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The Worst Part Of Coming Home For Christmas

I swear to fucking God, if I come home this Christmas and find out my parents are still unplugging their computer from the wall when they want to turn it off, I will fucking snap.

Seriously, how fucking hard can it be?

Click START, then click SHUT DOWN.

That’s a TWO-step process that for the past 10 years in a row I’ve had to sit down with you assholes and explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain, re-explain and re-explain START, then SHUT DOWN! START, THEN SHUT DOWN!!!

What, in the precise two-step process—that I’ve written down and given to you on numerous occasions—do you not get?

“But Jason,” Dad will say, “it’s confusing that I have to click START in order to shut something down. That just seems counterintuitive.”

Oh is it, Alan? Is it counterintuitive? Would it help if, instead of a START icon, Microsoft created an icon that looked like a 63-year-old retired accountant with back problems bending over to unplug his computer from the wall? Would that kind of visual be less “counterintuitive”? Apparently it would because every FUCKING year I come home and find that you’ve been resorting to exactly that kind barbarism.

But it ends here! DO YOU HEAR ME, ALAN? It ends here!

You and mum had better brace for the possibility that one of you is going to walk into the family room someday and find the other electrocuted, lying in pile of their own shit next to the computer, because that’s what’s in your future if you keep unplugging it from the wall rather than following my VERY simple instructions!

And GODDAMMIT, STOP PRINTING OUT HARD COPIES OF ALL YOUR EMAILS!

McSweeney’s is an independent publisher based in San Francisco that publishes books, a quarterly fiction journal, a quarterly film DVD magazine, a monthly culture magazine, and a daily humor website. The McSweeney’s iPhone app is available through the Apple store. For more information, visit mcsweeneys.net.

Image by Edw/ShutterStock

Discuss

(27 Comments)
  • [–]

    Anthony Tam

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:14 PM

    Get a Mac.

    • [–]

      Brett Sanderson

      Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:14 PM

      yes old people = get a mac

    • [–]

      justin k

      Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:57 PM

      if you get a mac , turn it off by pulling the plug from the wall then grab computer and throw through window…

    • [–]

      Peter Simpson

      Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 8:52 PM

      Don’t be silly.

  • [–]

    Bob

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:15 PM

    I find this extremely offensive. Where is the physical violence that this type of anger obviously demands?

    • [–]

      Brett Sanderson

      Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:15 PM

      you have never had to expline a very simple thing to some one 1000000000 times have you?

  • [–]

    Red

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:49 PM

    Jason, cut the crap talk and get a life.

  • [–]

    Agent Smith

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:50 PM

    I’m with Bob. Jason- get a life mate. You’re a rude arrogant pig to be treating your parents this way.

    Stop your immature little rant and grow up.

    • [–]

      Brett Sanderson

      Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:16 PM

      you really dont get it at all do you?

  • [–]

    RB

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 4:53 PM

    Create shortcut on desktop to run “shutdown –f –t 00”, name it “SHUTDOWN” and give it a pretty little red shutdown icon…

    Problem Solved :)

  • [–]

    Elephant Fresh

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:00 PM

    McSweeney’s – for when just one book of faux intelligent dogshit from Dave Eggers isn’t enough. This is bad writing, and irritating unconvincing anger. BOO I SAY. BOO.

    • [–]

      Brett Sanderson

      Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:19 PM

      i could very well say look who typing, but im sure you wouldn’t understand what i meant.

      • [–]

        MoeFo

        Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 12:05 PM

        teh lulz indeed. “Luk hooz talking! Joo shuld lern to uz teh grammarz!

  • [–]

    Jeffery King

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:25 PM

    love it

  • [–]

    Scooter

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:35 PM

    Gold. Well done Jason. Best xmas rant I have seen so far.

  • [–]

    Atomsk

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 5:49 PM

    Haha! excellent, excellent.
    I love this stuff I really do.

  • [–]

    Brett Sanderson

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 7:17 PM

    i did that once…2 days later they broke it…beond repair.

  • [–]

    Alex K

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 8:23 PM

    looooooooooooool

  • [–]

    Davey David von Davidson

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 8:41 PM

    Far out, man. Take it easy!

  • [–]

    David Barnett

    Wednesday, December 22, 2010 at 9:30 PM

    I feel your pain, so does Google!

    Just in time for the festive season Google have released a website to solve our dilemma: http://www.teachparentstech.org/

  • [–]

    Dave

    Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 12:48 AM

    Why so much anger? Seriously I don’t understand how this could actually be submitted as an article. Give me a chance to write something and I promise it’ll beat the pants of this ‘author’.

    • [–]

      olearymo

      Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 10:45 AM

      You mean beat the pants *off* this ‘author’, not ‘of’.

      Nice start.

  • [–]

    Chris Southall

    Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 2:03 AM

    lol, nice 1

  • [–]

    Jamie

    Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 5:52 AM

    I believe that actually constitutes domestic violence here in Australia.

  • [–]

    PJ

    Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 6:13 AM

    Rant or not do we really need the F word so much from you guys at Gizmodo

  • [–]

    Dave

    Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:09 AM

    Isn’t he (Jason) just linking a part from mc sweeny? It’s satire? No reason to get fired up.

  • [–]

    Chris

    Sunday, March 6, 2011 at 11:17 PM

    Get them a resonably modern computer with proper power management, and they can just press the power button to shut down.

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