the printer incident

Here is a copy of my just-submitted amazon review for my Lexmark 2470 printer/scanner.
I am consumed by such rage as I cannot describe.


great product if you never ever have to change the ink, January 13, 2008
By N. Holtschulte - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)
This is the worst product I have ever seen. To change the ink cartridge I had to take it apart by hand, which involved a screwdriver. Also, taking the "lid" off (that's the scanner part), disconnected a few cables, which I could not replace without the aid of tweezers. Once I got the whole thing back together I realized I had somehow broken the scanner.

Fine, whatever, I thought, but no. You can't use the printer if the scanner is broken because the printer automatically asks to check its alignment using the scanner and you can't just skip this process and print your job. It won't let you until the alignment is complete, but I can't align anything because the scanner is busted.

I just smashed the whole contraption with a bat ala office space and I have a similar fantasy involving the person that designed this machine.


That's where the Amazon review ends. The only part that wasn't true was that I smashed it with a bat. In reality I punched it impotently and painfully until deciding that pulling/bending would be more destructive/satisfying.

This incident made me realize that I need to work on my priorities. Yes, a large piece of electronics was wasted and the new ink cartridge I bought for it is a sunk cost, but it isn't worth the stress that the infernal machine has caused me. It just isn't worth getting upset about. That doesn't make me any less angry, but that's why I need to work on my priorities.
value(my_stress_level) > value(material_things)

Two days after this incident, while calming my mind with a deep breathing exercise, the solution came to me. I wasn't supposed to go digging in the machine for the ink cartridge. I was supposed to let it come to me.

How very "Zen".

You see the ink cartridge and its holder move back and forth across the paper and if the cartridge is in the middle of the paper it would in fact be easy to reach. I'd bet money I was supposed to leave the printer turned on and select some kind of "change ink" option and the cartridge would then be moved within reach. Instead I fixated on an incorrect paradigm: lift the lid, replace the cartridge.