Sigh, fixing a lousy attic hatch in the house and found a roof truss with termite damage. (though... not surprising, 60-80% of homes in Southern California have termite infestations, the last time I checked). #termites#homerepair
@ai6yr They look ripe. It is that time of year when citrus trees drop last year's crop for the next years.
The best ways to save are to freeze (1+ year) or can (~6 months) the juice & either mix zest 50-50 with sugar, dry it, or cover with vodka to preserve it. The white part can be processed for pectin if you really want (it is a lot of work & hard to standardize). Or you can salt the whole fruit to make preserved citrus. Citrus curd is also an option if you don't mind the work.
Covering fruit with high proof spirits is an ancient method of preservation that does not require refrigeration. Lemon zest + vodka + sweetener = lemoncello. Lemon zest + vodka = lemon extract.
@ai6yr You can get foam pads to insulate electric outlets. Then you can take them out for servicing. (The stores in Iowa carried them). (Assuming the outlet is sealed to the wall, I have seen some in CA with just rough cut drywall around the outlet).
None of you thought it might be important to tell me that ferns have sperm that swim??? I just had to find all this out on my own?
And, (apparently, & no one thought to bring this up either๐) fern plants are only one form... they have this 'other form' (tiny, ephemeral, difficult to find in the wild) alternates generations-- Fern spores don't grow into ferns! (WHAT) they grow into 'gemetophytes' (WHAT) THEN you get a fern.
@futurebird@Twarda I am with you. My school district let my parents opt me out of high school biology as well. I was quite happy as high school biology was primarily dissections to teach evolution.
When I went to college & took molecular biology focused general biology (with models instead of dead creatures for the dissection labs) it was a much better experience. All the math & chemicals & genetics interested me far more than taking apart dead animals (only the pre-meds enjoyed that).
@futurebird@Twarda Elementary/middle school was worse, as they just stapled sections of the textbooks shut for biology to avoid "controversy", aka evolution.
We had a bunch of older women who taught elementary school & didn't like "new-fangled" things like science. They felt elementary school should be reading, writing & basic arithmetic only and resented being asked to teach science or history. (A remnant of the times when most kids didn't finish HS, instead going to work after 8th grade?) I went to school at a weird time, it felt like everything was in transition from the old ways of learning to something new.
I think CA required evolution to be in our elementary science textbooks, which is why it was stapled by the teacher who disagreed with it. (Also, stapling the textbook will raise kids' interest in the subject more than skipping it when teaching).
@ai6yr Also, put the defroster on full blast when you start the car, instead of turning it on after the engine is warm. If you need to defrost the front window after the engine is warm, you have to start low & slowly warm it. Unless you enjoy a cracked windshield. Plus cars for super cold weather have electric engine block heaters (usually -20F or below) to keep fluids from freezing & cracking the engine. So a parking lot full of electrical outlets means cold winters.
Today cools down, tomorrow warms up and then, starting Sunday in the Houston area: A big chill, as temps slide into a hard freeze. @mattlanza has the details, along with a concise timeline of what happens when.
@ai6yr@BakerRL75@spacecityweather@mattlanza
It is the corporations that cause the pipes to burst. Most of Texas is subject to freezing weather, but not frequently enough for frost protection to be code (usually every few years). So builders don't add the proper insulation/designs for expected lows and instead homeowners/renters mostly have work-arounds (like wrapping exposed exterior pipes in rags when they should be installed below the frost line instead). But freedom or something.๐ฑ๐คฃ
@ai6yr@BakerRL75@spacecityweather@mattlanza It is the same issue with "interior" pipes being installed in uninsulated (attic) spaces with exposure to outside air (so basically outside under a roof). You are supposed to run your water non-stop in cold weather to keep them from freezing. But at 20F, better to shut off the water & drain your pipes. Freezing temperature horror stories are more common in TX (especially involving frozen toilets), but more spectacular in CA.
@ai6yr I think I have used that hitch. The u-pin attaches to the rear wheel frame (maybe there was a part that clamped onto the frame that the u-pin attaches to?) and the strap wraps around the frame as the backup in case the u-pin fails. I think the 1990s Burley trailers for kids used it.
I will try to check my trailer tomorrow as I still have it somewhere.
@ai6yr I think it attaches directly to the frame on the side opposite the chain using the U-pin, then hold it in place with the strap (so it isn't moving along the frame bar as you tow it. We don't have a second piece either, but it has been over a decade since I have been able to use it. Ours is a kid trailer with cargo at the back.
@ai6yr I think the strap is wrapped in a figure 8 between the trailer & bike frame to keep the metal parts from rubbing. Maybe the strap was the main hitch & the U-pin the backup?
Finally the first proper #snow of the season (enough to cover the ground) on 01/07/2024 (normally this happens by late September or October). #LakeArrowhead#CaWx#ClimateDiary
Have you been sad because your jam got mold after only a month or so?
That's how fancy jam works, no preservatives. You pay the price, but I've found a solution that's worked for years:
After you crack the jam open and use it (always with a clean knife, minimize time it's open! Don't let spores in!) Pour a thin layer of honey over the top of the jam. This will prevent mold. It's yummy too.
@futurebird You can pour wax instead of honey on jam to keep it fresh (just remove, melt & repour when you enjoy jam). That is what people did before refrigeration. If you won't finish the jar before it goes off, mix it with 1/4 part oyster sauce and use as a BBQ/stirfry sauce or marinade (you can add alcohol as well to marinade).
You can also freeze most jams (be sure to use a freezer-safe container as most jam jars will not survive).
#SnowFree cloud passage through the local #CloudForest near #LakeArrowhead. In my lifetime, this area has gone from snowed in most of the year (September to May), to mostly snow free, to possibly no snow at all this year. #ClimateChange#ClimateDiary
@ai6yr Our 1950s enamel steel fridge is still running and will outlast any AI fridge. I will take aluminum lazy Susan shelves and enamel produce drawers over AI any day. (Plus it has a real latch, not just magnetic strips). No fridge needs to be uploading videos of its contents to social media for judgement of your eating habits. Now if only I had a time machine to buy more ...
Does anyone know of a good site comparing grad school in various countries? I've seen lots of comparisons of cost of living/tuition, but nothing yet comparing how the actual schooling goes.
In some countries it's a job, in others it's strictly school. There are also structural and pedagogical differences that would be important to know. Some are more or (usually) less accessible to disabled scholars. That's the sort of info I'm seeking.
@ml@academicchatter Try to find out percentage of entering students who graduate from the program. A high percentage (especially for female students) is one that supports its students. 20-30% graduation rates or lower should be avoided. Also look at what students do post-graduation. If 50%+ don't work in that field anymore, it also isn't likely to be supportive.
@ml@academicchatter It's been years since I went to graduate school, but someone was trying to gather those statistics when I left for a review website decades ago. Almost no one from my starting class got degrees (we were cheap labor more than students). Also, look for programs with strict time limits (they imposed a six year limit halfway through my program so they could get rid of students without giving them degrees, before that some students took 20-30 years to finish).
@ai6yr I see lots of people starting to mask again where I am, but primarily service workers who likely can't afford to take time off (e.g. cashier at grocery). I find it hopeful that people are starting to associate masking with not get sick.
#BabySwissChard and #tomatoes going crazy in the garden right now. Leaving the spent flower stalks definitely seems to be the easiest way to grow & harvest tons of small, tender leaves. My tomato plants are going crazy producing tomatoes as well. #ClimateDiary#LosAngelesCounty#HomegrownFood
At the grocery store yesterday, 2 raw whole chickens were $31, but one whole cooked rotisserie chicken was $5. Plus the stores were out of hot chocolate & lettuce and almost out of candy canes & chicken thighs (but had plenty of chicken breasts). Blueberries are back after being out for a month. #GroceryWeirdness#ClimateCrisis#ClimateDiary
It's mid-December here & I am harvesting persimmons (normal), summer avocados (the winter ones aren't ready yet), tomatoes (I guess no killing frost this year), peppers, pomegranates (a month late), and my sugar bush thinks it is already spring along with some of the chickens. We are having unseasonably warm weather. #ClimateDiary
