@MarcusMaximus: Ha! I was just thinking that exact thing! Of course, using a tea kettle involves all that heavy lifting/pouring and none of the excitement of sticking your hand into a pot filled with boiling water to retrieve the floating buoy.

@Lodril: Jose Andreas at Minibar in Washington, D.C. is the same way. If it didn't create a really good taste experience, it wouldn't be worth it to him.

@blyan-reloaded: Many molecular gastronomy chefs do add smell as a distinct component. Often it is a packaged "pillow" of scented air that you prick with your knife to release the scent as you eat the food. That's really part of what makes that style of cooking interesting to me. It does try to address the many…

"• Western Digital WDTV Live PLUS Network HD Media Player (Netflix Steaming) for $109.99 plus free shipping "

@Derbeste: Agreed. The consumer wins any time a new player enters the game. It drives competition, creativity and affordability. If anything, Microsoft putting a really good OS onto the market could make Android products better and more affordable in the long-run. Android could be the best thing on earth right…

@infmom: You win! I think I barely missed that era. All I know is that having a phone in your room was a privilege, not a right, when I was in school. But one phone on the hall? Yup. You win.

@clearbox: I'm sort of shocked that universities provided free landlines to begin with. In my day, you shared a billed line with the room across the hall and fought over the monthly long distance charges as God intended! Kids. No idea how good they have it. ;-)

@tucker augie'ben'doggy: I own one of those! The blue tooth version, that is. Unfortunately, it still has that "I'm speaking to you from the bottom of a well" sound to it.

We don't have a lot of options for landline service where I live. By killing my landline, I am saving over $500 a year. I didn't exactly have many bells or whistles, either. Voicemail and private listing. I just can't justify the expense, given that I never use all my cell minutes and have more rollover minutes…

@blash: They just pulled out all the landlines from the dorms at UVA, leaving only a few safety phones per building. They're supposed to save a ton of money by not providing free landlines anymore. I'm pretty sure students have a pay option, if they still want a landline. The university also beefed up cell…

I have learned to hate the "convenience" of the USB connector on my Flip camera. I always end up having to hunt around for something just the right height on which to rest the camera to prevent all the weight of it from potentially damaging my USB connection, the camera or both. Optional, built-in USB is fine. Just…

@Dreamwriter: It's awfully early for that. The earliest we've heard as an availability date for the first ATT WinPhone 7 handset is October. Before that, all they said was "available for the holiday season in 2010." So even October was a surprise. I'm going to agree with the Blackberry guess. I can see keeping…

Will Best Buy be pissed off when I set up a cooler and sofa inside the store?

Hey, don't knock Y&R! It's my daily "turn off the brain" time. Lord knows you can't apply logic to a soap. They exist in a space where even laws of basic physics don't apply most of the time.

I love my electric toothbrush. I never knew you could have teeth so clean it feels as if I just visited the dentist until I bought one. And it does stay charged forever, if you treat the battery the way you should (use until dead, charge, keep it off the charger, repeat). Awesome invention.

@PierceTheVin: Specs don't suck, either. Chart comparing it to the iPhone 4, et al.

Here's a second chart which at least pits the WP7 Dell Lightning against the iPhone 4 (among others):

@PierceTheVin: Me too. WP7 and the Dell Lightning look good enough to at least wait and play with them before committing either way. Plus, waiting a few months will give me more information about the iPhone 4 and Evo.

@dc89: This. I'm waaaay past the age of pigtails, but I'll admit to wearing them in the summer under boiling hot conditions where air conditioning isn't an option. Camping. Music festivals. It's actually much cooler to have the hair off my back and pulled into low pigtails. Would I wear it to work? Nope. But I…

@Zombies make the heart grow fonder: No WAY. Well, in the spirit of "know your enemies," I can sort of see the need for women studies candidates to be exposed to that sort of crap. What I don't like is their being beholden to a nitwit like that for their grades. He would be better utilized as a show and tell…