Bugs? In Florida? Who Knew

of the many things that bother me, there are those that really bug me. And of those that really bug me, there are those that I now may list for the world to join in collective bugginess:


1. Trading card games supply/demand: In one of my personal favorite games of all time, Magic: the Gathering, the problem is never that the cards aren't powerful or the games not enticing, but that the ability to freely switch between cards is not as liquid as one may find helpful or fun. The biggest hurdle to the issue is built in to the card game as a feature that makes all to much sense: rarity. More powerful spells are rarer in product (card booster packs, supplemental sets) and thus have a limited print run for the sake of the game environment of limited card pools. But in the case of Constructed formats, where the players get to decide what cards and in what numbers they play with in their decks, limited card printings only make the secondhand market over-inflate the cards simply because competitive players seek victory with good cards, running the price up for casual players and those who aren't as time committed to play

2. Journals: I am a huge fan of journals. I have a stack of them not because I fill them but because I want to fill them and bring them into my daily life. Two struggles with that. The first struggle is that I am super perceptive and keeping to habits is difficult when novelty is all around me. the second is that every journal that I do have is not easily bendable for full flexibility. The main source of this issue is spinal stability. you can have bound books that crack if you go past 45 degrees of openness and you can have books on ring binders that fully swivel. the sacrifice from bound to spiral and everything in between is sturdiness. I like to write in the air, notebook or journal right in my face without any support. A spiral notebook would flop around until i fold it in my hands like a soggy taco, while a bound book will cramp my pinky from holding it open for more than ten minutes.

3. Posters on walls: I also am a proponent of canvas on walls for self expression, but posters for people like me who have ephemeral concepts of permanence beyond concrete rules of physics pose a challenge because once you put up a poster, you've damaged it (pins in the wall) or made it the biggest hassle to move if you want to change it up (Command Strips, sticky tack, etc). The source of this conflict is mobility; whereas the best way to keep something on the wall is solid and difficult to move, things that are easily changeable are weaker and require more maintenance.

4. Men's leisure bags: I have always been jealous of women and their incredible preparedness for whatever the occasion. It may just be a cultural thing for women to be the main market of purses and small backpacks for outings, but men's satchels are underrepresented in the market and honestly the stigma around male preparation and images of men with bags can use a change.

5. Library access in suburban, sprawled spaces: I love the library, but the location is just so cumbersome in my hometown. In my case its the only library in the city, and from any housing location not immediately in front of the library it would be over a half hour walk alone to reach it. The main issue stems from city layout being suburban, thus the expectation of higher income and mobility of citizens is taken for granted rather than thinking of giving access to as many people regardless of how mobile they may be.

6. Water bottles: Carrying water around for proper hydration is always key, but lugging around gallon jugs is both a hassle and inconvenient. The main issue with water is volume, there's just no easy way to cram more water in the same space of a water bottle without incredible strain of pressure or massive uses of energy to change the water's phases.

7. Credit cards and tech: Most people walk around with wallets over two inches thick from materials alone, let alone filled with bills and cards. There are plenty of angles to blame, but one that interests me the most is security, in that most of these cards cannot be easily duplicated information wise without issues of fraud or security risks being increased. I bring this up from inspiration of failed projects that download card information so there would be a multi card system built into a non-smartphone alternative.

8. cross compatible gaming: while video games have their systems, but for those who don't want to always buy new systems when the companies make new hardware and less games backwards compatible. The source of this issue is mainly proprietary software that they implement.

9. Practical guidebooks: I love to read, I hope everyone else shares that with me here. But the worst thing about picking up books which purport to be introductions or guides to certain fields like cooking will explain actions that complete newcomers or those without proper fundamentals will just not understand. the main source of this issue comes from the assumption of knowledge about cooking, whether skills like braising, roasting, or sautéing and knowledge of food pairings and understanding tastes.

10. Semi-isolated locations for studying: Marston and Library West are great for studying, but back home, there really isn't a close place dedicated to proper isolation and deep studying (refer to issue #5). The main source of this issue would be the fact that we as a society value social interaction and community more than individualistic endeavors, thus local places known as 'study spots' like Starbucks are not only not conducive but hyper-distracting.

11. Tuning out tech and social media: Social media companies want us on their servers for the value of our attention. that's fair. what's not fair is how they design their UI's to hack our mental capacities to hook us on the feeling of community that social media is so good at simulating. the main source of this issue is how smartphones and apps use their psychological advantage to game us into spending more time on them.

12. pant pockets: Personally, while i cannot relate to women about not even having pockets, what i do know is that pockets are not well designed for holding onto phone cases. The main source of this issue comes from either pockets being made so narrow that cases will hook onto them, or case material made from silicone create too much friction for the pocket that it pulls it inside out while removing the phone.

13. sleep aids: I love to sleep, another thing I hope is shared among everyone else. But there are times where certain life schedules lead to long hours exposed to blue light which while not fully explained by scientists, it is definitely felt on me when i can't go to sleep at nights. the source of this issue may be lifestyle choices but there is also the chance diet or nutrient imbalances could be an angle of resolution.

14. Earbuds and non-normal ears: so many earbuds that are the weird half cup shape just burn my right ear because it just doesn't fit. the main source of the issue is the universal earbud silicone is not conducive to molding for non-normal shapes and the lack of flexibility in sizing and shapes restricts access.

15. Audiobooks: audiobooks are always locked up in restrictive applications and require so many hoops to acquire. the main source of this is the limited modes of downloads and monetization of audiobooks across platforms

16. Popcorn prices: if you aren't flabbergasted by popcorn prices, you'd be lying. the price of popcorn both in movie theaters and in stores runs relatively high for what could normally be priced, although stores run better deals than theaters. the source of the high pricing in theaters probably comes down to margins, where the tickets and time it may take to make revenue back has to be made up somewhere else.

17. Exotic snacks: people have their favorite Asian or European candy, but when's the last time that you could just regularly order them without having to sell your soul to amazon prime for speedy delivery of small snacks? the source of this bug lies in the sourcing and shipping of products while also trying to reach more physical markets can be difficult.

18. Waste neutral packaging: I love pre-sliced ham as much as the next guy, but I always feel guilty about throwing away plastic bags that hold the cold cuts inside their reusable Tupperware containers after I'm done making sandwiches. the source of this pain is the fact that factory pre-sealed plastic bags are still the most cost effective and sanitary way of packaging materials for foods like meats and cheeses.

19. I am a fanatic for ice and heat pads, but the worst thing is when you can't find the right time to put on the pad without it losing its temperature within five minutes whereas if you put it on right away you burn from the freeze or the lava in a bag. the source of this problem is the layer that exposes the temperature medium is too thin, but there is no guaranteed way of maintaining a safe layer that gives out maximum hot/cold.

20. Being from Florida anyone can deduce that air conditioning is a gift from the gods. the worst thing about that gift is that every version of it can't handle the energy draw without being a permanent fixture like fans. the problem of cooling is as stated the intense energy drain that can kill electric bills, and mitigating energy draws would be the best way to make portable and permanent cooling blow up.

looking back on this list its difficult even now to come up with more things, as the mindset of opportunities drains even the last drop of creativity you may think you have. I was forever blocked on number 25 to come up with ideas until a spark of inspiration cascaded the rest of ideas. This was for sure an exercise that pushed me to think well beyond the normal thought process.