Things that really chap my hide....

Passwords.  Hate 'em!  

I've written about this before, but nothing has changed and they're still chapping my hide.  Typical security question:  "What was the name of your first elementary school?"  xxxxxxxx

"Incorrect.  What was the name of your first elementary school?"  Hmmm....maybe it's case sensitive?  Xxxxxxxx

"Incorrect.  What was the name of your first elementary school?"  Listen up, dammit.  I went there for six friggin' years.  I KNOW what the name of my school was.  It's xxxxxxxx.

"Incorrect.  You are now locked out.  You must jump through 6 incredibly difficult hoops in order to regain access.  Get ready to give blood and have your DNA tested.  Oh, and bend over."

Grrrrrr!

But there is hope.  Yesterday I heard that some nerdy inventor, apparently just as fed up with passwords as me, will soon release a new program/app that uses "biometrics" (retinal scan?) to determine the legitimacy of a user.  You look into the camera on your computer (or iPhone?) and it can tell if you are really "you".  

I could be the face of this product....the poor Goober who never can remember all his many passwords. I doubt I'm alone on this.

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Bureaucrats.  I think they're profiling me.

When building a new home we have to provide to the city building inspection department a "form and elevation survey".  This confirms that the home is not being built outside the allowable building pad (not too close to the side or front or rear property lines).  It's also to confirm that we are at least at  the required minimum elevation above sea level (to make sure we're not in a flood plain).

I turned mine in on the project we have underway now and two days later they kicked it back.  The subdivision plat they have on file shows one side property line to be be 164.22 feet long.

My surveyor found it to actually be 164.23 feet long....one one-hundredth of a foot longer.  That's about 1/8" difference. Big Whoop!  It made absolutely no difference in whether the home was properly within the pad.  We had plenty of space to spare all around.  

I had to call my surveyor and have them redo it to show the .22, all because some bureaucrat didn't have enough sense (or the authority) to make the call.  Grrrrr!

For the record I appreciate legitimate building inspections.  I know first hand that there are plenty of builders who stay up late thinking of ways they can cut corners to make a few more $$$$, quality be damned.  Inspectors need to hold their ground.  What I described here, however, just borders on harassment.

S