Mr. Coffee Won The Decision

The Rival Coffee Maker was lacking in one important area. The brewing temperature was too low. The ideal water temperature is 195°–205°F, since water is a better solvent at near-boiling [212°F] temperature. I never tested the Rival's coffee temperature.

The Rival appliance produced a coffee that was at the high end of the "warm" scale. Certainly not sufficient to bring out the full flavor of my freshly ground coffee beans.

After returning the Rival I ended up with a Mr. Coffee brand. The final brew was sufficiently hot and tasty. My second cup was nice and hot as well. This reflects the good performance of the hot plate. I readily consume my initial cup and get to the next within a short period of time.

Coffee "cooks" as it rests on the hot plate. I got to my second cup within sufficient time before the flavor had deteriorated.

The Mr. Coffee brand appears to be a good one. And the price was right: just under $20 after sales tax.

Unrivaled Value - Rival 12-Cup Coffee Maker

I could not believe the price. Just under $10 including tax at Wal-Mart. A competing and popular one-cup coffee maker system retails at around $150. The Rival 12-Cup was a steal by comparison.

Pre-use cleaning was simple. Part of the readiness process was to run two carafes of water through the device. Afterwards this coffee maker was ready to perform.

I brewed 2 cups of coffee, which took approximately four minutes. I used a specialty coffee bean that gets freshly ground at the time of brewing. The Rival performed well.

The footprint and height of the Rival are less than its predecessor. Both preparation for brewing and clean-up were easy.

This Rival replaces a Hamilton Beach 12-Cup Brew Station that had developed a leak somewhere. The kitchen counter underneath the Brew Station would always end up with a coffee puddle. Never could I locate the exact source. And the Brew Station had provided several years of service.

If you are in the market for a coffee maker, look in Wal-Mart for the Rival brand.

Public Executions Ramping Up

This artist's cartoon says it all. Public shootings by mentally disturbed individuals seem to be on the increase. Enough is enough. What motivates a person to take innocent lives?

The recent incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was where the perpetrator's mother taught. She apparently collected guns; thereby, maintaining an arsenal at home from which her resident son could choose.

Yet, those intent on using assault weapons obtain them in one way or another.

It seems impossible to identify individuals who might have a tendency to act out by committing mass executions. Occasionally there are behavioral clues from a person that reveal a suspicious lack of balance. And quite often such signals are ignored.

What is the answer to this problem? Should there be a multi-faceted approach to a solution? How do we turn this situation around?

Pot Laws

Obama: Enforcing pot laws in states

that have legalized it not a top priority…

"Obama made explicit in an interview to air Friday on ABC News that prosecution of marijuana users in the two states would be placed low on his Justice Department's list of law enforcement priorities, but that certain issues must still be ironed out as more states could pass similar legislation." (Reference)

It seems sensible to not go after any state that decriminalizes marijuana by some measure. Prosecutors in some jurisdictions have said that they will not pursue criminal action for those already charged with marijuana possession for personal use.

We are entering an era where governments will stop wasting money attempting to turn marijuana users into criminals.