The effects of power failures on digital clocks

Power went out here for 50 minutes Saturday afternoon. (Just before I was going to print out a resume, dammit.) So why do all my digital clocks react differently when the juice comes back? The microwave oven flashes "00:00". The range comes back on flashing whatever time it was when the power went off, but then proceeds to count time normally from that point on. The phone/answering machine flashes a cryptic "CL". The alarm clock has a backup battery so it doesn't reset to 12:00 and flash -- instead it appears as if nothing had happened, but the time is off by some random period. Only the VCR has the good grace to seek out a time standard somewhere on the cable network and autoset itself.

Whatever happened to standardized behavior of machinery? When I was a kid, all toasters (for example) worked the same. You could go anywhere and make toast without having to read the manual first. Then we got microwave ovens, and no two models ever work the same. Whenever I visit a friend or relative and have occasion to use the microwave, it takes me longer to figure out the settings to heat a cup of water for hot chocolate than it would to boil the damn thing on the stove.

At least I can still make toast.