Every week, our editorial staff contributes things they like to the "OnMilwaukee.com Recommends" column. In this "OnMilwaukee.com Rants" article, we air our grievances on the stuff that really irks us:
Potholes -- It's June, why are they all still there? Some streets, like State Street in central Wauwatosa, east of 68th Street, and 81st Street between Locust and Chambers, are so pockmarked that I imagine driving on them is like driving on the remnants of a mine field. I understand why the winter works its evil magic on our roads and why the results can't be fixed when it's 10 degrees outside. But it's been pretty warm and pretty dry since the end of winter and yet I still feel like I'm on a thrill ride in municipalities throughout the area. C'mon guys, let's get paving. And, in a related rant, last year they spread dark tar atop all the streets in my neighborhood to help extend the life of the blacktop. Ironic, then, that the snow plows scraped most of this "extender" right up on to neighborhood lawns, parks and grassy medians. Who will extend the extender?! -- Bobby Tanzilo
Lost e-mail -- In the past six months, I've had more e-mails get lost in cyberspace than ever before. I have had this conversation with many friends and professional contacts, and we're perplexed about why it seems so many e-mails aren't reaching inboxes. Plus, I simply cannot send e-mail to two friends from one of my accounts. As a writer type, I love communicating via "the e-mail" and find it frustrating and lame when I have to say, "Sorry, never got it." -- Molly Snyder Edler
Umpire Phil Cuzzi -- Even though I watch or listen to almost every Brewers game each season, I know only a handful of umpires by name, and fewer by face. That's because they're supposed to be transparent. But every time I see some ridiculous blown call, on base or at the plate, it seems like Phil Cuzzi is standing there with a smug grin on his face. Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks he's a crappy ump: White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen remarked that Cuzzi has a vendetta against him. The trigger-happy Cuzzi also tossed Jim Edmonds in the 2005 NLCS, potentially affecting the outcome of the series. And last fall, it was Cuzzi who famously tossed Ned Yost from that Brewers-Cardinals game on Sept. 24 (though Yost had it coming). Google this incompetent umpire and you'll find tons of stories, too. I've always thought that umpires could be replaced by robots, and it wouldn't hurt baseball one bit. Vendettas or otherwise, Cuzzi is one ump who needs to be ejected. -- Andy Tarnoff
The Wave at Miler Park, especially when the Brewers are batting -- I'm done with the wave, and you should be, too. Not the professional soccer team in our fine city, but the outdated and still embraced crowd "pleaser" that occasionally makes it way around Miller Park. Eric Paulsen's report last year nails it: "Frankly, the wave bugs us." But, what really bugs me is when fans try to rally the crowd with their up and down action while the home team is up. It's disrespectful, annoying and possibly harmful to hitters. Don't do it. Watch the game and enjoy your beer. -- Jeff Sherman
Tiny disclaimers during commercials -- I'm sure there's some law out there that mandates disclaimers at the end of or on the bottom of commercials. That sort of makes sense in lottery ads, when they give the sped-up odds of winning the Powerball jackpot, lest any idiot thinks a $50 million prize is a slam dunk. It makes me laugh when I see the tiny footer during the Church and Chapel Funeral Home ads that read, "Gordon Hinkley is not a funeral director," because I imagine some old codger calling them up and asking if the former radio host could perform their late spouse's ceremony. But the disclaimers that don't make me laugh are the ones that are literally so small that they are unreadable on any sized TV. I have a 51-inch high-def TV, and some of these disclaimers look like Braille, even when I pause the ad and sit right in front of the TV. That's clearly not helping anyone, and it makes me think that whoever is insisting on these disclaimers need to start enforcing their practical use, too. --A.T.
Cells phones in the elevator -- For many people, the few seconds spent in the elevator each day are a welcome respite from the rigors of the workday. With that in mind, is it absolutely necessary to yak on your cell phone during the ride? Further, if you absolutely feel compelled to attempt to carry on a conversation that no doubt will include the phrase "what? I'm in the elevator and can't hear you..." at least three times; perhaps you could turn the volume down so your fellow passengers don't also have to hear the other end of the conversation. --Andrew Wagner
