Oh ack, Nancy. Yes. What was I thinking? I am such an idiot sometimes. I should have added Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? When I wrote about thinking I had posted the trivia earlier. Now, that would have been good. Let's pretend I did that! Hehhehheh. I was pleased with the Second City clue-glad you liked it! So, yes, Ferris created his wheel as a landmark for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. With a height of 80.4 metres (264 ft) it was the largest attraction at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois, where it opened to the public on June 21, 1893. It was intended to rival the 324-metre (1,063 ft) Eiffel Tower, the centerpiece of the 1889 Paris Exposition. Catherine the Great is credited with ordering (!) the construction of the first roller coaster. From Wired: Man has always had a need for speed: legs to outrun bears, horses to overtake enemies, cars to cross continents, meth to … oh, different thing. But we’ve been constructing ways to enjoy speed, too, since at least the 1400s. That’s when we find one of the early incarnations of man’s more aimless speed freakery ��" the roller coaster. Patrons on Russia’s “ice slides” would climb a 70-foot timber tower, sit on a sled, and then whooooosh down a 600-foot ice ramp to the base of a second tower. There they’d repeat the thrill, slipping down a parallel slide back to the start. Popular among the gentry, these rides were a winter pursuit until speed-demon Catherine the Great put the rollers on the coaster, adding wheels and grooved tracks to make a summer version at her palace in 1784. Then the French took the coaster baton and ran with it: In 1817, Belleville Mountain in Paris became the first slide to lock cars onto tracks by their wheel axles. And the city’s Aerial Walks, which had two curving tracks that met at the base of the ride, introduced a system for pulling the cars back up for “rerides.” The French also developed the first successful loop in 1846 ��" the 13-footer was tested using sandbags, monkeys, and one intrepid worker, whose reaction was recorded in the Journal du Havre. It will ring familiar to any thrill-seeker: He “experienced such a delicious feeling that he wanted to try again.” So four stars for Nancy, TM, and Bobbie! Hope Annette was off having a fun day. TM, loved your English teacher memory. Here is the poem: Chicago BY CARL SANDBURG Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation's Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders: They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your painted women under the gas lamps luring the farm boys. And they tell me you are crooked and I answer: Yes, it is true I have seen the gunman kill and go free to kill again. And they tell me you are brutal and my reply is: On the faces of women and children I have seen the marks of wanton hunger. And having answered so I turn once more to those who sneer at this my city, and I give them back the sneer and say to them: Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning. Flinging magnetic curses amid the toil of piling job on job, here is a tall bold slugger set vivid against the little soft cities; Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning as a savage pitted against the wilderness, Bareheaded, Shoveling, Wrecking, Planning, Building, breaking, rebuilding, Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with white teeth, Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young man laughs, Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has never lost a battle, Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse, and under his ribs the heart of the people, Laughing! Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation. Thanks for playing everyone. Have a terrific week. Cynthia

It really is amazing and wonderful how the induction cooktop has finally taken off in North America. I wanted one for years, scouting them out while waiting for our previous appliances and kitchen to get to renovation state. It doesn't seem all that long ago that the Miele was available in Canada (practically the only brand at the time that was) but apparently not readily in the USA. By 2 years ago when we renovated, there was much more choice, but prices were still not very competitive. We opted for the 36 inch Electrolux Icon as it was much less expensive than the lovely Miele, and very well-tested. Absolutely no regrets, it is a delight. Of course most people don't change their appliances very often, but we don't know anyone else at all who has induction in their kitchen! My oldest daughter recently updated her kitchen, and would like to replace her slide-in range with a two-oven induction range. We will be keenly interested in any advice on that...

As PP mentioned above, the average joe just doesn't care - they load the machine, drop in a dose of detergent (and in a lot of cases, actually overdose above what the manufacture states) comeback to wet clothes to move to the dryer and as long as look and smell clean - they're happy/not bothered. However, for those who do care, it becomes just like chemistry - everybodys laundry is completely different: detergent type, water type/temp/level, machine type, cycle type/temp, load size, fabric type in the load (and what's loaded in together or not), stain types and even down to how long an article has gone between last wash, what its been subjected to, and even what its made of (2 items of 100% cotton could be different due to manufacturing processes and dyes etc) - I'm waffling, but this list won't even be all that's at play. Detergent manufacturers are a business, they need to make money; they have stakeholders, employees, suppliers, contractors and marketers to pay - so they must drive value and revenues. Don't' suppose it'll ever be proven (or ever admitted), but it's in their interest to give customers what they're happy with/what is acceptable, whilst maximising revenue - end of the day, if they dont make money, what are they doing it for? I did read somewhere (and I wish I could remember where) that a certain big manufacturer of a very famous detergent was starting to see revenues drop to a level below what they were aiming for/happy with, and it was centred around the launch of single dose detergents - on the one hand, they carry a premium price tag and it guarantees that a user gets no more than the stated amount of loads - but what they actually found was customers weren't purchasing detergent at the store as often due to the fact that compared to when the same users were using powder/liquid format, the overdoing (just dumping 1 full cap in) was causing people to repeat purchase more often than that of pod users. And what do you know, the dosing recommendations for pods were increased - going from 1 pod for any load, to 1 for medium, 2 for large and 3 for high capacity/extra dirty. The same has now become true of liquids - dose increased - line 1 for medium, 3 for large and line 5 for "full he loads" as "they are a higher capacity than standard top loaders and of course more clothes = more dirt)" --their tag line-- All this in a time when detergents are becoming more "concentrated" and front loaders use as much as a quarter the amount of water than that of a TL. Now how can detergents be being concentrated, Used in machines that use less water (which is what will ultimately determine the strength of the solution that detergents are dissolved within) and the doses are going up? Add this to the fact that washer manufacturers often say use less than recommended. Makes you think.

Hey Janet - BEAUTIFUL pool. I'm glad to see it came in just right for you guys. I'm also in Cypress. Actually, our home is up closer to Tomball (2920 and Cypress Rosehill area), but my law firm is near Jones and Grant. I just had my FIRST meeting with a PB tonight, and we're excited, but COMPLETELY overwhelmed. Do you mind giving me the full name of your PB? If you had a really good experience, I'd love to speak to them and get a bid. I'd to get at least 4 or 5 bids before I pick a PB. My wife and I have an interesting situation in that we have a LOT of room in the back yard (we are on 4/5 acre lot in the forest), but we have two massive trees that we want to work around AND build an appx 800 sq foot outdoor living room/kitchen/bar. We need JUST the right PB to make our pool integrate with our house, our lot, and our forest. We really want to do this right, and it looks like your PB did a great job! (Although I'm very impressed at your design work!)