scratch - incision: a depression scratched or carved into a surface

Nothing irritates me more than scratches. It’s the fine scratches from poor cleaning techniques that are the worst. People tend to use a grubby cloth that has been dropped on the floor to clean their precious belongings, and then wonder why things get scratched.

Today I went to Tesco and purchased 2 electronic photo frames, one for me and one as a gift. The frame itself is made of black gloss plastic – the kind that is very easy to scratch.

Anyway, I unpackaged one and set it up for myself. After loading some photos on and playing around with it, I used a clean microfibre cloth to wipe off any finger marks, and the gloss plastic is still highly reflective as it’s supposed to be.

Later, I unpackaged the other frame which is intended as a gift, only to find it had a scratch on one side of the frame. So, I return it to Tesco, and swap it for another. The guy behind the customer service checkout opens the new frame, and we find two scratches on this one.

After opening a third frame only to find scratches in the same place, the checkout guy remarks that it must be part of the design. I explain I have another frame at home exactly the same, purchased from the same store at the same time, which is absolutely mint with no scratches. He remarks that the other frame I have must be an older design. If I ever find out who designed them, I’ll be sure to commend him for making the design improvement of including scratches on an apparently “updated” version of the product.

So, I had no choice but to either ask for a refund or keep one of the scratched frames, and as I was running short of time I decided to keep it. However, when I returned home I decided to open the frame to clean off the Tesco checkout man’s grubby finger prints from where he had inspected it, only to find a myriad of scratches and swirl marks that had not showed up under the store’s bright lights.

It makes me wonder if Tesco have a batch of refurbished frames which had been returned to the factory, and cleaned by someone using a pair of old underpants dropped on the floor?

I found a circular, green stain on my bedroom carpet today. It looked like ink or paint and was slightly crusty but also looked like it could not be removed.

First of all I tried Vanish which is usually very good, but it didn’t touch it. Then I tried CarPlan upholstery cleaner which has a little plastic brush on the end. I don’t normally like scrubbing carpet, but after spraying it with the upholstery cleaner and rubbing away with the brush thingy, the stain eventually went away. Now my carpet is back to perfection.

After cleaning. Perfect!

Tools of the trade

It’s grass cutting day today, so I decided to clean up all the dog shite on my lawns.  Fortunately the sun had been out so they were all nice and hard, but this got me thinking about how the climate can affect the task at hand.

For example, on a wet day when the turds are fresh, you generally end up spreading them all over the lawn (if you use a spade like me).  On the other hand, a cold frosty morning has a similar effect to blazing sunshine and enables you to clean them up without too much mess.

The other option is to put your hand inside a plastic bag and pick them up.  Generally this is less messy than smearing them everywhere with a spade. Personally I only like to do this when the turds are fresh - there’s something that just feels so very wrong about a lump of dog shit when it’s cold. Of course there’s things that I enjoy holding a whole lot more than dog feaces, but it’s not like you’re touching it with your bare hands (unless you’re unlucky and your hand happens to be positioned over one of the little air-holes that Tesco make in their carrier bags).

I’m not even opposed to owners who let their dogs crap in the street and leave it, because it generally rots away or gets eaten by other dogs. And I can’t remember the last time I stepped in a dog turd because unlike many people I walk around with my eyes open.

Finally, the biggest problem is bagging all the shit up.  I tend to pile it all on the patio first, pat it all into a big cube and then attempt to shovel it into a bin liner.  Usually though the wind is blowing the bin bag all over the shop and little bits of shit fall off the spade (they always tend to fall around the neck of the bag which you have to touch with your hands to tie it up).  I’d love to find a solution that makes this easier.

I don’t really have a general interest in this subject, in the same way I don’t enjoy ironing or washing up, but if I can devise quicker and easier ways of doing things it’s worth considering.