There we go, coffeemaker failed again. This is becoming a regularly occurring situation that I don't particularly enjoy. I came home in the evening and Elizabeth informed me that the brewing unit got stuck and didn't want to move any more.

Another thing broken: From one day to the other, a crackling noise, then silence, and then I could not use the hands-free set (HFS) in the car any longer. No loss, this was a crappy little thing with a built-in loudspeaker that never worked very well.

In the morning I hear tired shuffling of steps moving towards the coffeemaker. I hear button pushing, then some strange sounds, and finally a voice "Oh no, the coffee maker does not work!". Again, we are left in the morning without coffee. That is not acceptable.

These days, every bit of electronics in the house seems to fail. This includes our AV surround receiver, a Marantz SR 7200 that we bought for EUR 900 after coming to Germany in 2002. Crackling and hissing noises on the front speakers.