On Sat, 21 Apr 2007 05:30:59 GMT, "Don Kelly" wrote:

"John Larkin" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 20 Apr 2007 04:05:24 GMT, DaveC wrote:

One regular poster here has designed a microcontroller-based, networked (
(remotely accessible), whole-home climate control monitoring system
(heating-AC/hot h2o/heat exchangers/the whole works). Others have modified
their digital toaster (I'm not mentioning names... (c: )

How has your profession (or hobby) leaked into your everyday life? What
customizations or applications have you put electronics to that makes your
life easier and/or more fun?

Working with electronics all day, I want nothing to do with it in my
time off. I want all my household appliances to be as simple, dumb,
reliable, and analog as possible. I'm comfortable with simple, old-gen
PC applications because they work and are predictable.

We push technology only in those places where it really pays off. If
there's no big benefit, stick the the stuff that's known to work.

John

Goodness me- no "electronic toaster" for you.

We do have a retro-look electronic toaster, and it often does stupid
things, like refusing to stay down when it's in a weird state. The fix
is to unplug it for 5 seconds or so to reset whatever bizarre state
it's managed to get itself into. Mechanical toasters don't do that,
and toast better too. DGMS on the states and menus of the new
microwave. A proper appliance has two states: standing up, and lying
on its side.

I bet that you still don't
have a 4 HP. 120V,15A "electronic" lawnmower as well.

One of the things I like about San Francisco is the almost universal
lack of lawns. And air conditioners. When I lived in New Orleans, if
you didn't mow the grass twice a week, it would grow so tall the mower
would bounce off. And after mowing the lawn for an hour in the sun,
you *needed* the air conditioning.

You, sir, are not meeting the expectations of the modern advertising world.

It's weird that the prime use for billion-transistor chips and
gigaflop processing turns out to be stupid, violent video games and
watching NASCAR crashes on giant plasma displays.


Thanks- it is good to see common sense.--

Good, simple things endure. Like me!

John