Just the essentials or all the bells and whistles?

[brewer]

There might be an exception to my rules.  I spent 50% more for a microwave with Inverter technology, even though it may not be strictly necessary.  That's one luxury that I'm glad I chose to pay for.

As to the bread question, if I'm going to mainline my nutrition by forming a ball of wheat & starch and wolfing it down, do I sound like I'd go to the trouble of removing the crusts?

Crusts make bread ball less cohesive. Removing the crusts piss off parents even more.