Assignment 2A - Bug List
Why This Happens: Target does not order and stock some items I need such as Bubba burgers, Tostito’s lime chips & mango spears. This could be due to factors such as limited demand or space constraints.
2. My apartment has a limited airflow and the cold from outside always comes in, and is most noticeable at night. I have to use a blanket to stay warm.
Why This Happens: It is an architectural design flaw, there is a lack of insulation at cold entry points.
3. Jeopardy! is not on any streaming services and is hard to watch without recording it on a DVR or pirating it. Hulu recently got streaming rights, but their website does not have all of the episodes, many have not been uploaded.
Why This Happens: Sony’s TV division did not allow streaming rights to Jeopardy for a long time, and even on the streaming platforms, content is still limited and restricted to only a few recent episodes.
4. The UF bookstore is expensive, charging inflated prices for a variety of items.
Why This Happens: Because they have the ability to do so. The bookstore is in a prime location in the Reitz and campus. The bookstore provides everything students need like textbooks, supplies and calculators, and charge a premium for it.
5. When I sit out in the Plaza of the Americas lawn to make beats on my laptop, I can only stay for an hour or so because there are no electrical outlets nearby.
Why This Happens: The lampposts on the Lib West lawn do not have plugs like the ones near the Reitz. There are no electrical outlets on the tables either.
6. The street corner of University Ave where the Standard is feels unsafe due to the large amount of homeless people that are there, some of whom get aggressive at nighttime.
Why This Happens: Gainesville and the surrounding Alachua area has a lot of homeless people, rent is expensive and many can't afford it.
7. Marston has entire blocks of unusable/defective outlets, so I am forced to go to Lib West or Lib East if I think I’ll be there for a while and need to charge my phone or laptop.
Why This Happens: Oftentimes the entire box with 2 or 3 outlets a piece will go bad and not be replaced. The outlets could be giving out from wear or breaking from being so frequently used.
8. Store bought cakes are getting more expensive and tasting worse.
Why This Happens: Over the past years, there has been a casual overarching trend of downsizing to make more profit. It also looks worse for companies to raise prices, so they just shrink/downgrade the product.
9. The lightbulb in my lava lamp recently broke and I can’t replace it since there are no home stores (Home Depot or Lowe’s) nearby that have the bulb I need; Target doesn’t carry them.
Why This Happens: The space on University Ave is prime real estate, with space being very limited and valuable, and there must not be enough demand to warrant building such a large store location here.
10. The parking garage by East Hall at the bottom of the hill has tiny parking spaces and it is hard to get in and out without scratching the cars next to you.
Why This Happens: The parking garage has space constraints and the main goal of the parking garage was to accommodate as many cars as possible. Another garage has already been started to provide additional spots.
11. The gym is often packed in the afternoons when I’m on campus. A lot of people use the machines and it is sometimes hard to find an empty one.
Why This Happens: Weekday afternoons are peak times around campus when it’s the fullest. A lot of students have breaks between their afternoon classes and decide to go to the gym in the meantime for a workout. The gym, especially the weight area, isn’t large enough to support all the people that go.
12. I get a lot of ‘suspect not located’ messages on my phone late at night when I’m trying to relax.
Why This Happens: UFPD/Gainesville police are like a stormtrooper’s blaster aim in Star Wars, making an effort, but strikingly inaccurate at finding the target. Police never find their suspects; they never get located.
13. The Infirmary’s Gatorade machine typically runs out very early in the day and I haven’t been able to refill my bottle with the good Lemon-Lime Gatorade, I have to settle for water instead.
Why This Happens: There is only a small finite supply of Gatorade, and the people who get on campus earlier in the morning and afternoon drink it all. The Infirmary doesn’t refill the machine as often as it’s needed, making water the only available beverage.
14. Many new movies in theatres are either superhero movies or sequels
Why This Happens: Hollywood is making a lot of money with them, often more than movies with an original idea. Several box office records have been broken by these movies recently, proving there is a large demand for them among moviegoers.
15. Usually, my important exams throughout the semester fall only a day or two apart from each other or even on the same day sometimes.
Why This Happens: The timelines and lesson plans for classes are often very similar and follow a set schedule.
16. My mirror and glasses fog up in the bathroom after a shower, rendering me effectively blind for a few minutes until I get out.
Why This Happens: I take long warm showers and a layer of condensation forms on my mirror and glasses that takes a while to go away.
17. It makes me unhappy to see there are several bikes on campus or nearby that have had the wheels stolen off of them.
Why This Happens: Bike wheels are apparently semi-valuable items on the market and there is a problem with homelessness in Gainesville.
18. In classes with group work and projects, sometimes other members don’t do their part and everyone is scrambling at the last minute to finish and get a relatively good product to turn in.
Why This Happens: Many students are busy with a busy schedule and full class load with so many assignments that they’re forced to do some at the last minute. It is also easy to forget about an assignment here and there.
19. ProctorU is very slow when taking exams at my apartment and it can take 15 to 20 minutes to get set up and begin an exam.
Why This Happens: The Wi-Fi at my apartment has a tunnel that throttles my connection to the outside system since so much data is being transmitted through the video, causing the delay.
20. New phones and hot technology from Apple/Samsung/Bose is getting more expensive and is becoming increasingly unaffordable.
Why This Happens: Demand for these products, even at such a high price point, has not diminished. Selling one item at an expensive price would be equivalent to selling a few items for cheaper. Smart technology is an essential part of daily American life, and people are willing to pay high prices for it.
Reflection
This assignment was actually difficult for me to complete. In my daily life, I’ve learned to just deal with these problems automatically without giving any thought about their root cause and other possible solutions for them.
Identifying possible reasons that a problem may exist was sometimes difficult because there are often multiple factors at play in causing it. It really served to show just how many situations and items that we interact with daily are in some way flawed or could be improved.
I enjoyed this assignment because it forced me to think in new different ways in how to identify and deal with everyday problems. When I was thinking as to why the problems existed, I found myself automatically thinking of solutions to them.
Hello Ulysses, I was immediately impressed with the range and specificity expressed in your BUG LIST. While reading, I felt like I was getting a little glimpse into your life, both as a student and an observant young person. At no point did you come across as whiny, cranky, or ill tempered. You simply and objectively related inconveniences, flawed systems, and unfortunate truths along with your understanding of their causes.
ReplyDeleteI related in particular to your Jeopardy "BUG". I have been a lifelong fan of Jeopardy and on weekends miss my 7pm ritual of listening to the show while I cook. Having said that, I enjoy watching the most current show available and feel that recording and watching later would make it less special for me. Your experience of feeling unsafe due to the aggressive behavior of some homeless people at night is an issue that I also struggle with. My fear and discomfort are minor compared to the challenges of living on the street, yet they are valid. This is so much more than an inconvenience, real social inequities are at the heart and real answers are necessary.
You reflected on the fact that you typically "just deal" with these problems without considering causes or possible solutions. This approach is likely a necessity when tackling the more pressing responsibilities of your daily life, but I would encourage you to speak out when you have the opportunity. It was evident from your submission that you are both highly analytical and extremely fair. I would love to hear more from someone like you. Your ability to come across as compassionate while critical is very effective.
Ulysses I really appreciate your post. I’m an online student who lives in Indiana and so it’s nice to see a bit of what a campus student experiences.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post about store-bought cupcakes declining in quality. I work in a perishable grocery distribution center. One thing that’s important is for us to ship boxes with arrows facing up. This allows customers to purchase things like cakes and cupcakes without the top being smashed and unattractive. It takes a village to get a cupcake on the shelf that’s not only pretty but also, as you pointed out, tasty.
Your point about ProctorU is wonderful. There is so much opportunity surrounding this company. It’s filled with so many bugs! My biggest bug is usually with the customer service aspect of the people who I’m working with before taking the exam.
I think one of the most difficult parts of creating a bug list like this is that we create them from our own experience. It’s not, of course, a bad thing. But it is a challenge to step outside of one’s own experience and think about things that negatively impact others. I think you did a great job and really enjoyed the points that you shared. Thank you.
Ulysses, I'm really impressed with the great detail and effort you put into this list. Although some of these issues I have not personally experienced, I can see how all would be incredibly frustrating. I personally really relate to the frustrations involving Proctor U, as I have had several issues during tests, and the homeless people issue on the corner by the Standard. I live right around that area and frequently walk there, and especially as a female, I feel unsafe walking by myself, particularly later in the day/at night. You're post was great and the why's were even more detailed, which I really appreciated.
ReplyDelete