Rob Mansfield: Content-ment

It had to happen eventually – the ultimate US icon of Barbie has teamed up with the current TV perfection that is Mad Men.

But these are no ordinary Barbie and Ken dolls that you will be buying for your kids to play doctors and nurses with.

Oh no, Mattel proudly calls them their Barbie Fashion Model Collection, a premium-price collectors’ series for adults. There will be between 7-10k models made and they could be yours for a mere $74.95 each.

They’re not planned for release till July, so you’ve got a bit of time to save up!

Personally, if I was Christina Hendricks (aka Joan Holloway), I’d be a bit miffed that I’d been reduced in size. Her doll looks positively waif-like, while Don Draper doesn’t cut quite the same dash as ‘Ken’, as he does in the actual show.

– Full story at NY Times

Our dishwasher door stopped closing last week and, rather than calling up for a repairman, I did what more and more people are doing – turned to the web for help.

First of all, I searched for forum discussions to see if anyone else had experience the same problem.

On our Hotpoint dishwasher, it seems to be a common problem – the spring lock breaking.

Having discovered the problem, I then turned to one of the multitude of online parts stores – espares.

For just over £10 and after a couple of days’ wait, the new door lock turned up.

And then within less than 30 minutes, I’d fitted the new lock and the dishwasher was finished.

The point is, not to boast about my pathetic DIY skills, more that it’s so easy to find replacement parts, along with videos of how to fit them online.

More often than not, the fitting of the new part is really easy and something that anyone could take on. And best of all, it saves money on call-out fees.

On an environmental tack, the availability of spares will hopefully reduce the constant merry-go-round of buying something new, as soon as the old things breaks.

More proof that the web really can make things easier for people.