What are your biggest pet peeves?

[discokat]

Spelling wasn't really "standardized" in the US until Teddy Roosevelt. Prior to that you could use a whole variety of spellings for English words so there really is no right or wrong way to spell something. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[Centrals]

...and "pork chop" is too, but it means something entirely different in HK!

The English word "pork chop" has only ONE meaning in HK. It is the Chinese equivalent that can mean something else.

 

[Quero]

Centrals, lighten up! Trying to apply prescriptivism to stem the evolution of language usage is a losing battle--it's better to focus on communication than on rules. The expression pork chop is indeed used, in English, in Hong Kong, to mean more than one thing. You may not be happy with that fact, but nevertheless, there it is!

 

[Wantonmien]

Before - Being told by the dive op to be at harbour and ready to go by 7:30 sharp as boat is leaving 07:45 - and still being at the harbour 1 hour later waiting for the air supplies to arrive :depressed:

On the boat - Being told by a complete stranger how I should consider changing my reg set, or BCD, or computer -and get one the same as they have as theirs is so much better :bored2:

Before dive - On a boat with group of divers of all levels of experience that I've not dived with before, being told beforehand by a DM on an obviously safe site that "when the first person has 50 bar, all are to begin ascent" - Needless to say with buddy we've ignored that, and told DM in advance we would - slap my wrist !

In the water - Seeing my air supply slowly going and knowing the dive is almost over.

In the water - Seeing my camera housing on a night dive decide to give up on it's job and flood :depressed:

In the water - Seeing my buddy (who can spot a nudibranch at 20 metres distance) with her camera excitedly wave me over and show me her latest little find, and then proceed to spend half and hour taking pictures of the little critter from every conceivable angle -- The pygmy below being the time consuming record holder to date !



Ascending from dive and on breaking surface find that the blue skies and sunshine I left at the surface have in the time of a dive turned to torrential rain !

End of dive :depressed:

Finally - Not able to get to dive more often !

But peeves aside --- isn't it great to think back about some of the unique sights and creatures we've met

 

[Jax]

Ascending from dive and on breaking surface find that the blue skies and sunshine I left at the surface have in the time of a dive turned to torrential rain !

Gotta ask -- Were you afraid you were going to get wet???


Seriously - the pygmy shot is awesome!!! Thanks for sharing.

 

[EastEndDiver]

In reference to Jax's post ,this is a true strory.

ON the boat during a surface interval in Grand Cayman ,was diving with Peter Milburn, it starts to rain heavily a woman on the boat asks should we move the BC's under cover so they don't get wet.I tried not to laugh but didn't succeed.

 

[miked]

In reference to Jax's post ,this is a true strory.

ON the boat during a surface interval in Grand Cayman ,was diving with Peter Milburn, it starts to rain heavily a woman on the boat asks should we move the BC's under cover so they don't get wet.I tried not to laugh but didn't succeed.

Perhaps she was a relative of the lady in Bermuda who, when a slight mist came down, asked me the same question.
[In her defense, she was a Discover Scuba Diving "student", rather than a certified diver.]

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Children diving and the parents who let them.

No child has the ability to fully understand the inherent risks associated with the sport and make an informed rational decision regarding their participation, let alone cope in a rational adult manner with the situations one might find themselves in. If they are not mature enough to drink, vote, or drive a car then they certainly cannot engage in something as complex and risky as diving.

... people who think they have the right to decide what's "best" for someone else's kids ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Jaydubya]

I don't get peeved by poor skills. Poor attitudes get my goat, though. One that hasn't been mentioned is spear fishers who let the sharks have their catch without a fight. I don't want the sharks associating divers with an easy meal. If you aren't willing to fight a shark for your catch then perhaps spear fishing is not for you.

I have a few diving forum pet peeves as well.

At the top of the list are the drama queens. Why don't they take some responsibility for their own actions? Maybe they ought to man up (or woman up) and own their own ****, if you will. When you have a falling out with someone there is no need for public defamation and contumely. Furthermore, just because someone broke it off with you doesn't make him or her insane. We have to wonder about getting involved in the first place, but there is no DSM IV code for dumb ass the last time I checked.

Next in line are spelling Nazis. I hate it when someone can't control the urge to correct someone else's spelling. So, you know how to spell a word? That doesn't impress me much- and it certainly doesn't add anything to the thread unless the thread happens to be about spelling. I'm a good speller but I sometimes intentionally mispel words just to tweak the spelling bigots.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Next in line are spelling Nazis. I hate it when someone can't control the urge to correct someone else's spelling. So, you know how to spell a word? That doesn't impress me much- and it certainly doesn't add anything to the thread unless the thread happens to be about spelling. I'm a good speller but I sometimes intentionally mispel words just to tweak the spelling bigots.

Spelling retentiveness always amuses me. I write for a living ... so when I'm not doing it for pay, I enjoy taking "liberties" with our language. "English" is not a static language ... particularly not the way most internet users use it. Precise words rarely have precise meanings ... it's almost always contextual, and often cultural. For example, we don't speak "English" in America ... we speak a derivative language that combines English with several other languages ... words that were brought here by people immigrating from somewhere else, that found their way into our common lexicon. Many other parts of the world are similar ... and words that mean something innocuous in America may mean something completely offensive in Australia (or Hong Kong). Speaking of HK, as an American tourist, one particular source of amusement for me was reading their street signs. Who knew that cars had "lamps" ... or that when you get off a bus you "alight".

I think it's all rather humorous ... or would that be humourous ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)