How can the Dish Dude not know about this?  So I did some research.

Here’s the model in question, and here’s a store devoted to them.  Looks like people gush about them, too.

The thing is Energy Star rated, and it’s 19 x 18 x 22.   About the size of a microwave, and it holds about 8 place settings.  It gets up to 158 degrees and it uses only about 3 gallons of water a cycle.  Just attach it to the faucet with a hose.  They’re much cheaper than a full size.  Why not get two?  Plus you can carry them around.  I’m tempted to buy 6 or 7 and rent myself out for parties.

Kind of reminds me of the Fisher & Paykel dish drawer we had back in Natick… it let you run a half load, which made a lot of sense.  We only used it for about 6 months, and while I found it weak, it never failed — though it’s clear many other people have had problems with the F&P model.  This seems like a much better option.

I hand wash pans and fancy knives anyway.  I don’t think it’d work with the amount of dishes The Chef generates, but maybe for a cabin or vacation home or something.

Very interesting.  I’d love to hear more from anyone who has experience with one of these units.

Happy New Year to all you Dish Men out there.  Maybe your scrubbie bristles stay stiff in this new decade.

If you want to be a smart consumer, though, you shouldn’t be satisfied with buying any Energy Star machine; you need to compare. Some models are far more efficient, using half as much water, according to the American Council for an Energy-efficient Economy (ACEEE), a Washington, D.C.-based organization.

ACEEE suggests you look at Energy Factor (EF) on a yellow EnergyGuide tag on products when shopping. The figure tells you how many cycles the machine can run on 1kWh of electricity. The larger that number is, the better. ACEEE says EF should be at least 0.65 with an estimated energy use being no less than 340 kWh/year.

Dishwashers use a lot of energy heating up water, so it’s also important to set the temperature lower if the machine gives you the option.

Of course, you need to run the machine full — but not overloaded — to maximize the efficiency because a dishwasher uses the same amount of water whether you have three items in it or 40. That may be a problem for a small family. If it takes you a long time to fill your machine, ACEEE suggests you use the rinse-and-hold feature…”

tunes: pretty apollo – CYNE

“By the nose of Crom, woman, you’ve got to be more careful!” berated the bartender.

“I have no idea what happened, my lord,” she stammered. “Maybe it was the fumes from the fire…”

“It smells like hell in there! I can’t have my scullery maids passing out right in the middle of the evening prep! We make half of our weekly profits on this afternoon coach!”

“I know, sir, I know… it won’t happen again, I’m sorry…” She fiddled with the hem of her ragged dress, looking down sheepishly. “If I could just have a drink of water I’m sure I’ll be able to get back to work.”

The bartender pushed past her and resumed his place behind the bar. “Well, do it quick, you old hag… we’ve got lots to do and little time to do it.” He picked up his dish rag. “NOT that cup, that’s for customers… use the ladle in the wastewater.”

Grismelda ducked below the bar and Bearskin heard her slurp two or three times before dissolving into a hacking cough, one that sounded wet and phlegmy. Her lungs sounded full of slurry.

“Make sure to thin out the mutton in the stew with the dried horsemeat I found in the barn. And dump some of that stale ale from the old cask in there, too, the patrons can’t tell the difference once you cook it enough.”

Grismelda’s head slowly rose from behind the bar, and her red eyes were wide with terror. Her warty nose sniffed the air purposefully.

“The stew!” She whispered ominously. “How long was I unconscious?”

“I don’t know…” roared the bartender. “I just found you lying there!”

“Oh, no!” she said, and waddled rapidly back to the kitchen. “Oh, no!” she cried from the back room, louder this time.

The bartender put both hands on the bar and closed his eyes. “She ruined the stew, I know it.”

“All the liquid boiled away!” Grismelda called from the kitchen.

“Is it salvageable?” yelled the bartender in reply.

Grismelda slowly walked out from the kitchen, carrying a huge black cast iron pot with tendrils of smoke coming out of the top. As soon as she entered the room the smell of burning became much stronger.

“I don’t think so, sir…” she said, cowering.

“DAMN IT, WOMAN!” thundered the bartender, shaking his dish rag. Grismelda shrunk away, afraid of getting a beating.

“I knew it!” said Grimmar Bearskin, rising out of his chair.

Both the bartender and Grismelda looked at him, surprised at the interruption.

“I KNEW IT!” he said again. He raised a gnarly finger and pointed at the pot. “I told you it would come.”

tunes: dunklewerk – ungethuem

“An ominous spirit has entered this village,” said Grimmar Bearskin to no one in particular, holding his hot mug of toddy with both hands to ward off the chill. He sat on a roughly hewn chair in the corner of the Tavern of the One Tooth Pig. “I can feel it deep in my crooked hip. Something is coming.”

“Aw, give it up, you old bit of gristle,” said the bartender, wiping out a pottery mug with a gray dish rag, lackadaisically preparing for the evening rush. “You and your hip. Last time your hip acted up were convinced that the barn was infested with termites. What did that amount to? Nothing.”

“I told you a hundred times, my hip was confused by the black fly infestation in the wheat. But this is different. This time I’m right, I know it. Something is coming.” Bearskin’s dirty gray moustache curled down at the corners to underscore the point, and his eyes focused on a far away vision. “I can see it plain as your face. It’s prickly and black, and it seethes with spite and malice. It clutches on with countless claws, hissing at anyone brave enough to approach. It holds its breath under the cloudy water, never relenting or giving an inch, waiting for someone foolish enough to reach in.”

The bartender chuckled. “Ooh, sounds ominous. But I’ve no time for your silly tales. The afternoon coach is due in at eventide, and I’ve got to get ready.” He put the mug on the shelf behind the bar and flipped the rag over his shoulder. “Grismelda! You finished with that stew?” He sniffed the air and furrowed his brow. “Did you hear me, charwoman? Is something burning?” He crossed from behind the bar with agitation and stomped back into the kitchens.

“I know I’m right,” mumbled Bearskin into his toddy.

tunes: haunted hall – rainbow arabia

“We all would like our husbands to mop,” Ms. Amos said in a telephone interview from her home in San Francisco. “This says that real men mop, and it breaks it down to: It can be fun, it can be sexy, and women like it clean.”

Tom McNulty, author of “Clean Like a Man: Housekeeping for Men,” which instructs men in the basics of housework — about changing sheets, for example, “Don’t wait until you can actually see that your bedding needs washing” — is impressed with the new ads. “It’s great,” said Mr. McNulty, who is incorporating recent studies that suggest men’s contribution to housework improves couples’ sex lives into “Clean Like a Man 2: The Relationship Edition,” a sequel. “This agency really is ahead of the curve, because I think women do have a fantasy about men cleaning.”

I know, no surprise there.  But I know what you really want: sample pictures from Porn for Women

tunes: art isn’t real – deer tick

tunes: reflection of the television, the twilight sad

tunes: masquerade for heartache, starline rhythm boys