Monday, 21 March 2016

By on March 21st, 2016 in prepping, science kits

10:33 – I just called to set up an appointment with an electrician to come out and tell us what we need to do to get our generator hooked directly to our well pump and pressure tank, and if possible to measure how much current those two motors draw under load.

Once we have that done, I can put a quart of gasoline in the generator, load it up with a couple of 500W quartz-halogen work lights, and time how long it’ll run on a quart of gasoline with a 1KW load. Between our vehicle gas tanks and gas cans, I want to have enough fuel on hand to pump 100 gallons of water a day for at least 30 days, and ideally 90 days or more.

I also need to pick up a couple cases of motor oil and a couple cans of ether-based starting spray. We haven’t been running the generator periodically as the manufacturer recommends, but I intend to start running it every two to three months on a pint or a quart of gasoline until it runs dry. That should ensure that it starts reliably if we ever have a power outage that’s long enough to make it worthwhile to fire up the generator. We’ll also move the generator from the garage down into the unfinished basement area. It’ll probably fit underneath one of the work tables. It’s a 6KW Generac unit rated for 7KW surge, so it should be sufficient to power the well pump and pressure tank, but we’ll verify that when the electrician visits.

I was running short of iodine, so I ordered 250 grams of ACS reagent grade for $34.68 from a Chinese vendor on eBay on March 4th. It arrived the other day via USPS, labeled as “Clothing accessory” with a stated value of $7.00. In my experience, Chinese vendors on eBay are completely honest about the important things. They ship what they say they’re going to ship, and it arrives quickly. They never short me on weight, and I have no doubt that this iodine is in fact ACS reagent grade. The only thing they’re dishonest about is labeling and shipping paperwork. Apparently, they’re not worried about getting caught by the postal authorities.


73 Comments and discussion on "Monday, 21 March 2016"

  1. Miles_Teg says:

    Ping Lynn!

    How come diesel is usually cheaper than petrol nowadays? I think it became more expensive for a while, but has been cheaper again for some time.

  2. nick says:

    @miles, still more expensive than gas here in Houston.

    n

  3. Miles_Teg says:

    The price of 91 octane unleaded here in Adelaide is around 119c per litre, up from about 93c/lit last week. Premimum unleaded is stable and about 10c/lit higher, diesal is 10-15 c/lit lower.

  4. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Our gasoline prices here have been going up. A month or so ago, they were about $1.649/gal ($0.435/liter), with a low of $1.549 and a high of $1.799. Diesel was usually $0.10 or $0.15 more per gallon. Now our prices are up around $1.899, with diesel still selling at about the same premium. Of course, we could drive five miles to the Virginia state line and pay about $0.10 less per gallon.

  5. Harold says:

    I am looking at a 8 or 9 KW generator to run the fridge & freezer in a pinch. Everything I read says that propane / natural gas is much better for generator life than gas or diesel so I will get a dual fuel unit and hook it up to our natural gas line with our propane tank for a backup. Anyone have specific recommendations or warnings?

  6. SteveF says:

    What fraction of your price at the pump is taxes and “non-tax fees”? It’s significant here in the US. Where I am, New York State, a high tax state, tax is not quite half the price per gallon of gasoline. And the tax rates are different between diesel, various mixes of gasoline, and other petroleum products.

    My brother, who knows essentially everything about cars, the car industry, and everything related, told me there is a practical reason why diesel fuel was more expensive than gasoline, but I don’t remember it and don’t care enough to look it up. It was something about the same volatile fractions going to either diesel or some other product and the profit for the other was higher. That may no longer apply, as he told me that at least five years ago and the marketplace and economics of volatiles are volatile, pun intended.

  7. DadCooks says:

    @Harold, my rule of thumb is that anything that is supplied to you via a public utility’s wire/cable/pipe/whatever is not to be depended upon. So your natural gas falls into that rule. So get yourself a couple or three (best) big propane tanks and always keep 2 of the 3 full (sized such that one tank holds what you will need for the time period you are preparing for).

  8. Lynn says:

    Ping Lynn!

    How come diesel is usually cheaper than petrol nowadays? I think it became more expensive for a while, but has been cheaper again for some time.

    Are your gasoline and diesel taxes different? In the USA, the federal tax on diesel is 5 cents/US gal more than the feral gasoline tax. I am not sure what the various state taxes are other than Texas.

    Gasoline and diesel are commodities, some say the ultimate commodity. There are spot surpluses and shortages of them all the time.

    Call me again when you are paying Aus $5.00/liter. There might be some reality in that pricing then. But I doubt it.

  9. Lynn says:

    My brother, who knows essentially everything about cars, the car industry, and everything related, told me there is a practical reason why diesel fuel was more expensive than gasoline, but I don’t remember it and don’t care enough to look it up. It was something about the same volatile fractions going to either diesel or some other product and the profit for the other was higher.

    Ideally, Gasoline has more octanes (C8H*) in it and Diesel has more pentanes (C10H*) in it. Gasoline has 5.8 million btus/barrel. Diesel has 6.1 million btus/barrel. Those are extremely rough approximations.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_of_oil_equivalent

    Also, Gasoline engines are generally 10 to 1 compression. Diesel engines are generally 18 to 1 compression. Since compression is an exponent in the mechanical efficiency equation, higher compression generally means higher efficiency.

  10. Lynn says:

    I paid US $1.39/US Gal (not compensated for T) for regular gasoline (87 octane) here in the Land of Sugar three weeks ago. I paid $1.79/US Gal (not compensated for T) on Saturday. Several of the major refineries are now shutdown for conversion to summer gasoline (heavier RVP, etc).

  11. dkreck says:

    Well I used to joke about the cable box spying. No one knows what that damn phone is doing.

    http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FTC-Warns-New-Tech-Uses-Inaudible-TV-Tones-to-Track-User-Viewing-136528

  12. Lynn says:

    I am looking at a 8 or 9 KW generator to run the fridge & freezer in a pinch. Everything I read says that propane / natural gas is much better for generator life than gas or diesel so I will get a dual fuel unit and hook it up to our natural gas line with our propane tank for a backup. Anyone have specific recommendations or warnings?

    FEMA’s latest playbook says shutdown the local natural gas grid in case of disaster nowadays. So, natural gas cannot be depended upon anymore.

  13. nick says:

    For way more info than you need:

    https://www.google.com/search?q=tax+on+gasoline+in+california&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

    and especially:

    http://www.californiagasprices.com/tax_info.aspx

    Cali has ~double the tax of TX.

    And in Norway, the tax was ~50% of the pump price. And when I was there some years ago, about 4 times the US price.

    nick

  14. dkreck says:

    Under $2 gas is now a memory here. Paid $2.21 last week but then this is California, land of fruit, nuts, and taxes.

  15. Lynn says:

    Well I used to joke about the cable box spying. No one knows what that d*** phpne is doing.

    http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FTC-Warns-New-Tech-Uses-Inaudible-TV-Tones-to-Track-User-Viewing-136528

    “The Good Wife” tv show has the NSA listening to recordings off the Governor of Illinois’s wife’s cell phone. The NSA techs are always listening, even when the phone is on standby. Even when she is having sex with a friend. The NSA techs are in a huge cube farm and the good recordings are played over their pc speakers for general entertainment. The name of the “program” is, (cannot remember).

  16. Lynn says:

    And in Norway, the tax was ~50% of the pump price. And when I was there some years ago, about 4 times the US price.

    Norway will be a crude oil importer soon as the massive north sea reservoir is playing out. The reservoir pressure has dropped significantly and the remaining hydrocarbons have mostly converted to natural gas. Norway is now a major LNG producer with at least 10 BCF/day of LNG liquefaction running.

  17. Lynn says:

    I wish that Texas had higher gasoline and diesel taxes. We are now paying XXXXX borrowing general fund money for highway maintenance. This will not end well.

    At least the new federal highway budget has money for a new interstate in Texas, I-14. It will be about 600 miles long and goes east-west for an I-10 bypass about 100 miles north of Houston. $6 billion cost. Yes, that is $10,000,000 per mile. I suspect land acquisition is 1/2 of that cost.

    Texas needs two more north-south interstates (state highways 6 and 36). I doubt that we are going to get them any time soon.

  18. Lynn says:

    “Senators close to finishing encryption penalties legislation”
    http://www.osnews.com/story/29130/_quot_Senators_close_to_finishing_encryption_penalties_legislation_quot_

    Traitors! People have a right to privacy!

  19. nick says:

    Traitor!

    Lobbyists need to spend their huge bags of slush fund money on SOMEONE, so it might as well be “lawmakers.” Everybody gotta earn, right?

    Cali was a net exporter not that long ago. Not any more.

    Norway is gonna find all those social programs are kinda expensive when you got no oil revenue. And their sovereign wealth fund is gonna come up short if they can’t make money in the stock market…..

    Granted that they only have 4 million people, there’s not much on that rocky land to do without oil money. They have a loooonnnnnngggg history of boom/bust cycles. Maybe they learned a lesson from them and will be ok this time..
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    OK, who’m I kidding? They’re doomed.

    nick

  20. Jack Smith says:

    Check with your generator expert – I have a 25KW propane fueled backup here, and I recall the manual saying different jet sizes are required for LPG versus natural gas. It’s a Katolight (no longer in the business selling new generators, but still providing spares) with a Nissan 4 cylinder engine. Located outdoors in a weather-proof sound dampened enclosure and I know it would not be pleasant to have it running indoors, just because of the noise, let alone the safety issues.

    In addition to starting surge, you need to pay attention to the KW and VAR ratings of the generator and load. VAR (volt-ampere reactive) is the simple multiplier of the amperes consumed and voltage delivered. depending on the motor load type, your generator may be limited not by KW rating, but rather the maximum amperage it will deliver. KW ratings are determined working into a non-reactive load such as incandescent lamps, or the non-reactive part of a load with both reactance and resistance.

    A competent electrician should know the difference and how to read the nameplates on the loads and generator and determine whether you will be KW or VAR (also known as KVA if measured in units of 1000 volt-amperes) limited. If the electrician does not know the difference, then I would not trust his computations.

  21. Lynn says:

    Norway is gonna find all those social programs are kinda expensive when you got no oil revenue. And their sovereign wealth fund is gonna come up short if they can’t make money in the stock market…..

    Granted that they only have 4 million people, there’s not much on that rocky land to do without oil money. They have a loooonnnnnngggg history of boom/bust cycles. Maybe they learned a lesson from them and will be ok this time..
    .
    .
    OK, who’m I kidding? They’re doomed.

    They can always start raiding the Britain and European coastlines again.

  22. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    @Jack Smith

    Thanks. I still need to find out the details of our well and pump. I have no idea how deep the well is, what the water level is, what type/size pump is installed, and so on.

  23. SteveF says:

    They can always start raiding the Britain and European coastlines again.

    That might be the only realistic way to get virile masculinity back into the British Isles. They lost the best of their Y chromosomes in WWI and WWII.

  24. OFD says:

    “I still need to find out the details of our well and pump. I have no idea how deep the well is, what the water level is, what type/size pump is installed, and so on.”

    Ditto. I called the local company to ask about all that, as their name is on the well-head top and they told me there should be a metal tag attached on there somewhere with that info; nope, and not surprising, as that is the side of the house that gets the brunt of wind and snow and ice. (so once we figure all this out, I think I’ll put some kinda protective enclosure around it.) I also checked our building inspection report and no dice there, either, the well was barely mentioned. Googling how to find this out involved lowering weighted objects with string or wire down into it and futzing around thusly, but it seems like someone should have the information somewhere.

    So there’s the well pump itself that has to be powered, and then the tank that holds it in the cellar, too. I’ve also been looking at portable propane gennies that run in the 5500-7500-watt range for under a grand.

  25. OFD says:

    “They lost the best of their Y chromosomes in WWI and WWII.”

    And in running their world empire all over the map for a century or two before that. I am given to understand, however, that there exists a remnant of pretty tough, smart and resourceful mofos over there and I would not yet count them out entirely.

  26. Lynn says:

    so once we figure all this out, I think I’ll put some kinda protective enclosure around it.

    That is just the top of the well outer pipe. Hopefully, your well inner pipe to the tank is 1 to 3 foot under the ground (mine is 1 ft underground). Or 5 or 6 ft underground in that frozen wilderness XXXXXXXX hell that you live in.

    I’ve also been looking at portable propane gennies that run in the 5500-7500-watt range for under a grand.

    You left out the word QUIET. Those dadgum cheap gennies are so freaking noisy.

  27. OFD says:

    “Kindly forgive me for continuing to suspect that at its core, leftism is a huge act of psychological projection.”

    As I have opined countless times over the decades; they’re badly messed up in the head. The late James Burnham had their number a long time ago in his “Suicide of the West.” And then there’s the more recent Pascal Bruckner’s “The Tyranny of Guilt: An Essay on Western Masochism.” Unfortunately these imbeciles seem to control the media, large areas of government, academia, and have made huge inroads into corporate culture.

    I apologize in advance for not giving a “trigger warning” and advising as to where a “safe space” may be found. I also apologize for this link to Jim Goad’s article, lol:

    http://takimag.com/article/i_have_met_the_enemy_and_he_is_easily_terrified_jim_goad/print#axzz43ZQ2A871

  28. OFD says:

    “…Those dadgum cheap gennies are so freaking noisy.”

    Not a huge priority; we’d only be running it long enough during the week to get wotta.

    “…that frozen wilderness that you live in.”

    No chit, hermano. Didja know we can’t bury peeps up here until the ground warms up enuff in the spring? Unless we use explosives, of course.

  29. OFD says:

    Hear, hear:

    “Tackling domestic violence is the government’s signature commitment to the women’s agenda. There’s just one problem with this. It’s not a women’s issue.”

    https://www.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/4a8mpf/melanie_phillips_on_the_scandal_of_womens/

    As OFD has ample cause to know from my years with the various LE departments and responding to domestics. NEVER any fun, very few laughs. Always potentially lethal.

  30. OFD says:

    And here’s why Trump may well NOT get the nomination:

    http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/03/20/donald-trump-must-beware-of-the-trojan-horse-delagates/

    “Kidnapping is a real possibility. What happens if a pledged delegate decides not to show up for the first ballot?”

  31. Lynn says:

    I watched the latest “The Fosters” tv show over the weekend with my daughter. The kids San Diego high school voted to ban “Romeo and Juliet” since it “glorified teenage suicide”. Sadly, Google reports that this is going on in real high schools.

  32. SteveF says:

    Unless we use explosives, of course.

    If you explode the corpses, why would you need to bury them?

    And on that topic…

  33. MrAtoz says:

    The Twins and I are watching Daredevil S02 on Netflix. The Punisher rocks! I haven’t seen a thug body count that high in awhile. There’s a seen where DD takes on about twenty bikers in a stairwell. It must have taken weeks to get that down.

  34. SteveF says:

    Wasn’t there a porno where the star, who had DDs, took on about twenty bikers in a stairwell?

  35. MrAtoz says:

    lol!

  36. OFD says:

    “If you explode the corpses, why would you need to bury them?”

    Are you being needlessly obtuse, sir? We would need to use exactly measured shaped charges to detonate a six-foot by three-foot by eight-foot hole in frozen ground but I’m not clear on how this might be accomplished, and neither, apparently, is anyone else, so we stack ’em and rack ’em until the spring thaw. In the old days they kept ’em covered out in the barn or some other building. Now we have spiffy modern facilities and refrigeration. A fun topic for preppers, one would think, but I’ve seen no discussions of it yet.

    As for that whale explosion, yet another gummint “solution” that failed, eh? Why not just tow it out to sea for petesakes?

    “…a porno where the star, who had DDs, took on about twenty bikers in a stairwell?”

    “Dolly Dynamite Versus the Hells Angels.”

  37. Jack Smith says:

    An inexpensive clip-on ammeter will, combined with the operating voltage (120 or 240) will yield the VAR just by multiplying the two numbers.

    The true power (KW) required means you must determine the phase angle between the voltage and current. This can be done with a variety of techniques, but for most folks the expense of buying the equipment that may be used only once or twice a lifetime isn’t justified.

  38. Lynn says:

    @OFD, you ought to like this, “Trump questions need for NATO, outlines noninterventionist foreign policy”:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-reveals-foreign-policy-team-in-meeting-with-the-washington-post/

    Trump want to get out of NATO. I’m guessing that our NATO membership costs $200B per year???

  39. SteveF says:

    I’m guessing that our NATO membership costs $200B per year???

    More than 4X that, it looks like.

    And then there’s the UN budget, into which the US pays at least as much. It’s hard to nail down, as there’s no one line item in the US federal budget or the UN budget which points to how much the US “contributes”. Instead, it’s split into eleventy bazillion projects and even that doesn’t include US expenses which aren’t actual cash payments from the US to the UN.

    Tell me, what’s that rule of thumb about what you should assume when people go to great effort to conceal something?

    EDIT: )@)*$&*#&@)(@!$# I’m an idiot – mixed up millions and billions. The US NATO budget is something under $1B per year. The US “contribution” to the UN is something over $1B per year, but I can’t easily tell how much over.

  40. SteveF says:

    Are you being needlessly obtuse, sir?

    I’m offended! My obtuseness is never needless! It always serves a higher purpose!

  41. DadCooks says:

    @SteveF, it’s okay.

    “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.”

    This is one of my favorite quotes by Senator (R-IL) Everett M. Dirksen 1896-1969:

    I had the pleasure of meeting him several times, his voice will never be forgotten nor his wisdom. One of the last real politicians.

  42. dkreck says:

    It’s an obtuse joke, but with acute study is has a wider degree of humor.

  43. Lynn says:

    EDIT: )@)*$&*#&@)(@!$# I’m an idiot – mixed up millions and billions. The US NATO budget is something under $1B per year. The US “contribution” to the US is something over $1B per year, but I can’t easily tell how much over.

    But then one has to figure the cost of the NATO bases with 30,000 USA troops and airfields in Germany alone. And the 35,000 troops and bases in South Korea (I’ve got a first cousin serving in the army there). And the 20,000 troops and bases in Saudi Arabia. And Kuwait. And Japan. And bases in England, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc. The word on the streets is that we have soldiers stationed in 60+ countries right now. I figure $100B/year easily. Maybe $200B/year.

    If you want our troop in your country then, you gotta pay. And not just the carrying cost but also the building cost.

    I don’t even want to think of the cost of the carriers in the South China Sea and Persian Gulf.

  44. SteveF says:

    Yah. I love how the US got kicked out of the Philippines a couple decades ago and now the Filipinos are whining that they need us to protect them in the face of ongoing Chinese territorial expansion.

    Two words for the Philippines. The second is “you”. I’m sure the first can be guessed.

    Regarding US soldiers being posted overseas, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, we’re providing protection for other nations, and we’re paying to protect them. On the other hand, there’s a reason that “garrison soldiers” is a pejorative. The US has one of the only meaningful militaries in the world which has meaningful combat experience. You don’t get that without putting troops in harm’s way. The same applies to disbanding the standing Army and relying on reservists.

    You can make a reasonable case for disbanding the standing army and relying solely on the nuclear deterrent, but that requires that you be able to convince the world that you’ll nuke anyone who storms a US embassy or even puts US citizens on farcical trials for trumped-up reasons. Realistically, that’s not going to happen.

  45. OFD says:

    “…that requires that you be able to convince the world that you’ll nuke anyone who storms a US embassy or even puts US citizens on farcical trials for trumped-up reasons. Realistically, that’s not going to happen.”

    We don’t have to go from zero to ninety on these matters; nukes for major debilitating attacks on us here, having identified the real source of them, tactical nukes. I might have used a couple on Mecca and Medina after 9/11 for example, and certainly had nothing whatsoever to do with Afghanistan or Iraq or Pakistan. For the embassy stormings a la Benghazi or Tehran, we hit specific targets with genuine spec ops forces. But no more of this Second-Generation tank and infantry warfare; blitzkrieg is so….so…1938. Actually more like so 1916-18 when the Germans began their beta version of it.

    We want our warrior heroes to have “meaningful combat experience”? Fine; secure our nightmare of a southern border and coast for starters. Then go after all these gangbangers across the country numbering in the many tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands by now. Secure the borders, coasts, sea lanes and air space. Close most if not all of our 1,000 or so overseas bases and installations. We got drones now; spy on everybody per usual and figure out what they’re up to and deal with it accordingly. Otherwise mind our own bidness and fix things HERE.

  46. Lynn says:

    Otherwise mind our own bidness and fix things HERE.

    Donald, is that you ?

  47. MrAtoz says:

    President OdooshBag on the US after Castro criticized us:

    Obama Welcomes Castro’s Criticism of America: ‘I Personally Would Not Disagree’

    Worst…president…evah!

  48. Miles_Teg says:

    We pay about 38c/litre tax on petrol, much less than I thought. But then there is (I think) 10% GST on top of that.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_Australia

  49. MrAtoz says:

    lol! Best photoshop evah!

    Dou-Che-bag

  50. OFD says:

    “While we figure this out, I favor a suspension of immigration for a couple or so years until we get our chaotic immigration system in order. We have the right and even obligation to do this.”

    It will take a LOT longer than THAT. Make it ten years, minimum. With the option to make it even longer. As the article states, we’ve got ZILLIONS of them ALREADY, and not even a tiny percentage are desirable doctors, engineers or scientists, not by a LONG shot, and if we ARE getting some of those, they’re more likely to come from Red China (espionage agents?) or Russia and the Balkans. Once in a blue moon, some from the Musloid Crescent countries (sleepers?).

    “Worst…president…evah!”

    Quite frankly, we don’t know enough yet to say that. Right now Lincoln is the champion piece of shit. With Wilson and the second Roosevelt right behind him. More recent, LBJ, both Bush criminals, and the Klinton scum. But yeah, Obola sure is pretty much a total asshole. The rulers have been laughing at us nonstop since the VOTERS elected him TWICE (Larry Klinton TWICE, too).

    “lol! Best photoshop evah!”

    Everyone in that picture is most likely a prime candidate for a legally constituted firing squad.

  51. OFD says:

    Plausible? Or not?

    http://globalguerrillas.typepad.com/globalguerrillas/2016/03/how-the-us-ends-up-in-a-civil-war.html

    A handful of people did the 9/11 caper, and ditto Paris. Two kids shut down Greater Boston. Two more likewise in southern Kalifornia.

  52. OFD says:

    Interesting info on the aftermath investigation stuff in Paris and Belgium; good thing this sort of event couldn’t possibly happen HERE where our intel boyz and grrls are hard at work and on the job.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/paris-attacks-terrifyingly-fatal-layers-of-resources-and-tactics-1.2580749

  53. MrAtoz says:

    God told me to vote for Trump!

    Trump 2016! “God said so!”

  54. lynn says:

    I was wondering what the bright spot next to the moon is tonight. It is Jupiter! Beautiful!
    http://earthsky.org/tonight/moon-jupiter-come-out-as-soon-as-darkness-falls

  55. brad says:

    Was that Jupiter? I saw it last night, on the way home from work, but I wasn’t sure which planet it was.

    Forty years ago, I could identify the visible planets by eye, and anyway, I always knew where they were going to be. Lack of practice, and light-polluted skies… We’re lucky here if we can see bright things like Orion. I don’t remember when I was last able to see the Milky Way.

  56. Mike Dugan says:

    I am sure that you know the drawbacks of ethanol. And Starting fluid in gasoline engines.

  57. nick says:

    and the religion of peace has struck again. Someone finally targeted the pile up OUTSIDE of the secure area.

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3503928/Two-explosions-heard-Brussels-Airport.html

    nick

    (If you are so inclined, prayers for vengeance for the victims seem appropriate.)

  58. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    At an apparent magnitude ranging from about -1.6 to -2.9, it’s pretty hard to confuse Jupiter for anything other than Venus, which is never far from the sun, or (as I have done) a jetliner’s landing lights.

  59. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Yeah, I’d like to see them eliminate the ethanol subsidy so we could get back to pure gasoline.

    What’s the disadvantage to using ether-based starting spray? You’re not running the engine on the ether, just getting it to kick over.

  60. JimL says:

    Starting fluid doesn’t actually solve the problem that makes the engine hard to start. It just masks it. Slowly, as the problem gets worse, it seems the engine is hooked on ether. Instead, it’s just getting more and more clogged.

    There’s nothing wrong with using it. There’s something wrong with thinking it solves the problem.

  61. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    Incidentally, in an emergency it’s pretty easy* to produce diethyl ether just by mixing ethanol (EtOH) with concentrated sulfuric acid, which is one of the strongest dehydrating agents available. The acid basically sucks one molecule of water out of two molecules of ethanol, leaving you with one molecule of EtO-Et (ether). You need to keep the reaction temperature below about 150C and distill off the ether as it’s produced, but the heat of the reaction is sufficient to boil off the low-boiling ether. And you can reclaim the sulfuric acid by heating it to drive off water.

    *Easy for a wizard, anyway. One who’s aware of the severe dangers of ether catching fire and of producing explosive ether peroxides.

  62. nick says:

    Quick thoughts looking at the pictures.

    THIS is why my blow out kit goes in my carryon bag when flying.

    I’ll bet getting clobbered by falling ceiling tiles never crossed your mind.

    That’s a lot of dust.

    If you ride a subway, you’re mad. If you do so out of necessity, without a mask and flashlight, you’re not just mad, but an idiot too.

    Passengers had to leave their ‘hand luggage’ behind. Is your stuff organized so you can grab the small bag with your meds, docs, phone charger and altoids survival kit, and leave the rest? Is your bag and stuff marked with your name?

    nick

  63. Robert Bruce Thompson says:

    That’s one of the reasons I’m happy that Barbara and I are spending 99% of our time in Sparta. We hardly ever have terrorist attacks here.

  64. nick says:

    Anyone else think stepping up police presence AFTER the attacks is closing the barn door just a bit late?

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3504118/America-alert-Police-ramp-security-train-stations-airports-mass-transit-points-following-deadly-explosions-Brussels.html

    Look at the 4th photo down, what does fat boy think he’s gonna do with all those mags? God forbid one of NYC’s finest unloads a dozen mags in a crowded area. The carnage would make Brussels look like a girl scout picnic.

    nick

  65. Ray Thompson says:

    Anyone else think stepping up police presence AFTER the attacks is closing the barn door just a bit late?

    I have stated many times starting after 9/11, if anyone really wants to cause carnage just have a backpack or suitcase full of explosives, get in line at the security area at Atlanta Airport, wait until you are in the middle of the rat maze, and pull the trigger. Hundreds would be killed as well as shutting down the busiest airport in the nation. The damage to the facility would be significant and would cause travel problems for months.

    Now that I have posted that I suppose the NSA, FBI and CIA will be knocking on my door. Well, I have an iPhone, it is encrypted, and I know how to use it.

  66. brad says:

    Be assured, the government will come to our rescue. Never let a good crisis go to waste – it’s time to argue for more authority and expanded budgets. Not to mention filing away at individual liberties, like freedom of travel.

  67. Ray Thompson says:

    Never let a good crisis go to waste

    Same applies to the local news stations. Already news crews are at the local airport, reporting on increased security, asking airport officials what steps they are taking, talking with passengers, and otherwise being annoying. Idiot reporters with visions of CNN dancing in their heads trying to make local people afraid and get their face time.

  68. DadCooks says:

    Those inconsiderate moooslumps doing this in the middle of Obuttwads Cuban vacation. I bet he doesn’t miss the baseball game today though. It is a certainty that the words islam and terrorist will not be used by Obuttwad today.

    My Daughter is going to be in London for two weeks in October, Dad is not a happy camper.

    Obuttwad is talking now (out of his ass as usual), he wants sympathy for the illegals fleeing “oppression”. I bet Castro has the keys to Gitmo before the day is over.

  69. nick says:

    And WTF is with castro raising obammy’s arm, and the limp wrist??

    Seriously WTF

    n

  70. nick says:

    You take me by the wrist, you better be putting on cuffs. You take children by the wrist.

    n

  71. MrAtoz says:

    I had the pleasure of flying support at Fort McCoy, WI, when Cuba released it’s last oppressed. Remember them? Low life scumbags and thugs. Get ready for the second round of “oppressed” Castro releases and Obuttwad welcomes. I mean, Gitmo is right next door. Just send them there.

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