Like so many other things when it comes to idiots like me, car clocks are set in such a way to drive the owner batty. They can’t make it simple.
Before digital timing, we would wind old alarm clocks or watches, set the minute and hour hands by turning a ridged knob, then click it back into place. Then twist it a few times to ensure the clock was wound up and ready to run. That was it. Done.
Some alarm clocks, watches and car clocks still operate under this mode of simplicity. Their makers are smart because they understand most of us: 1) Don’t want to read directions to be able to set a clock. 2) Won’t read the directions regardless of how confused we get. 3) Can’t remember where the directions have been stored (Glove compartment? Bedside table?).
No matter which of these three (or more) reasons apply, the point is we don’t like to spend time figuring out how to operate a clock. We should be able to “get it” without directions.
Car manufacturers disagree, as do many alarm clock equipment companies. They figure the more complicated they can make the settings, the better their sales will be or the fewer customer complaints they’ll have. Quite frankly, I think greater complexity drives sales down and complaints up, but that’s just me.
My car, a Hyundai Accent, recently died on a hot Texas summer afternoon. It had hesitated a couple of times the past few weeks, so its death was not a complete surprise. We got it jumped and running, and I took it into the WalMart car center the next day to avoid any future trouble. The battery was close to zero percent in terms of its charge, so this was a good decision to get it replaced.
Driving off, everything seemed great, except my clock wasn’t set properly. That was five days ago. I still haven’t fixed it.
There are several reasons for this: 1) I don’t really care if my car clock is accurate. 2) I’m lazy. 3) I don’t want to pull out the directions and read them. 4) Every time we’ve reset the clock in the past, it’s taken advice from Albert Einstein to get it running accurately again.
So I leave it the way it is. At some point, inertia, motivation or Feng Shui Bagua will take over, and my intelligence and drive will over-power the complications inherent in getting it back online and synced to the rest of the world’s clocks.
That day could be soon. Last week, I drove to meet a colleague for coffee. I parked early for an 8:30 a.m. appointment and checked some emails on my smart phone because the clock said it was 23 minutes after the hour. I didn’t look to see what hour it was nor whether 23 minutes-after was the correct number. Looking at my smart phone, it suddenly became 8:34. OOOPS.
So much for being on time. I got out, loped in, and had a great conversation started about the complications in changing the time on the car clock display and how I’ve screwed it up repeatedly in the past, making me hesitant to take on the task again. This drew a laugh, and our conversation began.
Procrastination might be a good tactic in terms of fixing the time on your car clock. It helps jump-start conversations. You can poke fun at yourself. Others will chuckle in alignment with your difficulties.
This builds a connection to others, and maybe they will share their secret on fixing their own car clock. If not, you always have the written directions to pore over, if you can just interpret them properly.
Before digital timing, we would wind old alarm clocks or watches, set the minute and hour hands by turning a ridged knob, then click it back into place. Then twist it a few times to ensure the clock was wound up and ready to run. That was it. Done.
Some alarm clocks, watches and car clocks still operate under this mode of simplicity. Their makers are smart because they understand most of us: 1) Don’t want to read directions to be able to set a clock. 2) Won’t read the directions regardless of how confused we get. 3) Can’t remember where the directions have been stored (Glove compartment? Bedside table?).
No matter which of these three (or more) reasons apply, the point is we don’t like to spend time figuring out how to operate a clock. We should be able to “get it” without directions.
Car manufacturers disagree, as do many alarm clock equipment companies. They figure the more complicated they can make the settings, the better their sales will be or the fewer customer complaints they’ll have. Quite frankly, I think greater complexity drives sales down and complaints up, but that’s just me.
My car, a Hyundai Accent, recently died on a hot Texas summer afternoon. It had hesitated a couple of times the past few weeks, so its death was not a complete surprise. We got it jumped and running, and I took it into the WalMart car center the next day to avoid any future trouble. The battery was close to zero percent in terms of its charge, so this was a good decision to get it replaced.
Driving off, everything seemed great, except my clock wasn’t set properly. That was five days ago. I still haven’t fixed it.
There are several reasons for this: 1) I don’t really care if my car clock is accurate. 2) I’m lazy. 3) I don’t want to pull out the directions and read them. 4) Every time we’ve reset the clock in the past, it’s taken advice from Albert Einstein to get it running accurately again.
So I leave it the way it is. At some point, inertia, motivation or Feng Shui Bagua will take over, and my intelligence and drive will over-power the complications inherent in getting it back online and synced to the rest of the world’s clocks.
That day could be soon. Last week, I drove to meet a colleague for coffee. I parked early for an 8:30 a.m. appointment and checked some emails on my smart phone because the clock said it was 23 minutes after the hour. I didn’t look to see what hour it was nor whether 23 minutes-after was the correct number. Looking at my smart phone, it suddenly became 8:34. OOOPS.
So much for being on time. I got out, loped in, and had a great conversation started about the complications in changing the time on the car clock display and how I’ve screwed it up repeatedly in the past, making me hesitant to take on the task again. This drew a laugh, and our conversation began.
Procrastination might be a good tactic in terms of fixing the time on your car clock. It helps jump-start conversations. You can poke fun at yourself. Others will chuckle in alignment with your difficulties.
This builds a connection to others, and maybe they will share their secret on fixing their own car clock. If not, you always have the written directions to pore over, if you can just interpret them properly.
