I received my wonderful box from Jeanette! It was full to the brim with bright orange and black wrapped surprises! I got: a wonderful Halloween kitchen towel. I love to change my kitchen towels for the season and didn't have a Halloween-themed one - thanks! a cute pumpkin votive candle holder with a scented candle in it a black and orange paper lantern a wonderfully scented potpurri mix a halloween wind sock a spider web wine/champagne goblet (so cute!) a spider on a spring a silver starred Halloween hat (sorry Jeanette - no digital camera to take a picture - my daughter kept saying "you're not going to wear that in front of my friends are you? - LOL!" a spooky hanging ghosty that emits an eeery sound - scares the daylights out of my little dog......... mummy's passion fruit tea bags and a ghost tin of chocolate kisses (oops all gone - how did that happen he he) Thanks Jeanette! Sue G.

I believe the degree of "hum" varies with the type of cookware. My cast iron stuff never hums, but my All-Clad Stainless hums -- the smaller fry pans even vibrate and start to move on their own! I had a scare a few days ago with my unit. In the middle of cooking it started beeping and these two strange symbols appeared on the display of every burner. It was like the letter "O" and the symbol to the right was just the top half of the "O". I freaked out, I thought something horrible happened. I turned off the circuit breaker for about a minute and the unit came back to life. It happened again when my partner was cooking, but this time the circuit breaker had no effect... I did some online research and discovered it is a child lock! This feature isn't even covered in my De Dietrich 308X manual. I'm so glad there was nothing wrong with my unit. My heart completely sank when I saw that strange code blinking. This actually brings me to another point. With any electric cooktop, you can only cook as long as it has electricity. With gas, you can cook even if your power goes out. There is something to be said for not being dependent on electricity for the most basic tasks, such as cooking.

I think you should shave it off now. I know that sounds harsh but, this way, you have the control. Two of my sisters had cancer and both asked me to shave them at my salon which I did. They were relieved to be able to forget about it and go on to the next step. Both of them got Raquel Welch wigs which are the most realistic to the point that people asked them where they got their haircuts. I wish you didn't have cancer but I'm happy you can speak about it and share. It's so important. Both of them are living happy lives and you will do the same. We took joke books to chemo and laughed so much, both had the other four sisters for support and love. I wish you the very best that life can offer.

I support the intent of Proposition 65, but that doesn't mean that just because a compound is present in a product then all uses of the product are dangerous. For example, it's one thing to continually drink hot water from water pipes and/or fixtures that contain lead; it's another thing to shower in it. The intent of Proposition 65 is to alert people that certain products contain certain harmful components (which is good) so they can make individual decisions about exposure and risk...which most people aren't equipped to do. An inability to know how to interpret the warning can mean people are fearful of anything to do with a product when, in fact, proper use of it may pose absolutely zero risk. If vinyl asbestos tile were still being produced it would deservedly carry a Proposition 65 warning even though it is safe to have in your home -- as many millions of people do -- as long as you don't decide to do something stupid, like remove it with a floor sander. There's a proposition 65 warning on gasoline, and I try to avoid inhaling fumes when gassing up my car, but I haven't stopped going to the gas station (nor do I think it will give me cancer). What this thread illustrates is that we pretty much all agree certain materials are harmful, but we don't agree that just because they are present in some trivial quantity it constitutes a risk. A basic tenet of risk assessment is to look at paths of exposure: just because something is present doesn't mean you are being exposed to that material in a way that poses a meaningful risk. So, for me, the fact that something has a Proposition 65 warning may be useful info, but the next question is what does that really mean? And more specifically, it doesn't tell me that a shower hose with a Proposition 65 warning poses a risk if all I use it for is showering.