Showing posts with label Science is fun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science is fun. Show all posts

Friday, April 27, 2012

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

This is going on outside my dining room window...
It hasn't been disturbed for about a week and I hope it remains there.
This is in the center of the web...
Here's a somewhat fuzzy close-up...
Is it my imagination, or does it look like a smiley face on the back of the spider?
It's called a  Spiny orb-weaver, Gasteracantha cancriformis

I'll keep you updated on the happy little spider! 
UPDATE: I just got home from the Garden Show and discovered that someone has destroyed the spider web. I'm sad.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Annual Stare At Manatees Day!

Yesterday we wanted Cape Cod Girlfriend to see the Manatees at Blue Springs State Park. We knew there would be a lot of them because our night temps have been falling into the low 30's. This usually happens around this time every year. The most I had ever seen was maybe 150-200. Yesterday there were  
293!!!
 Manatees spend most of their time eating plants and huddling together for warmth.
 Hundreds of people stand around and watch and wonder.
 I love seeing cars in the parking lot from Maine, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa. It's such a rare Florida experience.
The Florida subspecies can live to be 60 years old. They have one baby at a time, are pregnant for 12 months and baby stays with Mama for 12-18 months.
 Here is proof that we don't spend the ENTIRE winter in flip-flops. Sorority Girl enjoys pulling on the boots every now and then.

 Oh look. A loner!

The local ABC news was there filming and asked us if we could be interviewed. Mr Sunshine was shown on the 5pm newscast. Under his name it said "Tourist". They were fooled by the New England Patriots sweatshirt!
They asked us about seeing so many Manatees. They were just downgraded from Endangered to Threatened Species. Their biggest threat is from speeding motorboats. Without the protection of the Endangered listing their number could drop as much as 50% in the next 45-50 years.

My husband has a lovely car lot/golf course Winter tan. I'm glad they cut me out of the shot. I'm as pale as Frostina The Snow Woman. That's my grey, pasty head in the lower left.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Salmonella And Jelly Sammy

We eat a lot of peanut butter. I have a deep love for peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I'm pretty loyal to the Skippy. It's what I grew up on. My Dad's idea of dessert was a slice of white bread with a thick layer of Skippy. I've tried the all-natural stuff at the fresh market, but it just wasn't the same.

Have you ever sat with a jar of Skippy, a knife and a pile of Hershey Kisses and.....No? Is THAT how I got my fat-ass?

Back in January of 2009, Mom came down with a case of Salmonella that we traced back to the deadly jar of Peter Pan Peanut Butter in her kitchen cabinet. She was VERY sick and it took her about a month to get over it. I used to be a microbiology tech so I get a little skittish when the news reports recalls for Salmonella and E.coli

When I heard this week that Skippy was recalling Reduced Fat peanut butter I wasn't too worried about my stash. We buy the full-fat version....HellYeah! But the first thing I did was call Mom to check hers. As soon as I said Salmonella she hobbled to the kitchen and confirmed that she had Skippy Reduced Fat in her closet. Thankfully, none of the expiration dates that are recalled matched the jar in her closet.

Whew! A case of salmonella 6 weeks before her back surgery could have been a disaster.

We can all eat our PBJ's with peace of mind. And my mind can fondly recall my fat ass days of Skippy and Hershey Kisses.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Discovery Lift-Off. Awesome Day!

Yesterday we drove an hour out to Titusville to watch the Space Shuttle lift off. At any time during the countdown, the lift-off can be scrubbed for clouds, lightning, computer issues, etc. At one point yesterday, they halted the countdown for an Eastern Range computer issue, that was eventually resolved.

We packed beach chairs, sandwiches, a crossword puzzle book, cameras, binoculars and gave ourselves about 5 hours to find a place to watch. We ended up at Veteran's Memorial park on the Indian River Lagoon.
 Those little dots on the causeway are about 1,000 people. Some stood there for over 3 hours.
 We sat at the park for about 3 hours with a crowd of about 2,000. We were surrounded by some really nice people. One man we talked to for a really long time was retired Air Force. He was listening to the NASA feed in his earphones and keeping us updated on what was happening. People chatted about where they were from and previous launches.
 You hear the noise before you see the Shuttle. This pic was about 10 seconds after lift-off. The crowd cheers and claps!
 This is about a minute after take-off.

 This was just about the point where the rocket boosters separate from the shuttle and drop into the ocean. I could barely see it with my eyes or my zoom lens, but the Air Force gentleman handed me his super-duper binoculars and told me to watch it up close!
 The trail stays for a long time.
It was a gorgeous day...sunny and about 80 degrees. I got sunburned shoulders.
This was the third time I went out to watch a shuttle, but the other 2 times the lift-off was scrubbed. This was the last launch of Discovery. Endeavour is scheduled for April 19th. Gabrielle Gifford's husband, Mark Kelly, will be on that launch.

Days like these are what makes me LOVE living in Florida.
This is the link for the You Tube video shot by Mr Sunshine and his fabulous FLIP camera.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Ice Cream Experiment #1

I made my first batch of ice cream last night. Vanilla with Chocolate Chunks.
Taste: B-plus
Texture: D

I think my mistake was to use low fat milk. I never buy whole milk and I didn't want to buy it just for this experiment. There are too many little ice crystals and it isn't creamy enough. It tastes pretty good, but could have used a little bit more vanilla.
I think I churned it long enough. I cranked it every 15 minutes for over 2 hours.

I'll still eat it.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

How to ardhboil an egg


Before AND After

Last night I wanted a hardboiled egg on my salad. I don't hardboil eggs often enough to remember the recipe, so I turned to Google. Because Google knows everything.

I typed without looking....how to ardhboil an egg. Google came back with "Sorry lady, we got nothin' "

So I tried again....how to hardboil an egg. This time Google came back with http://howtohardboilanagg.com/ (DO NOT CLICK, THERE IS A DISCLAIMER)

After I hit my head with my palm and said "DUH", I clicked. I expected a paragraph on some egg cooking website. But NO! There is an ENTIRE WEBSITE devoted to how to hardboil an egg. And it's SIX PAGES LONG! Come along with me. Imagine I'm frowning and tilting my head.

Chicken Cartoon on top. Under that is this line..."Hard boiled eggs for your recipes cooked perfectly every time with my simple instructions. Please read our disclaimer before use."

Disclaimer? Yes, an entire page of disclaimer that warned you not to SUE if your computer caught a virus from the website (Thanks for that information, dudes. It's too late now.)

Tips and Advice: A page on how to use old eggs and center the yolks.

Page 1: Ready to get started. All about pans and water.

Page 2: How to cook the eggs.

Page 3: How to cool the eggs.

Page 4: How to crack and peel the eggs.

Page 5: The previously mentioned disclaimer.

This is my Cliffnotes version: Put eggs in pan of cold water. Bring water to a boil.This takes 6 minutes. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! I did because my daughter says I'm a BAMF and I had to go to the bathroom. Move pan off heat. WEAR OVEN GLOVES! Put eggs in bowl of water and ice. Set timer for 30 minutes. Crack and peel the eggs.

See? 1 paragraph. The eggs? Way overcooked with very gummy yolks.

I'm going to read over that disclaimer again to see if I can sue.

Monday, January 5, 2009

Fun With Anatomy and Physiology

I had a doctor's appointment today. I love my doctor. She's really cool and she rides a Harley and she gives me lots of free samples.

Because I'm still living in The Land Of The Uninsured.

Today's appointment was interesting. Before I went, I showered in Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Stress Relief Eucalyptus/Spearmint Body Wash and Foam Bath. My normal blood pressure of 130/78 was 110/70. wHoo-Hoo!!

Remember when I broke my toe? It turns out I DIDN'T break my toe. Better than that. I completely ripped the cartilage out of the 5th Metatarsal/Phalangeal Joint. In layman's terms...The toe bone is no longer connected to the foot bone. That's why it kind of flops out to the side when I wiggle my toes. This little piggy is now marching to the beat of a different drummer.

Remember when I slashed my finger open on the shattered jar? And I didn't get stitches because I was residing in Land Of The Uninsured? She looked at it today and said "Ohhhhh, that should have had stitches" When I told her the Urgent Care Center wanted about $600 for stitches she said "And they didn't stitch it because you didn't have $600?....THAT'S SO WRONG!!!" Actually, it healed really well. It just looks like hell.

Then she looked at all the dry, cracked skin on my fingers and said "Ohhhhh, you picked up a FUNGUS INFECTION at the nail salon". (okay to scroll down, there are no hideous medical textbook photos)


%$#@!!! *&%$!! Grrrrrrrrr. @#$%&$!!!!!
I've been going there for 2 years and this is the first time that happens.
Good thing the medication for that is a $4 Special at WMart.

Come back again at the end of May after my next appointment with Dr Cool.
We'll be discussing whether my GIANT GOITER is responding to treatment and if I've made any progress on the LOSE MY FAT ASS project.