Quick Rant!
Classes are almost over, and then I can actually respond on LJ, or on the Mucks, or anywhere else..! 2 more long papers, one more discussion set..
But, anyhow, a quick observation:
I'm very used to being completely unable to find what I'm looking for, whenever I go out.
Last time, I needed a mouse for the laptop - It needed to be cordless without requiring a gigantic USB dongle, posses nothing more than the scroll wheel and two buttons, and not be tiny, so I could rest my hand on it with more comfort.
It seems now that if its simple, it has a huge monstrous dongle thing, and is intended for desktops only. If it has a short USB tab, it is a tiny thing normally, but if its at all large, it has every feature I don't want - many extra buttons I will accidently push, a scroll wheel which also tilts side to side annoyingly or spins without pause, and a huge premium.
I went through five stores to find out there's just not something that could meet my (I thought..) simple needs. They all had the same set of items, and they didn't even really vary in price, let alone options. When I settled on something small, the scroll wheel is so reluctant to turn, I'm constantly pushing it as a middle mouse button, interfering with my scrolling. This is how it usually ends up!
Anyhow, having switched from the dining room table to a small card table, I discovered why I liked the dining room table better - its taller. The Card Table is made for midgets, 27" tall, whereas the Dining Room table has an extra 3", which means I don't have to imitate the hunchback of Notredame in order to look at the screen and type. Even 30" is a bit short, in fact, if more tolerable. The little card table is also very unstable - and, I thought I might go out to get a quick replacement, a little taller, longer too while I was at it, and hopefully more stable - but, the one thing I absolutely needed was taller.
One.. two.. three.. four stores, this time. Not only did none have a folding table taller than 28", they all had the same damn brand table, and nothing else, basically. These weren't related stores at all, two hardware, one computer, and a big box.
Damnit, sacrificing all variety for convenience and economy of scale sucks when you're anywhere near the fringes.
(This repeats for things like boots for ankle support but not winterization, let alone at my odd size..)
But, anyhow, a quick observation:
I'm very used to being completely unable to find what I'm looking for, whenever I go out.
Last time, I needed a mouse for the laptop - It needed to be cordless without requiring a gigantic USB dongle, posses nothing more than the scroll wheel and two buttons, and not be tiny, so I could rest my hand on it with more comfort.
It seems now that if its simple, it has a huge monstrous dongle thing, and is intended for desktops only. If it has a short USB tab, it is a tiny thing normally, but if its at all large, it has every feature I don't want - many extra buttons I will accidently push, a scroll wheel which also tilts side to side annoyingly or spins without pause, and a huge premium.
I went through five stores to find out there's just not something that could meet my (I thought..) simple needs. They all had the same set of items, and they didn't even really vary in price, let alone options. When I settled on something small, the scroll wheel is so reluctant to turn, I'm constantly pushing it as a middle mouse button, interfering with my scrolling. This is how it usually ends up!
Anyhow, having switched from the dining room table to a small card table, I discovered why I liked the dining room table better - its taller. The Card Table is made for midgets, 27" tall, whereas the Dining Room table has an extra 3", which means I don't have to imitate the hunchback of Notredame in order to look at the screen and type. Even 30" is a bit short, in fact, if more tolerable. The little card table is also very unstable - and, I thought I might go out to get a quick replacement, a little taller, longer too while I was at it, and hopefully more stable - but, the one thing I absolutely needed was taller.
One.. two.. three.. four stores, this time. Not only did none have a folding table taller than 28", they all had the same damn brand table, and nothing else, basically. These weren't related stores at all, two hardware, one computer, and a big box.
Damnit, sacrificing all variety for convenience and economy of scale sucks when you're anywhere near the fringes.
(This repeats for things like boots for ankle support but not winterization, let alone at my odd size..)