What moron puts perfume in public restroom soap
Published Saturday, October 24, 2009 by Aaron Bramson.
I know there are lots of screwed up things going on in the world, but here's one small thing we can easily fix by simply not doing something. Perfume is bad for the environment in many, many ways and will soon become illegal to manufacture. But until that day people should still use some common sense on where to but these artificial scents. Public restrooms CERTAINLY shouldn't be one of them.
I'm at a conference at ASU and in the restrooms here they use some raspberry flavored soap. So after I use the restroom and wash my hands, instead of having hands that smell clean (i.e. smell like nothing) I have hands that smell like I've been kneading raspberry sherbet or something like that. Just plain stupid.
The first problem is that I, like many people, am very sensitive to artificial scents. So the stench of that crap is actually a deterrent for using soap. That's not good. And it's directly in conflict with their sign "It's flu season so wash your hands in warm water for 10 seconds". I couldn't take the smell that long.
The second problem is that most people don't want to smell like raspberries (or whatever else). People who want to smell like something besides themselves already added that smell to themselves. People who wash their hands probably want their hands to seem clean afterwards and smelling like some fruit is not smelling clean.
There are other problems with this practice, many others, but that's enough for now. If you have a bathroom that lots of people use (e.g. a cafe or restaurant) or you manage some place with a public restroom then please do the world a favor and just use fragrance free soap and cleaning products. They are readily available, cost less, are better for the environment, better for people, and nobody is going to complain about not smelling some weird way.
I'm at a conference at ASU and in the restrooms here they use some raspberry flavored soap. So after I use the restroom and wash my hands, instead of having hands that smell clean (i.e. smell like nothing) I have hands that smell like I've been kneading raspberry sherbet or something like that. Just plain stupid.
The first problem is that I, like many people, am very sensitive to artificial scents. So the stench of that crap is actually a deterrent for using soap. That's not good. And it's directly in conflict with their sign "It's flu season so wash your hands in warm water for 10 seconds". I couldn't take the smell that long.
The second problem is that most people don't want to smell like raspberries (or whatever else). People who want to smell like something besides themselves already added that smell to themselves. People who wash their hands probably want their hands to seem clean afterwards and smelling like some fruit is not smelling clean.
There are other problems with this practice, many others, but that's enough for now. If you have a bathroom that lots of people use (e.g. a cafe or restaurant) or you manage some place with a public restroom then please do the world a favor and just use fragrance free soap and cleaning products. They are readily available, cost less, are better for the environment, better for people, and nobody is going to complain about not smelling some weird way.
After years of near-flawless use I finally had to replace my HP TC1100 tablet PC with a new one that had more power, memory, and video processing ability. I am rather uncomfortable using trackpads so there was a limited selection of Tablet PCs that I could get with the "joystick" in the keyboard. It was down to a Fujitsu and a Lenovo x200 tablet and I decided on the Lenovo after finding a great deal on it.
After about 10 days of working on it I can mention lots of benefits and features that I like and lots that I don't like. But right now I have a specific complaint and comparison. I used the same TC1100 very intensely for over three years and I never had any issues...I could still use it now except that I wouldn't be able to run these Mathematica analyses on it in real time. I've had this Lenovo for 10 days and I've already got a dead pixel. As I already mentioned I've got plenty of design flaws and bad usage decisions that I could comment on, but this is just plain undisputable suckage. Dead pixel in ten days...that's the reputation that they've now got with me and what everybody I know will hear. My next tablet will certainly not be a Lenovo and I'll get it as soon as somebody makes something real close to the TC1100...or sooner.
After about 10 days of working on it I can mention lots of benefits and features that I like and lots that I don't like. But right now I have a specific complaint and comparison. I used the same TC1100 very intensely for over three years and I never had any issues...I could still use it now except that I wouldn't be able to run these Mathematica analyses on it in real time. I've had this Lenovo for 10 days and I've already got a dead pixel. As I already mentioned I've got plenty of design flaws and bad usage decisions that I could comment on, but this is just plain undisputable suckage. Dead pixel in ten days...that's the reputation that they've now got with me and what everybody I know will hear. My next tablet will certainly not be a Lenovo and I'll get it as soon as somebody makes something real close to the TC1100...or sooner.
I've currently got two complaints for Adobe, both related to them falling behind themselves in producing useful tools which would directly benefit Adobe. The first (and most aggregious) is the lack of a x64 Flash player. WTF. x64 computers are hardly new anymore, and niether are x64 web borwsers anymore. So I've got three computers that all run x64 bit and all run x64 Firefox (Shiretoko) and I can't see any Flash content ever. I used to use the x32 Firefox, but the most updated version crashes too often and the x64 doesn't so that's that. What the hell are they waiting for.
The second complaint has to do Adobe Acrobat. I use it to do presentations and I use a tablet PC. It would be great to be able to draw directly on the screen during the presentation. But they don't allow this easily. Whichout a hotkey for the pen tool I can't access it while in full screen. There doesn't seem to be a way for me to assign my own hotkey either. And though I can use ctrl+D to cycle through the comment tools and get to the pen, that's hardly conveneient and the pen marks don't show up on the screen until you stop marking...you can't see the line as it's being drawn. Lame.
Adobe really needs to fixe these obvious missing features. The x64 issue came up 3 years ago, and the lack of pen tool usage in full screen mode has been a problem for 5 or 6 years. What are they waiting for? Just do it already. You're only helping yoursleves by resolving these issues as soon as possible.
The second complaint has to do Adobe Acrobat. I use it to do presentations and I use a tablet PC. It would be great to be able to draw directly on the screen during the presentation. But they don't allow this easily. Whichout a hotkey for the pen tool I can't access it while in full screen. There doesn't seem to be a way for me to assign my own hotkey either. And though I can use ctrl+D to cycle through the comment tools and get to the pen, that's hardly conveneient and the pen marks don't show up on the screen until you stop marking...you can't see the line as it's being drawn. Lame.
Adobe really needs to fixe these obvious missing features. The x64 issue came up 3 years ago, and the lack of pen tool usage in full screen mode has been a problem for 5 or 6 years. What are they waiting for? Just do it already. You're only helping yoursleves by resolving these issues as soon as possible.
I don't like listening to the radio, so I never do it myself, but I am occasionally subjected to it in public places. There are lots of reasons to dislike radio listening: stations reply songs too often, stations play many bad songs, stations play annoying commercials, stations have sketchy reception thus producing static or cracks (even in cafes); but the reason I can't stand the radio is the abject stupidity and annoyance of the MCs and announcers. And in particular I am thinking about NPR because that is what is playing in the cafe where I am.
I like almost all the music I hear on NPR, and I get exposed to new and interesting music, but that does not compensate for having to put up with the moronic and lamely stylized announcers. Just now there was some ridiculously unimportant and uninteresting news blip purportedly reported from Berlin. To signal that this was a foreign correspondent they pushed the voice through some filters to make it sound softer, scratchier, echoier, and all together harder to hear and make out. Look you NPR dumb asses, this is the 21st century and I can Skype to a friend in the middle of the Brazilian rain forest via satellite and it's clear enough to hear birds chirping in the background. Am I to believe that you only have access to sub-Skype levels of technology to get your bullshit report from Germany? I don't...I'm not an idiot. And if I actually wanted to hear your crappy news reports I'd much rather it be intelligible rather than simulated to sound like it's coming through two cans connected by twine.
And that's just the most immediate example. It seems like every speaking role on the radio is stereotyped to a completely inane and annoying way of talking that both makes me cringe and turn it off. Like my intelligence and/or integrity is being insulted because they think I can only follow along if they dumb it down to massive head injury levels. Just talk. When a song is done (and not before it's done) just say in ordinary ways of talking what it is. If you sound canned and stilted and overly stylized then you sound fake and that is not an endearing feature. Quit the bullshit and just say it straight and keep it real.
I like almost all the music I hear on NPR, and I get exposed to new and interesting music, but that does not compensate for having to put up with the moronic and lamely stylized announcers. Just now there was some ridiculously unimportant and uninteresting news blip purportedly reported from Berlin. To signal that this was a foreign correspondent they pushed the voice through some filters to make it sound softer, scratchier, echoier, and all together harder to hear and make out. Look you NPR dumb asses, this is the 21st century and I can Skype to a friend in the middle of the Brazilian rain forest via satellite and it's clear enough to hear birds chirping in the background. Am I to believe that you only have access to sub-Skype levels of technology to get your bullshit report from Germany? I don't...I'm not an idiot. And if I actually wanted to hear your crappy news reports I'd much rather it be intelligible rather than simulated to sound like it's coming through two cans connected by twine.
And that's just the most immediate example. It seems like every speaking role on the radio is stereotyped to a completely inane and annoying way of talking that both makes me cringe and turn it off. Like my intelligence and/or integrity is being insulted because they think I can only follow along if they dumb it down to massive head injury levels. Just talk. When a song is done (and not before it's done) just say in ordinary ways of talking what it is. If you sound canned and stilted and overly stylized then you sound fake and that is not an endearing feature. Quit the bullshit and just say it straight and keep it real.
I look occasionally at laptops (that is, tablet PCs), cell phones, and computer monitors and I am always frustrated that the screen resolution is USUALLY not listed ANYWHERE. Specifically I was looking to get a HP TouchSmart computer. You can go to the manufacturer's website and look under specs and you'd expect that the resolution of the screen would be there...but isn't. It almost never is and that's just plain stupid. I mean the company is trying to sell me a piece of equipment and one of the most salient parts of my experience with that equipment is the screen resolution, so not telling me what that is is a deterrent to my purchasing it...and that's obviously a stupid sales approach.
Sometimes a site (or info tag in a store) will say the screen is something like 12.4". The problem with the physical size data is that it doesn't tell me how many pixels (i.e. how much information) I can display on the screen. The 10.4" monitor on my HP TC1100 tablet has the same resolution as a 30" 720p LCD TV. My 24" desktop monitor has better resolution (more pixels) than a 52" 1080p HD TV. So saying the number of inches does not tell you what you need to know. Of course you might want to know BOTH the physical size of the screen and the pixel dimensions. And perhaps the pixels per physical inch (which is a measure of image sharpness) would be something that more people would use to judge things if the data were readily available. I want all three, and I typically will calculate the pixel density from the other figures. Who could possibly be making, selling, or buying a computer and think that the physical screen size is sufficient to judge the value of the monitor...only complete idiots is who.
And sometimes a site or store will report that the screen is VGA or XGA or WXGA+ or something. These are specific screen pixel dimensions and so that series of numbers contains the information I want, but it's encoded in this mysterious arbitrary letter code. Some of those I remember because I look frequently enough, but most people don't know any. And there are so many different sizes for different devices that things like WXGA+ may be specific to two products in the whole world. That's not a standard!!! Those companies are helping anybody by putting that number instead of the actual screen pixel dimensions.
Every screen that is being listed anywhere needs to listed as "10.4" at 1024x786 px" or whatever the screen happens to be. And that's not even enough anymore because there are no more accepted standards on the relative sizes of the sides (i.e. aspect ratio). So the diagonal inches no longer provides sufficient information (it used to in the old CRT days). So really it has to be:
7.5" x 5.7" at 1024 x 786 px
And anything less is JUST WORTHLESS CRAP!!! Every listing on every site, store, info pamphlet, eBay listing, product catalog, anything needs to have the physical and pixel dimensions to minimally communicate the necessary size information.
p.s. to those who think that this level of information would just confuse consumers: you're friggin' STUPID!!! Compare that to the other details listed on standard spec sheet. This information is much more comprehensive, in fact it should be on the description part...one shouldn't have to go to the spec sheet to get such basic and easily digestible information.
Sometimes a site (or info tag in a store) will say the screen is something like 12.4". The problem with the physical size data is that it doesn't tell me how many pixels (i.e. how much information) I can display on the screen. The 10.4" monitor on my HP TC1100 tablet has the same resolution as a 30" 720p LCD TV. My 24" desktop monitor has better resolution (more pixels) than a 52" 1080p HD TV. So saying the number of inches does not tell you what you need to know. Of course you might want to know BOTH the physical size of the screen and the pixel dimensions. And perhaps the pixels per physical inch (which is a measure of image sharpness) would be something that more people would use to judge things if the data were readily available. I want all three, and I typically will calculate the pixel density from the other figures. Who could possibly be making, selling, or buying a computer and think that the physical screen size is sufficient to judge the value of the monitor...only complete idiots is who.
And sometimes a site or store will report that the screen is VGA or XGA or WXGA+ or something. These are specific screen pixel dimensions and so that series of numbers contains the information I want, but it's encoded in this mysterious arbitrary letter code. Some of those I remember because I look frequently enough, but most people don't know any. And there are so many different sizes for different devices that things like WXGA+ may be specific to two products in the whole world. That's not a standard!!! Those companies are helping anybody by putting that number instead of the actual screen pixel dimensions.
Every screen that is being listed anywhere needs to listed as "10.4" at 1024x786 px" or whatever the screen happens to be. And that's not even enough anymore because there are no more accepted standards on the relative sizes of the sides (i.e. aspect ratio). So the diagonal inches no longer provides sufficient information (it used to in the old CRT days). So really it has to be:
7.5" x 5.7" at 1024 x 786 px
And anything less is JUST WORTHLESS CRAP!!! Every listing on every site, store, info pamphlet, eBay listing, product catalog, anything needs to have the physical and pixel dimensions to minimally communicate the necessary size information.
p.s. to those who think that this level of information would just confuse consumers: you're friggin' STUPID!!! Compare that to the other details listed on standard spec sheet. This information is much more comprehensive, in fact it should be on the description part...one shouldn't have to go to the spec sheet to get such basic and easily digestible information.
This post is a response to a blog post I found on another blog A Random Web Page from April 2004. In that blog post a person was complaining about a noisy office worker and used a Dilbert cartoon on the same subject to demonstrate the point. I found this blog because I was searching for a different Dilbert comic where that same guy decides to try chewing crushed ice to annoy people and Google found this first. On this blog I complain about everything I hate (which is most things), but I also reserve a special place in my (black, rotten) heart for ice chewing and other slurp/crunch combinations.
I had the following advice, conceived of when I though the post was current. It's probably still good advice. Personally, in his situation, I would be up front about it. Just tell her that her eating noises are very loud and disruptive. Tell your manager that sharing an office with the sow is destoying your productivity and your happiness. Managers care about your productivity, so you or she may very will get reassigned an office. If it's not that kind of situation then use earplugs and headphones and be curt with her so she gets the point. She may be too dense to get the point; after all, she is too dense to realize for herself that her behavior is intolerably annoying.
But anyway, there is a guy who hangs out in some of the same cafes that I do that gets iced tea and the first thing he does is use a spoon to slurp up the ice and chew it. Now, to start, this guy is already a mouth-breather (although I've never seen him drag his knuckles, conversations I've overheard indiciate that such behavior is probable) and so naturally he chews the ice with his mouth open. I thought it was common knowledge that chewing ice is super-annoying to everybody around the chewer and that people did it only as a compulsion, a bad habit. I saw this guy get a cup of iced tea and and then commence the ice chewing while he simultaneously began flirting with the girl sitting next to him. Clearly this poor loser does not know that ice chewing is super-annoying. I was hoping to use the Dilbert cartoon to indirectly give him the message (by talking about it with somebody else in his vicinity). I'll keep hunting.
Maybe we need to do something to publicize these problems nationally. In the past we could just have a Seinfeld episode about it, but now? Maybe on the Daily Show.
I had the following advice, conceived of when I though the post was current. It's probably still good advice. Personally, in his situation, I would be up front about it. Just tell her that her eating noises are very loud and disruptive. Tell your manager that sharing an office with the sow is destoying your productivity and your happiness. Managers care about your productivity, so you or she may very will get reassigned an office. If it's not that kind of situation then use earplugs and headphones and be curt with her so she gets the point. She may be too dense to get the point; after all, she is too dense to realize for herself that her behavior is intolerably annoying.
But anyway, there is a guy who hangs out in some of the same cafes that I do that gets iced tea and the first thing he does is use a spoon to slurp up the ice and chew it. Now, to start, this guy is already a mouth-breather (although I've never seen him drag his knuckles, conversations I've overheard indiciate that such behavior is probable) and so naturally he chews the ice with his mouth open. I thought it was common knowledge that chewing ice is super-annoying to everybody around the chewer and that people did it only as a compulsion, a bad habit. I saw this guy get a cup of iced tea and and then commence the ice chewing while he simultaneously began flirting with the girl sitting next to him. Clearly this poor loser does not know that ice chewing is super-annoying. I was hoping to use the Dilbert cartoon to indirectly give him the message (by talking about it with somebody else in his vicinity). I'll keep hunting.
Maybe we need to do something to publicize these problems nationally. In the past we could just have a Seinfeld episode about it, but now? Maybe on the Daily Show.
Once upon a time I had a brief stint as a shoe designer, and in addition to that I run a small niche market shoe business (Jika-Tabi.com ). So I happen to know a lot about shoes and perhaps I have somewhat high standards of some sort. So when I went looking for a soft-sole shoes replacement for my old Acorn slippers I had something rather specific in mind. Before I discovered jika-tabi during the summer of 1998 I used to wear moccasins all the time, but I didn't like the typical loafer design because the damn things slip around and off. I used to buy shoes from thrift stores, remove the soles, and then sew on soft leather soles myself. It looks like I'm going to have to do that again because soft-soled shoes still seem to be only available as pseudo native American styled loafers.
Well, there are actually a couple of exceptions to this: Old Friend's bootie, Minnetonka's fringed ankle and thigh boots, and Acorn's fleece or wool sock slippers. The Old Friend bootie is very insulated and looks a lot like Tibetan footwear, so it's only good for the winter. Minnetonka's whole like is, as the name suggests, geared towards the whole Native American cliché. Fringes, seriously? The Acorn fleece with leather bottom slippers have served me well for several years and so I could replace them and maintain the status quo. But what I'd like is something more like a real shoe that happens to have a soft bottom.
Maybe you're thinking (and if you know me then you probably are thinking) that if I have tabi and jika-tabi, which are cotton and soft rubber bottomed, then what do I need these slippers for? Good question. Sometimes I'm relaxing at home wearing the indoor cotton bottomed tabi and I went to step outside to get the mail or take out the garbage or something. I don't want to change shoes; I just want to slip something over my tabi to go outside. But enough about me. I can't believe that everybody who wants some soft-soled shoes (like for driving, or chilling at home, or just to have comfortable shoes) wants them to look like stereotyped throwbacks to the reservation or split-toed ninja boots. There must be room for some decent shoes that happen to have soft bottoms. I can't find them. If you know of any then please let me know. In the meantime I guess I'm back to buying some Minnetonka fringed ankle boots and restyling them to my own desires.
Well, there are actually a couple of exceptions to this: Old Friend's bootie, Minnetonka's fringed ankle and thigh boots, and Acorn's fleece or wool sock slippers. The Old Friend bootie is very insulated and looks a lot like Tibetan footwear, so it's only good for the winter. Minnetonka's whole like is, as the name suggests, geared towards the whole Native American cliché. Fringes, seriously? The Acorn fleece with leather bottom slippers have served me well for several years and so I could replace them and maintain the status quo. But what I'd like is something more like a real shoe that happens to have a soft bottom.
Maybe you're thinking (and if you know me then you probably are thinking) that if I have tabi and jika-tabi, which are cotton and soft rubber bottomed, then what do I need these slippers for? Good question. Sometimes I'm relaxing at home wearing the indoor cotton bottomed tabi and I went to step outside to get the mail or take out the garbage or something. I don't want to change shoes; I just want to slip something over my tabi to go outside. But enough about me. I can't believe that everybody who wants some soft-soled shoes (like for driving, or chilling at home, or just to have comfortable shoes) wants them to look like stereotyped throwbacks to the reservation or split-toed ninja boots. There must be room for some decent shoes that happen to have soft bottoms. I can't find them. If you know of any then please let me know. In the meantime I guess I'm back to buying some Minnetonka fringed ankle boots and restyling them to my own desires.
About me
- I'm Aaron Bramson
- At the University of Michigan
- This blog is an extension of my normal website (www.bramson.net) where I used to post various articles in my critic's corner section. Using this blog provides easier maintenance, greater functionality, and a wider readership of my thoughts, opinions, and complaints about life and living it.
Last posts
- What moron puts perfume in public restroom soap
- Lenovo Laptop quality Worse than Expected
- Abode falls behind itself
- Radio MC Stupidity
- Why Isn't Screen Resolution a Spec?
- Ice Chewing is Horribly Annoying, Stop It!!!
- Why Do Moccasins All Look the Same?
- Jewelry Diverts Attention, Use Wisely
- Rant: Grocery Store Price Tags are Obsolete
- All Tailpieces Like Ovation Tailpieces