Hey Josh, double check the formatting of the first couple paragraphs. 😉 I think you intended something else?
Btw, your illustration of the washing machine from your other similar post made me belly laugh. We have the same washer. 🤣 And yeah, it's totally ridiculous.
This is 1 reason why I want to move to Alaska. Plenty of trees for logs, I can heat with more trees, I can own as many guns (which are necessary due to wildlife and drug addicts, not necessarily a Russian invasion).
Along with wide open spaces. PA could fit into TX, and TX could fit into Alaska. That’s how big it is.
Also, what do make of this... a friend got me a little space heater to help keep me warm in the winter. When I turn it off, it has a 30 second count down timer to turn off. I don't understand it. I end up unplugging it anyway so it turns off at that point, but I cannot figure this out??? Any clues to a countdown timer to turn a device OFF?
I was scolded--nay, lectured--by a dour female robot representing Google's Android OS. I drive many hours a week for work. I rely on speak-to-text to respond to messages, via Bluetooth car connection and often Android Auto. It doesn't work all the time. It misunderstands, freezes, or searches for a long reply sentence in YouTube Music. Little is as aggravating as technology that doesn't work as promised. Last week after three attempts to respond to an important message while driving 80mph on the interstate, I blew up at my phone and yelled 'f*** you!' And I was scolded by a thousand dollar inanimate object for swearing at it. It went so far to say, "If you're frustrated about something, you can search for help." I could have tossed the phone out the window. It is MY PHONE. But this is the sneaky way they get into your head. They make you think twice about what you say, even to your phone. Really sinister.
Totally agree. They want to control all of our appliances, dishwasher, refrigerator, washer and dryer, stove, and what kind of car we drive. Of course they also want to control what we think and what we say. They want to control everything. That’s why they call it totalitarianism!
Funny, I listened to this recording, late at night while driving through the panhandle of Texas a few weeks ago. I agree there's an agenda that's constantly being set around saving the environment and many other well-meaning initiatives.
But like almost every scheme in life, the roles have been reduced to Carny or Rube. And the sad part is that most of these initiatives are unknowingly driven by the Rubes within the engine itself - they're Rubes, after all. They're the design engineers and product testers and marketers and every layer of middle management that knows no better than to apply these dumb thoughts to every initiative.
Now in this main example of the window unit AC (p.s. - buy yourself a swamp cooler already, Josh!), there could be something else at play: the Carnies at Hisense don't give two squats about the environment or anything else except the money. And vehicle and appliance manufacturers live and die themselves by the predictability of failure within warrantee periods. So, there's got to be something there...maybe full-blast startups for an A/C are the equivalent of racing your engine before it's warm...it helps provide to extend the product past its warrantee period?
Might be showing my age but no f’in way am I installing Sri in my house. The last thing I need is some female Cluster B voice telling me something I should know or could find out in 2 seconds.
I would say that you are easily young enough that if I had children they would be older than you. But if I had a son, I would be proud to have one that thinks like you do.
Seems to me that the most ecological option would be...not to buy such machines in the first place. Seriously, how much of the environment is destroyed in creating, manufacturing, shipping and using most of these machines created mainly in the name of being ‘new and improved’? I stay with the machines I can tolerate and I control them. If they aren’t useful to me I decide to break up with them as I don’t need their ‘service’. I hate air conditioning, it’s always made me ill, so when I’m too hot at night I wrap up an ice pack, turn on a fan, and sleep.
When we bought this house, the previous owners had installed Google Nest thermostats. Now, I am a pretty handy guy on the internet, but I'll be damned if I could figure out how to tell these abortions to cool or heat to the temperature I set and leave it that temperature forever. They kept wanting to go into "eco" mode they thought no one was in the home. I tried factory reset. I tried turning off all the eco settings, nada. So I spent $1800 on two new thermostats, also hooked up to the internet and thus changeable from my couch, but without Google's insistent nannying.
I have gotten around this problem by living in an apartment in a house which is 125 years old. The appliances aren't quite that old, though it would not surprise me to learn that the stove is circa 1940.
The place has central air, but the air conditioning doesn't kick on until the interior temperature is 74°, or so says my landlord. I haven't asked him whether this could be lowered in at least a decade, because the last time I did, he became almost as upset as if I'd asked him whether the place could tolerate a little recreational arson. It's not green, it's greed: he says that he can't do that because if he did, he wouldn't be making enough money off of the place. I am dubious, but he's a truly splendid landlord in all other ways, so I let it go.
I have the simplest room air conditioner in the bedroom and will probably buy a twin for the living room this summer. Its technology is probably from the 1980s, so it can be easily jiggered to kick on and shut off at designated room temperatures. I certainly could learn to set it to do this, but haven't because the constant running of the thing reminds me of the Southern life I'm in unwanted exile from and has the added benefit of wasting energy.
You're right about today's appliances, cars, phones, etc.. That's why I do everything I can to keep my 1988 pickup truck, my 1984 refrigerator, and my 1990s washer and dryer going. I don't want new stuff. I want my old machines that were made to serve me with no ideological agenda, and were made to last.
Our dryer needs to run full cycle and then be turned on again to dry towels. I don’t even dry things that much. It also feels like I could pick it up in the air without trying.
Our dishwasher gets turned on accidentally extremely easily but takes twice as long to wash things to “save water.” The water best saved is the completely unnecessary washes that no one wants.
I recently bought a new dishwasher. In order to use all of its features, I had to install an app on my phone and pair it to my dishwasher with Wi-Fi. I was so irritated by this that I returned the dishwasher and bought another one. I have to pay for the installation again, but it is worth it to me. I hate SMART appliances.
Hey Josh, double check the formatting of the first couple paragraphs. 😉 I think you intended something else?
Btw, your illustration of the washing machine from your other similar post made me belly laugh. We have the same washer. 🤣 And yeah, it's totally ridiculous.
This is 1 reason why I want to move to Alaska. Plenty of trees for logs, I can heat with more trees, I can own as many guns (which are necessary due to wildlife and drug addicts, not necessarily a Russian invasion).
Along with wide open spaces. PA could fit into TX, and TX could fit into Alaska. That’s how big it is.
Also, what do make of this... a friend got me a little space heater to help keep me warm in the winter. When I turn it off, it has a 30 second count down timer to turn off. I don't understand it. I end up unplugging it anyway so it turns off at that point, but I cannot figure this out??? Any clues to a countdown timer to turn a device OFF?
I was scolded--nay, lectured--by a dour female robot representing Google's Android OS. I drive many hours a week for work. I rely on speak-to-text to respond to messages, via Bluetooth car connection and often Android Auto. It doesn't work all the time. It misunderstands, freezes, or searches for a long reply sentence in YouTube Music. Little is as aggravating as technology that doesn't work as promised. Last week after three attempts to respond to an important message while driving 80mph on the interstate, I blew up at my phone and yelled 'f*** you!' And I was scolded by a thousand dollar inanimate object for swearing at it. It went so far to say, "If you're frustrated about something, you can search for help." I could have tossed the phone out the window. It is MY PHONE. But this is the sneaky way they get into your head. They make you think twice about what you say, even to your phone. Really sinister.
Totally agree. They want to control all of our appliances, dishwasher, refrigerator, washer and dryer, stove, and what kind of car we drive. Of course they also want to control what we think and what we say. They want to control everything. That’s why they call it totalitarianism!
Funny, I listened to this recording, late at night while driving through the panhandle of Texas a few weeks ago. I agree there's an agenda that's constantly being set around saving the environment and many other well-meaning initiatives.
But like almost every scheme in life, the roles have been reduced to Carny or Rube. And the sad part is that most of these initiatives are unknowingly driven by the Rubes within the engine itself - they're Rubes, after all. They're the design engineers and product testers and marketers and every layer of middle management that knows no better than to apply these dumb thoughts to every initiative.
Now in this main example of the window unit AC (p.s. - buy yourself a swamp cooler already, Josh!), there could be something else at play: the Carnies at Hisense don't give two squats about the environment or anything else except the money. And vehicle and appliance manufacturers live and die themselves by the predictability of failure within warrantee periods. So, there's got to be something there...maybe full-blast startups for an A/C are the equivalent of racing your engine before it's warm...it helps provide to extend the product past its warrantee period?
Anyway, good read/listen, Josh!
Might be showing my age but no f’in way am I installing Sri in my house. The last thing I need is some female Cluster B voice telling me something I should know or could find out in 2 seconds.
You’re obviously not old.
But I know that is a relative thing.
I would say that you are easily young enough that if I had children they would be older than you. But if I had a son, I would be proud to have one that thinks like you do.
Seems to me that the most ecological option would be...not to buy such machines in the first place. Seriously, how much of the environment is destroyed in creating, manufacturing, shipping and using most of these machines created mainly in the name of being ‘new and improved’? I stay with the machines I can tolerate and I control them. If they aren’t useful to me I decide to break up with them as I don’t need their ‘service’. I hate air conditioning, it’s always made me ill, so when I’m too hot at night I wrap up an ice pack, turn on a fan, and sleep.
When we bought this house, the previous owners had installed Google Nest thermostats. Now, I am a pretty handy guy on the internet, but I'll be damned if I could figure out how to tell these abortions to cool or heat to the temperature I set and leave it that temperature forever. They kept wanting to go into "eco" mode they thought no one was in the home. I tried factory reset. I tried turning off all the eco settings, nada. So I spent $1800 on two new thermostats, also hooked up to the internet and thus changeable from my couch, but without Google's insistent nannying.
One of my favorites. Thanks for the repost!
I have gotten around this problem by living in an apartment in a house which is 125 years old. The appliances aren't quite that old, though it would not surprise me to learn that the stove is circa 1940.
The place has central air, but the air conditioning doesn't kick on until the interior temperature is 74°, or so says my landlord. I haven't asked him whether this could be lowered in at least a decade, because the last time I did, he became almost as upset as if I'd asked him whether the place could tolerate a little recreational arson. It's not green, it's greed: he says that he can't do that because if he did, he wouldn't be making enough money off of the place. I am dubious, but he's a truly splendid landlord in all other ways, so I let it go.
I have the simplest room air conditioner in the bedroom and will probably buy a twin for the living room this summer. Its technology is probably from the 1980s, so it can be easily jiggered to kick on and shut off at designated room temperatures. I certainly could learn to set it to do this, but haven't because the constant running of the thing reminds me of the Southern life I'm in unwanted exile from and has the added benefit of wasting energy.
You're right about today's appliances, cars, phones, etc.. That's why I do everything I can to keep my 1988 pickup truck, my 1984 refrigerator, and my 1990s washer and dryer going. I don't want new stuff. I want my old machines that were made to serve me with no ideological agenda, and were made to last.
Our dryer needs to run full cycle and then be turned on again to dry towels. I don’t even dry things that much. It also feels like I could pick it up in the air without trying.
Our dishwasher gets turned on accidentally extremely easily but takes twice as long to wash things to “save water.” The water best saved is the completely unnecessary washes that no one wants.
Really with you on this one.
The bastards mean to rule. Governing is too much like work.
I recently bought a new dishwasher. In order to use all of its features, I had to install an app on my phone and pair it to my dishwasher with Wi-Fi. I was so irritated by this that I returned the dishwasher and bought another one. I have to pay for the installation again, but it is worth it to me. I hate SMART appliances.