So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

Peel and stick stamps.

Sorry, I prefer to lick glue.

MisterCairo said:

Single vehicle self-serve gas bars with no directional controls. Can you say "vehicular chaos"?

Click to expand...

A couple of months ago I saw a man and woman almost come to physical blows because the station doesn't have any directional arrows and everyone parks willy-nilly to get their gas. They were parked front-to-front and the woman refused to back up. The guy had several people behind him and couldn't back up, but the lady didn't have anyone behind her. As I had finished filling up, I decided since I was in very close proximity, I'd better get the heck out of Dodge. I don't know how it was finally resolved, but when I left the guy was trying to reason with the woman, but she wasn't listening because she was too busy cursing at him. Is it me or has civility just been thrown out the window by most people now days?

Fading Fast said:

...And notice how much time your doctor / doctor's office takes documentation your visit (some of which they push off on you with all those docs you fill out). Several doctors now sit and type notes in real time as you talk to them - which makes for a very unsatisfying way to connect with your doctor...

Click to expand...

I've had more than one doctor comment something to the effect of, "I used to be a doctor. Now I'm a computer jockey," while they were clickity-clacking away at the keyboard.

Fading Fast said:

I agree with the CYA and job replacement reasons as they are simply real and I've seen it. But also, the "sue at every moment, for any reason and for every thing" litigation industry is a big cause, too, as a lot of that documentation is in case the company gets sued...

Click to expand...

The last company I worked for processed steel and alloy parts and materials, and the majority of what we processed was for the aerospace industry (both military and commercial) in one way or another. We took pride in our work and never lost sight of the fact that someone could be killed if those parts and/or materials failed while in-service, so we took our Quality Control procedures seriously. In 2000 the company was sold twice, and the more recent new owners implemented their own Quality Control procedures, some of which were rather...unique. In our previous Quality Control system the focus was on making sure the parts were processed properly and would withstand the rigors of whatever they were designed for; in the new Quality Control system, at least 90% of it was focused on getting the customers' money and not doing anything that would force the company to give it back.

MisterCairo said:

Peel and stick stamps.

Sorry, I prefer to lick glue.

Click to expand...

Peel and stick stamps are a clever marketing scam. They know that a certain percentage of those stamps will peel off the backing while being carried in a pocketbook or wallet and end up unusable -- that's pure profit. Gummed stamps had their issues, but it was a lot harder to make one unusable.

Seemingly senseless paperwork, forms, and reports are nothing new in the US Army. During the Second World War and after there was/is an apocryphal story making the rounds about a bored 2LT creating a new paperwork form for recording and reporting the number of insects caught on flypaper spirals suspended from the company mess hall ceiling every week. the form came with a gridded plan of the typical company mess hall so the number and type of each insect caught be each piece of flypaper could be duly recorded. After two weeks of this 2LT submitting Flypaper Reports to battalion, the other companies were being asked where their flypaper reports were. And the tasking spread from there.

Whether it is an urban legend or not, it is believable to service members.

The annoying pop-ups that state I may have won something. Typically it is a gift card from Amazon, but occasionally it is from Wal-mart or Samsung.

Touchofevil said:

The annoying pop-ups that state I may have won something. Typically it is a gift card from Amazon, but occasionally it is from Wal-mart or Samsung.

Click to expand...

What really chaps me with those ads is the inability to close them. You can't go back or X out of them. You have to close the tab and start over. I can't imagine how it can be effective advertising. Whizzing off your target audience by highjacking their computer sure doesn't make me want to buy any product.

3fingers said:

What really chaps me with those ads is the inability to close them. You can't go back or X out of them. You have to close the tab and start over. I can't imagine how it can be effective advertising. Whizzing off your target audience by highjacking their computer sure doesn't make me want to buy any product.

Click to expand...

I do not believe that the adds/pop-ups are legitimately from who they say they are from. The fact that I am stuck on them and they say I am a winner makes me believe that they are there to steal from me. I might be wrong, but no matter as I do not like them one bit.

Touchofevil said:

The annoying pop-ups that state I may have won something. Typically it is a gift card from Amazon, but occasionally it is from Wal-mart or Samsung.

Click to expand...

My beef is about the Eastern European dating agencies, they are all over the place. Delete one and Google will ask why, say that it's inappropriate and they promise not to show it again, for all of sixty seconds.

Since the Lounge introduced aggressive advertizing I've been assailed (ok, that's a slight exaggeration ) by attractive young, scantily clad lasses asking if I'd like to meet them, so not all pop-ups are bad.

Lean'n'mean said:

Since the Lounge introduced aggressive advertizing I've been assailed (ok, that's a slight exaggeration ) by attractive young, scantily clad lasses asking if I'd like to meet them, so not all pop-ups are bad.

Click to expand...

The ads on the lounge are set up to be relevant to what you have searched for. I get ads for superhero ball caps as well as a tactical website that i sometimes purchase from. This begs the question of what have YOU been searching for?

Bruce Wayne said:

This begs the question of what have YOU been searching for?

Click to expand...

Cookng recipes & interior design of course.

Bruce Wayne said:

The ads on the lounge are set up to be relevant to what you have searched for. I get ads for superhero ball caps as well as a tactical website that i sometimes purchase from. This begs the question of what have YOU been searching for?

Click to expand...

Oh dear, caught out again. Actually I like your tongue in cheek response. The adverts that I get are all random, that's because my Godson helped me with a bit of IT skill. My computer is set to prevent a page from from setting cookies, furthermore, before I switch off I clear the history, then clear any data that might have been recorded and finally I delete all files and web information.
It might sound a bit long winded but since I have been doing that, my computer has never slowed down.

Stop using Google. Try Duckduckgo.com it doesn't track you for advertising.

Lean'n'mean said:

Since the Lounge introduced aggressive advertizing I've been assailed (ok, that's a slight exaggeration ) by attractive young, scantily clad lasses asking if I'd like to meet them, so not all pop-ups are bad.

Click to expand...

Whew! I'm glad it's not just me. haha

GHT said:

Oh dear, caught out again. Actually I like your tongue in cheek response. The adverts that I get are all random, that's because my Godson helped me with a bit of IT skill. My computer is set to prevent a page from from setting cookies, furthermore, before I switch off I clear the history, then clear any data that might have been recorded and finally I delete all files and web information.
It might sound a bit long winded but since I have been doing that, my computer has never slowed down.

Click to expand...

Perhaps you could let us in on that programming procedure.

scottyrocks said:

Perhaps you could let us in on that programming procedure.

Click to expand...

You need to find your history icon, mine is in the top right hand corner of the screen. It looks similar to the colon sign thus: But instead of having two dots, it has three. Click on it and a drop down menu appears, click "history" and a second menu appears, click "history" on the second menu and your entire viewing history appears, not just websites but page by page too. There's a delete button at the top of the page, mine is on the right. On the left are two headings, one of which says "clear browsing data" click that and all the crud that websites deposit in your system, vanish. Be careful though, I think that you might lose recorded passwords, although it's best to check that as I'm not sure.
Finally you need to find the heading "control panel" Mine is in the same menu as the shut down button. The control panel will give you a mass of headings, look for "internet options" click that and the final menu will give the delete page. You can delete temporary files, cookies, history and useless web information. Sadly, at present I can't remember how I set up the prevention of setting cookies page.

Mae said:

Stop using Google. Try Duckduckgo.com it doesn't track you for advertising.

Click to expand...

That doesn't help when you are using an android powered device or use chrome as a browser. furthermore, even if you have never used a Google account, device, or anything else you are still being tracked. Many Americans say if you have nothing to hide,you have nothing to fear. That's like saying if you have nothing to say you have no need for the 1st Ammendment.

Monetization of every aspect of human existence from the cradle to the grave -- It's the American Way!

GHT said:

Oh dear, caught out again. Actually I like your tongue in cheek response. The adverts that I get are all random, that's because my Godson helped me with a bit of IT skill. My computer is set to prevent a page from from setting cookies, furthermore, before I switch off I clear the history, then clear any data that might have been recorded and finally I delete all files and web information.
It might sound a bit long winded but since I have been doing that, my computer has never slowed down.

Click to expand...

I perform three "scans" daily myself using software that was recommended by people who know far more about IT than I do:

CCleaner, which deletes all of the cookies, image files, browser histories, and such, that take up space on your hard drive. It can be a bit of a pain to navigate through the initial installation process and the updates when they become available (i.e., making sure you get the "freeware" version rather than the "paid subscription" version), but becomes routine once you get used to it. I use this almost every time I close any of the browsers (Firefox, Chrome, etc.) because it removes those files even if you switch between browsers in the same online session. It scans rather quickly (usually less than a minute), and frequently requires two or more scans to remove everything, but I haven't had any major problems with my laptop since I started using it. You can also use it to remove any unwanted/useless configuration files from your computer's registry. It doesn't specifically look for virus or malware files, but it helps to keep your hard drive clean.

Malwarebytes, which scans for viruses and other malicious software that can screw up whichever type of device you use to surf the Interwebz. I've also used it in "safe mode" to remove malware that has "hijacked" one of my browsers. The only downside I've encountered is that it creates a report file every time you use it regardless of whether or not it finds any malware, and if you don't delete those files regularly they can take up space on your hard drive. Deleting them is simple, and as long as it doesn't find anything I delete them after each scan. This scan can take a little longer depending upon how many files are on your hard drive (currently about 5-7 minutes for me), but that's because it's specifically looking for those unwanted files that can create all kinds of problems.

Third, and finally, I use the anti-virus software that came with Windows 8.1--Windows Defender. It requires manual updates, which is an extra step that usually takes a few minutes, but it can perform "quick" scans that usually take a minute or two, or "full" scans that dig deeper to find those unwanted files. I perform a full scan once a month or so because that takes much longer (2-3 hours the last time I did one).

It sounds like a bit of a hassle, but it takes only 5-10 minutes to perform all three scans daily and has really helped to eliminate those trips to the "computer guru".