Appropriate Technology

One of the side effects of having a Prius with the radio-key is that I sometimes leave the key in my pocket. When I leave the car I don't need to pull the key out of the slot, so I had a personal pattern set where I just get out, close the door and press the Lock button on the outside of the door.

Once (and only once) that got mixed up with my personal pattern for our van. I got out of the van, pressed the lock button on the inside of the door and merrily shut the door. It was only later that I realized that I had locked my keys into the van. What about the warning buzzer, you ask? Well, it has been malfunctioning for a number of years now, and always buzzes when the door is open (regardless of the state of the keys or the headlights). The van is old and I want to spend as little as possible keeping it running.

I called AAA and they sent one of their guys. He got out of his truck with a little pillow with an inflater bulb on it. I watched in fascination as he slid the pillow between the door and the pillar and inflated it to force the door open just enough so he could get a long plastic wand through the opening. He then used this wand to push the Unlock button on the door. Nothing electronic at all.

Much to my chagrin, I had to call AAA again later that day when I went to leave work and found that I had also left the lights on. I hadn't noticed it at lunch.

Maybe I should get that buzzer fixed.