Saturday, September 24, 2005
Whatever happened to the closet pole?
My wife and I have our house up for sale and have spent a lot of time recently looking at houses. One thing I have yet to understand is why every house we go into, no matter what the price, has those stupid vinyl covered wire closet racks in them. This cheap crap is absolutely WORTHLESS. Our first house had two sets of these things and both of them wound up collapsing under the normal amount of weight you would put on them.
My question is this. Whatever happened to the closet pole? A thick piece of metal or wood that was stretched across the closet and held in place by several well secured braces? Instead we get thin pieces of wire that are held into the drywall by a few screws. It's almost guaranteed to fall apart under any decent amount of weight.
My question is this. Whatever happened to the closet pole? A thick piece of metal or wood that was stretched across the closet and held in place by several well secured braces? Instead we get thin pieces of wire that are held into the drywall by a few screws. It's almost guaranteed to fall apart under any decent amount of weight.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Not So Sharp Microwaves
For some reason, Sharp has decided that it would be a great idea (or perhaps a cheap idea) to replace the traditional LED displays on their microwaves with LCD screens. IN theory, this isn't such a bad idea. Radios and some clocks use the same types of displays with a high level of visability. Unfortunately, either Sharp's design or just LCD in general does not work in a microwave. Because microwaves are stored in various settings at various heights, it is necessary to see the display properly at any angle. The LCD panels in every one I've used do not meet this standard. Everytime I've used one I have to kneel down and/or put my face next to the clock and/or panel to see what the heck I was entering.
The worst offender is a rather fancy model that Sharp created in which the entire touch pad is LCD. You can barely see the numbers to push them, and when you do you're rewarded with a time display about the size of a large Timex.
The worst offender is a rather fancy model that Sharp created in which the entire touch pad is LCD. You can barely see the numbers to push them, and when you do you're rewarded with a time display about the size of a large Timex.
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Frozen Faux Pas
Just a quick complaint.
Certain makers of frozen "dinners" seem to forget that most of us open the food and then read how to prepare it. On the Lean Cuisine round pizzas (which are pretty good), you open the box, fold it down as a flap around the other side of the box, throw your pizza on top, and then......
Well, crud, I gotta read the directions. Unfortunately, by creating their box this way, you make the instructions darn near impossible to read without removing your pizza and flipping the box around until you find them.
Sure, it's a minor annoyance, but given that most people eat these things at work, and there is a decided lack of clean surfaces to set your food in at most workplaces (and that includes inside the microwave), is it so much to ask to put legible instructions on the sides of the box so you can read it without having to juggle the food and the box?
Certain makers of frozen "dinners" seem to forget that most of us open the food and then read how to prepare it. On the Lean Cuisine round pizzas (which are pretty good), you open the box, fold it down as a flap around the other side of the box, throw your pizza on top, and then......
Well, crud, I gotta read the directions. Unfortunately, by creating their box this way, you make the instructions darn near impossible to read without removing your pizza and flipping the box around until you find them.
Sure, it's a minor annoyance, but given that most people eat these things at work, and there is a decided lack of clean surfaces to set your food in at most workplaces (and that includes inside the microwave), is it so much to ask to put legible instructions on the sides of the box so you can read it without having to juggle the food and the box?
Sunday, November 28, 2004
DVD Flaws
As a movie fan, I must say that I love the DVD format. Great picture, great sound, lots of cool extras. However, there is one big thing about the format I hate. That is the hijacking of my remote controller during the 15 logos and/or previews that they show prior to the main menu.
Take, for instance, my daughter's Madeline boxed set, 8 videos of Madeline cartoons, each with the same intros. First, you get the FBI warning, that wonderful greeting all of us law abiding renters and purchasers have seen since the late 70s telling us not to copy the video. This lasts about 15 to 20 seconds. Then I get the "Classic Media" logo, a 10 or 15 second logo telling me who owns the rights, as though I cared. Then I get the Sony Media logo, the people who put it out. Again, do I care?
This is a minor irritant to be sure, but when you have a kid who loves to watch videos but is too young to work the remote, having to sit through this drives me up a wall. It's also annoying when you have a certain scene or music piece you want to see in a video and you can't get to it immediately.
My suggestion. Give me access to the menu right away. If I can see the FBI warning, chances are I own or have rented a legitimate copy. Or, DVD player makers could start providing operating systems/hardware that allow me to skip over it.
Take, for instance, my daughter's Madeline boxed set, 8 videos of Madeline cartoons, each with the same intros. First, you get the FBI warning, that wonderful greeting all of us law abiding renters and purchasers have seen since the late 70s telling us not to copy the video. This lasts about 15 to 20 seconds. Then I get the "Classic Media" logo, a 10 or 15 second logo telling me who owns the rights, as though I cared. Then I get the Sony Media logo, the people who put it out. Again, do I care?
This is a minor irritant to be sure, but when you have a kid who loves to watch videos but is too young to work the remote, having to sit through this drives me up a wall. It's also annoying when you have a certain scene or music piece you want to see in a video and you can't get to it immediately.
My suggestion. Give me access to the menu right away. If I can see the FBI warning, chances are I own or have rented a legitimate copy. Or, DVD player makers could start providing operating systems/hardware that allow me to skip over it.
