March 03, 2014
Batteries included
Practically everything's rechargeable these days, including things that no one would ever imagine being "rechargeable" a generation or two ago, like books. But sometimes an old-fashioned alkaline battery is just better.
I replaced my old battery-powered beard trimmer with a rechargeable model and soon saw the benefit of batteries. When it runs down, it takes a least an hour to charge it, and it'll run right down again if not charged for at least half a day.
And then there's the plugs, adapters, and wires--that's the problem with laptops too.
So when I wanted to save time and money in the old shaving cream and razor blade routine (the admittedly fantastic Gillette Fusion blades I was using cost a small fortune), I settled on the Philips Norelco PQ208 Travel Electric Razor.
Despite its size and cost, this twelve-dollar unit has a solid--even rugged--heft and feel to it. It has only two heads and no settings other than on and off and yet does the job admirable. But the most amazing thing about it is the battery life.
Granted, I only use it to shave my neck a couple of times a week, and the motor has noticeably slowed in the last two weeks, but after two months I'm still on the original pair of batteries. This is the Energizer Bunny of electric razors.
I replaced my old battery-powered beard trimmer with a rechargeable model and soon saw the benefit of batteries. When it runs down, it takes a least an hour to charge it, and it'll run right down again if not charged for at least half a day.
And then there's the plugs, adapters, and wires--that's the problem with laptops too.
So when I wanted to save time and money in the old shaving cream and razor blade routine (the admittedly fantastic Gillette Fusion blades I was using cost a small fortune), I settled on the Philips Norelco PQ208 Travel Electric Razor.
Despite its size and cost, this twelve-dollar unit has a solid--even rugged--heft and feel to it. It has only two heads and no settings other than on and off and yet does the job admirable. But the most amazing thing about it is the battery life.
Granted, I only use it to shave my neck a couple of times a week, and the motor has noticeably slowed in the last two weeks, but after two months I'm still on the original pair of batteries. This is the Energizer Bunny of electric razors.
Labels: business, day in the life, technology
February 22, 2008
Unwelcome sounds
I parked the car and turned off the engine, got out and heard: "HSSSSSSSSS!" I mean, LOUD. Coming from the front left tire. I put my hand down by the fender and could feel the blast of air. So I jumped back in and hurried (slowly and carefully, that is) down the block to the auto shop before the tire went flat as a pancake.Whatever I rolled over had pretty much wrecked the sidewall and I ended up having to get a new tire. (With less than 5,000 miles on them--practically brand spanking new--I wasn't getting two).
Later I tried to find what I'd rolled over, but with all this blasted snow half-melting and turning to sheets of ice, it was a futile effort. So I parked elsewhere. A few days later when the snow finally stopped falling and the temperature finally got back to the 40s where it's supposed to be, the culprit revealed itself.
My travails were over in less than an hour (though my wallet was much lighter than I'd hoped). I noticed something I hadn't before. They rotated the back tires to the front. My typical experience with changing tires is they whip the lug nuts off and on with an air impact wrench.
This time, though, after using the air impact wrench, the guy working on my car lowered the lift and went around to all four tires with a torque wrench. And then another mechanic went around with a torque wrench, all twenty lug nuts. I think he had to sign off on it too.
This has got to be a liability thing. I've heard stories on Car Talk about people having their tires fall off after a tire rotation or change. That'd be a major insurance hit. I found the redundancy quite reassuring.
Labels: day in the life
December 13, 2007
Shipping & handling
Ah, happiness is a box of books from BK1 (now Honto).
To be sure, Amazon has the more extensive and dynamic site, and I often do my window shopping there. But I place orders through Honto. It comes down to one simple variable: shipping. Amazon doesn't offer SAL while Honto does. As a result, an order of this size from Amazon would cost as much in shipping as the price of the books themselves. Shipping SAL is less than half as much.
SAL (Surface Air Lifted) treats packages as air mail crossing the Pacific, and then as parcel post once it hits dry land. SAL packages can get bumped from air freight slots by higher-priority mail (like a stand-by passenger), so transit times range from two to four weeks. This box arrived right at the two week mark, probably thanks to increased year-end air traffic.
I also appreciate the fact that Honto packages their books so sturdily they could make the journey in the hold of a 19th century steamer. There's another inch of padding inside and the books are sealed in plastic. Domestically, at least, boxes from Amazon often seem slapped together with the minimum amount of tape to keep them from falling apart in the mail truck.
Although Amazon-US carries a few SKUs from its Amazon-Japan site, I'm awaiting the day when order fulfillment is truly "flat," in the Tom Friedman sense. That is, in the case of books, you could order any title via ISBN from any site, Amazon would then accumulate the orders and ship them bulk rate, adding only a small premium to domestic first class S&H costs.
To be sure, Amazon has the more extensive and dynamic site, and I often do my window shopping there. But I place orders through Honto. It comes down to one simple variable: shipping. Amazon doesn't offer SAL while Honto does. As a result, an order of this size from Amazon would cost as much in shipping as the price of the books themselves. Shipping SAL is less than half as much.
SAL (Surface Air Lifted) treats packages as air mail crossing the Pacific, and then as parcel post once it hits dry land. SAL packages can get bumped from air freight slots by higher-priority mail (like a stand-by passenger), so transit times range from two to four weeks. This box arrived right at the two week mark, probably thanks to increased year-end air traffic.
I also appreciate the fact that Honto packages their books so sturdily they could make the journey in the hold of a 19th century steamer. There's another inch of padding inside and the books are sealed in plastic. Domestically, at least, boxes from Amazon often seem slapped together with the minimum amount of tape to keep them from falling apart in the mail truck.
Although Amazon-US carries a few SKUs from its Amazon-Japan site, I'm awaiting the day when order fulfillment is truly "flat," in the Tom Friedman sense. That is, in the case of books, you could order any title via ISBN from any site, Amazon would then accumulate the orders and ship them bulk rate, adding only a small premium to domestic first class S&H costs.
Labels: business, day in the life, japan, manga, publishing
October 10, 2007
Welcome to the DMV
The Department of Motor Vehicles has become the ubiquitous symbol of impersonal government run amok. On The Simpsons, Patty and Selma work at the Springfiled DMV as the chain-smoking driving examiners from Hell. And on Reaper, the DMV actually is a portal to Hell.
In this light, I must point out that in the twenty-odd years I've lived in Utah, the Utah County DMV has proved the friendliest and most efficient arm of government I regularly come into contact with. The offices are clean, the clerks cheerful, and registering my car takes about 15 minutes.
I usually stop in late morning or noon. Maybe the lines grow longer toward closing time.
Plus, the whole process hardly dents my wallet. Inexpensive government is even better government. Registering my twelve-year-old Ford--inspection, emissions, tags and taxes--comes to less than $100. Renewing my driver's license every five years costs a whopping $25.
If you want to know why we Americans drive so blasted much: because it's so blasted cheap!
In this light, I must point out that in the twenty-odd years I've lived in Utah, the Utah County DMV has proved the friendliest and most efficient arm of government I regularly come into contact with. The offices are clean, the clerks cheerful, and registering my car takes about 15 minutes.
I usually stop in late morning or noon. Maybe the lines grow longer toward closing time.
Plus, the whole process hardly dents my wallet. Inexpensive government is even better government. Registering my twelve-year-old Ford--inspection, emissions, tags and taxes--comes to less than $100. Renewing my driver's license every five years costs a whopping $25.
If you want to know why we Americans drive so blasted much: because it's so blasted cheap!
Labels: day in the life, politics
May 15, 2007
It's not me!
Okay, it's very weird to wake up hearing somebody singing your name on the radio. Especially when it's not that common a name (well, unless you live in Oregon). A group by the name of Pink Martini has released an album titled Hey, Eugene! The title track begins:
Look, I've never been to a party on "Avenue A" and have no memory of ever being to a party at which a Rufus Wainwright album was playing. Just to set things straight!
Hey Eugene.
Do you remember me?
I'm that chick you danced with two times
Through the Rufus album
Friday night at that party
On Avenue A
Look, I've never been to a party on "Avenue A" and have no memory of ever being to a party at which a Rufus Wainwright album was playing. Just to set things straight!
Labels: day in the life
January 18, 2007
My thoughts on fashion exactly
Queries Mark Cuban:
What I don't get is the tie. Or perhaps wearing the symbolic representation of a hangman's noose to work is supposed to stand for something? Though I can't really complain. The last time I wore a suit on a daily basis was fifteen years ago when I taught English in Japan. But I don't need to be a zillionaire like Cuban to swear to never wear one again.
Why am I such a suit hater? I'm not a suit hater, I just could never think of any good reason for any sane person to wear a suit in the first place. Exactly what purpose does a suit serve? Why in the world are so many people required to wear a suit to work? Do the clothes make the man or woman in the western world today? Does wearing a tie make us work harder or smarter? Is this a conspiracy by the clothing, fabric or dry cleaning industry to take our money? Or are we all just lemmings following a standard we all know makes zero sense, but we follow because we are afraid not to?
What I don't get is the tie. Or perhaps wearing the symbolic representation of a hangman's noose to work is supposed to stand for something? Though I can't really complain. The last time I wore a suit on a daily basis was fifteen years ago when I taught English in Japan. But I don't need to be a zillionaire like Cuban to swear to never wear one again.
Labels: day in the life, fashion
April 29, 2006
Midori no Hi
Hirohito, the Showa Emperor, died on 7 January 1989, shortly after I arrived in Osaka.A morbid media deathwatch had been going on for months. I think most people were relieved when the end finally came. Midori no Hi (April 29) was the Emperor's birthday back then. Now it's called "Green Day," like Earth Day. It's the first day of Golden Week, the Japanese equivalent of Spring Break.
One morning when I was living in Odawara thirty years ago, the train station was swarming with police officers. The Emperor was returning to Tokyo after a stay at Hakone, the Imperial Household's version of Camp David. Odawara is the closest Shinkansen stop to Hakone.
A small, respectful crowd gathered at the station. The motorcade drove up. The Emperor got out. He was a small man wearing a navy-blue suit. He tipped his hat to the crowd, we politely clapped (I took the picture), and he went into the station. Nobody kowtowed or anything.
The Emperor's train arrived. It was two cars long, the Shinkansen version of a corporate jet. The Shinkansen left Odawara and everything went back to normal.
Labels: day in the life, history, japan, shinkansen, showa period