A thread for miscellaneous stuff...

[masraum]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

The factory explosion I mentioned was in a chicle (chewing gum) factory. They used magnesium stearate to prevent the chicle from sticking and that was the dust that exploded. Cocoa has a lot of carbon in it so I'd expect it to burn rather easily in dust form.

Interesting, thanks for the additional detail. I wonder how the magnesium stearate compares to magnesium filings.

[Jeff Hail]

Originally Posted by oldE

This morning my wife brought home a big bag of bird seed. Stitched into the end of the bag was a card which proclaimed, "Caution. Allergy Alert! May contain peanuts."
I asked her if we had to screen the birds regarding possible allergies.
WTF?

Best
Les

True bird seed story -

In the 1980's a friend of mine had a Blue Cheek Parrot that was something like 30 years old. It was given to him when the owner was getting on with age. He was instructed to feed it a particular type and brand of food and never to deviate from it. Joe the Parrot was a great bird. Friendly, affectionate and generally good personality for a bird that could tear your fingers off -literally.

That certain type of bird feed went on back order. (actually tons and tons were held at customs) so friend gets another brand for about 2-3 months . Joe the Parrot went full nuts. I got bit and had a nice chunk of knuckle torn off. Then Joe bit my friend pretty good. This bird was not a biter in the past.

My friend was ready to let him go free and at the time would probably done well with the old Busch Gardens flock that was running wild and amok around the San Fernando Valley.

My friend takes Joe to a vet thinking he has some kind of bird illness. The vet asks what he feeds Joe? Vet smirks and tells my friend Joe is a junky. Yes a big time junky due to his age, how long he has been on this diet of seed mix and going through withdrawal. All Joe's life he had been fed a steady diet of bird heroin. A feed mix that has a high poppy seed ratio. Joe was an addict. All the bird Vets knew about this seed mix.

"Your bird is so calm and well behaved" is not from training or good behavior. They are comfortably numb.

The Vet had a line on a similar brand and type of bird seed mix that got Joe back on his fix. The original brand of seed mix finally came back on the market. Joe lived another 12 years as a very cool bird and back to his usual self again.

[Steve Carlton]

Interesting story!

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hail

True bird seed story

Funny you mention Busch Gardens. We lived in Van Nuys and went to Busch Gardens a number of times.

We has a bush in the front yard that had little red berries, that it turns out Toucans liked. I only know this because we had a Toucan visit our house to eat those berries. Busch Gardens ended up coming by to pick up their bird.

[flatbutt]

100 years ago today Mama Flatbutt was born. Gone but not forgotten.

With some of her grand children before the decline.

[stevej37]

^^^ A great looking group there.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by stevej37

^^^ A great looking group there.

^^^^ Yes indeed ! Is that "Flatty The Younger" in the pic?

..... better than Butt Jr.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by KC911

^^^^ Yes indeed ! Is that "Flatty The Younger" in the pic?

..... better than Butt Jr.

Indeed that is FB II.

[A930Rocket]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Indeed that is FB II.

You look out numbered….By a lot!

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

You look out numbered….By a lot!

That's my son and his cousins plus Flatbuttette.

Just a bit of a brag but in that pic are two independent business owners, an OR nurse, a psychologist, a spec ed teacher, an english teacher and of course the Mater Famiglia.

[rockfan4]

My wife has a Kitchenaid mixer with the PTO on the front.
Years ago, she begged, pleaded and demanded the slicer grater attachment for it.
Subsequently, it has sat unused, in the box.

Last night she prepared cucumber sandwiches for her co-workers.
Using a brand new mandolin slicer, she cut up a cucumber. Never mind we already have a mandolin slicer, plenty of knives, and the aforementioned mixer attachment.

She managed to slice the tip off her thumb.

I helped her bandage up the thumb. I'm amazed she passed nursing school.
She found the piece of thumb. It will not end up in one of the sandwiches.

[flatbutt]

Yeah man those mandolin slicers have no conscience at all!

[Evans, Marv]

Did that sort of thing twice. Fist time I sliced off the end of a finger. I retrieved it from under the mandolin. It grew back, & now I can't even tell which one if was. Second time my wife wanted me to slice a stick of peperoni. Don't try slicing something like that. It flexed & I took off the outside part of my right thumb nuckle. I can still see where that happened.

[flatbutt]

This one is too close for comfort. The chances of it jumping across a 4 lane highway may not be too high but the wind has been very strong the last few days. We're not accustomed to stuff like this.

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/weather/nyc-weather-record-breaking-temperatures-expected-as-west-milford-nj-fire-burns/4236804/

Forest fire scares me. Maybe time to put together a bugout kit.

Not much chance that a fire would spare my neighborhood.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0093602,-74.5177113,4028m/data=!3m1!1e3!5m1!1e8

[Bob Kontak]

I put a starter and a battery in a 2007 Mistu Eclipse coupe this morning.

Owner texts me and says the trunk lid (hatch) stays up now, it must be the new battery.

I said the gas inside the trunk lid shocks get warm on a hot day and they work better than in the winter.

She says, "Oh, the fumes?"

It never landed with her.

I don't charge enough.

[RNajarian]

Your story frightens me Bob. It really does.

[flatbutt]

and who is going to clean up all that poo?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65276888

[flatbutt]

I just watched the rescheduled launch of the heavy lift vehicle. Dang that sucker is YUGE! It wasn't "nominal" but it got off the pad and up to about 40kms. However, the 2nd stage did not ignite and it had a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly.

I wonder how much its going to cost to clean all of the mess up?

[Steve Carlton]

Didn't it blow up over the Gulf of Mexico? Seems like immediate success was not expected. I've never seen a rocket spinning like this! Why are people cheering at the end of this video?

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/20/science/spacex-launch-starship-rocket

[masraum]