What grinds my gears!

[Danvzare]

Here's something that grinds my gears.
Very high-pitched devices, used for scaring away cats or sometimes used in shops to "detract" youths.
Because I can hear those things, and they're nauseating!

What do they sound like?

Have you ever heard the high pitched squealing of an old tube television?
Just make it twenty times louder and have it rapidly turn on and off.

[milkanannan]

Here's something that grinds my gears.
Very high-pitched devices, used for scaring away cats or sometimes used in shops to "detract" youths.
Because I can hear those things, and they're nauseating!

What do they sound like?

Have you ever heard the high pitched squealing of an old tube television?
Just make it twenty times louder and have it rapidly turn on and off.

How could these not violate noise laws? That's crazy. I hope I never live around anyone with such little consideration for others.

[Blondbraid]

Here's something that grinds my gears.
Very high-pitched devices, used for scaring away cats or sometimes used in shops to "detract" youths.
Because I can hear those things, and they're nauseating!

What do they sound like?

Have you ever heard the high pitched squealing of an old tube television?
Just make it twenty times louder and have it rapidly turn on and off.

How could these not violate noise laws? That's crazy. I hope I never live around anyone with such little consideration for others.

Exactly, plus that's gotta violate age-based discrimination laws.

[Danvzare]

Have you ever heard the high pitched squealing of an old tube television?
Just make it twenty times louder and have it rapidly turn on and off.

How could these not violate noise laws? That's crazy. I hope I never live around anyone with such little consideration for others.

Easy. The majority of people don't hear it, so it doesn't violate any noise laws.

Exactly, plus that's gotta violate age-based discrimination laws.

I hope so. But I'm not sure if there are any such laws in my country. 
Then again, I'm no lawyer.

[Mandle]

Easy. The majority of people don't hear it, so it doesn't violate any noise laws.

Hmmmm, I wonder if that's how it works. The majority of people don't have handicapped allowances but we still have handicapped parking spaces enforced by law.

[Reiter]

I am rather convinced that it is simply a legislative gap. The manufacturers of those wretched things must have found it, and decided to make the most of it, while it lasts. It is terribly stupid, and I would delight in kicking them over if I found any. I dare say hardly anyone can see micro-waves, so why, I ask you, lawyer from Racket-o-Matic Ltd., why cannot I use them to discourage burglars?

My own gear-grinding annecdote, meanwhile, is similar if opposite.

Now, a while ago, I was at a burial. It was quite alright, truly, gently reassuring as they are meant to be. However, I noticed that as it was time to toll the bells, they sounded rather tinny and muffled. It emerged that it was not the bells at all, but a recording, fed through the PA speakers. It was very vexing.
It emerged, however, that the church had been the recipient of quite a few noise complaints, on account of the bells. The bells! And they were thus rather limited as to when they could ring them. I am not particularly difficult about noise, ordinarily. Life is inescapably noisy, and it is reasonable to long for some peace and quiet. But this made me quite wild to hear.
Who are these utter dimplecups, I wonder, that move into a nice (and up-market, lest we forget) house right next to a church when they cannot abide the sound of bells? It is not as if it was a difficult building to spot, crouched between a hedge and a gas holder. They cannot possibly have missed it, if they have ever been in the area before they bought the house. It is not some little secret the estate agent can keep under wraps until it is too late. It stands radiant on the landscape, and what is more, I very much doubt it is tolling day and night. I simply cannot see the disruption, or the nerve to shut up a service you have decided to live next doors to.

I wonder sometimes if the neighbours are, in fact, trolls and giants that have come down the hills and moved into town. After buying the houses, there was evidently gold left for a good lawyer...

And I shall bet that these same dimplecups would merrily install those blasted high-pitch screamers if they had half a chance, too.

[Stupot]

I was with a mate of mine, a few years younger, walking around Ginza. We had to move several times because he kept hearing this highly-pitched noise that the rest of us couldn’t hear. I think officially they’re to deter rats but I’ve since heard that they also stop groups of teens hanging around in front of the upmarket shops.

I’ve also heard that they sometimes play a mosquito noise to stop homeless people sleeping in doorways, but I don’t know how true that is.

[milkanannan]

I was with a mate of mine, a few years younger, walking around Ginza. We had to move several times because he kept hearing this highly-pitched noise that the rest of us couldn’t hear. I think officially they’re to deter rats but I’ve since heard that they also stop groups of teens hanging around in front of the upmarket shops.

I’ve also heard that they sometimes play a mosquito noise to stop homeless people sleeping in doorways, but I don’t know how true that is.

Related but unrelated ~ I thought this was a cool article about Japanese use of gestures and sounds to enhance the safety records of rail lines: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and-calling-japan-trains

[Mandle]

Yes, the train drivers here in Japan always make those pointing gestures and I always figured it was a ritual they did to be sure they were taking every step correctly, but good to have it confirmed.

[Babar]

I am rather convinced that it is simply a legislative gap. The manufacturers of those wretched things must have found it, and decided to make the most of it, while it lasts. It is terribly stupid, and I would delight in kicking them over if I found any. I dare say hardly anyone can see micro-waves, so why, I ask you, lawyer from Racket-o-Matic Ltd., why cannot I use them to discourage burglars?

My own gear-grinding annecdote, meanwhile, is similar if opposite.

Now, a while ago, I was at a burial. It was quite alright, truly, gently reassuring as they are meant to be. However, I noticed that as it was time to toll the bells, they sounded rather tinny and muffled. It emerged that it was not the bells at all, but a recording, fed through the PA speakers. It was very vexing.
It emerged, however, that the church had been the recipient of quite a few noise complaints, on account of the bells. The bells! And they were thus rather limited as to when they could ring them. I am not particularly difficult about noise, ordinarily. Life is inescapably noisy, and it is reasonable to long for some peace and quiet. But this made me quite wild to hear.
Who are these utter dimplecups, I wonder, that move into a nice (and up-market, lest we forget) house right next to a church when they cannot abide the sound of bells? It is not as if it was a difficult building to spot, crouched between a hedge and a gas holder. They cannot possibly have missed it, if they have ever been in the area before they bought the house. It is not some little secret the estate agent can keep under wraps until it is too late. It stands radiant on the landscape, and what is more, I very much doubt it is tolling day and night. I simply cannot see the disruption, or the nerve to shut up a service you have decided to live next doors to.

I wonder sometimes if the neighbours are, in fact, trolls and giants that have come down the hills and moved into town. After buying the houses, there was evidently gold left for a good lawyer...

And I shall bet that these same dimplecups would merrily install those blasted high-pitch screamers if they had half a chance, too.

I wonder what they do on Sunday mass...

[Reiter]

I wonder what they do on Sunday mass...

I am unsure. I believe that they are (gracefully, no doubt) allowed to toll the bells on Sunday for mass, or at least during a few special days in the year. I do see the annoyance of hearing tolling bells if you are recovering from a drunken Saturday, but once more, they decided to live neighbours with the thing. What in the world did they expect?

As for the mosquito-playing doorways, I cannot think of anything more pointlessly vexing. I would like to march around that street with a barrel full of free ear-muffs.

[Snarky]

Throw pillows. Useless junk that make it impossible to actually use a bed or sofa for its intended purpose. The best you can do is just move them off whenever the furniture is in use, either taking up storage space somewhere or making a pile on a chair, or dropped on the floor (tracking dirt back into the bed/sofa when they're put back). They are the coronavirus of home decoration. If I see that someone has a bunch of throw pillows in their house, it instantly makes me think less of them.

[Hobo]

Throw pillows.

Ah, yes, the sofa parasites.

[Mandle]

Throw pillows.

Good advice!

[Mandle]

Throw pillows.

Good advice!

I gave it a try last night before bed. The wife wasn't too happy, what with pillows flying everywhere, but it really helped relieve some stress over all the things that have been grinding my gears lately.

Best advice so far in this thread for how to deal with such issues.

As an experiment, tonight I am going to try punching the pillows instead to avoid the cleanup afterwards. Will report any further progress...

[Danvzare]

Throw pillows. Useless junk that make it impossible to actually use a bed or sofa for its intended purpose. The best you can do is just move them off whenever the furniture is in use, either taking up storage space somewhere or making a pile on a chair, or dropped on the floor (tracking dirt back into the bed/sofa when they're put back). They are the coronavirus of home decoration. If I see that someone has a bunch of throw pillows in their house, it instantly makes me think less of them.

They do have two uses though.
The first and most important, is as a tray. They're perfect for putting that hot plate onto, instead of straight onto your lap, while you watch that film on TV.
The second is that they give you something to lay your head on when you go to lay down. Whether it's because you're feeling tired or ill, you can easily prop your head up without having to go get a pillow from elsewhere.

So at most, I think a home should have two, maybe three throw pillows. And only on the sofa.
If you insist on putting them on a bed though, or owning loads of them, I recommend rethinking your life choices. 

[Stupot]

Is throw pillow the same thing as cushion. If so, I always make use of my cushions. My sofa is on a weird gradient so a cushion helps make it flat again. Every body is different and every sofa is different so it makes sense to have something to help adjust things a little. Plus they’re invaluable when you get an impromptu hard-on.

[Babar]

It was my understanding that throw pillows go on beds, while cushions go on sofas.

[Cassiebsg]

A pillow is a pillow.
We have a bunch of those on the living room, but like Snarky they're more often on the way, when we want to use the sofa, than not... so instead they're nicely lined up along the windowsill... the cats just love them BTW! 

[Danvzare]

It was my understanding that throw pillows go on beds, while cushions go on sofas.

I suppose it's like Magma and Lava. They're the same thing, just in different places.