This list is from a Good and Bad Things page I used to maintain; and in the interest of keeping the data alive, I post it here (some things were posted many years ago). The Bad List:
Genetic engineering -- hey, let's put flounder genes in a potato to protect it against freezing! Let's make a bunny with enough jellyfish genes that it glows! What the heck are we doing? Our history is paved with "oops, didn't think that would be harmful" statements and dead citizens. Do we have to wipe ourselves out before we wise up and take the long view on these things? I fear for the future. The near future.
Price gouging -- gas prices going up just before the weekend. Lumber prices increasing just before Memorial Day weekend when lots of people are working on projects. Theaters not allowing you to bring beverages in, then charging a week's wages for a small soda. But what can we do? Corporations have more legal protection than individual citizens now, and are unstoppable juggernauts of greed and avarice.
Cable monopolies -- a business without competition isn't a good thing for the consumer. Our local cable company provides terrible service, and gives us ever-rising prices. They're also trying to switch everyone to digital cable, which has several flaws: 1) can't watch one thing and tape another (or else TV and VCR would need separate cable boxes), and each TV needs a separate box, and this system is *not* free; 2) "surfing" between channels takes 2-3 seconds per channel, with an initial blank screen followed by a screen that pixelates in from top to bottom; 3) it's a two-way system: now the cable company can track your usage, and sell the information, or use it for their own nefarious purposes. Why is that bad? Why would anyone care what you watch? It's the information age, baby, and every bit of info about you that you let slip out of your grasp will earn someone esle money, and come back to irritate you (imagine being denied insurance because you watch too much TV and are a health risk... hasn't happened yet, but it will).
Product feature enumerators -- "Off" is not speed. If a fan has Hi, Lo, and Off, it's not a 3-speed fan.
HMO postcards -- a woman I know is expecting, and received the following postcard from Blue Care Network, her HMO. "Birth is a normal process for healthy mothers and babies. Once your baby arrives, you and your baby's length of hospital stay will be determined by your physician. Our case management nurses will be available to assist with post-hospitalization arrangements and may be reached at one of the telephone numbers listed below.
Remember that the best place to recuperate and get to know your baby is at home. Again, congratulations to you and your baby." [emphasis mine] Could this money-grubbing HMO figure out how to present it's true intentions in a more obvious way?
Movie Multiplexes -- I've been to "movies" presented in theaters with only 6 seats across, on a screen not much bigger than a projection TV. With the audio from neighboring theaters filtering through the walls. And my biggest pet peeve of all: movies shown with a portion of the screen not viewable. For example, I saw Aliens II at a theater with a screen size that didn't match the movie, such that it starred "gourney Weav". Nice to know you're missing 20% of the movie. I now go out of my way as often as possible to see movies at big old-fashioned giant-screened theaters, or wait and see them on video. Once again greed triumphs over all.
VH1's Pop-Up Video -- excellent concept, and some great trivia. But that pop-up noise just drives me crazy. All it does is walk all over the music, and serves no real purpose. You're already watching the video, so you don't need an audio clue that something is popping up on the screen. I actually e-mailed the creators on this one, and they sent back some smarty reply of "you will soon come to crave the noise like everyone else". Wrong, dudes, it just made me stop watching.
Riders on the bill -- American politics have gotten really goofy, and a lot of it is due to the "riders" pasted on to bills pasing through Congress. Bills start out with simple clarity, and end up laden with outrageous amendments that have nothing whatsoever to do withthe bill. What can be the purpose of these riders? To sneak through legislation that otherwise wouldn't have made it by itself? To sabotage the bill so that certain people can't vote for it? Whatever the reason, it needs to stop.
Credit Cards -- the quickest route to financial ruin ever. Most people have no concept of compound interest, where you buy something on credit, make minimum payments, and end up paying onthe same item for many years, for many times the purchase price. If you must use a credit card, pay it off as fast as possible (the same month if possible), or get a debit card, which is a Visa or Mastercard with all it's convenient benefits, but it immediately takes the moeny from a checking account (no interest charged).
Cig flickers -- Smokers! Your cigarette butts are litter. Don't throw them out your car window or onto the ground, you are responsible for the proper disposal of them. As someone smart once said: "why would you put something in your mouth that you wouldn't keepin your car?" And people who dump their entire ashtrays on the ground should have to clean it up... using only their mouths.
Sony Trinitron monitors -- several years back I noticed this problem with Trinitron monitors, and figured "there's no way the public will stand for this... this product line is doomed". But it prevails. I recently purchased, for my employer, a new Dell unit, which came with a 17" monitor utilizing Sony Trinitron technology. Right there on the front of the monitor was a sticker that said (among other things): "You may see two thin horizontal lines on the monitor during operation. These are damper wires. They are an essential part of Trinitron(R) technology." That's like saying "Your new office chair has a large spike sticking up from the center of the seating area. This is the NoSlide spike. It is an essential part of your new chair". What good is monitor technology that puts two irritating lines across the screen at all times? No thanks, Sony.
