Post the First - In which I start this blog off on exactly the wrong foot.

You know what's real fun?
Using Haiku to express
Displeasure at life!

By all rights my first post to this blog should involve ranting about something that ticks me off, or rubs me the wrong way - the little things in life that just aren't quite right. After all, that's the theme of 575 Pet Peeves, as the title implies. But what does the 575 mean? Well, an astute reader might realize that 5-7-5 is the format for haikus! Because what could be even more fun that ranting? Ranting in haiku format!

Did that sound rehearsed? Yeah, I think that sounded rehearsed. That's what I get for dithering over this blog format so much.

Anyway, I'm feeling contrariwise today, so instead of bitching about blogs that wander all over the map, I'm going to say how much I love blogs with a precise purpose. Sci-fi blogs should be about science fiction. Gaming blogs should be about video games. Customer service blogs should be about obnoxious service desk stories from Walmart. I've found that keeping my book ramblings confined to 7 Foot Shelves and my piano ramblings posted to 6 Inch Keys has been a refreshing lesson in de-cluttering my personal journal, while allowing people to read or contribute to the themes that interest them.

In light of that, I'm starting Focus Blog Number 3 - dedicated to all the little things in life that bug you. This isn't a blog for waxing poetic about your hideous co-workers, but it is a place where you could rant poetically (in brief) about bad usage of loop control variables. Or the sound of slurping soup. Or (just maybe, if you're me) the frustration of bad elevator algorithms. It doesn't have to be deep, and it doesn't have to be technical, but it does have to rub you the wrong way.

I'm not starting this blog as a place to get yourself worked into a righteous rage, but rather a place to vent about the annoyances so they don't rattle around in your brain or clutter up your other journals. Expressing these things in haiku is fun and a way to lighten the load. You might notice that I'm saying "your" rather a lot - that's because I want to have lots of contributors to this particular blog. I think a good pet peeve listing can benefit from different opinions and stirring rivalries. After all, I don't want this to degrade into a self-fellating bitchfest.

So if you want to be a contributor, speak now! I'll send you an invite, as well as a note on format. C'mon, you know you want a place to be scathing and sarcastic about all the little things.