Mechanical.

Our condo for this trip is in The Paddock at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Spa and Resort. The Paddock was built in the mid 2000s and is up for refurbishment over the next year or so. Because of the impending improvements, this will probably be our last opportunity to use one of these:

We enjoy having a washer and dryer available in the condo because we pack half the clothes we need and do laundry every night. We go home with clean clothes. This reduces the stress of going home after vacation.

The original-to-the-condo washer and dryers are marked as a “Quality GE Product”. The washer is a traditional washer that fills up with water, with an agitator up the middle. It fills, washes, spins, fills, rinses, spins and calls it a day. This design washed clothes for decades but has given way to more efficient designs. Newer washers spritz some water on the clothes, thump them around while making cricket noises, spin, spritz, and spin again. The new design is suppose to be eco-friendly but I never feel like our clothes are clean with these energy efficient washers.

One of the things I love about this old school washer and dryer is that it has mechanical controls. Push the knob in, click click click to your cycle choice and pull the knob to start. We did it thousands upon thousands of times when I was growing up. Pulling that knob and having the water start was always so cool. Pressing “Start” on the new fangled washing machines to start the spritzing just isn’t the same.

Mechanical controls are also much more reliable. There’s no need to “reboot” the washer or dryer. The motor turns the knob, the relays click at their appropriate times and the washing machine does what it’s suppose to do.

With the refurbishment of the condos here at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, they’re replacing all the appliances. The new washer/dryer combination units are made by Whirlpool and they are all electronic with the cricket noises during operation.

This means the mechanical controls found on the condo dishwasher are also going away.

Interestingly, GE owns up to the manufacturing of the dishwasher, but the washer/dryer combo unit apparently isn’t worthy of the GE logo.

Nowadays the GE logo has been leased out to a company called Haier, as GE no longer makes appliances. I’m pretty sure the appliances we had in the house before we moved to Chicago were actually made by Frigidaire but branded with the GE logo. Parts could be exchanged between Frigidaire, GE, Westinghouse, and Kenmore appliances. Geeks online called them FriGEmore appliances.

I’m all for technology doing great things for us, but not for the sake of making things cheaper and the lessening of the user experience. The appliances in this condo are well over a decade old and have been used by countless different guests and families and they’re still going just fine.

We need GE to bring good things to life again.

17 October 2019 by Geek 0

Data Geek.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Since my first visit to Walt Disney World in 1997 I have been fascinated with their use of technology. When Earl and I were first here back then, I promptly noticed Disney was using a modified version of the IBM 4680 General Sales Application for their retail needs. At the time they were using IBM 4695 touchscreens in the food outlets, running software I was unfamiliar with.

If you look in older stores at WDW, you’ll notice holes in the counter that used to accommodate the customer display as pictured above.

With each visit to Walt Disney World I’ve noticed evolutionary steps in their use of technology. Point of sale systems were upgraded. The food service program I noticed at the first visit (MATRA) was then used throughout the entire property. IBM 4695s gave way to NCR touchscreen terminals. iPods started making an appearance as another point of sale device. RFID capable credit-card sized tickets were introduced. Then they were capable of unlocking our resort/hotel door. The cards gave way to Magic Bands, which can be used for tickets to the park, charges to the room, unlocking doors, identifying who you are for photo opportunities; the list goes on.

Tonight I noticed several of the Disney establishments are upgrading their point of sale terminals again. The size of an iPad, it looks like they’re still running MATRA but they take up half the space of the preceding terminal. The customer information display is bigger and brighter.

When we check into a FastPass+ attraction, the cast member monitoring entrance activities has the opportunity to say, “Hello, John!”, as my name appears on their screen.

Technology is awesome when it’s used responsibly and enhances our real life experiences. Having a Disney Cast Member take our photo and have it appear in our Disney Parks Photo Stream on our phone 10 minutes later is awesome.

Technology has come a long way since Walt Disney World opened in 1971, apparently using Sweda Model 46 cash registers, as evidenced by this receipt I found online.

15 October 2019 by Geek 0

Cultural Mingling.

I’m a people watcher. Find my a bench near busy pedestrian traffic and I could sit and watch people all day long. I’m fascinated by the many elements of the human equation.

One of my joys of spending time at Disney is the blend of cultures in progress at any given moment. There’s almost always a whole bunch of languages in use within one’s given proximity. Folks from different continents are looking for cuisine that fits their expectations. And laughs and smiles on a Disney attraction is universal.

The successful blending of people in this manner in the “Happiest Place on Earth” proves that with a little effort and with a common goal, we can all get along just fine. The color of our skin, the language we speak, whom we are holding hands with: none of it matters when we’re all just looking for some happiness in our lives.

Don’t worry, be happy.

15 October 2019 by Fun and Games Dept 0

Existentially Yours.

Several states in the union have legalized the use of marijuana. As a Gen-Xer that grew up completely without a clue (I never knew why people a classmate “Weed” until I was about 30 years old), the legalization of pot is a direct 180 from the “Just Say No” mantra drummed into our heads in the 1980s. If we did weed our brains were going to fry like eggs in a sticky pan and our lives would be ruined.

I don’t care that people want to do pot. As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing wrong with it and I equate it with a night of drinking. A couple of edibles = a couple of shots. But just as I ask myself while I’m drinking, I’m always curious about the impetus that drives on to drink or do recreational drugs.

I’m thoroughly convinced that when historians start looking at statistics during the Trump administration, they’re going to see an increase in all sorts of inebriation. It feels like more folks are dulling their perceptions of reality. My view may be skewed, as we moved to Chicago within a year of Trump taking office. We live in a very craft beer friendly neighborhood. There are pubs everywhere. So I see a lot of people drinking.

My husband is always telling me there’s not always a “why” to every decision. I respond, “why is there no ‘why'”? Every decision is driven by something. It doesn’t just happen. There’s a reason I choose to wear a blue shirt or grow a mustache or jump in a pool or get slammed with multiple alcoholic drinks.

So I’m curious as to why more people are looking to get recreational with their niceties. Maybe there isn’t a reason; perhaps the government is just legalizing to increase revenue. We all know the current administration is capable of spending money like a drunk sailor in a whore house.

I probably waste too many cycles on wondering “why” all the time. Maybe I should take my husband’s advice and just enjoy the ride.

I’ll drink to that.

14 October 2019 by Why. 0

First Class.

My husband is kind enough to adjust our budget so we can invest some money and accumulated miles and fly First Class when we go on vacation. I’ve always said any seat on an airplane is an awesome seat, and I firmly believe that to still be true, but the other truth of the matter is seats get even more awesome the closer you get to the front of the airplane. If I am not able to be in the cockpit, I want to sit in the single digits.

I’ve been spoiled.

I joke a bit while we’re up here, talking in my best Thurston Howell III voice and not making eye contact with the riff raff as they make they’re way to the back of the airplane where the recycled air is and kids scream at the top of their lungs. In the back of my mind I know our ability to travel in style could change in an instant and we are very blessed to be able to do what we do.

But I do enjoy traveling this way while we can.

I follow several bloggers that spend their days flying from one continent to the next, usually with a more luxurious experience, all on airline miles earned while hacking the credit card system. I admire this. My husband, being at the very tail end of the Baby Boomers, believes in debit cards. “Can’t spend it if we don’t got it” (in his best Philly accent). On the other hand, I’m one for gaming and hacking the system the best I can. Let’s build those miles and enjoy the caviar, dahling. While he says, “use the United card only for restaurants and hotels”, I believe in buying everything and anything on whatever card is going to get us the biggest bang for the buck. Cash rewards? Check: Apple card. Mileage rewards? Check: United.

What debit card?

The key to enjoying this frivolity and not going broke while doing so is part of the mantra I have lived by for my entire adult life: “always be aware of your surroundings”. This includes knowing your balances, knowing your budget, and remaining within your parameters. It’s like being a private pilot. It may look clear and sunny and an utterly gorgeous day to fly, but if the crosswind exceeds your personal minimums, stay on the ground.

Don’t go in the red and bang up the airplane.

12 October 2019 by Fun and Games Dept 0

About J.P.

Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.

Weird? Eccentric!

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