Pet Peeve, anyone?

Every so often I hear someone refer to something as "over-engineered" and it really bugs me.

People normally say this when referring to something that is very heavily constructed. In my view, something can be "over-constructed" so that it has more structure than needed to carry a given load, for example, but over-engineered just doesn't make any sense. If something is properly engineered, it's design is optimized for the given purpose. I don't think it's possible for something to be "over-optimized" and therefore, it can't be over-engineered. In fact, something that uses far more material than required for the task could be considered "under-engineered" because someone didn't take the time to do the job properly, and just used the SWAG* method.

So next time you are tempted to refer to something as over-engineered, please give us poor engineers a break, okay?

Thank you for your attention.

Anyone else have a pet peeve they need to rant on about?

*SWAG - acronym for "Scientific Wild Ass Guess"

[mailman]

Oh boy do I have a pet peeve. I can't stand when you're sitting around with friends at a party or a nice restaurant or anywhere there's food involved and somebody is chewing with their mouth open. Chances are I'm eating the same thing they are so neither do I want to see what's in your mouth, I don't want to hear it either. It totally disgusts me. It's bad enough when a guy is doing it, but when a female does it( I won't say lady in this case), it's that much more disgusting. It is classless and barbaric. Sorry but you asked Al

[dina]

Originally Posted by mailman

Oh boy do I have a pet peeve. I can't stand when you're sitting around with friends at a party or a nice restaurant or anywhere there's food involved and somebody is chewing with their mouth open. Chances are I'm eating the same thing they are so neither do I want to see what's in your mouth, I don't want to hear it either. It totally disgusts me. It's bad enough when a guy is doing it, but when a female does it( I won't say lady in this case), it's that much more disgusting. It is classless and barbaric. Sorry but you asked Al

[Rodentman]

I agree with "over-engineering" 110%.

[Rodentman]

One of my pet peeves is my brother, who insists on arguing about everything and anything, just for a fight. His wife is out of town on business, his hot rod car is in the shop, so he can neither argue with her, nor race around giving people the bird, so he's on me now.

He wants to argue about whether a specific processed meat product with which we are both familiar, is wrapped in "cloth" or "burlap." The website selling it calls it burlap, as do I. It's a coarse brown cloth. That's what burlap is, right?

And when this one is "settled" he'll find another one. Anything to annoy me, and since I have oral surgery tomorrow at 9 AM I am not in the mood for his juvenile crapola. FWIW he's 58 and I am 56. He's been this way since he was 5.

[dman]

Some great ones listed already!! Another for me is people that interupt conversations. That drives me nuts.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by dman

Some great ones listed already!! Another for me is people that interupt conversations. That drives me nuts.

Yeah Daren. I'm with you on that one also. That's rude too. Especialy if they do it with a mouth full of food.

[dman]

Originally Posted by mailman

Yeah Daren. I'm with you on that one also. That's rude too. Especialy if they do it with a mouth full of food.

....and are going on and on about over engineering just for the sake of arguing.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by dman

....and are going on and on about over engineering just for the sake of arguing.

I agree 110%

[dman]

Originally Posted by mailman

I agree 110%

Thanks folks, I am here most every night, come back and visit.

Originally Posted by dman

....and are going on and on about over engineering just for the sake of arguing.

Listen you tosser, at least I don't chase a white ball around the grass for a living (or teach it for a living)......

Originally Posted by Avalon

Listen you tosser, at least I don't chase a white ball around the grass for a living (or teach it for a living)......

Neither do I, but I kinda wish I did.

[mailman]

Originally Posted by Avalon

Listen you tosser, at least I don't chase a white ball around the grass for a living (or teach it for a living)......

Daren plays with his balls for a living?

[dman]

Originally Posted by Avalon

Listen you tosser, at least I don't chase a white ball around the grass for a living (or teach it for a living)......

It's really not all it is cracked up to be. Like today, I "had" to go play golf with a student and it was only like 75 degrees outside with no wind. Then I had to go watch another guy hit balls for forty-five minutes. Then I went to pick up my Panerai from my watchmaker and picked up Dylan, yeah, it was a tough day but pretty normal.

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by Avalon

Every so often I hear someone refer to something as "over-engineered" and it really bugs me.

People normally say this when referring to something that is very heavily constructed. In my view, something can be "over-constructed" so that it has more structure than needed to carry a given load, for example, but over-engineered just doesn't make any sense. If something is properly engineered, it's design is optimized for the given purpose. I don't think it's possible for something to be "over-optimized" and therefore, it can't be over-engineered. In fact, something that uses far more material than required for the task could be considered "under-engineered" because someone didn't take the time to do the job properly, and just used the SWAG* method.

So next time you are tempted to refer to something as over-engineered, please give us poor engineers a break, okay?

Thank you for your attention.

Anyone else have a pet peeve they need to rant on about?

*SWAG - acronym for "Scientific Wild Ass Guess"

Now let me think, my pet peeve? That would be a Cacensored that starts a thread by censored about bloody BEEP, BEEP.

Originally Posted by Goodwatch

Now let me think, my pet peeve? That would be a Cacensored that starts a thread by censored about bloody BEEP, BEEP.

I'm guessing censorship bothers you, Frans?

[Goodwatch]

Originally Posted by Atomic

I'm guessing censorship bothers you, Frans?

Actually, this is a great subject! Now let me think, pet peeve?

Now this must sound strange from the mouth of a tight Dutchman, but I don’t like skinflints. I know it is wise to spend your hard earned cash with caution but I also know people who think everything is too expensive or unnecessary. Barbershop? Never, some say, my wife cuts my hair (Just an example guys. But you should see the result). Nice shoes that last long? Waste of money, they buy cheep flappers and glue the sole back on after 2 weeks. Taking their family out for a nice dinner? Complete and utter waste of money because you could buy 3 weeks worth of groceries with the money you saved. A Rolex? I’ll leave this unmentioned to keep my blood pressure down. And these are guys who earn a very good salary. And don’t know how to live.

Disrespect and loud mouthing. It is very easy to put someone down. Some people are ‘gifted’ with a very loud mouth and that prevents others from speaking their peace. As I have to attend a lot of meetings I know what I’m talking about and always try to help the one who want to say something but just can’t. I know this sounds a bit erratic but I hope you know what I’m talking about.

People who think that Jazz at Massey Hall isn’t one of the best Jazz recordings of all time. This one is in jest.

Originally Posted by Goodwatch

People who think that Jazz at Massey Hall isn’t one of the best Jazz recordings of all time. This one is in jest.

I've seen many great performances at Massey Hall, jazz and otherwise.

[Gedanken]

Well, so many things piss me off I don't think I could call any single point a pet peeve, but my list includes things like:

- wankers who go into the "8 items or less" checkout line and then hold things up because they pay by credit card instead of cash
- morons who cruise at 20 under the limit in the fast lane
- dipsticks who insist on saying "irregardless"
- clowns who disregard the "insufficient balance" sign on the ATM screen and hold up the line while they keep trying to use the machine in the hope of convincing it that they're not f***ing broke
- retarded offspring of blood-relative parents who think that they're so clever they can dump on other people with pseudo-intellectual rubbish

Ah, I feel so much better now!

[dman]

Originally Posted by Gedanken

- dipsticks who insist on saying "irregardless"
:

That one makes my wife so mad see can't see straight!

[Rodentman]

Sometimes I use "disnonirregardless" in emails at work. No one comments. Shows how much they care to read my memos. I throw "rectumendation" in once in a while. No response.

[BruceS]

Originally Posted by Rodentman

Sometimes I use "disnonirregardless" in emails at work. No one comments. Shows how much they care to read my memos. I throw "rectumendation" in once in a while. No response.

That really made me laugh

[dman]

Originally Posted by Rodentman

Sometimes I use "disnonirregardless" in emails at work. No one comments. Shows how much they care to read my memos. I throw "rectumendation" in once in a while. No response.

Bob, maybe they are to scared of you to correct you.

Originally Posted by Rodentman

Sometimes I use "disnonirregardless" in emails at work. No one comments. Shows how much they care to read my memos. I throw "rectumendation" in once in a while. No response.

LOL! I admire your sense of word play Bob. Good to see you posting, by the way.

One other thing that drives me crazy is people who mispronounce the word nuclear. Like when they say it as nuke-U-ler. WTF!

The scarey thing is, when I was in Public Safety and Security, my portfolio included nuclear preparedness, and some of the guys at the nuke power plants would say nuke-u-ler. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[baseballduck]

I have two pet peeves that I can think of. One would be people being hypocrites the other would be people being know-it-alls. Especially when you know more about what they are talking about than they do.

Tyler

[pensivedoc]

Hate "irregardless."

"Different than" rather than "different from" hurts, as well.

"Supposively." Eek!

Ooh, also hate unnecessary "ology." Someone might ask "what is your methodology?" when they mean "what are your methods?"

Grrrr.

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by pensivedoc

Hate "irregardless."

"Different than" rather than "different from" hurts, as well.

"Supposively." Eek!

Ooh, also hate unnecessary "ology." Someone might ask "what is your methodology?" when they mean "what are your methods?"

Grrrr.

Hiya Doc,

Glad to see you on at this time....don't you have a vasectomy or two to perform??

[pensivedoc]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Hiya Doc,

Glad to see you on at this time....don't you have a vasectomy or two to perform??

Nope, just baking pumpkin pies for tomorrow. Thanksgiving here, you know.

[Gedanken]

Originally Posted by pensivedoc

Ooh, also hate unnecessary "ology." Someone might ask "what is your methodology?" when they mean "what are your methods?"

Grrrr.

Oh yeah - I HATE that one! Even worse, I had a business partner who loved not only misusing the owrd, but mispronouncing it as "mythology". Made me cringe every time I heard it.