I'm always amazed at how aggravated I get over things that really aren't important. There are so many small things that just get under your skin. It makes me feel stupid ranting about them because given the state of the world, these are unimportant, maybe even silly.

So why are they so annoying?

Magazine renewals

I just ordered a magazine at a substantially reduced price. Literally within seconds of having ordered it, I get my first email asking me to renew it. A minute later, I get another email offering me a cheap renewal and a free subscription for a friend.

I have not even gotten the first issue. I'm sure the process is completely automated, but maybe they could automate it so you get at least two issues before the company starts the endless renewal requests? Would that be too much to ask?

Incorrect measurements for online orders

So I have an iPhone 11 and Owen has an iPhone 12Pro. They are the exact same size down to a tenth of an inch.

Try to order a case that fits your phone. No matter what the descriptions says are the "internal dimensions," it will not fit your phone. I guess they are all tired of trying to carry stock for phones of every size, so now they are making just one -- big -- size.

I'm a firm believer that one size never fits all. Not for telephone or clothing.

If one size fits all, what it really means is that the size doesn't fit anything properly. It's going to be much too loose or just a little bit too loose. It will never properly fit. Why is this so annoying?

Have you ever seen your phone fall out of a case that's too big? When the phone hits the sidewalk, it goes from being annoying to being very, very costly. Of course, if you want a cover that fits perfectly, you can buy it from Apple and pay $100 for a $5 case that isn't particularly attractive or sturdy, but many of us would rather get a case that's made of leather or ballistic nylon. But we really like having a choice -- and overpaying Apple is just one more annoying (and expensive) thing.

Political parties begging for money

Once upon a long time ago -- more than 50 years -- we were still fighting for the right to get legal abortions (and remarkably, we are going it again, but that's a different story).

That was the first time I donated money to a cause that would be considered political. I think I sent $5 which in 1971 was more money than now. From that moment on, I was on The List of people who donate.

Eventually, over the years, by never again giving any money to any politician or party, the number of letters begging for money diminished.

When Obama was running, I broke my own rule and sent another $5. By then, everything was email and I was swamped -- deluged -- by email begging for more money. Not merely by the party or even Obama's backers, but by pretty much every politician running for election on the Democratic ticket in the U.S.

Surveys: One more way to beg for money

Even more annoying? Surveys that aren't surveys but just another way of trying to grab a few bucks. If you want to run a survey, don't make it mandatory to send money before you can send your response. Bad enough that politicians never stop trying to get you to donate money, but those pretend surveys are REALLY ANNOYING.

Unsubscribe links that aren't

Not only was I swamped by Democratic candidates trolling for cash, but somehow or other -- maybe because I read an article published in a right-leaning publication -- I started to get Republican candidates trolling for money too.

I'm a registered Democrat and have been since I was old enough to vote, but this wasn't enough of a message. This is when I discovered clicking the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of any of these emails you not reduce the deluge. You might actually get at least twice as many solicitations as you before. No filter will save you.

If you ever donated any money to any political party or candidate, they will never begging for money. Even if you never donated money but merely read an article, they still manage to collect your data. Hundreds of solicitations every day adds up to thousands of emails every week.

The result is that I will never donate anything to any of them, even if I agree with them and have a few spare dollars I could send. I will donate to national parks, Durrell's zoo on Jersey, the Audubon Society if I can. Everyone else? Go away!

But this isn't just about political parties. For a simple example, I used to order from L.L. Bean back when it was a catalog house and ordering online wasn't a "thing" yet. Over the years, they have asked me dozens of time if I want them to keep sending their catalog. I always say no because I can go online and look. Please don't cut down another tree.

After more than 30 years of saying "Please don't send the catalog," I still get at least two catalogs every month. Garry says they make pleasant bathroom reading.

There's so much more

There's an unlimited amount of annoying stuff on the internet. What annoys you most is individual. I'm sure you've got your own selection and there's certainly more than enough from which to choose. It's usually not important -- unless it's also a scam. But that's a whole other story.