2007-12-11

Anti Whiplash Head Rest

Dec. 11, Tuesday

Blogging seems to have become the biggest thing in the last 5 years but I'm still pretty new to it.
I established a bit of a web presence on a site I made Artemis Graphics And Design, using some basic html coding and at a few art sites 12monthsOFwinter - Deviant Art, and Artemis Graphics And Design - Cafe Press, and forums Artemis Graphics And Design - Corel Draw Forum, but now it's time to learn new stuff. I really didn't know what I would say in a blog - I'm used to writing descriptions of pictures/art and posting the odd journal and forum commentary. It took a really long time to realize that the blog could be used for essentially the same thing- with a heavier emphasis on linking to relevant content.







Bigger View



So, keeping that in mind, I will be playing around with the features and testing stuff out to see how things work in the blogging world. I just added all my husband's blogs to my links as well as the Outdoor Bloggers Summit and not just because I designed the compass in the logo (!) but also because I am an outdoors person even if I don't actually hunt- yet! I also added a photo to this post to garnish todays post a bit since I'm basically only going to recap my day...the photo incidentally, is the North Alouette River where it runs through the UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest in Maple Ridge, B.C.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, House Hunting In Merritt, B.C., I took the new car- a Jeep Compass- on the road last Saturday and while I can't say enough wonderful things about the way the car handled the hills and valleys of the southern interior of British Columbia, I will voice a complaint that I may actually write to Jeep about: the 'anti-whip lash' head rest.
This is a piece of *ahem* crap that ruined the final hour of driving for me. When I first test drove the car I had doubts about it- even though it seemed to be a common design on many of the cars. The angle of it is such that it literally pushes a person's head forward slightly- what this effectively does is cause a person to hunch during a lengthly drive. I don't like hunching.

I like keeping my back and head straight. I can't keep my back and head straight if this stupid head rest is perpetually pushing me into a crooked shape. A few people have sat in the seat now and none of them think the head rest is comfortable. It can be flipped around of course but then it provides no protection at all for the back of the head.

To make a long story short, I went to the dealership where I purchased the car from but could get no help from them other than the suggestion to go to an auto wrecker- ironically, in the mailbox today was a form letter from them that stated 'Our Commitment To You Has Just Begun!'.

The wrecker said that he had nothing to replace the headrest with so I decided to look for a pillow that I could strap onto the (reversed) head rest. I found exactly what I was looking for and a good alternate in an unlikely place- the thrift store! There it was- a small, firm, wedge shaped pillow with a tie on the back- exactly what I needed as well as a similar sized but tie-less black pillow. Yay!
Why didn't I go to the local Can. Tire you may ask? Lately, Can. Tire doesn't have what I need- there was only 1 single kind of cup holder that would work in the new car and I needed two of them. Expensive...the pillows on the other hand cost me 99 cents each!

So basically, what I am saying is that if you have back issues and are hunting for a new car, do keep this anti-whiplash headrest style in mind. The design for it on the Jeep Compass is far too extreme and out of whack to be healthy- preventing whip lash should be able to be achieved without crippling a person during her drive.

*end of grumpy rant*

2 comments:

Doug Skinner said...

Found you through Othmar's site...Scrolling through your other posts, I love the pictures...I wish I could see some of that stuff around me...Southern New Jersey is about as flat as it gets...We have a lot too offer, but boy do I love the mountains!

H.I.Koehler said...

Doug: thanks for visiting! The countryside around here really is magnificent- we are pretty blessed in that way. But flatlands can be pretty too- Illinois looks lovely in the summer and fall which I imagine might be similar to New Jersey.
And if you really like the mountains- well I've got plenty more to post!