Instead of another self-serving Thanksgiving week recitation of things for which some writer is grateful, in the interest of balance, here is my abbreviated annual list of irritants:

Politicians who act like it’s their money when taking credit for a public project. People who see everything through a political lens. President Joe Biden did not make your 401(k) decline this year, nor did he make it go up last year.

Airplane passengers who put their bag in the overhead compartment above the second row, on the way to their seats on row 20. People who act as if they personally accomplished something when their favorite sports team wins a game.

Inflation relief checks. Intentional misnomers, such as the Inflation Reduction Act. People who assume the dumbest 1% of any group are representative of the entire group. Elected officials with embarrassing grammar.

Point-of-sale card readers. AC power plugs that take up two spots on the power strip. Breakfast muffins. It’s cake. Just say you’re eating cake for breakfast.

People who move downtown and then complain about the noise downtown. The repeatedly photocopied 1990s intake form at the doctor’s office. It does not inspire confidence.

People who express passionate opinions about capitalism, fascism, socialism, democracy and autocracy but can’t define any of the terms. People who think any product or service should be free. Nothing is free. They just want someone else to pay for it.

Crypto holders hoping for a government bailout. Twenty-somethings whining about their student loans while also demanding a better work-life balance. People who think they know my background by observing my present.

Corporate executives and federal department heads conducting video conferences from home using the microphone on their $49 webcam. Bicyclists on rural roads who aren’t as polite as the slow tractor operators on the same roads.

People smoking while standing next to the “Don’t smoke next to door” sign. Smokers who wait until they get on the elevator to exhale a final time following their smoke break.

Ads for prescription pharmaceuticals. When the “fresh display fish” at the grocery store is frozen solid when you get home with it.

The way leaves and grass mysteriously appear on the floorboard of my car. I don’t walk all around in the grass before getting in my car.

Venmo and CashApp. About the time I finally get a PayPal account, no one uses it anymore.

That guy on Facebook who can make any news item about him. Thinking that the Constitution is irrelevant when pursuing a noble goal.

Cumberland Avenue. Whoever redesigned it should be banished from future Knoxville public works projects.

The “tear here” place on a bag of peanuts. It never works.

David Moon, president of Moon Capital Management, may be reached at david@mooncap.com.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: David Moon: My annual Thanksgiving week list of irritants