Tag: Dumb Device

Upon unwrapping one of my presents last Christmas I found myself still unenlightened as to its purpose. It required further investigation (and reading) to learn that I was now the proud owner of a breakfast sandwich maker. It seemed a novelty of sorts and my initial assessment was that it probably wouldn’t work very well. But in the 10 months since then I think I have used this dumb device to make about half my breakfasts.

My sandwich maker doesn’t have any buttons or switches. I plug it in to turn it on and unplug it to turn it off. When it is on (plugged in) an orange light illuminates . A second light (this one green) lights up when it is preheated. There is no screen, Bluetooth connectivity, no settings, no app. It’s the right level of complexity for me when I may not yet be fully awake.

The actual usage of it is as follows:

1. Plug in sandwich maker
2. Wait for green “Preheat” light
3. Put half and English muffin, a slice of cheese, and some ham or sausage in the bottom ring
4. Crack an egg in the top ring and top with the other half of the English muffin
5. Wait for five minutes (I have Alexa keep track for me)
6. Unplug sandwich maker
7. Slide out disc that separates top and bottom rings
8. Flip up rings
9. Slide breakfast sandwich onto plate

So why do I like this dumb device? It makes breakfast easy for me. I could make something similar without the minor appliance, but it would take longer. Cleanup is easy–about once a week the rings section goes in the dishwasher and the other part gets wiped down. A quick spray of avocado oil after cleaning keeps the eggs from sticking.

There are so many high-tech kitchen appliances out there now that do all the things: digital air fryers, sous vide gadgets, Instapots, etc. My breakfast sandwich maker only really does one thing, but that thing happens to be what I often want for breakfast.

My alarm clock was a Christmas gift from my older sister in 1984 when my family was living in Papillion Nebraska (just outside Omaha).  I wanted an alarm clock so I was pleased to receive it, but I do recall mild disappointment because it wasn’t a fancy clock radio combination.  The alarm clock has been used regularly for 32 years and I hope it keeps working.  Devices have supposedly gotten a lot smarter over the past three decades, but I really like my dumb device.

I didn’t get a clock radio, but that’s fine since I don’t listen to the radio much.  When I did listen to the radio a lot, I had my boom box for my room, a Walkman for riding the bus, and when I was older, a stereo in the car.  Instead, my alarm clock just displays the time.  The bright red display can be read in the dark.   The numbers are large enough that the time can be read from across the room and glasses are not required when peering from bed to check the time.

I hate the sound of the alarm–this is a good thing.  I can sleep through a lot, but my alarm is relentless.  Some alarm clocks stop beeping after a minute, but mine will keep producing its throbbing tones for as long as it takes for me to smack the snooze button or switch off the alarm.  The alarm does a good job in waking me.

Apart from setting the time (and alarm time), there is very little maintenance required.  Since it receives power from an outlet, there are no springs to be wound.  There is a backup battery that allows the clock to function if the power goes out, but that only needs to be changed every few years.  There is no need to configure a wifi connection or do any Bluetooth pairing.  There are no online accounts to be created to use it and the clock can be used by anyone in the family without difficulty.

Compared to the alarm clocks available today, mine is a dumb device and I like it that way.  My alarm clock tells the time and wakes me in the morning.  It is reliable and requires minimal effort to use.  I can see the appeal of the fancy, but I plan to stick with my alarm clock from 1984.