WTF-Beta

@wtg Thanks for the link. I never use self-cleaning either (I don't even know if my oven has that).

@ShiroKuro No. It has to get hot enough to emit fumes. Some studies have reported as low as 400F, some 500F. I'm not willing to take any chances. I often have my toaster oven at 450F.

@wtg It is something I always check. I've wanted to replace my toaster oven, but finding one teflon (and other FTFEs) free is not easy. The hardest part is determining whether or not they contain the stuff. Some postings on bird forums will point to certain manufacturers and that's helpful. But non-stick is so common now. It's one of those things I'll never understand.

@wtg In that reddit discussion, someone mentions stainless steel and cast iron, in a context that makes it sound like they work OK with induction stoves. My set is stainless steel. KitchenAid, I've had it a long time. I also like to cook on cast iron... like almost every day. Oh... I have absolutely no non-stick, it's lethal to birds. But I have a wonderful popcorn kettle--vintage, at least--that is not stainless steel. Maybe steel, but not stainless.

I'm gong to have to investigate the noise issue.

Dinner was wonderful! The squash was really nice, nutmeg, buttter, & brown sugar, raisins soaked in vermouth, allspice, S&P, and a bit of milk. A little hiccup with the molded waldorf: I halved the recipe, but when I added the mayonnaise, I forgot to halve it. A little tangier than usual, but not really noticeable with the rest of the meal. It remains one of my faves.

Oh, dear, I never knew about the induction stove noise. That pretty much rules that out because my birds are very in tuned to high pitch noises. And yeah, I've got decades of pot and pan collecting behind me, I really don't want to get rid of it all.

I'm not going to stay with gas, as much as I love it. Perhaps electric will be my only option.

Thanks, wtg.

Last I checked, a few weeks ago, my large tank of gas was at around 30-40% full. Enough to keep going for a while (although I seem to remember that once they get to a certain level, they need refilling.)

I want to replace the gas range. It's the last appliance to rely on gas or oil. My question is: What should I get to replace it? Electric? Induction? (I don't want to have to buy a whole new set of cookware.) I've never cooked on an electric stove top or in such an oven. How different will it be?

Some goods advice amongst the ones that are too generalized. Not everyone is on the same clock, so no eating after 6 pm might work for him, but certainly not everyone. No screens 2 hours before bed--again, that varies. No drinking--please, don't be absurd. And so on. Better advice would be to cultivate an ability to listen to what your body tells you.

But I like several of the tips, more of them than not. But always in life, strive to find balance, and leave the dogmatic.

Quiet and low key here. I slept in, got out of bed at 10 am. Had breakfast, skimmed a few websites, then took a half hour to make a molded waldorf and cranberries. All in the fridge to set. Some time, later today, I'll cook the acorn squash and stuffing and eat when the spirit moves me. In the meantime, some piano, some reading, and maybe start decorating the Christmas tree. Like yesterday, it was in the low 40's F when I got up, so I don't need to stoke the fire today, just flick the on switch of my small space heater to take the chill out. A nice respite. A calm day with Cielo and the rest of the birds. On the 13th I'll have six friends over for brunch. Looking forward to it.

A famous house. Not my style, but nice views of LA.

The Guardian had an article about it.

https://www.theagencyre.com/single-family/clr/25621475/1635-woods-dr-los-angeles-ca-90069

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/24/los-angeles-stahl-house-sale

I was looking at a picture of Whitney and I wonder why 3 of the nearby minor summits have names with "Needle", but three have names with "Aiguille," which is French for needle.

@Steve-Miller Very cool. I would leave it just the way it is.

The map doesn't go below sea level.

@AndyD Wow! Gorgeous place. One can fantasize.

Thanks for the tips, @Rontuner . I think the iron I bought is faulty. It would melt a little solder and then completely fail to melt any more, even with the solder pressed against the iron.

Nada, most likely. I'm not terribly keen on turkey, so I won't be getting any. Might do a stuffed acorn squash, with cranberries. Might try again to make the molded Waldorf salad that's one of my faves. It failed to gel last time! Thanks for mentioning sprouts I love them; will look for them. OK, maybe I am doing some sort of dinner.

In fact, I'm chuffed.

Years ago, I bought a skeleton of a wall sconce. All the wiring had been gutted, so I used it with reall candles for a while. Then it ended up in the upstairs stair well gathering dust.

About three weeks ago I was needing a sconce and it dawned on me that I could wire up that old skeleton that hadn't really done much all these years. So I ordered the parts online: sockets, insulators, candle sleeves, wire, and a rotary switch. I bought a cheapo soldering iron and solder at the hardware store.

The hardest part was getting the wire through the arms. Oh my gosh. Finally found that picture hanging wire had just enough stiffness and enough flexibility to go through. I taped the electrical wire to an end of it and a combination of pushing and pulling got them wired.

I blew the circuit breaker twice because I didn't understand the switch. I was expecting one with a black wire and a white wire. This one had two black wires and they were both smooth. A bit of poking around the webs and I soon realized that the switch is in-line on the hot wire (similar to those thumb wheels that one can install on a lamp cord). So a quick switcheroo of wiring and no more blown breaker.

I need to investigate soldering because that was not a very smooth process for me. The solder would take a while to melt (even though the iron was on for some time) and then would ball up and roll right off the wires. I think I need a variable temperature iron and maybe better quality solder. (I did use resin core as is stipulated for electrical wiring.)

Anyhoo, I'm very happy with how it turned out and it works! I need to go get decent bulbs for it this weekend because the ones have are far too bright.