Range Notes.

The range we bought was different from the one we originally chose, for several reasons. We thought the Kenmore 79363 was dual-fuel (electric oven, gas range) like the one in the store, but they offer a gas-only model as well. This range has five different burners, a cooktop that makes it easy to move pots around, and several different burner sizes for simmering, hardcore cooking, and regular heating. It came with a cast-iron grilling rack that reverses to a frying surface, something we haven’t played with yet. The difference between electric elements is huge—water boils much quicker, and the heat it puts off is immediate.

The oven has a convection option, soething that came in handy for browning the turkey on Thanksgiving. It’s 5 cubic feet of space, which means we were able to fit a 20 lb. bird and two casserole dishes of stuffing in at the same time. The user’s manual is huge, and there are several features we haven’t figured out yet. It also features a warming drawer on the bottom, which we tried using for the rolls on Thanksgiving.

Overall, I’d say we’re thrilled with the range. It’s everything we wanted without a $3,000 “Viking” badge stamped on the front.

Refrigerator Notes.

The fridge was the one appliance we didn’t change our minds on. We bought the Kenmore 76233 21.7 model in stainless steel. Consumer Reports gave it a good review, and it has a stellar EnergyStar rating, so I was sold. It’s been very good so far. The freezer is ice-cold (it doesn’t play around, be warned) and the fridge is absolutely huge—two gallons of milk fit comfortably in the door, something I’ve never seen before. There’s a built-in water dispenser on the left side, and the filter produces cold, fresh water that tastes pure. However, because it’s set up with the thin plastic water hose used for most ice-cube makers, the water comes out slow, which means the door is open for a long time. Consider the next higher model with the dispenser built in on the outside, or another model with a true water dispenser.

Other than that small quibble, there’s nothing else to complain about. It’s quiet, huge, and worlds better than our old fridge.

Dishwasher Notes.

So we went with the Kenmore 16279, in black. (The other model we’d picked out was unavailable.) So far, it’s working well; we’ve found that there are problems with spotting and haze on the glasses, and had to increase the water softener setting higher from the factory default to prevent etching. As with any appliance, we’re still learning its peculiarities, but overall, we like it. We’re also going to stick with the black front—after being told we could order a custom cabinet front mount, I called Kenmore and couldn’t get anyone on the phone to find the part. So be warned, folks-the Sears salesmen will advise you to go through Kenmore directly to save money, but Kenmore might not be able to help you.

If you have children, I’d recommend this one. The controls are on the top, which hides them under the granite of the countertop, away from little fingers. It has several different washing options (Turbo Wash being one of them) and when it’s operating, it’s very quiet.

Purple Is Back Online.

I took a break this morning, and chased down the wire in the basement marked “PINK/DATA” amid the spaghetti hanging from the ceiling. Five minutes later (after having to refer back to the wiring diagram to refresh the noggin) and one click, and I had the purple iMac plugged into the network, automatically sharing 46GB of music. It’s good to have my music back.

HA!

From the Baltimore Business Journal this morning:

BreakAway launches affiliate to push ‘serious games’

“It was unclear Tuesday if BreakAway was planning a hiring push to staff its federal systems affiliate.

In July 2004, executives said they planned to add up to 40 new employees, nearly doubling in size, to handle growth on the “serious games” side of the business and also re-establish its brand in the gaming industry.”

Um, no, I don’t think they’re hiring anybody else.

My Father And Some Trains.

Disappointed.

I find this story so sad, on so many levels. When I was a kid, I used to love to read about fighter aces, and I looked up to them as heroes. I’m saddened by the fact that this man, who (I thought) stood for honor and courage, sold himself out for a fucking Rolls Royce, a house, and some antiques.

CSS Templates

CSS Templates
Helpful little shortcuts.

Turkey Day Wrapup.

Thanksgiving 2005 at the Lockardugan house went over exceptionally well. With the aid of a New And Improved! kitchen, preparation of the bird went much easier. Along with my family, we invited some friends from the neighborhood (and my old job) to join us, so we had the patter of little feet in the house to make the place cheerier. The bird made it on the table a few hours late (I’m still getting the hang of this new stove) but I think everybody had a great time. I’d like to post pictures of the day, but I didn’t have the time or presence of mind to touch my camera.

Friday we took a field trip to a few places I’d read about but never been to before: Second Chance, an architectural salvage warehouse, and Housewerks, another (smaller) warehouse with one-of-a-kind architectural elements. Second Chance is an old home enthusiast’s wet dream. More wooden doors than a person can shake a stick at; fields of cast-iron bathtubs; hinges, porcelain tile, sinks, and shutters; and a whole warehouse with overstocked new/used building materials (windows, cabinets, etc.) Housewerks is located in an old gasworks building I’d been to 10 years ago in its previous life as a photographer’s studio. Think of old signage, wooden gears, carnival canvas, stained glass, and other unique finds from all over the country, and you get the idea. (The kind of stuff you can’t fit in a house like ours, but would go great in a loft/warehouse-style apartment.) It kind of sucked not having any money to spend, but I’m positive we’ll return there when we do.

We then saw the new Harry Potter movie, which I’d give four stars out of five. I’ve not read the two books, but it was fun entertainment—just don’t go hoping to see some of the details in the books fleshed out (I’m told they cut a lot of it out.) They’d better hurry up and film the rest of them before the kid who plays Harry hits middle age.

We got the two train nuts together for a trip to the B&O Museum on Sunday, which turned out to be a fun afternoon. My Dad spent his childhood blocks away from a major switching yard in Jersey City, and much of the freight going west through Pennsylvania went through Jen’s father’s town, so they wandered the yards and asked the old-timers about engines and steam and cars they’d grown up looking at. The Museum has done a lot of work in the last year, adding new cars, opening the work shed, and updating exhibits—it’s great to see. Meanwhile, my mother and sister launched a full assault on the local Kohl’s and Target, and filled the back of the car with Christmas presents.

This morning, they stuffed the car and headed home into the overcast skies. I always get a bit down after Thanksgiving, because of the build-up and excitement of the weekend, and this year is no different. This year I also have to come back to reality and figure out where the mortgage payment is coming from, which is why I’m writing this and putting off what I should be doing.

Ajax In Action.

Ajax In Action.
Slashdot seemed to like this book. I’d like to see what the whole thing is about.

Snow!?!

Hey, whatever. The turkey is defrosting, the garland is hung, and the firewood is stacked by the fireplace. Gobble gobble, everybody, and enjoy your vittles this year.

PS. Lost just keeps getting better and better.

You’re Rushing Me.

(I started this on Thursday, but like many other posts here, I wasn’t able to finish it very well. I finally tacked on a coda just now.)

Thursday evening, I was wandering the aisles of the Safeway on the hill in Ellicott City looking for coffee filters and something to eat. This particular store is always quiet and sparsely populated, so I always feel relaxed when I’m in there. I have a sneaking suspicion it’s probably going to close soon due to the proximity of the shiny new Superfresh up the street, but the produce is always pretty good, the shelves are full, and there are always carts lined out front—I figure that’s a good sign.

I prefer going to places where there are few people, actually. When I was in college, I spent many nights in the copy center downtown until the early morning hours, and I always enjoyed being in the city at 5am. Traffic was nonexistent; parking spots were plentiful. I’d sit at deserted streetlights and imagine having the city all to myself. It got so that I’d leave for Kinko’s at midnight just so that I could avoid the hassles, and I’d have the place all to myself with the odd Jesus freak or graduate student.

I was in the store to pick up some dinner—I’d just been at a restaurant, but I didn’t want to spend $30 and talk business through a mouthful of food. I was slowly pulling things from the shelves when Sinatra’s version of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” came on the in-store speakers. Something about the melancholy, quiet way the song rolled along fit my mood perfectly. Outside, the temperature had dropped to a chilly 30°. Most of the leaves had fallen down off the trees. Suddenly I realized it’s the middle of November, and that Christmas is around the corner.

I used to really look forward to the holiday seasons. I’d always try to come up with interesting gifts for my family and friends, and (in the years I could afford to) surprise them with something exciting. These days, I’m not filled with the same amount of giddy fun that I was in years past, but it really doesn’t have anything to do with the holidays—it’s more about the aftermath. The idea of three months of gray, cold slush does not excite me.

Last night (Sunday), I built a fire in our fireplace with some of the wood I’d chopped from the elm tree out back. We sipped some wine and relaxed, letting the warmth make us sleepy. The lower half of the house is mostly clean, and I chopped some more wood today before it really started to rain. Hopefully we’ll be able to stock up firewood for the cold months when it’s uninspiring outside.

Celebrities Swearing.

Celebrities Swearing.
NSFW. We saw this in Ireland, I think, and we laughed our heads off.

We Now Return You To Seizure Robots.

We Now Return You To Seizure Robots.
Rock On.

Weapons.

We’re going to a firing range this evening to shoot guns in celebration of a friend’s birthday. This should be interesting. Should I rent the Thompson submachine gun, or just stick with a pistol?

Update: We decided to go with a .38 pistol, figuring it would be enough to get familiarized with. That activity would make for an interesting date…

Um, I Live There.

Um, I Live There.
This is messed up.

Ruins

Preparation For The Future.

Preparation For The Future.
WOW. Right on, Mom. That is the funniest (and saddest) thing I’ve seen in a while.

Stuff I Didn’t Do.

• Take a shower this morning.
• Rake the leaves out in the front yard, which threaten to swallow our cars.
• Renew my overdue library book and pay the fine. The library’s robot called me this morning to complain.
• Finish the baseboards in the dining room. But they’re close.
• Take my vitamins to fend off the flu.
• Pull the huge splinter out of the side of my hand from last night.
• Call the lawyer this morning to talk about my possible business venture.
• Go to Sam’s Club to buy a turkey.
• Copy the receipts from Sears to claim the rebate on our appliances.
• Clean out litterboxes.

You’d think I was sitting around this place eating chocolate and letting the mail pile up at the door, but I’m not. I’ve been going nonstop since I was laid off. We’re getting our plans laid out for Thanksgiving, and I’m overseeing the final touches on the kitchen. The counter guys were out today to fix the sink, which hadn’t been hung correctly. It was detached from the granite in the center by about a half-inch, and the silicone bead had torn loose. Apparently the install guy never braced the front and back, just the sides. So when the disposall got hung from the drain, it pulled the sink down. Thanks for that, buddy.

Gorillaz Live.

Gorillaz Live.
Sort of. I have no idea how they did this, but it’s pretty damn cool.