Random Thoughts: Gadgets and Innovations

During my travels on this trip, I came across a few innovations that were new to me.  Maybe everyone else knows about them and I just don't get out much but I thought I would share a few of them.

First off, in a number of the hotels where we stayed in Portugal, our rooms had built in USB ports; so, no need to carry an extra USB cube to plug in.  However, this was only in a couple of places so we still have to bring the stuff to keep our devices running.  Below, the outlet with the USB port, electrical plug and light switch.  I'd like one of these in a few of the rooms in my home!

Not exactly a gadget or innovation but I was impressed with the "pillow menus" that were offered in several of our hotels.  You just have to decide what kind of sleeper you are and, voila, there is a pillow to suit your needs.  Of course, that meant that the bed had up to 8 pillows on it to choose from and, somewhat frustratingly, I made my choices, put the rejects in other parts of the room only to find all the pillows back on the bed when the room had been serviced.  In another hotel, there was another menu and this one had several pages.  Decisions, decisions!

Another innovation (which I know exists at home) but that I hadn't seen or experienced, was the sensor attached to the windshield of our rental car that kept beeping (which meant charging us) every time we went through a toll booth or under a road tax bar.  Still not sure how much of a cost we incurred as I haven't checked my Visa bill yet!   When I Googled it on the Internet, I found it is called "Bip and Drive" and is also available in Spain and, more recently, in France.  We weren't given the option for the car we rented in Spain but, as it was, we only drove one toll highway there which was from Alicante to Valencia.

And, finally, this is my favourite gadget of all the ones we encountered.  When we were staying at the NH Collection Villa de Bilbao Hotel, in the bar, there was a little device on each table.  It had three buttons on it:  one you pressed if you wanted to place an order, the second if you wanted to cancel an order, and the third, if you wanted your bill.  I have got to say, I enjoyed pushing that "I want a drink" button!  When I asked the server how it worked, he told me it was linked to the watch he was wearing.  He said it was useful because some of the time he would be in the restaurant and not know there were customers on the bar (they were on separate floors).  Clearly, the device wasn't working the second evening though when, despite hitting the button several times, we got no service at all!  

So, those are a few of the innovations we encountered on our travels.  As I say, they may be commonly known by some people but they were new to me.