Arrrrrrgh

[russotto]

I replaced my microwave... with a micro-hood. Doesn't take up counter space, is bigger, and produces just as many tasty carcinogens. (I don't eat vegetables anyway so I'm not worried about those) It also has a popcorn setting which is quite reliable.

It's also got a convection oven in it but I actually haven't used it yet.

[wolf]

I assume by "microhood" you mean one of those devices that replaces the stove-hood and installs overtop of your range? Neat idea, but not a possibility for me. I'm in a rental, so I can't buy anything that involves installation more complex than "insert plug in wall socket, enjoy."

[wolf]

Once again I went out with intention of buying a microwave.

I saw many beautiful and powerful ones.

I was in awe.

The shiny chrome kind are really cool.

And oooooh the wattage! 1200!!

(having a 10 year old microwave one loses touch with the new and exciting developments and increases in power)

However, I forgot to measure the counter space.

I will have to go back.

And I spent my microwave money again.

Angel Heart has been rereleased on DVD.

And Wiseguy Season One is available too.

[wolf]

Quite surprisingly, the quest for the new nuke-o-matic continues.

I have been to the two closest large chain retailers near me, that is stores whose names end in -Mart for $100, Alex.

I don't know what's going on here.

A microwave is your basic kitchen essential.

I should be able to walk into nearly damn anywhere and point at one and say "load it in my car, here is specie."

Yeah, right.

Having been entranced by the shiny chrome microwave, I would certainly like one like that. But it doesn't have to be.

In fact, I would accept the damn thing in PINK at this point, and everybody knows how I feel about pink.

So from this you might expect that I am having a frustrating time ...

All I'm freaking looking for is a 1100-1200 watt, turntable microwave.

I have seen MANY of them. None of them, however, are in stock.

I tried for THREE different models at Boscov's. Not one of them was in the store.

Nor were there any in the warehouse.

So then the trips to the *mart stores ... nothing there either. The ones available on the shelves were of minor wattage and also less than 1 cubic foot interior space.

So back to Boscov's, two weeks later ... no, nothing has come in yet.

Trip down the other end of the mall to Strawbridges ... they HAVE three different microwaves to choose from, all of which represent models sold AT Boscov's. Each of them is $40 more than the Boscov's price for the same unit.

And no, they are not likely to be going on sale, according to the friendly sales associate that it took me 15 minutes to hunt down. Apparently nobody actually BUYS anything at Strawbridges, so they don't bother.

(I was really, REALLY missing Strawbridge and Clothier at just that minute. I would have had an obsequious sales person at my beck and call, who actually knew his merchandise rather than the young lady who advised me "yeah, they're like all over $100 and summing." I requested a specific price on the one unpriced model ... "yeah, it's like over $100 too." If you shopped there before the out-of-state buyout, you know what I mean.)

So, I come home, and start checking other sources. I figured that maybe sometime this week I'll just go to Target and put myself out of my misery over this nonsense ... and I surfed around a little bit, searching for the brands and model numbers of the ones I'd kind of liked.

And you will never guess what I found ...

Chrome. Shiny. Lovely. amazon. $90. Eligible for super saver shipping.

Haven't done it yet, but likely will after sleeping on the decision.

Major bonus: I won't have to carry it up the front walk.

[blue]

Jesus LJ, you let the wife get rid of the microwave? What's next, your balls?!

Look at poor wolf here, struggling mightily to find what you so callously discarded. You should be ashamed.

I too have a 15+ year old model, plate thing is all cracked, hasn't been cleaned in this century...only damn thing I own that works, and works right every time I need it.

Two words buddy....Jiffy Pop.

[lumberjim]

my balls are radiation free. and present and accounted for, thank you.

wolf, you've managed this long without the evil device in your life. come towards the light that is the convection toaster oven.

[elSicomoro]

No microwave, but he's more than willing to drive a fucking SUV.

[dar512]

Originally Posted by sycamore

No microwave, but he's more than willing to drive a fucking SUV.

We all have different hot-buttons.

[perth]

The only thing I missed, not having a microwave, was popcorn. I never managed to make it properly on the stove, but that was remedied handily this weekend with the purchase of an air-popper. That makes the best damn popcorn I've ever had.

[wolf]

Best dry popcorn, you mean?

Although I do like the ability to add buttery goodness to taste.

My favorite popcorn popper was the one that got me through college ... a West Bend (I think ... they were the ones with the yellow lids, Hamilton Beach's were clear). You put the popcorn and oil in the base, and loaded the top of the lid with pats of yummy butter so that it dripped evenly down onto the popcorn as it popped.

I got a Presto Hot Air Popcorn Pumper after that one bit the dust. The only thing the Hot Air Popper did well was see to it that popcorn shot all over the room. Chewy bland popcorn that the salt wouldn't stick to.

:popcorn:

EDIT TO ADD: Boo Hoo!!! The popcorn smiley will not display properly because the first two characters are being immediately parsed as a tongue-sticking-out smiley.

I have a truely worthless microwave that someone gave me. I use it because I tend to burn every damn thing that I put on the stove due to the fact that I now have the memory of your average ephemeral insect which lives out its entire adult life in 24 hours. My microwave is so low wattage that it actually takes longer than a regular oven to cook things. How this is possible, I don't know, but somehow my "mini-wave" manages to pull off this feat of modern cookery. It DOES however still make pizza crust dried out and soggy just like a regular microwave would and it cooks bacon to dried out strips like a regular microwave would, as well. I recently came into a small (VERY small) inheritance of sorts and went down to the local Walmart to survey microwaves. I was hopelessly confused at the selection and ended up buying a new ink cartridge for my printer instead. If you come up with a good buy, Wolf, let me know. The whole thing has me hopelessly lost and I've been subsisting on cheese and crackers for weeks.

[Happy Monkey]

Does this work? (inserted as an image, not a smilie)

Apparently so.

[Undertoad]

Use "corn"

Yes, a smilie code that starts with a "p" doesn't work. I had to rename several.

[perth]

Well, yeah, it's dry popcorn. I like tossing it with a little olive oil and kosher salt or parmesan cheese. But the thing about the popper I got is that it has a butter warmer on the top, so you can prepare some melted butter at the same time, which is better than the bizarre butter-flavoured stuff in the microwave bag any day of the week.

[wolf]

Microwave advice:

Do not be tempted by the large shiny objects.

Normal humans don't actually NEED 1200 watts of microwaving power and the ability to fit an entire turkey into it is of limited usefulness.

You microwave one plate's worth of dinner, not an 8 course meal for 4 ...

Don't spend more than $50. This will assure two things.

One, you will be able to carry your new microwave to and from the car.

Two, it will fit into the car when you get there.

Oh, and get one with a turntable.