College, driving complaints, and other things

[Ketchup345]

Welcome to another issue of Rants by Ketchup. Possible language warning.

Dear School:
Can you go one semester without building something or tearing something down? Can you actually do something meaningful about parking instead of turning a parking lot into another dorm building, which increases the number of cars that want parking? Why not stop accepting "record numbers of freshmen" each year? Cut back on acceptance a bit, even professors (one of which is one of the top in the Chem department) are complaining you're accepting too many.

Can you hire some people who actually help people in a timely manner? Why am I waiting 5 minutes to pay for a simple bottle of soda at the coffee shop? You have 2 employees there, use one to staff the register, and the other person make the orders. The line builds up fast the way you're currently operating, change it.
Why am I waiting 10 fucking minutes to get a temporary parking permit? I'm the only person here. Get off the fucking phone with that person who wants to chat. I'm the only one here, I could have an emergency (it was campus police), or need something that will take 2 seconds. Put the other line on hold for another minute and help. What's with the new policy of $200 for every additional commuter parking permit beyond the first? It was never like that before. Was there really a problem of people having multiple commuter labeled vehicles and parking several at school?

(For the foreign visitors to the site, for this point, I'd like to let you know that a very high percent of vehicles sold in the US are automatic. Everything I'm coming across says 80-96% of vehicles sold are automatics. Take out the sports cars and you have a handful of everyday cars, so few that some vehicles are no longer offered as manuals- new models may never have even had that as an option. Driver's ed even uses automatics.)
Fuck everyone who has said they would help teach me learn to drive a manual. One person said they'd help and before I was able to learn anything they made me stop. From what I know, stalling out is to be expected when someone is trying to learn. (Fast forward to this summer) You say your clutch is bad and might not last the summer, so you want to go gentle on it for a while; then when you drive when we hung out and you absolutely punished it? Then drove it hundreds of miles back to school? Yeah, fuck you. Another person said she'd teach me. She just bailed on that, saying just because she hasn't "mastered it" she doesn't want to, even if I offer to have someone who knows how to drive a manual with us to teach me instead. She complains the car sucks, but at the same time wants to keep it. She has insurance and if the clutch goes, I'd help pay for it. Relax and help a friend, please?


To drivers: Turn on your lights. State law says lights must be on when its raining/windshield wipers on. It takes a second to turn them on. Use your turn signals. every car I've seen has them. Check your brake lights every now and then, PLEASE. Having just the CHMSL working on a work van is near useless. Use the left passing lane for passing (there is only one left exit around here). If you are getting passed on the right, you need to move to a lane on the right (it is nice to see some states are now giving tickets for driving in left lane without passing). And pass quickly, do not take your time.

To car companies: Would it kill you to at least separate the brake lights from the turn signals? Ideally, the turn signals for everything would be yellow. Also, please offer manual transmissions again.

To America: Why the hate for hatchbacks and wagons? Handling and fuel efficiency of a car, space close to SUVs.
Related to car companies: Offer us some interesting hatchbacks/wagons please. GM: With the sale of Saturn and death of Pontiac, the only closest you have left is the rolling blind spot known as the HHR (seriously, I sat in one and could see so little I felt it would be unsafe to actually take on the road). Chrysler/Dodge: I have not read a single good review of the Caliber. Ford: Please bring the Focus hatch back.

To the world: Can you please agree on some international vehicle safety and emissions standards? We miss many cool vehicles because of different requirements.
Regarding the standards: Please make them so that windows are acceptable. This trend towards windows the size of arrow slits sucks, and may be slightly raising the number of accidents.

To the state: What the fuck were you thinking when you decided to cut the road up in May and not pave it until August/September? It was literally torn up for MONTHS, which could not have helped the traffic on summer weekends (on weekend summers, all you see on the highways is out of state plates, many of which either can't drive into the sun and/or don't know how the highway works in this area).

To my Dad: When I complain about something wrong with my car, do not tell me every time "It is supposed to do that." Why is this the first time I have experienced it then in 6 years of driving? The car never used to do that.
Also, why is it that the only words you understand that I say are "yes" and "no"? I speak in English, you supposedly understand it (he was born in the States and raised speaking English), do you ignore me on purpose? Do you pay any attention to anything I say? I don't need you to suggest to me exactly what I just said as if I never heard or thought of it before.

To the city my college is in: Please fix the lights. As they are now, my drive is about 9 miles (one way). The longest part of my commute is almost always that road. Fix the lights, please.

To Blizzard: What is up with server maintenance every Tuesday? And why does it often break something?


About me: Why is it that I can do decent in Rock Band, but the minute I swap to Guitar Hero same difficulty I fall apart?

[biggabertha]

o.O?!

Cars are automatic in America as standard?! Man... that can't be much fun to drive... Going from 4th to 2nd is by far the best way for me to slow down in an emergency..! (My poor car.... ._.)

That road works thing annoys me too - I heard that roadworks is best done in the summer when the weather is likely to be very good but unfortunately, it's a VERY busy time... ._.

Bah - all I can think of is excuses that things like Councils would say in response to such questions... >.<


*Holds up protesting banner agreeing with the OP*

[Ketchup345]

o.O?!

Cars are automatic in America as standard?! Man... that can't be much fun to drive... Going from 4th to 2nd is by far the best way for me to slow down in an emergency..! (My poor car.... ._.)

That road works thing annoys me too - I heard that roadworks is best done in the summer when the weather is likely to be very good but unfortunately, it's a VERY busy time... ._.

Bah - all I can think of is excuses that things like Councils would say in response to such questions... >.<


*Holds up protesting banner agreeing with the OP*Yes, the vast majority of cars are automatics. Manuals are still available, depending on the car, sometimes limited to the lower trims only or with specific engines. Most new cars on lots (apparently some people buy new vehicles based on what the dealer has on hand) are automatics. Sports cars of course are excluded (though automatics can be found for some models, or may have been added in later- I have seen some very nice classic cars "ruined" by having an automatic that I assume was added). As far as I am aware, Mazda sells the only minivan that you can get with a manual, and only on the lowest option level.

I just checked the Toyota website, since they're often considered the "bland" brand, and the Camry is available with a manual, but the Venza (from my understanding, it is a Camry based crossover- basically an obese wagon) is auto only. The Avalon is automatic only.

I'm in New England, so the joke of 2 major seasons: Winter and "Construction" is not too far off. And my location in New England makes us a key area for the whole region.

[Kent]

o.O?!

Cars are automatic in America as standard?! Man... that can't be much fun to drive... Going from 4th to 2nd is by far the best way for me to slow down in an emergency..! (My poor car.... ._.)
Driving... Fun? What planet are you from?

That road works thing annoys me too - I heard that roadworks is best done in the summer when the weather is likely to be very good but unfortunately, it's a VERY busy time... ._.
We have a saying around where I live.

There are only two seasons: "Winter" and "Road Construction."

It's pretty much true and accurate in every sense of the word, and... Not really a joke, more like a fact of life.

[Ketchup345]

Another:
To some people who modify their cars: Why? Why put a giant spoiler on a front wheel drive car? You add weight and its on the wrong end of the car.
Why put on those blackout lights? they make your lights less effective, and decrease safety.
And those putting on those alternate lights aftermarket is a brilliant idea too, since its always much safer when you blind oncoming traffic!


Kent:
Driving can be fun, but I found the best time is between 11PM and 3AM.
The northeast is similar to that, we have winter, a few weeks, then construction/repair for some section of the state.

[Outrider]

Dear School:
Can you go one semester without building something or tearing something down? Can you actually do something meaningful about parking instead of turning a parking lot into another dorm building, which increases the number of cars that want parking? Why not stop accepting "record numbers of freshmen" each year? Cut back on acceptance a bit, even professors (one of which is one of the top in the Chem department) are complaining you're accepting too many.


Ah ha ha ha ha!



I'm sorry, but you basically summarized my 4 years at college with that paragraph.

I feel for you, man.

[KodiaX987]

(apparently some people buy new vehicles based on what the dealer has on hand)

It often shaves off a few bucks to pick up whatever's on the lot, rather than ask the dealer for a specific car. It's gotten to a point where most good dealers carry something that's less than an option or two away from what the average person was looking for anyway.

[Ketchup345]

I'm sorry, but you basically summarized my 4 years at college with that paragraph.

I feel for you, man.To expand on that a bit. Besides turning a much needed commuter lot into a dorm, they are undoing something they did just a few years ago. My freshman year (fall 2005), they had put in a nice little "patio" type thing outside the main dining hall (which of course they tore up commuter parking to make). This year they're tearing the patio up and expanding the cafeteria due to the record number of students. And this construction has blocked off a doorway I used to use a lot, so at least twice so far I have had to turn around and go another route.

In addition to that construction, they are making another new classroom/lab building (amazingly they aren't killing any parking though), but the construction has screwed up the sidewalks, so there is now a walkway redirect, causing people to cross a road twice as opposed to not at all, or take a very long route around.


Oh, that reminds me of another rant: If you are walking, walk. One foot in front of the other. If you are crossing a road and cars are waiting on you, HURRY! You don't have a cane, walker, or wheelchair, you can at least pick up the pace a bit. When crossing a road and you see a line of cars forming, either hurry to catch up to the group crossing now, or be nice and let at least one car go before you cross (one section of campus the students usually walk across the road single file, holding traffic up- the road is used to connect a few commuter lots, so being late to class because of people crossing the street like this is possible on very bad days).



It often shaves off a few bucks to pick up whatever's on the lot, rather than ask the dealer for a specific car. It's gotten to a point where most good dealers carry something that's less than an option or two away from what the average person was looking for anyway.I guess I'm just of the mindset of: I'm buying brand new- I'm getting exactly what I want, no compromises. Dealers should be a manual and an automatic of each type of car, and provide loaners until the ordered car arrives. Used cars, of course you're buying whatever you can find. I just don't get why people would want to settle for what isn't exactly what they wanted (assuming that their combination was possible to get from factory).

[Leviathan]

A nice hatchback is a Nissan Versa.

http://www.edmunds.com/media/roadtests/roadtest/07.nissan.versa/07.nissan.versa.340.jpg

They're are pretty decently priced.
Manual transmission is an option and makes the car $1,000 cheaper.


To my Dad: When I complain about something wrong with my car, do not tell me every time "It is supposed to do that." Why is this the first time I have experienced it then in 6 years of driving? The car never used to do that.
Also, why is it that the only words you understand that I say are "yes" and "no"? I speak in English, you supposedly understand it (he was born in the States and raised speaking English), do you ignore me on purpose? Do you pay any attention to anything I say? I don't need you to suggest to me exactly what I just said as if I never heard or thought of it before.

My dad says the same thing to me. The transmission on the Mercedes is about to break and although he took it to the shop they botched it. They "fixed" the radio, they "fixed" the camshafts and crankshafts and we spent like fucking $800+ on them. And the "Check Engine" light is still on. At this point I'm incredibly sure it is the transmission since I can feel that the car isn't climbing hills they way it should.

[kskott]

Ah ha ha ha ha!



I'm sorry, but you basically summarized my 4 years at college with that paragraph.

I feel for you, man.

Same here, though my 4 years aren't up yet. Why just this past spring they unveiled a plan to add 5 or 6 new dorm buildings and started construction over the summer. This, in combination with another dorm building that was closed for renovation last year, has resulted in all roads around the dorms becoming either one-way or incredibly cramped. It's made me glad that I neither drive nor live on campus anymore.

[Volcompat321]

Manual/Standard transmissions are the only way to go.
The only way!

[Ketchup345]

A nice hatchback is a Nissan Versa.

They're are pretty decently priced.
Manual transmission is an option and makes the car $1,000 cheaper.Besides my lack of money for a new car right now, one problem I have with the Versa is how poor the reviews give it in the handling area compared to some other vehicles I'd be interested in. I'm looking at a few reviews of it now, and they're all saying the steering is far from sporty, which to me is an auto-disqualification.

If I had the cash now, I'd be looking at a Mazda 3, Subaru Impreza, and maybe the Saturn Astra with the handling package, or the Honda Fit. Upcoming cars I have heard about with good handling are the Ford Fiesta and the Mazda 2 might come over.



Manual/Standard transmissions are the only way to go.
The only way!The one lap I did around the parking lot at the beach seemed fun. More so than the same speed in an auto is.

[biggabertha]

n.n THe nicest thing about using a manual transmission (driving stick..?) is how much more in control of your car you are.

Also, it's so much cooler to shift really quickly in and out of gears, heh heh.

Errrr... except that's slightly off-topic...

[Nitro Vordex]

Plus you don't have to deal with a tranny box. ;)

[Ketchup345]

Another rant:
You have a baby carriage. You are walking. In the road. There is a sidewalk in good condition 5 feet to your right (she was walking with traffic). USE IT.

[Nitro Vordex]

Same thing, except imagine a herd or 5 of high school students walking in the road. :mad:

[DreXxiN]

Why is it that I can do decent in Rock Band, but the minute I swap to Guitar Hero same difficulty I fall apart?

Because as a long term Guitar Hero fan, even I notice that it's going downhill. They have a bunch of hacker kids hired that charted custom songs back in the custom booted GH2 CD's with custom songs that overcharted the hell out of the song beyond all reason or comprehension and threw it in, thinking "PAINFUL" or "HARD" instead of enjoyable. It's really unprofessional. Seriously, have you ever played the "Soothsayer - Buckethead" DLC that you have to PAY for on GH3? Parts in it are actually off sync to the audio.

Seriously, it has gotten terrible. Even the interface just plain sucks; also Guitar Hero calibrates lag on HD systems far worse than RB generally, unless you tweak it a LOT.

Hell, I can't do half as well on GH anymore; I'm far better with RB, even the guitars! I love the Cherry SG's, but seriously? Les Pauls get a big fuck you!

Actually, plastic instruments in general, it's been a long time for me. I'll go back to practicing my electric guitar now...hopefully I can figure out a way to fix my amp. :disapprove:

[Kent]

Because as a long term Guitar Hero fan, even I notice that it's going downhill. They have a bunch of hacker kids hired that charted custom songs back in the custom booted GH2 CD's with custom songs that overcharted the hell out of the song beyond all reason or comprehension and threw it in, thinking "PAINFUL" or "HARD" instead of enjoyable. It's really unprofessional. Seriously, have you ever played the "Soothsayer - Buckethead" DLC that you have to PAY for on GH3? Parts in it are actually off sync to the audio.

Seriously, it has gotten terrible. Even the interface just plain sucks; also Guitar Hero calibrates lag on HD systems far worse than RB generally, unless you tweak it a LOT.

Hell, I can't do half as well on GH anymore; I'm far better with RB, even the guitars! I love the Cherry SG's, but seriously? Les Pauls get a big fuck you!

Actually, plastic instruments in general, it's been a long time for me. I'll go back to practicing my electric guitar now...hopefully I can figure out a way to fix my amp. :disapprove:
Some people don't believe me when I say this, and I don't really understand why:

Guitar Hero has become shovelware (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shovelware).

The most prominent example of this is the fact that with every purchase of Guitar Hero 5 this month, you get a copy of an upcoming Guitar Hero game for free, in addition to it being available on pretty much every system imaginable.

To put things into perspective, not including versions of the same game made available for multiple platforms, there will have been 16 individual releases of Guitar Hero games since Activision's purchase of Red Octane and the Guitar Hero license, by the end of this year (this, of course, is not including Guitar Hero: Rock the 80's, which was developed by Harmonix). The multi-platform releases were typically done by a single development studio handling the development of the series on a particular platform (Neversoft did the Xbox 360/PS3 versions, Budcat Creations did the PS2 versions, etc.).

That's a lot of crap to shovel out the door in two years. That there has been a sharp degredation in quality is no surprise to me, just look at what happened to the quality of charts and controls between Guitar Hero II and III.

[Ketchup345]

Because as a long term Guitar Hero fan, even I notice that it's going downhill. They have a bunch of hacker kids hired that charted custom songs back in the custom booted GH2 CD's with custom songs that overcharted the hell out of the song beyond all reason or comprehension and threw it in, thinking "PAINFUL" or "HARD" instead of enjoyable. It's really unprofessional. Seriously, have you ever played the "Soothsayer - Buckethead" DLC that you have to PAY for on GH3? Parts in it are actually off sync to the audio.

Seriously, it has gotten terrible. Even the interface just plain sucks; also Guitar Hero calibrates lag on HD systems far worse than RB generally, unless you tweak it a LOT.
I can't say anything about GH3, since I only have 4, 5, and the upcoming Van Halen when it arrives. I bought the Rock Band instrument set, so I'm limited in which GH games I can play.

Another complaint about GH is some of the menus for both 4 and 5 are unreadable. My eyes aren't that bad, and my brother's are great, neither of us can understand that horrible font, especially with the colors they used.

[DreXxiN]

16 individual releases of Guitar Hero games

Good lord, that's scary. Ah well, I, II and 80's are still my favorites. It kind of went downhill when Activision took over, most definitely.

[Ketchup345]

Another:
Is it really that hard to pay attention to the road?
How about keeping your Camry on the proper side of the road and not coming at me head on? If I go any farther to my right, I'll be wrapped around a tree, you have plenty of space to go to your right.
Come on people, you are supposed to be in control of objects that weigh over one ton* and is moving anywhere from 0 to 90mph.

*US ton. I don't see enough Lotus, Ariels, etc to include them.

[biggabertha]

I know drivers that straddle both lanes of traffic just so they can show off their car.

And drive in second gear so they're only going at the very most, 15mph (around 25kmh..?) on a fairly busy road.


Ooooh, some drivers really make you go cRaZy..! :wacko:

[Ketchup345]

Dear everyone:
Do we really need cameras in every little bit of technology? Can you make them optional please? What the hell does a MP3 player need a camera for? How about having some phones without cameras built in, especially of the smartphone type*?

*- Some buildings have banned camera phones, but do not restrict noncamera phones.

[autumn]

^ I like and wholly agree with this one. At one point long ago a phone was something you used to call other people with. That was around the same time that a phone rang with a ringer instead of a ringtone.

[Ketchup345]

Dear FBI: Running spell check on your website might be a good idea. Or at least having someone else read it. Also be sure to make sure links work.

Another one to everyone: Again, please use the sidewalk when possible, especially after dark. And dark clothing, after dark, riding a dark bike, is a great idea, if you want to get a Darwin Award.

Dear Facebook: Why did you suggest me to friend someone who has 1 friend, and I have no idea who either of them are?

[Leviathan]

Someone jerk essentially had half of his SUV in my lane when I was driving home. I almost hit him though.

Great that it didn't happen but I probably would've lost my permit because of it.

[stukasa]

To drivers: Turn on your lights. State law says lights must be on when its raining/windshield wipers on. It takes a second to turn them on. Use your turn signals. every car I've seen has them. Check your brake lights every now and then, PLEASE. Having just the CHMSL working on a work van is near useless. Use the left passing lane for passing (there is only one left exit around here). If you are getting passed on the right, you need to move to a lane on the right (it is nice to see some states are now giving tickets for driving in left lane without passing). And pass quickly, do not take your time.
For a minute there I thought I was reading the DMV driver handbook again. :lol:

About manual transmissions: It may be more "fun" to manually shift gears when you're in light traffic but it's a big PAIN when you're sitting on a clogged highway and have to switch gears back and forth to start and stop your car every 3 feet. Doing that for 20 miles in both directions on a regular basis would have killed me (on the inside), so I got an automatic and never looked back.

[Ketchup345]

Another: Are people ever actually able to answer the question that was asked to them outside of school? I sent a message to Amazon about the display of my credits for the MP3 store being wrong (shows I have $5 more credits than I actually do), and get a reply back that only says how much I have, not how to fix the display problem. Edit: Though this could be due to the outsourcing...

Another about bikers in the road: If you are going to be in the road and not the COMPLETELY OPEN double-wide sidewalk, stay to the side, don't swerve right in front of me into the middle of the road then back to the side then back to middle, etc, etc. Maybe he was riding under the influence?