Starting an Ice Age at Home for under $400

I don't know how many of you know it, but we are surrounded by very strange people. Some of them actually do not care what food tastes like. Some (*cough* Ward *cough*) simple appreciate food for the satisfied feeling after a meal. Others, appreciate the cooking but don't ever care to eat it. And then there are those like my mother for whom the taste of the food is a distant second to its temperature. She even likes to quote a Bible verse to justify it, "So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16) She refuses to drink cool coffee or warm soda, though she will accept COLD coffee or HOT soda. This has always seemed quite strange to me, but apparently she is not alone. The Gadgeteer has a new review up for a portable ice maker, designed to sit in the kitchen and ensure there is always enough cold-stuff around to make anyone's teeth ache.

According to the catalog, the portable ice maker could be set on a counter top and it would produce up to 30 pounds of ice within a 24 hour period, freezing 12 cubes in a choice of three sizes every six to eight minutes. Up to two and a half pounds of ice could be stored in the insulated compartment, and I would be able to control the quality of the water used to make the ice. I had to give it a try...The first strike against it is that it is noisy...The second strike is, of course, it's price...The good news is that if you enjoy ice in your drinks and you want the convenience of having your own maker - this one does the job admirably.

At $349 to $399, depending on where you look, this one will probably not be on my Christmas list for Mom this year. But if prices keep dropping on ice machines the way they have been on DVD players, who knows? Maybe next year I'll be able to get something decent for $40 that'll keep Mom in her own personal Ice Age for as long as she might wish.