Why is it that humans can be so cruel to animals without a second thought? So many of us seem to think that we are the superior race, and that we simply have the right to use other animals and inflict pain on them as a sport! Did any of you hear about the man who beat up a poor innocent kangaroo in Australia for the sport of it? Or the person who shot and killed a newly introduced Red Kite in the UK? (more…)

This is something that really works under my skin - senseless violence. Even worse, the people who get away with it.

So many innocent lives are taken daily because of other people’s problems. Why are these people not found out and dealt with before something bad happens?

Are we so blind that we do not realize that the people around us are even capable? People pay close attention to their teenagers ever since the Columbine incident, but what about older people? How can a man kill his wife and child at point blank range and no one had any clue that he was going to do this?

In some cases these horrible criminals are caught, other times they are not. I often wonder how these people live with themselves; can they really go on with their life? I hope they suffer and think about those they killed every day.

Keep a vigilant eye on those around you. Watch for any mental break, odd behavior, or stress that could cause anyone in your life to commit a crime that is not in their nature. We need to help those who are suffering, even if they are not going to harm other people.

Living in an apartment means many things. One of them is learning how to step quietly. I don’t mind when people have kids over that run across the floor occasionally, but an adult making much more noise than they need to irks my soul!

Every evening around 10:30pm our up stairs neighbor gets ready for bed. If you are in the bedroom you can hear him get out of the shower, walk across the room and get in the bed.

Now if you have ever lived in an apartment you know that places where there is no carpet is susceptible to making noise for the people below you. We always make sure to step lightly because, well, who wants mad neighbors. You never know when you are going to need them.

How do you feel about this? Does neighbor noise drive you batty?

I certainly do hate traffic jams. I simply cannot understand them. Why do they ever exist? Most of the time you spend hours stuck in a traffic jam but at the end you find there was hardly any reason for one anyway.

One can understand traffic congestion caused by accidents or road maintenance, though perhaps not when one is behind thousand or so cars. Given some down time one can understand such a situation, especially after a good tirade against the drivers or the road maintenance authorities responsible, but most traffic jams are caused not by accidents or sudden damages to road.

In fact nobody knows why they are caused. Some say they are due to small traffic incidents slowing down traffic and then accumulating through a chain reaction. Others believe that they are caused due to temporary bottlenecks snowballing, yet others put the blame on bad weather, poor signaling, etc. etc.

Why can’t all the scientists and researchers find out for certain? After all they are costing economy and everyone involved, meaning you and I, lot of money for gods’ sake!

What I can gather from all the causes counted above is that they are due to people reacting stupidly and acting like a herd. This is in line with what I have seen of other drivers’ behavior from inside traffic logjams.

When you drive a car you cannot act like a herded animal doing what other people are doing. Be independent! Think! If everyone does that, these traffic jams will unresolve themselves in no time. That is my opinion anyway.

Now that we are well on the way to getting things off our chest, I am going to mouth off on some annoying habits of my coworkers. I am sure lot of you would have encountered similar habits.

First up are people who are always not prepared. People who cannot come prepared to a long arranged business meeting should not be there, or in any workplace, in my opinion.

Another group of coworkers who should not work in a modern office are people who cannot work in a team. What can be more annoying than people who only care about their particular limited area, when everyone else is working their hearts off for the team?

Then there are people who expect others to fix, complete, and help out, with the work, not once, mind you, but every time.

A person who cannot give a firm handshake always sends wrong signals. If a person cannot look one in the eye and has a hand that feels like a fish, that makes the whole atmosphere unpleasant

We also cannot help getting annoyed at people with, shall we say, less than perfect hygiene. Smell, body generated or through smoking or alcohol consumption, really turns me off for sure. People, who use too much fragrance, as a habit or to cover-up other smells, also annoy me. Office is not a place for strong smells. Period

Bad phone etiquette especially mobile phone etiquette is a big no-no. This is a so common an annoyance that I hardly need to explain it.