New fangled things 09-13-20

I've always been fascinated by the solutions engineers and designers come up with.   How do they design machines that produce complex items like this lid for a takeout coffee cup?

I am a big Starbuck's fan and KoKo and I usually go every two or three days for a latte fix.  But there is a Dunkin' Donuts drive thru between here and the Starbuck's and I decided to give it a try.  The coffee was not as good as Starbuck's, but the egg/bacon/cheese on a croissant was fabulous!  I may switch around in the future.  

But the interesting thing is the lid for the coffee.  It is all of a piece and has the stopper build in.  I always collect the stopper/stirrers from Starbuck's and when I have a baggie full I put them in the recycle can.  I don't know if the pickers at the recycle place actually recycle them, but it makes me feel better about creating more plastic trash.  

Almost one bag full!

The tab is fastened to the middle of the cup and just hooks onto the drinking hole.  I doubt that the lids are recycled, but what a clever person designed this. 

 

As Robert Louis Stevenson declared, 

"The world is so full of a number of things,

That I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings."

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Things Change 07-17-17

It is, I suppose, a part of aging when things seem to change too fast to keep up with them.  Living in a suburban town, I rarely am out among the movers and shakers of the world.  The world moves outside my safe haven in Placentia, California.  I do get out, but not usually to urban places.  I have a friend whose idea of vacation is to be in a city with music, fine dining, museums, art galleries... well, all that.  Whereas my idea of vacation is away from all of that and in a place with quiet, trees, flowers, birds, animals, open skies, mountains or seashores.  Lately I have been exposed to some more urban adventures which can be very tiring.  Some are interesting, some just mystifying.  I'll start a recurring series about these changes I observe or that impact my life. 

CELL PHONES   They are everywhere, aren't they?  How frightening it is to see people walking down the street and stepping off a curb without looking up from their phones.  And then there are times that one wonders who they are talking to.  Like this postman talking to the mailbox.  I can only guess that he has a wire to his phone.  Or maybe he really is talking to the mailbox.  How can one tell? 

 

 

TRAFFIC  During my four hour drive to San Diego on Saturday I thought about how much heavier the traffic is these days.  I expected the drive to be slow on Saturday, it was a glorious weekend and there were many events in SDiego including the Gay Pride parade which I understand is the biggest anywhere.  But I don't think that has anything to do with drivers passing on the right on the shoulder, something that occurred more than once this trip.  So, use caution, watch for illegal passing and, especially, motorcycles who seem to drive wherever they choose. 

 

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