Loose Ends
Life with gadget guy
Susan Nienow

So what if we don't have any outdoor lights this year. We never got it done because we were busy with the fly-through daughter, a road trip and the usual holiday scramble. That left an unused gadget sitting around so my other half has connected that remote control to a two-foot sparkly, lighted wire cone that sits on a table.

Instead of just reaching down and pulling the plug, I now get the remote out of the drawer, push "off" and then put it back into the drawer.

Which brings us to the "big" Christmas tree. It has two separate sets of lights, two separate off/on "step-on" switches with one master "stepon" power switch. No remote needed. I just stick my foot under the tree and step on the lump under the tree skirt, hoping that it isn't something live and furry or a fragile gift that has migrated to the back of the tree.

We now have three wireless outdoor thermometers. I can tell the temperature of three sides of the outside of our house from the bedroom, kitchen and family room of the house. And in case you want to know the humidity, we have two gadgets that record that information, too.

If we should happen to leave the house without a charge on our cell phones, there is a charger in my car and my other half's truck. Or, if we are out of town and one of our cell phones die, we each have a charger in our luggage. And, for everyday charging, there is a charger on each bedside table.

So if the phone is fully charged, why can't I hear it when it rings in my purse?

In one of my futile efforts to de-clutter my office desk, I bought a caddy for my three remotes: TV, satellite and CD player (an antique one of the kids left behind). I do see just how foresighted that caddy purchase was now that I have two more remotes. One is for a fan and one for a small heater - both bought by my other half. He thought the remotes were the best part - so I wouldn't have to walk four steps to turn them on.

Next to the bed is an air filter. You guessed it - it came with a remote. Though I haven't seen any advertising directly touting a remote, I doubt if any electronic equipment would sell without one.

I suspect my other half is watching the ads for a master remote that could be programmed to control all of the other remotes - sort of a "remote central." One detail about remotes - they only work with working batteries. Now my other half is on a mission to find a camera battery charger for a friend of our fly-by daughter and send it to Africa.

I have one word of warning for anyone we know: do not give or sell that man another remote.