Reading Instructions

JM got me a birthday present, but couldn't wait until my birthday to give it to me. (What else should be expected from a guy who goes crazy with curiosity 30 minutes into a movie because he wants to know the ending?? :-) As I hinted that I wanted, he bought me a portable CD player. Now I can listen to books on CD in my car!!

Of course, I had to read the instructions first--just to see what gems of advice I could find.

The included headphones with an attached controller came with their own set of instructions. Figuring they would be shorter (half the size of the instruction page for the CD player), I picked them up first. The headphone instructions are actually in 16 languages--English, Francais, Espanol, Deutsch, Nederlands, Italiano, Svenska, Dansk, Suomi, Portgues, Polski, Slovensky, Magyar, and a couple more that I'm not going to figure out how to type the characters, but look like they could be related to Russian or Greek.

The instructions informed me that for "Switching on/off, Slide POWER to ON/OFF." And other equally enlightening instructions for adjusting the volume ("Turn VOL to adjust volume."), tuning stations, and replacing the battery. The one actually useful piece of information that I hadn't presumed upon first glance is that the attached FM tuner is independent of the CD player.

More interesting were the instructions for the CD player. These instructions are only in three languages--English, Spanish, and French. I guess even though the Germans, Italians, Polish, and others needed the headphone instructions in their own languages, it's assumed they'll know English, Spanish, or French for reading the CD player instructions.

At the top of the instructions I found,

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

• 1. Read these instructions
• 2. Keep these instructions
• 3. Heed all warnings
• 4. Follow all instructions

And continues for a total of 15 of their most important safety points. Apparantly, liquid is very dangerous, since 5 of these 15 safety points warn against liquids,

• 5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
• 6. Clean only with a dry cloth.
• 11. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way, such as . . . liquid has been spilled . . . or when the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture, . . . .
• 13. Apparatus shall not be exposed to dripping or splashing.
• 14. Do not place any source of danger on the apparatus. (e.g. liquid filled objects, lighted candles)

And since this is a portable CD player, they took two of the 15 top safety points to emphasize proper installation,

• 7. Do not block any of the ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturers instructions.
• 8. Do not install near any heat sources . . . .

And of course, if you are transporting or bracing your portable CD player,

10. Use only with a cart, stand, tripod, bracket, or table, specified by the manufacturer or sold with the apparatus. When a cart is used, use with caution when moving the cart/apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip-over.

The rest of the instructions where mostly standard, with emphasize on safety (don't listen too loud or you'll hurt your hearing or won't hear danger, such as traffic) and environmental concern when disposing of the packaging or used batteries (preferably the same brand as the CD player). But the set instructions that still have me scratching my head had to do with using the CD player in a car.

Steps 1-3 deal with finding an appropriate place for the CD player (safety of the driver and the CD player are important!)

Step 4 "Turn down the volume and connect the cassette adapter . . . ." with steps 5 and 6 completing the connection between the cassette adapter and the car and ensuring the "cord does not hinder your driving."

Step 7 "Decease [sic] the volume on the set, if necessary. Start playback on the set and adjust the sound with the car radio controls." Decease? Kill the sound completely?? Didn't I decrease the volume back in step 4??? By the way, how am I supposed now if it is necessary to further decrease the volume if I haven't even started the playback??

It may be difficult to get this set-up, but I will prevail!! I am very much looking forward to being able to listen to books on CD in my car. Since the public library has gotten rid of all its books on tapes, it's been harder to keep myself occupied on the (oh so long!) 15-20 minute drive to work.