I used to be able to pull out a transparent individual ink tank cartridge from my printer and see how much ink I had left. Those were the good old days. Then, I purchased a new printer. The ink tanks are now all painted black. No way to see how much ink is left.

So I purchased an amazing little $25 gadget online. It is a chip resetter.

With new ink cartridges, such as the ones that came with my new printer, the amount of ink remaining in the cartridges is shown on the printer while printing takes place, and it is also shown on the “Supply Levels” window of the computer’s printer preferences pane. Once the cartridges are re-filled with ink, however, the printer no longer recognizes how much ink is in the cartridges. With my ink cartridges now painted black, the only way for me to know when my cartridges are low on ink is to wait for the ink to run out. Enter the chip resetter.

Now all I have to do, after I refill my cartridge, is slide the re-filled cartridge on the little chip resetter device. Flashes of light and voila! My printer now registers the cartridge as Full.

How about the following chip resetters for us human types? Want to reset your energy, your health, your appetite, your thinking skills, your memory?

Okay, you feel a little tired. You pull out your “dipstick chip cartridge” from the slot in your side marked “Energy.” The chip stick shows that your energy level is Low. Time to reset. You carry your chip stick to the reset device on your kitchen counter. You turn the dial on the device to “Energy.” You then slide your chip stick on the device until the light flashes. You insert the chip stick back into the slot on your side. You are set to go now.

Should we worry about any downsides to resetting our body systems? What about having too much energy at the wrong time, too much appetite after eating a full meal, too much memory when you want to forget about something. The good news: Science has many years to perfect the use of our body’s reset chips. For now, we can be happy to know that someone can always reset our happiness with that little smile, little compliment, or little hug.

Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at Robertebsen@hotmail.com