Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: happy

Furnace in Progress

The new furnace guys arrived bright and early this morning.  They're almost done  already.  And the new furnace requires a smaller power line, fewer amps, than the old one: more oomph, more efficient, so less energy.  \o/

EDIT 5 PM 12/14/16: Furnace is installed and working.  Regrettably the new thermostat is a computer.  No buttons at all anymore, just a computer.  *sigh*  I miss when things had dials and buttons that were simple and easy to use.  It alarms me how much of the world is turning into computers, because many people are not good with computers.  That reduces functionality. When it's an entertainment device such as a television, this is merely inconvenient and annoying; I don't need  a television.  I do need a thermostat, and having one that is quite likely to malfunction if I ever touch it -- if I could make it work at all -- is nerve-wracking.  I resent the tide of technology taking away formerly ubiquitous solutions that are perfectly possible to make, people just don't bother anymore.
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  • 13 comments
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ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

December 15 2016, 10:07:53 UTC 4 years ago

>> I've noticed that a lot of people seem to share your dislike of wall ovens and stovetops <<

I love wall ovens and stovetops. I miss mine bitterly. But the ones on offer now are not usable, so I have not purchased them.

>> judging by the numbers of slowcookers and various countertop cookers and bakers I've consistently seen for sale in this area. <<

I do also adore crockpots.

>> One device I'm especially intrigued by is the multiple slow-cooker. It's been around for a while, but this year it seems like every store has got them for sale.<<

I've seen those. I would totally buy one if we needed to feed more than 2 people often. As it is, I just use the several crockpots I have, separately. It's not rare for me to crock a main dish and a dessert, because a favorite dessert is Berry Sweet Dumplings.

>>Something else I've noticed is that slow-cookers disappear from the Goodwill almost as fast as they arrive. I wonder if it's because more women are using them to cook with than they used to? <<

Possibly so, or it may be a need for what they do: make food smells last long, and cook while you're not home.

>> Something else that's come to mind: Not only are modern appliances expensive to repair (if they can be repaired), having to deal with appliance repair men is highly stressful. There's been more than once that I've ordered one out of my house and I'm generally a patient person.<<

I agree that service is extremely poor if it can be obtained at all. We lost our kitchenware because people simply refused to work on it anymore. It was old, but fixable; they couldn't be arsed to do it anymore. >_< People coming late or not at all, refusing to return calls, doing a shitty job, etc. are routine. The cost-benefit analysis is therefore also poor. For non-critical items it is generally better to buy new or do without.
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

December 15 2016, 18:21:56 UTC 4 years ago

One truly irksome thing about today's gas stoves is that you cannot find a gas stove anymore that does NOT come with "electronic ignition".
Why? The older gas stoves did quite well with pilot lights or even matches. With these newer gas stoves, you are out of luck during a power outage thanks to that electronic ignition which requires electricity to start the burners or the oven.
:^(
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

December 15 2016, 19:20:26 UTC 4 years ago

That's insane. Functionality during power outage was one of the primary advantages of gas over electric, the other being faster thermal response.

The stupid, it burns like hydrogen.
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

December 16 2016, 05:23:15 UTC 4 years ago

Back when my Hubby and I were dating, we had a really bad ice storm hit our area. It knocked the power out all over town.
My Hubby, who was still living with his mom at the time, only lost the use of his TV and his computer. Thanks to their old house having the old style appliances, they still had hot water, hot food and heat thanks to having a gas water heater, a gas stove, and several gas space heaters. We didn't because our house was newer and thus had newer gas appliances which had the electric switches.
:^{

ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

December 16 2016, 05:49:02 UTC 4 years ago

I take an extremely dim view of any change which makes a product less usable, especially under emergency circumstances. When you change a product in ways that mean people could die (i.e. from lack of heat) who would not have died with the old model, that really ought to be illegal.

The problem we have is that capitalism has almost no accountability. Generally you cannot solve problems if people are not held responsible for their poor decisions.
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

December 16 2016, 05:53:48 UTC 4 years ago

I think you're right. The only check I know of on capitalism is that capitalists go broke if their customers stop buying their products. It's just not enough.
:^[
ysabetwordsmith

Re: Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

December 16 2016, 06:20:37 UTC 4 years ago

That check works if and only if alternatives and information and resources are all available.

Frex: I cannot choose to have medical privacy if all providers require electronic records. My choices are to give up privacy, or go without care. I often prefer to go without care, but that's 100% of the time yet.

I cannot choose not to eat GMOs if they are unlabeled. I can either eat them, or avoid whole categories of food in which at least one GMO exists (unlabeled). Growing my own is sometimes helpful, but cross-contamination is still a risk. Sometimes it is possible to choose named varieties (i.e. Jonathan apples are not gengineered) but often not (most labels just say "apples"). I actually advocate mass boycotts of newly franked categories. If they take a bad enough hit, people will stop doing this shit.

I cannot buy a product that is not offered for sale. If all the makers switch to a new version that does not work for me, I'm just screwed.

People cannot choose products they want but can't afford. This is why many poor folks do not eat many fruits/vegetables. Either it's not for sale, the quality is shit, or more often they're just too expensive. Same with organic: it is often desired, but rarely affordable.

Many things that look like choices really aren't. "If you don't want have back problems, get a job where you don't have to lift things." But if that's the only job, and the alternative is starving because survival needs are not guaranteed, it's not a real choice. A real choice is having two job offers that are good, or at least livable with different pros and cons.
rhodielady_47

Re: Yes...

rhodielady_47

December 16 2016, 14:19:53 UTC 4 years ago

All too true.
:^(

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