There's always one...
I got an email from Spencer this morning. After closer inspection he says it's necessary to replace the inner rear cab corner as well as the outer piece. I took him the outer patch panel when I delivered the cab yesterday, so as soon as I got his message I went to work finding an inner patch panel. It took me four tries to find one, it was from the most expensive supplier (LMC Truck Parts), and I paid extra for quicker shipping. But Spencer said all the holes were already fixed and this is all that remains of the work he's doing, so I wanted to get right on it. I could easily have the cab back by the middle of next week.
We now have a pedestal fan that we have oscillating across the narrow area from where we sit in our recliners and watch TV. We agree that the fan, in addition to the ceiling fan overhead, makes us just as comfortable with the thermostat set at 81 as we did before the fan and the temp set at 79. They say every degree change in the thermostat translates into a 3% change in the electric bill, so the fan has already paid for itself.
When I get up in the morning, usually around 3 a.m., I turn off the AC, open the front door and the slider on the opposing wall of the house, and set this pedestal fan in the front door opening so it blows the cooler air into the house. That will only work for another week or so and then the overnight temp won't drop below 81 degrees. We'll leave the house closed up and the AC on 24/7.
Moving this fan back and forth between its two locations got me to thinking about outlets. It's crazy that almost 100 years after electrical outlets became standard in every home they haven't changed one bit. Still two prongs (or three for a grounded outlet), still the same dimensions, still the same problems. The outlets are either so tight that you have to wiggle the plug back and forth to get it out, bending the prongs all up in the process, or so loose that the plug won't stay in place and make good contact. It's hard to get anything plugged in if you're not directly in front of the outlet because of the prongs. The standard is 12" - 14" off the floor, very inconvenient, and they are both ugly and dangerous. If you have toddlers, or have toddlers over, you have to stick those crazy caps over the outlets, caps that have all the hassles of plugs, plus they're harder to get out when you want to plug something in. Yeah, they make the fancy twist outlets but they're expensive and a hassle to retro-fit.
This makes no sense at all. If my pacemaker can transmit data in the middle of the night to a box on my nightstand that can then send it to the manufacturer, surely we can do better with simple electricity. Assuming it can't be done wirelessly (or that the govt hasn't figured out a way to do it but won't share) there must be options.
How about something similar to the end of a USB cable? An outer sleeve that protects the inner connections, basic rectangle, and maybe a spring loaded sliding "door" on the wall receptacle to keep little fingers out. No more bent prongs, no more worn out connections, greatly reduced risk of toddler electrocution, and a much neater, smaller appearance.
Yes, there are 156 reasons why neither this nor any other modification/improvement will ever happen. Economic, political, logistic.... But here's an idea for solving at least one of the problems, the transition from the old to the new: All new construction will come equipped with the new wall unit, and an adapter will be made so old 2-prong plugs will fit the new configuration, whatever it is. People who want to could do a retrofit of their existing outlets.
When they make me king....
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