Blood and Gore

Well this is about something a little unpleasant.  actually quite unpleasant.  No not a horror flick, not a bad accident.  The title is quite accurate however.

I went and got my teeth cleaned today.

I do brush my teeth.  not enough.  I know what floss is.  Really strong string.  You really have to trust your dental hygienist as they use finely pointed steel and pull really hard, inside your mouth.

They also did a check of my gum detachment.  That’s a really fun thing too.  they put a metal probe between your gum and tooth until it hits bottom and note how deep it went in.  repeat for both sides of every tooth.

It feels, well, not too nice.

So today i got a new weapon in the fight against plaque.  Wish me luck, in taking better care of the chompers.

New_Toothpic

Wood is good 02 – Dry Wood

So here’s the most basic principle about using firewood for heat – r u ready? DRY WOOD. Yeah about right now ur saying to yourself “is this guy for real?” Well just hold on a minute. Its true this is rather obvious but – you’d never know it by the way lots of people store their fuel. Firewood should be cut & split the year before u use it. This is a minimum. At LEAST a year. But as i drive around it is common to see firewood piled with no cover. Guess what, this aint a desert climate. Rain happens. Snow too and both will dampen that uncovered wood. If u leave it on the ground it soaks up moisture from that as well. Hey, there’s no reason for that. Grab any of the trillion or so waste pallets lying around and keep ur wood off the ground. And put something over it even if its just a tarp. Lets remember to use some common sense.

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Fish & Chips (from up north)

Well my friend has gone north just like i told u he would. And is in Christchurch New Zealand. Like a good roving corespondent, he’s checking out the local sights and things to do. A little later today we will put up some pics of the countryside. But he made a point to let me know he had a great lunch of fish and chips. His companion had been to the place before and liked it. Repeat business says something. So if u r hungry for some fish and chips (their other food also looks top notch) and u happen to be in Christchurch City, may i suggest this fine establishment:

Pegasus Arms Restaurant and Bar
14 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch City, NZ

pegasus-arms.com

Farewell to South Pole

imageAnt_Sunset

Well my friend has departed the bottom continent. Nice shot out the plane window, huh? He’s my roving correspondent. We may have some other shots to share of the way way down. For now lets just say he has left Antarctica behind. Stay tuned for a little something from a little farther north. After all north is pretty much the only way to go, if u r way way down there.

Another Pic from the Pole

Plane
Well here is the Mighty C-130 Hercules. There r larger cargo planes. But these r still large. 97 feet 9 inches long.
My house is (only?) 56 feet long.
U may not realize it but a fighter jet is quite large.
An F-15 is 63 feet.
BUT they don’t fly those to the south pole. The Hercules is the workhorse that gets it done way way down there.

Summer is over at the pole.
Yesterday 7 deg F. -11 wind chill. Ya i’d say that’s not too balmy. So my friend is leaving today. or is it tomorrow?
Coming soon, (hopefully) a little something from New Zealand.

Isn’t This a Little Early?

For POTHOLES I mean? For most of February the potholes have been getting worse. This is unusual for the middle of winter. Fairly normal for spring in this area. For like the end of March or April. Potholes reveal how inferior our roadways are to ordinary rock.
Potholes are simple erosion. Water enters a crack in the roadway sometime when the temp is above freezing. Then the temp goes below 32 and the water freezes. As you know water increases in size when it changes from liquid to solid (just ask anyone whose pipes have frozen and split!). Well the same thing happens to the paving. The water expands into ice, and the road splits. The ice holds everything in position, usually supporting the traffic as well. That is until the weather turns warmer. Water is not as supportive as ice. The road surface comes apart. Vehicles destroy it and push the debris out of the hole. Viola! A pothole.
So anyway this is early, but I guess just a part of this snowy, long, cold, real winter.
Too bad our roads aren’t made of granite. The key is remembering where the road has blown up and navigating around the craters.

Wood is Good 01

Lets talk about wood. Specifically firewood. About heating with firewood. First of all, this is a good thing. Its good for you. Great exercise, helps keep u connected to reality, (usually) saves money. Its good for the environment. When u burn wood, u r not adding to your ‘carbon footprint’ becuz when a tree grows it pulls carbon out of thin air (co2 actually) to use and convert into what it needs. A tree is really a pollution removal factory (no wonder they r called plants! Like i work at a yogurt plant u kno?) Hey sorry but remember i’m trying to entertain u remember?

So anyway heating with firewood is awesome! We will develop why, and how best to do it in some future installments.

Till later – Have a great day!

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