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Quantum Workshop III: LED Circuit and Device Physics
07 Feb 2015 | Teaching Materials | Contributor(s): Stella Quinones
A hands-on learning exercise used to illustrate the device physics of a light emitting diode (LED) in a simple resistor circuit. Students explore the photon energy of four LEDs, compare the...
[Illinois] ECE 398 Lecture 21: Optoelectronics II - Light Emitting Diodes & Lasers
22 May 2013 | Online Presentations | Contributor(s): Kent D Choquette
Kent D. Choquette received B.S. degrees in Engineering Physics and Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado-Boulder and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science from the...
[Illinois] ECE 398 Lecture 22,23: Optoelectronics III - Light Emitting Diodes & Laser Threshold
Solid State Lightening and LEDs
15 Aug 2011 | Teaching Materials | Contributor(s): Dragica Vasileska
This lecture is part of a Computational optoelectronics class that is taught at ASU by Prof. Vasileska.
The History of Semiconductor Heterostructures Research: From Early Double Heterostructure Concept to Modern Quantum Dot Structures
11 Jul 2011 | Online Presentations | Contributor(s): Zhores I. Alferov
It would be very difficult today to imagine solid-state physics without semiconductor heterostructures. Semiconductor heterostructures and especially double heterostructures, including quantum...
2010 MNTL UIUC Symposium Lecture 2 - Optoelectronics
09 Aug 2010 | Online Presentations | Contributor(s): Russell D. Dupuis
Russell D. Dupuis earned all of his academic degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He received his bachelor's degree with "Highest Honors-Bronze Tablet" in 1970. He...
ANGEL - A Nonequilibrium Green Function Solver for LEDs
07 Jun 2010 | Tools | Contributor(s): sebastian steiger
An MPI-parallelized implementation of 1-D NEGF for heterostructures. Includes off-diagonal scattering. Effective mass band structure for electrons and holes. The online tool only provides basic...
ANGEL - A Nonequilibrium Green's Function Solver for LEDs
07 Feb 2010 | Downloads | Contributor(s): sebastian steiger
Introducing ANGEL, a Nonequilibrium Green's Function code aimed at describing LEDs.
ANGEL uses a description close to the classic NEMO-1D paper (Lake et al., JAP 81, 7845 (1997)) to model quantum...


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The 29th annual Home Run Derby will take place at Citi Field Monday night at 8 p.m. Eastern as part of this week's All-Star festivities. This year's field of eight contestants includes the last two winners (Prince Fielder and Robinson Cano), five first-time participants (Pedro Alvarez, Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Cuddyer, Chris Davis and Bryce Harper), and the hometown representative, the Mets' David Wright.
The Ballpark: Citi Field, Queens, NY
Citi Field opened in 2009 and was one of the most difficult places to hit a home run during its first three seasons, prompting the Mets to move in its fences in 2012, particularly in leftfield, the primary target of Wright, their franchise cornerstone.
It has helped. There were just 108 home runs hit at Citi Field in 2011, more than only two other parks (Petco and AT&T), but 155 home runs hit there in 2012, putting Citi closer to the middle of the pack. Using the home runs on contact percentage devised by my batterymate Jay Jaffe last year (HR/Con = HR/(AB-K+SF)), Citi Field went from yielding a home run in 2.4 percent of at-bats ending in contact in 2011 to yielding a home run on 3.7 percent of at-bats ending in contact in 2012. That latter figure has held steady this year with 83 home runs at a contact percentage of 3.5, with righties and lefties going deep at almost identical rates.
Special features: Citi Field has a new, updated version of Shea Stadium's famous home run apple. The apple no longer hides in a giant top hat, but it still rises slowly out of the batters' eye like the great pumpkin, for every Mets home run.
The Sluggers:
Note: The eight derby participants are listed here in order of their 2013 home runs per contact percentage (the figure in parentheses after their home run total). "Long" is the distance in feet of each hitter's longest home run this season (with a video link).
Chris Davis, Orioles (L)
Career HR: 114 (9.1%)
Long: 438
In hitting his 37th home run on Sunday, Chris Davis tied Reggie Jackson with the most home runs before the All-Star break in American League history, doing in 94 games what Jackson did in 92 back in 1969. The major league home run leader by a mile (runner-up Miguel Cabrera has 30), Davis is on place to hit 62 home runs this season, a total not reached outside of the 1998-2001 peak of the juiced era, and even then by only three men (Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa). Davis also enters the Derby red-hot having homered in each of the last four days, a perfect bookend to his historic first half, which began with four homers in four days, itself a record performance.
Pedro Alvarez, Pirates (L)
Career HR: 74 (8.0%)
Long: 455
Alvarez was a late replacement for the Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez, who pulled out of the Derby after injuring his right middle finger on July 7, but as the numbers above show, Alvarez should have been on this team from the start. He is tied for fifth in the majors in home runs this season, is second in the National League, just one behind Gonzalez, and those home runs comprise the bulk of his value at the plate this season. Alvarez is hitting a mere .253, has drawn only 23 unintentional walks and has just nine other extra-base hits (all doubles). Those 24 home runs, four of which have come in July, account for 32 percent of his hits on the year. When he hits them, they tend to go far; just watch him bounce one into the Allegheny River in the video above. Alvarez is tied for the major league lead with Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion in what ESPNs Home Run Tracker considers "no doubt" homers with nine
Bryce Harper, Nationals (L)
Career HR: 35 (6.1%)
Long: 437
From Aug. 17 of last year through the end of May this year, Harper hit 24 home runs in 312 at-bats at a contact rate of 9.7 percent. Harper then missed all of June with bursitis in his left knee. He homered in his first at-bat after being activated on July 1, but hasn't gone deep since, a stretch of 63 homerless plate appearances. In fact, Harper has just two extra base hits of any kind since his last home run and has hit a mere .191/.322/.277 over his last 13 games.
Michael Cuddyer, Rockies (R)
Career HR: 173 (4.5%)
Long: 428
Despite a 15-day DL stay for a herniated disc in his neck, the 34-year-old Cuddyer, by far the oldest participant in this year's Derby, is having a career year with his best home run rate ever, and he is on pace to reach 30 home runs for just the second time in his 13 seasons. Given that, it's fair to ask if his success in this, just his second year with the Rockies, has been a product of Coors Field, but there's more to it than that. Cuddyer is hitting home runs more often at home, but his home run on contact rate on the road is still 5.6 percent, well above his career rate. That said, 5.6 percent isn't a particularly compelling rate for a Home Run Derby participant. The only two men in this year's field who have a lower home run on contact rate this season are the defending champion (Fielder) and the hometown hero (Wright), both of whom hit in pitchers parks and have other reasons to be here.
Robinson Cano, Yankees (L)
Career HR: 198 (4.4%)
Long: 441
Cano's home runs on contact percentage has increased in four of the last five seasons from a career low 2.6 percent in his miserable 2008 season to his career-best 6.9 percent this year. He set a career high with 33 home runs last year and is on pace for 36 this season. Two years ago, he was the surprise winner of the Derby, blasting a total of 32 home runs, tied for third all time in this event, while hitting off his father, former Astros righty Jose Cano, in Phoenix. Last year, he again had his father pitching to him, but went homerless in the Derby in Kansas City while being showered with boos by Royals fans who were upset that Cano, the AL team captain, had left the Royals' Billy Butler off his Derby team. Cano is the AL captain again this year, and will hear boos in the Derby once again, this time from the rival Mets fans.
Yoenis Cespedes, A's (R)
Career HR: 38 (6.2%)
Long: 437
Miguel Cabrera, who is second in the majors with 30 home runs and has hit 53 in his last 162 games, declined Cano's invitation to participate in this year's Derby, so Cano took advantage of the fact that Derby participants no longer need to be All-Stars and selected Cespedes, who is having a miserable sophomore season. Cespedes is a compelling choice, if only because of the way he was introduced to American fans. Cespedes is the only righty in the AL's foursome, even though Mark Trumbo, Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Nelson Cruz, Adrian Beltre and Evan Longoria have all out-homered him this season.
Prince Fielder, Tigers (L)
Career HR: 276 (6.0%)
Long: 458
It wasn't a surprise that Fielder's home run rates dropped last year when he moved from homer-friendly Miller Park, where he'd spent his entire career to that point with the Brewers, to Detroit's Comerica Park, which is particularly hard on lefthanded power hitters. Still, he's hitting home runs even less often this year than he did in his first year in Detroit. That said, Fielder has Home Run Derby bona fides as one of just two players to win multiple Derbies (along with Ken Griffey Jr., who won three). Fielder won in 2009 in St. Louis and last year in Kansas City, blasting 28 homers in the latter, the fifth most in a single Derby. This will be his fifth time participating in this event, and if he hits 15 home runs Monday night, he'll break David Ortiz's record of 77 career Derby home runs.
David Wright, Mets (R)
Career HR: 217 (5.3%)
Long: 464
Wright has the lowest home runs on contact rate of any of this year's participants, but it's hard to begrudge him his spot. Not only because Wright is the Mets' best hitter (though Marlon Byrd, Lucas Duda and John Buck have homered more often this year), but because in his only previous Derby, at PNC Park in 2006, he fell one homer shy of winning, hitting 22 home runs in total. That 2006 Derby was a lifetime ago for Wright, however.
There's a certain irony to Wright being in a Home Run Derby at Citi Field. In 2009, the ballpark's first season, Wright's home run total dropped from 33 in '08, the team's last year at Shea Stadium, to 10, and though he hit only half of those on the road, and Shea was hardly hitter-friendly, his power-outage was blamed on the new stadium. The next year, he rebounded to 29 homers, but 17 of them came on the road, and his strikeout rate spiked as well. In 2011, he was back down to 14 homers, nine on the road.The Bill James Handbook

subset: commoncrawl


text: This should be an easy bug for someone to fix -- I am pretty sure the solution is to ignore gapped columns but I haven't looked deeper and I don't have any time right now to work on bioperl fixes so be great if someone wanted to help out here. The redmine bug info is appended below. Jason Begin forwarded message: > From: redmine at redmine.open-bio.org > Subject: [Bioperl-guts-l] [BioPerl - Bug #3328] (New) segregating sites calculation fails on gapped sequences > Date: February 17, 2012 9:39:42 AM PST > To: bioperl-guts-l at lists.open-bio.org > > > Issue #3328 has been reported by Jason Stajich. > > ---------------------------------------- > Bug #3328: segregating sites calculation fails on gapped sequences > https://redmine.open-bio.org/issues/3328 > > Author: Jason Stajich > Status: New > Priority: Normal > Assignee: Bioperl Guts > Category: Bio::PopGen > Target version: > URL: > > > > I am Cheng-Ruei Lee, a graduate student in Duke Biology. I'm analyzing many DNA alignments of a plant species. > I first used (Bio::PopGen::Utilities -> aln_to_population()) to read in the fasta format alignment, and then use Bio::PopGen::Statistics to calculate some statistics without outgroup. Most gene work fine, but I think a bug happened when it meets alignments like this: > >> Genotype1 > ATGATCGTAGCTGATGCTGTGATCGATCGCTAGCTAGCTCGA >> Genotype2 > ------------GATGCTGTGATCGATCGCTAGCTAGCTCGA >> Genotype3 > ------------GATGCTGTGATCGATCGCTAGCTAGCTCGA >> Genotype4 > ------------GATGCTGTGATCGATCGCTAGCTAGCTCGA > > I get this data set from other people. I guess due to the annotation program people used, the definition of coding sequence is much longer in genotype 1 than in other genotypes. This creates a long stretch of gap in the very beginning. Whenever Bio::PopGen meets this kind of genes, the number of singleton counts boost a lot - seems like the long stretch of sites with gap is also counted as singletons. Also, some Fu & Li statistics boosted. The "number of segregation sites" seems not to be affected. (And therefore, there are genes with hundreds of singleton sites but only a few total segregating sites.) > May be a possible bug in Bio::PopGen::Utilities when reading in the data? Or when calculating singletons? > > Sincerely, > Cheng-Ruei Lee <cl134 at duke.edu> > > > -- > You have received this notification because you have either subscribed to it, or are involved in it. > To change your notification preferences, please click here and login: http://redmine.open-bio.org > > _______________________________________________ > Bioperl-guts-l mailing list > Bioperl-guts-l at lists.open-bio.org > http://lists.open-bio.org/mailman/listinfo/bioperl-guts-l Jason Stajich jason.stajich at gmail.com jason at bioperl.org


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Oliver Schmidt, Vice President Sales and Products Light Rail Vehicles, and Elaine Greenwood, Sales Director Light Rail Vehicles, represented the company as it received the award from Britain's Undersecretary of State for Transport Norman Baker.
Bombardier also was awarded the status "Highly Commended" in the Supplier of the Year category above 10 million euros ($13 million).
Said Schmidt, "This award underscores our capability as a provider of light rail solutions and as a reliable partner for transport operators worldwide."
In awarding the honor, the judges said, "With over 100,000 trams and railcars running worldwide, this firm has a great range of well-proven products and Blackpool right here in the UK has become the world's showcase for 16 examples of its latest and greatest product, the FLEXITY 2. This year's highly commended winner has scooped major awards from six cities around the world over the last year – and 2012 isn't over yet so we're sure there will be more knocking at their door."


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Secondary Sources: Fiscal Cliff Effects, Sandy Aftermath, Potential GDP
A roundup of economic news from around the Web.
–Fiscal Cliff Effects: Macroeconomic Advisers breaks down how much each part of the fiscal cliff will take away from 2013 growth. "The largest two items are — not surprisingly — the expiration of the Bush tax cuts (-1.15 percentage points of GDP growth over the year) and the spending sequester (-0.76 percentage point of GDP growth). At the bottom of the list, the new taxes enacted as part of the Affordable Care Act will subtract less than one-tenth of a percentage point from growth over 2013. In total, the maximum potential hit to growth from the fiscal contraction is 3.4 percentage points over the entire year, but more than 5 percentage points in the first half of the year. Our baseline forecast includes roughly 11/4 percentage points of the total possible hit to growth."
–Sandy Aftermath: Jaison R. Abel and Jason Bram look at the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the New York Fed's region. "In the newest report—based on information collected through November 15—many businesses across the New York City metropolitan region reported losses in activity due to widespread disruptions from Sandy. Prior to the storm, however, the general consensus was that business conditions were holding steady. In upstate New York, which wasn't affected directly by the storm, most contacts reported business as usual, though there were scattered signs of softening in housing, manufacturing, and vehicle sales. Some contacts upstate did note some indirect effects from the storm's disruptions—largely to supply chains."
–Potential GDP: Brad DeLong posts some interesting charts on CBO's estimates of potential GDP. "CBO estimates of potential GDP closely track private-sector estimates of potential GDP. The gap between actual and potential GDP right now is still 6.6%. There is still lots of space for the CBO to mark down potential GDP: with no gap-closing 2017:IV potential GDP would be $15.2 trillion—8.6% below its 2007-vintage forecast. The CBO is currently forecasting a 3.5%/year real GDP growth rate over the next five years. To return us to the 2007-vintage potential GDP path would require a growth rate averaging 5.3%/year over the next five years."


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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
LEADERS: Azerane Bam BinkyBunny JerseyGirl LBJ10 LittlePuffyTail LongEaredLions RabbitPam
goodmorning, i was cleaning Yeti's box this morning and realized there was one single group of poop that resembled fish eggs... "/
they were runny-ish but still stuck together..
he seems back to normal now.. he had big noms for breakfast, he turned in to his usual poop machine again.. and now hes taking a nap.
is this just a weird "huh" moment?
has this happened to anyone else?
is this common?
looked up pictures thats EXACTLY what it was,
oooooooooooook. whew!
ive never seen them before.. i imagine hes been eating them but he left this one behind.
thank you thank you
so gross! ive hear/read up on them before but i've never been the one to look up pictures of poops.. so GROSS! blaaah, ill think twice next time i give him a kiss. (lol jk, i cant help myself when he looks so darn cute)
I would keep an eye on the cecals. Just as a passing thing to keep in the back of your mind as a bunny owner. If buns are being fed a too rich diet they will not their cecals like they're supposed to. So if you see a bunch uneaten and lying around it can be a good indication to cut back on treats.
thanks for the info. the only thing i introduced before i even saw the cecals was a single raisin. "/
perhaps raisins arent for him?
(i introduced the single raisin the night before i found the plop of cecals)
*he's not a "treat" bun... he will have banana but we dont keep them in the house... and he liked apples for a little while with no problem.. other than that he wont touch fruit and i refuse to buy store treats. his treats are his pellets.
hmmm, they do have that wonderful "bulk barn" here. i wonder if they might have something.. i know they have dried apricots. which i actually love eating so those could be an option.. my Husband enjoys taking raisins with him to work so i tried one with Yeti.. obviously not the best choice. -.-' ohwell! live and learn..
there were no cecals this morning during the litter scoop. so im thinking its completely out of his system and we're almost back to normal.


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* Prices may differ from that shown
The Senseo coffee machine - everyone knows it - everyone loves it! I think this sentence describes this nice machine very well, because this machine is still as popular as it was when it was first sold.
For coffee drinkers like me, this is a must have. So I looked for a coffee and espresso machine after moving to my new flat and I chose the Senseo.
The optics: The machine looks really expensive due to the shiny metal look, which is actually plastic. There's also a black model available. The shape of it looks modern and stylish as well. I like it!
The machine has got a 1m power cable which should be long enough for every place you are using it.
Technically, I did not have any problems with this machine at all.
The usage itself is very simple and does not need any explanation.
The coffee pods which should be used with this machine are available in every supermarket, so finding them won't be a problem.
What I like most about this machine is that it is really quick! So if you are in a hurry in the morning, you don't have to wait long until you can have your coffee. You can also fill up two cups at the same time (or only one if you want to).
Besides, you can have any kind of coffee you want - a nice feature for everyone who likes diversity.
I'm one of those people that simply cannot cope without coffee in the morning! I have to have at least two cups before I even think about leaving the house to go to work. At work I probably have another 5 cups a day. So yes, I'd put myself down as being a coffee lover.
I used to have nescafe original instant coffee every morning to wake me up and then I would treat myself to a cafetiere at the weekend. I much prefer cafetiere coffee but I simply do not have time to do it during the week, especially dealing with all the coffee grounds after. Yuck.
So I bought this Senseo coffee machine from Argos. It cost £60 and I got it in black. It does also come in white, red and blue though. It is actually the second one I have owned - I first bought one over ten years ago when they first came out but lost it during a relationship break up!
It is so easy to use. A compartment at the back is easily lifted away and you fill it with water from the tap. Depending on whether you are going to have one cup or two you fill it up or fill it halfway, First thing in the morning I fill it to the 2 cup line as I always have 2 cups in the morning. You unclip the hinge of the lid of the senseo machine to reveal a recess where you put your coffee pod. You clip it back in and switch the machine on to heat the water and when the light stops flashing to show that the machine is ready you put your cup under the coffee tap, hit the button again and the coffee comes out.
The way the coffee tap is designed is that it has two holes from which the coffee drips out so you have the option of putting either one cup under to collect both drips or two cups under to collect one each. I like my coffee in a big mug and so I have both drips into the one cup. I imagine if you wanted your coffee in a slender mug you might have a problem with the 2 drip holes though.
The pods you use look like round tetley tea bags and I use each one twice - my two morning cups come from one pod so this is even better value for me. Obviously the first cup of the day with the fresh pod is stronger and then the second time I use it just before I go out to work it is a little weaker but still very tasty. There are different types such as classic, dark roast, morning coffee, cappuccino and they generally cost around £3 for about 15 which I don't begrudge at all as it works out about 10p a cup for me.
The design of the senseo is very sleek and nice looking, even though it is quite an old product. As previously mentioned, I bought one of these years ago and the design hasn't changed.
I recommend this machine to anyone who likes proper coffee but doesn't have time most mornings to feed their habit. It is a lovely looking machine that produces great coffee relatively quickly, easily and mess free.
Coffee, one of the best inventions ever. There is nothing better than wake up in the morning and the smell of fresh made coffee. Whenever the Senseo machine first came out from Douwe Egberts I wasnt really enthioustiastic about it, I thought just another coffee machine untill I tasted the coffee at a friends house. The coffee is so creamy and you can buy different flavours which I will explain later.
I paid £49.99 for the machine.
The machine is silver of colour ( but they have different colours like blue, red, white, black). The size of the machine is morelike the average coffeemachine so doesnt take too much space. You get 2 cupholders with the machine. one for 1 pod and one for 2 pods ( you can also use the 2 pod one for a hot chocolatepod which is bigger).
The machine has 3 buttons
1= on/off button
2= 1 cup
3= 2 cups
At the back of the machine is a watertank that you have to fill with water thats heats up whenever you press the off/on button.
You push the lid up to open the top bit and then you can put the podholder in you prefer. You close the lid and press the on button, you hear the water boiling like a kettle and when the water is boiled you press the button for whatever pod you which to use and the water mixed with the pod and gives you a lovely cup of coffee with a creamy layer.
You can buy Senseopods in the following flavours:
medium roast
dark roast
extra dark roast
italian, brazil, hot chocolate , capuccino, caramel etc. Some of the special flavours are hard to get in the Uk. I normally buy them in Holland and take them to the UK whenever i visit family but you can always buy them online.
The pods are expensive in the UK i find, you get 18 pods for £2.99
I am a coffee addict. I absolutely love the stuff and cannot get enough. BUT... it has to be good coffee. Non of this insta-muck out-of-a-jar rubbish for me I'm afraid.
This being the case I was wary of home coffee machines until I tried a cup of coffee from a friend's Senseo machine. I was amazed by how good it tasted and it went straight to the top of my Christmas List.
I actually received my machine around 7 years ago, and it is still going strong. I probably make 5 or 6 coffees per week in it and have done for all of that time. I did think it was broken once and that sent me into absolute panic, but actually it just had a little blockage, and as soon as I'd cleaned it all was well again. Panic over! I've even taken it away on self-catering holidays so that I could get my Senseo fix!
Mine is the black version and it sits happily on the worktop next to my Dolce Gusto machine in 'Coffee Corner'. (I did mention I was an addict, didn't I?!) It takes up maybe 20cm by 40cm of space and needs to be plugged in to the wall.
To make a coffee you fill up the water tank at the rear with enough water for one or two cups (marked on the tank). It comes supplied with two podholders, one for one small pod which makes one cup of coffee, and one for two small pods or one 'mug size' pod, which, makes either two small cups of coffee simultaneously (as pictured), or one mug of coffee. No cups are supplied despite all of the advertising showing rather sleek looking coffee glasses. You can buy those separately though, if you really want to. Insert your chosen pod or pods in the holder and close the lid. The button in the middle heats up the water, and this takes only a minute or two. You then place your cup, cups or mug underneath the spout and press either the 'one cup' or 'two cups' button. It really couldn't be simpler. Disposal of the pods afterwards is easy too, as they're essentially the same as tea bags. Just remove the pod holder and tip the used pod into the bin or or your composter.
The availability of the pods can be a bit hit and miss. The Senseo branded pods contain Douwe Egberts coffee. The basic ones - Classic and Dark Roast small pods - are the most readily available. Larger supermarkets may also stock Decaf, Mug Size and occasionally other varieties. I have recently spotted cappuccino pods in my local Tesco, and a new Lungo range has just appeared. Some stores will even have own brand compatible pods. I bought some in Aldi once but haven't seen them since.
For some reason you can buy a far greater variety of pods in other countries. In Germany I saw Milka Hot Chocolate pods, Chococino pods, a wide variety of strengths and compatible pods from other well known brands on the continent such as Jacobs and Dallmayr. You can buy these on the internet but the postage makes them rather pricey.
My preferred pods are the mug size 'Morning' coffee. The strength is just perfect and the taste is divine. I drink it black with sugar. Like all Senseo pods a 'crema' layer forms on the top. You can see this in the photograph too. This isn't milk or cream, despite the name, it just forms thanks to the pressure of the water going through the pod. It makes the coffee seem that bit more special, as if it were bought from a coffee shop rather than made at home. I like to sprinkle chocolate powder on top of it for a little extra luxury.
The machine itself costs around £60 - £70 these days, and the pods range from £2 for a pack of 14 - 16 single cup pods to £4 for a bag of 20 Mug-Size. Occasionally they'll be on offer so it's a good idea to stock up at these times.
My only real issue with the Senseo is that I find it difficult to clean the well. It is dishwasher compatible, but sadly I don't have one of those. Only a small drawback for such lovely coffee for so many years though.
I have owned my Senseo coffee machine for a few years now.
I love coffee and until I bought my Senseo machine I used instant coffee at home with cafetiere coffee at weekends and special occasions. However it was always a nuisance to have to clean the coffee grounds away and wash it all clean. When I saw the Senseo machine on offer I thought it would be worth a try.
The machine is compact and doesn't take up much space on my work surface. It is very simple to use. You put water in the water tank and slot it into place, and then you put a coffee pod into the holder and shut the lid. Finally you press either the button for one or two cups of coffee and the machine does the rest.
There are different Senseo coffee pods you can buy to use in the machine. Decaffeinated pods and different strengths and blends of coffee are available. You can also buy pods that fit the machine in Lidl. It is so easy to throw away the used coffee pod (it looks a bit like a tea bag filled with coffee grounds).
My machine has been very reliable with no problems to date. I use it to make coffee rather than using instant.
There are a couple of things that can be a bit annoying.
 It can be noisy while the drink is percolating but you soon get used to that
 The coffee isn't boiling hot and I've sometimes had to microwave it for my other half to make it very hot for him.
 It can be difficult to find the full range of pods - bigger supermarkets have a better selection than small ones.
I am a lover of all things coffee related and am always grabbing espressos as a pick me up throughout the day. I thought to myself, instead of spending so much money buying espressos in various coffee shops, I may as well buy my own espresso machine and save both time and money in the while.
So I picked this up from Amazon for just over Euro65!! (Around £50) Quite pricey, but for the amount I was spending on espressos and coffees in a month, some might say a bargain. I later priced the same machine in both Argos and Woodies and discovered I did indeed get a bargain. It looked great in the picture on amazon and I needed a coffee machine, not badly, but enough to make me stop and think for a second while browsing. I wouldn't have paid this amount in a store as I'm sure if I shopped around I would have gotten a much cheaper one, but there you go, a complete sucker for online shopping, everything only a click away....!
I got my one in the standard black version but it does come in a variety, much more of which are availble in stores as amazon only had the choice of red, black and blue. I figured black is fairly neutral and would match my own kitchen rather than the red which is very vibrant.
Never having used any type of coffee machine myself before, I thought I was in for some tricky DIY and hours poring over an instruction manual in order to get it up and running!! It looked so complicated at first with all the different functions and buttons. Boy was I surprised. You literally just fill up the little pod that comes with it, with normal filter coffee (any variation can be used, which is great!!), insert it into the back of the machine, and hey presto your done. It really is as simple as that!! There aren't many buttons
I love the fact that the machine is quite small. This may look like a disadvantage but you can pretty much stick it anywhere and it doesnt take up much room!! It is easy to assemble, dis assemble and clean too, which actually isn't needed very often, depending on how much you use of course. The pod holder, pouring spout, perforated tray and tank are all easy to clean and are safe in the dishwasher, making life easier again.
The water tank (which is removable) can hold up to around 6 mugs of water at a time, in and around 750 ml and when it is running low a light will flash and let you know. It is easily refillable then from the tap or bottled water if you swig that way. The coffee itself takes very little time to make. You press the button on the front (it is very clear) and the coffee is made in under a minute! Great value for money!!!
**The Coffee**
It makes a standard mug with a fab layer of foam on top...just to seal in the flavour...! The coffee beans which are specially made for this type of machine then come in three different flavours of coffee and even varieties of fruit flavoured coffee which doesn't sound very appealing to me personally but some of you might be in to all that new age coffee.
Enlighten your senses and put the pleasure back into coffee......
For Christmas, off my sister I received a gift voucher. It was in fact, to be split between me, and my partner, so instead of choosing something each, it was decided to spend the money on something for the house that we both could enjoy.
I initially went out and purchased the Dolce Gusto (but that's another review). For the price, it was such a poor quality machine, it didn't heat the coffee up, and the taste from several varieties of the pods tasted foul. The machine had been used for a whole twenty minutes, and had made four drinks, before I took it back to the store.
I decided to take my time choosing its succcessor, and after reading reviews I decided upon the Senseo. I chose the black model to fit with my decor. It looks good, as it has quite a modern take on a boring old traditional filter coffee machine. Another advantage was that by the use of pods, it is quick to change if someone should want a different variety, and would also be easy to clean with none of the messy filters, and coffee grounds to clear away.
Using the machine is simplicity itself, as you just lift up the top, and insert a pod into the pod holder. When you switch in on, you have to wait for the water to heat up. This takes a matter of moments, and then you are ready to press the button which will activate the machine to do the coffee making process. When making one cup, this process takes less than 30 seconds.
The water reservoir is easy to fill, but it isn't very big, so if you are making many cups of coffee, it will need to be refilled more than once. I quite like this though, as it means I get a fresh cuppa, rather than have the water sitting there going stagnant.
The space where you situate your mug isn't very large; there isn't much of a gap between the top of the mug, and the nozzle. Luckily mine are average sized mugs; you'd never get a latte mug underneath. A great feature is that you can make two mugs at a time; I've not seen this on any other machine. Two cups of coffee in under a minute - Marvellous!
After using this to make coffee, you should always try and discard the pod straight away. I got into a habit of doing this, but on one occasion my partner left the pod inside. We'd had warm and sunny weather for a few days and were drinking more cold drinks, when we returned to the machine; in place of the pod was a mouldy mess. Lesson learned - he won't do that again. If you do leave this unused for a few days, I would also recommend that you flush the machine through (without the pod), once or twice, to clean out the insides of any residual water that had gone dirty.
The pods are essentially a large tea bag filled with, erm, coffee! They are very easy to find, being located next to the instant coffee in the supermarket. The price for these pods is very respectable, not as cheap as instant, but not as expensive, per cup, as a coffee house such as Starbucks. This makes in an affordable treat, and we love this coffee, and never use instant now.
As the coffee is heated by steam pressure, it is never as boiling hot as some might like, but as boiling the coffee is said to alter the flavour and aroma, this is great. It also means you can enjoy your coffee more quickly, without having to wait for it to cool down. The coffee's foam layer is a bit disappointing, as it disappears really quickly. I'd prefer a larger amount of froth or a longer lasting one.
I was just checking on Argos, to see the latest prices for the purpose of this review, (I paid £30 for mine, half price, in the January sale), but I'm sad to say, Argos do not stock them anymore. They are in fact, available direct from Phillips for the price of £61.27. If you shop around, you may be able to find it, at a lower cost, elsewhere.
Technical specifications for the Senseo, as taken from the Phillips website which is here: http://www.philips.co.uk
Design specification:
Materials: Plastic
Colour(s): Raven black
Country of origin: Poland/China
Technical Specifications:
Power: 1450 W
Voltage: 220 - 240 V
Frequency: 50 - 60 Hz
Cord length: 100 cm
Water tank capacity: 0.75/5 Litres/cups
Auto-off: 60 minute(s)
Spout height: 117 mm
Black coffee brew volume: 120 ml
In summary, this is a lovely machine to own, and use. I love the coffee from it, and so it seems, do visitors, whom we have served coffee made from this machine. I can't see any downside to owning this, other than it is not as easily available on the high street anymore. Perhaps they are working on its successor? I just hope that it lives up to this one.
I love my Phillips senseo, its easy to use and the coffee tastes great. Ive had mine for over a year now and have used it daily. The coffee sachets are not too expensive and they come in a range of strenghths, it tastes as good as a freshly ground coffee from a machine, I used to have a fiddely esspresso machine, which was a pain to use and clean, this on the other hand is easy to clean and easy to use. You can make two cups or just one, just pop in the right sachet holder... easy and quick
To use it you just need to fill up the back water compratment with the amount of cold water required, pop in the pod/sachet(s), put your cup/s under the spout and switch on, its that simple. The coffee sachets look like tea bags so there is'nt even any mess either. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys coffee.. good coffee.
I love coffee and I drink it by the bucket load. Usually just instant coffee but on weekends I used to make fresh filter coffee and sit and drink it while reading the paper. Knowing how much I like my coffee my dad bought me one of these machines a few years ago and I have to say it was over the moon. I read the box and realised this machine took neat little pods and thought how much time, effort and mess this would save rather then brewing fresh coffee in a percolator style machine. The problem with this machine is simple the coffee is not hot enough at best I would say it was luke warm and so unless you literally down your coffee it goes cold far too quickly which for me takes the enjoyment out of it........cold coffee where's the senseo in that.
For the price I think this machine is terrible, I went back to my £7 filter machine and sold this for £3 at a car boot sale. I spoke to my brother who also got one the same xmas as a present from the old man and he said the same that it was as much use as a chocolate tea pot and had just binned it. I think they were on offer at £60 each but what a waste of £120.
If you're looking for a coffee machine then this is nothing more than over priced tat. It's plastic, cheap looking and doesn't even perform its basic function to an acceptable level, ie produce a hot cup of coffee.
I recommend the Nespresso machine which although more expensive £130 it is far superior and the pride of my kitchen and the one thing I couldn't do without.
At about 18, I developed a love for coffee. We have a great (& very complicated!) coffee maker at my mom and stepdads house but this wasn't going to be practical to take to university. A friend suggested a senseo as a space-saving solution, as she had one on her boat. I made her bring it back to try it, and immediately went out and got one myself. It heats up quickly with little fuss and I never have any problems with it. It was second hand when I got it and 2 years on it's working fabulously! The double cup attachment is great - perfect for filling a thermos for commuting. The senseo pods always taste great and they're often on offer at a supermarket nearby so work out very cheap if you buy them in bulk. You're able to get different strengths of coffee which is fabulous, sometimes I don't want super strong coffee in summer but often it's needed on those cold winter mornings! I have mine by my bed at university to wake me up, and when I move back home in a few months I will be taking it back too. The parents are impressed with the coffee too, what more of a seal of approval could you need?!
I've always had a bit of a love/hate relationship with coffee.. I've always loved the smell of coffee and really liked home made latte's and the sachet cappuccinos but I've never been able to stand coffee itself or any coffee from a coffee shop (except the smell.. I adore the smell) so, when my mum got me this coffee maker as a present I didn't quite know what to think. She knew I couldn't stand coffee in the traditional sense so why on earth would you get someone who didn't like coffee a coffee maker?! However, being the dutiful daughter I accepted it and went looking for the pods for it so it at least got some use. I found a deal online where I could get three packets for the price of two. I bought hot chocolate, cappuccino and a medium roast. I know the medium roast may seem like a strange choice for someone who has just admitted they hate the taste of coffee but my reasoning was that it was free because of the deal so if I didn't like it nothing was lost and it was a coffee machine after all, what use is a coffee machine if it wasn't going to be used to make coffee?
The Machine
The machine I have looks different to the one dooyoo has a picture for. I can only assume it's a newer or older model. The base is black with a thin metal stand to place your mug on. The back is black and angled forward so that the part the coffee comes out of is directly above the stand. Above this spout is a handle to enable you to lift the lid up in order to place the pods inside.
The water pot fits on to the very back of the machine and is see through to enable you to see exactly how much water is left. There are markings on the water pot to tell you the minimum, maximum and one/two cupfuls worth.
There are also three buttons on the base of the machine which are to turn it on, to make one cupful and to make two cupfuls of coffee.
Using The Coffee Machine
Using the machine is easy, you simply fill up the water tank at the back of the machine and then turn it on. I like to run it through first once without any pod in as this cleans out the machine ensuring that when I do make the coffee I know I'm not getting any old coffee, dust or anything else that may have collected inside.
After it's run through open the lid and choose the pod holder you need (there are two - one for one cup and one for two). Place this inside the top of the machine and then put the desired pod in the pod holder. Place your cup on the stand below the spout and then press the button relating to how much you want (one or two cups). If you're making a full sized mug you'll need to choose the two cup option.
I also like to add my milk and sugar before turning the machine on as this allows the machine to froth up the milk making a gorgeously frothy cup of coffee.
My Opinion
I love this machine and I have to admit that had you asked me when I got it two years ago if I'd ever say that, I'd have said that there wasn't a chance in hell, but from turning it on to having a cup of coffee in my hand only takes around two minutes - that's quicker then instant coffee! It also tastes like nothing I've ever tasted before and I can honestly say I really do like it.
I like my coffee frothy and so always put the milk in first, this produces a nice amount of froth without detracting from the taste of the coffee, there's also not too much meaning that you get just the right mix of froth and coffee. If however you prefer your coffee without the froth this is simple by just adding the milk after the coffee machine has finished.
The machine looks modern and stylish with it's curved black shape and so fits nicely into the corner of my kitchen and I would say it would fit with almost any décor.
Cleaning up is easy - there is a removable drip tray that catches almost all the drips positioned below the stand. The spout, pod holder and water tray are all removable allowing them to be washed separately and a quick run through of the machine without a pod will clean out the inside of any remaining coffee and a quick wipe under the tray will pick up any drips that missed the tray. The only thing I will say here is that even though you shouldn't add a pod for cleaning you do need to ensure that a holder is in place. It seems as though that is how the machine measures how much water to add. I just tried cleaning it whilst writing this review and ended up with a flood as it emptied the water pot!
Getting to know the right amount of milk to add if you add it before running the machine can take a bit of practice as you end up with a very full mug of coffee and so there have been many times I've overflowed the cup! This isn't such a problem though as the drip tray will catch any spills it just means some wastage.
I don't like my coffee strong and find the medium roast pods just right for me however there are a wide selection of pods available including decaf, mocha, hot chocolate, cappuccino and a wide range of speciality coffees. I have tried most of these and the only one I have found that I don't like too much is, strangely enough, the hot chocolate! This isn't a fault with the machine though I just generally don't like hot chocolate made with water - I prefer it with milk. The others though all taste absolutely divine and coming from someone that doesn't like coffee that says a lot!
The pods themselves I've found difficult to find in stores and so have resorted to buying them online. The prices vary between £3 and £6 depending on what it is you want. The best places I have found to get them from is Amazon although if you look around they are available elsewhere.
I've had my machine a few years and it was a present so I'm not sure how much it cost but a quick look online is showing them as available for around £50 - £60.
The noise level is fairly high. I've gotten used to it now but it is really quite noisy and will wake up people in my house if they are still asleep because of this it loses a dooyoo star but in all other respects it's an excellent machine.
** It's easy to use: Philips Senseo **
I have this coffee machine for a couple of years now and it's still working! Every morning before I go to work I make myself a nice fresh cup of coffee. It's certainly easy.
2001 came the Senseo on the market and caused a whole revolution. Suddenly everybody wanted one and so did my husband. He came home one day with the Senseo and I was quiet excited. Apparently it was very easy to make a cup of coffee without waiting for 15 mins and without having to make coffee for four people! And the best thing of course it wasn't expensive!
The Senseo is perfect for making a quick cup of coffee or even two. The machine is designed that it heats up the water quickly and gives you a cup of coffee within one or two minutes. It's very easy to use and to clean and you can even make yourself a cup of tea! When the brand for started with just normal coffee, these days you can get all kind of coffee. My favourite is the Cappuccino which doesn't taste a nice when you get it at a Costa but still it's quiet nice.
The price of the pads isn't the cheapest and you can get the Cappuccino pads for around 4 pounds and you get 10 pads. If you want to get the Hot Chocolate then it will cost you around 5 pounds. The classic pads go for around 2,50 pounds but you get 18 pads for that price. It's not the cheapest coffee and when we have a few people around I just make the normal filter coffee.
If you are interested you can buy a senseo for around 75 pounds and that's almost the same price we paid for it! They don't really get any cheaper and that's because you remain popular. Just keep in mind that you probs have to buy some additions like the Hot Choco Pod Holder to make your favourite coffee!
Ok, so put in your ear plugs and be ready to enjoy a very good cup of coffee! I`ve owned this espresso maker from Philips for quite some time now, and I gotta say that I`ve kind of fallen in love with it, all though it has its disadvantages, luckily not many of them. So, there`s the obvious, being that the look of this machine is wicked modern and stylish, and with that it really will funk up your kitchen counter! But of couse most importantly, it makes a really good cup of coffee, which is what I was hoping for when first trying it out.
I have to clarify that you can make so much more than just espresso and a regular cup of coffee with this machine, as delicious mouthfuls of cocoa, cappucino, Vienna and Mocha and so on can be made, just as easy as that! Here`s the amazing fact, it takes about 20-30 seconds to make yourself a cup of coffee using this machine, which must be some kind of record, in light of the coffee ending up tasting absolutely decent as well! The machine is really easy and standard to use, and cleaning it proved no problem! It goes without saying that this should not be washed in the dish washer, just clean it thoroughly by hand rather often. If you want, this machine can make two cups of coffee at a time, which doesn`t really add to the time of the making. Now, the disadvantage that is ever so clear about this product, is that it does make a lot of noise! I`ve kind of reached a state where I don`t notice it anymore, but in the beginning it really got on my nerve, as the noise level is very high! But you get a really good cup of coffee, so I choose to focus upon that... You can buy different type of flavours at stores such as Sainsbury`s and Whittard of Chelsea, and they vary in cost, depending upon the quality and brand of the flavors... You can for instance buy big packages of a flavor costing about 15.00, or pay them separately, mixing and matching tastes...
I paid 90.55 for my Philips Senseo, and I`ve found it to be a great investment! This machine makes really good coffee in no time, and I would recommend it as a very good addition to any household!
Fancy a cup of coffee?
A few years ago the Senseo coffee machine was introduced and became a total hype. Even a few years' later people are still going crazy on the same type of machine. Why? Well the Senseo is all about being able to get a quick good cup of coffee without having to make a whole pot. I love coffee but I don't always need a whole pot, especially in the morning before I go to work. I need a quick cup of coffee in the morning without the hassle of instant coffee.
I wasn't really one the first people who got a Senseo. A few friends of mine and my parents had the Senseo before me and they convinced me that this was a good coffee machine. First when I saw the adverts I didn't really believe in it and thought it would taste like cheap coffee. Since the Senseo exists for a few years now I finally got one in a sale which convinced me to finally get one and I'm glad I did.
From the first moment I had I was surprised about how easy the coffee machine was to set up. Nothing really difficult and it was set up in literally minutes and ready to use. Making a cup of coffee is very easy. You add the water in the back of the Senseo and at the front you can place the pad and in about 20 seconds you have your perfect cup of coffee. You can choose if you want to make 1 or 2 cups which just makes it easier when you are a couple.
The Senseo is not just only for making a simple cup of coffee. You got a lot of different tastes to choose from like Mocha, Vienna but also hot chocolate and cappuccino. It all sounds good but sometimes it's difficult to get the different tastes in your local supermarket. But then again I prefer a normal cup of coffee in the morning.
The other negative thing I found is the noise it makes when making the coffee. I love a cup of coffee in the morning but sometimes I literally run away from the machine while he's making the coffee. It's awfull noise especially when you are not really awake. Shame really.
I'm really glad I bought a Senseo because in the end it does make good coffee and without any hassle. The coffee machine is easy to set up and easy to use. It's also very easy to clean. What I like is the different tastes only unfortunately they are not always that easy to come by. And the noise of the machine is a negative but I can forgive the Senseo for it when I'm enjoying my fresh cup of coffee.
When me and my other half moved in together our families started trying to kit us out with various equipment to fill our kitchen. One of the items we ended up with was a Douwe Egberts Senseo coffee maker.
We have had our Senseo now for over a year, with our specific model being the HD7814 black. This is still available to buy on Amazon for £60.00 but there has been a newer version released since which costs £90.00 and it is also available to buy in silver if that fits in better with your kitchen.
Personally I don't think that the Seneso lives up to much in the stylish kitchen appliance Olympics. With the likes of the Dolce Gusto out there which I think looks great the Senseo just looks like a bit of a blot on my kitchen side and if I had room I would probably try ands keep it hidden away in a cupboard. The picture on DooYoo is very similar to how my particular Senseo looks with the only difference being that it is black and the tower is less rounded. The black is matt on the tower but is shiny around the base; this is a nice touch in way to add a bit of variety to its appearance.
I find the Senseo a bit difficult to clean as it seems to attract all the grease and hair (thanks to Merlin's seemingly never ending shedding coat lol) in the kitchen. It may have been me over cleaning the item but I have found that the symbols under the buttons have all but disappeared making the machine look a bit scruffy and testing my memory as to what the three buttons do (its not exactly hard but still...).
How to use it
When making a coffee the machine is very easy to use as it's just a case of lifting up the top, inserting a pod in to the pod holder, waiting for the water to heat up (this doesn't take very long, probably about 1 minute) and pressing a button. You can choose the size of coffee you want between either a cup or a mug. That is very easy though I find that when I go to fill up the water reservoir (not necessarily needed to be done every time you make a coffee) there's a small attachment that always falls off it. It's probably just me, as it seems like it should be easy to put back on, but I always find it difficult to reattach. In my opinion the water reservoir isn't very big because the machine gives out quite small servings (in cups) when it comes to filling up a mug the reservoir probably needs filling up every couple of mugs or so.
When making a coffee I find that the space between the tap and base isn't very big. I do have quite a lot of big mugs and none of them fit under the tap. However, if you use a 'normal' mug I tend to find that using the 'mug' button will cause your cup to be too full (thankfully the machine does have a drip tray) so you ideally need quite short and fat large mugs which luckily I have. When I first got the machine this was something that annoyed me as pictures of coffee released by Douwe Egberts/Phillips supposedly made by a Senseo included those that came in those large tall glasses. There's no chance that those would fit under the spout.
After making your coffee the pod holders, spout, drip tray and leak tray can all be washed and are all dishwasher safe. This is really handy for general cleaning. However, it's also great for another problem I personally have with this machine and that is forgetting to take out the pods. I tend to forget to take the pods out of the machine as there is no warning or anything to remind you and you can't see the pods inside so they are easily forgotten about. This is fine when you regularly use the machine. However, at times when I have not been using the machine and left the pod inside they have gone mouldy and really disgusting. It's great that the pods are biodegradable but I'd rather they didn't start that process in the machine!
The coffee pods
Like many of the other machines on the market the Senseo has its own unique way of making coffee and that is with their pods. These really aren't anything to get excited about and they basically look like a large round tea bag.
Pod flavours available include:
Hot chocolate
Mild, Medium and Dark roast
Columbia blend
They also do some more interesting varieties which I am yet to try including the city tour pods which include Rio de Janeiro - a coffee pod with vanilla and cream liqueur.
Trying to find the pods whilst doing your normal shop to be honest, is a bit of a pain. Tesco do sell a small variety of the proper Douwe Egberts coffee pods, though they don't have the more adventurous flavours (generally having decaffeinated, mild roast etc) and I think they do also sell a few of their own versions (though I haven't seen any in a while). The pods don't come cheap with 18 pods (i.e. 18 mugs of coffee maximum) costing around £2.50. To be more adventurous with your coffee you need to buy the pods online. Amazon do a fair selection but they are sold in packs of three or more (unless you pay for one and pay a ridiculous amount of postage) so you can expect to pay over £10.00 for some coffee. Although in fairness, compared to the single packs, this is quite good value, it feels like a lot to spend in one go on some coffee.
A big negative to these pods is that like with most things when they decide to no longer make the Senseo machine the coffee pods will soon fade in to oblivion and will make the machine utterly useless. Luckily that isn't something that looks likely to occur in the near future but when you're spending so much on a coffee machine you want to know that you'll be able to use it for a fairly long time.
How the coffee tastes
The coffee you get will obviously depend on the type of coffee pod you use. However, I will try to generalise.
Firstly the coffee will probably not be hot enough for most people. When the coffee comes out the machine it really isn't boiling hot and to make the best of your coffee you need to warm up your mug and milk first or your coffee goes cold very quickly.
The coffee doesn't always seem to come out properly. The idea of the pods is that the water covers all of it and makes the most of the flavour. However, I tend to find that the first half of the mug as it pours is a bit weak and watery.
I tend to find the coffee, even with the issues above, very strong which may not be to everyone's taste. However, I havent found a type of pod that I havent liked, with the coffee generally tasting quite nice (though not hot enough).
One issue I have with the coffee is that I don't think there's enough froth etc made from the machine so my coffee doesn't feel that special making me wonder why I bothered to use the machine.
Even though I have listed a lot of faults I do think that this is an ok coffee machine and if it could be found on offer then it's probably worth buying as coffee machines can be quite expensive. The coffee it makes is fairly nice and there is a fair variety of pods available (though I would still like more, especially in the supermarkets). However, I really dont like how the coffee machine looks. I think when I can afford it I'll be looking to get a new coffee machine which probably wont make any better (or warmer!) coffee but at least it will look nicer on the kitchen side.
Technical Specifications (taken from Amazon)
* Spout height: 117 mm
* Water tank capacity: 0.75/5 Litres/cups and Black coffee brew volume: 120 ml
* 1 cup, 2 cups or a mug of SENSEO coffee freshly brewed in under a minute
* Always the right balance between coffee and water
* Full smooth taste with delicious crema layer **
* Simple to use and easy to clean
(**After having the machine over a year I'm still not 100% sure what that actually is!)


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These deviled eggs have an indulgent filling boldly flavored with all the classic tongue-tingling tastes: mustard, hot sauce, and a spike of horseradish. The eggs are garnished old-school style with a sprinkle of paprika, giving you everything you expect from traditional deviled eggs. The only unexpected thing is that these are good for you, thanks to my secret ingredient, silken tofu, which is so creamy and rich it lets you use less egg yolk and mayonnaise. Don't tell your guests and they'll never know. Just ask my husband, a self-proclaimed deviled eggs connoisseur, who can't stop eating them.–Ellie Krieger
LC Waste Not, Want Not Note
In a well-intentioned attempt to curtail arguably unnecessary calories, this recipe instructs you to discard six of the hard-cooked egg yolks. But we hate waste. Besides, the yolks are loaded with essential vitamins, including those coveted stress-soothing Bs. So…what to do with those hard-cooked yolks? (Not the entire hard-cooked egg, mind you. Just those dense, crumbly, vibrant orbs of orange.) You can't exactly save them for baking, seeing as they're already cooked. We can see chopping them and sprinkling them over salads or steamed asparagus or sauteed green beans, and we've even heard of stirring them into chocolate-chip cookie dough. But mostly we sneak them into our dog's kibble to ensure a glossy coat. Any suggestions?
Low-Fat Deviled Eggs Recipe
- Quick Glance
- Makes 24 deviled eggs
- 1 dozen large eggs
- 2/3 cup silken tofu, drained
- 1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon store-bought or homemade hot pepper sauce, plus more to taste
- 2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives, plus more for garnish
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1. Place the eggs in a large saucepan and cover with water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 9 minutes. Remove the eggs from the water and run under cold water for about 1 minute, until cool enough to touch. Peel the eggs under cold running water. Pat them dry.
- 2. Slice the eggs in half lengthwise. Scoop out the yolks and discard 6 of them. Set aside the whites. Place the remaining yolks in a medium bowl and mash with the tofu, mayonnaise, mustard, hot sauce, horseradish, and chives. Season with salt and pepper. (You can prepare the filling and store it separately from the egg whites in the refrigerator in airtight containers for up to 2 days.)
- 3. Spoon the yolk mixture into the corner of a plastic bag and snip off the end. Pipe the yolk mixture into the egg whites. Arrange the deviled eggs on a platter and sprinkle with paprika and chives. You can hold the stuffed eggs in the refrigerator for up to a few hours before serving.
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Lady Gaga Currently Confined to a Wheelchair She's Lovingly Named Emma [PHOTO]
Songstress and larger-than-life stage performer Lady Gaga is still suffering from the injury that caused her to completely scrap what's left of her Born This Way Ball tour.
Specifically, a "labral tear" in her hip which has left her unable to walk and signaled a need for emergency surgery. But as usual, she's found the silver lining — and a new mechanical friend.
Mother Monster shared a photo today of her wheelchair, which she decided to name Emma. Why Emma? We don't have a clue, and neither do her Little Monsters, who've been asking about the name's significance on Twitter as they send their undying love to their leader.
Overall, we were a little disappointed to see it was just a regular old wheelchair and hadn't yet been covered in meat, spikes and rhinestones. Get on that, Gaga.


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Children's Hospital Oakland cast doubt Thursday evening whether a 13-year-old girl declared brain dead earlier this month could be transferred to another facility, despite the family announcing earlier that they had found another facility in the Bay Area willing to keep her on life support.
Jahi McMath's uncle, Omari Sealey, said the family is "still hoping for a miracle" and "may have gotten one" by finding another facility to take Jahi and "give her another fighting chance to wake up."
But Children's Hospital shot back a statement an hour later, saying that the family's attorney has said that multiple surgical procedures will be necessary to move Jahi and that he has not specified the facility they hope to transfer her to.
"Children's Hospital Oakland does not believe that performing surgical procedures on the body of a deceased person is an appropriate medical practice," said Dr. David Durand, chief of pediatrics.
Doctors at Children's declared Jahi to be brain dead on Dec. 12, three days after she went to the hospital for what her family said was supposed to be a routine tonsillectomy to cure a sleep apnea problem that made it difficult for her to sleep.
A judge earlier this week ruled Children's Hospital Oakland could remove McMath from the ventilator keeping her body functioning. The family has until 5 p.m. Monday to file an appeal.
Chris Dolan, an attorney for Jahi's mother, Nailah Winkfield, on Thursday said they were able to find another care facility willing to keep the girl on life support.
"A Bay Area sub-acute care facility has indicated that they can accept Jahi and provide her with all the nutrition, ventilation support and other care that she needs to stabilize her and to assist her in reaching maximum medical improvement," Dolan said in a statement. "I have been in contact with the plan administrator for Jahi's insurance who indicated that it appears that this transfer could work."
Dolan, however, added Jahi would need additional medical equipment and surgery before she would be accepted into the other facility. He reached out to Children's Hospital to help in the possible move.
"I am hoping that they will cooperate," Dolan said. "It is clear that they want Jahi out of the hospital...the family agrees, they want her out of there too, but they would prefer that she leave while her heart is still beating and she has vent support."
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo ruled just before Christmas Eve that the hospital could remove Jahi from the ventilator.
Durand, the hospital's chief of pediatrics, on Thursday released the following statement in response to the family's request:
Judge Grillo was very clear on Tuesday December 24. He ruled Jahi McMath to be deceased and instructed the hospital to maintain the status quo. Judge Grillo did not authorize or order any surgical procedures or transfer to another facility.
MORE: Christmas at Children's Hospital for Jahi McMath
Dolan said he plans to ask an outside doctor to perform the surgery.
"If Children's tries to block that physician then we'll be back in court seeking a writ of mandate to make them do that," he said.
Jahi's family, who are devout Christians, said they believe Jahi is still alive, because her heart is still beating. The teen suffered cardiac arrest after bleeding profusely following her Dec. 9 operation to fix her sleep apnea. She was declared brain dead for the first time on Dec. 12.
Grillo based his decision on the conclusions of court-appointed Dr. Paul Fisher of Stanford University and the hospital's Dr. Robin Shanahan. A third doctor at Children's also made the same finding. All the EEGs performed showed there is no sign of brain activity.
Grillo said he had no other choice but to allow the hospital to remove the ventilator.
"I wish I could fix it, but I can't,'' he told the court last week.
The hospital had argued that the teen had no chance of recovery since all brain function had ceased.
"Our sincere hope is that the family finds peace and can come to grips with the judge's decision," hospital attorney Doug Strauss said outside court after Grillo's ruling.
The case is now out of Grillo's court and the decision will be up to the California Court of Appeal if the family decides to pursue its legal case to keep Jahi on the ventilator.
NBC Bay Area's Jean Elle and Bay City News contributed to this report.


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The Compendium of Best Practices gives concrete examples of how state and local governments in the United States are successfully promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy. It is designed to share successful program and policy models that can be easily replicated around the country, as well as adapted for implementation in emerging markets.
The report describes more than 20 specific practices and examples of their effective implementation in states and cities across the United States. The practices are grouped into five broad areas:
- State and local policies, rules, and regulations
- Financing sources and mechanisms
- Practices addressing utility regulation and transmission issues
- State and local actions to "lead by example" in public operations and facilities
- Three examples of high-performing cities: San Francisco, Austin and Seattle
Exemplary local governments from across the United States share the key elements of their programs, their lessons learned, and the factors in their programs successes.
The compendium's overviews, insights, lessons learned and best practices were selected by a panel of U.S., Indian and Chinese energy experts. All initiatives are highlighted for their success in creating favorable market conditions for energy efficiency and renewable energy. The examples also were selected based on the relative ease with which they can be replicated and implemented, the ability to measure energy savings, the ability to offset the need for conventional energy, and because they are cost effective, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs.
The full report can be downloaded for free by clicking the link below.
This report is made possible in part by the generous support of the U.S. government through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate. The contents are the responsibility of REEEP, the Alliance to Save Energy and ACORE and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of the APP partner countries.


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Given the seismic nature of political events in Tunisia and Egypt, not to mention the shockingly violent response to protest demonstrations seen in Bahrain, Syria and Libya, one might be forgiven for questioning the safety of other tourist destinations in the Arab or Islamic world, such as Morocco.
Although it would be foolhardy to predict the final outcome of the movement for change currently sweeping the region, it should be said that Morocco, though by no means wholly immune to the tide of recent events, is in a different position to countries of the Middle East and elsewhere in North Africa from which it is so far removed both geographically and politically.
Though not an oil state, Morocco prospers through tourism and exports. It is also a broadly fairer society, sociologically and economically, than the states which have occupied the headlines in recent months, not least through being run on more democratic lines than is the case in most Islamic countries.
One positive fact to underline this is that Morocco is a sovereign democracy with a parliamentary system. The young king (Mohammed VI) has been doing his best to keep the economy moving and is gaining respect for his attempts at flushing out corruption. Also, despite the relative poverty of so many, especially in rural areas, the average household income is significantly higher than that of, say, Egypt, where so many millions have to survive on £1 a day, and there is as a consequence much less resentment among the population towards its government than is clearly the case in, say, Egypt or Yemen or, of course, Libya.


text: I watched the initial broadcast run of Alias and dropped off in the 3rd season and also caught a few episodes in season 4. Now I own the first 3 seasons on DVD. I heard the 4th season was awful and the 5th season is good if not great. This week I noticed Netflix added Alias to the Instant streaming list and it is in HD. If anyone has been wanting to watch this and just doesn't want to watch it on DVDs on a large screen here it is. Yesterday I watched most of the season 5 1st episode "Prophet Five" . It looked very digitally sharpened for some of the action stuff. I think it was more of an in-camera 90 degree shutter angle stuff like on Saving Private Ryan. I thoroughly enjoyed the music by Michael Giacchino. Is anyone doing a rewatch on Netflix? How many of you dropped off after season 2 or 3 and missed the rest? related threads: Watching Alias... Alias...is the show any good? Finally catching up with "Alias" Alias: What the hell happened between seasons 3 and 4?


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Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 4:42 PM
Town Square
City identifies spot for proposed bike tunnel
Original post made on Sep 25, 2008
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 4:42 PM
Comments (9)
a resident of Menlo Park: Downtown
on Sep 25, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Is this the same Steve Schmidt who didn't want the city to waste any more money studying tunnel options? Web Link
Too bad Steve can't let that Cambridge location go. His spin is that the tunnel died because of scared neighbors, when in actuality the problem was that we all realized it was a colossal waste of money, that the hotel did not want bikers emerging in its parking lot (speaking of eminent domain) and that it was a true tunnel-to-nowhere -- except for bikers needing a shortcut to the O.
a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Sep 29, 2008 at 1:34 pm
Mush as I love bicycles and cycling, I'm not the least bit interested in the "Schmidt Tunnel" connecting Willow and Cambridge, especially given the proximity of the Alma Street pedestrian/cycling bridge. Please keep this misguided effort focused on Burgess/Middle if we must waste further resources on it.
a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Sep 30, 2008 at 10:07 am
Harry: Get on a bike and see if you like using the alma street bridge to cross the train tracks. See if you are comfortable getting into the left lane so you can go west on Sand Hill while the traffic is making fast right hand turns on to el camino real. Do this before discounting a tunnel at willow and alma. These 2 ideas have nothing to do with one another. The existing Alma bridge takes people to palo Alto nicely but, should not be considered a safe crossing of the train tracks.
Your "love" for bicycles and cycling is questionable. In addition, Harry, maybe this isn't about you. Stretch a little. Think of students wanting to get to Hillview Middle school from the Willows or think of students wanting to get to Menlo Atherton High School from west Menlo.
Think big. Grow. Become a citizen of the 21st century. Let go of your fear and your righteousness while you're at it.
a resident of Menlo Park: Allied Arts/Stanford Park
on Sep 30, 2008 at 11:40 am
It makes no sense to me to pay for a new tunnel at Cambridge because the crossing at Sand Hill is poorly designed. That's like killing a fly with a cannon when a flyswat is enough.
Wouldn't it be tons less expensive to work out something with Palo Alto and Stanford to fix the Sand Hill/El Camino intersection? And yes, it does need to be done. I can't believe PA/Stanford were designated as Bicycle friendly cities for the poor crossing and lack of bike lane from Sand Hill to the San Mateo bike bridge.
If money were not a constraint, sure let's have tunnels everywhere, but we do have to set priorities. Most of us want to connect parts of Menlo Park with other parts of Menlo Park. Cambridge is not a great location to start with for that goal.
a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows
on Sep 30, 2008 at 3:03 pm
There is no way I would let my child ride a bike over to Hillview via a Willow Road tunnel. I don't like the idea of a tunnel that cuts through a hotel parking lot, not real safe, and assuming he made it through the parking lot without incident, what then? El Camino is out, for obvious reasons. Cambridge has a ton of parked cars, plus speed bumps. And it's a narrow street. Middle makes much more sense to me as an east-west bike route, but I personally feel safest crossing El Camino at Ravenswood/Menlo. There are so many pedestrians and cyclists there that cars watch out for them. Because of the restricted left turns, El Camino at Santa Cruz is also a pretty safe crossing spot, arguably even better than Menlo/Ravenswood.
If we truly care about kids biking to school (don't think that is on Steve's radar at all) then why not add bike lanes either to Menlo or to Santa Cruz?
a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Oct 1, 2008 at 12:24 pm
I totally agree that the decision about a bike tunnel has to be made in the context of the rest of the bike path. That includes how to cross El Camino and how safe the streets will be. We do not have bike paths near El Camino on any of the streets mentioned so far.
The safest place to cross El Camino on bike, at an existing light, actually is Roble, but then we have to zig zag over to get downtown.
a resident of Menlo Park: South of Seminary/Vintage Oaks
on Oct 2, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Mom, Please! Bike lanes on Santa Cruz Ave where there's diagonal parking? Shoppers entering and backing out of parking slots?
The hotel will set aside a strip of land for a path. The lease holder of the former Anderson Chevrolet site could also give up a strip of land. The path will have a fence on either side. There will be no dodging cars in a parking lot.
Speed bumps on Cambridge will make no difference to bicyclists. Cambridge restricts parking from El Camino Real to within 50 feet of University from 7 AM to 7 PM. This makes this residential street the safest and quietest for kids on bikes.
Middle Ave is wide but has a gas station entry and exit as well as Safeway. The speed limit on this street is 30 MPH.
The Ravenswood/Menlo Ave intersection takes bicyclists up Menlo Ave., a narrow and busy street with a very busy store, Trader Joe's. The line for cars to enter Trader Joe's parking lot would be a challenge for middle school children.
Where ever the site finally is decided, the council has to take under consideration the safety of kids. A residential street would probably work best. Good for you for considering bicycling for your children.
a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Oct 10, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Speaking as an avid cyclist, I must say that this proposal to build another outlet to El Camino ANYWHERE between Ravenswood and the bike bridge at Alma (less than 3/4 mile as measured by bike) seems like a huge waste of money. If you truly feel that Alma to Sandhill is THAT unsafe, make it safer - as suggested by another poster, work with Stanford/PA.I don't know what Mike Schmidt's obsession with this is, but dude! let it go!!! We can use that money for far better issues that face Menlo Park; especially in light of what's going with the economy. We are not insulated from this financial cancer that is spreading across the globe. Talk about thinking small and being self-serving!
As a parent... please, how many kids ride or walk to Hillview from the east side of El Camino?! half a percent?, maybe... on a good day! And no, another outlet will not change the numbers. Parents around here just won't let their kids ride or walk to school. Anyway, there's a bus that goes to Hillview from the Willows, Menlo Oaks, Linfield Oaks, etc. In fact, it's so popular now that they had to add another bus. This is a much safer and less costly alternative to a bike/ped tunnel.
One final thought, I was told by the company that was contracted to pave the streets of Menlo Park that the city didn't have enough money (or chose not to spend a little more) to finish paving Alma from Sherwood Way to the bike bridge - less than 1/4 mile. If you've ever driven, much less ridden a bike on that stretch you know how bad it is. Yet, we're ready to spend how much? on a tunnel that will get very limited use, and mainly by folks who have a special interest "need" for it. Come on city counsel, be responsible to your constituents and your home.
a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Oct 13, 2008 at 11:28 am
It's Steve. Steve Schmidt, not Mike Schmidt.
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#05/SDCC 2014: Since You've Been Gone ...
A lot can happen in a year, and since we last saw you at Comic-Con International 2013, a few substantial additions have happened downtown, all within walking distance of the San Diego Convention Center, and all worth checking out during your SDCC visit!
The New San Diego Central Library
Downtown San Diego has a new library and it's AMAZING! Located in the East Village, east of Petco Park (the San Diego Padres' ballpark), the new San Diego Central Library building is the domed structure you can see from all over the downtown area. Located at Park Boulevard and 11th Avenue, the library rises 9 stories into the sky and looks like something from the future has been plopped down into the city. Two floors of the library are given over to a high school, but the rest is one of the most technologically advanced libraries you'll ever find. While there are no official Comic-Con events going on this year at the library (it is, however, one of the homes for the Comic-Con International Graphic Novel Book Club, which meets once a month there), this new building is worth a look, just for the stunning architecture, amazing views from the upper floors, and the ability to see what the library of the future looks like today. If you're taking a break during Comic-Con, or visiting the city before or after the show, we recommend you take a walk over to see this wonderful new addition to downtown San Diego (the library closes at 5:30 PM most weeknights). For more info, visit http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/about-the-library/index.shtml
The Headquarters at Seaport District
San Diego has a new dining and shopping area and it's located right next to the Manchester Grand Hyatt!
Many San Diego residents and visitors will remember this area, at the north end of Seaport Village and also opposite the Embassy Suites San Diego Bay Hotel, as the old police headquarters. Built in 1939 and closed in 1985, this iconic downtown landmark sat vacant for more than 25 years. Now it's been restored and made into The Headquarters at Seaport District, a dining and shopping destination that is in easy walking distance of the Convention Center and the surrounding hotels. There are 5 restaurants at The Headquarters: The Cheesecake Factory, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, Pizzeria Mozza, Puesta Mexican Street Food, and Seasons 52. The complex also has a large Starbucks (on the Seaport Village side), and a number of shops. It also features a small museum that focuses on the building's police history, including jail cells! And on Sunday, it features a Farmers' Market filled with locally-sourced goodies from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. If you're looking for a new place to eat during Comic-Con, The Headquarters is a great addition to the downtown scene. For more info visit http://theheadquarters.com/
The County Administration Center Waterfront Park
Remember those two large parking lots on either side of the San Diego County Building between Pacific Highway and Harbor Drive? Well, you can't park there anymore! The CAC Waterfront Park is now open on both the north and south sides of the landmark County Administration building. Located on Pacific Highway, between Ash and Grape Streets, it's a little bit of a walk from the Convention Center, but worth it if you're looking for a place for the kiddies to play. The new parks feature a playground, wide-open green spaces, and interactive water areas that are no more than 1" deep and features jets of water, perfect for the little ones to splash around in. The easiest way to get there is to walk up Pacific Highway to Ash Street, or go out the back of the Convention Center and up through Seaport Village (although please note that there is a lot of construction on Harbor Drive, north of the USS Midway Museum. It's a great place to take the kids for a break from Exhibit Hall shopping or panel-going. The park is open each day from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM. For more info, visit http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/parks/Waterfrontpark.html
The Kiss Statue (Unconditional Surrender) Is Back to Stay
This monumental statue was on temporary loan to San Diego in the past few years, but due to the generosity of local residents, a permanent version is now installed opposite the USS Midway Museum on Harbor Drive. The original statue, "Unconditional Surrender," harkens back to an iconic VJ-Day photograph from Life magazine by Alfred Eisenstadt (but is supposedly really based on another photo by Victor Jorgensen of the same kissing couple), captured in Times Square on August 14, 1945. The original statue was sculpted by J. Seward Johnson. This more durable copy is also known as "The Kiss Statue." Not everyone is in love with this new addition to the waterfront, but you have to see it to believe it, and it does make an amazing photo opportunity. The statue is located in what is known as Tuna Harbor, right beside The Fish Market restaurant and on the north end of Seaport Village. There is also a number of other military statues and tributes in that area, including one to Bob Hope and his visits to bases over his career.
Downtown San Diego is constantly changing. Be sure to visit the Gaslamp, Seaport Village, and the East Village and explore these vibrant areas filled with dining and shopping opportunities. Look for our 2014 Restaurant Guide, coming soon here on the website and as part of our SDCC Quick Guide publication.
Remember your first, best, and most accurate source for information—including our daily Toucan Tip—is right here on the Comic-Con website and Toucan, the only OFFICIAL SDCC blog. Bookmark Toucan and the Comic-Con Front Page for the latest updates for the big show!


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Brasserie Blue-Banded Porcelain Dinnerware Place Settings
Easy, hassle-free returns online and in-store for eligible items.Learn More
- Summary
With its classic blue band, dinnerware like this is a common, comforting staple in Parisian bistros and brasseries. Made of fully glazed porcelain, the pieces are larger and heavier than standard tableware and are sturdy yet stylish.
- Made of high-fired porecelain.
- Microwavable and dishwasher safe.
- 5-piece place setting includes a dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl and cup with saucer.
- 20-piece set contains four 5-piece place settings.
- 16-piece set contains four 4-piece place settings: dinner plate, salad plate, soup bowl mug.
- Made in Japan.
- Dimensions & More Info
- Dinner Plate: 11 1/4" diam.
- Salad Plate: 9" diam.
- Soup Bowl: 9" diam.
- Cup: 11-oz. cap.
- Saucer: 6 1/2" diam.
- Mug: 4" high, 13-oz. cap.
- Made in Japan.
- Use & Care
- Microwavable.
- Dishwasher safe.
- Shipping
Shipping Information
UPS can deliver most in-stock items within 3-5 business days. UPS is unable to deliver to P.O. boxes.
Shipping Rates
The shipping rate varies depending on your order total and shipping destination. View Shipping Options and Charges.
Next Day Delivery
For an additional charge of $17.50 per address, we can expedite delivery to most destinations. This service is not available for some oversize items, items shipped directly from the supplier (including perishable and custom-manufactured items), out-of-stock items and items to be shipped outside the contiguous 48 states.
Orders received by 9:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Thursday will arrive the next business day; orders placed Friday through Sunday will arrive on the following Tuesday.
Return Policy
At Williams Sonoma, we take great pride in the quality and craftsmanship of our products. Attention to design, materials, safety and construction are our priority. Upon receipt, please inspect your purchase and notify us of any damage; we will arrange for a prompt replacement.
If within 30 days, you are dissatisfied for any reason, you may return your purchase for a refund of the merchandise value. An original receipt or gift receipt is required for all returns and exchanges. Returns with a gift receipt will be refunded in the form of a Merchandise Credit for the amount indicated on the gift receipt. Returns with original receipt will be refunded in the original form of payment, cash and check refunds over $100 will be issued as a company check (may take 14 business days from time of request).
For all cutlery returns (knife sets, single knives, cutting boards, knife sharpeners, and knife storage) please contact us at 888.922.4108 to initiate the return.
We cannot accept returns on monogrammed, personalized, special-order items, custom upholstery, food, items shipped direct from the vendor, or on items damaged through normal wear and tear. Final sale items ending in .97 or .99 cannot be returned.
Made to Order and Final Sale Furniture items are non-returnable, and cannot be cancelled once the order is placed.
For returns of items purchased from your Williams Sonoma Gift Registry, we will gladly provide a refund or exchange for the merchandise within 90 days of your event or within 90 days of purchase, whichever date is later. View Full Returns Policy.
You May Also Need
Brasserie Blue-Banded Porcelain Dinner Plates
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Brasserie Blue-Banded Porcelain Soup Bowls
Brasserie Blue-Banded Porcelain Cups & Saucers, Set of 4
Cups & Saucers, Set of 4
- Exclusive
Brasserie Blue-Banded Porcelain Cereal Bowls
Cereal Bowls, Set of 4
- Exclusive
Brasserie Blue-Banded Porcelain Mugs
Mugs, Set of 4
- Exclusive
Rated 5 out of 5 by Life is Good from I agree....Forever Dishes I agree with a previous reviewer, they are "forever dishes". This product is extremely durable. I have had my original (16 place setting) set for 17yrs and am only missing 1 salad plate. My set has survived 3-girls washing dishes everynight of their teen years. I have just added 4-salad and 4-dinner plates, as my thanksgiving guest list has grown. I will have to gift them away if I want to change the color scheme of my kitchen....Date published: 2017-11-14Rated 5 out of 5 by alws from Great set for all occasions I got several settings as a wedding gift, and bought some additional myself. They are versatile, high-quality, beautiful pieces that can be dressed up for special occasions with a pretty charger, or used as-is for every day. They are very sturdy, but not overly heavy. They feel durable, like they will last for a long time, and they are dishwasher and microwave safe. I love these dishes!Date published: 2017-10-04Rated 5 out of 5 by PDM1 from Perfect! I bought a 5-piece place setting 4 months ago and love it. I have since purchased more pieces from this collection and have been perfectly satisfied. Elegant and extremely sturdy. Cup and saucer make morning coffee great again!Date published: 2017-05-19Rated 5 out of 5 by Partridgeberry from Durable and beautiful We received our first four place settings for Christmas 1998, and added more pieces in 1999. Since then (nearly 20 years, three household moves, and two children later), we have served literally thousands of meals on these beloved dishes. I would recommend these in a heartbeat. In nearly two decades of constant, everyday use, we have had to replace only one soup dish and one cereal bowl. They have been through the microwave and dishwasher countless times, and are still beautiful. Amazingly durable, these are money well spent! I only wish they were still available in store.Date published: 2017-01-11Rated 5 out of 5 by ReginaR from I absolutely love these plates!!! I picked this set out for my everyday dishes for my wedding close to a year ago. I absolutely love them!! I am very clumsy and far from gentle with dishes and these dishes and cups are standing up to the beating they receive every time I touch them. In addition to being tough, they are lovely to look at! They have a clean, classic look, and will stand the test of time.Date published: 2016-06-05Rated 5 out of 5 by fbsw from I bought this for a wedding gift. This dinnerware setting was on the gift registry list for my nephew's wedding. As I've come to realize with all Williams Sonoma products the design is classic and the quality superb. What I especially liked about this was its reasonable price, making it easy to gift my nephew and his new wife.Date published: 2016-04-29Rated 5 out of 5 by MadeleineG from The best buy in dinnerware around! I've had this for many years. It still looks great at every meal, every day and is virtually indestructible. You would be hard pressed to find a better value anywhere, especially one that gives you such pleasure for so long.Date published: 2015-09-08Rated 3 out of 5 by ahockenberry from No chips but breaks easily I really love the classic look of these dishes. The dishes set a beautiful table. Since the place settings are a substantial investment, I read over all the reviews carefully before purchasing. Sadly after a year, I have broken a complete place setting. Two pieces broke on carpeted flooring. This was not what I expected.Date published: 2015-08-06


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Oil Sheens in Gulf of Mexico Traced Back to Deepwater Horizon Site
When the US Coast Guard was informed of oil sheens in the Gulf of Mexico in July 2012, there was concern over where this oil was coming from.
In order to determine the source of the sheen, a research team assembled to use recently patented technology in order to fingerprint the chemical makeup of the sheens, compare them to potential sources, and estimate the location of the source based on the extend the gasoline-like compounds evaporated from the sheens.
"The results demonstrate a recently developed geochemical analytical method and may have real-world implications in environmental management strategies for future contamination incidents," says Deborah Aruguete, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which co-funded the research.
Because every oil sample contains chemical clues pointing to the reservoir it came from, scientists can compare it to other samples to determine if they share a common source.
After analyzing 14 sheen samples skimmed from the Gulf of Mexico, the researchers confirmed that the sheens contained oil from the Macondo well. However, the samples also contained trace amounts of olefins, industrial chemicals used in drilling operations.
The team surmised that the sheens must be coming from equipment exposed to olefins during drilling operations.
"The occurrence of these man-made olefins in all our sheen samples points to a single main source, which contains both Macondo oil and lesser amounts of the drilling fluids that harbor the olefins," said geochemist David Valentine of UCSB. "This appears to be a slow leak from the wreckage of the rig, not another catastrophic discharge from a deep oil reservoir."
"Continued oil discharge to the Gulf of Mexico from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig is not a good thing, but there is some comfort that the amount of leakage is limited to the pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the rig."
"The ability to fingerprint synthetic hydrocarbons allowed us to crack this case," Valentine said. "We were able to exclude a number of suspects and match the olefin fingerprint in the new oil slicks to that of the wreckage from the sunken rig."
Scientists note that when the Deepwater Horizon rig sank in 2010, it was holding tanks containing hundreds of barrels of a mixture of drilling mud and oil. Over time, corrosive seawater can create small holes through which oil can slowly escape to the surface. The researchers suspect that the containers on the rig holding trapped oil may be the source of the recent oil sheen.
The results are published this week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
For more information, see the National Science Foundation.
Oil sheen image via Shutterstock.


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Friday, January 25, 02:00 PM - 03:20 PM - Main 242
Facilitator: Timothy Russell, AVP Online Communications
WordPress Training is Mandatory for all employees who are responsible for updating their department's web page. You will learn how to keep your web presence fresh by:
- creating and updating page content
- creating events on the centralized Trinity calendar
- posting deadlines
- posting events that require RSVPs
Even if you've already been to training but need a refresher, this session is for you.
Credits: 2
Please RSVP for this Event
Session Filed Under: For Web Site Managers


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Topic: Do you remember..
...after Diggers won the DJ mag awards they held a competition where he would come and play a 2 hour set in your house? They supplied the sound system and loads of red bull, looked at right good rave up.
This got me thinking that John could reward the true fans of his music here on this board with a similar competition. I am sure we could get all the lights, sound system and catering facilities sorted between us. It could be a caption competition or similar.
If the winner doesn't have a big enough front room we could all chip in and rent out the nearest working men's club/village hall. The only downside would be it would be members only + 1.