The Irish mug...

My birthday today. Only mentioning it because of the nuclear connection.

The Hiroshima bombing 2 decades prior to my arrival has somewhat coloured every one of my personal celebrations so far.

I’ve regularly enjoyed peace candles burning in unison with rapidly multiplying age-celebratory ones on mostly makeshift cakes put together on summer holidays (first part of my life) and winter work-around –the-clock evenings (second part of it).

A much less noteworthy event than the 2 mentioned previously occupies my attention at the moment:  The struggle with the equipment.

My two laptops with out-of-synch keyboards keep giving me endless grief.

One of those experts that calculates (as part of his/her daily task) the ‘possible compounded savings the fixing of a dripping tap offers’ could probably put a clear figure on my loss of productivity due to regularly miss-hitting the CTRL key.

It bemuses me a little when product designers get it wrong – a bit like the ‘Irish mug’ we once had, that placed the handle on the inside of the utensil.

That software interface developers underestimate the disruption a misplaced toolbox can cause, I’ve got used to, from designers of tangible gadgets I expect more understanding of the ‘power of habit’ that drives us humans.

I’ve resigned myself to put up with this – loss of productivity or not, 2 laptops still better than one for now.