A dissertation on pet peeves, or it can also be known as my first attempt to alienate all of the people kind enough to read my ramblings.

I have so many, and I’ll bet I go through this 10 times before I finish. Maybe I’ll just do a Top 10 instead of a Top 100,000, counting down least to the worst…..

10: Backer Inners. Why? Why is it ok for you to inconvenience others and make them wait for you to get backed in so you don’t have to be inconvenienced getting out??? Thank you for reinforcing my need for patience.

9: Slot Machines, I mean Gas Pumps. That annoying jump from $_.99 to $…….anything other than the next even dollar. Don’t those mother fuckers that make gas pumps know that some of us get a horrible brain itch when the numbers do not add up to an even dollar amount???

8: Apathy. It seems like the more important the issue is the less people give a fuck about it. I guess while we’re at it, we can file “I don’t give a shit about anything but me” right here as well.

7: The irony of Racism. The people that play the Racism Card are usually the ones that should be getting the memo first and foremost. I get it. Racism exists and we as human beings are less for it, but pointing at everyone that isn’t you doesn’t fix this problem or any other. The BEST way to combat social issues long term is to take care of your house. Racists raise racists. Bigots raise bigots. Compassion and Empathy and Respect beget the same. Practice what you preach seems to fit really well right here too.

6: The microscopic value of my dollars. Is anyone else having this problem or is it just me? Does your balance shrink if you leave your card in the dryer? Is it because my bad habits cost less and atoning for them costs exponentially more? Are my wrinkly dolla dolla bills the issue? Is new money worth more? Is it because the folks in charge of identifying and managing inflation also stand to gain from its inexorable climb??? Asking for a friend. FYI, for anyone still on the fence, having to pay twice as much for gas is NOT a flex. Free advice right there.

5: The quiet part about Religion. Everyone’s religion is better than everyone else’s. I get it. The monotheists seem to have the biggest issue with this. As I state in my “About” blurb, I am a strong believer in Christ, so that’s where I stand. I’m a horrible Christian for a number of reasons that are really none of your business. I’m going to share something with you that MAY surprise you. Everyone is going where they want when they die. So, instead of your obsessive drive to make everyone believe what you do, maybe consider Respect in front of Denigration. Maybe consider Compassion in front of Abject Hatred. Maybe consider Grace in front of Hypocrisy and Ridicule. Maybe consider minding your own business in front of thinking that somehow your God has appointed you over so many others to beat His Will into the souls of the non-believers. While I’m on a roll, I might as well put how embarrassed I am that some of the biggest religions are also some of the biggest businesses right here……. a coincidence? Sorry, did I say that out loud???

4: The not so quiet part about the LGBTQ+ crowd. I do not believe that civil marriage is for one woman and one man. See above for my clarification on religion. I believe everyone has the right to choose whom they spend their life with and how they do it and that it is none of your fucking business. I do not believe that anyone should be harassed or harmed or lessened for their personal choices in ANY manner EVER. Here’s where it gets sticky though. I also DO NOT believe that a church should be forced to marry a couple that goes against their doctrine. I do not think that society should be forced to bow to your reality any more than you should be forced to accept being harmed or disrespected. Just as it’s none of their business what you do and believe in your life, your choices do not magically get to be foisted on everyone around you. If you want to get married, then you should have the right to go to the justice of the peace just like the agnostics and atheists do. You have rights and the government should recognize and protect those the same as they should everyone else’s. You don’t have the right to force your doctrine or choices on others. Live your life, make your choices in peace and with happiness but recognize those choices don’t require that others to have to accept them. Respect and accept that not everyone agrees with you or should be forced to. While I’m at it, let’s stir in a little gender controversy here. To everyone that is male and wants to be female or is female and wants to be male, I want you to live your best life. No hate, no disrespect, no dying on the side of the road because someone doesn’t like you. However, a biological male cannot “dress for success” and be considered a woman when it comes to sports or other related competitive activities. You are still a biological male and that will not ever change. Ever. There is a reason you don’t ever hear of female to male transition success stories in professional or collegiate events. Common sense. Live your life. Please. Find your happiness. Please. Be well. Please. But recognize that, like everyone else on this planet, there will be limits to what you can and should do. Please.

3: The lack of an effective educational system in the United States. Education is broken. Period. We can fix it but we choose not to. We keep choosing to look the other way. Someone needs to ask the tough questions. The answers to those questions will come easier when we accept that well educated children are the STRONGEST investment we can make in our country and our future. It starts with you. Ask yourself who do you hear touting the same message as always or telling you it only takes more money to fix it, then start getting rid of those mother fuckers first. Legally. This is not a manifesto for random violence and the overthrow of Commandant Educator. Money will be needed for sure, but the issues go so much deeper than that. Spoiler Alert! Where the money goes is a bigger issue than how much money there is. Fraud and malfeasance are rampant in the educational system. Is race a contributor? Fix it. Is socio-economic status a contributor? Fix it. Level the playing field for ALL races and economic communities, and I do mean ALL of them. Stop with the caveats and quotas and the bullshit that is really designed to make the system unworkable and make the solution accessible to every fucking person in this country legally. Period. I’m gonna drop my own personal favorite right here. Stop subsidizing colleges with government money. If people have to pay to go to these collages, then make the collages earn it like everyone else who collects money for a service. Then provide a STRONG well thought out secondary educational structure for those of us that are citizens that cannot afford to pay for it. Free of charge, no strings attached and in areas of study or training that benefit the well-being of the Scholar and the Country. For citizens only. Yes, I am pounding this home for a reason. This is a substantial investment that will reap incredible dividends IF the product of that education is used in our Country for the benefit of both. No apologies on my part about this whatsoever.

2: Garbage in, garbage out. The problem with AI isn’t AI. It’s the idiots we have building AI that are the issue. All of them, I mean ALL OF THEM are pumping out their AI slop as fast as they can get a midlevel manager to “approve” it. There is very little if any QC involved in the process. There is absolutely no conscience involved in these rollouts and in case you are still confused, none of them give a rat’s ass about the longer-term consequences of this insanity. All of the models are expected to learn on the job. We, collectively, are their guinea pigs and It’s teachers. The unfortunate truth is, the people that use AI the most are also the ones least qualified to teach it, (I said that as politely as I care to) and so AI is still the functional equivalent of a barely educated kindergartner. They tout how much value this tech has to society while at the same time laying off people in droves to justify all the spending in this sector. Does anybody else see this Outhouse of Cards ready to collapse or am I alone? Asking for the same friend.

1: Our gradual insidious slide to a cash-less society. If you’re looking for a fast track to absolute outside financial control over your life, look no further. If you can’t see the danger in not having any access to your money/income without permission, then I can’t help you, but you have been warned. Yes, most business is done electronically, I understand that, but you can still go to the bank and turn all or a portion of your account balance to metal and paper that still has value for services and goods. Consider what that means when that is gone. My rant about apathy is a good fit here as well.

0: President Donald J Trump. To be clear, I have voted for him more than once and the one time I didn’t was because I didn’t make it to the polls in time. I will not pretend to recant, because there are reasons I voted for him. But I will tell you that the longer he stays in office…………the more time he spends listening to people around him tell him he can do no wrong and that people will vote for him or his disciples regardless. Let’s be honest. He was a political force of nature, but the shine is wearing off. Immigration reform, political reform, educational reform and our participation on the world stage were/are big for me, but ICE could have and can still do its job without being heavy handed pricks about it. Illegals can still be treated like human beings and given due consideration, (not publicly funded representation) while still being deported. He has now become the political lifer I’m opposed to, spending more time listening to pollsters than the people who put him there. Educational reform should have been more thought out and effected than it has been, read as lip service to a campaign promise. While we have substantially stopped the flow of money to a number of outside entities that would bite the hand that feeds it, namely ours, his performance, demeaner and decision making on the world stage has left a lot to be desired. The behavior of this administration is a combination of pandering to the fundamental voting base and daring everyone else to say something. Offering the American voters a cash bribe for midterm success??? What the fuck are you thinking dude? If you want to win the mid-terms, shut up and listen to what the people who voted for you are saying. Do the right thing for the right reason and you’ll get what you want, if what you want is what’s better for the people and not your pocketbook. The national debt under your watch? Embarrassing, and yet you’re gonna give out more money we don’t have for votes…….that’s a sound idea.

-1: Fundamentalists of any ilk. Anyone who thinks that there is only one right way to do things, their way, and everyone else is either wrong or retarded, should not be in charge of anything more important than what they are having for breakfast. My friend told me to say that.

-2: Lack of common courtesy and decency. How hard is it to take a step back and just……not. Not do that thing you know you shouldn’t but you are just so pissed that you didn’t get your coffee, didn’t get your way, didn’t get laid, or didn’t get to the stop light first that you are gonna do it come hell or high water. We have become so inundated with public idiocy that people have stopped thinking about whether or not they should and now all they care about is getting their’s, whatever that is. You wanna be a good dude? Turn your fucking camera off and treat someone like a human being with dignity and not fodder for your views or a bandage for your complete lack of self-confidence………Wow, I think that one was bothering me lol.

-3: Manners. Pure and simple. Chivalry. Pure and simple. Taking care of the people close to you and being a man. Pure and simple. My mother would be embarrassed of most of you and would kick my ass if I behaved like that. I’m going to let you in on a secret. I’m glad Will Smith slapped Chris Rock. There is a difference between toxic masculinity and respect. He deserved it. He used “comedy” as a cover for being disrespectful. Being a comedian is not an absolute license to say whatever you want at the expense of whomever you choose. Learn your lesson dude. Be better.

-4: Well clearly, I’m not good at counting to 10, but whatever. This is my last one anyway. Triggers. let me say that again. Triggers. We are catering to the minority. Period. We are enabling a generation, (or two) of entitled, self-centered pricks. What started as a way to be better and do better has been corrupted and twisted into an unrivaled level of censorship. Get over yourselves. Please.

-5: Nope. I lied. Cancel culture. Most perturbing, but definitely an easy way to spot the internet warriors and spineless followers. It has turned into the latest and easiest way to bully anyone who disagrees with you. See #-1 for my thoughts on that. I learned a long time ago that the loudest voice in the room is definitely not the smartest. That person, that one is listening, watching, learning and adsorbing, that’s who I respect. The one who doesn’t feel the need to badger others to get attention. Shut up and listen and 99 times out of 100 you’ll learn something, and maybe even do something productive with it.

Ok, well I feel like I nailed my very first top ten list. Having read back on my list, I have decided to rule in my favor and state that even though these are in an order and I indicated it was least to worst, I am recanting that statement and letting each Peeve stand on its own two feet. Sue me. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me, or share my thoughts with all of the important people in your lives. Until next time, be well, and don’t make stupid decisions. You don’t want to be on my next list.