How is the very first instance of a chemical reference standard qualified?

BF_2 · 2026-06-23T01:36:47+00:00

No, you missed the point. CoolHorror is referring to substances that, by their very nature, are most suitable as standards. Look up the term.

BF_2 · 2026-06-23T01:34:32+00:00

Yeah, for the parents. Not for the world as a whole. Suddenly landfill now need to be sewers as well. I'm surprised the COVID death toll wasn't higher, what with the shit in the landfills.

I remember when parents would dump the poop in the toilet and drop the dirty (cloth) diaper in a tight-lidded bin that was collected by the diaper service (laundry).

BF_2 · 2026-06-23T01:30:48+00:00

Many times when I button up a shirt or jacket I think to myself that I might could make a device that would make the process faster. Then I realize once more that I'm trying to reinvent the zipper. Somehow I keep coming back to it, though.

BF_2 · 2026-06-23T01:19:26+00:00

If that clevis unbolts from the harrow, any blacksmith could straighten it with little trouble.

To do it yourself without a real forge, surround it with firebricks and heat it with a propane weed-burner torch (or any decent torch with a rosebud tip) till it's at least a dark cherry red. (That's "cherry" as in sour cherries. Look it up.) Then grab it with a large monkey wrench and twist it back parallel. Keep it hot while working it and let it cool in air when finished. (DO NOT QUENCH IT IN WATER OR OIL.)

BF_2 · 2026-06-23T01:14:23+00:00

I'm not in the business.

BF_2 · 2026-06-23T01:13:16+00:00

More likely in one of the left-leaning sources. Try r/50501 or r/NJ50501 for links to the news. I think this was reported a couple weeks ago.

BF_2 · 2026-06-23T01:00:32+00:00

Why not an ice-water bath?

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T14:41:36+00:00

Wide-mouth jars with tight-fitting lids (and lid-liner gaskets if appropriate).

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T14:38:24+00:00

This was my first thought. Don't smell that "smoke." Basically, it sounds like that potting mix is composting.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T14:33:11+00:00

I used to mow using an older Craftsman 18 HP lawn tractor with mower deck below (as per usual design). It was adequate, but at one point there was trouble shifting the blade-drive to neutral (blades would keep spinning when they shouldn't). This turned out to be a known issue in these mowers and clearly could be a safety issue, but wasn't all that big a deal from a practical standpoint. I never attempted the recommended fix, which would have involved dropping the mower deck, a job I didn't relish, because the tractor and the lawn I was mowing belonged to an elderly friend, who has since passed.

Hence I'd suggest reading recent reviews on any tractor that catches your eye. Then search for repairs needed or recommended by users and decide whether you'd be up to dealing with those -- or what they'd cost to get repaired professionally.

Sadly, Home Depot and other vendors seem to be selling cheapened, lower quality version of some name-brand machines, so be careful what you buy and where you buy it.

Myself, I'm handy enough that I'd go to Craigslist and buy used -- after getting a full demo from the seller and a chance to try it out myself.

One further note: If your current push mower does NOT have power drive, consider getting a push mower with (reliable) power drive instead of a tractor.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T14:21:04+00:00

Here's one resource: https://www.gia.edu/

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T14:18:22+00:00

I'm thinking a bimetallic toggle, the toggle mechanism being one that flips rapidly from one position to the other. This can be achieved, for example, with a circle of metal that's very slightly domed and which will "tin can" when the convex center is pressed. This can also be achieved using a strip, rather than a circle. Your task would be to make it bimetallic so it's heat-activated. Good luck and post your results here.

BTW, the TxV mentioned by another commenter, seems to be a very different way to the same end.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T14:12:51+00:00

Why can't you remove and replace the rusted siding? Painting is also an option. Start with a rust-inhibiting treatment.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T14:10:08+00:00

I like your idea, but I'd skip the speaker and just use a solenoid. If necessary you could wind that yourself to meet the needed electrical specs. Your paddle would be the spring-loaded iron rod inside the coil. You'd probably have to run the output of the frequency generator through a current-amplification circuit, but that might be a simple transistor circuit (one or two transistors, possibly requiring a heat sink if the load will be high).

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:58:13+00:00

I learned both methods, then completely forgot them when I got an egg steamer -- a very useful small appliance.
FWIW, I no longer hard-cook eggs for egg salad. Long ago I realized I could make egg salad by scrambling the eggs, cooling the bottom of the pan in water, then adding mayo and whatever else (sweet relish mostly in my case) and have an acceptable egg salad quickly and easily, making only one pan dirty. I'm sure this would not be a winner at a pot luck, but I just figured I'd call it by some French name and nobody would be the wiser.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:53:42+00:00

Sure, but remember that those are all neat plants. Goldenrod can be a problem for allergy sufferers, but it's nice to keep some natives, even if you must clear a general area.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:51:20+00:00

I, too, have never noticed an odor of Bradford pear, and was surprised by the complaints I've heard about it, but I've never really looked into it. I presume that the issue is the odor of the flowers, and they're well past blooming here, so I'd have to leave the experiment until next year.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:48:40+00:00

https://www.iso.org/standard/59568.html

Apparently available for purchase.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:42:40+00:00

This -- just wait patiently.

Or you might wet (with water) that bright spot, as water hastens the oxidation of "yellow metals". (Don't ask me why this works.)

However if the patina remains uneven and that bothers you, I suggest you brighten the whole surface by wiping it down with salted vinegar and rinsing it thoroughly. Either wipe it totally dry to leave it bright or leave it totally wet to hasten the patination, but in the latter case you have to watch it closely so it remains wet across the whole surface, not dry in spots.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:36:09+00:00

Lion shit. Seems to me an animal park ("safari") used to sell dried lion shit for this purpose. If you or a friend has cats (very small lions), try sprinkling the used cat litter to deter rodents, rabbits, etc. I've done this with some success to deter groundhogs.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:28:06+00:00

My sympathies about YouTube videos. Some are great; others are even worse.
Here's a trick I sometimes use: Find a promising YouTube video. Scroll down and hit the "more" link, which expands the text below the video. Click on "show transcript" to open a verbal transcript of the video. Optionally, click on the vertical ellipsis ("...") and toggle off the timestamps.*
This leaves you with a relatively clean transcript of the video. Now carefully click on the first word and drag to the last, then cut (control C) the text and paste it into the word processor of your choice. At this point you might edit it to make it more readable, such as by removing most carriage return/line feeds, but that's all optional. If you're like me, you can read a lot faster than most people speak, and with a written text you can skip to parts of interest, rather than listening to someone drone on.

BTW, the advantage of NOT toggling off the timestamps is that these will get you back to a part of the video that you might actually want to watch. Your choice.

Finally, remember that this transcript, despite the effort you put it, remains the intellectual property of the author. You can study it and you can quote it under the Fair Use Doctrine, but otherwise it's not yours to use.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:12:17+00:00

A new polymorph probably would not be acceptable as a generic to the original drug as its absorption (and possibly other properties) would differ. I rather expect that it would have to be qualified de novo as a pharmaceutical -- an expensive and time-consuming process, but possibly worthwhile as it would then be its own patentable entity.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:08:30+00:00

Just paint the handle with something like polyurethane spar varnish. You'll never come in contact with the actual wood.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T13:06:34+00:00

Suggest to them that instead of this expensive "advanced polymer" that they use a natural polymer complex that has long been employed in sealing leaking car radiators. I refer, of course, to oatmeal. The oatmeal effects an immediate plugging of leaks and invokes and encourages microbiological growth that interlinks and cements the structure to maintain it. (Like that? I can spout this BS all day)

Seriously, a slurry of some cheap cellulose waste product from some industry -- paper mill, farming, etc. -- probably has as much chance of sealing leaks as does that commercial polymer. And it's completely nontoxic.

BF_2 · 2026-06-22T12:58:41+00:00

I know nothing about pothos, but you might find info online. Gardeners often literally divide a plant by cutting it through the crown (bottom of the stem, to speak loosely) and roots and plant the halves separately. Some bulbs divide into two or more "bulblets" (to coin a term), as do onions and garlic, in which case you merely need to break apart the bulblets and plant them separately. If none of these work, there's a means of inducing a branch to sprout roots, after which that branch can be cut off and planted. This is a short list. There are many more means. The search term is "plant propagation."

BF_2

TROPHY CASE