Trivial things that make you annoyed beyond expectations?

[mustang1]

Eating couscous with a fork. A lot of it just falls off the fork. Grrr.

Software developers and the managers around them who say "I'm lazy, if I can code this to make it automated, then I will." Errr yeah but coding it requires effort. I think it's just a silly fashionable thing to say these days.

 

[Dadam]

Software developers and the managers around them who say "I'm lazy, if I can code this to make it automated, then I will." Errr yeah but coding it requires effort. I think it's just a silly fashionable thing to say these days.

Fashionable? I've never heard anybody say it outside of developer circles, and then rarely, and I talk to them every day.

Is it worth it? Depends how much time it'll save over how long. There's little point for a one off task unless it's really onerous but if it saves a few mins each time on a regular task it might be worth doing. Another way to view it, even if it takes longer to code, repetitive busywork tasks are boring and coding something to do it is more engaging.

 

[yello]

My ****-ing so called smart watch 'searching for gps' before I go for a ride. I give up waiting and set of, do a 30km ride and it STILL hasn't my location. Tech, why bother?

 

[yello]

The funny thing is, my children much prefer ordering from the machine rather than interacting with real people.

I think society is going that way sadly.

I saw one of those screen order things for the 1st time only last year. I was meeting a group of bikers at a McDo. It was 11am, the place was empty except for the staff and the 4 of us. Anyway, I played by the rules and ordered as required. The assistant brought over my coffee. The process just seemed weird, tech for tech's sake.

I'm sure they make more sense for a bigger order at a busy time. Apparently, you can order in advance with their app too. I think I'm getting old.

 

[yello]

Is it worth it? Depends how much time it'll save over how long.

Different context, I know, but sometimes I code stuff (home use) because I enjoy doing it and I can. It would probably be quicker just to do the task manually but where's the fun in that. And you never quite know when noddy bits of code will come in useful again.

 

[matticus]

On cafe ordering:
What I REALLY find weird (and a bit resource-wasteful), but not really "annoying" is ordering from a table, on an app you had to download from "the cloud" many miles away, then sending your traffic back-n-forth - via the cafe wireless, their router, then more servers scattered round the country, and then - IF it all works - the server standing about 6metres away from you gets your order.

... which you could have done by walking over and chatting to the same human being (and addressed any minor ingredient/allergy issues while you're there).

<Sigh>

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Eating couscous with a fork. A lot of it just falls off the fork. Grrr.

Software developers and the managers around them who say "I'm lazy, if I can code this to make it automated, then I will." Errr yeah but coding it requires effort. I think it's just a silly fashionable thing to say these days.

I used to be one of those - I worked in an IT department for 20 years

I always used to automate anything that I had to do more than a few time - partly to make it easier and partly for safety

Some other teams refused to allow their team members to use my systems or copy them for their own use
In the second half of my time there I was the Technical support for these teams (i.e. technical support for programmers - yes, it was geeky at times!)
I spend a significant amount of time every year fixing problems cause by them cocking up things manually that my old team never got wrong because they used my automated things that I left behind

so it can be a good idea
IF it is done right

 

[Accy cyclist]

Not annoyed, more totally surprised I'd say! I saw the below in a supermarket's papers and magazine display today, thinking at first that it was one of those pull out free things you get in the middle of usually Sunday newspapers. It was so thin and just looked like it was free to take by anybody who wanted it. On looking at the bar code I saw it's not a 'freebie' at all as it costs a shocking £9.99!! 🧐 Yes, a penny short of a tenner for about 10 pages of total economics mind numbing waffle!!🧐

 

[mustang1]

Fashionable? I've never heard anybody say it outside of developer circles, and then rarely, and I talk to them every day.

Is it worth it? Depends how much time it'll save over how long. There's little point for a one off task unless it's really onerous but if it saves a few mins each time on a regular task it might be worth doing. Another way to view it, even if it takes longer to code, repetitive busywork tasks are boring and coding something to do it is more engaging.

Ah, let me give some context of why I said it was fashionable.

Yesterday I overheard a manager, who has never been a programmer, say to someone "I'm lazy, I automate everything".

It got me thinking that he means he gets his team to automate everything but then why did he say *he* was the lazy one?

And secondly, to automate something *does* require effort which inherently means the programmer is not lazy.

A caveat to the automation ruse: from a programmer's pov, they have to do less work in future because they automated the process today. Which means, in future they will have more free time. No they won't! Because they will spend time automating other things. That's ok, it's their job, but that once again does mean that they are not lazy.

I wouldn't want non-IT staff to ever thing that programmers (and IT staff in general) were lazy because they work hard and very long hours, and if they break one thing, it affects the whole company.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Ah, let me give some context of why I said it was fashionable.

Yesterday I overheard a manager, who has never been a programmer, say to someone "I'm lazy, I automate everything".

It got me thinking that he means he gets his team to automate everything but then why did he say *he* was the lazy one?

And secondly, to automate something *does* require effort which inherently means the programmer is not lazy.

A caveat to the automation ruse: from a programmer's pov, they have to do less work in future because they automated the process today. Which means, in future they will have more free time. No they won't! Because they will spend time automating other things. That's ok, it's their job, but that once again does mean that they are not lazy.

I wouldn't want non-IT staff to ever thing that programmers (and IT staff in general) were lazy because they work hard and very long hours, and if they break one thing, it affects the whole company.

Yes - in the old days I broke things - and sometimes it did affect the whole company
some of those times I got found out!!!

I'm sure you have heard of the phrase -"if you want something doing ask a busy man/woman"
I always have issues with that because I think you need to look at what the person is doing
I have known people that are perpetually busy - but when I loo at what they do I think "why not just ......"
but I have also known people that are constantly busy and "automate" things - but are still busy

I suppose that some people just look for things to do - and so if they are not over rushed and they can spend a bit of time setting something up so it is easier overall in the future - then they will do it
That is the sort of person to go to to get things done
IMO - I have also met people who will spend days automating something that will only every be done once and would have taken 10 minutes


as with everything - it depends
I also waffle sometime

 

[VinSumRox]

Toilet cistern fittings made of steel that rust so badly you have to cut/drill them out...

 

[yello]

Toilet cistern fittings made of steel that rust so badly you have to cut/drill them out...

Yep. Ditto sink fittings.

 

[Pblakeney]

Yes - in the old days I broke things - and sometimes it did affect the whole company
some of those times I got found out!!!

I'm sure you have heard of the phrase -"if you want something doing ask a busy man/woman"
I always have issues with that because I think you need to look at what the person is doing
I have known people that are perpetually busy - but when I loo at what they do I think "why not just ......"
but I have also known people that are constantly busy and "automate" things - but are still busy

I suppose that some people just look for things to do - and so if they are not over rushed and they can spend a bit of time setting something up so it is easier overall in the future - then they will do it
That is the sort of person to go to to get things done
IMO - I have also met people who will spend days automating something that will only every be done once and would have taken 10 minutes


as with everything - it depends
I also waffle sometime

Ha! I remember one day back in the mid 90s when I used "delete *.*" to save time on a company PC. Every day is a learning day. 😂
It went exactly as you think it did, with the slight exception of keeping my job.

 

[Alex321]

Ha! I remember one day back in the mid 90s when I used "delete *.*" to save time on a company PC. Every day is a learning day. 😂
It went exactly as you think it did, with the slight exception of keeping my job.

I managed to delete almost our entire codebase once, by being a level higher in the file hierarchy than I thought I was, when I wanted to clear the contents of a directory.

Took about 2 hours to get it restored from the backups, and processes were put in place to prevent that happening again.

 

[yello]

I used "delete *.*" to save time on a company PC

Ah yes, rm $PATH_NAME/*.* when not having set the variable (or spelt it differently) was a fave of mine. Why's it taking so long?..... oh, oops.... followed by a rapid ctrl c