Nothing Happens At Ten

The Next Big Thing

Posted on June 27, 2015 by kimerer_brian

I think that I have just seen the Next Big Thing.

I ordered a set of battery boxes from Amazon. The boxes are little plastic boxes that I use to store my AA and AAA rechargeable batteries in so that they won’t roll around in the desk drawer and get lost.

So I ordered some from Amazon. They only cost $3.50… with free shipping. After the order was placed, the estimated time of delivery was some outrageous date, like July 27 ( I ordered the boxes on June 14). Yikes!

When I researched it, I found that the shipper was Yanwen…. which is based in…. Beijing… China….. seriously. The entire order was for $3.50 for some plastic boxes… free shipping.. and they are shipping them directly from China!

Well today, way earlier than they had predicted, my battery boxes showed up. Here is a photo of the label on the package.

Yep. That certainly looks like it came from China. Here is the stamp.

Cool. These two characters from the stamp:

mean “Middle” and “Kingdom”, which is the ancient name for China. I can see where they get “Middle” out of the one on the left. The other one is a puzzle.

Anyway, here are the boxes.

They are exactly what I expected.

So I guess the Next Big Thing is that not only is everything Made in China… but it is shipped directly from China as well.

How did they do that for $3.50?

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Black Iris

Posted on June 7, 2015 by kimerer_brian

Here is a recent addition to the blooming plants.

That is a Black Iris. While it isn’t a Man Eating Plant, it is somewhat different.

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Crickets

Posted on May 24, 2015 by kimerer_brian

Recently I found an unusual addition to the shelf of plant supplies.

That is exactly what it says on the label. That is a bottle of freeze dried crickets. I am glad I didn’t find that in the spice drawer.

So, what the heck is that for? See the jar sitting behind it?

That has a Drosera in it. Here’s a better look.

A Drosera eats crickets.

Really.

It eats crickets!

Want a closer look?

There is still a piece of lunch on one of the upper claws. Don’t get too close! It bites!

That is one scary looking plant. You can ask the crickets.

Well, actually, you can’t ask the crickets because they have been freeze dried. But you get the idea.

If you were a teeny tiny little man…. about the size of a cricket… that would be a Man Eating Plant.

OK. That’s a stretch. Work with me here.

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Brewing again

Posted on April 25, 2015 by kimerer_brian

I am brewing again.

I went to the beer supply store this morning and procured the ingredients that I need to make a batch of Honey Porter. Then, immediately I started putting together the yeast starter. The starter needs to ferment for 24 hours before I can pitch it.

I was just about to start my mini-boil when I noticed this.

OH NO!

The tip end of my thermometer has broken off. That end was full of little lead pellets to sink the bulb end in the beer. I can’t use that in the beer with lead pellets falling out!

I had the thermometer hanging on the brew bucket under the blankets so I could see the temperature of the bucket. I looked under the blankets and found this.

Yep. There are all those little lead pellets…. and the tippy end of the glass thermometer as well.

You can’t brew without a thermometer, so I hustled back to the beer supply store and was advised to upgrade my thermometer equipment to something that is a little less breakable. I ended up with this:

That is like the biggest meat thermometer on the planet! And it is made out of stainless steel instead of glass…. so certain klutzes can’t break it.