Hi Jeff, it's 3 l's, btw :) The grill plate is really for the lines. I don't know if the element in my oven cycles on and off or not. I am a stickler for how the baking element works, but I never questioned the broiler. I set it. It broils. End of story. It does give very good results, even without the grill plate. The grill plate is for the lines, and to make it unimportant if I turn the meat five minutes late. As I said before, the fans vent the oven so you don't need to leave the door open, but I don't have more technical info for you. Perhaps you can e-mail the manufacturer of the oven you like, or find a showroom where they know what they're doing. Some people call broiling "upside down grilling". I think that's pretty apt. While the oven does heat up all around, there's intense heat coming from the broiler. The big difference is infrared. Some electric ovens specify that they have IR broilers. Those probably give you an outcome that's more like grilling outside. I know when I broil in my electric oven, which some people say is IR but not the promotional material from the maker, my results are similar to a gas grill but not a barbecue. I think it's hard to get a good sear with any oven broiler. I think contact does a much better job on the caramelization than just raw heat.

The recurring theme here is that people call the non-emergency line and then are surprised when the fire department shows up with all their trucks anyway. But there is a good reason for this: People are frequently embarrassed to call the fire department and tend to minimize the problem when reporting it ("Oh, it's just a small fire on my stove that I can't quite get to go out; no real problem other than I can't breath right now"). By the time the fire truck rolls in a few minutes later, it turns out this was in fact a real problem and needed all the gear and tools that the firefighters have access to on their trucks. If the caller only reports the smell of smoke, it's quite possible there is nothing much to worry about. There also is the possibility that the moment somebody investigates and opens the door to where the fire has been smoldering for hours, air rushes in an a major fire starts within seconds. At that point, you really don't want to wait another 10 minutes for the trucks to roll in. You need them right then and there. I don't know about all jurisdictions. But in most cases that I am familiar with, the fire department will happily come out to you and investigate, even if it turns out to be "nothing". And you shouldn't get charged for it. But there always could be exceptions. Also, if they subsequently call an ambulance, that's when you might see charges.

It's an old window with pulleys and weights behind the jambs. There is a space for the weights and then there seems to be another wood frame embedded in the blocks. The jambs frame the sashes and an outer frame frames the weight pockets and the jambs. It may be only this outer frame that is attached to the masonry. So you think it is possible to remove the brickmold and jambs while leaving the stool and interior molding in place, and use a full frame replacement (with a full depth jamb and not a 3 1/4 inch jamb)? The interior trim may be nailed to the outer frame and this is what would make this possible. But I am not sure how this could be anything other than a hack job. I have only found this one mention of it anywhere. Thanks for any comments!

Personally, I'm fine with "dumb" smoke detectors and CO detectors, though I can see why it might be handy in the aging-parent situation. Yes, I'm concerned about expensive things becoming obsolete. As for elderly or deaf people, just a note: my daughter was assigned to a "handicapped room" in the dorms -- not that she needed it, just by chance. We looked up and down and wondered, "What about this room is special?" First time the fire alarm went off, she found out: the fire alarm wasn't just a noise in her room. It was accompanied by a blindingly bright, pulsing light that literally could wake her from sound sleep, even if she hadn't been able to hear the noise. She said the light was actually painful. I had never known such a thing existed. Is such a thing available for home use? I dunno. Back to the point: DEFINITELY have some sort of a CO detector. A friend of ours died from CO2 poisoning, and it was heartbreaking -- he'd only been retired a year, was devoted to his two grandchildren, and should have had many years left to him. What a stupid, stupid thing to take him away from his family.