Previously on the Roadside Resort, we took a look at the Wedge Alarm, a nifty little gadget that notifies you of unauthorized entry while you sleep in those sometimes less-than-ideal lodgings on the road.

If you're looking for a device that helps to prevent such entry in the first place, though, you might be interested in the Addalock by Rishon Enterprises. It's a pretty clever, compact bit of kit that uses a door's own strike-plate hole as a foothold against ingress.

Simply insert the silver bit into the hole, close the door and attach the red handle, and you've got a nice little buttress that appears to be more effective against busting open a door than those chintzy security chains still used by many cut-rate lodgings.

The Addalock retails for $19.99 and comes with a slim pouch that easily slips in the front pocket of your suitcase.

Just when did instruction manuals become so stuffy? Specifications, quick setups, safety warnings, troubleshooting tables. What ever happened to the simple enjoyment of a new purchase? The fun, the novelty?

That's why I was so pleased when I dug up the owner's manual on the antique Manley Aristocrat I recently found and came across the company's thoughtful inclusion of their helpful "7 Rules for Popcorn Profits," complete with illustrations sketched in that wonderfully campy '50s style.

I'm so tempted to turn Step 4 into a T-shirt. ... Continued

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"Hey, that's a pretty neat old popcorn machine."

"Yeah, we've been trying to get rid of it. Nobody will take it."

"Really? I wouldn't mind having it."

"OK."

And that's how I inherited a vintage 1950s movie-theater popcorn machine.

I was on one of my research trips for the upcoming book Weird Oklahoma and was visiting the Shortgrass Playhouse in Hobart, a community theater that's reportedly haunted by the spirit of a man whose 1918 headstone was mysteriously discovered upstairs during renovations.

While I was being given a tour, I spotted the art-deco-style machine collecting dust in the corner. I was joking when I said I'd take it off their hands, but the owners were genuinely excited that someone was actually interested in hauling it off. So, last weekend I returned with a friend of mine to roll it out and lug it down the fire escape.

After I unloaded it at my father's workshop here in Texas, I scoured the Internet for any information I could find on the machine. I shouldn't have been surprised to discover there are quite a few people out there interested in restoring old popcorn makers, all of whom are eager to share what knowledge they have. ... Continued

I just love this photo by Flickr contributor David Gallagher that captures the subtle shine reflected by a row of midcentury, commercial fiberglass chairs. Chairs like these are often overlooked, but I personally love their simple aesthetic. Plus, they're often surprisingly comfortable.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like we're surrounded by these slick little guys, yet when I try to think of the last time I actually sat in one, I can't remember exactly where it was. Stephen Coles over at the Mid-Century Modernist, however, seems to have figured out where the majority have gone to herd: the laundromat!

Coles has even determined the source of most of these wonderful old chairs as being furniture manufacturer Krueger Metal Products, who in 1967 became the world’s largest folding chair and table manufacturer. Plus, he points to a fantastic Flickr pool dedicated exclusively to laundromat chairs. You should certainly check it out.