Inventor of the Honey Extractor

By happenstance, I came across mention of the inventor of the radial honey extractor, a Franz Hruschka, via the Beekeeping Hacks group on Facebook.  Apparently it was an important development in apiculture.

2012 Delegates to RNC from Minnesota

Found a historical interest piece on Political Graveyard, with many names that I recognize.  One for 2016 is elsewhere.

Delegation chair: Marianne Stebbins

Delegates
At-Large: Scott Andersen, Bayport - Michele Bachmann, Stillwater - Kurt Bills, Rosemount - Kimlinh Bui, Eden Prairie - Gene Dornink, Hayfield - Patricia Anderson Gallwas, Dellwood - Eric Goodrich, Eagan - Jeff Johnson, Plymouth - Branden Petersen, Andover - Josh Regnier, St. Paul - Mark Santelman, Winthrop - Pat Shortridge, Lino Lakes - Marianne Stebbins, Excelsior - Rudy Takala, Pine City - John Trojack, Mendota Heights - Craig Westover, Afton
1st District: Bill Paulsen, Lonsdale - Steven L. Perkins, Luverne - Josh Wilkening, New Ulm
2nd District: Ted Anderson, Rosemount - Tom Dippel, Cottage Grove - Greg O'Connor, Inver Grove Heights
3rd District: Marge Beard, Plymouth - Gary Heyer, Chaska - Kevin Masrud, Chaska
4th District: John Kossett, Vadnais Heights - Nate Waldron, St. Paul - Mark Zasadny, Roseville
5th District: Russ Hilk, Minneapolis - Mark Johnson, Minneapolis - Juliette Jordal, Minneapolis
6th District: Ben Barringer, Elk River - Stacy Morse, Monticello - Christi Scherber, Richmond
7th District: Bill Batchelder, Bemidji - Raymond Rivera, Redwood Falls - Bonnie Wilhelm, Willmar
8th District: Kevin Erickson, Mountain Iron - Bea Kehr, Duluth - Charlie Strickland, Jr., Ogilvie

Alternates
At-Large: Sonia Evans, Coon Rapids - Derek Flom, Chaska - Steven Grotting, Independence - Daniel Gustafson, Delano - Karl Hanson, Medina - Dan Johanneck, Wabasso - Jennifer VanDerHorst Larson, Orono - Ken Lucier, Moorhead - Neil Lynch, Maple Grove - Adam Pace, Winona - Brian Paukert, Faribault - Melissa Valeriano, Rochester - Yelena Vorobyov-Grisham, Apple Valley
1st District: Bill Fisher, Chatfield - Jen Jacobson, Austin - Duane Quam, Byron
2nd District: John Myser, Mendota Heights - Tiana Wells, Dundas - Mark Westpfahl, Inver Grove Heights
3rd District: Rolf Erickson, Plymouth - Jake Severance, Loretto - Dave Wahlstedt, Excelsior
4th District: MaryAnn Andersen, Bayport - Wayde Brooks, St. Paul - Doug Meyer, Stillwater
5th District: Jon Hartung, Minneapolis - Joel Lemke, Minneapolis - Corey Sax, Minneapolis
6th District: Jim Bendtsen, Ramsey - Steve King, Centerville - Adam Motzko, Delano
7th District: Andrew Plowman, Willmar - Karen Prischmann, Fergus Falls - Patty Seifert, Grey Eagle
8th District: Kurt Daudt, Zimmerman - Becky Hall, Duluth - Barbara Haney, Brainerd

Powder Substitutes

Normally, when referring to “powder”, I’m talking smokeless gun powder.  Since I've been cooking more lately, I have to find substitutions for certain things I don't have.

• Taco seasoning: 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1-1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp black pepper
• Chili powder: 1 tsp paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp oregano, 2 tsp garlic powder

If the chili powder recipe is legit, then the taco seasoning recipe could be restated by increasing the proportions of the constituent spices....

Another one that'd be useful is tomato sauce: I sure have a lot of tomato paste, just not the sauce!

空き家

One of the BRCM guys mentioned that he was looking into akiya in Japan partly because his niece was married to a Japanese guy (ironically he wants to stay in the U.S. and she wants to live in Japan).  Anyway, he sent me a link regarding akiya and the potential issues with buying such property.

Science Experiments

Kid#1 has a science experiment assignment for school, and the teacher linked several sites [example] with ideas.  Personally, I liked the electromagnet, but she wanted to do the one involving combustion....

Precious Metals Clay

So I've got this Mitsubishi PMC3 kit from 15 years ago that I'd bought for KMP/T since she did jewelry at one point.  Before I could get it to her, she moved to Kansai, which I rarely go to, and since the package is fragile, didn't want to mail it.  Now as an assistant prof with two kids, she doesn't have time to mess.  It occurred to me to give the kit to JFJ's daughter, but 1) the instructions are in Japanese, and 2) the fuel disks are hard to come by in the U.S.  There's another "hot pot" kit that uses a clay pot filled with some sort of liquid fuel, but I can't find that for sale.  Things always get more complicated than I otherwise think they should be.

Mitsubishi has a page on the PMC series, but conspicuously don't mention any of the kits that they used to produce!  At least there's some English instructions on the page.  The Japanese page links to several other pages, including to a neat fan page, 「ギンダラケ倶楽部」.  Another site, silver-clay.com, has a number of the PMC materials for sale, as does Amazon.  It seems to be about 3x the cost of the base metal, at least for silver.  The only place I found online that sells the fuel tabs is "Best from Japan", which ships from Japan and doesn't have the item in stock.  Shipping is of course either SAL, with a huge lead time, or EMS, with a huge price tag.

DIY Firearms

https://www.diyfirearms.org/

Calyx Institute

A while back, RJS informed my about the existence of the Calyx Institute, and more importantly the membership benefit that gives unlimited data access to the Sprint network.

The Calyx Institute is an educational organization that develops frameworks, tools, and sets of best practices to promote privacy on the Internet and in the field of telecommunications. For the past few years, one of our goals has been to do research on to develop Internet access strategies that offer "Privacy by Design". 

Oxalic Dribble

I attempted an oxalic dribble in the fall on three hives.  Due to the light weight of the crystals, I had to use a gunpowder scale to get the right accuracy.

Scientific Beekeeping mentioned using a water-only base for the oxalic.  Another article suggests treating package bees initially.  This makes sense in that they’ll be carrying phoretic mites and the number can be drastically reduced if treated prior to the development of brood.

One paper describes using oxalic and thymol together.  I was more interested in the dosages mentioned.