The simple things that seem so difficult

I wish that people were just a bit smarter. I'm not asking for everyone to be able to do sudoku in 2 minutes or be able to answer questions on University Challenge.

I just wish that there was more common sense in the world.Technology has grasped this. My phone knows that if I get in a panic I can press the one button on the front and return to the main screen. My laptop sensibly locks itself if I'm away too long.

Those sorts of things are simple and basic and make life easy. Humans on the other hand, have difficulty doing the simplest things.

Key examples? Queuing up for petrol behind people refusing to use the free pump because it's not on the same side as the petrol cap. I've wasted hours of my life whilst people do this. Listen, I'll let you in on a secret. It stretches across. Seriously, it will reach both sides. The petrol people appreciate that and have given you more than a foot of hose. It will reach. Believe me. I've sat there and seen people take so long to sort their petrol out that the prices have gone up in the meantime.

Another one. Nice and simple. When you've put your shopping on the conveyer belt at the supermarket, just pop down the divider that seperates my shopping from yours. That'll stop any confusion. Yet so many people just stand there, triumphant that they have managed to negotiate a supermarket and get the things they want, forgetting there are others behind them.

I have two solutions, the first is to start putting your items down really close to theirs. Ooh, they don't like that. It becomes a little turf war as your Muller lite threatens their Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire Puddings. The barrier soon comes down.

My second solution is for a law to be passed whereby, if you haven't put the 'next customer' break thing down within 15 seconds of your last item hitting the belt then a buzzer goes off and any item now placed on the belt, regardless of who is buying them, is bought by you. That'd soon stop people.

These are just two examples. I could go on, but I don't have the time (I spent most of it at the petrol pump this morning). I can't work out if its laziness, stupidity, igorance, rudeness or just a general obliviousness that causes these little things. If we all just took a little bit more of a pro-active and sensible apprach then surely the world would be a better place.

There is of course another possiblity. That it's just me. That I'm the problem, the one who can't fit in with these absolutely negligible issues, and that I shouldn't be so damn impatient all the time.

I do hope not.