Thursday Thoughts # 59
from Just a Geek, by Wil Wheaton:
"When you're married, all of a sudden you get all this stuff that has only one use. like 'The Popcorn Bowl' and 'The Water Glasses'. I don't know about you, but when I was a bachelor, I only had two bowls and about five glasses and they pulled serious double and triple duty."
from Ghost Story, by Jim Butcher:
"I always considered myself a loner. The sort of person who doesn't feel too upset about the prospect of a weekend seeing no one, and reading good books on the couch. It wasn't like I was a people hater or anything. I enjoyed activities and the company of friends. But they were a side dish. I always thought I would also be happy without them."
Today's Thoughts:
I've borrowed this from the "not always right" website>>
"(I am a nurse. At the hospital where I work, we take care of many patients who are from small, rural towns and are lacking in education. In this situation, the patient needs a blood transfusion. I am teaching the patient and family about the process.)
Me: “I will call the blood bank and get the blood ready to go. When I have the bag, I’ll come hook it up to her IV to infuse it. I’ll be monitoring her vital signs throughout the transfusion.”
Family Member: “How does the blood know where to go?”
Me: “Excuse me? I’m not quite sure what you mean.”
Family Member: “The blood. What tells it where to go?”
Me: “Well it goes into the veins, through her IV catheter.”
Family Member: “How does it know where to go from there?”
Me: “That’s where blood is. In your veins.”
Family Member: “Oh! I’ve always wondered how that worked.”
(Later, after I have received the blood, I am priming the IV tubing with saline. Saline is essentially salt water, so it is clear.)
Family Member: “Is that the blood?”
Me: “…No, this is just saline to prime the tubing.”
Family Member: “Oh, good! I thought my mom was getting some new kind of white blood!”
Me: *face palm*"
I'm a little astonished at this. How is it possible, in this 21st century, for anyone to not know where your blood is?
On TV last night, I saw a short story on Today Tonight about the difficulty older people have in opening supermarket items. Over the years, in attempts to foil theft, many companies have sealed and wrapped items so they can't easily be removed from packaging.
From a supermarket point of view, this is a good thing.
But once we get these items home, we still need to be able to open them.
The TV showed people unable to get a grip on the 'ring-pull' to open ring-pull cans, another person unable to tear open a package of something, she tried to tear it with her hands, she tried to tear it using her teeth; the same lady was shown trying to remove the shrink wrapped seal from a bottle of sauce.
We have all seen this stuff, plastic, shrink wrapped to seal the screw cap of the sauce bottle, the wrap has two lines of perforations, where you tear the wrap to remove it.
The woman tried to tear it with her fingers and couldn't, then she tried to remove it with her teeth.
WHAT?? Her teeth? FFS!
Other people were shown trying to open various items and having difficulty with all of them.
Okay. I get it. Things are sealed. Tightly.
But not one single person in the story was shown reaching for a pair of scissors, to open that "tear here" package.
The woman with the sauce bottle, didn't try using the tip of a sharp knife or pair of scissors, to tear the perforated strip on the sauce bottle seal.
(Just slip the point of the knife or scissor blade under the edge of the perforation and flick it upward. Or snip in the case of scissors. Face the blade away from you).
No one thought to slide a knife blade or the edge of a spoon or even a fork tine under the ring-pull to lever it upwards, thus facilitating easier removal.
What has happened to common sense thinking?
Surely I am not the only one who reaches for scissors or any other thing that will help?
It would never occur to me to try and tear shrink wrapped seal from a sauce bottle with my teeth. That seems more dangerous to me than using a knife.
Let's get back to that first book quote: single use items. It explains why so many people, including myself, have cupboards full of "stuff" that is rarely used.
My two youngest kids, who share a rental house, have roomfuls of "stuff", most of it given in the past as Christmas and birthday gifts, some of it left behind by others who shared the house and moved on.
None of it is "single use". Not even things specifically made for just one thing, perhaps a gravy boat for example. Those kids will grab anything they can lay their hands on to use for whatever they need it for. They're not fussy. No little bowls available for dipping sauces? Pour that sauce into a coffee mug or wine glass and dip away.
"When you're married, all of a sudden you get all this stuff that has only one use. like 'The Popcorn Bowl' and 'The Water Glasses'. I don't know about you, but when I was a bachelor, I only had two bowls and about five glasses and they pulled serious double and triple duty."
from Ghost Story, by Jim Butcher:
"I always considered myself a loner. The sort of person who doesn't feel too upset about the prospect of a weekend seeing no one, and reading good books on the couch. It wasn't like I was a people hater or anything. I enjoyed activities and the company of friends. But they were a side dish. I always thought I would also be happy without them."
Today's Thoughts:
I've borrowed this from the "not always right" website>>
"(I am a nurse. At the hospital where I work, we take care of many patients who are from small, rural towns and are lacking in education. In this situation, the patient needs a blood transfusion. I am teaching the patient and family about the process.)
Me: “I will call the blood bank and get the blood ready to go. When I have the bag, I’ll come hook it up to her IV to infuse it. I’ll be monitoring her vital signs throughout the transfusion.”
Family Member: “How does the blood know where to go?”
Me: “Excuse me? I’m not quite sure what you mean.”
Family Member: “The blood. What tells it where to go?”
Me: “Well it goes into the veins, through her IV catheter.”
Family Member: “How does it know where to go from there?”
Me: “That’s where blood is. In your veins.”
Family Member: “Oh! I’ve always wondered how that worked.”
(Later, after I have received the blood, I am priming the IV tubing with saline. Saline is essentially salt water, so it is clear.)
Family Member: “Is that the blood?”
Me: “…No, this is just saline to prime the tubing.”
Family Member: “Oh, good! I thought my mom was getting some new kind of white blood!”
Me: *face palm*"
I'm a little astonished at this. How is it possible, in this 21st century, for anyone to not know where your blood is?
On TV last night, I saw a short story on Today Tonight about the difficulty older people have in opening supermarket items. Over the years, in attempts to foil theft, many companies have sealed and wrapped items so they can't easily be removed from packaging.
From a supermarket point of view, this is a good thing.
But once we get these items home, we still need to be able to open them.
The TV showed people unable to get a grip on the 'ring-pull' to open ring-pull cans, another person unable to tear open a package of something, she tried to tear it with her hands, she tried to tear it using her teeth; the same lady was shown trying to remove the shrink wrapped seal from a bottle of sauce.
We have all seen this stuff, plastic, shrink wrapped to seal the screw cap of the sauce bottle, the wrap has two lines of perforations, where you tear the wrap to remove it.
The woman tried to tear it with her fingers and couldn't, then she tried to remove it with her teeth.
WHAT?? Her teeth? FFS!
Other people were shown trying to open various items and having difficulty with all of them.
Okay. I get it. Things are sealed. Tightly.
But not one single person in the story was shown reaching for a pair of scissors, to open that "tear here" package.
The woman with the sauce bottle, didn't try using the tip of a sharp knife or pair of scissors, to tear the perforated strip on the sauce bottle seal.
(Just slip the point of the knife or scissor blade under the edge of the perforation and flick it upward. Or snip in the case of scissors. Face the blade away from you).
No one thought to slide a knife blade or the edge of a spoon or even a fork tine under the ring-pull to lever it upwards, thus facilitating easier removal.
What has happened to common sense thinking?
Surely I am not the only one who reaches for scissors or any other thing that will help?
It would never occur to me to try and tear shrink wrapped seal from a sauce bottle with my teeth. That seems more dangerous to me than using a knife.
Let's get back to that first book quote: single use items. It explains why so many people, including myself, have cupboards full of "stuff" that is rarely used.
My two youngest kids, who share a rental house, have roomfuls of "stuff", most of it given in the past as Christmas and birthday gifts, some of it left behind by others who shared the house and moved on.
None of it is "single use". Not even things specifically made for just one thing, perhaps a gravy boat for example. Those kids will grab anything they can lay their hands on to use for whatever they need it for. They're not fussy. No little bowls available for dipping sauces? Pour that sauce into a coffee mug or wine glass and dip away.
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You are so right about common sense. No one seems to know about levers or fulcrums any more. Beside the scissors, I keep a pair of inexpensive pliers in the kitchen drawer to get the seal up on my jar of peanut butter. I admit, it took me a while to notice the two perforated lines to start unzipping a sealed bottle. Now I get the job done even faster than just attacking with the point of my desk scissors.
ReplyDeleteWhy do they still call it "common" sense?
ReplyDeleteLove the Jim Butcher quote. Very true of me.
ReplyDeleteScissors are my friend. Sometimes they are my only hope of getting into packages. And I wouldn't dream of using my teeth. New scissors are much less expensive than teeth.
Common sense, it seems to me, is a lack thereof... good sense, by any other name, is being hoarded like a chocoholic hoards Flake.
ReplyDeleteNo, River...you're not the only one who reaches for the scissors or another sharp object. Commonsense and thinking for one's self are in short supply these days, I believe.
ReplyDeleteRegarding single use items or even multi-use items...only last night I was thinking I really do have to do some decluttering. I have so much "stuff" that I very rarely (some never) use these days now that I no longer have lunch or dinner parties...or parties of any description. I've enough glasses of all descriptions to cater for all tastes. Similar applies to bowls, platters etc. Yes...spring is on the way...maybe it will be a good excuse!! After all, there are only the three of us in this household...Remy, Shama and me...we only need a bowl each! :)
PS...but no less important....how's your back, River?
ReplyDeleteI just keep two pairs of scissors in my kitchen, I need two because i'm always losing them.
ReplyDeleteAs for bowls for one use I have a few and they are all interchangeable.
Merle..........
My mother has great difficulty opening things because she won't look at how it opens. My brother visits her daily and takes lids off etc. Most things aren't hard to open if you do as you say and use tools. What I object to are those hardware blister packs, which I consider very dangerous to open.
ReplyDeleteI know those annoying plastic wrapped bottle/jar lids. I have a small, sharp utility knife at hand to remove said plastic... easily.
ReplyDeleteI am paring down and minimalising everything in our house in preparation for our move sometime late next year and I much prefer to have just a few essentials in the kitchen that do double and triple duty, and I'm very happy with that.
The only place that is filled with "necessary stuff and tools" is my studio, so it's organised chaos in there :)
I have a plastic thingy to open ring pulls, it is curved and slides in under the ring pull. I have always struggled with those and broken many a fingernail. :/
ReplyDeleteJoanne; I have pliers in my kitchen too, regular and needle-nosed, also two sizes of scissors. I remember when bottles were first sealed that way, there was an arrow pointing to the perforated strip and the words tear here.
ReplyDeletefishducky; no idea, since it doesn't seem to be very common. Only all of us smart people use it.
Elephant's Child; scissors certainly are a lot cheaper, I was at the dentist this morning....bye bye $$$$. I keep a pair of nail scissors in the kitchen along with regular ones, they're so handy for getting under the edge of perforated strips to get them started or even to cut completely. Jim Butcher's books are so full of quotable lines! This one is so true of me too.
jacquelineand; flake?? and here I am with no chocolate in the house! I see a trip to the shop later...
Lee; I wish more people had more common sense. I did a lot of decluttering before I moved here, just like every other time I've moved, and more decluttering after I got settled in. I still have things I rarely use, or don't use at all, I just can't seem to let go of them. My mum's crystal dishes, now five instead of the original six, the set of Mickey Mouse glasses from Hungry Jack's years ago, stuff like that.
You Remy and Shama need two bowls each, so one set can soak while the other is in use, plus then you'll still have some if one breaks (*~*)
My back? Well.......it's getting there. an hour in the dentist chair this morning didn't help, plus the bus had uncomfortable seats.
Merle; I never lose my scissors, they are hanging up next to the veggie peelers and coffee mugs. I have a lot of stuff that does double duty too. Why be fussy about which bowl to use?
Andrew; I fear this is the case with so many people. I want to yell at them, "read the instructions!" Hardware blister packs get cut with scissors here, some are pretty tough so I get the tin snips out for those. I have to admit though It's been a long time since I needed to buy hardware.
Vicki; me too, sharp knives and nail scissors. butter knife for getting under the ring pulls. I thought I'd decluttered enough for my move here, but still had too much for the (lack of) cupboards.
Snoskred; I just use a butter knife for the ring pulls. I did recently buy a "jar key" to open vacuum sealed lids on jars. It's so easy now with that. I should post a photo of it.
Common sense is not all that common anymore......we don't need to think for ourselves any more thanks to the technology available to us all...therefore, when technology fails us we have nothing to fall back on. Example in point...we had a contractor replacing our sidewalk yesterday. When he had finished he advised that he had not brought any caution tape with him to rope off the wet cement. He was without any logical solution. The hubs brought up some twine and I brought out some paper scissors and a stapler. I'm sure you can imagine easily what we did with it but he was simply amazed at the solution.
ReplyDeleteDelores; we are the resourceful generation. And I taught my kids, who are teaching their kids.
ReplyDelete