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Saturday, January 13, 2018

Home Circuit Breaker Labeling

Just spent 40 minutes updating and correcting the labeling on my home's electrical panel. Vagueness, unclear abbrevs, messy writing, omissions and outright mistakes. Some of that is inevitable human sloppiness, but it occurred to me that a few things could be done to improve it.

Instead of a label stuck to the panel, make it an insert in a sleeve that is stuck to the panel. Advantages:

1. Can remove it, so making it easier to write legibly.
2. Can replace cleanly with an updated copy--no cross-outs.

For bonus points, industry should standardize the template, so it can readily be printed off from the web. Here is a link to the simple template I made.

For super bonus points, include a schematic of the house, with rooms numbered, and cross reference breaker numbers to room numbers.

Wednesday, January 03, 2018

Amazon Feature Idea: Delayed Review Reminders

Amazon reviews are useful, but the best reviews come from people who have used the product for months. However, it seems like most reviews posted are from people who have used the product for days. I think human nature is either to be excited about a new purchase and review it shortly upon receipt, or never.

So my idea for a minor, optional Amazon feature would be to let buyers opt-in to be gently prompted to review things weeks/months after purchase. The exact duration of the prompt could be algorithmic, taking into account the nature of the product, and any gaps in the existing distribution of reviews.