I still miss Sophie. In general, one designs appliances so that the parts remain functional over some intended lifetime. As such, wire conductor insulation needs to retain its properties and not be disassociated with heat. Consider the oven heating element. It gets very hot -- hotter than most electrical conductor insulation materials, and certainly hotter than Teflon [can tolerate]. Yet somehow the electrical conductor used to connect the oven to the wall plug power has to be connected within the oven to the heating element via some heat stable means. Some options include (from awcwire.com): "Silicone Insulated Wires (180ºC) "You can use silicone insulated single conductors for operating temperatures up to 180ºC. Silicone can withstand 250ºC for a short time and it has good low-temperature properties down to -25ºC. This material is self-extinguishing and has good flame-retardant properties. The addition of a fiberglass jacket impregnated with a high temperature saturant improves abrasion resistance and heat resistance. Examples include silicone rubber cable, silicone rubber motor lead (SRML), and silicone fixture (SF-2) wire. "Teflon Glass Glass Teflon (TGGT) Wires (250ºC) "Teflon® is a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) originally developed by DuPont. TGGT wire has PTFE tape insulation covered by a high temperature sealant impregnated fiberglass jacket. You can use this wire continuously at 250ºC. In some instances, manufacturers place a ceramic tape on top of the PTFE wire insulation (TCGT). "High Temperature Mica Glass Wires (450ºC) "Mica is an excellent high temperature insulate. Mica glass (MG) insulation has multiple layers of a mica and glass composite tape usually covered by a fiberglass jacket impregnated with a high temperature saturant. Mica insulated wire protects cables at temperatures of up to 450ºC. Flame 1000 high temperature cable has a mica thermal tape covered by a PTFE moisture barrier and a fiberglass jacket. While its maximum sustained operating temperature is 450ºC, this wire has excellent flame reactance, passing the IEEE 383 1000ºC vertical tray flame test for a minimum of two and a half hours." The higher the operating temperature of the wire, the closer the flexible connection can be brought to the heating element, which is convenient for design. So it may be desirable for the oven manufacturers to use a Teflon insulated wire where needed. It shouldn't be expected to disassociate and poison the house. So my point is that there could be Teflon used in the oven construction that is not in the oven cavity. It will be subject to temperature levels it should be able to take. So place your bets.

Assuming 2000/XP now...In Control panel, mail, data files - are you showing a location and a file structure? (Outlook will save to .pst format). That's the file(s) you need to get onto separate media asap. Personally, compressing a disk is something I avoid unless absolutely necessary. If you are able to back up your data to separate media, then the next step I would take is turning off system restore if it is currently enabled. ATF Cleaner is useful for drive cleanup in conjunction with other tools, because it will delete other user temp files if present. atribune.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=25

I do pretty much what Homebound does, but just a little differently. First I run CCleaner which does the job of disk cleanup and also cleans the registry if you wish (you don't have to do this if you'd rather not). Then I update Spyware Blaster and Superantispyware and run a scan with "super". I also update Malwarebytes and run a scan with that. Then I run a full scan with my Avast anti virus. Finally, I do a defrag using Auslogics defrag. I find that CCleaner does a better cleanup job than the disk cleanup by Microsoft. Also the Auslogics defrag is faster and does a thorough job with the defrag. I do this every couple of weeks if I've used the comps a lot, or maybe just once a month. My computers run as fast as the day they were new. Oh, one other thing. I use Secunia PSI to make sure all my programs are up to date. Most important of all in the overall maintenance is to make sure you have all the latest Microsoft critical downloads. Watch for them the second Tuesday of each month. If you need more information about any of these help programs, just enter the name in Google search and you will find more information about each one and a good site to download from. I usually use either Downloads.com (CNet) or Major Geeks since I trust both of those sites.

I would not have gone for favors either, but it was SO's idea. He has had such little input on the wedding (mostly due to him just taking the path of least resistance and going along) so I wanted to honor his idea. AND, we are trying to go "no plastic" so I was going to have to get glass champagne flutes anyway . . . I figure I will get them and folks can either take them or I will take what is left over, won't be that many. Another thought I just had was beeswax votive candles, in keeping with the "light" theme. I could put a sticker on the bottom with our names and folks could take them home. I actually have a friend who is a beekeeper and makes and sells the candles and has done programs on beekeeping with some of my other friends in attendance. So we have a long standing relationship that would be nurtured by the votives. I can take the votive candles home too, and use what is left over. Could do both candle and flute, not that much. I looked into it and the flutes are only about 1.50 each. I love champagne and I want to at least pretend at my wedding. Also can use a lot of votive candle holders I have at home as table decorations. If some get lost along the way, no great loss. Just locked in the East Coast date, Sept. 29!! One of my good, good friends will be marrying us. My matron and man of honor/best man are coming for a visit tomorrow and we are going to eat, drink and plot!!