Planned kitchen obsolescence?

Our house was built in 1962. It is a "split-Colonial", whatever the heck that is. The house was built during the heyday of teeny galley kitchens in nicely-sized houses (and let's not even mention the size of our master bath...). It isn't a generous space, isn't a "cook's kitchen", and is NOT set up for more than one cook at a time. Not a social kinda kitchen.

We renovated the kitchen in spring 2003, because we had to. Some of the drawers in the cabinets would literally fall out if they were pulled out too far. Note that "too far" was a little more than halfway. I nearly lost a foot to the silverware drawer one night. When the contractor pulled off the countertop, the entire lower cabinet section fell in pieces to the floor. He had no idea how it had been held together. I will admit that the appliances were new -- purchased by the son of the owner in order to make the house sellable. The whole family was a bunch of cheapskates based on the quality of the work that had been done to the house over the years (they owned it from ~1965-2000, when we bought it). The dishwasher was the cheapest model that Sears sold at the time. The fridge was pretty close to the bottom. There was a teeny little wall oven. The only nice thing was the cooktop -- a flat radiant heat cooktop that worked well.

So we decided on a budget for the renovation and made some cuts to keep the costs under control. I think we went about $50 over budget, which was great. What was not great were some of the decisions that I (fine, *we*) made to control the costs. We kept the white linoleum floor, which was a reasonable, but not pretty, choice. However, it's still in decent condition, even 9 years later. We went with white cabinets instead of wood, which I regret. We didn't get the cabinets with those fancy no-slam drawers. I regretted that decision too, because I did slam a drawer once, and the face fell off (not my face, you silly readers, the drawer's face). TheHusband was highly displeased. Instead of solid granite countertops, we used granite floor tiles and have a tiled look for the countertop, as well as the backsplash. (It cost ~$400 instead of $3000). I hate the way it came out. The contractor did a good job on it, and it looks just as he said it would. But I had buyer's remorse within the first week. TheHusband said that I had to live with it, but that we could replace it after 10 years. I agreed (crabbily) and am looking forward to getting new countertops next year.

We chose well-rated appliances that were middle-of-the-pack appliances based on cost. The only item that was more expensive than should have been was the fridge. I really, really wanted the upside down refrigerator (freezer on bottom). The drawer-type freezer has turned out to be highly annoying, as I can never find anything in it. But that's a different issue.

A bit over a month ago, the diswasher died. So we bought a new one. I don't like some aspects of the new one, but, boy, is it quiet. Two days ago the microwave died. Why it couldn't be the fridge that died, I don't know. Is there some sort of planned obsolescence about kitchen appliances for the 9-10 year mark, nowadays? Mind you, my grandparents are using a 30-something year old dishwasher. Things were made better in the good old days (said in crotchety-old-lady voice).

I wonder if I can convince TheHusband to get a new fridge this weekend, too. Nah, didn't think so. But it doesn't hurt to ask.

Migraines and medications and analgesic rebound

I've been taking narcotics chronically since October 2010, because of the residual back pain. I had taken them from Nov 2009 to May 2010, while I was on warfarin for the post-op DVT/PE. Because you are my adoring audience, you are well aware that I had a 2nd DVT (not yay) in Oct 2010, which required me to take rat poison forever (also not yay, but at least I didn't have another PE). NSAIDs (those lovely anti-inflammatory meds) also thin the blood and make bleeding ulcers and bleeding in worse places (like the brain. I'm fond of my brain as it is...) more likely when combined with warfarin. For this reason, my hematologist limited me to a total of 8 naproxen 220 mg tablets (Aleve) per month. I can't tolerate the majority of neuropathic pain meds (my brain is messed up enough and those meds make it even worse!), so they are out. Thus, I went back on narcotics to keep the chronic back pain under control.

I hate the idea of taking hydrocodone daily, so I keep it to the utter minimum -- one half of a 7.5 mg hydrocodone tablet daily, with some days requiring a whole one. It's a very small dose, and I haven't had to escalate the dose in the year and a half I've been taking it. Recently I've wondered if I could actually come off the daily hydrocodone. The back pain is tolerable though still present. I have no other ailments right now that require pain meds (hello, comminuted fracture of left wrist).

So I stopped taking the hydrocodone on Sunday. And I've had a migraine now for the past 2 days. The back pain has been manageable (!) but this headache is really annoying. I suspect that there is a component of analgesic rebound to this migraine, which is especially irritating.

Analgesic rebound headaches (ARH) are chronic headaches caused by overuse of short-acting pain meds (analgesics). They are notoriously tough to get through. They can take up to 2 weeks to resolve, and one has to be careful not to substitute another short acting analgesic medication for the offending one. I've supported many a patient through this process. I just would prefer not to have to go through it myself, to be honest. This morning, I was forced to use up one of my precious Aleves, as I woke with the same migraine I went to bed with (no, I'm not talking about TheHusband, you silly people). Aleve usually works for me to abort a migraine. Not today. I hate when I experience first-hand what I've treated patients for.

I will stop complaining and look on the bright side, now. Thanks for listening.

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Update 5/11:

Migraine pretty much gone. The back pain is definitely worse, especially in the morning. I was hunched over quite a bit this morning, but moving better by the afternoon.

Santa is not my friend

I'm "straight but not narrow", as they say. I firmly support equal rights for gays and lesbians, in all spheres.

If two gay guys get married, my marriage will not disintegrate into a pile of dust or explode like a ton of dynamite.

There is no earthly reason why gays and lesbians should not serve openly in the military.

Homosexuality is not a choice, not a disease, not a mental illness. It is in the wiring, so to speak. And so, discrimination based on sexual orientation really irks my liver, especially organized discrimination. So I choose to put my money where my beliefs are (or not put my money in this case).

(Scene: sidewalk outside local supermarket)

Salvation Army Santa (SAS): (rings bell) Donations for Salvation Army! Help the Poor this holiday season!
Neurondoc (attempts to walk by without making eye contact)
SAS: Care to make a donation?
ND (still no eye contact): No, thank you. (See, I started out polite!)
SAS: You're not going to make a donation?
ND: Nope. Sorry. (Still polite)
SAS: You don't want to help out poor people during the holiday season?
ND (now irked): I'm perfectly happy helping out poor people at any time of the year.
SAS: They why won't you give a donation? You won't miss a dollar or two. It goes to a good cause.
ND (now pissed off): It has nothing to do with me missing a dollar or two. I prefer not to donate money to Salvation Army.
SAS (looks completely shocked): What? Why not?
ND: Because I don't donate money to an organization that practices organized discrimination. Salvation Army discriminates against gay people. So my money goes elsewhere.
SAS (opens mouth, closes mouth, looks away, and rings bell)

Not much to say to that, is there?

I politely refused a Boy Scout (who came to my door in uniform) a couple of months ago. I have no idea what he was selling or wanting, but I wanted nothing to do with him. Call me a curmudgeon, but the BSA is on my shitlist, too.

Fair winds and following seas

I am a proud member of an internet group called the UCF. While I have not met all of my fellow-members In Real Life, I've shared my thoughts, tragedies, and joy with them. These friends have supported me when I've been sick or sad, and I've been there for them in like situations. Most of us have been able to meet up with at least one other member of the group, thereby strengthening our ties.

Sadly, a member of this group passed away over the weekend. Wendy was witty, funny, wry, and fun. She is the older sister of a younger brother, something I shared with her, and it showed. I had the pleasure of visiting with her in Real Life, when she was in the DC area a couple of years ago. We spent an evening talking, laughing, confessing, teasing, and flat-out enjoying ourselves. We were both especially pleased to meet a fellow short trollop. I will treasure the memory of that evening.

Farewell and safe travels on your journey, dear friend. You will be missed.

9/10/11 is a cool number

Not only is it numerically cool, but it's my 11th anniversary today. Happy Anniversary to TheHusband! May we have many more! And stop snoring.




How did 11 years go by so quickly? I dunno, but they've been happy years.

NPR's Top 100 SF/F Books (with comments)

Meme from Random Michelle:

bold – I’ve read it

italic – started and abandoned

bold/italic - read one book in the series and liked it but didn't like the series as a whole or abandoned it (my addition to the grading system)

**made my top 10 SF/F list of books

******************************************

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien – I finished the first book and got about halfway through the second before I gave up. Never opened the third one. Yes, I know, I’m a heretic.


2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, by Douglas Adams – I even own a copy in Italian (which I can’t read)


3. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card


4. The Dune Chronicles, by Frank Herbert – I loved the first couple. After that: yuck!


5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series, by George R. R. Martin – The first one in this series was a wall-banger for me: I got to a point in the book that really really annoyed me, so I threw it at the wall. I never finished it.


6. 1984, by George Orwell – Required reading in high school. I didn't like it, mostly because I don't like dystopias.


7. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


8. **The Foundation Trilogy, by Isaac Asimov


9. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley –– Required reading in high school. Have I mentioned that I don't like dystopias?


10. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman – I own it, does that count?


11. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman – I love the movie, but not the book.


12. The Wheel Of Time Series, by Robert Jordan – I read the couple of books then simply got bored. Never revisited the series and don’t plan to.


13. Animal Farm, by George Orwell – It was okay.


14. Neuromancer, by William Gibson – read it on recommendation of a friend and liked it. Not inclined to read cyberpunk, as a rule.


15. Watchmen, by Alan Moore


16. I, Robot, by Isaac Asimov


17. Stranger In A Strange Land, by Robert Heinlein – I read it when I was about 13, and I really had no idea what the hell it was about. A later reread was far more worthwhile.


18. The Kingkiller Chronicles, by Patrick Rothfuss- I own the first one (The Name of the Wind), does that count?


19. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut


20. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley – I own it, does that count?


21. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?, by Philip K. Dick


22. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood – I still don’t like dystopias.


23. The Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King


24. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke


25. The Stand, by Stephen King


26. Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson – I own it, does that count?


27. The Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


28. Cat’s Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut


29. The Sandman Series, by Neil Gaiman – I own it, does that count?


30. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess


31. Starship Troopers, by Robert Heinlein – read it as a teenager and skipped over a lot of the philosophy. I reread it occasionally now and actually enjoy those parts. Go figure.


32. Watership Down, by Richard Adams


33. Dragonflight, by Anne McCaffrey – I loved the Pern series through "The White Dragon", then wondered what happened


34. **The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein – Sort of the libertarian's manifesto in SF novel form. I'm not a libertarian, but I do adore this book.


35. A Canticle For Leibowitz, by Walter M. Miller – I still don’t like dystopias.


36. The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells – I didn’t really like it


37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, by Jules Verne


38. Flowers For Algernon, by Daniel Keys – required reading in high school (hated it). Reread it within the last year and got teary.


39. The War Of The Worlds, by H.G. Wells


40. The Chronicles Of Amber, by Roger Zelazny – I enjoyed these and wish he had written more


41. The Belgariad, by David Eddings – Read this series a few years ago and liked the first one, then was under-impressed with the subsequent ones. Didn’t prevent me from finishing the series (6 books, right?)


42. The Mists Of Avalon, by Marion Zimmer Bradley


43. The Mistborn Series, by Brandon Sanderson – I think I have the first one somewhere


44. **Ringworld, by Larry Niven – oh yes, a top 10.


45. **The Left Hand Of Darkness, by Ursula K. LeGuin – I read this one when I was too young to understand it but was still blown away by it.


46. The Silmarillion, by J.R.R. Tolkien – nope, sorry.


47. The Once And Future King, by T.H. White


48. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman


49. **Childhood’s End, by Arthur C. Clarke – This book literally stunned me when I read it (13 or 14?). I’ve never been able to bring myself to read it again, but I put it in my top 10.


50. Contact, by Carl Sagan – I own it, does that count?


51. The Hyperion Cantos, by Dan Simmons


52. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman – really liked this one


53. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson – I own it, does that count?


54. World War Z, by Max Brooks – Michelle hates zombies. So do I (they have no brains, so of course I hate them...)


55. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle


56. The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman – yes, another really, really good book.


57. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett – I’ve tried this one a couple of times but never felt the love


58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever, by Stephen R. Donaldson – Yes, I finished the series. By the end I was probably thinking "these are hours of my life I’ll never get back" but I had to know how it ended. Ask me now how the series ended and I couldn’t tell you.


59. **The Vorkosigan Saga, by Lois McMaster Bujold – My favorite series of books. Period. I think the Vorkosiverse numbers 16 books now, and I not only buy them faithfully, I buy 'em in hardcover.


60. Going Postal, by Terry Pratchett – More Discworld. I just don’t get Discworld.


61. The Mote In God’s Eye, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle – in my top 20. I reread it every few years.


62. The Sword Of Truth, by Terry Goodkind


63. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy


64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke


65. I Am Legend, by Richard Matheson -- This confused me at first, because I was mixing it up with My Name Is Legion by Roger Zelazny


66. The Riftwar Saga, by Raymond E. Feist – one of those never-ending fantasy series


67. The Shannara Trilogy, by Terry Brooks – Yuck. Yuck. Did I mention yuck?


68. The Conan The Barbarian Series, by R.E. Howard


69. The Farseer Trilogy, by Robin Hobb – I tend to get bored by sweeping epic fantasy.


70. The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger


71. The Way Of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson


72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth, by Jules Verne


73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series, by R.A. Salvatore


74. Old Man’s War, by John Scalzi – I really like this series.


75. The Diamond Age, by Neil Stephenson


76. Rendezvous With Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke


77. The Kushiel’s Legacy Series, by Jacqueline Carey – I tried the first one, got about 50 pages in and said to myself "I’d rather spend my time clipping my toenails…".


78. The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. LeGuin – I own it, does that count?


79. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


80. Wicked, by Gregory Maguire


81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series, by Steven Erikson


82. The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde – I really enjoyed this book and seriously disliked the 2nd one. I think I own the 3rd one but am not interested in trying it.


83. The Culture Series, by Iain M. Banks – I loved "The Player of Games", a novel in this series, but haven’t tried any of the others. I’m thinking I should.


84. The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart – Not my favorite in this series. I liked the 3rd book (The Hollow Hills) much more.


85. Anathem, by Neal Stephenson


86. The Codex Alera Series, by Jim Butcher – I liked the first couple of books in this series a lot and stuck it out to the end, though I found the last one derivative and boring.


87. The Book Of The New Sun, by Gene Wolfe


88. The Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn


89. The Outlander Series, by Diana Gabaldan – I liked the first book and maybe the second and faltered on the 3rd.


90. The Elric Saga, by Michael Moorcock


91. The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury – I own it, does that count?


92. Sunshine, by Robin McKinley


93. **A Fire Upon The Deep, by Vernor Vinge – Oh yes! You should read this one. At least twice.


94. The Caves Of Steel, by Isaac Asimov – definitely a top 20 for me, though not quite top 10 (at least the day that I voted)


95. The Mars Trilogy, by Kim Stanley Robinson – I liked Red Mars and couldn't get into the 2nd one. Might have to give it another try.


96. Lucifer’s Hammer, by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle – Really like this one and reread it occasionally. Has one of my favorite scenes in all of SF: some crazy guy surfing a tsunami into LA…


97. Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis – This isn’t my favorite of hers (Bellwether is), but I’d put it in my top 20.


98. Perdido Street Station, by China Mieville – Couldn’t finish it, but don't ask me why.


99. The Xanth Series, by Piers Anthony – I tried one of these and couldn't get into it.


100. The Space Trilogy, by C.S. Lewis

7 of my top 10 made this list (Childhood's End, The Vorkosigan saga, The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress, Ringworld, A Fire Upon The Deep, The Left Hand Of Darkness).

I've read 39/100 (either the book named or the entire series), partially completed 5 series (and liked at least one of the books), and disliked 9/100 books or series enough not to finish at all. That's a total of 53/100, which is less than I expected. Clearly, I have some reading to do.

The 3 books that I voted for that didn't make the top 100 were The Sparrow (Doria Russell), The Swordspoint Trilogy (Ellen Kushner), and The Uplift Saga (David Brin).

A Fork (but not in the road)

Conversation with ThePinkThing last night at a restaurant:
TPT: How come this fork has only 3 points?
Me: Some forks only have 3. It's how they're made, and the points are called tines.
TPT: But that's not right. They're *supposed* to have 4 points.
Me: Really? Why do you think that?
TPT: That's why they're called forks. Right?

So after a brief silence then some hysterical laughter, we all decided that forks with 3 tines should really be called "threeks".

The logic of an eight year-old is very interesting, isn't it?