It's not quite as bad throughout all of Eastern Europe, though: the Ukrainian postal service is considerably faster than the Russian one, according to my experience. When I first ordered from Solitude, I waited for 4 or 5 weeks... I'm still nervous about German customs with regard to that Endless Winter shipment.

Speaking of headphones, I've been planning to get myself a new pair for home listening, too. So far I've been using my trusty Sennheiser studio headphones for years, but they're really not suitable for day-to-day usage since they're well isolated at the cost of low wearing comfort. I'll soon start a new thread at a hi-fi forum where I've received some helpful recommendations the last time I was looking for some new equipment (in-ears for travel). If I am to pull so much cash, the investment should better be worth it...

Oh, and yesterday I finally ordered myself a new electric water boiler. There was this moment last evening when I was boiling some water for tea when I simply had enough of this crappy thing I've been using; it takes forever!! Plus, it has a whole number of other disadvantages. I wouldn't have thought it possible to be so happy about getting a new water boiler, but there will be a bright smile on my face when the Amazon parcel arrives (hopefully tomorrow).

A kettle?

Double bonus marks if you can fit 'Lost Angeles' into a thread somewhere...

those hippies, they doen't even respect basic grammar rules! just for the lame rhyme with "sky"...

mmm... that's going to be difficult... very good track... especially the version on "Colosseum Live" with a devastating guitar solo by Dave "Clem" Clempson...

Just arrived - and ain't she a beauty:

for a second a thought it was called "clogger"...

I'm a little disappointed it wasn't one of these...

...which was my first thought when you said 'boiler'


Usually prefer studio albums to live ones, but I make a particular exception for that one!

Me too...

Yes, to me a boiler is exactly what you've shown, too (it's the same word in German), but according to the best online dictionary I know, 'electric water boiler' is still the right expression. How do you call these kitchen things, then?

See my post above... kettle!!!

a kettle isn't necessarily electric. So d. is closer the inner, substantial truth of that awesome object he bought.

Although, I admit "electric kettle" would do the trick. A boiler is used to heat up a rather greater amount of water! Depends on the cup I guess...

The main difference is that water boilers are usually considered to be units that automatically maintain the water at a constant high temperature after the initial heating, whereas kettles are on-demand units. Commercially, they're normally static, mounted devices - mobile ones are often called urns.

Technically, though, kettles are a specific sub-class of water boilers, so your dictionary isn't wrong - it's just not giving the most commonly-understood usage. Which would actually be an 'electric kettle' (as bapho observes, accurately, not all of them are electric).

I like the fact that it's black, anyway. That gets extra awesomeness.

Yes, I'm very happy with having found myself a black kettle, too. To be honest, it wasn't the decisive factor (rather, I looked through Amazon's assortment and read reviews looking for a reliable, fast-boiling and reasonably cheap one), but it's a great plus. The only real alternative to this one would have been one made of glass with some black plastic elements.

Funnily enough, the online dictionary also gives 'electric kettle' as an option, but somehow I must have instinctively dismissed it. I believe the reason for this is that in German, two entirely different words are used and a kettle is invariably this:

That is badass.

If I could start my mornings by brewing my Earl Grey in a cauldron (while festively listening to Acid Witch) my day would be guaranteed to be 66.6% better! But as for boiling water, I normally use a boring stove kettle, then transport the water to a portable cast iron kettle. I consume an astronomical amount of tea per day, and it's nice to have a warm kettle constantly near you when the weather is so brisk.

I think I was a bit imprecise. It doesn't have to be that exact form of cauldron-type kettle, of course, but some 'traditional' iron kettle which you put on your stove/hearth.

that's a weird statement to say that "in German a KETTLE is only a cauldron"; when kettel in an English word...
In German, you have many prefixes to precise the meaning.

Are you teaching German to Mr d.mimøsa?

it's just that that remark of his is surrealistic!