Author: SA Otey

Software Engineer

Do you share food with your dog?

~ SA Otey

I’m not talking about a table scrap thrown to the floor for them to enjoy and get diarrhea later. I’m speaking of something I’m seeing more often in public. People give dogs their ice cream cones and share a table at a restaurant. Yes, there are dining establishments that now have portions of their menu dedicated to dogs. Drive-thru banks have dog treats in addition to lollipops for your children.

What I saw today disturbed me. A grown man with a shaved ice treats sitting on a bench at an outlet mall sharing it with a standard poodle. One cup and two spoons. There is a myth that a dog’s mouth is clean. But in reality, it’s only clean for them, since their saliva may or may not contain antiseptic and antibacterial properties. They can still reach their testicles and butt hole and they may have just finished off a serving of gnat butter before you dipped their spoon into your dessert.

Just put your headphones on, Man

~ SA Otey

There is another type of airline passenger that is even more annoying than the “first classer”. It’s the passenger next to you who doesn’t listen. If you pick an aisle seat you end up being their personal ambassador to the flight attendant. Here are a few of their trademark characteristics.

  • Opens the tray table upon arriving at their seat.
  • Also reclines their seat
  • Keeps their phone active after several attempts by the flight attendant to switch to airplane mode.
  • Uses noise-canceling headphones so they don’t hear the snack options and they have to be repeated
  • Goes to the bathroom once the plane starts to land or begins takeoff.
  • Reclines seat upon takeoff after flight attendant has sat down
  • Opens tray table and returns to text messaging.
  • Unbuckles seatbelt as soon as the plane’s wheels touch the runway.

It’s like they’ve never flown before. These are the type of people who will be asking how to inflate their life vest once they are swimming away from the fuselage.

Why We Avoid Eye Contact in Public (And Whether You Should Too)

~ SA Otey

Ever notice how people seem to look everywhere except at each other in public these days? You’re not imagining it—and there are some pretty understandable reasons behind this shift.

The New Social Norms

Smartphones have revolutionized how we navigate public spaces. They’ve become our social shield, giving us a socially acceptable way to appear busy and unavailable. Beyond the technology, our culture has shifted toward more individualistic behavior in public. Where previous generations might have exchanged nods with strangers, many people today prefer moving through public spaces without social obligations.

In crowded urban areas especially, avoiding eye contact serves as a psychological boundary that helps maintain personal space and privacy. For many, it also reduces social anxiety and the pressure to respond appropriately to stranger danger.

So Should You Follow Suit?

The answer depends on your comfort level and the situation. Brief, natural eye contact followed by a slight nod or smile can still be a positive interaction—it acknowledges others’ humanity without being intrusive. Many people actually appreciate this small gesture, particularly in smaller communities or less crowded settings. Deep soul stares not so much.

The key is reading the room. If someone is clearly focused on their phone, wearing headphones, or actively avoiding eye contact, respect their signals. Match the social energy around you while staying true to your own comfort level.

You don’t need to force interactions, but you also don’t need to completely shut down the possibility of brief, respectful human connection if it feels natural to you.

Trial Pack Portable Soft Contact Lens Insertion & Removal Tools – Silicone Rubber Eye Lens Inserter & Remover Device with Pincher End & Finger Grips – Safe & Easy to Use

How to order coffee at Starbucks

~ SA Otey
beans coffee drink cafe
Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.com

Does anyone drink coffee anymore? Whenever I sit at a Starbucks or similar coffee house and hear someone order a beverage it sounds way too complicated. It’s mostly milk/cream, and sugar with very little coffee added. It’s more like a coffee-flavored beverage. I get coffee, it’s easy, and all it needs to be added is a cup. But seriously, the only way to order coffee at Starbucks is to buy the beans and grind them at home to use them in your French Press. That is if you like over-roasted beans.

Recently it’s tough to walk in and order a coffee. You would think your best bet is using the app. However, the drive-thru gets the priority. I’ve ordered on the app, drove a few miles, and waited at the counter for 10 minutes for a venti black coffee with nothing added. The whole process was a half hour while the drive-thru recycled several times.

The Irritants Guide to 4th of July

~ SA Otey
  • Remind people that the birth of America is really July 2nd.
  • Buy fireworks 5 days in advance and buy enough to last until July 9th.
  • Begin your explosives demonstration on June 30th.
  • Drink lots of beer
  • Eat many forms of meat
  • Lose an appendage because you are too filled with meat to move away from the lit fireworks and too drunk to know that you are bleeding.
  • Put up a PTSD sign in your yard so that you can ruin the fun for your neighbors who bought a week’s supply of fireworks.
  • Also remind people that it wasn’t legit until Aug 2nd, thus extending your firework shooting period.

But seriously, if you have a problem with July 4th, just hole up in your house shut all the curtains and sit in a dark room watching movies with noise-canceling headphones like I do. Happy Holidays!

Fireworks are nice, but not after 11pm, most people are attempting to sleep after their ears have been damaged by decibels of destructive detonations. Fireworks are fantastic at first, but there’s always somebody who bought enough to obliterate a small island.

I understand the Fourth of July and New Year’s, but I think people love the excuse to play demolition expert and terrorize cul-de-sacs and side streets. Here are a few fireworks tips to help you maximize this special day.

  • Wait until it gets dark
  • Put them away at 11pm

Happy Independence Day!

Treating your kids like pets.

~ SA Otey

IMG_3450
As a follow-up to a previous post, there is another phenomenon going on in our society where kids are treated like animals. It hasn’t reached its apex quite yet. This says way more about the parents than it does the kids. These parents do not know how to handle their children and can’t set boundaries, so they create artificial ones.

You can make it look like a monkey on their back, but nothing is more demeaning than putting a child on a leash. What’s next, feeding your child from a bowl on the floor? Maybe take their diaper off and let them crap in the yard? Why not a shock collar and invisible fence so they don’t leave the yard?

How about putting them in a dog crate so they won’t destroy your house while you’re gone. Wow, I guess I forgot what I was talking about. Maybe take off the leash and let your kid make some mistakes. That’s how they learn.

What are pet parents?

~ SA Otey

petParents
First of all, pets are not children, they are animals. Yes, children are technically animals but they are a higher class and they eventually can clean up their own feces. Dogs can not pick up their own poop unless you consider eating feces cleaning up. Thankfully, my children have never eaten their own excrement, that I know of.

More and more I’m seeing dogs in strollers and in baby carriers at airports. People are using “service dogs” for all sorts of reasons. There are people who actually need service dogs and I understand that. But some people are severely allergic to dogs. If you are sitting near a dog, you are going to have a bad flight, especially if the dog takes a dump in the seat.

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Bumper stickers are taking shots at parents by saying that their dog is smarter than their honor student. Nonsense, let’s see your dog use a pencil and write their name or enter a spelling bee. Women proudly display “Dog Mom” on their cars, but we already have another name for that and it probably fits the bill.

Honestly, I wish raising kids was as easy as having a pet, but it’s not nearly as rewarding. Kids are awesome and not just because they don’t eat their own feces.

The Challenge of Saying No in Generation X

~ SA Otey
Photograph_of_Mrs._Reagan_speaking_at_a_'Just_Say_No'_Rally_in_Los_Angeles_-_NARA_-_198584

There is something wrong with “my” Generation X. They don’t know how to say no. They really don’t know how to say yes either. Not sure what happened, but there is this overwhelming sense of not disappointing someone. I have no trouble saying no, in fact, it’s an automatic response for me. Mostly because I don’t want to do anything for anyone

Non-reply is the new NO. If you send a message to someone who always checks their messages and you don’t get a reply even though it shows they read the message then you can treat that as a NO.

However, I’d rather someone just tell me no rather than say: “Let me get back to you”, or “Let me think about it.” I tend to treat that as a no and do not ask again. Whatever it is. My generation also suffers from “Let me see if something better comes along before I commit to anything.” It probably comes from the whole “Just Say No” campaign back in the 1980s because that didn’t work either.

Should you go to high school reunions?

~ SA Otey

If you have social media then you can get a preview of your high school reunion by scrolling through your feed. Bragging, boasting, deception, and lies. Someone will want to hook you into a multi-level marketing program or sell you some life insurance. You can see how fat/thin or old/young someone looks via the instagrams and facebooks.

If you have a friend you still talk to from your high school, be thankful. That’s all you need. You don’t need to go digging up the memories and run into someone who wanted to fight you 30 years ago. If you are part of the Hillbilly Ethnicity you know this to be true. If you must go, then wait until year 40 or 50 and let the crowd thin a little.

Man shaming in commercials

~ SA Otey

Why are so many companies choosing to throw men under the bus in television commercials? Not sure what the motivation is to make men seem like the lowest levels of animals and that they are worthless. There is probably more examples and more that needs to be said but here are just a few.

Panera Bread


Two males eating delivered sandwiches because they can’t even do that simple task? Or maybe it’s a passive-aggressive shot at women because they are not there to make them sandwiches?

Nationwide

A man can’t eat in his new kitchen? The women are cleaning up after him before he even gets a chance too. Some men like to clean, stop stereotyping, Nationwide.

Allstate


A man wants to do a home improvement project but the wife laughs at him is the most condescending way? Getting a bonus check for not using your insurance turns into a fat-shaming incident because she wanted a refund for his gym membership? Wow.

Nutrisystem
I’ve written about this before, but calling men fat pieces of garbage on the couch “so to speak” and stop shoving our holes full of pie might motivate some dieters, but abuse is no way to sell your product. Yes, I’ve tried Nutrisystem and you can do just as well by eating the cardboard it came in.

There are numerous other commercials for home improvement projects where the woman is humiliating the man in front of other people.