Reports by Consumers

1) I am actually something of a Luddite. I hate technology for technologies sake. Detest cell phones, PDAs, etc.

NBC has an ingenious plan for DVR owners… Sneak a 30-minute segment of their new fall lineup onto your box without asking for your consent… Sneaky executives…

I was reading John C. Dvorak’s column in PC Magazine last night and I realized that John has been thinking the same thing I have. I’ve had a Tivo for 2 years now and it seems to have changed my brain. The feature that has done the most to change my behavior is the instant replay button. It is so convenient to hit that button if you catch something interesting while you weren’t really paying attention. Now I wish I had an instant replay button for everything in my life. I’ll be driving into work and listening to the radio. If I’m not paying very close attention because of traffic or whatever, I often wish I could replay what I just missed. I definitely wish I could skip the commercials. My 15 minute drive into work seems to have 10 minutes of commercials for 5 minutes of talk (unless I am listening to NPR). I even see this happening in conversations. Maybe I’m not paying enough attention, or maybe I can’t hear the other person so well, but I often wish I could get an instant replay.

A couple days ago, I had to remove the dishwasher from the kitchen cabinets for an appliance fixit job that is still ongoing. When the dishwasher came out, I found that the space under my kitchen cabinets and dishwasher was is being used as a giant mouse toilet.

We are fortunate at the SIU School of Law to have a Self-Help Legal Center that makes simple legal forms and instructions available without charge through its website and by telephone order. This clinic also sponsors self help classes on divorce, taught by volunteer attorneys, to help people complete the forms and to answer questions about filing, court procedure, and hearings.

Do you remember green stamps? People used to collect them to get free gifts. My mother used to when I was young. The stamps were around still when I became an adult but soon faded. According to yesterday's Palm Beach Post they are making a comeback.

I had to tinker with the dishwasher today– a project that required removing the toe kick and soaking up water in an overflow pan with a sponge. While I was lying down on kitchen floor I noticed a smell like a musty bathroom coming from beneath the dishwasher and kitchen cabinets. I pulled out the dishwasher to investigate.

Whether or not you choose a Pocket PC from Dell, you stand to gain from waiting because Dell’s entry will create downward pricing pressure. Personally, I expect to buy from Dell if they hit the rumoured pricing levels ($300 and $500 models) and come through with the planned peripherals. I’ve never liked the iPaq line because it doesn’t offer built-! in Compact Flash, and I hesitate to buy another Pocket PC from lower-volume manufacturers (Audiovox, Toshiba, NEC) because of the lack of peripherals.

I think emergency kits ought to be distributed at food banks, along with instructions and information in various languages. I wonder who could make that happen, or if it has already been proposed.

There was one New Orleans resident I’ve heard about — though I couldn’t tell you where — who realized after about four days of dehydration that he and his crew could get water from hot water heaters. Four days. None of them had known.