Peeler, Cutter, Opener
The Kyocera Ceramic Blade Peeler is awesome. I paid $12 for it at Williams-Sonoma a few years back and have been delighted ever since. It makes short work of any peeling chore. It makes me more likely to prepare dishes that require peeling since I know they won't be the pain to prepare they were when I owned a lesser peeler. It's funny how you get attached to something stupid like that.

The cutter is the Bagel Biter. I read somewhere that emergency room admissions for self-inflicted knife wounds had been going up in recent years and that the primary culprit was our beloved bagel. Apparently, while we like to eat them, we can't cut them worth a damn. Enter the Bagel Biter. It's basically a two part guillotine for bagels that is dishwasher safe. If you like bagels and have ever had an ER trip or flirted with one because of your fondness for the bagel, you should get one.

Finally, the last bottle opener you will ever need may be found here. This KitchenAid Bottle Opener will open any bottle cap you throw at it and, caution, you shouldn't throw it at anyone unless they are a home invader and you really want to hurt them. This thing is massive and metal and is a joy to use. Most impressive.

Keurig Kaffeeklatsch
My wife's Christmas present this year is a Keurig B70 coffee maker. This is the single-cup-at-a-time machine that uses K-Cups, as opposed to machines from other manufacturers that use other single-serve technologies like pods or disks. We have a B100 at work that I was very impressed by and decided that a home machine would nicely fill the need when we might want a cup or two, but might not want to make a full pot.

Long story short: we love the machine. So far, our favorite coffee is Timothy's Kona Blend -- but we haven't tried more than a handful of the scores of varieties of coffees and teas available for the beast. We got the extra filter for when we want to grind and use our own coffee in the machine, but have not yet had the opportunity to try it yet. It is a nice option to have.

We'll still use our Zojirushi thermal carafe brewer when we need a full pot, but the Keurig is wonderful for lesser amounts. Highly recommended.

I learned today that one of the coffee roasters that supplies the K-cups, Green Mountain, just bought Keurig (an American company with a Dutch name). I hope this won't limit the variety of coffees available for the machines — that would be a major bummer if other roasters bowed out and would cause me to pull my glowing recommendation.

Two Houses, a Proposal, and a Secretary
I have to admit that I am stunned, shocked and amazed at the Democrats taking control of both the House and the Senate in the election. The rebuke of the current administration's policies — particularly and especially the war in Iraq — is unmistakable. I'm far from a die-hard Democrat, but I am very pleased by this result. As I have said elsewhere in this blog, the actions of the current Bush administration have changed me from a centrist leaning right to a centrist leaning more than a little left. I hope the Democratic leadership proves to be worlds better than the Republican one.

Usually, when I vote for you as a candidate or for a proposal you back, I am the kiss of death. This year was very different. Almost everyone or everything I voted for won. I don't know how to act. I'm happy, but I have been so clearly out of step with the electorate that being in step with them feels unnatural. My state had five ballot proposals. Four of them went the way I voted. The only people whom I voted for that didn't win were the Libertarians. Don't worry guys, I will always throw you a bone!

I am confused by the ouster of Donald Rumsfeld as the Secretary of Defense. Why show him the door the day after an election drubbing when his sacking prior to the election may have changed that election's outcome? It just suggests to me that there is substantial disarray within the Bush White House. I'm shocked at how a group that came on with such promise and such an impeccable resume has turned into The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight. Lies leading to the war in Iraq, utter failure to protect our borders, continued outsourcing of jobs, failure to increase the minimum wage, the Katrina disaster disaster, the rapid erosion of personal liberties, Guantanamo, Abu Graib, extraordinary renditions, bumbling North Korea — the list is endless.