Bonding/Grounding CSST

Structure Tech (home inspectors up in the 'Cities) post interesting info on Facebook, but they also have interesting articles.  The inspector for my place mentioned something about CSST bonding, which I need to review again.  In any case, ST posted a howto on bonding CSST.

Random

Topics from last week's breakfast:
Trombe wall - for passive solar heating
SIPs - a pre-fab sandwich of OSB around a rigid foam core
Militec - weapon lube; apparently several products are called Militec...

Primer/Powder Storage

There are guidelines for primer/powder storage in publication 495 by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).  The residential limits are 10k primers and 20 lbs (smokeless) powder, although if the latter is in wooden magazines with 1" thick walls, the limit is 50 lbs.  Apparently many municipalities have adopted NFPA 495 as the law.

SAAMI published three PDFs with the relevant excerpts from NFPA 495: primers, powder, and loaded ammunition.  The text is on the last or 2nd to last page of each document.

I also found an interesting paper produced in the UK circa 1998 regarding detonation risks associated with storing powder in buildings.  Strangely enough, the study noted found that smokeless powder is less volatile than black powder (called simply 'gunpowder' in the paper).

Modified Mel's Mix

I've got the 1st edition of SFG, and the recipe for soil is, shall we say, daunting for beginners.  Apparently in the 2nd edition of SFG, the author Mel recommends a mix of equal parts peat moss, vermiculite, and compost.  I found mention online of a modified version of "Mel's Mix" that recommends half compost, and quarter parts peat moss and vermiculite.  That's nicer since vermiculite is fairly expensive locally ($35 for 4 cu ft).  You can get vermiculite for insulation, but I have yet to assuage my concerns of it being "garden grade".

Eastern White Pine

So my silver maple decided to break in a strong wind, and I'm considering replacing it with an Eastern White Pine.  Apparently the needles have more vitamin C than lemons?!  Anyway, prices for larger-than-seedling trees on one site are $140 for an 8 ft, or $220 for a 10 ft.  Not too bad.  I have a feeling that the expense will be in removing the old tree and stump and planting the new tree.

Configurable Apartment

I may need to take inspiration out of this guy's design.

TED

I saw reference to this device called TED on c|net, and it looks pretty interesting. The Google PowerMeter software may or may not be good: if they're logging my consumption patterns, that could be unpleasant. ("At 2 AM power demand at his house spikes 150W, so he must be in the bathroom taking a whiz before he goes to sleep.") I'd rather keep some information off the Net, thank you very much. Still, it's an intriguing product.

My Snowblower

Despite the earlier models I posted, I ended up getting a Troy-Bilt Storm 2620 over at Lowes. I put it to use on Sunday morning and cleared the 4-foot wall of snow blocking half of the front of my driveway as a learning exercise, then cleared the curb, sidewalks, and half the neighbor's driveway (theirs is in the shop right now). Having a gas-hogging monster snowblower is actually fun!

Snowblowers

After the blizzard, I decided that I need a snowblower. (Apparently the semantic distinction between "snow blower" and "snow thrower" is that the former is a 2-stage (with an auger and an impeller) and the latter is a 1-stage. So says Wikipedia. But I prefer a single word rather than a phrase.)

I'm only interested in the 2-stage variety given the insanity that is Minnesota winter. Fishing around on Amazon, I found a Murray 24" 205cc 4-cycle with electric start. Apparently Murray doesn't have product pages on their website.

Chad has an Ariens, although he didn't say which model. (A version with a Tecumseh engine, without headlights, he said, but most of them seem to have Briggs & Stratton engines.)

Honda has a medium-duty 2-stage, the HS520AS, but I question the 12" vertical clearance of the housing.

$800 ain't nothing to sneeze at, so I'm going to be looking at as many different models as I can.

Monoprice

I just heard about Monoprice via comments in a /. post. They seem to have some good prices on cabling, etc., that always gets sold at a markup via retail outlets, and even by Newegg.

Alternatives to Ikea

On a whim I searched for alternatives to Ikea and found a page that had some suggestions: 2modern, CB2 (apparently affiliated with Crate & Barrel), and Design Public. 2modern seems to be on par price-wise with Room and Board, and for that matter, Design Public is too. Not really alternatives....

The poster also noted Green Your Decor for eco-friendly furnishings.

I also found another expensive alternative: Design Within Reach. Seems like there are no cost-effective alternatives to Ikea, hence their appeal. When one can outfit an entire dining room for the price of just the table at Room and Board, it's just ridiculous. Well, this isn't going to be our final house, so why buy custom furniture for it, and some of Ikea's stuff isn't made in China, so I can at least not have that hanging over my head.