The plague of black bubonic death has settled on my house. It wasn't that big of deal when everyone else in my family had it. That is... until I got it. I felt it coming on late Friday afternoon. By Friday night, I was one hurting unit, attempting to extract sympathy from every corner. I had a fitful night of sleep and in the morning, I felt like 8 2.5-inch nails had been pounded into my head with a ball peen hammer. I spent the day sprawled on the couch, accepting any and all pity and sympathetic overtures.
By Sunday, my head didn't hurt as much, but it started to feel like my head was filling with marshmallows. That's where I'm at today. I can't think clearly. My lectures today were terrible (I did warn my students). I could not think clearly enough to prepare a coherent lecture.
I'm going to go to bed early tonight, but not until I extract a little more sympathy... if there's any left.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
more bar progress...
It's getting there. I made some progress on my bar by gluing the oak veneer to the plywood. I used contact cement to do the job. I did the top on Wednesday and learned that the solvents used in the contact cement can become quite annoying after a while. On Wednesday it was too freakin' cold to open any windows for ventilation. But, yesterday, when I did the rest of the veneer, it was way up to 8° F. That was plenty warm to open the windows and air out my work space.
By use of my organically trained nose, it was obvious that toluene is the main solvent in the contact cement (think airplane glue). The label also indicated there was naptha and 2-butanone present as well. Naptha is a general term for a mixture of hydrocarbons.
When using contact cement, the cement is added to both surfaces. The glue is allowed to dry (i.e. the solvents evaporate) and then the surfaces are stuck together. Since I had about 80 square feet of surface area to cover with contact cement, I decided to open the windows and vent out the evaporating solvents. By the time I was done, I could see my breath in my basement. It was cold, but on the other hand, the vapors vented out quite nicely.
Here are a few pictures.
The front of the bar.
Look at that tight corner
The end of the bar.
A close up.
Now, all I have left is to add trim, stain, gloss up the surface, and add the beer delivery system.
The only drawback to the progress I am making on my bar is that I have not had time to brew. That will need to be remedied.
By use of my organically trained nose, it was obvious that toluene is the main solvent in the contact cement (think airplane glue). The label also indicated there was naptha and 2-butanone present as well. Naptha is a general term for a mixture of hydrocarbons.
When using contact cement, the cement is added to both surfaces. The glue is allowed to dry (i.e. the solvents evaporate) and then the surfaces are stuck together. Since I had about 80 square feet of surface area to cover with contact cement, I decided to open the windows and vent out the evaporating solvents. By the time I was done, I could see my breath in my basement. It was cold, but on the other hand, the vapors vented out quite nicely.
Here are a few pictures.
The front of the bar.
Look at that tight corner
The end of the bar.
A close up.
Now, all I have left is to add trim, stain, gloss up the surface, and add the beer delivery system.
The only drawback to the progress I am making on my bar is that I have not had time to brew. That will need to be remedied.
Friday, January 16, 2009
In other news...
In news not involving me, Tubby Smith is now second only to Bud Grant as the greatest coach this state (Minnesota) has seen.
The Gophers beat the Badgers in Madison for the first time in something like 780 tries (or something that seemed like that). Except for the era that never actually happened, this is the greatest era in Minnesota basketball.
Thank you Kentucky!!
The Gophers beat the Badgers in Madison for the first time in something like 780 tries (or something that seemed like that). Except for the era that never actually happened, this is the greatest era in Minnesota basketball.
Thank you Kentucky!!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
10 seconds of my 15 minutes has been used
Today I was asked by a local TV station to help with some demonstrations for their news program to illustrate how freakin' cold it is in Minnesota. This morning the temp was -25°F. That's freakin' cold, my friends.[1]
I went to the station and we taped a few minutes of using a frozen banana to hammer a nail, blowing bubbles and watching them freeze and "popping" balloons. The edited footage was going to air tonight on the nine o'clock news.
Well, it turns out the big CBS news show with Katie Couric called down to the minor leagues for some video foder to fill up their national newscast. Long story short, they lumped about 10 seconds of the footage we shot into a story about how freakin' cold it is.
Here's the video. I'm the ugly bastard at about 1:37 using a banana to pound a nail.
Watch CBS Videos Online
So, what that means is I have 14:50 seconds of fame left.
[1] I must include a disclaimer here. While it is freakin' cold here in Minnesota, we must remember that there is an entire country further to the north of Minnesota (and another state). When it's freakin' cold here, it's usually f*cking cold in Canada.
I went to the station and we taped a few minutes of using a frozen banana to hammer a nail, blowing bubbles and watching them freeze and "popping" balloons. The edited footage was going to air tonight on the nine o'clock news.
Well, it turns out the big CBS news show with Katie Couric called down to the minor leagues for some video foder to fill up their national newscast. Long story short, they lumped about 10 seconds of the footage we shot into a story about how freakin' cold it is.
Here's the video. I'm the ugly bastard at about 1:37 using a banana to pound a nail.
Watch CBS Videos Online
So, what that means is I have 14:50 seconds of fame left.
[1] I must include a disclaimer here. While it is freakin' cold here in Minnesota, we must remember that there is an entire country further to the north of Minnesota (and another state). When it's freakin' cold here, it's usually f*cking cold in Canada.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
detartrated
As I sit here getting a bit loopy from the toluene and methyl ethyl ketone fumes from the contact cement I am using to attach the oak veneer to my bar top, all I can think of is: shouldn't palindrome be spelled 'palinilap?'
TACOCAT
Monday, January 12, 2009
A flurry of bar building activity
I made a good deal of progress on my bar yesterday and today. Since I am doing all of my cutting in my shed or garage and the temperatures are expected to plummet to -15°F, I felt compelled to do as much cutting as I could. I like my testicles and prefer not to freeze them off.
On Sunday, I installed 1/2 inch plywood on the front of the bar. Tonight I installed the bar top (5/8 inch plywood) and cut (but didn't install) 1/4 inch oak veneer. I need to figure out the best way to attach the oak veneer. Obviously, screwing it or nailing it in place would defeat the purpose of the veneer. I will probably glue it, but I need to figure out what type of glue to use.
Here are a few pictures.
After I attach the veneer, I will install trim, stain it, lacquer of the surface real good, and install the kegerator. I'm getting close.
On Sunday, I installed 1/2 inch plywood on the front of the bar. Tonight I installed the bar top (5/8 inch plywood) and cut (but didn't install) 1/4 inch oak veneer. I need to figure out the best way to attach the oak veneer. Obviously, screwing it or nailing it in place would defeat the purpose of the veneer. I will probably glue it, but I need to figure out what type of glue to use.
Here are a few pictures.
After I attach the veneer, I will install trim, stain it, lacquer of the surface real good, and install the kegerator. I'm getting close.
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