disposal

Disposable gizmos vs. high-end audio

You see it every day, a passing parade of new-tech gizmos crowding the market.

From phones to mobile Internet devices, digital cameras, music players, and mini notebooks--and on the home theater side--formats that whither and die just a couple of years after their much ballyhooed introductions. Every day there's more junk.

Most of this glittering assortment of wowie-zowie tech trinkets are destined to take up landfill space in five years or less. That's apparently OK; nobody expects to keep an iPhone all that long, and besides there's always something new, jam-packed with the latest tech to buy. Why would anyone expect to just buy something good enough to use for a decade or more?

Audio is the exception to that mindset. It seems like I've met a gazillion baby boomers still using the hi-fis they bought around the time of the first Woodstock. One Audiophiliac reader bemoaned the fact that his 20-year-old $600 speakers were now beyond repair. He got 20-something years of use out of the speakers--and that's not enough.

When it comes to audio people think it should last forever, though some of the best stuff comes close. For example, the "other" McIntosh, the audio company, still factory services amplifiers built when Nixon was president. Gee, I wonder if Apple would fix your dad's Apple II? … Read more

A finger-safe garbage disposal

I guess it's a function of having children; I see danger everywhere. Particularly in my garbage disposal. I have horrifying thoughts of a child's fingers somehow ending up where they shouldn't be, or a child somehow hitting a switch when my fingers are where they shouldn't be. And, needless to say, these constant worries really detract from my whole kitchen experience.

Some might suggest that I remove my garbage disposal completely, but those people are just mean. Not everything goes in the compost pile, and the disposal keeps the pipes happy and clean. So, I looked … Read more

SinkTop Switch delivers what it promises

Every time I try to turn on my garbage disposal, I first turn on the light over the kitchen sink. The two switches are right next to each other, and no matter how many times I make the mistake, I still can't remember which is which. I suppose I could label the switches, but that would destroy the minimalist look I love. Plus, I'd have to make a label, and that's just too much effort.

Far easier, at least for me, to tell my husband to install the InSinkErator SinkTop Switch. It mounts on the counter or … Read more

A sink your sous chef will thank you for

Just when I thought we had run out of ways to eliminate the need for us to do the dirty work in the kitchen, I stumbled into the completely foreign land of the prep sink. Until seeing the Kohler Crevasse Prep Sink and its cousins, I was under the impression that a kitchen sink is a singular, possibly double-basined place for all rinsing, draining, disposing, and soaking needs, with some allowance for shapes and colors.

Not so, apparently. I should preface the following post by explaining how I currently deal with my food scraps. Living in New York in an … Read more

Diaper companies wrap up funding

Two companies that deal in diapers have attracted notable funding within the past week, leaving Dan Primack of Private Equity Hub to muse about the rise of a "diaper bubble."

gDiapers, which makes eco-friendly diapers, announced yesterday that it raised an undisclosed sum from 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners and Golden Seeds angel investors. gDiapers' hybrid diapers, perhaps the Prius of the Pampers world, consist of a flushable, compost-ready insert that fits inside decorative cloth panties.

Online marketplace Diapers.com raised $7 million in Series B funding last week, mostly through Bessemer Venture Partners. The Web site sells … Read more

Quick and easy explosive detector kit

"Hey! Who left that package there?" Today that question triggers an avalanche of the latest bomb-disposal gear, not to mention the obligatory traffic jam that ensues. But now you can defuse that situation yourself if the bomb squad isn't around the corner.

Today a $10, pocket-sized explosive detector called "ELITE" (for Easy Livermore Inspection Test for Explosives) puts you in charge--at least until you touch the wrong wire. The 5- by 7.5-centimeter device requires minimal training to quickly and cheaply locate and identify up to 30 types of explosives and propellants. The card gives … Read more

2Prong: World's simplest disposable e-mail

Getting tired of giving out your real e-mail address every time you want to register to use a new Web site? What you want are disposable e-mail addresses. There's a new system out there for this purpose that's unbelievably simple to use. It's called 2Prong.

Say you're on some new site that's asking for your e-mail address so it can confirm your registration. Don't give it your personal e-mail address. Instead, open another browser window and go to 2Prong.com. On the site there will be a throw-away e-mail address, like this: d3ucjmnck4@andeezy.… Read more