March 4th, Baby

The ice hung from the garage ceiling like some eons old stalactite, formed like a piece of pottery by the unending tug of gravity.
It was anything but an ancient piece of earth art.
My drain was frozen, and the shower became little more than a big bathtub with no drain.
Am I wrong or is plumbing technology sort of trapped in the 60s? I’ve busted open a wall or two and seen pretty much the same stuff in my wall as any new home today.
Where is the innovation in plumbing? The "sweating" of joints? Flux? Copper, brass or iron? We can put two ATVs on Mars but we can't get a pipe-fitting that doesn't require a torch? Time for Capt. Innovation to step in.
How about fiber optically heated lines, with the ability to chase a phone line to the bathroom? Or pre-insulated
piping?
Innovation is one of the purest byproducts of intelligence. All great societies have advanced exponentially when public education became paramount in importance.
I want to see some innovations in non-typical things: Garbage, street signs, toys, game shows, packaging, bicycles, silverware, you name it. Every day we see computer and transportation advancements, but most are just making things smaller - which can be good, but try using some electronics with touch screens and your wishing for a sharp finger nail.
I want to see some stuff that just makes sense.
I was pleasantly surprised with a invention being tried in Japan. They have toilets that do blood and fat analyses from the, ah, well, er, the contents. Gross but amazingly slick.
How about some real clothes hanger advances? We’ve been using the same wiry pieces of junk – too small for normal men’s jackets – since Bing was playing golf in Palm Springs.
The clothes storage systems are generally stuck in the 60s as well. Let’s see innovative, conceptual, modular closets.
And furniture could use a boost. Something that doesn’t allow those funky little mites or other critters to thrive in the fabric.
Ergonomics should be taught to every school age child. This is the study an application of products with the human body.
How often have you bought something and later realized the design suggested somebody took a long weekend away from the office before the final design?
It's time for the plumbers of the world to get with the program, and drag their art and others into the 21st century. Or at least the 20th.
My ceiling can't take another freeze.