Packaging is just so difficult to get into sometimes, and you have to wonder if the people who design it, and subsequently decide to release it on to the unsuspecting public, ever actually use it themselves or think about whether or not it even makes any practical sense.
The other day I came across milk that was packaged in a soft plastic tube that seemed just about impossible to open without either spilling a few drips on the table or totally covering yourself in it's contents. What wrong with the little cups with the peel back top that hopefully everyone has now mastered. We frequently have juice in the fridge that requires a foil strip to be peeled back that seems to be stuck down with super glue so that when you do eventually manage to get it started it shoots off with such force that much of the contents inevitably end up all over to worktop. And, the hole in the top is so small that there is not enough space to allow the carton to vent correctly resulting in even more liquid landing outside the target area.
There are endless other examples of poor packaging - salad bags that can't be opened without them tearing to the point they're useless - cans where the ring snaps off, cold-cut packaging where you need a microscope to find the tear strip, it's just hopeless.
The other major challenge on packaging is instructions. There is always way too much written material, so much so that it takes forever the to find the important bit - the cooking instructions - and then when you do find them the writing is so small you need a microscope to read it. Even with my glasses on I struggle so I really can't imagine how old folks manage.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Back from NY
Well we're now back from our 10 days in the land of the cheap jeans, endless bargains, and nachos, and we managed to enjoy all of them to one degree or another. The main purpose of the visit (apart from IBM business) wasn't to just do a lot of shopping but to visit our good friends and the places we used to hang-out at when we lived in Fishkill, New York around 10 years ago. This was the first time we'd been back there since July 2002 so it was interesting to see just how well we'd managed to remember our way up from JFK up 687 and into the Hudson Valley – almost without a map in fact! We also managed to skip right over to our good friends John and Martha, with only one minor directional blip on the way, without even checking on directions.
The whole 10 days panned out really well with places seeming so familiar it was like we'd never been away for any time all, and the same could be said with all our friends, they were all just as we'd remembered them, and our conversations carried on as if there had never even been a 7 year gap at all.
We made three trips down to NYC, one on our own, one with John, Martha,and Liam as he had an appointment at Sloane-Kettering, and the third time Sheila went down with Martha, Liam, and Meg to see a show on Broadway. That resulted in me and John being faced with the unexpected, but very welcome, bonus of an evening on our own - yeeha! We were so surprised that it took us over an hour, and a glass or two of wine, to decide what we were actually going to do! We finally decided on a trip out to get a couple of rib-eye steaks and very nice they were too – especially with a couple of glasses of Rioja to help them down.
John and I managed two evenings at the Dutch Cabin in Poughkeepsie to enjoy the amazing nachos they serve there. We were joined by Dave Surico the first time and Sheila, Dave, and Rich the second time - so now she knows what the lure of the nachos is!
The whole 10 days panned out really well with places seeming so familiar it was like we'd never been away for any time all, and the same could be said with all our friends, they were all just as we'd remembered them, and our conversations carried on as if there had never even been a 7 year gap at all.
We made three trips down to NYC, one on our own, one with John, Martha,and Liam as he had an appointment at Sloane-Kettering, and the third time Sheila went down with Martha, Liam, and Meg to see a show on Broadway. That resulted in me and John being faced with the unexpected, but very welcome, bonus of an evening on our own - yeeha! We were so surprised that it took us over an hour, and a glass or two of wine, to decide what we were actually going to do! We finally decided on a trip out to get a couple of rib-eye steaks and very nice they were too – especially with a couple of glasses of Rioja to help them down.
John and I managed two evenings at the Dutch Cabin in Poughkeepsie to enjoy the amazing nachos they serve there. We were joined by Dave Surico the first time and Sheila, Dave, and Rich the second time - so now she knows what the lure of the nachos is!
We had a really great time, some fantastic meals, some good weather, picked up some super-duper bargains, and of course, lots of happy memories of the fun we had with our truly good friends. Looking forward to our next visit very much...
Friday, March 20, 2009
BA - Hmm
As I write this I'm sitting in a 747 on flight BA177 from London to New York. It's too hot, the guy on front of me can't sit still for more than about 5 seconds, and is therefore constantly banging my knees, the air is stale, and time is beginning to drag. Such are the pleasures of air travel. Most of our recent flights have been travelling east with middle eastern airlines, Emirates, Qatar, and SriLankan (operated by Emirates) and it's so noticeable how much better they are to this wholly unmemorable experience. They have new planes, very attractive and efficient staff, good food choices, and amazing entertainment systems to keep you amused for hours on end.
Here on BA we have stewardesses that look like they'd probably seen better days 15 years ago and a male steward that seems so enthusiastic it's as if he'd taken a couple of Es before we took off. The Boeing seems incredibly shabby compared with the almost new Airbus 300s of the other airlines and from where I'm sitting there seem to be plenty of broken seats and 'entertainment systems'. Oh happy days.
I guess I shouldn't complain too much as we're travelling on a couple of free tickets paid for with our air miles, but it's easy to see why anyone paying with their own cash would give this outfit a wide berth. Maybe the problem is that we're on the very busy LHR-JFK route which I know from regular experience in the late 90's is definitely not one of the glamour trips, America Airlines were even worse than BA then, so business is easy and they don't need to try.
Looking on the bright side we only have another couple of hours to go before we have the joys of US immigration to negotiate. No doubt we'll be met by some of the most unhappy people the US can assemble in one place, who will scour our documentation for any little error we may have made before hopefully grunting and sending us on our way.
Here on BA we have stewardesses that look like they'd probably seen better days 15 years ago and a male steward that seems so enthusiastic it's as if he'd taken a couple of Es before we took off. The Boeing seems incredibly shabby compared with the almost new Airbus 300s of the other airlines and from where I'm sitting there seem to be plenty of broken seats and 'entertainment systems'. Oh happy days.
I guess I shouldn't complain too much as we're travelling on a couple of free tickets paid for with our air miles, but it's easy to see why anyone paying with their own cash would give this outfit a wide berth. Maybe the problem is that we're on the very busy LHR-JFK route which I know from regular experience in the late 90's is definitely not one of the glamour trips, America Airlines were even worse than BA then, so business is easy and they don't need to try.
Looking on the bright side we only have another couple of hours to go before we have the joys of US immigration to negotiate. No doubt we'll be met by some of the most unhappy people the US can assemble in one place, who will scour our documentation for any little error we may have made before hopefully grunting and sending us on our way.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Emotional clothing
Last week I saw a show on TV where they take a couple of women to whom 'time has been unkind' and then, via a selection of procedures, potions, and pills, attempt to make them look years younger that they did to begin with. Clearly the examples they pick are in pretty poor shape to begin with and both easily looked 10 years older than their actual age for a whole host of reasons.
After all the various cosmetic magic has been completed on the two woman each one is placed in a room, dressed and coiffured, surrounded by her friends and family, whereupon a mirror is thrust in front of the individual to reveal her new look. Now this hasn't all happened in the space of a few minutes, in fact it must have taken many months in some cases, so how they now look really can't be that much of a surprise at all. However, despite this all the women present seem to break down into uncontrollable floods of tears, of course accompanied by the now obligatory fanning of the faces with hands. I should point out that by now the individuals concerned do look a lot better than they did to begin with, but then I would too if I was being filmed in soft focus after having had a couple of thousand pounds worth of industrial strength cosmetic work.
What the heck is that all about! I can't ever remember getting emotional about getting tarted up in a suit just before I head off despite my wife telling me how well I scrub up. I've never even had a lump in my throat when one of my friends has been wearing a new pair of jeans after just having his new haircut. What is it about clothes, a bit of make-up, and a new hairdo that makes women want to cry?
After all the various cosmetic magic has been completed on the two woman each one is placed in a room, dressed and coiffured, surrounded by her friends and family, whereupon a mirror is thrust in front of the individual to reveal her new look. Now this hasn't all happened in the space of a few minutes, in fact it must have taken many months in some cases, so how they now look really can't be that much of a surprise at all. However, despite this all the women present seem to break down into uncontrollable floods of tears, of course accompanied by the now obligatory fanning of the faces with hands. I should point out that by now the individuals concerned do look a lot better than they did to begin with, but then I would too if I was being filmed in soft focus after having had a couple of thousand pounds worth of industrial strength cosmetic work.
What the heck is that all about! I can't ever remember getting emotional about getting tarted up in a suit just before I head off despite my wife telling me how well I scrub up. I've never even had a lump in my throat when one of my friends has been wearing a new pair of jeans after just having his new haircut. What is it about clothes, a bit of make-up, and a new hairdo that makes women want to cry?
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Vince is the man
I can't stand politicians. I think that they have only one issue in mind - how to ensure they get re-elected next time around. If they do manage to achieve something for us, the people, it's probably through some good fortune rather than any real effort on their part. To be honest I think they should all be rounded up and send to a distant planet where they can do no harm.
There is however one guy who I do have an enormous amount of respect for and he is Vince Cable of the Liberal Democratic party. I would never vote for that party, infact few people do, but I would willingly vote for Vince if it was all about people and not party politics. I seem to find that he always says exactly what I'm thinking and what no other political figure ever has the sense to say because doing so might damage their precious re-election hopes.
Vince is a member of a party that stands little chance of ever being elected so maybe that's why he's the only politician to actually speak any real sense.
There is however one guy who I do have an enormous amount of respect for and he is Vince Cable of the Liberal Democratic party. I would never vote for that party, infact few people do, but I would willingly vote for Vince if it was all about people and not party politics. I seem to find that he always says exactly what I'm thinking and what no other political figure ever has the sense to say because doing so might damage their precious re-election hopes.
Vince is a member of a party that stands little chance of ever being elected so maybe that's why he's the only politician to actually speak any real sense.
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