Tuesday September 08, 2009

Exploding Pop

Entry number 2 in my exploding foods series! A week ago my 14 yr old son and I bottled some home-made root beer and cola. We used the standard recipe found in the flavoring package you can purchase from your local home-brewer store. It warned against using glass bottles, as they may not be able to handle the pressure generated by the yeast used to create carbonation; so we used two-liter bottles as recommended.

At approximately 3:45am this morning, one of those plastic two-liter bottles exploded in our kitchen (I believe it was cola). A sprinkle of cola covered everything in the kitchen, including the doorless pantry I built a couple years ago, so that several boxes of food were damp. The cupboards were sprayed, the cabinets were sprayed, the stove was sprayed. Soda pop ran down the cupboards and pooled in pots on the stove and on the countertop. A large puddle formed on the floor under the table where the bottle had sat. The french-press that had sat next to the bottle was flung against the fridge and shattered. A hole was created in the wall next to the table, we're not sure which object created that.

Jen and I spent a half hour wiping every surface and toweling the floor, I moved the fridge to get whatever had run under there. After she went to bed I got out the mop and cleaned the floor again before returning to bed at 4:30. The floor wasn't sticky when we got up at 5:45am. I imagine we'll need to give all the cabinets another wipe down tonight, and I'll give the floor another mopping, just to ensure we don't attract ants or other creatures.

( Sep 08 2009, 08:56:24 AM ) Personal Permalink
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Monday February 02, 2009

Sweet Sixteen

Today my first child turned 16. I haven't signed her up for driver's ed, so no worries there. But my little girl is growing up. Always independent, the last several months have been all about which colleges she is going to apply. I just realized today that I'm not ready for her to leave me yet, though I've got a couple more years to get used to the idea.

My mom reads this blog (or used to when I published frequently), I wonder what she will have to say.
( Feb 02 2009, 09:06:45 AM ) Personal Permalink
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Thursday November 20, 2008

What type of blog is this?

Here's the results of one of those "personality tests", except this one is based on the content of a blog. Try it on your own:

ISTP - The Mechanics [ISTP]
The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment are masters of responding to challenges that arise spontaneously. They generelly prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts. The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters. [via The Daily Dish]

( Nov 20 2008, 02:08:44 PM ) Personal Permalink
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Tuesday November 18, 2008

MinneDemo and Moto-i

Last Wednesday (11/12/08) I attended MinneDemo, say many excellent demos and a couple lame ones. Tumblon and OnePlace were the highlights. Enleiten was probably good, but after OnePlace it looked low on features (my coworker, Leon, thought that was an advantage) and definitely not as pretty. SuddenDeals.com was interesting, but I doubt it'll fly, and the presenter needed to work on his pitch more.

But the best was definitely Bannerflow! These guys had rehearsed and had their presentation down. That, and they took a simple idea and executed! But I saw a missing feature: automatic email generation from designer to client. That way the designer doesn't have to craft an email, just click the button to alert the client that new 'creative' is available for review.

After the presentations we chatted with one of the guys from Zanby, who we used to work with. I honestly felt lost during Zanby's presentation, I didn't quite follow the intent; dunno if that is me, the presentation, or a lack of focus in the website. Then Leon and I walked a few blocks to Moto-i, where I had my first saki. Yum.

I think I may be addicted. But I stopped on my way home the other night and bought some saki. I don't know what I'm doing, so I just picked something middle-priced: it just tastes like white wine. It's not that flavor I had at Moto-i; that tasted like something between vodka and gin. I suspect I can only get what I want at Moto-i, that I'll be back there soon, dropping scads of money to satisfy the craving that just won't go away now. ( Nov 18 2008, 02:30:51 PM ) Personal Permalink
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Monday November 17, 2008

Before Groovy Users of Minnesota

Last Tuesday (11/11/08) was the monthly meeting of GUM, wherein Mike Hugo presented the new Test Plugin. I think this'll make a huge difference, especially the auto-generated tests he promised.

But before that I had dinner at the Bulldog. The Beer Brat was delicious, the horseradish mustand tasted great. Even better was the wasabi mayo dip for the tater tots! I've got to get back there soon. ( Nov 17 2008, 10:30:45 AM ) Personal Permalink
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Monday July 14, 2008

Watch For Bikes My best friend was in a car-bike accident on the way home from work today.

Going downhill at 25 mph someone turned Right directly in front of him, he was unable to stop before ramming into the rear window. He chipped 4 front teeth and pushed his top incisors back. His bike is trashed, his glasses are broke, and he's bruised and sore, but reports he is "okay".

The people in the car were good enough to stop and called the police. A report was filed; hopefully their insurance will pay his medical bills.

I've been biking to work a couple times a week since early May, and I'm a little scared to ride tomorrow.

Update: Of course I did ride in and everything was fine, Bill would have mocked me if I didn't ride, anyway. ( Jul 14 2008, 09:44:38 PM ) Personal Permalink
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Sunday July 24, 2005

going dark for a while

FYI: We sold our home, but haven't lined up a new home to buy yet. So we'll be moving into some temporary housing, and I don't know if I'll be able to re-establish Brainopolis any time soon. ( Jul 24 2005, 09:00:48 PM ) Personal Permalink
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Friday May 06, 2005

16 Years Ago Today I married the woman I love. Happy Anniversary Jen!
( May 06 2005, 09:28:58 AM ) Personal Permalink
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