I'm still around sporadically and check in once in a while to see what's up in the lives of my cyberfriends. Yes....an active website is one where there are enough interesting discussions to keep folks 'tuning in' and enthused enough to want to participate. And yes, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's been quieter here in years past when there were only a few....literally...participants because of all the internal strife and it had nothing to do with paying for use. A few of us like myself and Marda posted just to keep the forum alive. I'll probably always consider this my original internet home and it has been since you could the postings on every forum in less than an hour. I suspect facebook and blogs and twitter do pull off a certain amount of audience. There is and has always been private groups within this forum and that's OK. Myself, I consider facebook a necessary evil to keep up with events of family and close friends because they have the assumption if it's posted there, it'll get back to you. Not necessarily true and speaks to the times. Why I'm not here often has more to do with my life than the forum. I sincerely send my prayers to those on this forum facing serious problems and know my thoughts are with you. I thank God this is not the case with me. I am just in one of those life transitions where I am turning the page to another chapter and am spread thin both physically and mentally. I consider myself semi-retired from my business but it still requires a lot of my attention to put it to bed so to speak. My mother, for whom I did a lot of care-giving is passed away now almost four years an I am still dispersing her belongings and tending her property. I am still trying to do all the repairs to my old house...for the most part by myself. I have several geneolgy projects in the fire only I can finish and it needs done. And I have a wonderful new g'child whom I WILL take time to be a part of his life. That still leaves my gardens and fruit trees and animals to attend. I think some folks see me as one who isn't happy unless they're working at something for the sake of it, and that's not how it is. I have interests I'd love to pursue and places I'd love to go......but I still have to steal time to do things like that. The only difference is now I do, and let other stuff slide. Stuff I prolly shouldn't. So, every once in awhile I stop and get serious about catching up so I can relax a bit and actually enjoy it. That's where I am right now.

Thanks Caroline I brought my iPod over to the laptop so I can add some non-games that I use. Utilities Apzilla 2 has all sorts of different utilities, most of them are worthwhile. Some you might never use. Even though Apzilla has it I also have MyLite (a flashlight) and a Free Level program. (a level for hanging pictures straight)and Free Space, a program that tells you how much room is left on your iPod and battery info. Capacity is another program that does this. Free Wi-Fi tells you when you travel where there is free wi-fi you can log into. 5-0 Radio Pro is a fun Police and Fire scanner so you can listen for any calls that come out in your city or even places in your country. My hearing isn't the best and sometimes the talking isn't too clear for me but it is fun listening to the information. It can run in the background. Shopwise is a program that tells you certain deals. I have World Atlas and Google Earth. Book Crawler is a program that lets you keep track of all of your books. iPlant is a gardening book that is quite good. For notes I use Awesome Notes. MyStuff2 is a neat inventory program I haven't used yet. I use IOwn and Iconic Notes, but I don't think either of those are available now. Someday I will transfer everything over. Ian's Laces as Caroline mentioned is fun but there also is a program called Tie a Scarf for women' scarves. Holiday List is also a great Christmas gift planner. AppSniper and AppShopper are two programs I use occasionally. They tell you the new programs that are out. A lot of programs are free for a short time before they start to charge and these programs as well as others will let you know this. I have a lot of medical programs and photography programs as well but this thread is getting long.

I use the Apple Smart Cover on my iPad Air 2, as I had liked the one on my previous iPad. Bummed that it's not available in leather anymore, but the finish isn't bad. I like the cover bec I can fold it as a stand, leave it flat, or pop it off and on easily as desired. For carrying around my iPad (eg., tossing it in my gym bag), I like the Built brand perforated neoprene sleeve with twist top corners. It's padded for protection, lightweight, and my iPad is easily accessed. I had purchased one for my original iPad at Staples, but gave it DH with that iPad when I got my Air 2. I got my new one from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009A6CVCK/ref=pd_aw_sbs_e_9?refRID=152QX4D4GT05GW7FMB75

Question about Induction and Chocolate: Well, interestingly enough, I've also been pursuing this same question recently. So, far the answer I've found on tempering has been a resounding maybe. FWIW, I have had no trouble tempering without a double boiler on my current induction cooktop and I've also run across on-line videos that show tempering as well as melting being done with residential induction cooktops. Also, both of the Bosch ranges and the Miele have a power setting that is below the setting their manuals recommend for melting chocolate. (The Bosch manuals recommend 1.5 for melting chocolate and the Miele manual recommends "1 - 2" as the setting.) What I have not been able to find out yet is whether setting 1 on the Bosch ranges or setting "h" ("keep warm") on the Miele will hold a pan at the tempering temperature of around 90° F (+/- 2°). Touch pads versus knobs: I did not see anything offensive in what you said, but I would add that one might prefer a rotary digital interface (knobs) over touch-pads for reasons other than simple "familiarity." As you might guess from my screen-name, I work in digital media production. I have been using touch-pad and touch-screen devices for decades. I'm fine with touchpads and touch screens. However, while cooking on the stovetop, I just find it more ergonomic to grab a knob when my hands are wet or messy, as they all too often are. (What can I say? I am a messy cook and play with food.) I've also found front-mounted knobs are less subject to interruptions from spills from pans on induction stove tops. Finally, I like the tactile feedback from a knob when adjusting burners while cooking. Of course, those are just personal preferences and there are trade-offs to my preferences, including less ease of cleaning with knobs versus touchpads. That all just goes into the mix of things to weigh and balance in choosing between stoves which all represent different mixes of design and engineering trade-offs.