sethoflagos

I guess that like me you recall when chocolate treats for children at least we're pretty well confined to Easter and Christmas. From @geordief 's link: I was born in York (actually played rugby for Rowntrees until I was thirty) and particularly remember those foggy November evenings when on the south-west side of town, the citrus aroma of Terry's chocolate orange slowly spread across the Knavesmire while on the other side of the river it was the heady, minty scent of Rowntrees After Eights signalling that Christmas was only a few short weeks away. I think the quality must have been pretty good because back then, everyone knew the taste of Rowntrees cocoa and that was a pretty good yardstick. The rot set in when chocolate ceased to be something special and became part of the mass-produced daily diet.

Alas, your warning went unheeded in Abuja. I'd a small onion, couple of tomatoes and radishes, and a bit of fresh coriander leftover in the fridge and, with some gherkins, fermented jalapenos, and ground cumin I made a soupbowlful of mixed veg raita that was supposed to last me all week. Chilled, it was very moreish and I scoffed the lot in one sitting. A subsequent explosive start to the new year left me ruminating on the thought that aside from the occasional cherished cheesy treat, I've not consumed dairy in any quantity for decades... ... and wondering how many people start drawing their pension before they're weaned?

Thought this thread reminded me of another recent one hashtag solipsism I think therefore you aren't there

Thought it looked rather bulletproof. That no be a toy.

I believe W. tobermory converts grass seed into whisky 🥳

They've found one for PET

From an engineering viewpoint, first overcome the entropy barrier by concentration. Then... biological digestion? I've seen reports of some interesting avenues worth exploring recently.

Tinamus resonans Maybe of relevance more to fellow bird watchers than anyone else, but despite their low species count and relative obscurity to most, the Tinamous are most definitely not without interest. They are the sister taxon to the extinct moas of New Zealand They are the only extant members of the palaeognath clade capable of flight Their related palaeognaths in rough increasing order of evolutionary distance are the extinct elephant birds of Madagascar; kiwis; emus and cassowaries; rheas; ostriches (outgroup) The oldest (palaeocene-eocene) undisputed fossil palaeognaths, including some excellent examples from Messel, are anatomically closer to Tinamiformes than their relatives (though with better apparent perching capabilities) This suggests that Tinamous are the closest extant taxon in form (if not evolutionary descent) to the common ancestor of all extant palaeognaths As palaeognaths ("old jaws") are the sister group to the more derived (less reptilian palate structure) neognaths ("new jaws" - all other extant birds) they are arguably the closest thing we have to the last common ancestor to all living birds. Well, this paper made my day anyway.

Well, I took the plunge and made my first purchase of a carton of milk in over 25 years! Fresh milk isn't readily available (lactose intolerance etc) so I plumped for a 1 litre carton of full cream UHT knowing that it may well give me issues. And it did. Especially since I forgot to look for a tub of live yoghurt to use as a starter. After the prescribed simmering per my dahi recipe, I opted for adding a tablespoon of brine from my fermented cucumbers, and a broken dried red chili. 18 hours later, it still hadn't made a move and my nerve broke: I gave it a quick squirt of concentrated lemon juice and a stir. Soon afterwards, the curds and whey separated and a creamy froth had developed on top. Four hours later, it was in the fridge. Just tried a teaspoonful and... it's a decent creamy yoghurt. Not particularly acidic. Maybe a slight hint of cucumber, but since it's destined to become cucumber raita anyway that's no big issue. Thanks for the push!

It looks like a good, solidly built unit. I've seen such machines run pretty well continuously for 50 years plus between major rebuilds. With light duty and careful maintenance it should serve you well for decades.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.4c07476 Interesting biodegradable alternative to current synthetic polymers.

How happy do you think a lone lion is? Unless of course he's lucky enough to bump into a lone human enjoying his freedom from the shackles of companionship.

Having spent a year working in and exploring a deeply remote part of the Gabonese rainforest, I know this feeling well. There's nothing quite as liberating as walking solo a couple of kilometres down a forest track at dawn, guessing how recently something else had been there from the strength of their scent, and the freshness of their scat. But I also found out how it feels to have an arm temporarily paralysed from the bite of an unknown species of spider; having my vehicle charged by an irate forest buffalo; being caught unawares by a young bull elephant taking a paddle 20 paces to the right of where I was fishing a remote pool for tilapia. Even out birdwatching here in Nigeria, I've turned to find my route back to the wankpanzer blocked by a large spotted hyaena. This type of freedom comes at a cost: the imminent and quite real threat of being removed from the gene pool. Do you feel lucky?

Food and nutrition threads seem to be quite popular, but they bridge a number of our standard fora, and hence get scattered across Chemistry, Biology, Other, and the Lounge. Could we consider a dedicated forum? It would certainly help search and locate old non-highlighted threads, and provide a convenient parking space for off-topic excursions. In my schooldays, it was called 'Domestic Science' though I appreciate that terminology might not be everyone's cup of ginseng tea.

You make it sound as if it were a splash lubrication system. Pretty sure it isn't. The mesh isn't simply a filter. It functions as what we call a diffuser - spreading out any turbulence and uneven flow above it smoothly over its full area to promote a steady, even flow through the perforations. This ensures that within reasonable tolerance, drainage rate equals pumping rate. Honestly, I think you're imagining issues where none exist.

You're welcome. Before proceeding, I should admit that my practical experience of recips is based primarily on large industrial units (100 HP and upwards) of 1950's vintage. The basic principles still apply, but minor details may vary for small workshop units. No. Cold starts cause wear so it's not something I'd think of trying without good reason. Cold oil may still take a while to return due to the higher viscosity. Generally, it may be any force acting in opposition to the desired direction of (gravity) flow. No simple synonym springs to mind. If the unit was built by a reputable manufacturer, this should be cause to have some confidence in their competence. That would be the least of your problems. A more common issue would be oil being drawn into the cylinder on the suction stroke due to eg a blocked inlet filter. Again, trust the manufacturer and follow the operation and maintenance manual to the letter. Remember that reciprocating compressors have an appreciable positive working crankcase pressure by design. Google 'compressor crankcase pressure' for all the good words on this.

Netanyahoo was on the box today gloating over yesterday's actions taken to curb the Islamist 'genocide' against Nigerian Christians. Made me remember how much I was changed standing for a while beside a small plot on the site of the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp fifty years ago. I need a new word because 'irony' is a couple of magnitudes short of the mark.

Consensus here in Abuja seems to be that it was the least worst diplomatic solution available at short notice. The fact that the attack occurred on the first anniversary of an ill-judged airstrike that killed ten innocent civilians in the same state has not been missed by our media even if was by others.

I did, but forgot. Refresher for us both.

You don bomb Naija? On Christmas Day? For what? God punish you!!

It's a closed, fixed volume system, so it pressurises during operation by Gay-Lussac's Law. This both reinforces the seals and helps avoid pump cavitation. Good engineering and use of the specified viscosity oil should prevent suction starvation. I'd be a little concerned about dumping pressure rapidly while the engine is hot and then resealing as this will pull a vacuum for which the oil seals may not be designed to withstand. If it works, don't fix it.

There was a bit of red apparent in the early sediment of those batches, but it cleared as fermentation progressed. Lemon juice had made it pretty acidic from the start. The green was more persistent, eventually fading a little and settling out in the bottle. The only high pH test I did was with a dash of Domestos that bleached everything immediately.

& @exchemist. Six or seven batches later, the 'mystery green' has only been encountered with one particular Indian brand of cane sugar. I've not been able to duplicate it with either cane jaggery or a local Nigerian brand of 'raw' cane sugar. Given that much commercial brown sugar is (according to Wikipedia etc.) refined white sugar that has subsequently been further processed, I am unable to discount the use of a synthetic green dye. Btw - Top Tip. Unless you're particularly fond of significantly bitter undertones, think twice before making ginger beer with jaggery.

I don't really see any issue here. You and @swansont have pointed out that the sump oil level must obviously fall during operation if the lubrication system is to do its job. Part and parcel of this is that hot, pressurised air must migrate from the crankcase and valve gear into the sump by displacement. When the compressor is switched off, the cylinder fins help cool and depressurise the upper air spaces more quickly than the sump creating a backpressure that partially inhibits oil drainage return through narrow ducts due to surface tension effects. Unless someone unscrews the oil filler plug allowing pressures to equalise.

Give or take a few bars in Lagos... Merry Marxmas y'all 🥳🍻