What little things drive you completely up the wall....?

[Outdoor Girl]

His new thing is that caffeine from tea is better than caffeine from soda or coffee because it's water-soluble and therefore absorbs into the body differently. Last I checked, caffeine was a chemical whose composition didn't change depending on its method of entry into the human body. The sugars may well be different, but the caffeine molecule itself isn't. (Please, someone, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Biochemist, here.  You are not wrong.  There may be less caffeine in tea than coffee, depending on what kind of tea and how long it is brewed but caffeine is caffeine whether it comes from coffee, tea, soda or chocolate.

[cwm]

His new thing is that caffeine from tea is better than caffeine from soda or coffee because it's water-soluble and therefore absorbs into the body differently. Last I checked, caffeine was a chemical whose composition didn't change depending on its method of entry into the human body. The sugars may well be different, but the caffeine molecule itself isn't. (Please, someone, correct me if I'm wrong.)

Biochemist, here.  You are not wrong.  There may be less caffeine in tea than coffee, depending on what kind of tea and how long it is brewed but caffeine is caffeine whether it comes from coffee, tea, soda or chocolate.

Thank you. I'll bring this up to him next time he mentions it.

[Hillia]

DH's aunt (his mother's sister) works for a lady who practices a very questionable form of alternative health care and also sells various supplements, herbals, etc.  I know that there are some supplements/herbs that have been proven to have benefits, but a lot of what she sells is just overpriced 'trend of the week' stuff.  MIL insists on spending ridiculous money on this junk and sending it to us...all the latest weight loss capsules, etc.  The latest is a 'blood purifier' that is supposed to help DH with some bad skin eruptions that he's prone to.  She gets very hurt and offended if we ask her to please save her  money and not buy these things, so we keep a small stockpile; we keep a few on hand and toss them as we get new ones in.  It's such a waste of money.

[blueyzca01]

BabyMama's post reminds me of when my FIL was diagnosed with high cholesterol  and was told to avoid certain foods.  One of them was Cheet-os, or any other deep-fried cheese-flavoured snack.  In honest puzzlement, he asked us "What's so bad about those?"  Seriously???   

I found out that I had high cholesterol, and I started eating Cheerios every morning.  I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but it really did work for me.  Just like the commercials state.

[nayberry]

A favorite author is Lee Child - he has the Jack Reacher series.  Now if you are familiar with the series:  this is who Reacher is:  " JACK Reacher towers over most people as he is a six-foot-five-inch (196cm) giant. He is not much of a talker, has an impressive 50-inch (127cm) chest, ice-blue eyes and dirty blond hair. He is a former military man who stays off the grid and wanders alone around America carrying only a foldable toothbrush."

 On December 21st, the movie "Jack Reacher" will be released with Tom Cruise as him.  I may have to go to see the move.  The movie is based upon the book "One Shot".

I felt the same way (still do) about Interview With A Vampire.

ok i'm still catching up with the thread, (150 pages to go!)  but parking my POD right here!!!

[ladyknight1]

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I know too many people who were told they had one high reading, and that went off the deep end on fad diets.

BabyMama, please have him make an appointment with a nutritionist, you can check with your local government to see if they have one on staff.

[Piratelvr1121]

My dishwasher.  It won't close properly so that the cycle will start so it just keeps beeping and beeping.  Just one relatively short beep every few minutes but it's driving me up the wall. 

And the irony is that my DH wanted so badly to get GE appliances, and now he works for a company that repairs appliances under the Whirpool name which don't include GE.  My friend joked that the cobbler's children have no shoes but when he gets home I'm going to beg him to at least take a look because if I have to hear that for another full day, he's going to find me huddled and chewing my hair in a corner. 

High pitched repetitive noises literally make me nutty.

[cwm]

My dishwasher.  It won't close properly so that the cycle will start so it just keeps beeping and beeping.  Just one relatively short beep every few minutes but it's driving me up the wall. 

And the irony is that my DH wanted so badly to get GE appliances, and now he works for a company that repairs appliances under the Whirpool name which don't include GE.  My friend joked that the cobbler's children have no shoes but when he gets home I'm going to beg him to at least take a look because if I have to hear that for another full day, he's going to find me huddled and chewing my hair in a corner. 

High pitched repetitive noises literally make me nutty.

Boyfriend won't change the battery on his smoke detector. I can't physically reach it (it's in the stairway, of all places, and I'm too short) so I can't change it for him. He complains nonstop about the beeps. I just tune them out. I tell him to change the batteries if it really bothers him, but apparently he's not bothered that much. (Yes, I know, fire hazard, it's a Big Deal. If I could do it for him, I would. If I could make him, I would. I can't. I've tried.)

[Piratelvr1121]

And reading an article about Johnny Depp reminded of something that annoyed me.

Okay, about 5 years ago my bff got to meet Johnny Depp when he was in OshKosh filming Public Enemies. I wasn't able to go with her since I just couldn't afford to travel up there nor could I take the time off work.  And though I was envious, I was very excited for her.   When she came home the next day she was all to eager to email me and tell me about the experience.

That isn't what annoys me, because bff did it in a way that was not trying to rub my face in it but just excitedly sharing her experience.  What did irritate was when another girl I knew got to meet Johnny when he was in New York.  This girl couldn't wait to email me (I could kick myself for giving my email address to her since she always annoyed me) and say "I got to meet Johnny!!  "  Nice.     I didn't even respond and haven't heard from her since.

Then there was another person who got to meet one of those Jack Sparrow impersonators in Disney World and then posted on my facebook wall, "I got to meet Jack Sparrow, Nyah nyah!"  It might not have been etiquette approved but I replied "Okay, I met one in Disneyland a few years ago."  But then about a second later I just deleted the whole post. 

It just annoys me when people know you have a favorite actor and a character and make a big deal of letting you know that they got to see this actor/character and you didn't.  If someone meets them and says "Hey thought I'd tell you, I saw your man Johnny coming out of a restaurant in NYC and thought of you!" I'm cool with that. 

But the childish "I got to see him and you didn't nyah nyah!" is obnoxious. 

And oh, boy I'd love to disable the dishwasher but I honestly am not sure how.  I think it's plugged into the wall behind the machine and don't feel like pulling it out.

[BabyMama]

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. I know too many people who were told they had one high reading, and that went off the deep end on fad diets.

BabyMama, please have him make an appointment with a nutritionist, you can check with your local government to see if they have one on staff.

That's a good idea. I actually know of one (I had to see one when I had my gall bladder out a few years ago.)

He's very paranoid about it--his family health history is really poor, his dad has been on blood pressure pills since 17, and his uncle just had a foot amputated because of diabetes. But they both eat really bad diets, do physically demanding jobs, and get little exercise. DH runs (he ran a half marathon last year) and we don't eat a lot of processed foods, so that's already a big helping factor. He really doesn't want to have to take anything, after seeing the health problems his dad went through (gout, etc.)

I think he's frustrated because he knows/feels that part of it is heredity, and so no matter what, the odds are going to be stacked against him. Welcome to how every woman feels about her weight, honey

Shalamar, that's exactly like DH's dad. He's got high blood pressure/cholesterol, and is borderline diabetic, but they eat a ton of canned and processed food. One time we went for a visit, and at dinner everything had that canned cheese sauce on it--because FIL bought a gigantic can at Sam's Club and felt like he had to finish it. (Where is a barfy face emoticon when I need it?) But it's on potatoes...so it's okay, right? 

[ladyknight1]

My FIL, who has high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a million other things likes to buy giant cans of sausage gravy and have that for breakfast.

Homemade, not so bad, you can control what goes in it. Shelf-stable sausage gravy? No, thank you.

[siamesecat2965]

My dishwasher.  It won't close properly so that the cycle will start so it just keeps beeping and beeping.  Just one relatively short beep every few minutes but it's driving me up the wall. 

And the irony is that my DH wanted so badly to get GE appliances, and now he works for a company that repairs appliances under the Whirpool name which don't include GE.  My friend joked that the cobbler's children have no shoes but when he gets home I'm going to beg him to at least take a look because if I have to hear that for another full day, he's going to find me huddled and chewing my hair in a corner. 

High pitched repetitive noises literally make me nutty.

My mom lives in a 3 yard old house, so all brandy-new appliances. All of which beep in some form or another. She had a microwave/convection oven, which she brought, and the kitchen came with a microwave. Both of which beep when they’re done, continue beeping until you take your food etc. out. The dishwasher beeps when its done, as do both the washer and dryer; and the dryer, until you take your clothes out. If they’re all going at the same time, the beeping drives me batty when I visit!  Mom has hearing issues so she is blissfully unaware most of the time.

[Elfmama]

But they both eat really bad diets, do physically demanding jobs, and get little exercise.

"Exercise" is not just working out at a gym, or running, or any of the other things that people do outside of their jobs.  A physically demanding job IS exercise!  Obviously, I don't know what they do, but let's say that it's tossing hay bales on a truck.  I'd venture to guess that they burn more calories and get better aerobic exercise tossing hay than they would running. 

[Piratelvr1121]

I have to agree with that.  My DH, though he hasn't had a desk job...well...ever really.  The closest he came to it was when he was in the MC and had a station where he worked every day but being military he always had to do PT 3 mornings a week. 

His last job he was in a van most of the day when he wasn't installing or fixing gps units on fleet vehicles, but it wasn't until he started with this job he's in now (appliance repair) that he really started dropping weight.   He says it's probably because of the fact that this job is more demanding than his last.  Considering he's having to take apart appliances and carry heavy replacement parts upstairs sometimes, I can believe it.

[BabyMama]

But they both eat really bad diets, do physically demanding jobs, and get little exercise.

"Exercise" is not just working out at a gym, or running, or any of the other things that people do outside of their jobs.  A physically demanding job IS exercise!  Obviously, I don't know what they do, but let's say that it's tossing hay bales on a truck.  I'd venture to guess that they burn more calories and get better aerobic exercise tossing hay than they would running.

Sorry, those are a little contradictory--what I meant though was that, now that they're 60+, those jobs have really taken a toll on their bodies. They were both fit in their younger age, but now body issues are cropping up that might have been delayed if they hadn't had to use their bodies so much in their youth.