The Vent and Rant Thread

[issybird]

Why do workmen think it’s ok to blast their music all over a neighborhood so they can hear it over the sound of their tools? Especially in this age of Bluetooth headsets, how can they justify it? Being held hostage to someone else’s loud music is an inner circle of hell for me.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by issybird

Why do workmen think it’s ok to blast their music all over a neighborhood so they can hear it over the sound of their tools? Especially in this age of Bluetooth headsets, how can they justify it? Being held hostage to someone else’s loud music is an inner circle of hell for me.

My neighbor has a bluetooth speaker and plays his music when he's out in the yard. When I'm on my deck and he's playing his music I break out my MP3 player with a good set of headphones.

It's not a perfect solution, but I prefer my music to his. (For the record, he's a nice guy and we get along well. He just has terrible taste in music.)

[CRussel]

Right up there with the [expletive deleted] jerks with their boom boxes in the wilderness. Etc. Etc.

(You kids get off my lawn!)

[John F]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

Some cordless phones can route land line calls to a cell phone - I wonder if any can be connected to take cell calls on the cordless? I always figured if I ever ditch my land line it would be nice to have set of connected cordless handsets scattered around...

See the bluetooth handset a few posts above.

[cc_in_oh]

Originally Posted by John F

See the bluetooth handset a few posts above.

Sorry, I misread as headset...

[ApK]

Originally Posted by cromag

My neighbor has a bluetooth speaker and plays his music when he's out in the yard. When I'm on my deck and he's playing his music I break out my MP3 player with a good set of headphones.

It's not a perfect solution, but I prefer my music to his. (For the record, he's a nice guy and we get along well. He just has terrible taste in music.)

[rant]...and this is why we have a society full of thoughtless, entitled people who think they should be able to behave however selfishly they want, with no consequences. Because "good" behavior has come to mean avoiding correcting anyone, avoiding risking hurting anyone's feelings no matter how wrong they are, avoiding any conflict, even civil disagreement, for fear of escalation by the entitled jerks.[/rant]
(Not a rant about cromag's specific case, I just felt triggered....)

[issybird]

Originally Posted by ApK

[rant]...and this is why we have a society full of thoughtless, entitled people who think they should be able to behave however selfishly they want, with no consequences. Because "good" behavior has come to mean avoiding correcting anyone, avoiding risking hurting anyone's feelings no matter how wrong they are, avoiding any conflict, even civil disagreement, for fear of escalation by the entitled jerks.[/rant]
(Not a rant about cromag's specific case, I just felt triggered....)

Yes! I read cromag’s post and thought, “That wouldn’t be a solution for me.” I like quiet when I read, not to drown out music with music of my own. Why does the neighbor get to own the outdoors? And as an aside, what I said before - nothing could be easier these days than to have private music. That nice guy isn’t so very nice, IMO.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by ApK

[rant]...and this is why we have a society full of thoughtless, entitled people who think they should be able to behave however selfishly they want, with no consequences. Because "good" behavior has come to mean avoiding correcting anyone, avoiding risking hurting anyone's feelings no matter how wrong they are, avoiding any conflict, even civil disagreement, for fear of escalation by the entitled jerks.[/rant]
(Not a rant about cromag's specific case, I just felt triggered....)

Yes, this is why the USA has a world now full of Homeowner Associations. The invisible Mummy & Daddy in the sky, that will go talk to your neighbor FOR you, so that you can avoid confrontation, instead of working out issues like adults. Sure, not every neighbor can be reasoned with and sometimes, that's bad, but what's wrong with knocking on the door and saying "Hey, dude, keep it down?" In any environment, not just Cromag's? Like Issy, this would drive me bats**t, if I were in a spot in which I could hear the neighbor's music. (In fact, oddly enough, we had a "neighbor" move in, down the road from us and they were BLASTING, and I mean, BLASTING Xmas music, in December. You can't hear a neighboring property's music, out here; the minimum lot size is 1.25acres and most have more than that, so there's a decent distance between homes, thank God. But they must have been able to hear their music--I'm not kidding--a half-mile away. Very possibly more, it was THAT loud.

We walked on over there and asked them to KINDLY reduce tne noise a bit. I mean...I was pretty shocked at how loud it was. Not to mention, for their own dog's sake.

HOA's should be outlawed, so that people have to address their own issues, like adults, instead of offloading confrontation on a board that invariably and inevitably becomes a group of Homeowner Nazis. Happens every. single. time.

Originally Posted by issybird

Yes! I read cromag’s post and thought, “That wouldn’t be a solution for me.” I like quiet when I read, not to drown out music with music of my own. Why does the neighbor get to own the outdoors? And as an aside, what I said before - nothing could be easier these days than to have private music. That nice guy isn’t so very nice, IMO.

Ditto. I too prefer peace and solitude. The entire reason we bought this house--the ENTIRE reason--was that you can sit on the very large covered porch and hear....nothing. No cars, no music, no people...you can look at the mountains behind us and revel in the quiet.

Spoiler:

(In my former home, I spent nearly 5 years--years--doing battle with the world's most inconsiderate neighbor, across the street from us, that had a dog that barked more than 2500x per hour, for 4, 5, 8 hours in a row, every damn day. EVERY DAMN DAY. To say that the solitude here was an instant "buy buy buy" for me, is not overstating it. He finally met some woman and they were moving in together; when she heard the recordings I'd made, of his dog, she was horrified. HORRIFIED. I always wonder just how long she lasted with him, given the givens. She too had dogs--well-trained ones. It's the only time in my life I came close to actually, really considering harming an animal. I work from home, and you could hear this animal through the air-conditioning, closed windows, closed doors...it was freaking horrible. Of course, we didn't harm the dog, but I was pretty distraught over it by the time we bought this place and escaped. And before anyone says it, no, Scottsdale had decided that a noise ordinance was too much trouble to enforce.)

Hitch

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

Yes! I read cromag’s post and thought, “That wouldn’t be a solution for me.” I like quiet when I read, not to drown out music with music of my own. Why does the neighbor get to own the outdoors? And as an aside, what I said before - nothing could be easier these days than to have private music. That nice guy isn’t so very nice, IMO.

Nothing works as well as my own noise-cancelling headphones from Bowers & Wilkins. With the noise-cancelling set to max, the outside world disappears. And when I _do_ want music, they're superb.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Nothing works as well as my own noise-cancelling headphones from Bowers & Wilkins. With the noise-cancelling set to max, the outside world disappears. And when I _do_ want music, they're superb.

But they wouldn't help if you were hoping to enjoy the outdoor ambience (birdsong, etc.)

I can understand playing music outdoors on speakers once in a while, like if you were entertaining, though even then the volume should be kept at a reasonable level.

But if it's just one person, whether working construction or outside at their house, they ought to use headphones or earbuds. MP3 players and earbuds can be had quite cheaply.

As to the issue of approaching neighbors to work things out, as single woman living in an apartment building I have always been somewhat nervous about approaching strangers. I usually just end up putting up with some noise unless it's extreme. There is no tenants' association where I live and the landlord doesn't like to get involved in making rules.

[Rumpelteazer]

Yesterday I ordered some cross stitch supplies from Italy, I did pay a couple of euros extra for express shipping. That evening I got an email with a status update: they were gathering my order but since it was a really busy time it might take longer than normal before it was shipped. I didn't expect it until at least the second half of next week. I don't know how fast they normally ship, but this afternoon I got an email telling me it was shipped and DHL should deliver it tomorrow.

Meanwhile I ordered some art supplier in my own country. Items they have in stock. Basically their website states that orders usually ship within 5 business days. But there's also a warning on their front page orders take longer to arrive at the moment. Previous orders all shipped the day after ordering.

Luckily I'm more looking forward to my cross stitch supplies than my art supplies.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Nothing works as well as my own noise-cancelling headphones from Bowers & Wilkins. With the noise-cancelling set to max, the outside world disappears. And when I _do_ want music, they're superb.

I’ve got a pair of Bose noise-canceling headphones and while they help, they’re not perfect. But I don’t think I’m in the market for another pair!

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by issybird

I’ve got a pair of Bose noise-canceling headphones and while they help, they’re not perfect. But I don’t think I’m in the market for another pair!

And here's the thing--nor should we have to be. I would be the first to be happy for a neighbor having a party or whatever. But not every day. and trust me, there is NO noise-cancelling headphone in the world that will block out a dog that barks tens of thousands of times per day. BTDT.

I get it, everybody wants to do what they want to do, in their own space. I'm sure that Neighbor X wants to play his music. I respect that, but dayam, how loud does it have to BE? For it to be enjoyable? Does it have to be enjoyable for your 500 nearest and dearest neighbors, too?

Hitch

[cromag]

Just for the record, I haven't "corrected" my neighbor because there's nothing to correct. He plays his music during the daytime, it's not as loud as various lawnmowers and leaf blowers, or even the kids in the pool two houses down. Well within the limits of our noise ordinances.

I just don't share his taste in music.

I do have a pair of noise canceling headphones, but I don't use them for this. His music is loud enough for me to hear on an otherwise quiet day, but not blasting out. My Koss PortaPros do just fine.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by cromag

Just for the record, I haven't "corrected" my neighbor because there's nothing to correct.

And, indeed, for the record, I never thought that cromag's specific interaction was anything other than neighborly or was in any way damaging to society!
My rant applied to the general case for public Vent and Rant purposes only!

Related matter: $399 for NC headphones sounds crazy expensive to me! They'd have to deliver a Rick and Morty "True level"* quality experience to justify that price!

ApK
*