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

This was coverage of ground breaking surgery - plenty to fill an hour. When the medical staff were talking to camera, or between themselves/ with patient & family, this was interesting & not sensationalised. If only I could have kept that on, but switched off the narration.
It's a trend that has crept into numerous programmes - apart from the wonderful David Attenborough.

I love good, proper documentaries. But a lot of this trend comes from "reality TV". Here on the States it has taken over several cable/satellite networks. My father watches these shows constantly. (He just switched from a show following Alaskan underwater gold hunters to a credulous show about chupacabras. The narration style for both these shows is identical.

And now it's time for me to leave before my exasperated sighs and snarky comments ruins his viewing pleasure.

New PH today: Eating a meal seated on a chair that is not sitting square on the floor. Each movement sends it tipping one way or the other, inducing a feeling of sea sickness - especially when rich food & alcohol are involved!

Petty hate; dynamic application option lists which take time to gradually populate, so that as you go to click on an option, you click on the wrong option because the list has scrolled by the time your click is registered.
That's the best I can explain it if you've never seen such a thing happen; think of a food menu which suddenly adds extra options and moves the one you are just clicking on, down just at that moment, so you end up ordering mince instead of fish...

I seem to be plagued with software which does this. I just need to learn to wait until said lists have fully loaded before clicking on them, but I never learn

Petty Hate:

My upstairs neighbour keeps on repeatedly opening and closing her window, several times throughout the day evening.

I've had that too, winnoch2. The amount of time wasted having to correct such entries.
I have a similar one where there is an arrow up/down but clicking on one merely brings up a number option to choose from, doesn't actually go up/down.

Several websites I frequent on my android tablet have the habit of constantly loading and switching ads that reformat the page, moving it up and down randomly. It's bad enough to try to read jumping paragraphs, but inevitably when one tries to tap on an icon or link the page jumps and an ad replaces that particular location on the tablet.

Yes, exactly the kind of thing I'm talking about.
Ad-blockers do help a bit- many sites just don't load the ads at all, but some still jiggle around the formatting until fully loaded.

Is it too much to ask that web developers create webpages that load a fixed frame first of all, which is the final shape of the page, with all the components appearing in their final place and only being clickable when they load? Kind of like a an advent calendar with windows gradually opening.

Likely this isn't a bug, it's a feature. Accidental clicks make up a percentage of their revenue.

Today's PH: Getting a piece of equipment out of a box, that I would swear I put away tidily, but the cables come out all tangled up...

Helpful hint: for small cables, like USB cables and earbuds, there's a very good way to stow them so they don't tangle. One one hand (I use my left hand) extend your index and ring fingers (like heavy metal "devil horns"), then insert one end of the cable between your middle folded middle finger and either of the other fingers. Then wind the cable around the two extended fingers in a figure-8 pattern. I extend my fingers wide rather than parallel so that when I'm done winding bringing them back to parallel slackens the wrapped cable for easy removal. I have a small bag I can then simply stuff my earbuds into. Alternatively you can wrap the tail end around the middle and secure it by sticking the end through that final wrap as seen in the video linked below.
http://youtu.be/fY9LIFKlDaU

How sensible! Unfortunately these cables are attached - although I'm sure I could use a similar principle.

Second PH is discovering my super new imac doesn't have a line in socket to record off audio devices. Had to boot up my old one to recover the contents of an old cassette tape. Another assumption that 'nobody needs that anymore'.

Moustache hairs breaking off in the covering of the face mask and sticking. Prickly.

Face mask moving around while chewing due to stubble traction.

Use a loo roll inner or part as a cable tidy...
Double the cable up, fold it and push it in, keeps from tanglng in the drawer / box.

Aren't you allowed to take your mask off when eating? Although talking is just as bad for causing mask shift up/down out of place, even if no stubble!

Petty Hate of the Week: the muscle along the radius bone of my right arm is acting up, preventing me from doing knitting and crochet. Even typing on my tablet is uncomfortable. I don't think it's RSI, but all I can do is rest my arm and wait for the problem to clear. My main occupation ATM is reading. I have four ebooks and one print book on the go. Hopefully my arm will be better before I get bored with reading.

Oh, miserable for you. There's only so long one can stick at a single task - even a good book. I find these days I sometimes just stop & look out of the window for a while. There's always something to capture my attention.

I sometimes go for a walk to relieve the boredom. Unfortunately I can't walk very far or every day, so that's limited help. I'm trying meditation to stay calm.

UK centric PH: I received an e-mail from my hairdressers offering me a discount if I book an appointment before 15 February