The Musers The Podcast – Episode 13: Pet Peeves

Date: September 17, 2025
Hosts: George Dunham, Craig “Junior” Miller, Gordon Keith

Episode Overview

In this episode, the Musers—George, Craig, and Gordon—dive deep into the world of pet peeves, embracing the darker side of daily life with their signature banter and comic flair. The discussion ranges from social etiquette failures to the perils of customer service, dining out, assembling furniture, and, of course, the unique horrors of Dallas-Fort Worth traffic. Through stories, rants, and spirited debates, the trio explores what truly drives them crazy in modern life, all while poking fun at themselves and each other.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Pet Peeves?

• Gordon explains the motivation for the episode: to go negative after previous positive topics.
  • “I figure now it's time to get really down and dirty and talk about negative stuff. We’re going to go negative... things that bug the hell out of us.” [01:45]
• He mentions wanting to be more “hippie” and flexible but is also tempted to be assertive in the face of annoyances.

2. Awkward Hallway Small Talk & Social Formalities

• Gordon confesses his dread of hallway small talk at work, especially the double-question exchange: “Hey, how you doing?” followed by “Hey, what’s up?” with neither answered. [03:41]
• He recently experienced being called out for not reciprocating with “And how are you?”
  • “Afterwards there was a pause and then they said, notice you didn’t ask how I was doing. I’m like, okay. And now I gotta start paying attention to that.” [04:38]
• George and Craig debate the necessity of social niceties, with Craig noting,
  • “Society functions on all of us playing this game.” [07:18]
• George relays a common workaround: being addressed generically (“There he is”) by a coworker who’s never learned their names, and the anxiety of not knowing others’ names as well. [07:33]

3. Pet Peeves in Daily Life: Names, Conflicts, and “Ogre Mode”

• George laments forgetting names and being put on the spot, noting,
  • “Somewhere around the age of 31, I just said, you know what? I’ve got enough names now. I’m done.” [08:48]
• The Musers reflect on the challenges of memory as sports fans who can recall countless team rosters but blank on coworkers' names.

4. Restaurant Ambiance & The Age of Loudness

• George rails against noisy restaurants—blaming design (concrete floors, high ceilings) and large, loud tables:
  • “I’m on an amazing run…where I’ve been next to the loud table, usually of six to eight women. And they’ve all got a story and a really loud reaction.” [12:16]
• Gordon and Craig agree, but Craig admits he tunes out ambient noise entirely.
• Annoyingly loud music is cited as a specific restaurant pet peeve, especially when staff claim, “We don’t know how to turn it down.” [14:31]
• Gordon recounts battling a man in a restaurant watching videos on an iPad without headphones. His passive-aggressive response?
  • “I get out my phone and I crank up some Skrillex…” [17:14]

5. “Obliviates”: The Unaware Among Us

• Craig coins the term “Obliviates” for people oblivious to the world around them—slow drivers, grocery line blockers, or sidewalk non-movers. [18:00]
• Gordon shares his theory about "movers" versus "non-movers" in public spaces:
  • “I ran smack dab into six people in a row... There’s genetically movers and genetically non-movers, and I’m just a mover.” [20:02]

6. The Grumpy Age & Noise Sensitivity

• The Musers muse over becoming “grumpy old men,” especially regarding loud vehicles and subwoofers:
  • “Have we ramped up the sound on dual exhaust?” [24:22] – George
  • “I did that one time to a dude … ‘Hey, you want me to EQ that for you?’” [25:35] – Gordon

7. Road Rage & Traffic Trials

• The infamous “left lane camper” debate rages:
  • Gordon: “People just don’t know about the left lane anymore.” [28:43]
  • Craig: “Now the conventional wisdom is everyone thinks the left lane is the slow lane.” [29:07]
• Tales of passive-aggressive and direct road confrontations—someone flipping Gordon off leads him to follow the offender for nearly an hour, to a near-confrontation in rural Texas:
  • “He comes out ... What the fuck are you doing, man?... I just wanted to let you know that back about an hour ago ... you yield to the ramp.” [34:36]
• The ethics and dangers of tailgating, forced merges, and “precious left lane” arguments are debated in classic Musers style.

8. Device Dependency & Diminishing Human Engagement

• Craig expresses dismay at seeing people glued to their phones even in nature:
  • “There are three young girls ... sitting on this bench in front of the lake and all three of them have their noses in their phone.“ [42:57]
  • “It’s creating the dumbing down of society... torpedoing relationships, interpersonal relationships...” [45:42]
• The group ruefully jokes about phones as escapism from boring dinner companions.

9. Language & Sports Slang Evolution

• “Tutty” (touchdown), “pass pro” (pass protection), “QB1”, and especially “RBI” vs “RBIs” get roasted:
  • Craig: “Seager has 80 RBI this season ... It is RBI. No, it’s RBIs. … Since baseball was born, it has been RBIs.” [47:53]
  • The Musers champion natural evolution but moan about needless abbreviations.

10. Customer Service & Data Collection Fatigue

• The frustrations of customer service “autopilot” and relentless data harvesting come in for criticism:
  • Gordon: “Listen to my whole problem first. … I’ve noticed that everyone is just on autopilot and they’re just doing…” [51:38]
• Pet peeves include being asked for phone numbers repeatedly, even for trivial purchases:
  • Craig: “Why am I having to give my phone number three and four and five times?” [52:45]
  • George: “I can’t sell this to you unless you give me your phone number.” [53:36]

11. Assembly Required: The DIY Dilemma

• Craig: Loathes self-assembly, longing for the days when items came fully assembled:
  • “That is maybe my ultimate pet peeve. … Recently, I’ve had to assemble a bookcase, an end table, a bed. … All of these now come with some assembly required. And my mind doesn’t work that way.” [57:05]
  • Agrees to pay “$1 million” to never assemble furniture again.
• Gordon acknowledges enjoying building but resents the “outsourcing” of labor to the consumer.

12. Tipping, Service Charges, and Modern Gratuity Woes

• The group laments the proliferation of gratuities and ambiguous “service charges”:
  • Gordon: “I had the option for additional gratuity, which is so nice of them to offer me that option ... and then I didn’t want to tip more because now I’m pissed.” [61:07]
  • At a merch table: “My selections were 20%, 25%, and 30% tip to the guy who reached in the cardboard box and handed me a sweatshirt.” [62:53]
  • The logic: why can't the tip option ever be negative? [62:08]
  • Questions over mandatory tipping at stadium concessions, where the money may not even reach the staff.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• Gordon:

  • "I'm trying to be a person who doesn't have pet peeves..." [02:28]
  • "Passive-aggressively, I get out my phone and I crank up some Skrillex..." [17:14]
  • On name-forgetting: "I've got enough names now. I'm done." [08:48]
  • On assembly: "I didn't go into broadcasting and podcasting... to work on the final step of the assembly line." [59:23]

• George:

  • "I'm on an amazing run... next to the loud table, usually of six to eight women." [12:16]
  • On customer service: "I can't sell this to you unless you give me your phone number." [53:36]
  • "When did ATMs become ATM machines? ... We can call it an ATM." [49:06]

• Craig:

  • "Obliviates. People who are oblivious to the world around them." [18:00]
  • "It's creating the dumbing down of society... torpedoing relationships." [45:42]
  • On sports lingo: "Since baseball was born, it has been RBIs... until 10 years ago, some baseball nerd decided to clean up the language." [47:53]
  • On assembly: "Whatever you buy next that requires assembly, I will pay $1 million to some person to come and do that for me." [58:44]

• Classic Muser banter:

  • "You're playing both sides of this, aren't you?" [37:02]
  • "Raise the sails, Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching..." [41:20]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Awkward Small Talk & Social Etiquette – [03:41–07:33]
• Restaurant & Noise Pet Peeves – [12:16–16:49]
• Obliviates (Oblivious People) – [18:00–21:07]
• Loud Vehicles & Road Rage Stories – [24:22–34:59]
• Left Lane / Driving Debates – [28:34–35:00]
• Assembly Required Rants – [57:05–60:57]
• Tipping & Service Charges – [61:07–62:53]
• Devices & Human Interaction – [42:57–45:53]
• Sports Slang Complaints – [46:03–49:18]
• Customer Service Gripes – [50:14–54:42]

Tone & Style

The episode maintains the Musers’ trademark mix of playful sarcasm, observational comedy, and warm self-deprecation. They mock their own aging, recognize their grumpy-old-man tendencies, and rarely miss an opportunity to rib one another or undercut a rant with a joke.

Takeaways

• Pet peeves may evolve, but enduring examples—oblivious drivers, loud restaurants, assembly-required products, and pointless customer service routines—are universal frustrations.
• Despite their negativity, the Musers use these annoyances as comedic fodder, blending empathy for others’ perspectives with the catharsis of collective venting.
• The trio’s reflections on modern life reveal as much about themselves as the world around them, especially as they lean into the realities of aging and changing social norms.

For Listeners

If you’ve ever fumed at a left-lane camper, missed the days when tables came built, or felt alone in your hatred of “tutty,” this cathartic and hilarious episode offers familiar commiseration—and a few new strategies to survive (or at least laugh at) everyday irritations.