What Grinds my Gears 3

Restaurant Menus on QR Codes

         A few months ago, I had gone out to eat with my family, as we sat down I noticed a QR

   Code on the table. A waiter told us that they would no longer pass out menus due to COVID

   and that you would have to scan for their menu on your phone. Here's my problem: I'm sure

   a small handful of people who have outdated smartphones don't have a QR reader. 

        I understand it makes it easier for food workers to not have to clean menus everytime they

pass it out but for those who don't have new phones. But why don't they post the menu by the

door when you walk in so you can know what you want before you sit down.

        I strongly agree that pre-COVID, the menus I were handed were sticky and a bit dirty so 

 it's fitting that they would do this. Hopefully after this virus ends, some restaurants will go 

 back to regular menus so that everyone's happy.

Noise Pollution

Noise Pollution

     One thing that nobody knows about me is that I easily get annoyed by the sound of the

    neighbors gardener running the leafblower. When I hear that noise, I go absolutely crazy. 

    I run to my room and put the pillows over my head. One thing that does help me cope 

    is that I have a pair of thick headphones and put on some rock n roll music.

        

        Leafblowers maybe a godsend to landscapers but it's a bane to anyone within earshot.

    Their two stroke engines causes decibels relative to an airplane flying. I'm glad some 

     cities have enacted laws to get them banned. There is a movement in my city to do 

     the same but not enough people seem to care.  

Overplayed Songs I Hate

Overplayed Songs I Hate

       We've all heard these songs played on the radio constantly. Here are a few songs that

   I can't stand.

    1). Don't Stop Believing- Journey (mostly because it was used as the anthem for the 

    SF Giants during their World Series wins.) 

    2). Closer- The Chainsmokers feat. Halsey (I can't stand this due to the glorification of 

    promiscuous sex.) 

    3). Old Town Road- Lil Nas X 

    4). Perfect/ Shape of You- Ed Sheeran (overplayed to death as to fill airtime.)

    5). Despacito- Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee

    6). 7 Years- Lukas Graham 

    7). You Need to Calm Down- Taylor Swift ( I usually like Taylor's songs but this one

    just sounds so saccharin and pretentious.) 

    8). Feel it Still- Portugal the Man 

    9). Uptown Funk- Mark Ronson feat Bruno Mars

What Grinds My Gears 2: Vertical Videos

 WGMG 2: Vertical Videos

     Ever since the invention of the Iphone, many people have been filming videos 

  of their pets, friends, random fights, etc. While it may look nice viewing it

  on the phone itself, when uploaded to Youtube or elsewhere, the large black

  boxes on the sides make it look terrible. 

  Here are a few examples of Vertical Videos-

  Popular movies shot vertically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRqs8jP1lXY

  Vertical Videos PSA : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2picMQC-9E

  Vertical Videos PSA 2 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVabYHvD3vc

  Now here is a rock concert shot horizontally-

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFVPU2BGC38 

 See how better it looks in full screen rather than half screen. The human eye is

 not trained to see vertically, so please turn your camera phone sideways. 

What Grinds my Gears: Youtube Ads

   Admit it, we've all had little quirks that bother us. Some of them can be big

   while others can be very small. That's why I'll be posting some of the things that

   really grinds my gears (inspired by a Family Guy episode).

Youtube Ads

   One of the things that grinds my gears are ads on YouTube. I understand that the

  video makers have to make money from them but it's getting to the point of utter 

  ridiculousness. Ever since Google bought them out, they've figured out how to 

  make as much ad money from them as possible. YouTube used to be a video site
  where one could upload videos of themselves. Now it's just a money making video
  sharing site to fit in Google's portfolio. 

         It used to be where you could skip an ad after 5 seconds but now they're getting

  away with the ad last just as long. What I really can't stand is the ad is always the 

  same one every single time. 

         Sometimes they'll put them in the middle so it startles you while you're in the
  middle of watching something interesting. These are called mid roll ads and 
   creators have gotten lazy in where to put them.

        I think it's great that programs such as Adblock & UBlock were invented to

   circumvent this. Sometimes the videos won't play unless you turn it off which 

   makes it frustrating. 

       That's why I like watching videos on Vimeo so much. There are no ads to 

  worry about and plus their audience is more niche than YouTube is. It's just a 
  matter of time until YouTube gets too big for themselves and implodes.

Annoying TV Commercials

Annoying TV Commercials

         We've seen them all. You're sitting watching your favorite program when it goes

   to break. Some are good while some are bad. Here a few of the ones that I hate the 

   most. 

   1. Sonic Drive in Guys

     This ad features two dorks sitting in a car about how much they love the food they're

  eating. While it's cheaper to run ads nationally, it doesn't help the fact that the nearest

  Sonic is in the next county, two hours away. 

  2. McDonalds Breakfast crew

    This ad features a cheery woman singing while some McD's employees deliver 

  coffee to migrant workers on a farm and to some firemen. I can't stand her irritating

  voice. 

  3. Kars for Kids 

     Do I need to explain this one ? 

  4. Chevy focus group

    This ad features a pretentious hipster from Chevy talking to kids about how great

 their cars are and how wifi is necessary for them to watch movies. When I used to go 

 on car trips as a kid, all I ever did was read comic books and listen to my tape player. 

 Kids today have it so good when it comes to keeping them busy. Although Chevy 

 says they're real kids, it's just downright exploitative. 

  5. Honeynut Cheerios Dancing (recorded off tv)

   This one depicts dads dancing to generic music with their kids for no reason. What 

 does dancing with your kids have to do with eating cereal? I'm not trying diss this 

 commercial but it doesn't many any sense at all. 

  6. Hyundai Ioniq

   This annoying commercial features hard working people singing about whether or not 

 they should buy a hybrid car due to the connotation it has.  

 7. Amazon Alexa 
  
    These ads feature off camera people asking the tiny device questions. I hate this
   commercial because it encourages people to be lazy and not bothering to take 
   the time to look it up yourself. You gain absolutely nothing from it.