So it turns out Mazda realize what horrible cup holders they designed on the 02 Protege 5 and changed it for model year 02.5-03. I guess Mazda did correct this. Too bad I got an early P5.
DIY idea: Use one of those foam beverage holders that they give away at the career fairs that everyone throws away to fill the cup holder.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Cups going Zoom-Zoom
As much as I love my Mazda for its zippy-ness, almost perfect driving position position, fantastic steering feel, practicality, and decent gas mileage, there are some design flaws that drive me nuts. Here's one of them:
Shallow Cup Holders*
Before the turn
While turning**
Shallow Cup Holders*"What's wrong with them?" you ask. Well, they're perfectly fine when the car isn't moving or if your cup is empty, but when you turn, it does this:
Before the turn
While turning**You can guess what happens next. Yes, the cups go flyyyyyying. This is especially bad with bottles of water because the diameter of the bottle is much smaller than the cup holders. This can be especially bad if it falls towards the driver side and get under the pedals, like this the episode of The Simpsons when Milhouse and Bart roll fruits down the bus, and the grapefruit gets stuck under the brake pedal, causing a massive accident.
I don't know why Mazda didn't just make deeper cup holders. I might do a DIY mod someday.
*No, it's not my purse. It's owned by the girl I was carpooling with this morning.
**I did not take this picture while driving. It was a simulation of the real thing.
I don't know why Mazda didn't just make deeper cup holders. I might do a DIY mod someday.
*No, it's not my purse. It's owned by the girl I was carpooling with this morning.
**I did not take this picture while driving. It was a simulation of the real thing.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Heavyweight Boxing Champion
One of the joys in my finding well designed objects (This is the nerd in me speaking). I'm always impressed by ideas that just make sense. One area that's often overlooked is packaging. Some might argue that really nice packaging is just to make a good impression so people will buy the product (Side note: I believe that this strategy is totally worth it. If you were to choose between two similar products in the same price range, and you really knew nothing about the product, of course you'll go for the one that's packaged in a nicer box or whatever because it gives the impression of luxury/quality). However, sometimes the really nice packaging is just really smart packaging.
I was helping a friend buy, transport, and setup a Plasma TV today. The TV is pleasant to look at, but what I was impressed by is its packaging. It wasn't flashy or anything, but it has 2 of these on each side:
Which was really helpful when moving a bulky heavyweight object. You just stick your hands in here like this:
If this was the only feature it had, it would've been enough to write home (err on my blog) about. However, upon unpacking this, I found even more cool things about this design.
Normally, when you unbox something, you take a blade of some sort and cut open the packaging tape, then stick your hands down the side to lift whatever object you bought out of box, like this:
With Plasma TVs, it would be quite a challenge to do so, because the object is well, heavy. Most people would just cut open the side of boxes, rendering the box unless. Whoever designed the Panasonic box had a better idea: Put a box over another box, like the ones they use to transport fruit to the supermarkets.
As you can see from the instructions, the handles are holding the two boxes together. Once you take out all 4 handles, the outter, slightly larger box slide right off.
What you're left with is a really short box that and holds the bottom of the TV. Now you don't have to awkwardly stick your hands down the side of the box only to find it really hard to lift up something heavy with only your fingers.
It looks something like this:
Now it's really easy to lift up and install. Here's what it looks like all setup.
That was a really fun experience for me unboxing this because it was just so smart.
Final thoughts:
1. There are tidbits of joy in a lot of things in this world, and for me, I find joy in designs that make sense. However, these tidbits are what they are, simply tidbits. I thought about why it was delightful for me to open something that's intelligently designed. I can't help but remember the sermon Randy Alcorn preached at Resolved '08 about how the joys we find in life are there because they are characteristic of God. For example, puppies are delightful because God is delightful. Well, I find joy in intelligent design because God is THE intelligent designer (I hate to use this phrase though). He created all things with amazing percision. Just look at our solar system. Did you know that if the Earth rotated on a axis that was tilted just half a degree in either direction, the climate would be either too hot or too cold for life? The box is rather insignificant compared to the design of creation, especially people. If I can find delight in boxes, how much more should I marvel at creation? God's by far the greatest designer ever. This should be worship fuel!
2. Yes, I really did blog about unboxing a TV. Yes, I really am that nerdy. Yes, I actually did find joy in this. When I first discovered the handles, I immediately proclaimed its genius to my friend.
3. To all you wagon/hatchback haters out there:
Try doing this in your car that's the size of peanuts and carry only you and a 12oz can of coke!
Not only did I fit in a TV, I also had another box in there, because I'm moving out and I left some stuff in my far for the time being.
I get 30mpg (on the highway) and I can carry huge things like this. +1 for wagons!
Blogger's note: This is my first time unboxing an HDTV. I'm not sure if HDTV boxes have these features (I know most don't have handles, because I looked at the Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, or whatever next to it and none of them had these handles).
I was helping a friend buy, transport, and setup a Plasma TV today. The TV is pleasant to look at, but what I was impressed by is its packaging. It wasn't flashy or anything, but it has 2 of these on each side:
Which was really helpful when moving a bulky heavyweight object. You just stick your hands in here like this:
If this was the only feature it had, it would've been enough to write home (err on my blog) about. However, upon unpacking this, I found even more cool things about this design.
Normally, when you unbox something, you take a blade of some sort and cut open the packaging tape, then stick your hands down the side to lift whatever object you bought out of box, like this:
With Plasma TVs, it would be quite a challenge to do so, because the object is well, heavy. Most people would just cut open the side of boxes, rendering the box unless. Whoever designed the Panasonic box had a better idea: Put a box over another box, like the ones they use to transport fruit to the supermarkets.
As you can see from the instructions, the handles are holding the two boxes together. Once you take out all 4 handles, the outter, slightly larger box slide right off.
What you're left with is a really short box that and holds the bottom of the TV. Now you don't have to awkwardly stick your hands down the side of the box only to find it really hard to lift up something heavy with only your fingers.
It looks something like this:
Now it's really easy to lift up and install. Here's what it looks like all setup.
That was a really fun experience for me unboxing this because it was just so smart.
Final thoughts:
1. There are tidbits of joy in a lot of things in this world, and for me, I find joy in designs that make sense. However, these tidbits are what they are, simply tidbits. I thought about why it was delightful for me to open something that's intelligently designed. I can't help but remember the sermon Randy Alcorn preached at Resolved '08 about how the joys we find in life are there because they are characteristic of God. For example, puppies are delightful because God is delightful. Well, I find joy in intelligent design because God is THE intelligent designer (I hate to use this phrase though). He created all things with amazing percision. Just look at our solar system. Did you know that if the Earth rotated on a axis that was tilted just half a degree in either direction, the climate would be either too hot or too cold for life? The box is rather insignificant compared to the design of creation, especially people. If I can find delight in boxes, how much more should I marvel at creation? God's by far the greatest designer ever. This should be worship fuel!
2. Yes, I really did blog about unboxing a TV. Yes, I really am that nerdy. Yes, I actually did find joy in this. When I first discovered the handles, I immediately proclaimed its genius to my friend.
3. To all you wagon/hatchback haters out there:
Try doing this in your car that's the size of peanuts and carry only you and a 12oz can of coke!
Not only did I fit in a TV, I also had another box in there, because I'm moving out and I left some stuff in my far for the time being.
I get 30mpg (on the highway) and I can carry huge things like this. +1 for wagons!
Blogger's note: This is my first time unboxing an HDTV. I'm not sure if HDTV boxes have these features (I know most don't have handles, because I looked at the Sony, Samsung, Toshiba, or whatever next to it and none of them had these handles).
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Passive Asian Donut?
I was at Stan's with Justin McKitterick this morning after breakfast and came across this. We had a good laugh. Sorry for the low quality picture. I was using my phone.
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