Dishwasher safe

We’re getting a new dishwasher. It’s a Bosch, $598 at Sears, but Lowe’s had it for 20% off.

I’m not so sure we’re saving any money, because in addition to the $155 for installation, there’s $70 in town plumbing and electrical permits, and another $75 to have an electrician there. I questioned the need for that, so I called the Massachusetts Board of State Examiners of Electricians, and was told the state does indeed require an electrician to do non-plug wiring. Lowe’s said the electrician will be there to inspect the work, but I said “No, the town does the inspection. I’m paying the 75 bucks to have the electrician do that work.”

So the total cost for our new $480 dishwasher? Nearly $800. Delivery will be Wednesday morning. I could have hired an independent plumber to do the installation, and I bet he wouldn’t have bothered to pull any permits or have an electrician there, but I wanted to be sure the unit gets installed immediately upon delivery.

A Little about Annie

Maybe you’ve seen this charming TV commercial. It’s the one that seems it should be from Apple, but it’s from Amazon…

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/DEC/KindleCommercial.flv 512 288]

…and maybe you’ve wondered, “wow, who is that?” She’s Annie Little, and not only is that her singing, she wrote the song, too. Annie is an actress with real star quality — beauty, talent, versatility, personality — yet she’s still looking for her big break. Besides the commercial, Annie’s in the first episode of the third season of “Mad Men.”

Another actress who is best known for her TV commercials had a recurring role on “Mad Men.” Know who she is? Roll over the picture to see.

Eye’m all right…

If not for modern medical science, I would be blind. Ten years ago today, the retina in my left eye detached. A piece of plastic was sewn onto the top of that eye, and the vitreous was removed.

Within a few months, both of my eyes developed cataracts, and I now wear the ultimate contact lenses — internal ones. They’re fixed focus, with one eye better for close-up sight and the other optimized for long distance vision.

But now there’s a promising new cataract replacement technology under development. It’s coming too late for me, but for those of you who have yet to experience the world in amber, you’re in luck.

[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/DEC/HDvision.flv 512 288]