This morning I was asked whether I had found a good toaster yet. Those of you who have followed the saga will be familiar with my search for a toaster that toasts well. Was it an ask too great for modern technology? Apparently so, because I had to return the various toasters three times before getting this one. Apart from the nuisance of having to go back to the shopping mall, there was the fundamental question of why can’t they make things that work properly?

Manufacturers used to make toasters that toasted very well. Sure they cost a lot more before the Chinese came onto the scene with their cheap appliances that either don’t work reliably or don’t last more than a couple of years. So where’s the economy in that?

The person who asked me about my latest toaster is still using the one that he received as a wedding gift from William the Conqueror. It works, has been repaired a couple of times, but does the job.

I wonder how many of the appliances we buy nowadays would last more than a couple of years. That’s if they work well in the first place.

The Chinese don’t care cause they’re selling millions of them around the world and if they have to replace them for free within twelve months, it doesn’t bother them because setting up a good system of quality control would cost them more. Actually, nowadays, the quality control is done by customers, so it’s up to the customer to complain and return the darn thing. That’s if the customer has the time to do it. The problem with that is that sometimes the customer suffers from poor control in production e.g the melamine in dairy products fiasco which led to the death of babies.

China is now one giant factory. It has cheap labour and lots of it and thrives on turnover. It has many customers all over the world. Famous electrical brands set up their factories in China and the market churns out products that will end up in the refuse dumps within a short period of time.

In 1960, Vance Packard wrote a seminal work on the disposable society called “The Waste Makers” about planned obsolescence. Well, he certainly described how things are now and they aren’t going to get any better.

if we are really serious about all the garbage we produce perhaps we should demand that factories monitor their products more strictly. Perhaps the price will go up but then products may become more reliable.

So how is the latest toaster? Well, it’s okay. Its brand name is Sunbeam Toastum. The result is not quite even all over the bread, but at least the thermostat is working for the time being. What is unsatisfactory, however, is that the bread does not rise high enough at the end of the toasting, so you have to be careful not to burn your fingers removing the toast. Ouch!

Today, 6th October, is the day that Lawson’s Bread came to Melbourne. I can recommend it to anyone who likes real bread instead of that mush that is usually sold. Just because a loaf looks like it’s been trampled on by hippies in Birkenstock sandals does not mean it tastes good or that it is even healthy. Those sort of loaves look so bad that we mistakenly believe that something as ugly as that must be good for you. Reminds me of the time that my husband was the controller of CSR’s sugar and he revealed that all those people who believe that brown sugar is healthier are being conned. Apparently, sugar is refined into white crystals and then molasses is added to the crystals to make them look “natural” and “wholesome”.

As I have always maintained it’s all about perception. Reality doesn’t come into it.

I couldn’t imagine that Governor Palin could stand up to Senator Biden in the vice-presidential debate today, but boy was I wrong!

She showed that she’s a quick learner and can take advice from experts. There were times that even Biden himself looked smitten by her. Yesterday I was convinced that the Republicans had had it but now for the time being, anyhow, it looks as if Governor Palin has delivered a coup de force to the elections once again.

She certainly is quite impressive. If the Republicans lose the election it will probably be because it’s time for a change, but then perhaps Palin and McCain will be viewed as the necessary change. Very interesting.

No matter how much preparation Governor Sarah Palin receives, she will not be able to convince voters that she would make a good vice-president in the next debate. It’s not that she’s dumb because she’s not. Palin is a smart lady with loads of charm. Even women like her despite her good looks!

But she lacks political experience and knowledge of the world. The job is too demanding for a person with her limited experience. Had she been active in national and foreign politics for two decades then she would be a formidable candidate, but she simply hasn’t had enough hours of flying.

The problem is that when one elects a vice-president, one is electing a potential president in case something happens to the incumbent and one just can”t imagine the U.S being run by someone as inexperienced as Governor Palin.

So whom would I have selected? Joe Lieberman, but I can’t imagine that he would appeal to the conservative right or to African-Americans.

The world of manchester, not the city in England, but what you put on your bed, is run by comedians.

I love beautiful sheets and pillow cases, adore elegant quilt covers and comfy comforters. So when we go shopping, I gravitate towards the bedding department.

My husband has absolutely no interest in sheets and doona covers, but I drag him along and ask his opinion on which pillow case goes best with what set of sheets. That’s when I wish I had a gay male friend with refined decorating tastes who could become excited about aubergine or pistachio or buttercup combinations. “What’s the difference?” is the only comment that ‘he who shall cart the shopping back to the car’ makes when I ask his opinion.

So I ignore the pagan response and make my selection. We get the heavy package home, unpack the ruddy lot and start reading the instructions. Wash separately before use. Gosh, and those creases were so perfect! Then we read further down. Do not dry clean, do not tumble dry, line dry only, do not machine wash…

What? Do not machine wash? Handwash only? That’s what it says all right. I phone the company and learn that because of the braiding or the decoration, it is better that I wash my King Size doona cover by hand. I suppose I can then pound it with a soft river rock as well.

But the instructions assure me that I am allowed to iron it on a cool setting if I so desire. Well, I didn’t so desire, nor did I wash this massive thing by hand. Wringing it out would have been fun, wouldn’t it? I was looking for the punchline in the instructions and all I got was the handwashline.

We drove back to the shopping mall yesterday to return another lousy purchase. I’m beginning to suspect that St Mastercard, the patron saint of shoppers, is toying with me.

Why is it that there is so much discussion about the amount of paid maternity leave when the real issue is if you can’t afford to have a child why are you having one? Continue reading →

A Melbourne Nursing Home is going to be closed because it failed a surprise audit by the Federal Government and so its residents will be relocated to other homes. You would think that the families of the 55 residents who had been poorly cared for at this home would be applauding the Government for doing something about the inadequate conditions. But no, the families have begun up a petition to keep the home open.

Why? Well, they say that their aged relatives are happy there, but I suspect that it’s all about the families baulking at the inconvenience of visiting an aged parent somewhere else.

Imagine if a tray containing faeces were found in a nursing home and the government did nothing about it, people would be clamouring for action. This is what was discovered at Rosden and yet the families of those wretches want them to stay put. This is in spite of Rosden having failed 17 of the 44 categories of the audit. Makes you weep at the callousness of some people towards their “loved ones”.

When I lived in Brisbane our home was cursed by marble floors. We were persuaded by the developer that marble floors were wonderful and so easy to care for. Since Pompeii and all those villas in Ancient Rome had marble flooring I was convinced that marble was the way to go. It wasn’t. Continue reading →

Senator Obama has criticised Senator McCain for not multi-tasking. He says that a potential president should be able to do several things at once. I disagree with Obama because, in my view, it is important to know how to prioritise. If there is a fire, first you put out the fire. Not much point in debating about what international fire brigades might be doing. What you need is a president who gets down to “tachles” (Yiddish for “straight talk” or “basics”) and stops mucking around with theatrical debates when there’s a genuine crisis.

I believe that Obama was caught with his pants down. When McCain says we have to do something, and he means right now before it’s too late, Obama says that a debate is doing something. He reminds me of our prime minister who would rather have a discussion than get down to actually doing something concrete. By the way, where is our elected frequent flyer today? Oh yes, he’s overseas again laying the foundations for his post PM career with the United Nations.

It is good that both candidates in the U.S election espouse the bipartisan approach to problem solving, but I did detect a hint of resentment in Obama this morning whereas there was none in McCain.

There is no point in discussing any other topic while the economy is in trouble. Without money, there is no funding for education, health, pensions, social security, defence, the environment or anything else. This trouble in the economy will affect everybody, even the democrats, if it is not seen to.

So debates and elections should be out the window until this problem is solved.