Sunday, September 7, 2008
How to Get Rid of Ants
Few pests are harder to get rid of than ants once they've established themselves in your home. If you're tired of stumbling upon a swarm of ants on a regular basis, you'll need to make a concentrated effort to keep these uninvited guests away. This article will review every course of action available to you--why it works, whether it's safe around pets and kids, and how to do it properly. == Steps == Shut down the ant buffet. The reason ants are coming into your humble abode is because it's a free-for-all (or at least it was at some point in the past, and they're hoping it might be again). The cleaner you keep the house, the less they'll have to eat, and the more they'll look elsewhere for goodies. Wipe down all surfaces. Tables and counter tops should be regularly sprayed and cleaned with a mild bleach or vinegar solution. Sweep, mop and vacuum regularly. Put food in air-tight containers. This has the added bonus of keeping the food fresher. Keep the sink clean: no dirty dishes, no standing water for ants to drink, no food in the drain. Put pet food bowls in a slightly larger bowl and add some water to the larger bowl, creating a moat around the pet food that the ants can't cross (too bad you can't put one of those around your house!). A lone ant brings home the bacon--or in this case, the cat foodSquish the scouts. Colonies regularly send out lone ants to check for food sources. If you see an individual ant strolling across your coffee table, don't let it make it back to the nest alive. It'll tell the colony where you spilled the apple juice. If the scout made it back to the nest and brought back some friends, they'll be following a scent trail, single file. Unless you're ready to bait them as described below, kill them all. Quickly. Spray the trail with all purpose cleaner or a bleach solution, then wipe it up with a wet paper towel. Only do this if you can get them all, however, because spraying like a mad man might encourage them to split up, go home, and establish new colonies.[1] For a less hands-on solution, vacuum them all up, then vacuum some talcum powder or diatomaceous earth to finish them off. Barricade your home. Since ants are tiny, they can find thousands of tiny doorways into your residence. Some of them of are easy to identify; others will only be discovered when there's a parade of ants of marching through them. Seal windows, doors, and any cracks the ants crawl through with caulk. An additional benefit with this is better temperature control and lower energy bills. Plus, it's the least risky method when kids or pets are involved. Line suspected entryways with deterrent substances. Diatomaceous earth is a fine powder that kills ants by pulling all the moisture from their bodies. Since it's so absorbent, however, it's only effective in dry environments.[2] You also don't want anyone in the house (pets included) sniffing it up. Talc in various forms is presumed to deter ants, although the mechanism is poorly understood.[3] Tailor's chalk and baby powder usually contain talc and can be used to create a barrier for ants. Regardless of which form of talc you use, keep in mind that there are concerns about the potential carcinogenicity of talc,[4] although baby powder is used by many parents nonetheless.*Many sources recommend using normal chalk, but this is made of gypsum, not talc, and could be the result of confusion with "ant chalk" (an insecticide that looks just like normal chalk; outlawed in the US in the '90s, but still sold in Chinatowns illegally).*Some baby powder brands are made of corn starch and will not work effectively against ants. Check the ingredients. Cornmeal can be used as a weapon against ants, and it's not poisonous to people or animals. Ants eat it and after consuming water, the cornmeal swells inside their digestive organs, causing them to die.[5] Dried clovesYou can also apply scents and substances that ants simply don't like for various reasons: vinegar, peppermint oil, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, whole cloves, and bay leaves. Some of these might be harmful to pets and irritating to curious children. Excavated ants' nestBring down the nest. If ants continue to raid your home, you're going to have to raid theirs--except that you're too big to get inside. If you're able to locate the nest, however, you can pour several gallons of boiling water into it and that'll be that. But if you don't know where they're coming from, your only alternative is to bait them. Commercial bait product at workPick your poison. Mixing boric acid powder or borax with sugar water is the most common bait (that is what a popular commercial ant poison, Terro, basically consists of). Boric acid affects ants both externally (when in powder form; similar to diatomaceous earth) and internally (when ingested).[6] The ants bring the poison (borax or boric acid) with them to the colony and spread it around. If you get the quantity and timing just right, you can wipe out a large colony, but it might take several weeks to a few months.[7] A bait that's too strong will kill the ants before they make it home, and a bait that's too weak will only weaken the colony temporarily, so here are some recipes that people have had success with:*1 cup water, 2 cups sugar, 2 tablespoons boric acid[8]*3 cups of water with 1 cup of sugar and 4 teaspoons of boric acid.[9] Remove any deterrents (from previous steps) and wait for the ants to show up. Don't lure new ants with the bait; you could attract new colonies.[10] Once there's a trail, place the bait next to it (not on it, or else you'll interrupt their march home). If you have pets and/or children around (see Warnings below) put the bait in a jam jar. Screw the lid tightly and seal with adhesive tape. Pierce two or three small holes in the lid, and smear the outside with a little bit of unpoisoned bait. If you're concerned about the jar getting knocked over and the poisoned bait spilling out, loosely pack the inside with cotton balls.[11] Just to cover all the bases, leave out some peanut butter bait as well (peanut butter mixed with borax or boric acid powder). Ants' cravings vary depending on the needs of the colony (sometimes they want sweets, sometimes they want something oily)[12] so providing both will increase the likelihood that they'll take the bait. Give them as much fresh bait as they'll take, replenishing it as needed, and let them bring it back to their nest (no squishing or killing!). Once they've had their fill, remove all bait; you don't want to attract a neighboring colony.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
How to Separate an Egg
Sometimes recipes call specifically for egg whites or yolks; other times you might want to skip the cholesterol in egg yolks. Either way, you should know how to separate the white from the yolk. Here are some ways to do that.
Steps
1.
Beaten egg whites
Beaten egg whites
Purchase fresh eggs if you can. The membrane that encloses the yolk weakens over time so the fresher the eggs, the "tighter" the yolk. [1] Also, fresher eggs have stronger proteins, which will make for stiffer whites (if that's what you're going to be using them for).
2.
Ready for cracking and separating
Ready for cracking and separating
Chill the eggs. Since the yolk is less likely to break when it's cold[2] make sure you're working with chilled eggs. If the recipe calls for egg whites or yolks at room temperature, however, you'll need to let them sit after separating, or work more carefully with eggs that are already at room temperature.
3. Use one of the methods described below to separate the eggs.
4.
Put the previously separated whites and yolks in a separate bowl (or individually in half shells in the carton) so that if you end up with a messy crack down the line, you don't get shell shards all over your previous hard work.
5. Freeze any unused whites or yolks in small containers, labeled with how many whites or yolks are stored.[2]
Shell Transfer Method
1.
How to crack an egg. Be sure to place the egg so the middle of the egg hits the bowl's edge.
How to crack an egg. Be sure to place the egg so the middle of the egg hits the bowl's edge.
Imagine a line going around the "fattest" part of the egg--that is where you want to make the cleanest crack you can manage. The key with this method is to avoid cracking the egg unevenly, as this can make it difficult for the yolk to switch to the smaller side.
2.
Hitting the egg against bowl edge
Hitting the egg against bowl edge
Crack the egg open at about the halfway mark. You can do this by hitting the egg swiftly against the sharp edge of a bowl (a curved or round edge will result in a more jagged, messy crack).
You can also crack the egg gently on a flat surface, in which case it's more difficult to get an even break, but you're less likely to end up with small pieces of shell floating around[3] and the yolk is better protected, since breaking the shell against an edge pushes the pieces inwards, possibly piercing the yolk.[4]
3.
The egg is cracked a little
The egg is cracked a little
Hold the egg so that the cracked part is facing up.
4.
Pry open
Pry open
Pry open the egg gently, catching the yolk in half of the shell. Do this above a bowl, making sure no part of the yolk or the shell falls in.
5.
Let white slide in
Let white slide in
Switch yolk to empty shell side
Switch yolk to empty shell side
Let the white slide into the bowl. Take the eggshell half with the yolk sitting in it and switch the yolk to the other half, making sure it doesn't fall into the bowl or "melt". Repeat this about three times, switching from side to side as the white continues to drip into the bowl.
Hand Method
1.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands with soap (preferably non-scented), and rinse. If any of the oil from your hands get into the whites, they will not fluff.[5]
2. Crack the egg over your hand (palm facing up). You might need someone to crack it for you, unless you can crack an egg with one hand.
3. Let the whites drip through the spaces between your fingers until all that is left is the yolk in your hand.
Funnel Method
1. Have someone hold a funnel over a bowl (or put it in a bottle if no one can hold it for you).
2. Crack the egg over the funnel. The whites should pass through the small opening while the egg yolk remains in the funnel.
3. If whites become trapped above the yolk, gently move the funnel around so that the yolk doesn't block the small opening and the whites can slip past it.
Separator Method
1.
Crack into a separator. (This bowl has a wide slot in one side.)
Crack into a separator. (This bowl has a wide slot in one side.)
Carefully crack the egg into the separator.
2.
Pour off the whites through the slot.
Pour off the whites through the slot.
Let the egg separator contain the yolk while the whites pour off through the slot.
Tips
* Although you could discard the yolk, a better idea is to use any of the yolks created this way to make an egg dish (like homemade mayonnaise) or for cakes. Try to have two recipes in mind before you crack the eggs open.
* If eggshell falls into the egg whites, scoop it out with a teaspoon or another larger piece of the egg shell.
* If you're beating the egg whites, such as for a meringue, make sure no yolk gets in. Any bit of yolk in egg whites will cause them not to foam.
* Seperator method can be performed with a simple slotted spoon. Just crack the egg on top of the spoon, with bowl beneath to catch the whites, and shake gently.
Warnings
* Wash your hands before and after handling raw eggs to avoid any possible bacterial contamination. Clean surfaces that come into contact with the eggs.
Steps
1.
Beaten egg whites
Beaten egg whites
Purchase fresh eggs if you can. The membrane that encloses the yolk weakens over time so the fresher the eggs, the "tighter" the yolk. [1] Also, fresher eggs have stronger proteins, which will make for stiffer whites (if that's what you're going to be using them for).
2.
Ready for cracking and separating
Ready for cracking and separating
Chill the eggs. Since the yolk is less likely to break when it's cold[2] make sure you're working with chilled eggs. If the recipe calls for egg whites or yolks at room temperature, however, you'll need to let them sit after separating, or work more carefully with eggs that are already at room temperature.
3. Use one of the methods described below to separate the eggs.
4.
Put the previously separated whites and yolks in a separate bowl (or individually in half shells in the carton) so that if you end up with a messy crack down the line, you don't get shell shards all over your previous hard work.
5. Freeze any unused whites or yolks in small containers, labeled with how many whites or yolks are stored.[2]
Shell Transfer Method
1.
How to crack an egg. Be sure to place the egg so the middle of the egg hits the bowl's edge.
How to crack an egg. Be sure to place the egg so the middle of the egg hits the bowl's edge.
Imagine a line going around the "fattest" part of the egg--that is where you want to make the cleanest crack you can manage. The key with this method is to avoid cracking the egg unevenly, as this can make it difficult for the yolk to switch to the smaller side.
2.
Hitting the egg against bowl edge
Hitting the egg against bowl edge
Crack the egg open at about the halfway mark. You can do this by hitting the egg swiftly against the sharp edge of a bowl (a curved or round edge will result in a more jagged, messy crack).
You can also crack the egg gently on a flat surface, in which case it's more difficult to get an even break, but you're less likely to end up with small pieces of shell floating around[3] and the yolk is better protected, since breaking the shell against an edge pushes the pieces inwards, possibly piercing the yolk.[4]
3.
The egg is cracked a little
The egg is cracked a little
Hold the egg so that the cracked part is facing up.
4.
Pry open
Pry open
Pry open the egg gently, catching the yolk in half of the shell. Do this above a bowl, making sure no part of the yolk or the shell falls in.
5.
Let white slide in
Let white slide in
Switch yolk to empty shell side
Switch yolk to empty shell side
Let the white slide into the bowl. Take the eggshell half with the yolk sitting in it and switch the yolk to the other half, making sure it doesn't fall into the bowl or "melt". Repeat this about three times, switching from side to side as the white continues to drip into the bowl.
Hand Method
1.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands.
Wash your hands with soap (preferably non-scented), and rinse. If any of the oil from your hands get into the whites, they will not fluff.[5]
2. Crack the egg over your hand (palm facing up). You might need someone to crack it for you, unless you can crack an egg with one hand.
3. Let the whites drip through the spaces between your fingers until all that is left is the yolk in your hand.
Funnel Method
1. Have someone hold a funnel over a bowl (or put it in a bottle if no one can hold it for you).
2. Crack the egg over the funnel. The whites should pass through the small opening while the egg yolk remains in the funnel.
3. If whites become trapped above the yolk, gently move the funnel around so that the yolk doesn't block the small opening and the whites can slip past it.
Separator Method
1.
Crack into a separator. (This bowl has a wide slot in one side.)
Crack into a separator. (This bowl has a wide slot in one side.)
Carefully crack the egg into the separator.
2.
Pour off the whites through the slot.
Pour off the whites through the slot.
Let the egg separator contain the yolk while the whites pour off through the slot.
Tips
* Although you could discard the yolk, a better idea is to use any of the yolks created this way to make an egg dish (like homemade mayonnaise) or for cakes. Try to have two recipes in mind before you crack the eggs open.
* If eggshell falls into the egg whites, scoop it out with a teaspoon or another larger piece of the egg shell.
* If you're beating the egg whites, such as for a meringue, make sure no yolk gets in. Any bit of yolk in egg whites will cause them not to foam.
* Seperator method can be performed with a simple slotted spoon. Just crack the egg on top of the spoon, with bowl beneath to catch the whites, and shake gently.
Warnings
* Wash your hands before and after handling raw eggs to avoid any possible bacterial contamination. Clean surfaces that come into contact with the eggs.
How to Tell Time Without a Clock
For many people, knowing the correct time is vital to everyday life. If you're in an unfamiliar environment without any kind of clock, however, figuring out the time could be a matter of safety and survival. Without a clock or watch, finding the exact time may not be possible, but you can figure the approximate time using the sun, moon or stars.
[edit] Steps
Sun Position
1. Make note of the position of the sun. If you're in the northern hemisphere, face the south; if you're in the southern hemisphere, face north. (If you don't have a compass, use one of these techniques.) In other words, look at the equator--that is the line the sun generally follows in the sky. It always rises in the east (which is to your left if you're facing south, to your right if you're facing north) and sets in the west.
* If the sun is in the exact center of the sky, it's exactly noon. A nickname for this is "high noon" because the sun is at its highest at noon and the time will be 12:00 PM, but this assumes no daylight saving time, and that you're in the middle of your time zone. For instance, in Salt Lake City, Utah (US), "high noon" is actually at 1:30 PM in the summer because there's an hour added by daylight saving and another thirty minutes added because the city is that time distance (west) away from the center of the time zone.[1]
* If the sun is not in the exact center, you will have to do more figuring. If it is morning, the sun will be in the eastern half of the sky. If it is afternoon, the sun will be in the western half. You can use fractions to divide the sky into hours, and find the approximate time.
2. Estimate the number of hours between sunrise and sunset. This varies depending on the season and location. Winter days are shorter than summer ones: about ten and fourteen hours, respectively. Spring and fall days tend to be about twelve hours long, especially close to the equinox (late March or late September).
3. Divide the sun's path into segments. If you're looking towards the equator, you can imagine the sun following an imaginary arc from east to west, beginning and ending at the horizon, even if it's obscured. Visualize dividing that arc into equal segments; the number of segments should equal the number of hours in the day. If you know there are twelve hours in a day, you would divide the arc into twelve equal parts, six on the eastern half and six on the western half.
* If you're having trouble visualizing the sky in segments, you can use your hand or fist to "measure" segments. Going hand over hand, count the amount of fists from one end of the arc to the zenith (the highest point of the sky). Take that number as half of a day. For instance, if you counted 9 fists, and you know the day is 12 hours long, nine fists would be equal to six hours. To figure out how much time each fist represents, divide the number of hours by the number of fists. One fist, then would equal 6 divided by 9 - or about 2/3 hours (40 minutes). This is your hours-per-fist.
4. Determine which segment the sun is in. Starting in the east, count how many segments there are before you get to the segment that the sun is in. That will tell you how many daytime hours have passed. The segments that the sun hasn't touched yet indicate how many daytime hours are remaining. If you know the time of high noon, sunrise, or sunset in your area, then you can approximate the current time.
* Using the Salt Lake City example given earlier, let's say there are fourteen segments (because it's summer) and the sun is on the ninth segment (from the east). The eighth segment (right after the highest point) begins at 1:30 PM. The ninth segment begins one hour after that, so if the sun is in the ninth segment, it's probably between 2:30 and 3:30 PM. If the sun was in the sixth segment, the time would be between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. With practice, you'll be able to estimate time without consciously dividing the sky.
* If you used the fists method, count the number of fists from the eastern end of the arc to the sun. Multiply that number times the hours-per-fist measurement. Let's say you counted three fists from east to west. Three hours times forty minutes equals 120 minutes, or two hours. So it's been two hours since sunrise. If you know the time of sunrise in your area and season, you can approximate what time it is.
Reading the Moon[2]
1. Find the moon. If the moon is full, stop here and follow the instructions for telling time based on sun position. If it's a new moon (i.e. you can't see the moon) this technique will not work.
2.
Imagine the moon is a circle divided into vertical strips. The number of vertical strips equals the number of hours in the night, with the first hour at the right edge and the final hour at the left edge. As discussed earlier, the number of nighttime hours can vary by season and location. Let's assume twelve hours, beginning at 6 PM and ending at 6 AM, for now.
3. Read the moon from right to left, following an imaginary horizontal halfline. Look for where that line intersects the border between light and dark. Make note of which strip that intersection is in. If as you read from right to left, the moon goes from light to dark, that strip where the intersection is located tells you when the moon will set in the west (moonset). If the transition is from dark to light, then you can determine when the moon will rise in the east (moonrise).
*
In this instance, the intersection is at 8 PM, and the transition from right to left is from light to dark. This tells us that the moon will set in the west at 8 PM.
*
This moon will set at about 7-8 hours after sunset. If sunset is at 7 PM, you can expect moonset at 2-3 AM.
* If the moon is just a tiny sliver on the right, it sets within an hour or two since the night began. If you see it, you're probably within the first hour or two of nighttime, since the moon hasn't set yet.
* If the moon is just a tiny sliver on the left, it rises within an hour or two before dawn. If you see the moon in this phase, you can expect the night to be over within one or two hours.
4. Observe the moon's position in the sky. Divide the moon's path into segments, as described for the sun above. For the purposes of this example, let's assume twelve equal segments for twelve hours in the night.
* If you know the moonrise time, estimate how many hours (segments) it already passed since it rose in the east. Add those hours to the moonrise time to get your current time. If you know the moon rose at 9PM, for example, and it's right in the middle of a 12 hour path, that means it's completed 6 hours since it rose at 9 PM. 6 hours after 9 PM is 3 AM.
* If you know the moonset time, estimate how many hours (segments) it has to go before it sets in the west. Let's say you know the moon will set at 2 AM in the west. If the moon is positioned about 2 segments away from the western end of the arc, that means it has two hours before it sets. Two hours before moonset (2 AM) is 12 AM (midnight).
North Star Clock
1. Locate the Big Dipper constellation. You'll only be able to do this in the northern hemisphere and if the skies are clear. In the summer, the Big Dipper will be closer to the horizon.
2. Determine the raw time. The two pointers in the Big Dipper (the two stars furthest away from the handle) are in line with the North Star (Polaris). This line is like a clock hand, with Polaris at the center of the clock; as you look North, 12 is at the top of the clock, and 6 is at the bottom. When you imagine this clock, what time is it? Let's say the "hand" falls at 2:30. This is the raw time.
Image:Star_clock_196.jpg
3. Add one hour for every month after March 7. Likewise, subtract one hour for every month before March 7. If it's May 7, two months after March 7, then you'd add two hours to your raw time, making it 4:30. To be more exact, add or subtract two minutes for every day after or before the 7th, respectively. If it's February 2, it's one month and five days before March 7, so you'd subtract one hour and ten minutes from 2:30 (making it 1:20).
* The reason we focus on March 7 is because the star clock always reads 12:00 at midnight on this date, so this is our "base" date, and we have to "adjust the clock" for any other date.
4. Double the time.
5. Subtract the time from 24. If the time from the previous step is more than 24, then subtract it from 48. We do this because the clock actually goes backwards (counterclockwise) and this subtraction corrects for that. The result will be the real time, given in military time. That means that if your result is more than 12, you can convert it to PM.
6. Correct for daylight saving time and time zone variation. If daylight saving time is in effect, add an hour. If you live close to the western edge of your time zone, add a half hour. Likewise, if you live on the eastern edge of your time zone, subtract half an hour. Now you know the time!
[edit] Tips
* If you have the time and materials, you can build a temporary sundial with which to tell time.
* Telling time based on the position of the sun becomes more difficult if you are in a region where the difference between daylight hours and nighttime hours can be dramatic, such as if the sun doesn't set at all for part of the summer. Scandinavians and tribes in the Americas used "daymarks"--they associated the position of the sun in relation to a fixed landmark with a certain time of day.[3]
* Don't forget to correct for daylight saving time.
* Don't stress out about exact numbers. Because of latitude and longitude, the numbers might not be exact anyway. Just use this as a handy estimation tool when you're on a hike or out in your backyard.
[edit] Steps
Sun Position
1. Make note of the position of the sun. If you're in the northern hemisphere, face the south; if you're in the southern hemisphere, face north. (If you don't have a compass, use one of these techniques.) In other words, look at the equator--that is the line the sun generally follows in the sky. It always rises in the east (which is to your left if you're facing south, to your right if you're facing north) and sets in the west.
* If the sun is in the exact center of the sky, it's exactly noon. A nickname for this is "high noon" because the sun is at its highest at noon and the time will be 12:00 PM, but this assumes no daylight saving time, and that you're in the middle of your time zone. For instance, in Salt Lake City, Utah (US), "high noon" is actually at 1:30 PM in the summer because there's an hour added by daylight saving and another thirty minutes added because the city is that time distance (west) away from the center of the time zone.[1]
* If the sun is not in the exact center, you will have to do more figuring. If it is morning, the sun will be in the eastern half of the sky. If it is afternoon, the sun will be in the western half. You can use fractions to divide the sky into hours, and find the approximate time.
2. Estimate the number of hours between sunrise and sunset. This varies depending on the season and location. Winter days are shorter than summer ones: about ten and fourteen hours, respectively. Spring and fall days tend to be about twelve hours long, especially close to the equinox (late March or late September).
3. Divide the sun's path into segments. If you're looking towards the equator, you can imagine the sun following an imaginary arc from east to west, beginning and ending at the horizon, even if it's obscured. Visualize dividing that arc into equal segments; the number of segments should equal the number of hours in the day. If you know there are twelve hours in a day, you would divide the arc into twelve equal parts, six on the eastern half and six on the western half.
* If you're having trouble visualizing the sky in segments, you can use your hand or fist to "measure" segments. Going hand over hand, count the amount of fists from one end of the arc to the zenith (the highest point of the sky). Take that number as half of a day. For instance, if you counted 9 fists, and you know the day is 12 hours long, nine fists would be equal to six hours. To figure out how much time each fist represents, divide the number of hours by the number of fists. One fist, then would equal 6 divided by 9 - or about 2/3 hours (40 minutes). This is your hours-per-fist.
4. Determine which segment the sun is in. Starting in the east, count how many segments there are before you get to the segment that the sun is in. That will tell you how many daytime hours have passed. The segments that the sun hasn't touched yet indicate how many daytime hours are remaining. If you know the time of high noon, sunrise, or sunset in your area, then you can approximate the current time.
* Using the Salt Lake City example given earlier, let's say there are fourteen segments (because it's summer) and the sun is on the ninth segment (from the east). The eighth segment (right after the highest point) begins at 1:30 PM. The ninth segment begins one hour after that, so if the sun is in the ninth segment, it's probably between 2:30 and 3:30 PM. If the sun was in the sixth segment, the time would be between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. With practice, you'll be able to estimate time without consciously dividing the sky.
* If you used the fists method, count the number of fists from the eastern end of the arc to the sun. Multiply that number times the hours-per-fist measurement. Let's say you counted three fists from east to west. Three hours times forty minutes equals 120 minutes, or two hours. So it's been two hours since sunrise. If you know the time of sunrise in your area and season, you can approximate what time it is.
Reading the Moon[2]
1. Find the moon. If the moon is full, stop here and follow the instructions for telling time based on sun position. If it's a new moon (i.e. you can't see the moon) this technique will not work.
2.
Imagine the moon is a circle divided into vertical strips. The number of vertical strips equals the number of hours in the night, with the first hour at the right edge and the final hour at the left edge. As discussed earlier, the number of nighttime hours can vary by season and location. Let's assume twelve hours, beginning at 6 PM and ending at 6 AM, for now.
3. Read the moon from right to left, following an imaginary horizontal halfline. Look for where that line intersects the border between light and dark. Make note of which strip that intersection is in. If as you read from right to left, the moon goes from light to dark, that strip where the intersection is located tells you when the moon will set in the west (moonset). If the transition is from dark to light, then you can determine when the moon will rise in the east (moonrise).
*
In this instance, the intersection is at 8 PM, and the transition from right to left is from light to dark. This tells us that the moon will set in the west at 8 PM.
*
This moon will set at about 7-8 hours after sunset. If sunset is at 7 PM, you can expect moonset at 2-3 AM.
* If the moon is just a tiny sliver on the right, it sets within an hour or two since the night began. If you see it, you're probably within the first hour or two of nighttime, since the moon hasn't set yet.
* If the moon is just a tiny sliver on the left, it rises within an hour or two before dawn. If you see the moon in this phase, you can expect the night to be over within one or two hours.
4. Observe the moon's position in the sky. Divide the moon's path into segments, as described for the sun above. For the purposes of this example, let's assume twelve equal segments for twelve hours in the night.
* If you know the moonrise time, estimate how many hours (segments) it already passed since it rose in the east. Add those hours to the moonrise time to get your current time. If you know the moon rose at 9PM, for example, and it's right in the middle of a 12 hour path, that means it's completed 6 hours since it rose at 9 PM. 6 hours after 9 PM is 3 AM.
* If you know the moonset time, estimate how many hours (segments) it has to go before it sets in the west. Let's say you know the moon will set at 2 AM in the west. If the moon is positioned about 2 segments away from the western end of the arc, that means it has two hours before it sets. Two hours before moonset (2 AM) is 12 AM (midnight).
North Star Clock
1. Locate the Big Dipper constellation. You'll only be able to do this in the northern hemisphere and if the skies are clear. In the summer, the Big Dipper will be closer to the horizon.
2. Determine the raw time. The two pointers in the Big Dipper (the two stars furthest away from the handle) are in line with the North Star (Polaris). This line is like a clock hand, with Polaris at the center of the clock; as you look North, 12 is at the top of the clock, and 6 is at the bottom. When you imagine this clock, what time is it? Let's say the "hand" falls at 2:30. This is the raw time.
Image:Star_clock_196.jpg
3. Add one hour for every month after March 7. Likewise, subtract one hour for every month before March 7. If it's May 7, two months after March 7, then you'd add two hours to your raw time, making it 4:30. To be more exact, add or subtract two minutes for every day after or before the 7th, respectively. If it's February 2, it's one month and five days before March 7, so you'd subtract one hour and ten minutes from 2:30 (making it 1:20).
* The reason we focus on March 7 is because the star clock always reads 12:00 at midnight on this date, so this is our "base" date, and we have to "adjust the clock" for any other date.
4. Double the time.
5. Subtract the time from 24. If the time from the previous step is more than 24, then subtract it from 48. We do this because the clock actually goes backwards (counterclockwise) and this subtraction corrects for that. The result will be the real time, given in military time. That means that if your result is more than 12, you can convert it to PM.
6. Correct for daylight saving time and time zone variation. If daylight saving time is in effect, add an hour. If you live close to the western edge of your time zone, add a half hour. Likewise, if you live on the eastern edge of your time zone, subtract half an hour. Now you know the time!
[edit] Tips
* If you have the time and materials, you can build a temporary sundial with which to tell time.
* Telling time based on the position of the sun becomes more difficult if you are in a region where the difference between daylight hours and nighttime hours can be dramatic, such as if the sun doesn't set at all for part of the summer. Scandinavians and tribes in the Americas used "daymarks"--they associated the position of the sun in relation to a fixed landmark with a certain time of day.[3]
* Don't forget to correct for daylight saving time.
* Don't stress out about exact numbers. Because of latitude and longitude, the numbers might not be exact anyway. Just use this as a handy estimation tool when you're on a hike or out in your backyard.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
How to Chill a Drink Quickly
Steps
1.
Take the temperature of the drink. This step is optional; once you open a can, this method won't be as effective. If this is your first time trying it, though, it may be interesting to record how drastically the temperature can change.
2.
Fill a bowl with water and add ice to it. Add as much ice to the water as you can, but not so much that it prevents the entire beverage container from being submerged into the water. A 50/50 mix of ice and water is a good rule of thumb.
3.
Add table salt to the ice. A small handful should do. Adding salt lowers the melting temperature of the ice.
4.
Place your drinks in the ice water solution and rapidly stir them all around. By stirring, you're using forced convection to speed the transfer of heat out of your drink and into the ice water solution.
5.
Wait two minutes. Take the temperature of one of the drinks - the temperature should have fallen dramatically in a very short time. If it needs more time chilling, stir the remaining drinks in the salted ice water for another minute or two.
6.
Enjoy your cold drink. It should now be about the perfect temperature to quench your thirst.
Tips
* This will work with just about any drink, in a conveniently sized can or bottle.
* This method is amazingly better than merely adding ice cubes to the glass of warm coke. Placing ice cubes directly into the drink causes it to become diluted and lose its fizz and snappy flavor.
* Smaller containers will chill more rapidly than large containers because the smaller ones have much more surface area in contact with the cold water per unit volume.
* If you don't have salt, then plain water plus ice is still more effective than ice alone at chilling containers. This is because the liquid water is a better heat conductor than air (many times better), and the ice by itself can't cover much of the container's surface.
* If you want a cold drink immediately and happen to have an extra CO2 gas fire extinguisher laying around, there is another, faster way. By blasting your can of soda with the extinguisher for only a few seconds, your drink will be icy cold. This only works with CO2 extinguishers which leave no residue as others will leave you with nothing more than a drink covered in fire retardant powder, stale water, or a mess of foam. However, it is recommended that you save your extinguisher for a true emergency.
* If you do not have extra clean water available, using ice alone and stirring it and the drinks around in the ice is still better than just putting the drinks in an ice chest with ice still in the bag with the drinks sitting on top or in a refrigerator. Air which is less dense than water can not absorb and conduct as much heat away from the containers compared to water.
o So to have cooler air circulating among the pieces of ice, try putting the bowl in a bag and tie it closed, and then swirl the bowl a little every 15 to 30 seconds to stir the drinks.
* Make sure to at least rinse the can top in clean, potable water before you drink the beverage. The salt that may be left on the can lid may cause the beverage to taste very salty.
Warnings
* Carbonated cans may become pressurized after rapidly stirring in the ice water. Opening cans before the carbonation has a chance to settle may cause an overflowing mess.
1.
Take the temperature of the drink. This step is optional; once you open a can, this method won't be as effective. If this is your first time trying it, though, it may be interesting to record how drastically the temperature can change.
2.
Fill a bowl with water and add ice to it. Add as much ice to the water as you can, but not so much that it prevents the entire beverage container from being submerged into the water. A 50/50 mix of ice and water is a good rule of thumb.
3.
Add table salt to the ice. A small handful should do. Adding salt lowers the melting temperature of the ice.
4.
Place your drinks in the ice water solution and rapidly stir them all around. By stirring, you're using forced convection to speed the transfer of heat out of your drink and into the ice water solution.
5.
Wait two minutes. Take the temperature of one of the drinks - the temperature should have fallen dramatically in a very short time. If it needs more time chilling, stir the remaining drinks in the salted ice water for another minute or two.
6.
Enjoy your cold drink. It should now be about the perfect temperature to quench your thirst.
Tips
* This will work with just about any drink, in a conveniently sized can or bottle.
* This method is amazingly better than merely adding ice cubes to the glass of warm coke. Placing ice cubes directly into the drink causes it to become diluted and lose its fizz and snappy flavor.
* Smaller containers will chill more rapidly than large containers because the smaller ones have much more surface area in contact with the cold water per unit volume.
* If you don't have salt, then plain water plus ice is still more effective than ice alone at chilling containers. This is because the liquid water is a better heat conductor than air (many times better), and the ice by itself can't cover much of the container's surface.
* If you want a cold drink immediately and happen to have an extra CO2 gas fire extinguisher laying around, there is another, faster way. By blasting your can of soda with the extinguisher for only a few seconds, your drink will be icy cold. This only works with CO2 extinguishers which leave no residue as others will leave you with nothing more than a drink covered in fire retardant powder, stale water, or a mess of foam. However, it is recommended that you save your extinguisher for a true emergency.
* If you do not have extra clean water available, using ice alone and stirring it and the drinks around in the ice is still better than just putting the drinks in an ice chest with ice still in the bag with the drinks sitting on top or in a refrigerator. Air which is less dense than water can not absorb and conduct as much heat away from the containers compared to water.
o So to have cooler air circulating among the pieces of ice, try putting the bowl in a bag and tie it closed, and then swirl the bowl a little every 15 to 30 seconds to stir the drinks.
* Make sure to at least rinse the can top in clean, potable water before you drink the beverage. The salt that may be left on the can lid may cause the beverage to taste very salty.
Warnings
* Carbonated cans may become pressurized after rapidly stirring in the ice water. Opening cans before the carbonation has a chance to settle may cause an overflowing mess.
Friday, June 20, 2008
7 Simple Rules For How to Take A Nap
Birds do it, bees do it (we think), even educated monkeys do it. So let’s do it, people. Let’s fall asleep. (The musical portion of this blog is over; thanks for indulging.) But seriously: we’ve talked about the whys of taking naps on the blog before — they improve mood, creativity, memory function, heart health, and so much else — but never, to my knowledge, have we discussed how to take a nap. In fact, whenever we write about naps, we always get a few comments from people claiming they’re unable to nap during the day; they just can’t fall asleep, or when they do nap they wake up groggy and unable to work. In that case, read on, my sleepy friends.
1.
The first thing you should know is, feeling sleepy in the afternoon is normal. It doesn’t mean you had a big lunch, or that you’re depressed, or you’re not getting enough exercise. That’s just how animals’ cycles work — every 24 hours, we have two periods of intense sleepiness. One is typically in the wee hours of the night, from about 2am to 4am, and the other is around 10 hours later, between 1pm and 3pm. If you’re a night owl and wake up later in the morning, that afternoon sleepiness may come later; if you’re an early bird, it may come earlier. But it happens to everyone; we’re physiologically hardwired to nap.
2.
Naps provide different benefits depending on how long they are. A short nap of even 20 minutes will enhance alertness and concentration, mood and coordination. A nap of 90 minutes will get you into slow wave and REM sleep, which enhances creativity. If you sleep deeply and uninterruptedly the whole time, you’ll go through a full 90-minute sleep cycle, and recoup sleep you might not have gotten the night before (we’ve all heard it a million times, but most of us don’t get enough sleep at night).
3.
Try not to sleep longer than 45 minutes but less than 90 minutes; then you’ll wake up in the middle of a slow-wave cycle, and be groggy. I used to hate taking naps during the day for just this reason — I would always wake up in a fog. My problem was I hadn’t yet perfected the art of the 20-minute catnap.
4.
Find a nice dark place where you can lie down. It takes about 50% longer to fall asleep sitting up (this is why red eye flights usually live up to their name), and be armed with a blanket; you don’t want to be chilly. You also don’t want to be too warm, which can lead to oversleeping. (There was a kind of urban legend circulating when I was a kid: don’t fall asleep in the sun, or you’ll never wake up. Not true — but you might wake up three hours later with a ripe sunburn.)
5.
White noise can help you fall asleep, especially during the day when construction crews, garbage trucks, barking dogs and other noisy awake-world things can conspire to destroy your nap. Keep a fan on, or turn on a nearby faucet for a pleasing rushing-river sound. (Just kidding about that last one.)
6.
Don’t nap too close to bedtime, or you might not be able to fall asleep later. Remember, your inbuilt sleepy window is sometime in the early to mid-afternoon — try to nap then.
7.
Quit that silly job where they don’t let you take naps during the day.
1.
The first thing you should know is, feeling sleepy in the afternoon is normal. It doesn’t mean you had a big lunch, or that you’re depressed, or you’re not getting enough exercise. That’s just how animals’ cycles work — every 24 hours, we have two periods of intense sleepiness. One is typically in the wee hours of the night, from about 2am to 4am, and the other is around 10 hours later, between 1pm and 3pm. If you’re a night owl and wake up later in the morning, that afternoon sleepiness may come later; if you’re an early bird, it may come earlier. But it happens to everyone; we’re physiologically hardwired to nap.
2.
Naps provide different benefits depending on how long they are. A short nap of even 20 minutes will enhance alertness and concentration, mood and coordination. A nap of 90 minutes will get you into slow wave and REM sleep, which enhances creativity. If you sleep deeply and uninterruptedly the whole time, you’ll go through a full 90-minute sleep cycle, and recoup sleep you might not have gotten the night before (we’ve all heard it a million times, but most of us don’t get enough sleep at night).
3.
Try not to sleep longer than 45 minutes but less than 90 minutes; then you’ll wake up in the middle of a slow-wave cycle, and be groggy. I used to hate taking naps during the day for just this reason — I would always wake up in a fog. My problem was I hadn’t yet perfected the art of the 20-minute catnap.
4.
Find a nice dark place where you can lie down. It takes about 50% longer to fall asleep sitting up (this is why red eye flights usually live up to their name), and be armed with a blanket; you don’t want to be chilly. You also don’t want to be too warm, which can lead to oversleeping. (There was a kind of urban legend circulating when I was a kid: don’t fall asleep in the sun, or you’ll never wake up. Not true — but you might wake up three hours later with a ripe sunburn.)
5.
White noise can help you fall asleep, especially during the day when construction crews, garbage trucks, barking dogs and other noisy awake-world things can conspire to destroy your nap. Keep a fan on, or turn on a nearby faucet for a pleasing rushing-river sound. (Just kidding about that last one.)
6.
Don’t nap too close to bedtime, or you might not be able to fall asleep later. Remember, your inbuilt sleepy window is sometime in the early to mid-afternoon — try to nap then.
7.
Quit that silly job where they don’t let you take naps during the day.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Safety: Check your tires
This is very important. Please watch the video.
Aged Tires: A Driving Hazard?
ABC News went undercover and found retailers selling aged tires as brand new. Learn how to decipher the code on your tires to determine its real age.
I urge you all to take the time to look at this 9 minute video on tires and share with others.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897&affil=ktvx
Aged Tires: A Driving Hazard?
ABC News went undercover and found retailers selling aged tires as brand new. Learn how to decipher the code on your tires to determine its real age.
I urge you all to take the time to look at this 9 minute video on tires and share with others.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4826897&affil=ktvx
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
How Long Can You Store Gasoline?
Q: I have several five gallon cans of gasoline in my garage that are to be used in a generator in case of a power failure. They have been there for several years as well as a tank full in the generator. Can this gas go stale?
-- C. S. Legum,
Norfolk, Va.
A: Gasoline does degrade or become "stale" during storage. How long it remains viable depends on several factors including the container and conditions in which it has been stored. The gas in your garage is long past its due date, though, especially if it was stored without the addition of a chemical stabilizer.
[Me and My Car storing gasoline]
Associated Press
Many folks store gasoline, as seen here after Hurricane Katrina. But gas can go stale after a few months.
I know it is tempting to use the fuel, especially with prices so high at the pump. Indeed, many times I have poured gasoline of questionable vintage into the tanks of cars, motorcycles and of course, the lowly lawnmower. Several years ago I inherited a roto tiller with a tank that had been half full for years. Of course, it started on the first pull and has run well ever since. Still, the instructions for outdoor power equipment like mowers, snow blowers and chain saws often recommend draining the tank if you don't plan to use the machine for a several months.
The American Petroleum Institute recommends taking old gas to an approved disposal facility after, at most, two years of storage. But the gas may have degraded beyond safe use by then. To be safe, the trade group says, you should avoid storing gasoline from season to season. For example, if you fill the gas can in the spring you should use its contents before the end of the year.
I haven't had any fuel-related problems. But I have heard enough tales of woe from people who have that I now avoid storing gasoline for more than a few months and always add a stabilizer to the container.
-- C. S. Legum,
Norfolk, Va.
A: Gasoline does degrade or become "stale" during storage. How long it remains viable depends on several factors including the container and conditions in which it has been stored. The gas in your garage is long past its due date, though, especially if it was stored without the addition of a chemical stabilizer.
[Me and My Car storing gasoline]
Associated Press
Many folks store gasoline, as seen here after Hurricane Katrina. But gas can go stale after a few months.
I know it is tempting to use the fuel, especially with prices so high at the pump. Indeed, many times I have poured gasoline of questionable vintage into the tanks of cars, motorcycles and of course, the lowly lawnmower. Several years ago I inherited a roto tiller with a tank that had been half full for years. Of course, it started on the first pull and has run well ever since. Still, the instructions for outdoor power equipment like mowers, snow blowers and chain saws often recommend draining the tank if you don't plan to use the machine for a several months.
The American Petroleum Institute recommends taking old gas to an approved disposal facility after, at most, two years of storage. But the gas may have degraded beyond safe use by then. To be safe, the trade group says, you should avoid storing gasoline from season to season. For example, if you fill the gas can in the spring you should use its contents before the end of the year.
I haven't had any fuel-related problems. But I have heard enough tales of woe from people who have that I now avoid storing gasoline for more than a few months and always add a stabilizer to the container.
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