Things I like that no one else does:
Daylight savings time: I love the idea of capturing an hour in the spring and releasing it into the fall; that that extra hour, whenever you play it, has something special to it. I am also very light sensitive so I naturally wake up an hour earlier, which always feels productive.
Humidity: Telling me that “it’s a dry heat” does not endear me to Arizona or 100 degree temperatures. The main summertime activity for my coworkers at my last job seemed to be to complain about the humidity as if it was a yearly surprise that we lived near a giant lake. I will kill for fog and am constantly tempted to move to San Francisco or Seattle, but I would miss the snow too much.
Snow: it’s prettier than grey or mud, it’s less wet than rain, and it can’t happen when it’s super cold. Also snowmen.
Things I assumed that people knew about until I learned they didn’t:
Milking a cow: okay not so much your Manhattanite or Angelino, but didn’t most people go on school field trips to farms, complete with cow milking? See also, making your own whipped cream at home.
Sewing a button back onto something: really?
How the non-fiction section of the library works: again, school field trips? The existence of (card) catalogs? I once had someone ask me how to find something at a place where I did not work, then bitch me out as if I was Melvile Dewey himself. Side note: BS is the Library of Congress designation for the Bible.
Random technical mistakes that irrationally bother me:
Use of the term “second world” country outside of discussing the Soviet Bloc: I will accept it for ex-Soviet countries or countries that are currently Communist, but Spain? Spain is not a second world country, no matter how bad its economy.
Faulting politicians for saying a recession is over while the economy still sucks: it’s just about GDP growth as determined by NBER though granted, not all that useful. Can’t CNN/Fox News/the internet teach us that so we can move on from this point? Isn’t it more important to talk about the actual (sucky) economy?
That people over-use apostrophes rather than under use them: I, like many, wince at all the random apostrophes wandering around, although I try to not be overly snobby about it. What actually bothers me is that are too many rather than too few. Why is that?
Things that tickle me:
Typos in books: particularly if they’re funny in their own right. While reading The Alienist last night, I saw both “yolk” for “yoke,” which took me a second, and “pain” for “paint.”
Pens: in all types and shades, particularly fine point and multi-color. Bic has a fine point, four-color pen that I adore. The only place I know to get them in Chicago is the bookstore at the downtown location of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. At one point in my life they recognized me on sight and automatically went pawing through the back looking for the damn things.
Footnotes: I once received a love poem with footnotes; if I had been the least bit interested or attracted to him, and if he didn’t treat me like an idiot, dear reader, I would have slept with him.
Aesthetic Snafu 
My list of list-responses to your most, awesome list:
I am an Iowan. Snow sucks! You lie! Ok, you don’t, but Snow Still Sucks!
I was an Arizonan too, and when heat gets that high, you sweat. You sweat, a lot. Your sweat+surface of sun temperatures = you walk around in your own personal, humidity bubble (heat didn’t bother me, but having to step over all the dead people on the sidewalk slows you down-damn dog always wants to stop and sniff and gnaw…so annoying.
To the ‘dry heat’ people, shut up. It’s bloody hot. Admittedly, it’s doable until you get into your EZ Bake-vehicle after being in the grocery store for five minutes. Then you know, dry heat or not, when you can cook on your dashboard, no dew point can save you.
Iowa, however, is not hot. It is not hot, ever. Iowa is Siberia with varying degrees of not-so-f*%^$#g freezing. Shorts-days are “SHORTS! SHORTS!GET YOUR SHORTS-WEATHER HERE! ONE DAY ONLY!” And for the record, I’ve never milked a cow, but I’ve grilled many.
Agreed, 2nd-world, or even 3rd-world designation for any geography is just rude. It’s one planet and treating it like it isn’t because you’re an elitist, money-grubbing bastard makes you the cause and effect.
World. It’s singular. It’s shouldn’t have to be economically lopsided.
Agreed II: Using politicians as economic weather-vanes is about as logical as asking a race car driver to perform your hysterectomy. They don’t have a clue. Hell, they’re all lawyers, and they can’t make laws worth a damn-ya think they’re gonna do any better with tax code? Um, no. Politicians are not experts in economics; most of them aren’t experts in any one field at all. Luckily, we do have some that study economics to vote well. That’s our cue to do the same. Nothing the government does is beyond the understanding of citizens, ’tis only a myth my people, believe them not! Our ignorance is our problem: the lowest income bracket pays the highest taxes; food stamps get cut, but oil subsidies increase; schools shut down, but guns sales go up. Why, because we let ’em. Politicians aren’t the problem, we are. We handed them the keys, and they ran u s over. Shame on us for not knowing what they’re doing because we believe they’re smarter. Not true!
Everything we need to know is free at the local library. Knowledge is the one thing they cannot take. Get some.
Alienist typos! I thought it was just me. Sweet.
Oooh, yesss, nice pens…Uniball, Jetstream, 0.7mm. Black. It’s refillable sex with a rollerball. F*#%&^g bastards at Walmart quit carrying ’em. Gonna have to roll my own from now on. *Inconvenienced face*
Your blog has great writing. Thoroughly enjoy it.
Oh, and thanks for this soapbox time-lemme know if you’d like me to use more apostrophes. Got a whole box from Sam’s Club-free with each pair of shorts. 😉
Aww thanks!
I have no idea if you are interested in economics, but I think the Planet Money podcast is pretty good, they have access to a lot of economists that you wouldn’t get otherwise (sadly).
Yes, I very much am alas, not enough time in the day to learn more. Must…ugh…finish…ugh…school…nngghh…
However, I shall bookmark it for later.
Many thanks.
Hell yes, NPR. My peeps. All over it buddy. Thanks much.
Hell yes, NPR. My peeps. All over it buddy. And yes, I am damn interested in economics. Just tryin’ to find time to squeeze that hobby into the day. Thanks much.
And thanks for the laughs.
Heh… you too are funny and accurate. Well done!
sorry for the comment string-my wordpress kept telling me to re-enter it. feel free to delete. i do not have the option.
Great article! I live in Toronto and I love DST.
Your list was both humourous (Cdn. spelling) and frightenly accurate. Great job.
Reblogged this on Rob's blog and commented:
Great stuff here: