h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

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too good for 'em...

I find it particularly annoying in Supermarkets. As I said in the getting up thread people who not only dawdle, but dawdle three abreast are worse than Hitler. I should be legally entitled to barge past them with all my weight and strength!

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How is a dawdler with three breasts worse than Hitler?

I suppose it depends on what they're doing with those 3, although I had heard a rumour that Hitler was deficinet in the department....

What about the people in swimming pools who hang around at the end of the fast lane and chat, making it impossible to touch and kick off from the ends?
If you don't touch both ends, the lap doesn't count; they're preventing me from doing the full number of laps I plan.

If you don't intend to swim, don't go in the fast lane - hang around in the fun pool or at least lurk in the slow lane.

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What if Hitler, Goebbles and Goering dawdled in a supermarket in front of you?

Are they using the '5 items or fewer' tills with more than 6 items?

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>>What about the people in swimming pools who hang around at the end of the fast lane and chat

Every pool I've been to has lacked sufficient organisation. Slow swimmers are not asked to stick to the slow lane, kids dive in wherever they choose, and yes, the ends get cluttered with folk. I'm not asking for fascist staff, just a bit of sensible organising.

You seem to have brought your highly prescriptive exercise regime to a place where people are having fun, sorry.

>>a place where people are having fun,

It's no fun for those of us wanting to actually swim.

here it depends on the pool and what that particular session* is designated as. If it's something like Aquarobics or a family session, lap swimmers have to take what they can get. If it's a time designated as lap swimming time everyone knows to get out of the way if someone is coming.

*actually the ones where I live open in the morning and close at night and you're not restricted on the amount of time you spend there, so they are not sessions as sucn. YMMV

Slow walking and dawdling is a sign of gross inefficiency. Perpetrators of such a crime have no place in the modern society and should therefore be corporally punished and disposed of.

I have to admit I don't mind people dawdling, just because they're not in the same rush as I might be, that's okay.

But I think you're nailed it with the anti-social behaviour that almost always goes along with it. Dawdlers are rarely on their own. The number of dawdlers in any given group is directly proportional to the width of the pavement/aisle, and how much or little space will be left to try and pass them.
In a small aisle, they'll be two abreast. In a street, three to four abreast. That's what really annoys me. Dawdle? Fine, just get out of my way.

As for people hogging the swimming lane, that was something that used to really wind me up, and one of the reasons I don't go swimming any more. I used to want to train, yet they'd always be idiots hanging around at the end of the faster lanes, chatting.

"What about the people in swimming pools who hang around at the end of the fast lane and chat, making it impossible to touch and kick off from the ends? If you don't touch both ends, the lap doesn't count; they're preventing me from doing the full number of laps I plan." [Bluebottle]

That rarely happens to me, but I refrain from touching the wall at the shallow end, as I am always doing some sort of back stroke, and won't be able to see the wall in time to avoid hitting my head. So, I stop when I see the banner that's a few yards from the end. heck, it's hard enough not to hit my head at the deep end wall. Just recalculate the distances and go from there. There's no law that says a lap doesn't count unless you touch both ends. If you were swimming across a pond outdoors, there would be no pool ends to touch.

But I do agree with your point that people in a swimming pool -- any lane, anywhere -- should spend all their time swimming. Pools get crowded sometimes, and there are people waiting for lanes. If you're not swimming, you should get out to let others use the lane.

[For what it's worth, I'm too old to swim fast enough in any "fast lanes." ]

Inefficiency crimes of slow walking and dawdling can be expanded to include slow dining.

I'll grant you that slow dining is inefficient, but when it happens in a nursing home there is no danger to the public.

Before I got my prescription goggles I was always crashing into the ends of the pools as well as the rope - I suppose if there are a group of people hanging around there, at least they provide a soft bumper.

I always wished they'd provide some sort of reflective surface on swimming pool ceilings precisely to help guide people who are doing the back stroke see where they're going. That's the main reason I've stopped doing backstroke.

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I spend half of my time doing various types of backstroke. That's why I depend on the banner to tell me I'm close to the end of the pool. If I wanted to swim a greater distance, I would just do more laps. Besides, the water at the shallow end is so shallow that my hands sometimes hit the bottom when I'm trying to do the crawl. It just makes sense to start the next lap in water that's a bit deeper.

It used to be that the float ropes would have different colours so that you were able to know how close you were to the ends when doing backstroke. Have they got rid of those these days?

You may be right, Pastey. I will look for that next time I swim.