Monthly Archives: February 2012

Wednesday, 29 February 2012

Posted on 29 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

08:46 – I’m back to working heads-down on the forensics book and kit, with occasional breaks to do something down in the lab. One thing I’m going to do today is convert some of that copper(II) sulfate I bought at … Continue reading →

Posted in science kits | 35 Comments

Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Posted on 28 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

08:58 -Today is the last day of Barbara’s four-day weekend. She’s picking up her sister and parents and heading for some big outlet mall somewhere. Sunday we ran out of the Scotch Blue masking tape we use to seal chemical … Continue reading →

Posted in culture, politics, science, science kits | 22 Comments

Monday, 27 February 2012

Posted on 27 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

08:13 – We’re down to a dozen chemicals left to package, after which we’ll be ready to start assembling biology kits. Most of those are obnoxious ones in one way or another, and I always leave those for last. For … Continue reading →

Posted in science kits | 16 Comments

Sunday, 26 February 2012

Posted on 26 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

09:43 – Barbara just gave me a haircut and is vacuuming now. Today we’ll pack the next-to-last group of chemicals for the biology kits: Barfoed’s reagent, Benedict’s reagent (qualitative), bromothymol blue, fertilizer concentrate B, glycerol, neomycin sulfate solution, Seliwanoff’s reagent … Continue reading →

Posted in chemistry, science kits | 13 Comments

Saturday, 25 February 2012

Posted on 25 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

09:47 – I spent some time in the lab yesterday making up solutions for the biology kit. This afternoon, Barbara and I will fill, seal, and label 60 sets of those bottles. She’s taking Monday off, so we’ll continue doing … Continue reading →

Posted in science kits | 9 Comments

Friday, 24 February 2012

Posted on 24 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

07:40 – My basement lab is no more. Well, the room is still there, and it still looks pretty much the same, but its function is changing. Amidst everything else on my to-do list, I decided that it was time … Continue reading →

Posted in science kits | 38 Comments

Thursday, 23 February 2012

Posted on 23 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

08:50 – Brian Jepson sent a PDF yesterday of the first half of the biology book, just to show us how the layout looked. As always, it’s gorgeous. The O’Reilly/MAKE design/layout folks are top-notch. My only substantive suggestion was to … Continue reading →

Posted in science kits, writing | 1 Comment

Wednesday, 22 February 2012

Posted on 22 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

08:15 – The biology kits include glycerol (glycerin), and I just realized that the only unopened bottle I have in inventory is only a pint (473 mL), which isn’t nearly enough for 60 kits. I got that bottle at Costco … Continue reading →

Posted in government, politics, science kits | 21 Comments

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

Posted on 21 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

07:56 – The EU summit turned out exactly as I predicted. They kicked the can a bit farther down the road, putting off Greece’s inevitable collapse for a few more weeks, if they’re lucky. Greece in turn agreed to become … Continue reading →

Posted in government, politics | 57 Comments

Monday, 20 February 2012

Posted on 20 February 2012 by Robert Bruce Thompson

08:38 – We did have a pretty nasty evening and night. Sleet turning into snow, a stiff breeze, and wind chills down at one point into the single digits Fahrenheit. Fortunately, it had been pretty warm for several days prior, … Continue reading →

Posted in dogs, government, politics, science kits | 49 Comments