Your pet peeve, technical or otherwise.

[CatalinaWOW]

I suspect that particular saying has little or nothing to do with astronomy or photometry, but instead relates to state of mind.  In which case it might well be true for a lot of people in a lot of situations.

[themadhippy]

how about "the dark side of the Moon

There is no dark side of the moon. Matter of fact, it's all dark.

[TerraHertz]

Oh Australia Post WHAT are you doing?
See https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/your-pet-peeve-technical-or-otherwise/msg3590096/#msg3590096

Those three boxes that arrived in Australia on the 14th, are STILL just sitting somewhere. Not a single peep out of Auspost about any movement. Are they going for a Guinness Book of Records recognition for incompetence?

[Siwastaja]

Oh Australia Post WHAT are you doing?
See https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/your-pet-peeve-technical-or-otherwise/msg3590096/#msg3590096

Those three boxes that arrived in Australia on the 14th, are STILL just sitting somewhere. Not a single peep out of Auspost about any movement. Are they going for a Guinness Book of Records recognition for incompetence?

What, only a week?

Here in the greatest and second least corrupted, best country in the world, ran by the Great Leader "Who Leads Her Troops From The Front"*, I just waited for four weeks packet just sitting on the hands of the Finnish post. Then I finally accepted the fact I'll probably never see it but nevertheless, for laughs mostly, started doing the process of reporting a missing shipment but that failed as I found out mid way they closed down the reporting form on their website because of too many reports of missing packets for them to handle. Go figure; they handle getting rid of the mail and packets just fine, but can't handle the reports. Seeing you can't even report missing shipments to the Finnish post, I then filed a complaint to the Parliamentary Ombudsman who oversees the Post and the ministry supposed to oversee the Post. They came back saying the related law doesn't apply to my packet because of its certain weight and size, not knowing its weight and size because I never supplied such data or the tracking number.

In any case, in the end, after waiting total of 6 weeks, the box just appeared! Magic! (There were actually two, one of which is still missing after 3 months.)

Seeing some 5% rate of lost shipments is completely normal here nowadays (it was maybe 0.1% just 15 years ago), maybe they figured out it's easier to just finally deliver the shipment instead of figuring out how to either A) store all those accumulating packages forever, or B) manage the huge waste flow, because lost shipments have to physically exist somewhere or need to be (illegally) disposed of which becomes expensive especially as it has to be done behind the curtain**. Of course, anything of value will go in the good hands of the employees so no problem here.

But they do offer lawn mowing services!

*) real citation from the now-in-governmental-control media.
**) and this is no joke. There have been a few scandals when large amounts of mail and packets, including letters with personal/confidential information, have been found just lying around somewhere in a public trash bin etc. Police has shortly investigated with no result, and with no internal investigation within the Post. And people forget it happened. Now it seems to be better under media control now as this hasn't apparently happened during maybe last 3-4 years at all anymore.

[allstar45]

appears that you and i are having the same issue with the same shipito to freight shipment
Flight #: PO9232 Sched. Dep:13-June Sched. Arr:14-June
agree trying to get answers out of australia post is a joke

[Nominal Animal]

They came back saying the related law doesn't apply to my packet because of its certain weight and size, not knowing its weight and size because I never supplied such data or the tracking number.

I was waiting for an MPU 9250 inertial measurement unit (a small break-out board worth 5 or 6 euros), which was shipped with tracking on May 18th.  It was last seen at Vantaa Post Marxist Redistribution Center on June 12th.

More funkily, the target Zip code also changed on that day.  I kick myself for not screenshotting the correct zip code earlier, now it is something off by about 500 km or so.  I guess some of the junkies and thieves hired there (as part of the many social programs – no, not kidding; they think putting thieves in charge of sorting packages is a good civic idea) have started an electronics hobby, and have realized that by hand-editing the zip codes on the packages, they can better hide their tracks.  Apparently, the shift managers have actually started tracking who held the hand-held scanner when a package was last scanned, you see.

Then again, nothing new in Finland.  Because we don't have a constitutional court, although the Finnish Customs were ordered to pay pack VAT they erroneously collected in early 2000s for EU import cars by the highest court in Finland in 2013, the customs just decided to not do so, and now have sent the victims notices that because time has passed, they'll just keep the money anyway.  It's like the Finnish State Treasury office, who unilaterally cut court awards because "we know better" or something; and there is absolutely nothing a Finn can do.

We are an unbelievably, unbelievably meek people.  Just look sour, in the hopes that nobody notices how easily we actually roll over.  In the last 25 years or so, Finland really has become a Banana Republic.  Except not owned by any company, just idiots.

[TerraHertz]

appears that you and i are having the same issue with the same shipito to freight shipment
Flight #: PO9232 Sched. Dep:13-June Sched. Arr:14-June
agree trying to get answers out of australia post is a joke

Well, it would be more accurate to say we are having problems with Oz Post. Not Shipito or the flight. Btw those are actual flight numbers, you can look them up on flight tracker sites and see real-time status. Shipito are acting as a freight forwarder, and book packages on whatever flights they can. That part works OK, though a couple of times I've had parcels get bumped off scheduled flights and have to be rebooked on another. There's not enough freight capacity since a lot of it is space on passenger flights, and those are way down.

It's once the flight gets to Australia, and shipments are transferred to Australia Post that things grind to a halt.

I tried to get shipito to allow me to deal with the airline at this end and do airline freight terminal pickups myself (cut Australia Post out of the process) but no luck.

But, there's hope! Just this evening I got an email from oz-post saying that one of the parcels will be delivered on Wed or Thursday. Maybe there'll be some news of the other two soon. (And the two more parcels that landed in Australia a couple of days ago.)

Everything's falling apart. Supply chains... See https://www.youtube.com/    watch?v=b1JlYZQG3lI
Why There are Now So Many Shortages (It's Not COVID)

Going to get worse too. Ironic example: The airlines made all their pilots get the covid 'not-vaccines.'
Now they are discovering the Co-vaxxed are highly prone to suddenly dropping dead.
Blood clots, heart attacks, and other problems. So it isn't safe for co-vaxxed pilots to fly. What a quandry.
You will not find this story in the MSM.

Siwastaja  &  Nominal Animal - Wow, sounds like Finland has become quite the Socialist Utopia. Perhaps even approaching 'Real Communism' (tm)  where 'you will own nothing and you will be happy.' Own nothing because it was all stolen in the post.
At least the only time anything I had something vanish in the post (coming in from the USA) it was cheap. Just a small packet of yellow BNC dust caps. But that made me wonder - who'd steal that? Or it just fell into a sorting center wormhole or something?

I like this video: https://www.youtube.com/   watch?v=jza2zLw_8cI  Losing. My. Mind. - Lauren Southern
I'd give Mr Southern a hug too, if he wanted one. No homo.  (Only a few will get the joke, I think.)

[RJSV]

  When the technical guy says "more on that '(sideband channel, whatever)'...which by itself maybe tolerable.
But then often there is more. Same sort of bait: "We will be getting into that WIZBANG shortly.

   I'm tempted to tease the reader, by writing something here like that, "more later" form, but NO, a fair portion (of readers)would be looking / waiting

[PlainName]

Talk about terrible shipping!

Late Sunday (might have been Monday by then) I ordered two replacement batteries for our gates, which had decided not to be automated any more. I ordered then because shipping was Wed/Thur and I knew I would be out all day today. Late last night I got an email saying they would be delivered on Thursday. Got back today to find them on the doorstep - apparently the post office van I almost t-boned on the way out this morning was delivering them.

Sorry to be a bearer of good tidings in this thread.

[Sal Ammoniac]

Today, locally, the Moon rises at about 5:00 am, about an hour before sunrise, and is 90% illuminated, so it's probably not going to be darkest before dawn.

What are you talking about? A 90% illuminated moon most certainly does not rise at 5:00am. A waxing 90% illuminated moon will rise at around 5:00pm and a waning 90% illuminated moon will rise around 10:00pm at this time of year.

[Nominal Animal]

Wow, sounds like Finland has become quite the Socialist Utopia. Perhaps even approaching 'Real Communism' (tm)  where 'you will own nothing and you will be happy.' Own nothing because it was all stolen in the post.

It is when you are no longer ruled by law, but by arbitrary redefinitions of words used to write those laws.

There is a Finnish Police Blog post still standing, where the writer, a police officer, quotes a Marxist definition of racism – one where the individual is never considered; only the class membership and class struggle opponents matter –, even though it is clearly, literally against the Finnish constitution (which states that each individual is treated equally; not according to their Marxist class theory class membership), and uses it to explain why it is impossible to have a racist motive against a Finn, as Finns are in majority (and therefore oppressors) here, and therefore racist crime in Finland can only be committed by native pale-skinned Finns here.  A couple of years ago, it turned out a decorated police chief was a major drug supplier in Finland, and recently his superiors skated by completely without even scolding, because "how was I supposed to know? My underlings are not my responsibility, I just make the decisions." Nobody bats an eye, because, well, words don't mean what you think they mean, they mean exactly what happens to be expedient moment-by-moment, you see.

It is not about politics, though.  Not the kind you can read from statesmen and biographies.  It's more like the politics at the kindergarten playground, where kids invent new words to bolster their ridiculous claims, without logic or rules imposed by sane adults, and nobody dares point out they don't understand, because they are afraid of being singled out.

Shows well how you can completely flush a Nordic country down the drain within little more than a single generation, and all with perfectly good intentions.

[Ed.Kloonk]

"how was I supposed to know?"

If that's his answer then the media is asking the wrong questions.

[DrG]

It's more like the politics at the kindergarten playground, where kids invent new words to bolster their ridiculous claims, without logic or rules imposed by sane adults, and nobody dares point out they don't understand, because they are afraid of being singled out.

I think one of the greatest kindergarten political strategies was the legendary "I'm not touching you" gambit. This is where one kid puts his finger right up to, but not touching, the face of the other, moving as necessary to maintain near contact...and all the while stating "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you".

I always wanted to do a longitudinal study to see how the tormentor and tormented turned out.

Also, I once tried the strategy with my older sister, who promptly gave me a shoulder punch (knuckle out, noogie style). Ahhh simpler times

[rdl]

You're correct and that was a typo. Should have been 5:00pm. Probably the darkest point that night would be around 8 or 9 pm, but that's just guessing.

What are you talking about? A 90% illuminated moon most certainly does not rise at 5:00am. A waxing 90% illuminated moon will rise at around 5:00pm and a waning 90% illuminated moon will rise around 10:00pm at this time of year.

[james_s]

I think one of the greatest kindergarten political strategies was the legendary "I'm not touching you" gambit. This is where one kid puts his finger right up to, but not touching, the face of the other, moving as necessary to maintain near contact...and all the while stating "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you".

I always wanted to do a longitudinal study to see how the tormentor and tormented turned out.

Also, I once tried the strategy with my older sister, who promptly gave me a shoulder punch (knuckle out, noogie style). Ahhh simpler times

When I was a kid, I remember thinking that adults were somehow different, much more mature, better behaved, more knowledgeable, etc. Now that I'm an adult it's clear that most of them are just a bit better at putting on a good front, given just a bit of emotion they revert back to acting like bratty children. The way our politicians behave is just a reflection of society as a whole.

[PlainName]

Email clients that don't allow typing ad-hoc sender address, only predefined account addresses (and equally useless aliases if you're lucky). Don't any email developers have catch-all addresses, or use recipient-specific addressing to detect spam leaks?

[IDEngineer]

The way our politicians behave is just a reflection of society as a whole.

Applicable quote: "You get the government you deserve."

[Ed.Kloonk]

'Talking hands' youtubers who shake the object you are trying to look at on every. spoken. syllable.

Stop it.

[TerraHertz]

All online forum and news sites, that date current articles in the form 6:30pm TODAY (or YESTERDAY) and only include an actual numeric date if the item is at least two days old. Result: if you save the article locally, later it contains no useful date.

This (and because the file creation date attribute is ephemeral) is why I manually prefix filenames with the full date like YYYYMMDD, but I still wish that 'today' or 'yesterday' if someone feels it *must* be mentioned, would be placed in brackets after the absolute date.

[PlainName]

full date like YYYYMMDD

Isn't it about 20 years since we needed '20' to differentiate from the last century? My file prefix is 'YYMMDD' and I reckon that's going to suffice a lot longer than my data will be relevant.

[TimFox]

I wasn't born in this millennium, so my financial, tax, and medical records certainly contain dates in the "19" series.
There was a short-lived animated TV series based on "Dilbert", where the scripts were perhaps more bitter than in the newspaper comic strip.
My favorite episode involved Y2K:  we see Wally, starting work in 1975, long before he burned out.  The senior members were showing him their coding procedures, including using two digits for the year.  He asked if that wouldn't be a problem in 25 years, but they all laughed at him.

[james_s]

I wasn't born in this millennium, so my financial, tax, and medical records certainly contain dates in the "19" series.
There was a short-lived animated TV series based on "Dilbert", where the scripts were perhaps more bitter than in the newspaper comic strip.
My favorite episode involved Y2K:  we see Wally, starting work in 1975, long before he burned out.  The senior members were showing him their coding procedures, including using two digits for the year.  He asked if that wouldn't be a problem in 25 years, but they all laughed at him.

I've been playing with computers for a long time, so I still have files around that were created prior to the year 2000. I really don't think we want to go through that Y2K debacle again even if I'm not around to see it.

[PlainName]

contain dates in the "19" series

Yes, but you're not going to assume they could be '20' by mistake. A simplistic '>50 == 19' would be fine.

[PlainName]

don't think we want to go through that Y2K debacle again

Indeed, but it wouldn't necessarily lead to that. Credit card expiry dates, for instance, are two digits and I'm pretty sure if anyone was going to be paranoid it would be them.

[TimFox]

contain dates in the "19" series

Yes, but you're not going to assume they could be '20' by mistake. A simplistic '>50 == 19' would be fine.

I was born in 1949, and that is a mandated question for me when dealing with health care.  Typing in “19” or “20” is not a big deal.