Social Technology Rants

[ralphc1]

FIRST RANT
My 45 year old toaster decided it wouldn't shut off and just burned everything. I figured I could still use it just pop the release before it burned but I had trouble keeping my attention focused so I set the timer on the microwave. I didn't want to buy a new toaster because I'M OLD and figured I don't have much time left so a new toaster is a waste of money but I ordered a new one on Amazon.

The new toasted came the day after I ordered it. I took it out of the box and found that it has a short cord. There was a tag on the cord explaining that it was shorter to avoid excess cord that could get caught and pull the toaster off the counter. I don't know how other people use a toaster but I think most people have it on a kitchen counter. If there is more cord than needed it lays on the counter behind the toaster. The cord it came with wasn't long enough to reach the receptacle if I put it in the place I had the old one for 45 years. I probably could have moved other things so the toaster could be in a different position but I'M OLD and I don't like change. I did remember that I had some 8 inch long extension cords which is another rant. Using one of those, I was able to put the new toaster in the proper position.

 

[Pliny Pete]

I just toast my bread on the stove like my grandpa and his grandpa before him, turns out way better than in some fancy pants newfangled dealybob machinery thats just there to steal your money

 

[lsa]

@Slobodan eats his toasts raw
with marmite on.

 

[ralphc1]

SECOND RANT
In my first rant I mentioned having some 8 inch extension cords. The reason I have these and that they exist is because the manufacturers of power strips, surge protectors and uninterruptible power supplies don't build their equipment to accommodate the plugs on many of the devices that will be plugged into them. Many devices will have a transformer in the plug which makes the plug larger so it won't fit next to another plug in a normal receptacle. The 8 inch extension cords allow these oversize plugs to be plugged in away from the fixed position receptacles that are too close together.

 

[Iron Mang]

I just toast my bread on the stove like my grandpa and his grandpa before him, turns out way better than in some fancy pants newfangled dealybob machinery thats just there to steal your money

In a pan, or right on the burner?

 

[Pliny Pete]

In a pan, or right on the burner?

On a comal(tortilla warmer), it works really good, makes the bread toasty but chewy instead of crunchy

 

[ralphc1]

I just toast my bread on the stove like my grandpa and his grandpa before him, turns out way better than in some fancy pants newfangled dealybob machinery thats just there to steal your money

I remember visiting my dad's sisters family in the 1960s. They had a toaster that they received as a wedding gift when they got married in the 1920s like the one from E-bay below. It was heating elements with flip down doors. It had to be constantly watched. My uncle would be sitting at the table asking everyone if they wanted toast and seemed really disappointed if someone didn't. He really enjoyed making toast with that toaster.

toaster

 

[Get To Da Choppa]

My 45 year old toaster decided it wouldn't shut off and just burned everything.

That toaster was made during the cold War during the Carter administration

 

[ralphc1]

THIRD RANT

Why can't the people who make the devices like cell phone chargers and chargers for electronic devices like modems, routers etc, make the chargers with the power supply in the cord instead of in the plug like the laptop computers do.

 

[lsa]

who let grandpa out on the internet???

 

[Joshuaace]

45 years old? That's a free roll in the DIY world. I'd be learning about toaster repair on YT.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

 

[ralphc1]

That toaster was made during the cold War during the Carter administration

It was a good one. I don't use a toaster every day. I seem to have streaks of wanting toast or pop tarts. There are times I don't use a toaster for a month. I often put pop tarts in the microwave because they would get stuck in the toaster as they curl up a little. Still, that toaster lived a long life. Many of my appliances large and small are the same age. My refrigerator, stove and dishwasher are 45 years old. I still have my first microwave, a Litton that I bought in 1980. It still works but it is only 700 watt and I bought a 1000 watt in 2008.

 

[ralphc1]

Fourth Rant

The change to Daylight Savings time reminds me of the things technology could do. I have a couple of clocks that I purchased years ago that use the radio signal that the US government broadcasts the time to set the clocks so they never have to be set forward or back. They run on a battery that can last a couple of years.

VCRs and microwave ovens that had clocks always annoyed me that the clock would lose time if the power flickered. The clocks would always be flashing 12:00.
The VCRs were probably the worst because the whole purpose of them having a clock was to be able to record a television program if you weren't going to be home to watch it. I have a clock radio that I purchased in 1976 for under $20 that I used for my alarm clock. It has a battery backup that uses a 9 volt battery to maintain the time if the power goes out. I asked why microwave ovens can't be made to include the same feature. The reply was that it cost too much. I pointed out that my under $20 radio had a digital clock just like the microwave does. They could never come up with why it couldn't be added to a microwave. The earliest computers had a rechargeable lithium battery to maintain the clock time.

I've heard people complain that they had a coffee maker set to make their coffee in the morning only to have the power go out during the night so their coffee wasn't ready. It seems to me that anything that has a clock include should have a battery backup. All clocks should be made to receive the time signal. There are places where the signal might not be easily received. The time signal is also available from the GPS satellites.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

You've had the same toaster since 1979?!

I can't get a toaster, or any small appliance really, to last more than five years.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

SECOND RANT
In my first rant I mentioned having some 8 inch extension cords. The reason I have these and that they exist is because the manufacturers of power strips, surge protectors and uninterruptible power supplies don't build their equipment to accommodate the plugs on many of the devices that will be plugged into them. Many devices will have a transformer in the plug which makes the plug larger so it won't fit next to another plug in a normal receptacle. The 8 inch extension cords allow these oversize plugs to be plugged in away from the fixed position receptacles that are too close together.

I made a shitload of small extension cords of varying sizes out of a 100-footer, for purposes just like this.

 

[Dirt Road Soldier]

My parents still have a vacuum from the 70s that they use, one of those old tube vacuums you pull around on the plastic wheels. IT won't die, so my parents have just never upgraded. They just don't make shit like that anymore, thankfully I found an early 90s Hoover in a new and used store recently so I should be set for the next 20 years or so.

 

[BisexualMMA]

who let grandpa out on the internet???

Woof, woof woof.

 

[Ima5starman]

You've had the same toaster since 1979?!

I can't get a toaster, or any small appliance really, to last more than five years.

Buy one made in 1979, problem solved.

 

[PeterGriffin]

Your toaster had an impressive run.

That being said, toasters are cheap as hell nowadays. Even if you only lived another two months, it would still work out to under $1 a day. And if you do kick it sooner, someone will become the recipient of a lightly used toaster.