I decided to rewatch an episode of Jekyll this morning. It's an amazing BBC series from 2007. Steven Moffat is a masterful writer. He has also written a couple episodes of the new Dr. Who series.
Jekyll is a modern day retelling of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with several very inventive twists and turns added. I couldn't even begin to guess some of the plot twists as the came.
I cannot recommend this series enough.
BBC Jekyll Website
Wikipedia Article
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Gardeners beware! The Scary Plant Container Story.
I meant to post this rather scary story earlier.
I will preface the story. We went somewhere around noon. As we left, I made the observation that I smelled some kind of smoke. It wasn't grilling. It was something burning.
The day went on. I stepped onto the porch around 7:30pm. I saw smoke coming off one of the self watering planters I built 2 years ago. WTF?
I looked closer. There was a layer of ash on top. The plastic under the rim was melted all the way around in an irregular pattern. I immediately grabbed my water hose, which I had connected from the washing machine water line last year. I flooded the container while my mind raced to understand what happened. I first thought it was a cigarette butt from upstairs. I then thought it could have been something some kids did. But then the thought of spontaneous combustion ran through my mind.
There had been red coal like bits in the soil, so I dug the soil out and spread it into other containers. I continued pouring water on it. I called a non-emergency fire department number and a policeman had a fire chief return my call.
None of my containers were in use. In fact, I was in the process of getting rid of the soil, because of the drought. It was going to be to grow anything. The drought is going to return.
Here is what happened. The container was in the sun. The soil that was deeper in the container was damp. It was 100 degrees in Athens, so it was hotter than usual. It held potting soil, which means it contained bits of organic material. Heat, steam, old plant roots, composting elements...the soil effectively spontaneously combusted. I later deduced that its placement was about 2 feet from an air conditioner unit. (I moved it over there to get it out of the way last week.) That meant there was a steady air current flowing over it.
I don't even want to continue thinking past that, but it could have been bad. Really bad.
I still sit here thinking....I've never heard of this kind of thing happening before. EVER.
The lessen has been learned and I'm spreading it to everyone I know who gardens in containers: Keep the soil wet and often and when they're not in use, keep them out of the sun. According to the fire chief, this process has burned down entire barns before in Clarke county.
I will preface the story. We went somewhere around noon. As we left, I made the observation that I smelled some kind of smoke. It wasn't grilling. It was something burning.
The day went on. I stepped onto the porch around 7:30pm. I saw smoke coming off one of the self watering planters I built 2 years ago. WTF?
I looked closer. There was a layer of ash on top. The plastic under the rim was melted all the way around in an irregular pattern. I immediately grabbed my water hose, which I had connected from the washing machine water line last year. I flooded the container while my mind raced to understand what happened. I first thought it was a cigarette butt from upstairs. I then thought it could have been something some kids did. But then the thought of spontaneous combustion ran through my mind.
There had been red coal like bits in the soil, so I dug the soil out and spread it into other containers. I continued pouring water on it. I called a non-emergency fire department number and a policeman had a fire chief return my call.
None of my containers were in use. In fact, I was in the process of getting rid of the soil, because of the drought. It was going to be to grow anything. The drought is going to return.
Here is what happened. The container was in the sun. The soil that was deeper in the container was damp. It was 100 degrees in Athens, so it was hotter than usual. It held potting soil, which means it contained bits of organic material. Heat, steam, old plant roots, composting elements...the soil effectively spontaneously combusted. I later deduced that its placement was about 2 feet from an air conditioner unit. (I moved it over there to get it out of the way last week.) That meant there was a steady air current flowing over it.
I don't even want to continue thinking past that, but it could have been bad. Really bad.
I still sit here thinking....I've never heard of this kind of thing happening before. EVER.
The lessen has been learned and I'm spreading it to everyone I know who gardens in containers: Keep the soil wet and often and when they're not in use, keep them out of the sun. According to the fire chief, this process has burned down entire barns before in Clarke county.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Dinner Impossible...you're fired.
I am severely disappointed in Chef Robert Irvine. He had one of my favorite Food Network shows, Dinner Impossible. He lied on his resume, lied about opening a restaurant, and apparently owes over $100,000 to a financer.
Here's an article from the UK Guardian.
Here's an article from the UK Guardian.
Liege-Killer by Christopher Hinz
Just a quick note regarding this 1987 out of print, Science Fiction book...
Leige-Killer was amazing. There were so many quick twists and turns throughout the book. Once I was became more familiar with Hinz' style, I was somewhat able to anticipate them. It was still an excellent read and somewhat ahead of its time.
Leige-Killer was amazing. There were so many quick twists and turns throughout the book. Once I was became more familiar with Hinz' style, I was somewhat able to anticipate them. It was still an excellent read and somewhat ahead of its time.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles
I've come to the conclusion that I do like the new Terminator series. It's got more time, so therefore it's got more depth. Sarah Connor feels more human than Linda Hamilton's version and I'm fine with that.
John Connor does feel somewhat bland. Summer Glau's Terminator feels a little strange, but she is essentially learning as Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator did in the second movie.
Whether or not this series has legs is yet to be seen. For me it does, but it needs to keep momentum with the viewing public at large too.
John Connor does feel somewhat bland. Summer Glau's Terminator feels a little strange, but she is essentially learning as Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator did in the second movie.
Whether or not this series has legs is yet to be seen. For me it does, but it needs to keep momentum with the viewing public at large too.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Discussion Forum
I've finally decided to reinstall phpBB. It's primarily to spur discussions for my favorite authors and books. I plan to expand it eventually to include other topics.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The New Blog
I have decided to resurrect this blog and incorporate it into my website, rather than built the blog application from scratch in PHP with MySQL.
Stay tuned - I hope to begin adding entries soon.
Stay tuned - I hope to begin adding entries soon.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
ExploreCharlesotn.net - v1.0
I can't express how happy I am that we finally finished version 1.0 of the ExploreCharleston website. We've spent the better part of 5 months designing it. I coded the entire website from scratch in PHP, while Steven helped with the text and review content. There are still a number of areas I want to create, but those will be added slowly over the coming months.
I think it was extremely important to get the bulk of the content up during Fall/Winter, so the search engines will index everything before the Spring/Summer travel season.
I can now bring my focus back to GridEpsilon.com for a while. There are number of things I learned while creating the Charleston website. I want to bring many of those elements to this website.
I think it was extremely important to get the bulk of the content up during Fall/Winter, so the search engines will index everything before the Spring/Summer travel season.
I can now bring my focus back to GridEpsilon.com for a while. There are number of things I learned while creating the Charleston website. I want to bring many of those elements to this website.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
New Website: Explore Charleston
Our new website, ExploreCharleston.net is now live! It's taken 5 months in development and you could say that it was 4 years in the making.
ExploreCharleston.net offers approximately 80 Charleston area attraction reviews that include restaurants, historic homes, civil war sites, beaches, and more. It also features a large photo gallery and discussion forum.
ExploreCharleston.net offers approximately 80 Charleston area attraction reviews that include restaurants, historic homes, civil war sites, beaches, and more. It also features a large photo gallery and discussion forum.
Monday, September 17, 2007
PHP & MySQL Fun
I still can't believe how much fun I've had designing this website from scratch. It's been over 10 years since I did any real coding at this level. PHP and MySQL have been a blast to work with.
Generally when I'm at home I don't like to do any kind of low level computer related work, because it soon feels like I've never actually left work. I think I've finally found the right level that I'm comfortable with as far as the amount time and learning involved.
Generally when I'm at home I don't like to do any kind of low level computer related work, because it soon feels like I've never actually left work. I think I've finally found the right level that I'm comfortable with as far as the amount time and learning involved.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Shuttle Endeavor Lands Safely
I was extremely happy to see the Shuttle Endeavor land safely in Florida. I didn't completely trust the review NASA performed on the damaged heat tiles.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
The Blog
I have decided to create an area where I can post comments on current events or anything that might come to mind. I don't expect to be posting very often, but I now have a place to do so.
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