Curmudgeon's Corner: "Helpful" packaging that ain't helpful.

We are full well into autumn now, here in the Northern Hemisphere, and with Samhain just around the corner, it's time to take stock of what we've harvested this year. More on that next week, maybe.

It's also the sort of time when little gripes grab our attention. Take, for example, the packaging of the two items in the photo below. (I'm not complaining abou the spices -- they're fine.)

Lynne Cantwell 2026

(Yes, I'm calling out Albertson's/Safeway. They appear to be the worst offenders, at least to me.)

Remember back in the old days, when ziploc bags were first introduced, and we all thought it would be great if they were added to everything? Yeah. Sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's not. Take the shredded cheese packet on the left. Pros: There's a ziploc at the top of the package, hooray! Cons: the zipper part is kinda faulty. The sides don't match up exactly. So I really have to concentrate when I shut the bag, or else the zipper doesn't zip, and I end up with dried-out cheese the next time I use it. This doesn't always happen, but it happens often enough that I'm annoyed by it every time.

Frozen veggies from this store's brand also have ziploc closures installed -- but the zipper isn't at the very top of the bag. Instead, it's positioned about an inch down from the top on one side, forming a sort of envelope closure, and it doesn't go all the way across. That works fine when the bag is mostly full, but it's a stupid design when I'm trying to extract the last of the contents; invariably some get caught in the top portion of the bag, above the zipper, and I have to fight to get it all out.

Speaking of having to fight to get the last of something out, let's look at that half-and-half carton. Kudos for using waxed paperboard instead of plastic. But the "convenient" spout on the side of the carton makes it a real pain to get the last bit out. If I open up one of the sides that's folded in and make a spout, as generations of schoolchildren had to do with small cartons of milk from the cafeteria, invariably another serving of half-and-half pours right out. 

If I were the suspicious sort, I would wonder whether these "convenient" closures have been added to these packages to make consumers give up in frustration and buy more of the same product sooner. They wouldn't actually do that, would they? 

Or would they?

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I've sometimes wondered why manufacturers of cereal packaging don't put ziploc closures on their products. Seems like a no-brainer: the cereal would stay fresher longer, especially for folks who live in humid parts of the country. Nothing like a big bowl of mushy cereal to get your morning off to a great start, amirite?

But, see, if they did that, people wouldn't get so disgusted by soggy cereal that they'd throw it out and buy a new box.

We could count the ways that Big Grocery tries to trick us into wasting their products so that we give them money for new stuff before it's strictly necessary. And I'm happy to do that (I'm taking nominees!). But wouldn't it be great if manufacturers were honest and actually acted to make our lives easier, instead of just claiming to while tricking us into spending more? Especially when prices for everything keep going up and up?

Yeah, I know, they'll get right on that. Right after we get universal healthcare in this country.

Which is to say that I'm not holding my breath.

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These moments of curmudgeonly blogginess have been brought to you, as a public service, by Lynne Cantwell. Vote early (but not often)! Drop your ballot in your city's or county's official ballot box! Or make plans to vote in person on Election Day! Don't let the bastards win!

My life is in a small device.

I am writing this post on Saturday afternoon while waiting to get my phone back from the repair place. I took it in for repairs because I've been seeing this screen way too often: 

georgejmclittle | Deposit Photos

I've also been getting an ominous warning fairly frequently when I charge it -- that it's stopping at 80% charged until the phone cools down. And yes, when I get that message, the phone is warm to the touch.

It turns out the battery in my iPhone SE (3rd generation) was 76% degraded. So it's getting a new battery installed.

Since I have no life without my phone, I am here at home on my laptop, writing this week's post about ... my phone.

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The iPhone SE (3rd generation) was released on March 18, 2022. I bought mine the following month. I'm not usually an early adopter -- I had a perfectly serviceable 2nd generation SE at the time -- but Apple sucked me in with the promise of lightning-fast 5G service, which the 2nd-generation phone wouldn't support. As I was newly retired and intended to keep my phone for a really long time, I went ahead and got the 5G-enabled phone.

The SE models never really caught on; people seem to want to carry massive electronic slabs these days. But I like the smaller size. It fits in the pockets of all of my slacks (although it's a tight fit in a couple of them), so I don't have to carry a purse if I don't want to. I've got the phone in a wallet-type case that has just enough slots for my driver's license, my debit card, and my all-important buy-nine-salads-get-the-tenth-free punch card from the boutique grocery store near the office.

It cannot be overstated how much having a computer in my pocket has changed my life. It's not just that it feeds my social-media doomscrolling habit; it also provides ready access to news, weather, and entertainment. I blogged here not long ago about how many daily games I've gotten used to playing; they're all on my phone, of course. (Update: I'm playing Connections off and on these days. I'd love to update my Flow Free streak for you, but alas, that info is on my phone.)

The older I get, the more limiting the print on a small screen is becoming. But I want to keep the phone to a small form factor, so I'm mildly interested in the new flip-phone models. I might eventually get one. But I'm going to wait to see how it goes with this new battery. And I'll also see how long Apple keeps supporting my SE. Once they stop pushing down updates to its security and operating systems, I'll have to consider getting a different model. Mama Google's best guess on that is another three to five years. But only Apple knows for sure, and they're not telling.

I also wonder whether you can even get a physical wallet for one of these new flip phones. I mean, my driver's license and debit card can be added to my phone electronically, but my free-salad punch card can't!

(Good thing I'm not itching to get an iPhone Duo; they won't be released until this week, and already they're backordered into January.)

***

It's a little scary how much I depend on my phone. After dropping it off, I went to run some other errands, including picking up something I'd ordered -- the order number for which was, of course, in an email on my phone. Luckily they were able to find the order with my phone number.

Also, random questions pop into my brain during the day, and I'll often pull out my phone to look up the answer on the spot. Not today, babycakes! I suppose I could have made a note to look up those questions later, but I didn't have pen and paper handy. And why should I? There's a notes app on my phone.

I suppose this digital detox is good for me, even if it's only for an afternoon. But that doesn't mean I'll be going cold turkey anytime soon. By the time you read this, I'll happily have my phone back, and all this whining will be but a memory.

***

What's your cell phone situation these days? Are you carrying a slab, a folding phone, or (you brave soul!) nothing at all?

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These moments of phone-free blogginess have been brought to you, as a public service, by Lynne Cantwell. Get out and vote! I already did!

Getting back into knitting.

Now that the recovery from carpal tunnel surgery on my right hand is progressing to "only wear a brace when moving furniture and the like", I'm beginning to commence to restart some of the hobbies I used to do before my hands started to bug me so much. No, not writing, at least not yet; if I do go back, it'll be after the left hand is done. No, I'm talking about knitting.

Alert hearth/myth readers know that I used to knit a lot. A month or so ago, on a whim, I joined a FB group for beginning knitters, and as such things do, I started to get the urge again. I've been casting sidelong glances at the shawl I started knitting three! years! ago! (the pattern is called The Minimalist and the yarn is Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering in the Coquette colorway) and have just about admitted to myself that I'll never finish it. I mean, I might finish it. I'm pretty far along. But whether it's the pattern or the yarn color or the fact that my shawl tote is already so full that the top is about to pop off, it's just not inspiring me.

So last weekend, I went over to my closest local yarn shop and began to search for inspiration. In my experience, there is nothing like a yarn shop for inspiration -- all those squishable yarns in beautiful colors, with sample garments and accessories knitted up to help you visualize what your project might look like when it's done.

In chatting with one of the owners, I explained my situation and mentioned that I was thinking of getting back into knitting not by finishing the shawl languishing at home, but by making a cardigan. 

The skeptical look she gave me only strengthened my resolve. 

The new project and Tigs' paws.
Lynne Cantwell 2026

For those who care about such things, the yarn is Malabrigo Rios, four skeins of Cian (the lighter blue) and two of Azul Profundo (the darker blue). If they'd had six skeins of the Cian, I would have stuck with just that color. But I figure I can use the dark blue for the button band, bottom band, pockets (one of which you see here), and however much of the bottom sections and cuffs of the sleeves is left when I run out of the Cian.

Almost immediately upon arriving home, I cast on for the sweater, using the pattern for a raglan sweater in Ann Budd's The Handy Book of Knitting Top-Down Sweaters. I have made several sweaters from patterns in this book before, including the raglan-sleeve one, and after knitting a few rows of this new sweater, I couldn't figure out why I hadn't had to start the raglan sleeve increases yet. Then I realized I had accidentally been using the pattern for a sweater with set-in sleeves. I could have kept going, but I don't want to make a cardigan with set-in sleeves. I want to make one with raglan sleeves. At least I didn't have much to frog.

The patterns in the book are very basic, so you can zhuzh it up with your own details. For example, there are no directions in here for patch pockets, but they're easy to add; ditto for changing up the style of edgings and trim. I want to make a cardigan because I have approximately a billion buttons in my stash; the easiest option would be to make the bands out of 1x1 or 2x2 ribbing, but I've decided to use a fun round cable detail on the pocket fabric and I'm thinking it would be cool to do a similar detail on the button band. So now progress has stopped on the sweater yoke while I go spelunking for patterns with cabled button bands. 

Full disclosure: Progress on this blog post stopped for a bit just now while I did more spelunking. I did get some ideas from this latest round, at least. I think the next step will be to dig through the button stash. I know there are some bright yellow buttons in there, and for some reason they keep pinging at my brain. Once I've got that decision made, I'll go back to knitting, I swears it.

Who knows? Maybe this project will give me an idea for a new book.

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Squishy surgery recovery, and: home improvements, oh boy.

The recovery: As I mentioned last week, I had carpal tunnel and trigger finger surgery on my right hand on September 11. The stitches came out this past Monday. Everything looks good (I'm sparing you a pic, "good" being a relative term), but I have to wear the wrist brace part-time for another week, and then only with heavy activity for another four weeks. Also for the next week, I'm not supposed to do any pushing, pulling, or lifting of anything heavier than a cup of coffee (actually what the PA said was that the weight limit was five pounds -- I didn't ask where he gets his mugs). So it probably wasn't a good idea for me to vacuum and mop the Saltillo tile floors today, but they were too gross to let it go another week, thanks to the construction project I'll get to in a sec.

The other thing I'm supposed to be doing is exercising my right hand by squeezing something three times a day. He said a stress ball would work, or a rolled-up towel if I didn't have a stress ball. "No worries," I said. "The towel won't be necessary." 

Part of the collection. I have more at the office.
Lynne Cantwell 2026

He's lucky I didn't start listing them.

***

Home improvements, oh boy: It was just last summer that I was explaining here on the blog about swamp coolers and how well they work for cooling here in the Southwest, including in my apartment, which has never had any sort of whole-house cooling because 40 years ago, Santa Fe would get maybe two 90-degree days a year.

I'm now eating my words, because this summer was brutal. This was the hottest summer ever recorded in Santa Fe. We had 63 days where the official daytime temperature reached at least 90 degrees, with two days in August hitting 98. It was also really dry this summer. And because the water tanks on the swamp coolers only hold enough for about four hours of cooling, I couldn't leave them on all day when I was at work, or leave the house for more than four hours. So I'm having a mini-split system installed.

Because my condo building is such a unicorn, it is taking the installers way longer than normal to put the thing in. The initial estimate was two to three days; tomorrow starts week two. It doesn't help that the monsoons have finally kicked in, which means no outside work when it starts thundering. I'm not complaining about their safety, or about the rain, which we need (we're in "exceptional drought" status). I just, y'know, want to have my cake and eat it, too.

One advantage of getting the mini-split installed, besides not dying from the heat, is that it's a heat pump system. So I'll be able to get rid of some or all of the electric baseboard heaters in this place. I need to lose at least one because the mini-split system will need one of those breakers. Mini-splits are supposed to be much more efficient than baseboard heat, so I'm hoping my electric bill will go down, despite adding A/C. Stay tuned.

***

Alert hearth/myth readers know that I am constantly looking for ways to further gussy up the condo. So to take my mind off the installers making construction racket while I was working at home this week, I started thinking about a replacement for the perfectly serviceable ceiling fixture in the kitchen. The fixture that was there when I bought the place got damaged in the aftermath of the second flood, so I picked up the cheapest possible LED fixture at Walmart and paid an electrician to put it in for me. It works fine, but it's doing zero for the room style-wise. So I went spelunking online for flush mount ceiling fixtures that would work with my Southwestern boho vibe.

I ran into the same thing I always run into: "boho" gets you stuff draped with strands of white beads; "rustic" gets you stuff with pine cones and fake antlers; "Southwest" gets you Kokopelli. Add "copper" to the search parameters (to go with my cabinet pulls, etc.), and you end up with ugly industrial-style stuff, or else "modern farmhouse", which I'm told is on the way out. Add "blue", and you get nothing at all. 

I've settled on this one for now. (Maybe I can spray-paint the base antique copper.) I'll wait to order it until the mini-split saga is over. At least swapping out a single light fixture will be quick and easy. 

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These moments of blogginess-in-progress have been brought to you, as a public service, by Lynne Cantwell. Stay safe!