As with many, I come to this blog for amusement and for the comments. I have probably learned something useful from it at some point.

Thanks! But I don’t think Kai was being particularly mean. I know how to give art direction because it’s how I make a living – it takes a lot of practice to criticze without crushing one’s creativity. But the criticism we (visual communications professionals) get from collaborators who are not from our field is often phrased like Kai’s. Knowing how to take it is part of the job.

Depends on the freezer and the size. A 9 cubic foot model may only use $30 but a 24 cubic foot model could use $60. And newer models may be a bit more efficient than a few year old versions.

I don’t think this is right. 25F is not cold enough to freeze much of anything except water. Ice cream, for example, would melt at that temperature.

On the photographs, here is some constructive advice: If, as Izabelle suggested, the problem is with taking photos without people in them, then put some people in the photos. After all, all of these tips are things for people to do. I’m no artist, but for this post, you could have a picture of a person peering into a freezer filled with bags of frozen vegetables. For the “short cycle” post, you could have a person setting the dial on a dishwasher or clothes washer while looking at her watch. For the “appliance replacement fund” have a person gleefully counting those $20 bills while standing next to (or sitting on) an appliance. And so on.

We wouldn’t be able to fit a quarter cow in there, but we’re able to do quite a bit between the two freezers (our regular fridge/freezer is a big side-by-side). We actually find the extra fridge space quite valuable too. We use it for things like fresh whole chicken/turkey (prior to cooking), extra gallons of milk, bulk fresh vegetables, or extra drinks if we’re about to have a bunch of people over.

At Christmas I use it for freezing cookies so I can just keep a few out and thawed and not eat a bunch all at once!

1. A chest freezer usually keeps a much colder temperature. Freezers in fridges are usually kept pretty close to 32F, maybe 25F or so. Chest freezers usually maintain around 0F. So everything in the freezer would have to warm up to 32F before it starts to thaw, whereas a fridge freezer might already be pretty close.

2. You can extend the “life” of a chest freezer in a potential blackout by keeping the bottom lined with jugs of water (ice). This increases the heat capacity of the overall space. In other words, it takes more energy to melt the ice that it would to warm the equivalent amount of air, so things in the freezer stay colder longer. This technique also helps improve the energy efficiency of the freezer, especially if you aren’t keeping it chock full all the time.

3. Chest freezers don’t leak cold air out the bottom. They may be harder to get into and keep organized, but when you open the top, the cold air stays inside. When you open an upright fridge or freezer, the cold air on the bottom whooshes out and is replaced by warm air near the top.

On the photography: Trent is not a photographer, so this internship is unlikely to be about improving her skills in photography, but about learning what it takes to run a business. And apparently it will also turn into how to take some pretty harsh criticism, based on the comments in here. I really liked how Izabelle approached the issue of less-than-stellar quality photographs with specific instructions and tips, but Kai? You’re just plain mean. If that’s how you give “constructive criticism” in real life, I pity the recipients.

If you think the photographs are so terrible and the content so poorly written, why do you even bother to read?

I was curious as to the thought process, and why anyone would think that cheap snapshots deserved to be paid. In this case, your logic makes sense to me, though I doubt the photos are bringing anyone who wasn’t already coming for the articles or the comments.

I get that it’s convenient and so forth for all the stuff you freeze, but I bet you have a lot more than you need, and one blackout could take out a month’s grocery.

I’m seconding Vanessa’s comment – what is wrong with you? And do you appreciate the fact that your home has the space for an upright freezer?

I do still feel that way, Kai – thanks for asking.

At this point, Brittany’s bad photographs are serving the same purpose as Trent’s bad written content: to draw people to the site, specifically to the comment threads. Trent makes money off that, so why shouldn’t Brittany?

Here’s a question for those who were adamant that this be a paid internship when it was first mentioned – do you still feel that way?
I believe that you move from amateur to professional when your work is sufficiently valued by others that they are willing to pay for it. I certainly would not be willing to pay for photos of the quality displayed here. To work off of someone else’s excellent note, you don’t pay just for a ‘passion’ – you pay for a product.
If I would never buy these photos, and if the skill and effort displayed in them does not suggest great promise for future work, why on earth would I offer a paid internship? I might be willing to trade some of my time for the displayed photos as a favour or general ‘pay it forward’-style helping others, but I can’t imagine offering money for this quality. You get paid when you have something worth paying for.

Of course, we had about 2.5 square feet of refrigerator space, and room for an ice tray in the “freezer,” which was directly under the cooking elements. Boil pasta, melt ice… We also bought a little refrigerator to sit by it.

Our first big freezer, bought in 1988, was an industrial freezer. We just defrosted it yesterday. It has never given us a minute’s trouble, either. That would be our last big freezer, as well. If we need a new one, we might not get another of that quality, since we don’t have any heirs to leave it to. We would want it to go to a good home, after all.

Which reminds me: inventory your freezer! Print it out, and put it on the door, and cross stuff off as you go.