Default displaays are just fine
My home has become a battle ground: me vs certain gadgets. Like most other home, we have an interesting collage of old technology with new technology. That mechanical cuckoo clock that hangs in the kitchen/dining area is a great example.
The bird sings. Every hour on the half hour. And I count, because I no longer trust daylight and darkness. That silly clock shift. The clock is completely mechanical, and the weights are large enough to be found in the dark (which is when I usually stop the pendulum by accident). A valuable asset, since I haven’t worn a wrist watch in recent memory. Every thirty minutes is close enough to exact.
In contrast, we have two electronic displays in the kitchen. A power bump resets everything. And like most intricate electronic gadgets, there’s a keypad. The one I can no longer read. There’s a light for over the stove top, and my efforts to turn that off find me randomly pushing the nearly invisible buttons on the keypad. Randomly. Sometimes the light goes out, and sometimes I put the clock display into “pleast set me” mode. I’m not going to win on this one.
We have other infernal machines. The dishwasher can be started if I press (only) the far left and the far right controls. Akin to our current political reality. Any other choice and we’re back to washing dishes by hand until someone undoes my silliness.
Remember, we’re in one room. The refrigherator requires only that I open the door. And close it. Otherwise, I trigger a remimder alarm. I’m getting better at this, but some machines are beyond my competence. The bread machine is fine, as long as I aim my ingredients into the main tank, and accept default programs. See a common thread here? I am now doomed to live as some design engineer chose. Be glad that I don’t have responsibility for anything important. Could be upsetting.
