Comments on: Use the Short Cycle (23/365)

By: Izabelle

Izabelle — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:18:02 +0000

..and moderation also prevented my awful pun on kc (no.48)’s comment. Ugh.

By: kc

kc — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:52:54 +0000

Hint: you cannot post a comment with the word which means “An alcoholic drink consisting of a spirit or several spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as fruit juice, lemonade, or cream.” —-tail.

By: kc

kc — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:49:11 +0000

Moderation. Ugh.

By: Mister E

Mister E — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 21:22:58 +0000

“3) 10 reasons why hands are better than forks, spoons, and Brillo pads.”

Ell Oh Ell.

By: Johanna

Johanna — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:57:09 +0000

Well, that’s one direction it could go. On the whole, I’m thinking it’s more like “Save on medical expenses by not tripping over your own shoelaces.”

By: Jackowick

Jackowick — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:48:46 +0000

LOLing all thread long. I mean, I get the concept of what he’s shooting for here, but the shot of the dishwasher really repaints this as a “close enough!” kind of article to be followed with:

1)never throw out food by expanding 5 second rule to 5 days
2)underpants: why going commando is the thrifty choice
3) 10 reasons why hands are better than forks, spoons, and Brillo pads.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:40:23 +0000

A grown man riding a tricycle? Ok, so I’m not very good at this.

But it doesn’t even have to be literal. Heck, JD uses cat photos for the really boring investment posts. I find them amusing and I don’t even like cats.

By: kc

kc — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:17:57 +0000

Andrew, here are a few ideas:

-A close up of a scissors cutting (or about to cut) a dollar bill. (You’re cutting cycle time and spending less money.)

-A timer and some coins. (Time/savings)

-Side view close up of someone holding a pocket watch above a piggy bank, as though it’s a coin to be deposited. (Ditto)

-A wall clock with dollar signs instead of numerals.

Anyone else have some ideas?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:34:06 +0000

There should be an edit function here–my last post came out as gibberish.

I meant to say that I was “dying” to see that “short cycle” photo, not “suing.”

And what would a similar “light cycle” photo be like?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:31:04 +0000

David #34–I am absolutely suing to see the short
cycle photo of “a woman wondering why it’s been only three weeks since her last period, and here is her next? ”

I shouldn’t have been drinking coffee when I saw that!

By: Adam P

Adam P — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:24:24 +0000

@David #34, there’s a happy medium between ‘Brand New So Expensive It Evokes Negative Commentary Out Of Jealousy’ type washer photo and a photo that looks like it was taken in a dump (like this one).

Also I don’t think people who complain about photos of new things, we’re bombarded with that on tv and the internet as it is and are mostly numb to it. So I don’t think that is true at all.

By: Jill

Jill — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:03:50 +0000

For the ‘hose down clothing’ option, someone really needs to do the math to see if it’s cost effective. I suspect it’s going to use more water than running the washing machine. And with our external water supply, you’re either paying for metered potable water (which comes from external spigot #1) or paying for the electricity to run the irrigation well pump (put out by spigots #2 and #3).

By: Raya

Raya — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:50:46 +0000

What’s the big deal? It’s an old washer with some water drops on. I like the picture – for one thing, it doesn’t look straight out of a commercial ad.

By: Jules

Jules — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:03:59 +0000

@ David (34): There’s a way to make things look nice without making them pristine. It takes a little more time and a lot more thought (see the stills in my blog) but it can be done. There’s a difference between wear-and-tear and dirty.

I have to say, though, what bothers me about the photos is how off-balance they are. It’s not something you’d notice if an el-cheapo P&S is what you’ve been using for your entire life, and there are times when the look is appropriate. But seriously, if Brittany is as eager to “go pro” as Trent says she is, she needs to learn lighting and learn it FAST. My personal favorite tip/trick? Indirect sunlight makes everything look good. Even my DSLR yellows pictures in low lighting, so sometimes I end up dragging all the lights that can be dragged to a certain place, just to get the look right.

By: Brittany

Brittany — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:38:52 +0000

(…Brittany the regular commenter, not Brittany of the dirty appliance pictures.)

This series is properly titled “Ways to live CHEAP” as opposed to “Ways to live frugally.” This is the epitome of cheap–doing absolutely whatever costs the least in the moment, regardless of whether it’s the best decision (as opposed to frugality, which is making the wisest use of resources).

I can either rinse all my dishes, wasting tons of water… or I can not rinse a single one and run my dishwasher on heavy load. Similar amount of water as the lighter cycle, a bit more electricity, no extra sink rinse water… cleaner dishes. Better choice. (More frugal choice.)

By: David

David — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:24:26 +0000

Some of this criticism seems a little harsh. If I wanted to take a photograph to illustrate a short cycle on a washing machine, should I instead take a photograph of a cut-down bicycle ridden by a circus clown? Of a caesium atom puffing and gasping as it manages only 9,192,631,769 radiation cycles per second (how would Brittany take such a photograph, anyway)? Of a woman wondering why it’s been only three weeks since her last period, and here is her next?

No, the photographs are fine. Be honest – if the photo had featured a brand-spanking-new washing machine set to “light wash”, you’d all have ganged up on Trent for being able to afford a brand-spanking-new washing machine in the first place. Or even for being able to afford someone able to photograph a brand-spanking-new washing machine in the first place. Hypocrites lecteurs, mes semblables, mes frères! (et soeurs, to avoid accusations of sexism while conscious of running into a more deadly bullet than the one I was trying to dodge in the first place).

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:32:14 +0000

No, not really, actually.

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:08:09 +0000

@ Katie: Would you recoil if you knew she had a baby? She does.

No matter who the dishwasher belongs to, the photos are gross and distracting. Brittany and Trent would do well to heed kc’s (#23) advice which was blunt but respectful. I would suggest some color correcting as well.

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:45:25 +0000

Heh, constructive criticism of posts and photos is always good, but I have to admit, I’m not recoiling in shock that a college student has a dirty dishwasher!

By: valleycat1

valleycat1 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:19:32 +0000

#10 Bill – LOL. My former FIL actually used to shower in his underwear to wash it when his wife was out of town & he ran out of clean.

Johanna – hopefully Trent & Brittany won’t see #27 & get inspired to be more creative as someone else suggested earlier.