Graz–Jul. 7, 2025

“That’s a hardware problem”

I’m pretty well known for my total ineptness when it comes to anything mechanical. This, apparently, also includes Ikea-style furniture. Here’s a nightstand I ordered online, and here is a picture of what I ended up with:

I thought I had totally screwed up building it, but it turned out I had put the shelf onto the rails improperly.

It got slightly better when I put in the drawer correctly.

It looks awful, but it will hold the articles I put on it, and it won’t fall apart, so I’m OK with this.

P.S. after looking at the photo from the Möbelix site, I realize what I did wrong; I put the rails on the *top* of the drawer instead of the bottom. I don’t think I can fix this, however. Oh well.

German Trivia: Placeholder Names

Just as we have “John Doe” or “Joe Doakes” in English, lots of other languages have placeholder names. In German, it’s usually Max Mustermann (Max Exampleman) and Erika Mustermann. This is the first time I’ve seen Musterfrau (Examplewoman).