Warning, Will Robinson, warning ... turn off your cruise control!

We spent the day on the road today.
First, north to Covington, Ind., for a look around at what may become our future home. The weather was nice, so we rolled down the windows and threw open the sunroof.
Somewhere on U.S. 41, near the Fountain County line, raindrops started hitting the windshield, the sunroof and windows were closed and I had to be reminded to turn OFF the cruise control.
Why?
A few months ago, our daughter was wondrously saved from harm when she lost control on Interstate 65 and spun, hitting the guardrail, tearing off the rear of the car and part of the guardrail.
She was driving in a rainstorm with her cruise control on.
Last week, I was at our State Farm agent's office, waiting to buy some health insurance, when I picked up a notice from the home office.
It didn't mention Amanda, but said a 36-year-old woman lost control of her car and totaled it under similar conditions.
She was not injured either, but the letter told agents to remind clients to turn off their cruise controls when driving in a rainstorm.
The letter acknowledged that for years drivers have been told that cruise control was a safety and economic boon. Not so when pavement is slick with rain, it seems.
After lunch at Benjamin's and a look around town, it was off to West Lafayette to see our daughter and eventually, home.
I didn't use cruise control until we were in Putnam County, on the way to buy groceries at Wal-Mart at Greencastle. The pavement was dry and I vowed to remember the advice I received from our insurance agent, John Howes and remember what happened to our family. When the windshield wipers go on, the cruise control goes off.
And, now, I have passed on the advice to you.

Book review: "A is for Alibi"

Sue Grafton introduced us to P.I. Kinsey Millhone in "A is for Alibi" in 1982.
Although she is one of the writers Stephen King says he reads, I did not find her until 2007. (One of those projecting down through the years things King talks about in "On Writing" no doubt.)
Would I read the whole series? Probably not. Did I like the first one? Yes -- with reservations.
The last third of the book kept me up longer than I intended. I had to find out not only who did it but would they get away and what price would Kinsey pay for exposing the murderer?
The story progresses very nicely. But it does go on a bit. It may be a guy thing, but I'm really not into all the description of everything. I don't need to know what every bit of clothing looks like nor do I need to know whether Millhone turned right or left to find someone's office.
Would I recommend the book?
Well, sure.
Any writer who is up to "T is for ..." in a series has something going for her.

GE Dishwasher recall

Here's a recall you probably haven't heard about in the media: Your dishwasher could set fire to your house!
According to a letter from GE, several of its dishwashers, including those marketed under other brand names, could short out and catch fire.
The dishwashers were manufactured between 1997 and 2001. Not all dishwashers made by GE are affected; only those with certain model and serial numbers.
GE is offering two solutions: they will send you a rebate coupon worth $150 or $300 on the purchase of a new dishwasher or they will send a repairman to your house to replace the affected wiring in your dishwasher.
We chose the latter, obviously. I start a new job Aug. 6, but have been out of work since July 3.
The problem appears to be that if you use a liquid drying agent in the dishwasher (such as Jet-Dry) the liquid can break down the wiring insulation and cause a short if the wiring touches metal inside the dishwasher.
There is a reservoir for Jet-Dry in the door of the dishwasher, so why wouldn't someone use it -- unless they want spots on their glassware.
Two questions:
1. Why is the dishwasher so poorly designed that liquid can contact the wiring insulation?
2. Why, with all the food recalls of late, have the news media people ignored the GE recall?
I realize more people eat than use dishwashers, but with all the models listed in the recall letter, it would seem to affect thousands, maybe millions of consumers.
Makes you wonder if there is a conscious control of the news you see and read or if journalism schools aren't doing their job.

It happened again (disposable society)

It happened again today.
For the umpteenth time I hauled what should have been a slightly used, perfectly good product to the curb for a) someone to pick up or b) the garbageman to dispose.
This time it was a Bissell Pro Heat carpet cleaner. If you are in the area and want to pay someone to fix it, by all means, load it up, come to the door and I'll give your the owner's manual.
We bought the thing about and year and a half ago. Correction - we bought the second one a year and a half ago.
We bought the first unit at Wal-Mart, took it home, and a part broke before we could finish cleaning the carpets in our little two-bedroom house.
So, I repacked everything and hauled it back to Wal-Mart where they cheerfully exchanged it for a new one.
About two weeks ago, we wanted to clean the carpets before a birthday party. We have a dog and a cat and -- well, that's why we thought we needed a carpet cleaner.
It wouldn't squirt. It squirted out the upholstery brush, but not out the bottom of the unit onto the carpet as you would want a carpet cleaner to do.
We did what the manual said. My son, our family's mechanical genius -- I mean that -- came on July 3 and partially disassembled it before announcing we need a new pump. He promised to come back and re-assemble it after I ordered the part.
OK.
So, right after the 4th of July, I called Bissell and spoke to someone who obviously resides in New Delhi or elsewhere overseas.
She could not understand my Hoosier English and I couldn't understand her whatever it was she was speaking.
I told her I needed a pump.
"What pump?" she asked.
"The pump that squirts liquid on the floor," I insisted.
"There is no pump," she insisted.
Then she tried another tactic.
"Put liquid in the tanks and I will help you diagnose the problem," she said.
"I know what the problem is -- it won't squirt liquid on the floor!" I said. "Besides the machine is in parts on the floor."
"Put it back together and call me again. Goodbye. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"
Well, I got it back together with only four screws left over.
I called back today.
I did what the lady told me -- this one spoke English.
She said, "I can give you the telephone number and location of your nearest authorized service center."
Here is the kicker.
When I called the Chosen One, he politely told me it probably only needed to be cleaned and the cost would be $30.
BUT, I had to drive to either Lafayette, Shelbyville, Greenwood or Indianapolis from our home in Brazil, Ind.
So, for the cost of buying a new model exactly like the one I tried to fix, I could haul it to the repair center! Lucky consumer me!
Magical Me!
Getting rational: We probably spent as much on the unit as we would have spent to rent a cleaner twice (about the use we got out of it) or have a commercial cleaner clean three rooms once.
It's just irritating that they make things as cheaply as possible to lure people into buying them insitead of making a quality item (to paraphrase Cousin Eddie in "Christmas Vacation") and selling it at a reasonable profit.
Lou Dobbs is right -- there is no longer a middle class and people are really getting fed up as the rich get richer at the expense of workers.
And I don't think raising the minimum wage alone will change things.

What th- ? Drew Carey new host of 'The Price Is Right'

According to CBS.com, Drew Carey is announcing he has come to an agreement with the producers of "The Price Is Right" to be the new host when the show's 36th season begins this fall.
Carey will replace Bob Barker, who retired after 50 years on TV.
You know, Carey is a great choice! He has a great sense of humor, he is from the Midwest and there is probably nothing offensive about him.
We won't even discuss rumors Rosie O'Donnell was Barker's first choice.
Congratulations, Drew! Best wishes!!
I couldn't think of a better choice, though he certainly wasn't an obvious choice.

Why do we still care about the death of TV's Superman?

I care about George Reeves, but sometimes I am at a loss to understand why.
I think there were several things that came together to make him as popular today as he is.
My generation watched first-run TV "Adventures of Superman". But, there were all those reruns on TV. I watched WGN-TV channel 9 on Sunday mornings for the show. That was before there was cable and satellites were scientific objects few and far between, floating around the earth. No TV signal from them. No superstations.
Certainly we could all tie a towel around our necks and pretend to be Superman. We could even "fly" for short distances, if there was a soft mattress beneath us when gravity pulled us to ground.
George Reeves was so identified with Superman, that we saw his image and could easily pigeon-hole him in that role.
That is important for children.
Kids have trouble seeing adults in multiple roles of life not only in films.
Last night I was watching the serial Superman starring Kirk Alyn and learned he didn't get screen credit. They just said they hired the real Superman because no actor could live up to the real guy.
Think of the time in history when George flew, too.
UFO sightings were big in the '50s. Science fiction movies and movies about monsters were big, too. A strange visitor from outer space with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men just fit into the genre.
The tragedy -- as is always true with suicides -- is that George never understood his importance in TV. If he was murdered, that is another ball of wax, but I'm not convinced it was anything but suicide and a botched investigation.