Terramagne Conveniences
Mar. 8th, 2018 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithA friend tipped me to this list of clever (and half-clever) gadgets and gizmos that are likely to be more common in T-America than here.
This Check Out Lane Scans Items As They Pass Through On The Belt
Available, but not as good as it looks. You have to get the barcode facing up and exactly right. By the time you're done fucking with it, you might as well just do it by hand. RFID works better but has many other concerns, and people in Terramagne don't like it for those reasons. Kraken keeps trying to perfect a belt scanner because it'd save so much time and effort if it could be made to work.
The Mirror In A Hotel In Japan Has A Heated Part That Won’t Steam Up After A Shower
Gizmo. Nice when it works, but prone to failure. It is easier to treat the glass with something to make it hydrophobic. None of which is as cheap as wiping it with your hand or a towel. Still, you see this in swanky places.
This Swing Is Designed So That The Kid And The Parent Can Swing Together
Looks fun until you realize the kid will kick you in the face or chest. However, T-America has many alternative swings and some are better designs of tandem.
Shop Has Light Settings So You Can See How Good/Bad Your Outfit Will Look At Different Times Of Day
Works as long as the lightbulbs and switches last. You'll also see a version with Daylight and some combination of Incandescent, Fluorescent, and LED. This type of lighting requires more maintenance, but does offer excellent benefits. It gets more common the more expensive the stores get. This is retro-engineered tech.
In Rwanda The Stoplights Have The Seconds Until The Light Changes On Them
Useful in proportion to literacy, and very common in T-America. However, an hourglass works better as it does not require counting or reading. That's also very common.
This Elevator Has Buttons You Can Kick For Sanitization Purposes
Excess wear and tear on equipment, and not obvious to people used to hand controls. Rare.
This Fence Is Shaped To Create Seating
Ubiquitous. T-America has benches just everywhere, in all kinds of configurations. Many are incorporated into other features to save space and money.
This Pill Bottle Lid Tells You When You Last Opened It
Extremely useful, works as long as the batteries last. In T-America you can get these free at many pharmacies, and the batteries will last at least as long as the prescription does. Or you can buy a nicer model with replaceable batteries.
Some Roads In Australia Are So Long And Boring They Have Trivia Signs To Keep Drivers Alert
Common in places like T-Montana. So are diversion structures, like where they make the road go in a loop to wake up drivers.
This Chicken Comes With A Strip That Shows How Many Days Before It Goes Bad
Ubiquitous. Most perishables in T-America have a practical spoilage sensor if such can be constructed for the type of spoilage affecting that product. Simple timers are no more useful than printed dates, thus not worth the extra cost.
You Can Rent Sleeping Cabins At This Airport
Very common in T-America, and in fact, some places have free nap rooms.
This Bathroom Door Handle Has A Built-In Hand Sanitizer Dispenser
Looks clever until you hit it with your hip and get that shit on your clothes. Rare.
This Elevator Has A Call Button 30 Feet Away So The Doors Will Be Open By The Time You Get To Them
Useful, and common in nicer hotels and other large buildings.
These ModFamily Silicone Stretch Lids That Keep Your Leftovers Fresh
Clever, but then you have to wash the damn things, and the framed ones take up extra space. Most people don't want the bother. Available, but limited in popularity.
Two Story Target In Minneapolis Has An Escalator Just For Carts
Useful, but only in big department stores where people routinely fill their carts. Uncommon.
This Credit Card Tip Jar
Efficient and popular, appearing in many places where people routinely pay with cards. In the Maldives, they are absolutely ubiquitous for zakat.
The Roofs Of UPS Trucks Are Not Brown. They’re Translucent So The Inside Of The Truck Doesn’t Need To Be Lit During The Day
Effective for lighting, but translucent panels are less durable than metal. In use.
A Bottle Of Canadian Whisky Came With Free Public Transportation
Common on midrange bottles of alcohol. Some towns have a program that pays for such tags. It's one of many subsidies that make rides readily available to people who shouldn't be driving. Almost all places that sell liquor, and most taxis, have a "skippy jar" where people put in funds to cover emergency rides for drunk folks. This keeps everyone safer.
In Copenhagen There Is A Children’s Bicycling Playground, Where They Can Practice Bicycling In The City, And Learn The Rules, Before They Enter The Streets
Ubiquitous. Many preschools and elementary schools have one. Almost every town has at least one playground with this feature, and most of those have reasonably accurate signage and road markings.
The Back Of This Park Bench Can Swing Back And Forth, Allowing The User To Face Either Direction
More wear and tear on the equipment than a static bench, but ideal for anywhere with bifocal attractions, such as between a river and its flanking park. Very common.
This Hot Sauce Bottle Allows You To Adjust The Spice Level
When gizmologists are also picky eaters. :D Variable quality, seen occasionally.
Accessibility Matt On The Beach For Wheelchairs And Strollers
Ubiquitous, although high-traffic beaches usually have a boardwalk or paved path that is more durable. Mats are portable though. T-American public beaches are required to have accessible materials like mats and beach wheelchairs. How much they have and how good it is tends to vary by quality of beach.
This Restaurant Has A “Toepener” For People Who Want To Avoid Germs On The Doorknob
Snagging / tripping hazard in that format. However, you see recessed toe pedals on doors or walls where people often have their hands full, like restaurants and hospitals.
New Desk’s Parts Came Separated By Steps Instead Of By Item
Prevailing, although it varies somewhat by quality of manufacturer. I've seen some Legos sorted this way, and others by item.
Beach Has A Sunscreen Station
Common in the north, ubiquitous in the south. In fact the more aggressive the sun gets, the higher the chance that the sunscreen station is required to be free for reasons of public health.
These Batteries Have A USB Port To Charge Them
Ubiquitous and useful.
A Spatula Has A Stand So The Bit That Touches Your Food Doesn’t Touch The Counter
Common on a variety of kitchen utensils. You can use the same gadget to hang it inside a pot from the rim.
This Pasta Box Helps Approximate How Much Pasta To Make
Ubiquitous, cheap, and almost as effective as the ring-shaped ones without taking up extra space in a drawer.
This Elevator Shows How Close To Capacity It Is Based On The Weight Of The Riders
Effective and common in better elevators.
This College Has Foot Flushers For The Toilets
Right idea, wrong shape. Anything operated by foot needs to be pedal shaped. A hand flush on the floor is no use. Foot pedals appear occasionally.
This USB Drive Displays How Much Of Its Storage Is Being Used
Very common and effective.
A Local Library Has Vault You Can Go Into To Talk On Your Phone
Very common in quiet places. T-American libraries are as quiet now as L-American ones used to be. There are often separate rooms for group study, computers, or other noisy activities. These have closed doors to protect the serenity of the library.
Local Pizza Joint Puts One Of Every Filler On Top Of The Stromboli
More effective than marking a letter or number on top. Very common, especially in areas with lots of less-verbal or foreign people.
Shopping Cart With A Calculator
Common in better stores, but the T-American version has automatic functions for local sales tax (usually several options) and common discounts.
This Tire Tells You To Change It When It’s Time To Change It
Ubiquitous and effective.
A Local Laundromat Has Gym Equipment To Use As You Are Waiting For Your Load To Finish
Available in nicer laundromats, such as colleges or good apartment buildings.
A Cupboard Drip that Drys Into The Sink
Only as good as its aim, and really needs to be made of plastic throughout. However, this appears in some micro apartments and tiny homes as a way to save space.
This Juice Carton Tells You How Many Glasses You Have Left
A little more prone to leaking, but fairly secure. Many transparent bottles have serving marks on them.
These Chairs Have A Notch Cut In Them To Keep Your Bag From Slipping Off
Requires careful design to avoid posing a snag hazard. Ubiquitous in colleges and other schools, common in bus stations and so forth.
Wash Your Hands And Reuse The Water For Your Next Flush
Effective, but poses a real risk of getting your hair or clothes wet when you sit down. Most popular in areas with low water supply, and a terrific space saver in tiny bathrooms.
So why does T-America have such widespread solutions to common problems? They close the feedback loop. There are systems in place to assess new products and processes as they are introduced, identify the best ones, and then copy those in other places. While an individual can't do that on a state or national scale, anyone with a bit of influence at a company or other organization can propose replicating good ideas. Then if someone solves a problem at one workstation or office, they have somewhere to pass the word so other folks can do likewise. Even if it's just "Hey guys, I found a refill cartridge that doesn't leave ink on your hands," that makes a difference.
Similarly, many organizations and websites keep an archive of known solutions for common problems. I've only found a few such examples here, beyond the obvious FAQ pages, but there are starting to be some good lists of accommodations for disabilities.
https://odr.dc.gov/book/manual-accommodating-employees-disabilities/types-reasonable-accommodation
https://askjan.org/links/atoz.htm
This is a key reason why I make archive posts of hard-to-find resources.
This Check Out Lane Scans Items As They Pass Through On The Belt
Available, but not as good as it looks. You have to get the barcode facing up and exactly right. By the time you're done fucking with it, you might as well just do it by hand. RFID works better but has many other concerns, and people in Terramagne don't like it for those reasons. Kraken keeps trying to perfect a belt scanner because it'd save so much time and effort if it could be made to work.
The Mirror In A Hotel In Japan Has A Heated Part That Won’t Steam Up After A Shower
Gizmo. Nice when it works, but prone to failure. It is easier to treat the glass with something to make it hydrophobic. None of which is as cheap as wiping it with your hand or a towel. Still, you see this in swanky places.
This Swing Is Designed So That The Kid And The Parent Can Swing Together
Looks fun until you realize the kid will kick you in the face or chest. However, T-America has many alternative swings and some are better designs of tandem.
Shop Has Light Settings So You Can See How Good/Bad Your Outfit Will Look At Different Times Of Day
Works as long as the lightbulbs and switches last. You'll also see a version with Daylight and some combination of Incandescent, Fluorescent, and LED. This type of lighting requires more maintenance, but does offer excellent benefits. It gets more common the more expensive the stores get. This is retro-engineered tech.
In Rwanda The Stoplights Have The Seconds Until The Light Changes On Them
Useful in proportion to literacy, and very common in T-America. However, an hourglass works better as it does not require counting or reading. That's also very common.
This Elevator Has Buttons You Can Kick For Sanitization Purposes
Excess wear and tear on equipment, and not obvious to people used to hand controls. Rare.
This Fence Is Shaped To Create Seating
Ubiquitous. T-America has benches just everywhere, in all kinds of configurations. Many are incorporated into other features to save space and money.
This Pill Bottle Lid Tells You When You Last Opened It
Extremely useful, works as long as the batteries last. In T-America you can get these free at many pharmacies, and the batteries will last at least as long as the prescription does. Or you can buy a nicer model with replaceable batteries.
Some Roads In Australia Are So Long And Boring They Have Trivia Signs To Keep Drivers Alert
Common in places like T-Montana. So are diversion structures, like where they make the road go in a loop to wake up drivers.
This Chicken Comes With A Strip That Shows How Many Days Before It Goes Bad
Ubiquitous. Most perishables in T-America have a practical spoilage sensor if such can be constructed for the type of spoilage affecting that product. Simple timers are no more useful than printed dates, thus not worth the extra cost.
You Can Rent Sleeping Cabins At This Airport
Very common in T-America, and in fact, some places have free nap rooms.
This Bathroom Door Handle Has A Built-In Hand Sanitizer Dispenser
Looks clever until you hit it with your hip and get that shit on your clothes. Rare.
This Elevator Has A Call Button 30 Feet Away So The Doors Will Be Open By The Time You Get To Them
Useful, and common in nicer hotels and other large buildings.
These ModFamily Silicone Stretch Lids That Keep Your Leftovers Fresh
Clever, but then you have to wash the damn things, and the framed ones take up extra space. Most people don't want the bother. Available, but limited in popularity.
Two Story Target In Minneapolis Has An Escalator Just For Carts
Useful, but only in big department stores where people routinely fill their carts. Uncommon.
This Credit Card Tip Jar
Efficient and popular, appearing in many places where people routinely pay with cards. In the Maldives, they are absolutely ubiquitous for zakat.
The Roofs Of UPS Trucks Are Not Brown. They’re Translucent So The Inside Of The Truck Doesn’t Need To Be Lit During The Day
Effective for lighting, but translucent panels are less durable than metal. In use.
A Bottle Of Canadian Whisky Came With Free Public Transportation
Common on midrange bottles of alcohol. Some towns have a program that pays for such tags. It's one of many subsidies that make rides readily available to people who shouldn't be driving. Almost all places that sell liquor, and most taxis, have a "skippy jar" where people put in funds to cover emergency rides for drunk folks. This keeps everyone safer.
In Copenhagen There Is A Children’s Bicycling Playground, Where They Can Practice Bicycling In The City, And Learn The Rules, Before They Enter The Streets
Ubiquitous. Many preschools and elementary schools have one. Almost every town has at least one playground with this feature, and most of those have reasonably accurate signage and road markings.
The Back Of This Park Bench Can Swing Back And Forth, Allowing The User To Face Either Direction
More wear and tear on the equipment than a static bench, but ideal for anywhere with bifocal attractions, such as between a river and its flanking park. Very common.
This Hot Sauce Bottle Allows You To Adjust The Spice Level
When gizmologists are also picky eaters. :D Variable quality, seen occasionally.
Accessibility Matt On The Beach For Wheelchairs And Strollers
Ubiquitous, although high-traffic beaches usually have a boardwalk or paved path that is more durable. Mats are portable though. T-American public beaches are required to have accessible materials like mats and beach wheelchairs. How much they have and how good it is tends to vary by quality of beach.
This Restaurant Has A “Toepener” For People Who Want To Avoid Germs On The Doorknob
Snagging / tripping hazard in that format. However, you see recessed toe pedals on doors or walls where people often have their hands full, like restaurants and hospitals.
New Desk’s Parts Came Separated By Steps Instead Of By Item
Prevailing, although it varies somewhat by quality of manufacturer. I've seen some Legos sorted this way, and others by item.
Beach Has A Sunscreen Station
Common in the north, ubiquitous in the south. In fact the more aggressive the sun gets, the higher the chance that the sunscreen station is required to be free for reasons of public health.
These Batteries Have A USB Port To Charge Them
Ubiquitous and useful.
A Spatula Has A Stand So The Bit That Touches Your Food Doesn’t Touch The Counter
Common on a variety of kitchen utensils. You can use the same gadget to hang it inside a pot from the rim.
This Pasta Box Helps Approximate How Much Pasta To Make
Ubiquitous, cheap, and almost as effective as the ring-shaped ones without taking up extra space in a drawer.
This Elevator Shows How Close To Capacity It Is Based On The Weight Of The Riders
Effective and common in better elevators.
This College Has Foot Flushers For The Toilets
Right idea, wrong shape. Anything operated by foot needs to be pedal shaped. A hand flush on the floor is no use. Foot pedals appear occasionally.
This USB Drive Displays How Much Of Its Storage Is Being Used
Very common and effective.
A Local Library Has Vault You Can Go Into To Talk On Your Phone
Very common in quiet places. T-American libraries are as quiet now as L-American ones used to be. There are often separate rooms for group study, computers, or other noisy activities. These have closed doors to protect the serenity of the library.
Local Pizza Joint Puts One Of Every Filler On Top Of The Stromboli
More effective than marking a letter or number on top. Very common, especially in areas with lots of less-verbal or foreign people.
Shopping Cart With A Calculator
Common in better stores, but the T-American version has automatic functions for local sales tax (usually several options) and common discounts.
This Tire Tells You To Change It When It’s Time To Change It
Ubiquitous and effective.
A Local Laundromat Has Gym Equipment To Use As You Are Waiting For Your Load To Finish
Available in nicer laundromats, such as colleges or good apartment buildings.
A Cupboard Drip that Drys Into The Sink
Only as good as its aim, and really needs to be made of plastic throughout. However, this appears in some micro apartments and tiny homes as a way to save space.
This Juice Carton Tells You How Many Glasses You Have Left
A little more prone to leaking, but fairly secure. Many transparent bottles have serving marks on them.
These Chairs Have A Notch Cut In Them To Keep Your Bag From Slipping Off
Requires careful design to avoid posing a snag hazard. Ubiquitous in colleges and other schools, common in bus stations and so forth.
Wash Your Hands And Reuse The Water For Your Next Flush
Effective, but poses a real risk of getting your hair or clothes wet when you sit down. Most popular in areas with low water supply, and a terrific space saver in tiny bathrooms.
So why does T-America have such widespread solutions to common problems? They close the feedback loop. There are systems in place to assess new products and processes as they are introduced, identify the best ones, and then copy those in other places. While an individual can't do that on a state or national scale, anyone with a bit of influence at a company or other organization can propose replicating good ideas. Then if someone solves a problem at one workstation or office, they have somewhere to pass the word so other folks can do likewise. Even if it's just "Hey guys, I found a refill cartridge that doesn't leave ink on your hands," that makes a difference.
Similarly, many organizations and websites keep an archive of known solutions for common problems. I've only found a few such examples here, beyond the obvious FAQ pages, but there are starting to be some good lists of accommodations for disabilities.
https://odr.dc.gov/book/manual-accommodating-employees-disabilities/types-reasonable-accommodation
https://askjan.org/links/atoz.htm
This is a key reason why I make archive posts of hard-to-find resources.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-09 02:40 am (UTC)Cartridges are almost *always* neater than bottle filling for pens. The one advantage to bottle-filling is that since the ink flows up through the nib to get to the converter/piston/whathaveyou, the pen starts instantly; with a cartridge, you have to persuade the ink to flow down...
Enter TWSBI and their clever inkwells. The little vac ones are no better than your average bottle, but the big ones... twist the section off your pen, exposing the nipple that connects the piston section to it. Remove the upper half of the cap on the ink bottle, exposing the mating connection. Twist your piston down to the bottom, press the piston section of the pen onto the mating section of the bottle, and twist to suck up ink. A couple of cycles will get excess air out of the system and give you a nice full pen... and you don't have to dry the nib! Though you should keep a bit of tissue around because you're probably going to have to twist the piston back just a bit to start the pen, and it's inevitably going to blort out a drop or two... but it beats getting the whole thing messy by a country mile!
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-09 02:42 am (UTC)Yes ...
Date: 2018-03-09 02:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-09 03:19 am (UTC)Well ...
Date: 2018-03-09 03:38 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-09 03:21 am (UTC)I've never seen the moveable seat-back on a park bench, but they have those on the commuter trains so everyone can sit facing forward regardless of which direction the train is going (at the end of the line, the conductors flip them and it's as easy and just walking through going flip-flip-flip; I watched them do it once). Also when groups are traveling together and willing to ride backward, they can flip a seat themselves so four people can face each other and chat.
I wish I had that cupboard dish drainer over my sink. (I'm in a tiny apartment and it would be super useful.)
Thoughts
Date: 2018-03-09 03:37 am (UTC)That's brilliant. Some places have parking under an apartment or store and that's another way to save space. T-America is much more space-conscious than L-America. They don't like wasting acres on parking.
>>I've never seen the moveable seat-back on a park bench, but they have those on the commuter trains so everyone can sit facing forward regardless of which direction the train is going (at the end of the line, the conductors flip them and it's as easy and just walking through going flip-flip-flip; I watched them do it once). <<
That's nifty too.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-03-09 04:25 am (UTC)I've seen the toe door opener, but boy is it not designed for ladies' shoes while dressed up. I suppose it's more for the staff.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-09 11:53 am (UTC)We let kids design our city -- here's what happened
TL;DW summary: Kids are marginalized from society in parallel ways to many disenfranchised adults (don't drive, don't have heaps of disposable income, aren't as literate, etc.), so when you ask them to design features of a city that meets their needs, then everybody's needs get met.
A little bit of Terramagne leakage...
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-10 03:54 am (UTC)Though sad to see that TED talks still don't offer transcripts. Youtube's auto-captioning does a decent job in this one.
- I. M.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-10 12:40 pm (UTC)The irony -- it burns!
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-09 05:52 pm (UTC)What I've seen in a few places is elevators that don't simply have a call button 30 feet away - you punch in your floor and you get directed to the correct elevator so that all the people going to the same stop are grouped together instead of the elevator stopping at every damn floor.
A Local Laundromat Has Gym Equipment To Use As You Are Waiting For Your Load To Finish
Hey, in Brooklyn we've got a local laundromat with an entire pinball arcade shoved in the back.
This College Has Foot Flushers For The Toilets
All I want in my public bathroom is foot pedals for the sinks. No automatic taps that only dispense a tiny amount of cold water. No sensors that never sense where my hand is. Pedals. In hot and cold. Don't care about the toilet, I'll wash my hands.
In Rwanda The Stoplights Have The Seconds Until The Light Changes On Them
Ahem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQJEHPD7Nvo
Also: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-43046426
Thoughts
Date: 2018-03-09 07:52 pm (UTC)Those things are horrible because they're too different from the established standard. Every building that uses them has a permanent problem with visitors -- or even sleepy employees -- getting on an elevator and being stuck because there are no buttons inside. I've read about projects where the reception was so bad in the first building completed, the plan was modified to have normal elevators in subsequent buildings.
The floor-shuffling problem can be addressed in various ways. Often, certain floors have higher traffic, in which case an express elevator may go there. It's almost always useful for tall buildings to have an express-down to the first floor, for instance. If traffic is nearly equal, then floors can be chunked into banks, so that one elevator services 1-10 and the next 11-21, etc.
>> All I want in my public bathroom is foot pedals for the sinks. No automatic taps that only dispense a tiny amount of cold water. No sensors that never sense where my hand is. Pedals. In hot and cold. Don't care about the toilet, I'll wash my hands. <<
Yeah, "automatic" fixtures are horrible. If the toilet doesn't flush, I don't care, I'm done with it anyway. But if the sink won't turn on, there's no way for me to wash my hands. And I've noticed that more and more people are learning the sinks don't work in half the bathrooms, so they just quit trying.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-09 06:41 pm (UTC)>> T-American libraries are as quiet now as L-American ones used to be. <<
How were they before, here?
The local college libraries tend to be silent, with separate areas for group meetings and sometimes rooms for computers or quiet individual study. Everyone's usually there for the same purpose, which helps keep the noise down.
Local public libraries are noisy though. The quiet study rooms are often a full separate conference room with desk cubbies or chairs, which only means that they block out some of the main traffic but you can still hear everything going on in the room. Not ideal when you want real silence - you're better off finding a quiet corner in the main area.
The one closest to the house does a lot of children's activities, and they try to keep it separate from the reading areas - but with an open floorplan and lots of younger kids there's a pretty good chance you're going to deal with running or wailing at parts of the day on most days.
- I. M.
Well ...
Date: 2018-03-09 08:26 pm (UTC)Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-03-09 09:59 pm (UTC)I wonder what that's due to. College libraries have a focal point to structure themselves around - quiet places meant for study - and the right type of population to maintain it.
Public libraries seem to be functioning as community centers. Classes or guides on library etiquette would help for older kids and up, but younger ones might not have the self control needed to follow those directions if they aren't already used to quiet environments. What might help more would be a play area in one of the already-noisy parts of the library to entertain kids while their parents go browse, or have private study areas that actually *are* designed to be noise-absorbing and away from the rest of the library's traffic. When the nearest one here was remodeled, it didn't seem to have those features in mind.
- I. M.
Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-03-10 12:48 am (UTC)Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-03-10 01:29 am (UTC)Re: Well ...
Date: 2018-03-10 05:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-13 04:09 am (UTC)-> Mat. (Matt may or may not be accessible; it's up to him.)
• A Cupboard Drip that Drys Into The Sink
> Garbled. If you mean "dries", it's misspelled and doesn't make sense anyway. "Cupboard drip" is meaningless to me; do you mean (what I've always heard called) a drying rack that sits in a cupboard above the sink and drains into it (preferably through a tube rather than dripping)? -- ISTM that such a gadget would be much better on an open shelf than inside a cupboard, both to facilitate evaporation and to make the whole thing easy to reach. You really don't want it as high as most cupboards I know, including my own: reaching UP above shoulder height and over the sides so you can put a bowl or a cup DOWN onto the rack would make for a really bad UX.