Happy Birthday Isabella!

Finally got rid of my new coffee maker after only a month. Boy am I glad to see it go. How could you go wrong with Mr. Coffee? I'll tell you. It's the perfect example of 'designed by committee'. First there's a hole in the water tank. The reservoir is designed to flood your countertop if you dare fill the pot all the way to the top. Folks, isn't this how you make coffee? Do you look at the line? No, you haven't had your first cup yet. You just fill the pot and dump it in. Oh, and the reservoir is very narrow. You can't just tip the pot up. You have to dribble it slowly, or else you get water all over the countertop. What do these 'coffee maker designers' have against my countertop? Now you put some coffee in the filter basket. Oh, and you have to make sure the filter tray is sitting precisely where it's supposed to be, and there's no obvious 'click' or anything to let you know where that is. You just kinda' haveta' eyeball it. Before your first cup. Else the filter basket overflows and you mess up everything on your countertop. Fine. Now just set the pot in place. Oh and make sure the handle is in between the two arrows. There's no click or anything. Before your first cup. Else the filter basket overflows and it messes up everything on your countertop. But that's not good enough. They didn't size the spring very well that activates the valve so you can pour while you're brewing. You also have to remember to wedge the can of coffee against the handle and push it in a little bit. Before your first cup. Else the valve that lets you sneak a cup doesn't quite open. And then the basket overflows and it messes up everything on your countertop. And then to add insult to injury, the thing beeps at you. It beeps when you turn it on, it beeps when the water empties (all over your countertop), it beeps two hours later when it shuts off. If you look back a year or three I think I ranted already about designers who make things go beep when they are working correctly. No, no, no... you're only supposed to make noises if something's wrong. Sigh. But it's gone. Replaced with a $14.95 Black & Decker. Poured a (full) pot of water in quickly, dumped some coffee in and turned it on. No mess. Somebody at the Mr. Coffee factory better wake up and smell the uhm coffee.