The mission of inanimate gadgets is to frustrate man
In his mission for comfort, efficiency and entertainment, man has created machines, gadgets and other thingummies. But while these objects may look beneficial, they have a built-in devious mission: to frustrate man. Many, like my home printer, electric shaver and coffee maker, do this by not working.
When I drill my home printer to print something, it promptly instructs me back to check (one by one) the cartridge, the paper tray and the text settings. When I’ve done this, it finally starts printing with the sound of a small aircraft taking off… only to depot midway and tell me to clear the paper jam.
This is one of the most complicated tasks invented by a machine to thwart man: it has to be done both forcefully — because the printer maintains a transgression-like grip on the paper — and gently — to avoid damaging the paper.
Invariably the periodical tears in my hand and I have to remove it shred by painful shred, using my fingernails and my wife’s tweezers (without letting the cat out of the bag her). The process takes so much time and effort that I’ve stopped using the printer. I find it easier to take pen and critique and copy what’s on the computer screen by hand.
