Assorted Irritants

Some things will never change, no matter how many times I rail about them. I realize there’s limited hope, but I’ll write this anyway.

Even if I touch just one life, if I open one set of eyes and cause one person to think, even for a moment, then it will be worth it.

If I am wrong about any of the following, then I apologize.

A.M. means ante meridian. Ante means before.
P.M means post meridian. Post means after.
Noon and midnight are the meridians.
That which happens before or after a meridian can, by definition, not be happening on a meridian.
Ergo, 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. do not exist. They’re not real times. Stop using them. Now.

I will allow one exception: speeding tickets. Although I rarely speed I do occasionally catch myself sneaking up past the posted limit. If caught at noon or midnight I want the ticket to read 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. It will be a gift from the Universe.

This is the seventh year of the new millennium, not the eighth. Decades run from 1-0, not 0-9. 2000 was the final year of the nineties.
No one cares, I know, and it’s old news at best. But it still rankles.

The word “the” is pronounced “thee” in front of vowels in Canada.
Pronouncing it “thuh” in front of vowels and consonants alike is American usage. Good for them. It’s their country. They can spin the language any way they please.

“Thuh only,” and “thuh average” hurts my Canadian ears when it comes from a born and bred Canadian. I went to school with a girl who used “thuh” before vowel sounds. It still grates.
We had exactly the same education all through elementary school. We learned the same day in the same class from the same teacher that we were to say “thee” before vowels. I remember the day. She apparently doesn't.

Many things, seemingly little, irk me no end. I could go on, but these three seem about right for now.

What about you? What gets the steam whistling out of your ears?