I had finally met my equal in battle–that stain, that blot, that inevitable nemesis forever tarnishing my not-so-very-new coffee pot.  Unlike other such adversaries I had encountered, this smudge repelled my best efforts with sponge and soap.  And I, unwilling to resort to the abrasive measures of my past, challenged the defiant shmutz to death by elbow grease.  But alas, I could not determine whether the hideous besmirchment resided on the outside, the inside…or, heaven forfend, it had penetrated the very core of my hitherto chaste carafe.  It remains to this day.  Oh, had I been more vigilant!  Had I but scrubbed daily instead of employing but a rinse…