First world problems! Share them here!

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

Thanks everyone! Great advice! I would be test driving cars if only they had the models on the lot...

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

So, we upgraded our phones. Let me tell you, our phones are SOOOOOOO old that they don't even use the same adapter as the new phones. Our laptops are so old that we cannot charge our new phones since the new phones use USB-C. So, we need to buy adapters. Today has just been a pain in the ass. My car is acting up again. It just feels like nothing is going right and I want to go hide in a cave.

[sinenomine]

My new car is convinced it's way smarter than I am. The low tire pressure warning went off a few weeks ago even though the tires were all fine; turns out, the central computer assesses whether or not the wheels are all turning at the same speed and if they're not -- due to a low one, or driving over bumps, or getting dirt or snow in the wheels -- it freaks out. Given that I live in a rural area with bumpy roads, dirt roads, and snowy winters, this looks like it will be an ongoing issue. The warning lights just came on again, and trying to recalibrate the system is challenging my many years of education and problem-solving. Someday the warning will go off for real and I'll ignore it, a la the boy who cried wolf.

[paultuttle]

My new car is convinced it's way smarter than I am. The low tire pressure warning went off a few weeks ago even though the tires were all fine; turns out, the central computer assesses whether or not the wheels are all turning at the same speed and if they're not -- due to a low one, or driving over bumps, or getting dirt or snow in the wheels -- it freaks out. Given that I live in a rural area with bumpy roads, dirt roads, and snowy winters, this looks like it will be an ongoing issue. The warning lights just came on again, and trying to recalibrate the system is challenging my many years of education and problem-solving. Someday the warning will go off for real and I'll ignore it, a la the boy who cried wolf.

I know what you mean when you speak of a new car thinking it's way smarter than the driver! We drove to Virginia Beach last Wednesday night for the long weekend. Of course, Google's sexy soprano routed us through about 20 miles of hair-raising construction (the kind with concrete barriers about an inch from your vehicle, lots of curves that the big tractor-trailers couldn't navigate without getting out of their lanes, and NO reflectors except those hanging off the concrete barriers, so it was tremendously difficult to place your vehicle in your lane--real adrenaline-pumping conditions that must've kept my eyeballs the size of dinner plates) and then through about 100 miles of an extraordinarily curvy/bumpy road (1950s-vintage poorly-paved four-lane highway, not limited-entry, that looked as though they'd just poured the asphalt over the farmers' wagon ruts).

During each of those stretches, adding considerably to my stress levels, my 2019 Honda Accord proceeded to tell me every few minutes that I obviously needed coffee because I was a "distracted driver." Yeah. Including--each time--a little "chime" sound and the appearance of the graphic of a coffee cup behind the tachometer. Apparently, my car thought the bumpiness and curviness were due to my piloting the car, instead of the road itself.

(I shouted at one point "It's not me!" thereby waking up my husband. He was amused by the coffee cup graphic, since he likes coffee and I don't. And then, of course, being my husband, he asked me whether I was okay or if I needed him to drive. I held on tight to my natural politeness and advised him very nicely to go back to sleep. Light snores soon rejoined the "chime" sounds as I concentrated on driving as smoothly as possible.)

Fortunately, we found a not-under-construction interstate-based route for the drive back. No image of a coffee cup was seen; the car reverted back to being just a vehicle instead of a weirdly unnerving combination of driving instructor, parental unit, and (yes!) the Audi sports car from I, Robot (I can't forget the chirpy automated voice: "YOU are HAVing an ACcident!").

[mamselle]

Yes. Nannying machines are the worst.

Glad you got there and back safely.

M.

[ciao_yall]

Yes. Nannying machines are the worst.

Glad you got there and back safely.

M.

Rented a car and suddenly it started beeping dramatically. I panicked wondering what was going on, then realized I wasn't paying attention in front of me and slammed on the brakes to avoid rear-ending the car in front.

The beeping? Letting me know I would need to brake.

[jimbogumbo]

My new car is convinced it's way smarter than I am. The low tire pressure warning went off a few weeks ago even though the tires were all fine; turns out, the central computer assesses whether or not the wheels are all turning at the same speed and if they're not -- due to a low one, or driving over bumps, or getting dirt or snow in the wheels -- it freaks out. Given that I live in a rural area with bumpy roads, dirt roads, and snowy winters, this looks like it will be an ongoing issue. The warning lights just came on again, and trying to recalibrate the system is challenging my many years of education and problem-solving. Someday the warning will go off for real and I'll ignore it, a la the boy who cried wolf.

I know what you mean when you speak of a new car thinking it's way smarter than the driver! We drove to Virginia Beach last Wednesday night for the long weekend. Of course, Google's sexy soprano routed us through about 20 miles of hair-raising construction (the kind with concrete barriers about an inch from your vehicle, lots of curves that the big tractor-trailers couldn't navigate without getting out of their lanes, and NO reflectors except those hanging off the concrete barriers, so it was tremendously difficult to place your vehicle in your lane--real adrenaline-pumping conditions that must've kept my eyeballs the size of dinner plates) and then through about 100 miles of an extraordinarily curvy/bumpy road (1950s-vintage poorly-paved four-lane highway, not limited-entry, that looked as though they'd just poured the asphalt over the farmers' wagon ruts).

During each of those stretches, adding considerably to my stress levels, my 2019 Honda Accord proceeded to tell me every few minutes that I obviously needed coffee because I was a "distracted driver." Yeah. Including--each time--a little "chime" sound and the appearance of the graphic of a coffee cup behind the tachometer. Apparently, my car thought the bumpiness and curviness were due to my piloting the car, instead of the road itself.

(I shouted at one point "It's not me!" thereby waking up my husband. He was amused by the coffee cup graphic, since he likes coffee and I don't. And then, of course, being my husband, he asked me whether I was okay or if I needed him to drive. I held on tight to my natural politeness and advised him very nicely to go back to sleep. Light snores soon rejoined the "chime" sounds as I concentrated on driving as smoothly as possible.)

Fortunately, we found a not-under-construction interstate-based route for the drive back. No image of a coffee cup was seen; the car reverted back to being just a vehicle instead of a weirdly unnerving combination of driving instructor, parental unit, and (yes!) the Audi sports car from I, Robot (I can't forget the chirpy automated voice: "YOU are HAVing an ACcident!").

You can turn that stuff off on a Honda:https://www.hondainfocenter.com/2021/CR-V/Feature-Guide/Interior-Features/Driver-Attention-Monitor/

[Anselm]

Yes. Nannying machines are the worst.

Glad you got there and back safely.

M.

Rented a car and suddenly it started beeping dramatically. I panicked wondering what was going on, then realized I wasn't paying attention in front of me and slammed on the brakes to avoid rear-ending the car in front.

The beeping? Letting me know I would need to brake.

When using cruise control, my car will slow down automatically.

[evil_physics_witchcraft]

I guess this is a 1st world problem... SO has been stuck outside of the neighborhood for 3 hours because our dumbass neighbors decided to dig and not call to have lines marked first. There's a major gas leak and they're not letting anyone in or out. We ordered a pizza over 3 hours ago and he still has it.

Edit: My bad. It was the dumbass county that broke the line.

[paultuttle]

I guess this is a 1st world problem... SO has been stuck outside of the neighborhood for 3 hours because our dumbass neighbors decided to dig and not call to have lines marked first. There's a major gas leak and they're not letting anyone in or out. We ordered a pizza over 3 hours ago and he still has it.

Edit: My bad. It was the dumbass county that broke the line.

Unfortunately, dumbasses are everywhere, and they tend to proliferate.

My own first-world problem: The days are now chilly at night and in the early morning and hot during the middle of the day, making me have to switch from "heat" to "cool" (and vice versa) all the time. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that sometimes 70 degrees F feels great, but at other times 71 or 72 is more comfortable. So it's like changing TV channels in the 1970s before remotes became a thing--a nuisance, but not more than mildly irritating.   

[apl68]

I guess this is a 1st world problem... SO has been stuck outside of the neighborhood for 3 hours because our dumbass neighbors decided to dig and not call to have lines marked first. There's a major gas leak and they're not letting anyone in or out. We ordered a pizza over 3 hours ago and he still has it.

Edit: My bad. It was the dumbass county that broke the line.

Unfortunately, dumbasses are everywhere, and they tend to proliferate.

My own first-world problem: The days are now chilly at night and in the early morning and hot during the middle of the day, making me have to switch from "heat" to "cool" (and vice versa) all the time. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that sometimes 70 degrees F feels great, but at other times 71 or 72 is more comfortable. So it's like changing TV channels in the 1970s before remotes became a thing--a nuisance, but not more than mildly irritating.

The chiller on our library's HVAC system routinely fails whenever we have a cool night followed by a warm day.  We've spent thousands of dollars in service calls so far this year all the way from Little Rock on this problem.  I've just had to make another one this morning.  Our HVAC budget for the whole year had already been blown!  Complicating things is the fact that dirty power from the electric  company keeps causing our HVAC's air handler unit to shut down.  The chiller service company has been blaming that for our problems.  But we haven't had the electricity fluctuations in recent weeks, so it's not to blame this time.

We'd finally gotten some relief from having to reboot the air handler two to five times every afternoon, and me having to monitor the problem all weekend long whenever we had patrons using the library's community room after hours.   And now the chiller is acting up again.

[poiuy]

Re people's HVAC woes, I read a couple of articles on heat pumps recently:

One here:  https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/guides/heat-pump-buying-guide/,

and another here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-heat-pumps.html?unlocked_article_code=mVEsn_uYqkv1xKu6xbgiGsNaA9WpuRboWtLk4ZLk9hQzMS4iPFuzDhV4quhV_c1toB18qtXVX4I5cHbPYYhx8mBjt_xGv3MG4DgaxZT2Jy77hhAn5v2reHk1NsdmkFmKQRY5IyjW-IN9trCNC3IWIcsgIGNDHfeQT_qGtWMbVhRCV96spBn1YxBbl2EFrtyVKMjJG_9_oCvGlMdUm97PS3Nvi4tU9AHrL5H8L19sl_5d8008Iv1oaJPH_q_TP0TUlFMjmszgDqrlfQXm9bC09-4pjADmtexUbR2ug9h3kGP5VQuG4E_6dBehv-7hHaACyd9ok0GIgvayw7TQh_iyyvRHuns3oBykUzY&smid=share-url]

They are expensive up front to install, but cheaper and much more energy efficient to run (so the articles say), and many states have incentives or rebates.

[permanent imposter]

Not sure if right thread but I think the power button on my smartphone is stuck and yesterday my phone auto-dialed 911 three times, resulting in the phone emitting loud noises and me fumbling to stop the dial in a panic. One of the calls resulted in an operator calling and leaving a voicemail asking me to call them back. I turned off the emergency service for now.

[Hibush]

Re people's HVAC woes, I read a couple of articles on heat pumps recently:

They are expensive up front to install, but cheaper and much more energy efficient to run (so the articles say), and many states have incentives or rebates.

My first-world complaint is that I had to pay too much to get a split system heat pump installed in my lab and office. But now I have a comfortably temperature any time of year or day, regardless of what the 1930's control system decides to do.

[apl68]

Re people's HVAC woes, I read a couple of articles on heat pumps recently:

They are expensive up front to install, but cheaper and much more energy efficient to run (so the articles say), and many states have incentives or rebates.

My first-world complaint is that I had to pay too much to get a split system heat pump installed in my lab and office. But now I have a comfortably temperature any time of year or day, regardless of what the 1930's control system decides to do.

I remember there being a lot of interest in home heat pumps during the great energy crisis of the 1970s and early 1980s, when I was a kid.  Not everybody who got them then seems to have been satisfied with them.  Maybe they've gotten better over the years.

But for the foreseeable future we're stuck with this legacy HVAC system, which could not be more high-maintenance and inefficient if they'd deliberately engineered it to be that way.