Just Plain Stuff

Reviews of things that suck: KCl

2012-01-18T07:57:00.000-06:00

Summary:

OK, SO! My ex was deeply offended when I stated that I did not like the salt free ketchup. I now know why.

Instead of salt, the ketchup uses a substitute: Potassium Chloride. Innocuous, food safe, but dangerous if you're on a potassium sparing diuretic. I'm not. My blood pressure stays just fine unaided (even on a CNS stimulant like Adderall), but, for kicks and because, I don't have very many salts of potassium, it was a cheap addition to my reagents collection (and I'm ALL about the cheap right now!) so, I decided to do a little taste test this morning. This strongly reaffirmed my belief that the addition of KCl to ANYTHING will render it unfit for human consumption.

OK, so, in my usual spice/seasoning tasting procedure, I shook out a small amount onto my hand. The crystals were just as cubic as our friendly NaCl salt that we all know and LOVE ♥. That, my dear friends, is where the similarity ends.

I wet my index finger, dipped it in the small pile to pick up a few crystals. I then placed my finger in my mouth and onto my tongue. For about the first 10ms it was kind of like salt, then it hit, an acrid, cloying, and gag inducing sensation of, "OH MY GOD, SOMETHING IS SERIOUSLY WRONG WITH this substance in my mouth" Yes, I gagged. Yes, my eyes squeezed down tight and my feeble brain tried to process this horror-inducing sensation in my mouth. I swallowed. The small amount won't actually hurt me, WILL IT? No, I'm reasonably sure it won't. The aftertaste, an impossible to describe, somewhat bitter, medicinal aftertaste permeated my mouth. If I didn't do something quick to neutralize the horror building in my mouth, I was sure to lose my breakfast. I grabbed the nearest drink. A freshly poured glass of cola, and chugged it down, to remove the ionic nightmare from my mouth.

I will never EVER ingest such a vile substance again. Into the reagent cabinet it goes, never to soil another morsel of food ever again.

Pros:

It won't raise your blood pressure
I'm sure it would be just as neat as sodium chloride for growing pretty cubic crystals
It looks just like salt
Has a nifty warning to consult your physician before using any sort of salt substitute
Makes a fine addition to my reagents. I don't have any potassium compounds, and now I do
An excellent source of potassium.
A great way to pull cruel pranks on unknowing friends when they go to salt up their delicious fries.

Cons:

May induce vomiting
Looks can be deceiving. It looks like salt, it shakes like salt, but unlike salt, it tests your gag reflex.
It might kill you if you are on certain medications for the blood pressure you're watching so closely.
It's not iodized like sodium chloride. Your thyroid will be angry.
It has a highly disagreeable medicinal aftertaste that will leave you wishing you were dead.

In short. It looks great on paper, but the reality is it isn't the real thing, and it's not really a substitute. If you're watching your blood pressure, you're probably much better off either going really easy on the NaCl salt, or just skipping the salt all-together. Most food already has enough salt already, so leaving a bit off will leave you better off.

An update -- What is happening, projects, and stuff...

2012-01-15T14:07:00.002-06:00

So, I discovered Monday that I'm no longer employed; that's always fun. On the bright side, it's an opportunity to find work closer to me, and possibly better pay.

I at one point started the design for a CPU, it's still in the back of my mind, and I'll get back to it.... eventually. And, I'm currently having a bit of fun trying to figure out how to separate copper sulfate from what appears to be a binder to keep it from crystallizing out of the solution. It's this that I want to talk about.

So, I picked up a bottle of algaecide at a store because it contained copper sulfate. I immediately knew something wasn't quite right, because the solution was green, rather than the characteristic blue that copper sulfate has. So, I looked on the ingredients, and most of the contents of the bottle are "stabilizers", polyacrylate, and another chemical that's escaping my memory at the moment. I went ahead and attempted to drive off the water, and see what happens. What I wound up with was essentially a useless green goo that smelled similar to something I had played around with as a kid, friendly plastic. I've given up on this being a useful form of copper sulfate to work with, the goo binds everything, I had a little luck with acetone, but the yield made it pointless.

There's a lesson here: If you're an amateur chemist looking for copper sulfate to grow blue crystals, buy the root killer stuff. It's already crystalline, and doesn't have the binders.

The sad state of science

2011-12-20T15:40:00.000-06:00

This post illustrates in so many ways what is wrong with our world today. To continue stereotyping, and to continue to engrave the idea of blatant consumerism rather than real discovery and science simply disturbs me on so many levels.

I couldn't agree more with Bree. We should cultivate the culture of discovery in all kids, whether they are boys or girls. Arguably, one of the most significant discoveries in the 20th century was made by a woman, and that discovery brought about the nuclear age. (Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing is another matter all-together. That's what the governments did with the discovery...) which among other things helped broaden our understanding of physics, brought about a powerful new source of energy, and gave us life-saving cancer treatments.

Mock Ramblings

2011-12-20T15:10:00.000-06:00

Some shameless promotion of a friend's blog:

Mock Ramblings

He's a writer, and posts some rather clever series. If you haven't read any of his writing, you really should! It's good. Real good. One of my favorite (though they haven't made an appearance recently) is Reflections of a Deranged Cultist. Formatted as hijacked blog postings, the deranged cultist, and no sometimes his love interest make postings about the goings on in a secret Cthulhu worshiping cult. What could be more fun? A steel sphere filled with angry porcu-bats, that's what!

Lab Notes: Elemental Iodine - wrap up

2011-12-07T09:30:00.001-06:00

In my previous experiment I extracted elemental iodine from Tincture of Iodides. Now to explore how it happens. I knew that the mixture of hydrogen peroxide and hydrochloric acid caused elemental iodine to precipitate from the solution, but didn't understand the mechanism. Now, after a bit of exploring and research, I understand the reaction mechanism. Starting with what is known:

You can see the potassium is left as a positive ion, as the iodine is no longer combined with it. Also note the Iodine was in the -1 oxidation state, but is now in the 0 oxidation state. This means it has been oxidized, not reduced. So, an oxidizer is needed to move the state up one. Hydrogen peroxide is readily available, and at low concentrations is relatively safe to work with. No oxygen was evolved in the reaction between the hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodide, so what is hydrogen peroxide reduced to?

Water and an oxygen radical? Not quite. I'll get to why in a moment.Since no oxygen is evolved from this reaction, I know that oxygen is not generated, so the hydrogen peroxide must be reduced to water. In order for that to occur, there must be hydrogen ions available to balance the equation. So, this pair of half-reactions is most likely:

Adding an acid allows the hydrogen peroxide to decompose to 2 water molecules. After combining the 2 equations, you obtain this equation:

Which is the mechanism behind the reaction. It is a redox reaction, where the Iodine is oxidized, and the hydrogen peroxide is reduced. In my reaction I used hydrochloric acid, so putting everything together, this is the resulting reactants and products:

As you can see, the result is elemental iodine precipitating out of a solution of potassium chloride.

Lab Notes: Iron Oxides

2011-12-06T09:00:00.001-06:00

For fun, I had this idea: the classic grade-school experiment: making rust. Good ol' iron oxide. So, I grabbed a small row of staples, added some salt, and dropped them in the water.... and waited.

I'm not the most patient person in the world, so I grew tired of how long it was taking to turn steel into rust. Thinking to myself, "Hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer, therefore, hydrogen peroxide should make the rust faster", and it did. What I ended up with was iron hydroxide, no iron oxide, but with heat it dehydrates, which yielded the black iron oxide, magnetite. Not surprisingly, it's magnetic and quite fun to play with, but it wasn't what I was after, I wanted the deeply red Iron (III) Oxide. When rust forms, it's a mix of oxides and hydroxides. I was hoping to separate the two by somehow driving one into solution, while leaving the other alone. The idea occurred to me by way of a mistake. I had a vial of what was left over after attempting to get a purer form of acetic acid through heat distillation, instead of grabbing the empty vial, I grabbed that one instead, pouring the magnetic iron oxide into that instead of an empty vial. I noticed that the brown portion was gone, leaving behind only the black. I also noticed that the solution took on a very strong orange coloration. So, I set out to attempt this. Reacted more of the oxide with vinegar (acetic acid), and filtered. To my surprise what came out was a stunningly bright orange solution. What I'm not sure of right now is if it is iron acetate, or iron oxide dissolved in acetic acid. I'm in the process of evaporating the liquid from the solution, and I will see what I get when I rinse the dry product with water.

On another note about the oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, it seems to go much faster with the introduction of sodium chloride (table salt), I don't know the mechanism behind this, but it was very interesting to observe.

Lab Notes: Introduction, Element Collecting and Elemental Iodine

2011-11-29T17:51:00.000-06:00

First, an introduction to a new feature of this blog: Lab Notes

As a kid, I was very interested in chemistry. I begged and begged for a chemistry set, finally mom and dad relented and purchased a rather nice one. I spent many, many hours doing the experiments with the set. As I got further along, I found a book that had some more advanced chemistry experiments. Many things fascinated me in the book, but they all looked to be a bit complex, but I saw something that seemed simple, and produced an exciting result; a chemistry class classic, the reaction of potassium permanganate and glycerin. Somehow I convinced my mom to procure KMnO₃, and the glycerin. I then did the experiment in a tuna tin. Mom was quite shocked at the result. I was quite satisfied with the 1ft high violet flame. I was also hooked.

I dabbled a bit in reading about chemistry online. It was interesting, but was missing the practicality. I'm finally in a situation where I can do a lot of the stuff I've been wanting to do with chemistry. Now I've bought some glassware (as I get into more stuff that could be potentially toxic, I do not want to use my dishes!) and set about with some experimentation. And with that, I realized I need to keep lab notes, hence, the new blog subject: Lab Notes.

First experiments

A couple of my first experiments were some basic kitchen chemistry, producing sodium acetate out of vinegar and baking soda, concentrating it to the hydrated crystals, and creating a super saturated solution to play with instant crystallization. after a few failures, I had some success, but the product was impure and rather finicky, but did get the instant crystallization I was looking for. I wanted more, and I had been watching a lot of YouTube videos, and found an interesting one to try. It required hydrochloric acid (available at any hardware store as muriatic acid) and hydrogen peroxide. Essentially extracting the bismuth metal from Pepto-Bismol. I haven't done this one yet, but I am planning it. I experimented with a small amount of the HCl and aluminum metal, which dissolved the metal to make a solution of aluminum chloride. It really wasn't surprising and totally expected, also expected was the exothermic nature of the reaction, I was careful to only add small amounts of aluminum at a time to prevent it from heating the plastic cup too much and causing a nasty spill. I eventually moved this outside because of the HCl fumes.

Element collecting

One of my hobbies which started a couple of years ago and inspired by Theodore Gray is the practice of element collecting. I started with coins stamped in various metals (I will one day photograph the coins and share them here), there are elements that aren't currently available as a coin. I added mercury to my collection by harvesting the small glass ampoule from an old thermostat, but aside from the coins (which are most of the transition metals, alkali earth metals, rare-earth metals and some of the non-metals) I was still short on my collection. I wanted more, especially the alkali metals and halides. Neither of which companies are willing to ship due to the reactivity. This is part of the reason for my desire to get chemistry gear, and start doing some home chemistry. The other reason is to investigate was of purifying various substances, such as acetic acid from vinegar, sodium acetate, and so on. I also wanted the lab gear for another hobby of mine: electronics, which to make printed circuits requires some etching chemicals which are rather nasty, toxic and corrosive. I wanted proper handling for these reagents, rather than using something that could potentially be confused with kitchenware.

Preparing Elemental Iodine

So, at Walmart, I was purchasing hydrogen peroxide for the bismuth experiment, when I spotted a tiny brown bottle: Tincture of Iodine! The first thought that ran through my head was elemental iodine. So I bought it and brought it home with me. Last night, while catching up on Youtube, I came across a video, coincidentally, which explained how to isolate the iodine from the tincture. It was simple, and used chemicals and items I already had, so off I went. That's when I noticed something disheartening: It was not tincture of iodine, but tincture of iodides. Hmm. I remember seeing a video on how to extract iodine from potassium iodide (which this contained, along with ethanol, ammonia(!), and ammonium iodide) Ok, so its the same procedure, just a different starting point. No big deal, the ammonia however posed a problem: Iodine reacts with ammonia to produce nitrogen triiodide, which is a contact explosive. I can't have that! So, I started with tiny amounts of everything. a couple ml of the tincture, HCl and hydrogen peroxide. This way, If I do make the nitrogen triiodide accidentally, it will be a small enough quantity that it can be easily dealt with. So, I begin pouring the HCl into the beaker, and (with a bit of dread) noticed it start to fume as I brought the beaker over the one that contained the tincture. Oh, no... not HCl vapors again. I'll have to go out in the cold to finish it. It then occurred to me: I have 2 substances which are giving off a gas, HCl and ammonia. the two combine to form ammonium chloride, the substance of a smoke! This also allayed one of my fears, the HCl would react away the ammonia and prevent the triiodide from being produced. This was good, so I finished the reaction, and proceeded to filter the iodine precipitated from the reaction.

The iodine was then transferred to a small vial and heated to verify that it was indeed iodine, the purple vapor indicated it was what I wanted it to be.

So, now i have a vial of iodine to add to my element collection.

Bypassing the Property Grid's Sort Order

2010-06-20T14:40:00.000-05:00

While working on a programming project one of the things I wanted to include was the ability to list out the values in the collection in the same way the array lists its items.

Normally, the collection displays an ellipsis button, allowing the user to manipulate the collection, but does not allow the user to expand the list of items like an array does. I figured this would be very simple to add. The .NET framework provides a base class for an object called a TypeConverter. The TypeConverter allows objects of various types to be translated to and from various representations.

Beyond that, the TypeConverter can supply a list of standard values (Enumerators use this, which allows the property grid to display a drop-down list containing the various valid values.) The TypeConverter can also supply an editor class for the type (You see this in form designers all the time, the font dialog, the drop-down for colors, the drop-down for for docking, etc...) Finally, the type converter can also supply a list of properties that the object can display as child properties of a property. It is this that I will focus on:

public override bool GetPropertiesSupported(ITypeDescriptorContext context)
{
return true;
}
public override PropertyDescriptorCollection GetProperties(ITypeDescriptorContext context, object value, Attribute[] attributes)
{
List<String> lst = (List<String>)value;
ListItemDescriptor[] props = new ListItemDescriptor[lst.Count];

for (int i = 0; i < lst.Count; i++)
props[i] = new ListItemDescriptor(i);

return new PropertyDescriptorCollection(props);
}

The above code demonstrates how the properties are provided by the TypeDescriptor. Using the above code results in the following list in the grid:

Far from optimal for dealing with a list of items. The list is sorted alphabetically. But arrays seem to sort by index. That was what I wanted, so I began spelunking through the reference source code of the .NET framework. Examining the Array code and ArrayConverter code revealed nothing. They were doing essentially what I was doing. I then explored the grid. It appears the PropertyGrid itself considers an array a special case and sorts the items by index. That is no use to me.

Using the sort method of the PropertyDescriptorCollection object does nothing, since the grid will always override it with the user's sort preference. So, how to sort the items by index?

The secret is in the property descriptor collection. Replacing the return statement above with the following:

return new ListPropertyDescriptorCollection(props);

The following listing shows the ListPropertyDescriptorCollection class that does the magic:

private class ListPropertyDescriptorCollection : PropertyDescriptorCollection
{ 
    public ListPropertyDescriptorCollection(PropertyDescriptor[] props)
    : base(props)
   {
  
    }

    public override PropertyDescriptorCollection Sort
    (System.Collections.IComparer comparer) 
   { 
        if (comparer.GetType().Name == "DisplayNameSortComparer") 
       { 
            ListItemDescriptor.ListItemDescriptorSortComparer comp = 
             new ListItemDescriptor.ListItemDescriptorSortComparer(); 
            return Sort(comp); 
       } 
         else 
       { 
            return base.Sort(comparer);
       }
    }
 }

The code that performs the trick should be rather self-evident:

ListItemDescriptor.ListItemDescriptorSortComparer comp = new ListItemDescriptor.ListItemDescriptorSortComparer();
 return Sort(comp);

Two lines of code in this function do all that is necessary to force the numeric sort. The comparer in this case compares the indicies of the descriptors, causing the sort function to sort by the numeric index. This completely replaces any sort function used with the desired sort, thereby forcing a sort by index.

Building a CPU - Stalled

2010-06-02T11:33:00.000-05:00

I'm currently stalled on the CPU project, mainly switching focus to writing my own logic simulation program with the hopes of bringing this project into a program that's a bit easier to use.

I've still be mulling over the program counter update issue and why it isn't syncing, but I just haven't given myself much time with that.

Building a CPU - Following instructions

2010-05-19T18:57:00.000-05:00

Well, my first run through on the simulator with memory and a few instructions worth of microcode and... well, hmmmm.

The instructions seem to work fine until the instruction terminates, and goes back to the fetch instruction, then things fall apart. For some reason, the program counter doesn't seem to be advancing right, or the flip-flops holding each 4-bit word don't seem to be getting the appropriate instruction at the appropriate time.

I'm going to need to do some more experimentation and thought on this one to figure out what went wrong. I have a feeling what I really need to do us use latches instead of flip-flops. More things to play around with. It may make sense to make the registers D-Latches as well, so data is written instantaneously, rather than on a clock tick. Another possibility is using more than one clock, possibly by using some sort of delay line or a secondary clock source.

Building a CPU - Musings on the evolution of machine code

2010-05-17T10:50:00.002-05:00

Over the weekend I got deeper into some of the more thorny parts of the design. The ALU was really rather simple. For the most part the glue logic was pretty simple. Sure, it looks big and complex, but it's mostly just a bunch of wires that connect from point a to a central routing station to point b, oh, and a few dozen control signals to tell the thing what to do.

This is all fine and good. I can by setting a certain set of inputs instruct the machine to take register o, connect it to bus b on ALU and add it to the accumulator. Great, so the basis of instructions will work.

Now, all I need to do is create an instruction set. At first I had the brilliant idea of using the most significant five bits (8 bit instructions, 2 words) This created a very nice set of 8 bit instructions. I started working out the machine code, how the arguments will be handled and how op-code+arguments will be structured. I knew I was going to somehow index into a set of EEPROMs to get the signals, or a series of signals the op-code will generate. Essentially the EEPROMs would store a table. After fidgeting around with the op-codes and their respective arguments for a while it became painfully apparent that I would either have more ROM for instruction microcode than the entire system has addressable space or I would need some very complex decoding logic to get an index into the appropriate entry into the table.

That simply was not going to work. First, it seems wrong to have several more times address space just to store instructions than the chip is capable of handling from the external world, not only that, but it would be exceptionally sparse, a huge waste of memory. Yes-- memory is cheap these days. ROM is not as cheap, but still rather cheap. The other alternative would mean I'd need a heap of TTL chips to build just the instruction decoder, which aside from requiring large piles of money would also require more power than I care to deal with (I don't really care for needing to add special high-current breakers to the breaker panel, and I don't think the apartment complex would appreciate it.)

So, something had to give. I tried squeezing some different kinds of flags into those eight bits. Hmm, no, that still doesn't work out as cleanly as I would like. I Finally broke down and decided the op-codes between instruction forms will only loosely be related. This means, for example, ld (load a register from memory or another register) would take up about half the available slots, due to the fact that it necessarily needs to move data from anywhere to almost anywhere. st (store register data to memory) is a little bit better in this regard, since the destination is only memory.

Which leaves me with machine code that is functional, but not the orthogonal work of art I had hoped for.

Control logic: Easy at first but maybe not on closer inspection

So I began work on the instruction decoder after I put together an instruction set. One of the things I knew would be a requirement is that the EEPROMs be banked. Allow me to explain: The control word is ~50 bits wide. Each micro-instruction is a control word. EEPROMs generally have an 8 bit data bus. I could fetch in series each chunk of microcode and bring it into a final register, but this complicates things and wastes precious instruction cycles. So, rather than a single EEPROM, I'll need 7. As far as the decoder is concerned, it's not a big deal. The tricky part is getting an 8 bit instruction from a 4 bit data bus. This has to be done in two cycles. Also, during this cycle the current micro-instruction must stay the same, or the decoder could lose its fetch signal. So, the decoder pulls an op-code in two cycles, and once the cycle is complete it then latches the op-code. Upon latching, the first micro-instruction of that op-code now sends its signals out to the rest of the CPU. That latch step added one clock to the fetch cycle. A necessary evil, I suppose.

The next challenge was getting some microcode in the simulation to test things out. Unfortunately the banked layout makes things rather nasty as far as just jumping into the sim's hex editor and plopping in codes (notwithstanding the fact that the control word is long enough to tax my memory of what bit handles what, despite the logical ordering of things.) This necessitates some sort of assembler, so I have begun a quick-and-dirty assembler for microcode. This is unlike any other assembly code, the microcode is highly parallel, and needs to perform several operations at once. So each "instruction" becomes a list of instructions followed by either a fetch or next. Fetch will of course read 2 words from the data bus and latch a new instruction. Next will increment an internal counter in the microcode sequencer. As it stands now, each instruction can perform 16 microcode steps. This is, obviously, subject to change as I get a better grip on the requirements of each instruction. 16 seems generous. Some of the instructions in the micro-assembler, will really be a composite of signals, some will be individual signals. Some will simply be modifiers.

I also knew that some of the instruction forms, especially in the forms [si+c], [si+oac], [si+<imm>], [si+<imm16>] would need a bit of new logic in the address bus control, since I didn't think to add the ability to combine addresses with external numbers. This also grows the control word by a few more signals.

I am very glad to be running this through a simulator before beginning the build. It allows me to catch flaws in my design and plan before wiring things up. Before simulations, I'd need to put the whole thing on a breadboard and test it out. Sure, not horrible, but definitely not as quick.

Building a CPU - The beginning

2010-05-13T06:04:00.001-05:00

So I got the brilliant idea to build a CPU from scratch. So, I'm well into the design phase of this project now, and have a pretty good start. I've designed the ALU, and have some of the control circuitry done.

The diagram above shows the ALU circuitry. Bus A and Bus B serve as the inputs. The shifter can only accept input from bus a, the complementor can accept inputs from either bus. All feed into the result bus, additionally the complementor can feed into the second argument of the adder.

The ALU is capable of performing logic functions (AND, OR, XOR) complementation (NOT, and two's complement) shifting, rotating and addition. Other operations will need to be composites of existing operations. The shifter can shift, rotate, shift with a carry in, and rotate through carry. The flags unit determines which of the 4 flag bits should be active. Results will be placed on the results bus.

Multiplication and division are not available in the ALU, but could be emulated in software using shifts and addition. The ALU also works on signed values, and the shifter can be set to sign extend or not. With signed values subtraction becomes simple addition.

Below is the control circuit. This is not complete as of yet, but may give some insight into how it all works together.

You'll notice it all looks overwhelmingly complex. It isn't really. There are a ton of control lines to direct the ALU what to do, control the registers, and control where the data goes. Unfortunately, the simulation software doesn't allow for sub circuits to have pins that serve as both an input and an output, so there are double the lines on the circuit. You can see that the address bus is 16 bits wide, and the data bus is 4 bits wide.

The CPU has the following registers: Four Bit: A (Accumulator), O (Operand) FLAGS, C (Counter), 16 bit: PC (Program Counter), SI, DI (source and destination addresses). Additionally, there are two registers for the stack. These combine on the data bus to form a 16 bit address, SP and BP. BP is four bits wide, SP is 12 bits wide. This allows for 4k of stack. The placement of the stack is restricted to 4k boundaries, but the BP register allows some flexibility in the placement of the stack, depending on how external memory is configured. The control word will come from a microcode sequencer.

Some of this design is likely to change, and there are some mistakes. the ALU should only be wired to accept input from the accumulator and another register, and will output to a temporary holding latch, which will then store the value in the register. This means the basic operations can complete in two clock cycles. As the diagram is now, it does not function. The data bus controller can only direct data from once source to one destination, and both of the ALU busses are connected to this controller.

Growing Crystals = Fail

2010-01-24T21:54:00.000-06:00

Lets say for a moment you and your kids decide to do a science experiment. You want to grow crystals. Great! There are lots of resources out there that tell you how to do all sorts of crystals. One of which is salt. Ordinary Table Salt.

So you and your family set out to grow beautiful cubic crystals. You heat up some water, and dump tons of salt in the water until nothing will dissolve anymore. You pour your supersaturated solution of good old sodium chloride into a cup, and dangle a string in the cup. You wait..... and wait... and wait. A week passes, and you have nothing to show for it at all. The sugar crystals came out great, but sugar is so pedestrian. The cubic salt crystals would have been so much better, but it's a total no-go. What happened?

I've wondered about this since I was a kid and tried to grow sugar crystals and salt crystals. Sugar did fine, but I really wanted to see the cool cubes of salt. It didn't work. Recently, I tried to grow salt again, prompted by seeing a huge crystal of salt on the show "How It's Made." So, I set about growing salt, being careful to make sure the pan was clean, the glass was clean, and everything was ideal, even filtering the undissolved crystals through a coffee filter. After about a week, I checked on my project. The results were disappointing to say the least. A few microscopic crystals formed near the surface of the water, and a cauliflower-like mass formed around the pencil suspending the string. Something was seriously wrong. A quick look at the ingredients gives a clue: There are two impurities in the salt; an iodine compound (a necessary nutritional supplement. Most table salt is iodized) and an anti-caking agent. I suspect this is more the culprit than the iodine itself, since the iodine needed is relatively small in relation to the salt. Not only that, but the purpose of the anti-caking compound is to interfere with the salt's ability to build a crystal lattice.

In fact, most salts in the store (even those without the iodine) have some sort of anti-caking agent. Most, but not all. Salt used in the canning process is completely pure. This can be found near the canning jars and lids. After preparing a new solution using this salt, the difference was very apparent. The solution as it cooled formed a film of crystals at the surface, and seemed to be brimming with glinting, brilliant "diamond dust" I filtered the solution and hung my string in this new solution, and set it in a place where it will be relatively undisturbed. Within minutes tiny needles began to form in the water, and sink to the bottom, in a couple hours crystals were already starting to form on the string. Success at last!

The next stage will be to take an ideal specimen from the crystals formed by the solution and attach it to some nylon fishing line to use as a seed for the final large crystal. Stay tuned!

It just keeps getting better: More about the "Lunk Alarm" gym

2009-11-10T11:07:00.000-06:00

So, in this detailed review of Planet Fitness, the reviewer goes through all of the amenities, including— get this— Free Pizza and bagels:

Perks: Free Pizza, Bagels and Candy?
In addition to the free tanning and Shiatsu massage chairs that come with a the Black Card upgrade, Planet Fitness offers three other perks to all of their members: free pizza once a month, free bagels once a month and the ever-present jar of purple Tootsie Rolls at the front desk.
Yes. I’m not joking.
When you join Planet Fitness to get in shape, once a month they reward you for those 300 calories you just burned on the treadmill with a nice 500 calorie slice of greasy, cheap pizza from a local pizzeria. Or how about a giant, high-glycemic carb bagel to set you on your way to great summer abs? And when you’re done working out each day, grab a couple of purple Toostie Rolls loaded with high fructose corn syrup.
This whole thing would be laughable if it wasn’t so absurd. I can understand providing some kind of “treat” to your customers every once in a while, but outside of serving fried chicken or corn dogs, I can’t think of two more unhealthy foods to offer. A better approach would be to provide some type of healthy snack for their members, that helped them get an idea that eating better can taste good as well. Why not wraps, high-fiber protein bars, or even a healthy version of pizza?

Come to think of it, what a great business plan, keep 'em fat so they keep coming back. Augh, I think I'm gonna be sick.

"Judgement Free" Zone

2009-11-10T09:47:00.000-06:00

C'mon! get real... A Lunk Alarm?

Ok, Given I'm not in the greatest shape, and I just recently joined a gym (which does not have such an alarm, btw) I've never felt intimidated by the heavy lifters at my gym, but to actually call out and humiliate people with a big blue flashing light and an alarm because they grunt or drop a weight. Give me a break!

Tainted Candy

2009-11-02T08:54:00.001-06:00

Halloween has come and gone. I'm sure many parents out there have closely inspected their kids' loot and given their seal of approval. So how did it happen that we became so careful about our kids' candy? This article gives the incident that set up x-rayed candies, and carefully checking packages for any sign of tampering. Not that you shouldn't be careful about your kids' treats-- you should, but it was someone's own avarice-driven poisoning of their own child that started the whole panic about tainted treats.

Now, that just begs the question: What kind of sick freak poisons their own child to satisfy their own greed!!?

H is for Hypocrite

2009-10-30T07:23:00.000-05:00

If you're going to pass judgment on somebody, first make sure you're not being a hypocrite.

Buyer Beware

2009-10-26T07:06:00.001-05:00

This falls under the subject of predatory advertising.

I follow Mouse Print pretty closely, reading their weekly articles. They've covered such things as airline's hidden fees and ways food manufacturers disguise their downsizing. The article linked above is, in my opinion, the worst that it gets. A web page that purports to be an actual news article from a real news organization touting the benefits of some dietary supplement.

Many people could be fooled into thinking it's real, but the entire thing is a work of fiction created by a bottom-feeding supplement manufacturer. I have seen similar websites for similar products. All seem to espouse the benefits of the product and appear on the surface to be legitimate. That is, of course, until you look at the fine print buried at the bottom of the page.

Shame on them.

Oh, and by the way: There is no magic berry that can make you lose weight. Losing weight is simple math, You have to take in less calories than you use.

Half-baked

2009-10-14T10:14:00.000-05:00

So, imagine this:

A happy couple sits down with a cake decorator, and describes what they want. A wedding cake with a traditional lace pattern, but with a twist, hidden in the lace would be a subtle ninja star. Oh, by the way, it would be fun to hide small ninja figures in the fondant apricots. Sure! No problem! replies the baker. Imagine the shock and dismay when presented with the final result on your wedding day.

Are people really this dumb?

2009-10-13T09:35:00.001-05:00

I mean ... how on earth do you mistake a skunk for a cat? Kind of reminds me of that found cat poster.

Seriously Gross

2009-10-13T08:41:00.001-05:00

Eeewww.

Most Controversial Magazine Covers

2009-10-12T10:12:00.000-05:00

Controversial Covers

I actually remember the picture of the dog with the gun to its head being used in an advertisement in a computer magazine, with similar wording "Buy this game or the dog gets it"

Interesting set of covers, though.

Especially telling of people's attitudes, especially the one of the baby breastfeeding:

One mother actually shredded the magazine so that her 13-year old son couldn’t see it.

What? There is nothing wrong with that photo, and anybody that thinks anything different has serious issues.

Bury me with the hamster

2009-10-12T09:35:00.001-05:00

I'll just tell the kids to bury me next to the hamster.

Seriously neglectful parenting

2009-10-07T15:30:00.001-05:00

Seriously ...

British Automotive Show Hosts Chased by Angry Rednecks

2009-10-07T08:03:00.003-05:00

Only in the American south could something like this happen...

Seems Ralph Lauren does not like criticism of the artwork in its ads

2009-10-07T07:17:00.001-05:00

This story says it all. I originally spotted this ad on Photoshop Disasters a blog chronicling some of the more absurd Photoshop edits in advertisements, which has also been chilled by the fashion designer.

Hey, a novel idea: If your ad is flawed, then why not go back and try to improve it rather than trying to silence your critics?

That's right, We need to fix the "liberal bias" in the Bible

2009-10-06T11:11:00.000-05:00

Conservatives are getting progressively weirder. Here's a link to a website touting itself as "The Trustowrthy Encyclopedia."

They've fallen far, far off the deep end. I can't even begin to think about how the Bible could even possibly have any sort of political bias (at least, in the context of the modern American political system) But, hey, there you go!

This has me scratching my head

2009-10-06T09:56:00.002-05:00

This radio in a Mercedes? Really?

Either the radio was stolen, and they can't afford to replace it (you know, because of the car payments) or ... well .... hmmm.

Name the non-metals in 5 minutes

2009-10-05T13:37:00.000-05:00

The quiz is on Mental Floss's website.

I managed to name all but 3 of them.

Have a nice night!

2009-10-05T07:25:00.000-05:00

This sort of insane behavior really makes me wonder, sometimes. It's not at all like the hostess did something wrong. Far from it, actually-- She was being courteous, and what thanks does she get? Someone complaining about how out of line she was.

This cracked me up

2009-10-05T06:57:00.000-05:00

Ok, if you know HP calculators, then you know what RPN is ... ;)

Fat skunk

2009-10-02T09:03:00.002-05:00

Apparently this skunk was addicted to bacon sandwiches ...

Bad cars ...

2009-10-02T07:08:00.000-05:00

Bad things can happen to good cars. Here's a whole bunch. I particularly like the LOLCat-like captions on the older ones.

Though, I feel a bit remiss about laughing at some of these tragic accidents.

Perfect decorating ideas for Halloweeen?

2009-10-01T10:06:00.000-05:00

Bloody home decor.

Well, whuddya know ... Texting doesn't make you a poor speller after all.

2009-09-30T12:09:00.003-05:00

Apparently, those that spell poorly in text messages, are just-- quite simply-- bad spellers.

Go Figure. And I'll bet they have lousy grammar, too.

Mean Doctor Day

2009-09-30T11:57:00.000-05:00

Is it really mean, or is he just being reasonable?

Good god people can be sick.

2009-09-30T08:46:00.000-05:00

The worrying thing here is, there's likely a child involved in this...

And now, to kick things off: Lyrics I've misheard

2009-09-30T07:10:00.000-05:00

Midnight Star, Weird Al

What I heard: Tell me, tell me, tell me how to make my frostbite grow.

What it really is: Tell me, tell me, tell me how to make my bustline grow.

In a song lampooning tabloid weirdness, either line could fit. Making one's frostbite grow would definitely be the stranger of the two, and definitely shows my twisted way of thinking.

Like a Phoenix, blah blah ...

2009-09-30T07:05:00.000-05:00

So, after a long hiatus, I'm back to posting to the blog.

How things have changed: The economy is in the toilet, gas prices, although still somewhat high are reasonable, and a new president in office. And I now follow more blogs than ever

I'm going to make an effort to post stuff I find here, or stuff I think of. Whatever. Some posts will be short and twitter-like (but I refuse to twit), some will be lengthy diatribes, and mostly lots of links to different things found out there on the internet that I find strange or interesting.

Blogs about the baby, Tickets, tolls

2007-10-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been meaning to do this for quite some time. I've made my name more anonymous, now... and now christopher's posts get his own blog. So... if you want to see his posts, Send me an e-mail (mraiford at google mail service, gmail.com). This is mostly for protection of my wife and son. People you don't want finding things on the internet tend to find things on the internet.

Now,

On to my blog post subjects today, Tickets and Tolls.

We went to an event at a local city, and it was hot. I wanted to get a couple drinks for us, so went to one of the many concession stands and attempted to order. "That'll be 5 tickets, please!"

... Excuse me? Tickets? Why do I need tickets? I'm sure there's a nice marketese explanation as to why I need tickets: "To better serve our guests and make it more convenient for them"

Right .... In the end it winds up being a hassle, since I have to wait in line for tickets, when I found an empty concession stand just seconds ago. I think they do it in hopes that you don't try to cash them back at the end of the day. Oh well, at least the drinks were more affordable than the Balloon Festival.. eesh .. $5 for a cup of lemonade from powdered drink mix.

Tolls. Recently, not too long after adding tolling a previously toll-free road, the state's legislature decided it wasn't getting enough money from the most expensive toll road in our area (It used to be free). They needed to make the other tolled route more expensive as well. I'd love to see them actually use these tolls to help alleviate the traffic problem in our area instead of building even more toll roads.

The sad thing is, one toll plaza is virtually unavoidable. In order to skip that one, I'd have to take a circuitous route that involves plenty of extra drive time and quite a bit of back tracking for good measure. Fine. I'll go through that one. But I'm avoiding toll roads whenever possible, even though the tolled route (the one that was always tolled, never free) was the most efficient route.

Ill

2007-09-06T08:52:00.000-05:00

I'm finally feeling normal again. What a relief!

For the past several days I've felt rather ill. Some kind of cold, or flu-like thing. I always relish feeling better after a minor illness like this. I feel as of I could take over the world.

Being sick, and having a baby in the house is an odd thing. For one, you can't just build a bubble around the child; it's just not practical. You don't want to get your child sick, but at the same time you need to take care of the baby and make sure he's fed, entertained, and clean. Entertaining baby is usually easy, but becomes a chore when all you want to do is sleep, and find some way of clearing your sinuses. I sympathize with my wife, who has had the brunt of taking care of the baby since I've been sick.

Interestingly, while my wife is now showing signs of the flu of doom, baby is just as well as can be. Odd, I figured it was a sure thing that he would get it. I'll count my blessings for that one.

Yesterday I realized we ran out of daytime cold medicine, so I figured I'd grab one of those 2-dose sample packs at the convenience store on the way to work. They didn't have anything I needed, so I headed to the local 24-hour drugstore. They have what I'm looking for, but it boasts "Now psuedoephedrine free". Fine, I'll go to the pharmacy counter and inquire about the real stuff. They have Nyquil with the real stuff, but not Dayquil. So, I grab a pack of the lesser stuff. The new decongestant isn't nearly as effective as the original kind, and I'm willing to sign a log book that will be examined by the DEA just to get the most effective medication.

Travelin'

2007-09-04T09:07:00.001-05:00

We decided long ago that over the labor day weekend we would go up to Oklahoma City to visit my grandmother. This was our first time traveling with the baby, so this will be an interesting experiment. The way up wasn't too bad, and we had a rather nice visit. One of my aunts also arrived, and brought KFC for dinner. We had dinner then headed home. The way back was a bit more challenging as it was getting late, and the baby was entering his trademark fussy time of the day, which meant most of the trip home was punctuated with crying, and constant discussion as to whether we stop now or wait. He quieted, we waited. We passed one potential stopping area, and he'd start up again.

I also, on a wild lark decided to try stopping at one of those scenic turnouts. Now I understand why my dad never stopped at one when I begged him to. It was rather boring and the scenery was nothing to write home about. I took pictures anyway. We stopped at the Texas visitors center at around dusk and got a couple nice pictures, though, which sort of made up for it.

How to get people to vote your way

2007-09-01T09:24:00.000-05:00

There's an ad spot airing right now which urges you to contact congress or face gas shortages like the 1970's. This law sounds bad right? What does it amount to? Stricter controls on the pricing of gasoline. As I have blogged about multiple times the petroleum companies are getting filthy rich while the rest of us are having to pay exorbitant prices for gasoline. They use varied excuses ranging everywhere from an imminent hurricane about to hit the shore (which never materialized), taxes (Yes, taxes have jumped sharply in a few days has been one of their excuses), changeover from winter to summer formula, and various others. The list goes on.

This latest ad makes the idea of price control, lower fuel tax and holding the petroleum industry accountable sound like a bad thing. This is an industry that keeps bringing in record profits. Don't listen to the ad, vote with your mind, not with your fears. This is also the industry that artificially adjusts supply, while demand remains virtually constant using a variety of excuses. Supply goes down, prices go up.

The petroleum industry is a cartel. For more examples of what a cartel can do for you, I suggest you visit your local jewlery store. Those shiny transparent things? They aren't so rare. Industrial diamonds are cheap, but the cartel would have you believe the diamond is a rare thing, and demand a high price. Not so, you see, they control the supply ...

They banned tag!

2007-08-31T07:47:00.000-05:00

Remember the game of tag? Someone would be tagged, they would be "it", and run after someone else to tag them and make them it. Apparently, this is a bad thing now. It's considered chasing and harassing to some. My God. I remember when I was a kid we would play tag. I always wound up as being "it" it always annoyed me, because I wasn't a very fast runner. Yes -- I would get pulled into the game without really wanting to participate, but the furthest thing from my mind was to complain that I was being chased and harassed.

It seems our general inflated sense of entitlement is rubbing off on our kids. How sad.

Blog about Blogging

2007-08-29T07:47:00.000-05:00

Lately, I've been trying to catch up on posts about my son, Christopher. Recalling the various trials and tribulations of raising baby has been quite a chore. I forget many things, then remember them long after I've made the monthly update post.

I've decided to take a new approach to blogging: Write ideas and events down as they occur. Later compile them into a new post. I need a process for keeping all of these memories somewhere before they fade away into oblivion. Another thing I need to do is find some way of relaying things with more frequency than just once per month. So, in between all of that there will be intermediate posts that will not necessarily be about him, but about life in general. Ideas and topics that come to me. And a means of putting those scraps into the blog, then fleshing them out when I have time.

An observation ...

2007-08-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

On several occasions I've seen these things placed in the seat portion of the grocery cart. It seems people these days are becoming more and more germophobic. Seriously, they put these on their carts to keep their precious little spawn away from any and all germs.

What they're really setting their child up for is being seriously ill later on. A child who is not exposed to at least some illness-causing agents will not be able to build any immunity. Using something like this really is a disservice to your child^1,2.

My belief? These parents fall into one of 2 categories: Those who are true germophobes who's cleaning-product shelf looks that of a hospital ward in charge of taking care of immunocompromised patients, and those who just simply don't want a sick, whiny kid with a runny nose, they also have similar shelves in their homes, sanitizer at every sink, and will generally sneer at you, should you get too near their precious child.

I don't quite understand this culture of needing to raise your child in a perfectly sanitized pristine environment. And FYI, those covers are likely to be even more of a breeding ground for dangerous bacteria than the smooth plastic and metal of a shopping cart.

New life...

2007-02-01T13:44:00.000-06:00

... and apparently new blogger.

Well, after a long hiatus, which seems to happen frequently with me, I decided to make an entry. We have a baby on the way, and I couldn't be happier.

What to do? So many things we will need, so much thought about this new life. I'm both excited and terrified. It was cool to see him (yes, its a boy!) on the ultrasound, and was just completely amazed.

Not much has been happening on other fronts.

Second Week

2006-10-20T13:49:00.000-05:00

Seems sometimes I hardly have time to post..

Well, the second week is almost to an end. She's more tired, now. This is just simply amazing, though. Even though I do more now, it really isn't too bad.

Sorry for the short post. Its just that... well, theres not a whole lot going on!

A New Life

2006-10-09T13:14:00.000-05:00

As many things in life, things change.

A new series of posts from now on. I'm now one of the many who is experiencing and has experienced having a new life develop before their eyes. I just found out my wife is pregnant. This will be our first child. I'm estatic.

Periodically, I will be posting entries about this wonderful and amazing journey.

Week 1, Day 1

It happened. It finally happened. We just finished a cruise, and during the cruise suspected that something may be up. So, upon returning home, we stopped by walgreens to pick up the test. I had just read a letter in the mail that was going to require attention, and was bad news. Fine. I can deal with it.

She took the test, and in a few minutes my world changed: it simply read "Pregnant". I was scared, especially because of the coorespondence in the mail, and now a baby, too. How can I deal with it? This wasn't how I wanted it to be. I wanted the moment we found out to be a spectacular rush of joy, not terror. But, I was a bit terrified. I had a financial obligation that I needed to make good, "or else..." and that stung, especially in light of this news. I didn't sleep too well, and was quite fidgity. We called my parents and her parents to tell them the good news. Deep inside I can feel the happiness, but it is overshadowed by the other news.

Day 2

Having reconciled arrangements to pay back the debt, I'm confident we can do this. I now find myself wondering about this new person, new human being.... Someone who only a scant few weeks ago didn't exist at all! What will they be like? What will their personality be like? Whose looks will they resemble the most? All these questions will be answered in due time.

Its wonderful! I'm going to be a dad!

And the "useless product of the year" award goes to ...

2006-09-26T07:03:00.000-05:00

USB Batteries!

Thats right! you, too can plug four batteries into four available USB ports on your handy laptop, leave it on overnight (connected to wall power, since few laptops are capable of running full-on for 5 hour straight) and have a fresh set of batteries in the morning!

Hmm, I have several sets of NiMH batteries and a 15min charger at home. Its small, easy to pack and takes minutes to charge, and the batteries run for 1/4 the price of these. Heck, the charger costs as much as 1 battery. Oh, and don't forget: My batteries are 2500mah, these are 1300mah. You'd be better off stocking up on Alkalines.

There's a rabbit under there... somewhere

2006-08-24T11:56:00.000-05:00

This blog post came up, and... HOLY COW! There's a rabbit under there somewhere.

This thing resembles some sort of tribble!

Photo by Betty Chu

According to Wikipedia, its an english angora rabbit. The beast has to be miserable in the summer time.

Magic

2006-06-22T14:51:00.000-05:00

Reading an article on Snopes, I'm reminded of a time when I was chosen from the audience to be part of a magic trick.

I was not in on the act. I was just as dumbfounded as the remainder of the audience. And then it came: The act was performed aboard a cruise ship. Which meant everyone who had seen me at some point had a chance to corner and question me about the trick.

My response: "No. I don't know how he did it, but it certainly was cool."

There are probably people to this day who thought I was part of the trick. Not every magic trick has a preselected participant in the audience.

Cell Phone Slamming

2006-06-16T17:38:00.000-05:00

I suppose word hasn't gotten around yet, so I'll be the one to break it to everyone:

Check your cellphone bill ... Look at it carefully. It seems the new form of slamming is particularly insidious. Send junk to your phone and bill you for it.

I have not subscribed to any monthly service whatsoever, and yet, I keep getting a $10 monthly text message. An advertisement is all it is, but they get to charge me $10 for it. No more.

Look for it: 21277 Text Alerts, Provider: Mobile Lifestyles

Gasoline Price Excuse Calendar #2

2006-05-12T07:27:00.000-05:00

Taxes.

Yep. The reason gas prices are so inflated right now is taxes.

(Keep in mind that taxes are only 15% of the total price you see at the pump and they haven't really changed at all)

Here's a little hint: They wouldn't have raked in nearly as much dough as they have if the reason truly were taxes.

I think they're running out of good excuses, or at least plausible ones.

I was hoping it would never come to this

2006-05-06T15:31:00.000-05:00

Whoops!

Due to some scum, I now have word verification turned on.

SPAMMER BE WARNED: I will be contacting your ISP. have a nice day :)

Why?

2006-04-25T06:44:00.000-05:00

Why would anyone in the right mind purchase this product.

A gem from the article:

"The weird thing is, it smells like a chocolate Pop Tart. That's the best way I can describe it. It really does have a chocolate scent to it," explained Shane Compton of Hewitt's Garden Center.

I do not think I want my flower bed smelling anything like any sort of pop tart.

Some things are just ... TMI

2006-04-25T06:37:00.000-05:00

At a local restaurant, we're enjoying our early dinner. A waiter answers a cell phone, and takes the call outdoors. No biggie. It didn't even phase me.

What happened next, however made me uncomfortable: He proceeded to explain to us the reason for his taking the call.

I didn't care. I didn't want to know. The right thing to do would have been not to say a word. In short, I don't really care about a complete stranger's dating life. Really. I don't. Revealing your excitement about the call was a far worse sin than simply taking the call and saying nothing about it.

I don't like feeling awkward when I'm on a date with my wife.

Massachusetts Says to Lower Middle Class: "Up Yours"

2006-04-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

Wow,

They approved the mandantory health insurance bill. This means that every citizen in MA will now be requred to have insurance, or face penalties. I'm sure the insurance companies are salavating over the new business this will bring. What concerns me is the fact that a family of 3 at 38,000 is at the top end of the "sliding scale" for affordable health insurance. This is fine, if you are married and have children. What is the top for those who do not have children? What about people who can "afford" insurance by their definition, but have an illness such as dabetes? I'm sure someone making $40,000 per year would be just fine having to shell out around 700-800 per month on insurance.

I'd make it a point to have employers be required to offer insurance to their employees, rather than requiring the individual. Have the insurance based on the wages the individual is paid. Penalise those who employ people but don't offer insurance. Leave the individual alone.

While they have penalties for employers, it doesn't apply for very small businesses (nor should it apply), so the worker in those businesses will either have to find another job or go out on their own for health insurance (which means that person will not get the deep discounts offered for groups, believe me, it becomes a significant chunk of your income that way, especially if you're making $12/hour or less.)

Norton Antivirus Upgrade Path

2006-04-12T06:47:00.000-05:00

Today's Dilbert just about sums up my user experience with Norton Antivirus. I take it Scott Adams is a Norton user as well.

Flash back to the heady days of 2005:

Again, after some severe procrastination, I decided to update my virus definitions. Norton's site wanted to charge as much for a year's worth of virus updates as it did for the new version. Guess which choice I took? That's right. The new version. Great. After about 24 hours of frustration, pain and agony, resulting in some bizarre steps that could have been construed as ritualistic, I finally got the upgrade on, but not without seriously ripping apart the program to the point where it was no longer operational. A distant memory, now, but it was a horrible user experience. Software installation shouldn't be painful.

Fast forward to last weekend:

After much procrastination, I decide to purchase another year of virus definitions. Click the purchase button, expecting it to helpfully take me to a website where I can purchase the update, but instead I get a nasty dialog demanding that I give it a code. So, figuring I cannot go on without the code, I go digging. I find 3 candidate numbers and dutifully punch them into the little white box. None work. What the hell? All I want to do is get another year of definitions. Why won't it let me continue with the purchase? So, I click on a button it recommends if I don't have the code. It lists about 2 dozen different phone numbers, depending on which part of the world you live on. I ask my wife to grab a phone for me, and proceed to dial, only to find out their number has changed! Gah! It took me a while to notice the hyperlink. Well, well. That link takes you to the purchase site.

I could have saved half an hour and some pain and agony if the program had directed me to the purchase site first, then asked for the code.

Signs

2006-04-04T07:16:00.000-05:00

At a local interchange, they can't seem to get the signs right. There's a problem with the signs going from the northbound lanes of one freeway to the other freeway, It used to throw me every time, until I stopped paying attention. Now, at the same interchange they've put up new signs, which don't make any sense. Anyone not familiar with the area or the interchange has the potential for either missing their exit or winding up in a serious accident when they make the mad dash to exit.

I really wish the bozos putting up freeway signs showing the lanes that exit and where to would do the job right!

Texas has gone toll happy

2006-03-30T06:34:00.000-06:00

We have 2 toll roads in the Dallas area, and I have to commute using one of them. Not bad, but its going to get bad. There have been plans to make what used to be a highway into a toll road, and now under the threat of taking 10 more years to complete, instead of 3 more years, a project that was once considered a freeway will now be a tollway.

Now, the question is: Once they've paid off building the road, and improving the local roads with the money from the tolls will the state let go of their cash cow? Keep in mind these projects (the 161 project specifically) are being handled by private companies who are interested in one thing, and one thing alone: The bottom line.

Sweet sweet irony

2006-03-22T10:56:00.000-06:00

This post by Raymond Chen just cracks me up.

Guns

2006-03-21T14:48:00.000-06:00

After reading a thread, I got some crazy ideas in my head to make this post.

On Kids and Guns:

One of the posts mentioned that the child should be told in no uncertain terms that guns are for adults only.

Human Nature 101: Label something as forbidden to you or people of your group will do nothing more than make that object highly desirable.

This does not prevent a kid from playing with a gun. Now, at the risk of my wife being very upset with me when she reads this post, let me share my view:

I grew up in a family that had guns. My grandfather collects guns, as does one of my uncles. This culture eventually culminated in one intriguing Christmas present: A BB gun. (Not a Red Rider) Upon receiving it, my dad sat down with me and went over every single part of the weapon, how to work the safety switch, and various other serious things, notably:

Don't point it at anyone for any reason at any time, Regardless if it is loaded or not. As far as you know, the gun is loaded. Same goes for the safety switch, even if the safety is on, don't do it!
When walking, point it at the ground, Keep your hand away from the trigger.

Even though this was simply a BB gun, it was meant to be taken seriously. An accident wouldn't have been a tragedy in the least, but with a real gun it most certainly would have.

Both of those points were well taken. I also understood the consequences for breaking any safety rules.

Because I was disciplined, and followed safety correctly, I had the privilege of using real guns, and eventually a bow and arrow. I knew how much force they had behind them. The gun simply because of its recoil, the bow because of the amount of force to pull and hold the string.

I've been in situations where another kid had access to a gun, pulled it out and started playing with it. I didn't stick around, and made it clear to that kid that I wasn't sticking around because the gun shouldn't be out, and he was reckless in handling it. I don't know how I would have handled that situation had I not had exposure earlier in life to guns. Further, I don't know how I would have reacted if guns were described as being for grown-ups only, but I do know how I reacted to certain "Adults only" magazines as a kid.... ;)

As an aside, I don't own a gun today. I don't intend to own a gun, and don't really want one in my house. Nothing against guns or people who own them, I just prefer not to have one. Would I give my kid a BB gun? Maybe. Anything more than that? Probably not. I'd let him or her fire one at a shooting range, just for the experience, but only after a long talk and a couple thousand copper balls.

Fuel Price Excuse Calander

2006-03-16T06:17:00.000-06:00

Today's Entry: Switching from Winter formula to summer formula

Previous entries include such zingers as:

Impending Hurricane. Must raise prices.
Exploding Refineries.
Transient Electrical Distrubances in the pricing system caused by sunspots

The last one is a joke, but can you really tell the difference?

$2.50 per gallon when they're pulling record profits on a commodity that everyone needs is just plain sickening.

Tin foil hat time

2006-03-15T07:58:00.000-06:00

Well, Is it?

Tired of Spam? Try this.

2006-03-09T12:13:00.000-06:00

I remember getting a link to this from somewhere, but after deleting a mailbox full of badly written spam (and reading the subject lines and wondering how many of these spammers got past 4th grade composition) I decided to revisit this site.

Spamusement, they call themselves.

Running low on ideas

2006-03-09T09:48:00.000-06:00

So, today

I'll make a post about nothing .

The Simpsons

2006-03-06T12:48:00.000-06:00

Maybe its just me, but this is too strange. Do not adjust your monitor. Yes, the video is the title sequence to the hit show "The Simpsons" but, with a bit of a twist: They're real people!

I haven't had a chance to actually view the video yet, but looking at the stills, it should be very eerie to watch. FWIW, I'm an avid Simpsons fan, so, I do have an opinion: Marge is a bit... off, she needs the 3ft tall blue beehive for it to look right. Homer is nearly spot on. Bart, Lisa and Maggie are not exactly what I was expecting, but then, real people who look like Simpsons characters just don't exist.

I'm unclear whether this is going to be a new series, a title sequence/couch gag, or if it's just a video floating around the internet, and whether it will be seen (on TV) in the US.

Neat! I'll be eagerly awaiting it

2006-02-21T11:26:00.000-06:00

I stumbled across this wikipedia entry describing a game going by the name Spore. The game was created by Will Wright, the creator of Sim City.

Anyone who knows me know I used to be very involved in the Creatures community, and I've always had an interest in artificial intelligence, and artificial life. Spore seems to me to be a very interesting concept. Its not out yet, but was previewed at E3. I'm wondering what its hardware requirements are going to be. This might be one of the few games that will prompt me to get a new graphics card for my computer (despite the fact that I have a rather current processor and main board, my display adaptor actually lags behind a couple generations...)

Saturated Fat and Trans Fat

2006-02-15T15:02:00.000-06:00

Recently, the government has made a requirement for food labels to show how much trans fat is in a product. I have known for years that margarine was not a healthy substitute for butter, due to the partially hydrogenated oils. This article goes in depth to explain the different types fats, their links to heart disease, benefits and pitfalls of those fats. Interestingly, polyunsaturated fats are another one you should avoid, with a couple exceptions (Certain omega-3 and omega-6 acids are essential, and you do need them to maintain good health)

I feel somewhat vindicated that trans fat has finally been given the attention it deserves.

Magic Cures

2006-02-13T07:58:00.000-06:00

Reading this comic made me think for a moment. My wife uses the product (airborne) they are alluding to. She seems not to have caught as many colds or the flu since she's started. To me, it seems silly. I don't get sick frequently anyway, and all it is is Vitamin C in a fizzy potion. You can get that in your diet, or failing that, take a small pill. Better than trying to choke down a citrusy Alka-Seltzer.

So many things out there are said to cure all of life's problems. Just look at the vast array of weight loss supplements to see for yourself. In 1 hour of TV viewing, I see at least half a dozen commercials for some "magic pill" that will "melt the pounds off in an instant", only $39.99 per pill and because its so expensive, you absolutely have to be serious about your weight loss. Sure. All the magic pills in the world won't fix the one problem: You're locked into a cycle of unhealthy eating, fad diets, more unhealthy eating, expensive magic pills, another fad diet (South Beach this time?) and back to more unhealthy eating.

Here's a hint: If you're serious about your weight loss, you'll lose the weight. Losing weight is simple: Take in fewer calories than your body needs. Its that simple. No magic pills, no special diets. Eat what you want, just don't go overboard. It works. I'm seeing the results of it, now. As an added bonus, its sustainable!

Weight Experience

2006-02-09T11:34:00.000-06:00

At one point in my life, after a divorce, I was at 135lbs. I was actually within my healthy weight range. I soon sparked a relationship with a wonderful woman whom 2 years later would become my wife. A the time I met her I was out of a job, but managed to get a job a few months later due to a confluence of lucky things coming together at once.

Again, I was comfortable in my newfound position, I was employed, and I could afford to live normally again. I (inexplicably) put on more than 50lbs in what seemed like an overnight timeframe. My girlfriend didn't care, and hardly seemed to notice. Worried tha this gain may have been caused by a metabolic issue, and not just simply uncontrolled, unabaited gorging on fast food (Its cheap, close, convenient and easy...) I visited a doctor to explain I had put on weight and not sure why.

The response floored me. He simply responded: "What? You want me to put you on a diet?"

If I wanted to be "put on a diet" I certainly would not be wasting my money on a Dr's appointment. He checked my vitals, gave me some aweful blood pressure medication that totally screwed up my electrolyte balance, and sent me on the way with my requested blood tests.

Everything came back normal, My cholesterol was normal, no metabolic issues. At this point, I was on a quest to figure out a non-metabolic reason for my gain. I tried a few diets, succeeded only a little before deciding that I was deprived and fell of the wagon. Eventually my girlfriend, then fianceé introduced me to Weight Watchers. She just joined, because she was getting married, and wanted to thin down for her pictures. I stuck with it for several months, but fell off the wagon (About 1 year and 1 month ago) I just simply lived my life, shrugged, and accepted my situation. It didn't dawn om me until we had a physical recently how much I had gained. Again, greeted by another unfriendly person in the medical profession and his scale.

I stepped on it. I Blinked. I looked at it with one eye, then with the other. It couldn't be. I couldn't possibly be over 250 lbs. No way! Not me!

It was no wonder why I was having difficulty putting on my shoes and socks, and even doing simple things such as bending and stooping to get at something off the ground. This time, I'm determined to fight this and get back to where I need to be.

Although I was and am obese. My cholesterol was always in control, and my general condition was good. Until I dropped that first 15 lbs I had no idea what I was missing. I can't wait to see whats in store for me. As far as BP goes, once I got off the meds for depression and stopping smoking, that too dropped, but I was still 260 lbs.

I still hold a grudge against that doctor, though and only had 1 visit. I'll never visit another doctor like that. Whether I'm fat or thin.

I had a taste of what it was like to be at a healthy weight. I want to get back there.

6 Things you really don't want to know about fast food

2006-02-01T09:08:00.000-06:00

This article goes through some facts about fast foods. Some is not surprising, some is shocking. Over all, its not really that shocking, chicken picks up beef from the grill and is processed into a chicken-like substance, shakes have gelatin in them. I did find the fact that fries are "meat" flavored surprising, but what I found disgusting was the health violations. I would certainly hope that most reasonable establishments are a bit more food safety conscious than the ones described.

Another article paints McDonald's fries in a bit darker light. I don't know how much truth there is in this, but it may explain why no one I know can make home made fries as crisp.

I'm lucky. I don't struggle with this

2006-01-31T14:47:00.000-06:00

One thing I know many people struggle with when trying to eat healthy is fruits and vegetables. I've never had to struggle with this. I like most of the "healthy" foods. This is one thing that will make my weight loss strategy work, I think.

I'm not without my struggles though: My nemisis is dairy, Skim milk is a good way to get dairy servings in, the other stuff is either too high in calories or fat, so I tend to avoid it. I don't like milk. I simply can't drink it without wanting to gag. But, I enjoy cheese, and yogurt. Essential oils are another struggle I have. I don't want to waste points on them (I'm using Weight Watchers, which assigns points to everything)

Every day I see a message on Weight Watchers' message boards from someone complaining that they don't like veggies. There are alternatives, of course, Eat fruits, but they typically have points (though, are a far better choice than say, a butterfinger bar) and for those who don't like fruits and veggies? Drink plenty of water rather than reaching for a snack or go ahead and try something new, you might be surprised!

Another struggle I have: Eating out. I love Mexican food, but it's so high in fat that it makes it very much not worthwhile. Of course, I'm going to a taste test today for a Mexican resturaunt, which gives me coupons for free food. What will I do? Enjoy the opportunity to voice my opinion, and savor the fact that I won't be paying for dinner out for a long time.

Central Market

2006-01-31T06:17:00.000-06:00

O...M...G....

Yesterday, I had to pick up a spice blend that I couldn't find anywhere, chinese 5-spice (made of star anise, fennel, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon, and cloves. All but the star anise and szechuan peppercorns are easily found. So, I decided to try Central Market. I'm totally impressed, I'll have to make more visits. The produce section is huge, quite literally one third of the store. Every kind of fruit and vegatable imaginable.

Returning to the much neglected, much ignored Blog.

2006-01-30T09:57:00.000-06:00

Okay, back to blogging.

I started this account more than a year ago, and haven't added anything. So, why not return to blogging? and here, since I already have the account?

Anyway, to start, I think this will be less technical, and more me this time around. Heck, I need some sort of outlet, somewhere where I can put stuff down. So why not?

There are some subjects want to discuss: The whole sort of general mish-mash of the world, my weight loss journey, a sprinkling of technical stuff, and well, anything I feel like, really.

Anyway, what better way to start than to state I've started working on my weight loss for the last 3 weeks, I've already dropped approximately 12lbs, and since changing the way I eat, I feel much better. More on this later...

Subservient Chicken

2004-04-08T12:10:00.000-05:00

This web site has got to be one of the most bizzaire things I have ever seen...

Windows Messages

2004-04-04T11:15:00.000-05:00

I'm a windows programmer by trade. While working on the batch processor for my photo sharing website, I stumbled upon an interesting feature of windows, Custom Error messages.

If you look at the FormatMessage function, you'll notice it can take an HMODULE to load the message from. But how are these messages created?

The messages are in a special format, compiled by the message compiler (mc.exe)

Each message takes the following form:


MessageId = [ID Number]
Severity = [Severity Code]
Facility = [Facility Name]
SymbolicName = [Identifier]
Language=[Language Name]
[Message Text]
.

For example, the following is a message indicating (for the Event Log) that a service has started:


MessageId = 0x01
Severity = Success
SymbolicName = DPAOL_MSG_SERVICE_STARTED
Language=English
Service Started
.

Most of the specifics are in the MSDN Library.

When you run the compiler on the message, it creates a resource file, a header file, and a binary file, which contains all of your messages. This can be handy for those of you who want to provide users of your library better information.

In the beginning of the this post, I mentioned something about the event log. As it turns out, the event log uses this same mechanism to build it's text information for each of the event entries. Otherwise, it complains, quite verbosely about not being able to read the text for the event ID. More on that later.

2003-11-17T12:56:00.000-06:00

Well,

I've decided to try a Blog.

No subject matter, but I might come up with something eventually... ;)