A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks - New York Times

A No-Frills Kitchen Still Cooks - New York Times:

THE question I’m asked more often than any other is, “What kitchen equipment should I buy? ... In fact, I contend that with a bit of savvy, patience and a willingness to forgo steel-handle knives, copper pots and other extravagant items, $200 can equip a basic kitchen that will be adequate for just about any task, and $300 can equip one quite well.

If Architects Had To Work Like Web Designers

If Architects Had To Work Like Web Designers...

Dear Mr. Architect:

Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.

Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don't have nearly enough insulation in them).

As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminum, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminum, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)

Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.

To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year. Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.

Please don't bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the color of the carpet.

However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.

Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.

While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers. Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbor's house he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.

Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.

You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can't happen very often. Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.

PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I've given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can't handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.

PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case..

Woman Gets Beer From Her Kitchen Faucet -- Newsday.com

Woman Gets Beer From Her Kitchen Faucet -- Newsday.com:

OSLO, Norway -- It almost seemed like a miracle to Haldis Gundersen when she turned on her kitchen faucet this weekend and found the water had turned into beer. Two flights down, employees and customers at the Big Tower Bar were horrified when water poured out of the beer taps. By an improbable feat of clumsy plumbing, someone at the bar in Kristiandsund, western Norway, had accidentally hooked the beer hoses to the water pipes for Gundersen's apartment. "We had settled down for a cozy Saturday evening, had a nice dinner, and I was just going to clean up a little," Gundersen, 50, told The Associated Press by telephone Monday. "I turned on the kitchen faucet and beer came out."

Filed in: beer

Amazon.com: LiteWire 20-Feet Red with Battery Pack: Kitchen & Housewares

Amazon.com: LiteWire 20-Feet Red with Battery Pack: Kitchen & Housewares

This holiday season; brighten your home, office, car, and anywhere else your imagination takes you using the latest innovation in design lighting ¿ LiteWire! LiteWire is infinitely flexible, completely portable, and very cool ¿ literally! Available in three lengths and colors, LiteWire can be used to outline windows and cabinets, spell out greetings and names, and line staircases and banisters. It can also be used to decorate indoor plants and trees. LiteWire is a remarkable product that will add a certain glow to your holiday spirit!

Amazon.com: Warmrails Kensington Towel Warmer and Drying Rack, Satin Nickel: Kitchen & Housewares

Amazon.com: Warmrails Kensington Towel Warmer and Drying Rack, Satin Nickel: Kitchen & Housewares

The Kensington is a large wall mount unit. Great for the entire family. Keeps your towels dry, warm and fresh all year long. This will help turn your ordinary bathroom into the ultimate luxury/spa experience. it is designed to run continuously 24 hours-a-day, 7 days-a-week. It's Filatherm dry element is reliable and energy efficient, using about the same power as your average lightbulb. Great for year-round use! Really helps draw moisture away during the hot and humid months. Keeps your towels from smelling musty. Also helps eliminate mold and mildew growth. Quicker heat up time, more effective drying and no worrying about oils/liquids leaking from the unit. Great for drying delicates, hand washables, swimsuits and warming baby blankets and bedding. Product reaches optimum temperature within 30-40 minutes, but you need a good 2-3 hours for the heat to build up in the fibers of the towels. Recommend leaving towels on rack overnight before initial use. Make sure to layer your towels (do not weave throughout the bars). Remember this is a low energy device; your towels will be warm, dry and fresh for each use (towels will not be hot like coming out of a tumble dryer). Plugs into a standard 110-120V outlet. Dimensions 24 1/2"W x 6"D x 39 1/4"H. UL Listed. Basic tools required for installation.

• For Warmrails Customer Service please dial Toll Free 1-877-927-6724.
• Large wall mount unit. Great for the entire family.
• Basic tools required for installation
• Keeps towels dry, warm, and fresh. Great for drying delicates, hand washables and swimwear. Save on unnecessary laundry loads. Great for year-round use!
• 24 1/2-by-6-by-39 1/4-Inches

Amazon: Ballpark Hot Dog Rotisserie and Bun Warmer

Amazon.com: Ballpark Hot Dog Rotisserie and Bun Warmer - Red: Kitchen Housewares

I think I may know who this is targetted at, probably the same people who have already have one of these :-P

• Make baseball stadium style rotisserie grilled hotdogs
• Stainless steel spikes warm up buns or baguettes
• Non-stick, easy to clean cooking surface
• Detachable oil tray for quick clean up

Technorati Tags: food, gadget

Amazon.com: MIRACOOL MAT - KEEP YOUR DOG COOL WHEN IT'S HOT - MEDIUM - 24 X 20

Amazon.com: Kitchen & Housewares:
MIRACOOL MAT - KEEP YOUR DOG COOL WHEN IT'S HOT
MEDIUM - 24 X 20

Miracool Mats - A Cooling Pad Is A Necessity On Hot Days. This unique pad helps keep dogs cool on hot summer days and insulates dogs from cold floors in the winter! Water-activated crystals keep mat cool for days with one 30-minute soaking in cold water. Immerse in hot water for 30 minutes to keep pet warm. Available in the sizes listed below. Reusable thousands of times. Available in the following Sizes: Small 18 x 14 **** Medium 24 x 20 **** Large 36 x 26 *** This listing is for the size in the listing title. Other Sizes are available through our Amazon Store.

Monitor Rear View Mirror-3/PAK

Monitor Rear View Mirror-3/PAK

Eyes behind your head!

Don't get caught playing those games at work. See who's coming behind you!
We have a new batch of monitor mirrors just in. Sold in sets of 3 / $13.95.

These are great for other home & work purposes as well. Put them on:
- Kitchen cupboards
- Library Shelves
- Warehouse shelves
- School lockers
... or anywhere you want an extra pair of EYES!

Unlike the Ball shaped mirrors(See our "Imprinted goods" section)with casings that can only be mounted on the top corner of your monitor, these are actually better, space saving, less bulky and cheaper! Mount this mirror ANYWHERE on your monitor frame or if you have a bookcase surrounding your monitor you can even mount it there. And just like the ball shaped mirrors these have a great convex shape 3" in diameter with a depth that allows a vision of almost a whole room behind you.

Easy to mount, these have a peel and stick backing. Get one for everyone in your office!

BONUS: We'll design FREE Custom Packaging on orders of 100 pcs. or more.
Having a Company event? or Tradeshow? Call us for quantity discounts. And take advantage of our FREE cusomization of the packaging that can feature YOUR company & Logo with each mirror.