What makes me crazy and annoyed..

[B.D.F.]

Yep, a two party system is inevitable with FPTP voting. The only thing a third party candidate can possible do is flip the vote from one of the two main parties to the other of the main parties but no [non main party member] has any chance of actually being elected in an established political system (exhibit A: Ross Perot).

A slick, humorous but entirely accurate overview of this, with the obvious alternative, is presented here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo

Without casting any political shade in this thread at all, whatsoever, I think I can say that our (US) last presidential election was very much choosing the candidate that was least repugnant. Perhaps not even least repugnant, just least repugnant in one critical area for each voter. Absolutely the two least liked candidates in the US in either a very long time or perhaps for every election previous. Your analogy certainly fits Max but the one I particularly liked is: This election has turned into a choice of whether to ---- in your own pants or have someone else ---- in your pants. And that about described the entire situation for me.

Brian

+100

Well, there are other parties, like Libertarian, but what is the point?  It is impossible for any other parties to go anywhere in this system due to plurality voting, which is the worst system ever.  South Park describes the situation best with "Douche Bag or Turd Sandwich" which seems to apply in most situations.

"Duverger's law is an idea in political science which says that constituencies that use first-past-the-post methods will lead to two-party systems, given enough time."  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law

[VirginiaJim]

+1

[VirginiaJim]

Medical billing systems.  Got a bill last Friday for $12.95 from my Cardiologist's office.   Said they were going to send it to collections.  I thought this strange as I haven't done anything with that office for 2 years.  I immediately went ballistic and got crazy and annoyed.  Wanted to go into that office and stuff the bill up someone's butt.  My wife, ever the calm one, told me she would talk to that office and see what's going on (she works at that office).  I mean, collections for a 12.95 bill?   This is the same office that has a policy of treating their own employees, saying don't worry about the bill, let it go to collections....WTF?   The end result was the business manager wanted to call me but my wife said that wouldn't be a good idea.   The bill was paid but the end result is that they lost a patient.  This is one of those medical practices that farms out the billing to a separate service.  My wife also told me that I'm not the first one to get a bill like this.

Some years back I was checking my credit report and saw an unpaid bill from a hospital where we used to live.   Hadn't lived there in years.  Never got the bill, never went to that hospital.  Investigation revealed that one of my daughters went to the emergency room for some care.  She had her own insurance.  I called the credit collection agency (never had a call from them either) and paid it.   The hospital decided on their own to bill me because I was on record on having paid a bill there previously.

What's wrong with these idiots?

[Rhino]

Medical billing systems.  Got a bill last Friday for $12.95 from my Cardiologist's office.   Said they were going to send it to collections.  I thought this strange as I haven't done anything with that office for 2 years.  I immediately went ballistic and got crazy and annoyed.  Wanted to go into that office and stuff the bill up someone's butt.  My wife, ever the calm one, told me she would talk to that office and see what's going on (she works at that office).  I mean, collections for a 12.95 bill?   This is the same office that has a policy of treating their own employees, saying don't worry about the bill, let it go to collections....WTF?   The end result was the business manager wanted to call me but my wife said that wouldn't be a good idea.   The bill was paid but the end result is that they lost a patient.  This is one of those medical practices that farms out the billing to a separate service.  My wife also told me that I'm not the first one to get a bill like this.

Some years back I was checking my credit report and saw an unpaid bill from a hospital where we used to live.   Hadn't lived there in years.  Never got the bill, never went to that hospital.  Investigation revealed that one of my daughters went to the emergency room for some care.  She had her own insurance.  I called the credit collection agency (never had a call from them either) and paid it.   The hospital decided on their own to bill me because I was on record on having paid a bill there previously.

What's wrong with these idiots?

  Except they're not idiots, they're corrupt. They do these things because they can get away with it. What is your alternative? If you tried to fight the bill it would take you more time and money than to just pay it. My wife had a TIA last October. An ambulance ride to one hospital, they only thing they did was giver he an aspirin (which I had already done) and then send her to another hospital (basic $2000 8 mile ride) which did some tests. Zero treatment, $50,000. We are still getting bills from doctors we never met. Sorry, rant over. 

[Conniesaki]

Crazy & annoyed? THIS:

I own a vacant rural lot with electric service that almost never gets used. For years I'd been getting a monthly bill of $23.## then up to $24.##, then $25.00. I just thought they had another rate increase that happened to land me right on $25.00. Minor increase, not a big deal. But ... this month it went to $28.00. Note the ".00" again. Looking into I find:

"In an effort to improve the lives of members, Clay Electric implemented Operation Round Up in October 2016, a program that generates and collects charitable donations that will be used to benefit organizations in the community. The program “rounds up” a member’s bill to the nearest dollar, and that tax-deductible amount goes directly to the Clay Electric Foundation. Each month, the electric bills of participating members are rounded up – increased to the next dollar amount. So, if your bill is $119.99, it is rounded up to $120, and if your bill is $175.53, it is rounded up to $176. The average amount any given member donates is just $0.50 per month, with the maximum being $11.88 per year."

Note how they don't use an example like $119.01 being rounded up to $120.

"While the program is voluntary, members are automatically enrolled and will need to opt out in order to not participate. Other co-ops that have introduced Operation Round Up in this way have shown that more members participate – an average of 75 percent as opposed to 25 percent where members were required to sign up."

GEE ... you mean you increased your success rate by sneaking it in??! Great job, A-holes.

"Members of Clay Electric were given plenty of notice and have the ability to opt out of the program."

I received no notice that I'm aware of. Maybe something came in the mail, but I didn't see it. And why would they really want me to? I bet it was one of the many single sheets of paper they include in the monthly bill envelope. It's always ... OK usually always ... junk mail, so I just quickly throw out everything but the bill.

This reminds me of a kid asking a parent for permission by whispering, "Mom, if it's OK for me to stay out til midnight, don't say anything {pause for a second} ... Great, thanks!"

 

https://www.clayelectric.com/community-education/operation-round

[tweeter55]

Medical billing systems.  Got a bill last Friday for $12.95 from my Cardiologist's office.   Said they were going to send it to collections.  I thought this strange as I haven't done anything with that office for 2 years.  I immediately went ballistic and got crazy and annoyed.  Wanted to go into that office and stuff the bill up someone's butt.  My wife, ever the calm one, told me she would talk to that office and see what's going on (she works at that office).  I mean, collections for a 12.95 bill?   This is the same office that has a policy of treating their own employees, saying don't worry about the bill, let it go to collections....WTF?   The end result was the business manager wanted to call me but my wife said that wouldn't be a good idea.   The bill was paid but the end result is that they lost a patient.  This is one of those medical practices that farms out the billing to a separate service.  My wife also told me that I'm not the first one to get a bill like this.

Some years back I was checking my credit report and saw an unpaid bill from a hospital where we used to live.   Hadn't lived there in years.  Never got the bill, never went to that hospital.  Investigation revealed that one of my daughters went to the emergency room for some care.  She had her own insurance.  I called the credit collection agency (never had a call from them either) and paid it.   The hospital decided on their own to bill me because I was on record on having paid a bill there previously.

What's wrong with these idiots?

Medical billing & insurance companies both tick me off to no end. My wife spent almost a year in the hospital with a serious infection. She passed away almost 3 1/2 years ago. I am still getting statements from the hospital every month. Not stating that I owe anything, but stating there is still an outstanding insurance claim not my responsibility. The last I talked with a representative from the hospital was over 8 months ago & they thought they could get it settled within the next couple months.

[gPink]

Turned on a movie this morning, an Eastwood flick called Hang'Em High, and remembered I saw this at the theater when it first came out. Fifty....freaking....years....ago.

[VirginiaJim]

That's been on tv a lot of times.  Where you been?

[just gone]

Turned on a movie this morning, an Eastwood flick called Hang'Em High, and remembered I saw this at the theater when it first came out. Fifty....freaking....years....ago.

I wish I only saw one movie from 50 freaking years ago! I frequently watch a movie that in the back of my mind I think is somewhat recent, then I check the date realize that it is more than 2 decades old!
The only solace I get is that is that most of the TCM movies shown were made before I was born. However, almost all of the color ones shown on TCM, I saw at the theater (or drive in) near the originally released date. 

[B.D.F.]

I had an Uncle (actually, my mother's Uncle so I guess my GrandUncle?), one of the very few people I knew as an adult who was born before the turn of the century (1898). Once in a while, he would say something along the lines of 'Well, back during the war......' and we always asked him WHICH war, Civil, Revolutionary, etc. He did not think it was funny but we did (my brother and I). But really, the guy was rejected for WWI due to having flat feet. And again for WWII 'cause apparently his feet did not warp much over time and they were still flat.

OFFTOPIC: This one time, at banned camp with my Uncle, we were talking about a massive maple tree in his front yard and he told me, to my amazement, he planted it in the 1930's sometime. Then, trying to remember, he mentioned that the tree was either not there yet or not big enough to get in the way because he stood there, called to his wife (Gladys- they even had old NAMES) and the two of them watched a dirigible fly over and disappear to the south. Later on, he heard on the radio that it had blown up in NJ..... yep, THAT dirigible and he watched it on THAT trip. Apparently it flew down the coast to NJ from the north on the transatlantic run. Amazing. That would make right around 6 May, 1937. 

Brian

I wish I only saw one movie from 50 freaking years ago! I frequently watch a movie that in the back of my mind I think is somewhat recent, then I check the date realize that it is more than 2 decades old!
The only solace I get is that is that most of the TCM movies shown were made before I was born. However, almost all of the color ones shown on TCM, I saw at the theater (or drive in) near the originally released date. 

[VirginiaJim]

Earliest movies I can remember seeing in theaters were Mary Poppins, Patton, The Sand Pebbles..

[just gone]

Earliest movies I can remember seeing in theaters were Mary Poppins, Patton, The Sand Pebbles..

Young whippersnapper!

The High and the Mighty; Rebel without a Cause; Marty (sic); Bus Stop; The 10 Commandments; Forbidden Planet. I usually fell asleep during the movies and since we were at the drive in I would climb up on the rear deck of the Hudson Hornet and fall asleep looking out at the people in the car behind us. In '57 my mom started spitting out little brothers and we didn't go to movies much after that. I think The High and the Mighty was the only movie I saw from start to finish without falling asleep at the drive in during those early years. I eventually was able to see the parts I slept through much later when they were on TV albeit in Black and White. My dad didn't get a color TV until the late 80s, I actually owned one many years before he did. .....Ooops! Sorry, I'll bet when one of us gets lost and starts typing down their own memory lane that it must make some of you ....crazy and annoyed?

[lather]

Damn, I thought I was old...

[motonerd14]

People who text and drive should have their cars and phones taken away and be made to use payphones and the bus for a year.

Permaban them on the second offense or if they cause an accident. No exceptions. This kind of nonsense has to end and the only way to do it is through harsh punishment and public shaming.

I've personally lost friends and almost die once a day because of these selfish idiots. The level of stupidity exhibited by the average California motorist is beyond my comprehension, and I consider myself to be a pretty stupid 

The saying goes that you can tell a lot about a person by how they drive. In that case these people are the biggest pieces of    I've ever encountered.

[Conrad]

People who text and drive should have their cars and phones taken away and be made to use payphones and the bus for a year.

Permaban them on the second offense or if they cause an accident. No exceptions. This kind of nonsense has to end and the only way to do it is through harsh punishment and public shaming.

I've personally lost friends and almost die once a day because of these selfish idiots. The level of stupidity exhibited by the average California motorist is beyond my comprehension, and I consider myself to be a pretty stupid 

The saying goes that you can tell a lot about a person by how they drive. In that case these people are the biggest pieces of    I've ever encountered.

It's not just drivers in California, I assure you.   

[VirginiaJim]

Yeah, it's everywhere.

[B.D.F.]

Now that right there is as close to idea perfection that I have ever seen. It is fair, addresses the problem, is not 'cruel and unusual'..... so much that it could not actually be executed and the whipped cream on top is that it is hysterical!

'Say John, why are you looking for a pay phone?'

'Geez Nancy, why are you riding THE BUS ?!?!?!?!?!'

To which they will have to answer with 1) the humiliating truth or 2) a stupid but less humiliating lie. Either way, it is perfect.

Nice work my friend, I love this idea.

Brian

People who text and drive should have their cars and phones taken away and be made to use payphones and the bus for a year.

<snip>

[Rhino]

Now that right there is as close to idea perfection that I have ever seen. It is fair, addresses the problem, is not 'cruel and unusual'..... so much that it could not actually be executed and the whipped cream on top is that it is hysterical!

'Say John, why are you looking for a pay phone?'

'Geez Nancy, why are you riding THE BUS ?!?!?!?!?!'

To which they will have to answer with 1) the humiliating truth or 2) a stupid but less humiliating lie. Either way, it is perfect.

Nice work my friend, I love this idea.

Brian

I guess I tend toward the cruel and unusual side and think a fitting punishment would be to have the phone shoved...      well you get the idea.

[B.D.F.]

Yeah but then the perpetrator would just be rushed to a hospital, given the 'good' drugs, have the phone removed, the 'installation area' sutured up, be given a room and all the fixins' for a couple of weeks and then probably get a new phone and be right back at at..... and with new stories to text about.

The bus and pay phone way would last a year, be a true PITA (without the drugs) and continuously torture the perpetrator so he / she could learn and re- learn that lesson over and over again. Besides, the rest of us might have a chance to see that person in a phone booth (one of the three left) and find some amusement in that.

Brian

I guess I tend toward the cruel and unusual side and think a fitting punishment would be to have the phone shoved...      well you get the idea.

[maxtog]

Now that right there is as close to idea perfection that I have ever seen. It is fair, addresses the problem, is not 'cruel and unusual'..... so much that it could not actually be executed and the whipped cream on top is that it is hysterical!

I like the concept, but the issue would be how exactly it is worded and enforced.  There are so many non-dangerous (or less dangerous) ways phones can be used in a car- like hands-free with voice-to-text, or as a non-held GPS, or a quick text while stopped at a light (WHILE PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DAMN LIGHT).

It seems like most times I encounter stupid drivers- one drifting lanes, driving erratically, stopping too late, etc, there are damn cell phones in their hands.  I am mortified every time I see it.