And time stood still
All around us, technology is improving: in computers, in cars, in games consoles, in mobile phones, even in our cable boxes. But one device in particular seems to be lagging behind the rest of the crowd. Any ideas what I’m referring to?
Just ask Tim and he’ll tell you: his 15-year-old alarm clock is better than a majority of the ones for sale today. Tim’s alarm clock is not the slickest thing you’ve ever seen. We figure it’s at least 15 years old; Tim won it at a bingo game on a camping ground when he was a kid.
I left the dust on the clock when I took this picture just to emphasize the age of the poor thing. But the radio on this “poor thing” works better than any other we’ve found in our shopping hunt, and it has all the features I look for in an alarm: two separate alarms, buttons that advance or reverse the clock or alarm time both quickly and slowly, and a sleep button as well as a snooze. What more could you ask for?
Apparently, in 15 years time, alarm clock manufacturers still haven’t figured out that not all of us appreciate having to take up to two minutes to set our alarm at night, while we wait for the minute portion of the alarm to go through the entire cycle from 1 to 55, just to set the alarm back 5 minutes. And it would seem that the fact that many people sleep to different times on the weekend still hasn’t been made widely public, since many alarms do not support two separate alarm times. And for all the years that FM radio has existed, you would think that alarm manufacturers would have figured out how to make a decent built-in antenna; but no, half the alarms don’t receive radio stations half as good as Tim’s alarm clock.
Bad luck or majority rules?
I haven’t had the best of luck with alarm clocks, I admit. The first alarm clock I bought in Europe looked a lot better than it worked, and after a couple years use, the alarm didn’t always go off in the morning because the wiring in the alarm-on switch seemed to intermittently stop working. So Tim decided to surprise me with a new alarm, one that would wake me up gracefully in the morning: one with nature sounds. I probably don’t have to explain that no nature sound alarm clock available for ten euro will wake you up even remotely gracefully. The sqealing, squeaking, chirping sound that greeted me in the morning for the next months was enough to get my day already started off on the wrong foot, so I switched eventually to the beep sound, which wasn’t a significant improvement (the alarm had no radio).
An alarm to rival Tim’s
Finally, after some intensive searching, both in stores and online, I have purchased a new alarm clock for 30 euro that can rival Tim’s old one. It has two alarms, a radio that works acceptably, and buttons that can adjust the time slowly or quickly. (Though unfortunately the slow time button only moves the time backwards, and the fast time button only moves the time forward - still not quite as good as Tim’s alarm.) Now, should that have been so difficult to find?
on June 3rd, 2007 at 18:58
I actually use an alarm clock that my dad used to use before I was born, back in ancient times. Kirk uses the fancy one that we got as a wedding gift- it projects the time onto the ceiling and he can wake up a to a variety of soothing noises, including a tropical rainforest, a waterfall, and and a nature scene with crickets chirping.
on June 4th, 2007 at 18:59
try looking for nafnaf clocks mine has all the functions i could wish for ^.^ good luck hunting ^.^
on June 5th, 2007 at 9:46
I just use my mobile phone. It’s dead quick to set as you have the phone’s numbers to punch it the exact time, plus it vibrates like hell on my desk and really alerts me to get up! Plus i can set it to play my MP3’s as the alarm.
Who need’s alarm clocks these days i say!
on June 5th, 2007 at 21:09
Mobile phone - you’re right, that’s really a good option considering the options out there!
on June 6th, 2007 at 16:51
Up until a few months ago I was devoted to using my extremely reliable and awesome very old radio that I got as a Christmas present from my Grandma when I was 12. It still worked, had a those good USEFUL features, but alas, several of the buttons ‘dropped’ into the radio and I was unable to retrieve them. So, I have a new one. So far, it works pretty well. It came with a few new features that I like. For one, a HUGE snooze button, no more searching and guessing blindly….and it has an mp3 input plug (and it came with the cord) so I can listen to that in the bedroom if I’m reading or something. Other fun feature…the display can be any color I want, and it comes with dimmer. =) I use my cell phone when I travel, or when we think the power might go out.