What modern invention/innovation do you wish had *never* been developed?

[epr25]

Wow that sounds great! I'm going to get some today.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Geez I hate CFLs. They are great for the Prince of Darkness but not me. They also pose a mercury poisoning risk for people with small children who are clumsy. Uh, no thanks. I will go halogen instead any day. Even LEDs are better.

We've got a real problem at the theatre with this whole light bulb thing. We have about twenty wall fixtures in the auditorium, each using three 60-watt incandescent bulbs, and all of them running off a dimmer system so that they fade in and out at the start and finish of each performance. CFL and LED bulbs flat-out won't work with this system -- and the new halogen incandescents run so hot that they melt the plastic diffuser-cover that's part of the fixture.

So I've been driving around to every hardware store in town buying up 60 watt bulbs by the case. We're eventually going to end up having to rip out our entire house lighting system and replace it with something else once the supply of bulbs runs out. That isn't my idea of conservation.

And to be honest, I think conservationists have less to do with this whole affair than the Boys From Marketing, specifically the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. There is very very little profit in selling conventiional incandescent bulbs -- they retail for about fifty cents apiece, and they are not protected by any kind of patent. But these new bulbs cost very little in terms of raw materials, are still covered by patents and patent-licensing agreements, and thus can be sold at an enormous markup, especially when the alternative of cheap, conventional bulbs is removed from the picture.

It was NEMA that lobbied and pushed for the new law in 2007, with the Boys selling the idea as an "environmental need" and "conservation breakthru" when all it really was is a scheme to mulct the public. Once again, the Boys are sticking it to us -- while diverting the attention away from themselves.

 

[jamespowers]

We've got a real problem at the theatre with this whole light bulb thing. We have about twenty wall fixtures in the auditorium, each using three 60-watt incandescent bulbs, and all of them running off a dimmer system so that they fade in and out at the start and finish of each performance. CFL and LED bulbs flat-out won't work with this system -- and the new halogen incandescents run so hot that they melt the plastic diffuser-cover that's part of the fixture.

So I've been driving around to every hardware store in town buying up 60 watt bulbs by the case. We're eventually going to end up having to rip out our entire house lighting system and replace it with something else once the supply of bulbs runs out. That isn't my idea of conservation.

And to be honest, I think conservationists have less to do with this whole affair than the Boys From Marketing, specifically the National Electrical Manufacturers Association. There is very very little profit in selling conventiional incandescent bulbs -- they retail for about fifty cents apiece, and they are not protected by any kind of patent. But these new bulbs cost very little in terms of raw materials, are still covered by patents and patent-licensing agreements, and thus can be sold at an enormous markup, especially when the alternative of cheap, conventional bulbs is removed from the picture.

It was NEMA that lobbied and pushed for the new law in 2007, with the Boys selling the idea as an "environmental need" and "conservation breakthru" when all it really was is a scheme to mulct the public. Once again, the Boys are sticking it to us -- while diverting the attention away from themselves.

Yeah I the damned things. I tried a CFL in my walkway light fixture and the damned thing always blew out after a shot time. Replace it with a regular bulb and it was fine for forever.....
I have been stockpiling regular bulbs too.
You can still get reproduction Edison bulbs though. That just strikes me as weird. Kind of a yes and no prospect..... The weird thing is that those bulbs really last---in my experience with them anyway.

 

[Stearmen]

Good news, I predict, 2014 will be the year Saggy Pants will go out of style. I have seen, not one, but two grey hair fellows sporting that style in the last week. I can not picture young people wanting to wear the same style of clothing as old geezers. And by old, I mean, over 30!

 

[jamespowers]

Good news, I predict, 2014 will be the year Saggy Pants will go out of style. I have seen, not one, but two grey hair fellows sporting that style in the last week. I can not picture young people wanting to wear the same style of clothing as old geezers. And by old, I mean, over 30!

:doh: I think you blinded my mind's eye! :eeek:

 

[Stearmen]

Lizzie will get a laugh out of this story! Like a lot of idiots, I went with satellite TV. I receive 777 channels, I added up, and in the last year, channels I watched just once came to 24, and I may have been generous. In a week, I watched 14, many of those have just one show that I watch. So, for the grand total, of channels I tune into on a daily basis, drum roll please, FOUR! Thats right 4. And, I could easily live with out one of those. I am stuck in a 2 year contract, just one year and 10 months to go.

 

[Stearmen]

:doh: I think you blinded my mind's eye! :eeek:

How do you think I feel?

 

[jamespowers]

How do you think I feel?

Blinded?

 

[Edward]

Lizzie will get a laugh out of this story! Like a lot of idiots, I went with satellite TV. I receive 777 channels, I added up, and in the last year, channels I watched just once came to 24, and I may have been generous. In a week, I watched 14, many of those have just one show that I watch. So, for the grand total, of channels I tune into on a daily basis, drum roll please, FOUR! Thats right 4. And, I could easily live with out one of those. I am stuck in a 2 year contract, just one year and 10 months to go.

I'm all for consumer choice, but subscription television never looked like a good deal to me. I worked it out a while back: for the minimum package to cover the few shows I'd watch which won't make their way to free to air within a few months, I'd be looking at a bill of GBP25 per month. Coincidentally, GBP25 would also buy me a full season of one of those shows - and I would need to subscribe for at least three months in order to view it on the satellite tv. But hey, if other people find it worrth it and want it, good for them. I'm certainly not complaining about the amount of sport-related ephemera that subscription television has cleared away from my free to air.

 

[Nobert]

Good news, I predict, 2014 will be the year Saggy Pants will go out of style. I have seen, not one, but two grey hair fellows sporting that style in the last week. I can not picture young people wanting to wear the same style of clothing as old geezers. And by old, I mean, over 30!

Oh I've seen plenty of older men who have saggy pants, though not as a fashion statement. More often it's a grizzled fellow who is "glutealy challenged" wearing a pair of jeans that his anatomy was simply not built to keep at waist level.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Spleeny over-entitled people who make a point of complaining when any public facility fails to match in every possible particular the comfort level of their own living room. No, madam, I cannot assure you that the temperature at your one particular seat out of 350 will be maintained at a precise temperature of 73 degrees. If you are chilly, madam, might I recommend a warmer place you might like to go?

 

[jamespowers]

Spleeny over-entitled people who make a point of complaining when any public facility fails to match in every possible particular the comfort level of their own living room. No, madam, I cannot assure you that the temperature at your one particular seat out of 350 will be maintained at a precise temperature of 73 degrees. If you are chilly, madam, might I recommend a warmer place you might like to go?

I can think of one:

 

[resortes805]

Geez, when did Americans become too lazy to pick up a taco from the <bleep>ing side!

 

[jamespowers]

Geez, when did Americans become too lazy to pick up a taco from the <bleep>ing side!

About 40 years ago it all started.....

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

Geez, when did Americans become too lazy to pick up a taco from the <bleep>ing side!

About 40 years ago it all started.....

Invented in 1951 by Glen Bell (1923-2010), founder of Taco Bell.

 

[LizzieMaine]

They still haven't invented one that doesn't split down the crease and spill the greasy meat down the front of your clothes.

 

[jamespowers]

They still haven't invented one that doesn't split down the crease and spill the greasy meat down the front of your clothes.

Now THAT would be an invention I could get behind.

 

[jamespowers]

Invented in 1951 by Glen Bell (1923-2010), founder of Taco Bell.

Wow! 63 years ago.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

How about a tacostada shell?
-- Pardon the rubbish drawing but here's a hard shell with vestigial 1/2" taco flaps so that it could still be called a taco.

lol

 

[jamespowers]

How about a tacostada shell?
-- Pardon the rubbish drawing but here's a hard shell with vestigial 1/2" taco flaps so that it could still be called a taco.

lol

That looks like a good way to get taco filling all over yourself. Looks more like a shovel. lol lol