Bug List:
1)
Inconsistent side walk levels
Exists (why): Different
portions of the sidewalk experience maintenance at various times. If one square
of the sidewalk is damaged, that square is usually the only one repaired. It
would take too long and cost too much to re-cement the entirety of the sidewalk.
Also, variations in the terrain (i.e. roots and hills) can added to this
problem.
2)
Foggy swim goggles
Exists (why): Improper upkeep.
There are many rules that keep goggles in good condition (do not touch inside
of goggles, keep in special case. This can be hard to adhere to if one does not
have a case or forgets these rules.
3)
Small UF campus parking spaces
Exists (why): To accommodate
the 50,000+ students at the University of Florida. There are many students that
live on campus and attend UF. To be practical, the university had to create
many small parking spaces that could fit most cars. Parking spaces that are too
big would cause another problem -fewer parking spaces.
4)
Left turns from the right lane at the
intersection of Universal and Sand Lake around 5:00 p.m.
Exists (why): Rush hour and no
patience. Sand Lake Road in Orlando can start to get backed up around rush hour
due to the number of cars that wish to turn left onto Universal Blvd. The
number of cars in left hand turn lanes begin to block the two straight lanes
and the right-hand turn lane. Rather than wait people just turn left from the
right lane.
5)
Orange/gated decal parking spaces on campus
being the ones closest to on campus housing
Exists (why): Convenience for
faculty/staff. Most faculty and staff members live off-campus and need to be
able to park close to their classrooms. For example, the orange lot in front of
Mallory is a five-minute walk from the business school or two-minute walk from
the Music building.
6)
Multiple keys on a key ring
Exists (why): Safety purposes.
Different locks require different keys. If everything was on the same key,
losing those keys would be an extremely bad scenario. People would have access
to everything: house, car, safe, room, etc.
7)
Cracked eggs in an egg carton
Exists (why): Transportation
of eggs are too rough. Whether that be the trucks that deliver them or the
people picking them up, it is very rare to find a carton of eggs without a
crack on the first try.
8)
Lack of cohesive sizing among different clothing
stores
Exists (why): Different sizing
scales. Clothing stores or manufacturers may have different measurements (i.e.
32 in.) for varied sizes (i.e. 8). They probably do not consult with the other
manufacturers.
9)
Air hand dryers in bathrooms
Exists
(why): To reduce the use of paper towels. Air hand dryers make washing
hands quick and reduce the waste and possibly cost of paper towels. People can
quickly maneuver to the hand dryer instead of fiddling around with paper
towels.
10) Smell
of bug spray
Exists (why): To keep the bugs
away. Bugs, like butterflies, are drawn to certain smells that appeal to them, like flowers. Mosquitoes and
other biting bugs are drawn to certain smells that people give off. The
chemicals used in bug sprays create an unpleasant smell that will keep the bugs
from coming close and biting.
11) Water
attraction seats (i.e. Splash Mountain)
Exists (why): To be able to
last through frequent dry/wet spells. These attraction vehicles/seat are
constantly getting wet and dry. They need to be able to handle this use and not
ruin the entire vehicles (i.e. mold).
12) Uncleanliness
of shopping carts
Exists (why): Constantly
exposed to the elements. Shopping carts are exposed to many things, such as
rain, food, clothes, and people. Carts are left outside in the rain, people
cough and sneeze, and food can leak.
13) People
not cleaning up after dogs
Exists (why): No access to
bags. Not all leashes have the containers for bags for cleaning up after dogs.
Also, it can be hard to remember to refill the containers once empty or grab a
bag, especially if the dog is young or not trained yet.
14) Lack
of outlets at Marston versus Library West on the higher floors
Exists (why): Library West is
newer. Library west is a newer and more contemporary than Marston. More outlets
were put in there probably because of this issue.
15) Lifeguard
tubes without an assist strap (when I work)
Exists (why): Stitching of
material does not handle rough use well. Kids like to tug hard or hang on the
assist straps. The stitching that holds the strap to the tube weakens,
especially with constant exposure to water.
16) The
three roundabouts on 2nd Ave going toward downtown
Exists (why): Lack of
understanding of roundabout rules. Roundabouts are not very common on roads
that people frequent. It is very easy to forget about things that we do not
encounter daily.
17) Bicyclists
being pedestrians and vehicles (at the same time) on campus
Exists (why): Quick
pace/crowdedness of campus. During the class times, campus is crowded with cars
and scooters on the roads and people on the sidewalks. Some people have classes
on opposite side of campus and only have 15 minutes to get there.
18) When
cars leave their blinkers on
Exists (why): Forgetfulness.
There are two setting for blinkers: one is a quick blink for changing lanes and
the other is longer for making turns. Most people use the longer blinker signal
when merging lanes, especially if the lane is crowded. If too much time passes
one forgets about it.
19) When
cars do not use their blinkers
Exists (why): Laziness/spur of
the moment decisions. Some people choose not to use their blinkers because they
do not feel they are important (this is rare, but it happens). Usually spur of
the moment decisions cause this: you realize you are in the wrong lane for an
exit and you just go for it.
20) Same
song playing on all radio stations at the same time
Exists (why): To keep people listening
to their radio station. Radio stations can generate a following by playing the
latest and greatest songs. They try to play them as often as possible and do
not consult the other stations when choosing which song to play.
Reflection:
This
assignment took a little more time and thinking than I had originally intended.
When I first thought about what I would add to my “Bug List”, I was only including
ideas that solely bugged me. This made the second part of the assignment,
discovering why the bug existed, more difficult. My initial “bugs” were not
actually problems, they were just things I did not care for.
For
example, my biggest “bug” is when people add Parmesan cheese on their pizza. I
can honestly say the only reason why this bothers me is because I do not like
cheese and the thought of adding cheese on cheese sounds weird to me. It was
after coming up with three or four ideas like this one that I decided to
redefine my bugs.
So, for my second attempt I decided
to focus on things that bothered me, as well as other people, and could be
defined as genuine issues that people face. It was after this change that the
assignment became easier.
