, threatening the landlord, etc...

18. Another thing that bugged me recently is when I went to the new pizza place, Dough Religion, and tried to order the "pizza of the day" for me and my girlfriend. The deal is you get a predetermined pizza for $5 if you check in on Facebook. The pizza of the day happened to be sausage and green peppers, which is fine with me but my girlfriend hates peppers. We waited in line assuming that trading green peppers for spinach would be no big deal and may even be more cost effective for the business, not to mention the advertisement we are about to post to Facebook for the discount. We are up next in line and we order the pizza of the day. I add in afterwards, "Can we substitute the green peppers for another vegetable like spinach? My girlfriend can't eat green peppers" to which the man behind the counter replies, "Sorry, we are only supposed to put what comes on it". It's not like I was asking the guy for some special treatment; it was a reasonable request and very little to ask to maintain my business. I walked out without completing my order and I have not been back to Dough Religion since and don't have plans to do so. It's not that he wanted to charge me an additional three dollars that aggravated me, it's the principal. We were not important enough for the business to please us. I asked for such a small favor, something so incredibly simple that would have given them more business from me in the future, an advertisement on my Facebook, and possibly a recommendation to friends and family to try the restaurant out - and they denied me. I think this happened because the employee who I was speaking with was not properly trained and lacked experience in customer service. Proper training could fix this issue. This bugs me because it is not how you run a business effectively and I wont pay $8 for a small mediocre pizza.

19. My girlfriends hair gets all over the place! I find it everywhere, even in spots I didn't think I'd find hair. This isn't very bothersome but can be annoying sometimes. Her hair is great, but not on the floor, in the shower, in bed, in my backpack... This could be due to not brushing it enough maybe? Maybe a specialized brush could fix this problem.

20. Number 20! Another hair related bug. Why do showers have drains that are easily blocked by hair? There should be something built into the drain that collects debris without blocking it from draining the water efficiently. The drain gets blocked because it functions not only as the drain but the debris collector as well. These two things need to be separate so the shower doesn't stop draining every week and the debris (hair mostly) can be discarded easily. This bothers me because sometimes it clogs and I have to fix it immediately or it will not drain.

Reflection on writing this post

This post was somewhat difficult to complete. When I am out and about during the day I am constantly surrounded by things that bug me and I'll even tell the person I'm with on certain occasions, but when I sat down to write this post I couldn't think of more than three significant things that bug me. I realized that to complete this post I was going to have to take note of things that bothered me throughout the day and put this post together one addition at a time. I started taking notes on my phone so I could write about them later. This seemed to be an effective way of compiling this list.