Why OCD people scream at their TVs...

[DaveNV]

Ok, I'll admit it, I'm rather OCD about details. I have a history in computer technology, including years as a programmer and analyst. Attention to detail is something that leaps out at me, and when I see things that are wrong, it is as glaring an error as anything I can imagine. It's especially true with home improvement things. When I see a picture that is hanging crooked, I'll try to straighten it. When I see kitchen cabinet door handles that aren't mounted evenly, it makes me crazy. When things don't match, or are unbalanced, or straight lines aren't evenly spaced, it screams at me. Words that are misspelled on street signs make me nuts. (Not so much with a typo on a computer screen - those are easily fixed. But big painted billboards and such with glaring errors show that somebody wasn't paying attention to details.) I get almost obsessive about such things, and believe me, the struggle is real.

So just a few minutes ago I was watching the new remodeling show called "Vacation House Rules" on HGTV. Scott McGillivray is the host, who spends time helping people maximize the income potential of rental cottages and such. It's a pretty entertaining show I enjoy watching. But in this episode, his design assistant Debra Salmoni worked with the homeowner to paint picnic tables for an outdoor party area. She made much about painting a stenciled game board on the table. They even had to repaint it, because the first color combination didn't have enough contrast. They were very proud of their work, and staged it for the reveal at the end. I paused the program and snapped this picture:

Looks great, right? What a great idea, too. Anybody notice something wrong with this picture? Yeah, that. The designer, the production crew, the staging people, everybody who worked on the show, and NOBODY noticed this tiny little detail??

Yeah, as I said, for me, the struggle is real. LOL!

Dave

 

[DrQ]

I guess you can play checkers on a 12x12 board, but not chess.

ETA: Chess with a passing lane?

 

[heathpack]

I have no idea Dave but I will say you remind me of my husband.

He points out some glaring goof and my response is “that’s nice dear”.

The goof makes him crazy and my not be bothered by a goof enough to look hard to figure it out makes him more crazy.

 

[heathpack]

I was an English Lit major as an undergrad before transitioning to vet med. Now I’m the position of reading applications for training positions. Many of my colleagues are driven crazy by spelling errors or grammatical mistakes. I note these errors and they count in my assessment of the candidate’s attention to detail. But I’m not “offended” by them like some folks seem to be.

I think in part this stems from my placing primary emphasis on whether the author of what I’m reading effectively conveyed the idea he/she was intending to convey, while recognizing that a lot of the “rules” of spelling and grammar are arbitrary and change over time- read Chaucer, then Shakespeare, then Dickens and you will get what I’m saying. The point of language is to convey ideas effectively and if an author‘s errors are not so terrible as to mangle that, then the piece of writing is fundamentally a success by my way of viewing it.

Lol this attitude of mine towards spelling and grammar also drives some people nuts. Fortunately language is not my husband’s forte so he doesn’t go off on rants about the written word.

Except for hierarchical flaws of logic on restaurant menus. Jeepers that will set him off! You know, when a restaurant menu says your eggs come with “bacon and toast or a biscuit”. It’s obvious that you for sure get bacon and then need to choose either toast or a biscuit. But he‘ll start ranting to me that it’s unclear. Are his choices “bacon and toast” or “a biscuit”?! Or does he get bacon and then choose between “toast” and a “biscuit”?! He is always disappointed when I don’t join in his sense drama over the offense and just answer “pick between toast and a biscuit”.

Yall OCD people are a hoot sometimes.

 

[Talent312]

Don't ruin a perfectly good table...
Who plays board games on a table, anyway?

Whip out your tablets and call up an online game.
But I haven't seen Vacation House Rules mention WiFi.
.

 

[TravelTime]

The lines for the squares are squiggly. They look like when you put tape down to make straight lines and some paint seeps through the tape. I hate when this happens when painting around baseboards. There are also some paint lines where there shouldn’t be any paint on the left side of the board.

 

[jabberwocky]

Why did they go with 12 squares per side rather than the standard 8? How are you supposed to play chess on this?

 

[rickandcindy23]

Rick screams at the TV, especially during football games. He also screams at other drivers on the road. I keep telling him that I am the only one receiving the complaint, so please stop it. Then I find myself doing the same thing yesterday, so I am also guilty. Neither of us are really OCD.

I have been called that at times, but really more about my cleaning. I don't just lightly clean a bathroom, nor do I lightly dust or mop...I bring out the bleach, the lemon oils and the vinegar and go to it. I am a nut for keeping things cleaned.

I haven't always been a clean nut, so it's not OCD, it's more about having more time and energy to do things right, and it's somewhat about my little grandson who is crawling (and should be walking by now). I noticed him picking something off of the kitchen floor two weeks ago, when I had him for the day, and it turned out to be a bit of bacon, so I gave it back to him. He so enjoyed that bacon. He kept going, "MMM...MMM." Rick crumbles his bacon to mix with his eggs every morning. Bacon is a regular thing on our floor.

 

[PrairieGirl]

Come on Dave, the suspense is killing me! You have found a kindred spirit in me when it come to obsession with details, I'm dying to know what's bugging you about this.

I would have preferred that there be an outside line (and I don't really care for the colours).

I think Dr. Q hit it, but to play chess maybe they could always paint another border line 4 squares in while they were at it!

 

[rickandcindy23]

Checkerboards don't look like that, too many squares, and the number of playing pieces is not the same, black to red. But what else?

 

[heathpack]

Ha I showed the pic to husband and he immediately said its the wrong number of squares for a checkerboard.

He is also bothered by the quality of the workmanship with the stenciling and doesn’t like the fact that some of the squares have a board gap running through the center. He would have made sure the square size of the checkerboard was such that the board gaps fell on the space between two squares rather than in the middle of a square. “But that’s just my OCD coming out” he said.

 

[Luanne]

@DaveNV I knew you were my soul mate.

 

[jabberwocky]

They should have just done squares all over the table. Then they could save on tablecloths as well.

 

[geist1223]

Also all pieces are on the same colour.

 

[DaveNV]

It's the number of squares. A checkerboard or chess board has an 8X8 grid, so 64 squares, not 12X12 to equal 144.

I won't complain about the sloppiness of the paint, or squiggly lines. I can accept the "folk art" deal with this. But to overpaint the wrong number of squares makes no sense. If they had framed the center 8X8 in one color, and painted the outer ones in a different color, then I could accept it. But they didn't. If you happen to watch the episode, you'll see what all they did with it.

I'm not a fanatic about it, but I admit, sometimes I need to turn and walk away from things like this that turn my guts to jello. LOL!

Dave

 

[DaveNV]

In the same episode, the designer Debra brought a portable record player, to add to the retro 60's theme they were working on in the cottage. Scott took an LP out of its sleeve and said, "You probably don't know what this is." Debra said, "Actually, no, I don't." She's obviously too young. Scott joked, "It's a giant DVD."

But that told me the probable answer to why she painted the wrong number of squares on the picnic table - she's too young to know what a record is, and I'd wager she has never played checkers in her life. Giving her the benefit of the doubt for her age. The alternative answer is unkind. However, that doesn't explain why the homeowner didn't say something. She was old enough to know.

Or maybe it's just me who notices things like this.

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

I bet HGTV gets full mailbags on stuff like this.

And here, we call it CDO. Y'know, in alphabetical order- like it's SUPPOSED TO BE!

Jim

 

[pedro47]

I bet you the homeowner did not know something was wrong. IMHO.

It look good. LOL.

 

[Talent312]

I bet you the homeowner did not know something was wrong.

I'll bet the homeowner was just happy to be rid of those bozos.

.
.

 

[Rolltydr]

Rick screams at the TV, especially during football games. He also screams at other drivers on the road. I keep telling him that I am the only one receiving the complaint, so please stop it. Then I find myself doing the same thing yesterday, so I am also guilty. Neither of us are really OCD.

I have been called that at times, but really more about my cleaning. I don't just lightly clean a bathroom, nor do I lightly dust or mop...I bring out the bleach, the lemon oils and the vinegar and go to it. I am a nut for keeping things cleaned.

I haven't always been a clean nut, so it's not OCD, it's more about having more time and energy to do things right, and it's somewhat about my little grandson who is crawling (and should be walking by now). I noticed him picking something off of the kitchen floor two weeks ago, when I had him for the day, and it turned out to be a bit of bacon, so I gave it back to him. He so enjoyed that bacon. He kept going, "MMM...MMM." Rick crumbles his bacon to mix with his eggs every morning. Bacon is a regular thing on our floor.

IT IS PERFECTLY NORMAL TO SCREAM AT THE TELEVISION DURING FOOTBALL GAMES!

 

[Brett]

My wife is a little OCD but she hides it well.
She is also a counter but she hides that too. A flock of birds will pass overhead on a nature walk ..... 26 !
yes, she was a computer programmer

 

[DaveNV]

My wife is a little OCD but she hides it well.
She is also a counter but she hides that too. A flock of birds will pass overhead on a nature walk ..... 26 !
yes, she was a computer programmer

See? Maybe it's not my fault after all!

Dave

 

[amycurl]

Grammar errors--esp. quotes used for emphasis and possessive vs. plural errors--on signage and publicity/branding materials drives me absolutely batty.

I'm totally with you on the crooked pictures thing....and crooked outlet covers/light switch covers.

 

[DaveNV]

Grammar errors--esp. quotes used for emphasis and possessive vs. plural errors--on signage and publicity/branding materials drives me absolutely batty.

I'm totally with you on the crooked pictures thing....and crooked outlet covers/light switch covers.

Oh yes.

Dave

 

[dioxide45]

That does it, I now refuse to watch HGTV!