Tuesday, 21 April 2015

By on April 21st, 2015 in personal, science kits

09:13 – We’re in reasonably good shape on finished science kit inventory, so I’ll spend some time today making up a bunch of different solutions for yet more kits, in gallon batches. One gallon (~ 3.8 L) is sufficient for 250 15 mL bottles or 125 30 mL bottles, which is a reasonable number to make up at a time. Unfortunately, I can’t make up all of the solutions in larger batches. Most are stable indefinitely, but a few are stable for only a few years. Those we make up and bottle on-the-fly as we’re building kits.

Barbara said last night that I didn’t really need to get my own Kindle Fire, and that she’d only been kidding about me using hers all the time. Maybe so, but I’m sure she gets tired every evening of me asking her every few minutes to pass over her Kindle so I can check something. This’ll take us to four Kindles, one each mono units for actually reading books and one each tablet units for checking email and websites during the evening when we’re watching TV or whatever. Both of the tablets are 7-inch units, which are much better for Internet stuff than tiny smartphone displays. Now if only websites would stop defaulting to their mobile versions when they’re accessed with a tablet.


10:30 – The nail polish remover fairy just made a clandestine visit to the little ziplock bag that Barbara keeps under her end table in the den. She had a 2-ounce (60 mL) bottle of nail polish remover that was almost empty. Nail polish remover is simply acetone. She now has a bottle filled with reagent-grade acetone, which is a whole lot purer than the acetone that was originally in the bottle.

When I started making up chemicals, I finally decided to pretty up the containers. They’re currently hand-labeled with a black Sharpie, so I printed up a bunch of 5152 sticky labels (14 per sheet) to use instead. I figured I could wipe off the existing hand-printed labels with isopropanol. That didn’t work, so I tried some naphtha (Zippo lighter fluid). Surprisingly, that didn’t work either. So I decided to try acetone, but I didn’t have any upstairs. Then I remembered Barbara’s nail polish remover, so I gave it a try. The Sharpie marks wiped right off. But Barbara’s nail polish remover was nearly empty before I used it, so I figured I’d better refill it. Barbara now has a full bottle, thanks to the nail polish remover fairy.

39 Comments and discussion on "Tuesday, 21 April 2015"

  1. nick says:

    I wish the $20 bill fairy would come along and refill my wallet 🙂

    nick

  2. JLP says:

    I’m a prolific user of colored Sharpies in the lab. Some colors will come off with IPA but all wipe off with reagent alcohol.

  3. Dave B. says:

    I wish the $20 bill fairy would come along and refill my wallet

    I have been wishing the $100 bill fairy would come along and refill my wallet.

  4. dkreck says:

    The Irs fairy came along last week and emptied mine.

  5. OFD says:

    The IRS demon fairy stopped by here a couple of weeks ago and cleaned us out. They put it back after two weeks minus the OD charges the bank took out for all our bounced checks from bill-paying, which also damages our credit rating. The bank sez ‘tough chit.’ I won’t even bother asking the IRS to fix that.

    We’re just a Mundane household; now imagine if they did that to your business. And it was THEIR mistake. No apology, either, by the way, yeah, go ahead and laugh.

    A real shame so many Murkans, esp. veterans, are so angry and bitter all the time. Clinging to our guns and our religion, etc.

  6. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    It may be time to introduce a National Progressives Day, where all SJWs will proudly wear, say, shirts with purple bullseyes on them.

  7. Jim B says:

    I thought nail polish remover had some kind of oil in it to counteract the acetone’s skin drying effect?

  8. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Some does. Barbara was concerned that pure acetone would dry her skin. I may add a drop or two of vegetable oil or one of her skin lotions, but I don’t think it’s a big deal either way. The acetone will dissolve skin oils, but it evaporates quickly, leaving the oils in place unless they’re wiped off.

  9. Jim B says:

    Ah, good explanation. A long time ago, I would occasionally work with various parts-cleaning solvents. The difference was that I would sometimes unavoidably submerge my hands. The drying effect was dramatic. Gloves fixed that.

    Nowadays, I use a wide variety of gloves. Some protect from solvents, grease, and dirt; some from cuts and abrasions; and some from heat and cold. Protective clothing is wonderful!

  10. nick says:

    Can anyone link to the discussion we had here regarding canned and pouch meat? I posted links to some of the stuff I buy regularly.

    I can’t find the comments at all. I tried the site search tool, but that seems to only search posts not comments. I tried google with the site: modifier.

    I would like to repost the list elsewhere without starting from scratch…

    thanks,

    nick

  11. Lynn McGuire says:

    A long time ago, I would occasionally work with various parts-cleaning solvents. The difference was that I would sometimes unavoidably submerge my hands. The drying effect was dramatic

    A friend of mine was telling me last week at the engineering conference that his dad started up the first benzene plant in Baton Rouge in 1960. They had several spigots around the plant and would use pure benzene for cleaning parts. His dad would use one of the spigots for cleaning his hands before lunch since all the grease immediately volatilized. He even would bring a six gallon bucket home to clean stuff with as it would take the varnish right off wooden furniture.

    What they did not know was that the benzene was so volatile that your skin would absorb it plus the grease and oils that were on your skin. All of the plant operators died of blood cancers in their 50s since they were using the benzene for a cleaner all day long. His dad, being the plant manager and not quite as dirty, died when he was 70. My friend is 60+ years old and wondering what the next decade will bring him as he used the benzene a lot in his teens.

  12. MrAtoz says:

    Mr. Lynn, Angles of Attack delivered to my Kindle today. 🙂

  13. Jim B says:

    Luckily, my only exposure to bad stuff was to carbon tetrachloride, and that was minimal. I checked all this with a friend who worked in industrial toxicology, and was told my biggest risk is from a runaway bus.

  14. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Benzene and similar chemicals are generally far more dangerous by chronic rather than acute exposure. Getting some on your skin in a lab environment normally presents no real risk. Working all day long every day exposed to the liquid and vapor is another thing entirely.

  15. Lynn McGuire says:

    “Wisconsin’s Shame: ‘I Thought It Was a Home Invasion’”
    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417155/wisconsins-shame-i-thought-it-was-home-invasion-david-french

    “Cindy Archer, one of the lead architects of Wisconsin’s Act 10 — also called the “Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill,” it limited public-employee benefits and altered collective-bargaining rules for public-employee unions — was jolted awake by yelling, loud pounding at the door, and her dogs’ frantic barking. The entire house — the windows and walls — was shaking.”

    John Chisholm needs to go to jail. Sounds like a serious, serious, serious case of official oppression. If they tried to pull that nonsense here in Texas, I’m worried that not all of the cops would go home that day.

  16. MrAtoz says:

    This cannot happen.  Soon we will have a Federal Police Force.

    The federal monitor overseeing reforms to the NYPD wants the current class of Police Academy recruits to be taught groundbreaking new concepts like: Don’t be racist, don’t mock others, don’t tell sexist jokes and don’t hassle people for no reason.

  17. MrAtoz says:

    Wisconsin’s Shame: ‘I Thought It Was a Home Invasion

    Any cop that says “don’t call your lawyer” should be shot in the head. There I said it. HolderBama will be on my ass by tomorrow. Help me Mr. OFD!

  18. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    As I wrote more than a decade ago (with typo fixed):

    “You don’t have the right to remain silent or to refuse to answer questions. Do you understand? Anything you do or don’t say may be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand? We can make things up if we want to and charge you on that basis. Do you understand? You have no right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police or to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand? If you cannot afford an attorney, tough luck. Do you understand? You do not have the right to refuse to answer questions at any time. Do you understand? Knowing and understanding your complete lack of rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions or do we have to beat it out of you?”

  19. OFD says:

    “There I said it. HolderBama will be on my ass by tomorrow. Help me Mr. OFD!”

    Yo, homie, we be sharing a cell! You can teach me about helicopter flying and good chit like that and I’ll learn you some medieval epic poetry! Fun times ahead!

    Dr. Bob be in the next cell. The three of us can learn a ton of chit, mine being mostly useless, but hey, well-rounded humanities chit! Recite Donne or Wyatt and pick up grrls!

    My inclination would not be to react immediately with lethal force when the hired and costumed gummint thugs arrive; they’re only lower-level Wehrmacht following orders. Instead, identify and locate and get all the pertinent data on the sons of bitches who organize and deploy these raids. Lists are being compiled, I kid you not. That guy out there is on one right now, mark my words.

    I won’t cry if they shoot the dawg here, but if they hurt my cats they’re gonna be in a world of chit. Luckily the cats would have known enough to scram and disappear until long after the buggers are gone. Dawgus Ignoramus would probably be a pile of bloody fur on the back stairs. Thus mote it be. We’ll sue anyway, of course.

  20. Clayton W. says:

    Lists are being compiled, I kid you not. That guy out there is on one right now, mark my words.

    How goes your knitting, Madam DeFarge?

  21. OFD says:

    Hey, I’m the husband! Me and my wife, Madame DeFarge, are featured here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw9d8uo732w

  22. nick says:

    @chad,

    thanks but that didn’t find it either. I posted a 2 parter, with links to all the yummy canned and pouch meat I’ve tried. It doesn’t seem to exist any more.

    Oh well…

    nick

  23. pcb_duffer says:

    [snip] A long time ago, I would occasionally work with various parts-cleaning solvents. [snip]

    A friend from my youth wound up as a helicopter mechanic in the Army. He once told me about using some solvent as a parts cleaner while in Korea. It was about 90*F outside, and his top sergeant walked by and said “You do know that stuff flashes over at 95*, right?” He very carefully put the parts washer away, in the shade, and finished the job that night.

  24. Klide Horsip says:

    Read this in a novel years ago, don’t remember exactly, your rights read to you by a reporter.

    You have the right to remain silent, if you do it will be used against you.

    If you give up your right to remain silent anything you say may be misquoted, or taken out of context an used against you.

    You have the right to an attorney, anything he says may be used against you too.

    I know a painter who worked for Boeing for a year spray painting airplanes back in the 70s. They were paid really well and had very good retirement benefits. He quit when he found out that almost none of them actually retired. They either went bonkers or became neurologically disabled. Nothing wrong with breathing solvents back then.

  25. Ray Thompson says:

    When I was younger lad working on the farm we used gasoline (not this wimpy unleaded stuff of today) to clean our hands. Also soaked rags in gasoline to wipe grease off the machinery. All without gloves naturally.

    So far it has not affected my bbrrbbrrbrain.

  26. Miles_Teg says:

    Lynn wrote:

    ““Wisconsin’s Shame: ‘I Thought It Was a Home Invasion’”
    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417155/wisconsins-shame-i-thought-it-was-home-invasion-david-french

    Well, I read about half way through that article trying to find out why the cops invaded her home, and gave up. Lots of moral outrage, undoubtedly correct, but not the key thing I was looking for: Why did the cops do that?

  27. OFD says:

    They either had the wrong address, or it was a political stunt by the powers-that-be, Mr. Greg; all too common. They’re in such a damn hurry to raid somebody and heap credit upon themselves that they don’t double-check the warrant info or the warrant itself is faulty. Once they’re tripped, there’s evidently no going back; no one ever appears to be in charge who could say “Hey, stop it, we got the wrong fuckin’ house!” Never happens. Full-tilt boogie all the way and if anyone presents any resistance, or activity/behavior perceived as such, they stomp you through the floor or shoot you. As they shout “Stop resisting!”

  28. brad says:

    I just skimmed the article, but if I understood correctly, there was an unrelated “John Doe” investigation. Under cover of this anonymous investigation, and with the help of a compliant judge, they were able to get whatever warrants they wanted. They abused this to harass people who were supporting a bill that would have reduced public pensions and such. No guarantee, but that’s what I got out of a quick skim.

    Surely they are supposed to present the warrant, rather than forcing their way into your house? Maybe OFD can clarify? You should even have time to actually read the thing, and to insist on seeing and photographing the IDs of the investigating officers. I’m being naĂŻve, as usual, of course. Otherwise, it really is a home invasion, and self-defense should be unquestioned.

    On the practical side, this is a good argument for home security cameras, with audio, that store a copy of the recordings directly in the cloud (for when your server is unplugged and confiscated).

  29. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    I’d go a lot further than that. When LE applies for a search warrant, the owner/occupant of the premises to be searched should be notified immediately and given the opportunity to argue before the judge that LE does not have probable cause. No warrant should be issued less than 72 hours after the owner/occupant has been notified, and unless the owner/occupant has fired shots at LE they should have to knock on the door rather than kicking it down.

    Probable cause should be a very high bar, and warrants should be very specific about exactly what is being searched for (e.g., “heroin” rather than “controlled substances”) and exactly where is to be searched. There should be no legal notice taken of anything not specifically covered by the warrant. Individual LE officers should be held responsible for leaving the searched premises as tidy as they found them.

    Of course, none of these protections apply if the owner/occupant is muslim.

  30. nick says:

    It describes a series of politically motivated attacks, by an unaccountable and corrupt bureaucracy meant to intimidate and silence political opponents.

    By raiding opponents in a very public way, but denying them the right to council and using secrecy against them, they were able to cause the perception of guilt in the public, and caused reputational and monetary harm to the victims, as well as ongoing personal and emotional harm.

    This story is a big deal. It has local party officers using public resources (cops and prosecutors office) to harm their political rivals. That is 3rd world banana republic shit and is not supposed to happen here. It’s the kind of thing that the 2nd amendment is meant to be the ultimate answer to.

    nick

  31. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Yep. Castle Doctrine laws need to eliminate the LE exception. If someone invades your home (or vehicle, hotel room, etc.) you must have the right to use lethal force. That’s just one more reason why no-knock warrants are an abomination.

  32. MrAtoz says:

    A friend from my youth wound up as a helicopter mechanic in the Army. He once told me about using some solvent as a parts cleaner while in Korea.

    MEK methyl ethyl ketone. We always had a gallon can around. The parts washer held a lot more.

  33. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    It’s important to discriminate between flash point (the lowest temperature at which a material vaporizes to form an ignitable mixture with air) and autoignition temperature (the lowest temperature at which a material spontaneously ignites). The former is typically much, much lower than the latter.

    For example, the flash point of typical gasoline is -45F, while the autoignition temperature is more than 500F. The only reasonably common material that has an autoignition temperature below 100F is a mixture of white phosphorus and an organic material.

  34. jim` says:

    So what solvent do you use to rehydrate a dead Sharpie?

  35. Lynn McGuire says:

    This story is a big deal. It has local party officers using public resources (cops and prosecutors office) to harm their political rivals. That is 3rd world banana republic shit and is not supposed to happen here. It’s the kind of thing that the 2nd amendment is meant to be the ultimate answer to.

    Yes, but the fourth amendment should have come into play first.

    @Miles_Teg, it was all about political intimidation. If you read an earlier article, you find out that the political group, Wisconsin Club for Growth, actually disbanded before the election because even their contributors got raided in the middle of the night. That is so unconstitutional that somebody needs to go to jail. The district attorney has even appealed the Federal Judge’s decision to the appellate court (he lost) and the Supreme Court (gonna lose there also).
    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/377676/government-intimidation-george-will
    http://www.nationalreview.com/article/377459/partisan-probe-defeated-christian-schneider

  36. OFD says:

    At this point, in regard to the home invasion case and others related to it, I heartily endorse Dr. Bob’s suggestions, and in the meantime do not advocate an immediate armed response to cops barging in; you may nail a couple of them but I guarantee you they are going to win in the end. And nail you. Start compiling names and making lists with all the relevant intel on the people who are organizing, instigating, or ordering these events, and that’s a level or two or more above the costumed thugs crashing through your front door with a battering ram. Don’t become a martyr; save your ammo for later.

    Mr. Lynn is correct: “That is so unconstitutional that somebody needs to go to jail.”

    Mr. nick is also correct: “That is 3rd world banana republic shit and is not supposed to happen here.”

    But none of these perps will be going to jail. The costumed thugs were just following orders, like good little SS troops or Red Guards. And the higher-ups have an apparent blanket immunity for anything they feel like doing to us these days. But these days will be coming to an end at some point and their names, addresses, etc. will be on paper, on disk, in the cloud, etc. and there will be a reckoning.

  37. SteveF says:

    I’d like to run momofilament wire across my doors and windows at night. Anyone breaking in will lose a limb or head.

  38. OFD says:

    Good idea, unless…you have little kids, who, for one thing, mess around with everything possible they can mess around with, and, with same little kids and the Tot-Finder decals on their bedroom windows, it’s the firefighters who might lose a limb or a head trying to reach them. Or me, being senile and decrepit, forget I have it strung across the doorways and rush out some morning, thus losing my feet or sumthin.

    I will be researching various secure door and window methodologies in the near future, however, including ballistic sheets (transparent) on the latter and the best locks and frames for the former. Decent ballistic screens for the windows that don’t look like ballistic screens? To prevent Molotov cocktails or bombs or grenades being thrown through them; wouldn’t it be sweet to see them bounce right back at the buggers who throw them?

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