Beep

_Well, I almost burned what I was baking again. It’s not that I’m a poor cook or negligent. I put the oven timer to the correct time. No, I take that back. I usually, and did this time, set the timer to a few minutes short of the recommended time.

I know my oven runs slightly hot, so this is one reason. The other is the unimaginative designers of any type of an appliance that has a signal. With all the sounds capable to be programed into a circuit board why do all the companies use the same beep. Not only is the beep the universal sound but the volume, pitch, and tone are all the same.

My kitchen has two ovens and a microwave. The ovens not only beep with the timer goes off, but they also beep when the open reaches the appointed temperature. The microwave beeps when it is done cooking but also beeps at the midpoint when cooking baked potatoes. They aren’t really baked but baked potatoes sounds much more normal than micro-cooked potatoes.

All that beeping when I’m preparing a meal, often with my husband around and we are in conversation or commenting on the idiocy going on in Washington D.C. But don’t get me started on that. I’ve recommended that we vote the bums out for the last ten to fifteen years. But nobody listens to me.

Anyway, back to topic I started with. Beep goes the oven when it reaches temperature. Beep goes the microwave because something needs stirring. Beep goes the other over as it gets hot enough. Beep goes the microwave again. Beep goes the microwave at the middle of the potato cooking cycle. Beep goes one oven timer. Beep goes the other oven timer.

Is it any wonder that I turn them out or miss one? Why not vary the signal? Buzz, ring, “Hey you, the food’s done.” Any sound that would be distinctive. My granddaughter has a Mr. Potsy by Leap Frog which dings and says, “It’s ready.”

We can program different ringtones into our phones, different alert sounds on our computers. Yet, every appliance has the same “Beep.”

Why, you say, don’t you purchase an old-fashioned timer that rings? I did. Twice in the last six months. They worked for about three months each.

Beep. My blog post is now done. Please don’t let it burn.