My year in consumer products

I started thinking about my year in technology, and I realized that most of the shifts I had experienced this year had little to do with digital technology…

Around the house

Cuisinart stick blender It’s compact to store, machine washable, and you can use it in glass and china vessels. I’ve made instant soup, milkshakes, and fluffy-beyond-belief mashed potatoes.

Skinny velveteen hangers They snap like matchsticks, but they do give you more room in your closet.

Barkeeper’s Friend A secret from the foods teacher at my former school. It kept her lab spic-and-span. No other gritty cleaner compares.

Allerpet C I still itch when I am around any furry animal but my own, but his weekly douse in this emollient enables me to snuggle my kitty without sniffling.

Beauty secrets

Argan oil I’m on the real stuff, not cut with inferior oils. Infinitely preferable to rubbing silicon on  your hair.

Gel nails You know a beauty trend is big when it hits The Wall Street Journal. I cannot express how these chemicals have changed my life. I feel so much more polished with polished nails.

Laser hair removal No more razors, ever. 

So much of this year was about replacing – a 3^rd gen iPad to replace the 1^st gen, a Motorola Xoom to replace my generic Android tablet, the new iPhone...nothing *new*.  I’m hoping next year will bring some gee-whiz, can’t-live-without gadget, but in the meantime, I take all this as proof our modern lives can still get better.