Automatic doors vs non-automatic doors

From supermarkets to small shops, universities to hospitals, from bus stations to airports, the list of establishments with automated doors goes on and on ...and on! But why? Is it pure laziness on the part of the human race, or was there a point? 
  

Dee Horton and Lew Hewitt, co founders of company Horton Automatics developed the first automatic door in 1954, when they noticed existing doors had difficulty operating in wind and harsh weather. Thus a genuine reason. But have we gone a little automatic crazy?
Imagine you’re walking to your destination, it’s a cold day and your hands are tightly positioned in your pockets, the last thing you want is to have to remove your hands form the warmth and touch a probably cold, germ-ridden (I’m not a germ-aphobe, its realistic, think how many people have touch that door!) door! Automatic door to the rescue, fingers stay nice and toasty until it is safe to remove them, and no unnecessary germs.

Automatic doors are all fine and well, until they don't open.  Then how do you get out? And no doubt by the time you figure out a solution you have walked back and forth a few times, waved your hands a little, tried to catch the sensor by surprise, all these actions starting subtle but getting more and more desperate as the situation deteriorates. Then you're left standing looking ridiculous and feeling awkward, like you're not special enough for the door to open. And you can guarantee people are watching! Where are the benefits then?!

Normal doors, (although less hygienic) are much less fussy about who gets through, occasionally there will be one that sticks a bit when you try to open it, but a little heave and its person-1, door-nil. Not to mention the warmth kept in by hinge doors that is callously thrown away by automatic doors. There are no ‘accidental’ openings of hinge doors when someone happens to pass, they are only opened when needed and thus any draft can't really be avoided! (You can tell that it is a cold day today from all this talk about cold!).

From the cleanliness point of view, automatic doors are acceptable in hospitals and airports, places the have a constant flow of people but what if we had them everywhere? What would happen to the traditional door? It would just be tossed aside because the human race was just too lazy to push a door open. And when automatic doors break, it’s more difficult to open than a normal hinge door, because automatic doors slide, would we be expected to slide it open? I predict mass hysteria and confusion!

 Conclusion: There is a time and a place for automatic doors, the status quo is fine but lets not go over the top. Dee Horton and Lew Hewitt suggested that one day, everyone would have automatic doors in their homes, this is, in my opinion, a little far. Not to mention the draft it would create, it would be less safe for families to live, and the noise of the constant opening and closing would just get irritating!

Orange Juice vs Apple juice...

Ok so I was thinking, depending on what mood I am I don't really have an apple juice/orange juice preference but I know my brothers do! So this post I plan on comparing the two and finding out what other people think!

Price
After researching, I have discover that Tesco and Asda both sell their own branded 'value' and 'smartprice' apple juice for £0.62 and Sainsburys sell their 'basics' apple juice at £0.56. Asda 'smartprice' orange is also £0.62. Sainsburys and Tesco however sell their value/Basics orange juice slightly cheaper at £0.56 also.


Packaging
Tesco 'value' and Asda 'smartprice' juices are in cartons whereas Sainsburys 'basics' are plastic bottles -as can be seen below. 

As on customer described Tesco 'Value' apple juice;

‘Indeed I like the design and the layout of this product, I would describe it as simple but eye catching'.

Decision time...
So a facebook status resulted in a response of 8 votes (not as much as I was hoping but to be fair it was a silly time of night and people were a littel confused as to why I was asking!). 3 votes to apple juice and 5 to orange. 

Why?
Reasons for the votes included; 'apple because orange is too concentrated' and 'orange since it is full of vitamin C'.


Personally, apple juice at night time, orange in the morning when I need woken up! I prefer orange juice 'with bits' but I know that isn't for everyone, eg my brother!


So there we go, apple juice vs orange juice, a little bit of random pointless information to waste time in your reading -and my creating! :)

The Irish Countryside...

While on holiday in Ireland in the Summer I stayed in a small cottage belonging to a relative. The cottage was literally situated in the middle of nowhere so it was fantastic breathing in the country air - apart from when that involved walks past fields of animals, the air wasn't as 'fresh' there! Driving through the country it was amazing to see all the houses, every one different and every one personal to the occupants. So, here are some photo's of some of the properties, the photo quality isn't great as they were taken while driving past, but I will try and explain why I liked each home. 

What attracted me to this
house was the windows of the
room at the side. There are
floor to ceiling windows on each
of the 3 outer walls. I like how
this would allow a huge amount
of a light into the house.

I liked this one because it is simple
yet large. It is personal and the
functionality of the bungalow will
suit the occupants needs.

The house is interesting because of the sweeping
driveway. It secludes the house from the road and
makes it appear more grand. From the road side you
 can see that the house is large and the sweeping
driveway gives the residence privacy that it otherwise
may not have.

This house caught my eye because of the huge
 front room. The large bay window gives an idea as
to how big the room is and I like how it is the most
 noticeable aspect of the house at first.

This house is probably my favourite out of all of the pictures I have, because of the 'jaggy' roof. There are many different apex's and roof lies due to bay windows in both front rooms and the upstairs, as well as the front porch. It gives the feeling of busy-ness but at the same time order. It makes the house feel larger and as thought there are many different dimensions and functions within.