R/F: I'm partial to SZ, having had great performance with multiple units (in multiple houses) over many years, & have SZ in our new kitchen. Beverage Center: have you looked at the Monogram one? Great looking & racked well. We ultimately went with Monogram refrigerator drawers because we wanted food storage capability too. Beverage centers don't get cold enough to safely store food. Range: I was impressed with Monogram, never could see a BlueStar in our area. Both the Monogram & the BlueStar have the power you need, so the slow simmer should be your main decider. If both are satisfactory to you, then it's down to your decision between electric or gas oven. (We chose a DCS all gas 36" range, all burners, because of our wiring and we also have an electric wall oven. It can do low simmer without a diffuser. The infrared broiler in our range is more important to us than the lack of self-cleaning, and the oven can switch to convection.) DW: We've had KitchenAid & it's good, much better than the JennAir it replaced. We have Miele now, which cleans better than our KA and is much quieter. Faucet: We have KWC Domo & love it. We have the side control pullout version on our main sink, and the top control pullout version on our prep sink. Microwave: I'd prefer a drawer in an island.

hobby_libby- The average computer may typically use about as much energy as a 100 watt bulb...more if it's really high-powered, less if not, and you'll generally use less overall if you are talking about a laptap rather than a traditional computer with stand alone monitor. An LCD monitor fully on (or with a screensaver) might use about 50 watts. So if your computer and an LCD monitor are fully on 10 hours a day, you're talking about using 1.5 kWhr. The cost for a single kWhr is maybe 10-15 cents in many parts of the country, so your total energy cost to have a computer and monitor on for 10 hours a day might be about 20 cents. Now if you decide to have no screensaver AND have it go into sleepmode when you are not using it, you could save at least 15 cents a day, or maybe $50 a year...if you have air conditioning going year-round. However, during the heating months, the heat energy thrown off by the computer goes to heat your home and the furnace has to provide a little less heat, so you get little benefit there. And, of course if you actually have the computer in use, then your savings will be proportionally less. Bottomline: if you put your computer in sleep mode, with the screen off, and you don't use the computer much, you'll save enough each month to buy one extra latte at Starbucks. Don't get me wrong. Saving energy and money is a good thing, and I'm not trying to discourage you. I was just making the point that you are not going to see the massive savings you might have expected. If you want to understand where the electricity really gets eaten up in your home, and how to conserve so you can reduce your bill in a noticeable way, check out the link below. At the bottom of the linked page there is lots of good info on things you can do, and how much different things in your home account for in the overall energy picture. Here is a link that might be useful: Electric use

A google search indicates that there are three-way timer switches. Some require a neutral, so they may not work, but if you check with an electrical supplier they might have something. BTW, they're three-way switches, not three pole. Also, the middle switch in the circuit would be a four-way. You might want to read up on how a multi-switch hook-up is constructed. I wouldn't bother asking at big blue or big orange.

I've had the best luck forcing pups by potting into a pot a size too small. Root bound aloe pup the most prolifically. Let them get to a decent size before separating though. The littles don't grow as quickly once separated. One year, my mama threw off 36 pups and one even matured quickly enough to shoot out 10 more before the year was up. Sounds crazy too but mine love to get watered frequently. Maybe that helps the pupping.