Thursday, June 25, 2015
OHSU reaches $500 million fundraising goal; Nike co-founder Phil Knight to match
Oregon Health and Science University announced Thursday morning that it reached its goal of raising $500 million, meeting a challenge from Nike co-founder Phil Knight.
Phil Knight and his wife, Penny Knight, pledged in 2013 to match the funds, bringing the total amount of money to $1 billion for cancer research at OHSU.
SEPT. 2013: OHSU accepts challenge from Nike co-founder Knight after $500M pledge
With the huge amount of funding, the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute will hire nearly 300 new researchers and physicians who will work on a large-scale program dedicated to early detection of cancer.
OHSU said improving early detection methods will allow doctors to treat deadly cancers when they're most curable, resulting in fewer side effects and lower overall costs.
According to the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, the Knights' cancer challenge is the biggest documented fundraising challenge to succeed.
OHSU said more than 10,000 donors gave money to the effort, many of whom were first-time donors. Money poured in from all 50 states and five countries.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Monday, June 1, 2015
Pictures of Dream Kitchen Appliances and Hardware
High End Home Appliances for the Kitchen
Pretty much every day I wish I could remodel my kitchen. I’m tired of the same old tract house double kitchen sink that is not deep enough to clean the blender without banging it against the sides. I despise my Maytag dishwasher that while only a couple of years old requires me to practically wash the dishes before I put them in or wash them again after the cycle completes. My refrigerator has a light that burned out about two years ago. Yeah I still need to go to Home Depot and pick one up. And the stove… well it’s just a stove. No island. Man, I wish I had a better kitchen because I love to cook and prepare my own food? How about you, do you wish you had a better kitchen?
So I’ve been doing a little day dreaming online. I’ve actually visited a few local builder supply outfits and was blow away by all the cool options from self closing drawers to elaborate tile flooring. But this discussion will focus on appliances.
Kitchen from Heaven or What You Have Now?
What I wish my Kitchen Looked Like
Kohler "Prologue" Food Preparation Sink
Kohler Food Preparation Sinks make easy work of meats and vegetable preparation
Kohler Cast Iron "Carrizo" Clean Up Sink
The perfect sink for cookware clean up
Every Dream Kitchen Needs a Couple of Sinks!
Kitchen Sinks
So lets start with the most used item in your kitchen – the kitchen sink. Used for both food preparation and cleanup. The Prologue kitchen sink from Kohler provides chefs with a 9” deep basin, a wet work surface, a wire colander, and a hardwood cutting board. The cutting board fits cleverly in the space directly below where you’ll be using it! Remember the mess that chopping and rinsing vegetables or meats can be? No more! Just chop on the board and slide the waste directly into the sink! This is the perfect food preparation Sink for the home dream kitchen.
Now we are going to need a “primary” sink for cleanup. The Kohler Carrizo cast iron kitchen sink is the perfect companion to the Prologue food preparation sink. Featuring an innovative tiered design the Carrizo combines the ergonomic capability of a single basin sink with an enhanced tiered work surface area. The 9” basin to the right accommodates large pots and pans while the left side basin allows kitchenware to be positioned at a more comfortable height for cleaning.
Pull Down Spray Faucets for Cleanup
Clean up sinks are better with Pull Down Spay Faucets
No Touch Sensor Faucets
No Touch Sensor Faucets are great for preventing germs from spreading from place to place by preventing the need to touch handles
Pot Fillers for Spill Prevention and Convenience
Pot fillers are a wonderful way to avoid lifting heavy pans!
You'll want a Matching Faucet for Each Sink
Kitchen Faucets for Cleanup and Preparation
Now your sink is going to need faucets. Consider a high rise pot filler so you don’t have to transfer water from the sink to the stove.
You want to make sure you are matching the correct faucet to the task at hand. For clean up you’ll want a faucet with a “pull down spray head”. If you cook with large pots you’ll want to get a faucet with extra height.
Touch less filtration faucets are great for running the water when your hands are messy. If you cook a lot of meats including red meats, poultry, and seafood this is an ideal solution to prevent spreading germs around the kitchen as you go from one work station to another. Perfect additions for food preparation islands. For easy clean up consider a wall mount faucet so you don’t get the grunge built up that most home kitchens seem to develop around the faucets over time.
Do You Really Want a Commercial Range?
Gas Ranges of Commercial Quality Require Special Ventilation
Commerical Quality Cooking Range/Oven
Cook-Tops, Ranges, and Stoves
Cook-Tops in dream kitchens are usually gas but with some innovative electric designs you’ll have to decide which is better for your own needs. Gas offers consistent temperatures with instant heat. My preference is for gas and like everyone I want a cooktop that is easy to clean.
You don’t necessarily want a commercial appliance in your home because they are not designed for home use. Commercial appliances need commercial settings, clearances, commercial sized electric and gas inlets, minimal unattractive design, and special ventilation requirements. Add to this the fact that many commercial appliances are noisy and you’ll quickly understand why you don’t want a true commercial appliance at home. What you want is “commercial” quality in a home appliance.
Who Wouldn't Want a High End Refrigerator?
Pictured is a built in double door Sub-Zero Brand Refrigerator
High End Refrigerators for Looks and Energy Savings
Home Refrigeration
You are going to need a refrigerator in your dream kitchen. Built in refrigerators not only look better; with a selection of door panels to match your cabinetry but feature an array of innovate and highly useful features. Sub-Zero features models with dual refrigeration compressors to help conserver energy and maintain more consistent temperatures. The more consistent the temperature the longer your foods will last when frozen and the better they will taste. “Freezer Burn” occurs when frozen foods change temperature while still below freezing.
The Sub-Zero flagship models use less energy than a 100 watt light bulb! One of the outstanding features of Sub-Zero is they can be built in but completely serviced from the front should you ever need service. Their high end models feature air filtration, water filtration, adjustable spill-proof glass shelves, and special low temperature zones.
High End Dishwashers
The interior of an extra large Asko Brand Dishwasher
Dishwashers that actually Wash Dishers Clean!
The Dishwasher from Heaven
Finally you are going to need a state of the art dishwasher! If you are like me you probably have a dishwasher that requires you to prepare the dishes before placing in the dishwasher before they come clean. It’s almost like washing dishes twice! Since we are talking about Dream Kitchen Appliances and budgets are not really part of our discussion we can choose from dishwashers based on size, looks or convenience.
Asko makes a line of high end dishwashers that have an astounding array of features, settings, and are aesthetically pleasing. Asko calls their cleaning areas “PowerZones” and incorporates a zone for Pots and Pans, Cutlery, and Glassware. Temperatures are available as high as 160 degrees! Their 7Spray™ Wash System and Triple Filtration System claim to get dishes cleaner than other dishwashers. I’ve never used one but I’m impressed by the specifications.
This is a very short article whose purpose is not to dig deep into specifications, but rather to showcase some of the neat innovations that are occurring in the industry to help those with the means and desire to create a kitchen experience worthy of dreaming about.
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