Home » Other » Community Hangout » MICROWAVE WOES
| MICROWAVE WOES [message #689848] |
Sat, 18 May 2024 18:42  |
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Barbara Boehmer
Messages: 9097
Registered: November 2002
Location: California, USA
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Senior Member |
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As I continue to get older, I find myself forgetting to do more things, especially when I am multi-tasking and/or sleepy. Recently, I went to heat a cup of water in my microwave oven, but forgot to put the water in the cup first. It was like lightning and thunder and earthquake and smoke in the microwave. I turned it off, then unplugged it as quickly as I could. I waited a while, then carefully tried again with water in the cup and my finger ready to push the button to stop it, but no good. I let it cool overnight and tried again in the morning, but it was totally fried. So, it was time for a new microwave. At least I had that one for a lot of years and got a lot of use out of it.
When I replace something, I like to get something at least as good or better. The old microwave was 0.9 cubic feet internally with a 12.5-inch diameter turntable and 1400 watts. I wanted to get at least 0.9 cubic feet, preferably the next size up if it would still fit on the same counterspace with appropriate clearances and at least 12.5-inch turntable, preferably slightly larger. I had found that 1400 watts was ridiculously too much and had to modify most cooking instructions to use 90% power or less, so I preferred less than 1400 watts. I measured my counterspace and started shopping on the internet. I found that if I ordered anything it would take a week and based on past experience would likely get thrown over my fence and broken instead of delivered properly. So, I did a little shopping on google for places nearby and narrowed it down to four stores. The closest store also seemed to have the biggest selection in stock and had one that was 1.1 cubic feet with a 12.75-inch turntable and only 950 watts at a reasonable price. So, I headed to that store on Thursday, May 16th, in the afternoon.
I have a variety of medical problems. My left ankle never healed properly after I fell and broke the tibia and fibula at the ankle in 2019 and I get out of breath easily. So, as I limped and huffed and puffed through the store, a number of people asked if I was alright. I saw a sign that said electrical, but didn't see any sign like appliances or kitchen, so I asked the first employee where the microwave ovens were and was told aisle 4 in kitchen appliances. When I got to what appeared to be the end of aisle 4 in the middle of the store where there was a bunch of kitchen remodeling stuff and large appliances, I asked the second store employee where the microwave ovens were and she asked, "Countertop?" and I replied, "Yes." She pointed toward the back of the store and said all the way back. Along the back wall I found a decent selection of microwave ovens of various brands and sizes.
There was a combination air fryer/convection/broiler/microwave that looked tempting, but large and expensive. Some day I may look into one of those new-fangled air fryer things. But, for now, I think I would prefer to have things modular, so that when one thing breaks you still have the others and only need to replace one. So, I found a 1.1 cubic feet microwave with 12.75-inch turntable and 950 watts from a reputable brand at a reasonable price. I pulled the box out from the bottom shelf onto the floor carefully and was looking on all sides to find the exterior dimensions in order to ensure that it would fit on my counter. A third store employee asked me if I was alright and I asked if the dimensions were printed on the box somewhere because I wanted to make sure it would fit on my countertop. He looked at all sides like I did and could not find it, but looked it up on his phone and read them to me and it was a good fit. He also lifted it into the shopping cart for me.
I went to the checkout and was assisted by a fourth employee who asked if I had a phone number with them for store rewards. I said I didn't remember if they had my phone number, but I still had my store card and pulled it out of my wallet. She said they don't use those anymore. I have had that happen at a lot of places. So, I gave her my phone number and my name and address popped up on screen. She scanned it, I selected print receipt, since I have been locked out of my email address that it would have been sent to, which is whole other story. All of the store employees were very helpful.
When I got to the parking lot with the shopping cart, I realized that the cardboard box had cutout sections on both ends where you can stick your hands in like handles. That made it a whole lot easier to lift it into the right rear seat. When I got home, I backed my car up my steep driveway, so that the right rear was closest to the walk gate from the driveway to the walkway to the front door and the right rear door stays open nicely, instead of trying to close on you, when you park facing forward uphill. A half century ago I was once in excellent shape and could carry a 100 pound sack of horse feed. The label on this box said it was only 37 pounds, so I didn't figure it should be a problem. I moved it from the car seat to the driveway, then opened the walk gate, then moved it through the walk gate, then closed the walk gate. I moved it from there to just outside the front door, opened the front door, then moved it just inside the front door. From there it took me several sessions of lifting, moving, setting it down, and resting to get it from the front door, through the living room, through the dining area, and onto the kitchen floor in front of the counter it needed to sit on. I moved the old microwave to another room where it will sit until the next household electronic waste disposal event. Then I cleaned off the counter it had been sitting on.
At this point, my back was killing me. The next day, Friday May 17th I was having trouble standing up straight and doing simple everyday things. So I did not try to finish the project until today, Saturday, May 18th. I opened the box, removed the turntable sitting on top, removed the styrofoam packing and plastic wrap and was able to lift it onto the counter and position it properly, checking the clearances with a tape measure. When I went to put the turntable inside the microwave, I found the instructions there. So, I got comfortable at my desk and read the whole thing thoroughly.
At this point, I figured all the hard stuff was over and the rest should be easy. It has various options such as cooking time and power level and shortcuts for adding a minute or defrosting by time or by weight and so forth. If you just enter the time, it is supposed to default to 100% power. I figured it was just like entering parameters for a PL/SQL procedure with defaults, so it should be simple. So, I put a cup of clam chowder soup in the center, closed the door, plugged it in. It displayed "88:88". I pressed cook time, then 1:30 then start and it said, "Food". I tried pressing start again and it still just displayed, "Food". So, in order to start completely over, I stopped it, unplugged it, plugged it back in, pressed cook time, then 1:30 then power level, then 10, then start. Once again the only display I got was "Food". I tried starting over multiple times and pressing every kind of food choice like potato and beverage. Clam chowder is made with clam broth, potatoes, and clams, so settings for baked potato or beverage are really not appropriate. I went through the trouble shooting in the instructions and it said to make sure the door is closed securely. So, I started over again, checked the door latches to see that they looked O.K., then closed the door forcefully to make sure that it latched properly. Same results, "Food".
I noticed on the instructions that it referred to a website for a complete manual. So, I went to that website, found the manuals section, entered the model number, had to unblock the pop-up, then was able to read the whole manual, which was a lot more detailed than the brief instructions. The troubleshooting section was also more complete. It listed as one of the troubleshooting issues in the manual that it did not list in the instructions, that if it displays, "Food" it is telling you that it did not sense the door opening and closing, so you must have forgot to put the food in it. Apparently, you cannot open the door, put the food in, close the door, then plug it in. You have to plug it in, then open the door, put the food in, then close door. A few minutes later, I was eating some nice hot clam chowder.
Getting a new laptop computer, setting it up, and getting it running, would probably have been easier as far as physical exertion and frustration and diagnosis. All's well that ends well. I just felt like sharing as I am trying to wind down and return to my ever-growing list of things to do. I hope you found this entertaining and, who knows, maybe even useful. I deliberately avoided disclosing store name or brand name.
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| Re: MICROWAVE WOES [message #689849 is a reply to message #689848] |
Sun, 19 May 2024 07:26  |
John Watson
Messages: 8935
Registered: January 2010
Location: Global Village
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Senior Member |
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As for your mention of an air fryer, I would say "no". We have one, a Ninja. Air fryers have nothing to do with frying. They are table top fan ovens. So anything you can do in an air fryer, you could also do in a fan oven. Which you probably already have. The only advantage of an air fryer is that it is small. So it heats up very quickly and uses a lot less electricity. However, I think you would have to use it every day for years before the electricity saving would pay for it. And as for saving the planet, if you factor in the carbon cost of manufacturing and shipping the thing, I doubt it will ever come into profit. So if you have one, sure, use it. But buy one? I wouldn't have, had I known then what I know now.
ps - nice to hear from you. And I hope the cats are OK. We have five at the moment. THis one has tummy ache, after eating (another) mouse:
[Updated on: Sun, 19 May 2024 07:29] Report message to a moderator |
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| Re: MICROWAVE WOES [message #689850 is a reply to message #689849] |
Sun, 19 May 2024 15:15 |
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Barbara Boehmer
Messages: 9097
Registered: November 2002
Location: California, USA
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Senior Member |
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Hi John,
Thanks for the advice on the air fryer. I am glad I didn't get one. I use the countertop microwave for just about everything. I also have a countertop toaster oven for things that you cannot put in a microwave or do not do as well in a microwave. I have a large built-in combination gas range top, full-size oven with a broken thermostat, and broiler, that came with the house, but haven't used any of that in a long time.
There is very little that can't be done faster with no dishes to clean and even healthier in a microwave, which is why I have become so dependent on mine. For example, this morning instead of cooking scrambled eggs in a pan with some butter to keep it from sticking and standing there stirring it on the gas range and inhaling fumes and trying to keep the cats from jumping onto it, I scrambled some eggs in the microwave. I take a disposable plastic microwavable dish, crack the eggs into it, sometimes add a little milk, salt, diced Ortega chiles or whatever, mix it up with a fork, then put it in the microwave on high for 15 seconds at a time, stirring between times. You don't need any butter to keep it from sticking to a disposable plastic dish. The more eggs and other ingredients the longer it takes to cook. Depending on how mixed you like your eggs and how soft or well done you like them, you can stir it less frequently or cook it a shorter time, bearing in mind that it continues to cook slightly after you stop it. So, when it looks almost done, it is done. Then you eat it out of the disposable bowl you cooked it in. When you are done you just throw the dish out.
An example of something that does better in the toaster oven would be the South Beach diet recipe that calls for putting a salmon filet on a sheet of tin foil on a baking dish, adding some thinly sliced vegetables, a little thyme, drizzling with olive oil, then folding the ends over and crimping the sides together along the top, then put your baking tray in the oven and cook. When it is done, slide if off the baking try onto a disposable plate, open carefully, and eat. When you are done you just throw the plate and tin foil out. I just realized that I said tin foil. I should have said aluminum foil as that is what it actually is nowadays. I tend to use old terminology that is not what modern products are made from anymore.
My three oldest cats are 10, 9, and 8 years old now. There are various strays and ferals that come around. There were two litters whose feral mothers disappeared early. The mothers looked very similar and their kittens were very close in age. I think the mothers were sisters. I was able to get my hands on the kittens and tame them. One litter consists of two sisters that like to be pet and picked up and climb all over me. The other litter consists of two brothers and one sister. The two sisters from one litter and one of the brothers from the other litter kept trying to get into my house and I had trouble keeping them out. I finally gave up and let them come in. They explored around, found where the food and water and litter and kitty door to the catio are, introduced themselves to the older cats by walking up to them and sniffing nose to nose, and made themselves at home. The older cats seemed curious and were very accepting of the younger ones. The other brother finally came in as well, but is a little more timid. He is fine with the other cats. Sometimes he lets me pet him and pick him up, but other times he runs. I decided to try to bring in the remaining sister of the two brothers. She was curious, came in, explored, and found the catio. However, she growled at every cat in the house including her two brothers. They all just gave her a wide birth, except Patches, my 9-year old female. Any cat that growls at her in her house had better be prepared to run. Every time the youngster growled at her, Patches chased her into a corner, but didn't attack her. The youngster got out and does not want to come back in. I still feed her along with the rest of the outdoor ones and she rubs against my legs, purrs when I pet her, and follows me to the trash bin and the mailbox and back. However, she does not like to be picked up. Any time she is near the door, I give her an opportunity to come back in, but she chooses to stay outside.
Regards,
Barbara
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| Re: MICROWAVE WOES [message #689853 is a reply to message #689852] |
Tue, 21 May 2024 07:17 |
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Barbara Boehmer
Messages: 9097
Registered: November 2002
Location: California, USA
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Senior Member |
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Hi Littlefoot,
Perhaps you or someone else has some advice about what I can do about being locked out of two email accounts. I have used my homtmail email account for most things for years. Every now and then it requests some additional verification and it did that this time, sending the verification code to my yahoo email. So, I logged into my yahoo email and it picked that time to do some verification, so it sent the verification code to my hotmail email. So, I could not log in to either account to get the verification code for the other and am still stuck in this gridlock situation.
I tried using hotmail's procedure for addressing this using my gmail email account. It requires that you provide all sorts of exact information, such as answer to security question, what you have purchased through microsoft and the last 4 digits of the credit card you used, the email addresses of the last emails that you sent and the exact message titles. I tried this three times, each time I received a response through my gmail email account, saying that the information was insufficient, investigation closed, account locked, and do not reply to this email. The fourth time, I received a message that I had exceeded the number of tries that I could use for that time period and needed to wait before retrying. That was December of 2023 as I was just starting jury duty and short on time, so I let it wait until after jury duty, but still have not figured out what else to do.
Apparently, this might have been avoided if I had added my phone as another verification method. Anticipating eventually having the same problem with my gmail email account, I started to try to add my phone to that. When I realized that it was about to send a verification code to my hotmail in order to make changes, I backed out in order to avoid another gridlock and end up with no email and having to open a new account. I keep getting a message on my computer about a problem with my Microsoft account, but I figure if I click on that, it will probably try to do a similar verification and I may end up locked out of my computer. My emails are also no longer accessible via my phone. The problem continues to cascade. Due to inability to verify things through my hotmail, I have now had one credit card cancelled and cannot access another on the internet. This is turning into a major disaster, where I may end up losing all emails I had stored and all credit card and bank account access and may have to get new email accounts and go in person to get new credit cards and bank access and so on. I am really disappointed that there is no phone number to call and talk to a live person about the hotmail/Microsoft lockout problem and explain things like not remembering what credit card I used to buy something from Microsoft 10 years ago and it rejects it if I try to leave that information blank or if I say there wasn't any purchase. It does not have sufficient options or any opportunity for explanation.
Regards,
Barbara
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| Re: MICROWAVE WOES [message #689854 is a reply to message #689853] |
Tue, 21 May 2024 13:30 |
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Littlefoot
Messages: 21811
Registered: June 2005
Location: Croatia, Europe
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Senior Member
Account Moderator |
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Microwave oven story was kind of funny, but this seems to be serious. Getting locked on one email account is a problem, but having two of them (mutually) locked sounds like a horror. I wouldn't know what to do ... as you said, there's no phone number you could call and talk to a person. Various providers offer chat bots. I checked a few of them here, in Croatia - they call it a "digital technician" or "virtual assistant"; not a human being. I guess they (companies we're talking about) are cutting expenses; why would they keep & pay hundreds (?) of students in customer support if they don't have to?
I don't have account on either Hotmail or Yahoo, but I went to see what they offer.
Hotmail says that Outlook replaced Hotmail years ago, didn't even find a way to start "I forgot my password" wizard. Microsoft has some kind of a forum which lets you ask the question (requires Microsoft login, though) and answers seem to be written by humans. Though, I remember that whenever I had problems with MS Windows and stumbled over these "answers", they were rarely helpful.
Yahoo offers such an option (here) ; I chose the "Forgot username" which asks for recovery phone number (and email address, which would be your Hotmail or - if you're willing to try it - Gmail).
That's really frustrating. I sincerely hope you'll manage to get them unlocked, somehow.
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