Ryan's Rants - Installment #2

I find myself finding getting irritated by many things. With that being said, I thought it would be quite cathartic for me to write a series of weekly articles in which I rant about the various things that annoy me.

I know this has nothing really to do with Fantasy Football, but hell, it's my website, I can do what I want.

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Here is the 2nd installment of "Ryan's Rants" :


1. Skype - I'm in a lost-distance relationship with my girlfriend Sara who lives three hours away. With this being said, we thought it would be a good idea to "Skype" every so often to stay connected. So, I went out and bought a top-of-the-line web cam that costs me $80. I anxiously awaited the arrival of this new state-of-the-art web cam and when it finally arrived, I quickly set it up so that I could video chat. I turned on my Skype program and within minutes my girlfriend told me my picture was "frozen." So, I restarted the program. Same thing. I restarted again. Same thing. Every couple of minutes it happened.

And the freezing isn't due to my computer being slow either. It's the Skype program itself.
Even with all these problems, my girlfriend still insists that we "Skype" occasionally. So we talk, I freeze, I restart. Over and over. And when I'm not frozen the picture quality sucks.

Thanks to Skype I am forced to repeatedly have my girlfriend tell me that I am frozen and that she wants me to re-call her. AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just don't understand why Skype is so popular. The video quality is grainy and choppy.


Thank God for Gmail video chat (which works seamlessly). 


2. People Who Drive Around Forever Looking for the Best Parking Spot - I distinctly remember going shopping with my mom when I was younger (which I hated enough by itself) and she would always drive around forever trying to find that best parking spot, which irritated the hell out of me. I just don't understand it; by the time you drive around for 5 minutes and find that "great" parking spot, I would have already been in the store and bought what I wanted and be walking out to my car in it's "crappy" parking spot.


3. Big, Loud Ass American Trucks (AKA Redneckmobiles) - I don't understand the obsession that some people have with owning extremely large, gas-guzzling trucks with obnoxiously loud mufflers and a painted picture of an eagle flying through the air with an American flag in the background on their rear windows. For men who have these type of vehicles, it screams "compensation", if you know what I mean. It's not cool. It's just annoying and makes you look like a redneck jackass. These modifications seem to be always put on American trucks, never foreign trucks, because these rednecks think that you are "anti-American" of you don't buy American. I'm not anti-American if I choose to buy a foreign vehicle that is higher-rated, cheaper, and better looking. It's called being a smart consumer. The American motor companies are bankrupt for a reason dumbasses.

When I ask people why they insist on driving these ridiculous gas hogs, they reply "because I can." Thanks, that's a great answer. You totally defended your position like Ben Matlock. You should think about joing the debate team.




4. Hallmark Holidays - In honor dishonor of Valentine's Day weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to write about my dislike of commercial holidays. What makes the arbitrary day of February 14th so special? Essentially, this holiday forces me to "display" my love for my significant other through the purchasing of overpriced gifts such as flowers, chocolates, etc. What happens if I decide not to participate in this holiday? Not only do I look like an uncompassionate jerk, but I will also receive a severe tongue-lashing from my girlfriend. So I'm forced to go along with this holiday. Very sneaky greeting card makers.

And I'm not the only one who feels this way; according to a Sunday Age poll of over 1750 readers, more than 66% stated that they felt that Valentine's Day was "too commercial and over-hyped" and 50% said that they weren't even going to celebrate the holiday.





Cupid is stupid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. Mediacom - I live in Dubuque, Iowa (a town with a population around 60,000). We only really have one major cable Internet service provider: Mediacom. Can anyone say monopoly? And boy is their service horrible. Not only is it over-priced, but it's unreliable as well. I actually don't mind paying $60 a month for Internet service because, for me, life would cease to exist without Internet access. However, it seems as though my Internet goes out at the most unconvienent of times. With all the money they are raking in from their overpriced fees, their service should never go down and we should have lighting-speed transfer rates.

Not only is their actual Internet service atrocious but their customer service is as equally bad. Essentially, they know you really don't have anywhere else to obtain cable Internet from so they treat you like crap. I remember one time my Internet was down for close to 2 weeks and when I asked them if they were going to prorate my bill, they flat out said, "NO." What the hell? You're aren't providing me service for half a month and you still expect me to pay for a full month's service.

And if you think I'm a deranged fool, check out this Facebook group (of over 1,000 people) which is dedicated solely to discussing how much Mediacom sucks.